WindSwept Narrows: #22 Erika & Vianne

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  She watched him take in a slow breath.

  “What were you thinking?” His gaze narrowed as she lowered her eyes and peeked through thick lashes.

  “That you got into a fight because of me,” she answered cheekily. One shoulder rose and fell. “Now I get to tell the other girls that my boyfriend got into a fight because of me.”

  Zee didn’t try stopping the lopsided grin, moving forward until she was backed against the door. His fingers came up and gripped the band of her jeans, tugging and releasing it.

  “Boyfriend, huh?”

  “A guy gets bruised because of you…yeah, it kinda makes him your boyfriend.”

  “I did not…owww…” His hand whipped up and gripped her wrist, pulling her fingers from his temple. “Damn Cade got in a lucky shot.”

  “Cade hit you?” Surprise filled her question.

  “We spar, Erika. Hits happen. Believe me, I got in a few good ones of my own,” he released her wrist, only to have her fingers lightly brush over his ribs beneath his arm. “That’s from Logan.”

  “You spar with the owners of the resort?”

  He probably should worry when her voice spiked that high. He shrugged.

  “They’re old friends.”

  “They’re my bosses!”

  “We spar to keep in shape and…to keep our sanity,” he admitted slowly. “And I know them. They won’t hold it against you because I’m good. I’ll shower quick and we can go downstairs so I can open. I’ll make you some breakfast.”

  Erika nodded and watched him stride down the hall before sinking to the sofa and tying her shoes in place. She had a book by her purse, absently flipping pages when her phone sounded. Her hand shook slightly when she slid the phone from its pocket in her purse, the readout triggering too much. It fell without being opened into her purse.

  She wanted to throw it. She slumped back against the sofa cushions, two palms pressed into her eyes.

  How did you deal with knowing your mother drugged you and basically kidnapped you? How long did it take for them to realize she was even missing from the house? She didn’t recall any conversation about going to her parents’ home. She didn’t recall the drive. She had a vague memory of being helped from the resort and into a vehicle. That’s all she had in her mind after the attempt at lunch and the very tasty lemonade.

  Zee walked quietly into the room. Her hands were pressed to her eyes and the phone was buzzing on the sofa. He picked it up, set it to ignore that particular number and met the eyes slowly surfacing from behind two palms.

  “Breakfast sandwich?” He took one of the palms when she nodded, guiding them through the back of the apartment to the stairs that led into the shop below.

  “I don’t know what to say to her,” Erika said, wandering quietly around the shop, tidying things and putting things where they belonged, just as she’d watched him do the other morning. He went to the windows, opened blinds and blocked the wide double doors open, even though it was just past nine in the morning. He’d never turn away a customer and usually was deep into creating sandwiches long before actual opening hours.

  “Some words come to mind, but I’m not sure my guy reaction fits you,” he felt a little relieved when she laughed and it wasn’t forced. He sat her at the counter, the book she’d brought set aside and her chin fitting into the upturned palms. “Breakfast or lunch sandwich?”

  “Lunch, I think. Not feeling like eggs this morning. Maybe just something simple. Turkey and cucumbers, crème cheese, sprouts and tomatoes and mayo.” Erika saw him nod and begin to pull things from the giant fridge, outfitting the large bins with food for the daily customers.

  “Toasted?”

  “Please,” she slipped from the stool and went to find something to drink, a large orange juice pulled from the beverage cooler. “You want a juice?” She looked over her shoulder at the shocked expression as he was measuring and preparing the coffee machines. “Sorry. Silly question.”

  “Crazy talk, woman,” he murmured, hands moving with routine expertise to set the ovens and begin the morning. He pulled a tray of bread waiting for the oven from another fridge and set it on top of the oven, fixing her sandwich while waiting for the oven to heat.

  Zee slid the plate over the counter, watched her douse it with salt and pepper before eating. She’d missed solid food most of yesterday so he’d made it a large and was relieved when it began to disappear. She still seemed a little out of it but that could be dealing with the whole parent issue, he thought absently.

  “I’ve asked a friend to come talk to you this morning,” Zee watched her pop the final piece of bread and cucumber vanish as she quickly chewed, blinking at him curiously.

  “Talk to me? Excuse me,” she hastily finished chewing and drank some juice. “About what?”

  “What your mother did, Erika,” Zee swore softly when the air seemed to go back out of her.

  She nodded slowly.

  “I don’t know if he can do anything, but I think you have to try and get through to them,” Zee wiped his hands on the apron around his waist, one hand out and tipping her face up. “Will you talk to him?”

  “That’s him, isn’t it?” Her eyes caught on the dark charcoal suit striding across the sidewalk and into the shop.

  “Carter Shipley,” Zee introduced when his friend was closer, windblown dark blond hair falling onto the rims of his glasses. “Erika Vincent.”

  “Miss Vincent.”

  “Please…you’re a friend of Zee’s…call me Erika,” she accepted the large warm palm and gestured to a stool. “Have a seat, please.”

  “Morning, Zee. Coffee?”

  “Since you’re making a house call, Carter, just fresh brewed,” Zee quickly had one of the large unmatched mugs of steaming coffee in front of him.

  “Call me Carter, Erika,” he pulled the slim laptop from inside the case he carried. “Do you want to talk here or someplace more private?”

  “We’re not open for another hour and a half,” Zee glanced toward the office he kept in the back. “You can use my office.”

  “Here is fine, please,” Erika looked at the laptop like it was going to bite her. She watched the screens load, waiting. “What do you have on there?”

  “I went to the resort and talked to Cassidy. She gave me a copy of the footage from your luncheon,” Carter stopped talking, the suddenly pale features concerning him. He looked over at Zee, moving around the counter and coming to stand behind Erika. “Would you rather not see it, Erika?”

  “No…I mean, yes, I want to see,” she nodded, swallowed and leaned into the arms around her shoulders as Carter pressed the right buttons and the brief footage unfolded. “She didn’t even try and be subtle,” came the low whisper, her chin up and teeth tightly together. She would not let them make her cry! “I never would have expected…how do you even think your mother would do something like that?”

  “The majority of patrons aren’t aware of how extensive the camera system is on the resort and adjourning businesses,” Carter closed the laptop and leaned back on the stool, watching her and Zee for a moment. “I spoke with a friend of mine who happens to be a judge. I don’t have enough to get a restraining order,” he saw the coming storm on Zee’s face and shook his head. “Listen to me. I also don’t have the entire story. Something had to prompt her behavior and I don’t know what that is to create a viable course of action as your representative.”

  Erika nodded slowly. “The whole story began with me being so wrapped up in exams for my pharmaceutical licenses both federal and state that…” she sighed heavily. “And I know it makes me look really stupid, but somehow I found myself engaged to Adam Wayne,” she waited while he pulled a note pad from his case and began making notes. “It wasn’t even that long ago. Barely four months when he first asked me out. He made the proposal very, very public with all sorts of…it was just very public and I think I might have felt…I know I was flattered. But I…he was nice to me. Not…not the least bit amorous or…or sex
ual, just a pleasant enough date. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings the night that he proposed. I kept trying to get him alone, but somehow either people from business or my parents…we went to a lot of political functions. To be frank, they weren’t my kind of people and I even bowed out of the last one, claiming I had to study even though the tests were over. No one ever asked, though.”

  “Your parents never commented or asked how you felt about it?” Carter watched her expressions, vaguely aware of Zee chopping vegetables on the other side of the counter.

  “Asked, rarely,” she answered dryly. “You haven’t met my parents. They rarely ask anything, there’s a certain arrogance around where and what I should be doing with my life. If it hadn’t been for my grandmother…she said I inherited her stubborn disposition. I know what happened was my own fault. I shouldn’t have let it go on as long as it did. My mother had a wedding planner, for pity sake and before I knew it, everything was spiraling out of control.”

  “Something made you end it,” Carter said quietly, looking over at Zee. “At least I’m guessing you ended it.”

  “Almost ten days ago,” she said firmly. “Adam was nice enough. A trifle boring, but…” she shrugged. “Like I said, I was very distracted. I’d been working on the plan for the set up for the new pharmacy and its satellite for the resort and taking the exams. We had occasional dinners and lunches. He never…and maybe I was really relieved that he never made an effort to do more than kiss my forehead at the end of a date,” she pulled in a deep breath. “He was there to speak with my father about something to do with Vincent Technologies and I made up my mind that the whole thing was way out of control. I'd tried talking to my mother and that was a disaster,” Erika crossed her eyes at the memory, barely noticing the laughter from the men listening. “All she kept saying that I was fortunate Adam tolerated my career and I’d make a wonderful partner and hostess…god, it was horrible.”

  “But there’s never been hostility or…hell, I don’t even know what I’m looking for, Erika.”

  “My parents lectured,” she said firmly. “They lectured and shook their heads and for the most part, honestly, ignored me. Once I was past controlling age of about ten…” She shrugged. “There has never, ever been threats or…or orders…strong suggestions, which I mostly ignored since I was in school and busy with other things. My mother has never, ever drugged me before, Carter.”

  “Alright,” Carter said after a long quiet minute. “You ended the engagement. Can I ask what you told him?”

  “I…” she felt heat flood her cheeks. “The day I left, he had come over to speak to my father about something and the candidate for the senate race was with them. I went looking for Adam and the housekeeper told me he was in the garden. So I went out to find him and…and I found him…” She had closed her eyes and the entire scene came back like a brightly colored movie. “It was nice out and they…he was near the entrance to the gazebo and I had come from the patio. There are large, old trees there and they didn’t see me,” she whispered.

  “They?” Carter looked over at Zee, one brow arched at the tense line of his jaw.

  “He was with Ross Richardson.”

  “The senate candidate,” Carter said carefully. “Alright.”

  “No,” she cleared her throat. “He was with him…they were…kissing and…and whispering…ummm…” she swallowed hard. “Adam had never once tried to even hold my hand or kiss me. He always gripped my arm when we walked together. I thought…I thought…” her head shook. “I don’t know what I thought now. But Ross was telling him that he had to go through with it. That he had to continue the charade, just like he did in his own life. That they would always be…be together, but it could never be publicly.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Carter was staring. He knew he was staring, first at Erika and then at Zee.

  He started to open his mouth and changed his mind, stepping to the floor and pacing to the door and back. Carter looked at Zee, who was still chopping and prepping things for the customers slowly wandering in and placing orders. Two staff people had arrived and were taking care of them while he remained close to Erika while they talked at the far end of the counter.

  “I think we should go someplace private,” Carter finally said, placing his laptop in his briefcase and clicking the locks. “We’ll be in your office, Zee.”

  Erika sighed and leaned one knee on the stool, crooking a finger at Zee, the soft smile forming making her heart skip a few beats. She kissed him and backed away with a wink.

  Carter had waited for her, closing the door quietly behind them. He moved to the desk when Erika curled into the corner of the sofa, watching him pace.

  “Are you alright, Carter?” Erika tilted her head to the side, his expression betraying nothing to her. His body language, though, said everything.

  “The ultra-conservative Republican candidate, supported by your parents, who are also well known for supporting the beliefs and causes of the party, was seen and over heard by you, with his boyfriend,” Carter stated with a matter-of-fact tone. “In what one would call, in an old-fashioned world, an extremely compromising position.”

  “You asked me what happened, Carter. I told you.” Erika sighed. “I couldn’t face him after that, so I went into the house, shoved things into my backpack and wrote him a note. I told him the engagement was a mistake. I did not care for him. I did not love him. I put the note and his ring into an envelope, sealed it and gave it to the housekeeper to give to him. Aileen is very sweet and reliable. I know she gave it to him within the hour because he began phoning me non-stop. I put him on ignore and came to this area. I was staying in my car and moving around the area until I could find an apartment I liked. But I really wasn’t in the mood to look. There’s something a little unsettling for a girl to believe she doesn’t have any sex appeal. So mostly I bought a few books and hung out on the beach and at one of the outside tables here. That’s how I met Zee.”

  “Erika…” He said her name very slowly. “Do you realize what will happen to a lot of things if you went to the press with this story?”

  “Hadn’t really thought about it,” she admitted. “It’s bad enough confessing to being an idiot to you and Zee, Carter, let alone the whole world.”

  “Anna and Catherine will have a conspiracy field day with this one,” he said, his head shaking as he went back to pacing.

  “Conspiracy? Who are Anna and Catherine?”

  “Anna’s my wife and Catherine my sister-in-law, who works for the resort in security but who used to be a lieutenant with homicide,” Carter leaned against the large, old desk. “Let’s say they…I’ve been around them both long enough to start seeing things.”

  “I accepted the lunch with my mother to try and explain that I didn’t love Adam Wayne.” She stared at his shoes. “I don’t even remember getting the chance to talk about him or the engagement. She kept talking about how upset my father was that I hadn’t stayed and talked to them. That all couples have problems…and perhaps I simply needed to give him another chance or…or broaden my outlook and see the bigger picture.”

  “What did she bring you to drink, Erika?”

  “It was supposed to be strawberry lemonade,” she answered, her head shaking.

  “I went to Mariah and got a copy of the tox screen that explained what was in your system when Cade and Zee brought you in,” Carter rubbed one hand over the back of his neck. “The suggestion I have is to file criminal charges based on the video and the tox screen. I don’t have sufficient background for cause on a restraining order, according to law. But we can file criminal charges, Erika. Doing that should get their attention and force them to leave you alone. I also would rather you didn’t speak to them without me present.”

  “That won’t be a problem,” she said slowly. “They don’t hear me. I…I should probably say something like let me think it over. Filing charges against my mother…” She blew a long slow breath between her lips. “She drugged me,” she re
peated softly, as if still trying to convince herself it happened. “I…I remember being carried into the house. I was very…relaxed. Happy. I saw Adam there…and my father…my mother was in my room. She told me it was for the best. She asked me where Zee and I had gotten married so they could have it annulled.”

  “You’re married to Zee?” Carter snapped up, his gaze sharp.

  “No,” she felt a flush of heat on her cheeks. “Zee made that up to…I don’t know…I think he mostly did it because he didn’t like Adam. He thought he was helping.”

  “Sometimes guys are like that,” Carter offered a slow grin.

  “I know he meant well,” she said tiredly. “But my parents will see him as an obstacle for whatever they’re after. My father built that company from nothing and now has some of the largest government contracts out there. He’s what you might call goal oriented, which is probably why he and my mother suit so well together. I warned Zee…I guess I should have been warning myself.”

  “The charges won’t remain private, Erika,” Carter said carefully. “Reporters mine things like that and once I file them, you won’t have privacy and neither will they. One upside to it, though, is they’ll be working at damage control which might make them either too busy to bother you or talk to you, to make the charges go away.”

  “Part of me wants to know why, Carter. What…what in the world could she have been thinking?” She demanded angrily. “What could make her behave like that?”

  “I could probably weave a conspiracy story for you involving politics but I think we’re still missing some pieces.”

  “Like why my father, who I know recites lines regularly regarding his opinion of homosexual behaviors, would involve himself with two people he obviously knows are gay,” Erika nodded to her own words. “Like I said…I wanted to speak to my mother to ask that very question. And why in the world she could think I’d want to be involved in the scheme to begin with. A loveless relationship? Was I that buried in books that she’s worried I’ll end up a spinster?” She gnashed her teeth. “I get a headache trying to figure out the reasons for their machinations.”