“Who? Julian’s bodyguard?”
“No. The man himself.”
“You’re kidding. Julian’s staying here? In our apartment?”
“That’s what I said.” She rushed into Trey’s room and stuffed his pajamas, a washcloth and a toothbrush into an overnight bag. Allyson followed her into the room.
“Maybe I won’t go to Lynette’s now. Maybe Trey and I will just stay here and keep Julian company.”
“Allyson! I told him you were going,” Nicole protested.
Allyson laughed. “I’m just messing with you. We’re going. You and Julian can do whatever you like.” She shook her head. “And just think, I thought you two were history.”
Nicole gave her sister a playful shove out of the way. “Don’t get the wrong idea, Ally. It’s not that kind of overnight.”
* * *
The wind howled fiercely outside and the rain poured down in slanting torrents. Julian lay stretched out on the couch half asleep, until his dangling arm came in contact with something wet. With a start, his eyes opened to darkness and he became aware of heavy panting. Instantly he remembered where he was, and that it was Shane’s tongue he’d felt. The electricity must have gone out, because he’d left the lights on before he’d dozed off. Sitting up, he reached for the flashlight placed conveniently on the end table and looked at his watch. It was a quarter after midnight and Nicole had not called.
There had been a call at around ten o’clock, and thinking it was Nicole, he’d answered it, only to discover it was her mother. Mrs. Eleanor Whitfield had sounded shocked to hear a male voice. He’d calmly informed her that Allyson and Trey were out, that Nicole was working, and his only purpose for being there was to take care of the dog. Somehow, he didn’t think she believed him, and he was amused by this, even though he doubted Nicole would be.
He could not actually see what was going on outside unless he opened the door, because the windows of the entire condominium complex had been boarded up by the maintenance people. The howling of the wind, though, pretty much told him what he couldn’t see.
The phone rang, adding to the noise. He picked it up. “Hi, Julian. It’s me,” Nicole said. “I just called my sister. She and Trey are fine. Is everything okay there?”
“The electricity died, but that’s about it.”
He heard her sigh. “I just thought I’d tell you that I’ll be off at two o’clock, but I’ve decided to stay at the hospital and come home when it’s daylight. The storm should be over then.”
Julian clenched his teeth. The whole point of his being there was because he wanted to be with her, not with a grunting, snuffling dog. “I told you that I’d come get you whenever you’re ready.”
“I know that, but please don’t argue with me. The roads are probably bad. Power lines might be down. I don’t want you to—”
“You just can’t stop with the worrying can you? If the roads are bad I’ll turn around and go back. Besides, the radio reports said that the eye of the storm should be passing through about then. Look for me at two.”
“Julian!” Too late, he’d hung up. She didn’t have time to worry about it, because someone was paging her on the floor. She’d been on her feet since arriving and was now on her last wind. She’d just returned an hour ago to her normal duties. Most of her time had been spent in the emergency room attending to heart attack victims, victims struck by flying objects and several involved in car accidents. The only encouraging thing was that so far there had been no fatalities.
Nicole stepped out into the lobby at two a.m. She was worried because she had not been able to contact Julian again. She hoped he was outside waiting. Her fears were immediately alleviated. He was sitting in the deserted reception area looking impressive, as always, in a pair of light blue jeans and a denim shirt that was a darker shade of blue. He rose to greet her.
“It’s been a long night, baby,” he said, handing her a bouquet of pink and white carnations. “These are for my favorite nurse, who’s also a very special lady.”
Nicole felt her exhaustion lift as she accepted the flowers and gave him a hug. “Oh, they’re beautiful! I don’t know what to say.” She held the bouquet clasped behind his back in the embrace, basking in the distinctly masculine strength of his arms. Rain and wind intermingled deliciously with his own exotic scent. “Where on earth did you get flowers at this time?”
“One of the mysteries of life,” Julian said, taking her hand. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”
There was an unnatural silence outside. The wind had temporarily stopped blowing; it was no longer raining and the air felt thick with humidity. Without illumination from the moon or stars, the night seemed darker and more penetrating than Nicole had ever been aware of before. Tree branches, stones and other debris littered their path as Julian led the way to the car.
“So this is what’s called the eye of the storm,” Nicole commented as he opened the door for her.
“Yeah. Weird, isn’t it? Hope we get back before it starts up again.”
He didn’t seem the least bit worried; therefore she decided not to be overly concerned either. She settled back and watched him navigate around flooded roads and other obstacles. They had to make a major detour at one point because a fallen tree was blocking the road.
They finally entered the house, armed with flashlights, knowing that the electricity was still out. Nicole patted an overjoyed Shane and put the flowers in a vase. Julian set a flashlight upright on the end table so it dimly illuminated the whole room. The immense shadows that their passing forms created almost caused her to laugh childishly, but she refrained. What was she supposed to do now? She was a woman all alone with a gorgeous man. She knew exactly what she wanted to do, but just entertaining that thought was tantamount to disaster. Her heart was so much more treacherous than her mind.
Julian sat down on the couch. She noticed he had swiped a pillow and a blanket from Trey’s room. “Guess there’s nothing to do except sleep until daylight,” he said. “I know you must be tired.”
“I definitely should be,” Nicole admitted, but the simple fact was that his presence in the house was so overwhelming that sleep had become the last thing she wanted to do.
“Are you actually sleeping out here on the couch?” she asked. “Isn’t Trey’s room better?”
“The couch is good enough.” He had tried sleeping in there earlier, but Trey’s room reminded him too much of his own childhood room in Cuba. Trey had a passion for model airplanes, which were suspended artistically from the ceiling. His Aunt Alma, he recalled, had allowed him to do the same thing when he’d lived with her and his father. As he’d lain between consciousness and slumber, he’d almost imagined the faceless ghost of his father entering to sit on the edge of the bed, preparing to tell him one of his favorite adventure stories.
“You can have my room,” Nicole said. “I can sleep in—”
“No. This is fine, really,” he interrupted, not wanting to tell her the reason. “It’s only a few more hours.” He unbuttoned his shirt, stripping it off to reveal a white, ribbed tank top.
She sighed and regarded him with beautiful, soulful eyes. She seemed to be waiting for him to say more. Or was she waiting for him to do what he really wanted to do—which was to take her in his arms, kiss her endlessly, passionately, and set the night on fire.
“There was plenty of food in the refrigerator. I hope you ate something,” she said.
Deflated, Julian laughed in spite of himself. “Good night, Nicole.”
He’s right, Nicole thought. Just shut your mouth and go to bed. But she lingered as he mechanically removed his shoes and stretched out on the uncomfortably narrow couch. Slowly, she turned away. Daylight would come quickly and she would definitely sit down and talk to him then. “Goodnight, Julian,” she said.
She stepped into the bathroom, went through the usual rituals, and undressed for bed. From her dresser drawer, she extracted a sheer, lacy red gown. It was a garment that Allyson had
purchased for her from Victoria’s Secret. She had never worn it before, and had never intended to. Now she slipped the gauzy material over her bare skin, released the barrette from her hair, and stared at herself in the full-length mirror. A strange, nearly nude woman enshrouded in scarlet reflected back at her. The eerie yellow glow from the flashlight set off her complexion and made her almost unrecognizable even to herself. Her eyes glowed as though possessed. She laughed at the alien woman and slid into bed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The wind was blowing fiercely. The whole building seemed to be trembling under the force of the buffeting. The howling grew louder, more intense. Nicole felt a rush of cold air filling the room and suddenly her bed started to rise. She was being lifted up with it and was about to be hurled up against the wall. A loud explosive sound erupted, shattering the night—a sound like glass breaking.
A muffled scream escaped her mouth and she sat up, gasping for breath, catapulting herself from the bed. “Trey! Ally!” she screamed, racing into the living room, straight into Julian’s arms.
“Nicole, it’s all right,” he said, catching her, holding her close. “You were having a nightmare.”
“But there was a big noise, like an explosion,” she cried. “Did I dream that too?”
“No. There was a noise, but it was outside.”
“What was it?” She struggled to contain herself.
“Baby, I don’t know,” he said, holding her even tighter. “When you calm down, I’ll go check.”
It had all been a terrible dream, except for the noise. She felt a great sense of relief, but as the anxiety dissipated, it was replaced with the embarrassment of reality. She was grateful for the room’s dim lighting because her skin was flushing as scarlet-red as the gown she wore—the barely there gown.
“It sounded like a tree falling,” Julian said. “Must’ve hit something, maybe one of the cars in the parking lot.”
He felt no real urgency to investigate the crash, because he was distracted by what she was wearing—or wasn’t. Even if a tree had landed on his Explorer and mashed it flat, it would seem insignificant. Still locked in the embrace, he kissed her shoulder, his mouth brushing against the thin strap of the gown.
Stop it! he told himself, releasing her. They both stepped back almost simultaneously. “I…I’ll go see about the noise,” he said.
“Maybe you shouldn’t. The wind’s still blowing.”
“It’s all right, not as bad as it was.”
“Please be careful,” Nicole said, easing back into her room.
Furious at herself, she stripped off the offending gown and changed into a white sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. The battery-operated clock read five a. m. Daylight was only an hour away; there was no point in going back to bed.
Julian returned. “A tree did fall,” he confirmed.
“Where?” she asked warily.
“In the courtyard. Some of the branches went through the living room window of one of your neighbors.”
She gasped. “Oh no! Are they all right?”
“Yeah. Good thing nobody was in that room at the time. I’m going back out. Told the guy I’d help him saw off some of the branches so he can board the window back up.”
He left quickly. Julian was relieved to be immersed in physical labor at the moment. It was just the sort of distraction he needed. An added plus was the all-too-rare feeling of anonymity—being just like any other guy.
When Julian returned an hour later, Nicole tried to persuade him into having breakfast, but he wanted only coffee and a roll. They lingered at the kitchen table.
“Well, here we are. Finally we have a nice non-chaotic moment and nobody’s talking,” she said lightly.
A slow burning smile crossed his face. “Does the silence bother you?”
“Well, no.” She searched his eyes questioningly. “Not really.”
“Maybe it’s because there’s so much to say that we’re both overwhelmed,” he offered.
She bit her lip. “Perfect description. There are a lot of things we should discuss, so I’ll start.” She stood up. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
She left the room and returned with a manila folder, which she handed to him. “The last time I was at your place I made this enlightening discovery.”
Julian opened the folder and spilled the stalker’s mementos out on the table. He looked at the photographs of himself.
“Well?” Nicole quizzed.
“Very bad pictures,” he said. “All taken from the wrong angle. I never realized my nose was so big.”
“This is not a joke, Julian!”
He slid the contents back into the folder. “If it worries you that much, I’ll speak to my security people about it.”
She folded her arms and glared at him. “Sometimes you make me want to scream. You’re the one who should be worried!”
“I believe I told you once before that this sort of thing goes with the territory. I can’t have everyone who takes pictures of me arrested.”
“But you told me that this loony has been writing you for years. The fact that he said he’s watching you sounds like a threat to me.”
“You were once married to a cop,” Julian said gently. “It probably makes you overreact.”
Am I really overreacting? Nicole pondered. What he’d said annoyed her, but she did not want to get into an argument about it. “Listen, just promise me that you’ll remember to mention it to your security.”
“I’ll mention it.” He pushed the folder aside and leaned slightly forward. “Now that that’s over with, let’s talk about us. When we had that argument in the park, you implied that you were upset because I’d met everyone in your family and you didn’t know anything about mine. Well, I’d like to change that. Ever since we came to this country, my family always gets together on Thanksgiving. I’d like you and Trey to come.”
Nicole regarded him in silence. Coming from any other man, it was not an unusual invitation, but coming from Julian, it had a whole different meaning. It was a much more intimate and personal request than if he’d asked her to fly to Paris and have dinner at some expensive restaurant. It was more significant than their trip to Barbados even. She studied the rim of her coffee mug.
“Nicole, you’re not saying anything. It’s not a big deal, kind of boring actually. Just a bunch of aunts and cousins and stuff. It’s really the only time we get together.”
“I’d love to come. I’ll be spending Christmas in Chicago with my parents, but I didn’t really make any plans for Thanksgiving,” she said.
“Good, we’re on.” He glanced at his watch. “Speaking of family, I forgot to tell you that your mother called last night.”
Nicole flinched. “She did? What did you tell her?”
“That we were living together.”
“Julian!”
He laughed. “I told her the truth, that I was dog-sitting.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “I’m sure she didn’t believe a word you said. She’ll be calling me up later for an explanation.”
“Maybe she’ll fly down here to check for herself.”
Nicole laughed now. “Don’t even say that.”
She knew that he was getting ready to leave, but she didn’t want him to go. “How’s Trey doing with the guitar lessons?”
“Well, I don’t think he’s going to be another Segovia. He’s kind of all over the place at this point, but he seems to enjoy it. How’s he doing in school?”
“Actually he’s doing much better. He seems more focused and he’s…well, he’s not resisting the sign language as much.”
But he’s no closer to talking. Julian read her mind. “Does he still go for speech therapy?”
“He’s on his eighth therapist. She’ll probably be giving up on him soon. It’s getting near that time,” she said cynically.
Julian took a deep breath and searched her eyes intensely. “I know this isn’t your favorite subject, but I’d really like to know just how much you’v
e talked to Trey about his father’s death.”
She felt her inner defense system kicking in and tried to control it. There was no point in pretending that Julian wasn’t involved, because he was. It was pretty clear that he was having some kind of positive influence on Trey and she didn’t want it to end.
“He was only three when it happened. I didn’t talk to him immediately about it, but later on we did discuss it a lot, as much as I could with a child who won’t tell me what he’s feeling.” She struggled for the right words. “I told you before about all the psychiatrists and—”
“Does he have any pictures of his father?” Julian interrupted.
“Yes, yes he does. I gave him some last year. They’re in his room on the dresser.”
Julian raised his eyebrows. “Funny, I was in his room. Guess I didn’t notice.”
“Of course they’re in there.” She rose abruptly and went into Trey’s room.
To her shock, the two pictures, one of Warren in uniform, the other of herself, Trey and Warren, had vanished. Disturbed, her eyes swept around the room. She looked under the dresser, thinking that they had fallen, and saw nothing. Frantically, she searched through all the drawers and when she reached the bottom one, she noticed a shoebox partially concealed by clothing. She opened it and the photographs stared vacantly up at her.
When had Trey put them away? Why? She noticed something else under the pictures. It was a folded news clipping from the local Chicago paper, a clipping that had been filed away in her room. Mechanically she unfolded it and stared woodenly at herself and other memories of her family at the cemetery, surrounded by police officers. She was holding a folded flag.
Nicole became aware that Julian had entered. He stood quietly behind her and placed both hands on her shoulders. “What? What is it?”
“Trey hid the pictures,” she said dully. “I don’t understand…and this.” She let him see the news photo. “Why would he do that?” It was a rhetorical question.
“I don’t see Trey in this funeral picture,” Julian said after a long silence.
“He…he wasn’t at the funeral. He was too young, too traumatized. We thought…I thought, it would be best if he didn’t go.”
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