I send a text to Jake, letting him know that we're fifteen minutes away. The butterflies in my stomach are doing somersaults right now. I'm nervous, I want her to meet everyone but I hope it's not too much for her. Skye is there with baby Shannon and I can't wait to steal her for snuggles.
Scott pulls into the drive and Nicole unbuckles her belt and sticks her head between mine and Scott’s seats. “Whoa, it’s huge. Do you have a dungeon?” She has a huge grin on her face as she looks at the house.
“Want to see it?” I ask her and she nods, “Come on then.” She quickly gets out of the car and I look to Scott, “what books did you buy her? Dungeons?”
He laughs, “They’re about witches and shit, no one is going to murder you in the dungeon.”
I climb out of the car and instantly I feel a tingling sensation, you know that feeling you get when someone’s watching you? I glance around but don’t see anyone, maybe they’re looking out the window at me, making sure we’re here? I brush it off and focus on making sure Nicole has her surprise party. Nicole rushes over to Scott and holds his hand, I love how much they have grown attached. She talks animatedly with him about her day, he’ll tell her stories about me and Maddie, half of them exaggerated. We walk up the front steps and that feeling that someone is watching me is growing, I take another look around but there’s no one there.
“You okay?” Scott whispers in my ear and I nod and smile not wanting to worry him, especially when there’s no one out there. “Here goes nothing, let’s hope she enjoys parties.” he whispers as he opens the door.
“WELCOME HOME!” Is cried as the door swings open and I don’t even look my eyes are stuck on Nicole who’s shocked but she also looks a bit scared.
I walk over to her as Scott walks ahead of us, “If it gets to be too much just tell me, this lot can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.”
“Who are they?” She whispers, her eyes as big as saucers as Stephen starts to walk towards us.
“They’re family honey.” I whisper, she looks so frightened. I think this may have been a bad idea.
Stephen coughs, clearing his throat and I look up at him, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears, “She looks so much like Maddie, I can’t believe how much they look alike.”
I start laughing as I take a look around the sitting room, everyone is staring at her with the same look as Stephen on their faces, “We did tell you how much they look alike.”
“Nicole, this is Stephen; Scott’s dad.” She shyly waves at him, “This is Sophia and her husband Nathan; Sophia is Scott’s sister.”
“And your mom’s best friend.” Soph tells her with a big smile and walks over to us and wraps Nicole in a hug, “Don’t let them lie to you, you’re prettier than your mom was. Isn’t that right Hails?”
“Definitely, Maddie would agree too.”
Nicole’s mouth opens in shock before she starts to shake her head in denial, “No mommy Maddie was really pretty.”
I bend down so we’re face to face, “Honey, you and Maddie look exactly the same. Are you ready to meet everyone else?” She nods so we move toward Luke and Morgan, my hand on her shoulders, “Nicole, this is Luke; Scott’s brother and his girlfriend Morgan.”
“Hey there sweetie, how are you?” Morgan asks and I feel her whole body relax.
“Hi, I’m okay.” She smiles at her and I. Luke comes towards me as Morgan and Nicole talk, “Do you like to read?” Nicole asks and it seems to be her way of breaking the ice.
“She’s so sweet Hails, so much like Maddie.” The sadness in his voice when he says Maddie’s name hurts, I’m happy that everyone’s finally forgiven her and misses her. “She’s taken a shine to Morgan.”
“Yeah, I was worried. I thought having everyone here would be too much but she immediately relaxed when Morgan spoke to her.” I’m watching them and Morgan’s kneeling down and speaking to her a bright smile on her face.
“I love Nicole already, she’s put a smile on Morgan’s face, one that I haven’t seen in awhile.” I take my eyes of Nicole and look at Luke, he looks better than he has in a while. “I may have to borrow Nicole sometime.”
Morgan’s been here almost every day helping me get the house sorted. Even though Scott and I redid the bedrooms, I decided that I wanted the whole house revamped. Morgan helped and I let her talk, let her get everything she was feeling out. She needed a safe haven and I was it, Sabine is actively trying for a baby and Morgan didn’t want to upset her. She’s told me that she wants to try again but she’s worried, she doesn’t think she’ll be able to recover if it happened again.
“Give her time, she’s coming to terms with it.”
“I know Hails, I feel as though I should be able to help her heal.” He sounds defeated and he shouldn't.
“You are, you’re sweet and loving that’s all she needs right now. She needs you.” I see movement in the corner of my eye and look over and see Scott waiting for me. I tap Nicole on her shoulder, “Scott and I are just over there if you need us okay?” I whisper, letting her get to know everyone at her own pace and not wanting to crowd her. I want her to feel at home here.
Walking over to Scott I see that his face is red, he’s mad. “What’s wrong?”
“Eric’s credit card was used two hundred miles away two days ago. I had Henry track it, something felt off, it didn’t feel right. I mean we’ve not heard anything from him in months and then out of the blue he uses his credit card that he knows we’d be tracing.” He’s so angry right now but he’s not making any sense.
I run my hands over his chest trying to calm him down, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a hug, “What does that even mean Scott?”
“It wasn’t him Hails, someone else used his card. The fucker’s playing us, has been from the start. I need you to be careful now Hailey, he’s out there somewhere and there’s no doubt in my mind that he wants you. He’s proved that he’ll hurt anyone that gets in his way and we’ve got Nicole now that we need to keep safe, too.”
“I know, I’ll start locking the doors while we’re here. I’ll make sure that I’m aware of my surroundings at all times and I’ll even start carrying my gun again.” I try and soothe him, he’s gotten so worked up and that isn’t good for any of us. I only stopped carrying my gun about a month ago, I hate it, I know that it’s for my safety but I feel physically sick at the thought of shooting someone; of actually harming them.
He kisses the top of my head, “Thank you. God, I can’t lose you, either of you. I’m going to find him before he finds you.” He promises and I hope that he can, I don’t want to see Eric again. “Nicole hasn’t left Luke and Morgan’s side. We know who to ask if we need a babysitter.”
I slap him against his chest, “Stop it, I’m just happy she’s relaxed.” I sink further into his embrace as I look over at Nicole, her eyes are on Scott and I and she’s smiling. I blow her a kiss and she catches it and puts it into her imaginary pocket.
“She’s going to be happy here Hailey and we’re going to make Maddie proud.” He whispers in my ear sending tingles down my spine. “I love you baby.”
“I love you too Scott.”
“Did you have a good day?” I ask as I tuck Nicole into bed, she chose my old room, she said that she’s wants Maddie’s room to be the library so Maddie can be with her when she reads. It brought tears to my eyes when she said that, I thought it was one of the sweetest things she could say.
“Yes, I can’t believe I have a big family.” She has a huge smile on her face, one that has been on it for most of the day.
“Nic, there’s more, you just haven’t met them yet. We’re going to introduce you to them slowly. So far, you’ve met all of Scott’s family. Then there’s our made-up family, the one that we’ve built ourselves.” I tell her thinking about our Smithy International family. I called her Nic earlier on and she told me that she loves it, that’s what Maddie called her when she seen her too.
“You can build your own family?” She inquires
and her face so full of wonder that I smile.
“Of course, sometimes those are the best families. We’ll bring you to work with us one day so you can meet them all.” I can just imagine her coming into Smithy’s, she’s a very curious child, which I love, and she’ll be asking everyone everything once she gets over her nerves.
“What about your family?” She asks her eyes on the picture I had framed for her room, it’s a picture of Maddie smiling, I love that picture. I thought that when Nicole remembers Maddie, I want her to remember the vibrant, happy woman that I remembered.
“Our family,” I correct her, “It’s just you and me kiddo. Even though it’s just us, we have so many angels looking down on us.”
“Are they watching us?” Her head turns towards the window, it’s as though she thinks she’s going to see them.
I sit down on the bed, “Yep, they’re with us all the time.” She smiles as she lies down in the bed, her head turned so it’s facing me, “I want you to be happy Nic, I want you to be able to tell Scott and I anything. You hate something, tell us. You love something, let us know. It’s going to take time to adjust but we need you to communicate with us.”
She smiles, “I will, I promise.” I feel relief, I didn’t know if she would be open with us or not. “Will I be going to a different school?”
Scott and I had been discussing it and we weren’t sure what we were going to do, we’ll be calling Carrie in the morning and asking for her opinion, “Do you want to go to a new school?” she instantly nods her head, “Can I ask why? Do you not like your school?” She’s been there a while and Mrs. Lynn had told us that up until recently she had been really enjoying school.
“I don’t have any friends. They all think I’m weird. One girl called me the grim reaper and that I killed both of my mommies.” Tears well in her eyes and she turns her head away from me, her shoulders begin to shake as she cries.
I lie beside her and pull her towards me, “Nic, you didn’t kill them. What happened to them wasn’t your fault. Liza had a terrible accident and Maddie was hurt by someone. That’s not on you at all and the girl who said that is wrong.” She continues to cry softly and I just hold her, “I’ll talk to Carrie in the morning and see about moving you to another school.”
“Thank you.” Her voice is nothing but a whisper and I hate that she’s hurting. How can an eight-year-old be so cruel to another child? Especially to a child that has lost not one, but two moms?
I hold her until she falls asleep, I gently pull away from her and get off the bed. I lean down and kiss her, “I love you Nic, sweet dreams.” As I make my way out into the hall I see Scott sitting outside our bedroom. I close Nicole’s door and make my way towards him, “Are you okay?”
He shakes his head, “I want to kill the little shit that told her she killed her moms.”
I reach my hand out and he takes it, I help him to his feet.
“You have to realize something Scott, us girls are bitches. We are mean when there is no need to be.” He looks horrified, “Just wait until she’s a teenager.”
“She’s not leaving the house. I’ll drop her at the school gate and I’ll collect her, other than that she stays here.”
I laugh at his dramatics, “You say that now, by the time she hits puberty, she’ll have you wrapped around her little finger.”
“What are we going to do about her school?” I love how much he loves her already, he’s worried about her just as he would if she was his own child.
“I’m going to talk to Carrie in the morning, I’ll explain things to her and see what she suggests. I’d rather have Nic at a school closer to us, if anything were to happen we’d be close by or at least one of our family will be.” I hope that we’re able to sort out her schooling pretty quickly, I don’t want her school work to drop due to this upheaval.
“Good idea, I’ll search schools in the district and see which ones are the better ones. It’s all well and good changing schools but that girl in there is fucking smart and she needs to go to a good school.” He walks over to his laptop and turns it on.
“Scott, I don’t have the money to send her to a school like that.”
He gives me a look and I sit beside him, “Hails, you have to stop with the money shit. We’re together and that means that anything that I have is yours and vice versa. We want the best for Nic and that means putting her into a good school. So, forget about the cost. Okay?”
“Okay, you’re right. Nic needs this and I think she may like it, it’ll challenge her.”
He leans over and plants a kiss on my lips, “That was easier than I thought.”
“Shut up and start searching. Do you want a beer?”
“No thanks.” He puts the laptop down and faces me, “How are you dealing with the fact that Eric could be closer to us that we thought?”
I shrug, “I hate that he’s even a topic of conversation. That man killed my sister and I hate him so fucking much but we need to sort security out, we need to make sure that Nicole is safe at all times. I have a sinking feeling that he’s coming Scott.”
He pulls me into his lap, “He’s not going to get to you. Either of you, I promise.” I believe him and I know that he’ll do whatever he can to make sure that we’re safe.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Scott
“Conference room now.” I demand as I walk into work, Keely’s eyes narrow at my tone, “Please, can you get everyone into the conference room?” I’m so fucking mad right now.
“Of course is everything okay? Are Hailey and Nicole okay?” She asks as she picks up the phone to start calling people.
“They’re fine. Honestly.” Her body deflates and she gives me a tight smile, she’s not stupid she knows that something's going on. I walk into the conference and wait for everyone to pile in behind me.
“Is everything okay?” Ryder demands as he walks in and as soon as I turn to him he’s sees that I’m barely holding my anger in. “We’ll wait for the rest to join us. Is Markus at your house?”
Markus is one of the new recruits that have joined us and has been instantly put on house protection. I promised Hailey that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her or Nicole, so I spoke to Ryder and told him that I wanted protection for the girls, he didn’t even hesitate. He told me he was planning on hiring new recruits and that those new recruits would be Hailey and Nicole’s bodyguards.
Everyone walks in and I see the only person that is missing is Sam, he and Winter went back to Maui three days ago. I was given strict instructions from Winter that if I needed Sam to call. I promised her I would, knowing that I never would make that call. “I think that Eric has been stalking Hailey.” I tell them as they take their seats.
“What the fuck?” Ryder shouts, “Why?”
“I was told this morning that Hailey has been feeling as though she’s being watched.” I bite out, pissed about how things went down. I was angry but I was a dick and I need to apologize to her.
“It could just be the recruits making her feel that way.” Oscar tells me and he’s being hopeful.
“Yeah that’s what I told her too. She informed me she’s been feeling like this since we brought Nicole home.” I say through clenched teeth, therein lies the problem, her keeping me in the dark.
“Tell me your fucking joking? You’ve had Nicole for almost two weeks, why the hell has she only said it now?” Nathan demands, he looks as shocked as I felt when I found out.
“She said that at first she thought she was imagining it. Now it’s no matter where she goes she feels it and every time she turns around there’s no one there. She didn’t want to worry any of us if it was just her imagination.” I’m so fucking mad, why couldn’t she have told me when it first happened? I wouldn’t have thought she was imagining things hell I would have done a grid fucking search.
“I understand that.” Keely says as she hands me a cup of coffee, “You’ve got to understand, she’s been through so much lately. Firstly, she finds out her sister
is a drug addict and she owes a fuck load of money to a dangerous loan shark. So, Hailey being Hailey does the only thing she can, she sells the house to pay the loan and sells her car so she can send her sister to rehab. In that time, she’s with an abusive asshole that physically hurts her and she isolates herself from everyone so no one can help her.” She takes a deep breath as she looks around the room at us, making sure that we all hear what she’s saying, that we couldn’t have stopped it if we tried.
“She finally escapes from him and has her sister back who, by all accounts, is doing so much better but he finds them and hurts them. Then he finds them again, just as she and Maddie are finally starting to be happy. Hailey’s with Scott. Maddie finds Nicole. Then Eric kills Maddie, literally breaking Hailey in the process. Imagine that happening to you? Having someone after you kill the one person you love in this whole world. Her death being on your conscience for the rest of your life?” Fuck, Keely needs to stop, she’s fucking killing me.
“It wasn’t Hailey’s fault, she didn’t ask him to kill her.” Asher says, he sounds as though Keely’s killing him, we all love Hailey; she’s our family and we hate that she’s gone through this.
“I never said it was; I’m telling you what Hailey is thinking and feeling. Then she finds her niece and spends the next month and a half focusing on making sure that Nicole is safe and happy. Making sure that she’ll be a part of her life, then when she gets Nicole and brings her home, Hailey feels as though someone is watching her. What is she going to do? Run into the house and tell you or is she going to brush it off because she can’t see anyone and it’s Nicole’s first day home?” Keely gives us all a pointed look, “So while your all here feeling butt hurt because Hailey never told you, think about what she’s been through, what she's fought to have a bit of normality in her life and instead of bitching, how about you get up and start finding the asshole?”
Deadly Mistake (Deadly Series Book 5) Page 20