by Debra Webb
“Governor Proctor has performed some pretty amazing financial acrobatics the past two years,” Ian told him. “And he has definitely accessed Laura’s trust fund. That would hardly be considered illegal since he had every right to do so with her sudden disappearance, and the assumption that she was dead.”
Nick swore under his breath. Maybe Laura was right. But, like Ian said, James Ed’s use of the trust fund the last couple of years was strictly on the up-and-up. It still didn’t prove that he tried to kill his own sister to get it.
“I also uncovered some rather strange details in Sandra’s background.”
Nick’s attention jerked back to the conversation. “Good, anything is better than nothing.”
“You already knew that she was adopted at the age of thirteen after spending one year in a state-run orphanage in Louisiana,” Ian suggested.
Nick frowned in concentration. “Yeah, I remember that. The little wife was as clean as a whistle though. I remember that, too.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Ian countered. “Her biological mother was one Sharon Spencer from a rural community just outside Bay Break.”
“And?”
“And,” Ian continued, “Sharon was involved with James Ed’s father before he went off to college. There was a pretty big scandal before the Proctors enforced a gag order of sorts, and then sent their straying heir off to Harvard.”
Rutherford’s words echoed in Nick’s head. “Damn,” he breathed. The old man knew something, that’s why he had innocently dropped that ancient gossip.
“Anything on what became of her?” Nick inquired hopefully.
“According to my source, she married the town drunk who died two years after Sandra’s birth. Ten years after that, Sharon went off the deep end and the county took the child.”
Nick passed a hand over his face. “So Sandra grew up, until the age of twelve at least, in a household where the Proctor name was mud. And her mother was a fruitcake.”
“That would be my analysis,” Ian agreed.
“I want to know everything you can find on Sandra Proctor, her first steps, her first kiss—everything.”
“No problem,” Ian assured him. “I should be able to get back to you later tomorrow on that. I have an excellent source.”
Nick blew out a breath and plowed his fingers through his hair. “What about the report from the psychiatric hospital, Serenity Sanitarium?”
“That one’s a bit more tricky.”
“I need to know if that report’s legit,” Nick insisted. “That’s the biggest fly in the ointment. I have to know if there’s any chance Laura was really a patient there.”
“Would you care to hazard a guess as to who one of the long-term residents of that facility is?” Ian inquired in a cocky tone.
Nick considered the question, then smiled with satisfaction. “One Sharon Spencer.”
“Bingo.”
“Excellent work, Ian,” Nick praised. That gave Sandra a connection to the hospital. Maybe she or James Ed knew someone employed there who was willing to forge reports.
“Actually, it wasn’t that difficult. I found a great source right up front.”
Nick raised a speculative brow. “Who is your source?”
“Carl Rutherford.”
“Son of a bitch,” Nick hissed. “Why didn’t that old geezer tell me all this?”
“He was afraid you were one of James Ed’s bought-and-paid-for strong arms. He said more than he intended on the day the two of you met.”
Nick didn’t miss the amusement in Ian’s tone. “Well, I guess you can’t blame a guy for being cautious.”
“That’s it for now,” Ian said. “I’ll check in with you again within twenty-four hours.”
“One more thing,” Nick added before Ian could hang up. “Find out if the birth of a baby named Robert Forester was registered in the state of Alabama sometime in August last year.”
“No problem,” Ian assured him.
“Thanks, Ian.” Nick ended the call. He stood for a long moment and allowed the information to absorb more fully into his consciousness. He had no proof that Laura had a child or where she had actually been for the past two years. Despite Laura’s claims, James Ed still surfaced from all this smelling pretty much like a rose in Nick’s opinion. But then, there was this new light on Sandra. Nick massaged his chin as he considered the kind and demure first lady of Mississippi.
Sandra appeared as elated as anyone to have Laura back home. Sandra’s school and college records indicated a disciplined, well-adjusted student. As first lady she was involved with numerous charities and a devoted churchgoer. The perfect wife to James Ed and surrogate mother to her young sister-in-law. No children of her own though. She and James Ed couldn’t have children, Nick remembered. He wasn’t sure of the reason, but he had found no indication that the problem was an issue. Sandra seemed to accept Laura as a substitute for a child of her own.
But how was that possible considering this new information? Sandra had grown up dirt-poor in a home with a drunk for a father and a mother who was mentally unstable. And where the Proctors represented everything she didn’t have.
Uneasiness stole over Nick. That combination spelled trouble with a capital T. Nick exhaled heavily and passed a hand over his face. But why would Sandra go to such lengths to get Laura’s money when James Ed would be in control of the trust fund, not her. Or did she have that much power over her husband? Nick wondered briefly. It just didn’t ring true. James Ed was doing well on his own merit. Is there ever enough? Laura’s words filtered through his mind. Why would Sandra kidnap Laura’s child if James Ed already had access to the trust fund? Maybe it was simply a matter of not wanting to have to pay it back. Even with Laura considered unstable, her child would be heir to her trust fund unless the will specified otherwise. That could be a distinct possibility, Nick decided.
The missing files, the knife wounds on Laura’s throat and chest. The events in the cabin when he was shot. Laura’s explanation of how the man had tried to kill her on that riverbank two years ago. Nick suppressed a shudder. He had lost his heart that night, and very nearly his life. That one incident might not have anything to do with the rest. The police labeled the case as a kidnapping gone sour. According to Laura, the man who shot Nick and tried to kill her died in the river that night. And she had seen him in James Ed’s office more than once.
Anyone or thing that could provide hard evidence that Laura had a child had conveniently disappeared. Nick wondered again about the strange nephew who had shown up at Jane Mallory’s neighbor’s house. Nick supposed he could have been the real thing. And what about the hospital report? How convenient that Sandra’s mother was a long-term resident of the very facility which provided the only hard evidence that existed as to Laura’s whereabouts during the past months.
None of it actually added up to anything conclusive. And he doubted it would until he knew more facts. The only thing Nick knew for certain was that he had to protect Laura. He thought again about the way kissing her had made him feel, and the realization that he still cared deeply for her hit him hard. A weary breath slipped past Nick’s lips. It was late. He couldn’t deal with any of this right now. He glanced at the clock on the mantel above the fireplace. Midnight. He should check on Laura and get some sleep. Maybe Ian would come up with something more on Sandra tomorrow.
Rain pattered quietly on the roof. A storm had been threatening the entire drive home. Nick was glad the wet stuff had held off until they got back to Bay Break. The door to Laura’s room was open. Nick slipped in soundlessly. The light from the bedside table cast a golden glow on her sweet face and silky hair. Laura had been so exhausted and overwhelmed, she had hardly spoken a word during the return trip. She had gone straight to bed as soon as they got home.
She was tired. Nick moved to her bedside and crouched down next to her. Tired or not, Laura was beautiful. Her bare shoulders made Nick wonder if she were naked beneath that sheet and thin cotton blanket. His mouth
parched instantly at the thought. His eyes feasted on the perfection of the satiny skin revealed before him. Rage stirred inside him when his gaze traced the small slash mark, then flitted back to the tiny puncture wounds on her throat. Forcing the anger away, Nick shifted his slow perusal to her sweet face. All emotion melted, leaving him weak with want. Her lashes, a few shades darker than her blond hair, shadowed her soft cheeks. Those full, pink lips were parted slightly as if she were waiting for his kiss.
Cursing himself as a glutton for punishment, Nick allowed his gaze to trace her tempting jawline, then down the curve of her delicate throat to the pulse beating rhythmically there. He licked his lips hungrily and resisted the urge to touch her slender shoulder, to feel the warm smoothness of her skin. His body turned rock hard with desire.
Something snagged his attention. He frowned. Nick jerked his gaze back to her shoulder, near her neck. He moved closer to get a better look. The bottom fell out of Nick’s stomach when his brain assimilated what his eyes found there.
Bruises. Small, oblong, barely visible marks that discolored her otherwise perfect, creamy skin.
He…he tried to drown me.
No way could Laura have made those bruises on herself. The position and size of which could only be labeled as finger marks. A churning mixture of rage and fear rising inside him, Nick eased down onto the side of the bed next to her. This, Nick seethed, was hard evidence.
“Laura.” He shook her gently. “Laura, honey, wake up. We need to talk.”
She moaned a protest and hugged her pillow. Nick’s body ached with the need to hold her that way. “Laura.” He shook her again. “We have to talk.”
Laura sat up with a start. The sheet fell, exposing one high, firm breast briefly before she covered herself. “What?” she demanded irritably.
Nick leveled his determined gaze on her bleary one. “I want you to start at the beginning and tell me everything. Again.”
LAURA WATCHED Nick pace back and forth across the room. She stood in the middle of the room, the sheet hugged close around her. She wished he had given her time to put some clothes on before he started this inquisition. After her long cry in the shower where Nick wouldn’t hear or see her, she hadn’t had the energy or the desire to dig up anything to sleep in. She had wanted to escape into sleep. She didn’t want to think about the missing files or Mrs. Mallory’s death.
Or the nephew.
Laura shivered. She blocked the memory of the man with the strange eyes who had tried to kill her twice already. The bathroom had been dark and she hadn’t actually seen his eyes that time. But she knew. Deep in her heart, Laura knew it was him. And with that instinct came the realization that he had probably been the one to take her son. James Ed would never have bothered himself with that part. Her heart shuddered at that thought.
“Does that about sum it up?”
Nick’s question jerked Laura to attention. “What?” she asked as she forced herself to focus on him once more.
“Dammit, Laura,” he growled. He jammed his hands at his waist and moved in her direction. “I need your full attention here.”
“I’m sorry.” She pushed the hair back from her face. “You’re going to have to start over.”
Nick swore under his breath. Those green eyes flashed with barely checked fury. What had him all worked up? Laura wondered, her own irritation kindling. Certainly nothing they had learned today. Though she knew with a measure of certainty that the nephew was the man after her, she couldn’t prove that to Nick. She had proven nothing today.
The emptiness of that one word echoed around her. The only glimmer of hope in all this was that Nick was beginning to believe her.
“You came home that summer from college, and things were tense you said.”
Laura nodded. “At first I thought it was because I hadn’t put as much into school as James Ed had. He wanted me to be the perfect student, the perfect sister.” She frowned, remembering her brother’s disappointment. “But it didn’t take long for me to figure out that it had nothing to do with me. It was the campaign for the Governor’s office.”
“And then Rafe Manning came on the scene.”
Again Laura noted that change in Nick’s eyes, in his posture, when he spoke of Rafe. “Right,” she replied. “I dated him a few times because I was bored, but we didn’t hit it off. James Ed tried to push the issue. Apparently he and Rafe’s father were tight.” Laura shrugged. “You know the rest.”
Nick folded his arms over his chest and massaged his chin with his thumb and forefinger. The movement drew Laura’s eyes to that sexy cleft in his chin. Emotion stirred inside her. Robby had a cleft just like that.
“Not once during all of this did you ever suspect Sandra of being involved?”
Taken aback by his question, Laura stared at him in amazement. “Sandra?” Laura shook her head slowly from side to side. “That’s ridiculous. Sandra has never been anything but kind to me.”
“What would you say if I told you that Sandra might not be who you think she is,” Nick offered, his gaze intent on hers, watching, analyzing.
Laura frowned. “What does that mean?”
“Sandra’s mother was involved with your father.”
“That’s not possible. Sandra’s mother is dead.”
“Did Sandra tell you that?”
Laura nodded, feeling as if another rug was about to be snatched from under her feet.
“Sandra’s mother is a permanent ward at Serenity Sanitarium.”
Laura stilled as her brain absorbed the impact of his words. That was the hospital James Ed claimed she had been committed to for the past eighteen months. Sandra’s mother was alive? And a patient there? “Why would Sandra lie?” The question echoed in the room, only then did Laura realize she had said it aloud.
Nick placed a reassuring hand on her arm, his fingers caressed her bare skin. That simple touch sent heat spearing through her. “I don’t know, but we’re damned sure going to find out.”
Laura’s gaze connected with his. “Why the sudden change of heart, Nick?” Laura examined his now impassive gaze closely. “Are you trying to tell me that you really do believe me now?”
He lifted those long fingers to her throat and touched her gingerly. He swallowed hard, the play of muscle beneath tanned skin made Laura ache to touch him there, the same way he was touching her.
“Believing you wasn’t the problem, Laura. Let’s just say I finally got that hard evidence.” His gaze followed the movements of his fingers.
Laura stumbled away from him. She pivoted and hurried to the dresser, then stared at her reflection in the mirror. Several long, thin bruises marked her skin where strong fingers had held her beneath the water’s surface.
Nick came up behind her, watching her in the mirror. “Laura, I’m sorry I let this happen. I should have believed you sooner.” He touched her elbow. Laura flinched. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again. I swear,” he added softly.
Laura shunned his touch. “It took this,” she gestured to the bruises, “to make you believe that someone was trying to kill me.” Fury rose in Laura then. “What about my child? Do you believe in him yet?”
Nick’s gaze wavered. “Of course I believe you, but we have to have proof.”
“You bastard. You still don’t really believe me.”
Nick let go a heavy breath. “That’s not true,” he argued.
“Then look me in the eye and tell me that you believe I have a son. That his name is Robby and he’s the most important thing in my life,” she ground out, a sob knotting her chest.
Nick’s concerned gaze collided with hers.
“Say it, damn you!” Laura trembled with the intensity of her fury. “Say it,” she demanded when his response didn’t come quickly enough.
Nick blinked. “It’s not a matter of making me believe you—we have to be able to prove it to James Ed.” He added quickly, “And the police.”
She shoved at his chest with one hand and held the sheet to he
r breast with the other. “Get away from me! I don’t give a damn about your proof!”
“Laura.” Nick dodged her next attempt at doing him bodily harm. He grabbed her by both arms and held her still. “Laura, listen to me.”
“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” Laura trembled, his long fingers splayed on her flesh and urged her closer.
“Laura.” He breathed her name, the feel of his warm breath soft on her face. “I have to operate on facts, not assumptions. I can’t go back to Jackson and demand to know where your son is when I have no physical proof that he exists.”
Laura knew he was right. Deep in her heart, she knew. But that didn’t stop the ache tearing at her insides. She needed to find her son more than she needed to take her next breath.
“I have to find him,” she murmured. How many days had it been now? Laura squeezed her eyes shut. God, she didn’t want to think about that.
“Please trust me, Laura,” Nick pleaded. He angled his head down to look into her eyes when she opened them. “I won’t let you down if you’ll just trust me.”
Laura met that intense green gaze and found herself drowning in the emotions reflected there. Desire, need…The same emotions she felt detonating inside her. She did trust Nick. He would never do anything to hurt her. She knew that. And she needed him so much. To hold her, to make her forget for just a little while. She needed him to love her the way he had before. She needed to reaffirm this thing between them, to feel his strong arms around her. Nick would help her, she knew he would. His strength was all that kept her sane right now.
“Hold me, Nick.” Laura went into his arms. She slid her own arms around his lean waist and held him tightly. His scent, something spicy and male, enveloped her. And then his strong arms were around her, holding her, protecting her.
Nick pressed a tender kiss to her hair. “I just need you to trust me, honey, that’s all.” His lips found her temple and brushed another of those gentle kisses there. “Please trust me.”