As soon as she left, Carlie looked down at herself. White gauze swathed every inch of her not covered by the hospital gown. All except for the fingertips of her right hand.
“I look like a mummy.” She smiled, but looking at Nick’s unhappy face wiped it away.
“What happened in that shop, Carlie?” His voice was dangerously low and his anger a physical, tangible force. “How did you get stuck inside?”
“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until I was getting ready to leave.” She felt foolish for not knowing sooner. “The smell of smoke had been there for a while, but I didn’t realize what it was. Once I did, it was too late. I never heard anything.” She shook her head. “When I’m alone in the shop and it’s dark, it creeps me out. I always shut the office door. It must have muffled any noises.”
“It’s not your fault. I should have reminded you to stay alert, but I thought we would get away without…the assassins finding out about it.” Nick dropped into the chair next to her bed and leaned forward. “Speaking of that, I think Stephen did this.”
“Yeah, me too. The assassins probably hired him to finish the job he started earlier. Shelves from the kitchen were wedged into the hallway, keeping my door closed. The phone line wasn’t working before the power went out, so I think he cut it.”
“And I had your damn cell.” He ran a hand over his face, and Carlie saw the bandage on his other hand.
“Are you okay?” Worried about him, she tried to sit up for a better look. Falling back and biting her lip, she struggled against letting Nick know she had a problem. It seemed the nurse was right—the intensity of her pain built with each passing moment.
Unaware of her trouble, Nick held his hand up, showing her the bandage. “This is the only thing wrong with me. I’m fine.”
“That’s good.” The nerve-endings in her hands zapped in long spasms, and she couldn’t bite back a moan. “Think you could push that little blue button?”
He hurried to do so, staring at her with drawn eyebrows. “Damn. I’m so sorry. I should have realized something like this would happen and left Sayle earlier.”
“You couldn’t know. We thought you were the one in danger. I never considered that the assassins would attack me as soon as I was alone.” She shook her head, hoping the floating feeling returned soon. “Shelley wanted to go to karate class, so she left early. They must have been watching.”
He reached out as if to touch her, but pulled back. “I’ve done everything I can to keep us hidden, but we couldn’t go very far from Sayle.”
“So, we’re not in Canada?”
“No. We’re only about fifteen miles north of town. Hopefully they’ll think we went further away and won’t realize you’re hurt.” He sighed. “And even that drive was too long. I’m sorry you had to suffer more.”
“Please don’t worry. You’re trying to keep us hidden. You didn’t have a choice.”
“I just hope I’ve done enough. Before they brought you out of recovery the doctor spoke with me. He said you’ll need to stay here three weeks, at the least. We have a new car, I ditched both our old phones back with the Porsche, and I lied about who we are. It’s the best I could do.”
“Won’t the hospital want insurance cards and stuff? Even if I had that, I can’t tell them who I am.”
Nick shook his head. “I worked that out with admitting. Don’t worry. I’m paying cash and they aren't asking questions or reporting anything. Paul—uh, the FBI guy won’t find me. We’ll be safe. Our identities are secret.”
She closed her eyes as the morphine kicked in and relief flooded through her. “I figured out we were someone else when the nurse called me Stephanie and said my husband wanted to see me. If I’m Stephanie, who are you?”
“Frank Plume.” He finally smiled for the first time. “We’re newlyweds.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Crossing the Canadian border and getting Carlie safely tucked into his house on the lake was easier than Nick feared. After a month in the hospital, Carlie’s pain had receded to the point she didn’t require much medication to stay functional.
The first thing Nick did was hire a private doctor and a physical therapist to visit her at the house. Though most of the burns had only been second degree except for deeper ones on her knees and left hand, it was all bad. Her recovery had been extremely painful. Regaining function in the fingers of her left hand to the point she could cook again was the biggest priority now.
Nick brooded as he stared out across the water. Even though he’d thought reaching the lake house would solve their problems, he felt restless and edgy. He wanted revenge against Paul and S.A.T.O. for the pain they’d put Carlie through. Especially since she was innocent.
He wondered if S.A.T.O. searched for them. It was a constant worry. Each day that passed with no surprise attacks from other agents calmed his fear marginally. It seemed they were safe, but Nick knew Paul wouldn’t give up easily. They had to be vigilant about hiding their former identities.
At the sound of the door creaking, he looked up at the house. Carlie padded out wrapped in a blanket. Even though she was upset when they chopped her burnt hair off, he liked the short, sexy cut.
“Hey, beautiful. How was your nap?”
She sat down next to him on the whicker couch and pulled her legs across his lap, snuggling into his shoulder. “Good. Lonely. I thought you were napping, too.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” It would be better to focus on happy things, rather than tell her his worries. Besides, how could he explain S.A.T.O.? He had to keep quiet. “The physical therapist seemed pleased with your progress today.”
“I’m pleased too.” She kissed his cheek.
The soothing sound of water lapping against the shoreline and holding Carlie in his arms relaxed him, cooling his anger. A slushy drizzle of rain mixed with snow drifted onto the rocks below the deck, but they were dry and warm beneath the awning. As much as he wanted to kill both Paul and Stephen, this was what was important.
“I love you, Carlie, so very much.”
She laid her hand against his cheek. The scared and damaged flesh of her palm felt odd against his face, but gratitude filled him when he thought about how easily she could have been taken from him.
“I love you, too.” She kissed his lips softly. “I never imagined I’d get a chance at real happiness.”
“Neither did I.”
She grinned. “I’ve got some great news for you.”
“Yeah?” He ran his fingers through the spiky hair at the side of her head. The short style was slowly growing out, but he wondered if she’d keep it short for him. “What’s that?”
“The doctor gave me the okay today for...” Her eyes met his and she bit her lip as red crept up her neck and cheeks.
Nick jiggled his eyebrows. “Did he?”
“I’ve been thinking, I never gave you a Christmas present.”
He shrugged. They spent Christmas in an agonizingly long line at the border, waiting to get into Canada. The oral medication only marginally controlled Carlie’s pain, so neither one of them felt like celebrating. “I don’t know what that has to do with anything, but don’t worry about it.”
Smoothing down his eyebrow with her thumb, Carlie licked her lips, continuing to stare at him. “I hoped maybe I could give you a present now.”
“Okay...what is it?”
“It’s really one for both of us.” A beautiful smile lit her face up. “I’m giving you me. Now. I need you, Nick.”
***
Carlie lay with Nick in the king-sized bed. Crisp winter air came through the open window, bringing scents of the wilderness beyond and sounds of the lake water lapping below the house. The cold made her delightfully shivery, and it felt good to snuggle against Nick’s warm chest, him holding her tight.
Though making love had provoked a bit of pain and they weren’t as adventuresome as usual, it felt nice to finally be with him again. He’d been wonderfully patient, n
ever asking anything about the bedroom, just sleeping next to her each night while she healed. However, her injuries had brought them together more fully.
They had a lot of time to talk while she recuperated in the hospital and later at the house. They discussed their childhoods, their hopes and dreams, what they wanted in the future. She finally felt she knew everything about him. Life couldn’t get better.
Well, one thing could make it better.
“Nick, are you awake?”
“Mmmmm...barely.” His voice was slow, lazy, and she wondered if she should talk to him about it later.
The worry had nagged at her constantly for the last three weeks, though, and Nick never mentioned it. She really needed to take care of things. “Do you still have the numbers from my phone?”
“Why?” His voice was sharp. That got his attention.
“I always talk to my parents on Christmas. I’m sure they must be mad with worry. I’m also concerned about Shelley. I need to get a hold of people.”
Nick pulled his arm from beneath her head and stood up, pulling on some clothes. “I have plans for your parents when you’re stronger. You can’t call them, Carlie. Not now.”
“Why?”
“The assassins might have tracked you through your parents’ phone, remember? We can’t take a chance on them figuring out where you are now. Not when you’re finally safe.” He jammed his fingers through his hair, pacing the room. “If it wasn’t so risky, I’d go back now and beat the shit out of Stephen. The only reason I don’t is because I have to keep you protected.”
“You know there’s always a chance they’ll find me. I mean, I’ve been running so long. I don’t want to give up everyone in my life. It’s not worth that.”
He looked at her, frowning. “I’m not enough?”
“Of course you are.” She climbed out of bed, shivering as the cold air hit her. Without stopping to pull clothes on, she crossed to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, you’re the most important person in the world to me, but I do care about my other friends. Shelley must be worried, wondering what happened and whether I was hurt in the fire.”
He pushed her away and stepped back, clearly unhappy. “How can I keep you hidden if you want to call people?”
Pausing, she forced herself to really consider that. She wasn’t stupid. It was a risk to keep in contact with anyone from their past. It hadn’t ever mattered before, but she really cared about Shelley. She also owed her business partner an explanation...and the money Nick promised to send him.
“Shelley’s my friend,” she said softly. “She isn’t going to turn me in, and I can’t leave her worrying forever about what happened.”
“Phone calls can be traced. She doesn’t have to turn you in. The danger is in calling her.”
Unfortunately, she knew he was right. It took time to trace a call though, so a quick conversation telling her she was fine would probably be okay. It would be harder to talk to her parents for only a short time, however, as they would demand details. Besides, she missed them horribly and wanted to talk to them. “What about my folks? You have a plan for them?”
“Once you’re fully healed, I thought we’d go for an African safari.”
Carlie widened her eyes. “What?”
“We’ll cross paths with them along the way, and no one will be any wiser. I figured we could get them secured phones so you could start talking regularly without fear of discovery.”
“Oh, Nick.” She ran the short space between them and leapt up.
Laughing, he caught her and swung her around, closing in for a passionate kiss. He lowered her to the ground, smiling. “I take it that’s a good idea?”
“You’re the best fake husband a girl could ask for.”
He kissed her again and then pressed his forehead against hers. “Maybe not so fake once I meet your folks.”
His words were so soft that Carlie didn’t know if he meant to say them aloud. She grabbed his hand in hers and led him back to the bed.
“What are we doing?” he asked.
“First, we’re getting you out of those clothes,” she explained, stroking his stomach and dipping her hand down a bit further. “Then, we’re making up for lost time.”
“Oh, my lady, I love the way you think.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The weeks flew by. They were already nearing the end of January, and Nick couldn’t believe the improvements in Carlie. The doctor gave her the all clear and they began training, practicing karate in Nick’s home gym. They also spent a lot of time working on advanced self-defense techniques.
Since she reminded him there were no guarantees their enemies wouldn’t find them, Nick felt driven to teach her everything he knew. Her hand improved so much that she’d started baking last week, and Nick figured she could probably handle just about anything. Because of that, he planned to teach her how to shoot a gun next. She had to learn everything he could think of, just in case she ever got into trouble.
Nick sat in his office, looking over the proposal for a new investment opportunity down in Vancouver. He had felt anxious the past few weeks and more than a little bored. Now that he couldn’t investigate other people and was essentially jobless, he needed to find something to occupy his time. Another restaurant venture seemed like a great idea, at least until Carlie was up to opening a shop. After that, he’d stay busy helping her. He just hoped that was enough to keep him occupied.
Out in the kitchen the oven timer went off, and Carlie hummed happily while pots and pans banged around. The constant humming while baking told him Carlie was truly happiest when surrounded by bread and cupcakes.
It would be enough to keep him happy, too. It had to be. He could give up fighting bad guys and chasing down terrorists. The trade off was life with her.
A light tap sounded against the office door and Carlie poked her head inside. “Honey? Can I get a little help, please?”
Her calling him honey started after they talked about going to Africa. He loved it. “What do you need?”
“I think there’s more vanilla on the top shelf, but I can’t reach it.” She grimaced. “I thought about climbing on top of a chair, but I thought you’d get angry.”
“I would.” He stood up. “I know you feel better, but you can’t take risks. You’ll get hurt.”
She laughed. “This from the guy who beats the crap out of me on a regular basis.”
“Training you in self-defense and karate, not beating you.”
“Yeah?” She crossed the room, wrapped her arms around his waist. “Tell my bruises that.”
“Your bruises? My bruises say you’re doing just fine defending yourself.”
“True. I am. And, since you’re doing such a great job training me, I’m going to feed you cupcakes tonight after dinner. Provided, of course, you get the vanilla down so I can frost them.”
She led the way to the kitchen. They entered the bright space, decorated in blues and whites. Nick knew it was a gourmet chef’s dream, and Carlie had been baking up a storm. He loved that she prepared his favorite meals every night, and especially enjoyed sitting together as they tried out her new baked creations.
“By the time we open up a shop together, you’re going to have the best cupcakes in Canada.”
She nodded. “I’m thinking maybe we should do a bakery that specializes in cupcakes, instead of a sandwich shop. Cupcakes were the most popular in Sayle. What do you think?”
“I think you know what’s best.” He walked to the cupboard of baking supplies. “I’m just the investor and the guy who’ll be around to do any heavy lifting.”
“I like the sound of that—my strong man, there helping me out.” She sighed. “I do regret leaving the other shop, but I’m looking forward to a new adventure with you.”
Nick blindly grabbed things on the top shelf, pulling them out and setting them on the counter while he searched for the vanilla. It was funny. To Carlie, opening a sandwich shop was an adventure. Q
uite tame by his standards, but maybe they could also take up mountain climbing or sailing to make things more exciting. In any case, he was sure it would all work out.
He strained to reach anything else, but the shelf was bare. “We may have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?”
Stepping back, he pointed at the items on the counter. “No vanilla.”
“Well, darn it!” She chewed her lip and glanced at the oven. “I just put a new batch of cupcakes in to cook.”
“Is that your way of saying I should go to the store for you?”
She batted her eyelashes. “If it’s not too much trouble. I know you’re working in there.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her. “Nothing’s too much trouble for my lady. I’ll be back soon.”
***
Carlie paced the office, Nick’s new cell phone in her hand. She discovered a black address book last week inside his desk drawer while searching for a pen. Nick had transferred all the numbers to it from their phones. Some of the entries made no sense. They had titles like ‘safe number’ and ‘Boss.’ However, Nick had written the full names of her contacts.
Torn about what to do, she stared at Shelley’s number. Nick wouldn’t be gone long. The store was a five-minute drive away. Grabbing vanilla took seconds. If she was going to call, she needed to do it quickly.
The warning Nick gave her a few weeks ago was foremost in her mind. Did the assassins tap Shelley’s phone on the chance Carlie called her? Even if they had, all the movies showed that it took sixty seconds to trace a call. Though she’d tried to research that more to find out if it were true, Nick didn’t give her a lot of time to herself.
She sat in the office chair, decision made. Her hands trembled while she dialed and her stomach twisted into a knot. Nick wouldn’t be happy. However, a quick call wouldn’t hurt, and Nick didn’t need to know.
Shelley answered in two rings. “Hello?”
“Goodness, it’s good to hear your voice.”
Killer Romances Page 193