The girl who saw too much.
Too clearly. “I’m not coming back here after work. I only agreed to one night. You know I can’t stay here, Ollie.”
I didn’t ask why. Both of us knew the answer to that. It still didn’t mean I was relenting.
Hot air puffed from my nostrils, the same anger from last night slithering beneath the surface of my skin. “It’s not safe out there, Nikki.”
Didn’t matter that she was all the way across the room. I could still feel the weight of her eyes searching me.
I itched beneath it. Tried to shield myself from that feeling that slammed and pulsed and moved.
“What are you going to do, Ollie? Keep me here so you can keep me safe from all the horrible things that happen in this world? Why now? What changed?”
“Are you joking? Some asshole broke into your house. That changed.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Wasn’t it?”
That storm rumbled in the depth of me. A warning. The quake of an omen that ran the length of my spine.
Maybe it was because of the anniversary of Sydney disappearing was inching closer.
But the dreams had become almost unbearable.
Intense.
Vivid.
Every morning, it left me with this gut-deep intuition that something was coming.
Something wicked.
“Just . . . have this bad feeling, okay?” I admitted, nothing but a fool.
I needed to keep my mouth shut.
Put a padlock on what I was feeling.
She took a step forward like she could reach me from across the space. “It’s been fourteen years, Ollie.”
I stepped back.
Away.
Headed for my room because I couldn’t look at her for a second longer without completely losing it. I shouted over my shoulder as I banged into my room, “Be ready in fifteen. This isn’t up for discussion.”
8
Ollie
Ten Years Old
“This is a bad idea,” Ollie whispered.
If their daddy found out about this, he’d have Ollie’s hide.
Sydney grinned. “Are you scared, Ollie Jollie?”
“Course, I’m not scared. This is just stupid.”
A frown pinched his sister’s brow. “What do you mean, stupid? This is a pact. And a pact means forever. There isn’t anything stupid about that.”
Nikki shifted beside him where the three of them sat at the back of their yard, their knees touching where they sat in the moonlight beneath the pour of the moon.
He looked that way.
She smiled. Softly. With a tip of her head.
Something tightened in is chest. Tightened in his stomach. She looked like a fairy with those big purple eyes.
Unreal.
So perfect she had to be fake.
“It’s a pact, Ollie. Forever,” Nikki said, like she was trying to get him to understand.
Forever.
He swallowed hard and picked up the knife Sydney had sneaked out of the kitchen. He turned his hand over to reveal his palm, pushing the tip into his skin.
He sliced a shallow cut into his flesh.
He bit his tongue, trying to pretend it didn’t sting.
“Does it hurt?” Sydney asked, scrambling to get closer to watch the droplets of red bead in his palm, interest and awe in her expression.
“Not much.” He glanced between the two of them. “You sure you want to do this?”
“Yes!” Sydney giggled, biting her bottom lip, always too excited for her own good. She was always racing off, getting them in trouble because she refused to listen.
Never being bad but never following the rules, either.
And Ollie had promised his mom and dad that he would make sure she did.
He was pretty sure this was breaking that promise in a bad way.
Sydney took the knife and held out her hand, counting under her breath, “One, two, three.” She squeezed her eyes shut when she made the slice. Then she giggled wildly. “I did it!”
She held up her hand as proof.
“Your turn,” she said, handing the knife off to Nikki.
Nikki’s teeth grabbed on her bottom lip. Ollie could feel her getting nervous next to him.
He always could.
Knew she was gonna be scared before she even knew it herself.
“You don’t have to do this,” he encouraged her, barely tapping her knobby knee with the pads of his fingers.
“I want to,” she whispered back, but her words shook. She looked at him, a plea on her face. “Do it for me?”
“I won’t know if it hurts.”
“Yes, you will. You’d never hurt me.”
He hesitated before he took the knife. She was right. He’d never hurt her.
Sydney took Nikki’s opposite hand while Ollie took the other, holding the tip of the knife to her palm.
Nikki sucked in a shaky breath, and Sydney squeezed her hand. “Fly, fly dragonfly.”
Nikki’s lips moved silently when she repeated Sydney’s words. “Fly, fly dragonfly.”
Ollie slipped the knife across her palm.
Nikki flinched then smiled, holding up her hand in her own kind of awe as she watched the tiny line of red bubble up.
Sydney pushed her hand out to Nikki. “We are three. Forever and ever, you and me.”
Nikki smashed her palm to Sydney’s. “We are three. Forever and ever, you and me.”
Ollie did the same with Sydney, and his sister beamed at him when they chanted the oath Sydney had made them swear back when he was in second grade.
He didn’t know why his stomach felt different when he turned to Nikki, but something shivered through him when he pressed his palm against hers.
Their eyes met, and they whispered at the same time, “We are three. Forever and ever. You and me.”
Forever.
9
Nikki
He didn’t say a single word to me on the ride to Pepper’s Pies.
The infuriating, brooding, fuming asshole who I wanted to wrap up and hold and keep was completely closed off.
As if I was putting him out.
As if he couldn’t be bothered.
After he’d been the one making all those overbearing demands.
His dumb, gorgeous face was held rigid, and those sexy, muscled arms rippled with tension, making the field of purple blazing stars shiver across his skin.
I thought maybe if I reached out and traced them, they’d be real. That the small touch would take me back to the days when we’d run through their fields.
Free.
Fly, fly, dragonfly.
Old grief tremored deep in my chest. Thrumming and pulsing out. I swore that I could see it clash with that furious, provocative sort of energy held in every inch of Ollie’s delicious body.
As if he rode a fine line between past and present.
Never fully surviving on one side or the other.
I wanted to reach out.
Be his lifeline. His savior when he’d forever been the one saving me.
Ruining me.
Keeping me.
Alienating me.
Push, pull, taunt, tease, take, leave.
My head spun.
Wanting him so desperately and still praying for a way to finally break free of his chains.
I was beginning to think that was impossible.
Not with the way I’d felt looking at him this morning.
The man standing at the end of his hall.
Wearing nothing but his boxer briefs.
Body big and thick.
Burly and intimidating.
His need evident where his cock had pressed so massively against the fabric.
Almost as evident as the power that had blazed between us.
Electricity that spun in sharp, spindly barbs. Stakes to my skin. A hook in my soul.
My wicked savior.
My beast.
Too b
ad he had to be such a jerk.
He whipped into an angled parking spot in front of the diner.
I yanked at the handle and pushed open the heavy door, fumbling out from the low car and onto the pavement.
Day was just beginning to dawn on the horizon, a gray glow breaking above the mountains in the distance.
I slammed the door shut, freezing when he finally spoke to me through the open window. “Pick you up at three.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
He whipped his face toward me as fast as he’d whipped his car into the parking spot. “Yeah, it is.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
So maybe he had me feeling petulant.
Off-kilter.
Could anyone blame me?
“Ah . . . ten-year-old Nikki. My favorite.” Mischief moved through those glittering eyes. “Feisty and stubborn. Don’t make me throw you over my shoulder the way I used to do.”
I shot him a glare while my tummy did a backflip. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I? Think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”
“You’re impossible.”
“If you want to call being right impossible, go right ahead.”
Ugh. Of all the overconfident, presumptuous, cocky—
“That’s what I thought,” he said with a smirk, cutting off my internal tirade.
My mouth dropped open, tongue at the ready to protest, but he tossed me a grin, threw the gear into reverse, and revved the engine.
The sound had me stumbling back, and he jerked out of the spot.
Without a glance, he shifted into drive and gunned it.
The man just left me there, staring behind him, wanting to stomp my feet and throw a fit or maybe just scream.
Arrogant asshole.
“What on earth?”
I whirled around when I heard the voice coming from down the sidewalk.
What had I done to anger the gods?
Only a curse could explain this string of bad luck.
When it rains it pours and all of that.
Because there was Lillith with her hands on her hips, wearing one of her fitted pant-suits and heels that made her look like some kind of vixen who’d rolled around in a billion bucks.
Rynna, the owner of Pepper’s Pies, was at her side.
“Tell me you didn’t have a one-nighter with Oliver Preston.” Lillith went all power-attorney lecturer on me.
That’s what I got for picking a BFF who was gonna turn out to be a lawyer.
“I mean, I know you’re infatuated with him, but seriously, Nikki? That isn’t healthy. That man is liable to break your heart.”
I had to hold back the dubious laugh.
Too late.
He’d done that a long, long time ago. Had been doing it all along.
Guilt swept through me. I hated that I kept it from her.
She was my closest friend.
Still, the sad thing was, she’d taken Sydney’s place. And Sydney hadn’t known the full truth either, so how could I tell Lillith? Maybe it was stupid, but that felt like another betrayal.
I forced a playful scowl on to my face. “Oh, stop it. You know full well I didn’t have a one-nighter with Ollie. He may star in a fantasy or two, but that’s where it ends. I think I’m a little too hot for him to handle.”
More like he’d burn me to ashes.
Lillith narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Forever searching for the truth. But I’d played this one off for so long, she wouldn’t recognize the lie. “Then why is he driving you to work?”
Rynna gave me an I-second-that look as we turned and headed up the sidewalk toward Pepper’s.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I think the real question is, what are you doing here before five in the morning, Lily? Shouldn’t you be back home snuggled up in bed with that hot husband of yours, getting yourself more of those orgasms I was so kind to set up for you? Rynna and I have work to do.”
Loosely translated? I knew Rynna wouldn’t give me such a hard time.
At Pepper’s front door, Rynna turned the key in the lock and widened the door for us to enter.
Pepper’s fronted Fairview Street. It was another area that had undergone a massive rejuvenation over the last handful of years, including the luxury hotel Lillith’s husband, Broderick, and his company had developed directly across the street.
The entire area buzzed with possibility.
Pepper’s served sweet pies and pot pies and breakfast pies.
You know, basically heaven.
Rynna had inherited the little diner from her grandmother and brought it back to life. Her grandmother’s unique recipes were the staple that brought patrons in droves every single morning.
Lillith gave a casual shrug. “I thought I’d help set up this morning.”
I shot her a dry look. “Dressed like that?”
Another shrug. “So maybe I woke up starving and wanted the first slice of pie this morning.”
“Are you pregnant?”
Nothing like a little deflection.
She gasped a horrified sound. “Shut your mouth. You know Brody and I aren’t ready for that.”
“Yeah, yeah, you have empires to build.” I waved my hand dramatically.
Lily’s husband, Broderick Wolfe, was the CEO of Wolfe Industries. His company had been responsible for a bunch of the revitalization projects that had been taking place in Gingham Lakes over the last several years.
She scoffed. “Hardly. We’re just . . . focusing on us for a while.”
“And all those orgasms I earned you. I have to say, my matchmaking skills are on point.”
She playfully rolled her eyes Rynna’s direction. “She really thinks she set us up with Brody and Rex, doesn’t she?”
Rynna smiled. The woman was one of the kindest people I’d ever met. “You know there’s no rationalizing with her madness. Let the poor girl have her delusions,” she teased.
“Delusions?” I gestured to myself with both hands. “This is the stark, glorious reality. I’m responsible for all your happiness. I think you should give me all the presents as a thank you.”
Rynna’s light laughter tinkled through the air, and my chest tightened in affection.
I was so happy for her.
For Rex.
That he’d found the love of his life after everything he’d been through.
Rex was one of Ollie’s best friends, and I’d known him my whole life. Rex and Kale had become members of our pack somewhere in our childhood, with us nearly as much as Ollie, Sydney, and me had been together.
Rynna had adopted Rex’s little girl, Frankie Leigh. Rex and Rynna had a little boy named Ryland who was a year and a half old.
I’d stepped into the role of honorary auntie faster than the doctor could say “one more push.”
I adored those babies, my heart overflowing every time I got to be in their space.
Of course, that rule applied to the newest member of our extended family—Evan.
Sweetness didn’t come close to describing that little thing. He’d been born completely deaf and had required a heart transplant as an infant.
The thing about him? The child was pure joy, just like his mom, Hope. Honestly, sometimes when I saw Hope and Kale together, I was the deepest shade of jealous a person could be.
I didn’t mean to be.
Didn’t want to be.
But sometimes it was hard to watch all the things you wanted most, feel them burn inside of you, and have the deep-lying fear that they would never become a reality.
Rynna flicked on the switches right inside the door. Bright lights burst to life in the darkened space.
We all blinked, adjusting to it.
The echo of pots and pans clanged from the very back of the kitchen where Kevin, the head cook, would have already been working for the last two hours preparing for the morning rush.
“Morning, Kevin,” Rynna hollered, moving around the counter to st
art the coffee.
Priorities and all.
His voice was barely heard when he shouted back, “Mornin’.”
Lillith slid onto one of the swiveling stools.
“So, what were you doing with Ollie this morning?” Lillith asked, point blank.
Did I really think she’d let it go?
I sucked in a breath, already knowing the riot my response was going to cause.
But there was no hiding this.
“Someone broke into my apartment last night.”
Rynna’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God.”
Lillith flew to her feet. “What?” she demanded while Rynna moved toward me, her hand reaching to grip my forearm, her eyes searching as she whispered, “Are you okay?”
I knew that wasn’t going to go over well. But I did my best to downplay it, to shake off just how truly shaken up I was.
Shrugging a shoulder, I leaned against the counter and did my best to sound convincing.
“Seth was the one who responded to the call. He thinks it was just kids running around being punks the way they love to be. They’re lucky I didn’t catch them. A little ass kickin’ would have ensued. Or maybe I would have grabbed them by the ear and dragged them back to their mamas the way my grandma used to do when I was getting unruly. Death by humiliation. I’m pretty sure that’s all they need to teach them a lesson. I mean, seriously? Doesn’t the world have enough douchebags? Here I’d been crossing my fingers it might skip this new generation.”
“This isn’t funny, Nikki.” A shiver rocked Lillith’s entire body as if she’d just been slammed with visions of every single horrible thing that could have happened. “Kids aren’t the same as they used to be.”
As if I hadn’t noticed the downward spiral of decency.
Distress rolled the length of her throat. “They can be dangerous and mean, and they don’t think twice about taking someone out if they think it will get them something they want or cover something up to keep them out of trouble.”
I deflated.
Because it wasn’t a joke.
Not at all.
Deep down in my gut, I knew I’d been targeted. That it was personal, the way Ollie had said.
Brenna and Kyle’s faces flashed through my mind.
They were worth it, and I’d learned a long time ago that fighting for what was right wasn’t always easy.
Lead Me Home: A Fight for Me Stand-Alone Novel Page 6