***
Annie heard her front doorbell ring as she headed back down to the first floor.
She wasn’t expecting anyone. Nic would’ve let himself in. Janey would’ve called to say she was coming, as would her mother or Colin or anyone else she knew. Fed Ex or UPS would leave a message and Girl Scout cookie time had passed.
She paused, stopping above the sightline of anyone looking through her front windows. Hell, Nic’s paranoia had infected her.
Still, better safe than sorry.
When the doorbell didn’t ring again, she continued down to the first floor. She saw no one on the porch or the street.
She checked the front door. Still locked and no packages on the porch.
With everything going on, suspicion formed into a hard lump in her chest.
She touched the back pocket of her jeans, reassuring herself that her phone was there, then headed for the kitchen. She wasn’t going to call Nic, didn’t want to jump at shadows.
And she didn’t want to be stupidly naïve either. In the kitchen, she checked the alarm system. Green lights across the board.
Jehovah’s Witnesses. Kids selling candy. Anyone could have pressed her doorbell for any number of reasons. No need to freak out about it.
Opening the refrigerator, she reached inside for a soda and, out of the corner of her eye, saw a shadow pass across the kitchen window.
In the next second, the window blew in.
CHAPTER 17
Nic whipped his truck through the narrow side streets of center city, avoiding the tangles of Broad and Market streets.
Blood pounded in his ears, his heart raced, and nobody was fucking picking up their phones.
He was about to call his mom when Mal finally called him back.
“Where the hell are you?” Nic shouted. “Annie’s not picking up her phone and I know who’s behind the calls. I think he’s going after Annie right now.”
“Janey and I took Toni for lunch but we’re on our way home now.” Mal’s calm tone helped Nic’s heart rate slow a fraction. “We should be there in a couple minutes.”
“I’ll be there in less. Make sure Toni and Janey get in the house and stay there until I tell them it’s okay to come out.”
“We’re on our way—”
Nic cut Mal off and dialed Annie again. Still no answer. He threw the phone onto the seat next to him and pressed the gas pedal a little closer to the floor.
He skidded to a stop in front of Annie’s house only a minute or so later. The front door was locked and he pushed through, calling out her name.
“Annie! Where the hell are you? Why didn’t you pick up your phone?”
“Because she wasn’t in a position to answer it. Why don’t you come into the kitchen and join us, Nic.”
Panic hit him hard, making his chest constrict. Typically, only his claustrophobia brought on a panic attack. Now, just the thought of something happening to Annie made him want to hyperventilate.
Which he refused to do. He needed to keep his head.
He knew that voice, would have known it even if he hadn’t been forewarned by Candace Trudeau.
Shoving his gun in the back of his pants where Carlson hopefully wouldn’t see it, Nic raised his arms and walked into the kitchen.
Annie sat at the table, her hands in view on the top. Jason Carlson stood behind her, the gun in his hand pointed at her head.
Nic punched down his fury. “Annie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Her voice held only the slightest hint of a tremble, her eyes were dry and her hands weren’t shaking. Only her lips quivered, which she covered by biting down on the bottom one hard enough to leave a mark.
“I haven’t hurt her.” Carlson sneered. “Not yet anyway. We were waiting for you.”
“If you let her go, you can take your best shot at me, Carlson.”
“But see, my best shot at you is through her, isn’t it?”
Annie’s entire body erupted in shivers at the sound of that voice so close to her.
She’d had a moment of complete and utter bemusement when she’d realized who’d stepped through the blown-out window in her kitchen. It was almost surreal, but it also made perfect sense in a totally psycho way.
That bemusement had fast turned to a nauseating mixture of fury and fear.
“What I don’t understand,” Carlson continued, “is why you’re so in love with this slut.”
Handsome, venomous Jason Carlson had been the bogeyman of her dreams for at least a year after the night he’d cornered her in his office. She’d never liked him, not from the first moment she’d met him at the law firm where she’d managed a family friend’s practice.
After his retirement, the firm had hired Carlson, who’d thought he was entitled to more than her secretarial services.
She should’ve left the first time he asked her out. But she’d refused to give up her job because of one asshole. She’d been lucky for two months. Carlson had never had the opportunity to get her alone. And then one night…
She still shuddered to think how awful it could have been. Luckily, he hadn’t thought she’d put up much of a fight. She’d proved him wrong.
And when she would’ve quit, not wanting to drag her name through the papers, Frank had stepped in and had the senior partners fire him.
Then one of the daily rags had run a gossip column item that had included her name and Carlson’s. She assumed Frank had taken care of that, as well. Carlson had disappeared after that. She’d heard he’d moved.
Now here he stood, looking at her with as much hate in his eyes as she had for him. But he had a gun to her head. And he looked like he’d enjoy using it.
She repressed a shiver and refused to panic. Nic would think of a way to get them out of this. She had the ultimate faith in him.
With her gaze focused on Nic, she kept her mouth shut, knowing Carlson was taunting her, trying to rile her.
Nic put his hands up, never taking his gaze away from Carlson. “What do you want?”
“You know what I want, DeMarco. Or maybe you don’t. You’re not the smart one in the family, are you?”
“No, I’m not so you’re gonna have to spell it out for me.”
She could tell from Carlson’s tone that he thought he held the upper hand here. “I’m going to put a bullet through her brain while you watch. Then I’m going to shoot you. Simple, really.”
Though she couldn’t see Carlson, she heard the smirk in his voice. In her mind, she imagined a forked tongue slithering from between his lips.
Nic looked cool but she knew he was considering all the angles. “At the risk of sounding like a bad movie, you’re not going to get away with this.”
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t. But I’ll go with a smile because you both will get what you deserve. You always were too high and mighty for your own good, Andrea.” Carlson nudged her shoulder with the gun and she barely managed to keep from flinching away. “It’s so nice to see you cringe in terror. You ruined my career, my life. You and this bastard.”
She almost missed the signal Nic sent her. At least, she hoped it was a signal and that she’d interpreted it correctly. He’d glanced at the floor, just a quick flash of motion, so fast she had to wonder if that’s what she’d actually seen.
It would totally suck to get this wrong.
Taking a deep breath, she let her gaze lock on Nic’s face. Even though he wasn’t looking at her, she knew he saw her every move.
She closed her eyes and went limp.
Nic knew Annie had understood what he wanted her to do.
He didn’t know whether to be surprised that she’d picked up his signal or that she didn’t give him a hassle.
He didn’t have time for either because she dropped to the floor like a stone.
Caught off guard, Carlson hesitated for a split second, which was all the opening Nic needed. He grabbed Carlson’s gun with one hand and punched the guy in the nose with the other.
/> Carlson grunted, the gun went off and Annie screamed.
Sheer panic hit him. He wanted to make sure she hadn’t been hit but he couldn’t release Carlson. The guy fought like someone who had training.
Nic had more. He propelled Carlson backward, away from Annie. Carlson’s head hit the cabinets and Nic smashed the guy’s hand against the edge of the counter until he dropped the gun and it clattered to the floor.
Kicking it out of the way, he made the mistake of looking to see if Annie was okay. Carlson landed a fist to his face that rocked his head back and Nic stumbled to the side. Carlson lunged forward and Nic couldn’t get to him fast enough.
But amazingly, Carlson stopped.
“Move another inch and I will shoot you, Jason. Somewhere that will hurt a hell of a lot more than your heart.”
Annie’s voice was steady and Nic turned to see her holding the gun exactly like she was supposed to. Only she didn’t have it pointed at Carlson’s chest. No, she had it pointed exactly where she wanted the bullet to go.
Nic straightened, grabbing Carlson’s hands and pulling them behind his back. “Annie, honey, get me something to tie his hands.”
“No, I think I’ll just stand here with this gun trained on him while you do.”
The tone of her voice told him he’d better agree but his still-racing heart wanted her out of the way.
He took a deep breath, attempting to control the urge to order her out of the room. Before he released Carlson, he leaned in to growl in the guy’s ear. “If you so much as blink, she will shoot you. And when she’s done with you, I’ll start. You better hope the police get here soon. I’m not sure she won’t just shoot you because you deserve it.”
***
Luckily for Carlson, the police arrived only seconds before Mal, who’d called them on his way.
Carlson had forced Annie to enter her code into the security system to deactivate the alarm after he’d broken in so the police hadn’t been notified of the break-in.
Nic wanted to grab Annie and take her away from the crowd of cops who suddenly filled her home. Apparently Caz had called for reinforcements when he’d found out who was involved.
The police had separated them for questioning. He understood the reasoning but it still made his jaw clench tight. He gave his statement in record time then waited impatiently for Annie to finish hers. Though they wouldn’t allow him into the room with her, he could see her. She looked pale but calm. And she hadn’t said a word to him since the cops had arrived.
She had every right to be pissed off at him.
He’d screwed up. And Annie had almost paid the price.
At least fifteen minutes later, Annie smiled and nodded at the detective taking her statement then rose and led him to the door, as if he’d been a dinner guest to whom she was saying good night. The cop, a grizzled twenty-year veteran with a crew cut and a reputation for being a hard ass, smiled back and squeezed her shoulder before he left.
Seems she’d worked her magic again.
Closing the door, she turned to face him. He couldn’t read anything from her expression. Couldn’t tell if she was angry or frightened or relieved.
He wanted to put his arms around her but he didn’t want to have her push him away. So he waited for her to come to him.
Instead, she leaned back against the door. “I’ve been trying to figure something out.”
Frowning, Nic crossed his arms over his chest. “And what’s that?”
“Why would Jason Carlson call you? I was the one he hated me. Why would he even think to terrorize you?”
He’d wondered when she’d come around to that question. He just hadn’t expected her to ask it in such a calm tone of voice. He figured she’d be so pissed off at him, she’d be freezing him out now.
“Janey told me what happened, what Carlson had done.” His hands clenched into fists until his knuckles ached with the strain. “I know Dad took care of the guy with the firm, but I couldn’t let it go, Annie, not when he started going to the papers. He hurt you and I wanted him to know he’d have to deal with me if he ever tried it again. I’m sorry. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have—”
“Nic, stop.” She closed the distance between them, stopping only an inch away. Lifting her hand, she placed it over his fast-beating heart. “This is not your fault. Carlson is crazy. He’s a selfish, sadistic bully who thinks anything he wants should belong to him.”
“But if I hadn’t goaded him—”
“You didn’t goad him.” She poked him with her index finger and his pulse rate kicked up as well. “Carlson is the one at fault, not you.”
He studied her expression and realized she truly believed what she was saying. The guilt hanging over his head lightened a little.
He released the pent-up breath in his lungs. “Annie…”
The doorbell rang but neither of them moved.
Until Nic heard Annie’s mom through the comm system.
“Andrea. Are you okay? Grace and Frank are here, as well. I need to see you, sweetheart, just to make sure you’re okay.”
Her eyebrows lifted and that slim finger poked him again. “We’re not done with this.”
He let his lips curve in a smile as she turned to open the door.
There was the Annie he knew. The one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He just had to find the right words to make her believe he meant them.
Then she opened the door and their parents descended.
Beatrice wrapped her arms around Annie and hugged her tight while his mom hovered over them, sending him a look that promised she’d get to him soon.
But first he had to deal with his dad.
“Are you okay?” Frank spoke low enough that the others couldn’t hear him.
“Yeah, we’re both fine.”
“And you made sure you gave the cops enough to send Carlson away?”
“Yes, Dad.”
The corners of his dad’s mouth turned up. “You know your mom’s gonna rip you on this one.”
“Yes, Dad.”
Now his dad’s smile was full-blown. “That’s exactly right, son. Just keep nodding and smiling and maybe she’ll let you off with nothing more than a—”
“Dominic.”
His dad lost the grin but his eyes shone as Grace put her arms around Nic’s waist and gave him a hard hug. When she pulled back, she gave him a pointed look and headed for the kitchen.
His dad gave him a shit-eating grin before Nic turned to face the music.
He found Grace by the back door, looking at the broken glass, out of sight of the living room, where Annie and Beatrice and Frank had gone.
Arms crossed over her chest, she waited with an expectant expression on her face. He resisted the urge to sigh or hunch his shoulders. His mom would see that as a sign of weakness. And she already had enough ammunition.
“What’s up, Mom?”
Grace let him stew as he walked toward her. Even though he towered over her, he still felt like a sixteen-year-old caught out after curfew.
“Are you really okay?”
He gave in to the urge to sigh and watched his mom’s left eyebrow rise, expressing so much with so little movement. Nic had never quite learned how to do that. Only Jimmy had inherited that special skill.
“I’m fine, Mom. We’re both fine.”
“Then you’re in big trouble. I could have helped you with this. Why didn’t you come to me?”
He kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to hurt his mom’s feelings. But of course, she already knew if the look on her face was anything to go by.
“Mom—”
She held up one index finger, cutting him off. “No. No, I don’t want to hear it. You and your brother and sister have to get over this fear that your dad and I are fragile.”
“No, Mom, that’s not—”
“So are you going to ask her to marry you?”
Nic blinked and his mind went blank for five full seconds. It was so not what he’d thought s
he’d say that his brain couldn’t process the words fast enough.
His mouth dropped open and he almost stammered out something that would have sounded asinine. When he finally regained control, he crossed his arms, mirroring her stance. “Do you think maybe I should talk to Annie about it first?”
Grace did smile now. “I don’t believe you need to think about it anymore, sweetheart. Seven years is long enough.”
He shook his head. “Mom, it’s just not…” He sighed, wanting to pull out his hair.
Her lips tilted up at the corners. “Dominic, do you love her?”
He didn’t have to think about this answer. “Yes.”
Grace shrugged. “Then there’s nothing to discuss. You know, your father wasn’t sure he wanted to ask me to marry him. He was worried about our lives being too dangerous to commit to one another, to bring children into the world. I convinced him that if you let fear rule your decisions, you’d live your life without making any. And miss out on the best parts. Don’t let fear paralyze you. You deserve as much happiness as you can find.”
When his mom smiled like that, he couldn’t help but return it.
And suddenly, happily ever after didn’t seem impossible.
“Can you give me a minute, Mom? I need to give Jimmy a call.”
***
It took a few hours for everything to settle down.
Janey showed up, after taking Toni home, so Annie had to go through the entire event again while Nic talked to Jimmy, who’d arrived just after Janey.
Jimmy wore a huge grin as he slapped his brother on the back.
Her mom had been reluctant to leave, but finally Frank and Grace convinced Beatrice that Annie would be fine now that Carlson had been arrested. There was no way the man would be out of jail, not even on bail, at least until Monday.
And even then, he’d have a tough time getting bail because he was a flight risk. Apparently being a disgraced lawyer with a vacation home in Mexico and another in Switzerland worked against you.
Annie could live with that.
What she couldn’t live without was Nic. And he hadn’t spent more than two seconds alone with her since the moment their parents had shown up.
But now that he stood at the front door, closing it behind Janey and Mal, the last to leave, she had a moment to panic.
Spice Box; Sixteen Steamy Stories Page 133