She hurried down the corridor and then out onto the porch. Cradling the vase in both hands again, she kept her gaze glued to the white boards of the floor as she hung a left.
The last time she’d been on this very porch was that night—she cut those thoughts off. Gabe had said his piece. She had said hers. Sort of. Either way, she wasn’t going to think about that anymore.
Nikki reached the top of the stairs and started to step down. A floorboard creaked behind her. Someone was up here? She turned.
Weight slammed into her back, between her shoulder blades. Shoved hard, her foot slipped on the edge of the step. A startled scream punched out of her as she tipped over. There wasn’t enough time to drop the flowers so she could grab the railing. She pitched forward, into the air and then down, over the steep, hard stairs.
Chapter 6
Gabe had just opened the porch doors when he heard a scream break the silence. Birds scattered from the nearby trees as he shot out onto the porch. Where had the sound come from? His left?
He took off, rounding the corner of the porch. He didn’t see anything. Maybe he was hearing stuff? With this house, it was anyone’s guess. Passing the entry to the third-floor hallway, he hung a left, his steps slowing as he neared the top of the stairs.
One thick, long vine had broken free of the railing and had found its way across the floor, curling along the side of the house. He frowned as he stared down at it.
Now that was some shit.
Hadn’t he just thought about the vines making their way over the floors? Just yesterday? His gaze flickered down the steps.
That’s when he saw her.
“Holy shit.” His heart about stopped in his chest and then sped up. He shot down the steps, taking them two at a time. “Nic.”
She was lying on her side in the landing, a bouquet larger than her head cradled in her arms.
“Nic!” Was she moving? Didn’t look like it. Pressure clamped down on his chest as he dropped onto his knees beside her. He reached for her. “God damn it, Nic, say something.”
“Ow,” she muttered, pulling one leg up.
Oh, thank Jesus. His hands were frozen just above her hip. “Are you okay?”
“I think so?” She rose onto her elbow.
If she fell down those stairs, he didn’t see how she could be okay. It was at least ten damn steps. Shit. Her hair shielded her face, and that was why he reached out and touched her.
Her entire body jolted as his fingers brushed her cheek and she sucked in a sharp gasp. “Did that hurt?” he asked, scooping her hair back from her face.
“N-No.”
His gaze flickered over her face. She was pale, but he didn’t see any obvious wounds. At least to her face. “Does anything hurt?”
She stared at the flowers. She shook her head. “Not really.” Her shoulders rose with a deep breath, the kind of breath that had to mean she hadn’t hurt her ribs. “I t-think the flowers are okay.”
What the hell? “I don’t give a damn about the flowers. Are you okay?”
Nic looked at him, those big eyes somehow even bigger. She stared at him like she wasn’t sure she heard him right. Now Gabe was starting to get worried. He thought about that time Julia—Lucian’s girl—had fallen in the shower and knocked her head real good. She’d been disorientated as hell, too, and there’d been a lot of blood. Nic wasn’t bleeding, but she didn’t seem all there.
She didn’t seem right at all.
“You can let go of the flowers now,” he suggested.
She glanced down at them. “I didn’t . . . want to ruin them.”
“You didn’t.” Gabe reached for them, and her grip tightened. He lifted a brow. “You can let go of them, Nic.”
Nic held on for a moment longer and then she finally let go. Taking the vase, he set it aside. His heart was finally starting to settle down. “Do you think you can sit up?” When she nodded, he gently took ahold of her arm. She jerked again, and his gaze flew to her face. “You still feeling okay?”
“Yeah.” She straightened, exhaling heavily as she lifted her left arm, turning it to the side. A streak of bright red coursed down her arm. “Ew.”
Ew? That was all she had to say? “Let me see that.”
“It’s not bad.”
He ignored her as he took her wrist in his hands and gently turned her arm. Some pretty gnarly scratches ran from her elbow up under the sleeve. Her shirt was torn. “I don’t think this needs stitches.” He peeled back the little sleeve on her shirt and leaned in. As he checked her out, he tried to ignore how damn . . . good she smelled. Like jasmine. “But we should probably call Doc. Have him—”
“I’m fine. Really,” she said, leaning away. “You don’t need to call a doctor.”
“These stairs are no joke. You could’ve hurt yourself and not realized it yet, Nic. You need to let a doc look at you.”
“I didn’t hit my head.” Nic pushed the hair back out of her face. “I’m okay.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. “Nic—”
“Seriously. I’m okay. It’s just a cut. I don’t know how, but I didn’t really hurt myself.”
Frustration rose. “You fell down a flight of stairs and you’re bleeding. Why are you being so difficult about this?”
“I’m not,” she snapped, as she pulled her arm free. “Why do you care anyway?”
He drew back. “Why do I care?”
“Figured you’d throw a party if I broke my neck.”
Gabe stared at her a moment, shocked at first. Then he thought about what he’d said to her the day before and he kind of couldn’t blame her for thinking that. “I wouldn’t be happy if you were hurt. Jesus.” He lowered his hands to his knees and started to rise. “At least let me get your father—”
“No.” She grabbed his arm, and his gaze shot back to her. She stared up at him. “Please don’t say a thing to my father. I don’t want him to worry and get upset over nothing.”
“Over nothing? Nic, you could’ve—”
“He has enough to worry about right now. He doesn’t need to freak out about this for no reason,” she said, her gaze pleading. “Please, Gabe. Don’t say anything.”
Her concern for her father touched a part of him he’d rather not have her dig her fingers into. Reaching down, he placed his hand over where she gripped him. Despite what had happened between them that night four years ago, he always, always had a hard time telling her no.
“I won’t say anything,” he said, voice gruff as he pulled her hand away. “As long as you’re not hurt. I’m going to get something for your arm and then I’m going to sit here with you for a few minutes and make sure that’s the case.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but after a moment, she nodded.
Wary of leaving her, he hesitated for a moment and then went up the stairs, stopping at the top to grab the damn vine she obviously tripped over. He ripped it free and tossed it over the railing. Then he went to his apartment. He quickly grabbed an array of items before making his way back to her. He found her sitting next to the vase, her feet resting on the step below. He had a sudden memory of her, when she was younger, sitting in that very spot, waiting for him to come home, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, her knobby knees knocking together.
Shaking the image from his thoughts, he stepped around her and sat on the step her feet rested on. “Let me see your arm.”
“I can take care of it.” She reached for the damp cloth he held.
Gabe lifted his brows. “Give me your arm, Nic.”
She stared at him a moment and then rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
Biting back a grin as she shoved her arm out, he carefully began wiping up the blood. He glanced down at her shoes. They were flats with some kind of thin, useless sole. “You need to start wearing shoes with better tread on them. Then you won’t be tripping over vines and falling down steps.”
“I didn’t trip over a vine or slip down the steps,” she protested as he tossed the to
wel up on the landing and reached for the peroxide and cotton balls he’d grabbed.
He coated the cotton in peroxide. “Sure looks like you did to me. Probably didn’t even see the vine, but it was lying on the floor, right at the top of the steps.” The skin above her elbow was angry and raw. “You’re so damn lucky,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Could’ve been so much worse. This might sting.”
“I know I’m lucky.” She sucked in a sharp breath as he pressed the cotton to the scratches. “But I didn’t trip or slip. Someone pushed me.”
His hand stilled as his gaze found hers. “What?”
“Someone pushed me. I mean, that’s what it felt like.” The corners of her mouth pursed as the peroxide fizzled over her skin. “I heard what sounded like a step behind me and then I felt something hit my back.”
Gabe frowned as he reached for the small tube of antibacterial cream. He’d brought the whole pharmacy with him. “I came as soon as I heard you scream. There was no one up here.”
“I didn’t see anyone, but I know what I felt.” A shudder rolled through Nic. “I didn’t just slip. I’m not clumsy.”
“You were pretty clumsy back in the day.” He gently rubbed the cream over her arm, his eyes shooting to her face when he heard the harsh inhale. “Sorry.”
Her cheeks flushed in the prettiest way as she shook her head. “There was no vine at the top of the steps.”
“There was. I just snapped it off and tossed it.”
“I didn’t . . . I didn’t see it.”
Gabe was silent as he finished with the cream and then picked up the gauze. Could she have been pushed and not have tripped over the vine? The mere thought of that pissed him off, but he had no idea who could’ve done it. Or why.
Taping the ends of the gauze together, he lowered her arm to her thigh. “How are you feeling? Dizzy? Nauseous?”
“I feel fine,” she insisted. “Thank you for cleaning up my arm.”
“It’s no big deal—” He looked up as he heard footsteps. A second later, Dev appeared at the top of the steps. Right behind him was Sabrina.
Gabe felt Nic stiffen.
Dev stared down the steps, his expression unreadable. “Do I even want to know what is going on?”
“Nothing.” Gabe looked over at Nic. “Everything is fine.”
“It does not look like everything is fine,” Dev replied. “Are you injured, Nikki?”
“No,” she answered, craning her neck to look up the steps. “I’m okay.”
“Did you fall down the steps?” Sabrina asked the question in a way that sounded like she was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah.” Nic looked away, focusing on the steps before her. “I fell.”
“Oh no.” Sabrina placed a hand on Dev’s arm. “I do hope she doesn’t try to get workmen’s comp.” She gasped. “Or sue you.”
Gabe opened his mouth, but Nic was faster. “Contrary to what you might think, I’m not desperate enough for money to throw myself down the stairs.”
Sabrina’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s good to hear.” Dev’s response was dry. “So, you did fall down the steps?”
Gabe waited for her to say she was pushed, but he heard Nic sigh as she picked up the bouquet and said, “I did, but I saved the flowers.”
The next day Nikki felt like she’d fallen down a flight of steps because, well, she’d fallen down a flight of steps.
God, she’d been so lucky she hadn’t cracked her head open or worse. She wasn’t even sure how she ended up only with a few scratches. Kind of felt like she had a guardian angel perched on her shoulder yesterday.
She still couldn’t believe that Gabe had been the one to find her. Not only that, but he’d actually taken care of her as if he didn’t hate her.
But he hated her.
He just wasn’t going to let her lie on the stairs, bleeding and banged up.
Nikki winced as she reached up, grabbing two cans of cream of chicken soup. She cradled them to her chest as she picked up a pack of noodles.
Was I pushed?
That question had been haunting her since yesterday afternoon. She knew she’d felt something hit her back. She hadn’t just lost her balance. Someone pushed her, but who? Gabe had said no one was up there and he said there was a vine covering the floor, and she doubted that he’d lie about that. She hadn’t seen anyone nor heard anyone run away. Granted, she’d been falling down the stairs screaming, so she probably wouldn’t have heard anyone, but she knew she’d been pushed. If it wasn’t a person then the only other option was a . . . ghost had pushed her.
She didn’t laugh at the absurdity of the idea. She’d basically grown up in this house. She’d never seen anything, but she’d heard stuff—footsteps in the hallway when no one was there, a woman’s laughter when there was no other female around, and things moving.
A shiver danced down her spine. She wasn’t sure what was worse. An actual living, breathing human being who wanted to see her injured or a ghost who decided she needed to take a quick trip down the steps.
Either way, she was grateful that Gabe hadn’t said anything to her father. She’d been able to hide the bandage yesterday by wearing a cardigan and today she wore a shirt where the sleeves went to her elbows.
She thought about the car that had seemed like it had been following her almost to the front door of her parents’ house. Another shiver shook her. The car hadn’t been following her and maybe . . . maybe she did trip over the vine. That sounded more likely than someone pushing her.
Nikki left the pantry and made her way back in the kitchen. As she reached the island, she heard the sharp rap of heels clicking off the wood floors. She knew who it was before she walked into the kitchen.
Irritation pricked at her skin as Sabrina entered. The woman looked flawless, as usual. Her chic bob defied the laws of physics by not having one single strand of hair out of place. She wore dark slacks that seemed to repel lint of all forms and a pressed, wrinkle-free blouse that was tucked into her pants so perfectly Nikki wondered how that was even possible.
Nikki also wondered what in the world she was doing in the kitchen. She doubted that woman knew the difference between a spatula and a fork.
“Hello, Nikki,” she said, saying her name like it was a newly discovered STD. “I wanted to make sure you were aware that I’ll be joining Devlin for dinner tonight.”
Unfortunately she was aware. “Yes. I was informed of that this morning.”
Her gaze flicked to the island. “I do hope you’re not making whatever that is for dinner.”
“A casserole was—”
“I don’t care what was on the menu,” she interrupted. “I will not eat a casserole for dinner.”
“Then you might want to order out,” Nikki replied, keeping her voice level.
Sabrina’s gaze sharpened. “Is that a serious response or are you just being a smartass?”
Honestly, she wasn’t being a smartass. Sort of. “Only the chicken has thawed out. For me to make something else, the meat wouldn’t be ready—”
“Then I would like a broiled herb butter chicken breast,” she cut in, and Nikki suddenly wondered if she was working at a restaurant. “Would that be too difficult of a request to make? Too hard for your obviously limited skillset?”
Limited skillset? Aw, Jesus be testing her. “I can make that for you. Would you also like a salad?”
Sabrina’s lips twisted into a smirk. “You should’ve offered that before telling me I needed to order out.”
Counting to ten and only making it to five, Nikki bit back a curse. “Would you like a salad with your chicken breast?”
“Yes, I would love a salad with my chicken breast.”
Nikki nodded and then turned away, hoping Sabrina would take the hint.
She didn’t. “How are you feeling after your fall?”
A chill skated down her spine as she turned back to Sabrina. There wasn’t a single second where Nikki believed genuine concern had prompt
ed that question. “I’m feeling fine. Thanks for asking.”
Sabrina nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”
Nikki was going to call BS on that.
“I would hate to see something tragic like a serious fall happen to you, when you’re so young.” Sabrina smiled then. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
Another icy chill danced over her skin as Nikki watched Sabrina leave. A horrible thought occurred to her as she stood there. Had . . . had it been Sabrina who’d pushed her? She’d been at the house yesterday. Obviously. Could she have snuck away from Devlin and done it? Nikki had spilled the champagne on her, but that seemed like a drastic retaliation even for someone as petty as Sabrina.
But what if it had been her?
Chapter 7
Thank God that after Wednesday, Nikki had to only worry about getting dinner prepared and served to Devlin, which was like serving food to a wall, and Gabe, which was like serving a water buffalo.
Over the next two days, she only saw Gabe during dinner and other than retrieving endless glasses of water for him, he hadn’t said much of anything to her other than asking how her arm was on Wednesday.
Which was perfect.
She hadn’t seen him during the day. For all she knew, he wasn’t even home, and Devlin was like one of the ghosts in the house. She’d see him out of the corner of her eyes and when she’d turn to acknowledge him, he was gone.
Creepy.
Devlin was probably checking to make sure her jeans didn’t have holes in them and that she wasn’t falling down any more sets of steps.
And so far, she hadn’t, but every time Nikki went up and down any stairs in the house, she looked over her shoulder.
She hadn’t been able to shake the possibility that Sabrina had pushed her, but whenever she really sat and thought about it, it seemed crazy to her, that Sabrina would do something so insane.
It just couldn’t have been her.
Mainly because Sabrina would’ve been petrified of breaking a nail.
Which left the question of who or what had done it, and Nikki had no idea. All these years she had spent in this house, she only felt uncomfortable a few times, but now she walked through the silent rooms and halls feeling like someone was always with her, right behind her.
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