Paradise & Vodka (Saddles & Racks Book 6)

by Kimberly Knight

  "When was the last time you tried to call him?" I asked.

  Everleigh looked at our parents, and Mom said, "It's been a few hours now, I think."

  "Then maybe he's being held hostage too." Nick grunted a sarcastic laugh. "Wouldn't that be some shit?"

  One of the men from the private team came over and whispered something into Joss's ear. She nodded and then turned back to us. "We have to go now. Last chance to stay and see if you can find him."

  "Let's go home. I'll find out either way."

  "We're going back to Vegas," I said, meaning Las Vegas wasn't her home. "We'll have to get you a flight home from there."

  "Oh, right. That's fine. I just want out of here."

  I looked at Nick, and he shrugged before wrapping his arm across my shoulders and leading me toward the stairs of the plane. "Not our problem, baby."

  Everyone boarded the plane. The guys were celebrating a successful mission with drinks because that was what Nick and I were: a mission. It was crazy to think that one minute everything had been going well, and the next, we were a mission for mercenaries and FBI agents. But we were safe and going home, and the people I cared the most about—even Nick—were all safe.

  We had all survived.

  To my surprise, there was a flight attendant, and after the plane was in the air, she got us all drinks and food.

  The successful mission party continued in the air, and after I ate, I went into the bathroom to freshen up. There was no shower, but a paper towel with soap and water was better than nothing. There were also a few new toothbrushes and toothpaste I was able to use. When I got out, Everleigh grabbed my arm to stop me as I tried to go back to my seat next to Nick.

  "Sit with me for a few? I need to tell you something."

  Nick was drinking and laughing with his friends, so I took Everleigh up on her offer because I wanted answers. "Yeah?"

  "I thought you weren't mad at me anymore?"

  I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't until Nick told me your wedding was a sham—"

  "I did it for Dad."

  "I know that now, but I was also kidnapped and held hostage because of you."

  "I had nothing to do with that."

  I sighed. "Maybe it wasn't you who arranged it, but they wanted you. Everyone always wants you." I hadn't actually thought that in several years until the words left my mouth, but it was true. Everyone always wanted my beauty queen sister, and it had almost cost me my life.

  "Yeah, well, not Doug. He wanted the image of me."

  "Because he cheated on you and made you marry him for money?"

  "And he left me to die in a tsunami," she whispered and looked out the tiny window.

  I blinked, not sure I'd heard her correctly. "What?"

  "We obviously spent our wedding night in separate rooms—we’ve had separate rooms the entire time. When I got the alert, I called him. He said he was already on his way to the airport with his parents."

  "He was already headed to the airport?"

  "That's what he said."

  "That doesn't make sense. How was he already on his way to the airport when we all got the tsunami warning? He needed you for the ruse."

  "Maybe he lied." She shrugged.

  "I wouldn't be surprised."

  "And that makes me feel more like shit. My husband left me to die. The marriage was done, and he didn't need me anymore."

  "Well, you didn't die, and when he realizes that, we'll make him pay."

  "How?"

  I took a deep breath. "I don't know yet."

  The flight attendant came over to us with fresh drinks. I stole a quick glance at my parents, who were either sleeping or trying to sleep even with the guys celebrating. If I hadn’t wanted more answers, I would have tried to sleep too.

  "I’m pissed you didn't tell me Dad is dying."

  "I wanted to, but since we haven't spoken since that night, I knew Mom needed to be the one to tell you."

  "Tell me what you know." I took a big gulp of my vodka cranberry.

  "I don't know much because they didn't want me to worry, just like they didn't want you to worry, but I know that it was caught early, and he is going through some sort of treatment."

  "But he's dying."

  She looked at our parents, and then back at me. "Yeah, but they're hopeful it won't spread or whatever. Since we found out, and I made the agreement with Doug, Dad came to New York to see a specialist."

  "How long are they giving him?"

  "The docs in Mobile said five years, but that was before he went to New York. They are hoping for longer."

  I closed my eyes briefly. "And when was he diagnosed?"

  Everleigh thought for a moment. "It's been about a year now."

  "A year?" I snapped. "You've all known for a year?"

  She nodded.

  "So, we might only have four years left with him?"

  "Or more. The docs in New York are trying everything they can."

  "Then we definitely need Douglas to know you're alive." I paused, hating my next sentence. "We need his money."

  "And that's why I did it."

  I took another sip of my drink. "But, you did love him at one time?"

  She stared at me for a few seconds. "I did."

  "How could you do that to me?"

  Everleigh chugged her vodka cranberry. "Honestly, we were both drunk. I didn't mean for it to happen that night."

  "But you continued to date him, Evie."

  "I know." She blew out a breath. "At first, I continued the relationship with him because I was getting back at you."

  "Getting back at me? For what?" I furrowed my brow.

  "I've always been jealous of how smart you are. You got to move to New York and go to college, while I stayed in our Podunk town."

  I snorted. "You cared more about your looks than books, Evie."

  "Because that was all I had. You had both. I wanted both."

  "You can't be serious." I chuckled again.

  "I am, and when your boyfriend hit on me, I took that opportunity to get back at you."

  "But I didn't do anything to you," I hissed.

  In an instant, Nick was standing in the aisle next to me. "Everything okay?"

  I looked up at him. "Yes. Just getting answers."

  He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. "Let me know if you need me."

  "I will." I smiled.

  He winked and walked back toward the bathroom.

  "Has … Has he said anything else to you?" Everleigh asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  She finished her drink. "I might have hit on him the night of the meet and greet."

  I wanted to be pissed. I wanted to stand up and yell at her that, once again, she was trying to take my boyfriend, but Nick wasn't my boyfriend. I also wanted to be mad at Nick for not telling me, but I understood he wanted to protect me. He had tried to do that since day one. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Seriously?"

  "I’m sorry. I was drunk, and you snagged a hot one."

  "So, what you’re saying is I can’t let you drink"—I motioned with my head at her empty glass on the tray—"around my boyfriends."

  "Boyfriends? Are you and Nick breaking up or something?"

  "I …"

  That was exactly what was going to happen, and I hated it. A part of me had thought I wouldn’t have to tell my family that Nick and I broke up because I never expected to mend my relationship with them. I had expected to attend the wedding, have fun in Fiji, and then go home. I never planned to fall for Nick, and I felt like our breakup was going to be real.

  "I don’t think so," I lied.

  "I hope not. I like him, and not just because I hit on him, which I’m sorry about."

  Joss gasped out of the blue, and everyone looked at her. She was looking at her laptop.

  "What’s wrong?" Paul asked.

  "I just came across a report." She looked over at Everleigh and me. "They found four bodies at the airport that got hit by the tsunami."

 
I whipped my head toward my sister and asked her, "Do you think it could be Douglas?"

  Everleigh lifted a shoulder. "I don’t know."

  "Did he go to the airport?" Nick inquired.

  Everleigh closed her eyes briefly. "Yes, Doug and his parents left me behind and went to the airport."

  "What if it’s them?" Paul asked.

  "Honestly, I wouldn’t care," Everleigh responded.

  "What about the entire reason why you agreed to marry him?" Nick questioned.

  "You mean the agreement?" she asked.

  He nodded. "Yeah. What happens if he’s dead?"

  Everleigh looked back at our father, who had woken up from the commotion. "I … I don’t know," she said.

  "What’s the agreement?" Joss inquired.

  "Doug needed to get married before his twenty-sixth birthday, so he could get his entire inheritance from his grandpa, so we signed some agreement his dad had prepared."

  "A prenup?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "No, it wasn’t a prenup. New York has some sort of spousal protection law, so they just wanted me to sign an agreement about what I would get from the marriage."

  "Does it say anything about what happens if Douglas dies?" I questioned.

  "I don’t remember."

  "What about the important parts? Like how long you have to stay married, how the money factors in for Dad, stuff like that?" I asked.

  "I get an allowance for as long as we stay married, and there’s a part about paying the medical bills for Dad."

  "And does he get the inheritance in full?" Nick questioned. "Because if he does, he can just divorce you right away, right?"

  "As far as I know, it’s paid in full, but again, the spousal protection law."

  "And what is that?" Joss asked.

  "I get half or a payout if Doug leaves me out of his will, or I get something while we're married."

  "Unless he divorces you after he gets the inheritance," Paul stated.

  "Aw, man," Nick groaned. "You got played. That's exactly what he's going to do."

  "What?" Everleigh blinked.

  "He's right." I shook my head slowly. That fucking asshole. "He conned you."

  "I don't understand."

  I grabbed her hands and faced her the best I could in the seat of the plane. "He never intended to stay married to you after he gets his money."

  "I don't believe this." She looked out the tiny window. "I thought I was—"

  "Hey"—I squeezed her hands that were still in mine—"it's okay. We'll figure this out."

  I didn't know how, but I’d help with the medical bills for my father. I had to. Even though they had tried to shut me out, I still loved my family.

  The party seemed to die at the realization that my sister had been duped, and eventually, everyone fell asleep. After we landed in Vegas, Paul and Joss took my family to check into a hotel. They were going to stay a few days before getting a flight home. Everleigh still hadn't heard from Douglas, and the four bodies that had been found hadn't been identified the last Joss checked.

  Gabe offered to take Nick and me home. When we pulled up to my townhouse, Nick followed me to the door.

  "Tell your boss to charge the same credit card for the extra days," I said as we stood outside my door.

  Nick grunted. "I don't want your money. We almost died."

  "I know, but—"

  "But nothing. It wasn't your fault there was a natural disaster."

  "But it was my fault we were kidnapped."

  He cupped my cheek. "We don't know whose fault it was. For all we know, Dougie hired those guys to murder Everleigh."

  My eyes widened. "You think so?"

  Nick shrugged. "After learning about the agreement, I wouldn't put it past that fucker."

  I closed my eyes briefly, Nick's hand still on my cheek. "I can't believe all of this."

  "Me either." He finally dropped his hand, and I knew our time together was about to end. "But honestly, up until the tsunami warning, I had a really great time."

  "Me too," I agreed, and then admitted before I realized the words were leaving my mouth, "I couldn't imagine spending those days with anyone else."

  He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to mine. "Me either. Are you going to be okay tonight?"

  I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

  "We went through some shit. Are you okay being alone?"

  "I—"

  "Fuck it. I'm staying, okay?"

  I blinked. I hadn't thought about being alone because everything has been go, go, go, since we were rescued, and now all I thought about was never seeing Nick again.

  "I mean, I don't—"

  "No!" I bellowed. "I want you to stay. I just didn't think you would want to."

  "There's no way I can go home on our first night back after everything. I'll be up all night worrying."

  My heart was fluttering in my chest. My face was beaming, and I couldn't hide my excitement that he wanted to stay the night because otherwise he would worry about me.

  "I'll just go tell Gabe he can leave." He hooked his thumb toward the street.

  "Okay."

  While Nick went to say goodbye to Gabe, I turned to open my door but realized I didn’t have a key. Everything had been stolen or left behind. I ran to Nick. "Wait!"

  He turned from talking through the open passenger window to Gabe. "What's wrong?"

  "I don't have a key to get in."

  Nick drew his head back. "Shit. I don't have a key to my place, either."

  "My friend Adriane has a key, but I don't know her number by heart." I could log into Facebook on Gabe's phone and send her a message, but I wasn't sure when she would get it.

  "We could call Paul to see if he can find it," Nick suggested as he looked at Gabe.

  "Yeah, call him, and while you're at it, make sure you tell him you're staying the night," Gabe replied.

  I furrowed my brow. Gabe didn't say it maliciously but more as though he knew some sort of secret, and Paul would get a kick out of it. "Ummm ..."

  "I need your phone then." Nick reached out his hand for Gabe's phone.

  Gabe handed Nick his phone, and I stood there and waited while he made the call. If it weren't for the private plane, I wasn't sure how we would have made it home. Not only did we not have phones and our keys, but we also didn't have our passports or driver's licenses. We literally had the stinky, dirty clothes on our backs.

  Everything was so fucked up.But Nick wanted to spend one more night together, and that made me happy.

  "Hey, it's Nick … I don't have mine … Right. So, Ashleigh and I don't have keys to our houses, and she said her friend could … Oh, right … Yeah, meet us there." He hung up. "Change of plans. We're going to my place. Paul has my spare key."

  Nick didn't live far from me. When Gabe pulled up to the two-story house, Paul and Joss were already there.

  "Fucker went inside already, didn't he?" Nick grumbled as he got out of Gabe's SUV.

  Gabe laughed, still in the car. "You know how he is."

  "He's lucky he's a federal agent, or I would kick his ass for trespassing."

  I chuckled. I didn't know these guys all that well—obviously—but I could tell that they were all close and cared for each other. Clearly, that was the case since Gabe, Seth, and Brad had all left their wives to rescue us. I couldn't imagine what the women must have thought, knowing that their men were going on a rescue mission. Thankfully, all of the guys survived.

  "Thank you for everything," I said to Gabe, even though I had already thanked him when he tried to drop me off at my place. He nodded his acceptance.

  "Tell Autumn thank you, as well." Nick held out his hand to shake Gabe's. "I know she was probably worried sick, and I appreciate it."

  "I will, and hopefully this is the last time any of my friends are in fucking danger."

  "Ain't that the truth? Galen is the last one to fall—"

  I looked at Nick as he rubbed the back of his neck, not finishing
his sentence.

  Gabe grinned. "Yeah, he is, but I have a feeling his story won't be as life-threatening."

  "He's a firefighter, so maybe it will be." Nick grinned.

  "Guess we'll see."

  "We will," Nick replied. "Thanks again for everything."

  "Always."

  Gabe drove off, and Nick and I walked up the driveway. When we got to the front door, Nick walked inside.

  "We came in to turn on your AC and stuff," Joss stated.

  Nick nodded. "Cool. Thank you."

  Paul handed him a key. "I want this back."

  "It's my house."

  "And you gave me a key in case you ever locked yourself out."

  "I know."

  "So, I want it back."

  "Okay." Nick stopped arguing.

  Joss tugged on Paul's hand. "Let's go home."

  Paul stopped just outside the door and turned to Nick. "I expect cash."

  "Fuck off." Nick slammed the door.

  "What was that about?" I asked.

  "Nothing." He grabbed my hand. "Let's order food and then take a shower."

  We started up the stairs. He didn't bother giving me a tour. "Do you owe him money for rescuing us?"

  Nick stopped mid-step. "What? No, of course not."

  "Oh. The cash is for something else?"

  He snickered. "Yeah, it is." He led me to a spare room where there was a computer. "Thank God we can order food online and I didn't take all of my credit cards to Fiji, or we'd be fucked."

  "Yeah, it's strange not having a cell phone either."

  "Tomorrow, before I drive you home, we'll stop and get phones."

  "Don't we need IDs to do that?"

  "Well, fuck." He blew out a breath. "We'll figure something out."

  "Okay." I smiled as the computer started to boot up.

  "So, burgers?"

  My grin widened, remembering how we said we'd eat burgers first thing when we got home. "Burgers," I agreed.

  I. Was. Fucked.

  Not only had I more or less admitted to Gabe and Paul that I’d fallen in love with Ashleigh, but I'd fucking fallen in love with Ashleigh. And I knew it wasn't only because we had endured a scary situation together.

  I had fallen for her before then.

  I just didn't know what to do about it.