Necessary Detour (22 page)

Nikki believed it to be true. Sounded like he was some high-tech bodyguard. She’d go to the boat slip with them tonight and make a decision in the morning. Maybe she’d be safer with the Bayers right now than at Quinn’s. She wasn’t sure. “I’m pregnant.” The words sounded strange when spoken out loud. Especially because Pete had kissed her passionately only a week ago. This announcement ought to put an end to all flirting with Pete whether he was married or not. “I don’t want to put my baby’s life in jeopardy if there are bad guys after you.”

Pete didn’t look sideways, didn’t say anything, and the only sound inside the truck’s cab was Tony’s waking groan.

The little dinghy pulled up alongside the forty-foot sailboat, and Pete reached out to grab the ladder at the stern. Could her dog’s bladder hold it on the sailboat until they saw a beach again? He’d relieved himself on the shore just now and was known to go for long stretches in hotel rooms, but she didn’t want to make the little guy suffer.

“Have you ever had a dog on this boat?’ She handed Elvis to Pete as he climbed aboard with the dog tucked into his arm like a football.

“I’ve never had anyone on this boat, but there’s a first time for everything.” Pete set Elvis down on the deck and helped everyone else on board.

Tony hadn’t fully woken and after getting him up the ladder, Pete picked him up in his arms and carried him down below. “There’s a big bed in the bow for you two, Connie. I’ll put him there.”

As Pete got the generator going, switched on the lights, and pulled off deck covers, Connie settled her sleepy son into bed. Nikki waited up top as Elvis sniffed around.

Even in the darkness, Nikki could see it was a beautiful boat. The yachts she’d known from Cannes and the Italian Riviera always belonged to someone she barely knew. This one belonged to Pete. He pulled the canvas covers off the seating area.

“I don’t know much about sailboats, but this one is pretty.” Nikki helped fold the covers and tuck them inside a hatch. The teak railings and highly polished wooden trim showed that someone had loved this sailboat over the years.

“Yeah, she is.” Pete said.

“I saw the name was painted over.”

“Yup. I haven’t named her yet.

The way he ran his hand over the captain’s wheel, almost lovingly, Nikki guessed it would be named after a woman he loved. Either present or past.

“The former owner called her Ishmael and that didn’t suit me.”

Peeking into the cabin, Nikki saw Tony burrowed into the bed in the V of the bow. The only visible bed. A dining area had benches on either side. The way she felt she could sleep on the table if necessary. Or out on deck. It was a cold night, but clear.

Pete walked to the bow to store the last of the canvas covers, Elvis shadowing him. “Have to get you a life jacket, little guy.” He reached to pet Elvis. “What do you think of my boat? Pretty fancy, eh?”

Elvis wagged his tail when Pete scratched his ears.

Now that she knew he wasn’t Connie’s husband, Nikki was confused. Who was he? Not FBI, but he sure knew a lot about running away in the middle of the night.

“Just don’t fall in the water, Elvis,” he said. “I don’t know if I’d go in after you like I did with your mom.” He chuckled and watched the little dog sniff the air. “Hey, boy, you let me know if you hear or smell anyone out there, okay?” When they joined Nikki back in the cockpit, she was wiping down the outside seating with a towel.

“We can do all that in the morning.” Pete sounded as wide awake as Nikki felt. The excitement of being on the water like this had postponed her exhaustion. If it had been summer and still warm, Nikki would be tempted to stay the week with the Bayers. Boat life might be an interesting distraction right now. As long as Pete wasn’t her stalker, this was as safe as she’d been in the last year. That alone gave Nikki peace of mind. “I’m going to sit here on deck for awhile, if that’s all right.” Dawn was beginning to lighten the sky in the east.

Pete brought couch cushions from below and they fit them into the frames behind the wheel as Elvis sniffed every inch of the boat. He didn’t appear ready to bed down either. The briny ocean scent was heavenly to Nikki, who hadn’t been around the sea in awhile.

Pete disappeared below again and emerged with two warm coats and a blanket. “Here.”

She gathered the man’s parka around her and curled up with the blanket.

“You’re a good sport, for a pampered rock star.” Pete put on the other coat and seated himself opposite Nikki.

“I’m not that pampered.” She didn’t want him to know how pampered she really was. “Besides, I practically grew up in a cabin in Oregon. Before becoming a rock star. And I’ve been running from the press all my adult life.” They smiled at each other.

“You must be tired of running.” Connie came through the cabin door, gathering a blanket around her.

“I’m hoping to put an end to it soon.” She tucked her chin into the neck of the coat. It smelled like Pete. “I’m retired now.”

“I’m going to get a beer. Want one, either of you?” Pete looked at the women, who shook their heads and he went below.

“How far along are you, Nikki?” Connie asked.

“Almost four months.” She smiled apologetically although she didn’t know what she was apologizing for. “Thanks for rescuing me tonight.” Did Connie and Tony have a choice when Pete offered to help the neighbor lady escape?

“We had to leave too.” Connie took off her shoes and tucked her feet in, under the blanket.

“Why?”

Connie looked sheepishly at Nikki. “I can’t tell you.” She leaned forward and glanced inside the cabin. “I shouldn’t say anything but…” She looked again. “Pete is…guarding me,” she whispered. “I’m waiting for something and he’s keeping me safe.” She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head like she’d said too much.

Nikki tried to process the new information. Connie was the wild card and needed a bodyguard. Was Connie a celebrity too?

Pete’s form filled the cabin’s doorway. He’d brought with him a small telescope in one hand and a Corona in the other. She wanted a beer so badly that the sight of it made her mouth water. She’d just have to make a date with a beer in about six months, or maybe even later than that—after breast-feeding was done. “You must be tired, Pete.”

“Oh, Pete doesn’t sleep.” Connie glanced over at her.

“I do so.” He gave Connie a reproachful look. The dynamics between them seemed so much more relaxed, more normal. Like brother and sister. He set the tripod between him and Nikki, and began to fiddle with the focus.

“How can you not sleep?” Nikki was envious, especially because she’d been sleeping so much in the last few weeks.

“I sleep,” he said, looking through the eye piece. “I just don’t need much.”

“Two hours a night, if that.” Connie stared at Nikki like she’d finally found someone to share this secret with. Apparently, Pete’s insomnia was not classified information.

“Here’s Venus, if anyone wants a look.” He moved away from the telescope.

Nikki leaned to look through the lens. “Wow.” She looked up at Pete who was close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Amazing.” Their knees touched and they moved apart quickly.

“I’m tired.” Connie stood. “Sorry, everyone, but I’ll see you in the morning.” She stumbled slightly.

With lightning speed, Pete jumped up and grabbed her under the elbows without spilling his beer. “Both arms out, Connie. Like this.” He over-exaggerated a wide stance. “You’ll get your sea legs soon.”

“Thanks Pete,” she giggled, looking back at Nikki. “I’ll be the first overboard, I’m sure.”

“I’ll jump in to get you if you are.” Nikki smiled.

“No talk like that on my boat. No one is allowed overboard, even if I have to tie you to the mast.” Pete pointed to the bow.

Pete was cute. Especially now that she knew he wasn’t the bully, tyrant, or terrible husband. Instead he was Connie’s protector, bodyguard, the one in charge of making sure she stayed out of sight, whether she liked the silence and boredom, or not. That was why he wouldn’t let her go to town, exit the house, go near the window. But had he threatened to kill them or said that they’d get killed if they didn’t listen to him? She took a deep breath of night air and gathered Pete’s coat around her. Being on the ocean was so different from anything else.

When Pete picked up his beer to take a swig, she gazed brazenly at him. “I’m beginning to figure out who you are, Pete Bayer.”

“Oh, yeah?” He smiled and nodded.

“Well, to start, I know you aren’t married.” She amended her statement. “…to Connie, anyhow.”

Pete was silent.

“And I’m thinking that you were at Louisa Lake with Connie and Tony because it’s a remote location. Good place to hide.”

“Hmm.” He was maddeningly noncommittal.

“…and, why would you be travelling with a mother and son you don’t know well, keeping them in the house, away from the windows, and using a gun on neighbors who come calling?”

Pete sipped his beer.

“At first I thought you were a reporter, following me.”

“Ah.”

“Or a biographer. And now I know that’s not the case. And you’re not my latest stalker.”

Damned poker face.

“I suppose you’re a bodyguard, a security person or something like that.” Nikki tilted her head, scrutinizing him through squinted eyes.

He leaned over the telescope for a look.

“For a long time, I suspected you were a horrible husband, bullying your family.”

He looked insulted. “Really?”

“I worried you might be planning to do away with Connie, and when I saw the blood in the bathroom and the shower curtain closed...” She couldn’t continue, just thinking about the emotions that ran through her at the sight of all the blood.

“Oh, my God, Nikki.” He looked up, horrified.

She shrugged. Elvis jumped on her lap and tried to lick her face.

“You actually thought I was a killer?”

“You should have seen it from my angle. You acted suspicious, downright weird. And you seemed to have no affection for either Connie or Tony.” She paused to think and shook her head, remembering the moments she’d wondered if Pete was insane. “I thought you were mentally abusive at the very least.”

“I guess I’m not as good at this as I thought.” He chuckled.

Nikki felt like backtracking. “Well, you had a gun. You never let them leave the house.”

“How did you know I never let them leave the house?”

“I heard things…and they never came out.”

He shook his head. “You are the snoopiest neighbor I’ve ever known.” Pete chuckled as he adjusted the telescope arm.

“I never was before, but you’re so secretive. It made me want to be snoopy.” She examined his profile as he scanned the skies for stars. “Even now.”

He heaved a sigh and sat up.

“Private bodyguard? Police? FBI? Or CIA?” Nikki persisted.

“No. No. No and no.” Pete gave Nikki a look that told her she was going too far, asking too much.

She waved a finger at him. “No, don’t ask, or no, I’m not any of those? I think I might put enough together to know why you’re protecting Connie.”

Looking through the telescope he muttered, “At least this explains your strange behavior.”

“My strange behavior?” She almost snorted. “You were the ones with the squirrel in the house that made Connie and Tony sprint to my house in the rain.

“Oh, the squirrel. Ha,” he laughed. “That much I can tell you.” Pete sat forward. “I saw someone in the woods and asked Connie to hide in the house while I ran out to investigate. Connie didn’t stay put and while you were having tea with her and Tony inside your warm house, I was chasing some goon through your forest in the pouring rain. Someone who turned out to be on your security staff and was let go within hours, even though he was approaching your house with a Glock.”

Nikki whispered. “Why did Connie come to my house?”

“She was frightened and thought if she got Tony to your house, they’d be safer if I got killed.”

“And you caught Dwayne.”

“He looked suspicious.” Pete watched the smile erupt on her face. “It’s funny that I accosted your bodyguard?”

“Well, no, but it’s funny that it was you who took down Dwayne Capleoni. He’s some sort of black belt phenom or something.”

“He didn’t have any moves that day with a gun pointed at his head.”

As their eyes met, Nikki realized that Pete had kept them all safe, or thought he had. Had Dwayne been Shakespeare, Pete would’ve saved her life that day. And she reminded herself that this man who’d kissed her twice, once in the shower intimately, was not married. At least, not to Connie. This was proving to be a night for answers and new problems.

Pete emptied his beer bottle, stood, and asked again if she’d like anything to drink.

“No, thanks.” Without thinking, her hand went to her tummy.

When he came back with another beer, Pete sat down and leaned forward, his eyes squinting in thought. “So, Nikki, if we’re asking questions now…” He paused. “You are pregnant.” He took a pull on his beer.

“That’s not a question, and besides, what makes you think I should answer yours if you don’t answer mine? You kidnapped me and are forcing me to stay on an isolated boat at least until it’s light out, but you won’t tell me who you are.”

“Not kidnapping. You came with us after I pleaded my case. There’s a huge difference. I’m a U.S. Marshal for the Justice Department.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Four months pregnant. Due at the end of March.” She imitated him, folding her arms.

“Is that why you’re hiding from the press?” His brow wrinkled.

“That, and the fact that they never have enough of me. I just announced my retirement from the music business. It’s a big deal. Some people don’t believe I’m finished.” She stared at Elvis, asleep in her lap. “After all these years of me romancing the world, they don’t want to lose me.” She sighed. “And I understand. But I haven’t got anything left to give them. It was a struggle to make it this far.” Nikki hadn’t realized that, until she’d said the words. “Soon they’ll have to give up and let me go.”