Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows) (46 page)

Niko finished off his bottle and set it on the nightstand. “Do we have an idea of how many were lost?”

“I could account for over a thousand Rojas bled to death over the past few years.” Yuri frowned. “That’s just what he kept record of. Who knows how many he experimented on before he started keeping an accounting. Sick twist only kept records for cost analysis. That man had no conscience at all.”

Niko shook his head in disbelief. “I’m glad I dumped his ashes in crappers now. For a minute there I was thinking maybe I went a little over the top.”

“You did what?” Yuri sat up straight in his chair.

“After I had him reduced to ash, I drove around for a while and dumped the ashes in those port-a-potty things.” He looked at Yuri to make sure he understood. “Loos? Honey wagons? Andy Gumps? You know!”

“You dumped his ashes in crappers?” Yuri was starting to grin. “How many?”

Niko shrugged. “Ten, maybe? Seven at least but I didn’t want to stop on a lucky number.”

Yuri burst out laughing so hard that Niko could feel the floor shake from his rumbling belly roll. When he saw the tears streaming down Yuri’s face, Niko caught the hilarity bug and cracked up too. The men laughed heartily for several minutes before Connor and Finn finally came in to see what the hell was so funny. When Yuri explained, he began laughing all over again, Connor and Finn right along with him. It was a much needed release. A solid moment of levity that ended with them all giving Niko congratulatory hugs on his brilliant and most appropriate disposal of the monster that was Juan Rojas.

Niko’s mood was much lighter by the time his brothers left and he was finally able to climb into bed and get a little rest before the new day brought new problems to be solved. Niko let his body sink into the warm mattress and felt his body and mind drift into sleep. The last thought he had before he fell into slumber was that of his new friend, Lena. He was glad she made it out of Cuba safely. He knew he had a year to wait for Carnival in Brazil but he figured with everything they had going on, time was going to fly.

Lou had no
idea what time or day it was when she finally woke up. She felt like she had slept for days but the throbbing of her head and knee reminded her she was still fresh from her pummeling at the warehouse. When she turned to look at the clock, she was firmly reminded that her ribs too were angry and they gave her a solid slap of pain so that she wouldn’t forget again. To her surprise it was barely nine in the morning but Lou figured the pain medication had assisted in making the five hours of sleep she had gotten seem more like ten. Carefully, she climbed out of bed, grabbing her fancy crutch for assistance, then gimped her way over to the terrace doors. She opened one of the them expecting to be hit by an icy chill but she was pleasantly surprised that it was only cool, not the frigid winter refusing to let go and let spring kick into high gear. It was a picture perfect spring morning and Lou breathed in the fresh air slowly and carefully so that her ribs would not scream in protest to her chest expanding. Lou turned around immediately and got her morning coffee so that she could enjoy the peace and quiet of the new day while her caffeine kicked in. When she returned to the terrace, she noticed that Angus had not yet claimed the chair for his own and in fact was nowhere in sight. Lou hurried to snag the seat before he showed up, sitting back and letting the warm mug in her hands offset the brisk spring air. This was Lou’s favorite way to start the morning.

Peering out into the meadow, Lou noticed that off in the distance Max’s house was already wrapped with the wire mesh and paper they use right before they start the stucco process. That was a huge step since the last time she looked. The framing had only been completed a few days ago. Lou shouldn’t have been surprised. They had been working on the house at breakneck speed since they started. She had been sad to see a chunk of her meadow taken over but they had been very respectful of the rest of the land and Lou even had seen a construction worker watering the open meadow with a hose. That made her happy because that meant that instructions had been given to respect the land and take care of it, just as Abby promised they would.

When Lou heard slurping behind her, she wasn’t too surprised to see Niko leaning against the doorway sipping from one of her mugs.

“I was wondering when you were going to notice I was here.” He grinned at her when she finally looked.

“I’ve only been out here a few minutes so you haven’t been there long.” She drank from her own mug and looked back out over the beautiful green landscape.

Niko moved onto the terrace and took a seat next to her on the foot stool. “I came in just as you were walking out. Thanks for getting more kona blend.”

“Thank Marta. I haven’t been able to hit the store this week so she grabbed some for me.” Lou noticed Niko was more pensive then usual. “You OK?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. What about you, blueberry head? I heard about your little adventure yesterday.”

Lou chuckled. “Fun and excitement. It looks worse than it feels. Kinda.” She turned and looked at him intently. “Seriously Niko, are you OK? I know yesterday was hardcore for you and I don’t even know all the details. I hope you know that you can talk to me. Vent if you need to or even if you just want to. I’m always here for you. I need to know you get that.”

It was Niko that looked at her intently this time, knowing absolutely that her words were pure and true. “I do get that Lou. Thanks.” He looked at her face carefully. It was amazing that she was so concerned with him when the entire side of her face was swollen and almost totally purple in color. “Christ that has got to hurt.” He couldn’t help saying it.

“What?” Lou had completely forgotten about her face.

“Seriously Lou?” Niko found it hard to believe she needed clarification so he got up and went inside, returning a moment later carrying a hand mirror. “Obviously you haven’t taken a look at yourself this morning.”

Lou looked at him, puzzled. She took the mirror and looked at her reflection, her eyes went wide when she realized what he was talking about. “Holy shit.”

“That’s kind of an understatement.” Niko snorted.

“I knew it was going to be bad but wow!” Her left cheekbone was easily twice the size of her right as was her left eyebrow. Lou didn’t remember her lip being split but sure enough, her lower lip was humongous and crusted with dried blood. She looked like someone had sponge painted the left side of her face with dark blackberry and blueberry stain. “Well I seriously doubt I have enough concealer for this mess.”

Niko smirked. “Tell me what kind you want and I’ll run to the drugstore. You need some bromelain too.”

“Bromelain?” Lou looked at him curiously.

“It’s a natural enzyme found in pineapple.” He explained. “Its a great anti-inflammatory and helps with bruising. You should buy it in bulk.”

“Very funny.” She rolled her eyes at him but even that hurt. “You aren’t going to the drugstore to get me anything, silly. Thank you for the thought though.”

“I have to go anyway.” He stretched and cracked his neck. “My razor got lost in the evac from the hotel. I need to shave in a bad way.”

Lou noticed that Niko’s black stubble was thicker than normal. “I dunno, I kinda like it. You look like a bad boy.”

He cocked his head at her and smirked. “I am a bad boy. I don’t need to look like one too.”

Lou laughed. “Caroline will like it. She has a thing for scruffy looking men.”

It was Niko who laughed now. “Caroline likes men, period. And that is just more motivation for me to shave.” He picked up his empty mug and turned to head inside. “Your concealer on your vanity?”

“In the drawer.” She shouted after him as he disappeared inside. “Thank you!”

“No problem.” He yelled back. “See ya in a bit.”

Lou smiled to herself. Niko was better than a big brother. He understood her and just fit into her chaotic life without missing a beat. She was very lucky to have him as well as Abby looking after her. It probably took a lot of pressure off of her parents having others around to pick up the slack. Lou knew she was a handful in so many ways and she felt guilty for it all the time. Unfortunately, it was part of her DNA and if she tried to be more careful or cautious, she couldn’t be the kind of cop she needed to be. Lou just had to get better at grinning and baring the pain so everyone would worry less and Max wouldn’t think she was a total disaster area.

Max. Lou remembered the moment they shared the night before and how he had spoken to her, reassured her. Not business as usual but decidedly more then that. It was affection and it made her toes hot just remembering. Caroline had been insisting that Max had feelings for her and Abby had hinted that was the case as well but Lou thought they were both insane. Max was powerful, important, wise and beautiful. Lou was just, as her mother put it so eloquently, a ragamuffin. Max had super models and actresses fawning all over him. He could have his pick of the lot and all he had to do was snap his perfect fingers. Lou was a grubby, awkward cop who had the absolute worst luck in the romance department. She didn’t dare let herself hope there could be anything between them because if she did and he really didn’t care for her on a romantic level, she feared it would crush her heart forever. To Lou, it was better to dream and hope then to know there was no hope at all.

“Good morning sunshine!” Abby startled her when she walked out on the terrace carrying a silver tray filled with food. “I hope you are hungry!”

“Good morning.” Lou grinned. “What did you do?” She looked at the tray and could hardly believe her eyes. There was a plate stacked several inches high with pancakes, another plate with eggs, bacon and hashbrowns then a bowl with what appeared to be oatmeal with fresh berries. There was a glass of orange juice and another with tomato juice, a small plate of sausages and another with a danish and croissant. “Holy cow Abby! Who the hell is all that for?” There was easily enough food for several people.

“Well I couldn’t sleep anymore and I didn’t know what you might want so I made a little of everything.” Abby smiled sheepishly. “Niko and I can eat what you don’t want. He’ll be back in a minute.”

“Yeah he’s picking me up more concealer and something called bromelain for my bruises.” Looking at all the yummy food, Lou’s stomach began to growl loudly. “Thank you for this! You went to so much trouble.”

“It’s no trouble! I love to cook, it calms me.” Abby dragged a chair from the other side of the terrace over to the small table. “Bromelain is a good idea.” She couldn’t help but frown when she looked at Lou’s face more closely. “Wow, that has to hurt.”

“Was my lip split last night? I don’t remember it being split.” Lou ran her finger lightly over her lower lip.

“No, it must have split when it swelled during the night.” Abby got up and ran inside for a moment, returning with a small jar of lip balm that she handed directly to Lou. “Slather this on it. It will make it feel better and help moisturize the split so you can eat without busting it open again.”

“Thanks so much.” Lou did as directed and instantly her lip didn’t feel quite so tight. “Much better.”

“Good. Now eat before it gets cold.” Abby insisted.

“I am starving. This looks amazing. Grab a fork and help me with this!” Lou hardly knew where to begin but settled on the eggs and hashbrowns as a starting point. She was so hungry that she felt like she could eat everything on the tray if she let herself.

“After you have something in your stomach we’ll get you a pain pill.” Abby grabbed Lou’s mug and went inside to make her more coffee.

Lou didn’t argue or say a thing, she was too busy gorging on Abby’s delicious cooking. When she was done inhaling the plate of eggs she skewered three of the pancakes and dragged them onto her empty plate and began slathering them in butter. She finished her preparation with a tiny bit of syrup drizzled in a zigzag pattern. When she took her first bite of pancake, her eyes literally rolled into the back of her head and she moaned. Abby beamed with pride and clapped her hands.

“Oh. My. God.” Lou mumbled, her mouth still full of food. She chewed a little longer before swallowing then stared at Abby with moon eyes. “Gerard Butler needs to know what a good cook you are. He does not stand a chance against your culinary charms.”

Abby laughed. “Maybe I should find out where he lives and just show up one morning and cook him breakfast.” She was seriously considering it.

“Abby, don’t you have connections to basically everyone? Even to God? Can’t you just set up a meet with the guy?” Lou asked, semi-worried that Lou would have to arrest Abby for trespassing and stalking the man if she did chose the surprise breakfast in bed route.

“Yeah, I could do that but I’m afraid.” She grimaced.

Lou goggled at her. “You? Afraid? How is that possible? You are the most fearless woman I know.”

Abby flapped her hands in dismissal and shook her head. “Not afraid like that! Afraid that my fantasy will be shattered and he will be a little dork with a giant head, like so many actors are in person. Totally different off screen than on. You know what I mean?”

As soon as she processed what Abby said, Lou burst out laughing. The problem was that her mouth was full at the time and she sucked in a piece of pancake then proceeded to choke. Lou tried to breathe through her nose but that didn’t work. To make matters worse, each attempt at drawing a breath exacerbated the pain in her ribs.

“Oh crap! Lou?!” Abby could see Lou was choking so she leapt up and started thumping her fist on Lou’s back. “Bugger! Do not choke to death on my pancakes do you hear me? Max will never forgive me!”

Just then Niko hopped up the stairs to the terrace and saw Abby slamming Lou’s back and saw the rest of Lou’s face turning blue.

“What the hell?!” Niko shouted as he dropped the bag from the store and ran over to help.

“I made her laugh just as she took a bite of her pancakes!” Abby started to cry. “Help Niko!”

“Move!” He shouted, shoving her out of the way then hauling Lou out of the chair from behind.