Unforeseen Danger (27 page)

This time she claimed his soul.

***

November 10

Sunlight peeked through the blinds, waking Nikki the next morning.
 
She propped up on her elbow and squinted at the clock.
 
Jake was still sleeping.
 
With a contented sigh, she settled back on her side to face him.
 
Lightly, she rubbed her palm down his
stubbled
jaw,
then
brushed a soft kiss across those perfect lips.
 
He looked so dangerous, so exotic, lying against the stark white sheets.
 
She couldn’t resist a little exploring in full daylight.

Tugging the sheet lower, she ran her hands across his chest, then his abdomen, tracing her finger down the thin line of dark hair leading to his navel.
 
Jake groaned and shifted in his sleep.
 
Nikki smiled.

She reached around him to rake her nails down his back and felt his arousal stir against her bare hip.
 
Grinning up at him, she was startled to find those blue eyes staring at her in amusement.

“Good morning to you, too.”
 
Reaching to grab her waist, he pulled her astride him.
 
“How long before your therapist gets here?”

Nikki shivered as he trailed his fingers along the tops of her bare thighs.
 
“We’ve got an hour.”

“How about that?”
 
Jake smiled.
 
“A whole hour.”

They were just getting dressed by the time Theresa arrived.

***

Today wrapped up her therapy.
 
They even finished a few minutes early and Nikki was baking a batch of cookies.
 
She had the oven door open, checking on them when the telephone rang.
 
Shutting it carefully, she went to answer it.
 

“Hey,
Nik
.
 
This is Eliot.
 
Did you see a spare set of keys lying around anywhere?
 
I can’t find my house keys anywhere and thought I might’ve left them there yesterday.”

“Hang on and I’ll check.”

She was back in a moment.
 
“Yep, here they are.
 
They were lying on the bookcase.”

“Great,” he said.
 
“Mind if I come get them?”

“No, come on over.
 
I’ll be here.”

He arrived a few minutes later and Nikki invited him in.

“I love the tape, Eliot.
 
Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”
 
He cast
her a
shy glance and said, “So how’s it going?”

“Better, I think.”
 
She handed him his keys.
 
“Good days and bad days, you know?”

He nodded and then said, “I
gotta
ask.
 
What
is
that smell?”

“Chocolate chip cookies.
 
Fresh baked.”

Eliot lifted an eyebrow and pretended to look over her shoulder.
 
“Oh, yeah?
 
Who baked them?”

“Ha, ha,” she replied.
 
“A comedian.
 
Come on.”
 

She walked into the kitchen.
 
Just when she thought he wasn’t coming, he appeared in the doorway.
 
Eliot made a show of looking at his watch as Nikki held out the cookie plate.

“Ah,
Nik
.
 
Maybe I shouldn’t.
 
Lunch is only – what, four hours away?
 
I hate to spoil my appetite.”

“Shut up,” she said, and shoved a cookie in his mouth.

“Hey, this isn’t bad.”
 
He looked so surprised that Nikki folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

He glanced at her and laughed.
 
“Sorry.
 
It’s just that I don’t believe I’ve ever known you to cook before.”

“Never?
 
No wonder the roast freaked Jake out.
 
Do you want some milk?” she offered.
   

Eliot nodded and swiped another cookie as she retrieved the jug from the refrigerator and poured.
 

“Hey,
Nik
, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about—”

Nikki didn’t know what made her look through the doorway as she passed, but something in the den caught her eye.
 
The glass she held slipped from her hand.
 
It crashed to the floor and cold milk splashed over the top of her bare foot.

“Nikki?” she heard Eliot say, but she ignored him as she stepped over the broken glass and entered the den.

One of the rose globes was back on the mantel, but it was different.

Instead of a
colorful
blossom, a perfect black bloom floated inside the glass bubble.

“
Nik
, you’re bleeding,” Eliot said.

Numbly, she looked over her shoulder to see the bloody streak she left behind on the kitchen tile.

Eliot scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the kitchen.
 
He deposited her in a kitchen chair and held up her foot for inspection.

Nikki winced as he dug a piece of glass from her heel and pressed a paper towel to it to the stop the bleeding.
 

“
Nik
?”
 
He waved a hand in front of her face.
 

“He’s been here again.”

Eliot looked at her, and then stepped inside the den.
 

“Are you sure?”
 
He reappeared in the doorway with a poker in his hand.
 
“Why do you think he’s been here?”

“The globe,” she said.
 
“He brought back the globe.

Eliot shot her a confused look and said, “Call the sheriff.
 
I’m going to search the house.”

“No!” she said and limped toward the hall closet.
 
“Just take me to Jake.
 
I’ll call Catherine and tell her not to come over.”

More than anything, she just wanted to be out of the house.
 
She wanted to be with Jake.
 

They could call Matt later.
 
Nikki already knew it was pointless.
 
He’d find no prints on the glass.

The morning had been unseasonably warm and she and the therapist had walked around the
neighborhood
.
 
She wondered if that was when the intruder had gotten in.

Maybe he was still here.

Eliot insisted on searching the house, then bandaging her foot.
 
He put a pair of Jake’s thick socks over that and Nikki barely squeezed her foot into her boot.

Eliot called Catherine and then they were on their way.

“What are you and Jake into, Nikki?”
 
Eliot asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied and stared out the window at the pale winter sun.

***

Jake didn’t look up when the office door opened.
 
Nikki limped over to him, and placed her cool hands over his eyes.

“Guess who?”
 
She tried to keep her voice light, but immediately Jake grabbed her hands.

“Nikki, what’s wrong?”

“Can I hang out with you awhile?
 
I promise not to get in the way.”

“Of course you can.”
 
He stared at her with questioning eyes.
 
Nikki hobbled to the door and waved at Eliot, who returned her wave and backed out of the driveway.

“What happened to your foot?” Jake demanded.
 

“I stepped on a piece of glass.”
 
She sank into one of the chairs in front of his desk.
 
She told him about the globe, hating the look of frustration on his face.

“How does he keep getting in our house?
 
I was home all day yesterday.”

“Maybe he did it this morning,” she suggested.
 

Jake’s mouth set in a hard line.
 
“You can’t stay there by yourself anymore,
Nik
, not even for a few minutes.”

Glancing at his cluttered desk, she said, “Give me a job.
 
Looks like you could use a good secretary.”

Jake laughed and bent to kiss her.
 
Nikki’s hand stole up to wind in his dark hair, pulling him closer.

“Um, I’m not sure I’ll get anything done with you around,” he murmured.
 
“But that’s not such a bad idea.
 
Sure you wouldn’t get sick of me?”

“I think I can handle it.”

Nikki finally figured out Jake’s recordkeeping system, which was a little haphazard and by
noon
, the top of his desk was clear.
 
Finally, she found a way to make herself useful and Jake’s compliments pleased her.

Jake glanced at his watch.
 
“Want to go to lunch with the boss?”

“Love to.”

“Let me get this order to Hank and we’ll head out,” he promised.
 

As he pulled the office door shut behind him, Nikki eased out from behind the desk.
 
Her heel ached when she put pressure on it, so she did a little hopping to get to the coat rack.

She heard the office door open behind her.
 

“I’m ready,” she said and turned, expecting to see Jake.

Elaine sagged against the doorway.
 
Her face was covered with blood.

“Elaine!” Nikki shouted,
then
hobbled over to her.
 

“What are you doing here?”
 
Elaine demanded.
 
“Where’s Jake?”

“He’ll be right back.
 
What happened to you?”

“
Wha
—” Elaine asked, looking dazed.
 
She touched her nose with a faltering hand and her fingertips came away with blood.

She cursed, and stumbled toward the small bathroom.
 

Nikki grabbed her when she almost fell.

A small cut slashed its way through Elaine’s left eyebrow.
 
The eye below it was nearly swollen shut.
 
Nikki wet a paper towel and reached for her.
 

Elaine batted her hand away.
 
“Leave me alone.
 
I can do this.”

“Just shut up,” Nikki said and, surprisingly, Elaine did.

“
Nik
, you ready yet?”
 
Jake called.

“In here!” Nikki yelled.
 
“Hurry!”

Jake stepped inside the bathroom, and then recoiled when he saw Elaine’s face.

“What happened?” he demanded.
 
“
Brandon
?”

“Yes,” Elaine said and Nikki watched Jake’s hands ball into fists.
 
“No!
 
It’s not what you think.
 
I did this to myself, trying to get away from there.”

With a shaky voice, she told them about coming home from work for lunch.
 
Her ex-boyfriend, Brandon, had been sitting at her kitchen table.

“I ran,” she said.
 
“I couldn’t wait on the elevator, so I took off down the stairs.
 
I tripped and fell down a flight.
 
That’s how I hurt my face.
 
I didn’t know what to do, so I just came here.”

“I’m
gonna
kill him,” Jake muttered.

“Call Matt,” Nikki said, and taped up the cut by Elaine’s eye.
 
Tossing the soiled paper towel in the garbage, she pressed a clean washcloth to Elaine’s nose and tilted her head back.

“She’s right, Jake.”
 
Elaine’s voice was muffled through the cloth.
 
“Call the police.”

“Tell him to meet us at the hospital,” Nikki added.

“I’m not going to the hospital.
 
Nothing’s broken,” Elaine said stubbornly.

“Well, tell him to meet us at the house, then.
 
Elaine can stay with us until they pick him up and she can get her locks changed,” Nikki said.
 

Both Elaine and Jake gaped at her, but Jake did as she said.

“Why are you doing this?” Elaine hissed.
 

“Because you are Jake’s stepsister.”
 
Nikki looked at her.
 
“His friend.
 
And he cares about you.”