CHAPTER 22
DAVIS HAD BEEN HOME FOR a couple of hours. His visit with Nicole had drained every ounce of energy he had. What he wouldn’t give for a drink. If he hadn’t had the entire house drug and alcohol proofed, he would have thrown a couple back. Instead, Davis fell face first into his bed not bothering to take off his clothes. He closed his burning eyes and just lay there until his phone rang. Davis debated whether to answer it or not, but it was after 11 p.m. The call could be important. He rolled over and reached up to the nightstand to grab it. He answered. “Davis.”
“I am sorry to have to call you this late.”
Davis pinched the bridge of his nose at the sound of his lawyer, Braylee Hinsdale-Manchetti’s, voice. “What? Is the FBI headed to my house to arrest me?”
“Nothing that dramatic but very disappointing. Tonight, I was tipped off that the press has found out Nicole is at Serenity. That news is going to hit the press tomorrow morning.”
“My family can’t catch a fuckin’ break. She doesn’t need that.”
“No, she doesn’t. You might want to think about alternative arrangements.”
“Alternative arrangements? Like, move her? She’s literally weeks away from finishing the program. I doubt Serenity will agree that that’s a good idea.”
“Can they handle a high-profile case? Those bastards in the media have been trying to get an interview with Nicole ever since the news broke. Security will need to be tight.”
“I can tell you that a couple of Senator’s wives and a pop singer have stayed there before. But I don’t know if their stays were ever discovered.”
“Hopefully, they can, but you and I know, tomorrow is going to be a zoo. If I were you, I would have a plan A and a plan B.”
“Thanks, Braylee.”
“You’re welcome. And, Davis . . . we’re making progress. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but if what we’re working on is successful, we’ll get your life back.”
“Right.” He was disillusioned. “At this point, it’s the waiting. Whatever is going to happen, I can only hope, it waits until Nicole is finished with her treatment. Anyway, thanks again for the call.” As soon as Davis hung up, he began to do what he had always done, try to fix the problem.
Davis had barely gotten out of the shower the next morning when someone from the staff of Serenity called. “Davis.”
“Mr. Chatham, this is Rebecca Winn, the owner of Serenity.”
“Good morning. I was just about to contact you. My lawyer called last night to give me a heads-up about the press. I wanted to make sure we had a plan in place to ensure Nicole’s privacy and safety.”
“Serenity prides itself on giving our patients the best of care and providing a safe and private environment. Our job has been made more difficult because our gates have been inundated with several dozen journalists and photographers. We don’t have the workforce to handle this.”
“They are vultures. What do you suggest? What do you want me to do?”
“Mr. Chatham, I hate to have to do this, but Nicole will need to be relocated. The frenzy that is being caused by her being here is unfair to our other patients.”
“I figured you might suggest this. Where is your other facility? Where do you want to take her?”
“We don’t have another facility. Unfortunately, her treatment with Serenity will need to be cut short. You will have to find alternative accommodations.”
“She is two-thirds of the way finished! You are just going to kick her out?”
“An inpatient facility within the state might be difficult to find considering privacy is probably the most important factor in choosing where a patient goes to recover.”
“I’ve paid Serenity thousands of dollars. You can’t just kick Nicole out on her ass!”
“We understand your frustration, and are willing to provide you with a partial refund.”
“No. You’re going to have to do better than that or I will make sure everyone knows how shabbily Serenity has treated my wife.”
“Look, I’m sure we can come to some kind of resolution.”
“Nicole has about a month left of treatment, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Can you send whatever team of people that she interacts with daily to a private residence to finish her treatment?”
“That is highly unusual.”
“I don’t give a damn.”
“Is that what it’ll take to make all of this go away?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll make it happen.”
“I’ll be there to pick Nicole up within the hour.”
True to his word, Davis arrived at Serenity within the hour. Mrs. Winn had not been lying. It was a zoo at the gate.
He waited for them to bring Nicole out. He heard her voice. “Davis?”
He turned to see her face. She was worried. “Are the kids okay? Is everything alright? They just told me I needed to pack all of my things.”
“The kids are fine. But there has been a security breach, and we need to get you moved.”
She nodded.
Davis reached for her hand. It was soft and delicate. An electricity passed between them that hadn’t been felt in a while. He didn’t know what to do with the feeling, so he ignored it. “We should go.”
The drive was made mostly in silence until Nicole broke it. “Where are we going?”
“I need to get you someplace private and safe.”
A small private airstrip came into to view. “We’re here.” When limo stopped, Davis got out of the car and came around to open her door. She got out with her arms wrapped around her body.
“How far away am I going to be?”
“Several thousand miles.”
“What? Where are you taking me?”
“To the island. Only . . . I’m not going.”
Nicole was numb. She sat in her seat for hours as the luxury private jet flew her and a wellness team from Serenity to their island. This time, she was alone.
Her heart ached, but Dr. Carmen was right, whatever was going to happen with their marriage, Nicole would have to deal with it. She would pick up the pieces and move on. No longer did Nicole want to be defined by the past. No longer could she let who she was attached to define her as a person. She had a lot of work to do to get to where she wanted to be, but for her sake, and for the sake of her children, she would do it.