Chapter Forty-Six

THAT EVENING, ACACIA AND NICHOLAS opted to have dinner in his suite at the Ritz. In the privacy of his rooms, he forewent the prosthetic and left his scar uncovered.

Acacia was noticeably quiet. Kate’s words had chastened her and made her wonder about her rapidly developed feelings for Nicholas.

He’d noticed her change in disposition but hadn’t commented on it.

Later, they made love on the floor by the fireplace. Without words, they’d communicated through their bodies, their pleasure deep and intense.

Afterward, they lay in a naked tangle of limbs on the floor. They hadn’t even bothered with a sheet. A light sheen of sweat covered their skin.

Acacia’s leg was thrown over his, her arm across his abdomen. She rested her head near his heart, while his arms wrapped her shoulders.

“I love you.”

His words came out of nowhere. Acacia lifted her head in shock.

Nicholas looked pained. His dark eyes were worried, his brow furrowed.

He touched her lips. “There’s no need to reply. I’ve been bursting to say the words for some time. I’m afraid they just slipped out.”

“You love me?” Her lips moved against his fingers.

He withdrew them. “Yes. I’ve loved you almost since the moment I saw you at the Victoire. You’re incredible, Acacia. I’m mad about you.”

“You love me despite my complicated past?”

“You told me you accepted me, scar and all. That’s how I feel about you, but much more deeply.”

“I love you, too,” she confessed. “I realized it last night. I love this man. I can see his heart and his soul in his eyes, and I don’t ever want to be without them.”

Nicholas brought his mouth to hers and kissed her.

“I didn’t know,” he said as he brought their lips together over and over again. “I was afraid if I told you, I’d lose you. But the words could not be contained.”

“I’ve been afraid for so many years. I’m not afraid anymore, not while we’re together. I’ve waited a long time for you.”

“And I for you,” he pledged. He touched her face in wonder. “You love me.”

“With all my heart.” She touched her hand to her chest, just below the necklace he’d given her, and then brought the same hand to his heart.

He gave her a blinding smile. “I’m very relieved to know my feelings are returned.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You couldn’t tell? Every time you touched me, I felt I was giving up my secrets.”

“You’re very expressive during sex; that’s true.” He kissed her nose playfully.

“So are you.” She straddled him and began tickling his ribs.

He howled with laughter and tried to bat her hands away.

She laughed with him.

“And of course, you told your ex-boyfriend I had your heart. That made me brave.”

“Good.”

“I’ve got you now.” He clasped her hands together, binding her wrists.

“No more tickling.” She gave him a look that was meant to be sincere.

“Liar.” He kissed her palms. “This is one of the reasons I love you. You make me laugh.”

She smiled down at him.

They were quiet for a moment. Acacia took that opportunity to examine his face.

“Will you tell me about your scar?” Her voice was gentle.

Nicholas released her hands, and they rested on his chest.

“You already know about my sister. Her death threw my life into chaos. I didn’t have the network I have today, but I had some wealth and some influence. I began my own investigation.

“A group of men had been seen in the gallery on two separate occasions prior to the robbery. They didn’t act like art enthusiasts. I followed their trail into Bosnia, but they found me first.”

“What happened?”

“They gave me this.” He pointed to his scar. “They told me the next time we met, they’d kill me and my parents. I vowed at that moment I would become someone they could not kill.”

“Nicholas.” She touched his face. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

“I came back to my family disfigured. My own mother couldn’t bear to look at me.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It was. Although perhaps she’s come to terms with it,” he conceded.

“You didn’t want to have the scar removed?”

Nicholas gritted his teeth. “I wanted to stand in front of the man who gave it to me and do the same to him.

“I wore a prosthetic. I lived in my parents’ house, obsessed with finding the person who’d bought the artwork from the Bosnians. I lost my fiancée because of my obsession.”

“I didn’t know you were engaged.” Acacia’s voice was quiet.

“I was working in London at the time. We met there. I had brought her home to meet my family the night Riva was killed.”

“Oh, Nicholas.” She touched his shoulder. “What happened to your fiancée?”

He scrubbed his face. “She lived in London, where she was working. I took a leave of absence to live in Cologny. She didn’t want to let me go, but I didn’t have it in me to continue with her. I’m the one who ended it.”

“Did you ever think of reconciling?”

“Years later I tried, but I’d hurt her so deeply she couldn’t trust me.”

Acacia’s sigh matched his own. “You know who killed your sister.”

“I know the men involved, yes. They boasted about working for someone powerful. But then they disappeared, and I was never able to pick up their trail.”

“Do you think they worked for Yasmin’s Russian?”

“They were wise enough not to say. In the beginning, we didn’t know if the thieves had been commissioned by someone to steal the artwork or whether they were opportunists who would look for a buyer. But when I found them, they made it clear they’d been commissioned. Unfortunately, Riva surprised them the night of the robbery. They said her death was an accident. They’d only meant to knock her out.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Nicholas’s expression grew fierce, dark fire burning in his eyes. “When I find them, I’m going to stand in front of them with this uncovered.” He gestured to his face. “And I’m going to put a bullet in their brains.”

Acacia stilled.

Nicholas’s eyes glinted. “Returning the art to my parents is important, but I can never give them back my sister. I’m going to find the man who ordered the theft, and I’m going to kill him and his crew.”

“But that’s…” Acacia swallowed. “Wouldn’t it be better to turn them over to Interpol?”

“So the crime boss can deny involvement? So he can plead guilty to charges of possession of stolen property? No.” Nicholas’s voice grew harsh. “They all need to pay.”

“That’s murder.”

Nicholas’s gaze was cold. “No, Acacia. It’s justice.”

She sat back and stared. “I thought you wanted to get the art back.”

“It isn’t enough. That man destroyed my family. My parents can’t bear to be in the house we grew up in because of the memories.”

“You think killing him will give them closure?”

“Yes.”

“Nicholas.” She bent over him. “Listen to me. Killing just brings more killing. It will never end.”

“What do you know about it?” he spat.

Carefully, she moved from atop him. “Think about the part of the world where I was born. Think about my brothers and sisters in that region. I know all about killing.”

Nicholas sat up. “This is different. This isn’t terrorism.”

“Terrorism is an act of violence brought about by someone who is a law unto himself. What’s the difference between the Russian and my father? What’s the difference between you and the Russian, if you do this?”

“Acacia,” Nicholas warned.

“You’re both powerful. You have intelligence networks and security guards. You have political power. What’s the difference?”

“I’m not corrupt. I didn’t start this.”

“If you are a law unto yourself, then you are just like them. You can’t decide who lives and who dies. You can’t become the law.”

“No, but I can be the agent of justice.”

“Whose justice? Yours? Your sister’s?” She came closer to him. “Would your sister want you to become a murderer?”

Nicholas stood, his hands clenched in fury. “Look what they did to my face! Look what they did to my sister!”

Acacia covered herself with a sheet and stumbled to her feet. “Nicholas, listen to me. You want justice. You deserve to have it. But an eye for an eye makes us all blind.

“Killing broke my family apart. We couldn’t stay with a man who had become a law onto himself.”

He jerked his head in her direction. “I am not your father.”

“But you will become him, if you do this.”

“Acacia.” Nicholas lowered his head so their eyes were at the same level. “Once this is done, I’ll be free. Free to live. Free to love.”

“Once this is done, you’ll wear the chains of killing. The Russian’s people will come after you, or your family, or me. Don’t you see? You’ll be placing all of us at risk.”

He took her hands in his. “You said you loved me. You have to understand why I must do this.”

Her eyes searched his. She saw desperation and desire, force of will and affection. But it wasn’t enough.

“If you love me, don’t do this.”

He released her. His expression was resolute. “I must.”

“I love you, Nicholas. The thought of being without you tears me here.” She pushed her fist against her heart. “But if you do this, if you kill that man, I can’t be with you.”

He grabbed her fist between his hands. “Acacia, if you were to think about it more, you’d realize I’m right.”

“I’ve been thinking about revenge and death for almost thirty years. I know you’re wrong. Promise me you won’t kill anyone.”

His spine straightened. “I can’t.”

She extricated herself from his grasp.

“Then I have to go.” Acacia picked up her clothes, strewn across the floor.

“We can talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. You’ve said it all.” She fled to the bathroom.

“Acacia, wait!” He followed her.

But the door was already locked.