Chapter Seventeen
She didn’t even look at him as she rolled off the bed.
Nik cursed silently. Why the hell had he spoiled everything and said that? She was running scared, and he guessed those words were only going to make her run faster.
She was so beautiful, slender and perfect. Her hair had come loose at some point during their lovemaking and hung in a pale curtain around her shoulders. She grabbed a robe from the chair by the bed, the same purple one she had seduced him in on that first night. Then she paced the room a couple of times, lower lip clenched in her small white teeth.
Nik pulled himself upright so he was leaning against the back of the bed and allowed her to pace. Once, she headed back to him, but then turned and paced some more. Finally, she took a deep breath and came and perched on the side of the mattress next to him.
She took another deep breath and then said, “I love you, too.”
The words were so unexpected that for a long time—well, it seemed like a long time—he just sat and stared at her. He waited for some emotion, euphoria maybe? Wasn’t that what people felt when they fell in love and were loved in return?
Unfortunately, Summer sounded far from euphoric.
She sounded lost and sad and…
He took her hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her palm. “Just talk to me. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”
She shook her head. “No, we can’t.”
She sounded so certain that something shuddered inside him. “Tell me.” As he spoke, he got out of bed and pulled on his pants. He had a feeling he wanted his clothes on for this conversation. She looked so solemn.
She went to the wardrobe, turned away from him, pulled out some clean clothes, and dressed quickly in jeans and a T-shirt. Her wardrobe was almost empty and there was a suitcase on the floor beside it. He hadn’t noticed it when they’d come in—his mind, or maybe not his mind, but the rest of him—had been on other things. It made everything seem all the more real. She was leaving.
He followed her through into the kitchen, and she poured them both a coffee, then perched on a stool at the island. He sat opposite her, but put his coffee down. He didn’t feel like drinking.
“Tell me,” he said again.
She looped her hair behind her ears. “When I came out of prison, I thought I’d paid, that it was okay for me to go on with my life, a fresh start.” She gave a rueful smile. “And there you were, outside the prison, in your big black car. Perfect evidence that the past is always with you. You can’t erase the things you’ve done.”
“What have you done?”
“I stole.”
“How many?”
“One before you.”
“Trenton.” He shook his head. “I knew there was something between you two.”
“He was the first. He didn’t recognize me, but he knew me from somewhere, and any moment he’ll remember.”
“Why? Why did you steal?”
“Justice. Vengeance.”
“Because he was rich and you’re not?” His mind searched for an explanation. A justification. Because he wanted her to be good.
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s done, and I’m not sorry. But Nik…” She reached across and rested a hand on his arm. “I can’t go back to prison. I hated it. Every day. I know I deserved it, but I can’t do it again.”
Christ, he could understand that. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what prison was like. And Summer was such a private person, it must have been doubly hard for her. At the same time, he sensed there was more.
“There’s something else. Some other reason.”
She drew back her hand and looked away for a moment. “Maybe, but it doesn’t concern you. The less you know, the better. I won’t involve my friends.”
“Can’t you admit I’m more than a friend? You said you loved me.”
“And that’s one more reason I need to keep you out of my mess.”
“So you’re going to run away?”
“I have no choice.”
“There’s always a choice. Trust me, Summer. We’ll get through this together. And if it all turns bad, I’ll wait for you.”
She pressed her lips together and wiped her hands over her face. Christ, he’d made her cry. All he wanted was to keep her safe, make her happy. But when she moved her hand, her face was resolute.
“You don’t understand. If Trenton comes after me, there’s other stuff he could find, and I can’t risk it.”
They sat in silence for what seemed an age. “When?”
“On the sleeper train, tonight.”
“Will you be safe? Will they not trace you there? Wherever you’re running to?”
“I’m going as Sarah Daniels. They’ll never find me. I have the paperwork. I’ll be fine.”
He had to get out of there. Or he might beg. What happened if she gave in, and stayed, and everything turned to crap? What would he do if he were directly responsible for her being locked up again? What if he couldn’t keep her safe?
There was one thing he could do for her. Maybe the only thing he was good for. He got to his feet and crossed to where he’d dropped his jacket when they’d come in. He found his checkbook in the pocket and a pen and went back to her. He wrote the check quickly, almost making a mistake and writing it to Summer Delaney, but he remembered just in time. She was Sarah Daniels now. He signed it, tore it out, and handed it to her.
“That should help you stay out of sight.”
She glanced down at it and her mouth dropped open, but no words came out.
“I’ll phone the bank. Tell them to expect you. There will be no problems.”
“Thank you,” she said, but her eyes were troubled and her face pale. It wasn’t the normal expression of someone who’d just been given a million pounds. But then, hadn’t he always known she wasn’t in it for the money?
“Well, I’ll always be good for one thing.”
Suddenly her expression was fierce. She glared at him. “You’re good for lots of things. You’re the best.”
“Just not good enough.”
He couldn’t leave without touching her one more time. He closed the space between them, then leaned down and kissed her softly, feeling her lips move under his. He straightened. “I love you. But I guess sometimes love just isn’t enough.”
And he was out of there.
…
Summer stared at the closed door for a long time after he’d gone.
Her chest hurt. She guessed that was the sensation of her heart breaking. She glanced down at the check in her hand. A million pounds. That was the amount of money she’d stolen from Trenton. Maybe she could go see him. Give it back. But she knew it wouldn’t finish there.
The man had a reputation for vindictiveness. He’d pursue her, even if he had his money.
Maybe she’d frame the check instead. Keep it as a memory of Nik. She hated that he thought money was all he was good for. He was one of the best, truly good people she had ever come across.
She sniffed.
She wanted her mom.
She had to be at the train station at eleven, but she was going to go see her mom first, to explain that she wouldn’t be around for a while. And she wasn’t looking forward to it. Though really, nothing could be worse than that meeting with Nik. Just so long as her mom never realized that the real reason she wouldn’t stay and risk Trenton remembering was because they might trace the money back to her mother. That money enabled her to live a full and independent life instead of in some home, dependent on other people to do everything. Especially if Summer was back inside.
She couldn’t risk it.
And her heart would mend.
An hour later, Ginny opened the door to her. She was smiling. “She told you?”
“Told me what?”
“Oh. She didn’t tell you. Maybe she wanted to tell you in person. Come in.” She held the door. “They’re in the living room.”
They? She’d presumed her mother would be alone. When she opened the door, her mom and Pete were sitting side by side on the sofa. Holding hands. Both smiling. Pete had been a little standoffish at their first meeting. She hadn’t blamed him. She was an ex-con. He probably blamed her for going off and doing bad things and ultimately leaving her mom all alone in the world.
Now the reserve was gone. When he saw her, he rose to his feet and came toward her, his hands held out in front of him. She took them a little warily, glanced at her mom over his shoulder. She was grinning. Then she raised her left hand and Summer caught the glint of diamonds on her ring finger.
“You guys are getting married?”
Her mom nodded.
“But what changed your mind?” She hurried over to her mom’s side and sank down beside her, admiring the ring. It was beautiful and clearly expensive.
“Pete took me to his place today. It’s a beautiful house, but he’d done all these changes so that I could live there. I’d already told him I couldn’t marry him, didn’t want to be a burden, but he did them anyway. Messed up his beautiful house.”
“I knew I’d wear you down eventually.”
Summer sniffed. “Let me just get one thing straight.” She turned to face Pete. “You love my mom, right?”
“Forever.”
She turned back to her mom. “And you love him?”
“Of course.”
Pete sank onto the chair across from them and studied her for a moment. “Elizabeth told me what you did for her. Where the money came from.”
She glared at her mother. This was bad.
“I don’t condone theft, but you did what you thought was right, and you looked after your mother. I’ll never judge you for that.”
“Good,” she muttered. She didn’t know where this was going. Right now, she couldn’t think much past the huge wave of relief. Her mom would have someone to care for her. She wouldn’t be alone. It was like a huge crushing weight of responsibility lifted from her. A weight she hadn’t really realized was dragging her down.
“And,” Pete continued, “I’m a rich man. I can look after us both and you as well, if you need it. We’re family now.”
“Thank you.”
“Maybe the money could be given back,” her mom suggested. “Anonymously. Then you could stop worrying.”
She gave a noncommittal shrug. “I’ll think about it.” But she knew she wouldn’t. Somehow she doubted Trenton would just accept it and forget the crime. And besides, she couldn’t give it back and risk it being traced to Danny. He’d helped her set up the trust fund, which had his digital fingerprints all over it.
She’d come to say good-bye, but she couldn’t bring herself to spoil her mother’s good mood. She was positively glowing. So she drank champagne and tried not to think about getting on that train. And not coming back.
“When is the wedding?” she asked.
“As soon as we can arrange it,” Pete replied. “Your mother doesn’t want a big wedding, but I’d like it to be a special one. You’ll come, of course.”
She nodded, but knew it was unlikely. She hoped her absence wouldn’t spoil her mother’s special day. But it couldn’t be helped. She was no doubt used to it by now. Most of their lives, at least since Summer was fourteen, had been spent apart. And her mom had Pete now to help her through it.
When she left an hour later with the excuse that she had work in the morning, she still hadn’t mentioned the fact that she was leaving.
Sitting on the bus on her way home, staring out the window at the passing fields and buildings, the thought grew inside her that she was wrong. That running away wouldn’t solve anything.
You could never get away from your past. If she ran now, she’d spend her whole life looking over her shoulder. Waiting for the authorities to catch up with her. She would never be safe. And she’d never allow herself to be happy. Always at the back of her mind would be the thought that everything had to be paid for.
Did she want to live like that?
By the time she got off the bus in the city center, she’d made her decision. Unfortunately, she hadn’t quite worked herself up to accepting what she had to do.
Shoving her hands in her pockets, she turned in the opposite direction from home and walked.
This might be her last night of freedom for a long time.