Chapter Twenty-Five

After they had driven around separately for hours, John and Natasha decided to call off the search. If Fury was anywhere in town, he was either hiding or something had happened to him. It was nearly noon, and they hadn’t made any progress.

“Give me a call if you find out anything,” John said over the phone. “I’ll keep my eyes peeled too, and I’ll talk to the person who’s doing Fury’s paperwork. He used to work for Cyborg Sector, so he might be able to help us.”

“Okay.” Natasha pulled into her driveway and turned off the ignition. “Thanks for your help.”

“It’s not a problem.” A heavy pause followed. “Look, do you think there’s any chance he left on purpose? I hate to bring it up, but it seems strange for him to disappear like this.”

The nurse gulped. John was verbalizing the worries she had been trying to shove aside the entire day. Fury had said she belonged to him, but what did that mean? Could he come and go as he pleased, disappearing for a day or more at a time when he’d had enough of her? Maybe other women belonged to him as well. Perhaps she had pushed him too hard to become human again or fought too much to keep him at home. Maybe he’d started out on his walk, and halfway through suddenly decided that he didn’t want to turn around and come back. Had she driven him away?

“I don’t know. I hope not.”

“It might be a good thing if he did, in a way,” John argued. “It would mean that he’s safe, and he hasn’t been arrested or injured.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” But it wasn’t enough to convince her to stop worrying. Whether Fury left of his own volition or not, she needed to know the truth.

“Well, make sure you tell me what you find out.” John ended the conversation, leaving Natasha alone in the horrible silence of the house.

The quiet didn’t last for long. When there was a knock at the door, Natasha’s heart leaped into her throat and spilled a copper taste over her tongue. Was it Fury? Had he forgotten his key?

It was Nick again. He had recovered from his drunken binge and stood straight and confident in front of the door. He looked relaxed, hooking his thumbs into the tops of his pants pockets. Nick always looked like he was wearing the same clothes: a tight, black band t-shirt with ripped jeans. Natasha couldn’t believe she had ever married him.

“Did you need another copy of the divorce papers?” she asked innocently, noticing they weren’t in his hand and wondering if the attorney had received them yet.

“No, I still have my first set. But I came here for the complete opposite reason.” He walked into the house without being invited and looked around, scrutinizing the room and imagining how much money he could get for the contents at auction. “I can’t sign those papers. As I’ve said before, I want you back with me.”

Natasha didn’t close the door, hoping Nick would realize he wasn’t welcome. “And as I’ve said before, I’m not interested. I’m not dumb enough to go back to someone who cheated on me. Since you think I’m a filthy whore, maybe you shouldn’t want to get back together with me either.”

Nick folded his skinny frame down onto the couch. He leaned against the back cushion and spread his arms out wide, looking every bit the king of the castle. “I thought that for a minute, myself. But then I found out what happened in this house. I know your secret, and you’re going to move back in with me unless you want everyone else to know about it.”

“Did you find out about me? It’s true, I never make spaghetti sauce from scratch, and I drink decaf.” Natasha was nervous, and Nick was making her grasp at straws. She didn’t want to give anything away. Nick could be referring to anything.

Her husband threw his head back and laughed. “It’s nothing that simple, and you know it. Shut the damn door so we can talk.”

The nurse looked down at the doorknob in her hand. Closing the door would mean sealing herself in with someone repulsive. She wasn’t sure she could sit on the middle cushion of the couch after Nick had touched it with his ass. But if he was talking about Fury, she didn’t want to risk a neighbor walking by and overhearing the conversation. She decided to close it slowly but stayed nearby in case she needed to bolt out of the door.

“Don’t look like you’re afraid of me,” Nick reprimanded. “I’m your husband, after all. And you’re coming back.”

“You keep saying that. Why don’t you get to the point?”

Nick leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as a grin spread across his face. “I know about your buddy. I know he isn’t a legal cyborg - and that he hasn’t been fixing anything.”

A chill spread over Natasha’s skin as she stared at the unwanted guest in her living room. Her vision dimmed around the edges. She felt like sitting down, but that would mean letting go of the doorknob and getting closer to Nick. It would also mean admitting he was right.

“Quit making things up. Your lies aren’t going to get me back.” As soon as she spoke, Natasha could hear the hoarseness in her voice. Nick had her trapped.

“There were an awful lot of people who lost their jobs at Cyborg Sector when it shut down. Your father wasn’t the only one affected. Those people have had to go out into the world and find other jobs. Believe it or not, some of them come in and drink at my bar. Do you know what happens when a man gets drunk?”

“Of course I do. He sleeps with his employees.” Natasha wondered if Nick would reveal his cards before she showed any of hers.

“He starts talking.” Nick answered the question himself. “The more beers you set in front of him, the more he says. Make a few of them beers free, and you can find out anything you desire. You see, you think I’m in the alcohol business, but I’m really in the information business. I’ve learned enough to bring down several large companies this afternoon if I wanted to.” He sat back again, looking confident.

In the logical part of her brain, Natasha thought he was exaggerating. He might know a few things, but he was the kind of man who always felt he needed to have the upper hand in every interaction. Still, she listened carefully.

“Colin White comes into my bar all the time, and he helped me put the pieces together. Your friend is an illegal cyborg, isn’t he? You’ve broken a lot of laws and violated ethical codes that Cyborg Sector won’t be happy about. You might spend time in jail, and they’re going to kill your pet, of course. I don’t think you want any of that to happen, do you?” He cocked a blonde eyebrow at Natasha.

Nick looked disgustingly happy. He had her over a barrel, and there was no point in denying it. Natasha wished she could knock the smug look right off of his ugly face. How had she ever let herself care for someone who was so cruel inside? He knew that Fury’s life was at stake, but he wasn’t the least bit concerned.

“I think there’s even more to this story, too, but I’m still researching it. I do know that there are reports that have come in about something roaming the neighborhood at night. Tell me, my gorgeous wife, do you have any idea what it has been doing out there unsupervised?”

Reports? Had someone seen Fury? Natasha had been content to fall into a pattern of existing side by side with the cyborg. Why hadn’t she asked him about his nightly trips? At the very least, he hadn’t been careful enough.

“What do you want?” Natasha leaned heavily on the doorknob.

“I think you know. I’ve told you time and again, but you don’t listen to me.” He stood up from the couch and crossed the room to her. Nick only stood a half a head taller than Natasha, but he could be intimidating when he wanted to be. His eyes danced with a cold light. “You’re coming back to me. Get your stuff back into my house.”

Before she could react or back away, Nick smacked a wet kiss onto her lips. He put a hand on the doorknob, covering hers as he turned his hand roughly and pulled the door open. “Two days, my love.”

Natasha slammed the door and locked it, then ran to the kitchen to wash out her mouth.