Chapter 2
When Jared awoke the next morning, Gina was pressed up against him sound asleep. His head was pounding and only got worse as he came fully awake, the knowledge that he’d spilled his guts to Gina making his head pound even worse. He made it to the bathroom, turned on the sink and splashed water on his face, each painful memory making him want to hit something. Never before in his life had he been so stupid, thanks to the wine and his big mouth he’d granted Gina a place in his life he’d had no intention of giving her.
Worse she knew everything, things that he’d never confided in anyone, things that he’d never planned to tell anyone. Drinking mouthfuls of water, he leaned against the sink trying to think of a way out of the new mess he’d created. He’d just have to find a way to get her to go home before him. They were supposed to leave today, but he’d made no progress with Seth and planned to stick around.
If he sent her home alone, that might stop what was happening before it got out of control, send a message that the night before had meant nothing. It would have been better if he’d had sex with her, he thought shaking his head, which didn’t hurt quite as much anymore. Standing up and looking in the mirror, he grimaced, it wasn’t going to be easy to hide this hangover but he knew he had to.
He could hear Gina stirring in the bedroom and knew it was time to face her. Splashing more cold water on his face, he dried off and opened the door to a much too cheerful, good morning from Gina. Who then jumped out of bed and practically danced over to him, wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.
“I’m so glad you shared with me last night. Let’s go back to bed.”
Jared could only stare at her, the last thing he had on his mind this morning was sex and even if it was on his mind, it wouldn’t have been with her. It would have been with that woman he’d met last night, Nicole had been her name, a nanny if he remembered correctly. He smiled thinking how strange it was that he’d be attracted to a woman who worked as a nanny, and Gina seeing the smile assumed it was for her.
“Come on Jared. Let’s go back to bed.”
Coming back to the present, he said, “No we can’t. We have to be at the breakfast this morning.”
Gina pretended to pout, but had known that would be his answer. “Okay then, I’ll just slip over to my room and get ready.”
Jared stopped her before she could open the door, “Here, I know a quicker way.” Then he pulled her over to the wall, tapped it a couple of times and a hidden door swung open.
Gina wasn’t exactly delighted with the fact that she’d be able to get to her room unseen, had in fact been planning to linger in the hall until someone came along and “caught” her leaving Jared’s room. Now that plan was dashed, but she had a bigger plan on her mind so she shrugged it off, flashed Jared a big smile, and disappeared through the door.
An hour later, she was standing in the dining room scanning the guests trying to assure herself that the woman from the night before wasn’t there. For her plan to work, she needed Jared’s full attention, and that woman was a very big distraction, for what reason she had no idea, but facts were facts. She’d stayed awake long into the night, turning all that Jared had told her over and over in her mind, and she’d come up with a simple solution.
One that she’d make him believe was his idea, one that she’d be a part of. Then it was only a matter of time before she achieved her biggest goal, a wedding ring. But first she had to work on Jared a little, he may have had the impression that she wasn’t very smart but she was much smarter than she let anyone know. A few leading questions, a heavy dose of empathy, and a suggestion or two would be all it would take to set her plan in action. Of course, she’d be happy to let Jared think it was all his idea, a good ego boost for a man who was clearly in need of one.
When she spotted Jared coming through the door, she crossed the room to meet him, a huge smile on her face. He looked better than when she’d left him, but he had the look of a man with a lot on his mind. After they’d filled their plates from the buffet table, she led the way outside to the deck thinking that some sunshine might do Jared some good, not to mention setting off the highlights in her hair. Once they’d seated themselves with a good view of the ocean, Gina began to eat her breakfast willing to let Jared begin the conversation, knowing that playing it cool just then was the best approach.
It wasn’t long before Jared said, “About the stuff I told you last night.”
“Oh, don’t worry I’ll never tell another soul. I understand, sometimes you just need to get things out in the open, talk it through.” Gina said, patting Jared’s hand. “And I don’t blame you for feeling cheated, if I were you I’d want to see that someone paid for what happened to you. I’d want to get even.”
Nicole sat at the table with a few of the people she’d met last night at the wedding reception listening to their conversation and thinking again how lucky she was to be there. If not for Sam and Julie her life would have never been this wonderful, not that she hadn’t worked hard to achieve what she had. But thanks to them and Marissa Terrell, she was now the proud recipient of her bachelor’s degree and about to spend her summer on one of the most innovative reclamation projects in the world today.
Marissa Terrell had appeared in her life when she’d been shattered by the violence that plagued her neighborhood in Detroit. It had been almost three years now since she’d fallen asleep on the bus on her way home from work, a mistake that would change not only her life but the lives of her younger brothers. Stumbling from the bus, miles from home in one of the worst parts of the city, she’d stepped right into a gun battle between two of the most notorious drug lords in the Detroit.
When the smoke had settled, she’d been shot in the chest and lay bleeding in the street, the pain more intense than she’d ever imagined it would be. Living where she did, guns were a part of life and she personally knew three people who’d been shot. But their descriptions had been nothing compared to the real thing, and it wasn’t long before she passed out, the sound of sirens in her ears.
When she woke in the hospital more than 24 hours later, she had no memory of the ambulance ride, the emergency surgery that saved her life, or the twelve hours after that when she lay on the very edge of death. What she did remember was the reason she was there. Every time she came to full consciousness, images of what had happened that night flashed through her mind. She could see the face of the man who had shot her very clearly in her mind, the look in his eyes would haunt her for the rest of her life, the animalistic glint so frightening that even now it made her shutter.
But someone was always there to hold her hand and assure her that she was safe, usually it was one of her brothers, who at 12 and 14 were much more mature than they should have been. Sometimes when she woke her best friend, Sandy, would be there as well, often reading out loud from one of their favorite gossip magazines or simply talking to her about what was going on in the neighborhood. Finally, she woke one morning and felt well enough to stay awake for longer than five minutes, the images of that night were still fresh in her mind but didn’t cause the paralyzing fear they had before.
When she began to ask questions about what had happened to her, one of her brothers went and got a nurse, who explained her physical injuries but had no knowledge of who had shot her or why. Nicole could still clearly see the man’s face in her mind, but she had no idea why he’d shot her, although a good guess was that it was drug related. The nurse promised to send an officer in to explain the situation to her, and reassured her that they were doing everything possible to keep her safe.
The next time she awoke, a detective was in her room, obviously anxious to talk to her. “It’s good to see you awake and with us, it was pretty close. Can you remember anything from that night?” He asked, gently.
“I fell asleep on the bus and when I woke up I was miles away from home so I got off to take a bus back.” Nicole said slowly trying to focus on something other than the moment when she realized that she was about to be shot. “I waited for the bus to pull away then walked across the street, I was so sleepy I didn’t notice that there were men in the alley or that they all had guns until it was too late.”
She paused, trying to catch her breath, remembering the sound of a gunshot then seeing one of the men crumple to the ground. “It’s okay, take a couple of minutes if you need to.” The detective said, noticing her agitation and knowing that Nicole was still very fragile.
Taking several deep breaths, she gathered her thoughts and continued. “I was walking past the alley when I heard a gunshot and saw one of the men fall to the ground. I must have screamed because the man with the gun turned to me and fired. After that all I remember is the pain and the sound of sirens.” Nicole’s entire body was shaking by the time she’d uttered those two sentences.
The detective patted her hand, “I know this is hard, but I need to know if you saw the face of the man who shot you.”
Nicole didn’t even hesitate, “I’ve been seeing it in my mind for days.” When a shutter ripped through her at the memory of his eyes, she added. “I’d know him anywhere, especially his eyes, they were scary, almost like an animal’s eyes.”
She hadn’t realized just how tense the detective was until he let out a big sigh, “The man who shot you is the head of one of the biggest crime organizations in the city and he’s known for those eyes. He wears special contacts to make his eyes look that way, they call him The Animal.”
Nicole had heard of the man and began to realize that she’d gotten herself into a big mess. “He’s going to come after me, isn’t he?”
“I’m afraid so, you’re the only witness to what happened that night. You’d be dead now, but your name tag deflected the bullet just enough that it missed your heart.”
The doctors had told her the same thing, but somehow hearing it from the detective made it that much more of a reality. The panic began to surface again making her heart rate rocket and her chest muscles contract. An alarm began to sound on the machine she was hooked up to and a nurse came rushing into the room, shooting the detective a dirty look as she shut off the alarm.
“I think that’s enough for now.” She said, jerking her head toward the door.
The detective started to leave but Nicole suddenly remembered her brothers. “Where are my brothers? Are they in danger?”
“They’ve been taken to a safe house until we can better assess the danger. This is a very bad man we’re talking about, he might go after them. I promise that they’re safe there, in fact once you’re well enough to get out of here we’ll take you there as well.”
“I want to see them.” Nicole said, needing to see for herself that they were fine.
“I’ll bring them with me when I come back later.” Relieved Nicole closed her eyes and let sleep take her, too exhausted to do anything else.
When her brothers slipped into the room later that afternoon, she saw the uniformed officer standing outside the door and her heart sank. That kind of protection could mean only one thing — someone wanted her dead, but even though her heart was hammering in her chest, she plastered a smile on her face. Her brothers looked tired and scared, nothing like the energetic teenagers she knew, more like the little boys she remembered growing up with their drug-addicted mother.
When their mother died two years ago, Nicole had taken custody of her brothers, and worked two jobs to support them while going to college. It hadn’t been easy for any of them, but they’d figured it out and had been doing okay. But maybe not as well as she’d thought, her exhaustion is what had gotten them in this trouble, and now she had no idea what was going to happen to them or if they’d ever be safe again.
She pushed those worries aside and in her most cheerful voice said, “Boy am I glad to see you two.”
Marcus, the oldest of the two, approached the bed first, tears shimmering in his eyes he looked at her for a long time, then seemed to come to the conclusion that she really was okay. “We’re glad to see you too.”
Michael, who at twelve seemed much older than his years, finally stepped up to the bed but he wouldn’t look at her. “Nicole, they won’t let us go home or to school.” He said, his voice barely a whisper.
“I’m sorry to hear that peanut.”
Michael smiled a little at his pet name but still wouldn’t look at her. “I want to go home, I want my stuff and I want to stay with you.” He was so close to tears that he was taking in big gulps of air.
Nicole knew that they must be scared, she was scared, but they needed her to be strong so she pushed her fear away. “Come and sit here on the bed with me.” She said, patting the bed next to her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen over the next few days, but I promise that when I get out of here we’ll be together.” She said, taking their hands in hers.
It wasn’t long before the nurse came in and shooed the boys out. “Your sister needs her rest if she’s going to get better, but you can come back tomorrow and stay a little longer.” She herded the boys out of the room, then came back and helped Nicole sit up a little higher. “I know you’re probably tired but Detective Alvarez wants to talk to you.”
Nicole was more than ready to have a talk with the detective, the pain medication was still making her a little fuzzy, but it was time to find out what her situation was. “Okay, I’d like to talk to him.”
By the time the detective left, Nicole had a much better understanding of how dire the situation was, “I wish I could tell you something different Nicole but my gut tells me that you’ve got to get out of town if you want to live to testify. You’re the only witness we have and Animal is going to try to eliminate you.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go.” She’d said, also thinking that she didn’t have any money to go anywhere with.
“We’ll take care of that. When you get out of here we’ll transport you to a safe house. You’ll have to stay there until you’re ready to travel, then we’ll find you a more permanent location.”
“You’re talking about witness protection, aren’t you?” Nicole’s heart sank, her life had been hard but it had been her own.
“I’m afraid that’s our only hope. We have to hide you.”
“But what about my brothers? What’s going to happen to them, I’m all they have. You can’t split us up.”
The detective raised his hand, “Don’t worry; the boys will stay with you.”
Nicole relaxed, as long as they were all together everything would be fine and now that she knew that they would be, she felt exhaustion taking over. “That’s what I was most worried about.” She said, weakly.
“I’ll let you get some sleep. We’ll talk more in a few days when it’s closer to time for you to leave.” She was asleep before the door had closed all the way, exhausted from her afternoon.
Nicole got out of bed and pushed the cart with her breakfast on it across the room. If she had to look at the congealed cereal for another minute she was going to scream. She’d been in the hospital for a week, endured one horrible meal after another, and been told for three days that she might get to go home the next day. Her chest was still tender, but she’d long ago given up any pain medication, unwilling to take it any longer than necessary.
She could walk around the floor she was on three times before getting tired and saw no reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to go home. Her guard had quickly made her feel like she was a prisoner, and she desperately needed some time alone. So, when Sandy came bustling through the door, her arms full of packages, Nicole took her frustration out on her.
“Looks like you’ve been out having fun.” She flung at her, gesturing to the packages.
“I’ll have you know that these are for you.” Sandy flung back.
Nicole’s attitude changed immediately and a huge smile spread across her face. “Please tell me that I’m finally getting out of here.”
“I’m afraid not. But you do need to take a shower and put these on.” Sand said, handing Nicole a pretty pair of pajamas.
Nicole’s heart sank, another day stuck in this place was the last thing she wanted, no way was she going to get fancied up to sit in bed all day. “I’m not taking a shower until I get to go home.” She said crossing her arms over her chest and turned her back to Sandy just like a spoiled child.
Sandy grabbed her by the shoulders and gently turned Nicole around to face her, “I’m your best friend, right?” She said, waiting for Nicole to answer. When Nicole reluctantly nodded her head, she continued. “Then trust me when I tell you that you want to go take a shower and make yourself look presentable. You’ve got a visitor coming and you’ll kick yourself if you meet her dressed like that.”
“Her?”
Sandy shook her head, “I’m not telling you anything until you go take a shower.”
An hour later she’d been waiting in a small waiting room with Sandy when a beautiful African American woman came into the room. Nicole felt like she should have known who the woman was, she looked so familiar, but her attention was drawn from the woman to what she carried in her hands. The unmistakable smell of doughnuts filled the air and Nicole’s stomach began to growl loudly. Nicole covered her stomach with her arms, but everyone had already heard it.
“Good thing I brought breakfast.” The woman said, pulling food out of the bags, including twelve fresh doughnuts and a big container of orange juice. “I’ve heard the food around here isn’t so good.”
Nicole gratefully took a plate of food from the woman when she offered it, then realized that she still had no idea who the woman was. “Thank you, this looks wonderful.”
“It was no problem, but you’re welcome. Now since Detective Alvarez hasn’t done it, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Marissa Terrell and I’m here to help you.”
Nicole could only stare at the woman open mouthed, finally understanding why she’d recognized her the minute she heard her name. What she didn’t understand was why the head of Coldwater Canyon Park and Preserve was here to see her. It just didn’t make any sense. She’d barely begun her courses in ecology, and although she’d applied for an internship for the summer it wasn’t to Coldwater Canyon.