CHAPTER 12
Nicki’s stomach clenched. She feared she might lose it out the car window as Jack sped down the dark road with the lights turned off.
It wasn’t his driving making her feel ill. There was enough moonlight for him to see the road and he seemed to know where he was going. It was that they had found her somehow. How?
She’d made one call to her father from a pay phone she was lucky enough to find before she even met Jared and started working on the farm. Did they track her from that?
It didn’t matter how they got here. All that she knew was she was no longer safe. Maybe she never had been.
Things were bad. Very bad. And not fifteen minutes ago she had been happy in Jack’s arms.
Time to tell the truth, before her lies got Jack’s entire family killed.
She took a deep breath to steady her stomach.
“My real name is Niccolina Campolini. My father breeds and trains racehorses near Belmont Park in Long Island. You’ve heard of Belmont, right? It’s the third leg in the Triple Crown after the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.”
He glanced at her like she was a babbling imbecile, so she continued, “Sorry, of course you’ve heard of it. Anyway, this guy was putting pressure on my father to throw a race. Tell the jockey to pull up, make the horse lame . . . whatever. He didn’t care, as long as this horse didn’t win the race. My father was pretty tired of being a pawn for these guys. He’d owed them some money, but he’d paid it all back plus a ridiculous amount of interest. In his mind, his obligation was done, but they kept demanding favors. He decided to end it there and then and his horse won.”
“And they weren’t very happy with him,” Jack guessed correctly.
“No, they weren’t. They took me as collateral . . .” Nicki paused as her voice started to shake. She drew in a breath and blew it out before she continued. “I was leverage so my father would have to do what they said. And I guess it was also to teach him a lesson for crossing them.”
Jack took his eyes off the road long enough to look at her for a few seconds. He put one hand on her knee and squeezed. “Go on, darlin’. Tell me what happened.”
In the dark, she could see the firm, angry set of his jaw as he waited for her to finish. “The head guy had always liked me, so he decided he would make me his woman, then he would have control over my father forever.”
She glanced at him. The next part was going to be very hard to say, especially to him. Particularly now, after what had happened between them. “I—I was under constant guard until one night when he summoned me to his bedroom. The bastard dismissed the guards for the night, so we were alone.”
Her heart pounded just remembering it. Jack squeezed her leg again. “Don’t, darlin’. It doesn’t matter what you had to do. You got away. That’s all that matters.”
She shook her head. “No, I need to tell you this. I went along with him until he was . . . in a vulnerable position. Then I bit him. Hard. Down there.”
Cringing, Nicki remembered too vividly the metallic taste of his blood in her mouth.
The car jerked a bit as Jack, obviously surprised, turned to look at her.
She continued with the sordid tale. “He didn’t have a chance to call the guards before I grabbed the brass lamp next to the bed and smashed him over the head. I don’t know if I killed him. I didn’t check. I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out. I’d spent my time memorizing the location of the security cameras and where the guards were usually stationed. I managed to slip out of the house unnoticed. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore then I walked after that. I made it to town and stole a woman’s purse. I’m not proud of that, but I had nothing with me and I was desperate. I got to the train station and bought a ticket with cash.”
Jack turned onto an unpaved, very bumpy and winding path, not even a road. He flipped on the lights again and slowed the car to a crawl. She assumed they were nearing their destination.
“I ended up in Pigeon Hollow with nothing but the clothes on my back and a few dollars in a stolen purse. I was about to spend the last of the money on food when I heard your brother in the diner saying he wanted to hire more help on his horse farm. So here I am.” She shrugged with the completion of the story.
Jack brought the car to a stop behind an old cabin that looked like it had seen better days. She doubted they’d be found here and that was good enough for her.
He yanked up the parking brake and turned in his seat to face her. Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, darlin’. But you did good. You were very brave.”
“But they found me and now your family is in danger because of me. I should have told you all the truth sooner. I shouldn’t have stayed in one place for so long. I meant to keep moving, but everyone was so nice here. Then I met you . . .”
He pulled back and held her face while he gazed at her. “Shhh. Regrets do nobody any good. I’m glad you stayed. I can help you.”
She was about to protest again when he silenced her with one finger on her lips. “Listen to me now. This is what I do for a living. I fight bad guys and I’m darn good at it. And with my friends on their way here to help, those guys after you don’t stand a chance. Trust me. Okay?”
Her eyes filled with tears making it even harder to see his face in the darkness. “I do trust you.”
“Good.” He smiled and kissed her, quick and hard, before pulling back too soon.
Jack got out of the car and then jogged around to open her door. Grabbing her hand, he led her to the cabin.
The door creaked open and she was hit with the musty air from within the dim interior. She didn’t care if it was a bit run down and smelled like it might not have been aired out in years.
It felt safe. Or maybe it was just being with Jack that made her feel safe.
The problem was, she knew the feeling was only temporary. As long as they were after her she’d never be safe again.