Unwanted Heat

Kenzie

“She knows Richard,” I whisper… not even wanting to hear myself say his name again. “She’s working with him… they’re working together…”

“Carter,” Nicholas says.

“I’ll get Brian on it as soon as you’re secure in your room,” he confirms.

“We still have him under surveillance. Correct?” “From a distance,” Carter interrupts.

“Does he know?”

“He is not aware that he is under surveillance; at least he doesn’t appear to know.”

“But you didn’t have her under surveillance?”

“For the first year we did,” he sighs heavily with regret. “Her father bought her a condo in a very upscale neighborhood and set her up to take some classes at a local community college in a new field. As part of our agreement, Harper isn’t permitted to work in any position in journalism, advertising or any other form of media. She was seeing a psychiatrist and was taking medication for a mood disorder; the reports from the court indicated she was doing well. We removed the surveillance on her at that point-”

“To a certain degree,” Carter adds.

“Carter had her name set on alerts, so we would know if she purchased a plane or train ticket out of the state. This allowed us to ensure she wasn’t coming back to New York, while not keeping day to day tabs on her, which everyone indicated wasn’t necessary at that point,” I can hear the anger in Nicholas’s voice, as I’m sure he regrets removing that person now. But, if nothing happened after a year of watching her and if everyone thought she was stable, I could see why they would make that decision.

“How did she get to New York?” I more wonder aloud than ask.

“I’m working on that now,” Carter confirms. “According to Brian, she didn’t purchase a plane or train ticket.”

“Find out from Brian where fucking Westbrook is,” Nicholas hisses.

We ride in silence the rest of the way to the hotel; there really isn’t much to say. I can’t stop replaying the words Harper said-there is no doubt in my mind she is somehow working with him. What I can’t figure out is how they would have met…

“We’re here,” Nicholas squeezes my hand, and I glance up

realizing we’re sitting in a parked car in an underground parking garage.

Hunter checked us into the hotel and returned to the car with keys to a large suite. Given what has happened, the four of us will be sharing a suite with Hunter and Carter taking turns keeping watch all night. Not only do we not know how Harper ended up in the apartment but until we know for certain that he is still in Colorado, I don’t think anyone will feel safe.

Once Carter ensures the room is safe, we enter the large suite which contains two bedrooms with a shared living area. Hunter puts our small overnight bag in the master bedroom before joining us in the living room. Carter is on the phone the entire time; Nicholas is pacing the floor while typing away on his phone. Hunter and I sit in opposite chairs facing each other sort of waiting to see what happens.

“How is that possible?!?!” Carter screams before slamming his phone on the counter. I cringe as I hear glass shatter knowing that he likely just broke the screen of his phone.

“What do we know?” Nicholas asks.

“He’s gone.”

“Westbrook?”

“Yes.”

“How? What do you mean he is gone? I thought we had someone on him?”

“We had someone on him from a distance; you didn’t want him to know that he was being followed, so we had to keep our distance. Our guy last saw him two days ago-”

“WHAT?” Nicholas stops and stares at Carter.

“He left work in the middle of the day, telling his boss that he was sick,” Carter explains. “Our guy followed him to his condo, watched him enter the building and reports he never left.”

“Did someone check the condo?” I ask.

“It’s empty; we don’t know how or when he left but the apartment is empty. His car was still in its parking spot, so someone must have picked him up.”

“Why didn’t that fucker check him out when he didn’t leave his apartment? Why did he wait until today to search the apartment? What fucking excuse could he possibly have?”

“According to our source, this is somewhat typical behavior for Westbrook. He would often lock himself in his apartment for three to four days at a time without leaving-”

“He’s right,” I cringe at the memories of those days. “When he was having a bad week, he would sometimes leave the office early, go to a bar, get wasted and then come home and drink for two or three days straight, not stopping until he passed out at least a few times a day.”

It didn’t happen often, but every couple of months that would be his pattern. The alcohol made his temper worse; during that time there was nothing I could right by him. He would flip out and hit me for no reason. The only good thing about those days was when he would pass out: the beatings would stop for a few hours and it gave me a little reprieve.

When Nicholas squeezes my hand, I realize that everyone is kind of watching me and he is now sitting next to me on the couch. What Carter and Hunter know of my past, I don’t know, but they must know enough because I can tell by the look in their eyes right now that they likely know where I just went.

“I think the only reason he didn’t lose his job was because of who his father was. Not many bosses would put up with someone leaving early sick on Fridays and then still being sick the following Monday as often as he was,” I say.

“You’re probably right,” Nicholas agrees.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“So, we don’t know where he is right now?” I ask Carter.

“We have people looking for him, but at the moment, no. We don’t know where he is,” Carter confirms. “He withdrew a large sum of cash earlier in the week from his bank account, but again this didn’t raise any concerns-”

“Because it wasn’t out of the ordinary either,” I finish Carter’s sentence. “He needed the cash to pay for his drinks and lap dances.”

“That’s what our guy said as well.”

“My family has security on them still, correct?” Nicholas asks.

“Yes, everyone has a CPO assigned to them; our staff is aware of the increased threat.”

“I think I’m going to go to bed,” I can barely keep my eyes open let alone follow what anyone is saying.

“Good idea-” Nicholas says.

“You don’t need to-”

“It’s late, I don’t think us sitting out here any longer tonight will get any answers. Let’s get some sleep and reconvene when we’re all a little more awake.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll keep watch for the next couple of hours and then Hunter will take over,” Carter confirms.

“First thing in the morning, I want an update on where that fucker is,” Nicholas hisses.

“Understood, sir.”

Nicholas wraps his arm around my waist and walks me to the master bedroom, not leaving my side until he ensures the room is empty. Wordlessly, he strips me out of my clothes before removing his own. We climb into bed and he immediately pulls me close to him, so my back rests against his warm chest.

“I am so sorry,” he whispers, his mouth so close to my ear, I can feel his breath on it.

“What are you sorry for?” I try to turn around, but he holds me tight against him preventing me from doing so.

“For what I said at the bakery,” his voice is guilt ridden.

I try to figure out what he is referring to, but for the life of me I can’t recall him saying anything that he should apologize for.

“What you said?”

“To… her,” his arms tighten around me, as I’m sure he’s recalling the scene when we walked in. “When I told her that she was right about what she said about you-”

When it dawns on me what he’s referring to, I force myself to turn over and face Nicholas. The guilt is written all over his face-guilt which he shouldn’t be feeling.

“Nicholas, I knew then and I know now, that when you said she was right that you weren’t agreeing with her,” his eyes meet mine questioningly, as if he isn’t sure he believes me. “When you stepped away from me and started talking to her, I may have initially thought you were crazy for placing yourself closer to her when she had a knife, but I never for a moment thought that you were agreeing with what she was saying. I knew you were doing it because you didn’t want things to end with her being shot or killed.”

“Look, what she said about the belt… it wasn’t like that-” “I never thought it was,” I assure him.

“I did hit her with one a few times, but only after she asked. She… it would turn her on,” he shrugs. “But, I NEVER hit her hard enough to leave bruises or draw blood.”

“I know you wouldn’t-you’re not like that.”

His lips find mine as he pulls me even closer to him; his arms wrap around me keeping me close to him. He groans when I place my leg over his thigh, opening myself up to him. His erection probes my sex, sliding through my folds as he teases my opening.

“I love you, Kenzie,” Nicholas whispers as he slowly pushes into me; we both moan when he’s fully sated in me.

“I love you, so much,” the tears are in my eyes at the realization of my words. Tonight, scared me-everything almost ended. I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared as I was tonight, even the night my ex almost killed me.

“I was so scared she was going to hurt you-I couldn’t have lived with myself if she had,” he whispers, and for the first time I realize how much tonight affected him. In the car, and when we were talking to Carter and Hunter in the living area here, he seemed angrier than anything. I know it’s a rare occurrence for him to let his guard down, to let someone in… to trust someone.

“I’ve never been so scared,” I admit. “I was so scared that I was going to lose you.”

“Never, Kenzie,” he kisses me and holds me tightly against him. “You’ll never lose me.”

Our love making is different: it’s slow, with sometimes neither of us moving, instead we take the time to be with each other. Neither of us hurry, rather than chasing the orgasms, which is so often the case with us, we both wait for it. Our hands silently move slowly over one another’s body, instead showing each other how we feel with our bodies rather than with words. We find our release together long after we went to bed.

Nicholas falls asleep almost immediately; I take advantage of this rare occurrence and watch him sleep for a while like he does with me sometimes. His arm remains wrapped firmly around my waist, holding me tightly against him, keeping our connection intact. I feel him soften slightly inside of me, but he doesn’t seem to go completely soft inside of me. It’s very rare for him to be as vulnerable as he is tonight; I know it couldn’t have been easy for him. Turning around to find her behind us in the bakery was not something I ever expected to happen. I shiver at the memory, immediately Nicholas’s arms tighten around me, keeping me close to him reminding me that I’m safe now.