 
The Proposition

By Jessica Schlafer

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This novel is work of fiction, all characters, places, and events never occurred. All similarities are completely coincidental.

I would like to dedicate this novel to my son, Adam. Without you, I don't know where I'd be. You brought sunshine into my life at my darkest hour. You make waking up every day possible. I love you with all my heart and I hope you always know that.

To my hero, my Mom. There's so much to say, but I just don't know the proper words. I'll keep it simple. Thank you.

To everyone else who cheered me on and supported me (and even edited), thank you! Without that, I wouldn't have finished. I would've just put this to the side, as I usually do, and added it to the collection of unfinished work I have.

Copyright February 17, 2013
Chapter 1

As I sat in the small meeting room at the hotel, I was cold, wet, burned and trying to keep my composure. They were already 20 minutes late, but the two men finally walked into the room. The older one, Paul, I've known for many years. He smiled and gave me a curious look.

"How are you doing, sweetie? It's been so long," he asked, leaning down to kiss me on the cheek.

The other, much younger, man smiled politely. I liked his smile.

"This has to be one of the worst trips ever," I took a deep breath, trying not to show them how upset I was by letting my voice crack. "The plane here was delayed for 16 hours because of the weather. When I landed, I find out they've lost my luggage, which, whatever, it happens all the time. So, I get in the car you sent and it gets a flat tire. While I'm waiting, they send another car and it goes for like 15 minutes before it overheats and we end up on the side of the road. I finally asked the driver how far it was to the freakin' hotel and walked the rest of the way."

Both men had a look of shocked amusement, "Are you okay?" Paul asked.

"Um, no, I'm not done. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm sitting here in my robe."

"Well, yeah, I was curious."

"So, I get to my room, ready to get out of my clothes that I just spent like a lifetime in and I put my backpack on the counter, where the bathroom sink is, and like two minutes after I open my bag, this pipe explodes with enough force to knock me on my ass, spraying water everywhere."

"Whoa," said the younger man, whose name I haven't been given yet.

"Then, as I was sitting there, the water started getting really hot. I was trying to grab some of my stuff out of my bag, like my phone or my iPad or my camera or whatever and I got scalded from the water."

The amused looks went away, "Are you ok?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, I'm more annoyed than anything. All of my stuff got ruined."

"Where did you get burned?"

"On my back and the backs of my knees, that's where it's the worst. I was wearing a dress. They put ice in a plastic bag and put that inside of a pillow case and put a wet towel on my back. I didn't want to go to the hospital."

"Let me take a look," Paul said, standing.

I stood up, turned around and opened my robe just enough for them to see my back. Both men gasped.

"What?!?" I cried out.

"It's just really red, like a sunburn. It's not bad," Paul said.

"Jesus, you scared me," I said, fastening my robe, sitting back down.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay, Abbs." Paul said, sitting. "Oh, sorry, I forgot the reason we came here. Abby, this is Nick."

I shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, sorry about your trip. Are you like bad luck or something?"

"I guess so." If he wasn't so nice to look at, I would've just asked to go home.

Nick Carmona was about 6'2", very short blonde hair, very blue eyes. I thought he was thin because he wore such baggy clothes. But, I could tell that he was stronger than he looked. He squinted his eyes a lot, making me wonder if he needed glasses or if it was a nervous habit. I could also tell that he definitely chewed his nails. I'm thinking he has some anxiety problems. Who am I to judge, though?

"How is your room?" Paul asked.

"Flooded. Along with the rooms on both sides of me and three rooms below me. And, the best part, they don't have any more rooms left, some college graduation or something. They'll be happy to help me find another room, blah blah," I made the jerkoff gesture with my hand. "So, now, I have no phone, no iPad, no camera, no clothes, and no place to stay. I'm better off going back home."

"Nonsense, you can stay at my house. I told you that before you came," Paul said. "Did you speak to a lawyer?"

"No, the insurance adjuster from the hotel is on his way. He's supposed to be meeting with me in like two hours," I sighed. "I should have my clothes back by then. They took them to wash for me."

"Listen, I'll run back home and grab something for you to wear until then. I'm sure you're not thrilled about sitting here in a bathrobe," Paul said, looking around the very public room.

"Oh my god! Really? I would love you for that."

"You love me already. If I was 20 years younger and still single..."

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed.

I always liked Paul, he's a good guy, very funny. He used to be madly in love with my Aunt Lynne, rest in peace, but that was over 20 years ago. Even after they broke up, my family stayed in contact with him. No one knew why Lynne broke up with him, but we all suspected it had something to do with her drinking. Too late to question that now. Aunt Lynne passed away two years ago and Paul has been married for over 18 years to his wife, Mary. They have two beautiful girls, Carlie and Ashley, and now they lived here in Portland and owned a very successful chain of dry cleaners.

"Hey man, you mind staying with Abby for a bit while I go grab her some clothes?"

Nick had been staring at me, "No man," he smiled. "It's cool."

Paul kissed my cheek again, "I'll be back in 15 minutes, Abbs."

"Wait," I said, Paul spun on his heel. "Don't you have something you need to talk to me about? Isn't that why you asked me to fly all the way here?"

"Sweetie, it can wait. You're staying for a few weeks, so, let's get you comfortable first, we'll talk shop later."

And with that, Paul dashed out the door, leaving me and the very handsome Nick alone.

"Do you need anything?" Nick asked. "I'm gonna grab something out of the vending machine."

"Yes! I'd really like a bottle of water, please!"

"Sure, I'll be back in just a second."

Nick stepped out and I shifted in my chair. It's hard to look sexy while wrapped in a bathrobe, in a conference room of a hotel, in a strange city.

A few minutes later, Nick came back. "Here, they didn't have much to pick from," he said, handing me a soda.

"Thanks," I said.

_Uncomfortable silence, number one_.

"How long have you known Paul?" Nick asked after an eternity.

"Um, like 20 years, I think. He used to date my Aunt. My family loved him and, even after they broke up, we stayed in contact with him."

"Why did your Aunt and Paul break up?" He pronounced it au-nt, not ant, like I did.

"I don't know, I never asked. She passed away two years ago."

"Oh, sorry."

Uncomfortable silence, number two.

_My turn._ "What about you? How long have you known Paul?"

"I don't know, a few years I guess."

"Oh, cool."

Uncomfortable silence, number three.

I started fidgeting. Nick was chewing his nails.

Why the hell is this guy here?

"So, are you from Portland?" I asked.

"No, Tacoma but I came here to go to school and I haven't left."

"What did you go to school for?"

"Finance."

"Seriously? Finance?"

Nick laughed. I liked his laugh.

"I get that a lot. I don't know. It was like a million years ago and I thought I'd make millions. Then the market fell out, so here I am."

"That sucks, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. But it's whatever, you know?" His turn to shift in his seat. "What about you? Did you go to school?"

"Yeah. I went to school in Boston, majored in English writing arts."

I thought he was going to spit his drink.

"Oh my God," he was laughing. "And you were laughing at me?"

"I know, eighty five thousand dollars later, here I am. What a stupid 18 year old I was! That's not even counting the cost of my Master's."

"You got your Master's?"

"Not yet, I was working on my Master's in English Writing Arts when I had to leave school. Who does that?"

"Don't you could wish you that could like just go back and kick yourself?"

"No kidding! Like, 'Listen, idiot, you're not going to make any money doing this. Find something else.'"

I really liked his laugh.

"My father always said I should join the army or something," he said.

"Yeah, my family told me to be a nurse or a teacher. And what are they desperately looking for right now?"

"Nurses and teachers," we said together, laughing.

Uncomfortable silence, number four.

"I wonder what's keeping Paul," I said, adjusting my robe.

"I'll call him," Nick said, pulling out his phone.

Before he could get his phone to the calling menu, the door opened and Paul walked in.

"Sorry it took so long," Paul said, handing me a bag with some clothes. "Why don't you go into the bathroom and get dressed. We'll go to the restaurant and have some lunch while you wait for the insurance adjuster."

I went into the bathroom and pulled on the clothes Paul brought me. Blue jeans and a tank top.

Great, and I have no bra.

I put the clothes on and walked back into the conference room, happy to have clean, dry clothes on. I noticed Nick look at my chest and smile. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I wasn't sure which one of the girls would be the closest fit. Looks like I picked right," Paul said.

"They're great, thank you," I said.

"Let's go get something to eat," Paul said.

I followed the men out of the Conference Room, across the hotel lobby, stopping to tell the front desk where I would be.

Once seated at the restaurant, Paul said "Order whatever you want, it's on me."

"I'll have the Cesar side salad, double bacon cheeseburger, medium rare, no tomato, French fries with cheese, and a chocolate milk shake."

"Jesus Christ, Abbs. Anything else?" Paul laughed.

"No, I'm good."

"I'll have the same," Nick said without taking his eyes off me and never opening his menu.

"I can't eat that shit anymore," Paul said. "I'll have the grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, and a water."

The waitress took the menus and left.

"Where are you gonna put a meal that size, Abby?" Paul asked.

"I like to eat," I said, reaching for the bread in the center of the table. We all laughed. "Besides, I haven't had anything to eat but airplane food for like the past 24 hours."

They laughed again.

"So, let's talk about why I asked you to come here," Paul said, getting serious.

"Yes please," I said. "The suspense is killing me."

"Well, okay, where to begin. I know you're between jobs right now. I heard you took acting classes in college."

"'Tis true," I said, sweeping my hair back in a very flamboyant manner.

"And you've grown up into such a beautiful woman..."

"Yeah, that, not so much," I laughed.

"Damn, man, get to the point," Nick said, shifting in his seat.

"Like I was saying," Paul said, sighing and shooting Nick a look. "Abby, we would like to offer you an opportunity to make a lot of money for about two months of work, you would get a new wardrobe and meet some new people."

"Oh my God," I said, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. "I can't believe this." I was so upset, I was shaking. "This must be why Aunt Lynne left all those years ago. Oh my GOD!"

I started to push back from the table when Paul put his hand on mine. I pulled back violently, earning looks from the surrounding tables. "What makes you think Lynne left me?" He shook his head. "And just what do you think I'm asking you to do?"

"Porn! I am NOT doing porn. You fly me out here, put me up in a nice hotel, bring this hot guy here that I don't even know. You must be out of your fu..."

Nick looked at me and started laughing. "Oh my God."

"Abby, lower your voice," Paul hissed. "We're not asking you to do porn. You've got to be kidding me. That's the first thing you think of? Seriously? How long have I known you? You're my family; I don't even want to imagine that."

I was confused; I shook my head to clear it out. "What is it then?"

"We need your help dealing with the man who stole from us," Nick said.

I just stared, open mouthed at the two of them.

"Abbs?" Paul look concerned. "You okay?"

"Man, I told you this was a bad idea," Nick said, standing to leave.

"Sit down," Paul said, very sternly. Again, the people at the tables around us looked. I stared at my hands in my lap as I sat. "Abby, listen, this man, he stole money from us. A lot of money from us."

Nick sighed.

I pushed my food away. "What do I have to do?"

"The man, his name is Merritt, has an eye for women like you," Paul added quickly as I raised my eyebrow. "Smart, savvy, beautiful. He doesn't go for the stripper type. The problem is..."

"Smart chicks won't give him the time of day. The strippers are all over him because he's loaded," Nick added.

"What is he? Some kind of toad?" I asked, for some reason.

"That's one way you could put it," Paul laughed. "He's just disgusting. Not someone you'd want to brag about dating."

I gave them a puzzled look.

"What we want you to do is have you pose as Nick's girlfriend. You're not from here, Merritt won't know you, it'll seem more plausible. Plus, if they look into you, they'll see you and I have history, but nothing that'll make him think twice."

"Wait, so, what makes you think he's going to be interested in me? Especially if I'm supposed to be Nick's girlfriend?" Saying that out loud made me blush a little.

"Merritt likes to take things that don't belong to him," Nick said, looking away.

"What does that mean?" I asked, starting to feel on edge.

"You'll at least be a distraction to him, but now is not the time to talk about that," Paul said. "We're going to pay you for this, of course."

"I'm not some whore or something," I said, getting heated. "I don't want you to pay me to sleep with some guy who pissed you off."

"Abbs, Merritt took $8.5 million from us. That's just the cash. He's disrupted our business, costing us thousands each day," Paul explained. "We're not asking you to sleep with him. We're asking you to act like you like him for a little bit, lead him on, and let us handle the rest."

"Exactly what kind of business is this?" I asked.

"Again, now is not the time or the place to talk about that." Paul looked around. "We'll get to all that. I just want to know if you'll do this for us?"

"Will I be safe?"

"I'll be with you most of the time. If not, we'll be close enough to get to you if there are any problems," Nick said.

"How illegal is this?"

"Nothing you'll be involved in will be illegal," Paul said.

"How much?"

"A considerable amount," Paul started. I gave him my best 'don't patronize me' face. "I thought $150,000 would be fair. Plus, you'll have a place to stay, a new wardrobe, and walking around money."

I tried not to jump up and down. I had been unemployed for about three months and was getting close to being evicted. I sighed, "I'll do it. But you have to promise to keep me safe."

"You'll never be in harm's way," Paul said.

"I promise," Nick said.

We resumed eating our meal, making small talk about the weather, the upcoming baseball season, some new movie that looked like garbage. Soon, though, a small man in a suit came into the restaurant and was pointed toward me.

"Excuse me, are you Abigail Moss?" the man asked.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I'm with the hotel here to talk about the incident in your room," he said, looking down his nose.

"Excuse me," I said, standing to leave.

"No, Abby. Sit down," Nick said. "Listen, man, she had to wait for you and CLEARLY you can see that she's eating lunch right now, something your hotel didn't even offer to her. You can wait for her to finish and then she'll come get you from the front desk."

I was frozen in place. I didn't know whether to sit down or to go off with the man. Both Nick and Paul were glaring at the man.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but this won't take long," the man said.

Paul tilted his head to the side, "No, sir, _I'm_ sorry. You can't just walk over here, interrupt MY lunch with MY friend and think that's okay. This poor, young lady flew 3000 miles to be drenched and burned at the fault of your establishment, and then had to sit in a conference room for, how long, Abby?"

"Um, 45 minutes," I stuttered.

Nick clenched and unclenched his fists.

"In a hotel conference room, ALONE, in a bathrobe for 45 minutes, in a strange city, waiting for you. It's been, how long now, Abby?"

"Looks like about two hours and 15 minutes, if you add the 45 minute wait in the conference room," Nick added for me, rising to his feet.

"Now, you expect her to drop what she's doing because it's convenient for you? No, Abby, sit down, you were just talking about ordering dessert," Paul said.

I slowly sat down, mouth hanging stupidly open.

Nick stood, arms at his sides, looking at the man. Paul never broke eye contact with him.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, Ms. Moss. W-when you're finished, please come see me at the front desk. My name is Samuel Gibson," he said, handing me a card from his jacket pocket.

"T-thank you," I said, staring at the food on my plate as the man walked away. He was all the way out of the room before Nick sat back down. I didn't dare to look up from my plate and there was a noticeable tension at the table.

Finally, Paul resumed eating, then Nick, and finally I started picking at my food again. I really was starving, after the long, delayed flight and the incident in my room.

"Do you want dessert, Abbs?"

I turned red.

"Seriously?" Paul asked, then added, sighing. "Go ahead, then."

"What?! I've had a rough day!"

Both men laughed.

I had long ago finished my very strange lunch and had my meeting with Samuel Gibson. That was interesting, to say the least. They tried to pay the least amount possible for my damaged electronics, but Paul and Nick were with me, and, with their help, the hotel had agreed to pay a fair price for everything. The biggest argument being that my camera was salvageable because it didn't get "that" wet. That was settled as well. I would receive a check in a few weeks. Soon, I was in Paul's car, on our way to his home. Nick followed in his own car.

I had never been to Paul's home before and I was surprised to see that it was enormous. "Wow, Paul! What a beautiful home! The dry cleaning business must be really good."

"Thank you! I'll show you around," he took my backpack, which now had my only change of clothes and my damaged electronics, and went inside.

I looked around before I walked in and noticed what a fortress it was; 10' high, concrete wall, large, iron gate. There were armed security guards around and there was even a high tech security system inside the house. I saw Nick had parked beside Paul's car and was slowly walking toward me.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just taking this all in."

"Are you gonna go in?"

"Yes, I'm just a little intimidated."

"Are you scared?"

"Should I be?"

Nick didn't get a chance to answer, as Paul walked back out. "Come on in, Abby. The girls are all out of town, so it'll be really quiet here."

"Where are they?"

"Australia," Paul said. "Come inside."

I followed Paul inside with Nick behind me. The inside of the house was just as impressive as the outside. I already imagined myself walking down the grand staircase in a formal gown. There was a beautiful chandelier hanging in the entryway. There was art and family photos, seamlessly blended together on the walls. The house was exquisite but homey, you could tell a family lived there.

"Amazing," I breathed.

"Mary did all this herself," Paul said, proudly. "Come into the dining room."

Paul moved ahead quickly while I stood, looking around the entryway.

I felt Nick's hand on my back, "Come on," he said, close to my ear.

He steered me toward the massive dining room, where Paul was spreading papers out on the mahogany table. The dining room was just as beautiful. There was seating for 12, another chandelier, and some beautiful works of art hung around the room. No family pictures here. This room was meant to impress. Paul gestured me to the seat beside him. I sat and Nick sat beside me, close.

"I have a lot of information for you. Do you want me to give it to you now or would you rather wait until tomorrow?" Paul asked.

"Let's do it now, that way I can have time to digest it."

"Good, we need to get started as soon as possible. Nick will need to take you shopping too, apparently," he said.

"Why is that?" Nick asked.

"Her luggage is gone, she has no clothes."

"Oh, right," Nick said, sounding embarrassed.

Somewhere my mind was screaming _"Get out! This is not right!!"_ but I needed the money and I've known Paul almost all my life. I was swept up in the fantasy of it at the moment, not thinking clearly.

Paul showed me some pictures of people I should know, giving me an idea who all the major players. When we were finished, my head was swimming. I didn't think I'd remember who any of these people were.

"Abby, this is important," Paul said. "Do you think you can do this?"

"It's just so much," I said.

"You know, you've been through a lot. Why don't you go upstairs and take a break. Lie down if you want to," Paul said.

I couldn't argue with the man, I was starting to feel the weight of the situation and I was exhausted. I shook my head and Paul stood up.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room and give you the modified tour."

"Hey man, I'm gonna head out," Nick said, turning to leave.

"Be available by phone," Paul warned.

"Yeah man. Later, Abby."

"Bye, Nick. It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah."

And with that, Nick let himself out the front door.

"Come on," Paul said, clapping his hands and jumping up. "Let me show you around."

Chapter 2

The next morning, I had a shower, clean clothes, and a greater sense of where I was and what I was doing. I made my way to the massive kitchen to get some breakfast and coffee; I also, desperately, needed a pain killer for the burns on my back. It was very early and I didn't think anyone else would be awake. I was still, mostly, on East Coast time. I was surprised when I walked into the kitchen and Nick was sitting on one of the bar stools. The room was mostly dark, except for the light from outside.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I jumped, suddenly remembering that I was wearing nothing but a tee shirt and panties.

"Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Nick got a cup out of a cabinet and poured me some coffee.

"Black?"

"Yes."

I pulled myself up onto one of the bar stool and we drank our coffee in silence for a while. I finally broke the silence. "Are you always here this early?"

"No, I'm NEVER here this early," he said. "Paul told me to be here."

"Oh," was all I could muster.

At that moment, thankfully, Paul decided to join us. "Good morning!" he sing-songed. He leaned over me to kiss the top of my head. "How did you sleep?"

"Good, thank you. It's a really nice room."

"All Mary's doing! Good morning, Nick."

"'Mornin'."

"A man of few words," Paul said. "We're gonna get started today, if that's okay with you Abbs?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I said.

"I'll give you some money and you can go replace the clothes that are lost. The main goal today is to make it look like you're definitely _with_ Nick," Paul wriggled his eyebrows. "The problem seems to be that whenever I leave you two alone, you don't speak to each other, so no one is gonna believe you're together."

"Um, well, this is all kind of sudden," I said. "A-and we do speak to each other. I know he's from Tacoma..."

"You need to make it convincing. Kissing, holding hands, the whole thing. Just as if any couple would act together."

"Paul, we should be fine," I started.

"You said she took acting classes," Nick said, defensively. "She'll be fine."

Paul jerked his head to face Nick, "Oh, I have no doubts about Abby," he hissed. "It's _you_ I'm worried about."

I jumped up. "We'll be fine. Long distance relationships are weird, I don't know..."

Nick and Paul were standing face-to-face, sizing each other up. Finally, Nick looked away.

"Good," said Paul. "This has to be perfect."

"I'm going to take a quick shower and get dressed. I'll be ready in like 20 minutes. Is that ok, Nick?"

"Yeah, I'll just wait here."

For extra emphasis, I kissed Nick on the cheek as I ran into the other room.

_What in the hell have I gotten myself into?_ I thought.

I took the fastest shower I could, threw my clothes back on, and ran downstairs. Nick and Paul were sitting in the kitchen, deep in conversation when I walked back in.

"Hey, guys! Nick, I'm ready whenever you are."

Both men looked up and I saw Nick's mouth open. Gawking. Nick was gawking at me! It felt pretty good, in that moment, to be gawked at! I had thrown my dress back on, from the flight. It was one of my favorite dresses, rather short, white with pink and blue flowers that made my blue eyes look bluer, if that were possible. It showed off my long legs. I didn't spend hours in the gym sculpting my body for no one to notice! I'm not one of those girls who can eat what I like without paying for it later. I've always been tall, at 5'11", so with Nick being taller, wearing my only pair of shoes was no problem. The heels were small, only about one inch, but sometimes shorter men were uncomfortable. That was my past experience, anyway. I had thrown my long, dirty blonde hair into twin braids. I didn't have any make up to put on; except for the lip gloss I had in my purse. My only dislike was my glasses. Blessed with terrible vision, I've had to wear glasses my whole life. And, to top it off, I was not a candidate for LASIK surgery. So, I made do with my sexy librarian glasses.

Paul smiled appreciatively. "You look beautiful, sweetheart. Seeing you like this makes me miss your Aunt Lynne."

"Thank you, Paul," I said. "Oh, do you have any pain killers or something? I'm sore from where I was burned yesterday."

"Oh, sure," Paul said, walking to a cabinet and pulling out a bottle of Tylenol. "Here you go." I took two. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

"No, I'm just uncomfortable," I said.

"I see," he said. "Mary may have some aloe upstairs to put in it, if you'd like?"

"Um, no, not right now. Maybe later, though. Before I go to bed. Thank you, though."

"You're welcome."

"You ready, Abby?" Nick asked.

"Yes, let's go."

"So, just remember, it's important to make people think you two are together. Got that, Abbs?" I nodded. "Nick?" He nodded. "Good. Get out of here, then."

We walked to Nick's car, a Mercedes something. I didn't know much about cars. I always lived in cities where you could take public transportation. He opened the door for me and I slid into the soft, leather seats. Nick climbed in on his side and started the car.

"This is a great car," I said. "Much nicer than the public transportation I always take."

"You don't have a car?"

"I don't drive," I said.

"You're kidding?"

"No, I've always lived in cities with great public transportation. I've never had to drive."

"I've never met an adult who didn't drive," Nick said, completely in awe. "Do you know _how_ to drive?"

"My dad tried to teach me once when I was like 17, but I didn't like it."

"Wow, that's blowing my mind right now."

I laughed, "Wait until I tell you that I've never seen an actual cow before. Or that I've only ever been swimming in the ocean or in a pool. No lakes, rivers, ponds, or whatever. People are always shocked by that."

Nick was laughing, "You need to stop, I don't know if my heart can take all that in one day."

"I'll make it my goal to blow your mind once a day," I said.

"Wow, there are so many ways that statement can be taken......" he trailed off.

"All right, perv." I laughed. "Well, take it how you'd like to, I suppose." I thought about it. "Wait, I keep digging myself in deeper, don't I?"

"Oh yeah, you totally are."

"Well, try not to laugh so hard you crash the car," I laughed. "Where are we going?"

"The mall, word will travel quickly if we're seen together there."

I suddenly remembered I was with Nick to do a job, not to have fun. After a short time, we pulled into a large shopping mall. Nick expertly maneuvered the Mercedes into a parking spot near one of the mall entrances.

"We're here," Nick said, as he parked and got out of the car.

I looked around and then got out after Nick. We started walking to the mall together. As we got to the entrance, an idea struck me. "I'm gonna hold your hand."

"Huh?" Nick said. "Oh, okay."

I grasped Nick's hand and we walked into the mall. Almost immediately I realized that people were watching us. Nick either didn't notice or didn't care.

"People are staring," I whispered.

"They're not used to seeing me with someone."

"You don't date?" I asked, quite shocked. Nick was very good looking.

"Not in a long time."

"That's too bad."

We walked from store to store, picking up a lot of clothes that I needed and some that I didn't. When I went into Victoria's Secret, Nick stayed outside. After I made my purchases, I went back outside and noticed three men walking toward Nick and I.

"Yo, Nick. What's going on, man?" The middle one said.

"Sup? Sup?" Nick said.

Each took turn doing their handshake-hug variation when the attention was put on me.

"Who is this hottie you got here, Nick?" Ben asked

"This is my girl, Abby." I slinked myself up next to him, pressing on his back and shoulder with my body. Nick kissed my cheek. "Abbs, this is Ben, Neil, and Dmitry."

"How'd a hot piece of ass like you end up with this guy?" Ben asked, looking at me like I was a piece of meat.

They all laughed and I decided I didn't like them immediately. "Baby, wait 'till you see what I just got in Victoria's Secret." I tried my best to sound sexy. I hadn't had much practice.

"I can't wait," Nick said. He leaned toward me and kissed me on the mouth, it was fast and it was only for the other men present, but I felt something behind that kiss.

"Why don't we all get out of here and have you put on a fashion show for us, hot stuff?" Neil said.

"Back the fuck off, man," Nick said, defensively.

"Come on, man. I was just joking," Neil said. "It's cool. You gonna be at The Winfield later?"

Nick ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know, man."

"Come on down, bring your hottie," Ben said, licking his lips as he looked me up and down, making me very uncomfortable.

"I don't know," Nick started.

"What's The Winfield?" I asked.

"It's the hottest club in town," Ben said. "You should drag this guy out. He hasn't been since..."

Neil cut him off. "It's been a while, hasn't it, dude?"

"Yeah, I don't know, man. I guess we'll see what happens," Nick said.

"Oh please, Nick," I begged, jumping up and down. "It'll be fun!"

"All right, man. Hey, if you do decide to come, I'll put your names on the list," Neil said.

"Thanks, man," Nick said.

The four men did their handshake-hugs again.

"Miss Abby," Dmitry said, taking my hand and kissing it. "I do hope we'll see you again."

I could only smile. I've never had my hand kissed like that, by a complete stranger. What a strange sensation!

Nick looked at me and smiled. "I think that'll work."

"Yeah?"

He laughed and picked up my bags. "Do you have everything you need yet?"

"Not yet. I need to get something to wear to a club now. And I need to get shoes! And a new iPad! And some bathroom supplies!"

"Christ," he said, laughing. "Come on then."

We spent the remainder of the afternoon spending Paul's money, buying a whole new wardrobe. So far, from what I could tell, Nick's wardrobe was very casual. Looked like lots of jeans and lots of tee shirts. I talked him into buying something new to wear to the club. I had long ago decided that we'd go to the club that night. In my mind, there were a lot more things we'd have to do to convince people that we were together. Especially if they wanted this Merritt guy to try be distracted by me. What a strange and convoluted situation I was in!

Chapter 3

Hours later, I had eaten dinner (alone), taken a long, hot bath (alone), shaved everything that needed to be shaved (alone, duh), and dressed for the club. When I bought the clothes, I thought they were sexy and fun. Now that I was standing in Paul's guest bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror, I thought I looked ridiculous. I was wearing a black mini-skirt, a low-cut, silver shirt that was covered in sequins, and strappy black sandals. Oh well, I needed to get attention.

I went downstairs, into the kitchen where Paul and Nick were sitting in silence. Again, when I walked in, Nick gawked at me.

Paul saw Nick's gawk and scowled. "I hope I never have to see either of my girls in something like that," was all he could say.

I turned around to walk back upstairs, "I'm going to change."

Paul and Nick immediately jumped to their feet, both yelling "Nooooooo!"

"I look like a hooker," I whined.

"No you don't. You don't have time, you look fine. Just go," Paul said, pushing us toward the door.

Once outside, with Paul closing and locking the door behind us, Nick leaned close to me and said "You look great. Not at all like a hooker."

I'm blushing to my toes!

"Thank you, you look great, too."

Nick was wearing the black pants and red button down shirt I picked for him today. Granted, he was wearing the shirt open, with a tee shirt, but he still looked good. He even wore the shoes I made him buy. He held the door to his car open for me and then ran around to his side. Soon enough, we were off to the club called The Winfield.

After about 30 minutes we pulled in front of, what looked like, a very popular night club. I could hear and feel the music as the car pulled to a stop.

Nick looked over at me, very seriously, and said "I hope you're ready for this."

"Let's go."

Nick got out and a valet got in. Nick then came around to my side and opened my door, holding his hand out for me to take. I saw a lot of people notice Nick and I walking into the club together. We walked past the line and the velvet rope was opened for us. Nick stopped to do his handshake/hug to two different bouncers on the way in and then to another two security men inside. Everyone commented on how long it had been since they saw him. I was beginning to wonder where he had been.

We walked to the bar and waited our turn to order drinks. Nick leaned in and kissed me on the lips and then he leaned to my ear and said, "We're going to be asked to the VIP area in just a minute."

Sure enough, just moments after we were handed our drinks, a very large, very serious looking man walked over and said, "Mr. Carmona, Ma'am, Mr. Vora would like you to join him in the VIP area. Come with me."

That didn't sound like a request.

We followed Mr. Serious to the side of the dance floor and up the stairs to the VIP area. There were five other men and about eight women who were dressed like strippers.

"Nick! Welcome, please join us."

That had to be Merritt. He looked to be between 45-50 years old, he was around 6'4", maybe 165 pounds, black hair, black eyes, severe acne, unshaven, big nose, and he was hairy. His shirt was opened, showing a mass of black hair and his pants looked like they were just a bit too short.

"Hey, man," Nick said. "How you been?"

"I'm doing quite well, Nick. How have you been?" They did the handshake/hug.

"I'm good, man. This is Abby."

The man looked over at me and licked his lips. "Mmmmm, Abigail, what a delight," he said. "I am Merritt Vora. Welcome to my club."

I was repulsed but I was playing a part. I did my best sexy smile and said, "Thank you for the hospitality. It's quite, um, what's a good word? Charming. I'm used to things being much............bigger," I said, licking my lips. "But this is nice."

I thought Nick was going to explode. No one said anything and they were all staring at me. Merritt took my hand, kissed it and laughed. "Where are you from, lovely?"

"New York, originally. I went to college in Boston and that's where I live now." I said. "Portland is a quaint city."

"Well, what brings you to our, as you said, 'quaint' city?" Merritt took a seat a on a small couch and motioned for us to sit down. I pushed Nick ahead of me and sat on his lap, sort of marking my territory. Merritt paused when he saw us and looked me over again.

"I came to visit my Godfather and see if there were any jobs here. And Nick is here, so I think I'll be staying a while." As if on cue, Nick pushed my hair back and kissed my neck.

_Oh. My. God,_ I thought.

"Oh, I hope you stay for a long while, Abigail," Merritt slithered. "Nick, how did you come across this beautiful woman?"

"Paul is her Godfather."

"Oh Paulie! Where is Paulie tonight?"

"He stayed home," Nick said, kissing my shoulder.

"I've never heard ANYONE call him Paulie, EVER," I said, laughing. "You must be the only one who gets away with it, Mr. Vora."

"Please, my dear. Call me Merritt," he again kissed my hand.

What was with men here kissing my hand!?

"Okay, Merritt," I laughed. "And you can call me Abby."

"You're delightful," Merritt said. "But I much prefer to call you Abigail."

"Okay..." I said.

"I do hope you enjoy your time here," Merritt said.

"Oh, I fully intend to," I leaned back into Nick.

"And I hope to see your beauty gracing my club's dance floor while you're here, as well."

"Surely this can't be the _only_ dance club in Portland?" I said, with mock indignation.

"Baby, you wanna go dance?" Nick asked, kissing my neck again, shooting a look at Merritt.

"Yes, please," I jumped up and Nick took my hand, leading me down the stairs.

Once we were on the dance floor, he pulled me close and started grinding on me. "What the hell are you doing? You insulted his club?"

"He liked it, though. Didn't you notice?"

The music was really loud, so it helped our cover when we had to talk. We leaned very close and spoke directly in each other's ears. I leaned way back as he held me and swung around in, what I thought, was a very sexy dance move.

"He definitely noticed you," Nick said, he sounded almost jealous.

"Yeah, he is really gross. You weren't kidding about that."

"He's repulsive. He makes me nauseous just looking at him."

"You and me both." I shimmied down his body and back up to face him. "Kiss me."

Nick didn't ask any questions and kissed me. It was a long, lingering kiss that only ended when we both noticed we were no longer dancing. I had a handful of his hair and he had one hand on my lower back and the other slowly gliding up to my shoulders.

Nick pulled away, not releasing me from his hold. "We have to get back," he said, breathlessly.

"Okay," I said.

Nick leaned in and kissed me again. There was more behind this kiss, too, a lot more. He moved his hand down to my well-formed ass. I slid my hands up, inside of his shirt so I could feel the warm skin on his back. Boy, was I wrong about him being thin! I could feel all sorts of muscles just on his back. He pulled one of my legs up so that it was resting on his hip.

A small moan of pleasure escaped before I could stop it. Nick pulled from my mouth and kissed across my cheek to my ear and down to my throat. All I could do was throw my head back and enjoy it.

He pulled away again, looking me in the eye and said "Do you think they saw?"

Oh my God! I'm here to do a job. Get it together.

I looked up toward the VIP area and made eye contact with Merritt. "Yeah, he definitely saw."

"Good, let's go up," he said, taking my hand and leading me back to the VIP area.

"You two seem very smitten with one another," Merritt said as I once again sat on Nick's lap, on the small couch.

I smiled and tried to look demure.

"Oh yeah," Nick said.

"Champagne?" Merritt said.

"Oh yes please," I said.

Merritt motioned for a waitress to come and open a new bottle. It tasted delicious. If I wasn't careful, I could be in trouble drinking this.

Luckily, Nick passed on the champagne, sticking to bottled water.

"Please, Abigail, tell us how you came to know Paulie?" Merritt asked.

I told the story of my Aunt Lynne and Paul and how much my family loved him. Paul was not my Godfather, as Nick had said, so I had to make that entire story up on the spot. Lucky for me, I've always been good at telling stories.

Holy crap! When did Nick put his hand that high on my thigh?? Don't let that affect you!

I leaned back, put my arm behind Nick and started stroking his neck, along his hair line and felt him shiver.

_Mmmmmm!_ I thought. _He liked it._ I licked my lips and continued.

"How long have you been in town, darling?" Merritt said.

I didn't like the way he talked, it was like he was trying to sound European. He was probably from New Jersey.

"I'm sorry," I said. "Where are you from, Merritt? I just love your accent."

"Oh, here and there," he said. "I've lived and loved all over," he leaned forward and put his hand on my knee. "You didn't answer my question, though. How long have you been in town?"

"Just a couple of days," I said.

"And why am I just meeting you?" Merritt's eyes narrowed at Nick.

"I had a rough landing. Nick had to buy me a whole new wardrobe," I said, which made him kiss my arm.

"A rough landing?"

"The airline lost my luggage, a hot water pipe exploded on me..."

"My goodness. Is everything well now?"

"I still don't have my luggage, but where I got burned is starting to heal. These kinds of things seem to only happen in small towns."

"Well then, how long have you two been..... _you two_?"

I panicked; I had no idea how to answer that. "You know that I went to Boston to do some business for Paul about three months ago?" Merritt nodded, "He said that his Goddaughter lived there and I should take her out to dinner. So I did," Nick covered smoothly.

"And here we are," I said, kissing Nick.

I only meant it to be a short, sweet kiss, but Nick pressed into me and made the kiss linger.

I pulled away and watched Nick slowly lick his lips and smile. I gave him another quick kiss and smiled.

"And here you are," Merritt said, leering. "I'm so sorry, Darling Abigail, but can you excuse us for a few minutes? Nick and I have some business to tend to."

"Umm," I looked at Nick, he nodded. "Sure, I'll go dance for a while," I said, standing to leave.

Nick pulled me back toward him and kissed me again, "Don't go far. We shouldn't be long."

"Okay baby," I said as I walked out the door, turning to give him a little wave.

I went to the dance floor and chose a spot where I had the best view of the VIP room and I watched to make sure everything was going well. As if I would be able to do anything about it if things went awry. I was trying to blend in with the other club-goers, so I danced a bit. It wasn't long before a drunk guy came up and tried to dance with me.

"No, thank you," I said as he tried to touch and grind on me.

"Come on, baby," he slurred, pushing close to my ear. "You look hot and I can tell you want it tonight."

"Not with you," I said, pushing him away.

He grabbed my hand and rubbed it on his crotch. "See what you've done to me."

"Oh my God," I said, jerking my hand away. I had stopped dancing. "You need to back the fuck off. My boyfriend can probably see you."

"I don't see him," he leaned into me again, trying to grab me.

I pulled my arm back to hit him when Nick walked up, took my hand, and kissed me on the mouth. "Is there a problem here?" he asked.

I started to say something when Drunk Guy started a panicked ramble, "Hey man, I'm sorry. She came on to me. She was asking for it. I didn't know she was with you. Man, if I had seen her with you. I'm sorry, dude."

DG started to walk away when Nick grabbed his shoulder. DG stopped, tensed, and slowly turned around. The look on his face said he was afraid of being hit.

"You see this girl?"

DG nodded.

"I asked you a question, you say something when I speak to you."

"Yessir."

"You see this girl?"

"Yessir."

"She's mine. You put the word out, NOBODY fucks with my girl. You got that?"

"Yessir."

"Now, you get the fuck outta here. The next time you see me, you leave. I don't care where we are, if I walk into your fucking house, you get up and walk out. You got that?"

"Yessir."

"Now, get the fuck outta here," Nick said, shoving DG to the ground.

DG scrambled to his feet and moved quickly through the crowd of people.

Holy fuck! That was hot!

"You ready?" Nick asked.

"You're done?" I asked, he nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

On the way out the door, we ran into DG again. He didn't see us coming because he was standing with some other men talking and wildly gesturing. Most likely regaling them with the tale of how he sexually assaulted some woman on the dance floor and then kicked her hapless boyfriend's ass.

Nick's face turned to fury, "Hey man," he said, grabbing the guy's shoulder again.

This time the guy turned around and hit Nick in the face. I couldn't help myself, I screamed.

Nick was back on his feet very quickly. "You just made a huge mistake, asshole." Almost instantly there were two bouncers on top of DG. "Take him out back," Nick was wiping blood away from his nose.

"Oh my God," I said. "You're bleeding. Nick?"

"Abby, go out to the car and drive back to Paul's house." He handed me his valet ticket. "It's programmed in the GPS."

"What's happening?" I screeched.

"You need to go," he said.

"Nick, what are you going to do?" I was near hysteria.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and said, very close to my face, "Abby, I have to go take care of this. Take the car and go. You don't want to be here now. Look at my face. Do you understand?"

I nodded, "Y-yes."

"Go then."

He turned me around and I was out the door. I absently handed the ticket to the valet and waited for Nick's car to drive up. I got in, shut the door, adjusted the seat and mirrors, put my seat belt on, put my foot on the brake, and put the car in Drive.

That's when I remembered I don't drive.

I was able to get the car from in front of the club and onto a side street before my panic took over.

OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod!

I was talking to myself in the car and in tears when there was a knock on the window. The sound sent a new wave of terror through me, I screamed. Very slowly I turned to look and I saw Merritt.

"We meet again, Abigail," he slithered after I put the window down. "Whatever is wrong?"

_Shit!Shit!Shit!_ "I don't drive."

"You don't drive? That's absurd."

"That's what Nick said."

"Why don't you drive?"

_Stay in character._ "I don't live in the woods. I live in the city, I don't need to drive."

Merritt squatted and leaned on the window frame. "How are you going to get home? Where is home?"

"I've been staying with Paul," I said. "I don't even know how to get there."

Quickly, Merritt had a phone out and was speaking to someone. "Yes." Pause. "In the alley." Pause. "Now."

He stared at me a moment and reached into his jacket pocket and handed me a handkerchief.

"Thank you," I sniveled.

"This is Nick's car?"

"Yes."

"Put the window up, take the keys and, get out."

I did as I was told and handed him the keys when I was outside the car. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. Just as I was about to protest, another car pulled up and stopped.

"Come," he said, pulling my elbow. "My driver will take you home. Marquis?"

I hadn't noticed the front door open and the other man get out of the car. It was the same serious man from inside the club.

"Yessir."

"Take Ms?"

"Moss," I said.

"Take Ms. Moss to Paul Centanni's home, please."

"Yessir."

Marquis opened the back door for me to get in. I started to shrug out of Merritt's jacket.

"Keep it. I _will_ see you again."

I said nothing. I slid into the backseat of the car and soon we were off. For all I knew, this man was taking me to the forest to kill me and dump my body. Eventually, though, I started recognizing landmarks and realizing that I was being taken to the right place.

When we arrived at Paul's, the gate was immediately opened for us and I was driven to the front of the house. Paul was waiting, still dressed, like an upset father.

"Thank you, Marquis," Paul said after I had gotten out of the car.

"Yessir," he said before getting back into the car and driving off.

Paul was silent for too long, "I'm pulling the plug on this," he finally whispered between clenched teeth.

"What?"

"This is too dangerous, Abby. I can't put you in that kind of danger."

"I wasn't in danger, Paul. Nick made sure I was safe."

"You were alone in the club while he conducted business with Merritt. Then he left you alone to take care of some drunk? Abby, if that's safe....."

"Paul, I was safe. You can't pull the plug on this. What will happen if you do?"

Paul turned to walk into the house. He sighed, "You're right, I can't pull the plug." He stopped and turned to face me. "I'm getting you another phone." He turned to walk again. "And a car."

"I don't drive."

"You'll learn."

Once inside, Paul disappeared into his office and I went to my room to shower and change. I had taken a long, hot shower, put on my teeny shorts and tank top and turned off the lights. I was getting into bed when I heard the knock on the door. I barely heard it the first time. I stopped and listened again and there was another knock. I turned on the bedside light and told the knocker to come in.

The door opened and shut quickly and Nick came in.

"Oh my God, Nick," I looked him over. "You're bleeding."

"Shhh, it's not my blood," he said. "You're okay? I'm so sorry. I forgot you don't drive."

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

I took his hands and noticed they were bruised and bloodied. I pulled him into the attached bathroom. Without a word, I filled the sink with warm water, got a wash cloth and started cleaning him up. I cleaned his face and arms, working my way to his hands, which looked like they actually hurt. As I cleaned each knuckle, I kissed them. He watched me very intently.

I finished both of his hands and let go, still looking into his eyes. He ran his hand over my cheek and back into my hair, pulling me into a kiss. The long, slow kiss turned more heated and fervent. Nick pushed me up onto the counter; I was practically in the sink. He ran his hand up my back, over my bare skin. I reached down and unfastened his belt and the button to his pants when he stopped and pulled away.

"Abby, I....."

"Why not?"

"I just can't. Not like this. Not here," he sighed, helped me off the counter and fastened his pants. "You should go back to Boston," he whispered.

"It's too late now," I said, pulling my shirt down and brushing past him, to my bed.

Nick stood in the bathroom for, what seemed like, a long time before he shut off the light and walked back toward my bed. He stood, looking at me for a few minutes.

"It's only gonna get harder," I whispered.

Nick shrugged and walked to the door. He stood with the door open for a moment, then turned and said, "I know," and then he was gone.

I tossed and turned all night, trying to talk myself into not being mad at Nick. I'm only here to play a part, not to have feelings. I had finally managed to get my anger under control. I wouldn't fall for Nick, I promised myself.
Chapter 4

The next morning, I slept late, dragging myself out of bed and to the in-home gym. I did some work with the weight machines and then ran three miles on the treadmill. After that, I went to the kitchen to look for breakfast. Paul had told me I was welcome to anything in the kitchen and, if there was anything I needed, to let him know. His home had everything that I could ever want. I was able to find some fruit, a muffin, and some coffee that I took to the pool so I could enjoy some sun. I had finished the fruit and was working on the muffin when Paul appeared.

"I've got a phone for you," he said, handing me the newest iPhone. "I programmed my numbers and Nick's numbers for you."

"Thanks," I said, taking the phone.

"Is this your plan for the day?"

"Yep," I said, browsing through my new phone. "Unless you have something for me?" I added.

"No, I haven't talked to Nick yet, though."

"Well, you know where I'll be, then."

Why am I acting like an insolent teenager?

Paul went back toward the house and I played with my phone. When I was bored with that, I took off my clothes and jumped in the pool. When we had gone shopping, I didn't get a bathing suit, so I was in just my bra and panties. I swam around the pool, loving the heated water. I dove off the diving board several times and just enjoyed myself. I finally decided it was time to get out. I dove underwater and swam to the ladder. As I climbed out, I looked up to see Nick.

"I saw you diving from inside," he said.

"I'm not very good."

He smiled. "Do you need a towel?"

"Crap."

"They keep some in the bin over there," he said, pointing.

I jogged the short distance to the weather-proof bin and pulled two towels out. I slowly walked back over to where Nick was now sitting.

"Have you been out here all day?" he asked, noticing my breakfast dishes.

"For a little while, I went to the gym for a bit this morning."

"Oh. You don't have a bathing suit?"

"No, I forgot to buy one." I said, pulling my towel closer around me.

"We'll have to go get you one, then."

"Why?"

"We've been invited onto Merritt's boat."

"Cool, I love boats."

"You don't drive but you love boats?"

"There are ferries in New York, duh!"

"Jesus, how could I forget?" Nick laughed and shook his head. "We'll be with Paul and a couple of guards."

"Do I need to get ready?"

"Yeah, we've got about an hour."

I dashed inside, took a quick shower and threw on one of the new dresses I bought. I met Nick in the kitchen and we left to buy something for me to wear to the boat. After I chose four different bikinis, we arrived back at Paul's house just in time to ride with him to the boat.

I didn't talk much on the ride, Paul and Nick talked about "The Plan." We finally arrived at a dock where several men were standing around.

"Ahoy," Merritt called from the yacht.

I waved after I had gotten out of the car and we made our way to the boat.

"Abigail, I'm so happy you were able to join us today. Please," he waved us onto the boat. "Welcome aboard."

Paul walked aboard first, then Nick, who held my hand as I walked across the bridge to go aboard. Paul had two other men that followed us aboard, they must've been the guards Nick mentioned.

"Good afternoon, my friends," Merritt appeared in front of us, kissing my free hand. "Please make yourselves comfortable. We're about to shove off."

"It's beautiful, I've never seen the Pacific Ocean," I said.

"Something put you in awe," Merritt said.

"Well, Manhattan is an island, but the water doesn't look like this all the time," I said.

The men took seats on the chairs around the deck and immediately started talking business. I stood near the rail, watching the water and enjoying the sea air. There were four other men with Merritt and there were about 10 bikini clad women that may or may not have been strippers or hookers. I walked over to the men and stood for a moment before they noticed me.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt," I said. "Is there somewhere I can change? I'd love to lie in the sun for a while."

"Of course," Merritt said, standing. "Follow me, Abigail."

I gave Nick a "help me" look over my shoulder and followed Merritt inside. Inside were three doors, two of which led to bedrooms, the third to a bathroom. The hallway was small and cramped.

"Abigail, you may change in here," Merritt said, leaning close and pointing to the master bedroom. "I simply cannot wait to see what you will be wearing to enjoy the sun."

"Thank you, Merritt. I'll be just a moment."

"Do you need any help?" he asked, lecherously.

"Um, no, thank you," I said, trying to squeeze by Merritt to get into the bedroom.

He had positioned himself between me and the door so that I would have to make full body contact with him to get into the room. I quickly shut the door and tried to quietly lock it, afraid that Merritt would "accidentally" walk into the room.

I made a quick change, into the teeny, blue bikini and walked back to the deck. I found a chair that was already in the sun and stretched myself out. I sat for just a moment before I decided I would need to apply sunscreen. I did so very slowly and deliberately, covering every inch of my bare skin. I noticed Merritt, Nick, and more than one of the guards watching me intently. I stopped, gave a brilliant smile, and a quick wave. I finished with the sunscreen and put my head back to relax.

I must've dozed off because after what seemed like a few minutes, I felt the boat stop and power down. I stood up to stretch and again walked to the rail of the boat. I didn't see Merrit, Nick, or Paul, so I just watched the water. I started to hear squeals and giggling from the women and I also heard some splashing. I wandered to the back of the boat and saw that some of the women and a few of the men had jumped into the water and were laughing and splashing.

"You should go in. I hear the water is very warm," Merritt said, suddenly standing very close behind me.

"Hmmm," I could feel his breath on my neck, "maybe a quick dip."

Anything to get away from you!

I lingered a minute before walking down the stairs to the back of the boat. I made sure I threw him a look and a smile over my shoulder. I could feel him watching me walk down the stairs. At the bottom, I saw Nick and Paul sitting with two other men.

"Oh, there you are!" I said, throwing myself into Nick's lap.

"I thought you were sleeping, I didn't want to wake you up," he said.

"It's okay," I said, kissing him. "I missed you, though," I said, breathlessly pulling away.

"Are you gonna go in the water?"

"Will you come with me?"

He kissed me this time, I felt my toes curl and I threw my arm around his neck. I felt his arms around my waist and up my back.

"All right, you two," I heard Paul say, clearing his throat.

I pulled away and smiled. "Come on," I pulled Nick to his feet. "You're coming in with me, go change."

Nick walked up the stairs and into one of the rooms to change. I walked to the edge of the boat and dove into the ocean. I swam toward the people already in the water and noticed they were practically having an orgy, so I kept my distance.

I saw Nick walk onto the deck with his swim trunks on and couldn't help but stare at his beautiful body. He had well formed abs and his biceps were amazing to look at. Again I noticed the ugly, pink scar on his abdomen. I watched him dive into the water and didn't see him again until he popped up in front of me. I couldn't help myself, I screamed a little.

"Nick! You scared me!"

Nick put his arms around my waist and pulled me close.

"There aren't any sharks or anything here, is there?" I asked, suddenly remembering I was in the middle of the open ocean.

"I don't know. Probably not, Abby," he laughed.

"With my luck, there'd be one and it'd pass everyone else and eat me."

"I doubt it," he laughed.

"This is a crazy situation, you know?" I said, finally.

"I know, Abbs. I'm really sorry. This was not my first choice on how to handle the situation," he roughly ran his hands through his hair.

"It'll be okay, Nick. You won't let anything bad happen and I know that Paul will do the same. It's just, no one would believe this if I tried to tell them."

"I bet not," Nick said, laughing. "Come on, we're too serious," he said, splashing.

We played and flirted in the water for quite a long time. I enjoyed the gentle rolling of the waves while we were in the water. We were swimming toward the boat when I heard the other women screaming and saw one of the men swimming in my direction.

"What the..." I started.

The man reached and grabbed my bikini top off in one move and then swam at top speed toward the boat.

I screamed and covered myself up, apparently the same way the other women did.

"Hey man," Nick shouted. "Not cool."

The man was able to get aboard the boat and wave the tops around, laughing, before anyone could react. I was the closest to the boat, so I was able to swim ahead and get to the boat faster. I climbed aboard, which was not easy to do while I was covering my chest, and snatched a towel from Paul.

"Seriously? I don't even know you. Can I please have my top back?"

The man just laughed and waved it in the air.

By that time, Nick had climbed aboard and got in the man's face, "All right, man. Fun time is over. Give it back to her."

"Fuck you, man," the man said and threw all the tops in the water.

The other women swam for them and Nick dove for the man, knocking him onto the ground and viciously punching him in the face. Nick clearly had the upper hand and was just pummeling the other man. I was pulled back by Paul while guards pulled Nick off the, now bleeding, man.

Nick was being held by the guards and said, "Don't fuck with me, man. Me or my girl. You got that?"

The man, who had been pulled to his feet, spat blood at the floor in front of Nick. Nick immediately tried to break away from the guards to throw more punches. The other women had climbed aboard, most were covering themselves and at least two were screaming.

"Gentlemen," Merritt's voice came from the top deck. "If we can stop the fighting, I'd like to invite you all to join me for lunch," he said, waving his hand behind him.

I was shaking like crazy, but I couldn't argue with the man, the food smelled divine. The guards let Nick go and watched the man intently as he limped away with one of the women nursing him. Another one of the women had pulled my top out of the water and handed it to me. I thanked her and turned to face the open ocean to try to put it on. After struggling for a few minutes, I felt Nick's hands on my shoulders, instantly calming me. He quickly tied the top and bottom strings and hugged me from behind.

I leaned into him, "Do you fight like that a lot?"

"Not like I used to."

"That was scary."

"I know," he paused for a moment. I could feel him breathing, "I'm sorry, Abby. You shouldn't have seen that. Let's go upstairs. You should probably grab your dress."

I followed Nick up the stairs, taking his hand as we went. After grabbing my dress from the master bedroom and stashing my bra in my bag, my panties, however, were missing. I followed Nick onto the upper deck to where there were several tables of food and servers scurrying about.

"Abigail, welcome to Portland!" Merritt said, appearing from nowhere.

Damn, he's always doing that.

"Oh my goodness! This isn't all for me, is it?"

"As much as I'd like to say that it is, unfortunately, it is not. However, your arrival is a wonderful and unexpected treat," Merritt said.

"Thank you," I said.

"Please, everyone, find a seat and we'll begin," Merritt said. "My chef has prepared a feast for us."

Nick and I sat near Paul at one end of the table, with Merritt and his guests sitting at the other end. I made sure I put myself between Nick and the man he beat up. The man was still nursing his wounds and looking for sympathy, which other women were more than happy to give him.

The servers brought plates of food and we were served lobster, shrimp, scallops, steak, pasta, and vegetables, among many others. By the time the meal was finished, I felt like a glutton, and by the looks of the other people at the table, they all felt the same way, too.

"Merritt, as always, the meal was delicious," Paul said, standing and raising his wine glass. Everyone at the table followed suit. "To Merritt, the consummate host."

Shouts of "To Merritt" and "Here, here" were heard around the table before everyone took a drink.

After a moment, Merritt stood, "I'd just like to say a few words about my guests. Well, one guest in particular. Abigail, you've enchanted not only Nick, but also myself and I would be honored if you would accompany me to a meeting in Seattle on Wednesday."

Oh my God!

I was frozen in fear. What was I supposed to say? All eyes were on me. I pulled myself together and smiled, "Merritt, what an amazing offer. I've never been to Seattle. I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll go," he said, growing impatient.

Nick squeezed my hand a bit and gave me a tiny nod, "Of course I'll go with you, Merritt. I imagine it's bigger than Portland. Why not? I'm here on vacation."

I noticed the stripper women glaring at me. Merritt clapped his hands together and raised his wine glass, "To Abigail, a beautiful new addition to our city."

After the meal was finished, I noticed that we were getting closer to land. Once again, I was standing by the railing, looking at the water and the setting sun.

Paul came to stand beside me, "You did the right thing. I'll be with you the entire time."

"Oh, thank God," I said. "I don't know if you noticed, but I froze."

Paul smiled, "I did, I was hoping you would answer on your own, so I didn't have to answer for you."

"It's the only thing I could think of and I was pretty scared."

Paul patted my hand and walked away, "We'll be fine."

I loved the ocean. I was probably the only person in New York who would ride the ferries just to enjoy the air from the water. My dream was to have a house on the beach someday. I could stand all night, just watching the water.

I felt the boat motor down and felt Nick standing behind me. I didn't know how, but I could sense him whenever he was close to me.

I turned around to face him, "Are we back?"

"Yes. You were amazing today."

"Thank you. I froze when he asked about Seattle."

Nick smiled and took my hand. I followed him to the lower deck just as the boat stopped at the dock. People were walking off the boat and toward the parked cars. I hadn't noticed that Nick had changed back into his shorts and tee shirt. I was still wearing my bikini under my dress.

We got to the car and the guards walked around the car, checked under it with long, metal poles with mirrors attached to the end. I noticed that they did that every time we went somewhere. They checked the inside next. Just when they told us we could get in, the man who Nick beat up on the boat came up behind him and pushed him hard into the side of the car.

"Sucker punch me in front of the boss, mother fucker."

Nick was quick to his feet, swinging and connecting with the man's face. He was about 20 years younger and at least 70 pounds lighter than the man. The women were screaming and, while the man was recovering, Nick pushed me inside the car. Both men were swinging wildly with most punches connecting with sickening sounds. I could see Nick's eye was bruised and his lip was bloody. The other man looked like he had a broken nose, he was spitting blood, and had two black eyes. The people from the boat were crowding around us, seeming to enjoy this macabre fight club.

Nick hit the man and sent him flying through the crowd, onto the gravel and Merritt walked up. "That will be all, Thomas," he said, holding up his hand. "Your services will no longer be required."

Thomas, the man who had been fighting with Nick, laid on the gravel with a look of terror on his face, "But..."

Merritt glowered at Thomas, "You have made a grave mistake, Thomas. Mistakes are not made in my company. You will be dealt with."

Two other men that had been with Merritt stepped forward and grabbed Thomas and pulled him to his feet. They dragged him into a waiting SUV, threw him inside, closed the doors, and left. The crowd of people dispersed immediately, leaving Nick, Paul, and the two guards standing beside Paul's SUV and me sitting inside, with the door open.

"Nick, I hope you do not take this as a reflection of how I conduct my business," Merritt said.

"No, man," Nick said, panting.

"Please, accept my apologies. Thomas will be dealt with swiftly," Merritt held out his hand and Nick shook it. "Ms. Abigail," he turned to me. "It appears that I must also apologize to you for the brutish behavior of my guest. He has been an employee of mine for only a short time and I was not aware of his penchant for harassing women. For our trip, I will only travel with associates who I know I can trust."

He took my hand and kissed it, effectively creeping me out.

"Thank you," was all I could manage.

"Paulie," Merritt stepped over to Paul. "We'll be in touch."

They shook hands and Merritt walked to his SUV and left. With the rest of the party gone, I looked at Nick and noticed that he was starting to slump against the side of the SUV.

"Nick!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the SUV. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, my head just hurts."

"Get him in the car," Paul waved his hand dismissively.

One of the guards helped him into the car and I helped maneuver him into the third row so I could sit beside him. On the drive home, I held his head in my lap while he rested. When we returned to Paul's house, Paul got out of the car almost immediately.

"Paul," I called after him. "I want Nick to stay here tonight so I can make sure he doesn't have a concussion or something."

Paul rolled his eyes. "He was sleeping the entire trip home, Abby. You aren't supposed to let concussed people sleep." I stuck out my lower lip in a pout and Paul sighed. "He needs to be awake at six to meet with me."

"Okay, I'll make sure of it."

Paul turned again and walked back toward the house. I climbed back into the SUV and woke Nick up to help him out of the SUV.

"We're home already?"

"Yeah, come on, I'll help you inside."

"I'm just gonna go on home."

"Like hell you are," I said. "Come on."

Nick didn't argue and let me help him up the stairs to my bedroom. Nick started to sit on my bed when I stopped him, "Strip!"

"Excuse me?"

"Take your clothes off so you can sleep, Jesus. I'm gonna go take a quick shower and brush my teeth. You'd better be sleeping when I get back," I went into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it.

After my shower, I walked back into the bedroom and found Nick asleep in my bed. I couldn't help but feel a little excited to see him. He was wearing boxers and nothing else. He wasn't under the blankets, so I studied his body, focusing on the ugly scar. Before I knew what I was doing, I found myself standing over him, studying the scar, reaching out my finger to touch it.

Finally, I climbed into bed beside him, set the alarm for 5:30 and went to sleep. The next morning, the alarm woke me up and I felt Nick's arm draped protectively around me. I could feel his warm body and his steady breathing behind me. I could also feel a massive erection pressing into my back.

Holy shit! Is that for real?

"Nick," I whispered.

No response.

"Nick," a little louder.

Nothing.

"Nick," I felt him moving around. "You need to get up to go meet with Paul."

Nick immediately pulled his arm off of me and pulled away. "Shit, Abby. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said, sleepily rolling around to face him. "Paul told me to have you awake by six to meet with him."

He looked away from me, sheepishly. I looked down and noticed that my shirt had pulled down, almost exposing my left breast.

"Can I grab a shower?"

"Be my guest, I'm going back to sleep."

Nick went into the shower and I went back to sleep.

Chapter 5

I woke late that afternoon and spent the day inside because it was raining. I watched some terrible movies and read an entire book. I was going stir crazy when Paul found me in the living room.

"There you are!" he exclaimed. "I was just in your room looking for you."

"I couldn't take it anymore in there," I said. "What's up?"

"I thought you'd like to go out and look for a car."

"Um, no?"

Paul laughed. "Come on, get dressed."

We spent the remainder of the day driving around car lots until he found the perfect car for me. He paid with a check and told them he would need the car in two days. On our way back home, we stopped to have a late lunch.

"With the exception of, well, just about everything, are you enjoying yourself out here?"

I laughed. "It's really pretty here, I can see why you moved 3000 miles away."

"You know, you're always welcome here. If you wanted to make a move out here, I'd do what I can to help you get settled."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

Paul laughed, "I don't either, Abbs."

The rest of the dinner passed with lighthearted conversation. We walked to the car in a heavy downpour and both jumped in the car, laughing.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to try driving home, but with this rain, I guess not."

"Yeah, I'm not ready for weather _and_ driving," I laughed. "Besides, I'm sure you want to get home alive."

"Oh, yes, but believe me, you will not leave Portland without learning how to drive."

I laughed and rolled my eyes.

Once we got home, we again made a run for it but, by the time we got inside, we were both drenched.

"Well, my dear, that effectively ends my night. I'm going upstairs to shower and change. Then I'll be in my office for the rest of the night, doing some work. You okay on your own?"

"Paul, I've lived by myself for the last six years, I'll be fine," I kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go shower and change, too. I'm gonna get cold standing around in this."

I followed him up the stairs and went to my room. After my shower and change of clothes, I decided I'd do a video chat with my parents, separately, of course. Then, I checked my phone, which I had forgotten to do. There were eight missed calls and five missed texts from Nick. I called him right back and he answered almost immediately.

"Hey," he said. "I heard you were going to buy a car today?"

"Yepper," I said. "I have no idea what any of it is, so don't even ask. All I know is that it's cute and I look cute in it."

"I bet you do," he took a deep breath. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, I've got my jammies on and I was gonna pop popcorn and watch a movie."

"I'm coming to get you," he said, hanging up the phone, ending the conversation.

Excuse me!

After about 25 minutes, there was a knock on my door and I opened to let Nick inside.

"Just where do you think I'm going dressed like this?"

"Come on, this is the kind of thing people who are dating do together. They're getting pretty suspicious of us, that's why all that went down yesterday with your bikini."

"Oh, let me get my shoes."

I looked at Nick's face and was reminded of the brutality I witnessed the day before and I reminded myself that it was not something that I wanted to see again. Luckily, the other man was much smaller than Nick, otherwise he may not have been so lucky.

"Nick, does it hurt?"

Nick unconsciously touched his face. "Not really. Not anymore."

I reached out and touched his cheek.

"I've had worse." He said, pulling away. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Nick drove us to his house, a smaller home. It looked perfectly suited for a single man. He took me inside and showed me around. It was definitely a man's home. There were framed movie posters hung around each room. There was also a lot of sports memorabilia.

"Seahawks, eh?" I teased.

"Yep, gotta root for the home team."

"I suppose. I'm a Jets fan."

Nick laughed at me, "I'm so sorry."

We were in the living room so I picked up a pillow off the couch and threw it at him.

"Come on, let's watch a movie," he said. "I'll order pay-per-view."

We sat on opposite ends of the couch and Nick managed to find a movie that we could agree on. There was some tension in the room as we watched the movie. After the movie, Nick put on some mindless tv show and we talked for hours. When we were both started getting tired, he picked out another movie and went into another room to get a blanket for us to share.

"Slide over here and we'll cover up and watch this together," he said, patting the seat beside him.

I slid down the couch and snuggled up next to him. With the way I was sitting, it was necessary for him to put his arm around me in order for us both to be comfortable. The movie was long and I fell asleep. I woke up and I was in Nick's bed and he was lying beside me. I wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not, or what time it was. I moved a bit and slid out of bed, looking for the bathroom.

"Abby, what's wrong?" Nick's voice was full of sleep.

"I just need to use the bathroom."

"Oh, okay."

I slipped out and back into bed quickly. When I finally got settled, I saw Nick was facing me.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Hey."

"Did you carry me in here?"

"Yeah, you fell asleep and I thought you'd be more comfortable in the bed. Is that okay?"

"Of course, thank you."

He reached out and touched my face. "Can I hold you while we sleep?"

I had slept so well that night before when we slept together and he had held me. "Yes."

He pulled me close and I could smell his soap, it smelled clean and manly. I fell asleep with my head tucked against his chest and didn't wake until the next morning. I looked up into Nick's sleeping face and I couldn't help myself from sighing.

My sigh woke Nick up, "Hello again," he said.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, well, if you did, I don't mind."

We pulled away from each other and stretched.

"I have an early meeting with Paul, so we have to get going."

Chapter 6

Nick drove me back at Paul's. I said good morning to Paul, got a cup of coffee, and went to my room. It was another rainy day, so I needed to figure out what I was going to do today. Inspiration struck and I texted Nick to tell him I wanted him to take me to a movie.

I didn't hear from him, so I grabbed a quick shower. I walked back into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, and found Nick lying on my bed.

"Oh God, Abby, I'm sorry," Nick jumped up and covered his eyes.

I was pretty embarrassed because I was pretty sure he could hear me singing in the shower from my bed. "Nick, jeez, um..."

"I got your text."

"Oh, um..." I was looking around for something to throw on.

"I can't do a movie," Nick was blindly inching toward the door. "I have to do some runs to meet with some people. You wanna come with me to do that?"

"Yeah, anything to get out while it rains. I'll be like 15 minutes to get dressed and stuff."

Nick had finally found the door knob, while covering his eyes, and made his way out of the room. Once he was outside, I swore I could hear him slump against the door and sigh.

Oh, well.

I threw on some jeans, a tee shirt, and grabbed my sneakers and purse on my way out the door. I found Nick in the living room, looking highly agitated. He stood and I followed him out the door almost as soon as I walked into the room. I hopped on one foot, putting my shoes on, trying to hurry out the door behind him.

"Christ, Nick, I don't have my shoes on yet."

He stopped and sighed, "Come on then, we gotta go."

I put my shoes on sneakers on and again, Nick was on the move. We got into the car and Nick sped out of the driveway.

"Nick, you know what? Just let me out. I don't know what happened in the 15 minutes I was getting dressed, but you're acting like an asshole."

Nick didn't respond and didn't stop.

"Nick!" I yelled. "I said let me out."

"Abby, I'm sorry. Paul and I just had a disagreement and it's not sitting well with me."

"What was it? Maybe I can talk to Paul?"

"No, it was about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, in case you forgot, you're supposed to go to Seattle with Merritt on Wednesday."

"Yeah?"

"Well, Paul was going to go with you but now he doesn't think he'll be able to make it and I don't think it's safe."

"I won't go if he's not there."

"You've already promised to go. We really can't have you back out now."

"Nick, I won't feel safe if you're not there or he's not there."

"I know. I'll figure something out. Even if I have to force myself onto the trip."

"I'll just show up with you and say I thought you were going. Then I'll say that I'd rather not go if you're not going to be there. You think that'll work?"

"It might. I don't know. I just have this feeling like something's going on that I don't know about."

I thought about that for a while and Nick drove. We made several stops at Paul's dry cleaner businesses, all outside of Portland. He would go in by himself and always come out with a bag. I assumed he was collecting money. We stopped at a small Greek restaurant to eat lunch.

After we ordered, I finally had the guts to ask, "Nick, what are we doing today?"

"I'm collecting rent," he said. "The places we stopped at all pay rent to get the business we send to them."

"I see."

I knew it!

"This is one of the safer parts of my job."

"What happens when someone is late?"

"I make a phone call."

I didn't ask what happened after that.

We had an enjoyable lunch and got back into the car so Nick could finish his route. We finished in Portland.

"You know, it's early enough that we could go catch that movie," I said.

"I'm game. Just let me give Paul a quick call to tell him the drops went well."

Nick did just that, as he drove to a garage. He pulled the car all the way in, parked, put all the bags into one large bag, and took it inside. I didn't see him for about five minutes. When he came back, the bag was gone.

We had a nice "date" at the movie and we decided to go for coffee and pie afterward. At the coffee shop, we were discussing the movie when the three men from the mall walked in. Instantly, I became defensive. I could tell they had been drinking.

"Whassup, Nicky boy?!" Ben called from the door.

I could see other customers look nervously at the men. Before I could say anything, Ben slid into the seat right next to me.

"Mmmm, you're still as sexy as I remember," he said, running his hand up my arm.

I jerked away.

"Wassa problem, baby?" he put his hand on my thigh and I pushed him away.

Nick stood up and pulled Ben out of the booth, pushing him on the floor. "Back off, man."

Ben stood up quickly and looked like he was going to start a fight with Nick.

"What the fuck is your problem, man?" Ben spat.

"Tonight, you are," Nick said, seething.

"Nick, let's just go," I said, standing between the two men.

"The night is young, my friends. You can't, seriously be thinking about going home already," Dmitry said.

"Come on, Nick," I said, trying to diffuse the tension by putting my hand on his chest. "Baby, we've been out all day and tomorrow I get to go pick up my new car and get ready to go to Seattle on Wednesday," I said.

"That's too bad," Dmitry said, he had a thick Brooklyn accent. He was obviously trying to ease the mood. "What kind of car are you getting?"

I laughed, nervously, "I have no idea, I don't know anything about cars. All I know is that it's cute."

He laughed, Ben was staring at me like I was a meal. Neil seemed like he was falling asleep.

"I don't know how to drive," I said.

"I got a stick shift you can drive, baby," Ben said, leering.

"You don't know how to drive? Really?" Dmitry asked.

"No, I grew up in cities with great public transportation and I never learned how to drive."

"What cities?" Dmitry asked.

"I grew up in New York and I went to college in Boston."

"Ahh, a fellow New Yorker," Dmitry said. "I'm from Brighton Beach. Where you from?"

"I'm from the East Village."

"You're pretty far from home," Dmitry said in a way that made me uncomfortable.

"She's with me," Nick said, putting his arm around me.

"Nick, I really think we need to get going."

Nick reached toward the booth to get our coats when Dmitry held up his hand and said, "Why're you running out so soon? You didn't even get to finish your pie."

"I'm really tired," I said. "I think I just want to get back and get to bed."

"Sit there and eat your pie," Dmitry said through gritted teeth.

"Excuse me?" Nick said, turning his glare toward Dmitry. "I don't believe I heard you correctly."

Dmitry shoved Neil out of the way and also rose to his feet. "Oh yes. Nick, you heard me just fine. I told you to sit down and eat your pie."

The two men stood, face to face for a really long time, staring each other down. I started to pull Nick toward the door, trying to ease our way out of the restaurant.

Dmitry started to laugh, "Hey man, you know I was just playing with you. Take your girl and get out of here. I got this for you."

Nick was tense and never stopped looking at Dmitry. He reached out a hand to me, which I gladly took, and we walked out of the restaurant.

Neither of us said a word until we were in the car. "I really wanted that pie," Nick pouted.

I couldn't help myself, I laughed. "Oh my God! I'll make you a pie!"

"Hmphf, it's not the same," Nick pouted.

"Nick!!" I playfully slapped his arm. "What just happened?"

Nick got serious, "Abby, they're testing us. I'm pretty sure they're suspicious as to why I have a serious girlfriend, all of a sudden. They just want to see if it's real."

"Oh," I said. "What do we have to do?"

"I don't know," he sighed.

We drove to Nick's house. When we parked, I noticed a car in the street with two men just sitting inside. I stopped Nick and motioned with my head. He nodded and pulled out his phone. I could see him texting and then my phone beeped.

The text read, "THEY R WITH MERRITT. THEY R FOLLOWING US. NOW LAUGH AND FLIRT."

I laughed and kissed him on the cheek, then I sent him a text.

His read, "ARE WE SAFE?"

He laughed out loud, "Of course, you're hilarious."

He then picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and carried me in the house, locking the door behind him.

He sent me another quick text, "HOUSE MAY BE BUGGED, WATCH WHAT YOU SAY."

I got a chill, I felt so uncomfortable. I sent him "HOW WILL WE KNOW?"

"TOMORROW I'M HAVING THE HOUSE CLEANED. WE'LL FIND IT THEN."

I nodded and sent, "PLAY ALONG, THEN."

He nodded.

"Sooooooo, Nick, wanna make out?"

"Hell yes," he said, pulling me to the couch.

We started kissing while we were standing and eventually we were sitting on the couch. He had his hand on my behind and gently lifted me so I was on his lap, straddling him. I could feel him getting excited, as was I, when he put on the brakes.

"Shit, Abby, I think I left my wallet in the car," he said breathlessly. "Baby, I'll be right back."

I ungracefully clambered off his lap, practically falling onto the coffee table behind me. I waited inside for about 15 minutes before Nick came back.

"They're gone."

"Oh," I was a little disappointed. I was enjoying our little show. "Does that mean..."

"Oh no, remember what I said before." I nodded. "Let's watch a movie, babe."

"Okay, I'll pop the popcorn. Don't you dare pick something where everyone gets shot!"

"Aww, come on," he mock whined to me.

"Nick! You know I hate those!"

I heard him throw himself on the oversized leather couch while I waited for the popcorn to finish popping. When I came back into the room, I snuggled next to him and watched a horror movie through my fingers.

By the time the movie was over, I was completely terrified and could barely make it to the bathroom by myself. Nick picked another movie, this time a comedy, for us to watch. It wasn't very good or very funny, but it did the trick of making me forget about the horror movie. Toward the end, I was beginning to feel sleepy and started to doze off.

"Abby, do you want me to take you back to Paul's?"

I shook my head.

Nick laughed. I was really beginning to enjoy his laugh.

"Come on, sweetie," he said, leading me to his bedroom. I saw the clock said two A.M. "Let's go to bed."

He gave me a tee shirt to wear to bed. I quickly slipped it on and crawled into bed. Nick climbed into his side and shut off the light. I think it was six seconds before I fell asleep.

The next morning, just like the night before, I woke up to Nick holding me. This time, though, he was already awake.

"Hey," he said.

I stretched, "Hey."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Oh yeah, this bed is great. My bed in Boston is just a glorified futon."

Nick laughed, "I take sleep seriously." He paused and thought for a minute. "Abby, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Um, sure."

"You talk about how much you love Boston but then you always follow it up with something crazy like that your bed was garbage. Were you really happy there?"

I had to think about that one. I rolled onto my back and took a deep breath. "If I'm being completely honest, then no. I love the city, don't get me wrong. It's got a great night life, the people are great, the sites are amazing. There's always something to do."

"But?"

"But, I was very alone there. After I graduated, I couldn't get a job anywhere. I worked for a little while as a waitress, but the restaurant closed. And you know my major was English writing arts, so it's not like companies were knocking down my door. So, I decided to go back for my Master's. I didn't have a job, but I was able to take out thousands of dollars in loans, like a lot more than I needed for school, and used that to pay for my shit apartment and whatever I needed. Then I got really depressed and stopped going to classes."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess it got too much for me to handle. I don't know. Then Paul called and asked if I wanted to come out here. I had almost run out of money and I was living on ketchup packets, Ramen noodles, and tap water. I just felt like things were spiraling out of control."

"Jesus, Abby. I had no idea."

"No one did. No one does."

"You're not gonna tell anyone?"

"No, why would I? Everyone would just worry and all that nonsense. I just want to make it on my own, you know? I'm here now, anyway. Maybe I won't go back. Or, if I do go back East, maybe I'll go back to New York."

"Didn't you know anyone in Boston?"

"I dated this guy the whole time I was in college, we lived together. The day after graduation, I had gone to the airport with my parents and when I got back, all of his stuff was gone from the apartment and he left me a note."

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah, he said he got a job in San Francisco and he didn't want me to go with him. 'Thanks for the good times,' all that."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and most of my friends graduated and left to get jobs, so, I didn't know anyone."

"I'm so sorry," Nick whispered, touching my arm.

"Thank you."

"That really pisses me off that that guy did that to you."

"Me too, I took loans out in my name to help him when he couldn't afford his books."

"What the fuck, Abby?"

"I was young and stupid and in love."

"And I don't like the idea of you alone in a big city like that."

I laughed this time. "No one does. My parents paid my cell phone bill after Jake left and I wasn't working. My Dad sent me a Taser and was about to make me take a self-defense course."

"It wouldn't hurt."

"I know, I kind of liked the idea."

"Where's your Taser?"

"Still in Boston, in my safe. I couldn't fly with it. Can you imagine?"

"I think you should stay in Portland."

"I'd need a job."

"You could run one of Paul's dry cleaners."

I shook my head, "And a place to live."

"Easy."

"And I'd like to finish my Master's at some point."

"Go to U of W."

"You can't solve all my problems by waving a magic wand. I'm also about $83,000 in debt."

Nick had the nerve to look shocked. "How in the hell..."

"Nick, seriously? I took out loans to pay for school."

"You're being paid for this," he said.

"I know. I was gonna use that to pay down my loans."

"I see."

"Nick," I said, climbing out of bed. "I really like it here. Maybe I will stay. I just haven't made that decision yet. A lot of it rides on how things go with you guys."

"I understand," he said, also climbing out of bed. "Just think about it."

"I am every day."

Nick took a shower while I got dressed in my clothes from the night before. Once he had emerged, he drove me back to Paul's house and said good bye for the day. He said he had some business and he probably wouldn't be around all day.

I would be spending the day alone again.

Chapter 7

I took a shower in my room and got dressed. Sometimes, when I was at Paul's house, I felt like a prisoner. I couldn't go out and wander around the city because there weren't any buses or trains nearby and I certainly didn't drive. I found a book to read so I made myself comfortable in the living room to read. I wasn't even sure Paul was home because I hadn't seen him yet.

I woke up, still on the couch, to raised voices. I could hear Paul speaking, but I only heard one side. I sneaked to the living room door to try to hear better. I suddenly heard something slam and Paul stomping in my direction. I dove for the couch and tried to look like I was just waking up.

"Abby!"

"Paul, why are you shouting?"

"You're going to Seattle tomorrow with Merritt, you remember that?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

"I don't have time for sass, Abby. Nick will be going with you because I can't. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a gown?"

"A gown?"

"Yeah, for a formal dinner. Do you have one?"

"No."

"Shit. I'll have to have one of the guards take you out to get a gown. Go get your things and wait here."

I ran up the stairs and grabbed my purse and threw my sneakers on. I ran back downstairs and sat in the living room for about five minutes before Paul and one of the guards came back in.

"Abby, this is Diego. He'll take you out to find a dress for tomorrow."

"Nice to meet you," I said to the mountain of a man standing in front of me.

He grunted.

Fucking great.

Paul handed me his credit card and a few hundred dollars in cash, reminding me, once again, that I needed a gown. Diego drove an SUV to a boutique in downtown Portland and parked outside. He got out and stood beside the vehicle while I went inside.

"Can I help you?" asked a woman's voice, almost immediately after I walked in the door.

"Um, yes, I'm looking for a gown to wear to a formal dinner in Seattle tomorrow night," I answered, looking around and still not seeing anyone.

"Hmm, let me take a look at you," a middle aged, blonde woman fell out of a rack of clothes m almost directly beside me.

I screeched, "Oh, I didn't see you there."

The woman smiled, "I'm sorry, sweetie. My name is Betty, this is my shop."

"Hi Betty, I'm Abby."

"Abby, this is going to be a lot of fun. You are stunning!"

I blushed, not many people said that to me. "Thank you, Betty."

"Do you model at all?"

"No Ma'am."

"Please, just Betty. Let me take a look at you," she said as she walked around me, suddenly producing a small notebook and pencil. "I think I have a few things you might like. You said you had a dinner tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm going for my boyfriend's business. I didn't know about it until today."

"Oh goodness! We'd better get to work, then. You'll have to get your hair and nails done, too."

I thought about that for a minute, "You know, Betty, you're absolutely right about that."

Betty walked around the shop and pulled out a few dresses. She set up a dressing room for me and had me go in to try them on. I tried three dresses until I found the one I wanted. I stepped out of the dressing room and smiled. "Oh Betty, this is perfect. You're good!'

"Sweetheart, as soon as I saw you, I knew that would be the perfect dress. With your long legs, it's amazing on you."

The dress was fire engine red, sweetheart cut in the front and low cut in the back; there was a slit almost the entire length of my right leg. There were jewels in the back that attached the straps and hung down my back. The material was a silky-satin that felt amazing on my skin.

"I even have the perfect shoes, try them," Betty handed me a box with shoes that were the perfect size.

I put on the silver, jeweled shoes and again was in love. The heels were small, but went perfectly with the dress.

"Oh, Betty," I breathed.

"The color is amazing with your skin tone. You're gonna break some hearts, my dear."

"Obviously I'll take it," I said, laughing. "And the shoes."

"Of course," Betty said, knowingly. "Let me just grab a couple more things."

She walked away and came back with a jewelry box that contained a necklace and earrings to go with the dress.

"They're white sapphires and they sparkle like crazy. Some women like them more than diamonds," Betty smiled, fastening the necklace around my neck.

It was a 'Y' shaped necklace that hung in a very provocative manner, while the earrings were long and dangled just above my shoulders.

"You are really good, Betty," I sighed, tears in my eyes.

"I've been doing it a very long time, Abby." She smiled at me in the mirror. "Now, go inside and get changed. I'll bag it up and get you rung up at the register."

I did as I was told and met Betty at the register. After I paid for the dress, shoes, and jewelry, I couldn't help myself, and I gave her a hug.

"I hope I get to meet you again, Betty."

"Me, too, sweetie. I'd love to have you come in some time to model for me. You would bring a lot of people into the store."

"I'd do it for you, Betty."

She handed me a card and asked me to call her when I came back to town. She also gave me the name and address of a spa where I could go get my hair and nails done. She even called ahead for me.

Just as I thought, Diego was standing outside the car, in the same place he was when I went inside. I loaded my new things into the car and informed him of where I was going next. He grunted and drove to the next stop.

After hours at the spa, having a massage, a facial, my hair washed, cut, highlighted, conditioned, and curled, and a manicure and pedicure, I was beyond relaxed. I remembered, though, that I still needed a purse and make up to carry to the event, since mine had been lost with my luggage.

I had Diego stop at the mall and I went into the Macy's to get a purse and make up. I was beyond happy when I returned to Paul's house with all my new purchases.

"Hey, Paul," I said, waltzing into the house. "What time do I leave for Seattle tomorrow?"

"Hey, Abbs, I see you had a good day. I think you're leaving around six or seven. I'm not sure."

"In the morning?"

Paul laughed, "No, in the evening. You're going straight to the fund raiser."

"It's a fund raiser?"

"Yes, for a local children's hospital, I believe." He looked at my packages. "I see you had luck in finding a dress."

"Oh yes! I found the most perfect dress! It's to die for!"

"What else did you find?"

"Shoes, a purse, jewelry, underwear, and make up."

Paul laughed, "And I see you've been to the spa. Remind me to call Betty and have a chat with her!"

"You know Betty?"

"Oh, yeah, she and Mary have lunch together once a week. I told her you were coming."

"Oooh, well that takes some of the magic out of it. I thought she was amazing."

"Oh, she is. She can find a dress for anyone. I just called to tell her I was sending my Goddaughter down to get a dress."

"She found a perfect dress for me.'

"Well, I'm glad she did, sweetie. Why don't you go put it away and we'll go out and have some dinner. I think Nick'll be back and I'll have him join us."

_Swoon_.

"Of course, I'll be just a minute."

Chapter 8

I ran up the stairs, put my new things away and headed back down to meet Paul. He had a guard waiting to drive us to a small, out of the way Italian restaurant. Paul led me inside, to a back table, and sat down across from me. He seemed to know the people here and they immediately brought us a bottle of wine.

After about 10 minutes, Nick rolled in. I didn't realize it until I saw him, but I really missed him throughout the day.

"Hey, guys," he said, sitting beside me.

"Hey, Nick," I said, trying not to sound too excited.

"You're late," Paul mumbled, not even looking up from his menu.

Nick squeezed my hand under the table and smiled. My phone beeped and I read "I MISSED U," from Nick.

I smiled and quickly responded, "I MISSED U 2. :)"

He smiled and put his phone away, "What's good here, Paul?"

"Anything with red sauce, they make the most amazing sauce."

I laughed, "Anything with red sauce? Geez, whatever will I choose? Eeny, meeny, miney..."

"All right, smart ass," Paul said. "But, really, if you covered a shoe in their sauce, I think I'd eat it and like it." Nick and I both laughed. "Laugh now, you'll see!"

"Well, I'm a simple girl, I just want spaghetti, then. I'll get the full effect of the red sauce," I said.

The waitress came to take our orders, I ordered the spaghetti, Nick ordered the chicken parm, and Paul ordered eggplant parm. We made small talk for a bit before the conversation turned to the trip to Seattle.

"You should both be ready to roll at six tomorrow," Paul said.

"Should I be dressed for the dinner?" I asked.

"Yes, you're flying, so the minute you land, you'll be going in," he said. "Just keep your eyes open to what's going on around you. I'll have a team outside, if there are any problems."

"Who'll be there?" Nick asked.

"Diego, Gabe, Bill, and John."

"Good," Nick said.

T1he food was brought to the table and we enjoyed a wonderful meal.

_Oh my God! Paul was totally right about the sauce_.

At the end of the meal, we walked outside, Paul said, "Nick, why don't you take Abby? I have some things to handle."

"All right man," they shook hands.

"Abby, thank you for a lovely dinner, as always. I'll see you tomorrow," he kissed my cheek and walked to his car.

I followed Nick to his car and climbed into the front seat.

"What did you do today?" I blurted out.

"I had to have a little discussion with Dmitry."

"Oh," I was remembering how violent Nick's job tended to be. His black eye was mostly gone, but his knuckles were still bruised.

"You don't like that," he said, as more of a statement than a question.

"I've never been around so much violence before."

"I had a discussion with Dmitry, nothing more, Abby."

"Oh, okay."

"You don't sound convinced," he said.

"I am, I promise."

We drove to his house and the same car was sitting outside.

"Fuck," Nick said, storming off toward the car.

I stood beside Nick's car, in his driveway. I saw the two men in the car step out immediately as Nick stormed toward them. Luckily, they were far enough away that I couldn't hear what they were saying. I did hear that they were shouting, though.

After just a few minutes, the other men got into the car and drove off. Nick walked back toward me and went inside. I quickly followed him and closed the door behind me.

Nick rushed toward me and started kissing me, catching me off guard. His hands were in my hair, down my back, lifting me up and holding me against him. I wrapped my legs around him and he stumbled back to the couch, falling down with me on top of him. He pulled back and lifted my shirt over my head, revealing a pink bra.

"Oh, my," he breathed.

We resumed kissing while I fooled with the buttons on his shirt.

Of all the days to not wear a tee shirt!

I finally got all the buttons and pushed his shirt off his shoulders. I felt him respond to my touch as I explored his body. He did the same with mine, eventually under the cups of my bra.

I sucked in a deep breath, "Nick," I whimpered.

Suddenly, he pulled back. "What are we doing?"

"Huh?" I asked, eloquently.

"Abby, I'm so sorry, I can't do this."

I covered myself up with my hands until I found my shirt. I couldn't help myself and I felt tears come to my eyes.

"I know I'm only here to do a job and you guys are paying me, but you can't keep doing this to me," I said.

"You don't know how badly I want to..."

"Don't. Please," I said, putting my shirt back on, trying to regain some dignity. "I'm pretty sure I'm stuck here for the night, so can we please not talk about it again tonight. I just want to go to sleep."

"I understand, Abby. I'm so..."

"Sorry, right?," I interrupted. "Please, Nick. I just want to go to sleep."

"Okay."

"I'm gonna sleep on the couch."

"Abby, no."

"Yes. It's your house, I'm a guest. I'll sleep on the couch."

Nick nodded and went into the bedroom and came right back out with pillows and blankets. "Do you think you'll need anything more?"

"I think this'll be fine," I said, holding my knees to my chest in the oversized chair.

He stood beside the couch for too long before he finally went into the bedroom and closed the door. I didn't move from the chair for a few minutes and I could still hear Nick in the bedroom moving around.

I stood, silently shaking. Angry with myself for doing the same thing, again. _I refuse to get swept up!_

I finally took my pants off and made myself a bed on the couch, curled up and went immediately to sleep.

I woke in the middle of the night to a loud crash. I groped blindly in the dark for my glasses, fearing that someone was standing over me, ready to kill me.

"Abby," I heard Nick loudly whisper. "Stay on the couch, I'm coming to you."

I felt Nick crawl onto the couch beside me, he put his arms around me to comfort me, I was terrified and shaking like crazy.

"What was that, Nick?"

"I don't know, it was out back. Stay right here."

"No!" I shrieked, louder than I expected.

"Shhh, Abby, it's okay. I have a gun and my phone. You'll be able to see me."

"Please let me come with you," I begged.

"Okay, stay right behind me, then."

I pressed myself as close to Nick's back as I could without getting into his boxers with him. As we walked to the back door, we heard more crashes, and with each one, I jumped and squeaked.

"Shhh," Nick said each time.

We finally arrived at the back door, Nick whispered, "I'm gonna flip on the light and open the back door quickly. Stay back."

I nodded. Nick counted on his fingers, one, two, three, and then he flipped on the light and threw open the door, scaring a family of raccoons, who went off running through the darkness. Nick's garbage cans were knocked over and there was garbage strewn all over the yard.

I couldn't help myself, I laughed out loud. I laughed so hard that I had to hold my side. Nick stood watching me laugh for a long time.

"You were gonna shoot a family of raccoons! Bahahahahahaha!"

"I'm glad you think it's funny, Abby."

"Oh, Nick, I was terrified. I thought I was about to be robbed again. When I woke up I had no idea where I was. I thought I was in Boston."

"Robbed _again_? How many times have you been robbed?"

"Um," I counted on my fingers, "Six times. But only three were at gun point!"

"Fuck, Abby. I don't think you need to go back to Boston at all."

"It wasn't all bad in Boston, Nick." I was finally able to pull myself back together. "Where are your garbage bags? We'd better get this cleaned up before another family of something else comes back to feast."

We spent about an hour picking up the garbage in the back yard. I was gagging on some of the nastier bits. The smell was what must have attracted the raccoons. When we were finished, I washed up and helped myself to one of Nick's tee shirts to wear to bed.

"Abby, will you please come to bed with me?"

I only nodded and followed him to the bedroom. We laid in bed together while we fell asleep.

Chapter 9

The next morning we woke up to someone banging on the door.

"Wake the fuck up." Bang! "Wake the fuck up." Bang! "Wake the fuck up." Bang!

"Fuck! It's Dmitry," Nick said, rolling over.

"I'll get it," I said, running to the door. I whipped it open, standing in a tee shirt and panties. "What!"

"Oh, Abby, I didn't realize you were here," Dmitry said.

"Like hell," I said. "What do you want?"

"I needed something from Nick," he looked over my shoulder to Nick who had appeared behind me in only his boxers. "You know why I'm here?"

"Yeah, hang on."

"This is shit, I'm going back to bed," I announced.

"It was a pleasure to see you again, Abby. I'm looking forward to seeing you this evening."

I fought the urge to lift my shirt and show my ass as I made my way back to the bed. I wanted to steal Nick's bed! I could live in it. I was sure it cost more than every piece of furniture in my apartment.

I could hear the two men talking in the next room but I was too tired to care what they were saying, and I was soon asleep again.

I woke up later that afternoon and Nick was gone. I got out of bed and went into the living room to look for him. There was a note on the coffee table, "Had to run an errand, be back by 2 p.m. Make yourself something to eat."

I made myself a sandwich and watched some tv while I waited for Nick. Sure enough, right at two o'clock, Nick came back with a suit bag.

"Hey, sorry. I had to pick up my tux from the dry cleaners."

"You _own_ a tux?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how much I use it. It's ridiculous."

"I bet."

"Get some clothes on. I'll take you back to Paul's so you can get ready for tonight."

"Okay."

I threw my pants on and Nick drove me to Paul's. He didn't get out when we arrived, instead just dropping me at the front door. I waved at Paul on my way up the stairs to my bedroom so I could shower and get ready for the party.

I had a long, hot shower and had spent a long time preparing for this dinner with Merritt. Having dinner with the enemy? I didn't know what was happening anymore.

I was finally ready and it was about time to leave to meet Merritt. I walked down the stairs in my beautiful, new gown and shoes. I felt beautiful and by the looks I got from Nick, Paul and the two guards that were standing in the living room, I knew I looked beautiful.

"Oh, Abby," Nick said in awe. "You look..."

"Beautiful," Paul said, kissing my cheek. "Your Aunt Lynne would be so proud."

I could feel myself getting emotional. Aunt Lynne never got over Paul, never married, and never had kids of her own. She was like a second mother to me and we spent a lot of time together while I was growing up.

"Thank you," I said, waving my hand at my eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Oh, sweetie, don't cry," Paul said. "I meant to say you have a fat ass just like your Aunt Lynne."

I laughed and playfully punched him, "If Aunt Lynne had a single ounce of fat anywhere, I never saw it."

"You're right about that," Paul laughed. "I suppose you should get going. I'm a little disappointed that I don't get to go with you, now. Everyone there will be talking about how beautiful you look."

"I doubt that," I kissed his cheek and rolled my eyes. "Thank you, though, Paul."

I followed the guards as they went out the front door, Nick followed me, and Paul followed him. The guards drove one of the SUV's to the front and Nick held the door for me while I climbed in. I waved to Paul again as we drove away.

Once we had driven for a while, Nick reached over to take my hand. "Abby, you look amazing."

"Yeah, okay, Nick. _You_ look amazing. I'm just the girl in the dress."

Nick was wearing a black, designer tuxedo. I never imagined this man, whose wardrobe consisted of jeans, tee shirts, and the occasional button down shirt, could look so good in a tuxedo. I was practically salivating.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Whenever someone pays you a compliment, you brush it off."

"I don't know, Nick. It's just something I've always done. I don't get complimented a lot, I suppose."

"How could you not? You're beautiful."

I blushed to my toes. "Thank you, Nick."

I noticed the driver adjust his mirror to look down my dress, "Hey, you wanna keep your eyes on the road?"

"Sorry, Miss," he re-adjusted the mirror.

The other guard snickered, Nick glared.

"They're just boobs, I'm sure you've seen boobs before," I was actually embarrassed, but I had to play like it didn't bother me, or else it would.

I wasn't used to people paying attention to me like this. I really hoped they were exaggerating and no one would notice me. I was normally a wallflower. I was a writing major in college, there's no better way to avoid people than writing.

We arrived at a small airfield where there were helicopters. I could see a small group of men standing together and I immediately picked out Merritt in a tuxedo. He still didn't look good, he was just repulsive. I had to fight a gag at seeing him.

We parked near the group and Nick jumped out, nodding to the other men, and opened the door for me. I stepped out and, again, the men stared.

"My goodness, Abigail. I had not seen beauty until this day. You are stunning." Merritt stepped forward and kissed my hand.

"Thank you, Merritt," was all I could manage, he sickened me.

"Nick, you are a very lucky man."

"I am," Nick said, putting his hand on my _bare_ lower back.

I felt myself react to his touch, even though I fought it.

"Please, follow me, we don't want to be late," Merritt led us to the waiting helicopter.

Shit! Helicopters! Seriously!?

Nick climbed in first and held his hand for me to climb in. Merritt climbed in last, the door was closed from the outside.

The helicopter started and we were in the air in no time. The men put on headsets to be able to communicate. I refused, vainly, because I didn't want to ruin my hair. Nick explained on the way that we'd be flying because it was a pretty far to drive. I had a terrible fear of heights and I was afraid I would break out in a flop sweat. But, with Nick, I felt calm and even enjoyed the flight.

Chapter 10

Eventually, we landed on the top of a hotel and were met by hotel staff, who led us to an elevator.

"Abigail, I would love for you to stand with me while I meet some of the people here," Merritt asked.

"Of course," I said.

"And I have a room for you and Nick for the evening, since we won't be flying out until tomorrow morning."

"I wasn't aware of that," I said. "I don't have anything here."

"I wasn't aware of that, either," Nick said, I could feel him tensing beside me.

"I'm sure I told Paul of this plan," Merritt said.

"Oh, that Paul," I laughed, trying to diffuse the situation. "I bet you told him and he forgot."

Merritt laughed a little too much. "Oh, Abigail, you are a delight."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened into a grand ballroom. There were hundreds of people mingling. Several people stopped and looked in our direction. I could hear whispering and see people pointing. Merritt and Nick stepped off the elevator, I hesitated.

"What's wrong, Abby?" Nick asked.

"People are pointing."

"Abby, it's because you're easily the most beautiful woman here."

I didn't move. Nick stepped back, I could see Merritt shake his head in disgust.

"I'll be right here," Nick whispered.

He led me off the elevator and into the ballroom. Merritt put his arm around me, putting his hand on my back. Again, I had to hide my revulsion.

The dinner was delicious, the food was five star. I mingled with the rich people for the evening, playing date to Merritt as well as I could. I was able to spot Paul's men on the walls of the ballroom, always within my line of sight. Nick was never far from my side.

The fund raising part was an action. The cost of the dinner at $1000 a plate. There were several items donated from local businesses. They brought out a brand new bed. It was only full sized, but was a very expensive mattress. The auctioneer went on and on about what a great addition to a guest bedroom it would be.

I gasped when I saw it, knowing that my bed in Boston was such garbage. I had never had a good night's sleep on it. The bidding started low, just $50. I made a bid. Soon, a female voice from the back of the crowd raised it to $60. Then a male voice to $70. The same female voice raised it to $80. I raised it to $100. A new male voice raised it to $200. I felt defeated; $200 was a lot to me.

"Go on," Nick urged, smiling.

"Five hundred," I called.

There was talking among the crowd. Finally, a male voice called out, "Two thousand dollars."

It was Merritt.

Instantly, I knew I was finished.

"Five thousand," Nick called.

"My goodness, five thousand," the auctioneer said.

"Six thousand," Merritt called.

"Well, six thousand, amazing. Six thousand going once, six thousand going twice..."

"Ten thousand," Nick called.

The auctioneer banged his gavel, "Sold to the young man in the front for ten thousand dollars."

There were cheers from everyone in the crowd. Some men came by and shook Nick's hand, slapping him on the back. There were many words of "congratulations" to both Nick and myself. I caught quite a few men looking down my gown, but it didn't bother me anymore. I felt elated that I was here, with Nick.

Soon, though, Merritt came through the crowd. He made a big show of bowing in front of Nick, defeated in purchasing the bed. Their pictures were taken and people laughed.

Nick was distracted, talking to a group of men, when Merritt pinched the back of my arm and pulled me away, "You're here with me, don't you forget that," he said, through gritted teeth.

"You're hurting me," I protested.

"You have no idea what pain is, Abigail," he pinched harder.

I almost cried out, "I'm sorry. I got carried away by the auction, I really wanted that bed. I had no idea that Nick would go after it."

"It's not about the bed, you stupid twit. Come on, you have to come smile for some pictures."

I pasted on a false smile for the rest of the evening. I made small talk on auto-pilot. Nick had disappeared with the auctioneer to finalize the sale of the bed. I could still see Paul's guards. There was a wonderful band playing, so Merritt dragged me to the dance floor and made me dance with him. I was repulsed by him touching me so intimately. The song finished and we stopped dancing. There was a crowd of people that applauded, so Merritt bowed and I curtsied.

"Thank you, Abigail. I must leave you now, though. I have some business to tend to. You can check in at the front desk for your room. We will be flying back to Portland tomorrow at nine AM."

"Thank you, Merritt," I said.

He walked away without saying anything. I searched for Nick, when I couldn't find him, I started to get worried. He had, after all, embarrassed Merritt at a very important party. I found the guard who had driven us to the airfield.

"Hey, where's Nick?"

"He's on the balcony, over there," he pointed to the right.

"Thank you," I said and started to walk away. "Do you and the other man have a place to stay for the night?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, okay."

I walked out onto the balcony. For some reason, I thought we were on the first floor, but apparently we were pretty high up.

"Wow," I said, awestruck by the view of the city.

"It's beautiful out here," Nick said.

"It sure is," I said. "Where have you been?"

"I thought it'd be a good idea to stay back a bit after I pissed Merritt off."

"I see," I said, shivering and rubbing my arms.

"Here," Nick took his coat off and wrapped it around my shoulders. "It's a lot cooler here, we're pretty close to the Sound."

"Thank you," I said, pulling the jacket closer.

"It's a shame, though, to cover you up. You look amazing tonight."

I blushed, "Thank you."

"No, thank you, Abby. You're really helping Paul and me...I can't even tell you."

I wasn't sure how to react. I turned back toward the city. "Do you ever just think about leaving?"

"Of course."

"Sometimes I just think about running away and not telling anyone where I am. Getting a whole new life."

I lifted myself onto the railing, leaning out a bit, momentarily forgetting my fear of heights. The rush of air washed over me.

"Why, Abby?" Nick pulled me back toward him.

I sighed. "My life didn't exactly turn out the way it was supposed to. I'm so close to moving back in with my parents. I never wanted to be 28 years old and living with my parents, you know?"

Nick touched my face and turned me to face him, "You don't have to go back, Abby."

"Why would I stay here? Nick, you've made it abundantly clear, time after time, that you aren't interested in me. Well, let me correct that, you are interested but when things get too intense, you pull away."

"That's not true," Nick lowered his head.

"Nick, I don't want to argue with you. I just want to enjoy the rest of the evening."

We went back in to the ballroom and danced together. Some people that Nick knew stopped by and chatted with him. There were many women who stopped me and asked where I got my dress. I talked Betty up as much as possible, after all, she was the reason I looked as good as I did tonight.

The evening was winding down and I was starting to get tired.

"Nick, I'm ready to go to our room," I said, leaning against him.

"Sure, let's go

"Merritt said that we have to check in at the front desk for the room key."

"I already did that, I didn't want them to give away our room."

He steered me to the elevator, shaking hands and saying good bye to the people he knew. I smiled and made small talk, when necessary. We finally made it inside the elevator and Nick pressed one of the buttons while I leaned against the wall, exhausted. When the door opened, Nick led me down a hallway, opened a door, and led us both inside.

"Oh my God, I could just go to sleep right now, just how I am," I said.

Nick laughed, "I know, I'm exhausted."

I went into the bathroom and washed up as well as I could. I took my dress off and put on one of the plush robes supplied by the hotel.

"I'm finished," I said as I came out of the bathroom.

Nick was already lounging on the bed in just his boxers.

Jesus, I really like seeing him like that.

"I'll probably be asleep when you come out," I said.

"I'll be as quiet as possible," he said.

I wasn't asleep when he came back, but I was close. I was only in my bra and panties, having nothing else to wear. Nick was obviously comfortable enough to wear only his underwear around me, so I tried to be equally comfortable. After all, I was only the hired help.

He climbed into bed and I could hear him take a deep breath in seeing what I was wearing. I smiled to myself, satisfied that I had distracted Nick with my dress at the party and my skimpy clothes in the bed. He settled into the bed soon and shut off the light. I fell asleep soon after that.

Chapter 11

I heard the phone ringing in my sleep, sure it was part of my dream. I felt Nick's warm arms wrapped around me.

"Nick," I said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Your phone."

"Huh?"

"Your phone is ringing."

"Oh, shit," Nick rolled over and grabbed his phone. "Yeah?" Pause. "What?" Pause. "You're kidding." Pause. "No, I got it." Pause. "It's fine." Pause. "Right." Long pause. "Okay. Thanks." I heard him set the phone down.

"What happened?"

"Merritt left last night."

"What?!"

"Yep, he flew out last night. I'll have to rent a car to get us back to Portland. "

"What the hell?"

"I don't know. What a bunch of...Abby, what happened to your arm?"

"I don't know, why?"

"It's bruised. What the fuck?"

I felt Nick softly stroke the back of my arm.

"Merritt pinched me last night, after you won the bed, he got pissed and pulled me away and pinched me. I told him he was hurting me and he said 'You don't know what pain is.'"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He said softly, but I could feel rage behind it.

"I don't know, I honestly didn't think about it until just now."

"Abby, that looks like it hurts."

"It does a little, but I'm okay."

"Jesus Christ," he leaned back over and picked up his phone. He took a picture and I could hear him texting. Seconds later his phone rang, "Yeah." Pause. "It's Abby's arm, Merritt grabbed her at the party." Pause. "I was doing what you told me." Long pause, I could hear Paul's voice, yelling on the other line. "What the fuck do you want me to do? I couldn't be on top of her every second." Long pause. "We need to take care of this." Pause. "I don't know." He put his hand over the phone. "Did he do anything else?"

"He just threatened me."

"She said he was hurting her and he said 'you don't know what pain is,'" he said back into the phone. Pause. "Yeah, I think that's a viable threat." Pause. "Why the fuck did he leave early?" Long pause. "I'm gonna rent a car and we'll be home in a few hours. Neither one of us had anything here, so we'll have to stop to get new clothes, too." Pause. "Right. Later then." He ended the call.

"I'm gonna take a shower," I said, getting out of bed.

Nick took a deep breath when he saw me in my bra and panties again, I saw him shift the way he was sitting on the bed.

I have an effect on him!

"Abby, if anyone who works for Merritt does anything like that again, you need to tell me immediately."

"I will."

I showered and put my dress back on. I stashed my panties in my purse, not thrilled about putting dirty clothes back on. I couldn't wash my hair because I had nothing to comb or brush it with. I felt like I was doing the walk of shame.

Nick showered after I did and put his shirt and pants back on, carrying his jacket and tie. He looked so sexy. I didn't mind looking like I was doing the walk of shame with him.

We checked out of the room and had the concierge call a taxi to take us to the airport to rent a car. After getting a car to drive for the day, Nick found a strip mall with a Target and we went inside to buy new clothes to wear home.

I couldn't help but laugh as we walked through the store, turning heads everywhere we walked. I found a pair of black pants and a pink tank top. Nick found some jeans and a tee shirt, just as I expected.

"Got everything?" he asked.

"Um, no," I said, suddenly embarrassed.

"What else?"

"I'll grab it and meet you up front."

"It's okay, I'll walk with you."

"Okay."

I wandered all over the store, I picked up tooth paste, a tooth brush, hair ties, a brush, deodorant, bottled water, lotion, and whatever else I could think of.

"Jesus, Abby, do you have everything?"

"Nick, I need underwear."

Nick turned white and gulped. "What?"

"I wasn't going to put dirty underwear back on."

"You, you're not wearing any panties right now?"

Oh my!

"No, they're in my purse." Nick gulped again. "I was trying to be discreet but you wouldn't leave me alone. Come on, let's go get me some more undies."

He followed me to the women's underwear section where I picked out the laciest, sexiest pink thong I could find. Again, I saw Nick gulp.

"What?" I asked, innocently. "I got skinny pants, can't have panty lines showing."

"Are you done now?"

"Yepper, I am now finished."

At the checkout, I tried to pay for the things we bought, with Nick insisting he pay. I ducked into the bathroom and quickly changed, brushed my teeth, put on deodorant, and tried to tame my wild bed-head.

Apparently Nick had the same idea because when I came out, he was waiting for me in his new clothes.

"I feel so much better now," I said. "Can we go home, please?"

"It's like a three hour drive," he said. "Let's get breakfast first."

It was only around nine a.m., so we went to a drive thru and got some disgusting breakfast for the road. I ate my greasy breakfast and helped Nick eat his.

"Um, can you stop somewhere," I asked. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Sure, I saw a sign for a rest stop up ahead."

Ten minutes later, Nick parked and I ran in to use the facilities. I was back in the car and we were back on the road.

We had been driving for about an hour when Nick asked "Would you mind going on a little detour for a few hours?"

"Um, where?"

"I thought it would be cool to go to Mount St. Helen's and check it out."

"I'm wearing heels, Nick."

"We'll get you some different shoes, we don't have to do any hiking, anyway. It's just a short trip, for fun."

"Haven't you been there before?"

"Yeah, I used to go every year for school. That was a long time ago, though. Do you wanna go or not?"

"Okay, yeah, let's go!"

"Watch for somewhere to get some shoes. Why didn't you get any in Target?"

"I didn't think I'd be hiking today."

About 20 minutes later we found a shoe store where I bought new sneakers and socks. We were going to look pretty foolish trying to hike. Well, I was. I was wearing skinny, black dress pants and a hot pink tank top. My hair was gigantic, still not fully tamed from the night before. I was carrying a black Prada hand bag that contained my panties, lipstick, and my cell phone. Nick, on the other hand, blended so nicely. Maybe that's why he's Paul's partner? I'll never figure out that dynamic.

Nick exited the highway and we drove for a long time, through windy mountain roads, and came to the first observation point. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs, anyway. The view was amazing! What devastation that mountain had caused! Nick held my hand as we wandered around the small parking area. We each took a lot of pictures before we got back into the car to continue the drive.

Again, we made a stop. This time was at a small grocery store. Nick said he was hungry and that we should get some supplies before we get too far up the mountain.

"I'm sure there's a picnic area," he said.

"That would be nice," I said.

Luckily, there was a deli that had delicious looking salads and sandwiches. We also stocked up on cookies, candy, snacks, soda, and water.

Again, Nick insisted on paying for everything, including the full tank of gas that we purchased from the gas station next door.

"Nick, you don't need to pay for everything," I said.

"Abby, would you let me be the man?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's my job to take care of you."

"Oh, God! I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response," I laughed.

"Puh-lease," he said. I playfully slapped his arm "What was that? Did a fly just land on me?'

"Oh, just drive," I said.

"See? My point exactly. Women can't drive."

"No, _this_ woman can't drive." I saw a deer in the road ahead. "Nick!"

"I see it, don't worry."

We slowed and the deer ran away. We continued our climb to the top, finally coming to a stop at the main observation station. We ate our lunch and did some exploring. Lots of pictures were taken. The drive down the mountain took a lot less time than the drive up.

"Thank you for that, Nick."

"You're welcome. I had fun."

"Me too. It's been a long time since I was able to do something like that."

"Yeah! I used to love doing stuff like that, going on little day trip adventures."

"Oh yeah," I said. "When I was in New York, we used to get on the train and get off at a different stop and explore the area. We didn't always stay where we got off," I laughed.

"Yeah, my parents used to take us on car trips like once a month where we'd pick a destination and just drive there. I've been all over Washington, Oregon, and into Northern California."

"I've never been to California. In fact, I'd never been to Washington until last night."

"I love Washington," he said. "I even love the rain."

"Well, I hate snow. Maybe I should move to Miami, or something."

Nick laughed. "You'd hate the heat."

"Ughh, you're right. I'll have to summer in Alaska and winter in Florida."

"There's an idea!"

"I'm gonna start saving my money, there's my retirement plan!"

The sun was setting and I could tell we were getting closer to Portland.

"I don't want to go back," I said. "I don't want today to end."

"Me neither," Nick said. Just then, his phone rang, "Yeah?" Pause. "We're getting back in now." Pause.

My phone rang, my mother was calling. "Hi, Mommy!"

"Hi, sweetheart. How's Oregon?"

"It's nice. You won't believe the things I've done since I've been here, Mom."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Well, I drove a car..."

"Wait, _you_ drove a car?"

"Well, I mean, it was only like 100 yards, but I still drove."

"I don't know any other 28 year olds who can't drive, Abby." Mom laughed. I missed her like crazy after just hearing her laugh. "What else have you done?"

"I flew in a helicopter. I went to a formal fund raiser dinner and Paul got me this dress, Mom, it's to die for!"

"You'll have to send me a picture. Where did you fly to in a helicopter?"

"Seattle."

"Wow, did you go to Jimi Hendrix's grave?"

"No, Mom, we didn't have time for that."

"That's too bad."

Once a hippie, always a hippie.

"I went to Mount St. Helen's and saw the volcano. Oh, and when I got here, the airline lost my luggage and I STILL don't have it back."

"Have you called them?"

"No," I admitted. "I'll call them tomorrow, I guess."

"Make sure you call them, they may have found it and didn't call you."

"I will, Mom."

"How is your trip otherwise? Are you still staying in that hotel?"

"Oh, no, I didn't tell you what happened there."

I told her about the water disaster and got another lecture when I told her that I hadn't been reimbursed yet.

"I'll call them tomorrow. Then they'll probably give me a check that I'll have no way of cashing."

"Maybe Paul will help you cash it through his bank account."

"Okay, Mom. How's New York?"

"Oh, Abby, New York misses you."

"I'm sure Boston does, too."

"You know you don't have to go back to Boston."

"I know," I said, feeling sadness creep into my voice.

My parents and I were close, even through their divorce. They knew I was struggling in Boston and both made it clear that they wanted me to come home to New York, and I was welcome to live with either of them until I got on my feet. I just couldn't bring myself to do it yet.

"Okay, Abby, I just wanted to check in. I hadn't heard from you in a while and I missed your voice."

"I miss you, too. Tell everyone I said 'hi' and I'll email you some pictures tonight."

"I can't wait. Don't be such a stranger next time."

"I'm sorry, I'll call more."

"I love you, Abby."

"I love you, too, Mom."

We disconnected the call and I turned toward the window, hoping Nick hadn't heard too much and didn't ask me anything.

I was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"My parents are worried about me. They know how bad it was in Boston and they're really hoping that being out here helps."

"Is it helping?"

"In some ways, I suppose. I'm not locked in my apartment."

"How isn't it helping?"

"Well, I feel like I'm in danger every day. I also feel like I'm being held prisoner, sometimes."

"When you're at Paul's house?"

"Exactly!" I said. "Usually he leaves and I'm at the house and I can't go anywhere."

"I knew you felt like that," he said. "Please, if you're there and you want to go somewhere, call me or text me."

"I don't want to bother you all the time. I work for you, remember."

"Abby, come on."

"And, apparently, I can have one of the guards take me out when I want to go somewhere, too. I wasn't aware of that."

"Yeah. They won't be happy about it, but that's what they're paid for."

I noticed that we were in Paul's neighborhood. "Speaking of Paul, do we have to go back?"

"No, I'll text him and tell him you're staying with me. He wants you to practice driving tomorrow."

"Ahhhhhh," I pretend screamed. "We should go to church and pray, then."

"You'll be fine," Nick laughed.

He made a quick U-turn and drove us back onto the main roads. I finally realized we were driving to the mall.

"What are we doing here?"

"Getting you something to wear tomorrow. You probably don't want two pairs of panties in your purse, do you?"

Chapter 12

We went into the store and wandered around a bit. Nick told me to get a few things, so I could keep them at his house. I picked three pairs of pants, three shirts, one dress, and several pairs of panties and bras.

After Nick paid for everything again, we drove back to his house. Once inside, I set my new clothes down and headed straight for the shower. My hair felt like hay and I needed to be able to comb it out.

I put on a pair of Nick's boxers and a tee shirt when I got out.

"Are you gonna steal all of my clothes?"

"Only the comfy ones," I said. "Did I smell pizza?"

"Um, what? No."

"Huh, I figured you would've known I was hungry and ordered pizza."

"You're nuts, woman."

"Whateva. Why have you still not ordered a pizza? I've been talking about it for like half an hour now. Jesus, get on it."

Nick laughed and shook his head. But, sure enough, he took out his phone and ordered a pizza.

"There, was that that hard?"

"I'm gonna throw you in the pool."

"You have a pool?"

"Yeah, duh."

"Why am I just finding out about this?"

"You're always seem to only be interested in going to bed when you get here."

"I'll show you, then, Nick! Where is this 'so called' pool?"

"Out the back door."

"I didn't see it the other night when you almost murdered that poor family of raccoons."

"The lights were turned off. It's out there."

I walked to the back door, Nick close at my heels. He flipped a set of light switches, lighting up a large, in-ground pool.

"Very nice. How long until the pizza comes?"

"Um, 20 minutes."

"Good."

I took a deep breath, walked out the back door, stripped off my clothes, and dove into the pool. I surfaced to see Nick standing at the side of the pool, mouth open.

You just took a shower, stupid!

"Well, are you just gonna stand there and gawk?"

"Yeah, I think that's just what I'm gonna do. It's a pretty good show."

"The water's great, but suit yourself."

I dove under, purposely sticking my ass into the air. I surfaced again to see Nick sitting in a lounge chair near the diving board, holding a towel and my clothes.

"It's funny, ya know?" he said.

"What's that?"

"Well, you got right into the shower when we got home because of your hair..."

"...That was before I knew there was a pool."

"Don't interrupt, Abby. It's rude." I nodded, smiling. "And then you give me a hard time about not ordering a pizza that I didn't know you wanted. After that, you gave me a hard time about not telling you about my pool.'

"I don't exactly see it like that," I said, swimming to where I was just in front of Nick.

"Well, now, my sweet Abby, you're in quite a predicament, aren't you?"

"How is that?"

"Well, there you are, in my pool, with nothing on. You aren't wearing anything, are you, Abby?"

I flushed, "No."

"Yeah, I knew that. I have eyes. And here I sit, with a towel and your clothes. Not to mention access to the only door to the house."

"Oh my God, Nick, you wouldn't."

"Oh, I think I hear the doorbell. That must be that delicious pizza I ordered."

"Please, Nick," he started walking to the door. "Nick!" I screeched.

He was already inside. I couldn't tell if the door was locked. I stayed right in the spot I was when Nick went in. I had no idea what to do.

Such an idiot!

Nick came back out the door. "Well, are you coming in? The pizza is getting cold."

"Nick," I whined. "Please."

"Oh Abby, you're so pathetic when you whine." I stuck out my lower lip. "Simply pathetic! Tell me how handsome I am."

"You're so handsome."

"Tell me I'm manly."

"You're the manliest man in the whole, wide world."

"Tell me you can't live without me."

"I simply cannot live without you."

"Tell me you'll stay in Portland," he lowered his voice.

"Nick, I..."

"I tried. Come on, then. I won't look."

He held the towel open for me to wrap up and led me inside.

"Hey, I thought you said the pizza was here?" Nick laughed. "You're mean, Nick!"

"It'll be here any minute, get dressed."

I dropped the towel on the floor and stared into his eyes as I put his shirt on and then his boxers.

"Abby," Nick said, only tearing his eyes away after the doorbell rang.

"Thanks man," the delivery man said after Nick paid him.

"Yay, pizza!" I rubbed my hands together, eager to eat.

Nick put the pizza boxes on the coffee table in the living room. I grabbed two beers out of the fridge and sat down next to him on the couch.

"This looks like enough for me, what did you get?"

"Right," Nick said, laughing. "You can eat two supreme pizzas and 50 wings?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I've never tried."

"Let's see, you'll probably eat three wings and one piece of pizza?"

"You're probably right," I admitted. "Well, the good news is that I'm pretty hungry, so I may actually eat a lot."

"We'll see."

Nick flipped the tv on and we watched a baseball game while we ate pizza. I managed to eat two pieces of pizza and about eight wings. We had also managed to drink too many beers. We were laughing a lot and having fun. The baseball game we were watching was a blow out, so, we lost interest.

"Ya know, Abby, I'm supposed to take you to drive tomorrow," he slurred.

"Oh my fuck," I spit. "Do you have a helmet?"

"You can't be that bad."

"Oh, yeah," I stood up and stumbled around. "I backed my Daddy's car into a light post and fucking totaled it."

I stumbled and Nick caught me before I fell onto the coffee table. We fell into a heap on the couch, laughing.

"I guess you can't be perfect," Nick said, close to my face.

"I'm as far from perfect as you can get," my voice was low.

"Not in my eyes."

"Nick, you're always saying stuff like that and kissing me and I don't even think you like me."

"I do like you, Abby. That's the problem."

"Why?"

"I'm not a good man, Abby."

"Are you a vampire?" I said, in awe.

"You are crazy," Nick laughed, hugging me.

"Well, I mean, that's usually what happens, right?"

"Um, no, this is real life and I'm a bad man."

"Right," I said, stumbling to my feet again. "You're a bad man and I'm a saint."

"I am, you should stay away from me," Nick stood.

"What makes you think I'm good? Huh, Nick?"

"You are good, Abby. You wouldn't be here, helping Paul if you weren't"

"Yeah, and the money was such a deterrent."

"Abby, you should just go back to Boston. You shouldn't be around us."

"Why? So I can OD on sleeping pills again?"

"What?" Nick fell to his knees.

"I told you how I was depressed after..."

"You tried to kill yourself?"

"I was so sad. I still feel it. It's hard to get out of bed sometimes."

"Oh, Abby," Nick sunk backward and put his face in his hands. "I just want to take care of you and make sure you're safe."

"I got these pills from the internet. I ordered them from like Mexico or Canada or something. I said I had a problem sleeping and they sent them right out. I tried them out a few times, to make sure they put me to sleep. I didn't want to take 100 pills and have nothing happen."

"God."

"My parents were coming to town that weekend, so on Thursday night, I decided to start. I took eight in the first half hour, then 12 more. I was stumbling around the apartment like I was wasted. Apparently, in my daze, I called a bunch of people and told them I was killing myself and I said good bye."

"What happened?"

"My parents called the police. They came and took me to the hospital. I had my stomach pumped. Have you ever had your stomach pumped?" Nick shook his head. "It's awful. It was the most physically painful experience I've ever had."

"Abby..."

"My parents came up from Brooklyn, I was so ashamed. They were amazing. I couldn't ask for better parents. They promised to help me with whatever I needed. They wanted me to go home. They even arranged an outpatient treatment for me at Bellvue. I refused to admit I failed. I didn't want to go home."

Nick got to his feet and stumbled to me. "How are you now?"

"Every day is different. Days when I'm with you, I'm happy. Other days, I'm not so happy.

"You shouldn't...."

"Oh, no," I ran to the bathroom and vomited my entire meal.

I spent the entire night on the bathroom floor in agony. Nick slept beside me, leaning against the doorjamb. The only thing that gave me any relief was the cold tile floor. Nick brought me cold water and aspirin, which I promptly threw up.

Chapter 13

I woke up in Nick's bed late the next afternoon. My head was pounding and my stomach was a wreck. The light in the room was killing me.

"Oh, God," I moaned.

I slowly crawled out of bed and into the bathroom. I washed my face and mouth. I looked in the mirror and was horrified at the mess looking back at me. I dragged myself to the living room and found Nick asleep on the couch. I made a pot of coffee and went to the pool to drink it.

After just a few minutes, Nick joined me with a cup of coffee of his own. I was satisfied to see he looked as horrible as I felt.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," I whispered back.

"Feel bad?"

"Oh, yeah. You?"

"Pretty rough."

"Did you throw up?"

"No, you did enough for both of us."

"Sorry."

"Was everything you said last night true?"

"Yeah." I took a long drink of my coffee. "Sorry."

"It scares me, Abby. I don't want you to go back."

"It scares me too."

We finished our coffee in silence.

Nick stood and held his hand out to me. "We should probably get ready so you can practice driving."

"Ooooh," I whined. "Do we have to?"

"Yes, come on."

He pulled me up and I followed him into the house, dragging my feet the whole way.

"It smells like a brewery in here," I said, crinkling my nose.

"Yeah, I think you may have vomited one out."

"Shut up," I said too loudly. "Do you have something for my head?"

"It's in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Go take a shower."

"I smell that bad?"

"Yes."

I took the meds and took a shower, luxuriating in the hot water. When I got out, I felt a lot better.

"You can go ahead," I stepped out, wrapped in a towel. "I'll get dressed in your room."

"Oh, let me set up the web cam first."

I stuck my tongue out and closed myself in his room. I got dressed and decided I'd make his bed, since I slept in it.

I was just finishing with the bed when Nick came into the bedroom, also wrapped in a towel.

"Feel better?" I asked.

"A lot. You didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I slept in it and you took care of me, it's the least I could do."

"Well, thank you."

I found myself staring at him, not moving from my spot.

"Um, Abby, I'm not some piece of meat."

"Ohmygoodness! I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head and walking quickly out of the room. I combed and braided my hair in the bathroom. I looked around and saw that there were about nine towels on the floor, including the two I had just used for my shower. "Hey, Nick," I knocked on the bedroom door.

"Yeah?"

"Give me your towel and I'll wash them."

He opened the door and handed out the towel he was just using and I started a load of wash. I noticed there was a lot of laundry in the laundry room, so I separated it so I could wash it all.

"Abby, you don't have to do that."

"I know," I said. "I want to. Call me crazy, but I like doing laundry."

"Um, yeah, that is crazy."

I laughed. "I need more laundry soap and some fabric softener, though."

"All right, let's go. You're driving."

"Come on," I whined. "Niiiiiick.."

"Abby, Paul bought you a brand new car, you gotta learn how to drive it."

"Awww, I don't want to."

"Come on, let's go."

We went to the driveway and I got into the driver's seat of Nick's car. The rental, I noticed, was gone.

"Hey, where'd the rental go?"

"One of Paul's men returned it."

"Oh."

I buckled my seat belt, adjusted the seat, adjusted the mirrors, started the car, put my foot on the brake, and shifted the car into reverse.

"Here we go," I said, taking a deep breath.

I eased the car down the driveway, holding my breath the whole time. When we made it to the street, I shifted into drive and drove away.

"Please don't make me go on the interstate," I said.

"I won't."

Nick gave me directions to the local Costco and we eventually made it there. I put the car in park, shut it off, and put my head on the steering wheel.

"Abby, that was great! You know how to drive."

"Yeah, I know how to drive. I just don't do it! It freaks me out."

"You were really good! I expected to be pressing my foot onto an imaginary brake pedal."

"Fuck you, Nick."

"Aww, come on, Abbs. You were amazing."

"Look at my hands," I said, holding my shaking hands out.

Nick took my hands and kissed them, "You'll get used to it. I promise."

I sighed. "Let's go in and get the supplies."

"Oh, Abby, my dear, I haven't been shopping in months. I'm out of everything. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."

"Oh, come on," I said in mock indignation.

Inside the store, we got all the supplies Nick needed and then some. Once again, Nick made me drive the car back to his house. When we arrived at Nick's house, Paul was waiting in the driveway.

"Abby, were you driving?"

"Yes," I said. "I tried to protest, but there was no use."

"You looked like you know what you're doing."

"I know how to drive, in theory. I just don't do it."

"Okay?"

"That's what I said," Nick was carrying a box of household supplies.

"Lemme give you a hand, Nick," Paul said, taking a box from the trunk of the car.

I raced ahead and unlocked the door. Both men walked in and set the boxes down on the kitchen table. Nick went out to get the last box and came back in.

"I expected to see you last night, Abby," Paul said, starting a slow walk around the table

"I know, but on our way home, I begged Nick to take me to Mount Saint Helen's and by the time we got back, it was so late that I just came here to sleep."

"I see. You must remember, this is not a vacation, Abby. You're here, working for me."

"Well, I thought that because I was with Nick, I would look like I was establishing a believable relationship. I mean, there have been cars parked out front of here like twice now. I didn't even notice last night."

"Have you had the place swept for bugs?"

"Yes, twice daily," Nick said.

"Good. I'm glad to see you're practicing driving. That is something I wanted you to do."

"We were gonna go back out after I put these things away," Nick said.

"Aww, really?" I whined.

"Yeah, you're good, but you need more practice."

"I need you both to go to The Winfield tonight. Merritt may or may not be there. Let me see your arm, Abby."

"My arm?"

"Yes," Paul was annoyed. "Where Merritt pinched you."

"Oh, right."

I turned around and showed him the bruise that had formed from the pinch.

"This is marvelous," Paul said.

"Um, I'm glad you like it."

"You don't understand," Nick said.

"Merritt showed a sign of weakness with this," Paul said.

"Oh, he was pissed," I said.

Paul smiled, "Do you have something with no straps to impede the view?"

"Um, no," I said. "I'm not really comfortable in strapless things."

"Why?" Paul looked confused.

"Because I'm afraid my gigantic boobs will pull it down," I said bluntly, noticing Nick smirk.

"Jesus, Abby," Paul said, disgusted. "Go get something to draw attention, really play it up. Make up a lie about how it happened. Oh! Or better yet, just say 'I got pinched' and look at Merritt when you say it."

"You said you didn't know if he'd be there," I said.

"Right, if he is, you can do that. If he's not, word will travel that you're there and I'm sure he'll make an appearance."

"He can't possibly be that interested in me," I said.

"Why wouldn't he?" Nick asked.

"Believe me, Abby, he is." Paul said. "He wanted me to send you to Seattle with him _alone_ and promise that you'd stay the night with him."

"Fuck," I whispered.

"Exactly," Paul said. "Now, go on. Go shopping. Take this."

Paul handed me a gold credit card that had my name on it.

"Wow, Paul. This is really mine?"

"Yes, my kids and wife all have one. You're my 'Goddaughter,' so why not?"

I kissed his cheek, even though he'd admitted that he almost pimped me out, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"All right," Paul held up his hands. "I've gotta go do some work. _Some_ of us still work around here."

"The pick-ups have been done already."

"Go shopping, do what's asked of you."

Paul left and I threw myself on the couch, pouting. Nick ignored me and put his supplies away.

"Come on, Abby," Nick said when he was finished.

"Nick, I don't wanna drive."

"Abby, you heard Paul. Let's just go. I'm too tired to fight."

"Where do we have to go?"

"I don't know. The mall?"

"Ughh, I guess. Let's go."

Once again, I followed Nick's directions to the mall. I parked and we walked into Macy's. I was hoping to find something there so I didn't have to wander through the entire mall and chance running into people Nick knew.

I scoured the racks of Macy's until I found a strapless black top and a pink skirt to wear with it. I made my purchase and followed Nick to the car.

"You must love pink," Nick said when we were back on the road.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, every time we have to buy you something new, you buy it in pink."

"Yeah, I guess you should know. Pink is my favorite color."

"You're such a girl."

"Would you rather I had a penis?"

"Fuuuuuuck no!"

I laughed. "I think you'd love it."

"Well, one thing is for sure. If you had a penis, there'd be a lot less of us kissing and you sleeping in my bed."

"Aww, no love for the cock?"

"Jesus, Abby, you're crude."

"I'm trying to have fun, Nick, sorry. You're so sensitive."

"Yeah, that's my most well-known trait, my sensitivity."

"Blah. I'm taking a nap when we get back to your place. What time do we have to go out?"

"I don't know, like eleven, I guess."

"Good, if I get up at nine, I'll have time to eat and get ready."

"All you ever think about is food."

"Well, who has two thumbs and loves to eat?" Nick rolled his eyes. "This girl!" I didn't take my hands off the steering wheel while I pointed at myself with my thumbs. "Besides, I don't hear you complaining whenever I suggest we eat."

"I'm a dude. I'd eat a deep fried shoe."

"You're nasty."

"What?!? You know it's true. Guys don't need anything fancy."

"Whatever you say," I laughed.

"You know, Abby, I always have fun with you."

"Me, too, Nick. I'm glad I'm here."

"So you're staying in Portland?"

"No pressure, right?"

"Sorry, it's just the thought of you going back to Boston scares the shit out of me."

"It does me too," I admitted.

We arrived at Nick's home and, true to my word, I went to Nick's bed to take a nap. I still wasn't feeling 100% from the night before. Nick joined me after he made some phone calls. I had to admit to myself, I was beginning to need him in bed with me. I loved having him hold me while I slept.

I set my alarm for nine p.m. and I woke up feeling quite rested. Nick was already up so I went into the living room to find him.

"Oh, you are a prince among men," I said, seeing Nick had burgers and fries waiting for me.

"I thought this would make you happy."

"You have no idea."

We ate happily, enjoying each other's company. After I finished, I took a long shower and got dressed to go to The Winfield. Nick followed my shower, getting himself ready. Nick had been waiting for about 45 minutes by the time I was ready.

My look had the affect I was hoping for when I walked out to Nick.

"You never fail to impress," he said.

"Aww, I bet you say that to all the ladies."

"No, just one."

He kissed the top of my head and we left for the club, he was driving this time. When we pulled up to the valet, I made a concerted effort to make sure I showed off my legs when I got out of the car. My pink skirt was _very_ short, and I was wearing high heels. I had shaved my legs and applied baby oil to make them shine.

My effort did not go unnoticed. Men were practically drooling, I couldn't help but smile. Nick beamed when he took my arm and led me inside, past the waiting line. I noticed a few women give me nasty looks or slap their boyfriends as I walked past. I couldn't help myself, I really enjoyed that.

We walked into the club and I could feel the music in my body. Nick walked to the bar and brought back two waters.

"I thought these would be safer, after last night," he said, smiling.

"Ughh, don't remind me," I sipped on the water and looked around the club.

"Merritt's not here," Nick said. "I'm pretty sure he'll be making an appearance, though."

"Let's find a place to sit."

Nick fished his way through the crowd to a small section where there were couches. When we walked up, there were two men sitting on one facing the crowd. Inexplicably, when we arrived, they both got up and left the area.

"What was that?" I asked.

Nick just smiled. "I think we should dance."

"Let's do it," I said, taking his hand to pull me to my feet.

We made our way to the enormous dance floor and we did a lot of dirty dancing. I felt incredibly sexy dancing with Nick, with the way he was touching me and rubbing himself on me. I couldn't believe how excited I felt!

Nick pulled away after a long, slow kiss and told me he was going to get us some more water. I waited on the dance floor, dancing with some of the women who had been around us throughout the night.

Chapter 14

I felt a presence behind me, so I leaned into it, thinking it was Nick.

"I knew you were down," came the voice.

I whirled around and came face to face with Ben.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"The same thing, I've wanted since that day in the mall," he stroked his finger along the line of my shirt.

I jerked backward and slapped his hand away. "Leave me alone."

He reached up and grabbed me by my hair.

Why do guys always grab you by the hair?

"You little slut. Come on, Nick'll be happy to share you."

"Let go," I screamed, trying to dislodge his hand from my hair.

He dragged me off the dance floor, toward a door in a dark corner.

"Stop fighting, bitch, or I'll give you something to scream about."

I tried to stop fighting, but I was suddenly very scared. Ben kicked a door open that led down a hallway. I started screaming and kicking. I was trying anything, as he dragged me, to get his hand out of my hair. I noticed security cameras and prayed that they were on.

"Please, Ben, no," I sobbed.

"Oh sweetie, you're gonna love this."

He kicked open another door and dragged me into a dark room. I put my foot on the doorjamb as he dragged me in, hoping that it would slow him down enough to loosen his grip. By this time, I didn't care if he pulled out a clump of my hair. Ben flicked on a light switch and threw me into a desk.

"Scream as loud as you want," he sneered, locking the door.

I picked up a stapler from the desk and smashed him in the face with it, trying to push past him and out the door. As I tried to get past him, he tackled me around my waist and pushed me to the ground. He pinned me down, straddling me at my waist. My shirt had slid down, leaving me almost fully exposed.

"Oh, Abby, delicious, sweet Abby."

I screamed and kicked as violently as I could. I'm not a small woman and I go to the gym regularly, so I tried to put up as much of a fight as I could. I heard my phone ring in my purse.

"Oh, that must be lover boy," he said, kicking my purse toward the door. "Too bad you're busy," he laughed.

I spit in his face and he backhanded me across my face. I screamed and he hit me on the other side of the face. I could taste blood.

"Now are you gonna shut the fuck up?" I nodded. He licked his lips. "Oh Abby, we're gonna have so much fun," he said as he licked the entire right side of my face.

I wanted to vomit. I tried to vomit. Nothing would happen. I was crying and I was pretty sure I was bleeding.

Ben started to unbuckle his belt while he was holding my hands down with one of his own hands. I was starting to lose all the fight in my body. I had all but given up when I heard my phone beep three times and saw the door behind Ben burst open and Nick and Dmitry come through the door.

"Holy fuck," Nick said, grabbing Ben by the back of his neck and pulling him to his feet.

Nick shoved Ben behind him, to Dmitry, who pinned him to the wall with a gun.

"Abby! Oh, my God," Nick said, kneeling beside me. "Are you okay?"

All I could do was cry. Nick picked me up, placed me in a chair, and turned to Ben.

"You are an even bigger fool that I gave you credit for," Nick said.

"Fuck you," Ben spit at him.

"Right, fuck me. Looks to me like you were trying to fuck her, no matter what she had to say about it," Nick said, punching him once in the stomach.

Dmitry didn't let up on Ben, holding him in place while Nick punched him repeatedly.

Merritt walked in. "Good evening, Nick. Dmitry. Ms. Abigail, oh no." He turned on Ben, who was still struggling against Dmitry. "What have you done?"

"It wasn't my fault. She was rubbing up against me. She wanted it," Ben said.

"Bull shit," Nick shouted, launching himself across the room.

Nick had Ben on the ground and was pummeling him. Ben was bleeding and screaming for Nick to stop.

I was screaming and shaking, I felt like I was on the verge of fainting.

"Nick, that will be enough," Merritt said, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder.

Nick immediately backed off and stood on his feet. "Baby, come on. I'm taking you home."

He reached down and took my hand, helping me to my feet. When he saw the state I was in, he picked me up and carried me out the door. Before the door shut, I heard Merritt say to Ben, "You were warned about this. I sure hope it was worth it."

Chapter 15

Nick carried me out the back door, handing his valet ticket to one of the guards. His car was brought around and he put me into the passenger seat. Looking back, I'm pretty sure I was in shock. Nick drove me straight to his house, making phone calls the entire time. I was sure he spoke to Paul to tell him about what happened. All I wanted to do was to wash the feeling of Ben off me.

Once we were back at his house, Nick parked the car and carried me inside. He put me on the couch and went to the kitchen. I don't think he quite knew what he was supposed to do in this situation. I set my purse down, took my shoes off, and went into the bathroom. I turned on the water, as hot as I could stand, and went inside with all of my clothes on. Nick got into the shower with me, holding me on the floor while I cried.

When the hot water had run out, Nick silently shut the water off and helped me out of the shower. He took my clothes off, never taking his eyes from mine, and covered me with a towel. He did the same with his clothes and walked me to the bedroom. He had laid a tee shirt out for me, with some boxers, that he helped me put on.

I climbed into bed and waited for him to get in beside me. I wept while he held me, sleeping from time to time. I wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to stay in his arms for the rest of my life.

I woke late the next evening, feeling exhausted and emotionally drained. I started toward the living room, but I could clearly hear two voices; Nick and Paul.

"We should've NEVER brought her here," Nick said.

"Well, tough shit, she's here, she's gotta finish the job we're paying her for."

"You didn't see what happened last night. If I had been two minutes later, I would've walked in on him RAPING her."

"But you weren't. And tell me why the fuck she was alone in the first place?"

"I was 15 feet away from her."

"And?"

"She was out of my sight for two minutes. Two fucking minutes!"

"Right, and you almost got her killed because you had to go to the bar."

"I was getting a water for her, not just for me."

"Nick, I think we all know who fucked up here."

"Fuck you, Paul. Where were you?"

"I was at home, where I should be now. But I have to come out and clean up your messes."

"It's been dealt with."

"Ben? Yeah, no shit."

"If Merritt hadn't come in, I would've killed him on the spot."

"I'm sure," Paul said. "You just need to keep her here for a few days. Lie low, make sure she's feeling better."

"What if she wants to go home?"

"Well, she can't."

"She's not our prisoner, Paul."

"She agreed to do a job, Nick. She needs to stay until it's finished."

I heard the front door slam and I jumped a mile. I heard Nick yelling and something smash against the wall, shattering to the floor. I screamed and started to cry again. Almost immediately the bedroom door burst open and Nick came in.

"Abby, oh, no, I'm so sorry."

I let him pick me up, he was taking me back to bed, "No, Nick, I want to get up."

"Okay."

He carried me to the living room and we sat on the couch together. I saw that a lamp was smashed.

Nick caught my eye as I looked around, "I'll clean that up."

He got a broom and swept the remains of the lamp and threw it out. I was holding my legs to my chest and sitting on the couch.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Do you have soup?"

"Um, I don't know, lemme look," he said, going to the kitchen to look around. "Abby, you're in luck! I have one can of chicken noodle soup! Must be from when my Mom came to visit."

"You have a Mom?"

"Uh, yeah I have a Mom."

"I didn't mean that, I meant you never talk about your family."

"Not much to talk about. I was raised by my Mom, she's a saint. She worked two jobs to put food on the table. My Dad only came around when it was convenient and, after I turned 15, he stopped coming around all together."

"When did you start stealing cars?"

"When I was 13, I was breaking into cars and stealing things out of them. People just leave whatever in the car. I got caught doing that a few times and got locked up."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I was quite an asshole."

"And that's changed how?"

"Ha, ha, Abby," Nick mocked as he stirred the soup on the stove. "While I was inside I learned how to boost cars. I started doing that for a while, just to go joy riding. One night, I got into this car and just as I was about to drive off, this guy jumped in with me and made me drive to a warehouse where they were stripping cars. He offered me a job. Said he'd give me a list and I'd have a week to get everything on that list. I made it my personal goal to be the best. I would have the list done in the first two days, three at the most.

"That's when I met Paul. I was like 18 and making a shit load of money and I needed a place to cover it up. They told me about this guy who owned these dry cleaners and he'd let me buy in so I could move my money. Sure enough, Paul let me buy into a place in Gresham and I was able to spend my money."

"You couldn't spend it before?"

"No, not much. Wouldn't it look strange for a 19 year old kid, with no job, spending thousands of dollars?"

"Oh, okay. I understand now. So, how did Paul get to be where he is?"

"He watched everything about the operation. He learned it inside and out and decided he knew how to make it better. After I got shot, he was the only one who came to see me. We talked about things, he wanted to take over and do things differently, make it a business, and not just in Portland. He had a lot of overseas connections that we could deal with on transporting the cars. So, we started up."

"What happened to the other operation?"

"We bought them out. People still got to work, if they wanted to stay."

"And then Merritt came to town?"

"We had a few good years, no arrests, no injuries."

"And your plan now is the distract and sneak?"

Nick laughed, "Something like that. There's a lot going on that you don't know about. I hope it'll be all done soon." He paused and sighed. "You said you feel like you're a prisoner here sometimes?" I nodded. "I feel like Paul is holding you prisoner at this point."

He brought my soup and a bottle of water and sat beside me on the couch.

"Thank you," I said, eating a spoonful. "This is perfect."

"You can stay here as long as you want, Abby. We don't have to leave at all."

"Okay," I whispered.

I finished my soup in silence, Nick distracted himself with a magazine. I cleaned up the dishes, after a short, muted argument with Nick and made my way to the bathroom. I braced myself at the door, thinking about the mess that must be on the other side, with my wet clothes and water everywhere. I made a plan to clean it all up.

I pushed open the door and the bathroom was spotless. My clothes were gone, I hoped they were in the trash. I managed to brush my teeth before I noticed my face in the mirror. I was horrified! Both of my eyes were bruised, my right eye more so. My face was puffy from the crying. I couldn't help myself and I started crying again.

Nick came into the bathroom and dragged me back into the living room. He held me, stroking my hair, until I was completely cried out.

"I'm going back to bed," I said, sniffling.

Nick didn't say a word. He just let me go and watched as I went back to bed.

The next three days were much like the same. I would wake up, have something small to eat, and go back to bed. I spent several hours each day crying, too. Nick didn't say much, just letting me get it out of my system. I knew I couldn't go to the police about what happened and I assumed that when they said they "dealt" with him, they had killed Ben.

Chapter 16

On the fourth day, I got up and took a shower. Nick was doing some work in his office, so when I found him and I was dressed, he was shocked.

"Hey," he said. "Are you back?"

"I think so. I can't feel sorry for myself anymore. No, those aren't the right words. I guess I can't let him make me feel bad anymore."

Nick stood and came around his desk to hug me. "I'm happy to see you up and around."

"I'm so sick of soup, though. Do you think we could go out and get something to eat?"

"Absolutely! Do you wanna go now?"

"Please, before I lose the nerve."

Nick grabbed the keys and we headed out the door. Nick drove us around the block before we decided we'd go to his favorite food truck and get a burger and fries. We sat at a picnic table and ate our lunches.

"This is so good," I said. "I don't even think I'll be able to finish it."

"I'll finish it for you," Nick said, with a mouthful.

"Like hell you will," I laughed. "I'll take it home and eat it later!"

"Oh, I was gonna order two more to save for later."

"Well, in that case, I suppose you could finish it."

I slid my tray over to Nick, who devoured the remains of my burger and fries. True to his word, he stood in line and ordered two more meals for us to take back to his house.

"Hey, can I drive?" I asked.

Nick looked at me, shocked, "Yeah, of course."

He handed me his keys and got in the passenger side. I still didn't know my way around Portland, although I was learning familiar landmarks, so Nick had to give me directions. I wanted to go to a grocery store and get some food for Nick's house. I felt like I was always eating everything in the house.

We were finally back at Nick's house and had the groceries unloaded.

"Nick, let's go swimming."

"I can't, Abby. I have to go meet with Paul."

"Oh," I said, feeling defeated.

"You can come with me to Paul's place."

"Okay, I guess I can go swimming there."

"I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes!" I closed my eyes and Nick took my hand and led me through the house. "Okay, open."

I opened my eyes and I was in a small room with a view of the field behind the house. There was a desk with a computer and printer.

"Oh Nick, what is it?"

"It's an office! I know you were a writing major and you haven't had a chance to do much writing here, so I gave you a space to do some writing!"

"Oh my...Nick....you did this for me? When did you have the chance?"

"Um, you were in bed for a few days. I did it all then."

"Wow, Nick. I can't believe it!"

"You like it?"

"I LOVE it!"

I jumped up and hugged him, holding tightly and kissing him all over the face.

"All right, crazy. I'm glad you like it!"

"You're amazing, Nick."

"Abby..." Nick looked into my eyes and held me in place. He sighed. "I have to get ready to go to Paul's. Do you think you're gonna go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Back in the car, we drove to Paul's house and met Paul in his office.

"Abby, sweetie, how are you doing?" Paul asked.

"I'm okay. I'd like to go swimming while you guys meet."

"By all means, mi casa es su casa. My home is your home."

I waved good bye and went to my bedroom. I changed into one of my bikinis and went to the pool. It felt like it had been ages since I swam, so I really enjoyed my swim. The water was warm, the sun was shining, and I had a wonderful day.

It had been several hours, so I went inside to find Nick and Paul. I found Paul in his office still. Nick nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Abbs, how was the swim?"

"Great," I said. "Where's Nick?"

"Oh, I had to send him to take care of something for me. He should be back in a couple days."

"Oh."

"What's wrong?"

"He didn't say good bye."

"He had to leave right away. I didn't give him any time for that."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll go take a shower and get some dinner."

"Okay sweetie," Paul said absently, as he looked over some papers.

I had showered and changed my clothes when I went to the kitchen to make some dinner. Paul's guard, Diego, was in the kitchen.

"Oh, hello, Diego, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"How are you tonight?"

"I'm fine, Ma'am."

"Hey, I don't know what the rules are, but my name is Abby. Please don't call me 'Ma'am." He smiled. "I'm gonna make some dinner, you're welcome to join me."

"What are you gonna make?"

"I don't know," I trailed off, looking in the refrigerator. "There's some chicken and some cheeses. I'd wager to bet there's pasta..."

"There is," I heard Paul say as he came into the kitchen.

"Oh, hey, Paul. I was just telling Diego that I was gonna cook some dinner and he's welcome to join me."

"That sounds nice," Paul said. "What are you making?"

"Well, with chicken, cheese, and pasta, I think I'll make some chicken Alfredo."

"That sounds delicious," Paul said. "Am I invited?"

I playfully slapped in Paul's direction, "Of course, Paul, it is _your_ house. If you guys give me about an hour, I'll have an edible meal for you."

"Edible?" Paul asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I'm not the best cook, but I'll put in the effort. Are there any other guards here that would be, um, allowed to eat with us?"

"Hmm," Paul thought, "I think Bill is on house duty, right, Diego?"

"Yessir."

"Ask him if he'd like to join us."

"Yessir."

"I'll see you in an hour, Diego," I called after him.

"Anything I can do to help, Abbs?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, take this stuff," I put a bunch of veggies on the counter, "and chop it up for a salad."

"Got it."

"Oh, leave me the broccoli. I'll add it in with the sauce."

I spent the next hour preparing a meal for Paul and two of his guards. I decided that Diego and Bill must be the closest guards. I set the table and, right on schedule, Diego and Bill joined us.

"Abby, I don't know if you've met Bill."

"I remember you from the boat trip," I said, shaking his hand.

"Yes, Ma'am," he said.

"Please, my name is Abby."

He smiled politely.

The men devoured the pasta and I was pretty happy because I made up the recipe as I went along. All seemed to enjoy it. Paul and I drank a bottle of wine while the guards stuck to water.

Afterward, I cleaned up the table and kitchen.

Chivalry, my ass!

I kissed Paul good night and I went to my room to catch up on emails and phone calls. I even had a video chat with my mother and then my father. When I finished, I felt very lonely because Nick wasn't around. I decided to send a quick text.

"Thinking of you, A."

There was no response that night.

The next morning I got and early and went for a run on the treadmill. I puttered around in the kitchen, deciding that I wanted to bake that afternoon. I went to look for Paul, but it was obvious that he was out, so I went to look for Diego.

"Hey," I called when I found him in the driveway. "Do you think you could take me to the grocery store? I need to get a few things?"

"Yeah, Abby. I'm in the middle of something right now, but if you give me 20 minutes, I'll be able to take you."

"Thank you, Diego."

I went to wait on the front steps, sending Nick another text.

"WHERE R U?"

About 10 minutes later, Diego motioned for me toward the car. I ran and jumped into the front seat.

"Mr. Centanni usually sits in the back."

"I get motion sickness," I said.

Diego smiled. "Do you have a preference on which store you'd like to go to?"

"Not really, I usually just go wherever they take me. I don't know much about Portland."

"Okay, what are you shopping for?"

"I'm gonna bake some cupcakes and cookies. I just need some baking supplies and fresh fruit."

"Okay."

Diego drove me to a grocery store that had an amazing selection of fresh fruit. I found myself buying a lot more than I'd ever use. I paid for my supplies and Diego drove me back to Paul's house. I thanked him for the ride and went inside to start baking.

I don't know what came over me, but I made four different kinds of cookies and six different kinds of cupcakes. My original plan was to make some for Nick, as a welcome home gift. But, after making so many, I decided to take them out to the guards. I put them into containers and went outside to find Diego and Bill.

"Hey, guys," I said, finding them near the fountain. "I got a little crazy when I was baking and I made way too much. I'd like to donate them to you guys and the rest of the guards."

"Thank you, Abby," Diego said.

"Do you have like a break room or something? I'd like to drop them off."

"Sure, come with me," Diego said.

Bill isn't much of a talker.

I followed Diego and Bill across the yard, behind the pool house. There was another building that I hadn't noticed before and another entrance through the concrete wall.

"Wow," I said. I had no idea this was back here.

"That's the point," Bill said.

We went inside and there were four other guards sitting around a table, playing cards. There was a tv on to a baseball game.

The moment they noticed me, all the men stood up, obviously thrown by the intrusion.

"Guys, this is Abby, she's Mr. Centanni's guest."

They nodded.

"Hey, um, I was baking in the house and made way too much. I thought maybe you guys would like some because you work so hard."

I put the containers on the table and opened them. All of the men looked surprised and more than a little eager to devour the treats I put out. They restrained themselves and didn't take anything.

"Please, help yourselves," I urged.

None of the men moved so I picked up a cookie and ate it. Diego hesitated and finally took a cookie.

"Wow," he said, reaching to take another and a cupcake.

That was enough for the other men, they dove into the treats with gusto. I waved from the door with all the men eating and thanking me with their mouths full. I walked back into the kitchen and finished my clean up.

I went back to my room, desperate for any kind of human interaction. I checked my phone to see if there was anything from Nick, but there was still nothing. I had prepared a large platter of cookies and cupcakes for Nick that I stashed in my room. There were still a lot in the kitchen.

Chapter 17

I decided I would just kick back and watch movies for the rest of the night. Halfway through my second movie, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Abigail," Merritt said.

How did he get my number?!

"Hello, Merritt," I said coldly.

"My dear Abigail, I understand you are alone tonight? That your Nick is out of town on business?"

"Who told you that?"

"That is not important. I'm calling for you to accompany me to dinner this evening. I would like to apologize for the events in my club with my former employee."

"I'm sorry, Merritt. I'm just not feeling up to it this evening."

"Abigail, I don't think you understand. I'm not asking you to dinner, darling. I'll be arriving at Paul's home in 20 minutes. I'll be waiting for you."

He disconnected the call and I laid in the bed, staring at my phone.

Like hell!

I stormed out of my room and directly to Paul's office, he was not there. I went downstairs and looked all over for him, but he was still out.

Fuck!

I stomped back up the stairs and my phone rang.

"Abby," Paul's voice.

"Paul, if you think I'm going to dinner with Merritt..."

"...Abby, I'm with Merritt. Just get dressed and meet him in the front."

"Fuck."

He hung up and I went back to my bedroom to get dressed.

I'm not going to spend any time making myself look good, that's for damn sure!

I threw on some black pants, a blue tank top, and blue flip flops. I waited for Merritt in the living room, watching for him to pull up. Sure enough, exactly 20 minutes after he called, his car pulled into the driveway. I watched for eight minutes before I walked out. Merritt was just getting out of the car.

"Abigail, beautiful as always," he kissed my hand.

"Thank you," I said.

You're doing a job, get it together!!

He opened the car door for me and I climbed in. He sat beside me and Marquis drove.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you too much this evening," he said.

"Well, I did some baking and I'm pretty tired because I over-did it."

"I won't keep you out too late, then."

I'll throw up if you try.

As we drove through downtown Portland, he droned on and on about the architecture and history of buildings. I tried not to look or sound as bored as I felt. Finally, the car pulled in front of a trendy restaurant.

"I do hope you like sushi," Merritt said as we exited the car and walked into the restaurant.

"I love it."

"Perfect."

I followed him inside and sat at the table where Paul was waiting.

"Abby, what have you been doing all day?" Paul asked.

"Well, I went swimming and then I did a bunch of baking."

"Baking? In my house? Was there even anything there to bake with?"

"No," I laughed. "I had Diego take me to the grocery store."

"That's good. You know, your car is there, you can drive it any time you'd like."

"Oh. I didn't realize it was there. But, I'm really more comfortable with someone else in the car with me. Plus, I don't have my license."

"We'll take care of that," Paul said.

Don't roll your eyes!

"Abigail, my dear, I would just like to take a moment to apologize for what happened at the club."

I tensed. "Thank you."

"I knew, when I hired Ben, that he had some problems. I regret my decision to give him a chance. I'd like you to know that he has been handled."

That last sentence sent a shiver racing down my spine. I decided just to smile and eat my dinner.

Lucky for me, there was no further talk of Ben or the incident at the club. If I had different company, I would have had an enjoyable meal. Afterward, Paul told me that he'd be home a bit later, that he had some business to take handle. Of course, Merritt was quick to volunteer to drive me home.

"Dear Abigail," Merritt said, as the car drove to Paul's house. "It's such a shame that you've ended up with Nick."

"Why is that?" I said, trying to keep it light.

"Hmmmm, oh the things I could do with you," he ran his finger up my leg.

"Please don't do that," I said, uncomfortably trying to get away.

"Abigail, you must know how pathetic Nick is?"

"He's not pathetic," I tried.

"Abigail, there's so much you don't know. Look a little deeper into things, you'll see."

At that moment, we pulled in front of Paul's house, and I jumped out and ran to the door. I was fumbling with the lock when I felt Merritt standing very close behind me.

"Abigail, you look and smell amazing. You are a remarkable woman and I'd love to steal you away from here. We could travel the world together. I could make you very happy, Abigail."

I was holding my breath. I was afraid of what he would do next. I had managed to get the door unlocked, but I didn't open the door and I hadn't moved. I didn't dare to do anything.

Merritt stood for a moment and leaned close to me. "You dropped these on my boat," he whispered, handing my panties.

Before I could react, he walked back to his car and was gone. I went inside, bolted the door, and ran up to the shower. I threw out my panties, I wanted to burn them. I wanted to wash with scalding water, to get the feel of him off me. I couldn't stand it.

Chapter 18

After my shower, I put on pajamas and climbed into bed. It was well past midnight and I was exhausted. I was on the brink of sleep when door creaked open. I turned around to see Nick standing beside my bed.

"Shhh," he said, climbing into bed with me.

He immediately began kissing me, slipping his hand under the blanket, and up my back. I pulled his shirt off and ran my hands over his bare chest and stomach. My hands were on his back when he pulled my shirt over my head. I heard him suck in a deep breath before he started kissing me again. I heard the zipper of his pants go down and then heard his jeans hit the floor. He pushed my blankets aside and put his hands inside the waistband of my shorts.

He froze and pulled away.

"Oh, Nick, no," I pleaded.

He scrambled out of bed, fought to put his pants back on, and grabbed his shirt.

"Abby, I'm so sorry. This was a mistake."

He was gone.

I lay in the bed, with my top off, staring at the door for some time before I let myself cry. I had really developed feelings for Nick and it seemed like every time we got close to any sort of truth or intimacy, he pulled away. I was incredibly sad in that moment. I'm sure I cried for several hours before I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up to a puffy face and feeling sad. I took my time in my room, reading emails, taking a shower, trying on clothes, polishing my finger and toenails. I tried several different styles on my hair before I decided on making it big and curly for the day. I put on some super short, denim shorts and a blue, flowered, hippie style tank top, and made my way to the kitchen. I knew that Nick was somewhere in the house, so I took the cookies and cupcakes I made him downstairs.

The kitchen was empty, so I helped myself to a bowl of fruit and went to sit by the pool. There were squirrels and birds eating out of a bird feeder that hung out of a plum tree. That I had never noticed. There were several squirrels that were playing and I enjoyed watching them while I ate my fruit.

I saw the door to the house open and saw Nick walk outside. He didn't say anything when he sat in the chair beside me.

"I got an email from the airline today. They think they found my bags."

"That's good."

"So I need to go to the airport..."

"Yeah?"

"And I don't have a license."

"Oh, oh, yeah. I'll drive you, if you want."

"I need to go get my purse," I said, standing to walk to the house. "I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"Okay."

I knew he was watching me the whole time I walked away.

I was actually very excited to get my bags back, so, once I was inside, I hurried to my room, found my purse, and raced back downstairs. Nick was in the kitchen, waiting for me.

"Those are for you," I said, motioning to the cupcakes and cookies.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I made them yesterday."

"Wow, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Uncomfortable silence.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Sure, just let me grab a bottle of water." I reached in the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle. "Do you want one?" I called absently behind me.

"Yeah," Nick said.

I grabbed another bottle and turned around to see Paul standing in the doorway.

"Hey Paul, we're headed to the airport, my bags have been found!"

"Great!" he said. "I've got some meetings anyway."

"You ready, Abby?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."

Nick and I were in the car and on the road. The airport was almost an hour from Paul's house, so we had a long ride together. We rode in silence for a long time, there wasn't even any music.

"Abby, last night, I....."

"Nick, don't. Please. I'm humiliated enough as it is."

"You shouldn't be," he sighed. "I just don't think it's a good idea. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay, Nick. That's fine."

"Abby, please," he looked over at me.

"Damnit, Nick. You don't want me to get hurt? That's funny. Since I've been in Portland, I've been stranded, my luggage completely lost, burned, sexually assaulted, witnessed an assault, almost raped and beaten, and witnessed yet another assault. Not to mention last night, Merritt propositioned me. If he wasn't so repulsive, I'd seriously consider it. So, I think that you being worried about me not getting hurt is a little late."

"Abby, that's not what I mean."

"Whatever, Nick. Just drop it. I got it now, I understand."

"I don't think you do."

"Here's the exit to for the airport."

Silence for the rest of the ride. Once at the airport, I went to the lost and found to claim my bags. They brought my three bags out and I dragged them away. Nick took them from me and we were back in the car.

"That was easier than I thought," I said.

"What did you think would happen?"

"I don't know, never mind."

More silence.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"You didn't answer me that first night," I said.

"What?"

"Am I safe here?"

Nick took a deep breath, "I really hope so."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that....I just.....I don't know, Abby. I'm just worried."

"You said that Merritt likes to take things that don't belong to him..."

"Don't ask that, please."

"Fine, Nick. But someday you will have to tell me."

We finished the rest of the ride in silence. Merritt's car was waiting for us when we arrived at Paul's house.

"Oh, no," I whispered.

"It's ok," Nick said, taking my hand.

We went inside and followed the sound of laughter and talking to find Paul and Merritt in the living room.

"You're back!" Paul exclaimed. "Were you able to get your bags with no problems?"

"Yep," I said. "I have all of my make-up now so I can start looking human again!"

"Oh, please," Nick said. "You're beautiful without it.'

"Abigail, it doesn't seem to me that you need even a stitch of make-up." Merritt stood to greet me, kissing my hand, yet again.

"Thank you," I demurred.

I'm going to have to buy stock in alcohol wipes.

"Merritt," Nick said, nodding.

Merritt glared at Nick.

How strange.

"We were just finishing up here," Paul said. "And I was about to invite Merritt to dinner tonight at Antonio's."

"Oh, yes, please, my treat," Merritt said.

"No, I insist," Paul said.

"Paul, I feel it's my obligation," Merritt said.

"I'd like to treat," I said. "After all..."

"NO!" all three men said in unison.

"Jeez, fellas! Make a girl feel inferior," I said, in my best Mae West voice.

Nick pulled me close, "Baby, you know I'm here to take care of you. You don't have to pay for anything anymore."

"Okay, okay," I said. "What is Antonio's and why are we not there already? I'm assuming food is involved?"

Paul smiled, "Yes, dear. It's a restaurant downtown. Italian."

"Well, I got that. I didn't think it was Ethiopian," I said, causing more laughs.

"All right, Miss Smarty Pants," Paul said. "Go on and get changed, we'll be another hour here. Nick, go on and help her. You still have a suit here."

"Come on," Nick said, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. "I got this." And with a smack on my ass, we went to my room.

He put me on the floor inside my room and shut the door.

"How formal is this place?"

"Jacket required."

"I need to shower so I can do my hair, then."

"Can I take one when you're finished?"

"Sure," I said. "I won't be long. You can watch tv or something here."

I took a shower, shaved all my parts, and washed my hair. Nick got into the shower when I was finished, while I was styling my hair. In my room, I found a black dress to wear; low cut, resting just above my knees, with a silver brooch resting just below the cut in the neckline, and a long ribbon that tied in the back.

I was putting the finishing touches on my dress when Nick came out of the shower. "Wow," he said. "You look amazing."

I turned to see Nick standing in my room, wrapped in a towel. I'm sure I turned bright red, "Thank you," I whispered.

Nick's body was amazing. He had well defined muscles all over his body, a small tuft of hair on his chest, and I could see his happy trail.

"I'll be dressed in just a minute," he said.

"I'm in no hurry. I still have to put my make-up on, that could take all night."

"You really don't need any, you're beautiful."

"It makes me feel better to have it," I whispered.

We stood across the room, staring at each other, before I finally took a deep breath and said "You should get dressed before we're late."

I turned to sit at the vanity and put my make-up on while Nick got dressed. By the time I was finished, Nick was dressed in a very expensive suit. Again, we found ourselves staring at each other, the silence heavy in the room.

"Abby, I..."

I sighed again; I was doing that a lot lately. "Paul texted me, they're ready."

We walked down the stairs to the living room, Nick taking my hand again just before we walked in.

"Oh Abigail," Merritt slimed, clasping his hands together. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I said, smiling and twirling around. "Nick bought it for me."

"Then I should thank you, Nick, for picking out such a beautiful dress."

"She picked it, I just paid for it."

"Okay, then," Paul said. "Shall we go?"

"Lead the way," Merritt said.

We filed out to the waiting cars. Merritt into his car, Paul in his,with Nick, and I in his car.

_What a waste!_ I thought.

"I have a bad feeling," Nick said as we drove through the streets.

"What about?"

"Merritt has never visited Paul at his house. Something is not right."

"I don't understand a lot of what's happening because I don't know what this business is you guys are doing. I don't know what Merritt does, how or why he stole money from you and why you want me to fake like him. He's repulsive. Furthermore," I started. Suddenly, from nowhere, a car slammed into the side of the car. My side of the car.

_Oh, my God! My dress is going to be ruined!_ Then there was black.

Chapter 19

What is that God awful sound!

I tried to open my eyes but the bright light hurt too much, so I closed them again. I could hear beeping and something blowing? Sucking? Whistling? I didn't know what it was.

Where am I?

I could tell I was in a bed.

What bed am I in?

I finally recognized the smell. I was in a hospital. The sounds I heard must be machines. I moved my left arm and could feel things taped to it. I tried to move my right arm and it felt heavy. I moved first my left leg and then my right leg. Both moved, but my right leg felt very stiff and sore. I could feel that it was wrapped in something.

Thank God! I can move my legs.

Now to figure out what was wrong with my right arm. Slowly, I inched my arms together so my left hand could feel my right arm.

A cast! My arm is broken!

I wanted to cry. I licked my lips and realized my mouth felt like gravel and my lips were beyond chapped.

Oh my God! Where is Nick?

I shot my eyes open and squinted until I was used to the light. Luckily, the overhead lights were off and there was only a bedside table lamp turned on. I looked around the room and didn't see anyone. I tried to sit up and suddenly felt incredibly dizzy, so dizzy that I threw up. Then I cried.

I was trying to slide off the bed when the door opened and Nick walked in.

"Holy shit, Abby," he said, excitedly. "What are you doing?"

"I was going to look for you," I sobbed. "And then I got sick."

He rushed to the side of my bed and stopped short, "Is that vomit?"

"Yes," I whined, hiccuping.

Nick reached the side of the bed and pressed the call button for the nurse. Then, he took several steps back. "I'm sorry, Abbs, I don't do puke."

Seconds later, the door opened and a nurse walked in. "Well, hello," the middle aged woman said. "Why are you trying to get out of bed?"

"I wanted to find Nick."

"Sweetie, you could've just pressed the call button."

I sniffled in response.

"Let's get you cleaned up," she had nice eyes. "I'm going to go get someone else to help in here and some supplies. I'll be back in less than five minutes. DO NOT get out of bed."

"Okay."

"When she comes back, I'm going to step out and call Paul to tell him you woke up," Nick said.

"How long have I been here?"

Nick ran his hands through his hair, "Um, five days."

"FIVE DAYS," I shouted.

Oh, my God, my head!

"Shhh, Abbs."

"Are you hurt?"

"I have a few cuts and scrapes, nothing serious," he wouldn't make eye contact.

"You're okay then?" I noticed that he hadn't shaved and looked like he hadn't slept in days. His clothes were rumpled.

"Abby, I'm so sorry," he said. "I should've seen it coming. I knew something wasn't right."

"Nick..."

Just then, the nurse came back in with a female orderly. "Okay, sweetie. We're going to have to change your bedding and your gown and we'll have to clean you up. Do you want the young man to stay?"

"I have to go out to a make call," Nick said, leaving right away.

"He's been in here since he was released. Is he your boyfriend?" The nurse asked, I noticed her name tag said Erica Harrison.

"Something like that," I said.

Over the next 20 minutes or so they changed my bedding, gave me a sponge bath, and put me in a new hospital gown. When they finished with that, the orderly took the soiled linens and left. Erica Harrison stayed and checked my vitals.

"Okay, do you know your name?"

"Abigail Moss. What's wrong with me?"

"I'll let the doctor tell you when she comes in," she said, writing some things on my chart. "Everything looks good. I'm going to let the doctor know you're awake. The remote for the tv is right there," she pointed to the side table. "Just press the call button if you need anything."

And I was alone again. I looked around the room and noticed the many flower arrangements that were in the room with me. There were stuffed animals and what appeared to be cookies made to look like flowers.

Just a few minutes passed before Nick came back in. The doctor came in just seconds after.

"Hello Abigail. My name is Doctor Rhodes. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts and I'm dying of thirst."

"I see. On a scale of one to ten, how badly does your head hurt?"

"Um, I want to say ten but I feel like you'd think I was exaggerating. I guess, an eight?"

Doctor Rhodes laughed. "If you want to say ten, I'd believe it. You did take a pretty hard hit to the head. How about your arm? Does that hurt?"

"Not really," I said, looking at my arm. "Is it broken?"

"Just a slight break. You'll have to wear the cast for a while, unfortunately. Your head is going to hurt for a while. You have four stitches from where it got cut. You may have dizzy spells for a few months. You were very lucky you weren't hurt any more than you were."

"And my leg?"

"It's pretty badly bruised, we thought it was broken, but fortunately it wasn't. You'll have to walk with a cane for a while."

"Was I the only one hurt?"

"Just you," she said.

"When can I go home?"

"Well, let's see how things go tonight. Now that you're awake, we're going to see how you handle any pain. We'll see how things go tonight and we'll talk first thing tomorrow."

"What time is it?"

She glanced at her watch, "It's four o'clock. You'll have to be on a liquid diet for the rest of the night. I'll have the nurse get you something for the pain and some broth to sip as soon as possible. Drink a lot of water, you're also dehydrated."

With that, the doctor was gone and I was alone with Nick again.

"There's water in the pitcher. Do you want some?"

"Please!"

Nick poured some water from the pitcher and held the straw so I could drink. I finished the first cup of water quickly and felt a little better. The nurse came in with some pills for me to take and said someone would be in soon with some chicken broth for me.

"Nick, what's wrong?"

"Abby, I can't help but feel responsible for this."

"Why? You didn't hit that car, he hit us." Then it dawned on me. "How is the other driver?"

"Abby, don't..."

"Nick, I deserve to know."

"He got away."

I had no response.

"We think we know who did it." He looked at the floor, "I'm so sorry, Abby. We shouldn't have brought you here."

"But now I'm in too deep."

He nodded.

"Am I still in danger?"

"I won't let them hurt you," Nick's eyes were blazing.

"You can't be with me all the time, Nick."

"I will be, until you're well enough to go back to Boston."

Chapter 20

There was a knock and Paul walked in. He had a huge basket of flowers, some balloons, and a box of chocolates. "Abby! I'm so happy to see your eyes open."

"Hey, Paul," was all I could muster.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a car," I said dryly.

They exchanged glances.

Paul found a place to put his gifts down and pushed past Nick to get to the head of the bed. "When can you get out of here?"

"I don't know, tomorrow maybe. I don't know, though."

"The doctor said that they want to see how she manages her pain tonight and they'll talk about leaving tomorrow," Nick said.

A terrifying thought hit me, "Does my family know I'm here?"

"No," Paul said quickly. "I didn't think you'd want that circus around you yet. I'll let you call them if you want."

"Oh, thank God," I said. "I'll call them tomorrow, I suppose."

"Is there anything you need here?"

"Who else knows I'm in here?"

"Just me and Nick. No one else needs to know."

"Okay."

Another knock on the door and a large, male orderly brought in a covered tray, nodded to both men like he knew them, and placed it on the rolling table in front of me.

"I'll be back around in a while to pick that up from you, Ma'am."

"Thank you," I said.

The orderly backed himself out of the room, closing the door softly.

"Abbs, I brought your iPad. I thought you might get bored here. I can't stay long, though. I'm sorry. I'll come by tomorrow and hopefully they'll let you go home. Are you sure there's nothing you need?"

"No, I think I'll be fine tonight. Thanks, Paul."

"Okay, sweetie," Paul bent and kissed my forehead. "Nick, can I see you in the hall?"

Nick nodded and followed Paul in to the hallway. I was alone again. I was starting to think that's how I wanted to be. There was no way I could go back to Boston. I suddenly felt very scared and very alone.

Nick came back in and stood in the doorway.

"You don't have to stay," I said.

"I'm not leaving."

"Why?"

"I'm just not leaving, Abby."

"Why, Nick?" I sat up, wincing at the pain in my head.

Nick rushed to the bedside, "Jesus, Abby. Lie down."

I pushed him away, "Tell me what you two have gotten me involved in, Nick."

"I can't Abby," he sighed. "I didn't want to do it like this."

"Do what?"

Nick slumped into the chair beside the bed, took in a deep breath, and just shook his head.

"I want you to leave then," I said, anger seething.

"I can't, you won't be safe."

"It's a hospital, what could happen?"

"Abby, please don't."

"I want you to leave. If you don't, I'll scream, call security. They'll throw you out."

"What will you do if Merritt comes in here? Are you gonna scream then, Abby?"

"No."

"What if they send the driver of the car back to finish the job? Are you gonna scream then?"

"No," I said. "It's just, I-I don't know what is happening, Nick. How can I keep myself safe with you and Paul hiding everything from me?"

"I'm sure he has people working here, too. I'm trying to protect you, Abby."

"How are you protecting me by not telling me anything? You guys asked me to help you. Yet, here I am, in a hospital bed, and you want me to accept that you can't tell me anything? That's bullshit, Nick."

"Fine, Abby. You wanna know? Are you sure?" I nodded. "Fine, listen up, then, I won't be repeating this." He took a long pause and continued. "As you know, I used to steal cars for Paul. I was the best at it. I could get in and get the car gone in less than 45 seconds. Then four years ago, I had an accident and had to stop. I tried to take a car that had someone in it and got shot in the stomach. It was serious and obviously I survived, but I got out of the game."

"That scar..." I whispered more to myself.

"Exactly. Now, I have a different role, more behind the scenes. This is a big business. We have people all over the country. Part of the business is to ship the cars to other countries and business is good."

He stopped and looked at me, I nodded for him to go on.

"Well, business was good until Merritt came to town. That was four years ago. He had been interrupting our business in other parts of the country. We didn't know who he was then. Now we know. After he had been in town for a few months, he wanted to make sure we knew who he was, so he blew up one of our warehouses."

I sucked in a breath.

Nick continued, in a much lower voice, "My fiancée was in the warehouse. She thought I was cheating on her so she followed me to the warehouse one night. She didn't know about my job.

"I left and shortly after, the place blew up. Her parents blame me, still. I blame myself. I don't know why she thought I'd cheat. I loved her." His voice was shaking; he took a long, deep breath, he was looking at the floor. "About a month later, we were prepping a shipment of real high-end cars to go to one of our best buyers, and the shipment disappeared. Gone. No trace has yet been found. And it's not like we can call the police, 'Hey, our stolen cars have been stolen.' We know Merritt is behind it but he's untouchable. He has no weaknesses, no way in. We've played friendly but he keeps pushing. Paul's worried about an all-out war starting. We don't have the firepower for something like that."

Nick stopped and looked into my eyes. "The most recent was just two weeks ago. Carlie just got a new car for her 16th birthday and, the day after Paul gave it to her, it was stolen. That was a personal attack and that was when Paul sent them to Australia or wherever." Nick sighed. "Since then, we've been stockpiling weapons and we knew that Merritt's only weakness is for women, specifically women like you. Paul brought it up and talked about it for days. I didn't want to put someone in any kind of danger. Especially if it was someone who he says he cares about. I'm not comfortable with this situation and I've told Paul I want to send you back to Boston. I didn't want to bring you here in the first place. It's just, well, it's Paul. It's out of my hands now."

"What happens now?" I whispered.

"When they discharge you, you'll come stay with me. I have a big house in the mountains. It's nothing like Paul's, but you'll be comfortable there. We'll lay low for a while and go after Merritt."

"How are you going to do that?" I yawned.

"I don't know yet. I'll think of something," he pulled the blankets back up to me. "Get some rest. Hopefully tomorrow you'll get to go home, before they figure out how to get to you here."

I fell asleep again.

Chapter 21

The next morning, I woke up to Nick snoring quietly in the chair beside my bed. My stomach was growling like crazy. A liquid diet was not going to do it for me. I sat up in bed and my head still hurt, but it wasn't making me feel like I was going to throw up. I wanted to go to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slid down, avoiding Nick's legs, which were stretched in front of him. I noticed my leg was wrapped in a soft, stretchy bandage and there was some bruising around the outside.

I stood at the side of the bed for a few minutes, as the room spun. When everything had settled, I took a step forward, then another. I held onto anything within reach to steady myself. I didn't have a cane yet, so it was pretty painful and slow going. I had to step over Nick's legs and finally made it all the way to the bathroom. I used the toilet, washed my hands and then looked at my face. Both of my eyes were purple, my right one swollen shut. I had a long, jagged cut on the right side of my face. That's where the stitches where, I assumed. My hair was a disaster; I had no idea how I was going to comb it. My lips were swollen and there was a cut that ran over both lips, on the right side. I picked up my toothbrush and brushed my teeth, staring at my bruised face. I washed up, as much as I dared. I wasn't sure whether I should get stitches wet or not. I was staring at my face for several minutes when there was a light knock on the door and Nick opened the door and walked in.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm hideous."

"No, you're not."

'Nick, look at my face," I whispered.

"You're beautiful, Abby."

I cried. I had only been in Portland for a short time and my life was torn apart. I cried for a long time. By the time I was finished, I was exhausted again and Nick's shirt was soaked. At some point, he had also taken me back to my bed.

I was still sniffling when the doctor came in. I didn't notice it the day before, but Dr. Rhodes had the most beautiful blue eyes. She was also very young and very tiny, probably around 5'3" or maybe even less and she probably weighed 105 pounds. I hated her. She was also carrying a cane.

"Good morning, Ms. Moss. What's wrong?"

"I went to wash my face and..." I trailed off.

"Did you injure yourself?"

"No, I saw this," I said, gesturing to my face.

"Ms. Moss, may I call you Abigail?"

"Abby, please."

"Okay, Abby, please call me Melissa," she said, hitching herself to sit beside me on my bed. "None of this is permanent. The bruises will go away; the cuts will heal and fade. The one that required stitches is so far to the side of your face, it's almost in your hair line. You are a remarkably lucky woman to have survived an accident like that."

"I'm hideous," I was on the verge of tears again.

"You're a beautiful woman, Abby. This man has been by your side since you were brought in. He's not leaving, are you?" Nick shook his head. "Give it some time, Abby. You'll be back on track soon."

"If you say so."

"I do," she said, jumping out of the bed. "And I'm the doctor, so, what I say, goes. Got that?"

I had to laugh, "Of course."

"Now to check you out. Let me see."

She checked all my vitals, made some notes. While she did that, she told me a little bit about how to use the cane. She then asked, "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm starving. This liquid diet is not going to work for me."

Nick smiled and Dr. Melissa laughed. "That's a great sign. I'll have some food brought for you. Now, I don't want you having prime rib today, but a sandwich or salad or soup would be good. Do you think that'll be okay?"

"I'll make due," I said with an exaggerated sigh.

Again she laughed, "Okay, Abby. As long as you can hold down the food they bring you, I don't see why we can't let you go home today. I'm going to have a few tests run before the food comes, just to make sure everything looks as good as I think it does. But, as far as I'm concerned, you'd better find a ride home!"

"Oh, thank you, Melissa," I said, happy to leave the hospital.

"They'll be bringing you breakfast soon. We'll see how you handle breakfast and then I'll make a determination on whether you need to stay or not."

After Melissa left, I told Nick that I needed some privacy to call my parents and tell them what happened. I noticed a few missed calls from them. They divorced about eight years ago but were still great friends. People said it was the strangest divorce they'd ever seen.

I talked to my mother first, she was furious. She wanted me on the next plane to Boston or else she was flying to Portland to give Paul a piece of her mind. I was able to talk her out of that and make her understand that I would not be able to fly for a while, until the doctor gave me the all-clear. I had, after all, suffered a head injury. She made me give her the name of my doctor and promise to get her credentials and email them. If she didn't get a call from me the moment I was released, she was flying to Portland. My dad was quiet. I could tell he was upset but he didn't say much. I think he was disappointed that no one had called him. I also knew that he would be calling Paul to give him a piece of his mind. I couldn't do anything about that.

Almost the moment I hung up with my father, my phone started beeping with texts and emails from my friends and family. Mom had been busy. They were mostly all angry that I didn't call. I decided to post on Facebook that I was hurt and I had been unconscious for five days, so, if they were upset that I didn't call, they'd have to understand that I was not able. If they were still mad after that, then there was nothing I could do about it.

Soon after, Nick came back. I told him that I would be released today, if I could eat with no problems.

"Isn't there a box of candy over there?" I said, pointing to the collection of flowers.

"Yeah?"

"Nick?"

"What?"

"Oh, my God, could you please get it for me?"

Nick laughed and found the box of candy. "Oooh, Godiva! Paul sprung for the good stuff."

"Mine!" I said. "Hands off."

He slowly and casually walked to the side of the bed, taking the outer wrapper off the candy. "Oooh, all milk chocolate with nuts and caramels. You know? I should really just take these from you. Who knows? Maybe you have a tooth problem."

"Nick, I don't have any tooth problem! Right now, the only problem I have is you. Now, give me my chocolate."

"Oh Abby, Abby, Abby. I don't think you understand our situation, here. I have something you want. Now, in a free trade economy, you're supposed to make me an offer to get what it is you want from me."

"Nick, please! I'm begging you!" I said, sticking my lower lip out.

"Pouting will not work, Abby."

"What is something you want then, Nick?"

Nick was standing beside my bed; he bent down, close to my face and kissed me. The kiss was brief but intense.

"That earned you one of the chocolates," he opened the box and held it for me to pick one piece of candy.

I tried to grab the box, but he wasn't injured and was able to pull the box away quickly.

"Now, Abby," he waved his finger at me. "You should know better. Don't be greedy."

"May I have another?"

"I like how you asked that," he said, bending to kiss me.

A girl could get used to this.

Someone cleared their throat at the door. Nick immediately bristled.

Chapter 22

"Excuse me," Merritt said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He was holding a massive arrangement of flowers.

"No," I was suddenly very scared.

"Oh, poor Abigail. Are you okay?"

"She's pretty banged up and her arm is broken, but you can see that," Nick said defensively.

"Oh yes, I can see that. How are you feeling, my dear?"

"Sore. Tired. Dizzy sometimes," I answered truthfully.

"Are you going to be released soon?"

"I don't know, I hope so," I felt like lying was safest.

"I see. Hasn't the doctor given you a release date?"

"She said that we'll have to wait and see how she feels later today," Nick said. "Abby just woke up yesterday."

"I saw you get hit when we were on our way to dinner that night. I couldn't believe it."

It suddenly dawned on me that this must have been the reason for the three separate cars on the way to dinner that night. I could hardly believe it.

"Did you stay to help?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not. I did call 911 for help. I'd also like to offer to pay your hospital bills."

"They're taken care of," Nick said.

"Why didn't you stay?" I asked.

"Abigail, I can see that you're still very tired and heavily medicated. I wanted to stop and see you. I'll come back another time."

Nick stood by the head of the bed, as close as he could without getting into the bed. Merritt came around the bed and tried to bend to kiss my cheek. Nick blocked him and he had to settle for kissing my hand.

"Until tomorrow, Abigail. I do hope you sleep well."

Once the door had closed, I looked at Nick, he was stiff as a board. "Nick," I whispered. "Was that a threat?"

Nick looked at me, his eyes softened, "Abby, I promise you that I won't let him hurt you again."

I just looked at him. I wasn't supposed to have any feelings for him. I was here simply to do a job. But, I found myself thinking about him every moment of the day. When he was with me, I watched him and enjoyed his smell, his touch, and just being near him. When we were apart, I unconsciously counted the moments until we were back together, this after just a short time knowing one another. And now that I knew that he'd lost his fiancée, I wasn't sure how to proceed or even if I should proceed. I knew that I wanted to be with him and I was pretty sure he wanted to be with me.

Nick pulled the chair next to the bed and sat down. "How is your arm and your leg?"

I held up my cast and looked at it for a moment. "It doesn't hurt much, but I've had lots of pain killers. Maybe it'll hurt more later. My leg is constantly throbbing. Just when I think I've gotten used to it, I move or something and it hurts more. Who knew a broken bone would hurt less than a bruise?"

Nick reached for my arm and held my hand. We sat in silence for a long time, just looking at each other. Finally, there was a knock on the door and Dr. Rhodes walked in.

"Hello again, Abby," she said, cheerfully. "Are you still feeling as good as you were this earlier?"

"Not bad, although I'm starving. I ate two chocolates," I admitted.

"That's okay," she smiled. "I'd really like you to get up and walk around as much as possible today, Abby."

I nodded as she took my vitals, made some notes, and was soon gone. Nick was still sitting in his chair beside the bed, although he was no longer holding my hand.

"Paul should be along to see you soon," Nick said. "When he comes, I'm gonna run out and get some food for myself."

"Go ahead and get something," I said.

"Abby, I'm not leaving you in here alone."

"Then let's walk down to the cafeteria so you can get some food."

"Do you think you can do that?"

"Why not?" I said, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. "Can you give me that robe over there?" I asked, pointing to the hook on the bathroom door.

Nick grabbed the robe and handed it to me. As I stood, my legs felt like jelly and I started to fall to the floor.

"Jesus, Abby!" Nick said, running to my side and putting me back onto the bed. "I think maybe you should wait until you have something to eat."

"I guess you're right, I do feel pretty weak and my leg hurts a lot," I pouted. "I just want to get up and move around."

There was another knock and Paul walked in.

"Good morning, Abby! How are you feeling today?"

"I'm starving! But otherwise, I'm feeling pretty good."

"Are you going home today?"

"I think so. I hope so," I said.

"Oh," Paul said, smacking himself in the forehead. "I almost forgot. I grabbed some clothes from the house for you. I didn't think you'd like being in that hospital gown any longer than you needed to."

"Oh, Paul, thank you!" I said. "I really hate these gowns."

"Yeah, I thought you'd like that," Paul was proud of himself.

Another knock and the male orderly carried in a covered tray of food. "Ma'am," he said as she placed it on my table and walked out of the room.

"Yes! Food!" I sat up and rubbed my hands together. "I'm so freakin' hungry."

I pulled the table toward me and opened the tray. The food looked good, even if I was from a hospital.

"Hey, Nick, why don't you go get something to eat and go get cleaned up?"

"Yeah, man, I was gonna ask you to stay here with Abby while I stepped out for a few minutes."

"Go ahead, I'll stay," Paul said.

I waved, mouth full of food, as Nick stepped out of the room.

"Abby," Paul said, getting serious, "What do you remember about that day?"

"We were at your house, Merritt was there, and we left to go to some restaurant..."

"Antonio's."

"Right. Everyone got into a different car and I remember thinking it was such a waste. Nick was saying something to me and I heard a crash....It's funny, you know? I remember thinking that my dress was going to be ruined."

Paul sat and sighed, "I'm so sorry, Abby. If I could send you back to Boston, I would."

"I know, Paul."

"What did your Mother say?"

"Didn't she call you?"

"Yes," Paul laughed. "And so did your Dad."

I laughed, "I was able to talk them out of flying out here, but they want me to call every day now."

"Me, too."

I finished my food and we turned the tv to fill the silence. I found some old, mindless re-run that we watched for about an hour before Nick returned.

"Sorry I took so long," he said, sounding out of breath.

"It's ok, Abby got to eat and we watched some tv together."

"Did you run the whole way?" I asked.

"No, I hurried, though."

Two men in suits came into the room.

Chapter 23

"Good morning, Abigail Moss?" the older man asked.

"Yes, that's me."

"Good morning, Ms. Moss. My name is detective Michael Moyer and this is my partner, Alex Rodgers. We're investigating the hit and run in which you were injured."

They flashed their badges.

"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Det. Rodgers asked.

"Sure," I said, unsure if that was the right answer.

"We'll step out for a few minutes," Paul said. "They've already talked to us."

Nick and Paul left the room, leaving me with the two detectives.

Det. Moyer took the chair that Nick had been sleeping in, while Det. Rodgers stood by the door. Each had a notebook and made notes while we talked.

"Do you remember anything that happened the night of the accident?" Detective Moyer asked.

"I was at my Godfather's house and we were getting ready to go to dinner with his business associate, Merritt something."

"Where were you going to dinner?" Det. Rodgers asked.

"Um, someplace called Antonio's, I think. I don't really remember."

"What happened next?" Det. Moyer asked.

"Everyone got into separate cars. Merritt into his car, he had a driver. Paul in his car and Nick and I in his car."

"You're dating Nick?" Det. Moyer asked.

"Yes," I said.

"I see," Det. Moyer made some notes. "So, you were in the car with Nick, what happened next?"

"We were talking about something, I don't remember, and I kept thinking what a waste it was to take three cars when we were going to dinner at the same place. Then there was this huge explosion or smash or something and all I could think of was that my dress was ruined."

"Did you see the other car?" Det. Rodgers asked.

"I don't remember."

"Do you remember anything after that?" Det. Moyer asked.

"Nothing, I'm sorry."

"Thank you Ms. Moss. You've been very helpful. We're investigating the hit and run. Someone hit you in a stolen car and left no trace of who they were. Do you have any enemies or anything we should know about?" Det. Moyer asked.

"Um, no. People usually like me," I said. "If I do have anyone who'd want to hurt me, I don't know about it."

Det. Moyer stood up and pulled a card out of his jacket. "If you remember anything, please call, anytime. We'll be talking again soon."

Then they were gone.

Paul and Nick came back in with Nick taking his chair by my bed.

"What did you tell them?" Paul asked in what sounded like an accusatory tone.

"The same, exact thing I told you before they got here."

Paul sighed. Nick looked at me and rolled his eyes so Paul wouldn't see. I had to stifle a laugh.

"Well, Abbs, since Nick is back and the detectives are gone, I really need to run. I'll try to stop again later tonight, if you're not released."

"Thanks, Paul," I said.

Paul left again. Nick came to sit beside me again. "Do you want to try going for a walk again?"

"Well, actually, I was thinking I would take a shower and put on clean pj's before I went out to greet my public."

Nick laughed, "Your public?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," I said, swatting him with a pillow. "Besides, I think I found some dried blood in my hair and that's kinda gross."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I think when I think of you. How nasty you are! Jesus, get in the shower before you make me puke on the floor."

I slid carefully out of bed and playfully punched him in the arm. "Phewww, actually, I am pretty rank! I apologize to those that I've offended with my foul odor."

Nick was still laughing when I shut the door to the bathroom. This was the first time I would get to look at my leg. I took the bandage off and saw that my leg was almost completely black. The bruises were still fresh and hadn't started to change color. I took a quick shower and I felt like a new woman. I didn't dare to stand in the shower any longer than I needed to because I was starting to get dizzy and my leg was hurting.

"Ta-da!" I said, opening the door to the bathroom, wearing brand new sweat pants and a tee shirt.

Nick applauded, "I sure hope you're wearing deodorant."

"I applied twice, just to be sure," I said. "Let me wrap my leg and then, let's go for a walk!"

Nick helped me wrap my leg and then we left and walked all over the hospital. We even managed to get lost once. I felt like we were gone for a long time, but it was more like just a couple of hours. By the time we got back, I was leaning quite heavily on Nick and he was practically carrying me. I was panting and was covered in a sheen of cold sweat.

"Come on, Abby. Let's get you back into the bed," Nick said, helping me lie back down. "I'll get you some water."

I just nodded my thanks.

Nick poured some water from the pitcher that was in my room and handed me the glass. I drank as much as I could handle and felt a little better.

"Thank you, Nick."

He brushed his hand against my cheek and smiled.

Chapter 24

There was a knock at the door and Dr. Rhodes came in. "Hello, Abby. I'm sorry, I haven't gotten your name?" She said to Nick.

"Oh, I'm Nick."

"Hello, Nick, nice to meet you," Dr. Rhodes said, shaking his hand. "Abby, what's wrong? You look grey."

"We went for a walk and I think we overdid it."

"Okay. How do you feel?"

"Exhausted and hungry."

"Are you in pain?"

"Yes, about a six to a seven."

"Jesus, Abby. Why didn't you say something?" Nick said.

"I'm okay, Nick."

"Alright," Dr. Rhodes said. "I'm going to have the nurse bring you some lunch and I'll get you something for the pain, too."

"Thank you, Dr. Rhodes."

"Melissa, please. Take it easy this afternoon, Abby. I'll be back in a couple of hours to check on you."

The doctor left and Nick turned to frown at me. "Abby, why didn't you tell me you were in pain?"

"It wasn't that bad," I lied. "I thought I could handle it."

"Next time, say something, please."

"I will, I promise."

The nurse came in with the meds and I turned the tv on. Soon, the same male orderly came with a tray of food that I immediately opened and ate. I could tell Nick was getting hungry.

"Nick, please go get something to eat. I can tell you want something."

"Abby, I can't...."

"Nick, it's broad daylight, go!" I pointed to the door.

"Okay, Abby, I'll be gone five minutes. Don't let anyone in!"

Nick bolted out the door. I'm almost positive that he ran to the cafeteria. I was absorbed in some tv show when Nick came back in.

"See? Five minutes," he said, panting.

"My hero."

The early part of afternoon passed with us watching tv, playing card games, and me napping. Finally, around four o'clock, Dr. Rhodes came back in.

"Abby, I have some good news."

"Am I going home?"

"Yes, ma'am. I've got some forms for you to sign and some paperwork for you to have. You should be on your way out in about an hour."

"Hooray!" I said.

Nick was smiling but looked serious.

She handed me a stack of forms to sign, along with my release instructions. A nurse came in while I was signing and gave me a bag with five bottles of pills that I would need to take. She showed me, again, how to use the cane, how to care for my stitches, and how to keep my leg wrapped.

"Okay, Abby. I'll be back as soon as I file all these forms and you'll be on your way," Dr. Rhodes said as she walked out the door. "You'd probably better get everything packed up."

"I'll take care of that," Nick said.

He managed to find a box somewhere to put the vases of flowers and other gifts in. He packed my clothes and personal items in the bag that Paul brought in.

"Do you want to change before we leave?"

"No, I don't think so," I said. "I showered and put these on clean. When I get back to Paul's, I'll shower and find something else to wear."

"You're coming to my house, Abby."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It'll make me feel better to have you close to me."

"I'll feel safer," I said softly.

Nick rushed to the side of the bed while I swung my feet over the side. He stood in front of me, looking into my eyes for a moment while he ran his hand through my hair, pulling me close.

"Abby," he breathed.

"Nick."

And then he kissed me. The long, deep, lingering kiss left me tingling and wanting more. Our limbs were wrapped around each other and I was breathless.

"You're so beautiful, Abby."

I couldn't respond because he kissed me again. He pushed his hands into my hair and pulled gently while he kissed down my neck.

He pulled away again, "I'll die before anyone hurts you again, Abby. I promise you."

There was a knock on the door, the nurse came in and cleared her throat, "Ms. Moss, excuse me. I have your release forms and, as soon as you're ready, you can go."

"I'm ready right now," I said quickly. "I don't want you to change your mind."

The nurse laughed and the orderly came in, pushing a wheel chair.

"Hospital policy," he said, I noticed his name tag said Donald.

I put myself in the chair while Nick carried my belongings. We walked through the maze of hallways to the main entrance.

"Shit," Nick said. "Can she wait here while I go get the car?"

"I have to wait with her," the orderly said. "Go on."

Nick looked at me, "I'll be back in just a minute."

Again he practically ran out the door, leaving me with the orderly. I stared out after him. The corridor was almost empty when the orderly looked at me and smiled.

"You in any pain?"

"Not really, they gave me some pills that help."

"I got a message for Nick," he leaned down. "You tell him that him and Paul'd better back off of the west side."

"Excuse me?" I was suddenly very scared.

"You tell Nick that they'd better back off the west side or else. You got that?"

"Y-yes," I stammered.

"When he comes back, you smile and wait for me to push you to the car or I'll cut your fucking throat right here and he can watch you bleed out on the sidewalk," he whispered, showing me a scalpel in his pocket.

I'm gonna throw up.

"Say you understand, bitch or I'll cut you right now."

"I understand," I said.

Nick pulled up, parked the car and got out to help me into my seat. As I was standing, waiting for Nick to load my gifts, the orderly poked my arm and gave me a look to remind me of what I was supposed to do.

I sat in the new car and Nick pulled away from the hospital. We were about 10 blocks away when I finally broke.

"Nick, I want to go away from here."

"Why? What's wrong?"

He glanced over at me, I felt the color drain away from my face and my hands start to shake.

"Abby? What is it?"

The tears started to flow.

"Jesus, Abby. What happened?" Nick pulled the car into a gas station. "Tell me what happened?"

"When you went to get the car," I was sobbing, "The orderly. Oh, my God, Nick."

When I couldn't catch my breath, Nick said slowly, "Abby, what did he do?" He was visibly angry.

"He said that if you and Paul didn't back off from the west side, that you were gonna get killed."

Nick put a deep breath and put his hand on mine, trying to calm me. "Abby, did he threaten you?"

"Y-yes."

Nick tensed, his nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched, "What. Did. He. Say?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"He said that if I didn't smile and play nice when you came back with the car, he would cut my throat and you could watch me bleed out on the sidewalk. And he said if I didn't understand him and do what he said, he'd cut me. And he poked my arm really hard."

"He touched you?"

"He poked my arm."

Nick pulled out his phone and made a call. He turned away from me and spoke low so I couldn't hear him. I was still trying to catch my breath, I had stopped crying.

"Abby, shhh, you're safe. You're with me. I won't let anyone touch you. I shouldn't have left you alone with him, he used to work for me. I thought you'd be safe. I'm so sorry."

"Nick, how were you supposed to know?"

"I should've known, Abby. I should know these things."

He pulled me close and held me for a moment.

"What is happening, Nick?"

"I don't know, Abby. I'm sorry."

Chapter 25

We drove off and after some time, we turned onto a dirt road in the woods.

"Nick? You're not taking me out here to kill me and get rid of my body?"

"What the hell?"

"I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere."

"We are, Abbs. No one knows about this place. You'll be safe here."

"Wow! Is there electricity? Running water?"

Nick laughed, "Yes. And internet and cable. You'll be fine."

Nick pulled the car up to a huge, log cabin and into a garage and closed the door. The lights were automatic when we pulled in, so I was able to see how clean and spacious the garage was. I definitely didn't expect that. There were some tools on a work bench and some storage bins. The floor was very clean, considering it was a garage floor. Nick was already out of the car and carrying some of my things into the house.

"Come on, Abby, don't sit there all night!"

I slowly climbed out of the car and walked with my cane into the house. The inside was just as clean as the garage, and absolutely beautiful. It was definitely a man's home, but still very comfortable and inviting.

"This is your place, Nick?"

"Yep, all mine," he said, proudly. "You like?"

"Wow!" I looked around. "My place in Boston could fit in your kitchen."

Nick laughed, "Come on and look around."

The floors and walls were all bare wood and simply breath taking. The walls had very little in terms of decoration, with only wooden blinds on the windows. The lighting was soft and subtle. Of course, the main thing in the living room was a huge, flat screen tv and artfully hidden surround sound. I was pretty sure that Nick had all the big video game systems in the tv cabinet. There were large and small area rugs around the room, to make the room appear softer. The furniture in the living room was oversized and a brown suede.

This place probably cost more than four years of college!

"Nick, this place is amazing. Did you do all of this on your own?"

"Yes. I needed a place to hide out for a while after..."

"I understand," I whispered.

"No one else has ever been in here."

"I feel really special that you let me in, Nick."

"Abby, I want you to be safe until I can get you out of here."

"I trust you."

"I'll take your things upstairs and show you where you'll be staying."

"Do you need to lock the door?"

"Security system, generator back up," he called behind him.

I limped up the stairs into a loft area where there was the master bedroom. It was completely open. You could look over the side and see the living area. There was a huge window with a view of the mountains in the distance. The king sized bed was covered with a dark blue comforter and several pillows. There tables on each side, both with lamps. There was another large tv hung on the wall.

"Nick," I said, stunned. "It's breathtaking."

"You should see it in the winter. It's amazing."

"So, this isn't your main house?"

"No, I use my place in Portland as my main house, but this is where I come when I want to get away."

"I can see why."

"Well, you can stay in here, make yourself comfortable."

"Where is the bathroom?"

"Oh, through here."

I followed Nick through the bedroom, into the master bathroom. Again, it was amazing. The hardwood continued into this room as well. There was a huge bath tub in one corner with huge windows on each side. There were his and hers sinks, a huge mirror, vanity lights, a ton of storage drawers and cabinets. I was even impressed by the toilet.

"Oh, my goodness, can I take a bath?" I said, completely in awe.

"Sure. I told you to make yourself comfortable. Are you allowed to? I mean, did the doctor say it's ok?"

"Yeah. I have a waterproof cast, but I guess I'll keep it up out of the water."

"You can wrap it in plastic or something?"

"I guess, do you have a garbage bag?"

Nick held up one finger and ran out of the room. I turned on the water in the bathtub and let it fill while I searched through the cabinets for something to add to the bath. I had finally found some bubbles when Nick returned.

"Is it okay for me to use these?" I asked.

"Sure, they were part of some gift basket a client sent."

"To your dry cleaner business?"

"Yes."

I poured the bubbles into the tub and the bubbles came up. Nick handed me a garbage bag and helped me wrap my cast. Nick then stepped out of the room while I got undressed and lowered myself into the bath.

Chapter 26

I relaxed for a long time and I must've dozed off. There was a slight knock on the door.

"Abbs," Nick whispered from the doorway. "Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine. I must've fallen asleep," I stretched.

Nick walked into the bathroom. "Is the water cold?"

"No, not really, but I was just gonna add more hot water."

"Can I get in?"

My eyes looked over his body and I swallowed, "Um, yeah. Okay."

I reached forward to turn the hot water back on and then turned toward the window so I couldn't see Nick undressing. A moment later, I could feel Nick lowering himself into the back of the tub. I chanced a look and saw that Nick had laid his head back on the edge of the tub. The water faucet was in the middle of the tub, so I was also able to lay my head back, too.

"I haven't taken a bath since I was a kid," Nick said.

"I don't even have a bathtub in my place in Boston, just a shower. Actually, I probably don't even have a place in Boston anymore."

"Why?"

"I've been out of work and couldn't pay my rent..."

"Oh. I can get some money out to your landlord. Just give me the address."

"No, it's okay. I already talked to my Mom and she's going to get my things out. Let them evict me."

"Where are you gonna go, then?"

"I don't know. Back with my parents, I suppose."

"I see."

"It's not like I have a job in Boston."

"Where do your parents live?"

"Brooklyn now. Mom is talking about moving to Florida to retire, though."

"Abby, I'd love for you to stay here. If things were safe."

I didn't dare to look at him.

"Abby, it's been a long time since I cared for someone. I really thought I had turned that part of me off. It's just....you're..."

"What was her name?"

Nick didn't say anything for a long time. Finally he sighed, "Sara. She was beautiful and smart and funny and I loved her. I used to tease her all the time because she was so short, I called her Short Sara," he laughed, sadly. "I had proposed to her two weeks before...

He sighed and continued, "She wanted a big wedding, with all her family and friends. She was originally from Guatemala but she had come to Portland when she was 12. She was as close to perfect as you could get and she loved me. But, for some reason, she started doubting me. She was always questioning me, saying I was out too late or I wouldn't answer my phone when she called. She was making all kinds of accusations. I would tell her time and again that she was the only woman in my life, but she didn't believe me. That's how she ended up in the warehouse that night.

Nick took a deep breath and ran his wet hands through his hair. "They had to use dental records to identify her. Her parents wouldn't allow me to come to her funeral. I hid behind a tree at the graveside service. That was the only way I got to say good bye. Her parents moved back to Guatemala after that."

We sat in silence for a long time. The only sound was the occasional ripple in the water.

Finally, Nick spoke again, "As much as I've fought it for these last few weeks, Abby, I want to get to know you. I want to be with you." He took my good arm and pulled me toward him. "If I can make it safe for you, will you stay when this is all over?"

"Of course," I whispered. "I'll stay, no matter what, Nick. I can't bear the thought of you being in danger and me not being here to help."

"Abby, I..."

"Shhh, Nick. It's not up for debate. Besides, if you don't want me here, I'll be homeless. You wouldn't want me to have to fend for myself on the mean streets of Boston, would you, Nick?"

He smiled, "Abby, you know as well as I do that no one would let that happen."

"But why would I leave when I could be here with you?"

He answered me with a kiss. Long, hot, slow, tongues darting in and out. I could feel his excitement growing between us in the water. My hands explored his body, as his did mine.

I pulled back, breathless. "Nick," I said, panting. "As much as I want to go further, I don't think my body could handle it."

"Abby, I can wait for you. I know you'll be worth the wait. How do you feel?"

"Besides completely turned on? Well, to be honest, the pain killer is starting to wear off and I hurt. I would really like to go to bed."

"Let me help you out then."

I slid back and averted my eyes as Nick stood and got out of the tub.

"Can you stand up okay?"

"I think so, I feel a little dizzy."

"Take my hand, then."

Nick practically lifted me out of the tub, gently helping me stand on the bathmat and wrapping a towel around me all at once. He slowly and luxuriously dried my body with the soft, oversized towel. He then took the plastic bag off my cast and led me to the bedroom.

He had laid out my pajamas on the bed. I picked them up and turned around, suddenly shy, to get dressed. Once dressed again, I turned back around to see Nick was wearing shorts and a tee shirt.

"I need to lie down," I admitted.

"I'll get your pain pill. I'll be right back."

Nick went downstairs, I could hear him shuffling around the kitchen, open and close the refrigerator door, and then come back to the room.

"Here you go," he handed me my pill bottle and a bottle of cold water. "Why don't you take a nap and I'll run out and get us some food?"

"Mmmm, Nick, that sounds good," I said, drowsily. I was already feeling the effects of the pills.

He handed me a phone and said, "If you need me, I'm the only number in the phone. Call me immediately. I'll set the security system while I'm gone. I'll only be gone 20 minutes, tops."

"I'm just going to sleep, Nick. I'm so tired."

"Okay baby, I'll be back with some food for you," he said, kissing my cheek, it was the last thing I remembered before I went to sleep.

Chapter 27

I woke up some time later, completely disoriented. I reached out, not knowing where I was or who I was with.

"Who's there?" I cried out, feeling around. "Where am I?" I was starting to panic

The bedside table lamp came on and Nick sat up, "Abby, shh, you're in my house. You're with me. You're safe."

He was petting my hair, soothing me. "Oh, Nick, I don't know what happened. I must've had a bad dream."

"It's ok, baby."

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked, yawning.

Nick glanced at a clock on the bedside table, "Well, it's two a.m., so about four hours."

"What!? So, you went out and came back and didn't wake me up?"

Nick laughed, "I tried but you called me a 'meatball' or something and started swinging."

I could feel myself turning red, "Oops."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but it's the middle of the night."

"Who cares? It's not like you have to go to work tomorrow. You're on bed rest, remember?"

"Okay, what did you get me?"

Nick grabbed the back of his neck and looked sheepish, "I didn't know what you'd like, so I got Chinese. Everyone likes Chinese."

"I love Chinese."

We walked out of the loft and Nick helped me down the stairs. I found out that it was much easier to go up the stairs than it was to go down. In the kitchen I saw exactly what Nick meant when he said he got Chinese.

"Did you order everything on the menu?"

"Um, no, not quite."

"Wow, it sure looks like you did."

"Well, take your pick. We can go into the living room and watch a movie while you eat."

"You're not gonna eat?" I pouted.

"Well, I already ate," he started, noticing my pout. "But I guess I am still a little hungry."

"You did mention once before that you'd eat a fried shoe..."

Nick laughed.

We reheated the food and made ourselves comfortable on the massive couches. We managed to agree on an old comedy pretty quickly and busied ourselves with eating the late dinner/early breakfast.

I had finished all the food I could handle and put my plate aside. Nick was still working through his and when I stood up to stretch.

"The worst part of all this," I said, waving my hands over myself, "is how stiff I feel."

"Yeah, after they released me, they said I'd be stiff for a few days. I'm finally starting to feel human again."

"Ughh, not me," I said, doing some stretches. "And, whenever I move around too much, I get dizzy."

"You'll feel better in a couple days, Abby. Come sit with me," he patted the couch next to him.

I snuggled against him and he put his arm around me. He was warm and comfortable and I knew immediately that this is where I always wanted to be. We watched the entire movie, without moving or talking. Nick was drawing circles on my arm or running his fingers through my hair. When the movie was over, Nick carefully stood up and then helped me to my feet.

"Well, Abbs, it's five in the morning. Do you need another pill?"

I sighed, "I do."

"Go on upstairs, I'll get your pill," he said, stretching.

I dragged myself up the stairs, used the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and got into the bed. Nick followed shortly afterward and gave me the pills and another bottle of water.

"I think I was a little presumptuous before, when I got in bed with you. Do you..."

"I want you here, Nick."

Nick climbed in the other side of the bed with me, snuggled up next to me, slinging his arm around me.

"You smell amazing," he said before drifting off to sleep.

It wasn't long before I was asleep myself.

I woke late the next morning to find Nick still asleep beside me. I took a moment to admire the view before I hauled myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Since I had taken a bath the night before, I didn't bother with a shower. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and attempted to tame my hair. My hair had always been long and I was lucky enough to be a natural blonde, but it was also naturally wavy, so it was always a disaster. I gave up on taming my hair, threw the brush on the counter, and tied my hair with a rubber band.

I looked in the bag and found that I didn't have any more clothes to wear.

Great! They're hiding me in a cabin in the woods because I need protection, but I didn't have any clothes to wear.

There was a knock on the door and a sleepy Nick came in. "You were gone. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's late, so I got up to get dressed. Then, I realized that I don't have any clothes."

"Shit. We'll have to make a run to Paul's house and to a grocery store to get supplies. Do you think you're up for that?"

"Um, y eah, I guess so."

"I mean, if you're not, I'll go do it. I just don't know what you'd want there."

"Nick," I laughed, pulling him close to kiss him. "I'm up for it. I'll bring my pain pills and I'll be fine."

He smi led and licked his lips, "Mmmm."

"I don't have any clothes to wear."

He kissed me, "I think that'll be okay."

"Nick!"

"Huh, what?" He shook himself and smiled. "Okay, what I meant to say was I think I'll be able to find something for you to wear. You can probably manage to make one of my old tee shirts look great."

"What about pants?"

"I guess you'll have to tie up a pair of shorts or sweats or something. Come on, let's see what I can find."

We found a shrunken tee shirt that said 'Bikini Inspector' on the front and a pair of sweat pants that I was able to pull the string on and wear. I slipped on my sneakers and we headed out the door. I hadn't noticed the day before, but in the garage, on the far end, there was an SUV parked. We climbed inside and Nick drove us the long distance to Paul's house. We didn't talk much on the drive, mostly listened to music and enjoyed the scenery. Nick held my hand most of the trip.

When we arrived at Paul's house, I noticed a few differences. First, we had to wait at the gate. There were more guards on the grounds and Paul didn't greet us at the door.

"Does he know I left the hospital?"

"Yeah, I texted him that I was taking you to the safe house. Abby, he doesn't need to know where the safe house is."

"Gotcha."

Inside, we found Paul in the living room, reading some papers.

"Abby, honey, how are you feeling? Sit down," he jumped up and kissed my cheek.

"I'm uncomfortable and stiff, not in too much pain, though."

"We came to get her some clothes and supplies for the safe house," Nick said. "She's gonna be outta commission for a couple weeks."

"Of course, Abby, take what you need."

I excused myself and went to the bedroom and packed as much of my clothes as I could. By the time I had emptied my closet, I was out of breath and exhausted. I threw myself on the bed. I had only been lying down for a few minutes when there was a knock and Nick and Paul walked in.

"Abby?" Nick said. "Are you in here?"

"Yep," I said, sitting up. "I just needed to rest a minute."

"Do you need a pill?"

"No, I was just tired. I've got just about everything I need."

"I'll get a couple of the guards to come help carry this out," Paul said. "Abby, you take it easy."

"No problem," I said.

Nick started picking things up to carry out. He was almost to the door when he stopped and turned around, "Abby, I don't trust Paul anymore."

"I understand."

Nick continued out the door, leaving me in the bedroom alone. I considered what he said for a few minutes before I was joined by Paul and two guards. I hadn't gotten the names of many of the guards. These men were huge and fairly handsome. I could see that they were also carrying guns and did not enjoy acting like moving men.

"Just let them know what needs to go and they'll take it to the car," Paul said.

I pointed around the room and explained what I needed to the guards. The hauled off all of my things and I limped back through the house to the living room. I found Paul and Nick in a heated conversation that ceased the second I walked in.

"Did you get everything you need, Abby?" Paul asked.

"Yep," I said. "What's going on in here?"

"Oh, we were just having a disagreement," Paul said, waving his hands. "It's nothing. Sit down for a minute. I wanna catch up with you."

I sat beside Paul and Nick stepped out of the room.

"Paul, thank you for everything..."

"Abby, there's no need to thank me. I just wanted to let you know that anything you need, you know, after the accident, it's taken care of. If you need more meds, need to see more doctors, whatever. It's handled for you. Okay?"

"Wow, yeah, that's really generous."

"Well, I'm sure you've figured out that the accident was no accident. We need to take care of you. It won't happen again."

"I know."

"The police called earlier, they'd like to talk to you again. Call them tomorrow."

"I will."

"Nick has you at the safe house for a while. I'll be checking in by phone and he'll bring you to the house. Mary and the girls are coming home soon."

"They are! I can't wait to see them!"

"Yeah, I talked to Mary last night and they said they're ready to come home. I was able to talk them into another week. We'll see from there."

"That's great!"

Nick came back in with the last box from my room that held my shoes. "Are you ready, Abby?"

"Um..." I looked at Paul and he stood up, extending his hand to me. "Yes, I guess, let's go."

I feel like I'm saying goodbye.

I took Paul's hand and he helped me to my feet. Nick led the way as we walked to the packed SUV. Paul helped me into my seat as Nick loaded the box.

"Don't forget to call me, at least once a day," Paul said, helping me buckle.

"I will, Paul."

Why do I want to cry?

"Keep her safe, Nick."

"Yeah," Nick said, getting into the SUV.

Paul shut the door and we drove away.

"He's mad, isn't he?" I asked.

"He wants to know where the safe house is. I told him that no one needs to know where the safe house is, otherwise it wouldn't be safe."

"And you said that because you don't trust him?"

"That's right."

"I felt like that was the last time I would see him."

"I don't know Abbs," he reached for my hand and kissed it. "I want to trust him. I want Paul to be Paul but..."

The silence extended between us for a few minutes.

"What, Nick?"

"Money does things to people, Abby. Bad things."

Chapter 28

"We have to stop somewhere to pick up groceries, are you feeling up for that?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. We can stop."

"I'm gonna go to one in the next town, people'll be less likely to recognize me there."

We went to a supermarket and picked up groceries. Nick spent hundreds of dollars on the food and supplies as if it was nothing. I was starting to get tired and I got into the SUV while Nick loaded the groceries.

After the long drive to the cabin, I was in pain and exhausted. Nick had to help me out of the SUV and up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Nick, I'm so sorry that..."

"Abby," he said, sounding a little annoyed. "You're hurt. I'm not mad at you."

"I feel bad, though."

"Don't," he kissed me as he put me in bed. "I'll be right back up with your pain pills. I can tell you need one."

"I do."

He jogged down the stairs and I heard the door in the kitchen that opens to the garage open. Minutes later, I heard him come in and back up the stairs. He was lugging a box and a few bags.

"Nick!"

"Abby, it's okay. Here, take your pill," he handed me the pills and a bottle of water.

"You know, you should just leave them up here, that way you won't have to go downstairs all the time to get them."

"I could, but the next time you need them, you'll probably be downstairs."

I laughed, "You're probably right," I took the pill and drank some water. "Are you sure I can't do something to help? I could sit by the door and hold it open for you?"

"Nope, get some rest. It won't take me long."

"Yes, it will! Paul had to have two of his guards help load the car."

It was Nick's turn to laugh, "They carried one load each. I got the rest of it."

"Oh, I didn't know. Nick, you're probably exhausted, let me help, please."

"Abby, I'm fine. Stop arguing. Just get some rest and let me get this done."

I laid my head back on my pillow and didn't hear anything again for a couple of hours. I woke up and it was dark and I was alone in bed. I could hear Nick moving around in the kitchen and I could smell something being cooked. I stood up slowly and made my way down the stairs.

"Hey," I said softly. "What are you cooking?"

"Abby, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I just woke up and I could hear you and I smelled this. What is it? It smells delicious?"

"Just chicken and vegetables. Nothing special. I knew you'd wake up hungry, so I thought I'd make you something."

"Wow!"

He pulled me toward him and while he kissed me, he backed me up the counter. He wrapped his arms around my legs and lifted me onto the counter, all the while kissing me.

"Now," he said, pulling away and backing across the kitchen. "You're stuck there, so sit still and let me do my thing."

"Come on! You can't leave me up here!"

"I can and I will," he stirred something the stove. "Here, try this."

He brought the spoon over to me and held it up for me to take a bite.

"Oh my goodness, that's delicious," I said with food still in my mouth.

Such a lady!

"Thank you! I was a line cook for like four years, before I started really making money stealing cars."

""You're really good! God, in Boston I would eat sandwiches for weeks and then switch to salad or Ramen noodles. Anything not to cook."

Nick laughed, "Well, I love to cook, so get used to it."

"I love it!"

Nick added some spices and stirred some things, then got out two plates, silverware, and glasses. He set them on the table and walked back over to me, "Do you think I can trust you if I take you off the counter?"

"Of course you can," I said, sliding my arm around his neck.

He reached around my waist and skillfully lifted me off the counter. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me to the table. He stood, holding me up, and kissed me while I unwrapped my legs and slid down to stand in front of him.

"Sit down. I'll bring your food."

I did what I was told and waited to be served. Nick brought the food to the table and served us both. I took a big bite and was delighted in the flavors.

"Oh Nick, this is amazing."

"Thank you, Abbs. It's basically just a chicken stir-fry. I just embellished it a bit."

"It's so good," I said, between mouthfuls. "You can cook for me any day."

Nick laughed and we had a lovely meal, laughing and eating. When we were finished, Nick picked up the dishes and loaded the dishwasher. I was really falling for Nick. He was trying to take such good care of me.

"Nick?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I was just thinking that we could go upstairs and have another bath?"

Nick stopped what he was doing, "You know what?" He turned to face me, "I love that idea."

"I'll go up and start the water while you finish here?"

"Okay, I'll be right up."

I slowly stood and started out of the kitchen. I turned around when I got to the stairs and walked back to kiss Nick. I gave him a long, teasing kiss before I turned on my heel and said, "Don't be long."

I glanced over the stairway and saw Nick standing still, apparently stunned. I couldn't help but laugh.

Chapter 29

Once in the bathroom, I found the bubble bath and started the water, just as I had the night before. I also found some candles and lit them, placing them around the room. I had just lowered myself into the tub and turned the water off when Nick came in.

"Wow," he said. "It looks great in here."

"Thank you," I said, feeling a little shy.

I knew I was still too sore and weak to make love to Nick, but I still wanted to spend this kind of time with him.

Nick started to undress and, again, I turned away.

"Abby? What's wrong?"

I turned back, sheepishly, "I don't know, I feel like I'm invading your privacy."

"Abby, I want you to see me. Please don't look away."

I nodded and he continued taking off his clothes. His body was amazing, from his well-formed abs, his strong biceps, his toned legs, to the small tuft of hair on his chest. He turned around and I saw his perfect ass. I also noticed the scar from where he was shot.

"When I first met you, I thought you were so skinny," I blurted out.

Nick laughed, "I wear baggy clothes on purpose so people think I'm smaller. They're less likely to be intimidated by me."

"You must be really missing the gym, being stranded here with me."

"A little I guess," he said, sliding into the tub. "But I have a small home gym here, so I can work out when I need to."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really give you the proper tour."

I slid over to him, putting my back against his chest, and let him close his arms around me. I sighed, "I could stay here all night."

"Me too."

"Is that scar on your side where you were shot?"

"Yes."

"Did it hurt?"

"Yes."

We were both silent for a few minutes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Right now, I'm okay. Not too much pain and the stiffness is starting to go away. My arm still hurts sometimes and of course my leg."

He used his leg to lift my leg out of the water. "It's so bruised."

"It looks as bad as it feels, I suppose."

He put our legs back in the water and we sat for a minute.

"Can I wash your hair?" he asked.

"Um, yes."

Strange.

He slid me forward a bit and reached back for a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and a cup. He gently cradled my head and poured water on my hair until it was completely wet. Then he used the shampoo and lathered my hair. He did it slowly and softly, taking the time to massage my scalp as he went. He poured more water on my hair. Then he added conditioner to my hair and rubbed that in.

I moaned with pleasure.

He used the cup to rinse the conditioner out of my hair. When he was finished, he ran his fingers through my hair, combing it.

He started kissing me. I felt like my bones were made of jelly. At that moment, I thought I would do anything he asked me. It was the most sensual bath I had ever had in my life.

He pulled back and turned me to face him, "Oh, Abby," and he continued kissing me.

I pulled myself closer to him, letting him trail kisses down my neck, to my shoulders and lower. I felt my bones turn to liquid at his touch. I craved more. Reality sunk in and I breathlessly pushed away.

"Nick," I was panting. "I can't yet."

Nick looked disappointed.

"But..." I teased, reaching under the water and taking him in my hand.

Nick flexed his hips toward me and licked his lips. He had raised himself out of the water while I continued to stroke him. He moaned, a low, throaty sound and I continued, faster and faster. Finally, I could feel that he was ready, so I took him in my mouth and finished him.

He sank back in the tub, sated and smiling. "Abby, you..."

I smiled.

"When you're feeling better..."

I laughed and slid back in to his arms.

"The water is getting cold, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's why I came back to you."

"Let's get out."

Chapter 30

The next few weeks were spent in a similar fashion. We would wake up late, eat breakfast, work out in the gym (as much as I could handle), I would take a nap, and then we would have a late dinner, and take a bath, where Nick would wash my hair. Almost every night, I would take care of Nick. I was getting increasingly frustrated, to say the least.

The day came when I had to go back to the doctor for a check-up and to have my cast removed. Nick drove me to the doctor's office in his SUV. Once again, I would see Dr. Rhodes. I was called from the waiting room to an exam room. I had been weighed, my blood pressure taken, blood sample taken, and I was just waiting for Dr. Rhodes. Nick had waited in the waiting room.

There was a knock at the door and Dr. Rhodes came inside.

"Hello, Abby, how are you?"

"I'm doing pretty good, Melissa, how are you?"

"I'm great, thank you," she said. "What brings you in today?" She asked, shuffling papers. "Oh, we're taking your cast off today. I bet you're happy about that."

"Oh, yeah," I said.

"How are you feeling otherwise?"

"My leg still hurts a lot of the time. I still have headaches and dizziness."

"How often?"

"Not that often, maybe once or twice a week, but not always."

"That's good. Let me take a look at your leg? I see you're still wearing a bandage."

"Yeah, not every day, though. Sometimes it's the only way I can handle the pain."

"Hmmm, I'm going to set up an MRI to see if there's any additional damage that we didn't catch after the accident."

I nodded and Dr. Rhodes ran through more tests with me and then decided it was time to remove my cast. They used a saw to remove the cast and Dr. Rhodes ran through another few tests, to make sure my arm was in good shape.

After receiving a relatively clean bill of health, I thanked Dr. Rhodes and went through check-out. They set up an appointment for an MRI on my leg. I went into the waiting room and Nick was not there. I was curious, but not worried.

I walked outside, expecting to find Nick waiting in the car. I looked around and didn't see his car. I walked up the street about a block and turned around the other way. I still didn't see Nick. I was starting to get worried. I didn't have my phone with me so I couldn't call him.

Oh, shit! I have no money, no credit cards, and no way to contact anyone! What am I going to do?

I sat on a bench, not far from the doctor's office to think. I could find a pay phone and call Paul. No, that would get Nick in trouble. I decided just to wait. Maybe he just ran to a store.

Time passed, the sun was bright and it was hot. I was trying to suppress my panic. After what seemed like hours, I recognized Nick's SUV pulling up to the doctor's office. Nick looked around, saw me on the bench, and walked over to me.

"Hi," he said.

"'Hi?' Are you kidding?"

"I'm sorry, Abby."

"Right, sorry. Nick, I'm in a strange city with no money, no credit cards, no phone, and no way of getting in contact with anyone. I was going to call my parents and ask them to send a taxi and have it bring me to the airport."

"Where is your phone?"

"I forgot it, but that's not the point," I yelled.

"Abby, come on. Please, let's talk about it in the car."

"Of course," I said. "You and Paul practically have me hostage here."

"Abby, you're free to go wherever you want, anytime you want. I'm not holding you hostage."

"Where were you, Nick?"

"Paul heard I was in town for your appointment and called and demanded to see me. I've been there the whole time."

"Did you think I was going to be in the doctor's the whole time?"

"No, but I thought you'd call me when you were finished."

"I DON'T HAVE A PHONE," I screamed, immediately regretting it. Thankfully we were in the car, driving away.

"I didn't know that, Abby. Fuck. Look, I know I should've been back a long time ago, but I couldn't leave. There's some things going on that Paul had to tell me about."

"Like?"

"Like we have to go to The Winfield tomorrow night to see Merritt. He's been asking about you around town."

"What if I don't want to go to The Winfield?"

"You can do what you want, Abby, but I have to go."

"I don't know what to do anymore, Nick. I guess I don't have a choice."

Nick just shook his head.

"Nick," I said softly, "I was scared. I didn't where you were or what to do. I was really just scared."

"Abbs," he said, taking my hand, "I'm so sorry, believe me. I won't let it happen again, I promise." He added, kissing my hand.

"Can we do something while we're out? I love being with you at your house, but I'd just like to do something else."

"Okay, do you like birds?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

"There's a nature reserve where we can take a boat ride and check out the birds."

"Ooooookay," I said. "A nature reserve, ehh?"

Nick laughed, "It's something here that I've never done before, let's try it. I'll buy you dinner afterward."

"Let's do it, then."

Nick drove just outside the city to the nature reserve and we took a leisurely boat tour, checking out the birds in the area. I was apprehensive when he said we were going to a nature reserve, it's not usually something I'd do. But, we really had a fun time riding the boat and looking at the wildlife.

As we were leaving, Nick took a picture of us for his iPhone.

"I love seeing you smile," he said, sneaking a kiss.

"Me too," I said. "I'm really happy."

Even though people have tried to kill me.

"Let's go get something to eat."

I followed him to the SUV and he drove us to a little diner, not far from the preserve. As we got out and walked toward the restaurant, I noticed an SUV driving by, very slowly. Nick noticed it, too. He stopped and lifted his shirt up, revealing a hand gun in his waist band. The SUV sped off.

"Holy shit, Nick! You have a gun?"

"I always have a gun," he said, nonchalantly. "I have to, Abby."

"I didn't know you had one."

"I have one here and one on my leg. There's two more in the car."

"Holy shit," I shook my head.

"Are you okay with that?"

"I mean, if I wasn't, were you gonna get rid of them?"

"No," he said simply.

"Okay, then I guess I'm okay with it," I said, taking his hand.

We had a nice, late lunch at the diner and were on our way back to Nick's house. Nick was driving down the highway, smoothly changing lanes and passing cars. I noticed that he liked to drive fast.

"Baby?" he sounded a little concerned.

"Hmm?"

"I need you to sit up, honey," he said very cautiously.

"Nick?" I sat straight up.

"The car that was at the diner has been following us for the last 20 minutes."

Holy shit!

"What do you need me to do?" I said trying to keep my voice steady.

"Just stay there and be calm. I don't think they'll try anything on the open road like this, in the middle of the day. There's too many people around."

We picked up speed and Nick weaved in and out of traffic. I looked in the mirror and the car followed every move Nick made.

"Shit," Nick said, more to himself. Then, louder, "Babe, open the glove compartment and take out the black box."

I did as he asked and handed him the box. He opened it and pulled out a gun. I knew nothing about guns so I was immediately tense.

"Baby, look at me," I nervously looked at him. "I won't let them hurt you. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"Abby, I promise."

Breathe, stupid!

We drove faster while Nick watched the car behind us. The SUV was almost at 100 miles per hour, Nick overtaking the other cars on the road with ease. We were in the left lane, the car behind us about five cars back.

"Babe, I'm gonna get off the next exit, hang on."

And with those words, Nick swerved the SUV across three lanes of traffic and off the exit. The other car didn't have time to make the exit and we could see smoke from the brakes locking up, and the car swerving all over the road. Other cars on the highway slammed their brakes and we could see swerving and hear horns blaring.

I finally remembered to breathe, almost gasping for air.

"Woo," Nick yelled. "Fuck with me? Fuck yeah!"

"Oh my God, Nick! Did that just happen? Who was that?"

"Baby, it's Merritt's people. I don't know what they wanted but I'm not taking any chances."

I was shaking. Once again, I was thrust in a dangerous situation that I had no control over.

Nick noticed I was shaking, "Baby, you're okay. I told you I wouldn't let them hurt you."

"Nick, I want to go home," I was on the verge of tears, feeling like a panic attack was coming on.

"All right, honey. We're going home."

"No, Nick. I want to go back to Boston. I can't do this. I'm not strong enough. I'm so scared."

"Abby, I'm here. I'll take care of you."

"Nick, you're putting yourself in more danger by just having me here. Just let me go," I whispered.

Nick took a deep breath, "I don't want you to go, Abby. Please. We have that meeting with Merritt tomorrow. I promise you, thing will be different after that. Please don't leave."

"I have all these feelings for you that I wasn't supposed to have. Then, because of this situation, I was almost killed and now we're together but I'm not doing the job. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel or what I'm supposed to be doing anymore. I'm so confused, but, more than that, Nick, I'm scared. I never know what's gonna happen next. I hate that feeling that, if I walk outside, someone will be there with a gun. Or, if I ride somewhere with you, someone is gonna come after us."

"Abby, it's gonna change."

"I don't know if I can do it."

"Baby, it's one more night. They won't be able to find us at the cabin. If tomorrow doesn't go the way I'm pretty sure it's gonna go, I'll drive you to the airport from the meeting. I...just can't think about losing you."

I took a deep breath and resigned myself. "I trust you, Nick. Please remember that."

He took my hand and kissed it. We finished the drive without incident and in silence.

Chapter 31

Once at the cabin, we went back inside and I decided I needed a nap.

"I need to be alone for a little while. I'm just going to lie down for an hour."

"Okay Abby. I have some business to take care of."

I turned and walked up the stairs to Nick's bedroom. Once inside, exhaustion hit me and I fell into bed without even changing my clothes.

I had terrible dreams during my nap. I dreamt that I was at the cabin with children who kept calling me "Mommy." We were outside and we could hear gunfire and bombs. We would see Nick at the windows, covered in blood and he would shout, "I'm okay, it's not my blood." Then a car would start driving down the driveway, at top speed, headed straight toward me and the children.

I woke up sweating, out of breath, and clinging to a pillow. I sat in the bedroom, trying to get my bearings, and I realized it was dark.

How long have I been asleep?

I slowly got out of bed and started to go downstairs. I could hear Nick on the phone.

"No." Pause. "Who the fuck was it, then?" Pause "Of course she's safe." Pause. "I'm not bringing her back out now, it's not safe." Long pause. "BECAUSE I LOVE HER." Pause. "We'll be at the meeting tomorrow. I'm shutting the phone off."

I heard the phone slam down on something and I scurried into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, stripped off my clothes, and got in. I sat down on the floor and just let the hot water wash over me. The water was starting to get cold when I decided to stand up and wash. I shut the water off and stepped out.

Nick was standing in the bathroom with a huge, soft towel. "Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," I walked into the towel.

He massaged the towel, drying me. "Did you sleep well?"

"I had a terrible dream."

"What was it?"

I looked into his eyes and shuddered. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay."

"I heard you on the phone."

Nick gulped, "You did?"

"Yes." I watched his reaction. Did you mean it?"

Nick looked into my eyes, pushed my hair back from my face. "Yes." My turn to gulp. "Abby, I love you."

"Oh Nick," I threw my arms around his neck. "I love you."

The towel dropped to the floor and Nick picked me up, while I wrapped my legs around his waist. All the while, we were kissing. Nick walked us to the bedroom and set me down on the bed. We made love for hours, only stopping when we were both physically exhausted.

The next day, we awoke in the late morning and made love again. We showered and made love in the shower. We finally got dressed and went to the kitchen to have lunch.

"Abby, you know we have that meeting with Merritt tonight?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Are you okay to go?"

"I don't want to go, but we have to."

"Baby," he pulled me close and kissed me. "I'll take care of you."

"Can I have a gun?"

Nick got very serious, "No! No way! You don't know how to shoot. It'll put you in more danger than not having one."

"Well, Nick, I'm kind of just a sitting duck out there. I can't drive. I can't shoot. I'm bringing nothing to the table."

"Babe, you're bringing _you_ to the table. You'll be a huge distraction for Merritt."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he said. "He wouldn't have come after us if he wasn't aware of what we're doing."

"Will he hurt us or you or me at the meeting?"

"No, we'll have bodyguards with us. Besides, this is supposed to be a peace keeping meeting."

"Oh," was all I could come up with.

"Babe, there are a lot of things that are changing after tonight. You won't believe it."

"I trust you," I said, kissing him long and hard.

That afternoon, we went for a walk behind the cabin. I didn't know there was a small lake just a short hike away. Luckily, we had packed a lunch, so we were able to have a picnic beside the lake.

"Is this all yours?" I asked, eating a sandwich.

"Yep, all mine," he said, between mouthfuls. "I bought it a couple of years ago."

"It's amazing here."

"I thought you were a city girl?"

I laughed, "I am, but I love it here, too. It's so quiet."

"Yeah, I love it. It's when there's noise that I get worried."

"I bet," I said, laughing again. "Wait a minute...."

"Yeah?"

"So, this is all yours?"

"Yeah?"

"And we're all alone here?"

Nick smiled, starting to crawl toward me, "Yeah."

I screamed and giggled as Nick started kissing me, backing me onto the blanket.

I didn't think it was possible to be this happy and this scared at the same time. But, the way I felt about Nick was making me feel giddy. And the situation with Merritt and the business had me terrified. Not just of Merritt, but what if the police started investigating? Nick would go to jail for a long time and I'd be alone again. That thought alone was terrifying.

Back at the cabin, we showered again and prepared for the meeting. Nick had asked me to wear something revealing, so I happily obliged. I was finally at a point where I didn't have any bruises showing, except for my leg, of course.

We made our way to Paul's home. Once inside the gates, I noticed a lot of cars in the driveway.

"Nick, what's going on?"

"It's part of the changes. We need the back up."

"I see."

"Just stay close to me."

I nodded, he parked, and we walked into Paul's massive house. There were several large men standing around and we were able to find Paul in the kitchen. He was dressed in a suit with no jacket.

"Abby and Nick, I'm so glad to see you," he said. "We're almost ready. Can I offer either of you a drink?"

I held Nick's arm and shook my head as Nick said, "No, thanks, man. Let's just get on with it."

"All right," Paul said. "Let's do this."

We followed Paul to his office. He handed Nick a holster and a gun. "I know you already have one."

"Yeah, I understand," Nick said.

Paul started to walk out and we followed, back down the stairs and to a waiting SUV. Paul walked to the passenger side of the SUV while Nick opened the door for me to climb into the driver's side, in the back seat. We rode most of the way in silence, Nick holding my hand on the left and Paul sitting to my right. A large bodyguard was driving. I didn't notice what happened to the other cars when we left.

Just after we pulled in front of The Winfield, Paul squeezed my knee and said, "You'll be just fine, Abby."

"Baby," Nick whispered, "Whatever happens, just stay close to me."

You bet your sweet ass, buddy!

Chapter 32

We walked right into the club, bypassing the long line of waiting customers. Once inside, we walked straight to the VIP section.

"Good evening, Paulie! Nick!" Merritt said, standing as we walked in. "And sweet, sweet Abigail. What a pleasant surprise," he kissed my hand.

So gross!

I nodded and smiled, ungraciously pulling my hand away.

"Please sit," Merritt said, returning to his seat and motioning for us to sit. "Can I offer you some champagne?"

"No, thank you," Paul said. "We're here to talk business."

"Of course."

I looked around and saw that there were 12 other men in the room. It looked like we were evenly matched, six to each side.

"Now, let's get down to it," Paul said. One of the men handed him a briefcase. "I'm going to make you an offer, it's a fair offer, and you're going to take it and leave Portland and never come back."

"Excuse me? Paulie, surely you've mispoken."

"No, I haven't. In this briefcase I have exactly one million dollars. You're going to take that and leave all of your businesses and leave Portland, by tonight."

"What is going to happen if I refuse?"

"That is where my friend, Nick, comes into play. Nick, please enlighten the man."

"Merritt," Nick was cold when he spoke. "We're going to kill you. We're going to kill all of your family and make you watch. Remember when you blew up that warehouse? My fiancée was inside and now she's gone. You're going to pay for that and for hurting Abby and for taking our business."

"You must be insane," Merritt said.

"Oh, no," Nick continued. "Take a look downstairs."

Merritt stood to look over the rail to an empty club. The music was still playing but the only people inside were Paul's employees.

Merritt sat back in his seat, looking ashen. The music in the club stopped suddenly.

"You made a big mistake coming into MY city," Paul said, voice rising. "You're very lucky that I'm reasonable, otherwise you'd already have a bullet in your head. But I was reminded that you have an ex-wife and children and that I should take pity on you."

"Where is my family?" Merritt asked.

"They're in a safe place," Paul said. "You want to see them again, don't you?"

"Paulie, you know I want to see my family again."

"Especially the baby, what's his name?"

"Christopher."

"That's right, Christopher. He's a handsome boy, only two years old, right?"

"If you lay one finger on my son," Merritt was standing.

"MERRITT, SIT DOWN," he did as he was told and Paul continued. "Your men here have defected, Merritt. They helped me do this. Well, with the exception of three."

_The orderly, the first car driver, and the second car driver?_ I thought.

"It's your decision, Merritt," Nick said.

"I'll leave," Merritt said, looking defeated.

"See how easy that was?" Paul said, triumphant. "There's just a few things we need to take care of before we leave."

One of Paul's men pulled out a gun and shot three times, hitting Marquis. I watched the man who drove me home on my first visit to this club, fall to the floor, dead.

Merritt was shaking, his voice was high pitched, "What do I have to do?"

"Sign these papers," Paul pulled a lengthy contract out of the briefcase. "That transfers ownership of the club over to me for one dollar. That way, you don't even have to pay taxes. You can just take the million and disappear."

"What about my family?"

"We'll take you to your home, you can pack what you need to survive, and then, we'll take you to them. You have exactly four hours to finish packing your things."

"Where do I go?"

"I really don't care, Merritt. I would suggest the East Coast. You know my business goes down the West Coast and into the mid-West. You may not want to be spotted by one of my men."

Merritt hurriedly signed all the papers.

"I will have my lawyer complete everything tomorrow, Merritt. Officially, you are no longer a resident of Portland. Your four hours starts right now."

Merritt stood on shaky legs and was led from the room by two men.

"One more thing, Merritt." Everyone stopped and looked at Paul. "My name is Paul, not 'Paulie.' You call me 'Paulie' one more fucking time, I'll put a bullet between your eyes."

Merritt looked at the ground and followed the men from the room.

Paul stood up, "All right everyone, you all know what you're supposed to do. Nick, you take Abby home. I'll be calling you in just a while."

Nick nodded and took my arm to lead me out of the room. I was in a state of shock. I couldn't react to anything. I had tunnel vision. By the time I realized what was happening, I was already in an SUV with a bodyguard driving and Nick sitting beside me, holding my hand. He was looking at me with a concerned look on his face, but I didn't have the strength to speak. I was horrified by what happened in that VIP room. I had never seen anyone die in front of my eyes.

Chapter 33

Once we were returned to Paul's house, I was shuttled from his SUV to Nick's SUV and we were driving again.

I finally was able to snap out of it, "I want to go back to Boston."

"What?"

"You said everything would change tonight, but you didn't say what would happen. That was sick! I want to go home," I said, silent tears streaming down my face.

"Abby, it's the nature of the business. There won't be any more violence. Paul and I have never used any type of violence before."

"Nick, I just want to go home."

"What about what we said last night?"

"I can't, Nick. I can't live in fear like that. Please."

Nick pulled out his phone and made a call, "Yeah." Pause. "No, she wants to go home." Pause. "No, back to Boston." Pause. "Yeah." Pause. "No, we gotta pay her." Pause. "All right, 30 minutes."

Nick hung up and didn't say anything else. He made a quick U-turn and soon we were back at Paul's house.

"Paul will take you to the airport. I'll pack your things and meet you there."

I didn't say anything, opened the door, and got out of the car. Nick sped off, screeching his tires down the driveway. I went into Paul's house and into my old bedroom, walking straight past Paul.

In the bedroom, I stripped out of my clothes and got into the shower. I wanted to wash everything, my body, my eyes, my soul. I stood under the hot water until it ran out and I started to get cold.

After the shower, I dressed in some of the clothes I left behind in the room and sat on the bed, waiting. Sure enough, after about 20 minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Abby," Paul entered, "the car is waiting to take you to the airport."

"You're not coming?"

"I'm sorry, I have too much to do."

"Oh."

He handed me a bag and a boarding pass. "There's nine thousand dollars in there. You won't have a problem getting that through security. I'll have the rest of the money delivered to you. Your apartment is paid through the rest of the year, none of your things were removed. You're in first class, straight through to Boston."

"Thank you."

I took the bag and followed Paul down the stairs and outside to a waiting SUV. Paul opened the door and I got into the back seat. All I had were my purse and the money bag.

"Be good, Abby," he kissed my cheek, closed the door, and I was off.

The drive to the airport seemed to go by very quickly. I felt like I was still in a state of shock. The driver came to a stop and I got out. He drove off and I was alone. I looked over the boarding pass and made my way to the correct terminal.

I found the terminal, checked in and turned around to sit down. I saw Nick sitting in one of the seats, waiting for me with a bag.

"I packed some of the things you'd need immediately. The rest I'll have shipped tomorrow."

"Thank you."

Nick let out a long breath. "Abby, I don't want you to go."

I was fighting tears. "I can't stay, Nick."

Nick sighed. "You promised me you'd stay no matter what."

"Come with me to Boston."

"I can't, Abby."

A voice came over the loudspeaker, announcing that my flight was boarding for first class.

"I have to go, Nick."

"You never got to use your office."

"Nick, please..."

"Safe travels, Abby," he said, turning to walk away.

I boarded the plane and sat in my seat. It wasn't until we were in the air and the fasten seatbelt sign was shut off that I started crying. At first, it was soft, quiet tears but then I was sobbing, full body heaves. A flight attendant came to me and asked if I was okay. Luckily, it wasn't a full flight, so I wasn't really bothering anyone. Plus, the late hour put everyone either working or trying to sleep. I told the flight attendant that I was okay and tried to pull myself together. I decided that I would try to get some sleep.
Chapter 34

The flight to Boston was excruciating. I did not sleep, so I stared out the window at nothing. That's how I felt inside. When I landed at Logan airport in Boston, there was a car to pick me up. The driver had the address and drove me straight to my crappy apartment.

When I walked inside, I saw that the only thing that had changed was that all my plants had died. I set all of my bags in the living room and threw myself into the chair. Looking around the small, dank apartment made me miss Nick a lot. Both of his houses were castles compared to my dungeon.

I finally pulled myself to my feet and went into the bedroom. Inside, there was the bed Nick had bought at the charity auction with all new sheets and blankets. Near the only window was my desk and computer that he had set up for me in my office at his house. I threw myself onto the bed and cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up in the same place I had thrown myself. I checked my phone and there were 15 missed calls from my mother, five from my father, two from Paul, and 30 texts, mostly from my mother.

I called my mother first, then my father, and finally, Paul. All were pretty mad that I hadn't called when I landed in Boston, but Paul had contacted the driver and he assured them that I was delivered home, safe and sound. I had to promise my mother that I would visit New York as soon as I was settled. My father said he would be in Boston in a month and would like to see me. Of course I wanted to see him.

There was a knock at the door and I opened to find a UPS man with dozens of boxes to deliver. I opened the boxes to find my wardrobe that had been purchased by Paul and Nick. I didn't want to keep them, I was incredibly saddened to see it. However, the realist in me won out, and I kept the clothes because I didn't want to spend the money to replace the wardrobe. All the clothes were top of the line.

After a shower and a change of my clothes, I walked to the corner store to pick up some food, as I had nothing in the apartment.

"Abby?" A voice called from behind me.

I spun around to see David Miller, a guy I knew from the hospital after I tried to kill myself.

"David?"

"Oh, my God, it is you. How are you?"

He ran toward me and spun me around in a tight hug.

"I'm okay, how are you?"

"I'm pretty good, actually. I'm getting married in two weeks."

"Really? Wow, that's great, David! Congratulations! Who's the lucky guy?"

"Ooh," he gushed. "His name is Jameson. We met at the therapist, can you believe that? The doctor sees us now as a couple," he laughed.

"Wow! Do you still see Dr. Wendell?"

"Yep, every other week."

"I should make an appointment," I said absently

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you around town in ages?"

"I went out to Portland to spend the summer with my Godfather."

"Wow! How was that?"

"Well, I went out thinking I would find a job and build a life. Instead, I got into a terrible car accident and had my heart broken."

"I noticed you had a cane. I thought it was something to do with fashion. Never know with you Breeders."

"A cane for fashion? David, you're a trip."

"Let's have coffee! We have to catch up and you have to meet Jameson."

"Can we meet in like an hour? I wanna take my groceries home and put them away."

"Okay, an hour, at Café Lulu. Give me your phone number. You're not ditching me."

We exchanged numbers and I walked back to my apartment. After I had put away my groceries, I had about 10 minutes to kill before I had to go back to meet David. I checked my email, saw nothing of importance, and left to meet my friend.

"Abby!" David screeched from the sidewalk as he entered the Café. "You came!"

"You didn't give me much choice," I said, standing to greet them.

"That's true. Abby, darling, this is the love of my life, Jameson Fowler. This is _the_ Abby that I've talked about for months."

" _The_ Abby! I'm so happy to meet you," Jameson said, hugging me fiercely. "This one has told me so much about you!"

"I'm afraid I can't say the same, I've been sort of out of the loop for a while. I just got back to Boston yesterday."

I told them the condensed version of my adventure in Portland, leaving out anything about assaults or rapes or murder or anything else illegal. I also gave them the short, short version of how Nick broke my heart and I was still grieving that loss. They told me about how they would pass each other in the sitting area of Dr. Wendell's office until Jameson waited until after David's appointment one day and they went on their first date.

"Gosh, I feel so out of everything," I said. "How long have you been together?"

"Nine months," they answered together, laughing.

"You both seem so much in love."

They looked into each other's eyes and I could tell that they were both, truly happy.

"We are, Abby," David said.

I saw Jameson elbow David and motion with his head and eyes.

"Oh, my God," David said. "Abby, you _must_ come to the wedding."

"Oh, David. I don't know. I just got back, I don't know. I don't have a way to get there."

"Nonsense, get a car service," David said, flippantly.

"What makes you think I can afford that?"

"Well, you're wearing designer clothes and carrying a designer hand bag. So, I'm thinking you may have a little something-something hidden away."

"I don't have a date. And I'm just not sure I'm ready, after Nick..."

David leaned in close, lowering his voice, "Abigail Moss, I know for a fact that the reason you were in the hospital was because you fell apart after a brutal break up. You're not gonna lock yourself up in your shit-hole apartment and shut off your life because some jackass broke your heart."

"David, I..."

"I'm not finished! You are one of the most beautiful, smartest, sexiest women I know. You have the biggest heart and you'd do anything for anyone you care about. Don't let some piece of shit _man_ , who, apparently, doesn't have a bit of sense, ruin your life. You need to get up and get out. If I were a single man, I'd be dragging you out to clubs and making out with you to make the boys jealous."

I laughed, "I know, David. I'll go, okay."

"Hooray!" David clapped.

"Here's the invite and all the info you'll need," Jameson said, pulling an invitation from his bag. "You can open it and give me back the RSVP card right now."

I did what he told me, not wanting to get another lecture. Now I would have to go, no matter what. In a way, I was pretty excited to go. There would be nothing more extravagant than a big, gay wedding on Cape Cod.

Chapter 35

The next two weeks passed with nothing of note. Mostly I stayed in my apartment. I went out a couple of times to find a dress to wear to the wedding. The invitation said that women must wear either red or black. I was able to find a strapless, red sequined dress and black, strappy heels.

The day before the wedding, I had arranged for a car service to take me to the Cape and I had a room for the next two nights. I even had an appointment at a spa the day of the wedding to have my hair and make-up done.

The stylist had pinned part of my hair up, letting loose curls fall around my face and down my back. I had the smoky eye look for my make-up, with bright, red lipstick. I had never dared to wear anything so extravagant.

The wedding was amazing. I cried when David and Jameson exchanged vows. The reception was one of the best parties I had ever been to. There was a lot of dancing and a lot of drinking. I saw so much love in David and Jameson that, when I left the party, I was smiling from ear-to-ear.

At the hotel, I wandered around, the lobby, still floating on cloud-9 when I heard a familiar voice.

"As I live and breathe, if it isn't the lovely Abigail."

No.

I turned and came face-to-face with Merritt.

"Aren't you going to say 'hello'?"

"No, I don't have to be nice to you anymore," I said, trying to remain calm.

"Oh, Abigail, I think it's in your best interest to be nice to me," he said, reaching for my arm.

I dashed to the open elevator and pressed all the buttons, hoping to reach my room before I saw him again. I knew there was no way I would be able to stay in this hotel tonight.

"Don't think I forgot that you live in Boston. And don't think it's a coincidence that I'm here tonight," he called after me.

In my room, I tore my dress off and threw on a pair of sweat pants, a tee shirt, and a baseball cap. I threw everything in my room into my suitcase and called for a car service. I waited in my room for the driver to call and I dashed out of the hotel the minute he arrived.

I gave the driver directions and finally started to calm down when the car was a safe distance away from the lights of the town. I tried to call Paul, to let him know that I'd run into Merritt, but he didn't answer. I got the same response from Nick's phone. I sent both of them a quick text.

"CALL BACK ASAP. NEED HELP."

The driver dropped me at my apartment and I ran inside, still worried that Merritt was close by. Upstairs, safely inside, I locked the six locks on the door and pushed a table in front of the door. Once again I tried to call Paul and Nick, still no answer on either line. I sat in almost complete darkness, watching out the window that faced the street, waiting for Merritt's car to show up. The sun had come up and I could barely hold my eyes open, so I gave up my vigil and made my way to my bed.

What is that sound?

I couldn't open my eyes or move my arms or legs.

What the fuck? Where am I?

I tried to move my body in any way, but to no avail. I forced my eyes open and found myself in a darkened room. There was no light and no sound. My hands and feet were tied, I think, but I couldn't make them move. My mouth was taped shut. I tried to scream, but the sound was muffled.

There was a sound, movement outside the door. I could see shadows under the door.

I found the door!

The door swung open and Merritt came in. He didn't look the same as he did any of the times I'd seen him. He was finally wearing clothes that seemed to fit. His hair had been cut, it looked like he'd had a facial, and some of his acne had cleared up. He almost looked handsome.

Vomit!

"Oh, dear, sweet Abigail. I'm happy to see you waking up. As you've probably guessed, we had to drug you to get you here. I 'm terribly sorry about that."

I tried to say something to him, but it was muffled by the tape over my mouth.

"Darling, please, there'll be enough time for begging soon. Save your energy."

A shiver ran through my body.

"The good news is, Paul and Nick are on their way. Your texts were enough to get them here. So, thank you for that."

Again I tried to speak.

"Abigail, you've really gotten yourself into a terrible predicament, haven't you? I'll tell you what, you help me kill Nick and Paul and I'll take you with me when I leave. Whaddya think?"

I tried to yell every obscenity at him. I was crying.

Merritt laughed, "You know, I thought you'd say something foolish. I'm glad I didn't take the tape off your mouth. Are you in any pain, dear?"

I nodded, I couldn't lie. My leg injury was just throbbing.

"Let me find out if I can give you anything for the pain. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He even gave me a little wave as he walked out.

Okay, figure out where you are!

I knew I was lying on the floor, but I was on a mattress. It was cool in the room. I could hear nothing. I could be anywhere. It was mid fall on the East coast, so it starts getting cold. I had no idea about what happens in Portland. Then again, I could just be somewhere with air conditioning. I started to cry. I was certain that I was going to die.

At some point, I must've fallen asleep because I woke up and the room was a little brighter, but still dark. I assumed it was day time. I was finally able to move my arms and legs, but they were bound with something. My whole body hurt from the position I had been forced to lay in for so long. I was able to wriggle around to make myself a little more comfortable, but my arms were bound behind my back, so it was still painful. My throat was on fire, I needed water. I worked my jaw up and down, trying to move the tape over my mouth, but it did little to nothing.

I started to cry again. I guessed that my sniveling brought attention to me because I saw movement outside the door and it opened again. The light from the door way blinded me.

"Good morning, Abby," Dmitry said, sitting in a chair. "How are you feeling today?"

I mumbled, reminding him my mouth was taped.

He smiled and walked over, taking the tape off my mouth.

"I need water," I begged, my voice hoarse.

"Of course," he said, sitting in the chair.

"I'm in a lot of pain."

"It's almost over, Abby." He stood and walked out of the room. "I'll be right back with some water. Don't move," he laughed.

What did that mean? "It's almost over?" I'm so scared.

I waited just a few minutes and he returned with a bottle of water, a straw, and Merritt.

"Dearest Abigail, you're awake again." I nodded. "Dmitry says you're in a lot of pain?" I nodded again, tears forming in my eyes. "I have some mild pain killers, but you'll have to give me something in return." I recoiled in terror. Both men laughed. "You are such a foolish girl. Untie her hands and give her the water."

Dmitry untied my hands. I slowly worked my arms to the normal position and took the water he handed me. I tried to drink it slowly, but my thirst took over and I finished the bottle. Dmitry quickly stepped out and brought two more bottles of water back. I opened my second bottle and drained about half of it. All the while, Merritt just watched me.

"Do you feel any better, Abigail?" I nodded. "Good, now for my favor. You want something for the pain, don't you?"

"Please," I begged.

"I bet that leg hurts," he said, cruelly. "I'm going to call Nick, you need to read this card exactly. Can you do that?"

I nodded.

Dmitry handed me a phone and it immediately started ringing.

"Yeah?" Nick's voice.

"Nick?" I whimpered.

"Abby! Where are you? What have they done?" he sounded panicked.

"Nick," I cried.

"Are you okay? Please, God."

"I'm okay," I was reading from the card. "They haven't hurt me, yet," my voice caught. "Do you have what they've asked for?"

"Yes."

"Good, bring it to the address they'll text you. You have one hour and then they'll start to hurt me." I whimpered. "Oh, Nick."

Dmitry snatched the phone away from me. "She's alive, now do as you're told."

He disconnected the call and thrust the phone in his pocket.

"Very good, Abigail," Merritt clapped his hands. "You can have these now."

He handed me two pills, I wasn't sure what they were, but I just wanted the pain to stop. I swallowed the pills and the remainder of my second bottle of water.

"You want me to tie her hands back up?" Dmitry asked.

"That won't be necessary, we'll be on the move in just a few minutes. Get her cleaned up and change her clothes."

Dmitry stepped out of the room again, leaving me alone with Merritt. He stared at me, lecherously. I felt my stomach turn.

"Abigail, I'm going to untie your legs. I want you to stand up and take all of you clothes off."

I felt tears in my eyes again. He cut the tape around my legs and sat in Dmitry's chair. I slowly moved my legs, making sure I could move. I slowly and painfully rose to my feet and started to take my clothes off. Tears were streaming down my face at this point. I was facing away from Merritt as I removed my bra.

"Turn around," he commanded.

I turned back around and dropped my bra to the floor. I lowered my sweat pants and stood, facing Merritt.

"I said take all of your clothes off."

I pushed my panties off and stepped out of them. Merritt stood and walked toward me. The look on his face made me want to run and hide. He circled me, running his finger over my bare skin on my arms, back, and above my breasts. I tried to cover up with my arms, but he pushed them to my sides. He leaned into me, smelling my neck and then running his tongue over my neck, down my chest, and toward my breast.

He pulled back, smiling. "Mmmm, Abigail. You taste as good as I imagined. We don't have time for me to finish. However, we _will_ be finishing."

"You're no better than Ben."

Merritt swung back and punched me in the face, with a closed fist. I flew back onto the mattress, pain stinging my face where he had punched me. He flew after me, pulling me to my feet by my hair.

"You listen to me, you little bitch," he spat at me. "I can kill you right now. I don't need you. You're just baggage that I'm transporting. It'd be a whole lot fucking easier without your dead weight dragging us down. If that's what you want, we can do it right now."

"No, please," I begged. I could taste blood.

"You'd better watch your fucking mouth, then."

He let go of my hair and shoved me backward. I stumbled a bit, but did not fall again. The pain in my leg was almost unbearable. It was not wrapped in the bandage, which was part of what kept the pain at bay.

Dmitry came back in with a white dress. "Put that on," he said, thrusting the dress at me.

Dmitry didn't look at me but Merritt watched me intently as I pulled the dress over my head. There was no bra and no panties. The dress was a white, billowy, sun dress style. It almost looked like a wedding dress.

"Much better," Merritt said. "Follow me, Abigail."

Both men turned to walk from the room, I limped along behind them, very slowly.

"Come on, Abby," Dmitry said, turning around, annoyed.

"It's hard for me to walk without my cane. I haven't had any of the physical therapy, yet."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Dmitry said.

"Go get her the cane," Merritt said.

Dmitry disappeared again and returned with my cane. I followed them along a series of hallways until we were in a parking lot. There were six black SUV's with men standing around.

"Gentlemen," Merritt announced, getting the attention of the men. "It is time."

Chapter 36

I noticed movement at one of the first SUV's and saw Paul walk around from the opposite side.

He was talking on a cell phone, "Yeah, man, we'll get her back." Pause. "I'll be there in 20 minutes." Pause. "Yeah, I got it." He disconnected the call and put his phone in his pocket.

I felt like I was punched in the stomach. Paul was betraying him. Nick was right, he couldn't trust Paul. I felt tears streaming down my face again. Dmitry pushed me into an SUV with Merritt and two other men. I noticed there were a lot of guns.

Dmitry drove the SUV out of the parking lot and through a city I didn't recognize. We drove for about 20 minutes, toward a pier on an ocean or lake. I had no idea. As we drove closer to the water, I saw another black SUV and Nick standing beside it.

Merritt's SUV's parked opposite Nick and men started to get out. Merritt told me to sit inside and don't move.

"Where's Abby?" I heard Nick yell.

"She's safe, Nick. Where's the money?" Merritt called.

"Right here," Nick was holding a brief case. "Show me Abby."

Dmitry opened the door and violently pulled me out, almost pushing me to the ground. I got back to my feet slowly.

"Abby, did they hurt you?"

"I'm okay, Nick. Paul is..."

Merritt slapped me across the face, throwing me into the side of the SUV. "That's enough," he said.

"Paul is right here," Paul walked from behind one of the SUV's. "Nick," he gave an evil smile.

"I knew you were a two faced fuck, Paul," Nick spat.

"I go where the money is, Nick. You've known that since day one."

"Oh yeah, I figured that would happen."

"It's too bad that you didn't prepare for it fast enough," Paul laughed, joining Merritt and Dmitry. "Now I get to kill you and get rid of this stupid, little bitch. The same way I killed her Aunt."

"Oh my God," I fell to my knees. "How?"

"It wasn't hard, Abby. She was drinking herself to death anyway. I just made it happen quicker," Paul laughed.

"Get up," Dmitry pulled me to my feet, he made a point of looking into my eyes, almost motioning for me to look around.

I glanced around and noticed that Nick wasn't alone. There were people hidden in the darkness, none of Merritt's men had noticed them yet.

"Send Abby over here, you don't have to hurt her," Nick said.

"She knows too much, you idiot," Paul shouted. "You were such a fool, telling her everything." I felt like I was going to vomit. "You had one thing to do and you couldn't even handle doing that right. I should've had them kill you when they shot you the first time. Now I can just take care of two birds with one stone."

At that, I lost control. I lifted my cane into the air and swung it, hard, connecting with Paul's head with a sickening thud. He fell to the ground, hard. All hell broke loose. There was shooting from the darkness. I saw several of Merritt's men fall. I couldn't see Nick, though. I was standing, in the open, by myself.

"Nick!" I screamed.

Merritt came from nowhere and grabbed me by the hair, dragging me away.

"We're gonna finish what we started, my dear," he said through clenched teeth.

He dragged me to one of the SUV's. I noticed that tires were shot out on most of the vehicles. He threw me against the side while he went through the pockets of one of the dead men on the ground. I took the opportunity to kick him in the kidney, as hard as I could. He screamed with pain and rolled to his side on the ground.

"Bitch," he screamed as he pulled himself back up.

He grabbed my bad leg, jerking me to the ground, and punched me in the leg repeatedly. I screamed in agony, trying twist away from his grip. There was gunfire all around us, I was even praying for one of the bullets to hit me, to stop the pain.

I felt like the world was going dark when the punches finally stopped. I looked to see Nick had pulled Merritt away from me and they were fighting. When I first met Nick, I thought he was skinny and small. He had Merritt pinned to the ground and was pounding, trying to maintain the upper hand.

Dmitry was staggering toward Nick and Merritt, he had been shot in the arm and was bleeding.

"Nick!" I screamed, pointing toward Dmitry.

That split second loss of focus was enough for Merritt to pull away from Nick. He pulled a gun from his jacket and aimed it at me. Dmitry shot Merritt in the shoulder. Merritt got two shots off; one that punctured the tire of the SUV I was leaning against, inches from my head. The other hit Dmitry, sending him to the ground.

I screamed and couldn't stop screaming. Merritt was bleeding profusely, lying on the ground. Nick pulled himself up and pulled a gun from his jacket.

"You thought you were something, coming to _my_ town, fucking with _my_ life," Nick kicked him in the stomach, making Merritt scream. "Abby was innocent, but I'm sure you knew that, after talking to Paul. You could've left her alone and we could've settled this back in Portland. You really fucked up, Merritt."

Nick pointed his gun at Merritt. The shot that killed Merritt came from behind him, not from Nick's gun. Paul limped forward, his head bleeding.

"Well, it ends here, Nick," Paul said. "I told you a long time ago that I go where the money is, so, here I am."

"You son of a bitch," Nick was seething with anger. "You had more than anyone could possibly want. But that wasn't good enough. Where is your family, Paul?"

"Who the fuck cares? They left me months ago. Good riddance, I say."

I was appalled. I loved his family. I hoped they were safe.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dmitry slowly rising to his feet.

"If you would've just done what you were told, we wouldn't be here right now," Paul said.

"What's that? Make Abby fuck Merritt and then kill them both? What a fucked up plan, Paul."

Dmitry raised his gun to shoot Paul, but Paul saw him and shot him again. Dmitry flew back against the SUV, losing his gun, and falling to the ground. Nick took that opportunity to throw himself against Paul, punching him in the jaw. Both men were on the ground, wrestling each other, trying to get the upper hand. I scrambled against the SUV, looking for Dmitry's lost gun.

I could hear punches from both connect, both men groaning in pain. They were standing again, I could see Paul had lost his gun, but he was able to keep Nick's hand away so he could not fire his.

I found Dmitry's gun under the SUV. I pulled it out and studied it. I had no idea how to shoot. I thought about how they always say to do it in the movies. I aimed it at Paul, squeezed the trigger and shot.

Both men froze. I stared, hoping I had hit the right man. Finally, Nick released his grip on Paul and watched him sink to the ground. Paul was dead.

"Nick, we gotta get outta here," I heard a voice call from the darkness. It was Diego.

"Abby!" Nick dashed over to me, kneeling in front of me. "Baby, are you okay?"

I stared at him, unable to form words.

"Nick," Dmitry was stirring. "We gotta go."

"Told you the bulletproof vest was a good idea, man," Nick said, helping Dmitry to his feet, clapping him on the back.

"Pick her up. We gotta get out of here," Dmitry said.

Nick scooped me up and ran to a waiting SUV. Diego was driving, Bill in the front seat. Dmitry was sitting in the back. I was on Nick's lap.

"Abby, are you okay?" Nick asked. "What did he do to you?"

"Did she get shot?" I heard Bill ask.

"No, Merritt was punching her in her injured leg," Nick said. "We gotta get to the Doc, fast."

Diego pushed the accelerator, shooting the SUV forward. He expertly maneuvered the vehicle through the now rainy streets. There was chatter amongst the men, it seemed like they were taking a tally to make sure they got everyone who needed to be taken out.

"What city are we in?" I asked.

"Huh? Abby! What is it, baby?"

"What city are we in?"

"Boston. You never left Boston."

"Okay."

"Did Merritt hurt you?"

"He licked me," I shivered at the memory. "He hurt my leg again."

Nick maneuvered my leg so that it was across the seats, almost on Dmitry's lap. The bruising was frightening to see. It was almost black with blood pooling just beneath the surface. There was immense swelling and it hurt just to touch it.

"Jesus," Nick whispered, closing his eyes and leaning his head on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Abby."

That was the last thing I remembered.

Chapter 37

Shots fired, men falling to the ground, dead. Merritt's cold eyes as he punches my leg over and over again. I was screaming, I couldn't escape!

I sat up, terrified. I looked around at the concerned faces looking at me. Nick, Dmitry, Diego, and Bill were on the right side of the bed. My Mom and Dad were on the left.

"Oh, my, Abby, you've come back to us!" Mom exclaimed.

"You were screaming, sweetheart," Dad said. "What happened?"

"I was having a nightmare. Oh, God."

"What was it?" Mom asked.

"I don't remember," I lied. "I just remember I was so scared!"

"You're here now," Mom said. "You're safe."

Nick grasped my hand and looked into my eyes. "You're safe."

I lay back onto my pillows, my entire body hurt. I wanted to sleep for 100 years.

"Wait!" I said, sitting back up. "Where am I now?"

"New York," Dmitry said.

"You drove me five hours?"

"No, we drove you an hour and then got onto a helicopter," Nick said.

"Nick told us what happened, what Paul did," Dad said, bitterly. "I always knew he was a bad man."

The door to the room came open and Dr. Rhodes walked in.

"We meet again, Abby," she said, smiling. "I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Melissa? Why are you here?"

"She's my wife," Dmitry smiled.

"What the fuck?" I said.

"Abigail!" Mom said, sternly. "Language!"

"Sorry, Mom. What is happening? I'm so confused."

"We'll talk about it, Abby. We have time," Nick said.

"Unfortunately, Abby, he's right," Dr. Rhodes said. "You're gonna be in the hospital for a while. We're gonna have to do surgery on your leg. The beating you took detached the muscle completely. We'll have to reattach it and you'll be unable to walk for quite a while."

"Oh, my God," I felt deflated and threw myself back onto the pillows, pouting.

"The question is, do you want to have the surgery here, in New York? Or, do you want to fly back to Portland and do it there?"

I didn't know what to do. I looked at Nick, he was pleading with me. My parents were also pleading with me.

"How much time do I have?"

"About two hours. We need to start ASAP."

All the feelings I had for Nick when I left Portland the first time were still there. I loved him. I felt like, through my entire ordeal, he was the only one who was honest with me. As honest as he could be. He tried to protect me as much as possible.

"Abby, Nick has offered for us to fly out with you, if you choose to go to Portland. He said he has a house in Portland that we can stay at while you recover," Dad said.

I looked at Nick, "Portland it is, then."

We returned to Portland, the whole lot of us; my mother and father, Nick, Diego, Bill, Dmitry and I. I was immediately taken to the hospital by Dr. Rhodes and was put into surgery. The next few days blended together for me. I was in a lot of pain, so Dr. Rhodes kept me pretty medicated. People came in and out but I couldn't remember what was said or who came to visit.

After about eight days, I finally started feeling human again. I didn't like the human I was, though. I was dragged to physical therapy where I cried and cursed at my therapists. I fought them every chance I got.

"Abby, what's wrong with you?" Nick asked one day.

"Nick, I don't think I want to be here anymore," I said, fighting tears.

"Here, like in the hospital?" he asked, confused.

"No, here, like in Portland," I said.

"What do you mean?"

"We just went through something really intense. People died because of us, Nick. I need time to sort this out."

"What are you talking about? Sort what out?"

"I don't know, Nick. I'm so confused right now. Just a few weeks ago I left and went back to Boston. I was ready to say good bye to you forever. Now, here I am, right back where everything bad started. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Abby, where is this coming from?"

"I've been laying here for hours and hours with nothing to do but think, Nick. I mean, what are you gonna do now? Are you gonna continue with the business?"

"No, Abby, I'm not. I actually own some legitimate businesses now. We'll figure this out," Nick was sitting now.

"Nick," I whispered.

"Where are you gonna go, Abby? What are you gonna do?"

"I have an idea. There are things I need to do."

"I don't wanna lose you, Abby."

"Nick," I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Let me come with you. There's a lot of heat in Portland right now anyway. I'll take some time, we'll go do whatever it is you want to do,"

I put my head in my hands.

"Abbs," Nick took my hands, forcing me to look in his eyes. "I want to spend as much time with you as possible. Hell, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I sniveled, "Nick, I want to find out why Paul killed my Aunt Lynne. I want to find his wife and daughters. I don't even know if they're still alive. Remember when he said they left months ago and he didn't care where they were?"

"We'll find them, Abby. We'll find out about your Aunt, too."

"Really, Nick?"

"Absolutely, we'll start over."

The End

Stay tuned for the follow up _The Search_. Abby and Nick go on a hunt to find out why Paul killed Aunt Lynne. Abby will find out who is really on her side and who she can trust.
