Page 43 of Nick
A muted beep came from the laptop and Jesse did a fist bump high in the air. “Alex has Uncle Simon. They are on the roof, waiting for the helicopter. ETA in less than ten minutes.”
“Didn’t I tell you Alex would do her part perfectly? She’s got as much of a stake in this as us, and knows there can’t be any screw ups.”
“What do you get out of this?” Gracie blurted out the question that had been bothering her ever since she’d overheard Cassandra and Jesse’s conversation. “Taking me, I mean? You’re wrong about Nick caring about me. He hardly knows me. You’re talking about true love when the fact is Nick and I have had one coffee date together and it was totally unplanned. We talked. That’s it.”
Gracie blushed, remembering the kiss when she’d visited Nick at the Boudreau ranch. Truth be told, it had felt like the world tilted on its axis when his lips met hers. The attraction had been there from the start, seeing him in the hospital waiting room waiting to hear about Antonio. He’d intrigued her, bemused and befuddled her, like no one ever had. And when she’d gotten to know the real man beneath the rugged and distant façade, he’d bewitched her into caring.
“Aw, it’s so cute you didn’t realize he’s fallen for you. Like Romeo and Juliet, except out here in the sticks. Do you seriously think Nick Vincent would stick around this one-horse town if there wasn’t something here to draw him? And I’m not talking about his so-called foster family. Nobody who has been tossed aside like a piece of junk by their parents and sent to a home where all they want is the money the government sends them to keep you alive, would keep in touch with them. Not unless they have an agenda, which I’m sure Nick does. Revenge is sweet. I have the feeling Nicky’s feelings for those Boudreaus run far deeper than anybody realizes, and trust me, they aren’t all the warm and fuzzy type. Because Nick doesn’t have a familial bone in his body.”
“I guess you know all about Nick and his feelings. He’s a closed book for me. I guess I’m the fool for not seeing how things really are.” Gracie tossed the words out, hoping that Cassandra would buy them, though the taste of the lies on her tongue was bitter. Outside of his job, Nick had never once lied to her. She believed that with all her heart. She’d hoped there might be something growing between them, true, but uncertainty reared its ugly head, making her question everything she felt.
“There’s nothing about Nick Vincent I don’t know. I’ve studied him. Watched him.” Cassandra leaned in closer until she was almost nose to nose with Gracie. “With what he went through as a child, I’m surprised he’s sane. Nobody deserved to go through what he did, I’ll grant you that. He might be the dirty cop who paralyzed my uncle and put him in prison for life, but it’s hard not to feel a little sorry for him. If I’d endured half of what Nick did, I’d have stuck a gun in my mouth.”
Gracie winced at her words. She knew from the few times Nick let things slip that he’d had a horrible childhood, especially once he’d been pulled out of the Boudreau household. He’d disappeared without a trace shortly after that, though she knew Douglas and Ms. Patti had searched for him. Spent years trying to find him, only to hit roadblocks and dead ends.
“Cas, it’s time. Call Nick and let’s get this show on the road. I want to go home and roll in those piles of money we’re getting when the job is done.”
Money? This was about money?
Straightening, Cassandra walked over to the dresser and picked up her cell phone. “I’m with you, I’m ready to go home. Eight weeks in Texas is eight weeks too many. If I wanted to see nothing but cows and emptiness, I could have gone to visit Grandma. I want to get home and see my friends. Hit the shops. Get a new house on the water, big enough that Alex is jealous.”
“Make her burn that wig, too. It’s eerie when she wears it. I’m used to mousy Alexandra. Seeing her wearing it gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
Cassandra laughed. “I’m going to burn it myself. Either that, or sneak into her room and dye her hair red or something. Of course, she started the whole thing by buying that wig to look like me, and stealing my passport so she could go to Tokyo last year. She got away with it too. I didn’t know she’d used my passport until Uncle Simon told me. I think that’s what gave him the idea, to use us to help get his revenge on Nick. All the lovely money is the added bonus. And once he’s free, there will be more money for everyone.”
“Make the call. I’m going to text Alex, see if they’re on the helicopter.”
Gracie watched the interplay between the cousins, trying to commit to memory everything they said, especially about their uncle. He sounded like the mastermind behind the attempts on Nick’s life. She still remembered how terrified she’d been when she heard about the car bomb, how she’d rushed to the Big House to make sure he was okay.
When Cassandra turned her back, Gracie inched forward on the chair as much as she could, shifting her ankles beneath the rope, thinking if she slid her shoes off, she might be able to get her feet free. She wasn’t secured to the chair by her legs, and her arms—well, she’d work on one problem at a time.
Right now, she had one goal and that was getting free and staying alert, because she knew help had to be on the way. She had faith in her friends, the ones she’d made since moving to Shiloh Springs. They wouldn’t give up on her and she wasn’t about to give up on them.
And she believed in Nick. Knew in her heart, deep in her soul, that he would find a way to come for her. Even if it meant turning himself over to the people who wanted him dead.
Nick paced insidethe limited space of the sheriff’s office. While the others were in the conference room strategizing and waiting for Cassandra to call back, Nick had to escape the confines of the room. His breath caught in his chest thinking about Gracie in trouble. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was strong enough. No, he was afraid she would stand up to Cassandra and get hurt…or worse.
He knew next to nothing about Cassandra Bishop or Jesse Norville, other than the few facts Destiny had been able to scrounge up that morning. When Norville had been arrested, and even during the trial, none of his family had stepped forward to offer their support. And he’d been too involved with other ongoing cases to pay attention to Norville’s family. Rafe had Destiny gathering all the information she could on the three cousins, which knowing Destiny would be everything down to the brand of underwear Cassandra bought, but would it be in time?
This waiting was driving him mad, which was probably their intention. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t try to figure out their next move, because his every thought was about Gracie. The way her smile lit up her entire face with joy. Her beautiful brown eyes so filled with life and laughter. The way she faced the world head on, no longer afraid, ready to take a stand against anybody who tried to steal away the new life she’d built in Shiloh Springs.
When his phone rang, there was a quick exodus of everyone in the conference room into the hall. Nick stared at the screen, tension radiating through his body. He knew it was Cassandra, recognized the number. Destiny had already determined it was a burner phone, recently activated, and bought in Fort Worth seven weeks earlier.
He pressed the speaker button so everyone could hear and answer. “Hello.”
“Nick?”
“Gracie! Are you okay?”
“Listen carefully. We know you got a replacement rental car. You are to get into your car and drive to Austin. When you get to Austin, head south. Get onto I-35 South and keep driving. You’ll get a call with further instructions. You’re to come alone. Any deviation from these instructions and there will be consequences.”
Nick could hear the shaky tremble in her voice, and fury rose with each syllable she uttered. He knew her words were dictated by Cassandra and Jesse, because there’s no way Gracie was part of their plot. By the end of the day, they were going to pay.
“Gracie, baby, talk to me. I need to know you’re alright. Have they hurt you?”
He heard a loud sigh before a different voice came on. “Nicky, your sweetie is fine. For the moment. Follow instructions and she’ll stay that way.” The line went dead.
Turning to Rafe, he said, “You heard. I have to go.”
