Page 7 of Nikolai
She looked at him.Tall, broad, strong.She didn’t know him, but her aunt did.
Still.
Never get in a car with a strange manhad been drummed into her since she was a little girl.It was instinctive, though probably stupid in this case.He wouldn’t do anything to her.Probably.
He didn’t seem put out at her scrutiny.He just stood there, still and silent.She blew out a breath.“I came in a taxi and would appreciate a ride home, thank you.Sorry, I?—”
“You were calculating whether it would be safe to get in a car with me,” he said bluntly.
She bit her lips and said nothing.
“I understand completely, and I’d do the same in your shoes.I’d rather tear out my own throat than hurt you in any way, but you can’t know that.I imagine the deciding factor was that your aunt knows me.And that, if nothing else, would stop me from hurting you because there would be blowback.”
Parker hung her head.He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head.“I’m not saying this to shame you or anything.You’re quite right to be careful.It’s a bad world out there.You can’t be too careful.But if you’ve decided, we should go before traffic becomes impossible.Shall we say goodbye to your aunt?”
Parker nodded her head.
Caroline Munro didn’t have a protective attitude toward her.She hadn’t had a protective attitude toward her own stepdaughter, but she’d want to know Parker’s whereabouts in the aftermath of an earthquake.
“She’s over in the corner,” Nikolai said.He was taller than anyone on the terrace and was able to see her.
“No doubt directing the clean-up.”She smiled.Aunt Caroline was super organized.Inside of an hour no one would know there had been anything amiss on the enormous terrace.
Nikolai put a huge hand on her back and directed them toward where he said her aunt was.But Parker still didn’t see her.Caroline was fierce but small.Parker heard her voice before she saw her, ordering staff around.
Parker couldn’t help herself, she looked up at the big man next to her and saw him smiling and smiled back.
“Yep, that’s Aunt Caroline.I almost feel sorry for you, working for her.”
The smile turned lazy.“Oh, I’ll hold my own.”
He was at least six foot four and probably weighed two thirty, all muscle.And he had that Master of the Universe vibe going.Aunt Caroline was a firecracker, but yeah, he’d hold his own.
There was a huge amount of confusion on the terrace, people disoriented, scared or annoyed.Plus a massive clean-up.Nikolai managed to guide them across the enormous terrace without slipping on anything or bumping into anyone.He had his hands on her shoulders, and no one bumped into her and given the chaos, that was a miracle.Everyone seemed to automatically get out of their way, then coalesce behind them.
It was a gift.People somehow scrambled out of their way, and they managed to avoid food messes, until they were right on the edge of a vortex of activity, with Aunt Caroline smack in the center.
“Giovanni, over here!”called Aunt Caroline and Parker saw her, pointing at a man in waiter uniform, then pointing to a corner of the terrace where a tray full of hors d’oeuvres had fallen.The area was slick with olive oil.“Clean that up with detergent after you sweep, so no one will slip on the oil.The last thing we need is a lawsuit.”
The waiter nodded, heading for the corner with a huge broom and a big metal scoop.
Aunt Caroline looked up and saw them.She looked at Parker, at Nikolai, then back at Parker.Nikolai still had his hands on her shoulders and of course she saw that, too.
She walked up to them, nodding at Parker.“Hi, I guess you’ve got a ride home.”She glanced sharply up at Nikolai, index finger out and pointing at him.“And you—you’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Aunt Caroline said.It wasn’t a suggestion.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, voice devoid of inflection.A simple statement.I will get your honorary niece home safely.
Aunt Caroline’s shoulders dropped slightly, and Parker understood that, unexpectedly, for some reason, Aunt Caroline had been worried about her safety.
Aunt Caroline nodded.That was done, one thing ticked off her list.She had always been incredibly efficient.Aunt Caroline walked over to one of the officers, shook his hand and began speaking in earnest, having clearly forgotten all about them.
“Parker?”The big hands on her shoulders squeezed gently then dropped.“I think we should be going.We need to beat the traffic.”
Parker smiled up at him.“Yeah, you’re right.”
He took her elbow, very lightly, and guided them off the terrace, down the elevator, past offices down to the monumental entrance.Every step of the way there had been Marines standing guard, super alert, as if they’d just lived through a terrorist attack and not an earthquake.
At the bottom of the stairs, Nikolai held his elbow at an odd angle, and it took her a moment to realize he was offering his arm.It was curiously old-fashioned, but oddly reassuring, in a way.She slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow.The muscles of his arm were steel-hard and warm and solid.The earth had shaken, but he hadn’t.They walked across a small park and down to the Bay.His legs were much longer than hers, but he kept pace with her.
