Page 9 of Slow Burn

Three

Nikki was angry. And scared. Once upon a time Jake had held her entire heart in his hands. She had adored him. They had been friends forever, and then, just as she began to grow into her feelings for him in a very adult way, their fathers had ruined everything. Jake fled, and Nikki and her mom had fled, too.

But not in the same direction.

As they walked outside, Nikki barely felt the cold. At least not on her face, hands or feet. Her chest felt frozen from the inside out. How dare he blame her? Didn’t he know how many times she had cried herself to sleep, wondering again and again if she had made the right choice for her daughter? For the absent Jake...

Jake started the car but left it in Park. He reached for her wrist, not letting go even when she jerked backward. “I don’t want to fight with you, Nikki.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand with a mesmerizing stroke. “The past is the past. We can’t change any of it.”

In the dimly lit interior, his face was hard to read. “But your father is back,” she said quietly. “That’s why you’re here. In New Jersey, I mean. To see him?”

Jake shrugged, his posture and expression moody. “Joshua and I are being summoned to the prison tomorrow. But to be clear, I came back because Josh asked, not for my rat bastard of a father.”

His palpable misery twisted her heart and dissolved some of her animosity. She flipped her hand over and twined her fingers with his. “I’m sorry you have to see him. But maybe it will help. For closure, I mean.”

“He won’t answer our questions. We’ll never know why he did it or what happened to the money. I can tell you that right now. My father never let us boys talk back to him...ever. He was always king. Arrogant. Proud. The worst part is, he turned his back on our mother, and for that alone, I’ll never forgive him.”

Nikki cupped his cheek with her free hand, feeling the late-day stubble. “Forever is a long time. Bitterness and anger poison your soul. I want you to be happy, Jake.”

It was true. Despite everything that had happened, Nikki didn’t want Jake Lowell to suffer. She could have found him when she turned up pregnant after their night in Atlantic City. Possibly. And told him he was a father. But he had hurt her so badly once in her life, she had been reluctant to trust him with the truth. Instinctively, she had known he could hurt her again. And she knew it now.

Jake sucked in a sharp breath. Audible. Ragged. “You’re right. It’s time to take you home.” He released her, so she was no longer touching him.

Something shimmered in the air between them. Was it sexual chemistry that refused to die? Nostalgia, grief and hormones were a dangerous combination.

Nikki cleared her throat. “Sure,” she said.

Jake put the car in motion. Traffic was only now beginning to taper off as commuters found their way home. Nikki stared out the window, searching for answers. Was she wrong to keep Jake away from his daughter?

When he parked in front of her house, she bit her lip and stayed put. “I’ll have to think about it,” she said. “You and Emma. I need time. Please.”

“Okay.” His voice was quiet. “I don’t blame you for not telling me earlier. But I know now, and we’ll start from here.”

The following morning, after a sleepless night, Nikki drove to Falling Brook. The small community where she and her mother lived was about an hour’s drive away. Her mother was with Emma at the moment. Nikki’s shift at the diner didn’t start until eight tonight, and it was a short one. She felt the tiniest bit guilty about leaving her daughter. But this errand was important.

At ten to nine, she pulled up in front of Black Crescent headquarters. The building had been a source of conflict over the years for the way its modern architecture stuck out jarringly in the midst of Falling Brook’s mostly traditional landscape.

Nevertheless, it was an impressive structure.

Nikki had dressed in the same black pantsuit from last night. But she had exchanged the sexy stiletto heels for espadrilles, and her sleeveless blouse underneath the jacket was simple white cotton.

There would be two obstacles between her and her destination. The first was a young receptionist at the front desk.

Nikki gave the barely twentysomething kid a confident smile. “I have an appointment with Mr. Lowell at nine. Is it okay if I go on up?”

The smile faltered. “His assistant will have to okay you.”

“No worries. They’re expecting me.”

It was only partly a lie. She had called Joshua to tell him she needed fifteen minutes of his time. If he wasn’t in, his assistant would surely have listened to his messages. So either way, Nikki wouldn’t be a total surprise.

She climbed the stairs to the second floor. The executive assistant at the desk outside Joshua’s office was familiar. Nikki smiled. “Haley Shaw? You’re still here?”

Haley was only a couple of years older than Nikki. She had been working at Black Crescent as a college intern when Vernon and Nikki’s dad, Everett Reardon, had disappeared. Well, Nikki’s dad had tried to disappear. He’d fatally crashed his car into a tree while fleeing the police.

Nikki hadn’t been inside Black Crescent headquarters since she was a senior in high school. Nothing much had changed. Her father’s old office was at the opposite end of the hallway. She didn’t look in that direction. Her heart was already beating too rapidly. Being inside this building brought up painful memories.

Haley had a puzzled frown between her eyebrows. “I’m sorry, I—”

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