AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mikayla didn't even bother to shake her head at her friend. "We're ready," she assured him as she strode to the counter and picked up her purse, watching as Deirdre followed.
Within minutes Mikayla was in the Jeep and headed home, all too aware of the Harley following close behind her.
As she pulled into the driveway she inhaled deeply, collected her purse and the large leather briefcase she used to carry her sketchbooks and supplies.
"I'll go in first," Nik told her as they moved toward the door. "Stay behind me. Once we enter the house, remain in the foyer while I check everything out. I'll come back to the living room and get you if everything is clear. If I call back to you that it's not clear, then I want you to run hell-for-leather and call Jordan Malone. I programmed his number into your cell phone before we left the shop."
When exactly had he managed to do that?
The thought of anything happening to him or any threat directed at him because of her suddenly had her heart racing in dread. What would she do if by chance he were hurt?
If somehow whoever had shot at her the day before managed to harm Nik instead?
"And stop worrying," he ordered. That fierce, rasping statement couldn't be described as anything other than an order as he glanced over his shoulder and gave her a hard look before stepping onto the porch.
89
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," she muttered as he held his hand out for the keys.
"And don't bother arguing with me, either," he warned her as she handed them over. "I know what I'm doing, Mikayla."
She had only a glimpse of the lethal black handgun that he pulled from behind his back after he unlocked the door.
She did as he'd ordered, though. She stepped into the foyer, closed and locked the door behind her before resetting the alarm and waiting as he began going through the house.
Lights came on in each room. Living room, kitchen, and dining room. The half bath, the hall. She heard him going into each bedroom; then she heard the thud of his steps as he came up the basement stairs. Minutes later he was walking back into the living room, the gun no longer in sight.
"I hate this," she said as she tossed her purse and case on the nearby table and stalked to the kitchen. "It's ridiculous."
"The price you pay for being honest." His shoulders lifted in a shrug as he followed her. "You should have known there would be backlash when you reported what you saw, Mikayla."
Those pale, pale blue eyes watched her intently as she moved for the refrigerator and pulled an oven dish from inside. Sliding it into the oven, she set the heat and the time before shrugging her jacket off and glaring back at him.
She didn't bother answering.
"I need a shower. Dinner will be ready in an hour." She escaped as quickly as possible. He was getting ready to ask questions, she thought; she could see the intent in his eyes. Questions she didn't want to answer again. She had no desire to see the suspicion in his eyes as he asked her if she was certain she had seen what she knew she had seen. What she thought she had seen. Stepping beneath the water, Mikayla frowned at the thought. She was certain she had seen Maddix Nelson, wasn't she?
She closed her eyes as water washed over her face, and let the image of that day flash through her mind once again.
She was staring up, the dying rays of the sun striking the upper floors of the skeletal building. And Maddix stood there, staring down at her as Eddie Foreman fell to the ground, his chest soaked with blood.
Maddix. His features were distinctive. The personable lines of his face, the way he brushed his hair back, the strong line of his jaw, his lips held in a rigid line of fury as he saw her.
Like a photo, but blurry after time, she admitted.
Shaking her head, she hurried through her evening routine. When she finished, her long hair was halfway dry and falling down her back rather than in the braid she normally kept it in. Light cotton sweats and an overlarge T-shirt completed her evening attire.
Normally, this was relaxing time. Tonight, she had a feeling relaxation was going to be the least of what she had to look forward to.
Moving from her bedroom, she was met with the sight of Nik leaving the guest room. He'd showered as well. Damp hair was pulled back to his nape, exposing the strong, harsh features of his face, the pale icy blue of his eyes. 90
"Dinner should be ready."
She rarely went out of her way for dinner. She normally ate late, so she kept it simple, a nice casserole. Tonight chicken dumpling casserole was on the menu. She'd prepared extra and bought a loaf of freshly baked bread to go with it. She knew how much a man could eat. Her brothers had been proving it since they'd hit puberty.
Dinner was quiet. Thankfully. She needed time to unwind. The events of the past two days were beginning to eat at her. The harder she tried to forget that someone had actually tried to kill her, the sharper the memory became.
"What did you find out today?" she finally asked as she cleaned up the table and placed the few dishes in the sink for washing later.
