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“Now, honey, the police—”
That did it. Nikki had hauled her bike up on its bent frame and jumped onto the seat. The rear wheel had rubbed against the fender, and she was stuck in third gear, but she hadn’t thought, just ridden, like the proverbial bat out of hell, as fast as her legs could pedal, all the way home.
“And that’s what happened,” she had admitted to her sister as she’d tried to balance on the edge of the tub.
Jan had rolled her eyes. “Big trouble, Nik. Big, big trouble.” She’d swabbed Nikki’s cuts with iodine and as Nikki sucked in her breath through teeth that felt looser than they had earlier in the day, Jan predicted, “Dad’s gonna kill you.”
He hadn’t. In fact he’d been downright kind as he’d sat on the foot of her bed, hands clasped between his knees, his suit rumpled from the drive home. “I’m just thankful you’re alive,” he’d said, his voice filled with reproach.
Nikki had wanted to burrow down beneath the covers of her twin bed and never come out. She’d let him down and she felt miserable. Tears had drizzled from her eyes and she’d rolled her lips inward and clamped down hard to keep from sobbing.
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson. I trusted you to be where you’d told me you’d be. I thought I could believe you.”
Nikki had blinked hard and swallowed that evergrowing lump in her throat. If only she could undo what had been done!
“But now…well, we’ll have to start over, Nicole. Trust isn’t just given out—it’s earned, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m so, so sorry.”
“So am I, sweetheart, but this time sorry isn’t good enough. You could’ve been killed. For the time being you’re not to see Terry unless it’s at school, and you’re grounded for…well, until I can trust you again.”
Her future had stretched out endlessly before her. She’d been certain she’d become an old maid before he believed her again. Oh, she’d wanted to die right then and there. Take me, Lord, I’m ready. I can’t stand the thought of being cooped up here until he trusts me again. He never will. Never, never, never!
God, that had been a long time ago. Nikki rubbed her arms and realized that Trent was star
ing at her. Waiting for her to respond. “I’m not going to lie about it,” she said, then realized how ridiculous her words sounded. “Well, I’m not going to lie anymore. I’ll just say that it didn’t work out, we rushed into things and that we’re separated.” Cringing inside, she heard “I told you so” being repeated to her over and over by her family and friends.
Pain darkened his gaze and he cleared his throat. “It would be best if we played along with the charade a little longer,” he said, measuring the words.
“Why?”
“Until this mess with Crowley is straightened out.”
A cold trickle of fear slid down her spine, but she hid it. “Why don’t you tell me all about the good senator? And since we didn’t go to Salvaje together, why were you down there? I can’t imagine that you spend your vacations in the tropics hoping for some woman to lose her memory so you can pounce and take advantage of her.”
His eyes flashed dangerously. He rubbed his chin and swore, as if he didn’t want to divulge anything to her. “It’s been rumored, but hushed up for the most part, that the senator’s into taking bribes. Nothing’s been proven, of course, and with public officials there’s always a lot of conjecture, and our boy Diamond Jim is as slippery as he is popular. Nothing can be pinned on him—he just seems to slide away from scandal.”
“What’s this got to do with you?”
One of his fists closed for a second and a wave of tension tightened every muscle in the back of his neck. “I know the senator. I have a bone to pick with him.”
“What bone?” she asked, surprised that he was opening up.
“It’s personal.”
“Don’t you think I’m involved, personally?”
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t cry if he went down in flames.”
“So you and I went down to the island independently.”
“That’s right. That’s why Rosa, the clerk, recognized you and didn’t know me.”
“And then what?” she said, watching as emotions, strong and angry, played across his face.
“We weren’t on the same flight. I’d followed Crowley earlier. You showed up a couple of days later and I recognized you and I thought you might be headed for trouble. I didn’t want to blow my cover, so I just kept my eye on you. I figured, from overhearing your conversation with Connie at the Observer that you’d be tracking down Diamond Jim as well.”
“So…you were following me.”
