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By the time the ring ceremony came around, they were both wiping away tears as Smudge gave a little woof to remind them that he was there, and they laughed through their watery eyes.The dog was the ring bearer, proudly wearing the little black box with the two matching bands nestled within tied around his neck with a ribbon.Nico leaned down and untied the box.Plucking her ring out of the box, he slid it slowly onto her finger.The rose gold band was smooth and unadorned, just the way she wanted it.Nico had promised her an engagement ring, but they were yet to find the time to shop for one.
She plucked his equally plain platinum band from the proffered box and slid it on his ring finger, having to push a little harder to get it over the knuckle.It was the same band she’d planned to propose to him with back on their trip to the Tarkine.Their tastes in simple jewelry was one more thing they had in common.
“You may both now kiss if you wish,” the celebrant said.
If she wished?She’d never wished for a kiss so much in her whole life.This kiss was the sealing of a pact, the sealing of a new life together, a new family together, a dream come true.
He lowered his head and took her mouth, his lips warm and soft, placing one hand over her belly at the same time.Telling her without words how much he wanted both of them.Her, and this family they were about to create.Lacey was so glad that Nico hadn’t turned out anything like his father.That he’d rejected the urge to kill Serge, even when that was what his father had wanted.Even when perhaps that was what Serge deserved.Proving to himself and to her that he was a good, honorable man.He would make a great father, teach their son, or daughter, how to be honorable too.She couldn’t wait to start this new chapter of their lives together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
NICO STOOD UNDER the small marquee tucked in by the side of the rear stairs, staring at the wedding cake.He’d needed a few moments alone and found himself in this corner contemplating the three-tiered construction and taking a few deep breaths.
It’d been one hell of a day.A good day.A great day.A euphoric day.But one hell of a day, nonetheless.
The sun had set and the fairy lights had come into their own, lighting the backyard with a soft, warm glow.Now that the ceremony was over, people mingled and chatted with a glass of champagne in their hands while they waited for the caterers to tell them the food was ready.The large shed where he normally parked his Jeep, and where Dotti 2.0 also now resided, had been transformed into a rustic dining hall, with tables spread with white tablecloths, sparkling silver cutlery, table centerpieces made from the green branches from his orchard, and more fairy lights strung across the roof.Nico could see the caterers scurrying to and fro up the driveway, carrying large covered trays, so dinner wouldn’t be too far away.
It was the first chance he’d really taken to look closely at the cake and as he leaned forward, he noticed the figurine placed in pride of place on top.Nico had no idea where Lacey had found the cake topper, but it was hilarious.It was a bride and groom, but they were back to back and both holding guns in a ready stance.Amazing.He had a sneaking suspicion that Lacey had help from Gaëlle.His younger sister had dived in headfirst when she’d heard there was going to be a rushed wedding, arriving nearly a week ago to help with all the organization.She was a whiz at these sorts of things and Lacey had mentioned more than once how glad she was to have her help.Gaëlle had retorted that she’d do anything to make sure Nico made her his wife, because then he’d be happy for the rest of his life.
An idiotic smile rose on Nico’s face.Lacey was his wife now.They were married.All that soul searching and contemplation about whether he should ask her, and it’d been so much easier than he’d ever imagined.Because he wanted to be with Lacey for the rest of eternity, and everything else was a minor detail.
He knew without even really looking that she was over by the arbor, chatting to Linc and Tyrell, her arms waving animatedly as she conveyed some story or other to them.It was funny how he knew where she was at any given time, almost like she had a gravitational force and he was a satellite forever trapped in her atmosphere.
He’d asked her to marry him while they’d been sitting on the grimy floor of a run-down cottage.Not the romantic setting he’d had in mind at all.And he hadn’t really asked, he’d told her in no uncertain terms.But the sentiment had been the same.Stronger perhaps than if they’d been sitting on the beach watching the sunset and sipping champagne.Stronger because there was no more powerful motivation than a near-death experience.He could’ve so easily lost her that night.And he couldn’t let that happen without telling her how he felt.How he wanted to make her his wife, so he would never lose her again.
And now he had the birth of his son to look forward to—there was no doubt in his mind that their first child was going to be a boy.Maybe they could try for a little girl next time.Or the time after that.What was the kid going to look like?Would he take after Lacey, all flowing blonde locks and fiery stubbornness?Or would he be dark haired and a tad moody, like his father?That was half the fun though, wasn’t it?The anticipation of seeing their baby for the first time.It was still too early for most people to even notice Lacey was pregnant.But he could see the changes already happening in her body.The lovely ripeness of her breasts, the slight swelling of her belly that she refused to believe was there.Her skin had taken on an extra special luminescence, her eyes a distinctive sparkle.She was still prone to morning sickness—one of the reasons they’d planned an evening wedding—but that didn’t dampen her love of the baby growing inside.Lacey was going to make an awesome mum.He needed to remind her of that most days, however, because she was terrified her own mother’s narcissistic tendencies would suddenly manifest in her once she had the child.That was never going to happen; Lacey was a completely different person to Elora and had made a concerted effort to be the opposite of selfish and self-centered.
Having Elora as a mother-in-law was going to be a challenge.He raised his eyes and searched her out, finally locating her over by the orchard fence talking to his own mother and Gaëlle.Catarina had a smile on her face that Nico recognized as her fake, get-me-out-of-here smile, and Nico wondered if he should go over and rescue his family.The geese had been locked away in their run in the shade at the side of the orchard for the day—he didn’t want them chasing any of the guests or dive-bombing the food, but he could hear them honking their disapproval.Funny, but the geese had taken an instant dislike to Elora from the moment she’d stepped foot on the property.Thank God she and Barry had chosen to stay at the hotel just down the road.Well, more of a luxury resort out on an isolated peninsula, but it was only ever the best for Elora.He wasn’t sure how they would’ve all coped if she’d demanded to stay in the house with the rest of them.
Almost as if she could feel his gaze on her, Elora lifted her cool, blue eyes to his, and then she lowered her finely manicured eyebrows into the hint of a frown.Even from this distance, he could feel her disapproval.In her mind, he was the man to blame for Lacey wanting to stay in Tasmania.She’d already told him Lacey was a different woman now that she was with him.Way too defiant and stubborn.Which made him laugh, because Lacey had always been those things, but Elora had only chosen to see them now because it suited her narrative; Lacey had turned from being the good daughter into someone she no longer recognized.Elora didn’t say it in so many words, but he knew she blamed him for Lacey’s change of heart last year, when she’d given her mother the ultimatum that’d caused their estrangement over the past six months.Nico wanted to yell at her to take a look in the mirror.That the responsibility lay squarely on her shoulders, but in Elora’s world, everyone else was to blame except her.It was going to be a long, uphill battle with that woman, but he and Lacey held the trump card.Elora’s first grandchild.And he wasn’t prepared to put up with her shit like Lacey had.Elora would always be Lacey’s mother, and this baby’s grandmother, but that didn’t give her a license to control their lives.
Someone cleared their throat behind Nico, and he swiveled on his heel, the smile that was forming on his face falling the second he saw who it was.
Pederson pulled his shoulders back and extended his hand.“Congratulations on your wedding,” he said stiffly.
It’d been Lacey’s idea to invite him and Saito to the wedding; she held no lingering grudge against the man.Unlike Nico, who felt a low simmering anger rise in his belly every time he saw him.Pederson had ignored Nico’s words of warning and gone off on a tangent, chasing a ghost, while Lacey had been in urgent need of his help.Shadbolt had tried to temper Nico’s disgust by saying that Pederson had truly believed the chances of finding Lacey at his hideout in Hobart were high.Nico had merely snorted his contempt.
Pederson had received no formal punishment for his possibly deadly decision.But Nico understood it would be a long while before the indigenous detective would be given the lead on another case.Pederson had an ego the size of Tasmania, but Shadbolt had assured Nico that the younger man was contrite and also determined to learn from his mistakes.It didn’t mean Nico had to like him, however.
But he also wasn’t a man to leave another man hanging, so he took Pederson’s hand and shook it, saying, “Thank you.”Then added a formal, “Glad you could make it,” when the silence stretched between them.Pederson and Saito would’ve made the trip out from Launceston to be here for the day, and he had to respect them for making the effort to show up.
Tasman Saito broke the impasse when she appeared from behind Pederson and said, “Congratulations.You two make a great couple.”Then she did the most surprising thing of the whole day when she reached up and hugged him.Serious, sober, reserved Tasman actually hugged him.When she stepped back, her face cleared, and she was once again the pragmatic detective he’d come to know.He hoped that she’d be able to step out of Pederson’s shadow one day soon and become the exceptional detective he knew was hiding in there somewhere behind all those starched shirts and dark suits.
“I’m glad you think so,” Nico said again a little awkwardly.
After a few more heartbeats, Pederson lifted his chin in acknowledgement and turned on his heel, Saito following his lead.But after a few steps, Pederson looked back over his shoulder and called out, “I hope you get reinstated soon.You’re a great detective, with great instincts, and the force can’t afford to lose you.”
“Thank you,” Nico answered, surprised, but the two detectives had already melted back into the crowd.He guessed that was where their main differences lay.Nico was prone to listening to his gut when it came to a case.He’d had enough experience on the job to know when it spoke true.But Pederson was one to go strictly by the book, only going on the concrete facts in front of him.Maybe Pederson just needed more time to learn to trust his intuition.Then he might become a great detective.
But going on his gut and breaking the rules, wasn’t always the way to do things.Nico was still dealing with the consequences of his actions from that fateful day.He’d been suspended from duty awaiting the results of an internal investigation regarding his misconduct.That could take up to six months, with no clear idea what the outcome might be at the end.He could lose his badge and be discharged from the force.He’d abused his power as a police officer; his interview with Pacca had been illegal because he’d already been suspended from the case.And his flagrant disregard of the rules when he’d entered Alexander’s property without a warrant, or any kind of permission from his superiors, may have put the court case against Serge in jeopardy.The lawyers had already told him that he could never be a witness in the case against his father, as his testimony was tainted.The defense lawyers would surely call his conduct into question and they could even ask for a mistrial on account of his cowboy antics.
But he’d do it all again in the blink of an eye.Because Lacey and his unborn baby were his only priority.And if he lost his job because he had to save her, then he’d just find another career.And he’d made peace with that decision.
Besides, he wasn’t worried that Serge would be set free on some technicality; he was a bona fide serial killer, and the mounds of proof against him were growing every day.Taylor’s testimony would be key.Even though her memories still hadn’t fully returned, there was enough evidence to prove beyond a doubt that Serge had murdered Danika and abducted Taylor—not once, but twice.She was such a strong girl; he was so proud of how determined she was to take the stand at Serge’s trial and look him in the eye and tell him that he was indeed the monster he purported himself to be.
Serge was refusing to cooperate, not even entering a plea.He said that the truth would remain between him and his son and that no one else mattered.A forensics team had raked over the old farmhouse with a fine-toothed comb.Serge had done a good job of trying to erase every trace of evidence, but there were some things he couldn’t expunge completely, and the team found a few interesting clues as to Serge’s movements over the past week.After they found tire tracks going cross-country, they surmised that he had driven to the site behind Pacca’s house in his car directly through the paddocks rather than using the road, cutting through fences on the way there, and then painstakingly repairing the damage on the way back.This was why they could find no tire tracks on Cutter’s Road.Following the trail, they then deduced he’d parked the car a way back from the road and carried the girls one by one to the crime scene.He’d woken Taylor with a drug that reversed the effects of the ketamine, taped her eyes open, forced her to watch as he strangled her best friend, then drugged her again while he completed his other tasks of cleaning up the scene and arranging the girl in the right position, then carrying a comatose Taylor back to the car.It was Taylor’s screams as she watched her friend dying that had woken Pacca, just as Serge had hoped.He would’ve known of Pacca’s nightly ritual of drinking himself senseless and knew he wouldn’t come to investigate that night.
Pacca too, might well be a witness who’d help to put Serge away.Now that Pacca had confessed to killing his own son, the old man was determined to try to make amends for all his wrongdoings.And if putting Serge away could help Pacca ease his own mind, then Nico was all for it.Pacca would stand trial for the manslaughter of Alexander, but with the time passed since the murder, the extenuating circumstances of the way Alex had lied and tried to cheat his own father out of his farm, and the fact that Pacca was dying from lung cancer—something he’d revealed in a post incident interview—Nico was confident Pacca would be given a non-custodial sentence.Living with that much guilt for the past seventeen years had probably been punishment enough.Pacca was a broken, lonely man, with no family left and nothing in his old age to look forward to except to die from a terrible disease.Lacey felt sorry for the old bugger, but Nico was still finding it hard to conjure up any true compassion.Pacca had withheld vital evidence and for that, Nico would never forgive him.
