Fashioned for Power (12 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Allegra’s lungs burned and there was a pain in her side. She reached for the curtain and yanked it open. Nate lay on the emergency room bed with a white bandage around his midsection.

“Oh my God, Nate!”

Mallory stepped next to Allegra and looked over at the new FBI investigator sitting next to Nate’s bed. She stood up and held out a card. Her short, dark brown hair was slicked back with a clip and her face was free of makeup. She didn’t need it. She was lovely.

“Agent Hectoria. I’m sorry to meet you this way, Miss Simpson,” she said as Allegra took her card. “Mr. Reece was stabbed during a home invasion. He had the presence of mind to tell the EMTs to contact me. He thinks it was our guy.”

Allegra’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped. “Please tell me you’re all right.”

Nate gave her a weak smile. “I’m fine. I got a punch in and was able to surprise him enough to dive back into the bathroom. Luckily the knife didn’t hit anything. The doctors said I’ll be really sore, but I’ll be good to go for my movie shoot. Plus, look at all this free publicity I’m getting.”

“Don’t joke about this. First Finn and now Harry. This is the worst day of my life,” Allegra said sadly.

“Speaking of Mr. Williams,” Agent Hectoria cut in. “Are you sure it wasn’t him? He has already exhibited signs of aggression toward you today.”

“I’m sure. What I did see of this man’s face told me he was Caucasian. And, to be fair, Finn did have a reason to punch me today.”

Allegra blushed as the agent looked at them both. “So, you two are together?”

“No,” they both said.

“We’ve been best friends since freshman year of high school,” Nate told her. “We’re about as close as you can get without being a couple. Trouble is, people never seem to believe us.”

“Well, it could be Harry saw the picture from this afternoon and jumped to the conclusion everyone else did. This is speculation, but my guess is he saw it and snapped. He probably wanted to take his competition out.”

Allegra gasped. This was her fault. “What about Finn?”

“I’ll send someone over to check on him,” Agent Hectoria said as she sent a text. “Are you and Finn together?”

“Maybe? Finn broke up with me, thinking the same thing every news outlet is saying.” Allegra’s shoulders slumped. It was dangerous to be with her. She either broke your heart or set you up to be stabbed by a stalker.

“Allegra, don’t do this to yourself,” Mallory whispered. “You are the victim here. You did not cause any of this.”

“Miss Westin is right. You’re not to blame, Miss Simpson,” Agent Hectoria told her as she shut her small notebook. “I’m leaving a police officer with you, Mr. Reece.”

“I’m sure Patty has already hired a security team,” Nate said with a roll of his eyes.

“And who is Patty?” Agent Hectoria asked quickly.

“My personal assistant,” Nate tried not to roll his eyes. His assistant was the queen of organizing, but she tended to go overboard. He was sure he’d have ten hulking men surrounding him from now on.

Agent Hectoria just nodded and then left the room after telling them to make sure they called her if they thought of anything she needed to know. Allegra sat in Agent Hectoria’s vacated chair and placed Nate’s hand in hers.

“I’m so sorry, Nate. This is all my fault.”

“Leggy, knock it off. Don’t let this bastard win by getting in your head. Come on, this makes me a real-life action star. The news media and movie studios have been calling nonstop. So, don’t feel bad, please.”

“Only you could turn this into a positive. But, you’re right. This is Harry’s fault, not mine. I will feel better if you leave town after you get cleared by a doctor.”

“No way. You’re my best friend. I’m not leaving you.”

“Then as my best friend, you’ll leave for me. Take advantage of the press, get lots of movie deals, whatever. But please get out of Atlanta for a while. I’ll be able to focus on catching this guy then.”

Nate let out a long breath. “I don’t like it, but fine. I’ll leave tomorrow. But you,” Nate looked at Mallory, “take care of her for me.”

“I will.” Mallory looked like she couldn’t wait to get her hands on Harry. Unfortunately, everyone was hitting a dead end. Her investigation had found no evidence of him since the night he rented a hotel room with cash and then withdrew some money a little while later.

“Get some rest, Leggy. They’ll get him. This story has gone national. Everyone will know about Harry soon. Someone will see him, and then he’ll get caught.”

“I hope so, Nate.” Allegra had become so accustomed to living in fear she didn’t know what she’d do once he was found. She’d be free. Did she even remember what that was like?

* * *

“Finn Williams,” the woman standing before him stated rather than asked, “I’m Agent Hectoria. Did you stab Nate Reece tonight?”

Finn felt the blood drain from his face. “What? Nate was stabbed? Is he okay? Is Allegra safe?”

Agent Hectoria gave a stern nod of her head and relaxed her shoulders. “Can I come in?”

Finn opened the door wider. “Of course.”

Finn listened to the FBI agent fill him in on what happened and then confirmed he had been in a meeting with Raven Eddie when the stabbing happened.

“Take this as a friendly warning. You seem to care a lot about Miss Simpson, but I would stay away from her for a while—at least in person. Harry has now proven he’s not above resorting to violence if he sees you as a threat.”

“Thank you.” Finn showed the agent to the door and then made sure all the doors and windows were locked. It wasn’t like Allegra would be leaving Nate’s side for a while. He’d had his chance to win her back and had lost his temper. He was just lucky Nate wasn’t pressing charges. Elle had already called and ripped him a new one for putting the company in the middle of this drama. Mary, the head of PR for Simpson Global and also a cousin to the Simpson sisters, had called and they’d developed a plan on how to spin the story to minimize damage to Simpson Global. So far it was working. Nate was the bigger name, and he was getting the lion’s share of the media attention.

His phone rang, and he had to smile as he saw Shirley’s name. “Hi, Shirley.”

“Hey, stud muffin. You really screwed the pooch today, huh?”

“You think?” Finn asked dryly.

“Nate got it right; he was mostly naked. Now if you had been naked and there was jello involved . . .”

Finn couldn’t help it; he laughed.

* * *

He opened his eyes to the morning sun. Dammit, he’d done it again. He slid naked from the waitress’s bed. Guilt washed over him like it always did after a night of sex. He should be saving himself for Allegra. But when he got frustrated, nothing fixed it better than a good fuck. He should know better. It was never worth it in the morning.

He looked over at the naked woman in her bed. Her bare breasts raised and lowered as she breathed. Red marks circled her wrists and ankles where he’d tied her up. He liked it that way. The control he had . . . the control he was going to have over Allegra. He ran his hand through his hair. He needed to apologize.

* * *

Allegra jumped at the knock on her door. She was dressed for work, but still waiting for her coffee to finish brewing. She and Mallory hadn’t slept much the previous night. Mallory held up her hand to indicate she would answer it, then picked up her gun and walked to the door. The knock came again as she leaned forward and moved the window curtain to the side.

Allegra saw Mallory’s shoulders relax as she turned off the alarm and opened the door. “It looks like Finn sent an apology gift,” Mallory said as she took the box from the deliveryman.

“He shouldn’t do that. It was my fault.” Allegra took the small white box and opened the card first. “I’m sorry for yesterday. I love you,” Allegra read out loud.

“Well, that’s a good start, right?” Mallory asked.

Allegra didn’t answer her as she lifted the lid of the square box. Inside sat a beautiful strand of white pearls. She ran her fingers over the smooth orbs as her mind raced. Did he forgive her? Did he want to get back together?

“Nice. I’m telling you—who knew Finn had such good taste?” Mallory asked with appreciation. Her own hand went to the strand of pearls that had belonged to her grandmother. As far as Allegra knew, Mallory never took them off.

“They’re lovely. I need to get to work and see if Finn’s there,” Allegra grinned as she took the necklace out of the box and fastened it around her neck.

Finn groaned as someone banged on his door. He cracked his eyes and looked at the clock. Damn, he was late for work. The banging continued, and Finn groaned. “I’m coming!” he shouted.

He shoved down the sheets and picked up a pair of athletic shorts from the floor. He hopped into them as he made his way to the front door. The pounding continued as his cursing increased. Finn reached for the door and yanked it open.

“What the hell . . . Nate?” Finn started through his blurry eyes.

“Morning, sunshine.”

“I had nothing to do with your stabbing,” Finn groaned as he opened the door. He couldn’t handle Allegra’s boyfriend this early in the morning, or ever.

“I know you didn’t. Wheel me right over there, will ya?” Nate was already giving orders in Finn’s house. Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Finn opened the door and took hold of the wheelchair.

“I’m sorry; I’m tired, and there’s a lot going on. What are you doing here?”

“My assistant is on her way with an army of bodyguards, but I wanted to talk to you before she got here.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the best agent around. At least that’s what I hear.”

“Oh thanks, Nate. I appreciate you buttering me up while stealing the woman I love from under me,” Finn shot at him. The cocky bastard just grinned larger. “You find that funny?”

“I do, and I’ll tell you why in a couple minutes. Wait until you meet my assistant, Patty. You two are going to run my life.”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with your life,” Finn spat.

“Too bad. I want you to be my agent.”

Finn felt his eyes widen in surprise. “What? Aren’t you with another agency?”

“Nope. I heard it on a good authority I should come over to the new Simpson Agency.”

“I’m not taking you on as a client. You’re not going to try to buy my forgiveness. You’re not good enough for Allegra. You know that, don’t you? Here you are leaving when she needs you the most. I know it’s hard for you, but I can’t imagine how scared she is right now.”

Nate’s smile slid. “Sign me as a client with a confidentiality clause, and I’ll tell you exactly why you’re right.”

Finn ground his teeth as he thought. Nate was Hollywood’s new shining star. He’d be stupid not to sign him. “Fine. But I won’t be your agent.”

“If you feel the same way after I tell you why I’m not a match for Allegra, then I can live with that,” Nate said seriously.

Finn tried to calm down, but his muscles were bunched with tension. Was it some kind of game for him to see how many women he could sleep with? Without saying a word, Finn walked back to his office and snatched a copy of the Simpson Entertainment contracts from the printer.

“Here,” he shoved it at Nate. Finn tossed him a pen and waited as he read through the contract.

Finn tried not to rip it from Nate’s hand and punch him again. He wasn't naturally prone to this much anger, but if Nate was dumping Allegra and running away like a scared boy, then Finn was afraid he was going to lose it.

Finn took the signed contract and set it on the nearby living room table. Nate took a deep breath and looked up at Finn.

“What I say here is not to be repeated to anyone—including the agent you assign to me, should you choose to do so.” Nate was so serious Finn stopped being mad. What was going on?

“Only Allegra knows this. And she knows exactly why she and I would never work,” Nate told him.

“Okay,” Finn said slowly.

“I’m gay.”

Finn blinked. He looked at Nate and laughed. He laughed so hard he thought he might cry. “That’s the best damn news I have ever heard.” Finn shook Nate’s hand happily.

“That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting when I told the first person about my sexuality,” Nate said slightly shocked.

“Are you kidding? This is great news. It means Allegra’s not in love with you,” Finn smiled. Relief poured through him. “So, when Allegra told me it wasn’t what it looked like . . .”

Nate laughed. “Exactly. She was stuck between telling you the truth about me and losing you. I shouldn’t have put her in that position. That’s why I’m here.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

“Actually I did have to do this. I have a plan we want to discuss with you after you win the girl back and beat the crap out of Harry. Deal?”

“Deal,” Finn said as he enthusiastically shook Nate’s hand. “Where you are going?”

“I have a cabin up in the mountains in North Carolina. Here’s my phone number and my email.” Nate handed Finn a piece of paper with the information.