Restoring Hope (25 page)

Nic closed his eyes when thought back to how quickly his anger had escalated into rage reading about that bastard, knowing how badly he had abused Hope. So badly, her only recourse to save her life was to stab him, and his heart knotted thinking about how scared she must have been.

He hadn’t been angry with her at first until he’d continued to read the article and found out that import export was code for drug trafficking. Then all the anger he’d been holding onto for those who pushed drugs onto kids let loose. How could the woman he knew, the gentle, fiery, sexy and angelic to the point of perfection, that he’d met and fallen for in four short weeks, stayed married to that man?

Then he’d read that she’d been pregnant, that he’d beaten the life out of their child, and his rage increased tenfold. He wanted his hands around that bastard’s neck so he could kill him himself for laying a hand on Hope, and for killing an innocent child. What had struck him the hardest; not once, in the more than four weeks since he’d met her, had she mentioned she’d lost a child. She’d consoled him, told him his pain was justified, but never said, “I know how you feel I lost a child too.” How does a person lose a child and not mention the loss? That stuck in his gut worse than anything he’d read. It made her seem cold, uncaring, and coupled with the other information, she changed from an angelic woman who needed protection, to a cold and calculated bitch, just like Kat.

By the time Hope had gotten home from work, his mind had been twisting and turning for three hours. He’d turned her into a monster, and he the fool who fell for her tricks. However, in the light of day and cold, hard facts by a nosy Cajun, Nic was beginning to think that the only person who’d turned him into a fool was he and Kat.

Hope had told no one her past, told no one her real name, though he suspected the H. in her full name was for Hope. That being said, if she told no one, then how in the hell did that article make it to his door? Those who knew them liked them, liked that they were together. Unless one of them was harboring a malicious side, the only person who thought they stood to gain anything by coming between the two of them was Kat.

Looking back at his daughter’s resting place, for some reason, he felt the need to tell her, “
Tu me manques je t’aime
. Papa knows you don’t hate him, angel.” A soft breeze settled over him and a sense of calm hit him as he sat there and considered all that had happened. Closing his eyes and picturing his daughter’s face, her blue eyes sparkling as she played some practical joke on her papa, the word “hurry” whispered through his head. Taking a deep breath, he rose from the bench with a clearer head and decided he had a few questions for his ex-wife. If she was the one who’d left the article, then she’d somehow found out Hope’s identity. Kat could be a bitch when she wanted something, and he wouldn’t put it past her to call that sonofabitch in Nevada. Hope wouldn’t be safe until he was behind bars, and whether they worked this out or not, he didn’t want her running because that bastard knew where she was, so before he could reach out to Hope, he wanted to make sure she was safe.

Kat wasn’t home when Nic got to her house, so he pulled in the drive and decided to wait. This was too important to put off; he needed to know if Kat left the article. ‘Cause if it wasn’t, he needed to find out quickly who did, Hope was in danger until he nipped this in the bud. Kat was vindictive enough and it was just her style to leave the article and then sit back and watch the fireworks. She’d have to be close to know if it worked, Nic figured and then he wondered if she’d been in the street watching him exit Hope’s condo in a rage.

As if she could sense he was looking for her, she pulled into the driveway not long after him, and it crossed his mind she could have been following him, watching him at the cemetery.

Exiting her car, she produced a huge smile for him as he got out of his own and waited for her to come to him. She was dressed to kill as always, but there seemed to be a bounce in her step as she walked towards him.

“Hey there, sugar, what a nice surprise,” Kat told Nic.

“Kat, you gotta minute?”

“For you, I’ve got the rest of my life,” she purred and tried to kiss his lips, but he turned his head to avoid them. Stepping to the side Nic started walking towards the front door as Kat followed, her high-heeled shoes clipping the sidewalk as she hurried behind him. Nic unlocked the door, then stood back, and let her pass before him. Kat’s hand brushed his stomach as she passed him, and she smiled sweetly at him, acting coy, demure.

“So what did ya wanna see me about, sugar? Nicky isn’t here he’s at soccer practice.”

Nic didn’t mince words he jumped right in and asked, “Did you leave me that article about Hope?”

“Article?” she lied and Nic saw the recognition in her eyes.

“Yeah, Kat, the article about Hope being attacked and almost killed by her husband.” He saw a flash of anger in her eyes, and he knew she had left it. Kat had expected him to read the story and not see an abused woman, but a murderer.

He looked towards her office where she kept her computer and started walking towards the door. Kat rushed forward asking, “What are you doing?”

“Getting the truth for once,” Nic replied and then opened the door and pushed past Kat.

On her desk was a sheet of paper with the name Jessica H. Cummings, Nevada and Nic picked it up and showed it to her, his jaw clenching in anger.

“It was for your own good, Nic. The woman is around our son, and you needed to know she was a killer.”

“Hope was attacked by a man who repeatedly beat her for ten years, she’s no killer,” Nic shouted.

“The same husband who sold drugs? Are you gonna stand there and tell me that she didn’t know, that she is innocent of everything? Come on, sugar, you're not that stupid.”

“I’m not gonna tell you anything. You’re gonna listen to me, and you listen good,” Nic ordered and then walked up to Kat using his size to intimidate his ex-wife. “She risked her life to get evidence to the police. That bastard would love to know where she is, and you have a bug up your ass thinking she is competition. I know you, and if you have any thoughts about making a phone call, I will sue you for full custody of Nicky. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“You’d choose that drug dealer’s wife over your own family?”

“I’d choose Hope over
you
any day of the week,” Nic roared, “Now; do you understand what I’m saying? If John Cummings so much as sniffs in her direction, so help me God, you will wish you’d never picked up that phone.”

Kat’s face paled, and her hand came up to her throat. She looked around the room, stalling, trying to come up with anything she could use as a defense against his threat and came up empty. So, she changed tactics. Kat looked back at Nic and announced, “You let that woman near my son, and I’ll sue
you
for full custody.”

“That threat won’t work and you know it. After what you pulled, with the connections I have in this town and the houses I’ve designed for sitting judges, I can make one phone call, and Nicky will be gone tonight,” Nic threatened back.

“You wouldn’t,” Kat whispered.

“Kat, the way I’m feeling right now you don’t want to test that, I promise you.”

“She’s a common bar maid, a drug dealer’s wife—”

Nic cut her off on a shout, “There is nothin' common about Hope.” Then it hit him like a lightning bolt, swift and powerful, how he felt about Hope, and it all sank in.
Jesus, what had he done?

Urgency to leave and find Hope washed over him, and he looked at Kat and bit out, “Are we clear? You’ll keep your fuckin mouth shut, or I swear to Christ I’ll make a phone call, you hear me, Kat?” Nic ordered tired of her games.

She didn’t respond to his question; Kat looked caught in some trance, like she couldn’t’ quite believe what she was hearing. Done with her, Nic walked passed her heading for the front door as Kat called out, “Nic.” He ignored her as he rushed to his car and got in, squealing his tires to get back to the condo and talk to Hope.

When he arrived, he pounded on the door shouting, “Hope,” and when she didn’t answer, he tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. He walked in, saw her key on the kitchen counter and ran down the hall to the bedroom. Gone. She was gone.

“Sonofabitch,” Nic yelled and ran back to his car heading for The Bayou.

He reached it after a long five minutes with traffic clogging the roads. If he’d been looking at passing cars, he might have seen Hope in the back of a cab, unshed tears in her eyes as she headed towards the train station, but he was too busy cussing himself and the idiots in front of him.

Double-parking in front of the bar, Nic rushed in, passed Henri at the bar and threw open the door to the kitchen. He found Rose and Big Daddy huddled together; a cell phone in each one’s hand looking worried.

“Where is she?’ Nic shouted.

“You stupid, Cajun, sonofabitch, what take you so long?”

“Rose,” Nic rumbled low in his throat, silencing her, “Where the fuck is Hope?”

“She gone, I try to stop her, but she say she gonna leave wit’ or wit’out money, so I gave her what I owe her, and she leave. Headed to da’ train station she is. Here she left dis’ note for you,” Rose cried out and then handed him a letter. Nic opened it with shaking hands and read her tear-covered words that gutted him, leaving no doubt in his mind that he was the biggest fool that ever lived.

Nic,

Sorry, isn’t a big enough word for how I feel. No word can cover the depths of my regret. Just know that even though I lied, I did because I cared too much. I hurt you and I wished to God I hadn’t. I was scared to open up and then I was scared if I did, I would lose you. You've given me more love in the past month than I’ve had since my parents died, and I will always remember New Orleans as a time of hope for unrequited dreams.

Take care of Nicky, tell him I’m sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye, but I think it’s best for all concerned.

No more lies, Nic, you know everything except one thing. You were the best thing that's ever happened to me in my whole life, and I hope that someday you’ll find someone who makes you as happy as I was for a few short weeks. You deserve that and more.”

Hope~

Nic finished reading then swallowed the knot in his throat and mumbled “Oh,
ma coeur
, I’m gonna put you over my knee when I find you.”

Chapter Twenty

Dreams, simple things everyone has; dreams of riches, fame, love and family, or creating a perfect batch of gumbo. Some work hard to attain them, and some have them dropped in their laps and don’t appreciate them. Then there are some, no matter how hard they try, who can’t find a way to reach them. They drown in the sorrow of those unrealized dreams as they fight to grasp hold, only to have their fingertips brush them, giving them a sense of what it feels like to hold them in their hand. But, like anything in this life, if you don’t grab hold with a firm grip, what you try to hold onto will slip through your fingers if you don’t stay focused. Nic should have tightened his grip when he had hold. Should have seen what was in the palm of his hand, the beauty he possessed. Because just like the dreams Hope had of gentle hands to hold her, children to fill her heart while surrounded by family and friends who cared. Nic’s dream of a future filled with a woman he loved passionately—were slipping through his fingers with each tick of the clock.

Rushing from the Bar with Big Daddy in tow, they piled into his car still double-parked out front. Hope was ahead by thirty minutes, and he had no idea what train she was boarding. He was prepared to bribe every ticket agent until he found the one who sold Hope her ticket.