Sacrifice (4 page)

I reached out and gently patted my father’s hand. “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe this is all just stress. I have been overdoing things a bit lately.”

The concern in my father’s eyes instantly vanished like a black cloud ascending up into the sky. He was appeased.

He smiled at me. “That’s my girl. Let’s forget this conversation ever happened. You’ll see. A few days of peace and rest at home and you will feel like your old self again.”

“
Sure, Dad.” I smiled a fake reassuring smile for him.

But inside of me I could feel the doubt and apprehension burning like an out of control forest fire. I had to find out if the man I had seen had actually been David. And no matter where my search led me, I could never tell anyone what I discovered. From this point on I was completely on my own.

***

Later that night, my father and I made the short drive home after dropping Betty at her house by Tulane University. My father was listening to a business show on the radio while I stared out of the window of his BMW 750i as the dark streets sped past.

“
Betty seems nice,” I commented as I turned to my father.

He nodded. “She’s really something special.”

“
I think she’s good for you.”

He glanced over at me, frowning. “You’re not all weirded out or whatever you call it because I’m seeing her, are you?”

I shrugged. “I have to admit it’s a little odd to see you with someone after so many years of your being alone, but I’m happy for you. I’m glad you have someone to take care of you.”

He smiled as he looked ahead to the dark road. “It feels a little odd to me too. After your mother died I never thought I would ever want to be with another woman, but with time you learn to let go and move on. Betty will never replace Ellen, but she is what I need right now in my life.”

I turned my attention back to the streets flying by as our car made its way down St. Charles Avenue. Ever since I had seen the figure walking through Jackson Square, my doubts about my future with Dallas had been eating away at me. I wondered if I should just take my father’s advice and begin a new life with Dallas. But how could I move on to the future when there was still so much of my past left unresolved? How could I be with Dallas when I had not yet put David behind me?

When he finally pulled up in front of our Uptown New Orleans home, I felt a strange sense of relief to have made it back to my childhood haven.

The three-story white antebellum house with its Corinthian column facade had been wedding gift to my mother and father. For the first few years of their marriage, my parents had lovingly restored the run down home into a Garden District showplace. Every original fixture had been painstakingly repaired, every scrap of wood refinished, and every plaster inlay retouched. The house had been a project that had joined my parents in life and, after the death of my mother many years ago, remained as a reminder of the love the three of us had once shared. In many ways the house stood as a symbol of my mother, a tribute to her beauty, refinement, and infinite patience with all things.

I looked around the shell drive to see where Dallas had parked our rental car after his early departure from the reception. I breathed a sigh of relief to see the small red Honda Accord pulled up right next to the garage at the end of the driveway.

“
Maybe you should go and straighten everything out with him now,” my father suggested behind me.

I turned to him and nodded.

He gave me an encouraging smile and then started for the front steps.

I stood for a moment out in the middle of the driveway and took in the heavy aroma of the New Orleans night around me. The scent of magnolias mixed with ligustrum filled the air. I had missed the smell of this city. In the silence of the night I could hear the faint click clack of a streetcar making its way down nearby St. Charles Avenue. I closed my eyes for a moment and filled my senses with the city surrounding me. I found it curious that when confronted by tribulations we find comfort in what we have left behind. As if the imprints of childhood are part of an inner rebooting mechanism for the soul. We escape to what we were before living changed us into what we have become.

Inside the purple satin purse Colleen had designed to match my bridesmaid dress, my cell phone began ringing. I toyed with the idea of ignoring the call, considering the lateness of the hour. But then I remembered my publishing assistant, Dora O’Rourke, who often called after business hours with important questions about my book. I fumbled with my purse until I was finally able to retrieve my phone and answer the call.

“
Hello?”

“
Hello, Nicci. It’s Simon La Roy. Forgive the hour,” his high-pitched voice said over the phone. “I wasn’t sure if you would still be at your cousin’s wedding,” he confided.

“
Simon?” I stared down the drive. “How did you get my number? And how did you know about my cousin’s wedding?”

“
My dear woman, do you think a man like me couldn’t find you? You know what I do, and considering how well acquainted you have been with two of my best employees, should it even surprise you that I know what I know.”

“
Dallas doesn’t work for you anymore,” I stated emphatically. “He gave up stealing secrets.”

“
Don’t remind me,” Simon curtly remarked. “It was bad enough that you stole the heart of my prized specialist, David, but then you had to go and add Dallas to your collection as well. How does he like building boats for a living instead of working for me?”

“
He doesn’t miss all the intrigue, Simon. He’s happy having a legitimate life without having to hide what he does for a living.”

“
But I’m sure he hasn’t walked away completely from his old life. Dallas was an expert at manipulation and interrogation. Old habits die hard in one skilled in such arts. Haven’t you found that to be true, my dear Nicci?”

Anger bubbled up from the pit of my stomach. “What do you want, Simon?”

“
Yes, enough reminiscing.” He paused for several seconds as I waited anxiously for him to continue. “I noticed you and Dallas have two first class tickets back to Connecticut in two days’ time. But I need you to stay in New Orleans for a while.”

I pictured the short man dressed in one of his fine suits and admiring the sliver-handle on his cane as he spoke to me. His brown, rat-like eyes flashed across my mind.

“
What’s going on?” I asked.

Simon gave an impatient sigh. “Something has come up in your quaint little town. A job for which you would be perfectly suited.”

“
A job? Simon, are you kidding me?”

“
I seem to remember you took me up on my offer to make you one of my specialists a few months back.” He laughed, sounding more like a little girl than a man. “I told you when I had a need for you, I would be in touch.” He paused and I could hear the sound of papers rustling on the other end of the line. “Keep your phone with you. I’ll call in the next few days with the details. In the meantime, find a way to send that former employee of mine back to his boatyard. This job requires only you.”

“
Simon, I’m not going to drop everything and hang out in New Orleans because you—”

“
Did I mention the job involves our dear boy, David, and his Jennys,” he edged in.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

“
I guessed that would peak your interest. All things will be revealed in due time,” Simon declared and then he abruptly ended the call.

I stood there in the dim light of the driveway staring at my cell phone.

“
Nicci?” a deep voice called from the front door.

I glanced back to the house to see Dallas coming down the steps. I quickly put my cell phone back in my purple purse.

“
What are you doing out here?” he asked as he came up to me.

“
I got a phone call from…” I stopped myself.

Dallas placed his hand on my forearm. “Who called you at this hour?”

“
An old friend,” I calmly stated.

He pressed his fingers into my flesh. “You don’t have any old friends, Nicci.”

I wrenched my arm free of his grip. “You don’t know everything about me, Dallas.”

“
I know enough,” he insisted. He stood for a moment, staring into my eyes as if trying to read my mind, and then he looked down at the ground.

“
I came out here to tell you I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that at the reception,” he admitted as his eyes returned to mine. “I’m sorry. I have been pushing too hard on the subject of our getting married. I realize you have other obligations right now. With your new book coming out, I know your publisher has put a lot of pressure on you for this book to do well.”

I nodded as I glanced nervously about the drive. “Hamper Publications is promoting Unfinished Business as their premier release of the summer.” I took a breath and tried to calm the panic simmering beneath my skin. “That, combined with all the good press Painting Jenny received, makes this book a little more nerve wracking for me. Dora once told me you’re not a real writer until you publish a second book,” I admitted with a discouraged frown.

Dallas pulled me into his arms. “You’re a real writer and that little snooty assistant of yours is a fool. Don’t listen to her.” He sighed into my hair. “After I got home I realized that maybe all of the added stress could have prompted your seeing David.”

I backed away from him. “Are you suggesting I wanted to see David because I’m stressed out about my book?”

“
I’m simply saying I think maybe you need to relax more,” he replied as he gave me a supportive smile. “Let’s forget about what happened.” He reached for my hand as his eyes hungrily explored up and down my body. “Why don’t we go inside and get you out of that silly dress,” he said and started pulling me toward the house.

As we made our way up the porch steps, he put his arm around my shoulders. “So who exactly called?” he asked as we climbed the last step together.

I felt my stomach clench as we approached the front door. “It was no one, Dallas. Just an old acquaintance.”

“
Nicci, don’t try and keep things from me,” he murmured into my ear while letting his teeth graze my earlobe. “You know I will always find out what you’re up to in the end.”

I stopped and studied his dark blue eyes. “And what are you going to do? Torture me to get me to talk?” I teased, wanting to dissuade his usual line of questioning.

He grinned and the menacing aura in his face lifted. “I’ve got something else in mind for you.” He tightened his arm about my shoulders and urged me forward into the house. “Come with me,” he whispered.

We stepped inside and he shut the front door behind us. He took my hand and led me across the foyer to the wide walnut staircase. One by one we climbed the steps without saying a word. At the top of the second floor landing, he let go of my hand and walked over to my bedroom door. Letting his eyes linger on my body, he pushed the door open with his foot.

I slowly eased my way up to him, smiling suggestively. “What makes you think this will get me to reveal all my secrets to you?”

He traced the outline of my shoulders with his hands. “You’ve never completely revealed yourself to me in all the months I have known you, Nicci.” He sighed as he let his fingers travel up from my shoulders to my neck. “It’s as if you’re afraid to share your secrets with me.” He placed his hands gently about my face.

“
You’re the one with the secrets, Dallas. Not me.”

He gave me that knowing grin. The one he only seemed to share with me. “Then let’s have no more secrets between us. Starting right now,” he softly said. He leaned forward and kissed me.

He gently urged me inside the bedroom as he continued to kiss my lips and face. As he kicked the door closed behind us, he started removing his tuxedo jacket. He threw the jacket onto a nearby chair and moved his body closer to mine.

I fingered the expensive stainless steel watch on his wrist and then ran my hands up and down the sleeves of white tuxedo shirt. I slowly began undoing the buttons on his shirt. The apprehension and anger that I had been carrying from the events of the day suddenly dissipated into thin air. A more pleasurable feeling began coursing through me as I pushed the material off his shoulders. I ran my hands along his smooth, muscular chest. I kissed the hollow at the base of his neck and placed my cheek against his chest as I savored the fragrance of his spicy cologne.

“
Just when I think you’re done with me, you give me that stupid grin of yours and make me feel like nothing is wrong between us,” I whispered against his skin.

He unzipped my dress and eased it from around my shoulders. “Isn’t that the way it is with most couples? We fight and then we make up.”

I felt the dress fall to my ankles and then I stepped free of it. “Are we making up?” I asked as I started unzipping his tuxedo pants.

He reached around and undid my bra. “Well, we sure aren’t fighting.”

I pushed his pants down and grabbed at his firm backside. “So what exactly would you do to me if I did keep anything from you?”

He held my face in his hands. “I’ll show you,” he whispered and then his mouth came down ruthlessly on mine.

Chapter
Three