The Divine Whisper (33 page)

He turned his head to scowl out the window.
“You two deserve each other. I don’t know what I was thinking that he would listen to anything I had to say. Big, bad, untouchable, Gemariah.”

When she chanced a quick glance in his direction, she saw his face in the reflection of the glass.
He had the same look that she had seen many times before on kids that had replaced their feelings of abandonment with anger. At that moment, she softened a little towards him. She wanted to tell him the truth, that Gemariah had listened, and it was her that had gone rogue for the night. She tried, but the words got stuck in her mouth.

At that moment he looked her way.
The car’s interior lights must have illuminated her face just enough for him to see her expression, because it was then that he let out a laugh that was lacking any humor.

“He doesn’t know.
Does he?”

He took her silence as affirmation and shook his head.
“Oh, this is rich,” he stated as he reached inside his jacket to a pocket that was hidden over his chest. When she saw what he pulled out, her blood ran cold. It was her phone. He must have taken it out of her purse when he grabbed her keys. When he started to scroll through her Contacts, panic set in once again.

She watched as he stopped on the name “Gemariah Slater”.
This can’t be happening
, she thought. All her hard work to make sure he didn’t find out… He would never trust her again. With more speed than she thought she had, she quickly reached over to make a grab for the phone. However quick she was though, he was faster as he moved it away from her.

With great ease, he hit the Call button and held the phone up to his ear; the one farthest from her reach.

The volume was up on her phone, and she heard Gemariah answer, “Hey Babe. Everything alright?”

“Just fine, Snookum.
How ‘bout yourself?” He emphasized the endearment, and she wanted more than anything to smack him for his taunt. God, she didn’t want to know what Gemariah was feeling just then, because she knew that it would be miserable.

“Who is this?
Where’s Nicole?” She didn’t know if she had ever heard Gemariah’s voice so cold.

“Now I’m hurt.
Don’t you recognize my voice, Big Bro?

“If you hurt her in any way…”

“Relax,” he didn’t let him finish. “You’re lucky it’s me that has her. If she would’ve had it her way, the people that originally had her wouldn’t have given you the courtesy of a phone call.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s just say that she left the house looking for trouble, and she found it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.
Just let her go.”

Conner pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation.
“You really think the worst of me, don’t you? For your information, we’re on the highway and headed in your direction now. I didn’t take her
from
you… I’m taking her back
to
you.

She felt herself marginally relax.
At least she knew where they were going. She wanted to be home more than anything, but was dreading it all the same. She didn’t want to know how mad Gemariah was going to be with her when he found out what she had done and how she lied to him.

“Well, technically she’s taking herself back.
My sight was temporarily compromised with that lethal can of poison she carries around. Luckily we heal fast or I’d have added new words to her uncouth dictionary.”

If his comment was meant to lighten the mood, it was unsuccessful.
Between the two of them and the silence over the phone, there was an alarming sense of tension in the air.

“Let me talk to her,“ she heard Gemariah say.

“Sure. No problem. Conner handed her the phone with a smile on his face. It was obvious that the man was determined to have her hate him.

She grabbed the phone from his outstretched hand and quickly held it up to her ear.
Before he could say anything, she started to ramble. “I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I should have trusted you to tell me the truth. I should have—”

“Are you hurt?”
His words cut off her apology, and they were so curt that she had to swallow back the tears she felt coming.

“No.”

“Hand the phone back to him.”

She wanted to argue.
She wanted to yell at him to forgive her, but then yell at him that all of it was partially his fault for not talking to her in the first place. Instead, she kept her mouth shut and handed the phone back to Conner.

When he got the phone back, Gemariah spoke low enough to where she couldn’t hear and all Conner said was the occasional “Yep” or “Okay”.

Finally, he put the phone into one of her cup holders, and she looked down to see that it was still connected to Gemariah.

There was no more talking, but every once in a while, Conner said the name of a street they passed or which one they were on.
There was never a response back but she knew that Gemariah was listening to everything, listening and waiting until she got back to him.

The thought made her sick to her stomach.
What kind of reception would she get when she got there? That was all she thought about as they wound down the last few streets.

CHAPTER 16

He heard “Scott’s Street” and had to take another deep breath to calm his temper.
It was impossible to think rationally when he was so furious. He was angry at everyone, and he didn’t even have the whole story yet.

A rush of adrenaline had him pick up the vase Nicole had filled with flowers that morning and throw it against the far wall.
Luckily he had put his phone on mute before he threw the first object. He could hear everything they did or said, but they wouldn’t be able to hear the destruction going on around him.

He knew it would happen, but there was no way he was going to let them hang up the phone.
He had instructed Conner to leave it on and keep him informed on where they were. So far, he had done everything that he was told and supposedly he had saved Nicole, but trust didn’t come easily to him. After so many years of being stabbed in the back, that part of him had hardened to stone. There were only a handful of people that had managed to get through the rock exterior, Nicole had been one of them.

He picked up something else to throw but thought better of it before letting go.
What the hell was she thinking? He had trusted her, dammit! Now, because of her carelessness, she put herself and his children in danger. He should put her over his knee for what she had done.

His cock twitched at the thought and he became even more pissed off.
It was not the time for his thoughts to turn in that direction. Even with a romantic relationship, they needed to have trust in each other. Obviously, they were lacking in that department. He grabbed the edge of the kitchen table and was about to flip it over when he heard a car pull up out front.

“Ding-dong,” he heard come through the phone.
Damn that kid. Was everything a joke to him?

Walking around the table, he went to the door leading to the garage and stepped through when he heard the garage opening.
He stood and watched as the car pulled in.

Sure enough, she was driving and there was a smug looking man sitting next to her.
He was already walking towards the car and had the driver’s side door open before she had fully gotten it stopped. There was a small resistance from it being locked, but it didn’t stand a chance with how he was feeling. If she was going to say anything, the words died on her lips when she saw his face.

She had just managed to shift the car into park by the time that he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out.
She let out a small yelp in surprise, but didn’t fight him. Quickly, he took her head between his hands and massaged her scalp looking for a head wound. His hands made quick work traveling lower and over the rest of her body. He knew that she had said she wasn’t hurt, but he had to see for himself.

He took one hand and gently rested it over her belly.
When he felt a small movement from inside, he let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Everything felt to be alright, only a few small abrasions that would heal on their own, but nothing detrimental.

He heard a sniffle and he brought his gaze back up to see that she was crying.

Grabbing onto his shirt, she buried her face into his chest and inhaled.
“”I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.

As if on their own, his arms wrapped around her body.
He didn’t want to comfort her. He wanted her to go out of her mind with worry, so she would understand a fraction of what he felt, but he didn’t have it in him to stay distant. There was something about the woman, something that brought out all his protective instincts, even from him.

In front of this… stranger, he didn’t want his weaknesses revealed.
Then there was another part of him that said, “to hell with it,” and he would deal with the ramifications later.

He brought a hand up to gently tug on her hair and tilted her head to the side.
Leaning down, he kissed her temple then moved his mouth to whisper in her ear, “I am so mad at you.” He closed his eyes and sighed in defeat before tightening his grip around her.

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?”

The irritatingly familiar voice broke into their solitude, and Gemariah felt his body stiffen. Stepping back, he eyed them both. “Does someone want to tell me what the hell happened tonight?”

He looked to Conner, but he only crossed his arms over his chest, raised an eyebrow, and looked towards Nicole expectantly.

When Gemariah looked at Nicole, he could tell that she had paled considerably in a short amount of time.
Obviously, it was her story to start.

“Okay, this might take some time.
Let’s all go in,” Gemariah stated and turned to walk inside. He had no doubt that they would follow, but he had forgotten about the mess he had left. To him, it was a reminder of how upset he had gotten and why. It helped him to stay centered and not be swayed by tears that would more than likely come.

At that time, he didn’t think of how Nicole would feel; the destruction of a house that she had come to think of as home.
He got a good idea when she walked in and gasped.

She started to run past him towards the broken vase on the floor, and he reached over to stop her.
Wrapping an arm around her upper body, he pulled her so her back was pressed against his chest. “I’ll buy you another one,” he said when she tried to break free.

“I don’t understand,” she exclaimed.
“What happened?”

Before he could answer, Conner let out a harsh laugh.
“I see I’m not the only one with a temper in the family.” He moved to look around the corner into the office, and Gemariah clenched his teeth at what he could see. He had taken his arm and dragged it across the top of the desk, successfully scattering everything onto the floor, and then put his fist through the wall. The room was where he had been when he got the call, so it had gotten the brunt of his wrath.

“Nice,” Conner said with a grin.

He wanted to kick the shit out of the guy just to wipe the damn smile off his face, but he brought his focus back to Nicole.
She was looking at him with an expression of betrayal. “You did this?” she asked in shock.

He wasn’t going to lie.
It was a part of who he was. He would never in a million years hurt her, but inanimate objects were fair game if he was mad enough. Letting her go, he didn’t break eye contact, so she could see the truth. “Yeah.”

She turned away from him and knelt on the ground to pick up the broken pieces of the vase.
“I got this the other day at a second hand store. It had a picture of Hercules on it, and it reminded me of…” She broke off with a sigh, but quickly recovered. “That’s how I thought of you… strong and unbreakable.”

“Unlike that vase,” Conner stated like the smart-ass he was.

That little shit, Gemariah thought!
He would be lucky to leave the house in one piece if he didn’t shut his mouth. Refusing to acknowledge the remark, he focused on Nicole. “I will not feel guilty for this.” he stated firmly. “Maybe another day, but not tonight.”

He waited until she had all the pieces picked up and placed on the counter before he finally asked the question he had been repeating in his head for the last hour.
“What the hell happened tonight?”

When Conner and Nicole only looked at each other and no one started to speak, Gemariah lost it.
“I don’t care who the hell tells me, but someone needs to start talking!” When that didn’t work, he roared, “Now!”

The sound was so loud and fierce, both of them jumped back in surprise.

It was Conner that started first.
“You have to ask her.” He gestured towards Nicole. “I don’t know why she went to the park to begin with.”

“Park?
What park?” Gemariah directed his attention back to Nicole. “I thought you were going out with coworkers.”

She stared at her hands as she picked at her nails, but he did hear her mumble, “I lied.”

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

He had already figured as much, but it was still jarring to hear the confession from her own lips. Walking to the counter farthest from her, he leaned against it and crossed his arms over his chest. All he could think to ask was, “Why?”

Immediately Nicole went into defensive mode.
It was what she did any time she felt strongly about something. Placing a hand on her hip, she pointed a finger at him and asked, “Do you even know how lucky you are?”

He wasn’t sure what direction she was going with that, but he kept quiet so she could explain.

“The only biological family I ever had didn’t want me.
They treated me like I was an inconvenience. They used me as a slave and thought of new ways to torture and torment me every day. All the time, they would remind me that I was nothing but a paycheck. It was the only reason they had me. For crying out loud… my mother named me Nickel, so I would never forget it, but a nurse at the hospital took pity on me and changed it to Nicole.

One day, it got so bad that I almost died at the bottom of the stairs. By the grace of God, a concerned kid that I went to school with came by to check on me and heard everything that went on in the house. She called the police and my parents went to jail. Years later, they got out and never even thought to come for me. They were finally rid of me. Living with them was hell, but it still hurt to know that I wasn’t wanted.”

Gemariah was in shock.
He guessed that she had had a troubled past, but he didn’t know how deep it truly went. Before he could say anything, she gestured wildly with both arms toward Conner and continued. “Here is your own flesh and blood. He went out of his way to find you.”

“That’s not confirmed yet.”

“Oh please… Anyone could tell by looking at the two of you that you’re related. Same build, similar features, same eyes… Hair color is a little off, but is still close enough. You’re both stubborn, you’re both conceited, and you both open your mouths before thinking. I don’t need a blood test to know that he’s telling the truth.”

“Okay, so we now know how you feel about Conner… and me as well apparently.
You still haven’t told me what you were thinking tonight.”

She took a moment to compose herself after her tirade before going on.
“Your brother came to find you, and you blew him off. I didn’t understand why. You both were so tense and talked about things I didn’t get. Whenever I tried to ask you about this stuff, you blew me off, so I decided to ask him.” She looked him in the eye the entire time she spoke until the end when she nodded towards Conner. There was no remorse. She wasn’t ashamed of her decision and he knew that if she could do it over again, she would.

“That still doesn’t explain why you went to that park.”

Conner’s voice took him by surprise. He was paying such close attention to what Nicole was saying that he had almost forgotten the other man was there.

She looked towards Conner and sighed before saying, “I knew that you were following me.”

Conner looked confused. “Tonight?”

“Not just tonight.”

“What!?!” Gemariah was livid. “You
knew
that you were being followed and didn’t tell me?”

“That’s impressive.”
Conner went on, ignoring his outburst. “I’m notorious for my tracking. You shouldn’t have been able to see me.”

Nicole’s cheeks became a muted pink and he knew that she liked the compliment.
Damn him!

She addressed Conner first.
“Most of the time, I sensed that you were there and when I would look, you would disappear behind something. No big deal, just intuition.” She then turned back to Gemariah. “And I didn’t tell you because I knew that you would do something stupid like get rid of him. I knew that he was warning you about something that day, and every time that I saw him, I had the feeling that he was there to watch over me. If you weren’t there, wasn’t that a good thing?”

Gemariah uncrossed his arms and took a step towards her.
“You are too trusting,” he complained. “What if you were wrong and he was biding his time before he struck? You should have said something.”

“Um… ‘He’ is right here,” Conner tried to interject.

They both ignored him as if he wasn’t and went on with their discussion.

“Well, at first I thought he was following
you
, but then I saw him when you weren’t there, so I knew it was me that he was following. I already told you, I didn’t feel as if he was a threat.”

Groaning, Gemariah ran his hands through his hair before locking his fingers behind his head.
He turned around to put his back toward her until he could control his thoughts. He had been followed—while Nicole was around—and he didn’t even know it. How the hell was he supposed to protect her if he missed something as simple as a tail?

Taking a deep breath, he composed himself and turned back around.
“Okay, so, tell me what happened tonight,” he ordered.

If it was possible, she looked even more uncomfortable than before.
“Well…” She paused to look down at her hands… again. At the rate she was going, her nails would be down to nothing before the end of the night. “I had this idea. He tried to warn you about something, and he was following me. I thought that… I thought that if I put myself in a dangerous situation, he would show himself so I could talk to him.” The last part was rushed, as if to quickly get it out.