Unforeseen Danger (14 page)

When he carried their plates into the kitchen, she took another sip of her soda and noticed the globes.
 
Nikki wiped her hands on a napkin and walked over to the pine mantel.
 
It was bare except for the rose globes.
 
Their placement seemed odd.
 
They were aligned all the way to the left, side by side, as if there had once been more of them.
 
Nikki carefully lifted the first one and stared at the blue-violet rose that floated inside.

She heard Jake’s footsteps behind her and exclaimed, “Oh, this is beautiful!”

Jake leaned over her shoulder.
 
The hair on the back of her neck stood up as his warm breath tickled her ear.
 
He chuckled, a warm, husky sound that made her stomach tingle.

“I can’t believe you still like this thing, even with amnesia.”
 

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him.
 
The warm, woodsy scent of his cologne enveloped her.
  

“I gave the first one to you on our wedding day.
 
I bought it the day before, on my way back home from a business trip to
South Carolina
.”
 
Jake’s hand covered hers, tilting the globe.
 
“First of all, I wish you could’ve met my old man.
 
He was a real tough guy, except when it came to Mom.
 
He melted around her and was always bringing her roses and little gifts.
 
He eventually built a greenhouse for her and somewhere down the
line,
I learned more about flowers than I guess any man should know.”
 

Nikki smiled and turned to face him.

“A lavender rose means love at first sight.
 
My plane had been delayed, so I was wandering around the gift shop at the airport when I spotted it.
 
I gave it to you after we settled into our hotel room that night, along with a jade necklace that cost a small fortune.
 
You practically ignored the necklace and fawned over this little thing like I’d given you the Hope diamond or something.
 
You freaked me out.
 
It was the first time I’d ever seen you cry, and it was over some little trinket that hadn’t cost twenty bucks.
 
Since you liked it so much, I decided I’d get you one every year on our anniversary.”

Nikki was touched by this romantic side of Jake.
 
“What does the red one mean?
 
And why do they all look different?”

He glanced at the other globes and smiled.
 
“They’re real roses.
 
I thought, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right.
 
I found a guy in
Lexington
who makes these for me.
 
I can take him any rose and he dips it in wax to preserve it.
 
Red roses mean true love and desire.”
 
He pointed at the second one.
 
“But an Austrian red rose also means ‘You are all that is lovely’.”

“Oh, Jake,” she said softly.
 
“That’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” he replied, and handed the third one to her.
 
Its bright orange
color
reflected against the glass, creating the illusion of a ball of fire.
 
“This is a rare rose, a
Marechal
Niel
.
 
See how many layers it has, like those toilet paper roses kids make at camp.
 
It means ‘I’m yours, heart and soul’.
 
The
color
means fascinated.
 
Captivated.
 
I’ve been both of those since the day I met you.”

Jake inclined his head as if to kiss her, but the shrill ring of the telephone jolted them apart.

He stroked her jaw.
 
“I’d better get that.
 
Maybe Matt’s found something.”

She nodded and Jake disappeared into the other room.
 
His conversation was muffled, but as Nikki replaced the globe on the mantel, she heard Jake’s voice raised in anger.
 
Hesitantly, she stepped inside the doorway.

“How many people are in there?” Jake demanded.
 
“Where’s Hank?”

Her movement caught his attention and he turned to face her.
 
Nikki was startled by his sudden pallor.

“I’m on my way.”
 
Jake slammed down the phone and wiped his face with his hand.
 
He was shaking.

“Jake, are you alright?”

He pushed past her and jerked open the hall closet.
 
Jake thrust a coat at her and said, “We have to go.”

“What’s wrong?”
 
Nikki caught his arm and made him face her.

The fear in his blue eyes paralyzed her.

“One of my buildings is on fire.
 
A crew is trapped inside.”

An emergency services worker in a reflective vest stood off the side of the highway.
 
His truck was parked crookedly to block half the secondary road behind him.
 
The pulsing red light on its dash illuminated Jake’s grim face as they pulled beside him.

He motioned for them to turn around and Jake rolled down the window.

“You have to find an alternate route, sir.
 
We’ve got a fire right down the road, and this road is closed to everyone except rescue personnel.”

“Those are my men trapped in that building.
 
You have to let us through,” Jake said.

“I can’t do that.
 
Please give the rescue workers space to work.
 
Your vehicle would just be in their way.”

“Then we’ll walk.
 
Come on, Nikki.”
 
Jake backed the BMW off the road and bailed out of the car before the man could protest.
 
He opened Nikki’s door and together they hurried down the narrow road on foot.

Nikki wasn’t used to the fast pace.
 
“Go on, Jake,” she gasped, out of breath.
 
“I’ll catch up in a minute.”

“No.
 
I’m sorry.
 
I didn’t mean to push you.”
 

She could see the anxiety in his eyes.
 
“Go.
 
I’ll be fine.”
 
The fire cast an orange glow in the skyline ahead.
 
“It’s just ahead.
 
I’ll be right behind you.”

Jake gave her a hesitant look,
then
sprinted off ahead.
 
Feeling suddenly weak, Nikki bent over to catch her breath.

“
Nik
?”
 

The man’s voice startled her and she jerked upright so fast her head swam.
 
She staggered drunkenly and a strong pair of hands caught her.

“Eliot, what are you doing here?”

“My office is nearby.
 
As I was leaving, I saw the fire trucks go by, and then I saw your car and turned around.
 
Where’s Jake?”

“I couldn’t keep up.
 
Told him to go ahead.”

“Are you okay?”
 

Nikki realized she still clutched Eliot’s arm.
 
She released him and said, “I’m fine.
 
Just got a little winded there.”

“Would you like me to carry you back to the car?”

“No, I need to check on Jake.
 
He’s frantic.
 
Some of his men are trapped in there.”

Eliot swore under his breath and they started walking.
 
Nikki stumbled in a pothole and would’ve fallen if Eliot hadn’t caught her yet again.
 

“Hold onto my arm.”

“I’m okay.”

Nikki couldn’t see his face in the darkness, but she sensed his smile as Eliot said, “Hold onto my arm, or I’ll throw you over my shoulder.”

“You wouldn’t,” she said with a laugh.

“Try me.
 
Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve carried you out of someplace.”

“Oh, really?”

“Your 22
^nd
birthday.
 
You had a fight with Derek and were drinking tequila shots with Darcy.
 
At the end of the night, you were facedown on the table.
 
I carried you out and drove you home.”

Nikki covered her face with her hand.
 
“That’s so embarrassing, and I don’t even remember it.”

“Then I won’t tell you about the throwing up in my backseat part.”

“Please don’t,” she said.
 
“But you can tell me about Derek.
 
How long did we date?”

“A couple of years, I guess, though that was off and on.”

She started to ask him more, but they turned the curve and saw the burning building.
 
Jake stood beside a sooty-faced man on a stretcher.
 
The ambulance attendant fixed an oxygen mask on the man’s face and loaded him inside.
 
Nikki saw the
EMTs
attending to three other men and breathed a sigh of relief.
 
Maybe everyone had made it out.

She released Eliot’s arm and hurried over to Jake.
 
He hugged her.

“They’re okay,” he said.
 
“The
firefighters
got them all out.”

“What happened?”
 
Eliot asked.

Jake wiped a hand down his face.
 
He looked tired and strained under the amber glow of the streetlights.

“Arson.
 
Somebody doused the ground floor with gasoline.
 
Can’t you smell it?”

Nikki hadn’t noticed it until Jake said it, but there it was, underneath the thick, acrid smell of the smoke, the sharp smell of gasoline.

“Who would do this?” Eliot asked.
 
“The building
owner bite
off more than he could chew?”

Jake shook his head.
 
“Not likely.
 
Mike Bergman is one of the wealthiest men in town.
 
I think this was personal, directed at me.”

Nikki sucked in a breath and Eliot’s mouth dropped open.

“You can’t be serious!” Eliot said.
 
“Who would do this to you?”

Haltingly, Jake told him about the roses, and stunned Nikki when he admitted that his office had been vandalized, too.

“Why didn’t you tell Matt?” she demanded.

“I was so upset, I just didn’t think.
 
And before that, I thought maybe my office had been vandalized before the accident.
 
I really thought the body in the truck was his.”

Matt arrived at the scene along with the fire inspector.
 
He motioned Jake over and the fire inspector took notes as the three of them talked.

Quietly, Nikki and Eliot watched the
firefighters
subdue the last of the flames.
 
She shivered and Eliot, mistaking the reason behind it, removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Tell me more about Derek,” Nikki said.
 
“Where is he now and could he be the one doing this?”

Eliot looked surprised.
 
“No one’s told you?” he asked.

Nikki shook her head

“Derek’s dead.
 
He committed suicide a couple of months ago.”

***

“
Nik
.”
 
As he pulled into their driveway, Jake reached to shake her shoulder,
then
withdrew his hand. He hated to disturb her.

A glance at the dashboard clock told him it was nearly
2:00 a.m.
 
He turned off the ignition and walked around to the passenger side.
 
Nikki stirred as he unfastened her seatbelt and scooped her up in his arms, but didn’t waken.
 
Carefully, Jake made his way up the walkway and unlocked the door.

Stepping inside, he glanced at the new alarm pad by the door and winced.

Dammit
, even after what happened today, he forgot to set the alarm.

Jake had been so worried about Hank and the others that he just rushed out the door without sparing it a second thought.
 
It was a wonder he remembered to lock it.

After easing the door shut and locking it, Jake started upstairs with Nikki.
 
He found himself listening for noises and jumping at shadows and hated the fact that this man had made him so uptight in his own home.

He laid Nikki in her bed and tugged off her shoes.
 
Then, Jake brushed a kiss across her forehead as he pulled the soft white comforter up to her chin.
 
Although he felt a little annoyed with himself for his nervousness, Jake checked under her bed and inside the closet before moving on to inspect the rest of the house.