Sweet As Sin

35

From outside came the unmistakable screech of a vehicle braking hard. When we looked out the window, I corrected myself: two vehicles. With no regard for the fact that it was a two-way street, a pair of black Escalades with limo tint had parked opposite the police cars, blocking traffic. Their driver doors flew open. Out popped Barney and Nico, both of them looking like they were about to commit murder.

At the sight of Nico, the paparazzi went into a feeding frenzy that would have made a school of piranha proud.

“Uh-oh.”

“Bit of an understatement, Chloe, but accurate, nonetheless.” Grace sent me a sympathetic look. “This should be fun.”

“Oh, God. What’s he doing?” Turning away to pace in the living room because I couldn’t bear to watch, I began to chew my thumbnail.

“Well . . . it looks like he’s about to get into a fight with . . . ” Grace began counting. “Eight guys. The rest are taking pictures. Who’s the thug with him in the black Armani?”

Only Grace could spot a designer suit at three hundred paces.

“Barney. He’s Nico’s . . . ” I thought of him driving Avery home, and returning to me with a briefcase of cash the day of the shoot. “Assistant, I guess? He’s not a thug. He’s really sweet.”

Was I hyperventilating? I couldn’t look out the window. I had no experience with fights, and didn’t trust myself not to scream. I felt as if I might be having an out-of-body experience.

Grace winced, watching the action outside. “I think Barney just tasered someone.”

I was horrified. “What? With a taser?”

She answered drily, “No, with his cell phone. It’s a new Android app.”

“Dude! I thought people only twitched like that for effect in the movies!”

“Chloe!”

Unimpressed with my outburst, Chloe drew in a low, thrilled breath. “Oh! Look at Officer Cox!” A moment later, louder, “DUDE!”

OK, now I had to look. I crossed to the window just in time to see Officer Nordic God Cox shove a man to the ground, toss him on his stomach, and wrap a pair of handcuffs around his wrists, faster than I could blink. Not that I was blinking, because my central nervous system was suffering from sudden-onset paralysis.

The scene outside had quickly devolved into chaos.

I spotted Nico again. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. He was shouting at a man with a video camera while the police officer who had come to the door with Officer Cox pushed him back, one hand flattened on Nico’s chest, the other wrapped around the weapon at his waist. His face contorted in anger, Nico looked completely unhinged, like he might at any moment tear off the policeman’s arm and beat the other man to death with it.

Nico broke away from the officer and headed toward my door. I had it open before he was halfway up the path. He brushed past me into the house, slammed shut the door, locked it, and turned to grip my upper arms. He pulled me against his chest.

“Are you all right?”

Though his voice was controlled, his expression, energy, and posture were thermonuclear with rage. His nostrils were flared, his breathing was ragged, every muscle in his body was clenched.

I’d never stood this close to someone so furious. I could almost smell the violence in him. It frightened me so much I stuttered when I answered.

“W—we’re okay. Th—they didn’t do anything.”

Nico stared at me in silence, examining my face. I don’t think he believed me.

“Grace.”

She stood near the front windows, watching us. “Yes?”

Not releasing me, Nico cut his gaze to her. He jerked his chin. My guess was correct: he was looking to Grace for confirmation.

She answered in a quiet monotone. It was her professional lion-tamer voice, designed to soothe and support, yet without any shred of emotion.

“She’s fine, Nico. We all are. We had a scare, but no damage has been done. The police arrived very quickly. Thank you for calling them. And thank you for coming so quickly as well. I know Kat feels much better now that you’re here.”

Her tone revealed nothing. Her expression revealed nothing. Her unflinching gray eyes revealed nothing. But I’d known Grace Stanton a long time. The moments she revealed nothing were the most revealing moments of all.

If she’d been withholding final judgment on Nico before, if she’d been inclined to dislike him for his womanizing and his lifestyle and his past, but was giving him the slightest benefit of the doubt for my sake, this situation had brought her to her ultimate, irrevocable conclusion.

I had zero hope it was positive.

Not privy to this information, Nico nodded, seeming grateful for her words. Seeming, if not calmed, at least slightly less explosive from hearing them. He looked back at me.

“Okay. We’re outta here. You pack your bag?”

I was almost afraid to say “no.” “Um . . . ”

He didn’t wait for more. “Do it. We leave in five.” He looked at Grace, then at Chloe. “You girls get ready, too. Barney will drive you home.”

“But my car—”

Nico cut Chloe off. “We’ll get it to you later today. Just give Barney your keys, and he’ll handle it. You don’t want those guys outside following you home, trust me. Once they know where you live, you’ll never get rid of them.”

Never? Appropriately, Chloe paled. As did I.

“Why do I need a bag? Where are we going?” I asked Nico.