Holdin' On for a Hero (120 page)

Max shook his head but smiled. “Looks like we won more than we anticipated.”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

* * * * *

It was almost dawn. Nikki stood on the balcony watching the sky lighten. After Helen and Mark had been carried away by the police, statements given and evidence turned over, she told about the feeling she’d had when she regained consciousness.

The devise was gone and none of them had a clue where it’d disappeared to. Nor how it had saved her and healed Simon. It was too fantastic to be real, and yet it had happened. She wondered if anyone would believe it.

Certainly not if she tried and used it in her doctoral thesis. Probably not even in a scholarly publication. No, it was a story that would never be accepted as anything more than fiction.

And maybe that’s how it should be. The Society was probably right. There were things that mankind didn’t need to know, things that despite possessing the potential for great good, could be perverted and used for harm.

Still, it would make for an interesting tale, she thought. Maybe she’d suggest that to Simon. They were all intrigued with what had happened, and agreed they should try to investigate what had happened. But for now, Simon had spirited Louise away to the third floor for what Nikki suspected was a lot of talk and some long overdue moments of intimacy.

She and Max had celebrated in bed. But not even the release sexual contentedness provided would bring sleep. She returned inside and slipped into bed beside Max, lying on her side and watching him sleep. He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Everything okay?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

“Then why aren’t you asleep?” he asked, rolling onto his back and pulling her close to his side.

“Just thinking,” she said as she cradled her head on his chest.

“About?”

“That maybe you should write a book.”

“A book? About what?”

“About your life. All that’s happened and all you overcame.”

“Or a book about a man with no hope who was saved by a beautiful woman who appeared out of the blue,” he teased. “And how she earned his trust even though he’d lost the ability to trust, and together they slay all the dragons and quell all the demons with their…magic hammer.”

“Magic hammer?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought the device kind of looked like. A strange silver hammer.”

“Well, not exactly the direction I had in mind for the book, but interesting. So what will the title of this epic be?”

He was quiet for a moment before answering. “A Matter of Trust.”

Nikki smiled. “Okay. And just how does this book end? Once they slay and quell and all that?”

“Why the hero makes passionate love to the heroine, she falls completely under his spell and can’t get enough of him and they live happily ever after.”

“Hmmmm,” she said and ran her hand down his body. “Not bad. But how about we skip ahead to the passionate love for the moment? The rest of the story can wait.”

Max laughed and rolled over, pinning her beneath him. “My thoughts exactly.”