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‘No,
Nate,’ I mutter, irritably. 

‘Then
come home, do what needs to be done from here,’ he instructs, dominantly.

The
hairs on my neck rise, ‘it’s okay for you, nothing is going to change for you,’
I complain, emotionally. 

‘Jesus,
fuck!’ he growls. ‘You’re having second thoughts,’ he sighs.

‘I’m
not, okay?’ my voice rises, ‘I’ve just had a bad day!’

‘Babe,
come home.  I can’t have you freaking out on the other side of the world
when there’s shit I can do about it.’ His voice is firm, and I suddenly miss
him with a passion. ‘What’s really happened?’

I
take a deep breath and explain to Nate, how everyone is attempting to burst my
bubble of happiness, and I would have to sell my beloved car, by the end of the
conversation I am tired and emotional.

‘Jesus
fuck, babe,’ he calls, ‘take a goddam breath and calm the hell down.  You
want a Range Rover Evoque; I’ll buy you one!  What’s the real problem
here, cos I gotta tell ya, it’s more than a goddam car?’

I
sniff back a tear, ‘I miss you, I don’t want to be here explaining why I fell
in love, why I have to sell my business, why I am giving up everything I have
for a guy I met a couple of months ago.’

He
chuckles, ‘then don’t!’.  ‘Grab what you want from home, we can ship
anything big, and get your pretty ass back here to my bed.’

‘I
would love that,’ I sigh.

‘Me
too, babe,’ his voice is low and sexy, making me quiver from head to toe. 
‘So,’ his voice is smooth and soft, ‘you fell in love?’

I
smile, ‘I fell in love,’ I confirm.

‘Still
waiting for you to tell me, babe,’ he breathes. 

‘You’ll
get it,’ I tease.

‘Don’t
like this time apart, London,’ he admits, ‘gotta tell you babe, makes me
anxious.’

‘Me
neither,’ I purr, softly.  ‘You home?’ That sounds so good. I get a warm
fuzzy feeling deep inside at the thought of Nate and I making a home together.

‘No,
I’m in Krystal,’ he notifies me.

‘Everything
okay?’ I check, ‘they lifted your suspension?’

‘Yeah,
it’s all good, babe,’ he pledges. ‘I told you it would be good.’

‘Okay,
say hi to everyone,’ I offer, gently, thinking about him at the hotel with
Marnie.

‘I
will, babe.  Ellie’s stoked you staying, and Ma,’ he mentions.

‘Yeah?’
I smile, wondering whether he was just saying what I wanted to hear, or they
were happy that I was staying.  ‘I was thinking that they were glad to see
the back of me, bringing all this drama to their doorstep.’

‘Soph,
you know they love you,’ he comforts me.

‘Nate!’
I call, gently.

‘Yeah
babe,’ he responds.

‘If
I give all of me to you...’ I begin, intending to beg him to take care of me,
of us.

‘Cherish
that gift, babe,’ he automatically answers.

I
close my eyes, an ache radiating through my chest.  ‘I love you, Nate,’ I
whisper.

‘Babe,’
he blows out a deep breath.

‘More
than anything in this world,’ I add, for effect.

‘Come
home, babe,’ he purrs, ‘need to show you just how much I love you, how much the
gift of your love means to me.’

‘As
soon as I can,’ I promise.

********

The
next few days, I detach from my emotions, lift my chin and get on with what
needs doing.  I leave Charley in charge of the salon, informing her I am
promoting her as manager, for now.  I also expressed that it wasn’t a
permanent arrangement as I was hoping to start up another salon in Denver, at
some point and would need the capital.  She wasn’t best pleased, but it
was all she was getting from me, right now.    

I
don’t have a lot of sentimental possessions in my life, but anything that means
something to me, I box up and arrange to have shipped over to Nates, along with
anything else that I can’t manage on my flight over. 

I
contact an estate agent and set the wheels in motion to sell my flat.  I
loved my flat, but there was little point in keeping it.   Shauna
suggests that I rent it out, for now, I know she means well, she was hoping I
would keep it in case anything went wrong with Nate. 

I
have to take a risk in life, trust in my feelings.  I tell her this, and
she nods with a small smile on her lips.  She then demands that I go and
get what I deserve from life, my forever with someone that truly loves me for
who I am.

It
is another five days before I finally manage to book a flight home.  I
call Nate from Heathrow, and we talk plans for the loft and where the hell we
are going to put everything that I decided to have sent over, right up to when
I board the plane. 

‘I’ll
be waiting for you at DIA, babe,’ Nate purrs down the phone when I tell him I
have to turn my phone off. 

‘I
can’t wait,’ I breathe, butterflies fluttering within my tummy.

‘Get
some sleep, Sophie.  You’re gonna need it,’ he declares, with a promise of
good things.

‘Fuck,
that’s all I’ll be thinking about,’ I moan.

‘Safe
flight,’ he chuckles.

‘Love
you, baby,’ I call.

‘I
thought we agreed, you weren’t allowed to say it again until I could do
something about it,’ he half-heartedly scolded me.

I
laugh, ‘see you in about ten hours, Nate.’

The
journey home seemed longer than the estimated hours, I tossed and turned in my
seat willing myself to sleep, but it never found me.  Instead, I sat up
and rearranged Nate’s loft space in my head, with my furniture in mind, a smile
on my face.

Finally,
the plane touches down and everyone piles into the luggage collection to await
their belongings.  I had visited the bathroom and tidied myself up,
brushed my teeth, reapplied my makeup and sprayed on some perfume in
preparation for seeing my man for the first time in ten days.

I
stand and glance around the crowded arrivals hall for Nate; his tall height
means that I should be able to spot him from a mile.  Maybe he was held up
in traffic. I reach for my phone as a smart man of around forty approaches me.

‘Miss
Parker?’ His dazzling smile and handsome features draw my attention.

‘Yes?’
I call, politely.

‘Miss
Parker, Detective Austin has asked me to escort you back to his loft,
Ma’am.  He has been unavoidably delayed,’ he explains, genially.

‘And
you are?’ I question.

‘Detective
Morris, Ma’am,’ he smiles the dazzling smile. 

‘Do
you have ID?’ I check, suspicion clouding my mind.  Nate promised he would
be here, no matter what.

‘Of
course,’ he lifts his jacket exposing his shield on his belt, a shield
identical to Nate’s.

‘Sorry,’
I smile, ‘you can’t be too careful,’ I apologize.

He
grasps my roll-on-case and takes the rucksack off of my back.  I had
attempted to bring as much as I could on the flight so that I could have some
personal items surrounding me before the shipment arrived in a few weeks.

‘My
vehicle is this way, Miss Parker,’ he encourages.

Sitting
in the shiny black Mercedes, I begin to feel a little uneasy.  I had text
Nate, updating him of my arrival and thanking him for sending a driver, but I
had heard nothing back from him.  I glance out at the passing roads and
again attempt to call him, the call diverts straight to voicemail.

‘Do
you know where Nate is?’ I call over to the front seat of the car.

‘He’s
working a case, Ma’am,’ is all he says.

‘I
just wanted to let him know I’ve landed,’ I explain.

‘He’ll
call as soon as he’s able, I’m sure,’ this he says with a chuckle.

It
isn’t until he turns into a road that seems to be going in the wrong direction
from Nate’s place, that my blood begins to pound in my ears.

My
stomach clenches, something, is off.  ‘Actually, could you pull over for a
minute, I’m not feeling too good,’ I ask, sweetly.  I pull up Ellie’s
number on my mobile and hover my finger over the call button.

‘Sorry
Ma’am that isn’t possible,’ pulling into an underground car park, he swerves
into an empty spot.

I
call Ellie’s number.

‘Where
are we?’ the tremble in my voice is evident.  ‘Please, where’s Nate?’ I
hear the panic in my voice.  ‘Help!’ I scream, at the top of my lungs. The
man twists in his seat and points a gun at me.  I immediately stop, my
lungs emptying of air and bile rising in my throat.

‘Stop
screaming, bitch!’ He growls.  ‘Do as I say and no one will get hurt,’ he
announces.

‘Where’s
Nate?’ I mumble, shakily. I can hear Ellie calling me down the phone.

‘Give
me that phone,’ he reaches across and grabs my phone, throwing it out of the
window with a smash. ‘Stay the fuck there,’ he instructs, stepping out,
lowering his gun as he steps around to my side of the car. ‘Out!’ He commands.

We
enter an elevator, all the while the gun is painfully digging into my back.

‘What
do you want from me?’ I ask, meekly.

‘Shut
it!’ he spits.  I shut it.

********

We
enter, what appears to be an office floor, the plush surroundings almost empty
apart from a woman on the reception desk, who doesn’t seem the least perturbed
that I have a gun at my back.  She is blonde, slim and beautifully made up
in a short dress, high heels, and a painted face. 

‘Mr.
Ericson is waiting for her,’ she nods her head to the guy beside me, barely
looking at me.

My
heart is thudding in my chest as I am guided inside the office in question.
There sits an attractive man with dark hair, a smattering of grey at the sides,
sitting behind a huge walnut desk.  He is dressed in a three-piece suit
and several, too many to count, identically clad men are scattered around
him.  It occurs to me almost instantly that he alludes power, and not the
good kind.

A
blonde heap on the floor distracts me. I don’t know the man, but he appears to
know me.  My appearance somewhat pleases him.

‘Ah,
Miss Parker,’ the immaculately dressed man behind the desk greets me, his
English accent surprising me.  In different circumstances, I would have
found him incredibly good-looking, from the confident way he held himself, to
the way the dark lashes surrounding the intuitive grey eyes scorched towards
me.  That was if he wasn’t some drugs lord, and I wasn’t hopelessly in
love with Nate.

‘Who
are you?’ I probe, ‘what do you want?’ My voice sounds alien, even to my own
ears.

‘That’s
her,’ the blond man calls over, accusingly, ‘that’s Oliver’s sister, looks just
like him. She should pay the debt, not me!’

One
of the suited men kicks him hard in the ribs.  ‘How many times I need to
tell you, man, you don’t speak unless you are asked to speak,’ his voice is
clear and strong. 

The
blonde coughs as he holds onto his side in agony. ‘Fuck!’ He moans.  His
face is swollen and bruised, judging by his messed up face, he clearly hasn’t
learned his lesson and continues to speak when asked not to.

‘Miss
Parker, you are the sister of Oliver Parker, are you not?’ The man behind the
desk continues.

‘Yes,’
I know that this information isn’t likely to please these men, but for some
reason the moment I walked into the office, my body and emotions went
numb.  It was as if I knew deep down in a dark corner of my being that this
happening was inevitable.  I’m never going to be free of Oliver and his
history.

He
nods, his grey eyes holding mine, ‘absolutely stunning,’ he mumbles,
appreciatively. ‘You have the most amazingly expressive eyes,’ he
mutters.  ‘I hear you had an unfortunate experience with that street rat,
Myers?’

‘That’s
correct,’ I mutter, almost shuddering at the memory.

‘I
see the memory isn’t a favourable one?’ He tilts his head and regards me. 

‘You
see right,’ I murmur, glancing around at the men that are currently circling
me.

‘What
did he do to you?’ He probes.

‘Err,’
I mumble.

‘What
did he do to you?’ He repeats, his voice probing.

‘It’s
humiliating,’ I whisper, glancing nervously around the room full of
testosterone.

‘I
won’t ask again,’ his penetrating gaze along with his cold enquiry suggests I
speak up, and quick.

I
take a breath in, ‘he fucked me with his fingers,’ I murmured, ‘while holding a
knife to my throat.’

His
gaze darkens, his lips tighten, he isn’t pleased with this update.  I
surmise this is good news as it means they don’t intend to repeat the
action. 

‘Please
accept my apologies for any distress that may have caused you, he was acting
outside of his orders,’ he claims, mechanically.  ‘And, you can be assured
that he will be taken care of, Miss Parker.  But, we do seem to have a
problem,’ he stands and moves around the desk to perch on the edge, a few feet
away from me.
  I attempt to step back, but
smiler
is standing directly behind me, preventing me from moving.

‘Relax,
I prefer my women willing,’ he scoffs, waving a hand at my attempted
withdrawal. ‘Although I imagine it would be fun to soften your hard edges, I
hear you are quite the ice queen,’ he smiles.  He is an attractive man, thickly
built with good hair, his smile altering his face from attractive to stunning. 

‘I
tried to pay the money to that creep!’ I lift my chin, stubbornly. ‘If he hadn’t
tried to force himself on me for the second time, he would have been away and scot-free,’
I express, vehemently. 

‘He
tried to force himself on you twice?’ He stopped and looked over to one of the
suited guys to his left.  ‘Get word, cut his dick off,’ he instructed.

‘Yes
sir,’ the man departs the office, but it felt no less crowded with suited,
powerful men.

‘Where’s
the money now?’ The boss asked.

‘I
sent it back to my father, he was financing the debt,’ I state.  ‘I don’t
have that kind of money.’

He
stands from his position on the desk and moves close to me. He is tall, and his
clear grey eyes would be magnificent on someone that wasn’t holding me hostage
and intending on doing god knows what to me. 

‘Are
you going to hurt me?’ I mumble up, digging deep for the dignity that I feel is
imperative for this conversation.

‘I
want what I’m owed, Miss Parker,’ his eyes move down to my lips.

‘Does
that mean you are going to hurt me?’ I repeat.

He
watches me for what feels like minutes but is probably seconds. ‘No, I don’t
think I will,’ he decides.

‘I
can call my father and get the money for you,’ I offer, willingly.

He
smiles again, exposing perfectly white, even teeth, ‘I like you Miss Parker.’

‘Thank
you,’ I whisper.  Maybe if he likes me, then he won’t kill me.

‘Take
a seat, Miss Parker.  I hear you’ve had a long journey,’ he turns from me,
and
smiler
guides me
into a chair to the right of the desk.

I
watch as, who I presume is the boss walks towards the cowering blonde man,
stopping a couple of feet away to gaze down.  ‘Now, unfortunately, you, I
will be hurting, Simon,’ his voice is cold, emotionless.

Simon! 
Fuck, that’s Oliver’s Simon? I attempt to keep my calm as I feel my anger
boiling below the surface.  Fucking coward, gave me up to save his own
skin.

‘You
see, I don’t like weak people, least of all weak people who are all too
willing, not to mention spineless, to put someone else in the frame to save
themselves. Do you know what I like even less?’  He didn’t wait for him to
answer, ‘I don’t like weak people who are all too willing to put an
innocent
someone else in the frame to save themselves.’

‘She
just said she’ll pay the money, it’s a win-win situation, Mr. Ericson,’ Simon’s
voice quivers.

‘Tell
me why she should pay you and your boyfriend’s debt?’ He growls low, and I know
from experience with Nate, that isn’t good.

‘She’s
his sister; the family has money.  I don’t have money’ he explains,
enthusiastically.  ‘Does it matter where the money comes from as long as
you get it?’

‘She
snort the coke?’ he queries, ‘pocket the money you and your boyfriend made from
selling it on the street?’

‘No,
but…’ He attempts to excuse his behaviour, but Ericson isn’t having any of it.

‘She
lived in another country, had no contact with the weasel for twenty-seven
years, I repeat, why should she pay for your cocaine habit?’ Well, he has
obviously done his homework, he knows me and my family’s background. ‘Parker
paid his price,’ he continues, ‘you gonna pay your debt with your life?’

My
body tenses at his words, I didn’t fit together the pieces before, these are
Ollie’s murderers.  I swallow the lump in my throat and for a moment am
sure that it can be heard echoing around the room.

‘No,
Mr. Ericson,’ Simon pleads. ‘Ollie had debts, big debts. We were going to pay it
back.’

I
watch how things transpire with an objectivity that is unnerving.  I feel
detached from the whole sorry event.  Nate and I have an evening to
enjoy.  Nate!  Where the fuck is Nate?  Have they harmed
him?  Bile rises in my throat.

I
hear a thudding sound as a fist collides with Simon’s jaw. I glance up to see
Mr. Ericson looking down disgustedly at Simon, who was knocked out by the
blow.  ‘Fucking, snitch,’ he mutters, ‘making me repeat things.’

His
gaze returns to mine, and my heart begins to quicken.

‘Miss
Parker,’ he allows my name to rumble through his lips.  ‘Sophie, may I
call you Sophie?’

I
nod, my throat tight with anticipation, Mr. Ericson can call me whatever he
likes as long as he doesn’t kill me.  My body trembles as the shock of the
situation hits home.

‘The
first problem I have is that I will require you to call your father and
retrieve the missing funds,’ he watches as his requests flow through my mind.

‘Okay,’
I clear my throat at the huskiness of my speech, ‘I can do that.’

‘The
next problem I have is that you can identify all of us here,’ again, he allows
that to penetrate my brain.  He notices the moment it does, I tense, raise
my gaze to his and my insides tremble.  ‘I see you get my problem.’

‘Mr.
Ericson,’ I call, ‘I just want to go home to my boyfriend and live my
life.  I have had a shit life, I want the good that I have recently had a
glimpse off, and I’m not referring to that creep assaulting me within that,’ I
swallow, ‘I get the money to you, can we then draw a line under all of
this?  I didn’t even know Ollie was on drugs,’ I confess.

He
tilts his head, ‘you found some good in Detective Nathan Austin?’ He asks,
ignoring the rest of my plea.

‘Yeah,’
I answer quietly, ‘can you let me have that good?’

‘I
can give you good, Sophie, and we won’t need Detective Nathan Austin,’ he professes,
softly.

‘See,
I’m sure you are a fine man, Mr. Ericson, and I’m sure you can show me
good.  But you see, I’m in love with Detective Nathan Austin,’ I
admit. 

‘You
see how that gives me an even bigger problem, Sophie?’ He whispers.

I
can form no words, my boyfriend being a detective, yeah, I can see how we have
an even bigger problem. 

‘It
doesn’t have to be,’ I finally push out in barely a whisper.

He
regards me for a beat, turns and commands, ‘get that piece of shit out of here,
make him disappear.’  Fuck, he’s going to kill him. ‘Give me the room,’ he
mutters aloud.  No one questions his instruction, but immediately the room
is clear, all except me, Mr. Ericson and the biggest guy with the piercing blue
eyes.  ‘You too, Robson,’ he demands, clearly. 

Robson’s
eyes fall to mine, in warning, before he too leaves the room.

‘Drink?’

‘No
thank you,’ I answer, politely. 

‘You
had a shit life?’ he queries, as he lifts a crystal decanter containing amber
liquid, pouring it into a glass that suggests it’s brandy.

‘It
could have been worse,’ I proclaim, ‘but it could have been better.’

He
nods, ‘I want to spend time with you Sophie, you intrigue me.  A woman
hasn’t intrigued me in a while. You arrive in a foreign country to lay your
estranged brother in the ground after hardly knowing him.  Why is that?’

‘He’s
all I had. I have wanted a connection to another human being all my life,’ as I
speak the words, I realise how true they are.

His
eyes move to mine, a softness within their depths.  ‘Do you know how
incredibly sad that is?’

I
nod. 

‘I
have an intense urge to protect you, Sophie Parker,’ he states.  ‘I
imagine that’s how you and your detective formed a bond.’

Again,
I nod.

‘Come
here, Sophie,’ he demands.

My
legs like jelly, I stand and walk over to him as he leans against the wooden
drinks cabinet, stopping just short of his personal space. My body is trembling
inside, but my chin is tilted up stubbornly.

I
flinch, as his hand reaches out to my face. He stops mid-air, ‘I already said I
wouldn’t hurt you, Sophie,’ he frowns, my actions displeasing him. 

I will
my body to relax.  He continues to move his hand and I hold statue still
as he cups my jaw, stroking a thumb down my cheek.  ‘So, unbelievably
beautiful,’ he whispers, stepping up until he is towering above me, his hand on
my cheek.

‘I’m
going to demand a kiss, Sophie Parker, in payment of your life.’ He updates me,
‘I want you to call your father, and I will speak to him, to make arrangements
for him to pay back your brother’s debt.’ His hand moves around and cups my
nape, pulling me against his firmness.  My body is tense, and my breathing
laboured as our bodies collide.  My hands move up to break my fall against
his chest. He moulds his body to mine to prevent me from moving either my hands
or my body from his.  What the fuck is he doing?