You Belong To Me (35 page)

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Authors: Patricia Sargeant

BOOK: You Belong To Me
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Nicole's gaze dipped to the book on Frank's lap, recognizing the cover of her third
InterDimensions
novel. She met his stare. “And how am I betraying them?”
Frank looked down at the book and stroked its cover. Captain Mallory and Lieutenant Commander Albright joined various other characters in an action pose. “By making this movie. By letting outsiders control the family and their actions.”
Nicole pushed herself into a sitting position, swinging her legs over the side of the sofa. She pulled her robe more tightly around her. “Is that why you killed Ty and Denise? To punish me for betraying the family?”
Frank still caressed the book. “It wasn't to punish you. It was to get you to realize your mistake and change your mind.”
Nicole didn't think it would help her cause to tell him the
InterDimensions
characters weren't real. She looked around the room. It was decorated in muted tones with modern furniture and plush wall-to-wall carpeting. A glance over her shoulder showed French doors and the darkness beyond.
“Where are we?”
“My parents' Malibu beach house.”
His measured tone and calm demeanor were misleading. Nicole reminded herself he was unstable. “Are you going to kill me?”
Frank lifted the gun from the small, cherrywood table. His familiarity with the weapon made her uncomfortable.
“Not exactly. It doesn't seem very heroic to shoot the creator of the
InterDimensions
family. I've decided to have you walk into the ocean instead. There's something much more honorable about the
InterDimensions
creator proving her loyalty to the family by taking her own life.”
Nicole braced her hands on the sofa and cocked her head inquiringly. “You expect me to just walk into the ocean?”
Frank's violet eyes twinkled, reminding her of his father. “If you don't, then I'll have to shoot you.”
 
“Why did you kill those people?” Leo came around his desk.
Malcolm tensed as he watched his mentor take slow, measured steps toward the gun.
Ava held the weapon steady on Leo's chest. “Because they were going to make that movie and Frank didn't want them to. They were upsetting my baby. But, of course, I don't expect you to understand. All you care about is yourself.”
“Ava, what you did was wrong. Do you understand that?” Leo kept walking toward her, his arm outstretched. “Give me the gun.”
“Don't come any closer, Leo. What I did, I did for my child. How could that be wrong?” she scoffed.
Leo stopped in front of her. Malcolm and Omar stayed perfectly still.
“Give me the gun, Ava,” Leo said. “And tell me where Frank is.”
“No. What are you going to do?”
“What I have to.” Sadness weighed Leo's voice. He reached for the gun, but Ava stepped back jerkily.
“No. Stay back.”
Leo followed her and reached again for the gun. And then it went off.
 
Frank stood and gestured with the weapon. “Get up.”
Nicole battled a nearly overwhelming feeling of helplessness. Time was her strongest ally. She needed it to come up with a plan. Surely, sooner or later, someone would realize where she was and come rescue her.
“If you kill me, what will happen to the
InterDimensions
family?”
“I'll take care of them. You said yourself that you liked my
InterDimensions
story.”
Nicole stared at him.
This young man has really lost his mind.
It was a terrifying realization.
“Come on. Get up,” Frank repeated, waving the gun again.
Nicole rose slowly, adjusting her robe more tightly around her and knotting the belt. All she had underneath was a light T-shirt and underpants. She forced herself to keep her attention on Frank and not get distracted by the gun. The weapon was far too frightening. She kept her gaze on Frank's eyes, but they were almost as scary in their lack of emotion.
Nicole remembered the punch Frank had landed to her jaw. Thinking it might come in useful, she allowed herself to sway on her feet, pretending to steady herself on the arm of the sofa.
“What's wrong with you?”
“I felt a little dizzy for a moment.” She made her voice breathless. She gave him an accusatory look. “You punched me, remember? And I'm still getting over that concussion from when you tried to run me over.”
Frank's expression never changed. “Let's go.” He waved the gun toward the French doors.
Nicole could see the night through the glass. This wasn't the way she had hoped to make her escape.
She led the way to the doors and waited for Frank to release the locks. He pulled one of the doors open and stood aside for her to precede him. They stepped onto a deck, its winding staircase leading to the beach. Crashing waves rolled in forty yards away. Nicole shivered. Her mind rebelled against taking one more step toward that watery end.
“Let's go.” Frank stabbed her in the back with the gun's muzzle.
Time. She needed more time. She swayed again, putting her hand to her forehead.
Frank waited beside her. “What is it?”
“Just dizzy.” Nicole took a hesitant step forward, grasping the banister as though afraid that, without its support, she would fall.
“We're almost there,” he encouraged. “You're doing the right thing. You owe it to the family to sacrifice yourself for the shame you've brought upon them.”
Nicole paused two steps down. “What do you mean?”
“Because of you, the family is now associated with Tyrone's and Denise's murders.”
“I thought that was because of you.” It was hard, but Nicole masked her anger over his accusation that she was responsible for her friends' deaths.
Frank prodded her again with the gun. “No. My mother killed them because of you. Because you were going to make the movie.”
Nicole froze. “Ava killed them?”
“Yes.” Frank paused on the step beside her. “Now, enough talking. We have to get going.”
Nicole moved slowly, setting both feet on each stair before going on. Frank kept pace beside her. She stepped with care as part of her ploy, but also because she was dazed by Frank's latest revelation. He and his mother were involved in this campaign of terror. She wondered if his whole family was crazy.
Halfway down the staircase, she determined that if she was going to execute her plan, it was now or never. She pretended to stumble and crashed heavily into Frank, causing him to fall the rest of the way down the staircase. She ran down the steps after him, leaping over him as he settled in a heap at the bottom of the stairway. Gaining her feet, she ran hard through the sand in the direction of what she hoped was traffic noise. Her robe fluttered in the wind. Her bare feet sank into the sand.
Lights were scarce along the beach. Trash cans and beach markers appeared in her path without warning, hindering her pace. Her eyes had trouble adjusting to the dark because she had to run through the intermittent lights.
“Stop!” Frank yelled, foolishly to her mind since she had no intention of slowing, much less stopping.
Nicole heard his heavy breathing behind her. He seemed to be gaining ground. She strained to increase her speed but was hampered again by recycle bins growing in her path. As she dodged a barrel, Frank flung himself on her, and she fell face-first onto the sand. She ignored the ringing in her ears and fought to crawl from under him. He pulled her to him and flung her onto her back as though she were a rag doll.
Nicole gritted her teeth, refusing to be intimidated by Frank's wiry strength. Her arms worked furiously, struggling to evade capture as he fought to subdue her. The ringing in her ears grew louder. Bright lights flashed in her peripheral vision. She tossed and strained away from him, feeling her strength begin to ebb. Frank threw a leg over her in a misguided attempt to gain leverage by straddling her. Instead, he gave her the opening she needed. Without hesitation, she slammed her knee into his groin.
He screamed, slumping over to one side and writhing in agony. She rolled to her feet away from him. Headlights speeding down the beach momentarily blinded her, and she realized they were police cars. The flashing lights in her periphery and the ringing in her ears had been the police coming to her rescue with sirens wailing. She ran toward the lights, waving her arms and shouting.
“Nicky!”
Malcolm.
She turned toward his welcome voice and threw herself into his outstretched arms. He caught her, and she let him hold her close. Hold her as though he'd never again let her go.
 
Nicole lay on the sofa cradled between Malcolm's thighs, her back against his chest. A blanket kept them warm, reinforced by the heat from the flames dancing in the fireplace. They'd given their statements to the police, who'd sent them home after arranging for them to return to the station in the morning for additional questioning. Nicole wasn't looking forward to the appointment, but at least Malcolm would be with her. She didn't want to go anywhere without him for quite some time.
Malcolm shifted behind her, and she retucked a corner of the blanket.
“Are you comfortable?” She hoped he was so she wouldn't have to move.
“Yes. Are you?”
“Yes.” She sighed with contentment and closed her eyes.
“I almost lost you again tonight.” His deep voice rumbled in the silent room.
She thought of Ava holding a gun on him, Omar, and Leo. “I almost lost you, too.”
“We've had too many close calls.”
She rubbed his thigh under the blanket. “It's over now, Mal. Thank God. I'm glad Leo's going to be okay.”
Malcolm and Omar had told her about Leo struggling with Ava for the gun. The weapon had gone off, catching Leo in the shoulder. Luckily, the doctor had been able to extract the bullet. There wasn't any internal damage. All he'd needed were a few stitches and a sling.
“I was so afraid I wouldn't reach you in time. We sped all the way to Malibu after Ava told us what Frank had planned. I kept thinking I was going to run out of time. I was going to fail you. But you saved yourself, Nicky.”
“I was so glad to see you.” Nicole realized they both needed to talk. Their police statements weren't enough to put the night to rest. “I didn't know whether I would be able to get away from Frank. When I saw you, I knew I was safe.”
Malcolm covered her hand as it rested on his thigh. “I realized tonight just how stupid I've been.”
Nicole twisted around to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I let my insecurities come between us again.” Malcolm pressed a finger against her lips to stop her interruption. “I wanted to keep you safe, so I left you behind when I went to talk to Leo. I didn't share with you my suspicions about Frank.”
Nicole pulled his hand away from her mouth. “You had asked Joyce to stay with me. It's not as though you had intended to leave me alone. It was bad luck Frank got to the house first.”
Malcolm kissed her. It was an awkward kiss because of their position, but it was still one of the most loving caresses she'd ever received.
“Every time I try to take care of you, something goes wrong,” he whispered against her lips.
Nicole adjusted her position on the sofa so that she faced him. “We do a better job of taking care of each other.”
Malcolm reached out to pull her down against his chest. He weaved his fingers through her hair to hold her against his heart. “You were right when you said we gave up on our marriage too soon. At the time, I thought two years was long enough for us to try to move on after we lost our baby. I was trying to shock us out of that frozen state we were in.”
Nicole tipped her head back to look into his chocolate eyes. “If you'd wanted to know whether I thought we were through, you should have just asked me, Mal.” Her lip quirked upward. “The divorce papers were a bit extreme.”
Malcolm sighed. “Yeah. Well, words don't always come easily for me.”
Nicole rubbed his thigh again. “That's something you're going to work on, right?”
“Right.” Malcolm kissed her hair. “I'm really sorry, baby. Please forgive me.”
Nicole propped her forearms on Malcolm's chest so she could gaze at him. “We both made mistakes. One of which was trying to change each other after we were married. You wanted a woman you could take care of. I wanted a man who would be my partner.”
Malcolm cupped her shoulders. “I am that man now.”
Nicole shifted upward to kiss him long and lingeringly. “I believe you. From now on, we'll lean on each other instead of trying to be strong on our own.”

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