Midnight Call (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

The nurse hesitated then wrote something on a piece of paper and came from behind her desk. She motioned for him to follow her and led him to a small private room.

“I could lose my job and get into big trouble if they find out I gave you this information,” the nurse said once she shut the door behind her. She handed him the slip of paper but kept her grip on it when he tried to take it. “This is the name and address for Sarah’s brother. She named him guardian of the baby, and he took her home with him. If anyone asks, you never spoke to me.” The nurse left the room without giving him a chance to respond.

Robert had known Sarah had a brother she hadn’t spoken to since she left home. What he didn’t know was that she was in contact with him or even knew where to find him. It pissed Robert off that she’d given his baby away without even telling him he was going to be a father. Of course he wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with a baby. Still, he had a right to know. Looking at the piece of paper, he read the name and local address of Sarah’s brother. He knew nothing of the man, so he needed to do some research and come up with a plan before he approached him.

He strolled out of the hospital with a new mission. He just had to avoid Mr. Porello and his goons for a few more days while he researched Sarah’s brother and found someone willing to buy a baby from him. The last task was going to be the hardest. It wasn’t like he could place an ad in the local paper advertising a baby for sale. This was something he was going to have to ask around about and fast.

* * * *

Nadia was a wreck. Her nerves had been on edge all morning and afternoon. How did she ever think she could do this job? It was bad enough she had no idea what she was doing, but she had to be clueless in front of Jackson. Why was he still here? Nadia wanted to ask him if he had somewhere to be, but that would have been rude. He was making her nervous though. She couldn’t even stop her hands from trembling as she changed the baby for what felt like the thousandth time that day. That included diapers and outfits. Nadia was determined that Addy was going to be the cleanest baby in town. Even she couldn’t screw that up.

“If you are just going to stand there and hover, you might as well help,” Nadia said, holding out a dirty, smelly diaper to Jackson. Maybe that would teach him to just stand in the doorway watching her.

While Jackson was off handling the diaper, Nadia quickly finished with Addison and lifted her off the changing table. She was grateful the baby so far seemed low maintenance. All she did was eat, sleep, and poop. Nadia could handle that. What she couldn’t handle was crying. Thankfully, the baby had only whimpered a few times, and Nadia was able to figure out what she needed before it turned into full-out crying.

Nadia moved slowly around the nursery, patting the baby’s bottom until she drifted off to sleep. After a few more minutes, she laid Addison in her crib. She watched the baby for a few more minutes before whispering, “You aren’t so bad,” and then she quietly crept out of the room. Nadia found Jackson leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. She could see the muscles in his jaws working as he clenched his teeth. He didn’t look happy at all. Her first thought was,
Oh crap!
He was finally coming to his senses after watching her with the baby all day. He’d seen just how inexperienced she was, and he wanted her to leave. Nadia hung her head and waited.

“Come on. Let’s go order dinner. The guys should be home by the time it arrives,” Jackson said as he gently gripped her by the elbow and led her down the hall.

That was not what Nadia expected. She expected him to tell her to pack her bags, not invite her to dinner.

“So you aren’t going to make me leave?” Nadia couldn’t help asking.
Idiot! If he wasn’t thinking it before, now he is. Stop putting ideas in his head!

Jackson frowned down at her. “Why would I make you leave?”

“I know I don’t have that much experience working with babies. Honestly, I don’t have any. I’m pretty sure you saw that today while watching me. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to find someone better for Addison.” It was hard for Nadia to tell him that, but she had to get it off her chest.

“Listen, Nadia, from what I saw today, you are exactly what Addison needs. The baby already adores you. Do you know that today is the first day she hasn’t cried for hours at a time? That was because of you.”

Nadia was shocked. She had just thought Addison was an easy-going baby. It made her feel good to know she was doing something right.

“I know we don’t know you that well, but, judging by what I saw today, I know we made the right decision in hiring you. You are a natural with Addison. Your honesty and willingness to put her first and tell us to hire someone else, even though it would leave you homeless, tells me all I need to know about you. The job is yours for as long as you want it.

“Now,” Jackson said, changing the subject, “tell me what you would like to eat so I can get dinner ordered.”

Nadia sighed. She felt the tension leave her shoulders and smiled up at Jackson. Knowing he wasn’t going to kick her to the curb was a relief. She vowed to try her best to not screw things up.

Steve and Greg arrived home about five minutes before the Chinese delivery guy showed up. They cleared the coffee table in the living room and all sat on the floor eating and talking. Nadia was relaxed around the guys as she listened to them laugh and tease each other. From the stories they told her about them growing up, Nadia knew they were brothers in every sense of the word but blood. It didn’t matter to them that they didn’t share the same blood though.

What would it be like to grow up having true friends like they had? Nadia had a feeling she would never know what their kind of friendship felt like. There was just no way she would ever take the chance and open her heart up again. It hurt too much to have it stomped on by people just trying to use her.

“Nadia.”

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Jackson call her name. From the look on his face, he had called it more than once.

“Are you all right? Did we say something wrong?” Jackson asked. “We were talking and laughing, and then you just got really quiet with a sad look on your face.”

Nadia sighed. She wasn’t trying to be a party pooper. “I’m just a little sad and jealous of the relationship you guys have. I have never had that and probably never will. Just ignore me,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m sorry for bringing the mood down. I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s okay, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. You want to talk about it though?” Greg asked as he patted her knee.

Could she talk about it? Looking at each guy and seeing genuine interest on their faces gave her courage. The guys had been nothing but nice to her since she had met them. They had given her a chance and trusted her with the most important person in their life. Nadia decided to take a chance on them. After all, they already said they’d run a background check on her. They probably already knew most of what she was about to tell them.

“I’m sure you know who my father is. Norman Cassidy was not an easy man to grow up with. Being from one of the richest, most influential families in town made things even worse. I grew up learning that the only people who wanted to be my friends were only after my money or connections. Needless to say, I got away from my family and that life as soon as I could.”

“Is that why you were living in that dump? Did you have a falling out with your family or something?” Steve asked.

Nadia wanted to be offended by Steve’s comment, but she couldn’t. He was right. “I was living in that
dump,
as you put it, Steve,” she said, sending a glare his way, “because I refused to take any of my family’s money. I didn’t earn that money, so taking it would have defeated the purpose of leaving. I wanted to be on my own and earn my own money.

“The
dump
,” Nadia said, using quotation fingers and smiling to let Steve know she really wasn’t mad at him, “was really all I could afford from my pay as a secretary.”

Nadia shuddered as she thought about her old boss. She certainly didn’t miss him and his excessive sweating. Looking over at her new bosses, Nadia was glad she didn’t have that problem with them. Although, if she were honest with herself, she wouldn’t mind seeing the three of them work up a little sweat. Preferably with their shirts off. Nadia shivered at the image in her head.

There was no denying her bosses were hot. All three had completely different looks, but all three were equally attractive in their own way. Greg was the largest of the three and certainly didn’t fit the image of a guy who sat at home and played video games all day. He was muscular from head to toe with all-American boy-next-door looks. Jackson was the complete opposite with his dark looks. He was slightly smaller than Greg but just as muscular. He was ruggedly handsome with a sense of danger surrounding him.

Steve was the shortest and smallest of all three. He fit Nadia’s image of a “nerd” most of all. He was thin but fit, and his messy hair made her want to laugh. It was his eyes that drew Nadia in though. Those ice-blue eyes were open and honest. She felt the most comfortable around Steve. There was just something about him that made her want to trust him.

“You could have had anything you ever wanted if you had stayed home. Why leave that much money behind?” Greg asked.

Nadia wouldn’t have answered the question if she had seen anything other than genuine curiosity when she looked into Greg’s eyes. He didn’t have that glazed-over look most people got when they were imagining what they could do with her money. He wasn’t in awe of it. He just wanted to know why she’d given it up.

“I left because I didn’t want to be like my mother. She does everything for my dad like a good little wife just so he doesn’t cut off her allowance. Can you imagine a grown woman pouting because she is being punished? It’s a sad sight, but my mother doesn’t care. All she cares about is making him happy so she can go on her next shopping spree. I didn’t want to turn into that. Cold, uncaring, and unfeeling. I call her a society robot, and I refuse to become one.”

“Sounds to me like you are nothing like your mother,” Jackson commented.

Tears stung Nadia’s eyes. He would never know how much that statement meant to her. To know she wouldn’t turn out like Eleanor Cassidy meant everything to her. Deep down, she loved the woman that had given birth to her, but she didn’t love who her mother was. Eleanor had made it clear to Nadia time and time again that she would never have been born if her father hadn’t wanted an heir. Nadia had come to terms long ago with the fact that she was nothing more than a duty to her mother. She might not have been wanted, but she was still expected to fall in line and be a good Cassidy so that she wouldn’t embarrass her mother or the family name. Image was everything to those people. That is why Nadia fought so hard not to turn into the kind of person her mother was. That is what had made it so easy to walk away from the money.

“Thank you, Jackson. I will take that as a compliment,” she said smiling over at him. “Now enough about me. I want to know why none of you are married or have girlfriends. You are all too good looking to be single.”

Nadia laughed as she watched three grown men blush. Her comment did exactly what she thought it would do. She hated to embarrass them, but she wanted to turn the conversation away from her. She had never been comfortable with that much attention on her. She was actually surprised for telling them as much as she had about herself. They knew more about her now than anyone else did, including her parents, and that was just sad.

After hours of talking and one last check on Addison who was still asleep, Nadia went to bed more lighthearted than she had ever been before. So far, it had been a good decision to take the nanny job, ranking right up there with her decision to move out on her own.
Who knows? Maybe I will even take a chance and try to become friends with these guys
, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Robert had tried to sleep the night before, but the pain in his ribs kept him from resting comfortably. Instead, he sat up all night trying to come up with a plan to use Sarah’s baby to get the money he needed to pay Mr. Porello. He always figured there was a way out of every situation. He just had to figure it out and not get caught or killed in the process. This situation, though, was going to be hard if not damn near impossible for him to get out of.

He blamed everything on Sarah. This was all that bitch’s fault. Just because she was dead didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to help him get out of trouble. That’s where her baby came in. The way Robert saw it he had two options. One, he could threaten to take the baby from Sarah’s brother if he didn’t pay. That option had a few flaws, the main one being that he was going to have to prove he was the father. That meant DNA tests and time he didn’t have. Most importantly, it meant involving the authorities. That was not happening.

The only other option was taking the baby and then finding someone that wanted to buy it from him. There was a black market out there for everything, and, hopefully, that included babies. Robert liked this choice a whole lot better. There had to be some rich couple out there that wanted a baby so badly they were willing to pay. He just had to talk to the right people to get the word out he had one for sale. Robert was used to dealing with the shady side of society, so this option was right up his alley. He’d get his money, some rich couple got a brat they could spoil, and Sarah’s brother got out of an obligation to take care of his dead sister’s child. It was a win-win all around.