To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (24 page)

“
Did I?”

“
Yes, very
serious.”

The tempo of the music
changed to a slow beat and he held me tighter. His arms were strong
and his body felt like it had been well disciplined with training.
His thick, callused hands were rough against my skin. I was going
to need a crowbar to get out of his suffocating embrace. Just then,
I saw a tall figure emerge from the crowd behind Michael’s
head.

David winked at me, as he
tapped on the doctor’s shoulder. “Mind if I cut in?”

Michael looked from me to
David. He puffed out his chest, and I thought for a moment he was
going to refuse.

“
He’s my cousin,” I blurted
out.

Michael hesitated and then
moved to the side. “I’ll see you later,” he avowed when David
stepped in to my arms.

David and I began to take a turn around the
dance floor. He was smirking at me. I smiled at him and then I
started to laugh.

“
I leave you alone for five
minutes, and you are already picking up strange men. Who was
that?”

“
Dr. Michael Fagles. I
think Hattie was trying to find me a husband.”

“
I’m glad I came when I
did. I see I will have to keep my eye on you. You look,” he eyed
the dress, “well, you look absolutely ridiculous in that
thing.”

“
Thanks. I feel better
already.” I paused as we waltzed in front my aunt and Uncle Ned. I
saw Hattie’s jaw drop as David spun me around on the dance floor. I
turned my attention back to David. “What did you think of Dr.
Fagles?”

“
He wasn’t your type. Too
bulky.”

“
They’re called muscles.
Most women find them attractive.” I was enjoying his grumbling.
“What would you consider my type?” I challenged.

“
Oh, the artistic kind with
less muscles and better taste.” His intense eyes stayed on me while
I chuckled at his comment. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore.
I want to talk about us.”

“
About us. Sounds
intriguing. What did you have in mind?”

“
I want us to start over. I
mean I want to start over with you. I know it’s a little late to
pretend nothing has happened between us, but I want us to start
fresh. Honest, without any lies or any games.”

“
What are you talking
about, David? I haven’t lied to you about anything.” I searched his
eyes. “Have you lied to me about something?”

“
I have…I have been lying
to myself all along. There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you ever
since that night you came to my flop of a showing. I was too scared
at the time to say anything, but now….” He stopped dancing and held
me close. “I love you, Nicci. More than anyone I have ever known. I
don’t want to lose you, but I’m afraid—”

Sammy appeared behind David and tapped him
on the shoulder. He let go of me and spun around.

“
How sweet,” she professed
in a saccharine voice. “You two make the cutest couple. I have to
steal your man away for a minute, Nicci. There’s a banker here who
has a keen interest in art and I want David to meet him.” She
scowled at David.

“
We’ll pick this up later.
I’ll be back in a moment.” He squeezed my hand and went off with
Sammy.

I stood on the dance floor
completely flabbergasted. In one sentence the man told me that he
loved me, and in the next breath he was off with his former lover
to talk about art.

I stomped my foot on the
floor. “I’m not going to stand by and let Sammy dictate the terms
of this relationship.”

I hurried after Sammy and
David. Pushing my way through a small crowd of people, I found
myself outside on the white stone steps to the building. There were
six massive fluted columns lining the entrance. I searched the
portico but there was no sign of Sammy or David. Then, I heard a
familiar voice.

“
No! Damn it, Sammy, no! I
told you, I have had enough of this stupid deal.” It was David. His
voice was coming from behind one of the columns to my
right.

I approached cautiously and hovered behind
the stone structure, just out of sight.

“
Keep your voice down.” It
was Sammy. “Do you want everyone to hear? You had better do as
you’re told, or I’ll stop the deposits into that bank account of
yours in Zurich. I want you to tell him that the deal goes down in
three days. Everyone is in place. Push Beauvoir to buy the stock,
as soon as possible. Once my engineer’s report that the leases are
worthless, the drilling stock will crumble and Beauvoir Scrap with
it.”

“
Sammy, you are not
listening to me. I said no. I mean it this time. I’m not going
through with this anymore. These are good people.”

“
Do I care if they’re good
people? Since when has that stopped the likes of you? I hired you
because I was told you were the best there was in this game.
Sleeping with that little bitch was a bonus. I told you to seduce
her, not to fall for her. You were supposed to just go in there,
win everybody’s confidence, feed them the false information, and
get out. Now you’re telling me you don’t want to hurt anybody.
Please,” she scoffed. “I’ve got millions riding on in this deal.
And I’m not about to change gears now. You had better do as you are
told.” Then she laughed. It was an evil sounding laugh that chilled
my bones. “I was guaranteed results by your employer. Are you
trying to tell me, David, that now you want to settle down with
this little scrap of a girl and paint pictures? I don’t believe it.
The best spy in the business does not give up everything for, what
would we call this…love?”

I was glued to my spot. My
heart wanted to run away, but my mind was determined to listen.
Tears were streaming down my face, and I could not find the
strength to wipe them away.

There was the sound of
David’s hand smacking the side of the column in front of me. “I
told you, Sammy, I’m done with this.”

“
You’d better think twice
about that. I could go in there right now and tell that girl
everything. All the nights you came to me after she had just left
you. You could never be satisfied with that silly little thing. You
always preferred real women on your own level. You told me so the
day after Val’s party. What did you compare that night to…your
first high school prom?”

“
Don’t talk about her like
that!”

“
Well, my, my. The tiger
has a heart, after all.” Sammy’s voice deepened. “You had better
think hard about this, David. I could hurt you a lot more than you
know. Screw this up and you will never see that girl
again.”

“
What are you saying?” His
voice was strained.

“
Accidents happen. Now get
Beauvoir to buy the phony stock and she won’t get hurt.”

“
I should just kill you now
and end all of this,” he hissed.

“
You won’t. Admit it. You
like the smell of money more than the smell of blood. Three days.”
Her heels ticked on the cement, as she came out from behind column
and strutted back to the entrance.

She slithered back into the
crowd milling around outside the door, smiling at all the guests
and shaking hands. I could still hear David’s heavy breathing just
on the other side of the column.

“
Nicci?” a voice softly
said.

Eddie appeared. “Are you
all right?” he implored.

David was instantly in
front of me, startling Eddie. I could not look into David’s face. I
just kept my eyes on the ground, watching my tears fall like
raindrops against the cold stone.

“
What did you do to her?”
Eddie yelled. When I looked up, I saw him going after
David.

David quickly moved to the side and Eddie
went tumbling down the long row of steps to the street. When he
settled at the bottom, he did not move.

“
Eddie!” I
screamed.

David’s hand clamped down
on my forearm. He pulled me back against the building, while I
struggled furiously against his grip.

“
Let me go!” I
hollered.

People around us were already making their
way down the steps to Eddie.

“
What did you hear?”
David’s voice was drenched in panic.

“
Everything. I heard
everything.” The tears streamed down my face. “Get the hell away
from me.” I shook off his hand and headed toward the
steps.

Suddenly, someone grabbed
my shoulder and spun me around. It was my father.

“
Nic, what’s going on?” he
demanded.

David joined us. “Bill, I
need to speak with you, now,” he pleaded.

I jerked away from David’s
side. “Dad, don’t listen to him! He’s some kind of spy working for
Sammy. He meant to talk you into buying those stocks. The leases he
told you about are worthless. That is how Sammy was going to
destroy Beauvoir Scrap. She was going to make you lose money in a
bad investment and then buy you out.”

My father faced David. “Is
this true?”

David nervously rubbed his
hand over his chin. “I need to speak with you, Bill,” he softly
said. “Yes, it is true. But you have to believe me. I want to
protect you from what Sammy has planned.”

A shrill scream cut through
the night air. Sammy emerged from the crowd. “Oh, my baby! My baby
boy!” When she saw David standing next to my father and me, she
froze. “You did this!” She pointed at David. “You bastard. You hurt
my little boy.” She moved, as if to leap at David, but my father
and another man held her back.

Sammy was escorted back
inside while two men helped an unsteady Eddie up the
steps.

My father returned to my
side. “I’ll need to talk to you about all of this. Would you be
willing to repeat everything to my lawyer?”

David nodded and his eyes
found mine, but I could not stand to look at him.

“
Nicci, I’ll take you home
first,” my father affirmed. “Let’s go find Uncle Ned.” He put his
arm around me and we headed back toward the reception hall
entrance.

Before we stepped inside
Gallier Hall, I saw David bounding down the steps and into the
darkness.

A short time later, Eddie
was hauled off in an ambulance along with his mother and new wife.
Colleen had to be given a sedative, but it was Aunt Hattie who kept
her cool during the entire affair. I have to admit, I was amazed.
She kept going around to all the guests, trying to reassure them
that everything was fine, and to go on with the party. Even so,
most of them departed after the ambulance. I guess they figured
there was no point in celebrating when the bride and groom were in
the local emergency room.

The reception was winding
down when my father met up with my Uncle Ned. While the two men
disappeared into a quiet room in the back of the hall, I took a
seat on one of the chairs next to the empty dance floor.

I had been sitting there
for no more than a few minutes when Dr. Fagles
approached.

“
Are you all right?” he
inquired, taking the seat next to me.

I wiped the tears away from
my cheek. “No.”

“
I know this must be very
traumatic for you. It’s all right to be upset. It is okay to cry,
Nicci.”

I glanced over at him in
dismay. I wasn’t sure if I was being treated as a potential client,
or a potential girlfriend. “It’s nothing.” I tried to collect
myself. “I’m fine.”

“
Are you sure?” He patted
my hand. “I can take you home, if you like?”

“
That’s a good idea.” My
father’s voice made me flinch. “Take her home for me. Get her out
of here.” He peered down at me, his wide brow furrowed with worry.
“Nicci, I’m going over to the office with your Uncle Ned. I’ll meet
you at home later.”

“
What…what about…?” I
stumbled through the words.

“
If he shows up, let him
wait on the porch for me. You don’t have to speak to him again. I
doubt seriously if he’ll show.”

I looked up at my father,
trying to imagine what was going through his mind at that moment,
but he seemed as numb as I felt. He turned to Michael, mumbled some
directions to our house and then walked away.

Michael offered me his
hand. “I guess that’s it, then.”

I clasped his hand and let
him help me up from the chair. The weight of standing seemed to be
too much and I was sure I would topple over.

Michael put his arm around
me. “Lean on me,” he instructed. “I’ll help you escape from this
mess.”

Desperate to believe him, I
did as I was told.

***

Dr. Michael Fagles talked
during the entire drive home. Fortunately, I was spared the
necessity of having to participate.

“
I had many of the
residents I was working with tell me I was very talented,
especially in neurology. I even had a few professors who tried to
persuade me into going into cardiology. They said I had the
temperament for it. However, I knew only psychiatry would give me
the lifestyle I wanted.” He would glance over at me every now and
then. “I don’t like to use the term wacko, but for some patients
that’s the only term that fits. I have had a wide variety of weird
ones. I guess all psychiatrists get their unforgettable patients,
but sometimes I think I have had more than my fair share. I
remember this one lady who thought she was continually in labor.
She would grunt and strain all the time. It was really
nerve-racking trying to have a session with her.” He rambled
on.