Chapter 24
LORNA
“ I assume you don't flatpack very often?” I look down at the wooden slats scattered around Nic on the floor.
“I’ll get the hang of it,” he assures me so, sipping my tea, I watch him pick up and examine all the different parts of the crib he’s trying to fix together.
“You should take Seb up on his offer to build it for you. He’s got five kids. He’ll have it up in no time. I could always step into the lobby and get hi–.”
“No,” he interrupts, lifting up the instructions and reading through them again.
“Maybe I could hel–”
“I don’t need help. I’m the baby’s father, I can build the crib it’s going to sleep in.” He looks frustrated and I try not to look amused by how much this is getting to him. The closer we get to my due date, the more flustered he’s becoming, and all while he’s trying to convince me to stay calm and not worry about giving birth. Which is easier said than done, especially when I’m feeling the weight of this baby.
“Cass and the guys will be over any minute, can we just leave this till tomorrow?”
“Fine.” He drops the bag of screws he’s holding and gets up from the floor, coming toward me and smacking a kiss on my lips. “But I’m having that crib up by this time tomorrow. We only have a few weeks until your due and we need to be ready.
“Nic, we’re more than ready. The baby sleeps in a bassinet for the first few months, this nursery’s looking great and we have everything, and more, than what we need,” I remind him, hearing the buzzer go off and signal that my friends are here.
“Come on, let's go eat some pizza.” I head off down the hall toward the door so I can buzz them up.
“You have that sexy, little waddle thing down.” Nic comes up behind me and kisses my neck before they make it up in the elevator and past Seb, and I really wish he wouldn’t start something he knows we can’t finish until later.
“Don’t do that, you know how I’m feeling, right now.” I swat his hand away when he starts sliding it under my dress.
“I’ll bet I could make you come before they get up here.” He tries tempting me but I shake my head. “You said that last time we were at the doctor's office and we almost got caught,” I remind him, and Nic’s boyish grin makes denying temptation even harder.
“Your choice, baby.” He shrugs. “I’m going to love watching you squirm for the next few hours.”
The door knocks and I quickly flip the bird before I open it and let the gang in.
“Brrr, it’s starting to get cold out there.” Cass hands Nic her coat, while Wes and Jonah set the beers and pizza on the table.
“It’s so great to have you all here.” I hug each one of them, being mindful of my bump. You’d think after all this time I’d be better at maneuvering it, but I’m always misjudging.
“They only wanted to come and watch the game on Nic’s big screen,” Cass calls the boys out as she screws the cap off a beer and picks up a slice.
“That's not true.” Jonah laughs awkwardly as he hands Nic a beer and grabs one for himself.
“You’re so full of shit, all you spoke about on the way over here was seeing the cheerleaders look life-size.” Wes cracks himself a beer and takes a whole box over to the couch.
“Make yourself at home, Wes,” Nic growls as he heads for the refrigerator to grab me some water.
“So, are we gonna get this thing started? Kickoff’ is in ten.” Wes searches around for the remote and I shrug at Nic as I pick it up from the side cabinet and hand it to our guest.
“Just remember, I’m going to be giving birth to your baby,” I remind Nic, heading back to the table where he’s standing and stretch up on my toes to kiss his cheek. Grabbing a slice of pizza for myself, I settle down with my friends to watch the game.
“So, have you set a date for the wedding yet?” Cass asks during half-time. Nic’s doing well at tolerating Wes, and I’m starting to feel much more relaxed.
“We’re waiting till the baby gets here. I’ve got a dress in mind and this isn’t going to work with it.” I pat my stomach before getting up to grab everyone another drink.
“I got it.” Nic stands up when he sees I’m struggling, playing his part as host when he gets everyone another drink.
“Did you ever find out who shot your dad?” Wes asks casually, and the atmosphere in the room instantly plummets. Lorna looks at Jonah, Jonah looks at Nic, then everyone looks at me.
“ Wes! ” Cass shakes her head at him.
“It’s fine.” I put on a brave face.
“No, it’s not.” Nic looks as if he’s going to lose his temper so I quickly intervene.
“Nic, these guys were there that night, they helped. The least we can do is acknowledge that,” I explain. There has to be a time when we start to discuss my father again and I, myself, have been wondering if Nic knows any more about what happened. I know he’s been looking into it.
“We know nothing.” Nic stares back at Wes, letting him know he’s crossed a line, and I sense the frustration he’s getting from the answer he has to give.
“You said it might have been a professional?” Jonah sits forward on his seat and scratches the stubble on his jaw. “Why would someone hire a man to kill Lorna’s dad?” He’s always been the smart one, the ones who stay quiet usually are, they’re the ones who take everything in.
“Because my dad was an investigator for the ATF, I imagine that he pissed off a lot of people during his career.” I pull up my big girl pants and prove to Nic that I really am ready to talk about this.
“That would make sense.” I see all the clogs in Cass’s brain moving as she accepts my reasoning.
“But why was your dad at the beach house? Cass says you barely ever saw him.” Wes rolls up the sleeves of his jumper while Cass looks embarrassed.
“He came there to warn her about me,” Nic answers his question, and when I turn my head to look at him in shock, I notice how his jaw tightens, and that hurt is back on his face. “He came to Malibu to warn Lorna that I’m dangerous, he wanted to get her away from me.” Nic looks between my friends, waiting for them to comment. Nothing comes but silence, and I breathe a sigh of relief when the second half starts and everyone diverts their attention back to the game.
“Wes is a prick.” Nic takes his frustration out on his teeth as we brush them together before bed.
“He’s inquisitive,” I tell him, spitting into the basin and rinsing my mouth out with the bottle of water he dutifully hands me.
“He had no fucking business bringing up your father like that, it was insensitive and–”
“We should talk about it, Nic, we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. I want to know who killed him. I even think I want you to make them pay…That’s what you do, right?” I seize the opportunity and wait for his response.
Nic spits into the basin himself and after drying his mouth with a towel, storms out the room.
“Babe, I’m not an idiot, stop treating me like one.” I follow him into the bedroom and start turning down the covers.
“I know you're not an idiot but you need to drop this, now.” I can see how angry he is, I can also see how hard he’s trying to keep calm.
“I just want to know what happened.” I stare across the bed at him, and when he shakes his head and drops his shoulders, I don’t know if I should feel relieved or scared.
“There’s something I could tell you,” he admits. “But I don’t think you're going to like it.”
“Tell me, please,” I beg, figuring that nothing can be worse than just wondering, the way I have been since all this happened.
“Just after we found out you were pregnant, Dario sent me on a job. He’d heard of some guy called Doyle, who was selling Russian guns out of the Bronx.” I listen intently as he starts to explain. “Someone who bought a gun from him killed the daughter of one of our district leaders.
I was supposed to go to the house he was selling from, get the name of the buyer, and…” Nic turns his back on me and sits on the bed so I waddle my ass around to stand in front of him.
“And…” I urge him to carry on.
“I was meant to kill him.” He slowly looks up into my eyes, as if he’s scared of my response and I bravely nod my head and hold back my tears when all my suspicions are confirmed.
“Does that happen often?” I ask, hoping that this will be the point where he opens up to me, and when he nods his head, I try very hard not to look disappointed.
“I know it sounds bad, Lorna, but the men I’ve killed, they…they’re bad people. They’re men who don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you and our child, or Madalina and my nieces and nephew.”
“And you get to judge that? Or does Dario?” I question.
“Well, on the day I went to visit Doyle, I did.” He stands up. “Because when I got there, I found a picture of you and him together and a letter that was addressed for you to receive if anything happened to him.” He steps past me and starts pacing the floor.
“I panicked. I never wanted you to have to read that fucking letter, so I called Dario and told him that I wouldn’t do it.” What I’m hearing can’t be true, my father would never put guns on the street, he would never sell for the Russians. He’s the man who stops these kinds of things from happening.
“You walked away?” I step closer when I see past all that and realise what he’s telling me.
“Of course, I walked away. I was never going to kill your dad, Lorna. When I said I’d never hurt you, I meant it.”
All my emotions get the better of me and I rush toward him and wrap my arms around his body, clinging to him so tight, I knock the wind out of him.
“Thank you.” I breathe him in, trying my best not to cry.
“Lorna, he’s still dead,” Nic points out, a little too abruptly but I look up at him and smile all the same.
“But you didn’t kill him. I would never have been able to forgive that. There’s a lot I can accept, but not that.”
I feel his hands grip around me and his shoulders sag.
“He came to Malibu because he cared about you. He thought I was a danger but instead, he brought trouble with him. I can’t be sure, but I think it was the Russians that killed him. Dario did checks on all Madalina’s friends before he married her, and your father never flagged up as being an agent. If he was working undercover that would explain why, and it would also give the Russians a reason to want him dead.”
“And now what?” I ask, trying my best to take everything in.
“I think it’s over. I think they hired someone to hit their mark, the mission was a success and to them, it’s just a lesson learned,” he tells me softly, and I hate to think that my father’s life was just a lesson to someone.
“Let’s go to sleep, baby.” Nic guides me to my side of the bed, helping me under the covers then taking the coco butter that Madalina swears will stop me getting stretch marks. He scoops some in his hand and makes soft circles over my outstretched skin.
“How many?” I ask, needing to know more about the work he does for Dario.
“I don’t keep count.” He focuses on his hand, and when the baby responds to his movements he manages a tiny, sad smile.
“Do you enjoy it?”
“Sometimes.” He closes his eyes as if he’s ashamed of his answer.
“Does Madalina know?”
“I don’t think so.” His head shakes, and he refuses to look up at me.
“Okay.” I take a deep exhale as I let it sink in and suddenly his head lifts up and his face looks confused.
“What do you mean, ‘okay’?”
“I mean, it’s okay. I’ve always guessed that what you do for Dario entails some un-aliving. I may not be from your world, Nic, but I grew up with a best friend who is.” Granted it's a little harder knowing that the father of your child is a murderer, rather than just assuming it, but at least now he doesn’t have to hide anything from me.
“But–”
“If you found out who killed my father, would you kill him too?” I interrupt.
“If you asked me to.” He takes his time to answer, and when he does his smile is dark and a little mischievous. I try to ignore the fact that it turns me on because I want to go to Heaven.
“ Are you asking me to?” He frowns.
“We should get some rest, you have to battle with that crib again in the morning.” I smile back at him and when he climbs over the bed to get in beside me, I roll onto my side and notice that he hesitates to wrap his arms around me the way he usually does. I reach behind me and grab his hand, resting it around me and our baby where it belongs.
“I told you nothing would change.” I look over my shoulder and smile before snuggling into my pillow and closing my eyes.