Chapter 23
Poppy loathed the familiar fear she felt as Malcolm Davy spoke. It slid its icy tentacles through her veins, making her knees weak.
“Give me that receiver!” Nick roared as the deep, raspy voice on the end of the phone told her she was going to pay for her betrayal. That she’d cheated on him and would have to be punished.
“No! He’s nothing to me, and I’ve never been yours, Malcolm,” Poppy got out around the tightness in her throat.
Sam was wrestling with Nick, trying to hold him back. “We need a location, and the more she talks, the better chance we have of getting it,” Sam said, struggling to keep his brother away from her. “Billy will trace the call from the station.
“Is he there with you, Poppy? Nick Atherton, the man you’ve played the whore for?” Malcolm Davy asked.
“You leave him alone!” The words exploded out of her mouth, her fear turning to rage that he knew who Nick was. “You’re a weak coward for doing this! For hiding from me!” Poppy added.
Sam now had Nick in a headlock.
“I know that you’re letting him touch you, Poppy. Fuck you when you’re mine.”
“I loathe you,” she said, “and I have never wanted to be with you.” She felt stronger with Nick and Sam here, and the words she’d always wanted to say were suddenly pouring out.
Nick gave Sam a jab to the gut, and he was free and coming toward her in long, angry strides.
“It was all right while you were living your life alone and we were playing our game, Poppy! You running, and me finding you because I knew that was what you wanted,” the voice said.
“No! I don’t want you anywhere near me!”
“You want me, Poppy,” he insisted. “But now you’ve made me angry, and you’re going to pay.”
“I’m not scared of you.” She pushed down the fear. Nick is here. I’m safe.
Big arms closed around her, and then she was surrounded. Nick’s front pressed to her back. She could feel the tension in him as his hand cupped hers and turned the phone so he could hear what was being said.
“I’m killing him, too, Poppy, and that’s on you. Your fuck buddy will die a horrible death, and you’ll watch because you’ve betrayed me.”
The courage fled as quick as it had come. Poppy couldn’t let anything happen to Nick because of her. “No! He’s not my man. We just?—”
“Don’t lie to me! I saw you with him. You’re a whore and a liar, but I still want you, and we will be together,” the voice said. “I hope you weren’t too sore after that day in the street.”
“Wh-what?”
“I paid that man to mug you and got some valuable information out of your bag. All kinds of things that gave me insights into my girl.”
“You hurt me! How can you do that and say you care?” Poppy demanded. “And I’m not your girl and never will be.”
Nick’s hand was on her neck, the warmth of his touch making her strong.
“I didn’t mean for him to hurt you. I made him pay for that.”
She shuddered at those words. What did he mean by “made him pay” ?
“I love you, Poppy, and soon we’ll be together. I have to go now, because we both know that someone will track this call. You enjoy those dolls now, my love. Just remember, I can and will always find you. We’ll be together real soon.”
Nick took the receiver.
“You listen to me, you sick bastard! You won’t get near Poppy again.
She’s not alone anymore like you want. I’m finding you, and then you and I are going to have a little one-on-one.
No hiding and playing games like you have with my girl.
You’re a coward, Davy, so you just keep your eyes open, because you’ll be seeing me real soon.
” Nick dropped the phone onto the desk when he’d finished talking.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.” He turned her in his arms and held her. “Sssh now, I have you.”
Poppy was making a gulping, choking sound when Nick pressed her face into his chest. Now that the call had finished, the adrenaline that had coursed through her left her shaking.
“I-I’m all right.”
“I’m not,” Nick gritted out.
“What did he say to you, Poppy?” Sam asked.
“Leave it, Sam.”
“No, Nick. We need this information.” Sam had found a pen and notepad on the desk. “Everything, Poppy.”
“Let me go, Nick.” She tried to push him back.
“No.”
“Just turn your head and talk to me, so your words are not muffled by his shirt,” Sam said.
“He said you’re mine, but he heard Nick’s voice, I think.” She pushed out of his arms, and this time he let her, but her fingers were in his, and she wanted the contact. Needed the anchor to him right then.
“What else did he say about Nick?” Sam asked.
She felt them both looking at her and knew she had to speak. “He said Nick was my man, and that he… you’re…. we’re… ah, doing it.”
“It?” Sam frowned.
“You are not that thick,” Nick said. “Sex, for fuck’s sake. You know what that is after reading those books.”
“Right, gotcha.” Sam scribbled more notes on the paper.
“And I am your man,” Nick said, and it sounded like a vow, but she didn’t want him in Malcolm Davy’s sights.
“Nick—”
“If the next words from your mouth are ‘I should leave you and back away because this could get ugly,’ that’s not happening.”
“I don’t want you and your family hurt! Damn you, why can’t you understand that?” She pushed out of his arms.
“Don’t be a hero,” Nick said, his anger matching hers. “We’re sticking, so get used to it.”
Poppy tamped down the relief she felt at those words. She had no right to them.
“What else did he say, Poppy? FYI, Nick’s right. We’re not walking away from you and this. I want to bring this sick fucker down too.”
“He said that while I was living alone and we were playing our game of me running and him finding me, he was happy. Now he’s not because of Nick,” Poppy added.
“You shouldn’t have let it get this far,” Nick growled.
“I was doing what I thought I needed to. Keeping people safe!”
“I understand that, but you should have kept talking to the police until someone listened.”
“I’m the victim here!”
“You about done with that?”
“Maybe” was all she was willing to concede. “I stood up to him just now. You heard me. I’ve never done that before.”
“How’d it feel?” Nick asked.
“Terrifying but empowering at the same time.”
“He needs to know you won’t let him walk all over you,” Nick said. “Now let’s get out of here. We need to take those”—he pointed to the dolls—“to Billy and show him what you wrote, Sam.”
“I’m showing him the bruises you inflicted too,” his brother muttered.
“Cry me a river. You shot me once with a BB gun,” Nick said. He then put the lid back on the dolls.
“He also told me he paid that man to mug me, and then he said he’d taken care of him for hurting me,” Poppy added, remembering those words.
“Yeah, I heard that too,” Nick said. “Now get your shit. We’re leaving.”
“I’ll see you downstairs,” Sam said, now carrying the long white box.
Poppy got her bag and said goodbye to the hotel staff. When they were back in the elevator, the silence between her and Nick was tense. She felt his anger and frustration. Well, good for him. She was those things and scared… really scared, and not just for herself anymore.
Before she could speak, a hand grabbed her and dragged her close until her nose was pressed into his chest. Nick pushed his face into her hair, and Poppy felt him exhale slowly.
“Nick, I’m okay.”
“I hate he scares you. You went really pale, Poppy. You looked like a ghost, and there was no one I could punch. This faceless villain shit is really getting to me. I want to confront him.”
“Me too.”
“You will never confront him because you’re never seeing him again.”
He leaned down to kiss her, just a soft brush of his lips over hers.
“I need you safe, Poppy. This, what’s between us, is real.”
“Nick, we can’t?—”
“Not listening,” he said, placing a hand over her mouth. “Right now, we’re giving Billy the information, and then we’re going to a birthday party at my cousin’s house.”
“I don’t really feel up to that.”
“Sure you do. Music, food, drinks, and fun. What’s not to want?” He kissed her again. “Come on, Poppy. It will all be okay, I promise.”
“We can’t just carry on like nothing’s happening, Nick. He’s out there and knows who you are. What if he comes after your family?”
“I’ll kill him.”