Page 16 of Winter's Heart
Jacob had promised to see the chief before he left, but that was now the last thing he wanted after Staff’s dressing down.The chief would understand, and if he didn’t, then Jacob had no energy to argue; he’d sort it out with his superior later.He’d parked Petar’s Volvo in the secure underground carpark of the police headquarters, and so he led her toward the stairwell.
“Why are you up on misconduct charges?”Nikki blurted halfway down the stairs.
Jacob stopped and grasped the handrail as he whipped around to face her.“What?How do you know—”
“I was listening at the door,” she replied without an ounce of remorse.
“You were what?”He could barely believe his ears.She had the audacity to listen in on a private conversation in the middle of a police department.He wasn’t sure if he was proud of her or affronted.
“Well, I was until Aurora came along and found me.But I caught enough,” she said.So now Jacob had another reason to thank Aurora.She must’ve noticed Nikki hovering too close to the door and took her out of temptation’s way.
“You heard me.”She put her hands on her hips, widening her already big, blue eyes at him.“What did you do wrong?I think I deserve to know.”
Jacob ground his back teeth together.He’d been hoping to keep that piece of information quiet, at least until he had a verdict.But she had a point.If she was going to trust him to protect her, she needed to know whether he was capable of doing the job properly.Trouble was, he wasn’t sure if he still was.
CHAPTER NINE
NIKKI ROLLED OVER and punched the pillow, but it was no use, she couldn’t get comfortable.She let out an agitated groan.Her body desperately needed sleep, but her mind hadn’t got the memo.And staring at the ceiling for the past hour hadn’t helped.Reaching for the nightstand, she flipped her phone over.Four-thirty a.m..She sat up, her feet landing on the carpeted floor.They were still raw and inflamed, but as she eased up to standing, she could feel how much better they were already.Jacob had done a good job of treating her when they’d arrived at his hut, and she had no doubt her lower extremities might’ve suffered more damage if he hadn’t acted so quickly.
After the whirlwind of fleeing the hitmen from Jacob’s hut and then Petar’s place, then their meeting with the police deputy commissioner, and learning that she was still a target, her mind refused to be calm.Now, after all that action and adrenaline, she was just supposed to stay here until her government sent someone to come and collect her?Great!She wasn’t used to sitting around waiting for things to happen.She was a scientist, hard work and moving forward were the two mantras that’d got her to where she was today.She hated feeling helpless.And she also hated to depend on anyone.She was used to solving all her own problems.But for now, her fate lay in the hands of one Swedish police officer.A very attractive, tenacious and adept police officer who carried himself with a quiet confidence.One she couldn’t seem to keep out of her head.
When she’d confronted him about his misconduct charges, he’d told her everything about the failed mission in a clear, detached voice, without hesitation.How the man he was supposed to have been safeguarding had ended up with a bullet through the neck because he’d disregarded the threat and done something stupid.Jacob blamed himself for the man’s death; Nikki had deduced that much, even though Jacob thought he could hide it from her by keeping his face devoid of all emotion.Because after he’d recounted what’d happened, he asked her, in that same detached voice, if she still wanted him to stay and protect her, now she knew about his incompetence on the job.She’d heard the slight catch in his voice as he said it, although he kept his gaze fixed on the wall above her head.
“Of course I do,” she’d replied.It was true.She didn’t doubt him for a second.Tammy may have called her stupid.May have said she was thinking with her lady parts and not with her head.And while Nikki found Jacob extremely attractive, she knew deep down that her trust was based on more than just sexual desire.There was something unfathomable about him.Call it gut instinct, but she was certain he’d put his life on the line to protect her.
Jacob was asleep in the room next door.She could feel the pull of him through the wall.That animal magnetism that was always sparking between them, even when she struggled to ignore it.It was probably the main reason for her insomnia—the fact he was lying in a bed mere meters away from where she slept—and it was doing her head in.Because her imagination was running wild, torturing her with questions, such as, did he sleep in the nude?And if he did, would all that bare, naked chest be as sculpted and muscular as she hoped?
Shit.She ran a hand through the tangles of her bed-ruffled hair.She was going to go insane if she let her mind wander like this.She didn’t want to wake Jacob, but she couldn’t stay here a second longer.But what was the protocol when you were sequestered in a safe-house with two police officers standing guard?Was she even allowed to leave her room?
She was about to find out.She pulled on her T-shirt and the jeans she’d thrown on back in the holiday hut—gosh, that seemed such a long time ago.One of the guards had promised someone would bring her a change of clothes in the morning, which would be nice, but for now these were all she had.
Cracking the bedroom door open, she peered out into the hallway.The two Swedish officers delegated to guard duty at the safe house had been most officious when Jacob had introduced them.Nikki had been so tired and in need of a soft bed that she’d barely registered their names.The first one had definitely been Oleg.He’d been very tall and thin, with a pointy face and pinched lips.But the second one, shorter, with dark hair and dark eyes, well, she couldn’t remember his name.They’d both assured her they’d stay on watch all night and not to worry about a thing.But where were they?She didn’t want them to mistake her for a hitman and shoot her where she stood.Should she call out to let them know she was awake?
Walking softly down the hallway, she peered into the main lounge room at the front of the house where a light was still on.The tall one, Oleg, sat in a high-backed winged chair reading a book.
Nikki cleared her throat, and the officer looked up, already reaching for the gun in his shoulder holster.She held up her hands, palms outward, and said, “Oh, gosh, sorry.I just wanted to grab a cup of tea or something.I can’t sleep,” she added lamely when Oleg continued to pierce her with his stare.
“Sure,” he replied, but there was a sharp edge to his voice.“Nils is out doing a perimeter search.I’ll let him know you are up.”
Nils—that was the other guy’s name—how could she have forgotten?She almost snorted at the man’s terse reply.No compassion there, he was here to do a job, nothing more, nothing less.Nikki was also learning it was often the Swedish way, they were a serious bunch most of the time.Maybe that was a clue to why Jacob rarely smiled.
“Thanks,” she replied, turning down the hallway toward where she thought the kitchen should be.Her head had been such a mess when they’d first arrived that the quick guided tour of the safe house was now a jumbled memory.
The kitchen was well-equipped, and it didn’t take her long to fill the kettle and find a stash of tea and coffee supplies.Leaning her hip against the countertop, her mind wandered as she waited for the water to boil.There were so many notions swirling through her brain, she found it hard to corral just one for long enough to examine it properly.
An image of Tammy’s face, alight with glee, morphed out of the millions of jumbled thoughts, striking her with an instantaneous sense of loss.The memory was from the second night of their trip they’d spent in Bodø, after being out all day collecting samples and taking observations from the research vessel in the fjord.They were all exhausted and wind-blown from their arduous day in the icy weather and had just sat down to a very welcome meal in the mess hall of the small scientific facility where they were being hosted.They were all grumbling about how cold the water was when Nikki had remembered a joke her grandmother used to tell her.
“Which is faster?”she’d asked gleefully.“Hot or cold water?”When both Tammy and Antoine had looked at her blankly, she’d replied, “Hot water.Because you can catch a cold.”Nikki had laughed so hard at her own joke, remembering how it would crack her up when her grandmother told it, but it took the others a few seconds to grasp her meaning.Tammy was the first to get it, and when she did, she’d tipped her head back and roared with unrestrained laughter, snorting like a pig as she struggled to contain her mirth.
“That is the worst joke I’ve ever heard,” she’d said through gasps of cackling.Tammy had touched her fondly on the arm, and Nikki had felt a surge of endearment at their friendly banter.She didn’t have many friends, and when she found someone she could connect to, she counted each and every one dearly.
It hit her she’d never hear that wonderful snort-laugh again.Tammy was gone.Her wonderful, intelligent, witty, larger-than-life, gorgeous friend was gone.Tammy and her husband, Clark, could not have kids, and he must be absolutely devastated at her death.A wave of sadness washed over her so strong she nearly doubled over with the pain.Unexpected tears rolled down her cheeks.Part of her logical brain recognized that lack of sleep and the stress of the past twenty-four hours were catching up with her, making her more prone to letting emotions boil over.But she hadn’t even had time to process the death of her good friends, and the sudden grief struck her like a ton of bricks.
In times like these, Nikki would’ve turned to Bradley for support.But that was before she’d caught him texting some strange woman a string of soppy endearments that he’d never once uttered to her.Bradley’s exit had been swift.The moment she’d confronted him, he hadn’t tried to hide it.Instead, he’d packed his things and walked out, throwing the comment that she needed to stop being a doormat over his shoulder at her.The insult had stung, probably because she knew it was true; she found it hard to stand up for herself in a relationship and ask for what she wanted.She was always giving, but rarely taking.Bradley had destroyed what little trust she had left in men completely when he went out her door.Even though it’d been six months since she’d rid herself of that deceitful man—she was so much better off without him—she suddenly missed him terribly.Missed having someone to hold her, missed that simple human contact.
“Nikki.”The softly uttered word had her swiping tears from her cheeks.Jacob was standing in the doorway.
Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts.Tight boxer shorts.
