"The way he's looking at her, I think she can demand pretty much anything she wants and he'll give it to her."
Right. The problem was, Em had baggage of her own. Huge baggage.
Paige noticed Elle looking at them and smiling, so she smiled back. Nico caught her.
"You spoke with her?"
Paige nodded. It had been such a relief to finally talk this morning without all the testosterone around. Apologize for keeping them out of the loop. They hadn't been angry, more like worried for her. "Elle said she would have kept it from everyone too. That Jack would have butted in big-time, and I literally quote: 'would have scared the cutie away.'"
"The cutie doesn't scare that easily, I assure you. Has Jack given you a rough time?"
Paige shook her head. "No, but he isn't too happy with me at the moment."
"He'll get over it."
Violet approached, a big smile on her face, and Paige introduced them. "Violet, this is Nico. Nico, this is Violet."
"The one responsible for the neon hair," the old lady added. "It has to be said she wears it well, though."
Nico smiled. "There isn't a look this beauty couldn't pull off."
Violet narrowed her crinkled eyes at him and then turned to Paige. "I think you're wrong; your good-guy-o-meter is in perfect condition."
"Good-guy-o-meter?" Nico asked, amused, when the old lady left.
"They like you."
His snort was dry. "They like Jack too. Obviously, they aren't good judges of character."
"Oh, I don't know. They seem pretty good to me." Because of the security detail, they were all speculating about Nico's identity. There was even a pool going on. Most believed he was an actor or some sort of media celebrity. Too handsome and charming for a politician, she'd heard.
When the seniors rushed up to drag Paige with them for an attempt to catch the bouquet, she went along willingly.
While Paige was shooting the breeze with them, her cell beeped again.
Meet me in 10 min at your place.
She took a deep breath. Her two days were up. Wedding was over. Time to keep her word and disappear.
She made her apologies and headed toward Nico. "See you in five," she whispered and kissed him.
Before he could say anything, she went to her condo.
She closed the door and turned to the bathroom. Then she felt someone behind her. Man, Nico was fast.
Her smile froze. Something was wrong. Her gut was screaming at her. She never got that reaction from Nico. Ever. He could be spitting mad at her, but with him she always felt safe. Last time she'd felt this way … Oh, crap.
"Hello, poppy. Glad you could make it," said a horribly familiar voice. "I'm touched that you finally answered my messages."
She was whirled around and pushed against the wall.
That face. She'd seen that face so many times. Lately in her nightmares.
"Not a sound, or I'll finish the job I couldn't last time," Marc snarled.
* * * *
The hair on the back of Nico's neck was standing. Something was very wrong. He checked around. All seemed to be in order. His men were guarding the place and there was no sign of danger. Nevertheless, he couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. That he didn't have eyes on Paige didn't help matters.
He moved toward Paige's condo. Whatever she had in mind, it would have to wait, because he was grabbing her and they were heading for his place. The Eternal Sun was a gated community, but the security was laughable even for someone with half his skills. Besides, nothing beat motion sensors, armed guards at the perimeter, and big guns. And yet Maldonado's villa had had those in spades, and it still hadn't been enough to save Maldonado. Forget the villa; he was taking her to his yacht and would figure out later what to do with the cartel. As far as his lieutenants knew, he'd be off on a romantic weekend in the Caribbean. That would gain him some time.
He opened the door and saw Paige struggling with someone on the floor. He dashed to them, his first instinct to kill that motherfucker. Then he abruptly stopped.
The motherfucker was Marc. He'd dyed his hair, grown a hipster goatee, and had some mild facial surgery, but Nico recognized him from the picture on the arrest warrant.
As Nico's bodyguards rushed into the room, he halted them. Paige had overpowered Marc. She was straddling him, immobilizing him. Her hands were around his throat, and she was banging his head against the floor.
Marc was half unconscious when Paige stood up. "You should have stayed away from me. Staring death in the eye changes people. You're lucky I'm very forgiving. Next time you come close to me, I will kill you."
Then she turned to Nico. Her lip was split, and she had a bruise on her cheekbone. "Told you I didn't need self-defense classes. I'm done with this piece of shit. Hold him while I call the cops."