The camera moved closer.
It was a silver frame. A silver frame with a picture in it that I knew was taken in Las Vegas. The picture of a couple nestled in a web of crystals.
The words to the song started beating into my brain.
The video faded to black.
But the picture immediately faded back.
A deck.
A view.
A dawn.
A man"s bare feet, ankles and legs in pajama bottoms propped up on the top railing.
I knew those feet.
The camera pulled back.
He also had on a long-sleeved thermal.
His back was to me.
His hair was thick, dark and clipped its usual short.
His ocean blue eyes were turned from me.
Tock, tock, tock...Jose Gonzalez was speaking to me.
But it was Nick Sebring communicating to me.
I watched Nick"s profile as he took a sip of coffee and dawn came over the soft-topped mountains that were not Rockies.
He turned and looked over his shoulder right at the camera.
I drowned in blue.
The screen went black.
In desperation to get it back, my gaze shot to Nick"s brother.
He had his on me and his mouth open to speak.
He closed it as he looked into my eyes.
Then he gifted me with a miracle.
In the expanse of a breath, I watched hard dissolve, scars heal and light shine.
"Hurry, honey," he whispered.
I didn"t even take the time to nod.
I turned on my foot, my robe rippling out behind me, I ran to my bedroom.
I was hopping up and down, awkwardly pulling on a pair of slacks when Sylvie hit the door to my closet.
"Here to help, babe. What do you need me to pack?" she asked.
I spared her only a glance.
She was no longer looking inscrutable.
She was looking like she was fighting against laughing.
I nearly fell over, tangled in my pants.
I righted myself and answered, "Nothing here I want."
"Nick"s ready for you, Olivia, but he"s a guy. Not sure he"s got your brand of shampoo down. And heads up, he"s never gonna have your brand of shampoo down. We b.i.t.c.hes gotta take care of that s.h.i.t. h.e.l.l, you in his life, the man will forget his brand of shampoo. That"ll be up to you too."
"Right," I whispered, tearing off my robe, on a mission and not fully processing her impromptu relationship lesson. "Then please, if you will, until I can get to the store wherever Nick is, I"ll need you to pack my shampoo."
I turned to the rails and yanked off the first blouse my hand hit.
I heard her m.u.f.fled chuckle as she walked out.
I finished getting dressed. I then dashed around my closet to get the bare essentials, tearing at hangers, opening drawers and not closing them, shoving things into the first piece of luggage I could grab-a carry-on.
A carry-on bag.
My heart started feeling funny.
I ran to the bathroom just in time for Sylvie to shove a variety of packed cosmetics bags in my lonely piece of luggage.
We moved out of the room, me fast, Sylvie behind me coming slower.
That"s when I smelled it.
Gasoline.
I stopped dead in my hallway when I saw him.
Ghost walking toward me, a filled body bag over his shoulder.
Now Ghost-his gaze glancing off me as he pa.s.sed-his expression was inscrutable.
I sensed motion in the hall and looked down it to see Knight come toward me from the great room.
He approached, stopping in front of me.
"You died tonight, Livvie."
I put a hand to the wall but didn"t tear my gaze from Knight.
Sebring.
He wasn"t making me free.
He was making me free.
"You," I said softly, saying no more.
Knight got me.
"I"ll be good knowin" my brother is happy."
My heart kept feeling funny but I knew what the feeling was in my eyes.
Tears stinging.
For me to be free, we were disappearing. No roads could lead to us. Too dangerous.
I was getting Nick.
Nick was losing his family.
I couldn"t do that. Nick had worked hard at earning back his family.
"I can"t-" I began.
"You think I finally got him, and he finally got you, I"d let anyone keep me away?" he asked.
I swallowed.
That made me feel better.
Knight grinned at me and with that, he was almost as beautiful as his brother.
"You"ll lay low. We"ll sort s.h.i.t. Then we"ll have a family reunion."
Yes, that made me feel better.
I nodded.
"Not much time," a man"s voice muttered and I saw the brown-headed, scarred guy moving down the hall from the back of the house.
He had a gasoline canister dangling from his fingers.
I looked back and caught it as Knight lifted his chin to the guy then grabbed my hand, reaching out to take my carry-on from Sylvie in his other.
He moved me toward the pool doors.
I looked back into a hall that now held Sylvie, Raid, Ghost and the scarred man.
"Thank you," I called as Knight dragged me out the door.
"Don"t get bored senseless in the middle of f.u.c.king nowhere," Sylvie called back as the door swung closed behind me.
That was not going to happen.
I felt my lips start curving.
Knight pulled me down the side of the pool until I started almost running to match him step for step, nearly surpa.s.sing him on our way to the back gate.
There was a Maserati in my alley. He helped me into the front seat, threw my bag in the trunk, got in beside me and took off like a shot down the alley.
We were three blocks away before I looked back.
The flames consuming the vast mansion that was so not me (even when I didn"t know what me was) were already dancing toward the sky.
"Valenzuela," Knight stated.
I settled back in my seat and looked to him.
"Sorry?"
He looked at me out of the side of his eye quickly before returning his attention to the road.
"Benito Valenzuela murdering her sister"ll keep Georgia occupied while we take care of the rest of the business. Same time it does that, obviously it"ll keep her from thinkin" she needs to look for you."
They were framing Valenzuela.
I did not want to know and knew not to ask. Filled body bags. Gasoline. It was not for me to know. I knew this because, even if I asked, Nick would have made it so they didn"t tell me.
Still, I started, "Knight-"
He didn"t look out the side of his eye then, but glanced fully at me before he looked back to the street.
"No matter what you saw, no one got harmed in the making of that scenario, Livvie." He jerked his head to indicate behind us. "That you can trust. Now you just gotta keep trusting and let Nick"s plan play out."
I drew in a sharp breath.
This was Nick.
All Nick.