She shook her head and adjusted herself in her chair. “Nope. We’ve got this, little brother. Go home and get some sleep please.”
Niko wished it were that simple. He was still worried about Chloe. There was a chance the procedure wouldn’t take or she’d develop an infection. Or an asteroid could hit the earth and all of you will die regardless.
He had to think of the best possible outcome. Niko had never considered himself a particularly religious man but every night, he prayed the end of this nightmare was in sight and things would return to normal.
What was normal for him?
Before Jon’s death, it was a selfish pursuit of the next big purse. Traveling around the globe, competing in matches with some of the world’s most ambitious fighters, risking his life for nothing but a thrill. Until Jon died and his entire world came crashing down. He’d put so much of himself into making CG a success and then Chloe’s health had dealt a second lethal blow to his family. He’d forgotten about his own passions until Alice had pushed her way into his life.
And he’d pushed her out of it.
He took the stairs down to the street level and jogged across the parking lot toward his motorcycle, needing to move least he stagnate in his own self-pity. Like a lovesick idiot, he had fallen hard, and fast. Obviously, he’d read more into the situation than warranted because that’s what he wanted to see. He started the engine and accelerated down the street, wishing to clear his head.
Niko didn’t want to go home nor did he want to go to CG. Needing something to occupy him, he turned the motorcycle up the hill, gunning the engine. He drove faster than wise but he felt the need for speed until he nearly hit a truck. He turned into Grams’s Kids, shut off the motorcycle, pushed it up near the door, and entered the warm interior.
A woman came out from behind the tubs, her face turned from the door, blond hair in a ponytail, slinky blue T-shirt, and jeans. He halted in his tracks and curled his fingers around the motorcycle helmet in his hand.
Breathe, Niko. Breathe.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Alice twisted at the sound of the tinkling bell and nearly dropped the electric screwdriver in her hand. Niko stood still as a statue; startling grey eyes locked on her face. She drank in his strong nose, wild hair, and chiseled mouth, gripping the tool in her hand tighter. “Hello, Niko.”
“What are you doing here?” His voice was husky, the question cool and measured.
“I’ve been volunteering here until the hiatus is up on my show.” After Hallie left, she couldn’t stay holed up in Grace’s apartment feeling sorry for herself. Alice had done enough of that in her life and she wasn’t about to allow herself to continue in such a manner. Alice held up the screwdriver and waved it a little. “I had to get a charged battery.”
He said nothing but the tick in his jaw spoke loud and clear.
He hates me. She spun on her heel and moved to the back room because she was unable to stomach the condemnation in his eyes. Several cribs were propped against the wall and she squatted next to the crib she’d been putting together. The activity had given her comfort and somehow, it had made her feel closer to Niko. With him standing beyond the single wall separating the spaces, she felt a million miles away.
The screw in her hand began to blur as her eyes filled with tears and she willed them back. She wouldn’t cry anymore for what had been. While she wanted to run screaming into the other room and beg him to stay, she picked up the second screw and pushed it into the hole. Going after him wouldn’t do her any good. He needed to come to her, to be willing to listen or they’d never have a chance.
The distinctive sound of denim rubbing against denim alerted her to his arrival and she picked up another screw, tamping down her excitement. His black Chucks and dark-washed jeans filled her peripheral vision. He’d come after her, a good sign.
Was he ready to listen?
Niko placed the third side of the white wooden crib onto the back. A tiny kernel of hope exploded in her chest at the small concession. “I never thanked you for bringing me here.”
She glanced up at him and wished she hadn’t. Glacial eyes met hers and she licked her lips. It was time to be one-hundred percent honest. To explain everything to him. And if he still hated her, she’d at least know she’d tried. “I’d expected you to choose a charity that was tied to cancer. Of course, you explained why you chose this one. Now I’d like to tell you why I came back here.”
He said nothing but held the piece steady. She retrieved the last of the screws, this one needed an Allen wrench and she didn’t have one for the electric screwdriver. She picked up the plastic handled one and began to put the pieces together on both the crib and her relationship with Niko.
“The only thing I knew about my father was that his name was Miller. My mom never talked about him much, other than to say he didn’t want to have anything to do with her or me.” She’d never tried to find him, nor had she any desire to do so. He was a shadowy stranger that belonged in the past.
“When I was seven, she left me in the car while she was in the bar getting drunk.” Like a bad nightmare, the images of that night stayed in her mind. She recalled every detail and one harsh truth, she had nobody to depend on but herself. Alice had lived by that doctrine for most of her life but she no longer wanted to live like that. Couldn’t. She loved Niko too much to let him go. “She picked up some random guy, kicked me out of the car when I tried to stop her from driving, and abandoned me in the parking lot. The bar manager called the police. Since I had no other relatives, they put me in foster care.”
Niko picked up the crib’s metal rack and knelt down beside her, holding it in place. His arm brushed hers, the smell of the outdoors and a hint of chocolate clung to him.
Alice ached to wrap her hand around his arm, to touch him but she had no right. She put in the first of four screws instead. “I stayed with the foster family for nine hundred and twenty-seven days. They were good people, kind but they had six other kids and didn’t have a lot of time for me. Every Christmas they’d give me a new pair of shoes and a teddy bear. A place like this donated those items to the foster family. That’s why this charity resonates with me and that’s why I had to thank you for introducing me to it.”
“When I asked what you were doing here, I wasn’t referring to charity work. You just had an invasive medical procedure. Aren’t you supposed to be recuperating?”
The subject was moving into dangerous territory and she needed to be cautious. She rocked back on her heels and met his gaze once more. The chill had faded yet hurt and recrimination still lingered. She’d burned him bad and ached to kiss the sorrow from the tired lines around his mouth. “It’s been four days for me and I’m still a bit weak, and my arm is sore, but I’ll survive. After Hallie told me the procedure was complete, I couldn’t stand sitting around Grace’s apartment for another minute.”
“You talked to Hallie?” Lifting the Allen wrench from the floor, he screwed in the other side of the crib while she finished her own end.
“She came over to Grace’s house to talk to me about Chloe and we’ve been texting daily. She didn’t tell you?” Alice had assumed she’d shared everything with Niko.
