And then this morning Sean had spouted all that bullshit about having her work in his garage, but if he really expected her to believe he wanted her for her mechanical skills, then he wasn’t nearly as smart as he thought he was.
Did he think he could save her or something? Had Nick suddenly gotten all chummy with his hard-ass boss and appealed to him for help? It was no secret Nick hated the fact that she was working at Angels, and she understood why - it hit just a little too close to home and brought back memories they would both rather forget. Yeah, they had escaped Benny’s clutches, but the pain of their childhood would always be there. The scars went too deep to ever go away completely.
Which is what had really brought her to town in the first place. Word on the street was that after dropping off the face of the earth for a while, Benny Marscone had resurfaced and set up shop just outside of Pine Ridge. He had changed his appearance, changed his name, but it didn’t matter. She would find him. And she would make good on the promise she’d made to Nick all those years ago.
Nick didn’t know that, of course. He thought she was simply in town to see their mother. That was partially true. Despite the past, despite everything that had happened, Nicki didn’t believe Charlene should die alone.
But there was more to it than that, too. Charlene Milligan had always been part of Benny’s inner circle. If the rumors were true and Benny was operating in the area, Charlene might just have that last piece of crucial information Nicki needed to find him and put him down for good.
No, Nick didn’t have a clue – not about her so-called job, and not about the real reason she was in Pine Ridge. And Sean Callaghan should just keep his gorgeous, tight ass out of her business.
She bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood. It was apparent Sean had already formed an opinion of who and what she was, and he was just arrogant enough to pretend otherwise. Fine. She’d play her little part, fulfill the role he’d already assigned in his head, just like she’d done with Jason Michaels. Living up to people’s expectations was what she excelled at, and it was so much easier than revealing any of her true self.
God, it had been so long, she wasn’t even sure who that was anymore.
If he only knew what she was capable of, she thought. It might be worth telling him just to see his reaction. She quickly dismissed that idea. The brief satisfaction she’d get wouldn’t last long enough to make up for the amount of proverbial shit that would hit the fan. No, she decided. It was best to stick with the plan and forego the momentary thrill of putting Sean Callaghan in his place.
Playing the part was easy; she’d been doing it for so long it was second nature to her now. Over coffee, she’d given quite the performance, too. And he bought it, all of it. He really believed she was nothing more than an exotic dancer. That’s what she wanted, right?
So why did she feel disappointed?
Nicki threw the pillow against the wall and let out a string of curses that would have raised a few eyebrows from a construction crew. She was finished thinking about Sean Callaghan. Period. She put in her earphones and maxed out the volume on her iPod. There was nothing like a little screaming death metal to get a girl’s head in the right place.
Two hours later, Nicki breathed a sigh of relief. Nick’s apartment was spotless. Everything had been scrubbed, disinfected, and polished until it shone. And the multiple runs up and down the three flights of stairs to the basement laundry had actually turned out to be a decent workout.
With a sense of satisfaction, Nicki headed for a shower. The hot water felt heavenly over her tired muscles as she washed away the smell of Pine-Sol and Clorox, replacing it with the honeyed vanilla scented body wash. She took her time, languishing in the steamy shower until the water finally turned cold. Only then did she force herself to dry off. Without bothering to don underwear, she pulled on a pair of Nick’s freshly laundered sweats and a Hanes T, wondering for the thousandth time why men’s clothes were so much more damn comfortable than women’s.
She towel-dried her hair, letting it hang loose to dry into natural waves. It felt so good to be clean and comfortable. With a little food in her belly and an hour on the sofa, she might almost feel human again.
A huge billow of steam wafted out as she opened the bathroom door. The smell of fresh pizza had her stomach growling in no time. Thank God! Nick was back. With food.