She stopped fighting him, thank God. Nick, however, looked more pissed off than ever. Sporting a nice rivulet of blood where he had split his lip, he staggered to his feet. Sean pushed Nicki out of the way when Nick charged him. The kid might be lean and wiry, but he was no match for a trained ex-SEAL. With a smooth, practiced move, Sean easily caught and subdued him.
“If you ever speak to her like that again I’ll beat you myself,” he growled into Nick’s face. Nick’s body slumped as the fight drained out of him.
“How much, Nick?” Nicki asked wearily as her twin hung his head and tried to catch his breath, not an easy thing to do when Sean still had his arm around Nick’s throat.
“Ah, fuck,” she murmured once again. “Let him go, Sean. He’s done.”
Sean wasn’t convinced, but then Nicki looked up into his eyes. “Please.” It was a softly spoken request, one filled with more pain than he ever wanted to hear in her voice again. Reluctantly, he released Nick, who crumpled and just barely caught himself before he hit the floor.
Nicki went to his side, attempting to help him up. “Come on, Nick. Let’s get you home.” The weariness, the resignation in her voice led Sean to believe this wasn’t the first time she’d done this.
“I’ll come with you,” he said. “Just give me a few minutes to change.”
She looked like she was going to argue with him, but she didn’t. Thank God. “Take your time,” she said, blowing out a breath. “Mind if I try to get some coffee into him?”
“Hell, no. Help yourself.” With one last warning glance at Nick – who now looked like he hadn’t the strength to be a threat to anyone – Sean disappeared into his bedroom.
He finished dressing quickly, grabbing a shirt and some socks. He could hear them talking in the living room. They were speaking too softly for him to make out exactly what they were saying, but by the tone of their voices, he knew it wasn’t good.
Satisfied that they both seemed to have calmed down a little, Sean moved toward the back of his walk-in closet and popped the latch, into the hidden exit. Pulling out his cell, he hit the speed dial; he only had to wait for one ring.
“Ian, man, I need you to run some shit for me. Nicholas and Nicole or Nicolette Milligan.” He cursed himself for not knowing her first name. It seemed like the kind of thing a man should know about the woman he probably just impregnated and planned to marry. “Yeah... thanks, man... I need it like yesterday, hear me?... Yeah, it’s important.. Right, fuck you too... later.”
Sean had no doubt that despite Ian’s grumblings, he would get on it right away. Ian was just a little testy because it meant he had to crawl out of his nice warm bed (and his nice warm wife). Sean couldn’t blame him. Now that he knew how it felt to be inside his woman, he wanted to spend as much time there as possible.
Including right now, as a matter of fact. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen.
He’d like to blame Nick, but he couldn’t, not for all of it. Nicki was already trying to bolt before her brother had shown up, although Sean was confident he could have calmed her down and gotten her back in bed. She was scared; he got that. From the little bit he had pieced together of her life so far, he wasn’t surprised. It didn’t take a psych degree to know she didn’t want to end up like her mom, pregnant and alone.
What she didn’t understand was that she would never be alone. He would never abandon her or their child, if they’d just created one. A chill went over him when he remembered her earlier question, asking about the nearest pharmacy soon after she realized what had happened. She couldn’t possibly be thinking about the so-called morning after pill, could she? Did they sell that shit over the counter now? He didn’t think so, at least not in Pine Ridge, but it wasn’t worth taking the risk. No matter what, he’d had to make damn sure she didn’t get anywhere near a pharmacy.
Her brother, well, that was a bigger problem. He’d suspected that at one time the kid had been into some bad shit, but he’d been clean for as long as he’d been working at the garage. Sean was sorry to see him slip. No matter how much Nick claimed apathy, his mother’s death probably pushed him over the edge, but that was no excuse. Sean could only hope it was a one-time relapse and he’d get back on track. He’d do whatever he could to help, but the decision was ultimately no one’s but Nick’s. Nicki obviously cared a lot for her brother, but if the kid didn’t wise up, Sean would ensure that Nicki did not go down with him.
Sean tucked away his cell phone and re-emerged into his bedroom. He could no longer hear their muted voices. It was quiet. Too quiet. A sudden, urgent fear gripped him. He pulled open the door, only to find them already gone.
Sean cursed and grabbed his jacket and keys.