Red snorted. “What a class act,” he said with more than a little sarcasm.
“Again, I said no thanks. Well, I think I just told him I needed to leave and he asked me to sleep on it.”
Red looked at her. “So did you tell him no or what? I don’t understand.”
“I think I was leaving it a little bit open-ended because I didn’t want to get you in trouble.”
Red closed his eyes and licked his lips. “Remain calm,” he said, as if talking only to himself. “Calm.”
“And then the last thing that happened,” Nicole said. “He picked Danielle and I up in his limousine while we were walking in Manhattan. He must have been following me or something.”
She could feel Red’s entire body tense up as she said the words. She knew this whole thing was his worst nightmare come true. But he didn’t say a word.
“Danielle was telling him he was a jerk, and Kane didn’t seem to mind one bit. He made it clear he’d done enough research to know who she was and even how much money she owed on credit cards and student loans.”
“Well I can see where this is going now,” Red sighed. “Don’t tell me, you guys let him pay off her fucking debt.”
Nicole hesitated. “This is the part I’m not so proud of.”
“Oh, Nicole. You didn’t.”
“I did. I said I’d go with him to The Caymans if he would pay her debt—nearly a hundred thousand dollars worth—and also keep you out of the media spotlight.”
Red pulled his hand away from her and rubbed his jaw. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry, I know it was stupid. I just—I thought…it was only going to be a couple of days and I couldn’t reach you. Danielle was in trouble and you were in trouble and maybe it would be fixed.”
“I hate to say it, but that was not the brightest move you’ve ever made,” he said. “I want to say a lot worse, but I know that I love you and that you didn’t intend to hurt me.”
“I didn’t. I was honestly trying to protect you, Red.”
He rubbed his hands on his knees. “Okay. Okay. I’m going to stay calm here.”
“I’m scared that if I back out on the deal—“
“Of course you’re going to back out,” Red told her. “I don’t give a shit what evidence he has on me. Yeah, I employed undocumented workers. You know why?”
Nicole shook her head.
He continued talking, his voice low with barely suppressed rage. “These were people seeking political asylum, but they couldn’t get into the United States anymore because of all the red tape and the Homeland Security crackdown. I’m talking about good people who were speaking out against their horrific governments and their lives were in danger. Occasionally we would find a way to help them. Very, very rarely, but we did it and I’m not ashamed of it either.”
Nicole couldn’t help but say what was on her mind. “But you’re sure they weren’t terrorists or something? You’re sure they didn’t just fool you into believing they had good intentions?”
Red laughed. “Yes, I’m sure. They were the very opposite of terrorists. These were reporters, peace activists, men and women who were brave enough to speak out against dictators and abuses of power in their respective countries. What we did wasn’t legal—but I think it was moral. And I don’t care if Kane releases those so-called incriminating documents. Fuck him.”
“I love you,” she said, smiling at his passion and his bravery. This was a man who was willing to do the right thing even if it put him in jeopardy.
He smiled at her. “Well, I love you too, buttercup.”
“But now that Kane’s paid Danielle’s loans off, I’m also scared for her. I can’t imagine what he’ll do if he’s not compensated in some way.”
“Listen, I’m going to take care of this right now.” Red stood up and walked to the cabinet, opened it, rummaged around. “I know I put my cell phone in here somewhere.”
“Clearly you intended to forget about it.”
“It felt good to stop using the phone for awhile,” he said. “Ah. Here it is.” He picked it up and showed it to her. “I’m going to make a call to Kane Wright and deal with this little situation.”
“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”
“I’ve never been more sure.” He smiled at her. “I don’t get any service in the cabin, I need to drive up the road a bit to get a signal. You wait here, I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t do anything crazy,” she said, suddenly afraid.
“I’ve never been this clearheaded in all my life.” He grabbed his keys from over by the sink and wrapped his hand around them in a fist. He was smiling, and in that moment Nicole realized something.
Red Jameson had come back to life.
***
He returned to the cabin about fifteen minutes later, looking satisfied.