He turned away from Martina something-or-other and placed his hand on Nicola’s shoulder, stopping her conversation with Roman. “Roman, my friend, don’t go setting your sights on Nicola. She’ll be pretty well used up after her stay with Luc. If you want, I’ll set you up with someone who will appreciate you.”
The blaze erupting from Nicola’s eyes toward him became warm and friendly as Roman’s hand shifted back to his lap. The tension in her neck relaxed, and her shoulders softened under Simon’s touch.
“Blonde or brunette?” Roman asked.
“Blonde. All the way, if you know what I mean.”
They both laughed, and Nic grinned as though she appreciated a good joke that demoralized women.
“Are you heading to Zurich next week?” Roman asked.
“I was thinking about it. I need to discuss my present requirements with Luc before I make any final decisions. If I go, I’ll bring Belinda and her friend. We can double-date.”
“I like how you think.” Roman raised his wineglass to him and then turned away from Nicola to focus on his other dinner companion, the wife of a major donor to the Musée d’Orsay. Regrettably for the museum, her husband’s tax-deductible donations included more reproductions than originals.
Nicola angled her head toward Simon and frowned. “You can unhand me now.”
“I could.” He rubbed his fingers across the base of her hairline. “I’m wondering what it takes to please a woman like you.”
“Money, gifts. In fact, Luc gave me a present this morning. Something you never did.”
“Jewels?”
Nicola grinned while trying to shift his hand off her. “Better. A painting. Some lady on a horse. He told me I could store it here indefinitely.”
Good. The painting showed up earlier than he’d planned.
“He’s generous. It makes sense to abandon all we’ve been through and run to his side.” His fingers continued to massage her.
She sighed as he brushed one of his fingertips over the edge of her ear, a sound he wished he heard in his bed at night.
Turning her game on, Nicola changed her sigh to a sneer. “You and I had nothing.”
“Didn’t we?” Simon’s hand dropped away from her skin. He tucked the lingering heat in his fist. “I seem to remember making love on the plane to Fiji and riding bareback for hours on the beach.”
Their conversation drew a few stares from their neighbors, but Luc remained intent on making the redhead his conquest for the night and missed their bantering.
“We never went horseback riding together.” Shaking her head, she lifted her fork and stabbed a shrimp.
“I never said we did.”
“Pig.” Nicola spoke louder than proper, and most guests now looked in their direction.
Simon smirked at the audience. “You miss me, admit it.”
Luc turned away from the redhead toward Simon and Nicola.
“Are you all right?” he called across the table.
“Fine.” Nicola flashed a smile toward Luc and waved off his question. “If you’ll all excuse me, I need some fresh air.”
She pushed out of her chair to stand, but Simon placed a hand on her shoulder again, keeping her seated.
“Don’t bother, I was just leaving.” He rose and kissed her cheek. “Take care of yourself, Nic.”
He walked to Luc at the head of the table and shook his hand.
“Thanks for dinner. We’ll talk in a few days.” Then he lowered his face and spoke in a hushed tone only Luc and Alex could hear. “If you have the wife out, leave the bitch in the bedroom. She annoys me.”
…
Henry had moved all of his and Simon’s things to a hotel closer to Alex. The place offered room service and clean sheets, a vast improvement from Simon’s hole-in-the-wall existence.
Waiting for Simon to return from dinner took patience and a quick walk past Luc’s house to make sure everything appeared secure. Returning to the room, Henry paced, pretended to read, and watched television until Simon arrived at ten.
“You’re early.” He tried to sound cool and detached, but Simon had always read Henry’s emotions as though they were broadcast through a megaphone.
Simon pulled off his jacket and threw it on the dresser. “I accomplished my goals.”
“How is she?”
“She’s putting weight on her leg, so it can’t be too bad. I’m trying to pull her hospital records to see the extent of the damage.”
“Did you speak with her?”
“Only briefly. I walked with her into the dining room. Luc was too busy escorting his new mistress.”
“What?” Luc had to be an arrogant sod to treat women with such disrespect.
“It’s obvious Alex isn’t there for love. She’s not even there for the sex. I think the mistress is staying in Luc’s bedroom.”
Simon’s comments triggered an unexpected release of tension in Henry. The existence of Luc’s mistress could protect Alex from Luc’s abusive sexual proclivities. Yet he still couldn’t understand why she went along without a fight. “He beats the hell out of her and treats her with disdain. Why would she marry him?”
“Blackmail.”
Simon made sense. Luc probably aimed for a share of the Northrop fortune, exactly the son-in-law Mr. Northrop tried to protect his daughters from. Alex, on the other hand, cared only about her family. Her love for them was evident in the brightening of her facial expression when she spoke about them.
“You’re right,” he said. “She’s sacrificing herself for her family. The security guard was killed by an assassin, maybe in front of Alex. A duffel bag containing her possessions was found at the scene. And what about her niece? I showed you the report earlier. The hit-and-run occurred outside of her house. No one’s caught the suspect. Alex won’t make a move for fear Luc will do more than merely hospitalize her kin.”
“She’s pretty tough. She’ll be fine until my contact figures out a way to sneak her out.”
Henry nodded, but remembered what she’d said to him in Edinburgh. It won’t be over until one of them was dead. The muscles in his legs, shoulders, and neck tightened, and his heartbeat deepened into a heavy pounding. Her plan didn’t involve escape.