of his room wearing only a robe? You said you’d been getting hot and sweaty.”
“Yeah, we had. In the gym. And then I needed to use his razor and his shower gel. I’d appreciate if you didn’t mention the razor. He hates when I borrow it for my legs.”
The look on my face must have said I still wasn’t convinced.
“Hey, I won’t lie to you. Nick and I did have a thing together, but it ended in spectacular style a decade ago. If you really want the sordid details, the last time I slept with him was a year after that and we were both drunk. And to be honest, things were so different between us by then, it was strange and a little bit yucky. Like fucking my brother.”
No, I didn’t want the details. “But last night, you were on a date. Nick told me he was going out with some Russian businessmen.”
“We were working. What’s Nick told you about what he does?”
“He said he invests in companies. Buys them, builds them up, sells them, something like that.”
“That bloody idiot.” Emmy shook her head. “He does invest, but it’s more of a hobby. His main job is at a company owned by him, me, my husband, and Nate. You’ve met Nate?”
Yes, at the charity ball. I nodded. “So what does Nick do there?”
“Security work.”
“Like installing burglar alarms and stuff?”
“Not exactly, and I’m afraid that’s something I can’t say too much more about. But I will tell you that last night, we were in that restaurant because the dudes sitting at the next table are into some seriously fucked up stuff, and we were eavesdropping on their conversation to try and find out more information.”
“In a restaurant?”
“They were speaking in Russian and too arrogant to consider that the American couple beside them might actually understand everything they said. Not all bad guys skulk around in abandoned warehouses, you know. Restaurants are good meeting places because they’re harder to bug, and there’s background noise. But enough said about that.”
“Is any of this stuff dangerous?”
“Yes. Which is why he held off getting involved with you for so long, even though it was obvious to everyone he was crazy about you.”
Everyone except me, it seemed. “I didn’t realise.”
“I know. Because that shit of an ex made you doubt your own worth.”
She held up a hand when I tried to explain the truth in Billy’s views. After all, what had I done with my life?
“Don’t. Just don’t. I can see we still have work to do. Anyhow, I told Nick to tell you everything and let you make your own mind up whether you wanted to date him, but did he listen? Of course not.”
“He hasn’t told me anything.”
Emmy tucked her legs under her and regarded me through critical eyes. “How well are you feeling?”
A chill ran through me. “Why? What is it?”
“If Nick won’t explain things, I probably should. But you won’t like it.”
“Over the past few days, I’ve been stalked, stressed out because I thought I’d turned into the other woman, and then crashed Nick’s car. How much worse can it be?”
“Much worse. Has anybody mentioned Jana?”
My chill turned into goosebumps, and the heart monitor raced. I turned to watch the green lines tracking across the screen. Even if I told Emmy I felt fine about everything, she’d know the truth.
“No, I don’t know who that is.”
“Was. She was Nick’s fiancée.” The machine kicked up a gear, and Emmy glanced across at it. “Breathe deeply. Otherwise you’ll have a flock of nurses in here.”
I tried, but the revelation shocked me to my core. Nick had been engaged?
“What happened? Why didn’t he marry her?”
“Because she died. Seven years ago now, give or take. They were living together in Germany at the time. Nick had just bought Adler House, and they were gonna move in once Jana finished her degree, but it never happened. Adler. Did you know that’s German for eagle?”
I shook my head. “The eagle statue in the hallway?”
“Jana chose it.”
Words deserted me. All I could do was watch Emmy’s lips as she continued with the story I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear.
“Nick was working as a bodyguard for an heiress who’d been getting some unwanted attention. Her ex kept following her, and Nick caught him breaking into her home one evening. The cops locked him up for the night, then let him out on bail. One fucking night. And when he got out, he found a new target.”