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  Jon walked over to Anthony. “Thanks for the information. You should go, and we’ll let the police know what you saw. They might want to talk to you.”

  “I’ll be at home if they need to contact me,” he said. He shifted his look from Nick back to Jon. “I was there when you went through the same hell with Gabby. I wouldn’t do that to Nick. I hate to admit it, but he does love Lincoln.”

  Isadora called to them. “They are talking about Lincoln on television.”

  They went over to the television to see Regan sitting behind the anchor desk. Tears streaked the makeup on her face. Her voice was shaking, and her co-anchor comforted her as she spoke:

  “I’m asking the public for help in locating my sister who went missing last night. Her name is Lincoln Hathaway Barona. She is twenty-eight year old African-American. She stands five-feet, eight-inches tall with shoulder-length black hair and light-brown skin. She is also four months pregnant. Please, if anyone has seen her, please contact me here at the station or call Cleveland police at the number on the screen. We promise to treat any information confidentially, and a cash reward will be given to the person who leads police to my sister’s whereabouts. I’m begging you to, please, help. Her husband and my family are desperate for Lincoln to be home where she belongs. Thank you.”

  Nick slumped on the sofa. He heard his cell phone ringing in the distance. Isadora didn’t hesitate to retrieve it for him. She handed it to him, and he slid his finger over the screen to answer. “Hello.” He sat straight as a pencil as he talked on the phone. “Where and how long ago? Tell her thank you for me,” he said to the caller as he hung up.

  Orlando waited patiently for Nick to clue them in on the caller. When he watched Nick leap to his feet, he asked. “Nick, what the hell is going on?”

  “That was Ryan, the new candidate taking Anthony’s place at the firehouse. He said a woman stopped him while he was searching and said she saw a woman fitting Lincoln’s description getting into a cab around 2:30 this morning.”

  Orlando got excited. “Getting in a cab where? Where?”

  “She was picked up at the park. If I can locate the driver, he’ll be able to tell us where he dropped Lincoln off.”

  Jon headed to the door. “We’re wasting time sitting here. We’ll call the police on the way to the cab company.”

  On the way out of the apartment building, Nick ran into the detective working Lincoln’s case coming inside the building. “Detective Moore, I have a lead…”

  “Mr. Barona, I know about the cab driver if that’s what you were going to tell me. But I have more news for you. Is there somewhere we can talk alone?”

  Nick felt his hopes deflate. He his cell phone rang. He dug the phone from his pocket as he motioned for the detective to follow him. “Yeah, we can talk in my apartment.”

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Lincoln sat at the island musing over a cup of tea in her sister’s state-of-the-art, gourmet kitchen. The kitchen could be on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The smooth granite countertops were a rich golden-brown and walls painted to play off those colors made the kitchen airy and welcoming.

  At precisely 8:30 that morning, a healthy breakfast of oatmeal topped with golden raisins, and scrambled eggs with aged cheddar cheese, and toast was served to her. The meal, especially prepared for her by a personal chef hired to take care of the family meals was delicious. She understood why Carter had the additional help. The driver, personal chef, nanny, and housekeeper were not there to show off their wealth but served a purpose. Carter and Thomas both had careers that called for them to travel. Sometimes they were both away from home at the same time. And since Lynette moved out, their kids needed the extra supervision.

  Carter entered the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. She leaned her hip against the sink and crossed one arm over her body. “Lincoln, you’ve been here over twenty-four hours and I haven’t seen you attempt to call Nick. Don’t you think he is worried about you?”

  Her lips twitched at the corners. “I know he is worried. My voicemail is full with calls from him.”

  Carter frowned and said, “Then you need to stop with the soap opera antics and take your ass home or at least call him.”

  Thomas walked through the kitchen and took a piece of fruit from the table. “I called Nick because he has a right to know where you are. This doesn’t involve only you but his unborn babies,” he said giving Lincoln an evil eye as he left the kitchen.

  Lincoln crinkled her brow peeved by what Thomas said and, by the way he said it. She looked at Carter. “Who is he to butt in my business?”

  “My husband has every right to put in his two cents, Lincoln. You show up at our door in the middle of the night without a valid reason for being in Chicago. What further makes this stupid is you want to end your marriage because of something Regan pointed out to you. Girl, you’re about to be a mother…grow up and stop letting your hormones rule your everyday sense.”

  “My reasons didn’t sound crazy at the time. Plus you don’t have to be mean. I know I’m acting childish by running away instead of facing my problems.”

  “Um-hum, and when mom gets a hold to your butt, you’re going to wish you were back in Cleveland. Now, that Thomas has called Nick, I suggest you get upstairs and put on a face that will make him forgive you. I’m sure he is blazing up the highway to Chicago as we speak.”

  “What if he isn’t,” Lincoln said lifting her eyes up. Wisps of unruly hair drooped in her face; she wiped them away with her finger. The uncertainty of where she stood with Nick after the stunt she pulled began to settle in. What if he called her bluff and let her walk away?

  Carter took a sip of her coffee and licked her lips. “Then I suggest you lace those lips heavily with gloss and start kissing some ass. You were wrong for what you did, and Nick has every right to be furious with you.”

  After a final attempt to tame the flyaway strands of hair from around her face, Lincoln slid off the stool. “I should take a shower and get dressed.”

  Carter nodded but the disappointing expression on her face remained unchanged. Lincoln felt her heated gaze follow her out of the kitchen.

  Several hours later, Lincoln sat in Corina’s bedroom helping her with math homework. Math was a subject Lincoln excelled in and enjoyed. She majored in math in college.

  Corina chewed on the end of the pencil and asked. “Lincoln, if you divorce Nick, will you move to Chicago? It would be nice to have someone closer to my age to talk to instead of Mom and grandma. They don’t always understand me.”

  Lincoln closed the math book and looked out the bedroom window. The sun was shining, and a warm breeze drifted through the open window. The word “divorce” sounded so disturbing coming from Corina’s mouth. She didn’t want a divorce. She loved Nick. The effort invested in the marriage up until now, she enjoyed. She loved having him around the house and not because he waited on her hand and foot.

  Nick was handy and could fix just about anything and he did it without her asking. He would see something that needed to be done and would do it. The lazy gene was not a dominant gene in his body. Nick was a doer and she always wanted that in a man. Anthony was a doer, also. He was a great man until Melanie came back into his life and destroyed their relationship.

  The babies moved around causing her to adjust her position in the chair. She wished they would’ve moved around this much during her doctor’s appointment. She and Nick would know the sex of their babies and be able to pick out names.

  Lincoln played with the tassel hanging off the desk lamp and said, “I don’t want a divorce, Corina. If it’s not too late for me to repair my marriage, I want to stay married to Nick.”

  Corina nodded. “He is cute. What is it like being married to him?”

  Curious her niece asked the question, Lincoln turned to her. “What do you mean, Corina?”

  The girl was the younger image of her mother in every way. Corina was thin, with long silky black hair she h
ad braided into two ponytails. She was a straight A student and talented when it came to the piano. She learned to play at four years of age.

  Corina crossed her legs as she sat up on the bed and twirled a long braid around her finger. “What is it like to be married to a White man? I’m asking because there is this boy in my class and we sort of like each other but he is White. I don’t know how my parent’s will react if they know I like him.”

  “Well, men will be men no matter what their skin color is, Corina. I fell in love with Nick’s personality and the way he treats me.” Lincoln squeezed the plush teddy bear sitting on the desk. “Corina, I don’t want you to think I’m with Nick because of his race. You’re old enough to know what Anthony did to me and why I couldn’t forgive him. If it weren’t for that, we would still be together. I respect and love our African-American men; I just happened to fall in love and marry a white man. Sometimes we have no control over our love life.”

  Corina scrunched her face. “So you think I should tell Mom and Dad about Daniel?”

  She nodded. “Of course, I do. Invite him over and let them get to know him. But, first make sure he respects you. Never let any guy use you as a doormat or treat you as anything less than special. Put yourself on a high standard and make them prove they are worthy of your attention. I’m not saying to be a snob or a diva.”

  “I know what you mean. Don’t act like Auntie Regan.”

  Lincoln laughed. “Yeah, don’t act like her.”

  “I’m playing about Auntie Regan but Daniel always offers to carry my book bag and asks how my day is going. If I’m having a bad day, he wants to talk about it with me. And he has only kissed me on the cheek.”

  Lincoln was amazed at how Carter was raising her daughter differently than they were bought up. Corina was extremely preppy and that was due to the private schools she attended. She wouldn’t know how to handle a street-wise teenage boy. Although, Thomas’s oldest son was sure to introduce both kids to a little street.

  Lincoln nodded. “Absolutely invite him over to meet your parents. I think it will be fine with them if you go to a movie together.”

  The high-pitched shrill of Carter’s voice yelled for Lincoln to come downstairs. Her blood ran cold as she crept down the staircase to see Nick standing there. This was her final destination. She had to face the music because there was nowhere else for her to run.

  She bit her lower lip as Nick eyed her. She searched for any contempt but all she saw in his in eyes was relief. As their eyes met, she couldn’t look away. When she reached the bottom of the stairs he raised a hand to her face and pushed the stray stands of hair way and tucked them behind her ear.

  He pulled her against his chest and rubbed a hand up and down her back. It warmed her inside and out. She tried to hold herself upright and not to lean too heavily into his embrace, but her willpower was no match for the love he had for her. Her shoulders sagged and she leaned against him, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She inhaled his scent and realized what a fool she was to want to leave him.

  *****

  Surprisingly Nick was able to keep his voice calm and his anger in check. “You had me scared to death, Lincoln. I was afraid I had lost you forever,” he whispered in her ear.

  Nick stood in the foyer of Carter’s mansion finally holding his wife who’d been missing for a day.

  When he first drove up the long driveway and parked his red Dodge behind a pearl white Benz, he thought he was in the wrong place. But then Thomas came outside along with his two teenage sons he’d met at the wedding.

  Thomas took him inside the house and apologized why he could not stay. He was taking his sons to the White Sox game. Nick’s mouth dropped open in awe of the décor. A black baby grand piano, a huge sweeping staircase, and expensive artwork and chandeliers adorned the foyer. He could only imagine what the rest of the house looked like.

  He knew what Carter did for a living, and remembered Thomas saying he was a doctor, but he couldn’t recall his area of expertise. Whatever it was, it obviously paid well. He wished he could provide this type of lifestyle for Lincoln, but she never complained about how they lived, and she seemed to be happy.

  Lincoln settled in his arms and asked. “Nick, you aren’t mad at me for what I did?”

  When he finally found his voice again, he couldn’t remember what he was going to say before. He had a speech made out, but having her alive and healthy was more important than the speech that no longer mattered. He felt the babies kick against him as he held her.

  He pulled away from her and rubbed her stomach. “Oh, I’m mad as hell and want to throttle your lovely little neck, but I’m thankful that you’re safe. And that my babies are safe too. God, Lincoln, what the hell were you thinking?”

  Her tears were heavy, and her chest heaved as she gasped for breath. “I ruined everything. I broke friendships and caused fights. I made this mess, and I had to fix it. The only way I could do that was by leaving you. If you had your freedom back, you would be able to get your life back on track.”

  The way she looked at him with the hurt in her eyes made him feel powerless. He could literally feel his self-control waning. He wanted to hold her and comfort her, not reprimand her for thinking she’d ruined his life. But he had to stay strong for the both of them.

  He thumbed her tears away. “Regan didn’t have the right to say those things to you. Baby, you come before any friend or friendship. Damn, what do I have to do to prove you are more important to me than anything that was in my life before you? The fact that I drove six straight hours over the speed limit isn’t enough for you?”

  She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing her protruding belly against him; the babies protested the tight squeeze by kicking back. “I believe you now. Nick, can you forgive me for acting a total ass?”

  He tipped her chin up to look at him. “You aren’t off the hook completely. Once you give birth and are able, your punishment will be ready and waiting to be served immediately,” he said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

  Carter entered the foyer clapping her hands. “This is what I like to see.”

  Nick released Lincoln and went over to Carter. He hugged her. “Thanks for taking care of her until I got here. I’m forever in your debt.”

  Carter patted him on the back. “Actually, that was Thomas’ idea. I was trying to convince my stubborn sister to call you.”

  “I have to remember to thank him. What does he like? Does he have a favorite liquor or beer I can buy him?”

  Carter flipped her hand. “Forget it, Nick. Thomas has expensive taste, and that’s money you should use for the babies—those critters are expensive. I have three teenage crumb-snatchers to prove that. Now, you’ve had a long trip, and I’m sure you’re hungry. I had Molina fix you a light snack, but not enough to ruin your dinner. Oh, and you and Lincoln will stay here tonight and drive back to Cleveland tomorrow or stay here a couple of days…it’s up to you.”

  He raised a dark eyebrow and looked over at Lincoln who’s tears had dried, and she was smiling somewhat. “We’ll have to leave tomorrow morning. I have to get back to work.”

  *****

  They retired to the in-law suite after dinner. Nick was taking an extra-long shower. Lincoln knew he was tired. His body seemed to unwind slowly from the tenseness embracing him from worrying about her, but the dark shadows under his eyes showed he had not slept.

  Lincoln lay on the bed watching television waiting for Nick. She admired the in-law suite that was larger than their apartment, and decorated differently than the rest of the mansion. She figured her mother decorated the space to fit her needs. When they went to see her new condominium, it too was spacious and nicely decorated.

  Lincoln saw how much Lynette’s taste had changed since moving to Chicago. The new man in her life was well-bred and introduced her to a new culture that Lynette embraced whole-heartedly. However, it was hard seeing her mother with an Arab man. He wasn’t a practicing Muslim,
and Lynette had no plans to convert which relieved Lincoln immensely.

  When Nick finally stepped out the bathroom and came into the bedroom, he looked renewed. Lincoln watched him from the corner of her eye. Nick dried his hair roughly with a towel and sat on the end of the king-sized bed. His dark hair was damp and slicked against his neck. She inhaled. He smelled as sexy as he looked.

  There go my damn hormones again.

  She wanted to touch him. She had second thoughts about doing that; this wasn’t exactly the moment for them to make love. How could she expect him to forgive her so quickly? He said the right words but he was standing in her sister’s house. He wasn’t going to go off on her with Carter and Corina nearby.

  She noticed the gold chain was not around his neck. “Nick, where is your cross?” She asked, using a finger to lift damp hair away from his neck.

  “Oh, it’s at home. I have to get a new chain for it.” He stood up and folded the wet towel in half and took it in the in the bathroom to hang up. When he returned from the bathroom, he was completely naked.

  Lincoln’s heart skipped three beats. The sight of his nude body excited her, and he knew it. And he knew how to use it as a weapon to get what he wanted. She tried not to think of the other women who became excited at the sight of his body in the past.

  Lincoln got off the bed and went over to him. His hands closed around her shoulders and rubbed down her arms. She caressed his face. The stubble of dark hair that covered his jaw line tickled under her fingers. “I’m so sorry for what I put you through. I need you, Nick. Can you forgive me long enough to make love to me?”

  He let her arms go, and she wrapped them around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. Their kissing was more than a prelude to sex, but a reflection on how two people could communicate just by parting lips and letting their tongues mingle together.

  Her mind spun, from his kiss. He did not use soft butterfly kisses as if he was mad at her but aggressive kisses. The kind that said he wanted the closeness and passion also.