Nicole was still naked underneath the sheet, but Davis swaddled her just like he had both Rayna and DJ when they were infants. It wasn’t until he had tasted the saltiness on his lips that he realized they were his tears that flowed down his face.
For most of the drive home, Davis remained still. His own hands started to ache and swell. He hadn’t had a chance to wash them off, and they were still bloody from earlier. His jaw tightened as he had second thoughts about not killing Roman when he had the opportunity.
By the time the van pulled into their garage, his tears had dried, and Nicole was starting to wake up. Her voice was small. “Davis?”
“I’m here. I’m here.”
“I’m sick.”
“We’re home. Let’s get you inside.” He quickly carried her to the nearest bathroom and left Russell behind to fill Jane and Dana in on the details. It wasn’t a moment too soon, Nicole emptied what little she had on her stomach the moment she entered the bathroom. Davis held her hair back until she started to dry heave. Once she was finished, he gave her a warm towel.
Nicole whispered, “I want to wash this sick and dirty feeling off me.”
Davis sat on the floor next to her. “Okay. But we have to wait until Dr. MacEntyre can give us the okay.”
“Dr. MacEntyre? Why?”
His voice was strangled. “Do you not remember what happened tonight?”
“I-I went for my meeting.” Her chest hurt from how she was treated. “I was hurt and angry when I left, and I wasn’t ready to come home . . .” Her voice trailed off. “I saw Roman on the elevator. Everything else is blank after that.”
Nicole looked down at herself and realized she was wrapped in a sheet. Her eyes widened as she looked at Davis like really looked at him. His hands were swollen. The skin was torn, and they were bloody. “My god. What happened to you?” Tears were caught in her throat. “What happened to me?”
Davis ran his hand down her back in an attempt to soothe her. “Nicole.”
She was starting to get hysterical. “What happened to me!? Did he? Did I? Oh. My. God!” Her beautiful eyes glittered with unshed tears.
“Whatever happened we’ll deal with it.”
Nicole let out a gut-wrenching wail. Davis felt it clear through to his soul. He pulled her into his arms and rocked back and forth as Nicole cried out with raw emotion.
Dr. MacEntyre knocked on the door. “Davis? Nicole? It’s me. May I come in?”
Nicole shook her head no. “I can’t. I don’t . . .”
“Sweetheart. She just wants to make sure you don’t need medical attention.”
Nicole sniffed. “But I do.” Her tears tumbled down her face like a waterfall. He could barely understand the words coming out of her mouth through them. “Davis, I’m sick.”
He gently moved her hair from out of her face and behind her ear. “Okay, Dr. MacEntyre can help with that. Just let her look at you for a few minutes. Okay?”
Nicole shook her head no at the same time, Dr. MacEntyre called out to them again. “Davis? Nicole?”
He pleaded with her. “Please, Nicole.”
It was the brokenness in his voice that made her give up and agree.
He called out. “Come in.”
Evelyn MacEntyre poked her head through the door. “I’d like to come in and examine you if that’s okay, Nicole.”
Shame kept Nicole’s eyes focused on the floor. “Okay.”
Evelyn stepped into the bathroom. “Davis, I’ll need to examine her alone.”
He was adamant. “I’m not leaving her.”
“In my experience, this will go a lot smoother if we can be alone and Nicole is free to answer my questions.”
Davis was still hesitant.
“I promise you; I’ll take good care of her.”
Nicole didn’t want him anywhere near the room if it turns out she had slept with Roman. Her voice was thick with emotion. “Please. I just want to get this over with.”
He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck as he struggled to let her go.
“Please.” It was the desperation in Nicole’s voice that made the decision for him.
“I’ll be right outside.” His feet felt like they had cement blocks on them as he dragged himself away and closed the door.
*****
Davis came down into the living room where everyone else had been waiting for an update as to how Nicole was doing.
Jane’s eyes went wide when she saw him. “Davis. Your hands. Did you have Dr. MacEntyre look at them?”
“I’m fine. I just want her to focus on Nicole.”
Dana asked, “How is she?”
“In shock.”
“What happened?”
“All she can remember is going to the Clarks Tower Building for a meeting, and, when leaving, she ran into a man she’d met through the foundation on the elevators. She doesn’t remember anything else from that point on until she woke up in the back of the van.”
Jane and Dana had both been standing but sat down on the sofa. The unspoken current in the room was the hope Nicole hadn’t been violated.
Jane nudged Dana in the ribs and whispered, “Tell him.”
His eyes narrowed. “Tell me what?”
It was as if Dana was in pain, but she knew Davis needed to know. “I found these in Nicole’s purse.” She held up a clear baggie of pills.
“What are those?”
“Fentanyl.”
His mouth gaped open. “What? Why the hell would she have those?”
“Davis . . .”
He wasn’t ready to hear the words that he knew were about to come
