Game On (3 page)

The officer took the camera and handed it back to Nikki.

“She attacked my girlfriend.”

“I defended myself,” Nikki said, her tone calm.

The girlfriend pointed at Nikki. “This is all her fault. She had no—”

“I'm sorry you got caught having a little fling with your boss. But you had no right to attack me,” Nikki interjected.

“We offered her money,” the man grumbled.

The officer cracked a smile. “That probably didn't go well. Ms. Kent, you have the right to press charges. If you want to.”

“Are you kidding me?” Stanley sounded astonished.

“I warned you.” Nikki smiled. “I'll give you a break. Besides, after your wife gets through with you, you probably wouldn't be able to afford the fine anyway.” She pointed at the girlfriend. “And he sure won't be able to afford you.”

The blonde held her head up proudly. “I'll have you know I love Stanley. Not his money.”

“Good thing. Since Stanley won't have nearly as much after the divorce.”

“OK, you two are free to go.” Rob nodded at the couple. “Next time you don't like something someone's doing, walk away.”

Stanley nodded at the officer and then glared at Nikki. “You don't think it'll make any difference, do you? My wife will forgive me. She always does.” Stanley stomped off with Macy hurrying behind.

Lucas now had no doubt Nikki was the one who could help him—if only he could talk her into it.

****

Nikki moved towards Robbie's cruiser. “Thanks, Robbie.”

“Not a problem.” He followed her. “You're looking good these days, Kent. I haven't seen you around in a while. Where've you been hiding yourself?”

“Been busy, and I've given up the bar scene.” She lowered her voice, not wanting Lucas to hear their conversation. Her life was none of his business.

“Hey, I heard you broke up with Don. You ready to finally take your chances with me?” He leaned against the hood of his cruiser.

“Sorry, Robbie. No relationships—at least not for a long time. It's time for me to get my act together.”

“Oh, come on, Nikki. But I see you've already found a new vict—I mean, guy.” He laughed.

“Very funny.”

“The problem is you haven't found the right guy.” He grinned. “You never know, he might be right here in this parking lot with you and you don't realize it.”

“Very subtle, Rob.”

“I thought so. Give me a jingle if you change your mind. And stop getting into fights.”

“It wasn't my fault.” Nikki opened his door for him.

He slid into the driver's seat. “Be good and be safe, Nikki.”

“You do the same, Robbie. I only deal with cheating husbands who don't want to get caught. You're the one who deals with the real criminals.”

“That's for sure. See you around, Nikki.” He held his hand up to his ear. “Call me.”

She laughed and then got into her own car. “You're still here.”

“I told you I wasn't leaving until you listen to me. But let me say that was quite impressive. It made me even more determined to hire you.” Lucas grinned at her.

“It's part of the job.”

“I can't believe you managed to handle them. I wanted to help. But since you told me to stay in the car, I did.”

“You didn't exactly stay in the car.”

“I wanted to be ready in case. I can see I came to the right person for help.” He smiled that charming smile. “Are you ready to listen now?”

In answer to his question, she leaned over and turned the radio on, but not quite as loud as before. “I need to decompress.”

“I can understand that. You and that officer seemed very chummy.”

“Really?”

“Sorry, just an observation. Decompress away.” He turned the radio up another notch and sang along.

Was Stanley right? Would his wife really forgive him? Nikki didn't have that much forgiveness in her. Which was exactly why she wasn't married anymore. Forgiving someone always seemed like giving them permission to do it again. But the Bible was clear. Forgiving others was part of being a Christian. She probably could learn to forgive for the little things. But the big things? That was a whole different story. She'd need God's help for that. She gave a sideways glance at her passenger. Forgiving him didn't seem possible. But then again…
with God all things are possible.

Back at her office, she shut off the car and looked at Lucas. “I appreciate that you came all this way, but politics are not my thing. I am not the right person to help you.” As if that was the reason she was refusing. Not the fact that he'd broken her heart and ruined her life.

To be fair, she'd done her own share of ruining with one failed marriage, but still…

“This isn't about politics. It's about me.” He stared at her with those pale blue eyes.

“Oh, please. If it's about you, it's about politics.” She heard the bitterness in her voice and didn't like it. She left Lucas sitting in her car and went into her office. When she sat down at her desk, the sticky note caught her gaze once more
. I can't do this, God. I really can't.

The bell above her door tinkled.

“Are you ready to listen now?” Lucas was persistent, probably one of the characteristics that made him a good politician.

She glared at him. “Why would I do that?”

“I could say because we cared about each other once, but I don't think you're in the mood to hear that. So how about because you love this country?”

“Excuse me?”

“You couldn't even sing the national anthem all the way through without crying.”

Her face warmed. She couldn't believe he remembered anything about her, let alone that. “And what does that have to do with you?”

“I'm not saying what's happening to me is a threat to national security, but there is a possibility that it could be. After all, I am a US congressman and might be a senator soon.”

“Appealing to my patriotism?” She had to give him credit. “You're pulling out all the stops, aren't you?”

He grinned at her. “I wouldn't say that.”

“I would.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the yellow sticky note. She was beginning to hate that word. “If I listen, will you go away?”

He nodded.

“OK, I'll listen. Then I'll tell you no.”

“Way to keep an open mind, Nikki.” He grinned as he sat down. “Can we talk about—?”

“No, we can't.” He hadn't cared for the past sixteen years, and he didn't care now. But he needed something from her, so he was willing to pretend if it meant she would be more agreeable. “Do you want to tell me what your problem is or not? I've got other things to do today.”

“Better yet, I can show you. If you look me up on social media, you'll see what I'm talking about.”

She typed in the address he dictated.

****

Nikki wasn't the insecure teenaged girl he'd known. She was a beautiful and confident woman who wasn't afraid to tell him what she thought. She didn't seem to be the least bit intimidated by the fact he might become a US senator.

Two of her best qualities had been her sweetness and her honesty. She was still honest, but he wasn't so sure about sweetness after the scene he'd just witnessed. No one bullied her these days. He didn't think even his father would have the nerve. If his father could see Nikki now, he'd be impressed with the woman she'd become.

It was hard to believe sixteen years had passed since the last time Lucas had stared into those emerald-green eyes. He'd come here on the assumption she was over their past. That didn't seem to be the case. Not that he blamed her. Nikki had every right not to help him, but he hoped to change her mind. He prayed for the right words to convince her.

Nikki's expression went from anger to curiosity to concern as she stared at the monitor.

He didn't have to look to know what she was seeing. His page was filled with pictures of himself in all sorts of situations and places. The pictures were accompanied by captions that said things like
I see you
or
I'm watching you
or something similar.

“OK, this is a bit creepy. I'll give you that.” She looked up at him. “So, what is this about?”

“I appear to be part of some sort of internet game.”

“A game?”

“I know it sounds odd and it's hard to explain, but it's some weird version of hide-and-seek. And apparently, I'm it. I can't get away from them. Everywhere I go, they are there taking pictures of me.”

“And”—she held up both hands—“you're a politician. A public figure. People like to take your picture. So what?”

“Like I said, it's hard to explain. They aren't regular picture takers. Just today one of them chased me down the streets of DC. I was determined not to let her get my picture, and I won the game. At least for today.”

Confusion crossed her face, then doubt. “You came all the way to Florida to see me because of some game. I don't think so.”

“I know it sounds bizarre.”

“It doesn't sound bizarre—it sounds as if you're making the whole thing up. You're a public figure—people have a right to take your picture.”

Why couldn't he make people understand? “True, but they don't have the right to stalk me, do they?”

“Excuse me for not believing you. Why don't you tell me the real reason you're here?”

He had to make her understand how much he needed her help finding these people. “I'm not lying, Nikki. Everywhere I go, people are stalking me. Following me. Taking pictures of me. More than the usual ‘Oh, look, there's Congressman McMann. Let's get a picture.' I need someone I can trust to find out who they are and why they're doing it. So I can make them stop. I need you to believe me.”

Her expression softened for a moment. But her voice was cold when she asked, “Believe you? Why? Because you've been so trustworthy in the past.”

Her words were sharp, but he couldn't argue the truth in them. He'd once told her that he loved her and then walked away. Because it was the easy thing to do. Because it's what his father wanted. But that was years ago—a lifetime ago. He'd hoped Nikki wouldn't still be angry. Apparently, she was. Even so, he wasn't ready to give up yet. “Nikki, I know how much I hurt you. I am so—”

“I don't need your apology. Even though I'm sure it would be wonderful, I'm all grown up now. I know pretty words aren't the same as the truth.” Her tone was harsh and cynical.

Had he been the one to make that happen? He probably wasn't the only one—but there was no doubt he'd been the first one. The Nikki he knew was so sweet, so kind to everyone. He met her gaze head-on. “I've never lied to you, Nikki. Not once.”

She bit her lip but said nothing. Tears misted her eyes. The first glimpse of the Nikki he'd known.

He forged ahead. “It started out with pictures, and that wasn't too bad. But now they've moved on from pictures and are messing with my phones and computers.” He hurried on before she could kick him out. “Sometimes when I try to call someone, the number has vanished. Or an email address that I've used dozens of times will suddenly be gone.”

“Computers aren't always the most reliable. Things like that happen.”

“Then last week, they started having things delivered to me that I didn't order.”

“What kind of things?”

“Books. DVDs and even pizzas from my local pizzeria.”

“Maybe you forgot you ordered them.”

“I didn't forget that I ordered twenty-five pizzas.”

She gave a slight smile and shrugged. “I guess you wouldn't forget something like that. People have been pulling that prank for years. I'm sure you can hire someone to help you out, but it won't be me. By the way, what did you do with the pizzas?” Another glimpse of the girl he'd known. She'd always been curious.

“I kept one and had the others delivered to a church that feeds the poor.”

“That was nice of you.”

“I am nice. If you'd only give me a chance to prove it.”

“If you say so.” She gave him a hard stare. “Don't you have security to help with this sort of thing?”

“Of course, Congress has security. But it's more concerned with safety in the Capitol Building. They don't provide individual security for us. If we want that, we have to pay for it.”

“Well, you can afford it.”

“True. And I went to a friend in the FBI. He shut down my social media pages for me, but agreed with you about it being a prank. But when we shut down the page, they started emailing the pictures to me.”

“Your email address is probably public information.”

“I have accounts connected for work and for my constituents. But my personal email is set up on a completely different account and that's the one they're sending pictures to.”

“Mmm…I wonder how they got that.”

“I have no idea.”

“What did the FBI guy say?”

“Nothing.”

“Why not? I'm sure they'd be very concerned if they knew you were being stalked.”

“I haven't told them.”

“Why not? It seems the logical thing to do.”

“When I try to save them, they disappear. When I try to forward the emails, they disappear. I haven't even managed to print them out.” He motioned with his hands as if he were a magician. “Poof. They're gone. Nobody's ever seen them but me. And my assistant.”

Nikki stared at him, doubt in her gaze. “I've never heard of any such thing. And I consider myself fairly proficient at computers.”

“I don't understand it either. I had a computer-tech guy check out my computers. He couldn't figure it out either. But that's why I haven't bothered the security guys again. I have nothing to show them.”