Love Was Not an Option Read online

  “Two potential new clients. I scheduled them to come in this afternoon at one and three, barring you wanting to change the times, or the day.”

  “No. That’s fine. You know better than me what I’ve got on my plate,” he replied.

  Not quite the truth. He knew down to the minute what he had to do each and every day. He also knew she’d never alter his plans without consulting with him first if it looked as if there would be a conflict. That’s why he’d hired her and had yet to regret it.

  His day went as it always did, even his meetings with the men who wanted what the ad agency had to offer. The first man went on to hire the agency, and so Nick gave him to Charles, one of the account executives. He would start to work with the man on creating an advertising plan that would meet his expectations. The second man told Nick he’d get back with him after he’d talked with people at the two other firms he thought might suit his needs. “And hopefully, my budget. I know you’ll do a great job, but I do have to worry about the cost,” the man said. Something Nick understood. His agency hadn’t become one of the best in the city by cutting corners to satisfy a client’s budget.

  When the day was over, Nick went home with a feeling of accomplishment. The agency had a new client, and the old ones were all happy with what his people had, or were coming up with, for them. Can’t ask for anything more than that.

  After eating supper, he decided to visit one of his favorite clubs. What Brenda had said that morning had put a bug in his ear. It had been much too long since he’d had real sex. Over a month ago, in point of fact. In the interim, he’d taken care of his needs in the time-honored fashion, jacking off in bed or in the shower. It helped, but it didn’t satisfy the way having sex with another man would.

  Being Tuesday, the club he chose wasn’t too busy. He found a seat at the bar, ordered a drink, and began checking out who was there. There were a couple of men he knew from previous interactions with them. They were nice, and pretty good in bed, but he had no interest in renewing his connection with them. He was single and unattached for a reason. Forming a relationship would lead to questions he had no intention of answering. He knew this from past experiences, before he’d wised up and realized there was no such thing as privacy when two people were intimately involved.

  Nick was halfway through his drink when a cute guy took the stool beside him.

  “Are you new here?” the young man asked.

  “No. It’s just been a while,” Nick replied.

  “A long while,” he said. “I’ve been coming here pretty steady for the last couple of months. I’m Stan, by the way.”

  “Nick.” He smiled, offering his hand, which Stan shook, holding it a beat longer than was necessary. “Can I buy you a drink?” Nick asked.

  “Sure. Whatever you have there. It looks interesting.”

  Nick found that amusing, because he was sipping a Scotch on the rocks. “That’s a hell of a come-on line, but sure. I’ll warn you though, it’s an acquired taste.” He caught the bartender’s eye, pointed to his drink and then Stan. A couple of minutes later, the bartender set down Stan’s drink.

  Stan took a sip and shuddered. “It’s definitely not beer.”

  “Um, no.” Nick couldn’t help grinning.

  “But it’s not bad,” Stan said after taking another sip. He put the glass down, then asked, “What do you do?”

  “You mean when I’m not talking to a nice young man? I own an advertising agency. How about you?”

  “Nothing that exciting. I work at a men’s store at the mall.”

  Nick chuckled. “Better than flipping burgers, for damned sure.”

  “No kidding.”

  They continued chatting for a while before Stan asked Nick if he liked to dance. When Nick admitted he did, they made their way to the dance floor. It didn’t take long until they mutually decided they wanted more than the body contact they were already experiencing. “If we keep this up, I’ll be screwing you here and now,” Nick said, his hands gripping Stan’s tight ass while their already hard cocks rubbed together, separated only by the fabric of their jeans.

  Stan replied that he lived within walking distance of the club. “Which is where we’re going, because I do not do club restrooms.”

  “Neither do I,” Nick replied as he steered Stan toward the entryway. By the time they reached the street, they were, if not totally presentable, at least able to walk to Stan’s place without embarrassing themselves. From there, things proceeded as they both wanted, ending with them being well-sated.

  “Stay the night?” Stan asked sleepily, curling into Nick’s embrace.

  “As much as I’d like to—” which was a lie on Nick’s part, “—I have a flight to catch at the crack of dawn.”

  Stan sighed, then laughed. “That’ll teach you to go clubbing the night before a business trip.”

  “No kidding. But I did, and I don’t regret it.” Nick eased Stan’s head off his shoulder so he could get up. After a trip to the bathroom to get rid of the condoms and clean up, he got dressed.

  “Maybe I’ll see you again at the club?” Stan asked hopefully.

  “Perhaps,” Nick replied. He dropped a kiss on Stan’s forehead before he left the apartment, making certain the door locked behind him. As he drove home, he decided it had been a night well spent, while reminding himself to avoid going to that particular club for at least a month, if not more.

  Chapter 3

  “We have a big problem,” Kasper said, as soon as Niko answered his phone. Niko figured it had to be, for the simple reason that Kasper almost never initiated contact by phone unless it was a real emergency.

  “I’ll be right over,” Niko replied.

  He was, asking the moment he saw another person was seated on the sofa in the Kasper’s study with him, “Who’s your friend?”

  “My name is Caitlin,” the young woman replied before Kasper could introduce her. Niko estimated she couldn’t be more than twenty, if that.

  Niko smiled briefly as he took a seat across from them. “I’m presuming you’re not the problem Kasper mentioned.”

  “No. My stepfather is, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

  “Explain, please.”

  “He’s not one of us.” She circled her hand to take in the three of them. “Mother is, but she kept it a secret from him.”

  “Not easy, in a personal relationship,” Niko commented.

  “No, but she managed it until very recently. Then something happened.”

  “If you say ‘a slip of the tongue’,” Niko replied, glancing wryly at Kasper.

  “Oh, no. Nothing that simple. They’ve only been married for three years, right before I graduated high school. My stepfather is totally head-over-heels for her, to the point of insisting she spend every possible moment with him when he wasn’t at work. Unfortunately, as you know, that’s not always possible. There are things she has to do, and only at night. Things he can’t be witness to.”

  “To the average person, that would sound as if she’s whoring on the side,” Niko said with a brief grin.

  “Niko,” Kasper cautioned when Caitlin scowled.

  “Sorry, Caitlin,” Niko said. “But you have to admit it does.”

  She nodded. “My stepfather didn’t take it to that extreme. Instead, he decided she was having an affair, so he began following her when she left the house at night.”

  “How did she explain that to him?”

  “Girls’ night out,” Caitlin replied. “He bought it at first, but only a couple of times before his jealousy took over.”

  “I take it he saw something he shouldn’t have.”

  “Yeah.” Caitlin sighed deeply. “The thing of it is, he didn’t let her know. Instead, he decided to do something about it. He did his research and then—” she swallowed hard, “—he killed her.”

  “Fuck. You’re certain of this?”

  “Yes. He came by my place right afterward to tell me. I’d just moved into a small apartment in a
building next to the college campus.” She rolled her eyes. “They finally decided I was old enough to move out of the house and live on my own. That’s beside the point, though. He would have killed me, too, because I’m her daughter so he was sure I was exactly like her.”

  “Obviously he didn’t succeed,” Niko replied dryly.

  “No, but not for want of trying. I managed to escape, but in doing so I proved he was right.”

  “Where is he now, and as a corollary to that, why didn’t you kill him?”

  “I was in shock,” Caitlin said. “He admitted murdering her, he knows about us, now, and he had a gun pointed at my heart. All I could think was to get the hell out of there and then deal with him later.” She looked directly at Niko. “But I can’t find him. Neither can Kasper and his people. It’s like he’s vanished off the face of the earth.”

  “Meaning he hasn’t gone public with what he knows,” Kasper pointed out. “Not that anyone would believe him if he did.”

  “So we keep telling ourselves, every time someone finds out, but none of us is willing to take the chance. That’s why you call me in,” Niko said.

  “You, specifically, because of your special abilities,” Kasper replied.

  Caitlin cocked her head, gazing at Niko. “Special abilities?”

  “Kasper should have kept his mouth shut,” Niko said. “Let’s just say I’m not your average…enforcer, for lack of a better word.”

  Something in his tone of voice must have convinced Caitlin not to press the issue. Instead, she asked, “Do you think you can find my stepfather?”

  “For damned sure I’m going to try, before he does decide to do something to put us at risk.” Niko frowned pensively. “I wonder why he hasn’t already. How long has it been since he found out?”

  “Three days,” Kasper replied. “Caitlin got in touch with a friend after what happened, who sent her directly to me. As she said, I’ve had my people searching for him, with no luck.”

  “Caitlin,” Niko said, turning to her. “I need to know everything about him. Every habit, every place he spends his time, everyone he knows.”

  “She’s already—”

  “I need to hear it directly from her,” Niko said before Kasper could finish. “Give me the list, I presume you have one, then she and I will talk.”

  “Imperious man,” Kasper grumbled as he went to his desk get the information.

  Niko laughed. “That I am, and I know it. It pays to be, all things considered.”

  “Even with your employees?” Kasper asked, handing Niko a sheaf of papers.

  “When necessary, although I try not to be.” He leaned back, quickly reading through the information. Then he began quizzing Caitlin on each piece of it, pulling out more things that she said she had forgotten until he’d asked.

  “All right, I have a starting place, or places,” Niko said an hour later. From the drained look on Caitlin’s face, he knew she was feeling the results of his interrogation. “Go home and try to get some sleep,” he suggested. “And for the love of all that’s holy, make sure you lock your doors and windows. You don’t want him getting in to try to kill you—again.”

  She smiled wanly as she got up. “Believe me, I’ve been doing that. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t been anywhere around.”

  Kasper escorted her to the front door then came back to the study. “Do you think you’ll be able to find him in time?”

  “Yes,” Niko replied succinctly. “Even though he hasn’t turned up at any of the places on your list, he might be at one of the ones Caitlin remembered tonight. Or with one of the people she mentioned.”

  Niko had the distinct feeling he knew which one. I’m betting, even though he was jealous when it came to his wife, he was no saint himself. He glanced at the notes he’d added to the original list. One name popped out. A woman Caitlin had recalled seeing him with one afternoon when she’d stopped by where he worked. “I wouldn’t have though anything about it, if it hadn’t been for how she was looking at him. Even at that, I put it down to her being infatuated with him because he’s a very good-looking man. He introduced her as Meredith Gatschet.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve taken care of the problem,” Niko told Kasper before leaving his house. The moment he got back to his own place, he did an online search for Ms. Gatschet. At least it’s an uncommon last name. Paired with Meredith…He found her home address.

  * * * *

  Niko surveyed the apartment from a building across the street. He could see shadows of two people moving behind the drawn curtains in what he presumed was Ms. Gatschet’s living room, given the size of the window. One was distinctly male from the build. The other shadow was too indistinct for him to make a judgment.

  “Time to find out,” he murmured as he left his perch on the roof. When he was on the street, he crossed and entered the apartment building. He took the elevator up to the floor he needed. The image of Caitlin’s stepfather, from the photo she’d shown him, was firmly imprinted in his mind. It wouldn’t do to deal with a man who wasn’t him.

  What he heard, as he eavesdropped on the couple from the hallway, told him he had chosen correctly when he’d decided to try Ms. Gatschet’s place first. Sometimes, well usually, my instincts are correct.

  The woman was saying, “How do you know we’ll be safe there?”

  After a pause, the man replied, “I can’t guarantee it, but can you think of anywhere else? Either way, we need to get out of here, and out of town, now!”

  “Why are you in such a hurry?” Niko asked as he entered the room. “It’s a lovely city. This however…” He swept his arm around and sneered. “I’ve seen better apartments in tenements, but that’s only my opinion.”

  Ms. Gatschet bristled angrily. The man Niko now knew was Caitlin’s stepfather exclaimed, before she could reply, “Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?” while backing toward the kitchen.

  Niko harrumphed. “If you only knew how many times I’ve been asked that question. Why can’t people be a little more original?” He reached the man before he made it to the doorway. “We have to talk—all three of us.” He turned his gaze on Ms. Gatschet. “Did you know he murdered his wife?” he asked her.

  “The bitch deserved it,” the woman spat back.

  “Her daughter disagrees, and so do I.” Niko pointed to the sofa. “Sit.” He already has the stepfather under control, despite the man’s trying desperately to free himself from Niko’s grip.

  Defiantly, Ms. Gatschet replied, “Make me.” So Niko did after planting the man on the sofa.

  “Now, as I was saying, we have to talk. Or more to the point, I’ll talk, you’ll listen. One word, one sound out of either of you and I’ll kill you here and now. Understood?” The couple nodded mutely, terror contorting their faces. Niko smiled before laying out exactly why he was there. When he finished, he locked his eyes with the woman’s saying, “You don’t really want to go with him, do you?”

  “No,” she whispered. Then she clapped her hand to her mouth in horror.

  Niko lifted an eyebrow. “What did I tell you about speaking? I think, however, I’ll wait until we’re where I plan on dealing with your…” He looked hard at her. “Lover? You, my dear woman, have lousy taste in men.”

  “She does not,” the man protested. Those were the last words he uttered.

  An hour later, Niko called Kasper. “We have nothing to worry about anymore. At least not from them.”

  “Excellent. I’ll let Caitlin know in the morning. I don’t think she’ll be crying over losing her stepfather so soon after her mother’s death. By the way, I don’t suppose you found out where he left her body.”

  “I did. His mistress is now buried in her grave. If you watch the news in the morning, I’m sure you’ll see something about a horrific auto accident which ended with the car bursting into flames, totally incinerating the driver and his passenger beyond recognition.”

  Kasper chuckled. “I’ll look for it. Nice
work, Niko.”

  Niko thanked him then hung up and went to bed. His sleep was undisturbed by any nightmares about what he’d done. But then that was normally the case. He had no regrets when it came to keeping him and those he’d vowed to protect safe from discovery.

  Chapter 4

  It was a couple of weeks after the problem of Caitlin’s stepfather had been solved. Nick was feeling stressed and he knew why. Things had been extremely busy at the agency, with several new clients. Since he was, if not a micromanager, at least a man who had to know exactly what was happening with every account his firm handled, he couldn’t make himself step back. That meant he’d had little time to deal with the normal items which comprised his average workday. By the time he’d get home, all he wanted to do was eat before collapsing with a book until his eyes crossed and he went to bed. It was his fault and he knew it, but it didn’t help the pressure, or the feeling he’d explode if he didn’t work it off. Even more so because this wasn’t supposed to happen to someone like him. He was the guy who could manage anything with aplomb, take care of any difficulties, then move on with a smile.

  As a result, he’d promised himself he would do something to unwind as soon as he left work Friday evening. For him, that meant heading to the state park at the edge of the city to run. Not only would it relax him, it would get him away from dealing with people for a while.

  He stopped at home long enough to change into shorts, a tank top, and his running shoes before heading out. The parking lot at the park was almost full, which didn’t bode well for his avoiding people, but he took it in stride. As soon as it gets dark, it’ll be better.

  He started slowly, as the paths winding through the park were filled with joggers, walkers, and families taking advantage of the pleasant evening. At first the one along the shore of the large lake at the center of the park was no better. Thankfully, by the time he’d made it around the lake the first time, it was starting to get dark and people had begun to leave. Soon, there were only a few dedicated runners and walkers left, allowing Nick to give free rein to his need to race along the path at top speed.