Nic sat staring at the empty wall in his room. He had taken a shower, but had yet to put anything on, other than the towel that was wrapped around his waist. After they had gotten rid of Eddie, he had barely gotten any sleep. He thought figuring out who had caused Veronica harm would have made him feel better...but it didn't. He thought that torturing that son of a bitch would have made him feel good...it hadn't. Because even after all of this, sure she was safe, but she wasn't with him. She had asked that he stay away from her. But there was no way in hell that was even possible for him now.
He sat staring at the wall, but looking beyond it, as images of Veronica's face flooded his eyes. Her beautiful smile and long, wild curly hair. He had memorized every contour of her face and body. His favorite expression of hers was right after she came, she would slowly open her eyes to look at him. If he could freeze that look, he'd carry it with him always. That look caused his heart
Veronica looked down at the paper and then back up to Nic. "No, I guess I don't," she whispered, as she tore the piece of paper up."Okay, new question. When's the last time you cried?"Nic chuckled, "This wasn't the brightest idea. Hmm, can I get back to you on that one also?"Veronica rolled her eyes. "Yes." So much for the Q&A.When dinner was finally ready, Nic prepared both of their plates, while Veronica set the table. It was a beautiful candlelight dinner and the food was amazing. Nic really could cook...or at least he could cook Italian food. Marianna would be proud."This was delicious, Nic. Thank you," Veronica said, drinking the last bit of her champagne."Am I forgiven?""I was never mad at you Nic, I was just scared. Nothing like that had ever happened to me, and I didn't know how to react to it. I still don't," Veronica said."Then, what can I do to make it better?" Nic asked."You can start by telling
The next morning, Veronica pried her eyes open when she smelled the sinful aroma of French toast. She freshened up in the bathroom, grabbed her black dress and put it on, then walked into the kitchen."Good morning, beautiful," Nic said, placing her breakfast on the counter, as she entered."Good morning. And do you ever get any sleep?" Veronica asked, as she stood on her tip toes to deliver him a kiss."Sometimes," Nic admitted.Veronica looked at her food. "This whole domestic side of you is still such a surprise. I'm trying to get used to it." She placed a forkful in her mouth, and wanted to moan with how good it was, when she noticed he wasn't eating. "Are you not eating?""No, I don't like French toast.""Then why did you make it?""Because I know you like it. I'm not really big on sugary foods first thing in the morning," he stated, as he opened the morning paper. Veronica watched him as she ate. He looked as though he had a lot on his mind."Are you okay?" she asked."Yes," Nic
"You sure Nic," Jimmy asked. "You know, there's no going back after this."Nic nodded, "Yes, I'm sure.""Well, I'm happy for you. I never thought I'd see this day. And over a woman at that," Jimmy smirked.Nic was finally setting his plans in motion. He couldn't delay it any further. He knew he was taking a huge gamble, but damn if she wasn't worth it. He loved her and he hoped what he was doing would truly show her exactly how he felt about her."So, just those we have deals with now, right? Anyone else will just eventually get the message, right?""Right.""And you sure you want to give me what you did? I mean, I thank you, but it's too much Nic. I wouldn't feel right."
The next day, Veronica couldn't stop smiling, even as they cuddled on the sofa watching some mystery romance movie on Lifetime. She was practically in his lap with her head leaning back against his solid chest. His arms were tightly wrapped around her, while her fingers mindlessly stroked the top of them, loving the feel of the smooth delicate hair that lightly covered his masculine limbs.Every few seconds, she would stare down at her diamond ring. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever owned, and definitely the most expensive. She had debated on asking him how much it cost, which was tacky, but she couldn't help it. But she decided against it, telling herself that it would make her even more self-conscious than she already was.Telling Marianna earlier that morning had been fun. She screamed through the phone into Veronica's ear, almost causing a slight r
"I can't believe that's where you want to go for your honeymoon. You're going to pass over Paris, Venice, Rio de Janeiro and other spectacular places for an aquarium?" Nic said, shaking his head still in disbelief. He stared over at his wife's beautiful face. His wife...he loved that. They had been married approximately twenty minutes. Twenty amazing minutes.Veronica had shocked him in not wanting a big wedding. Actually, she hadn't wanted a wedding at all, insisting he was all she needed. And she also commented that there wouldn't be many people, if any, to invite on her side, other than her mother. Her outlook on it had been a welcome change. He and Amber's wedding had been small, but very expensive, mostly due to Amber. And half of the people who were there, Nic wasn't friends with, so he had spent most of the reception talking to Jimmy and Raymond. Yes, he preferred Veronica's low key approach. They h
"Hey Vicky," Olivia said in her usual tired tone."Hey mama, how are you?""I'm okay. Am I disrupting you from anything?""No, you're not. I'm just packing our clothes," Veronica said, as she kicked another box out of her way. Nic had told her about selling his home and buying a new one in California. He had said it while they were lying in bed, so matter-of-factly. That was Nic, though. There hadn't really been any discussion about it, and she wanted to be mad, but she couldn't. She really wanted to go. So instead of blessing him out, she went down on him. So much for feminism."So when do you officially leave?""In two days," Veronica said, still not really believing how quickly this all happened. Her mother got quiet.
Over the course of a week, they finally got several things up and running and Veronica had been picking out little household appliances here and there. She still wasn't quite ready to take on the task of fully decorating.Nic had driven her to the site where his new office would be. She could tell he was excited although he tried to play Mr. Cool about it. He was finally going to be an architect, something he had wanted to do since college. But they still had a little while to wait before all of the plans were finalized.When Nic wasn't there, Veronica spent most of her time on her cell phone answering calls from her mom, Marianna and Isabelle. Those three checked up on her so much, that she highly doubted another kidnapping plot would ever happen.But it was on a random Tuesday when her whole life changed. Oh, boy
Nic was pulling into their neighborhood, when he noticed a rental car parked awkwardly on their street. He had been involved in his old lifestyle too long to look at things like that as coincidence. He pulled up beside the car, and noticed it was empty. He got out and peeked inside. He saw a blue file sitting on the seat and at the bottom of the file written in ink was Nicolas Andretti IV.Goddamn that asshole. What the fuck did Marsh want?!Nic got back into his car and pulled into his driveway. He got out and entered the house, trying to calm his temper. He walked into the kitchen to find Marsh staring at Veronica. When Marsh finally noticed him, he took a noticeable step back from Veronica."Nic!" Veronica yelled, as she ran over to hug him. He returned her hug tightly while keeping his eyes on Marsh. After a few
"I think he needs a brother," Nic whispered to her, pulling her away from the crib. "Let's get started on that."Veronica laughed, as the two of them entered their bedroom. Nic went to take a shower, but Veronica didn't feel like budging. She was so tired, and instead opted to plop down face first on the bed, and stayed like that until she heard the shower cut off.She finally crawled underneath the covers, when she remembered something. "Oh, hey Nic," Veronica yelled from the bed."What?" she heard him say."Some woman from that party we went to months ago invited us to her party. I forgot to tell you. It's a garden party, or key party...something like that. But she seemed nice, so I wanted to let you know."Ve
His hands were shaking, and he needed to slow down his breathing. Even though he knew it wasn't there, he still felt there was blood on his hands. He quickly wiped his palms across his jeans-covered thighs. Fuck, this was spinning way out of control.He could bullshit and charm his way out of almost every situation. It was a gift he had. One that his father never fully appreciated. His old man wanted him to be more like him, old school. Or like that fucker, Nic. But that wasn't Sonny.And until tonight, he had never taken another human being's life. Until tonight, he thought over in his head again. Fuck!Sonny knew he shouldn't have gotten involved with the Russians. He had never played at that level before. That was more Nic's territory, because where Sonny liked to bullshit, charm and make an idle threat every now
Veronica wasn't sure how long she lovingly admired her two boys, but she couldn't take her eyes away from them. Nic's eyes were closed and his chest was slowly rising up and down. And Sebastian's little face was turned to the side resting on his father's chest. His tiny little pink lips made an 'o' shape as he yawned, never once opening his eyes.After what seemed like forever, Veronica quietly backed out of the living room and went back into Nic's study to open up her last timed quiz. She glanced at the photo by his computer. It was a picture Isabelle had taken of her that first day in the hospital, with Sebastian in her hands. She personally hated the picture because she had just woken up, and with all the pushing, sweating and lack of makeup ...she swore she looked hideous. But Nic wouldn't let her change it. He said it was his favorite picture.Before the t
She stood up from the couch and walked him around.Nic leaned back observing his wife. He watched her cute full hips sway back and forth, as she lightly bounced Sebastian. He couldn't think of a more beautiful sight.How the hell did life bring him here? A little less than two years ago, he looked at people differently. In one glance at Veronica, he thought he knew exactly who she was. Someone who would never matter to him, and who was weak. Someone he could prey on. But Veronica sliced and diced that version of Nic Andretti to shreds, and amazingly she didn't do it by force. She didn't do it by being more cunning, or by any other sneaky methods. She accomplished a feat no other had, and she did it with love. Selfless, generous, unwavering love.He remembered thinking that he had planned to teach her a lesson the fi
"And by the way," Jimmy said, in afterthought, "Detective Marsh's car was blown up, and he was beat up and mugged. Crazy world we live in.""When did this happen?" Nic asked."Oh, it hasn't happened yet. I'm psychic, didn't you know?" he smiled over at Nic.Nic nodded. Karma was certainly a bitch.Nic's palms started sweating the closer and closer they got to Jimmy's house. He had asked everyone not to tell Veronica that he had been released. He wanted to surprise her.But at the moment, he could hardly swallow or keep a single coherent thought in his head. He would be seeing his son, Sebastian, for the first time. And he had to laugh at the fact that he didn't want to disappoint him. Although Sebastian was less than three da
"Well Nic, looks like you really fucked up yesterday. Threatening to kill a detective just doing his duty? Why, what did I ever do to deserve that," Marsh taunted, leaning against his cell. And as always, Reuben was there with Nic."I don't know what you're talking about," Nic answered."Sure. Several guards heard you yell that you wanted to kill me.""No they didn't."Marsh stared at Nic skeptically. "I never took you for a lying man. Cold-hearted killer, but not a liar. They heard you, asshole.""Yeah, they heard me threaten to kill someone, and it was my attorney. He's been falling down on the job, haven't you noticed," Nic dead-panned."Yep, and Nic already apologized to me fo
Nic's heart started beating rapidly. That asshole had to be lying. He slowly got up and walked over to pick up the photos. He flipped through them. His hands started to shake when he saw a picture of her being put in the backseat of Antonio's car and pictures of them arriving at the hospital and his mom escorting Veronica inside. Nic suddenly couldn't breathe. He dropped the photos to the ground as if they electrocuted him.Nic staggered backwards until his calves touched his cot, and then he slowly sat down. He had missed his son being born. He hadn't been away from him more than a few hours since he was conceived...and on the most important day, because of his past lifestyle and FUCKING MARSH, he had missed it.Nic considered himself a sane and rational man. And under any other circumstances, he would have found a cool place in his mind...some place he could
The next morning, Veronica was awakened by Marianna bringing her in a large plate of food. "Good morning, cara mia. You are eating today. Every bite," she demanded, as she sat at the edge of the bed, watching Veronica like a hawk. Veronica didn't feel like eating, but she started stuffing the food in her mouth just to please Marianna. "How are you able to stay so calm?" Veronica asked, pausing in between bites. Marianna thought about it for a moment. "Because I can't help my son right now. All I can do is pray for him, but there's nothing I can help Reuben or Jimmy with. What I can do for him is watch over you and his baby growing inside you. Those are the things I can do, and I'm going to do them, because I love him, I love you and my grandson. Now eat."
Marsh stepped into the interrogation room holding a cloth to his nose. He threw a few files down onto the table and stared at Nic."Nicolas Andretti...I finally got you, you fucker. And don't worry, I fucking own this precinct. There are no cameras rolling behind those mirrors. Just you and me. Together at last."Nic's wrists were raw from the tight handcuffs, but he refused to complain about it. First, it wouldn't do any good, and second, he wouldn't give that asshole the satisfaction. He stared back at Marsh with a bored expression."So Nic, this is how we're going to do this. Believe it or not, I have an amazing proposition for you. How about you walk out of here today--no questions asked. You leave, go see your wife and fly back to California. How does that sound?"N