Page 8 of Canvas of Lies (Spruce Hill #3)

Chapter Five

Kat

S leeping late wasn’t something I did frequently, if ever, but when the clock in the bedroom told me it was after nine, I still couldn’t quite drum up any urgency in jumping out of bed. My arm felt better and I’d slept shockingly well in a strange place.

Probably thanks to sheets that smelled like Nico, but I shoved that out of my mind.

At the moment, all I wanted was a hot shower.

I slipped out from under the covers and assembled a passable if unattractive outfit of gray sweatpants and a black tee from Nico’s dresser drawers.

I spent an inordinately long time staring at my clothes from yesterday, which had clearly been washed and folded while I slept, and I wondered if I should be impressed or horrified that he’d been in and out of the room without me noticing .

After a moment of indecision, I shrugged and grabbed my bra and underwear from the pile. No point in wearing tight jeans if we were just going to sit around the cabin for days on end. I’d save my own clothes for a time when I needed them.

For half a second, I debated opening the bedroom door to tell Nico I was getting in the shower.

Annoyance at the idea of even appearing to ask his permission won out, so I let myself into the bathroom, noted that the other door into the living room remained closed, and carefully unwrapped the gauze around my upper arm.

The cut didn’t look as bad as I’d feared, just a jagged red line an inch or two long that curved around my bicep. I moved my arm around a bit to test it. The skin pulled uncomfortably when I straightened my elbow too quickly, but otherwise it felt okay, which seemed like a good sign.

I turned on the shower, waited for the water to warm up enough to cloak the bathroom in steam, and stepped under the hot, soothing spray. This break in my routine wasn’t ideal, but I’d survive.

Nico might have won the first round, but now that I was rested and recovered from his unexpected return to my life, I prepared for battle. If I was going to linger here, missing work at the business I’d busted my ass to build up from scratch, Nico was going to spill his secrets.

Willingly or under duress, I didn’t care which .

Maybe I should have burst out of the bedroom to demand answers the minute I woke up, but I’d rather face him on my own terms.

Twenty minutes later, washed and dressed, I went to leave the bedroom and found the door locked. It was only the span of a breath before I began pounding on it with my fists. I heard a muffled laugh before Nico’s footsteps moved across the room to let me out.

“You son of a bitch, I’m going to kill you!” I yelled.

I was about to pick up the small metal trash can from beside the bed and hurl it against the door when it swung open.

“Good morning,” Nico drawled, smirking at me.

His dark eyes glinted as he surveyed my ensemble. With my wet hair pulled up in a bun on top of my head and bare feet peeping out from under the too-long sweatpants, I doubted my responding glare carried as much weight as I would’ve liked.

“I’m going to kick your ass, Nico Beaumont.”

Shooting daggers at him with my eyes, I brushed past, making sure my good shoulder nailed him square in the chest as I went. Nico grinned and followed after me, though he rubbed his palm against his sternum. I was stronger than I looked and he’d do well to remember that.

“You can try,” he offered, “but after all the trouble I went to toasting you up some nice frozen waffles, violence seems a tad ungrateful.”

I muttered a few uncomplimentary comments under my breath as I dropped into a chair at the table.

When he set a plate of waffles and a glass bottle of maple syrup in front of me, I thawed ever so slightly, but I still ignored him while I cut into my breakfast. Nico sat down in the seat beside me, his knee nudging my leg under the table.

The frisson of heat that trembled up my spine was harder to ignore, so I covered it with sarcasm.

“So, tell me, oh kidnapper extraordinaire—what happens now? A ransom note made of letters that you painstakingly snipped out of magazines?”

“Come on, I would hope you’d give me more credit than that.

Though if you want to play arts and crafts, I guess you’re welcome to do it for me.

As an alternative from the current century, I’ve got a computer program.

Once you give me the go ahead, I’ll set up an untraceable email to be sent to your father. ”

“Untraceable,” I repeated, narrowing my eyes at him.

Nico gave a careless shrug, but his gaze locked on my face. “I’m a man of many talents.”

I snorted. “So it would seem.”

“That will be a first contact maneuver to warn him away from calling the police, but I expect he’ll send his own people to your apartment and to Kat's Keepers to investigate. Presumably, if Erin speaks with him, he’ll convince her to leave it to him to deal with the upcoming demands.”

“So now what? We just sit here and wait?”

A boyish grin lit his face, nearly knocking the breath from my lungs with its familiarity. “Well, there’s a deck of cards in one of the kitchen drawers, but I was thinking we could go for a walk.”

“A walk with your hostage? Isn’t that a little risky?”

“A willing hostage,” he countered, “but I think you’re too curious for escape, aren’t you, Kitten?”

I pointed my fork at him. “You know, maybe that nickname was cute when I was little, but as a grown woman, I find it a little condescending.”

“Do you? I think you enjoy it just as much now as you did when we were younger.”

“What makes you think I ever enjoyed it?” I asked teasingly.

Nico leaned close and let his fingertips trail along my jaw. His eyes studied my face intently until I gave a tiny shiver, then he grinned again.

“Because,” he replied in a low voice, “that’s exactly how you respond when I say it against your ear.”

I shook my head as he sat back in his chair, a smug expression plastered on his face. “You’re impossible. Fine, let’s take a walk in the woods, as long as your kidnapper duties are on pause for the time being.”

It was a silly thing to be excited about, but the prospect of an adventure with Nico delighted me the way it always had.

As children, we’d wandered every square foot of my family's extensive property and beyond—trekking through the woods to the creek where Nico showed me how to skip rocks, sprinting across the lawns to the edge of Lake Ontario, biking along the rocky coastline all the way to the Spruce Hill Lighthouse .

That was us: partners in crime, pirates seeking treasure, adventurers chasing their dreams.

A soft feeling of nostalgia crept over me as he stood to clear the table. Though I hadn’t responded to his comment about my curiosity, I was sure he’d caught my anticipation at the promise of exploring with him.

“I didn’t want to risk damaging it by trying to fix the hole myself, but I did get your jacket cleaned up. It should be dry by now,” he said over his shoulder.

My eyes widened in surprise. “Oh,” I replied, kicking myself for the stupid response. “Thank you.”

A soft laugh escaped his lips as he turned back to me. “Well, it’s apparently worth more than my life, so I wanted to make sure it wasn’t ruined. How’s the arm feeling?”

“I put more ointment on it, but the scratch actually isn’t too bad.”

Relief washed over his features. “I’m glad to hear it. Let me bandage it up before we go. I don’t want to chance it getting infected.”

I nodded, waited while Nico grabbed the first aid kit, and focused very hard on not reacting to the way his hand brushed against my skin as he wrapped gauze around my bicep again. The man practically radiated heat. It took everything in me not to lean into his warmth.

“There we go,” he said finally, sitting back to admire his handiwork. “And your head? ”

“It feels fine,” I replied, but I wasn’t quick enough to stop him from sifting his fingers in my hair to check my temple for bruising. Our eyes locked, held, then he dropped his hand again.

“Good. If you’re ready to roll, go grab some socks and we’ll head out.”

Once I laced up my boots, Nico held out the leather jacket for me to slip on. A tiny sigh escaped my lips. At his questioning look, I gave a sheepish grin.

“I just really love this jacket,” I said with a shrug.

He cocked his head as he looked me over.

The jacket didn’t offer quite the same effect as it had against my black jeans and clean shirt from the day before, but it seemed like he appreciated the benefits of subtlety, as well.

My cheeks heated ever so slightly and his dimpled grin returned when he winked at me.

“You look good in it. I’m glad it wasn’t ruined.”

“Let’s just go,” I muttered.

The day was bright, though the morning air still held enough bite to make me grateful for the jacket.

In some places, the forest grew dense enough to block out the sun, but then the trees would thin and brilliant streams of light trickled through the branches overhead.

A chorus of birdsong drifted around us, slowly giving way to the sound of moving water.

When the trail opened up to the side of a wide creek, I gasped in startled pleasure at the beauty before us.

“Oh, Nico,” I said softly.

A simple kind of joy warmed my chest as I walked forward and crouched down to trail my fingertips through the water where it tumbled over the rocks below. Nico stared at me, a smile playing on his lips, when I rose to my feet and faced him. My nose wrinkled when I saw his expression.

“What?” I demanded.

“Just admiring the view,” he replied, but after the briefest hesitation, he added, “I’ve missed you.”

It didn’t seem to matter what else went unsaid; understanding rocketed through me before I moved away again. I wanted to return the sentiment, probably would have under any other circumstances, but pride had me clearing my throat instead.

“So, in addition to kidnapping, you’ve been working on computer stuff all these years?”