Page 27 of Nico (Members From Money Season 2, #154)

"We found her!" One of the guards burst forward with a smiling Gracie in his arms. "She had wandered into the tiny crawl space beneath the stairs to the third floor. A dog had escaped the owner's leash and wandered off and this little tyke was trying to rescue the animal."

"Cute doggie." Gracie, completely unaware of the chaos she had caused beamed and reached her arms out for Sadie.

Crushing the little girl against her, Sadie took several shuddering breaths and was about to say something when there was a commotion a few feet away.

"Daddy!"

Releasing the wriggling child, Sadie stepped back, her body still shaking. She watched as Nico scooped the little girl in his arms and pressed her face against his chest. And looked over at her.

To her fevered mind, he had a look of accusation on his face that condemned her. She had no business taking the child out and this just proves that she could not be trusted.

Forcing herself to go over to the family and the cops gathered around them, she braced herself and tried to think of what to say.

"I'm so sorry." She began, but was interrupted when Linda stepped forward, an angry flush on her face.

"Why weren't you watching her?"

"Mother--"

"She's right." Sadie pressed her trembling lips together and took a deep breath. "I should have been watching her the entire time. And I--" Shaking her head, she stepped back. "I'm so sorry."

Ignoring his voice calling out to her, she rushed from the room, not stopping until she was outside in the parking lot. Tears blinded her eyes, and she had to take a moment to blink them away to see where she was going.

Jumping into the vehicle, she tore out of the parking lot, without the faintest idea where she was going.

*****

"She's not answering." Nico felt as if his chest was caving in.

They had brought home a very distressed and crying Gracie, who had finally realized what she had done and put her to bed. It had taken them some time to get her to settle down, especially when they told her they did not know where Sadie was.

"I want Sadie!" She had wailed and refused to listen to her nanny who was trying to get her ready for bed.

When Nico tried to get her to eat something, she had shoved the plate off the highchair and made a mess on the floor. Nico's temper had snapped and for the first time, he spanked her on her bottom, sending the child wailing and running to her aunt.

Shoving the phone in his pocket, he paced over to the window to gaze out at the encroaching darkness. They had been back for two hours now and still no word from Sadie.

"You were hard on her."

Linda put away her wineglass and squared her shoulders. James was away at the club for the weekend, and she had just stopped herself from calling him.

"I had a right to be."

Nico whirled to face her. "That's where you're wrong. You had no right to jump on her like that. We all could see how shaken up she was and to accuse her on top of it was simply heartless."

"Gracie tends to wander away and we were talking about getting a leash. You and some of the ladies at the tea party had to go looking for her the other day and when Nadine took her out for ice cream at the park, she followed a kitten to the water fountain."

"Something bad might have happened to her." Linda had the grace to feel guilty, but when she heard her granddaughter was missing, the fear had felt like a giant boulder inside her chest. She had spoken without thinking and who could blame her?

"But it didn't." His mouth was tight.

Taking out the phone, he tried her again, feeling the fear coursing through him when it went straight to voicemail. "Dammit Sadie. Please call me back. I'm worried sick. Baby, I don't blame you for what happened, just call me and let me know you're all right."

He hung up. Deciding, he grabbed his coat and put it on.

"I'm going to swing by her place to see if she's home. If she isn't, I'm damn well going to camp out there until she gets there."

"Tell her--" Linda followed him out to the foyer.

"Tell her what?" His hand was already on the doorknob.

"Just tell her I'm sorry."

With a curt nod, he was already out the door and heading towards his vehicle.

The drive was a blur to Sadie. Night had fallen quickly, the headlights of passing cars streaking like smears of light through her tears. Her hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel, breath coming in uneven bursts.

She pulled off the main road, seeking the solitude of a quiet overlook she used to visit in college. The kind of place people went when they needed to think, or just be alone with their mistakes.

Turning off the engine, the silence pressed in. The world outside was still, the only sound her choked sobs as guilt gnawed at her. She replayed the afternoon's events in her mind, the way Gracie had slipped away and how quickly everything had spiraled.

Sadie drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around herself as she let the tears come, raw and honest. Her phone buzzed again in the cupholder. She glanced down, seeing Nico's name illuminate the cracked screen.

For a moment, her thumb hovered over the answer button. She couldn't face him yet, not with the weight of Linda's words still echoing in her ears, not with the memory of Gracie's cries.

Swallowing back a fresh sob, Sadie let the phone ring out, pressing her forehead to the steering wheel. In the darkness, she whispered, "I'm so sorry," as if the words might reach Gracie, and Nico, and Linda. Might somehow make things right again.

But the only reply was the wind rattling through the half-open window, and the ache in her chest that refused to ease.

*****

She was a physical and emotional wreck when she finally pulled into her neighborhood. She had contemplated just simply checking into a hotel but had decided against it.

During the long tear-filled night, she had come to a decision, one that was so difficult, she felt her heart palpitating. She was going to give Nico back his ring and call off the wedding. She had failed him and that little girl.

One lousy day, she had been required to take care of her and to think he had suggested asking Nadine to accompany them and she had told him no. When she thought of what could have happened to Gracie, she broke out in cold sweat. It could have been so much worse.

The Coulter was a well-known and very powerful name. Someone could have grabbed her and used her for ransom. She could have gone into the parking lot and ran out into the street. The awful possibilities left her weak.

But the incident had proven that she was not fit to be a mother. It was good that she found that out now, before they made a permanent commitment.

She was almost upon the vehicle in her circular driveway, before she noticed it and by then, it was too late to back out and drive away. And why should she? She thought angrily as she braked.

This was her home. Good, she could tell him it was over and be done with it.

Shoving at the door, she stepped out into the icy cold and marched towards the steps. She was halfway there when he approached, his long legs eating up the distance and his face was set and angry. Sparks seemed to be flying off him.

When he grabbed her arms, she could feel the anger vibrating off him.

"We need to talk."

"Yes, we do."

"Good." Pressing his lips together, he took her hand, and half dragged her up the steps.

Not even bothering to protest, she uncoded her door for them to step in. Slamming the door shut, he rounded on her, bottle green eyes almost black with anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I've been calling you for the past three hours--"

She quivered at the way he struggled to hold onto his temper.

"I had to get away."

"Why didn't you answer your damn phone?" He slapped a hand against the mahogany when she started to move past him.

"I was doing some thinking. Please let me pass."

"Do you have any idea what kind of hell you put me through?"

"I'm sorry!" She shouted, the tenuous control she was holding onto, snapping like a twig. "Is that what you want to hear? I put your daughter in danger, and I had to get away."

Lifting her hand, she tugged the simple, yet exquisite diamond solitaire off her finger.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"The right thing." She held out the ring. "I'm ending things."

A shiver went straight to her bones at the ominous expression on his face. For the first time since she saw him tonight, she realized there were shadows beneath his eyes and deep weariness stamped on his features.

"I cannot marry you Nico." Her anger dissipated like a puff of smoke and left her feeling exhausted. "And there's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"Wanna bet?" he asked softly, his voice sending a warning to her brain.

"Please, I need to lie down. What--" She broke off with a gasp as he scooped her into his arms.

"Set me down." She shoved at his wall of chest, but he did not budge.

Turning around, he marched towards the staircase and bounded up the steps.

"Look, there's--"

"Shut up!" he growled, making her stiffen in anger.

"You don't get to talk to me--"

"Quiet." Kicking the bedroom door open, he did not stop until he was at the edge of the bed, where he proceeded to dump her in the middle.

"If you think we're going to have sex--"

"No." He started taking off his clothes, his eyes boring into hers as if daring her to move.