"This can't be Nikki." Jane whispered as she flipped through the pictures Shyanne was showing her.
Her eyes were swollen shut, and black and blue. Her nose was crooked, and obviously broken. There were two jagged cuts on her lips, and several others on her cheeks and jaw. A few of the pictures showed her broken arm, and cuts on her neck and shoulders.
"How did she get cut?" Jane asked.
"Probably a ring." Shyanne answered, "That's what the police think."
"When did you find out?"
"Earlier." Shyanne answered. "You were still asleep so I just went over to the hospital."
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"You need to rest." Shyanne retorted. "Don't get mad at me. I'm not going to wake you up when you're sleeping just to give you more bad news. I went over to the hospital and stayed with her."
"Weren't her parents there?" Jane asked.
"Of course, but you know how her mother gets in high stress situations. Her father has a hard enough time keeping track of her. He wasn't able to deal with both of them. So I stayed with Nik, so he could take care of Vickie."
"What's wrong with Nikki's mom?" Sylvia asked as she packed up her medical bag.
"She has dementia." Jane answered. "She wanders a lot."
"Her mind at least." Shyanne answered.
"So young?" Sylvia's voice conveyed her surprise, "Nikki's no more than thirty, her parents can't be much over fifty."
"They're in their seventies." Jane explained. "She was a surprise when Vickie was in her late forties."
"Wow, that is a surprise."
"They didn't want children." Jane commented, rubbing her belly as butterflies began swirling around. "Geez, that's weird."
"What?" Sylvia touched her belly, "Pain?"
"No, butterflies. It's..." Jane gasped, "They're moving."
Sylvia grinned, "Probably. That's a good feeling."
"Can you feel them?"
"No, not yet. That's all you right now."
"So gross," Shyanne groaned, when Jane shot her a glare, she shrugged, "you have humans growing inside of you. It's disgusting."
"Don't mind her." Jane said to Sylvia, "She is anti-procreation."
"Damn, you want to put me out of a job?" Sylvia teased Shyanne, who rolled her eyes.
Jane moved to sit up and climb off the bed. Sylvia pushed her back down, "I want to go to the hospital." Jane complained.
"No, sweetie," Sylvia shook her head, as she picked up her bag, "bed rest for the next forty-eight hours. You only get out of that bed to pee."
Jane gasped, "Why? I'm fine. You said so yourself."
"Yes, but the fact is, you fainted. Not normal for you. I've already drawn blood..." Sylvia nodded to the bandage on Jane's arm, "I'll get it to the lab, and let you know what we find."
"It's not normal for pregnant women to faint?" Jane asked, though Sylvia was already at the door.
"Not really. But it can be an indication of an underlying illness." Sylvia answered. She glanced from Richard to Shyanne, "Make sure she stays in bed."
Jane watched the doctor leave the room. Richard was still standing in the doorway swiping his thumb over his phone. "Why me?" She asked.
He glanced up absently then back to his phone, "Are you asking me, or the room in general?"
"Why did Devon, or Jamison or whatever his name is, choose me? How in the hell did he decide I would be effective in getting to Rain?"
"Rain started negotiations with the firm months before the actual purchase." Richard answered, "Jamison probably did research on everyone on staff."
"So, he figures out I have a firefighter brother, and goes after me?"
"It was probably just a way in. A cover." Richard moved to a chair, "He didn't start going after you until you became Rain's personal assistant. Working closer with him. I'm guessing Jamison considers it a happy coincidence that you and Rain actually became...friends."
Jane laughed, "Friends...good word." She rolled to her side, and snuggled the pillow under her head, "I'm going to take a nap."
"You just woke up." Shyanne argued.
"I'm tired."
With a groan, Shyanne jumped off the bed, and stomped out of the room. Richard followed her, closing the door behind him.
*****
"Your blood didn't show anything." Sylvia explained. "I think you just got too upset. You need to keep yourself calm."
Jane sighed. Resting back against the pillows of her bed, she rubbed her belly absently. "Okay, thanks, Sylvia." She hung up, and watched as Rain paced back and forth in front of the bed on his phone. When he hung up, she gave him the news.
"Good. I'm glad." He rubbed his forehead, "This case is falling apart. I need to go talk to my client again."
"Back to Kingman?"
He nodded, "I'm sorry. I am trying to find someone to take over but..."
"Rain," Reaching for his hand, Jane squeezed it with a smile, "don't give the case away. I'll be fine. Chase and Nikki are out of danger. Brian can take me back and forth to the hospital."
Rain leaned down to kiss her forehead, "Promise me you will take it easy. No more climbing mountains."
"Oh, stop. I didn't climb a mountain." When he left, Jane slowly stood, and went into the bathroom for a shower. Feeling refreshed, she found her phone, and purse before heading for the hallway. Brian was just coming to find her.
"I see you're ready to go to the hospital." He said as they walked down the hallway. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." She answered, "I hate to admit it, but Sylvia was right, bed rest felt good."
"I'll remind you of that the next time you have to stay in bed."
At the hospital, Jane found Chase still in the ICU unit. As she settled in a chair beside his bed, he slowly opened his eyes. "Hey," she whispered, "how are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot." His voice came out in a hoarse whisper.
"Well, then I guess you're right where you should be." Jane reached over to take his hand, "Do you remember anything?"
"I know it was Devon...or Jamison..." Chase shook his head, "Brian explained the whole thing to me, I can't believe I fell for it. I knew something was off with him. I should have listened to my instincts."
"You heard about Nikki, right?"
He nodded, "She say who it was?"
"I haven't been able to talk to her yet, but Brian says she doesn't remember anything."
"From what I heard, she was pretty banged up."
Jane shrugged, "You know Nikki. She's loyal. She doesn't believe any of this. So she's going to protect the man she loves."
"Does she really love him?"
"She thinks she does." Jane studied her brother a moment, "I'm sorry. I should have..."
"Sis, there's nothing you could have done differently. From everything I've been told, you're the reason I'm alive."
Jane shook her head.
"I always knew your stubborn and pigheaded nature was going to be useful one day."
"Do you remember what happened?"
He was quiet for a moment, "I came off the trail and was putting my gear in the truck. I heard footsteps behind me, as I turn I saw a flash of red hair behind me and then suddenly Dev is right there. Before I can react he punches me. Knocks me back into the truck. We roll around a bit, I got him off me just as I heard the first shot."
Jane had thought she was prepared for the story but felt her stomach roll as she listened.
"I felt the burning in my chest," Chase continued, "I took off up the trail. As I was running I realized I somehow had gotten Devon's jacket off him and threw it down. The second shot hit my back but my adrenaline was already pumping. I lost my footing and went down the gully."
Jane stared at him as a memory flashed in her mind, "She knew..."
"Who knew?"
Holding onto the side of his bed, Jane pulled herself to her feet. "I love you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Wait, what the hell is going on?"
With a wave, Jane hurried out of the room. Down the hall, she stepped inside another. The overhead light was off, casting the room in shadows, with the only light coming from the hallway.
On the bed, she found Nicole laying in the dark. Her friends eyes were still swollen shut, only thin white slits indicated she was awake. "How are you feeling?"
With lips that were split in two places, and deep scratches covering her cheeks, Nicole whispered, "I'm alive."
"We've been friends for a long time, Nikki," Jane said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "we've had ups and downs, but we've always been honest with each other."
"He didn't mean it." Nicole whispered.
For the first time, Jane noticed the deep finger shaped bruises covering her friends neck, "He didn't mean to try to kill you, or Chase? Or how about killing those two firemen when my apartment exploded"
Tears dripped from the tiny slits of Nicole's eyes. "None of it."
"Did he tell you who he really is?"
"Who he is?"
Jane resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Devon Weston is Jamison Rivers." She snapped, "Did you know?"
"Devon is not Jamison Rivers." Nicole whispered, "Brian is wrong."
"Richard." Jane corrected her, "Richard is the one who identified him."
"He's wrong."
"No, he isn't. You know he isn't. You knew the moment you saw the jacket, didn't you?"
"What jacket?"
"Don't fucking lie to me, Nikki." Jane stood to lean over her friend, "You knew."
"What's going on in here?" A nurse stepped into the room, "My patient needs rest," her gaze landed on Jane's belly, "And it looks like you do too."
With a glare at her friend, Jane left the room, and shoved the double doors at the end of the ICU unit open. Brian was waiting on the other side.
"How are they?" He asked.
"She..." Jane shook her head, "She knew it was Devon."
"What are you talking about?" Brian fell into step beside her as she headed for the elevators.
"Nikki knew Devon was on that mountain. The jacket we found by the trail wasn't Chase's, it was Devon's. She recognized it immediately. I remember her expressing was surprise, and she started to say something, then Max started barking."
"I remember."
"She knew at that moment that Devon had been on that mountain, but she also knew that she had dropped him off at the airport. He was supposed to be in South America, yet his jacket just showed up on the mountain."
"There could be an explanation. Maybe..."
"No way." Jane jabbed a finger on the elevator button. "That bitch knew Devon was the one who shot Chase."
"He said it was a red headed woman."
Jane stared at him as the elevator doors open, "Do not start thinking it's Shyanne."
"I don't think it's Shyanne." Brian answered. "I know it isn't."
They stepped onto the elevator, "Nikki has always been the one to pledge her loyalty to a man. She wants to get married, she wants to have children, and it's like she falls so hard she doesn't stop and think she deserves better."
"Some women thrive on the challenge of changing a bad man into a good one."
Something in his voice made her pause, "What happened, Brian? Were you the bad boy?"
He shrugged a massive shoulder, "We all have our bad streaks don't we?"
*****
As the summer wore on, Jane felt her life falling apart. Everything she thought she knew to be solid and true, felt like a lie.
Her best friend of twenty-five years had betrayed her, and though she knew she should try to fix their friendship, she couldn't bring herself to dial Nicole's number. George and Victoria Nelson had taken their daughter to Italy when she was well enough to travel.
After six weeks in the hospital, Chase had fallen into a deep depression. He was only a shell of his former self. Another six weeks in physical therapy made it possible for him to function in some capacity, but he was still a long way from going back to work. Their mother insisted on taking him home with her to let him recover on the lake.
Shyanne was hired to perform freelance forensic accounting work by the federal government and started traveling for weeks at a time.
With Rain quickly becoming the top Pro Bono lawyer in the state, he traveled constantly. At firsst spending days, and then weeks away from home until he had been gone for over a month. Jane found herself alone a lot. She concentrated her free time on building the firms client list and handling the accounting.
By the time October rolled around and the heat started dissipating she was feeling as though she was going insane.
"Alright, seven months down." Sylvia said as she performed Jane's monthly exam. "Not long now."
"Thank god." Jane groaned.
"Where's Rain been lately? He's missed my last three visits."
Jane looked away, "He's working."
"What did he say when you told him?"
"When I told him what?"
Sylvia waved a hand at Jane's belly. "That there both girls?"
Jane shrugged, "I haven't told him yet."
The doctor gasped, "Why not?"
"He hasn't asked and I haven't volunteered."
"What's going on, Jane?"
Jane shook her head, "He's never here. He's always running off to court or...his apartment."
"His apartment? I thought he lived here."
"Apparently this house is too far from the office and the courthouse for him to travel back and forth everyday so he rented a place closer."
Sylvia finished the exam and packed up get equipment. "Have you talked to him about it?"
"About what?" Jane slowly climbed of the bed, "We aren't in any kind of relationship. He's provided me with a safe home, food and medical care. He doesn't owe me anything."
"When's the last time you left the house?"
"When Chase left the hospital."
"That was a month ago."
"When's the last time you got dressed?" Sylvia asked indicating Jane's nightgown.
Jane shrugged, "What's the point? Brian had to take Max home to get him back into working with other dogs. I've got twenty-four-seven guards here, but if I go out, there are only one or two."
"What about the stalker?"
"I haven't seen or heard from him in months. I think he's gone into hiding. He knows he's being hunted by the Navy."
"I thought those Navy men went home."
Jane laughed humorlessly, "Yeah, right, they came, they looked around, and then they left."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because there's nothing they can do." Jane led the way into the kitchen. "There is no sign of Jamison Rivers anywhere. He's trained to be invisible."
"They don't think he's going to come back?"
Jane shrugged, "Who knows?"
"You're feeling a little depressed, aren't you?" Sylvia asked.
Again, Jane shrugged. She reached into the fridge for a small bag of mini carrots. "I've faced facts."
"And what facts are those?"
Waving a hand around the empty house, Jane answered, "I'm going to be doing this alone."
"Jane, just because Rain is working now doesn't mean he will continue to after the babies come."
Grabbing a large bottle of water, Jane picked up the bag of carrots and carried it towards her bedroom. "I'm going to take a nap."
"How about some exercise?" Sylvia suggested.
"No, thanks." Without another word, Jane went into her bedroom and closed the door. She wasn't going to sleep, but she was going to sit on her big comfortable bed and watch the latest court TV shows. What did Judge Judy have in store for her victims today?
She'd meant what she'd said, she had come to terms with the fact that she was going to be raising these babies alone. Babies. Two little girls. She wondered if they would have their fathers blue eyes, or maybe the dimple that shows when he smiles.
She hadn't seen that smile in a while. Rain had been staying in Flagstaff for more than three weeks now. He used to call her each night before bed, then it was just a goodnight text message, and now, nothing.
Bored, Jane looked through the pictures in her phone. She found several with her and Nicole at her birthday party. She missed her friend, but she didn't know if she could forgive her. Leaning back against the headboard, she mulled over the thought of never having her best friend in her life again.
No, that wasn't an option. Finally dialing the number, she waited while it rang.
"Hey, this is Nikki, leave a message."
"Nik, it's Jane. I'm sorry I haven't called before now. Um..." Jane fought back tears as she concentrated on keeping her voice level, "I really miss you. Call me back."
After what seemed like hours of laying there watching television, Jane finally forced herself to get up. "I can't lay around." She told herself as she headed for the home office.
She passed the nursery. The beautiful cribs that she'd had to put together herself along with the changing tables and dressers. Rain hadn't been available to help her. Now everything was swathed in pink.
Going online, she'd purchased clothes, blankets and everything else she thought she would need. "He gave me the money," she murmured as she walked past the room, "I used it for the babies."
Inside the office, she settled in the large padded office chair she'd ordered for herself and turned on the computer. "Let's see how my farm is doing." She said to herself as she logged into her online account. Going through her list of online games, she updated everything, then went through her favorite online stores.
Her closet was already overflowing with things she didn't need, but she added a few more things, just because she could.
"Oh, thank goodness," she murmured as she waddled down the hall. Letting her red-headed assistant in, she smiled, "Hey, Allison."