9

Nikki counted to ten as she marched towards the door. How in the world had Lucas managed to suck her into his world again? And for his own selfish reasons? What was it about him that blinded her to the type of person he really was? Well, it was all over this time. Never again would she let him trick her.

A twenty-something young man stood by the cash register with his cell phone aimed at Lucas.

Nikki moved in front of him, blocking the camera.

His eyes moved from the screen to her. “Hey, get out of the way. I was taking a picture of the congressman. It’s not every day I see someone famous.”

“Don’t you think he has a right to eat lunch in privacy?”

He ran a hand through his slightly shaggy brown hair and then shrugged. “Not really. The Supreme Court ruled public figures have no expectation of privacy.”

“A wannabe lawyer, huh?”

He glared at Nikki. “No, just someone who knows his rights.”

“That’s wonderful. Why don’t you give him a little privacy anyway?” Even as she said the words, she realized the irony. That was what Stanley, the cheating husband, had wanted, and it hadn’t bothered her in the least to take his picture. And now she was telling this guy to give Lucas some privacy.

His eyes narrowed. “Maybe the two of you have a secret you’re trying to hide. Is that it? A little secret rendezvous. Don’t want your little tryst to make the news, huh?” He pointed the camera at her and clicked.

“Stop that.” Her hand moved in front of the camera screen. “We’re not having anything. I’m just say—”

“Hey, you got no right.” He shoved her out of the way.

She closed in fast. Her hand shoved him away. She whispered, but her tone left no doubt she wasn’t joking. “I have no right? You sure don’t have a right to put your hands on me.”

From behind the register, Misty sounded panicked. “We don’t want any trouble in here. Let’s just calm—”

Nikki heard whispers of the other people in the restaurant. This was getting out of hand. In one swift movement, she grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and pushed him towards the door. She looked at Misty. “I’ll be back to take care of his check in a minute.”

“Let go of me,” he whined.

“Not on your life.” Knowing the confrontation was her fault, she planned to go outside and apologize to him. He hadn’t been doing anything wrong. This may not have been the nicest way to handle it, but a big argument in the diner wouldn’t solve the problem. A problem she’d managed to cause. Outside was the place to do it.

The two stumbled down the diner steps together.

“I’m—”

As their feet hit the sidewalk, he turned and shoved her—hard. Her elbow smashed into the cement as she landed. The pain shot through her arm. Don’t react. The guy has a right to be angry. She held up her hands. “Look, I’m sorry. I overreacted in there. I—”

His foot smashed into her stomach.

Now he’d made her mad. She jumped up, ready to attack, but before she could, Lucas grabbed him.

“That’s no way to treat a lady, son.”

“She ain’t no lady. Didn’t you see what she did to me?” He struggled to get away from Lucas without success.

Lucas appeared unfazed by the commotion. At least on the outside.

Even though she was angry, Nikki forced her voice to sound apologetic. “Look, I’m sorry. I was trying to apologize, but you hit me before I could.”

People spilled out of the diner to watch. Others on the street stopped and stared. So much for keeping a low profile.

“You’re the one who pushed me out of the diner.”

“Look, I’m trying to apologize. I admit it was all my fault. You—”

“Funny way of apologizing. Grabbing me and pushing me out of the restaurant.” His voice was petulant, reminding her of a three-year-old.

But this mess was all her fault. She needed to be gracious. Find a way to appease the guy. “I agree. I overreacted, but I didn’t want to cause a ruckus in the diner.” She extended a hand. “I really am sorry. And just to show you how sorry, I’m going to go back inside and pay your bill. OK? Lunch is my treat.” Her gaze moved towards the alley across the street.

He shrugged. “Well, I didn’t get—”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man across the street. A man with a gun aimed in their direction. She pushed the kid down and then tackled Lucas to the ground as well. Her gaze stayed focused on the man.

The gunman’s eyes widened for a moment before he ran.

Jumping off Lucas, Nikki sprinted across the street.

The gunman was too far ahead. She’d never be able to catch him. Forcing her legs to move faster, she cut the distance between them.

At the end of the alley, he turned right. Nikki lost sight of him. She increased her speed. This was the reason she worked out faithfully. In her job, fitness made a difference. At the end of the alley, she turned right but stopped.

No gunman.

Her gaze scanned the area.

The light turned green and a dark van drove through it. He couldn’t have gotten into that van and driven away.

She was only a few seconds behind him.

Two young boys walked down the steps of the library.

She yelled across to them. “Hey, did you boys see some guy running down the street?”

With wide eyes, they both shook their heads.

He couldn’t have disappeared.

She’d seen him turn right. She walked across the street to the boys. After taking a few deep breaths, she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Nope. We didn’t see no one, ma’am.”

When had young boys started calling her ma’am? “Anyone.”

“What?” The boy seemed confused.

“‘We didn’t see no one’ is not good English. It’s ‘we didn’t see anyone.’”

“What are you? An English teacher?”

“Never mind. Are you sure you didn’t see a man come out of the alley?”

“No. That van did pull away as we were coming out of the libary, but we didn’t see no one…anyone running.”

“It’s library with an r.”

“That’s what I said, ma’am. Libary.”

“How many people were in the van?”

“One.”

The other boy spoke up. “No, I thought I saw another person. On the passenger side.”

The first boy shrugged. “Don’t know. If he says it was two, it probably was.”

“OK, thanks.” That van must have been waiting for the gunman. That made sense. Two men, one in a getaway van. This whole thing seemed planned, not spur-of-the-moment. But Lucas’s visit hadn’t been planned. What was going on? Picture taking was one thing, but a man with a gun?

That wasn’t a game.

****

Stunned and more than a little embarrassed, Lucas moved to a sitting position. One minute he was talking to Nikki and the kid. The next he was on the ground.

Nikki had charged him as if he were the quarterback in a championship game; then she’d run off. What had gotten into her?

The crowd around him had grown as people realized who he was. Everyone stared and a few pointed. Others had their cell phones out. No doubt wondering why a US congressman was sitting on their sidewalk. He stood up and brushed off his pants. “Everything’s fine, folks.” Then he walked over to the kid and held out a hand.

The young man got up and took his offered hand. “What is wrong with that woman? Does anybody know her name?”

Lucas smiled. “I’m sure she has a logical explanation.”

Misty nodded. “He’s right. Nikki would never assault some—”

“You do know her name. What’s her last name so I can tell the cops?”

Lucas put a hand on the young man. “Let’s forget about that, shall we? She was trying to protect me, that’s all.”

“Protect you? She pushed you down harder than she did me. She’s a menace and needs to be stopped. I want her arrested.”

“There’s no reason to do that. I’m really sorry she pushed you down, but as I said, she was only trying to protect me.”

“She can’t go around pushing people. This is America. We have laws against people assaulting other people for no reason.”

Some of the people in the crowd nodded their heads in agreement.

Lucas needed to disperse the crowd before it turned into an angry mob who decided to go find Nikki and bring her to justice.

“You’re right, this is America and she shouldn’t have acted that way. I agree one hundred percent.”

The crowd nodded.

He lowered his voice slightly, allowing his gaze to move from one person to another. “But this crowd reminds me of another crowd. A crowd where Jesus picked up a stone and told them to throw it if they were without sin. Not one took Him up on that offer.”

They were listening.

“Now, I’m not Jesus, but I am asking for a little generosity of spirit for the woman. She really was trying to do the right thing. And just as all of us do from time to time, she didn’t do it quite the right way.”

People nodded and turned to go on their way.

Misty walked up. She leaned close and whispered, “You should have been a preacher, not a politician.”

The young man glared at Lucas. “Those were nice words, but I still want her arrested.”

As if on cue, a cruiser pulled up.

A moment later, Nikki was walking out of the alley and towards them.

Lucas hurried over to her. “Nikki, what happened? Are you OK?”

Her expression was grim. “I saw a man with a gun. He was aiming at you. Lucas, someone wants you dead.”