Finding Willow IV (Nicholas POV)

Nicholas POV:

"He's not around much. No criminal record... seems to be on the up and up. Willow lives with him on a rental property. The lease is up in a few weeks and the landlord told me it wouldn't be renewed."

Was he moving because Willow planned to leave for college or was she leaving because she had nowhere else to go? I hated the thought that she may feel she had no options. "What else? Did you get what I asked for?"

He was silent for a moment. "Um… yeah, I got them. I'll go ahead and send them now."

I messed with my mouse, waiting for the email to arrive. After clicking on the first image, I knew my dick was definitely still attached. "Holy fuck." She was gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. I clicked through the photos I'd asked Virgil to get for me, each one better than the last.

Walking into school. Coming out from work. Smiling at her friend. She was beautiful. Perfect. Mine.

"Boss?"

I forgot I was still holding the phone with Virgil on the line. "Yeah?" I croaked.

"What's the plan now? It's her graduation tomorrow."

I didn't know yet. "Just hang tight. I'll call you in a little while."

I ended the call and went back to ogling the pictures. As I scanned image after image, a plan started to form in my head.

I wanted her and I had to come up with a way to make her mine.

Normally, it didn't take much more than a wink and a smile to get a woman into bed.

But I already knew I wanted more than a quick fuck with Willow. She had little means, no family, and no security. These were all things I could give her and wanted to give her.

Maybe a family.

My heart started pounding again as my eyes widened at the screen in front of me. Was some higher being trying to tell me something? Or was it just my overactive imagination?

I grabbed her essay pages, reading over her words again despite having them almost memorized.

She wanted the same things I did. She wanted a family. Children. Someone to go home to.

But I didn't care. I was going to make this happen. This would be different from my experience with Rosemary. I would make sure of it. I wouldn't lay my heart on the line. I would do this on my terms. I could give her what she needed and she could give me what I needed, and nobody would have to be hurt.

It was perfect. I looked at her picture again and smiled.

I changed my desktop to my favorite picture of her before opening a new word doc. As I typed a message for Willow, I called Virgil back.

"Hey, boss."

"Hello. I'm about to send you a letter that I want you to deliver to Willow after her graduation tomorrow."

"Okay."

"And you are to escort her to Quentin the following morning."

"Escort her to Quentin?"

"Yes. Bring her to me. In the meantime, while you aren't watching over her, I want you to have Ben access her and her parents' medical history and send it to me by tomorrow morning."

He cleared his throat and remained silent for a minute. "Boss, are you sure about this? I mean, what if she doesn't want to come with me? What are you going to do with her if I do bring her there? She's a good girl."

Virgil's being protective of her only endeared her to me more. He was kind of a hard nut to crack, but she must have gotten under his skin somehow.

"Believe me, she will want to come. Don't scare her though. Tell her to call me if she's nervous about anything." I paused and emailed the letter. "Also, I want only the best for her, so don't be concerned that I have any malicious intentions. If she agrees with my plan, you will be seeing a whole lot more of her."

"She's going to have a choice?"

I did glare at the phone that time. "Yes. I'm not a monster. I'm not going to force her into anything." I took a deep breath and unclenched my fist. "Just bring her to me and keep an eye on her until you leave. I will hold you personally responsible if anything happens to her."

Get a fucking grip, Rowe.

What was my problem?

"Shit. Sorry, Virgil. I'm not trying to be a dick. I'm wound a little tight. Just keep her safe and happy until she gets here. Okay?"

"Sure. Yeah, I can do that."

"Thank you."

As soon as I was done with him, I was on the phone with Benson, telling him to be in my office tomorrow morning.

Everything was falling into place.

.

I showered and changed after ending the call, and I was a jittery mess until Virgil called about an hour later. I walked in my front door when my phone finally rang.

"What? What did she say? Did she agree to come?"

Laura came rushing around the corner at the sound of my raised voice, but I motioned to her that everything was fine as I listened to Virgil chuckling.

Fucker. I was going to have his nuts in a sling if he didn't answer me pretty quickly.

"Yes, she's coming." Racing heart? Check. I was going to google cardiologists as soon as I was off the phone.

Willow. She was coming here. To me.

"She's okay? What did she say? Did she say anything about me?"

"Yeah, she circled the 'yes' on your note asking if she'd be your girlfriend." Did that fucker just make a joke?

I glared at the phone while he laughed at my expense. I would have fired his ass if he wasn't my best guy. "Are you finished?" I asked after he'd quieted down.

"Yes, I'm done now. I don't think you have anything to worry about. After spending some time with her, I think you two are going to hit it off." I really liked the sound of that.

"What time are you leaving?"

"I'm picking her up at eight in the morning local time and we'll take off about an hour later."

"Good. That's good. Thanks, Virgil."

I really did appreciate him doing this and his discretion. He could probably make a bundle selling my crazy ass out to the tabloids, but he'd never do that. I hoped.

"The hacker has that information you wanted. You should have it by now."

"Okay, thanks again. Keep me informed tomorrow."

"Will do. Night, Boss."

She was coming here. Tomorrow. She would be right here in front of me.

I started pacing the room, thinking about if I could actually go through with my plan. It was lunacy. She was probably going to kick me in the balls and call the police. And she'd be right. What was I thinking? This was going to blow up in my face. I was a stranger. A stranger who had secretly picked apart her life and made plans for her without her knowledge. Fuck. This was a mistake.

"Nicholas!"

I turned around to find Laura staring at me.

I was going to have to tell her something. It wasn't like I could just have Willow pop up in the house out of the blue. Laura was going to slice and dice me.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

Having a panic attack induced by my sex- and sleep-deprived psychosis. "Nothing."

"Have you already eaten?"

I shook my head and smiled. She always wanted to take care of me. Ever since I was a little boy. She was more like a second mother than a housekeeper. "No."

She waved her arm. "Well, come on then. Let me fix you something."

I followed her into the kitchen, taking a seat on a stool instead of at the table. It would be easier to talk to her if things were less formal. She pulled vegetables and chicken out of the fridge, throwing everything into a pan, before glancing over at me again.

"Well?" she asked.

"What?"

She huffed and I almost broke out into a grin. It was easy to ruffle her feathers. She faced me, her hands on her hips and a glare on her face.

"Don't 'what' me. You know exactly what I'm asking. What's going on with you? You've been acting stranger than normal for the past week."

I peeked down at my phone—just in case—letting Laura's 'stranger than normal' comment slide. "I do have something to talk with you about."

She walked over to lean against the other side of the island. "Tell me."

"I have someone coming tomorrow. She's going to stay here."

Her eyebrows rose at that. "She?"

I nodded. "Yes."

It surprised me when she smiled. Then she busied herself, setting up a plate and silverware in front of me. She poured us each a glass of wine before her next question.