When she stepped out of the spray, Eddie was waiting. She grabbed a towel, dried off, and wrapped it around her body.
Eddie yanked it off and tossed it on the floor.
“I’ve thought about seeing you naked for so long. I can’t have you covering up that beautiful body. Not yet.”
Nikki looked down at herself and shuddered. Blood no longer tinted her skin, but she couldn’t help feeling that it was still there, like a cattle brand seared into her flesh.
That man had died.
She still couldn’t believe that man had died.
And Eddie was the one who…
No, no, no. It didn’t make sense. He was still Eddie. Her Eddie. And the way he looked at her, touched her, spoke to her… he appeared to be as in love with her as before.
Maybe more.
“Why… Why did you do it?” Nikki finally asked, unable not to.
“What?”
“Kill that man?”
“I did it for you.”
“Me?”
“He was going to hurt you, baby.”
Nikki shook her head. She remembered the man staring at her. Wanting her. She remembered him asking her if what Eddie was offering was real, if it was okay. “Hurt me? How?”
“Where do you think I got the knife? It was his. That was all him. I wanted to share something beautiful with him, something amazing, and all he could do… There are people out there who want to destroy everything that’s good. I couldn’t let him.”
Nikki tried to remember what had happened. It had been dark outside the car, and the dome light had been so bright. She must have missed seeing the man pull out the knife.
The knife.
“Wasn’t that my knife?” Nikki said, confused. “You know, the one you said I should keep in the car for protection?”
“No. But I was right about that, wasn’t I? You need protection. But you weren’t prepared. If I hadn’t been there, you’d be dead.”
Nikki couldn’t disagree. She tried to remember what the knife looked like. She felt like crying.
“It’s okay. I was there for you. You were lucky this time.” He grasped her hand in his. “You’re mine, Nikki. My beauty. And no man is going to hurt you while I’m here.”
“I know.”
“Believe me, Nikki. You believe me, don’t you?”
She nodded. She wanted to. She wanted to get what had happened in the car out of her mind.
“Do you believe me?” he asked again. “I want to hear your answer.”
“Yes.”
“I have something that will cheer you up.” He held out a box of hair color.
“Just for Men?” Nikki said, reading the label.
“I want to see you as a brunette.”
“I thought you liked my hair blond.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m bored with it.”
“Bored? But you said blond was your favorite, that you thought it was sexy.”
“This is better. Trust me.” He slipped an arm around her and steered her to the vanity. “I’m going to make you look wonderful.”
He placed his palm on the back of her head and shoved her head down over the sink.
Bending at the waist, Nikki braced herself with her forearms, trying to keep from hitting her head on the faucet. “Eddie, I don’t want dark hair.”
“You don’t know what you want. It is going to be tremendous. Beautiful. You’re going to thank me.”
Nikki wasn’t so sure. She had grown up with dark hair, and she’d hated it. She had blended in. Nothing special. It wasn’t until she’d dyed it blond that men started noticing her. Men on the street. Men at the restaurant where she worked. Men everywhere. As a blonde, she turned heads, and she liked it..
“I became a blonde for you.”
“And now you’ll be a brunette for me.”
“Blondes are sexier. You said that yourself.”
“And now I want to fuck a brunette.” He ripped open the box and opened the bottle inside. A second later cold dribbled over her scalp. He kneaded the dye into her hair with rough fingers, pushing her head into the sink.
Nikki wanted to cry. She’d just started to figure out who she was as a blonde. She didn’t want to go back.
“What’s your problem?’
“I want to make you happy. I do. But—“
“You want to make me happy?”
“Yes.”
“Good girl.”
She heard the sound of a zipper.
He kicked her legs wide, then still working in the dye, he entered her from behind. Tangling his hand in her hair, he thrust into her, each stroke shoving her head deeper and deeper into the sink.
When he was done, tears were streaming down Nikki’s face.
He pulled her hair, lifting her head from the sink, forcing her to stare at herself in the mirror. “There. You see? You’re so sexy as a brunette I can’t control myself.”
Nikki looked at her face, pale as death, her hair dark with purplish goo. Like staring at a stranger.
Eddie released his hold, stepped back from her, and zipped himself up.
Nikki brushed her fingers over her cheeks, hoping he didn’t notice she’d been crying.
“Now rinse this shit out and meet me at the car.” He gave her a wink. “I can’t wait to see the new you.”
She showered again, giving extra attention to washing the dye from her hair. When she stepped out and dried off, she avoided her reflection. She wrapped herself in a towel, then thinking better of it, let it fall to the floor and walked to the car naked.
When she climbed into the car beside Eddie, for a moment, he looked at her as if he wanted to make love all over again. Then he started the car and drove. Away from the house. Away from the dead end road. Out onto the open highway.
For a long time, Nikki watched him, saying nothing. She wasn’t clear on what had happened. Not with that man in the car. Not in the bathroom. But she knew her husband would do anything to protect her. And she wanted to make him happy.
They were going to be so happy.
“I’m sorry… about my hair. About everything.”
“I’m the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“I know.”
“You have to trust me. I know what’s best for you.”
Nikki nodded. No one had loved her like Eddie did. Not her whole life. It was as if he knew her. Everything about her. They really were soulmates. And now they were together.
“I love you, Eddie.”
“But?”
“I just get a little worried. That’s all. A little confused.”
“About what?”
“The man in the car.”
“We talked about that.”
“I know. You were protecting me. But won’t they… If they find out…”
“They can’t touch me, babe. I have them all figured out.”
“You do?”
“You doubt it?”
“No.” If anyone had everything figured out, it was Eddie. Just one of the reasons she loved him.
He moved his hand between her legs, stroking slowly, gently. “You could use some clothes. Otherwise I won’t be able to keep my hands off you. We need to get you into something nice.”
“My suitcase…” It was back in the car. Her clothes. Her makeup. “We have to go back.”
“We can’t go back, Nikki.”
“Of course… of course…” For a second, she’d forgotten about the man. The blood. She wanted to forget. “That was stupid of me. But clothes…”
He shrugged a shoulder, as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ll handle it. Like I handle everything.”
“How?”
“You’re about the same size as your sister, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yes.”
“She doesn’t live too far away, does she?”
Nikki glanced out the window. The lights of Sauk City glowed around them, the bridge spanning the Wisconsin River ahead. She’d been so focused on Eddie, she hadn’t even realized where they were.