Jake nodded stiffly. “You’re welcome.”
“Anyway,” Nicole sighed. “The furnace was just another bit of his trying to bug the hell out of me,” she said quietly. “The worst it could have done was let the house go cold and make me call in the furnace guy. All it did was cost me money, just like everything else he’s done.”
“Are you sure he knew that?” Jake asked. “Marguerite said his furnace in Italy was older, and could have blown up had he done it there,” he pointed out and then added, “And he put the wood in the door’s tracks outside, blocking them from opening. That was obviously an effort to trap you inside when the furnace exploded.”
“No, that was Rodolfo being the idiot he is,” she responded dryly. “He was always doing stupid things like that. The man was cute, with a sexy accent, but he wasn’t the brightest lightbulb in the chandelier.”
“Or maybe he’s smarter than you think,” Jake said grimly. “Your doors are keyed, and you wouldn’t have thought to grab them had you woken up to find the house on fire.”
“No I wouldn’t, but I also wouldn’t have run downstairs into the fire. I would have gone out the balcony door off my bedroom, which wasn’t blocked,” she pointed out impatiently, and then added, “And if I was sleep addled and stupid enough to run downstairs without keys, I would have just gone out through the garage.”
Jake frowned at the logic in that. “What about the gas grill?”
Nicole sighed. “Like I said, he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier. He was also lazy and didn’t like cleaning. He put foil in the bottom of the oven to catch drippings and I imagine he did the same thing with the grill.”
“But the flames couldn’t have got through the foil to cook food,” Jake pointed out.
“No,” she agreed dryly. “I did mention he wasn’t bright and if I myself had been thinking at the time, I would have noted the foil, thought of that, and removed it to see that the tubing had been knocked out of its housing . . . probably when he put the foil in. But I was busy yapping with Pierina. I’d also had a couple glasses of wine, so I didn’t notice and started it without thinking.”
“And the fireplace?” Jake shot out at once. “The gas guy took it apart and put it back together as if there was something wrong with it.”
“Yes, he did,” Nicole agreed. “But he never said there was anything wrong with it. He was too busy going on about how one partner always goes a little crazy in a divorce and whatnot.”
“Well, he seemed to think your ex-husband was trying to kill you. He apparently hugged you on the way out, insisting you should get a good security system. And he charged you a pittance for being there most of the day.”
“He hugged both of us, and I think he only hugged me so he could hug Pierina and cop a feel,” Nicole snapped. “He was crunching on her. I think that’s why he took the fireplace apart in the first place, so he had an excuse to hang around, ogle her, and chat her up. He offered to take us out on the town and show us the city while Pierina was here,” she added dryly. “And I think his crunching on her is why he agreed with her worries that Rodolfo was trying to kill me.”
Jake was aware that everyone had been glancing from him to Nicole as they’d argued, as if watching a tennis match. They were now focused on him again and he shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to say. She seemed to have an answer for everything . . . and Marguerite hadn’t mentioned that the gas guy had been crunching on Pierina, but then Pierina probably hadn’t mentioned that either.
His thoughts were distracted when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Dante said.
“What is crunching?” Elaine asked with confusion as the twin left the kitchen.
“Hitting on,” Tomasso answered. “The gas guy had the hots for Pierina.”
“Oh.” She nodded with understanding. “Well then it’s possible he was exaggerating the dangers to be the hero in Pierina’s eyes.”
“Mother,” Jake complained. He was having enough trouble trying to convince Nicole it was her husband without his mother siding with the woman.
“Well, it’s true, dear,” she said apologetically. “Men do silly things like that when they want a woman. And these earlier things you’re talking about don’t sound nearly as deadly, or as well planned as the hot tub and the accident. The poisoning of the hot tub took some knowledge of poisons, and fiddling with the car brakes and accelerator took some skill.”
“The police have already found out what was done to the car?” Nicole asked.
“Dante gave them a mental nudge at the accident scene to ensure they had it examined right away,” Jake said quietly.
“They called while Jake was settling you in bed when we got home,” Elaine added. “And it was no accident, the car had definitely been messed with.”
“It must have been while we were in the mall,” Jake muttered unhappily. “It was fine on the way out.”
Nicole nodded in agreement and then sighed and returned to the original topic. “Look, I know Pierina is convinced that Rodolfo is trying to kill me, but trust me, he isn’t. He’s greedy, selfish, and a bully. But he’s too fond of his own hide to risk landing in jail by getting caught trying to kill me . . . and he would be the first suspect in this instance. If he was going to kill me, he would have done it before I left him. But afterward? No.”
“I’m afraid she’s right.”
Jake glanced sharply past Nicole as she whirled at that announcement. His eyebrows rose as he watched Vincent Argeneau and his wife Jackie greet her.
“You must be Nicole,” Jackie was saying, shaking her hand with a smile as Dante slid past the trio to reclaim his chair at the table. “I’m Jackie, and this is my husband, Vincent.”
“Hello,” Nicole said uncertainly, and then blinked and peered more closely at Jake’s old boss and said, “Vincent Argeneau?”
“That’s me,” Vincent said lightly.
“You saved Jake’s life. You turned him when the skinny bitch stabbed him,” she said, using Jake’s exact words from when he’d told her about the incident.
“He was Stephano then, but yes,” Vincent said, eyes sparkling with amusement at her words.
“Not that he was too pleased at the time,” Jackie added dryly.
“Well I am now,” Jake said quietly, moving forward to greet the pair. He hugged Jackie first, murmuring, “I’m sorry I didn’t say it then.”
Hugging Vincent next, he added, “But thank you for my life.” Stepping back, he added solemnly, “And for giving up your one turn. I realize what a sacrifice it was, especially since you already knew Jackie was your life mate and that you couldn’t turn her once you turned me.”
Vincent smiled crookedly. “Well, if I’d stopped to think at the time, I might not have done it and risked losing Jackie,” he admitted wryly. “But it all worked out in the end, so you’re more than welcome.”
Jake smiled, understanding exactly what he meant. Each immortal was allowed only one turn in their life. It was meant for, and usually reserved for, a life mate, but Vincent had given up his one turn to save his life seven years ago. Jake didn’t know if he could do the same for anyone now that he’d met Nicole. He wanted to turn her, if she was willing. To keep her with him for always.
“Ah, Jackie, Vincent, what a nice surprise to see you,” Elaine said with true pleasure, appearing at his side to hug the pair in greeting. Roberto was right behind her, greeting the couple like family.
Jake knew they’d been grateful for what Vincent had done back then, but it appeared obvious from this greeting that Jackie and Vincent were now considered part of the family. There were probably a lot of changes that had taken place since he’d run away, he acknowledged wryly. But he was glad of this one.