Caught In A Name

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

"ONE!!!"

Richard could hear the countdown starting from the other side of the door but for the love of god, he can't make himself move. His eyes and body were solely focused on the woman in front of him; Nicomaine. My Maine. He could see that she too was struggling. Her breathing laboured, her cheeks flushed, her lips slightly parted and swollen. She's right. She was absolutely right when she warned him earlier not to go near her. But like any other alpha male, he thought he would enjoy the challenge. Look who's suffering now! Idiot!

"Open this door Faulkerson or I swear..."

Nicomaine stood there, like a deer caught in a headlight, staring at the man across from her. Her body primed but her brain turned into mush! She could hear the muffled angry yelling mixed with expletives coming from her brother.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE NICOMAINE! OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR!"

Blink...another blink...aaanndd the situation just got real! And like a switch got turned on, Richard and Nicomaine refocused at the same time.

"Do you think he'll really kick that door down?" Richard asked nonchalantly, trying to diffuse the tension.

"I've seen him do it once, so yeah. He just might" Nicomaine answered with a tilt of her head, grateful in a way because Richard spoke first.

"Should I get my gun then? Or perhaps put on my Kevlar vest?"

"That's totally up to you. But just a warning though. If you shoot my brother, I will have to shoot you. Family honour and all that" Nicomaine stated with a dismissive hand as she sassily turned her back, heading towards Charmaine's room through the adjoining door.

"TWO!!!"

"Hey! Where are you going?" Richard asked but was answered by Nicomaine's retreating back.

"FAULKERSON! DON'T EVEN THINK FOR ONE MINUTE THAT I WON'T DO IT! OPEN THIS DOOR!"

"Yeah, yeah! Hold your horses! I'm coming!" Richard yelled back over the loud banging coming from the door.

"GODDAMN IT FAULK...." was all Nicho could scream out when the offending door in front of him suddenly opened.

"Can you try to keep it down man! My daughter is sleeping" Richard remarked as if the man in front of him was not about to burst an artery.

Nicho opened his mouth and closed it again, opened it once more with no sound coming. He did that a few more times looking like a fish out of water because he couldn't think of what to say. Here he was, his anger as volatile as an oxidized room, ready to burst and yet in front of him stood Richard Faulkerson Jr., looking as innocent as a puppy! The nerve of this man!

"Where's my sister?" Nicho demanded, a little too forcefully with his fists balled on his sides.

"Right here Kuya" Nicomaine softly answered from the hallway as she stepped out of the nursery. She was holding a very awake and yet very contented Charmaine in her arms.

Nicho was about to yell at his sister but seeing her hold the baby in her arms kinda made him pause a bit. His gut had been telling him that there is much more to this superficial story that he's been told earlier. He knows his little sister. He knows that she will not (well more like cannot), hide having a baby from the rest of the clan.

Nicomaine tentatively walked to where her brother was standing. She was looking at her brother's face as she moved closer, gauging his reaction. Well, here goes nothing.

"Kuya Nicho, meet your niece, Charmaine" Nicomaine stated as she stood in front of her brother. Nicho's reaction was far from what she expected though. He tentatively reached out a hand and gently touched Charmaine's forehead, as if making sure that the baby was real and not a figment of his imagination. If Nicomaine thought that his brother's reaction to Charmaine was unexpected, what he did after and the words that came out of his mouth next was much more.

"How the hell did this happen Nic? Why didn't you tell us?" Nicho asked, his voice hitching while cupping his little sister's face in his shaky hands. "Why?"

Nicomaine looked at her brother and right that very moment realized how much anguish and pain she must've put her family through. Her intention to protect them by not telling them her whereabouts might have hurt them instead.  Seeing the unexplainable emotion on her brother's face just added to the feeling of guilt that she's been trying so hard to keep at bay. Because, good intention or not, she knew that the rest of her family must be worried sick. Especially her mom. Oh God! What was I supposed to do? I couldn't possibly put them in harms way.

"Kuya, I'm so sorry" was all that could come out.

Nicho held on to his sister's face a little bit longer, a little bit tighter. Up until three days ago, they all thought that Nicomaine was dead; that the second burnt body was her. Of course, everyone was in absolute denial. Their mom most of all. She kept calling Nicomaine's home number and cell phone number; kept leaving messages until the voicemail was full on both. But even then, she would keep calling just so she can hear her youngest daughter's voice. When the autopsy report came out, everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

And yet, just as soon as that sigh came out, the worry and dread came right back. Because Hanna being dead, no murdered, in her own home nonetheless, meant that Nicomaine was in definite trouble. And that's when Nicho decided to mobilize his team and resources. It took him 18 hours to catch a glimpse of his first clue to Nicomaine's whereabouts. He followed that clue and look at where it lead him. Right in front of his youngest sister. He doesn't know what she's involved in yet but he intends to find out. Starting with the man claiming to be her husband.

Richard watched the exchange between brother and sister in silence. Seeing the play of emotions on Nicho's face made him realize how much he and Nicomaine's brother are one and the same. He had to admit that if it was one of his sisters that had to go through what Nicomaine went through, he would probably have left dead bodies in his wake already, in his effort to find her. So us much as he didn't like it, he empathized with the man. So he reached out a hand and placed it on Nicho's shoulder in an effort to calm the man but he Richard soon realized that it was a huge mistake.

Because he didn't see the fist that came at him and hit him on his left jaw!

"I've been wanting to do that for a while! Damn! That felt good" Nicho remarked with glee as he stepped back, shaking his fist on the side.