The severity of his episodes increasing didn’t bode well for the future. Neither did his laptop and notebook being missing. They had to still be at Undrea’s. He hoped.
Nina walked into the kitchen in her yoga gear and looking like she’d just finished a workout. She was practically glowing. It had to be the sweat, and yet there was something about her. She looked…radiant. She smiled at him. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been better.”
She nodded, instantly sympathetic. “I’m sure you have been. There was no point in telling you this last night because you wouldn’t have remembered, but you had two episodes almost back-to-back.”
“I did?” The sick feeling returned to his gut. “Two?” He sank into one of the kitchen chairs. “I don’t remember that.”
“I knew you wouldn’t. I’m so sorry. Maybe it’s the stress you’ve been under lately?”
He took a deep breath, a little anger creeping in because she was undoubtedly the cause of that stress. He changed the subject, although it would probably just make things worse. “How’s your search going for a place to live?”
She went to the refrigerator and got out the carafe of green juice. “Do you really think living apart is a good idea? After last night? Who’s going to take care of you the next time you pass out?”
Undrea came to mind, but he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t going to assume. “I can take care of myself.”
“Can you? Really? Because you would have been lying on the cold, hard ground all night until you came to. You know that, right?”
“Undrea would have taken me inside.”
Nina exhaled through her nostrils, making a short, sharp sound. “You deserve to know that your fish girl looked like she wanted to run when you went down. I don’t think she’s cut out for the Nurse Nightingale role.”
He turned to see her better. “Undrea saw what happened?”
Nina poured a glass of juice, then put the carafe back in the fridge. “She did. She seemed horrified. I understand. It’s pretty shocking the way your eyes roll back and you drop like a dead weight. Not everyone can deal with that sort of event. She took one look at you and went right back into her house.”
He turned away again. He refused to believe Undrea had reacted that way. It just didn’t seem like her.
Nina went on. “She only opened the door to kick Bowie out, and that was the last I saw of her.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened in anger. Now he knew Nina was lying. He might not have known Undrea long, but it had been enough time to see that she wouldn’t treat his cat that way. He took a breath, schooled his emotions, and as a new plan emerged in his thoughts, he faced Nina with as real a smile as he could manage. “I’m so glad you were there to look out for me. For Bowie too.”
Nina smiled back. “Of course, sweetheart. You’re my whole life. I hope you understand that.”
He got up and faced her. “Seeing you in your yoga gear and drinking that green juice has inspired me. I think I’ll go for a run.”
“You feel well enough for that?”
“I do.” He didn’t. But she didn’t need to know that. “And from here on out, I’m going to make better food choices, too.”
Her smile got bigger. “That’s wonderful. How about a veggie stir-fry for dinner? We can have brown rice with it too.”
“That sounds great. I’ll stop at the market and pick up some things on my way back.”
“Perfect. Get some of that baby bok choy if they have it. That’s my favorite.”
“I’ll look for it.” He walked over and gave her a poison lips a kiss. “If you need anything else, just text me.”
She put her hand on his chest, looking thoroughly pleased. “I will. I assume you’re taking the Maserati?” She made a face as if she smelled something awful. “Seeing as how we still need to get your Land Rover back from you know where.”
“Yes, the Maserati. We can deal with the Land Rover later.”
She patted his chest. “All right. I have to take a shower. You have fun at the lake. Don’t overdo it.”
“I won’t.” He watched her leave, his smile vanishing off his face. He was practically trembling with rage.
He waited a few minutes, walking out into the living room to listen for the upstairs shower to come on. As soon as it did, he scooped Bowie up and put him in the carrier that was sitting near the door. Not where it should have been, but there wasn’t time to think about that. He held the carrier up so he could look Bowie in the eyes. “Be right back. No yowling, okay? Stealth mode. You got it?”
Bowie pushed his head against the mesh screen, clearly in need of pets.
“Soon, buddy.” Ethan set him down by the door, then went to grab the keys to his convertible. The keys to the Land Rover were probably still at Undrea’s with his car and the rest of his stuff. Why hadn’t Nina brought any of that back? The car he could understand, but why not his backpack?
Keys in hand, he went straight to the garage, picking Bowie up on his way out. He kept the Maserati’s top up since he had Bowie along. Ethan didn’t want to freak him out with all the air.
As he pulled out of the driveway, his anger dissipated a little, replaced by new determination. Nina was conniving, for sure, but he hadn’t become one of the richest men in the country by being dumb.
Bowie let out a little meow.
“Hang in there, bud. We won’t be in the car too long.”
He’d bought himself some time. Now he just needed to make a few more smart choices. The first one was going to Undrea’s.
He’d get her side of the story, then figure out what to do from there. Not only did he need to talk to her, but he was pretty sure his backpack with his laptop, notebook, and cellphone were all still at her place. He needed those.
His laptop and notebook were invaluable. And while everything on his laptop was backed up to his own cloud, the notebook obviously wasn’t. He had years of ideas and concepts sketched out in there.
A new thought occurred to him. Was there any chance Nina had those things? And was willfully withholding them?
Maybe. But if stealing his ideas was her game plan, she’d been setting him up for a long time. That couldn’t be what she was after. Was it just the fame and fortune of being his girlfriend? And eventually, his wife?
He wasn’t sure. And his head still wasn’t a hundred percent. Maybe he’d get a hotel room once he had his laptop and notebook back and just sleep for a day. That would help a lot. But that wasn’t everything he needed to feel better.
What would help was seeing Undrea. He didn’t know how or why, but she felt like the answer to questions that hadn’t even been asked yet.
Undrea got Connie and Sarah Jane settled in the living room, leaving them to admire the aquarium, then went into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on. Today was the kind of day that was going to require a lot of it. She could just tell.
Connie had indeed recognized her son’s vehicle, but she’d already known Ethan had been here, so it wasn’t much of a surprise. Undrea imagined finding out why he wasn’t still here would be.