Page 46 of Dreaming
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it - stick her in a budget condo big enough for her and her security detail.”
Nellie wiped her face with a nod. “She said the most horrible things. I grabbed what I could and didn’t stick around. There was a man staying with her and he made me nervous.”
Frowning, Nia stared into her mother’s eyes. “A boyfriend? Staying in your house?”
“At first, I thought it was a new member of her team because she told me he watched her ass.” Her voice trailed away. “Nia…if there was a problem while you were on assignment, your people would protect me but they wouldn’t distract you with it.”
Walking to the living room, Nia picked up her phone and rapidly sent a text. Within thirty seconds, there was a knock on the door. She opened it without checking the peephole.
“Come in, Wallace.”
“You look great, Nia,” the shorter man said. One of her oldest bodyguards was visibly nervous. “It’s good to have you back.”
“Tell me what no one wanted to tell me while I was under. I need to know.”
“It’s not…” His voice trailed away. Swallowing hard, he started again. “As soon as Nicki’s bodyguard told us about the new guy, we kept your mom away from the condo and increased her security. You were under so deep. Hollow didn’t want to add more worry when you were so stressed.”
Nellie volunteered, “Hayden came to see me several times personally, Nia. He was lovely.”
Refusing to veer off topic, Nia asked, “Who is Nicki involved with? Is he dangerous?”
“He’s a low-level criminal but...looking to get bigger. Everyone wanted you steady before we made a move. We didn’t want to make things worse, Nia.”
Blinking several times, when he started to speak again, she made a motion with her hand and he stopped instantly.
Staring at the blank wall of her foyer, her brain took over. Data streamed through her mind and she grabbed several random pieces of information that hadn’t fit anywhere before.
“Nia?” she heard Dennis ask softly.
Nellie whispered, “Wait a moment, Dennis. She’s sorting things out.”
When Nia put them together like a mysterious puzzle finally solved, her entire being rebelled against the newfound knowledge.
She whispered brokenly, “Oh, no. Please, no.”
It was her last thought before she was shoved violently into darkness.
Chapter Sixteen
Dennis was unsure what to do to help as Nia’s lips moved silently and her other hand tapped in what looked like code on her thigh.
Aloud, Nia recited what sounded like a phone number. Nellie grabbed a grocery pad off the fridge and used the pen to write it down.
Fifteen seconds later, Nia said what Dennis assumed was a birthdate. Another thirty seconds and she rattled off numbers and times in rapid succession.
Then Nia’s groaned as if in pain, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed.
Wallace caught her and Dennis ran forward to lift Nia into his arms. He carried her to the couch and sat beside her. He didn’t understand what was happening.
“Cold compress, Wallace. Water.” Nellie lowered to her knees beside the couch and said, “Come back, angel. Don’t slip too deep.”
She placed the fabric-wrapped ice pack Wallace handed her at the base of Nia’s neck and exhaled as her daughter’s eyes fluttered.
“Let’s recite together, darling. Algebraic K-theory, Almgren–Pitts min-max, approximation, asymptotic…”
Faintly, Nia joined her. “Automata, bifurcation, braid, Brill–Noether, catastrophe, category…”
“That’s it. Come up, baby.” Nellie stroked her hand over Nia’s brow. Together, they said, “Chaos, character, Choquet, class field…” Nodding, she instructed, “Help me sit her up, Dennis.”