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record, I knew you lied about Kim knowing all about this idea.”
    “Shut up, you,” Grace ordered, pointing a warning finger at Nick. She turned to face the enraged Rachel. “It’s the best we can do until we clear this up, Kimmy. No one knows about Nick. He has those safe rooms you can run into and lock behind you like a people vault.”
    “You agreed to this?” Rachel stared at Nick in amazement.
    “He’s very excited, Kimmy. I -”
    “I want you to be safe,” Nick cut in. “Like Grace says, I have a huge house you can get lost in. Tim and Grace figure it’ll only be for a couple weeks. It would be very easy for you to avoid me at my house. The living room and kitchen are really the only communal areas. There are three bathrooms. If Grace and Tim manage to keep your whereabouts secret, you could move around outside without a problem. I’m not much of a bodyguard either. The way to keep you safe depends on my address remaining secret.”
    “You haven’t told him, have you?” Rachel stared accusingly at Tim and Grace.
    “Just like you, we were waiting for the proper time.” Grace smiled confidently over at her increasingly distressed partner.
    “I have a seven year old daughter named Jean, alias, Sarah,” Rachel blurted out, still staring at Grace.
    Oh shit! I’m well informed
.
    “The more, the merrier,” Nick stated without hesitation. “I’ll put you two up on the other side of the house.”
    “And…and an Australian Sheppard dog named Deke.”
    “I love dogs.”
Great God in heaven, I am so screwed
.
    “Do you mean that?” Rachel, tears running freely down her cheeks, met Nick’s unwavering gaze.
    “Absolutely,” Nick answered.
I’m a dead man if Frank finds out about this
.
     
* * * *
     
    Nick’s Chevy Malibu, loaded with bags in the trunk, also had a pile behind the driver’s seat. Jean and Deke sat on one side of the rear passenger seat, with Deke’s head out the window and body spread over Jean. Rachel sat on the front passenger side looking around the dark parking lot worriedly.
    “You have yourself a low rider, Nick.” Grace stepped back, assessing how low the Chevrolet was to the ground.
    “Don’t come to my house with the rest. Leave a message at the number I gave you when you come down with the other stuff. I’ll meet you,” Nick replied, standing with his hand on the driver’s side door handle.
    “Will you know if you’re being followed?”
    “Yeah, for all the good it would do me. If they have my license number how long would it take to find out where I’m headed? Our advantage is if no one knows about me. When will you and Tim be following? Did you put the block on my DMV records.”
    “Yes, yes, yes, and we’re coming tomorrow night. We won’t approach unless you call the code,” Grace promised, trying to hug Nick. “You’re my hero…my widdle bunny…my…”
    Nick grabbed Grace’s hand and in seconds Grace was standing on her tip toes dancing around. “Ow…ow…ow…ow…ow…”
    “Don’t touch me.” Nick released her and opened his door to laughter from both Rachel and Jean. “I’m writing you into my next novel and it won’t be flattering. I’ll make it so bad – yet exactly like you – your whole family will sue me even though they won’t be able to win.”
    “No need to get nasty.” Grace held the hurt look until Nick was behind the wheel and then she waved happily at Jean. “You be good and do what Nick says.”
    “Okay, but what’s in it for me?” The seven year old asked, staring out at Grace over Nick’s shoulder with a serious face. Deke barked on cue, sending Grace into peals of laughter.
    “This is like you’ve entered the Twilight Zone, isn’t it?” Rachel asked, when Nick drove away from Grace and out of the underground parking garage.
    Shit, she reads minds.
    “No, I’m not like the writer Jack Nicholson portrays in
As Good As It Gets
. Very little bothers me when I write – except for women, kids, and