All the News (That's Fit to Print): The Nicki Sosebee Stories, #3

By Jade C. Jamison

Will Nicki report the crime or become the next headline?

 

Just as Nicki's love life starts heating up, a sexual predator roaming the streets of Winchester strikes fear in the hearts of the women in town.

 

Nowhere is safe.

 

Nicki investigates all the news her boss will print, hoping to help the police track down the rapist—or at least warn citizens to watch their backs. It's too late when she discovers the criminal in a place she least suspects—and there's no one who can save her now…

PLEASE NOTE: This book was previously published in 2011 as NO PLACE TO HIDE.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jade C. Jamison
• Release date: Jul 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201361693

Jade C. Jamison

1. Imagine 2. Play some music 3. Write 4. Blow readers away 5. RepeatJade C. Jamison is a steamy romance author, heavy metal fangirl, wife and mom, coffee connoisseur, cat lover, and vegan foodie--not necessarily in that order. She loves life and believes we learn our wisest lessons when reading, especially if it's fiction. Her heroines are fierce, her heroes all but broken, both seeking redemption together. Whether in a small Colorado town or big city, she strives to take her readers' breath away...one story at a time.Find out more at www.jadecjamison.com ORhttp://www.subscribepage.com/JadeCJamison (newsletter)

Book preview

Chapter 1

Napoli was a fucking wreck. In all the years Nicki Sosebee had been working at the pizzeria, she had never felt this disorganized. There were people everywhere, and all the planning she’d done had crumbled into a pile of shit.

A week ago, Sean’s mother, Joan Ramsey, had called Nicki. Sean’s five-year anniversary is this week, and I’d really like to celebrate it. The five-year anniversary Sean’s mom talked about was when he’d moved into his current garage a block away from Main Street in Winchester, Colorado. Sean owned a successful motorcycle repair shop, definitely something to celebrate. Any time Nicki could put her good-looking drool-inducing best friend in the spotlight, she was happy. So she’d jumped on the task. Her manager had said they could close Napoli early on Sunday night of the next week and hold the party there. Sunday nights were slow and—for the right fee—he could be persuaded to close up shop. So Joan invited the guests and Nicki set up the party.

The problem was Nicki and Sean’s mom weren’t made of money. So Nicki offered to work the next week at Napoli for tips only. If they paid for the pizza and drinks, it was a deal, her boss said. Since Nicki was one of his best employees, he wanted to keep her happy.

Now, though, Nicki was regretting it. Instead of being able to shower affection on Sean, she was running around as the lone waitress to their families and his asshole biker friends. And the lot of them were drinking so much beer, she’d have to pay more out of pocket. She hoped Joan would be willing to pitch in a little more as well.

The worst part, though, was the new chick hanging with Sean. On Sean was more like it. Nicki had met her a couple of weeks ago. Well, that is, if met can imply was stared down like a bug by an ice princess. Goddamn Sean. Nicki had been pining over him for the last eight years—and even though she loved his friendship, she wanted all of him. He’d made it clear, though, that friends were all they would ever be. Nicki had imagined that putting together an anniversary party with his mom could maybe change all that.

But she’d just been a stupid fucking idiot to think that.

And now she was running around like a crazy woman, not enjoying the party at all.

She started carrying pizzas out two at a time to the large table they’d set up to serve as a buffet. There were breadsticks and pitchers of pop (and now beer, at the insistence of the Harley crew) on both ends of the table. Just to be a bitch, Nicki should have carded them, but it was too late for that. She managed to find a place to set the two pizzas, but some inconsiderate assholes had just left cups and plates in the area meant for the pies. After cleaning up the mess, she went back to the kitchen for more.

In the middle of the room, Sean was opening gifts, oblivious. Joan had wanted the party to be a surprise, and it had been. Sean had no clue what was going on when he’d first walked in—Nicki could tell from the expression on his face. But that stupid little tramp on his arm...

And even that wouldn’t have been so bad if Jesse had come to the party. Jesse was one of Sean’s friends, one who had pursued Nicki on and off for years. She’d never been interested until a couple of weeks ago when he’d mentioned how pretty she looked. The two locked in a heavy kissing session that left Nicki thinking maybe she’d give him a chance, if only to piss Sean off.

But he wasn’t here…meaning he’d probably had to work.

So the entire fucking night was going to suck. At last, though, Nicki had all the pizzas out and everyone was eating. And Sean finally got all his presents opened, including the one Nicki had gotten him. She had searched the internet, considering buying something for Sean so he could start making himself another custom Harley like one he’d sold about a month ago. It had been his baby, his pride and joy, and Nicki wanted to help him start over. But when she saw how much just the frames for a custom bike cost, she knew it was way out of her range. So she instead wound up buying a Harley-Davidson clock that was still crazy expensive but at least something she could afford. As she’d wrapped it with care, she’d pictured it in Sean’s shop.

Exhausted, she sat at one of the tables near the back of that section while Sean’s biker friends told funny stories they remembered about Sean’s shop early on. Nicki was tired...tired of hearing it, tired of seeing the stupid blonde bitch tittering at things she knew nothing about and understood even less, tired of everything.

That was when Jesse walked in, proving he could save her more than once. Sean stood up when he spied the man he called his brother. Glad you could make it. They engaged in a man hug and a slap on the back.

It was after ten. A lot of people had already left, including her parents, but all the diehards were here, and only heaven knew when they’d leave. Now that Jesse had arrived, though, she felt a little better.

She didn’t want to seem eager, though. In fact, she was pretty sure she looked like shit. So she walked to the back of the restaurant into the employee break area where her purse was stashed. Grabbing it, she made her way into the employee restroom. Taking in her appearance through the mirror on the wall, she determined that she officially looked like hell. But she combed through her hair and slicked a little lipstick on. Now, she still looked tired but she looked a lot better.

And she didn’t care that her hair should be restrained. She wasn’t on the clock as a waitress right now anyway. If one of Sean’s biker friends choked on her hair, he probably had it coming.

When she got back to the dining room, Jesse was sitting across from Sean and the ice bitch. He had a glass of beer and a slice of pizza. Again, Nicki thought about approaching them but couldn’t bring herself to do it yet.

Jesus. What was wrong with her? She was afraid to even think it, but she knew it was true before it even hit her frontal lobe.

She’d been thinking about Jesse too much and now she was obsessing over him—not quite as bad as she had Sean over the years, but it was still a problem. She understood it, though. Besides the fact that they’d had one pretty intense encounter, he’d also rescued her from the clutches of a crazy politician’s wife who had drugged Nicki and was going to kill her. So now he was built up in her mind, almost a knight in shining armor. Dangerous.

Instead of pining, Nicki decided to focus on cleaning up. She could say hi later after everything dwindled down. She had to chill first. But as she was putting plates and glasses into a gray plastic tub, Jesse instead made the first move, approaching the table. Hey. How’s it goin’? He started picking up dishes and placing them in the tub with her.

She couldn’t help but smile. Better now. Glad you could make it.

Wouldn’t miss it. She knew that was true. Sean and Jesse had been friends since middle school.

The two of them didn’t say anything as they continued to pick up glasses and plates, Korn’s See You on the Other Side CD playing in the background. Napoli usually played Italian music in the background, but it was a party, so Nicki controlled the tunes, and Korn was always her music of choice. Nicki and Jesse half-sang, half-hummed Coming Undone while cleaning the dining room.

He knew some Korn lyrics!

By the end of the song, they’d hauled all of the dirty dishes back to the kitchen and wiped off the tables. All that was left besides what people had in front of them was one and a half uneaten pizzas. As they stood at the dining room entrance, scanning the room for any more damage, Nicki said, Thanks for your help.

Jesse nodded. I’m gonna go outside for a smoke real quick. That was the only thing Nicki didn’t like about Jesse, but she found it didn’t bother her that much. And who was she kidding anyway? The two of them would never work.

That meant it was time to make nice with Sean and his friend. She walked over to their table. Fortunately, Sean’s mom sat with the couple as well. The snotty girl had her arm draped over the back of Sean’s chair, staking her claim. Nicki hadn’t said much to Sean yet, so she thought she should before the night was over. Hey, Sean, happy anniversary.

Nicki, thanks. Standing, he wrapped her in a big hug. Hah. That’d piss off the little tart playing his girlfriend. She had it comin’, so Nicki didn’t feel bad at all.

Anything for my best friend. Did you like your clock?

Yeah, it’s great. I’m gonna hang it up in the shop. I know the exact spot.

You better. That was the plan when I bought it. As much as it cost, she thought he might want to keep it in his safe.

Have you met Amber?

No, she hadn’t—not officially, as in an introduction, and he knew it. She hated shit like this. But she put on her best fake smile. Nice to meet you.

It was met with Amber’s mediocre phony return smile. Sean said, This is Nicki, one of my best friends.

Take that, bitch.

Sean’s mom said, I’ll tell you what. I couldn’t have done this surprise party without Nicki.

Thanks, Mrs. Ramsey. Same for you. Nicki had once tried calling Sean’s mom Joan but it just felt too weird. She’d been Mrs. Ramsey for far too long to change.

When Jesse came back in, he sat between Nicki and Sean’s mom. Amber had started playing with the hair at the nape of Sean’s neck, so Nicki stood up. I’m gonna see if they need any help in the kitchen.

Of course, they did. So Nicki was able to take out her frustration on the dishes and, once they were done, she sent the kitchen crew home. She’d finish cleaning and lock up shop once she’d shooed all the guests out the door.

As she walked out of the kitchen, Jesse stood by the entrance to the dining room. How are you, Nicki?

Hadn’t they already had this conversation? Her answer wouldn’t be any different. I’m fine.

No, I mean since you got out of the hospital.

Ugh. She prayed she’d never have to spend that much time in a bed—or such a sterile fucking environment—ever again.

Really. I’m fine. I felt a little weird the first day or two, but I feel like my old self again. Now that they were alone and things had settled back to normal, she really wanted to ask him if the two of them had a chance—but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It felt so awkward and unnatural.

Not that it didn’t already feel that way.

So, I have a weird question to ask.

Shoot.

If I call you again, am I going to have to save you from someone else?

Nicki laughed, grateful that Jesse had snuck a little levity into their conversation. God, I hope not. Now she felt a little more comfortable. His silly joke had eased the tension, reminding Nicki that not every fucking thing was live or die. Facing him, she drew closer, looking at his chest, feeling shy, but then, as she closed the gap, she forced herself to look in his eyes. Thanks for that, by the way.

He placed his finger under her chin. You don’t owe me anything.

Nicki looked