Chapter Two
The Kiriakas Mansion was heavily guarded by policeman when Sami arrived. A broad-shoulder policeman who looked to have the mental capacity of a sheep stood at the front door. She smiled brightly at him, determined to accomplish what she wanted to accomplish.
"Is there something I can do for you?" the policeman asked in a pleasant voice but he eyed her with mild suspicion.
"Actually there is." Sami responded in a cheerful voice, "I needed to talk to Mrs. Kiriakas about something very important. Do you think it's possible for you to let me inside?"
The policeman looked behind him at the front door uneasily, "I guess I could do that." he said doubtfully, "But Mrs. Kiriakas is being carefully watched because we're afraid she has something to do with the serial killings." he explained. Sami nodded politely and the policeman unlocked the front door after telling Sami that Victor and Brady were gone but Nicole should be in the house. Nicole wasn't allowed to leave without a police escort. He led Sami into the living room, where Nicole sat on the couch, half-heartedly flipping through a magazine.
The policeman left Nicole and Sami alone in the living room and went back outside to stand guard beside the front door. Nicole tossed the magazine towards an end table sitting near the couch. It missed and landed on the floor. Nicole sighed loudly and shot an exasperated look at Sami, like it was her fault.
"Why are you here?" Nicole asked in a bored voice. Sami went over and sat down on the couch next to Nicole. This was going to be a challenge but Lucas would be worth it. She had gone through so much effort make Austin hers and to keep Brandon in her life. She would do the same for Lucas, except that she realized now that he meant more to her than Austin and Brandon ever would. It wasn't a childhood crush and sibling rivalry like it had been with Austin and it wasn't lust like with Brandon. Her feelings for Lucas were so different from the ones she had for any other man and she knew now what real love felt like.
"I need your help." Sami admitted, her heart sinking as Nicole looked at her in amusement.
"And why would I help you?" Nicole laughed.
"Why shouldn't you?" Sami retorted, "You don't have anything to lose. It might even take your mind off being watched like a hawk by all those policemen out there." Nicole scowled at the mention of the men Victor had stationed outside the mansion, holing her up inside, "Besides, it's nothing major."
Nicole sighed again, "What are you up to now, Sami?"
Sami knew she was going to have to be honest with Nicole if she wanted help from her, "I'm in love with Lucas." she began, noticing that Nicole didn't seem stunned by her confession at all, "I tried to tell him that but he thinks he's just a replacement for the men I really do love and that I don't love him. And it's your fault. You wrecked him!" Sami added for good measure, hoping that guilt would work. She wasn't sure if she could get Nicole to feel guilt over Lucas' current state of mind but she could try.
"My fault?" Nicole repeated, "Exactly how is it my fault? How did I 'wreck' him?"
"Lucas said that he was just a consolation prize to you. He said that all you cared about was his money. And he's right, considering you were still in love with Eric when you married him. That's why he doesn't believe that I love him. Because of you!"
"I don't think so." Nicole shot back, "You've probably done a perfectly good job of making him feel worthless yourself. I heard about everything you did to him. You didn't even want him being the father of your child, let alone your lover or your husband. I think it's stupid you even had sex with him in the first place."
"It is not my fault." Sami protested but her mind was saying something else. It was saying that she was at least partly to blame. She suddenly remembered something she had said to him a while ago, when they had been arguing over something stupid like they often did.
"The only reason I ever had sex with you in that photo lab was because I was fantasizing that you were Austin!"
"You bitch."
"That's right. I don't think any women could ever have sex with you without imaging that you were someone else."
Sami finally thought about all the things she had said to him. For so long, she had told him that she was going to get Brandon back because Brandon had been her soul-mate, because Brandon completed her. She had been stupid and she hadn't been able to see that she the person that completed her had been right in front of her all along. She had done just fine without Brandon for a while now. The only man she couldn't live without was Lucas.
Nicole saw the look on Sami's face and stopped laughing, "I never meant to hurt Lucas. But he was just there and he was in the way. I had to do it. Besides, you helped me."
"And now you're going to help me, right?" Sami inquired, staring hard at Nicole. Nicole seemed to consider it for a few minutes.
"What do I have to do?" Nicole finally asked reluctantly.
A grin spread across Sami's face, "It's not that hard. All you have to do is get Brandon back in town. Make something up to get him back here. Then, I'll spend all my time with Lucas and completely ignore him. That will prove to Lucas that I don't love Brandon anymore and that I love him."
Nicole looked doubtful, "How do I know you're not just trying to get your claws back into my brother?"
"Well, I hope this doesn't offend you, but compared to Lucas, your brother is an insensitive jerk." Nicole let out a angered yelp but Sami continued, "Lucas understands what I'm thinking, he knows how I feel and he doesn't hold it against me like most people in this town do. I've hurt him and he's hurt me but he's still here and that means a lot to me. Your brother just ran off because I made one mistake. And I only did it because I was trying to save our relationship. He was the one who cheated on me with Lexie."
"Hey, it's my brother we're talking about here." Nicole held up a hand to silence her, "I'll get him out here but you had better not try and seduce him or anything like that."
Sami rolled her eyes, "I thought we had already established the fact that-"
"Sh." Nicole interrupted Sami, reaching for the cordless phone sitting next to her, "I'll call him right now."
"If he mentions me, tell him that I signed his annulment papers and that I'll give them to him in person when he comes back." Sami told her, reaching into her purse for the papers and the pen. She wanted to do it right away, completely ending her every part of her relationship with Brandon.
Nicole sat on the couch in silence for a few moments, the phone pressed against her right ear. She knew that it wouldn't be hard to get her brother back into Salem. She heard the distinctive click on the other end of the phone and her brother's voice come over the line.
"Brandon, it's Nicole." she began, trying to sound distraught. Brandon immediately picked up on the tone in her voice and was concerned.
"What's wrong, Nicky?" he asked, "You sound upset."
"I am upset." Nicole lied, trying to make it sound like she was crying, "I'm really scared. You have to come back to Salem."
Brandon was silent for a few moments, "Why?" he finally asked.
"It's Victor." Nicole lowered her voice, "He keeps making these threats to hurt me and I'm afraid that he's going to do it someday. I think my own husband is going to murder me. Brandon, you're my brother, you're the only one who can keep me safe from him."
Brandon let out a frustrated groan, "You know I can't do that, Nicky. You know why I left Salem in the first place. I had to get away from Sami."
"Sami isn't going to be a problem." Sami looked up from the papers at the mention of her name with interest, "She's over you. In fact, she has signed the annulment papers and wants to give them to you in person. I've seen the signed papers with my very own eyes."
"Since when did you and Sami get so close?" Brandon sounded suspicious.
"Well, over time, we've just sort of became friends again." Nicole lied casually, "And a lot of men think Sami is quite a catch. She's already found someone new, someone she is crazy about. But what did you expect? You didn't think she was going to wait around for you, did you?"
Brandon seemed to be digesting the news for a few seconds, "Who is this someone else?" he inquired.
"What difference does it make?" Nicole demanded, pretending to be hurt, "I cannot believe you are treating me like this, Brandon. I need you to protect me from Victor and you're too worried about Sami to come back. Obviously you really don't love me at all." Nicole smiled triumphantly at Sami, knowing that she had her brother extremely close to backing down. He had always wanted her to be happy and safe, he wasn't going to refuse after she had done her best to make him feel guilty.
"I'm sorry, Nicky." her brother responded contritely, "I'm not going to let Victor hurt you. I'll be on the next plane out of India back to Salem."
"Promise?" Nicole asked in a small voice.
"I promise." Brandon assured her and Nicole hung up the phone.
"He's coming back." Nicole told Sami, still looking uncertain, "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"It's fool-proof." Sami promised in a confident voice, "I'll make sure that Lucas sees that I want to be with him and not Brandon. Besides, now that I'm not in love with Brandon anymore, it will be fun to sort of mess with his head a little."
"You better watch it." Nicole warned her, "I don't want you upsetting my brother."
But Sami wasn't listening to Nicole's words. Her mind was already on getting Lucas to believe she loved him. She remembered how long she had been scheming with Lucas to get Austin to love her. It was funny how now she was scheming with Nicole to win Lucas over. And she wouldn't stop at anything to get him to see how she felt about him. If Brandon got a little riled up in the process, then that wasn't her problem.
