Fallen Angel

by Bev Dulson

  ‘But the defence argued against this?’

  ‘Yeah, said it was insubordination and Lomax lost his rag after being reprimanded by the officer.’

  ‘Seems a weak defence to me, part of army life is getting used to taking orders.’

  ‘My thoughts exactly, that’s why I wrote the story the way I did, I was trying to do Jason justice.’ Hunter dropped the book down, he needed to steer away from the plot of his book, all the words falling from his mouth were pure lies. ‘Anyway, more importantly, how did you get on with the CCTV.’

  ‘As we suspected, it malfunctioned.’

  ‘Shit. I have no way of fighting this if I don’t know where I’m looking.’

  ‘We just need to be patient, he’ll make a mistake soon. He’s goading you, he wants you to know who he is. Just be on your guard.’

  ‘I always am, but it’s not just me, it’s…’

  Tango nodded. ‘I know, Magenta. I’ve got her back too, remember, she’s my primary concern in this job. I won’t let anything happen to her.’

  Hunter found Magenta half asleep on the bed. ‘Hey you, it’s not like you to have a sleep in the afternoon. You OK?’ He lay down next to her, resting his head on her shoulder, his arm went around her waist. She turned on her back to face him.

  ‘Yeah, just needed some space, it’s mental in this house, Johnny is being a drama queen, Logan is doin’ my head in ranting that he can’t find Jax and Roxie has now moved in too. It’s just getting too over crowded.’

  ‘We can book into a suite, I don’t care where I am, wherever you are is where I need to be.’

  She reached up, stroking his strong jawline with her fingertips.

  ‘Right now, right here is perfectly fine, just want to lock the rest of the world away for a bit.’

  He jumped off the bed, heading back to the door and turned the lock. He was back on the bed next to her in seconds. ‘Your wish is my command.’

  He bent down, his lips touching hers lightly, his blue eyes twinkled with mischief as she let herself get lost in them. ‘My next wish is for you to get naked.’

  He grinned. ‘There is a proviso on these wishes.’

  ‘Oh yeah?’

  ‘Hell yeah, if I’m getting naked so are you.’

  ‘Got no problem with that,’ her hands were already on his waist, pulling his t-shirt up over his chest. He was mimicking her movements, moving her top up her body, his hands caressing her skin as he moved the clothes out of the way. She was already arching her back underneath him, pushing her hips towards his. Her earlier tiredness now gone, she was fully alert, her senses heightened to his touch, the smell of his aftershave mixed with the heat of his body, the feel of the weight of his body against hers. Her fingers were in his hair, pulling his head closer to hers so she could kiss him with more intensity.

  There was a loud knock at the door ‘Magenta, we need you.’

  ‘For fucks sake, can a woman not just have five minutes peace to shag her boyfriend?’

  ‘Five minutes…in what world do you live in?’ Hunter laughed. ‘C’mon la, you’re in demand. Let’s go and sort them out then I can finish sorting you out.’

  She sighed as she manoeuvred herself back into her clothes. ‘Can’t wait till it’s just me and you again, babe.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  L.A.

  Max was pacing the floor in his small apartment block. TMZ had broken the news. Jax Buckley was missing. The maid had gone into his hotel room, Jax Buckley was gone and to quote the general manager who was being interviewed, there had been ‘signs of a struggle.’ That wasn’t the worst of it though, Jax being gone was one thing, but it then transpired that on the back of the world finding out that Roxie had been singing Magenta’s song, Saint Magenta then swept in and instead of the biggest cat fight since the days of Dynasty, she promptly took Roxie under her wing. Now, Roxie had been released from her contract with Highway 65 and was now signed to Logan International Music.

  He was beyond apocalyptic. Erika was still in jail, she could’ve been out on bail but there was nobody to pay it. Jax was MIA and Roxie had deflected to the dark side and once again, Magenta looked like a freakin’ super hero. All the recent bad press seemed to have gone by the way side. There was nothing for it, if he was going to take her down, he had to do it himself.

  He picked up his phone, checked his banking app, just enough money for a flight to New York. If you wanted something doing properly, you had to do it yourself.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  NYC

  The main reason that Magenta didn’t sleep in the afternoon was because it messed up her body clock, after her little afternoon siesta earlier she was now wide awake at three a.m. Hunter was well away, his body sated from the rampant sex they’d managed to have after they’d been rudely interrupted with the news that Jax had gone missing. Like she cared. She didn’t want to disturb Hunter with her restlessness, she was also putting off going to sleep, if putting off sleep was actually something you could do...her nightmares about the manor were coming back. It wasn’t difficult to work out why. With everything going on, her subconscious obviously thought it was a great idea to remind her about a time when she was surrounded by death and destruction. Her dream last night had taken her right back to the manor, she was coming down the stairs, a body faced down on the floor at the foot of the stairs, blood contaminating the floor. She reached for the body, as she tried to see who it was, she woke up. The dream hadn’t been enough to make her shout out, so she hadn’t woken Hunter up and she hadn’t told him about it either. She would just need to take some heavy duty sleeping pills or more Havana Club, maybe both. She shook her head, nope, that was a bad combination, she wasn’t that crazy yet. These dreams and buried feelings were obviously what was making her lose the plot and her temper less controlled at the moment.

  She now found herself at the massive fridge in the equally massive kitchen of Logan’s. She took out some milk, she was desperate for a cup of tea. She always travelled with tea bags, you couldn’t trust the American’s to make a decent cuppa and she was with Trine on the whole kettle thing. She started to make a cup of tea and she put some bread in the toaster. She didn’t know why but she really wanted her home comforts.

  ‘Thought I heard someone up.’

  She spun round at the sound of Tango’s voice.

  ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,’ he apologised.

  ‘No, it’s OK. I just thought everyone was in bed.’

  ‘Couldn’t sleep, thought I’d read a bit more of this,’ he waved Hunter’s book at her.

  She smiled. ‘Ah, it’s a good read.’

  ‘I’m enjoying it.’

  ‘D’you wanna cuppa?’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘A cup of tea?’ She lifted up her mug.

  ‘Oh right, I’ll give it a go, live on the edge, right?’

  ‘Trust me, after a cup of builders tea, you’ll be hooked.’

  ‘I’ll take your word for it.’

  Magenta made the tea and toast and placed it on the island as they chatted.

  ‘So, what’s got you being part of the wide awake club?’

  She shrugged. ‘Just bad dreams.’

  He raised an eyebrow, she wasn’t sure why she’d just shared that.

  ‘Ah, the old monsters under the bed.’

  ‘Something like that, old monsters trying to resurface.’

  ‘Your dreams can’t hurt you, remember that.’

  She felt the need to change the subject. ‘I know initially Hunter wasn’t very welcoming to you, but I think he’s secretly loving having another army guy around.’

  Tango smiled. ‘Yeah, it’s like one big family being in the forces.’

  ‘What about your own family? Don’t they miss you when you’re doing a job like this?’

  He frowned.

  ‘Sorry, shouldn’t I be asking questions like that?’

  He shrugged. ‘No, it’s fine, it’s just normally, when I’m wo
rking, the people I’m protecting don’t really ask me questions, they’d prefer I wasn’t there.’

  ‘Well, there is that, but I suppose between the two of you, I’m glad I got you and not Romeo.’

  ‘Yeah, Hunter said he gives you the creeps.’

  ‘I don’t know what it is, he just freaks me out. Anyway don’t change the subject, tell me about your family.’

  ‘There’s not much to say. I’m single so there’s no one to miss me when I’m out on a job, same as when I was in the army.’

  ‘What made you leave?’

  ‘It was my brother, we were both in the army, he was killed in action, there was only the two of us and my mom. I couldn’t stay, it was bad enough she’d lost one son, I couldn’t have her worrying about me too.’

  ‘But, isn’t this job dangerous too, I mean, don’t you have to take a bullet for me?’

  He laughed. ‘It’s not as dangerous as you think, it’s a lot of calculated risks, the idea is, you should never be in danger. However, I do wear a Kevlar just in case.’

  ‘You do? I’ve never seen you wear one.’

  ‘Under my clothes, we don’t want to draw attention to it.’

  ‘What’s the deal with the code names, now I know you a bit better do I still have to call you Tango? It feels a bit weird.’

  ‘It helps us with our anonymity, so we can move from job to job without the baggage of any previous cases.’

  Magenta nodded. Seems he had more in common with Hunter than he could even imagine. ‘Do you get to pick your code names?’

  He shook his head as he drank some of his tea. ‘It goes by the initial of your surname.’

  ‘Which is?’

  He smiled. ‘Classified. Just be glad my surname isn’t Jones, otherwise it’d be Romeo and Juliet protecting you and Johnny.’

  She laughed, a yawn escaping at the same time.

  ‘Magenta, you best get to bed. Thanks for the tea, you were right, it’s good stuff.’

  She stood up, walking towards the door. ‘You’re welcome,’ as she passed him she put her hand on his arm. ‘I’m sorry about your brother.’

  ‘Me too,’ he whispered as she left the kitchen. ‘Me too.’

  Magenta wasn’t the only one awake at 3am. Trina couldn’t get Johnny out of her head. What did he mean, it’s you? Why did he say it twice? She picked up her phone, flicked through her social media to distract herself, but that didn’t work, she kept finding herself on Johnny’s pages. God, he was handsome. Was that was this was, some kinda teenage crush at almost forty? If this was teenage Trina, was this the equivalent of scrutinising Smash Hits magazines? She sighed. She needed to know what he meant. She opened up a text message and scrolled down to Jon boy.

  What did ‘it’s you’ mean?

  She put the phone down, she’d sent it now, she could sleep, the message was gone and he’d respond in the morning. She closed her eyes. Her phone beeped. Shit. She picked it up.

  Be with you in five xx

  She jumped out of bed, this was insane. She went into the bathroom and pulled a brush through her hair, whilst grabbing her toothbrush at the same time. She looked at her reflection. Did she need make up? She shook her head, it was the middle of the night, he’d have to take her as he found her and she definitely didn’t have time to change out of her shortie pj’s. She went back into the suite and went to pour herself a drink for Dutch courage. No sooner had she picked up the glass, there was a knock at the door.

  ‘Crap.’ That was not five minutes.

  She moved towards the door, opening it slowly. There he was, all six foot two, dark haired Adonis of a rock star. Her heart was in her stomach, no turning back now.

  ‘That was a quick five minutes,’ she stood to one-side to let him in.

  ‘I’m in the penthouse above you, didn’t take me long.’

  ‘Ah, so you’re slumming it coming down here.’

  His grey eyes were on her. ‘Not in the slightest.’

  She swallowed hard. ‘Drink?’

  ‘JD on the rocks.’

  God, why did this feel weird, the usual banter was replaced by air that felt thick with tension. She poured his drink and got her own Gin, downing it in one.

  She turned back round, using her hands to prop her up against the bar. ‘So, here’s the deal.’ Her body felt like a coiled spring, yet he looked all relaxed, standing there with a bemused look on his face. ‘I will not be another notch on your bedpost, I don’t do one night stands, in fact I’ve only ever, well you know, I’ve been married a long time and I was young...’ she needed to stop rambling she was supposed to be in control. ‘So what I’m trying to say, is, you’ll be a notch on my bedpost. This is about me and my needs and right now, I want to give into this thing, whatever this is between us and...’

  She didn’t get to finish her sentence. Johnny’s lips were on hers, the bar still propping her up and his body holding her in place, which was all necessary to keep her up right, she’d never been kissed like this.

  The following morning, Trine woke up next to Johnny, who was just as naked as she was. This time there could be no second guessing as to what had happened the previous night, or during the night. He’d lifted her up on the bar, her pyjama pants falling by the wayside, her top just as quickly. She didn’t want to sound crude, not even to herself, but he’d screwed her on the bar, then up against the window on the window seat, that was possibly one of the most erotic moments of her life, Times Square below her, Johnny Kidd above her. They had somehow made it across the room and finally into the bed, where they just carried on. It was a marathon, not a sprint. Finally at about 5 am this morning they’d fallen asleep. It was only now that she realised he hadn’t answered the question in her text.

  She felt his finger tips running up and down her shoulder. ‘Morning, Scouse.’ She could hear the smile in his voice; she lifted her head to be greeted by his smile and a warmness in his eyes she’d never seen before. He scooped an arm around her, pulling her close so her head rested on his chest. She felt him plant a kiss on the top of her head, his fingertips still brushing against her skin.

  ‘I have never had a night like that,’ he sighed happily.

  She could only nod in agreement. She couldn’t disagree, that had been the best sex of her life, he made her feel like a sex Goddess. She felt her cheeks blush at the thought, this was not her normal style and it could never be repeated.

  ‘I have absolutely nowhere to be today, let’s just stay in bed, get some room service when we feel hungry, but you are definitely more than enough to keep me going all day. Trine I...’

  It was the use of her name and not Scouse that did it, jolting her back into the real world. She lifted her head up, placing the palm of her hand on his chest to keep her upright. ‘Johnny,’ she placed a finger on his lips. ‘We can’t do this again, on my terms remember?’

  A frown flashed across his face. ‘But, but you said no one night stands.’

  ‘I meant I’d never slept with anyone else and this isn’t what I normally do...I know you’re all about the one night stands and I didn’t want you to think I was easy or just sleeping with you for who you are.’

  He sat up, his back resting against the head board. ‘I don’t understand...I thought you knew.’

  ‘Knew what?’

  ‘When you sent that text about what I’d said, about it being you...I thought you’d understood what I meant. Are you saying this is it?’

  She pulled the sheet up around her chest as she sat up too. ‘I don’t know Johnny, I...I’ve been so messed up over this thing with Dean and yet there’s been this attraction between us and I just thought...and Magenta thought too, that I just needed to get you out of my system.’

  He let out a laugh, but there was no humour in it. ‘Right, so you literally did mean it last night when you said I’d be another notch on your bedpost? You didn’t think about my feelings? I’m just the rock star who screws around?’

  She flinched at that, it was like
he could read her thoughts.

  Pulling the sheets back, he got out of bed, picking his clothes up from the various places they’d been abandoned. ‘I thought you were different.’

  ‘Johnny, I...’

  ‘Save it, I thought it was you, I was coming here to tell you I love you, to tell you that for the first time in my life I genuinely cared about someone and you have just thrown it back in my face.’

  ‘Johnny!’ She called after him, but her voice hit the back of the door as it slammed shut behind him and the reverberation of her voice may as well have been a slap in the face. She flopped back down onto the bed. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, how was she supposed to see past the banter and bravado to his true feelings? She was married for God sake; she’d just cheated on her husband, which was worse than his betrayal. God this was so fucked up. She’d never meant to hurt Johnny.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  It had been decided that Magenta and Roxie would do an interview together on The Morning Show, Magenta wanted any of the bad press written about her over the rivalry with Roxie and the stealing of the song to be replaced by a more positive story. Roxie was nervous, she was worried that the interviewer would try and catch her out.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll do most of the talking and if I feel like she’s trying to trip you up, I’ll jump in. This is our opportunity to control the narrative, we need to take it.’

  Magenta’s entourage of Juke, Tango, Trine and of course Hunter, were with them as they entered the TV studios. Juke was there to oversee styling, he didn’t trust anyone else with Magenta’s face or hair.

  They were ready to go on set. They were ushered to their seats by a runner and the shows presenter, Dana Delaney was already in her comfy chair getting her make up retouched. The theme music kicked in and the stage hands disappeared like magic.

  ‘And we’re live in, 3,2,1…’

  ‘Good morning America, you join me now with an exclusive on one of the music worlds breaking news stories. We have rock star royalty, Magenta Valentina and the woman who has broken onto the scene in a blaze of controversy, Roxie Meyers,’ Dana turned to her subjects. ‘Well ladies, I have to say it’s a surprise to see you both here together and smiling after all the press around the single ‘breathe.’