Fallen Angel

by Bev Dulson

  ‘Excuse me, but why are we here? We’ve got nothing to do with whatever you’re talking about.’

  Hunter glared at Max, now was really not the time.

  ‘Wrong place, wrong time, buddy.’ Tango didn’t even look at him, the venom of hate in his eyes was trained on Hunter.

  ‘But you needed Jax right? Once you’d uncovered what he and Erika were up to, you realised you could use Jax as the threat towards Mags and I bet you’re setting him up for my disappearance.’

  ‘If they’re looking for Jax then they ain’t looking for me.’

  ‘Classic mis-direction.’

  ‘I always find that one of the best methods along with hiding in plain sight. You said it yourself Jase, mind if I call you that if we’re going back to real names? You said to Mags that you have to keep your circle tight, don’t trust the ones on the edge after what happened with Erika.’

  He bristled at him using both the words Mags and hearing Jase again, he knew he was trying to rattle him, two could play that game. ‘Look Travis, don’t kid yourself, blurred lines mate, you can’t even see the circle you’re so far away from it.’

  ‘That’s what you think, a lot can happen in 24 hours, Mags needed a strong shoulder to lean on when her usual strong shoulder just disappeared. Happy to let that beautiful red head lean on me. You don’t need to worry about her, Jase. I’ve got her back and if for some reason you never return home, I’m sure I can help her pick up the pieces, think I might be just her type, she likes the GI Joe guys.’

  Hunter laughed, despite every ounce of his being wanting to rage, he knew that was the reaction he was after. ‘In your dreams.’

  ‘The thing is, I hear things, I’ve picked up a lot over my time with you all, I know you’ve walked out on Mags before, stupid boy, Jase. You’ve clearly got form.’

  He glared at him. ‘She knows I would never do that, I was a different person back then.’

  ‘Ah so it’s just Jase that’s the killer and lets people down then? Hunter’s a stand up guy.’

  ‘Says the man who currently has three people locked up in a basement.’

  ‘You’re telling me you wouldn’t do the same? What would you do if you finally found the man who killed your brother?’

  He didn’t respond.

  ‘Thought so,’ he took a step closer. ‘He was my hero, I wanted to be just like him, you took that away from me.’

  ‘You’re definitely on the right track, big brother would be so proud.’

  Hunter’s head spun as he took a punch to the face. ‘Pick on a man not in a position to fight back why don’t ya? Just like your brother when he attacked a defenceless woman. I didn’t mean to kill him and for that I am sorry, but I don’t regret getting him away from that woman, I’d do the same again if I had to.’

  ‘He didn’t attack her, he wouldn’t.’

  ‘Truth can be hard to take.’

  ‘And lies are easy to tell.’

  ‘Shall we agree to disagree?’

  ‘How the fuck can you be so calm? I’ve got you tied up, I am going to kill you.’

  ‘What about those guys over there, three bodies are a lot to get rid of. Cops are already looking for Jax, you’ve put them on his tail.’

  ‘Ever heard the phrase, sleeping with the fishes?’

  ‘Yes, in every mob movie ever made, not very original Travis.’

  ‘Maybe I just leave you in here and let you rot, I’ll be long gone before they find you.’

  ‘Better idea, although have you factored in the heat? We’ll smell pretty bad fairly soon, so make sure your exit plan is all in hand.’

  ‘Hunter or whatever your name is, stop giving him ideas.’

  ‘Relax Max, we’ll be fine,’ he winked at Max.

  ‘You really need to take this seriously Jase, I will have my revenge. There’s no way out for you and I have this,’ he pulled a gun out of his waistband. ‘Imagine being shot by your own gun? I’m not stupid enough to leave this behind.’ He tucked it back in his jeans. ‘It’s got a bullet with your name on Jason. I gotta go, don’t wanna leave Mags unprotected for too long, I’ll be back later, don’t go anywhere guys.’

  Tango disappeared back up the stairs.

  ‘Max, do you wanna tell me what the fuck is going on?’

  ‘Would if I could, Jax, but haven’t got a clue. Hunter care to fill us in?’

  ‘You kinda got the gist of it then, I killed his brother, he’s after revenge.’

  ‘Yeah, I got that bit, but I didn’t get the bit on how we get out of here.’

  ‘I’m workin’ on it.’

  ‘Well, when you do, can you let me know, he might not have been stupid to leave you with your gun, but he left me with mine.’

  ‘Max for the first time since I’ve known you, I’ve never been so happy to hear your voice. We’ll be fine, just need a little patience.’

  Whilst Hunter had chastised himself earlier for running after Jax like James Bond, he hadn’t become a top assassin without picking up a few tricks that Q himself would be proud of. He moved his fingertips to his watch strap, feeling for the button he was looking for, pressing it released a sharp piece of metal that would cut through the rope, it would take time and energy, but he’d do it. Travis may have known about his history in the army, but he didn’t know that he was a trained killer who had gotten himself out of spots tighter than this and that would give him the element of surprise.

  Magenta’s phone call had woken Trine up, yet again she’d woken up in bed next to Johnny, they hadn’t had sex last night, they’d drunk too much and pretty much passed out. She was concerned how easy this was becoming, she was leaving a twenty year marriage, to jump straight into another relationship would only lead to disaster. Johnny had told her he loved her, the longer she let this go on the worse it would be, she didn’t want to hurt him. She had to work out who she was now and she had to put the kids first, she couldn’t deny that waking up with Johnny wasn’t nice and the sex, well she’d definitely want to ride that rodeo again.

  ‘What did Magenta want? Any news?’ Johnny’s voice was sleepy.

  ‘No, not yet. She wants me to check on Dean, see if he’s still in England.’

  Johnny shifted up the bed, his back against the headboard; he pulled her up with him so her head was against his shoulder. ‘What? She thinks Dean could be responsible for Hunter’s disappearance?’

  ‘I suppose she’s looking at all possible outcomes.’

  ‘Nah, no way is he capable of this.’

  ‘I didn’t think he’d be capable of cheating but he did.’

  ‘That’s different, he did that all from the comfort of his phone, this would require him to actually grow a pair of balls and take action. The man’s a dickhead in tin foil, remember?’

  Despite her concern for Hunter she found herself smiling. ‘You’re right and like you said, anyone who comes up against Hunter would be worse off, Dean’s stupid but not stupid to take on Hunter. I think Mags just wants to make sure she’s checked everyone out.’

  ‘Yeah.’

  She felt his lips rest against her head. She tilted her head to look towards him.

  ‘I could so get used to waking up to you being in my bed every morning, feels like a fairy tale, y’know?’

  ‘Johnny, I can’t be who you want me to be, I’m not there yet.’

  ‘Yet, but you will be. I love you, Scouse and I’m gonna tell you that till you love me the same. In the mean time, I can make your body love me even if your heart ain’t ready yet.’

  ‘You have such a bloody way with words, no one has even said such outrageous things to me.’

  ‘Well, more fool them, you want me, you can have every battered version of me, I’m yours.’

  ‘Johnny, I don’t want to hurt you, you mean too much to me.’

  ‘Well that’s a start isn’t it? I trust you with my heart.’

  ‘Don’t give me that responsibility, I can’t promise...’

  His lips were on hers
. ‘Sshh,’ he was stroking her jaw line.

  This was a completely softer side to him than the person who threw her around the room in a state of sexual ecstasy and it absolutely petrified her, maybe she’d gone too far down this road, she knew Johnny wasn’t the soft and tender loving kind and yet here he was being exactly that. Her phone went again, it was Magenta, she didn’t know if she felt relieved or disappointed to be interrupted. After a brief conversation she turned to him.

  ‘C’mon Jon boy, get dressed, Magenta needs us.’

  He pulled the covers back, revealing himself to her as he got out of the bed. ‘OK, but only because her situation is more serious than my current state. This isn’t over Scouse, I will ravish you later,’ he winked at her as he wandered into the bathroom.

  ‘Oh Johnny, what are you doing to me?’ She whispered as the door closed behind him. ‘What will I do to you?’ Whatever the answer was to those questions she didn’t think it’d be the fairy tale Johnny alluded to.

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  As soon as Trine arrived at Logan’s, Magenta pulled her onto the balcony, the door closed behind them and away from everyone else.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘I know who’s taken Hunter.’

  Trina’s hand flew to her chest. ‘Oh thank, God. What are the police doing? Are they on their way to get him?’

  Magenta shook her head. ‘No police, I have to rescue him myself.’

  ‘You’re not making any sense.’

  Magenta led her to the corner sofa on the balcony. ‘You best sit down, it’s a long story.’ She proceeded to tell her friend all about Hunter’s past, how he’d killed Sergeant Travis and now years later his brother had found him and was after revenge.

  ‘So, you think Tango is this guy’s brother?’ Trina was trying to take it all in, she knew a little of Hunter’s past and obviously there was the broken knee caps he’d given her all in the name of saving Magenta’s life, but she’d never known the full story.

  ‘T, I’d bet my house on it. It all makes sense.’

  ‘So why not go to the police? I don’t understand.’

  ‘Because I can’t let Tango know I’m on to him, if he thinks we’re all clueless and suspecting Jax then Hunter’s safer, if he thinks we suspect him, who knows what he’ll do to him. I can’t risk the police questioning him.’

  ‘Yes, but if the police question him, surely the games up and he’ll have to confess.’

  ‘I can’t take that risk, T. There are people out there who have been arrested for crimes but the victims are never found, besides I don’t have any proof. I just have this feeling.’

  ‘So, what’s your plan?’

  ‘I haven’t got one yet, I need to think. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from Hunter it’s to trust my gut and I know I’m right about this.’

  ‘We could follow him.’

  ‘I’m not letting you get into any danger, I have to do this alone. If it was the other way round, Hunter would come after me.’

  ‘Bird, fuck right off. I am not letting you walk head first into danger, Hunter would not want you to do that.’

  ‘I’m his only chance.’

  ‘You might be, but you can’t do this alone, we need to tell the others, strength in numbers.’

  ‘Can’t do that either, the more people that know the more chance Tango might suspect something, I can’t have anyone acting differently around him or have him over hear something.’

  ‘You have to let someone help,’ Trine looked through the balcony windows and the group assembled around the island in the kitchen. ‘Logan, he’s always reliable.’

  Magenta shook her head. ‘Nope, not always good in a crisis.’

  ‘Johnny?’

  ‘Too high profile.’

  ‘Juke?’

  ‘I would trust Juke with my image and my social media, not with rescuing my boyfriend.’

  ‘OK, this might be the craziest suggestion, but what about Romeo?’

  ‘That is fuckin’ crazy.’

  ‘Wait, hear me out. I know he gives us the creeps, but he’s been really good at his job, hardly left Johnny’s side, he stays in the corridor outside his room all night, I don’t know when the guy sleeps, must be a robot. He’ll also have the inside track on Tango and possibly already know some of his movements, he’ll also be able to protect you if you need it.’

  Magenta let the information seep into her brain. Hunter had told her to only trust the inner circle and Romeo was certainly not part of that circle, but Trine was and what she was suggesting was actually not a bad idea. If she approached Romeo about this, she could rely on his discretion; there was one thing though…

  ‘OK, it’s not the worst idea, but what if he’s in on this with Tango?’

  ‘Like I said, he’s hardly left Johnny’s side, I’ve never even seen him talk to Tango, he’s been really professional.’

  ‘Where as Tango has been over friendly, I dread to think what information I’ve passed on to him.’

  ‘Let’s ask him now before Tango gets back, we need to get on this.’

  Magenta nodded. Trina picked up her phone and called Johnny. ‘Jon boy, we need Romeo for a mo, can you send him out, no, no need for you to come too, just send the bodyguard.’

  Magenta took a deep breath. ‘I hope we can trust this guy, if I’m wrong about this…’ she swallowed hard. Trina squeezed her hand. ‘Let me do the talking, OK?’

  Trina nodded to her friend as the shadow of the bodyguard fell over them.

  ‘Ms Valentina, is everything OK?’

  ‘Romeo, I may need your help, in a very discreet manner.’

  He nodded. ‘I’ll do my best.’

  ‘What do you know about Tango?’

  He narrowed his eyes. For a moment Magenta thought she’d made a terrible mistake. ‘Do you suspect him of foul play?’

  She was taken aback. ‘Do you?’

  ‘I’ve been watching him closely ma’am and I’ve been concerned for some time that something is amiss but I don’t have any proof.’

  ‘What are your suspicions?’

  ‘The night Mr Cole was missing, Tango should never have left your side, Jax Buckley was a potential threat to Mr Kidd, I was with him the whole time during the incident. It’s my job to protect him, take a bullet if I need to, not to run after the suspect, there were other people in place to do that.’

  ‘That’s what I thought too!’

  ‘The timings were wrong, he took too long to get back to you once the threat was neutralised, you should have always been his priority.’

  ‘So, do you think he had something to do with Hunter’s disappearance?’

  ‘I can’t begin to think of a motive, but yes, I do.’

  ‘Well, I think I have the motive and you think he had the means. I need you to help me get Hunter back with me.’

  Trina spoke up. ‘I suggested the police…’

  Romeo shook his head. ‘No, if you get the police involved I’m afraid that would be detrimental to Mr Cole. I’ll help you Ms Valentina, we’ll get him back.’

  Just then the balcony door slid open and Tango appeared.

  ‘Act normal,’ Magenta whispered.

  Tango strode over. ‘Romeo, why are you on the balcony when your protection cover is inside?’

  Magenta rolled her eyes at Trina, pot and kettle, where the hell had he been all morning? She had to push her anger deep into the pit of her stomach.

  ‘Ms Fraser was upset, so Mr Kidd asked me to check on her.’

  Tango looked at Trina who was busy wiping her eyes. ‘Right fine, well I suggest you report back to him that she’s OK. Magenta, just an update, I’ve been with the detectives investigating Mr Cole’s disappearance and asked them to check that vehicle. No joy I’m afraid, turns out it was a lost tourist.’

  Magenta nodded. ‘Thanks for trying.’

  The two bodyguards left the balcony and went back inside.

  ‘We can deffo trust Romeo,’ Trina whisp
ered.

  Magenta pulled out the business card given to her by the detective. She rang the number. ‘Detective Fox? Magenta Valentina. My bodyguard was coming down to see you about some CCTV, do you know if he’s been in yet?’ She paused, nodding her head. ‘Ah, he must’ve been held up in traffic. Thank you anyway,’ she ended the call and turned to her friend. ‘We deffo can’t trust Tango.’

  ‘We need to tell Johnny.’

  ‘Err, no we don’t, just cos you two are joined at the hip thrusts now doesn’t mean he needs to know my business. Remember what I said, we need to keep this on the down low.’

  ‘Yeah, I understand, but you can’t just go up to Romeo and start chatting to him and working out your plan, we’re going to have to arrange this rescue secretly and Romeo is Johnny’s bodyguard, he needs to know.’

  ‘So what are you suggesting, we set up a rescue Hunter WhatsApp group?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Trine paused for a moment. ‘Actually, maybe not so ridiculous, it would be a way for the four of us to know exactly what’s going on without Tango getting suspicious.’

  Magenta nodded slowly. ‘OK, you tell Johnny what’s going on but don’t tell him everything, just that we think Tango has Hunter and set up the group. I need him back, we need to come up with a plan and quickly.’

  Magenta’s head felt like it was full of cotton wool, her shoulders where tight with tension. She poured herself a large Bacardi and diet coke as she leaned against the island in the kitchen.

  ‘Magenta, I really don’t think you should be drinking that.’

  She slammed the glass down. ‘Fuck off, Juke,’ she took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be an arse, I’m just…’

  ‘I know,’ Juke took a few steps closer, placing the palms of his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently. ‘He’ll walk through that door soon, I promise, baby and Juke doesn’t break his promises.’

  She felt tears well up in her eyes. Juke could promise all he liked, Hunter’s life depended on her and as yet, she had no plan, no idea where to start. She let her head relax slightly and closed her eyes as Juke’s hands worked the stress from her shoulders.