Fallen Angel

by Bev Dulson

  ‘Best thing you could do right now is rest yourself, he needs you to be full of energy when he wakes up.’

  ‘Oh, T, what if he doesn’t?’

  ‘Do you think a bullet is going to keep him from you?’ She tried to sound more confident than she sounded. She took in her friends crumpled blood stained clothes and strained face. ‘Listen, why don’t we nip back to Logan’s just to get you showered and changed, you won’t want him to see you covered in blood when he wakes up.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave him.’

  ‘An hour won’t hurt, you’ll feel more energised after a shower. I’ll go and sort a car now, there’s press outside so I’ll see if we can get you out by a side entrance, give me ten minutes and I’ll come back for you.’

  They’d managed to dodge the press at the hospital but they weren’t so lucky at Logan’s building. Heads down and with Trina’s cardi covering Magenta’s blood stained clothes the girls ran into the lobby ignoring the press calls. Once they were safely in the penthouse, Magenta took a moment to breathe.

  ‘Oh, my darling girl, y’all gonna be fine,’ Juke’s arms were around her.

  She let herself be comforted for a few seconds.

  ‘I need to shower and change.’

  ‘Hell yeah you do, I’ve already picked you an outfit to knock Hunter’s socks off when he lays eyes on you again.’

  She gave him a small smile, she knew this was Juke’s way of thinking he was helping. ‘Logan, any news on Romeo?’

  He shook his head. ‘It’s the weirdest thing, it’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the earth. I’ve checked with the security team and they haven’t heard from him. We’ve had all the hospitals checked it’s weird.’

  ‘I haven’t got the head space to try and work out what the hell is going on there. T I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes, can we find another way out of this building, I don’t want to deal with the press again.’

  ‘On it.’

  She passed the kitchen on the way to her room and was surprised to see both Max and Jax there. She spun on her heel and shouted to Logan. ‘So, when you said they’d been released from hospital, you neglected to say you’d let the fuckers come here.’

  ‘Magenta, I’m sorry, I was hoping they’d be gone before you came back, it was just for the night, they need to go and make a statement to the cops and then after that I’ve told them they’re on their own.’

  ‘You’re too bloody nice Logan, Max doesn’t deserve your kindness.’

  Max stood up and walked towards his ex-wife. ‘As usual Magenta, you’re right, once I’ve made my statement you’ll never see me again, but I’m glad I have had the opportunity to say sorry in person. I’ve been a bitter loser. I held you responsible for my own failures. I’m heading back to L.A. and you don’t need to worry, I won’t be trying to trip you up in the future.’

  She stood staring at him, the thorn in her side for so long, yet she felt nothing. What did she want him to say? It’s OK Max, now you’ve realised what everyone else knows and you’re a dickhead, all is forgiven? She also didn’t have the energy to deal with him. She just gave him a look and walked away without giving him a backward glance or a second thought. Her mind was only full of one thing and that was Hunter.

  Showered and with clean clothes on, Magenta had to admit, she did feel more refreshed. She was just towel drying her hair when Trina burst through the door. ‘Magenta, the hospital have just rung, we need to go back now.’

  Magenta felt her whole world collapse.

  She hadn’t been able to speak on the car journey back to the hospital and now she was racing along the corridor back up to the ICU, the doctor was there to meet her.

  ‘Miss Valentina.’

  She pushed him out of the way. ‘Let me see him.’ She broke down crying as she reached the side of the bed.

  ‘You saved my life,’ his voice was croaky, his eyes looked blurry, but he was awake.

  ‘Oh my God, babe, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I’ve been here all night,’ she had her hands in his, the tears falling from her face onto his chest. ‘I only went home to get showered, I was still covered in blood.’

  ‘You were there when it mattered.’ Again his voice cracked.

  ‘You saved my life once, reckon I owed you,’ she was smiling through her tears.

  ‘Miss Valentina,’ the doctor was back. ‘Mr Cole needs to rest, please don’t over excite him.’

  ‘She always does, doc.’

  Magenta had never felt so relieved, not only was he awake, but he was cracking jokes.

  ‘Mr Cole, you have had a very long and difficult surgery, you need to let your body recover, it really was touch and go whether you’d make it through.’

  Hunter looked at Magenta, he didn’t need to say any words, she knew, she knew exactly what was going through his mind.

  She nodded. ‘I knew, I knew you wouldn’t leave me.’

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO

  It had been a crazy few days, Hunter was recovering more quickly than expected, the doctor put it down to his high level of physical fitness, he’d now been moved out of the Intensive care unit and into a private room. Magenta wanted him home as soon as possible and was clashing with the doctor. She’d also had to answer questions by Detective Saunders, it was fairly open and shut, she’d acted in self defence, there was a threat to life. Despite this she still had to answer questions, fortunately her lawyer, Justine Clayton was just as shit hot as she was last time and had her in and out of the interview room. Even though it had been a fairly quick experience it had hit her hard, it was the moment when she’d learnt Tango’s real name – Bobby Travis, it hit home then, she’d be responsible for killing someone, self defence or not. That would be something she’d have to live with.

  They’d also finally had an update, if you could call it that about Romeo. When Magenta had gone to find Trina to tell her Hunter had woken up Trina had been on her phone. She told her to check her WhatsApp, she clicked on the group ‘Operation Hunter’ – Romeo has left the group. It was so weird, it was like he’d never existed.

  The press and social media had also got hold of the story and now it was common knowledge that there had been a robbery at Magenta’s home, her boyfriend had been shot during the robbery and Magenta had shot the thief defending her home and her boyfriend. She was fully expecting negative press on this, but it all seemed positive. Maybe because she was English and guns weren’t common place, but this story was gaining traction and she was a heroine.

  Magenta still felt in a little bubble whilst Hunter was still in hospital, they only time she left his side was to go home to sleep. They were both starting to get cabin fever. She’d filled him in on how she’d worked out who Tango was and he’s laughed out loud when she told him they’d set up a WhatsApp group to coordinate the rescue. It felt good to hear his laugh.

  ‘I’m hoping they’ll let me out today. I feel absolutely fine,’ he was not a patient patient. He’d need months of physio on his shoulder and leg despite the wounds looking superficial.

  ‘I can be your nurse when you get home.’

  ‘Now that is something I can’t wait for,’ he grinned. ‘I hate having to sleep in this bed knowing that you’re a few blocks away sleeping on your own too.’

  ‘Feels weird to me too, can’t wait to get back to some normality.’

  He reached out, linking his fingers with hers. ‘How are you doing? You seemed quiet yesterday after being interviewed by the police.’

  She sighed. ‘I’d do it again in a heartbeat, he was going to kill you, there wasn’t another option was there?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, there wasn’t, doesn’t mean you get to walk away unscathed. My war wounds are obvious, yours are buried deep inside. I wish you hadn’t have had to pull that trigger.’

  ‘If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.’

  ‘You can’t beat yourself up, he created that situation, you didn’t go in there with a gun
planning to kill someone, you took it for defence and I bet it never entered your head that you’d actually use it.’

  ‘When I run it back in my mind, it’s like it’s not me, like I’m watching a film or something.’

  ‘It’s traumatic, you should probably speak to someone,’ he paused. ‘I know you’re still having nightmares about what happened to at the Manor House and the attempt on your life. I don’t want this to set you back or for you to end up with PTSD.’

  ‘How do you cope? I’ve never asked you how many people you’ve killed and I don’t need to know. I know enough to understand that you must’ve seen a lot of death.’

  ‘I’m trained for it.’

  ‘Is that the standard issue answer?’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s me, remember.’

  ‘I had to compartmentalise it, it was work, no different than all the men in suits who go to offices every day of their lives, it was just my office was anywhere I was sent, I didn’t use a computer, I used a gun, I wasn’t clinching deals, I was getting rid of threats and I suppose that was the way I dealt with it. What I did, it kept people safe, they never knew they were in danger, but I was there nonetheless.’

  ‘Modern day hero.’

  ‘I was never a hero.’

  She leaned in closer, her lips brushing his. ‘You will always be my hero.’

  He lifted his hand to her face, brushing the hair away from her face and pushing it behind her ear. ‘And you’ll always be mine, we got each other, la.’

  ‘Always,’ she shifted her weight slightly so she could sit on the edge of the bed. ‘There’s something else we need to talk about.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘Well, I was going to wait until you were out of hospital, but it’s playing on my mind. Juke has a theory...’

  ‘Cannot wait to hear this.’

  ‘He thinks I’m pregnant.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what I said.’

  ‘Since when did he become a doctor?’

  ‘He said he’d noticed things, my hair was thicker and my skin tone had changed. He said the deal breaker was ordering me a bigger size dress for the ball to fit my boobs in...’

  Hunter’s eyes naturally fell to her chest. ‘Babe, trust me, I’d notice if they were any bigger,’ he winked. ‘Have you taken a test?’

  ‘No, he told me this just before you went missing and well, it didn’t feel right doing a test without you and anyway, I don’t even feel pregnant, I haven’t been sick, my stomach looks normal...’

  ‘Is there a chance you could be?’

  She nodded slowly. ‘Juke reminded me about the dodgy curry a few months ago which gave me food poisoning. It could’ve affected my pill.’

  ‘Well, I’m sure if there’s one place that could confirm you’re pregnant, then it’s here.’

  ‘How would you feel if I was?’

  A smile spread across his face. ‘I’d handle it a lot better than when I thought I’d got you pregnant last time.’

  ‘Well, this would be more of a geriatric pregnancy than a teenage pregnancy.’

  ‘Wasn’t expecting this conversation, but I would love to be the father of our child.’

  ‘I might not be pregnant.’

  ‘Only one way to find out, go and take a test.’

  She stood up. ‘Shall I go now?’

  He nodded. She moved away from the bed. ‘Mags, wait, come back.’ With his good arm he pulled her down to him. ‘I fuckin’ love you.’ The feeling of his lips on hers was like a drug, she’d missed him so much, she couldn’t put into words how glad she was that he was safe.

  Hunter watched Magenta leave the room, he couldn’t help but feel excited about potentially being a dad. Nothing about their relationship had ever been conventional, so an unplanned pregnancy was about par for the course. He’d been right when he said to her that he’d handle this one better. They had both been so scared at the thought of being teenage parents, now it felt like the perfect time, especially after what had just happened. It had been a while since he’d found himself in a life or death situation and in the past he hadn’t really cared, he’d taken risks, if the worst happened there wasn’t anyone to miss him and he would’ve died trying to do the right thing, trying to rid the world of one of the bad guys. However, this time was different. When Tango had shot him, all that was going through his mind was Mags, how he’d found her again and they hadn’t had enough time together to start turning their dream into plans. They’d never really talked about a baby, but why the hell not?

  Thinking back to that moment when he lay on the kitchen floor, Tango above him, for the first time in his professional life, he’d been scared. He had too much to lose and Tango knew that, it was the reason why he’d been messing with his head. Then Mags appeared, it’s true what they say about instinct, it kicks in to save the ones we love, a super human strength, whether that’s physical or emotional we do what we need to do in that moment and she hadn’t hesitated. Her actions had saved his life. He knew she was going to struggle with the outcome, she had taken a life, no matter what the justifications were, it was tough to deal with. Hell, he was trained for it and the first time he’d killed was a game changer. Now more than ever he needed to protect her, she had made a split second decision that she would have to live with forever and she’d made that choice for him. He would do the same for her without a shadow of a doubt, that’s what had reunited them in the first place, his mission to save her life. They really were an unshakeable combination.

  Now this was all over, they had some decisions to make, he had nearly risked everything by revealing his identity, he had to be more careful, he wasn’t prepared to put her in danger again and the stakes could be even higher now. His eyes kept darting back to the door, waiting for her to come back, he felt just as nervous as the last time she’d done a pregnancy test, this time the nerves were of excitement. He tried to pull his thoughts in, she was fairly sure last time that she was pregnant and the test had been negative and all they had to go on this time was Juke’s theories, Magenta said she didn’t feel any different. If it was negative...well, they should definitely have the baby conversation.

  Trine wasn’t sure how she found herself at Johnny’s hotel door but nevertheless, there she was. She paused mid air as her curled up fist was about to knock on the door. She had fought this right from the start, from the very beginning when she thought he was a knob, then when she realised he wasn’t too bad, she should’ve put the brakes on then, but by the point she’d just discovered what a dickhead her husband was so she wasn’t in the right head space to set boundaries. Then they’d accidently slept together twice, not in the biblical sense, but those lines had become more than blurred. So when the inevitable happened and they did actually have sex, it was like nothing she’d ever experienced and that’s where the real problem had begun, she couldn’t say no to the high she felt when they’d been together. It needed to stop, she could love Johnny, but she needed to heal and she didn’t want him to give up his world for her, that’s not the Johnny she’d fallen for. No, she hadn’t fallen for him, she was just intrigued by his world. He’d given her a glimpse of how exciting life could be and that’s what she’d fallen for. It was time for this to end. Before she could talk herself out of it, she was knocking on his door.

  ‘Scouse, well this is a surprise,’ there was a wide grin on his face.

  ‘Jon boy, hope I’m not interrupting anything?’

  He shook his head. ‘I’ve been pretty much on my lonesome since Fly and Roxie hooked up,’ he stood to one side to let her in. ‘So you are a very welcome surprise.’

  She tried to push the butterflies in her tummy away, even just the look in his cool grey eyes had an effect on her. ‘Do you ever not have a day off looking like a rock star?’

  He laughed. ‘Hey kid, looking like this comes naturally to me,’ he stood with his arms spread out, nodding his head, acknowledging his rock star status.

  She shook her head laughing. ‘Y
ou do know this is part of the problem don’t you? This was supposed to be a fling.’

  ‘What problem? I always got solutions to problems,’ he took a few steps towards her. ‘There is no one else I’d rather be flung by.’

  ‘We live in different worlds, we’d never work and besides, now Hunter is on the mend, I’ll be heading back to Liverpool soon, back to my family.’

  He frowned. ‘Not the husband?’

  ‘No, we’re done, the kids, they are my everything.’

  He ran a hand through his messy dark hair and sighed, his T-shirt rose slightly as he lifted his arm. Her eyes flew to the cheeky bit of exposed stomach like his skin was a magnet. She was so busy concentrating on the trail of dark hair that started at his belly button and headed due south, like the road on a map, that she missed what he said.

  ‘Scouse?’

  ‘Sorry, what? I was err miles away,’ she dragged her eyes away.

  ‘I said, I wish I was your everything.’

  ‘Oh Johnny,’ she took a step closer to him. ‘You will always be part of my story, you helped me to find myself.’

  ‘But I can’t be your happy ending?’ He mirrored the step she took, his hand reaching out to find hers. ‘I know I’m not the person you want me to be, but I know you can look past my flaws...’

  ‘I need to fix my own flaws first.’

  He reached out with his other hand, pushing her hair behind her ear, then letting his fingers trail along her jawline. ‘Everything I wanna say to you comes out wrong, I just wanna be with you and I don’t know what else to do to prove how I feel about you. It’s like I’m aiming an arrow at your heart but it’s broken.’

  She moved her hand up to his face, stroking his jawline, just like he was doing to her. ‘Johnny Kidd, my Broken Arrow boy.’

  ‘Now you know why I called my band that, I’ve always missed the target when it comes to love,’ he hung his head. She caught it with her other hand and cupped his face with both her hands. ‘I should walk out of this room right now, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to be the person who hurts you.’