Clash (The Forever Duet #2)

by Jennah Thornhill

  Sinking my hand into my pocket, I pull out the note I found today and pass it to Dylan for a second. I pull all the other notes out, and taking today’s back, I pass them all to the officer.

  “What are those?” he asks, holding his hands up not wanting to touch them.

  “These are the notes that we’ve had. Bonnie, my girlfriend, had the most of them. There was one sent to my ex, and I had one today when this was done—it was stuck to the screen of the telly.” I feel like all I’m doing at the moment is explaining everything over and over again.

  The police officer pulls a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and pulls them on before taking the notes out of my hands. He shuffles through them and places them in a plastic zip bag. We’ll get these checked for fingerprints and I’ll get forensics down here first thing in the morning to see what we can gather together if anything.”

  I nod, looking to Dylan again.

  “Why didn’t you come to us with this when you first started getting the notes?”

  “Because we thought it would pass over. I was still with my ex when I started seeing Bonnie. We just thought it was someone trying to force us out in the open. I don’t know—we didn’t think it was important…”

  “Okay, Mr Montgomery. If someone could be here when the forensic team comes that would be a help.”

  “Well here’s my card: give me a call and I’ll make sure I’m back here.”

  “If you could make sure Miss Jones is here so we can speak with her, too.” With a nod to us both, the police officer leaves us stepping over the mess as he goes.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. Get Serena on the phone would ya, D?” I take the stairs two at a time until I’m back in the bedroom. Pulling the cuff of my jacket over my hand, I open the wardrobe. I’m not sure what I’m searching for, but I rummage through anyway. Everything looks to be in place; there doesn’t seem to be anything missing. My mind is working overtime until Dylan walks in.

  “She’s not answering, mate.”

  “Fuck. Hang on.” Pulling out my own phone and clicking on Bonnie’s name, I call her instead. I don’t really want to ask her directly: she's been through enough. “Hey babe.” There’s a soft sigh in her voice as she answers. She’s probably kept her phone clutched in her hand all the time I’ve been gone.

  “Hey baby. Your designs, where do you keep them?”

  “In the bottom of the wardrobe in the box.”

  Making sure I don’t leave any fingerprints, I grab a piece of clothing from the floor and cover my hand, pulling the box out. My heart sinks when I see it’s empty.

  “Bon, your designs… there’s nothing in there.” I can’t hear her on the other end, and I have to pull my phone from my ear to make sure the call hasn’t dropped. “Bonnie, you there.”

  “Neil, that’s my life’s work… who could possibly want those?”

  “We’re coming back now.” I grab some comfy clothes for me and Bonnie and head back down the stairs.

  Taking one last look around, I leave for the night.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Bonnie

  Neil telling me that all my designs have been taken from my hiding place in my bedroom, has soon fucking sobered me up: in an instant it’s like I hadn’t sunk the two bottles of wine that now sit empty on Serena’s coffee table.

  Clasping my phone tightly in my hand, I place my elbows on my knees and lower my head before my breathing starts to become erratic.

  “Bon? Bonnie, listen to me. Breathe sweet, I need you to breath. Remember, just how Neil showed you.”

  Serena is on her knees in front of me, and even though I know she’s there, her voice sounds like she’s underwater.

  “You’re ok, I’m here.” She rubs her hands up and down the outside of my arms, trying her best to soothe me. It helps because, no sooner have I gone into a panic, I’m coming out of it, and my breathing eventually starts to return to normal. However, that doesn’t mean the tears don’t come.

  “M...m... my entire work. It’s all gone. They’ve taken the lot,” I sob as the tears drip off my top lip and into my mouth. “What am I going to do? I’ve worked for years on them—some of them are from college. I’ll never get them back.”

  “The fucking bastards.” I can tell she’s boiling with rage for me.

  “I mean, I have them all saved on a memory stick for the fashion show, but nothing beats the original sketch. I put my blood, sweat and tears into those.”

  “I know you did beaut; I’ve sat and watched you lose yourself in one particular piece or another for hours, sometimes even days. Neil and Dylan are with the police now, they’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Wiping my face with the backs of my hand, I give her a weak smile. “They’ll be back soon: Neil’s just told me.”

  And speaking of the devils, we hear the front door open.

  “It’s as if they can sense we were having a best friend moment—wankers.” She stands just as Dylan comes rushing over, taking her in his arms, and Neil plants himself on the sofa next me and, pulling me into his.

  “I’ve brought some spare clothes for us. You are not going back to that house until this shit is all over with.”

  I hear the thud of the bag as it hits the floor next to the sofa.

  He pushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear and places his lips on the top of my head. “I’m so sorry this is happening, baby,” he murmurs.

  A few more tears leak out onto his shirt, making the material wet.

  Dylan and Serena slink off, leaving us alone, but before they disappear completely, Neil shuffles us so we’re facing in the direction they go.

  “Thank you. I can’t say how sorry I am for dragging you two into this.”

  Dylan steps forward and gives Neil a small pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. What are best friends for? Plus, if you hadn’t come to me and I’d found out anyway, I’d have let the Mrs chop your dick off and feed it to stray dogs.” That causes us all to laugh lightly. “The spare room is all made up. Just make yourselves at home, and we’ll see you in the morning.”

  We all say goodnight and before I know it, it’s just me and Neil cuddled up on the sofa.

  “I meant what I said, baby. You aren’t going back to that house.”

  Pulling out of his arms, I sit up straight. “Neil, I have to go back. That is my home; my life is in that house.”

  “I’m not saying it has to be forever, all I’m saying is that for now, please just let me protect you the best I can. On the way back over here, I got D to e-mail someone he knows to rent us an apartment just off the royal docks. I’m not taking you to my place because that’s my past and you’re my future, and I will do everything I can within my power to take care of what’s mine. And believe me, Bonnie Jones, you are mine.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Neil

  The sweet smell of Bonnie’s hair sprawled across my face, is the first thing that grabs my attention when I wake up and open my eyes. Her head is tucked under my chin and she is still in the same position she had been in last night when she’d finally drifted off. I’ve kept her wrapped up in my arms, too frightened to even let her go. For some reason, it is as if in my sub conscience, I’ve thought if I loosen my hold on her, someone will take her away from me, and I’m not about to let that happen.

  Glancing across at the time, I see it’s 6:30am. I’m dying for a piss, but I daren’t move in case I wake her. Placing a soft kiss to her head, I settle my cheek against her hair, enjoying us for a little bit longer. After ten minutes, though, I can't wait any longer. Carefully, I pull my arm from under her and roll away to the edge of the bed before sitting up and pulling on my joggers.

  Grabbing my T-shirt from the chair in the corner of the room, I go to the bathroom and relieve myself then have a quick wash in the sink before going downstairs.

  Dylan stands in front of the coffee machine with just a pair of shorts on, and he looks up as I ente
r the kitchen.

  “I didn’t expect you to be awake yet?”

  “Couldn’t get back to sleep,” I grumble. I’m not the best when I’m tired.

  “How’s Bonnie?”

  “She's not awake yet, but she's fidgeted all night—she hasn’t really settled, so I’ve left her sleeping for now. Thought I’d come down here and make a drink. Isn’t Serena awake yet?”

  “Oh, yeah, she’s awake, but you really don’t want to see the devil before she’s had her coffee,” Dylan jokes. “It’s not pretty.”

  “You’re brave.” I snigger.

  “Very brave.” We laugh together and he grabs two more cups pouring the freshly made coffee into just ours for now.

  “Look, I know I thanked you both last night… but I really mean it—thanks for everything.”

  A silent understanding passes between us before Dylan adds, “Hey, no need. You were there for me when the shit hit the fan; I’m returning the favour.”

  “This is more than just a favour.”

  “Maybe so, but we'll always be here when you need us.” Holding out his hand, he slaps my palm turning it into a handshake as he clasps my hand and pulls me in for a hug. I love this dickhead more like a brother and he knows that.

  Once me and Dylan have had a quiet chat about the day ahead, I pour myself another coffee and one for Bonnie, heading back upstairs to wake her.

  Treading softly into the bedroom, I go over to the bed, putting the cups down and sitting down on the edge. Softly, I stroke her hair with my palm, hoping to wake her up gently. She rolls to her back, and leaning towards her, I give her a kiss. “Wake up baby.”

  “I don’t want to.” Her eyelids flicker before giving me those pretty green eyes.

  “Hmm, that’s what I want to see.”

  “I want to stay in bed; I’m too scared to get up.”

  “We’ll be doing this together. Come on, sit up and drink your coffee.”

  With a small smile for me, she pulls herself to sit up. Taking her hand, I kiss her knuckles.

  “The quicker we get this over and done with today, the quicker we go to that apartment and hide away for the rest of the day. Do it for me?”

  “You’re lucky I love you, Montgomery.”

  With another kiss to her knuckles, I pull away from her and gather our things together, putting everything back in the bag while Bonnie drinks her coffee.

  By the time we’ve gone downstairs, Serena is up, and Dylan is already dressed for work, making his way out of the door.

  “Ring me later let me know what’s happening.”

  I answer him with a nod and sit down. Just as Serena puts some toast on the table, my phone rings, and seeing it’s the copper from yesterday, I take the call in the hallway away from the girls. He tells me what time the forensic people will be at Bonnie’s house and I confirm we’ll be there.

  Standing at the kitchen door at Bonnie’s, we watch the guys go around, brushing powder over everything, and by the time they’ve finished, it looks like they’ve spread a load of fucking black talc around the house. I see them out, close the door and go back to Bonnie, who’s sitting on the floor at the doorway of the kitchen, her head in her hands.

  I crouch down in front of her. “Hey it’s just stuff. We can replace all this. Me and Dylan will come over at the weekend and get it all cleaned up.”

  “What about my designs, Neil? What am I going to do?”

  I don’t have an answer for her right now, so instead, I bundle her into my arms, and I let her cry it out on my shoulder in the middle of the only room they didn’t mess up.

  Once Bonnie has got it out of her system and we’ve got past the mess, we go upstairs and pack a couple of cases of clothes and toiletries. What we haven’t got we can buy once we get to the apartment—clothes are the main thing to be honest.

  She grabs all of her hair styling implements before going back into her wardrobe, and reaching up, she grabs a small wooden box from the back of the top shelf. Going into the drawer of her dresser, she pulls a tiny key out and unlocks the box, pulling out a flash drive.

  With a smug grin she holds it up to show me then pops it into her pocket of her joggers.

  “And what is that?”

  “That is my flash drive. At least they didn’t find that - then I’d have been completely fucked for the fashion show.”

  Like she’s suddenly remembering something, her eyes widen and stares at me. “My other designs from the other day.” She covers her mouth with her hands. “Please tell me they weren’t left at the office.”

  “No. I made sure to tell Dylan to take them to his.”

  I completely forgot about those.

  “Thank fuck for that.”

  “Come on beautiful, let’s get out of here.” Grabbing her by the hand, I lead her through the mess and pull the door closed behind us.

  We make our way towards the Royal Docks to meet with the guy who is leasing me an apartment.

  Once we’re inside, I don’t fuck around: I leave the exploring to Bonnie. Instead, I rummage through the toiletry bag until I find the bubble bath and go through to the bathroom, putting the plug in and pouring some of Bonnie’s favourite scent in there. Once it’s done, I go through the apartment to find Bonnie, and bending at the knees with one hand at her back and the other behind her thighs, I lift her up. Bon lets out a small squeal as I pull her into my arms and take her to the bathroom, peeling every last stitch of clothing from her body before lowering her into the bubbles and following suit.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Bonnie

  Going into my house and seeing the state it was in had left me wanting nothing more than to get out of there, and I’d never thought I would feel that way about my home. It’s my sanctuary—the one place where I get to turn off and just enjoy relaxing in my pyjamas with a glass of wine. I’ve worked hard to pay for that house. No one helped me. I did it all on my own. But it’s just more than just bricks and mortar: it holds memories for me—memories that are now tarnished.

  Waking up in Serena’s spare room this morning had been weird. I’d felt Neil sit on the bed, but I’d been too scared to open my eyes, so I pretended to be asleep. That was until he’d kissed me and my whole body had come alive from the gentle touch of his lips.

  Now I’m here, in this modern apartment on The Royal Docks, nestled between Neil’s legs as we lie in the massive claw-foot bath. Since he put us both in here, I haven’t said a single word. My life’s been upturned, and I just need a minute to process everything.

  How have I gone from being single without a care in the world to being so deeply in love I can’t live without him? How have I gone from wanting to run my own store to having my own fashion show? How have I gone from being just me to being someone who gets threatening notes and phone calls?

  How in the world is any of this happening to me?

  I’m a nobody.

  With my head pressed against his shoulder, he runs the sponge over my body, oh so slowly. I start to feel like I can breathe properly for the first time in what seems like forever.

  “A penny for your thoughts.” His voice is laced with concern, and I know he’s worried about me. I haven’t exactly held it all together that well. He’s seen me break more than once. These past few weeks haven’t exactly been what I had in mind when we first started this relationship.

  With a heavy sigh, I blow out a breath, my chest rising and falling with the movement. “I’m just thinking that we haven’t really had the best start to our relationship, have we?”

  “No, we haven’t, but don’t think for one minute that we can’t get through this.”

  With each stroke of the sponge over my body and his words, I start to relax that little bit more.

  “As long as we’re together, baby, we can take on anything this world decides to throw at us.”

  Rolling over onto my front so that I can look at the man who’s become my lifeline in all o
f this, I place my hands on his chest and rest my chin on them as I look up at him from under my lashes. “I don’t know if I’ve said this to you, but I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me. I couldn’t have handled all of this on my own.”

  “You still don’t get it do you?”

  I raise my eyebrows at him, not quite sure what he’s asking me.

  “Baby, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. If I had to lose everything to keep you, then I would. Nothing in this world means more to me than you do. Before you, I was in a shitty relationship that died a long fucking time ago. Living each day as it comes, I’ve had no plans or expectations for the future, but with you I have hopes and dreams that our life together will be a fan-fucking-tastic one.”

  Letting my hands go to the rim of the bath, I pull myself up even further and lay my lips on his cheek as my legs go either side of his thighs. Trailing my lips down past the couple of days’ worth of stubble on his chin and neck, I make my way to his lips and I feel his length come alive underneath my arse.

  “I see someone missed me.” I wiggle further back as my words float in the air between us.

  “Baby, you have no fucking idea.”

  Without even thinking about it, I lift my hips up and once I’m in position, I lower myself onto him, my hands immediately leaving the sides of the bath and landing straight onto his bare chest.

  “Fucking hell, baby,” he grates out between his teeth, sucking in a breath. “I’ve missed being inside of you so fucking much.” His words spur me on, and I start to rotate my hips up and down until we’re both breathless and on the verge of falling over the edge.

  My nails scrape along his abs under the water that’s now splashing out onto the floor, but I don’t give two shits about the mess.

  “Shit. Oh, my god. Yes,” I moan as the heat in my belly spreads, and with his hands massaging both of my breasts, we both clash together in the most spectacular way.

  This man beneath me loves me, and nothing is gonna take him away from me.