reckless hearts: vegas nights

by richmond, lucretia

  Chapter Seven

  Luanne slept with her hand on her belly, not realizing it. She was glad Brock hadn���t noticed even the slightest act could make him suspect a pregnancy. Luanne looked over to the cot where he was smiling in his sleep it made her wonder if it was because of her or Bella Rose. She didn���t want to be pregnant and alone, she knew there was something between them. She wasn���t going to let it bother her, it was the worst thing she could do.

  Georgiana already proved how far she was willing to go, she was beyond crazy. When morning came Luanne was thankful for another day. With coffee in hand she stared out the window at the sunrise amazed by its colors.

  ���You���re up early.��� Brock said as she turned to him.

  ���Why waste a beautiful morning?��� She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, they both enjoyed what was before them.

  Life there was nothing like it, Luanne thought. She had her man and it was enough for her.

  Bella Rose felt an aching in her heart, but didn���t want to interrupt their moment. She closed the door and sighed, remembering everything they had shared. It was difficult to see him with her, but she had their son to think about.

  Christopher was the one true thing she did not regret.

  Reckless Hearts 42

  She started to question if Brock walked away or if she let him go. Why did he have to make the passion within her burn? Everything was as it was supposed to be.

  Mickey was still angry with Georgiana and wasn���t going to let it pass. She sat at a local club flirting with the bartender it was just her style. He didn���t forget about her little obsession.

  ���I want to work out a deal with you.��� He said to Detective Reese. ���We both want Georgiana out of our lives I���ll help you find her.���

  ���Why do you want to help me?��� Detective Reese asked curiously.

  ���I can find her and we���ll both be rid of her.��� Mickey answered. Mickey usually didn���t do business that way, but he knew what Georgiana feared most, and being away from the man she wanted was icing on the cake. Detective Reese nodded his head in agreement. They had an understanding. The Detective thought back to his partner Alex Harvell who had the misfortune of meeting Georgiana and she robbed him of everything he had; he lost everything including his wife.

  Detective Reese wasn���t going to stop until he had her in custody

  ���What do you need?��� Mickey asked bluntly.

  ���It���s a piece of evidence, his wife���s diamond ring, my partner she screwed him over I know she still has it.��� Detective Reese replied with anxiety going through her veins.

  ���You���ll get it. She might be smart, but not that smart.��� They were both happy.

  Reckless Hearts 43

  Everything happens for a reason, Georgiana thought as she went through her closet searching for the perfect outfit. She knew eventually would run into Brock again and wanted to look exceptional.

  She was out of her mind, Brock thought as he held Christopher Samuel. It wasn���t what he needed at the moment. His love life was complicated as it was. Bella Rose didn���t know what she was thinking letting her heart be open to heartbreak again, she knew it would be crushed again. She wasn���t the only one he had done that too, Bella Rose wanted to get out of the apartment she needed to get away from Brock but she knew as long as Georgiana was out there he wouldn���t let it be.

  She should have seen it, Bella Rose thought after all the years they had been friends she was shielded from the fact that she was absolutely crazy.

  It wasn���t what she had expected, Bella Rose wanted to believe they were all going to be okay they would all be safe. All she wanted to do was protect her son.

  ���I can���t keep staying in this apartment all day and all night because there is a psychopath out for our blood.��� Luanne said, it was exactly what Bella Rose was thinking but didn���t have the heart to say.

  ���Key word there, psychopath. She���s too dangerous for us to be wandering about out there.��� Brock knew they would have gotten frustrated, he hoped he could keep them inside long enough until he had come up with a plan. It was mistake they all let her into their lives. Luanne tried to ignore the ticking of the clock as she worried about her job, hoping she hadn���t been fired. She didn���t need that now with a baby on the way. She still struggled with a way to tell Brock, if she should tell him. Keeping it a secret would be difficult unless she moved. She had thought of it, moving away what that would be like, she had lived there her whole life in Vegas. It would be new.

  Reckless Hearts 44

  It was stress she didn���t need. Too much stress wasn���t good for the baby, she had to think she had to stay calm. The thought of Georgiana being able to enter the apartment made her cringe. There had to have been a way to stop her, stop her from killing them all.

  Georgiana smiled as she put on her chosen outfit, the way the cotton felt against her skin she knew she would be comfortable. What she hadn���t expected was to find Mickey by her car waiting for her.

  ���Where you going in such a hurry?��� He asked curiously.

  ���None of your business.��� She replied trying to open the driver���s side door but he wouldn���t let her.

  ���You know I know what you���re up to.��� He knew that would throw her off, the look on her face told him she was aggravated.

  ���What the hell does that mean?��� She knew perfectly well what it meant.

  ���I know you���re not going to get what you want.��� Mickey was determined to stop her from having any fun at all.

  ���You don���t have any idea who you are messing with when it comes to him.��� She wasn���t going to let Mickey get in the way.

  Brock was everything to her, she was going to have him. He completed her.

  Reckless Hearts 45

  ���You think it���s easy watching someone you love, love someone else?��� She knew Mickey didn���t even know the meaning of love.

  ���I know you can���t make someone love you.��� Mickey had ran a finger a long a strand of her hair.

  She knew then what she would do.

  ���Interested in a ride?��� She asked pulling him closer to her lips.

  Mickey nodded and walked to the passenger side and stepped inside.

  The bluffs where they would see the sunset, it was her favorite thing to do.

  And it would be his last.

  Reckless Hearts 46

  Chapter Eight

  With Mickey out of the way Georgiana knew there wouldn���t be any complications now. She wanted to see Brock, she needed to feel him. She thought he would have been in the studio working on his new album, the thought of him with Luanne made her angry. Another person that needed to be taken out of the equation. She thought of how a million times which seemed to make her impatient.

  You will not have him, she thought as droplets of rain started to fall. She could taste it; revenge. Bella Rose also thought she could get in the way. She wanted to find them both, but they weren���t ready for her yet. Driving through the city and the lights shining in the darkness, she wanted to know what it felt like to be free.

  Her whole life there was someone telling her what to do, how to live; how to breathe.

  She may have had all the money and lived in a great big mansion but it wasn���t what she wanted she wouldn���t have even minded living in trailer with horses. She had no mother to take care of her, she had nannies. Being an only child, she always felt alone. Her mother never showed her any love, her father was always in prison.

  Her mother would bring in boyfriend after boyfriend making her feel as uncomfortable as possible, she thought of escaping she never thought it w
ould have ended her up here.

  Reckless Hearts 47

  She couldn���t explain how she was feeling inside, being there with him and their son. If things were different she would have tried harder to be closer to him. When Bella Rose looked at Christopher all she could see was Brock, Christopher was the spitting image of his father; another heartbreaker. Brock had went to get groceries leaving the two girls alone, he didn���t want to do it but he did it anyway. Bella Rose and Luanne found themselves in an awkward situation.

  Georgiana sat in the parking lot of the grocery store with a cigarette lit after she had stopped smoking. She couldn���t stop smiling once she saw him go inside. She had to think of something to grab his attention apparently holding Luanne at gun point wasn���t enough.

  He was everything she ever wanted in a man. Tall, dark and ruggedly handsome. It had taken her so far to find someone she was willing to give her heart to. She thought it would just take time for him to come around. He may not have loved her, but she felt he could and that was enough.

  Over and over again the night they made love played inside her head, it was impossible to forget. She thought she could, but it never left her mind. How gentle he was with her, stayed with her.

  It was meant to be, she thought. If it wasn���t she wouldn���t have been feeling so strongly. If he had known her before their one night together, he would have known who she truly was; it was all she wanted, one chance.

  Why couldn���t he give her that?

  Reckless Hearts 48

  Bella Rose sat and wrote as the baby had his nap she didn���t know when she was going to be in the studio again, Georgiana ruined that for her, it took a lot for her to continue being calm. Time was wasting and she hated it, her mind was spinning. She wanted to hurt Georgiana for threatening their lives, but she knew it wouldn���t have done any good. They couldn���t hide out in the apartment forever. There had to be more information about Georgiana, things none of them knew; something that would be useful for them.

  She knew that Brock wouldn���t let her leave the apartment by herself. She had to talk to Georgiana���s family, if she could find them first. The library would have given her what she needed.

  ���What if Georgiana isn���t who she says she is?��� Those words grabbed, Luanne���s attention.

  ���What do you mean? Switched identities?��� It made more sense to her, if Georgiana had gotten in trouble before.

  ���A girl like her is capable of having done this before.��� Luanne knew she was on to something, but how were they going to talk Brock into it and do it without Georgiana finding out about it.

  They hoped he would see it from their point of view.

  Reckless Hearts 49

  He had no choice but to see it their way, maybe it could have even helped them. Georgiana���s mother graciously invited them in. Brock was surprised to see how Georgiana lived, how hard it must have been to raise such an ungrateful daughter. They were taken to the living room where her mother asked for tea.

  ���I know why you are here.��� Her mother began, ���My daughter���s in trouble again isn���t she?���

  They didn���t know how to answer, ���She���s been stalking Brock.��� Luanne answered.

  It was as though she didn���t need to say it, she knew exactly why they were there and how deep of trouble she was into.

  ���I told them she wasn���t ready to be out, she couldn���t function in the real world.��� They were confused as to what she meant. ���She had been in a hospital before for the same thing.���

  Bella Rose didn���t want to be right and she worried about how that outcome turned out.

  ���You were right to come here.��� There was a sadness and disappointment in her mother���s eyes. ���Georgiana always has to have what she wants no matter what the cost.���

  Bella Rose shook her head, ���Do you know what triggered this behavior?��� She asked cautiously, not to get the mother any more emotional than she was.

  ���When she was young, Georgiana didn���t have anyone. I was a single mother, her father had been locked up her entire life until this day he is still behind bars.���

  Luanne wondered if it had been because of the separation from her father that caused her to become so dark.

  Reckless Hearts 50

  Georgiana lied about her last name, they knew she lied about so much more.

  ���There was a man she had become infatuated with, a doctor. She began showing up at places she knew he would be, stalking his wife; stalking his children. She attacked his wife physically and was put into a mental institution.���

  Bella Rose didn���t know what to think, why hadn���t she known? How did Georgiana keep such a big secret to herself?

  They knew now they had every reason to be afraid, Georgiana was unstable.

  It was worse than what they had thought.

  They left with strange feelings in their stomachs, Christopher Samuel was the only one who wasn���t upset.

  ���She fooled us.��� Bella Rose felt ill. The whole time she had been friends with a stranger. What made them different, Bella Rose could never harm a soul.

  ���She has to be stopped.��� Luanne spoke what they were all thinking.

  ���But how?��� Asked Brock. ���Without us all getting killed.���

  She already threatened Luanne���s life, he knew Georgiana wasn���t finished, she was just getting started.

  Reckless Hearts 51

  Chapter Nine

  ���I know of a place we can go, she won���t know of.��� Luanne suggested, ���It���s a cabin forty five miles from Vegas with a river and mountain views, its perfect.��� She could tell they were loving the idea as well as the thought of leaving Las Vegas being away from the city was like a dream and Bella Rose knew her son would enjoy it. A small vacation away from danger, it was perfect.

  ���We���ll leave in the morning, she won���t be awake to follow us at the crack of dawn.��� They all nodded their heads happily.

  Luanne hadn���t been at the cabin since her sister died, it was the last place she had been to with her. The memories still fresh in her mind. She knew it would be hard to go, to see everything again, but she knew it was there one chance to get away.

  She couldn���t wait until morning, Bella Rose could feel the excitement lifting her higher and higher. She packed Christopher Samuel���s things and what belongings she had.

  If only they could stay there forever, she thought. Hearing her son giggle made her glad to know there was not all bad in the world. They all needed the trip, maybe it was all happening for a reason, to show them that they do have the strength they needed to get by in life.

  She hoped they didn���t have to keep running that they could rest long enough.

  Brock knew he would have to make a decision soon when it was all over, Bella Rose or Luanne and he wasn���t sure if he could. He looked at both of them and saw where he wanted to be, he knew it couldn���t be both neither of them would have accepted that.

  Reckless Hearts 52

  Luanne was relieved when they pulled into the drive of the cabin and the birds chirping their morning song. It was just like she remembered it, home. There were memories everywhere, pictures on the wall, everything left the same; her sister���s bedroom still the same.

  ���We haven���t seen or heard from her in a while. Hopefully that���s a good sign for us.��� Brock said as he carried the baby inside.

  ���We shouldn���t get our hopes up too high, we did that last time remember?��� Bella Rose wanted a drink, her thirst wouldn���t let her forget it. ���Any wine here?��� She asked.

  Luanne pointed to the
wine cellar, ���Help yourself.���

  Meadowbrook, a tranquil setting for those who love nature. She didn���t know why she had ever left. Yes, the thoughts of her sister left her with a deep pain, but there were the good thoughts that were able to overshadow it. She was planning on staying there after the whole mess was over, she wasn���t sure how Brock would take it, but she knew she would want to raise the baby at the cabin not in a small apartment. It would be more comfortable. Her bedroom was on the second floor with view of the river, she knew it would be a perfect place for her thoughts to clear and worry less. Georgiana was a nightmare, she didn���t want to have to keep looking over her shoulders with fears of being assaulted or worse. She was pregnant, she had to make sure the baby was protected.

  She knew she had to tell him of her decision, but when Georgiana wasn���t a problem anymore. Brock knew his albums were skyrocketing and it would only cause another situation he might not be so lucky to get out of. He regretted ever laying eyes on Georgiana giving her a smile or a wink, anything that might have made her think there was more.

  Georgiana could think of the many ways she would have liked to hurt Bella Rose, after all she dated Brock a lot longer than anyone he had ever been with which was much to Georgiana���s surprise as well as his fans.

  Reckless Hearts 53

  Detective Reese had thought of picking up the phone and telling Harvell he was on her trail, but he would have told him to leave it alone. He didn���t want anything being in the newspapers for his wife���s sake. The cabin, a place for her and her baby the stories she could tell. She was glad she had never sold it like she wanted to, they would find peace and she knew it well.

  ���This is a beautiful home you have.��� Bella Rose said as she opened a bottle of chardonnay.

  ���My father built it when I was younger, for me and my sister. My mother didn���t take to it much because of the cold winters. She preferred the city.��� Luanne didn���t talk much about her family not even to Brock. They were a lot alike, him and her father even though her father didn���t realize it the only difference was her father was faithful.