Travis: To accompany the Fallen Angel Series - A Mafia Romance

by Tracie Podger

  Before I’d even come to a stop he was out of the back door. I turned in my seat to see what had him so agitated. Brooke was standing on the sidewalk, about to take a photograph; Robert must have seen her ahead of us, as I had pulled over exactly where she stood. The rear door was still open and I could hear him as he asked - no, demanded - that she get in the car so he could take her to lunch. She clearly wasn’t impressed, and for the second time that day she blew him off. I couldn’t stop the laughter.

  “Trav, do me a favour, fuck off,” he said as he got in the car. That made me laugh more.

  “Well, bro, you could have handled that a little better,” I replied.

  “Drive to Mansion House,” he said.

  “Why Mansion House?” I asked.

  “She’s a friend of Sam Crawley, she’s visiting from England and that’s where he lives.”

  “Bro, you can’t start stalking her.”

  “I’m not stalking her but she is coming to dinner with me, whether she likes it or not.”

  “And if she doesn’t want to? What are you going to do, drag her out by her hair?”

  “If need be.”

  I fixed my gaze on the road; the laughter was gone and replaced by a feeling of worry. Robert had never behaved this way before. He’d never, in fact, been turned down by a woman, but I wasn’t so sure about his approach with Brooke. I caught sight of him in the rear view mirror, writing on a business card.

  I pulled up outside the apartment block and he pressed the intercom for the supervisor. He was let in and just a few minutes later he returned. I left the car idling and turned in my seat to look at him.

  “Well?” I said.

  “Well, what?”

  “You, chasing after her, it’s a first, Rob. I’m just a bit surprised.”

  “Guess there’s a first time for everything,” he answered.

  It was clear he didn’t want to get into a discussion about her, and again I wondered why. I watched as he picked up his mobile.

  “Sam, Robert Stone. I would like to know if you have plans for Brooke this evening?” he asked. There was a pause as he listened to the answer.

  “Don’t make plans, I would like to take her to dinner,” he added before cutting off the call.

  “You really are going to have to work on your manners,” I said.

  “Yeah, yeah, pick her up at seven, bring her to the club,” he said before settling back and continuing to read through his papers.

  As soon as Robert left the car for his meeting I got straight on the phone to Evelyn. It wasn’t that I wanted to gossip about him, but he was acting completely out of character. I relayed the day and the dinner invitation.

  “I don’t know whether you should interfere, Trav,” she said. “He obviously wants to meet with this woman, leave him be and just see what happens. I agree, he is acting strange, but let’s just wait. It may come to nothing,” she said.

  ****

  At exactly seven p.m. I parked outside Mansion House, an apartment block Vassago owned in Columbia Heights. I liked to revisit the Heights, it brought back fond memories. The old office was still there, although rented out, as was the old gym, which had been converted to a grocery store.

  I saw her silhouette through the glass door as I exited the car. She smiled briefly although she looked a little agitated.

  “Miss Stiles, would you like me to take your coat?” I asked.

  “Thank you, but I can carry it,” she replied.

  She settled into the rear seat and we drove in silence to the club. She waited for me to open the car door for her, and I doubted that was because she expected it, it was more that she had started to look a little nervous, and she didn’t appear to be in a rush to meet Robert. I was glad when she entered the club, I was glad to have her out of the car and not so close to me. She affected me, and not in the way women normally did. If I was a little confused about my feelings I was dreading what Robert felt. I understood emotions - he didn’t. Somehow I knew a bomb was about to go off and she was the fuse.

  I sat in the car the whole evening. I could have gone for a meal myself, I could have stayed in the bar upstairs in the club, but I didn’t. I just sat and worried. All I hoped was that this would be Robert’s usual dinner and a fuck, maybe see her again, maybe not. It was with a little relief that, when they left the club, he whispered for me to drive them to the apartment, or the ‘fuck pad’ as it had been renamed.

  It was typical for Robert to take a woman to dinner, then her back to the apartment and call a taxi when he was done with her. No one had ever stayed the night with him. He wouldn’t even fuck them in his own bed, choosing the spare bedroom instead. I’d joked many a time with him over it. I gave him a wink and a smile and did as he requested, hoping my earlier worries were unfounded.

  ****

  To say I was surprised by Robert’s text the following morning would be an understatement. He had messaged me to say he would be late to his desk, and to ask if I could take Brooke home.

  “Good night?” I texted back but received no reply.

  I waited in reception and watched as she came out of the elevator, she had pulled her hair into a loose bun on top of her head and she was stunning, even without makeup.

  “Good morning, Miss Stiles,” I said, as I pushed myself off the desk.

  “Good morning, Travis.”

  I was surprised she knew my name, another first. “No Range Rover this morning?” she enquired with a smile.

  I laughed; I liked her sense of humour already. “No, Miss Stiles, that’s normally for the evenings.”

  “Please, call me Brooke. Miss Stiles makes me sound old. How long have you been with Robert?” she asked as we left the parking lot.

  “Many years,” was all I answered.

  A half hour later I was back at the office. I switched the camera on my desk so I could see into Robert’s. I watched as he picked up his phone and made a call. As he spoke he ran his hand through his hair, a sure sign he was stressed. Once his call was finished, he just sat for a few moments with his eyes closed. I left my office, bumping into Gina hovering outside.

  “Is Mr. Stone okay?” she asked.

  “Sure, Gina, just had a stressful few days, that’s all. You want me to take those in to him?” I asked.

  She nodded and handed me his messages.

  I sat in the chair opposite his desk. He didn’t speak at first but when he did I was dumbstruck by his request.

  “Travis, pick Brooke up and bring her to the house later.”

  I couldn’t speak at first. “Are you sure, Rob?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. There’s something about her, Trav. I might be making the biggest mistake of my life here, but pick her up for me. Do a quick check as well.”

  I nodded and left him to his messages. It was a half hour later that Evelyn called me. She told me that she’d had a conversation with Rob, he’d asked her to make a meal.

  “I don’t know what to say. I might talk to him about it,” I said.

  “Trav, I think it’s a great thing. He has finally found someone that might be important to him. We need to encourage this. The fact he wants to bring her home is a huge deal, let’s not spoil it for him. If it all goes wrong, then we’ll worry,” she said.

  After our conversation I switched on the computer. I searched record after record for her, printing out anything I found. She appeared to be just a normal woman with a job and a rented house. There was a man’s name on the lease of the house and I started to check him out too.

  Robert was ready to leave an hour before he normally would have. He had rescheduled his appointments that day, yet another first. I dropped him off at the house before heading back to Columbia Heights.

  “Good evening, Travis. As it’s the evening I guess I get the Range Rover,” Brooke said as she walked towards the car.

  I had left the Mercedes at the office; it was in need of a valet.

  I chuckled. “Miss Stiles, you most certainly do.”

&nb
sp; “So, am I allowed to know where we are off to tonight?” she asked. I detected a little mischief in her voice and I began to like her more.

  “Ah now, it’s more than my life’s worth to divulge such secrets.”

  We fell silent as I drove out of the City and towards home. As I pulled onto the drive, Robert was at the front door waiting to greet her. I thought he might have made an effort though; he was dressed in a shirt and jeans, his usual lounging around the house attire. Robert caught my eye and gave a very slight nod of his head. I retrieved the file I had started on Brooke and caught up with them in the kitchen. He was introducing her to Evelyn and it looked like they were getting along well. I strode to the home office and Robert followed.

  “Anything?” he asked.

  “She has a rented house, there’s a guy’s name on the lease, different surname though. She’s not and has never been married. Works in London for a marketing agency and from what I can tell, has some big accounts. Other than the guy, nothing that sparks any interest.”

  “Okay, thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Text me when you want me to take her home.”

  “I’m hoping she’ll stay,” he replied leaving me standing open-mouthed.

  A couple of hours later I remembered I had left my laptop in the car. I made my way down to the garage, the door of which was still open just in case I needed to drive Brooke home. As I was leaning into the car I heard the front door open and I looked over. I saw her run and fall to her knees.

  “What the fuck?” I said out loud. I walked over to her.

  “Please take me home,” she said. She was crying.

  I helped her to her feet, then noticed Robert at the front door. He looked distraught as he called out her name. Leaving her standing, I walked over to him. I placed my hand on his chest.

  “Leave her, let me sort this out,” I said.

  “I just want to apologise, I fucked up big time, Trav.”

  “Okay, let me deal with this, go back in.”

  I’d never, in the years I had known him, seen Robert look that devastated. I helped Brooke into the back of the car and drove down the drive. I handed her a tissue from the pocket of the side door, not knowing how long it had been there and whether it was clean or not.

  “Thank you and I’m sorry for dragging you out like this,” she said as she wiped her eyes.

  “Brooke, he’s not a bad person, things have happened to him and he’s just fucked up,” I said.

  “You’re right about the fucked up part,” she answered. “What has happened that’s so bad?”

  “Ah, Brooke,” I sighed. “I can’t tell you that, that’s for him, but I will tell you one thing, he might have only known you for two days, but you’re the first woman to have gotten to him.”

  We chatted a little more before I left her at the apartment. She had left her purse at the house, and I watched as she pressed the intercom, then seconds later as she pushed through the door. My phone was vibrating in its cradle and a ringing filled the car, both Evelyn and Robert were calling, one on my cell, one on the in-car phone. I took Evelyn’s call first.

  “Ev, I’ve just dropped Brooke off at home, I take it you’ve spoken to him?”

  “I have, he won’t speak about it, only that he fucked up, what on earth has happened?”

  “I don’t know. I was in the garage and she ran from the house, she fell and was crying. I’ll go see him as soon as I get back.”

  “Okay, please, Trav, let me know,” she said.

  I then called Robert.

  “I’m on my way home, okay? See you in five.”

  “Sure,” was all he said before cutting off the call.

  ****

  Robert was sitting at the breakfast bar when I climbed the stairs of the house. His head was in his hands. He didn’t look up as I sat beside him.

  “What happened?” I quietly asked.

  “She asked me about my aunt and I flipped, I guess,” he replied.

  “Did you hurt her?”

  “No, yes, sort of… I don’t fucking know what I did. One minute she was standing in front of me, the next I fucked her like she was nothing. I can’t explain it, Trav. I have to have her. I need her and I don’t know why. It’s fucking my head up big time.”

  “We have to go to New York in the morning, get some sleep and we can deal with it when we get back,” I said.

  “I’m not going to New York, I have to deal with this now. I’ll drive over there,” he said as he stood.

  “Sit the fuck back down. One, you’re in no fit state to drive. You scared the shit out of her, how will you make it right if you barge over there now? Give her a day or so to get over whatever the fuck you’ve done.”

  I was angry at him, and not entirely sure why. I liked her, that much I knew. Was I angry because he had made her cry? Or was I angry because, deep down I saw, no I felt, the connection - as strange as it was - between them, and I didn’t want him to fuck it up? I needed to come up with a plan. I left him an hour later; he was exhausted, so I made my way to Evelyn’s.

  I told Evelyn what little I knew and we agreed that she would go and see Brooke the following day. She could use the return of Brooke’s purse as an excuse, and between us we agreed on one thing. Brooke had to know a little of Robert’s past. It would be a massive gamble to take and could backfire on us but, if this was to work, Brooke had to know what set Robert off.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Robert and I drove to the airport the following morning; he was quiet all the way. I tried to engage him in some conversation, but he wasn’t having any of it. He sat through planning meeting after planning meeting and thankfully we had Paul with us; he was able to answer the many questions fired at Robert. Periodically Paul would look at me, his eyebrows furrowed in question, and I would gently shake my head - don’t ask.

  The meetings went on long into the day. It was late at night before we were able to return to DC, and the early hours of the morning before we finally made it home. I had taken a call from Evelyn to tell me she had met with Brooke, explained about his aunt, and that, unfortunately, she wasn’t sure Brooke would want to see Robert again.

  The following morning I left my apartment with the intention of seeing Robert, checking whether he had managed to get any sleep. As I crossed the garage I saw one of the bikes missing. He must have pushed it from the garage and some way down the drive. The noise of that thing starting would have woken me.

  “Ev,” I called out as I knocked on her door. Our doors were never locked and I pushed it open.

  “Morning, any news?” she said.

  “He’s gone.”

  “What do you mean, he’s gone?”

  “The bike’s gone, so I guess that means he has too.”

  “Shit. I wonder if he’s gone to visit her.” Evelyn’s curse, despite the situation, brought a smirk to my lips.

  “He’s a grown man, Travis. We’ll just have to wait until he comes home,” she added.

  We both hung about her apartment, pacing, sitting, checking our phones until eventually we heard the bike. We scrambled to the window to see Robert help Brooke off the back, and she was laughing. A simultaneous sigh of relief left both our lips.

  “I’ll pop over there later, pretend to make some dinner or something and find out what’s going on,” Evelyn said.

  I laughed. We didn’t want to know because we were nosy, we needed to know because Brooke was obviously someone important to Robert. Whether he understood what that was or not was debatable. We needed to know both were okay.

  ****

  Later that night Evelyn called on me. She had been over to the house and found Robert and Brooke wrapped in each other’s arms, dozing. Brooke had gotten up, and they had spoken. It seemed all was resolved, for that moment anyway. I watched as they made their way to the garage, heard the Mercedes leave the drive, and I assumed he was taking her home. A half hour later he returned. Instead of heading to the house he climbed the stairs to the apart
ments, opened my door and grabbed two beers from the fridge. He sat beside me on the sofa.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “I am now.”

  “So?” Getting information from Robert was an arduous task.

  He laughed. “I’m taking her to a function in a couple of days, the one at the museum.”

  “And then what? She’s only here on holiday, Rob,” I said.

  “And then we just have to see,” he said with a sigh.

  “What it is with her? What’s got you this fucked up?”

  “I honestly don’t know. When I’m with her I feel something in here,” he poked his chest. “I can’t explain it, Trav. I feel like I know her yet I’ve never met her before. There’s so much shit rushing around my brain I can’t think straight other than to know I can’t let her go home.”

  “You can’t keep her here,” I said.

  “I know that, but I’m going to work damn hard to see if I can change her mind,” he said with a grin.

  “Be careful, Rob. Don’t break her heart, she’s not your usual airhead, there’s something special about her.”

  He looked sharply at me. “I don’t intend to.” He studied me for a moment as if expecting me to say more and I picked up my beer.

  “I should go, talk to you later, bro,” he said as he placed his empty beer bottle on the table.

  I sat for a while just thinking. I was happy for him. I wanted him to find someone he had that depth of feeling for - even if it was only after a few days. The thing with Robert, I realised, was that he didn’t do half measures. He was an all or nothing man; life was black and white for him. Was I a little jealous? Perhaps.

  ****

  A couple of days later Robert and I drove to collect Brooke. As she left the apartment block I had to control the gasp that tried to escape my mouth. She looked stunning. Her hair was pinned up with loose tendrils framing her face, her makeup subtle except for ruby red lips, and her dress… It clung to every curve of her body.

  “Scrub up well, don’t I boys?” she teased as she passed, obviously aware of our gaping mouths.

  I was going to have to be very careful; she was not mine, and never would be. Regardless of what happened between her and Robert she would always be off-limits. She was dangerous in one way, though. Whatever it was about her, it ensnared men. The strange thing was she had no idea she had that power. If she could reduce the likes of Robert to a wreck she would destroy a lesser man. She had grace, she was quiet but strong; she had to be to forgive Robert. She was funny and entertaining, she was… She was fucking with my head, that’s what she was doing. I shook it to rid myself of her and drove to the museum. I had opted not to attend the function. Sitting with the guys was fun, but being surrounded by the pompous and wealthy fake patrons wasn’t my cup of tea. A few bottles of beer and there was no telling how I would behave.