by Mia Villano
They both laughed. “Smart man.”
Pierre and I went to my office, and before we spoke, Gustan knocked on the door.
“Gustan. Come on in. Pierre and I are looking into something. Glad you’re here,” I said. Gustan looked concerned. I didn’t like that look on his face. That intense glare made me uneasy. He and Pierre shook hands, but Gustan again didn’t want to sit.
“I have to talk to you. It’s urgent.” I looked up at Gustan, who stood in front of me sweating and breathing heavy.
“What is wrong with you? Were you working out?”
He shook his head no, and looked out the window behind my desk. He seemed to be on guard.
“What was so urgent you couldn’t speak to me over the phone?” I asked. He threw the manilla folder on the desk in front of me. I opened the folder up to see pictures of the same woman he showed me previously. I looked up at him quizzically.
He took a rag out of his coat pocket and wiped his brow. “That is not Andrea Noir.”
“Who is she then, Gustan?”
“Her name is Assata Bushra. She is the widow of Azhar Hakim.
I sat back in my chair taking in what Gustan told me. My brother’s fiancé was the widow of one of the biggest terrorists in Syria I’d helped assassinate. I felt faint.
“Are you sure? How did you find this information, Gustan?” asked Pierre.
“I did some research, and I had a man follow her. The same one that followed Romain. She travelled back and forth from Syria to Paris several times last year. We did extensive research on her alias and nothing came up, except for an Andrea Noir who was killed several years ago. I had her fingerprints lifted from Romains apartment, and we had a match come back. After double checking we determined she is indeed the widow.”
“Do you have a picture of this Assata?” Pierre paced my office as upset as I was. Gustan pointed to the envelope. “It’s all in there.”
I pulled out two snapshots of a woman that looked similar. I picked up both pictures and studied them carefully. I needed to be certain in my mind she was the same woman. I don’t forget a face and this face was ingrained in my mind. The face resembled Andrea except for her hair being different. Pierre picked up the photo and a recent picture of Andrea to compare them to Assata. He frowned.
“This is definitely the same woman. Has she committed any terrorist acts?” Gustan folded his arms across his chest.
“Assata was questioned by police years ago and then fled. She has kept a low profile until the death of Azhar Hakim. After that, she became more radicalized. She is dangerous, Fabrice. They think she went to Turkey and then Syria where she met Azhar Hakim in a jihadist training camp. She was with him the day of the killings but somehow escaped.”
“Is there anything else we know about her?”
“Her past is sketchy. She was born in England and lived in Paris where she attended the University. She joined this terror group, and is known to have killed twenty prisoners at point- blank range to prove her allegiance. She is heartless and ruthless. She is known as “The Temptress.” She can lure a man to her bed, and before you even pull down your pants, she has you under her spell. She likes to gravitate to weak men, in need of a woman, drug users, like your brother Fabrice.
“Do you think my brother has anything to do with this?” I wouldn’t put it past him. He had to know something. Anything that involved hurting me had to be top on Romains list. If he was intimate with this woman in any way, he had to know. Romain was a drug user and a fool, but he was street smart.
Peirre spoke up first. “At this time I will say with confidence, no.” I didn’t listen to his response as I yelled.
“I need proof.” My temper had the best of me and I wanted to go and find Romain and beat the shit out of him. That stupid, stupid bastard.
“What I want you to do now is settle down and pretend life is normal. Until Gustan and I find out more of what is going on and if he knows anything, I need you to keep a level head.” Pierre looked at me intently.
“Level head? Pierre, are you kidding me? I can’t keep a level head. I’m worried about Isabella. I don’t want her around anything like that. I need to send her home.”
Gustan spoke up first. “If you send her home now they will get suspicious. I don’t want you to send her home, not now. Listen to me Fabrice, Isabella will be okay. Now I want you to go on as nothing is different. You have to trust me on this.”
I should have known my brother would fuck me again. Why not? That son of a bitch. What if he was a part of this shit? He was always jealous of me even when we were boys. I excelled him in everything, including life in general. My mom and dad would always baby him and protect him when he would whine that life wasn’t fair. When I was little, I always looked up to him and thought he was my hero. I watched him go off to war, become a general, and I wanted to be like him. That changed when he started using drugs and I found him overdosed. He became a problem rather than a hero. When I excelled faster than he did, he resented me doing better than him. When I was in Special Ops and awarded the medals of bravery, he acted different towards me from then on. It wasn’t until I became the Ambassador and then bought the winery that he truly tried to hurt me. Now, he claims to be a changed man. A man of integrity and honor. My fucking ass. He baited me and pretended to be innocent to hurt me once again. I had to keep a level head like Pierre and Gustan advised. I had to keep my shit together the best way I could.
“Should my parents know about this now?”
Gustan spoke again. “No. Whatever you do don’t tell anyone yet, even Isabella.”
I shook my head in agreement. Keeping this a secret would be tough, but I would do whatever was needed to keep her safe.
“Have you met this Andrea yet, Fabrice?” Pierre asked me.
“No, I have not. Romain says she’s busy, at home, or working whenever we get together. I have never met her, neither have my parents or Isabella.” Now that I thought about it, that was a little strange. Every time we were together, she was always busy.
I looked at Gustan and spoke. “Let’s keep track of her, Gustan. You have a guy that does this for you? Can he be trusted? I don’t care how much tracking her costs. You understand this don’t you?”
“Definitely. I’ve used him for all types of work for the last twenty years. He’s the best. I’ll continue to have him follow and track her.”
My anger seethed inside me. Along with everything else I was going through, this became a very serious issue I didn’t have time to deal with. I stood up at my desk, picked up whatever I could, which was as stapler, and threw it across my office. The thud against the plaster wall echoed in the room. How could my life be unraveling like this?
“Goddamn it!” I yelled, startling myself with the rage in my voice. The anger of the last month surfaced in one loud, obnoxious scream. I would kill anyone that hurt Isabella; that included my brother.
“Have you been cleared to go back to Washington yet?” Pierre asked, as he stood up and paced my office.
“No, not yet. My leg has to be monitored a while longer.”
“That is why I wanted to talk to you today. Before this news, I thought the best thing you can do right now is to get back to Washington. There has been some chatter that has been picked up from this terrorist group that is quite alarming. They are planning another attack in the near future, and I’m not sure if you are the target. I feel differently than Gustan. I think if there is any way you can at least get Isabella home in a way she doesn’t suspect anything, I would try. You know it’s going to be hard and she won’t want to leave you. I don’t think sending her back to the United States will raise any red flags. There are excuses you could say as to why she had to go back.”
Gustan raised an eyebrow at Pierre. They were in a silent competition as to who had the better intelligence information. I nodded my head in agreement with Pierre. I knew I had to get her home. This new information about my brother and Andrea became serious now. Yet, how would I
cope without her there? I needed her in order to get better.
“I don’t know how to send her home without her suspecting anything.”
“Don’t get worked up over sending here back home, Fabrice. It’s not dire right now, but the sooner, the better.”
“She is having her best friend come out soon. I don’t want to ruin that for her.”
The three of us agreed I should let the information sit for a while and, let Avery come, and then try to get Isabella back home. The thought made me feel sick.
I worked in my office one afternoon as I eagerly waited for Avery’s arrival. I sent my driver to pick her up at the airport, and when I saw the car come down the dirt road, my heart jumped for joy.
We have had a bit too many visitors lately, and the thought of someone else didn’t sit too well with me unless the visitor was Avery. I was tired, pissed, and on edge with everything that was going on. A visit from this remarkable girl was what both Isabella and I needed.
When I saw her stepping out of the back seat, I pushed to my feet and headed out of my office. I was elated to see her, and my pissed off mood suddenly changed. She was what my girl needed to help her have some relaxing time and forget about being stuck in the house with me. Taking care of me has taken a toll on my Isabella. My mood swings, constant poor attitude, and relentless pursuit to get our sex life back to where I wanted it, had not been easy on her.
Before I could get to the door and greet Miss Avery, I heard the squeals. Like two teenagers at a rock concert, they were hugging each other and screaming.
“Avery,” I said as I walked up to her. She looked tired and worn out. Isabella said she was having some problems with her new heart, but didn’t know the extent of how serious the problem was. Her new wife Cherise was pregnant, and a baby was something Avery didn’t think she was ready for. The exhaustion under her eyes, a possible sign things weren’t going as well as everyone hoped.
She opened her arms and embraced me in a hug. I kissed her on both cheeks. She felt cold.
“Hey, it’s Pepe. How’s the kicker doing?” Isabella thought that was funny of course.
“I’m getting there slowly but surely. I think Isabella is ready to kick me to the curb.”
“Not you, Pepe. She loves taking care of you. Me, that was another story. She was the nurse from hell with me. I hope she isn’t the same with you.”
“Shut up, Avery. I took very good care of you.” Isabella was so happy, yet I could see the concern on her face when she noticed the same thing as I had in Avery’s face. Something wasn’t right.
Isabella grabbed her bags, and I thanked my driver for bringing her. Gustan came out to see who the guest was.
“Isabella told me this place was beautiful but until you are actually here, you don’t see the real beauty. What a place to recover, Fabrice. I wouldn’t want to leave.” Avery stopped to look around the property. I’m glad she approved.
“I don’t want to leave. I could stay here forever if I could have my family live here too.” My sweet girl missed her family. She wouldn’t tell me how much, but I knew not being with them weighed on her. The holidays were coming up soon and that had to be tough on her not to be with them. I may have to force her to go home sooner than I wanted.
“Wow.” Avery jumped when Gustan stood behind her. I couldn’t help but laugh. Gustan can be quite intimidating at times.
“That is the bodyguard and the man who saved Fabrice’s life. Avery, meet Gustan. Gustan, this is my best friend, Avery,” said Isabella.
“Nice to meet you,” he grunted out a response. Not a talker or impressed with too much of anything.
“Same here big guy. Thanks for taking care of these two. I’m here now so you can take a break.” Everyone laughed. Gustan, who doesn’t find humor in anything cracked a smile.
I enjoyed seeing the happiness in my girl’s face when she looked at Avery and smiled. This is what she needed.
Avery stayed with us a week. Gustan had difficulties keeping an eye on the two of them with their constant comings and goings. The security team was out of their minds trying to keep track of them. She and Avery cooked, stayed up all night, and laughed. I had not seen Isabella like that since we began dating.
One night when Avery went to bed early, Isabella told me she thought something was possibly wrong with her heart. The doctors were increasing her medication and hoped her issue was nothing serious. She said it was a win-lose situation because when they increase the medicine, the medicine caused other problems. I tried to calm Isabella’s fears by telling her not to worry, and that Avery was a fighter. I noticed Avery looked tired, but her personality didn’t change. She was still the happy, mouthy woman I loved.
She made my Isabella happy, and Isabella loved her. That was enough for me to love her as much. She loved to razz me while she was in our home. Every day I would hear her say she was getting me a motorized wheelchair adorned with the flag of France and the United States, or she was going to come and stay with the new baby and her wife, Cherise, was having in a few months. Anything to get my goat, and I loved her. One morning while Isabella was out running, it was Avery and I in the house.
“Hey Pepe, how’s the leg this morning?” I couldn’t help but laugh at her.
“The leg’s getting stronger. How’s the ticker?” I thought maybe if I made a joke out of our pathetic situations she would talk to me.
“Still ticking thank God. You know Cherise is expecting a baby next month. I don’t know if I’m ready for this. Mind if I move in here with you and Izz?”
“I would love for you to. You could keep my girl smiling. She has missed you.”
“I miss her too. But, it’s all good. She wouldn’t be happy without you so she is in the best place right now.” She gazed at me and I knew there was something she wanted to tell me.
“Is there something you want to tell me? You look a little concerned.” I was sitting at the table eating breakfast. She grabbed some toast and coffee and came and sat down beside me. Her hands were nervously folding a napkin as she looked down.
I reached over and touched her hand. Her fingers were icy cold. “Tell me. What is going on with you, Avery?”
“I don’t want you telling Izz yet. She has enough to worry about. Promise me you won’t say anything.” The sunlight streamed through the kitchen window and lit up her pale face. The light made the dark circles look more prominent on her. I knew what she was going to tell me.
“I’m rejecting the heart. I told Izz rejection was a possibility, but it’s inevitable. They keep telling me this new medication will work but this new stuff isn’t. I feel like I’m eighty years old. I don’t want to go through another surgery again. I can’t go through much more. Cherise doesn’t need that stress now with a new baby.”
“Did you get a second opinion?” I asked, holding her hand and whispering.
“I had a second and a third.” I swallowed hard. The thought of this made me feel like a complete fucking ass. Here I was complaining about a leg that was healing. My leg injury wasn’t going to kill me. I wasn’t fighting to live and yet, all I did was whine.
“What can I do for you? There has to be some connections I have I can pull?”
She laughed and spit out her coffee. “Connections to what, heaven? No. I mean I can’t go through any more of this heart business. It’s not something I have the strength for. I appreciate the offer, Pepe but I’m going to sit this one out. I’m telling you this because I need you to be there for Isabella. I don’t want her alone when and if I decided to exit. She is too important to me and I need to know you will be there for her.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You don’t have to make sure of that. I will never leave her. She’s my life, Avery. Please, Avery, I’m begging you to change your mind. You know I have grown to love you as well. And this baby. Don’t you want to be with the baby and Cherise?
Avery shrugged. Isabella walked in and we both quit talking.
“Look, two of my favorite
people.” I walked over to her and grabbed her waist to bring her into me for a hug. I loved the hell out of her. I held her a little tighter to me aware that Avery’s weakening condition would bring her grief. I hated to see her hurting.
“Two of. We better be the only two faves, Izz. Who else compares to us?” Avery pointed her finger at me.
“No one. I should have said that correctly. Let me start over.” Isabella pulled away from me, went out the door, and quickly came back in. She had a surprised look on her face and opened her arms, laughing.
“Look, my two favorite people.”
Avery shook her head smiling. “Much better. What’s on the agenda today? Please don’t say more cooking. I’m tired of cooking.” Isabella walked into my arms again. Her hands were in my hair. If I felt better and Avery wasn’t sitting in the kitchen I would have put her on the counter and devoured her.
“What do you want to do, Avery? Maybe Fabrice will join us.” As nice as that idea was I didn’t want to go anywhere. I had more than enough work to get caught up on. Plus, they needed time alone. Maybe they would talk about Avery’s situation more without me lurking around.
“You girls go have fun. I have a ton of work to do and many calls to make.” I saw the disappointment in Isabella’s face when I said I wouldn’t be going. I think she wanted me to because she hated to leave me alone. I had to make sure Gustan was going with them wherever they went.
When Avery left after spending a week with us, I felt that things would be better in the vineyard. Things were better for a while. Isabella and I seemed to bask in the joy Avery left behind for a short time. Isabella was back in the kitchen, either with my mom or at her cooking classes learning new recipes and techniques. Also, I noticed Isabella missing her family more and more each day. I would find her skyping or talking to her sister and my heart broke as tears streamed down her face when she would look at her niece. The baby she hadn’t gotten to meet yet because she was in Paris with me since her sister gave birth to her. My heart broke knowing she didn’t get to spend time with her and the baby because of me.
