by Kylie Parker
“What did Frank do to him?”
I tried to question him and weigh the authenticity of the information both at the same time. The name Frank Baker rang a bell in my head, but I couldn’t exactly place a photo to him.
“Frank sliced his girl back in the day,” he answered, “And disappeared to God knows where some say he died, but no one knows for sure.”
I nodded my head as I went on to listen to him, so far all he had said made sense, but I couldn’t yet tell if he was lying to me or not.
“So I offered him a picture of Frank with fake details of his whereabouts,” he went on “And he took the bait, that was how I confirmed out his true identity.”
You had to give it up to the thug; he had used a smart tactic, and I was glad I had used him to get the truth.
I think I had had enough, being seeing hanging out with a thug in the late hours of the night wasn’t good for either of us. We both had our reputations to maintain; of course, mine was much more important than his.
“You got this, right?” he said as he pointed to the two beer glasses in front of us.
“Sure.”
I took out a few crisp dollar bills from my wallet and placed them under my beer glass before getting to my feet. Hoping that the supposed sweat had dried off the file, I sang it under my arm and looked at Brad.
“Thank you.”
“You owe me.”
“I know,” I answered and tipped my cap before making it out of the bar. I headed to my rental car, locked the doors and flicked on the inner lights. I had done a good sweep of the place before switching on the lights and thanked my lucky stars no one was lurking in the shadows other than skimpily dressed whores.
I was too curious to save the file for later and flicked it open; the thug had done a commendable job. I scanned through the details and soaked in everything I was seeing.
Peter Stewart was his name; Robbie was an alias and according to the file Brad had given me, there were different other names that he sometimes used as well.
Growing excited, I took out my cell phone and dialed my assistant’s number. I was amused to learn that she was still awake and hoped I was not asking too much of her.
“Hello, are you still up?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Are you still at the office?”
“Yes.”
My God this woman was a workaholic, a virtue I admired.
“Do you mind running some data for me?”
“I don’t mind at all.”
She sounded alert and perky; I did not want to imagine how many mugs of coffee she had downed to still be up.
“Peter Stewart,” I said, “Please run that name and tell me what comes up.”
I waited patiently as I heard her fingers go over a keyboard, I knew it would take a while and chose to give her time.
“Email me the findings ASAP,” I said before hanging up the phone.
I then let my head rest on the driver’s seat as I took in my surroundings. It was not a very busy night with the simple fact that it was mid week. I wished I had carried my remaining beer and knew Brad must have emptied it by now as he tried throwing darts at the waitress.
My phone vibrated, and I smiled when I saw I had an email notification from my assistant. She worked fast, and I was not complaining.
“Thank you,” I texted her before opening my email.
I had been mulling on that name for quite some time; it sounded familiar, but I was not sure where I had heard it from.
The email told me everything I needed to know, and I wasn’t sure if I should have rejoiced on the revelation or sobbed. Peter Stewart was a hit man on the most wanted list of the FBI. Handing him in would mean a promotion and a medal of merit but at the same time, he had made my darling sister fall for him head over heels.
The thought of Sarah reminded me of the call I was supposed to make after my meeting with Brad. Feeling both guilty for not calling and excited over the news, I pulled out of the driveway with the intention of driving to her apartment.
A call came through from her as coincidence would have it, and I stopped the car and answered it.
“Hey dear, how are you feeling?”
I could hear giggles in the background and made out Robbie’s voice. I didn’t know how to refer to him going forward, Robbie or Peter?
“Hey David, I am feeling much better,” she answered.
I heard more giggles and a subtle argument between them, something about telling me the good news.
“Sarah are you there?” I asked.
All I could think of now was the fact that she was canoodling with a wanted felon. The love whipped image she always had around him came flooding back to me, and I almost threw up. I couldn’t tell her anything on the phone as much as I wanted to.
“Yes, David I am here.”
“Did you go to the hospital?” I asked.
The giggles persisted and the images forming in my mind about what he was doing to her at that time made me nauseous. I wanted to stretch my hand through the phone and slap her across the face before shooting Robbie in the nuts.
“There was no need for the hospital,” she answered, “Well at least not yet.”
I was now more than confused, and the giggles were starting to piss me off, I knew I had to keep a lid on things and waited for her patiently to tell me what was going on.
“What do you mean?” I asked calmly “You told me you were not feeling so good earlier.”
There was an irritable silence that followed my words, and I could sense I wouldn’t like what she was about to relay to me.
“David.”
“Yes, Sarah.”
“I am pregnant.”
Robbie was not only a screw up; he was the mother of screw-ups! I thought I was only going to have to deal with Sarah’s broken heart, but he had to throw a bastard in the mix. Just when I thought I had heard the worst news in the world, Sarah spoke up.
“And we are getting married,” she announced in an over the moon excited voice, “And you will help me plan the biggest wedding in the whole world, Prince William will have nothing at my wedding…”
I listened to her ramble on and on about her wedding plans, but my mind was not really there. How was I going to tell my sister she had just gotten engaged to one of the most wanted criminals by the FBI?
23
Robbie
I knew David was up to no good, he had set me up. I leaned back in the back seat of my car and looked at the message that had just lit up my cell phone. There he was seated at the corner of a cheap ass bar talking to Brad. He had a baseball cap on but I could recognize his built from anywhere in the world. Keeping track of details was a required skill in my previous line of work; I could pick up on a scent as good as a sniff dog would. Like Sarah’s feminine scent that constantly played on my nostrils. The thought of Sarah slightly diffused by anger but I went on to stare at the photo.
I needed to plan my next course of action which would definitely include killing Brad for luring me into this trap. After which, I would have to tell Sarah the truth especially now that she carried my baby. Edward kept driving through the hills just as I had instructed him to; I had to blow off some steam. And as much as I wanted to down a bottle of scotch by myself, I needed to make my next decision on a clear and sober mind. Sarah called when my phone was still glued to my left hand. I wanted to answer it but was nervous as hell, not the good kind of love nervous but the ‘Did David tell her about me?’ nervous.
“Hey babe”, I answered and waited for her to yell at me or curse or whichever came first.
“Hey love”.
I winced and tightened my butt cheeks as I tried to decipher her response. She had been shockingly sweet of late, not the rude blunt Sarah I had gotten used to over the weeks. I felt uneasy and wondered if by any chance she was being sarcastic but decided to play along.
“How are you feeling today?” I asked and threw a glance at my wrist watch. It was 9:00 am and I knew she w
ould narrate to me how our baby was making her hurl her guts out.
“Better than yesterday”, she announced gleefully “The color of puke changed and so did the quantity”.
“Was it more or less?”
“Less”, she said “But I might throw up a second time, I can feel it in my stomach”.
Here I was talking about my unborn baby with the woman I love, what could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, David setting me up, that son of a bitch!
“Baby are you still there?”
This question made me realize that I had slightly drifted away into my own world.
“I am right here sweetie, did you take the meds the doctor gave you the other day?” I asked “She said you should do that before meals”.
“I did”.
We talked some more about how concentrated her urine had felt that morning and how she craved scrambled eggs with ketchup. After which, I hang up the phone and let her have a nap.
It had been a week since Sarah had broken the news to me, she had not resumed work and I could tell she was at limbo about telling her boss she was pregnant. She had spent all her time at the mansion, being waited on and pampered like the queen that she truly was.
Sarah had mentioned something about David not being happy for her but I simply did not care. I was happy and was planning to remain happy for quite some time.
I looked again at the photo in my phone; the two idiots must have something on me if only I knew what. That would make dealing with David a lot easier, I ran my left hand through my hair. I had not styled it that day, the short stray locks played on my freckled forehead as I tried to figure out how to get out of this mess.
“We’re here sir”, Edward announced.
I sat up and took in my surroundings, he was right we were now surrounded by green vegetation and rocky ground. I did not wait for Edward to get the door for me; the fresh vegetation air that filled my lungs automatically was refreshing.
“Here you go sir”, he said and handed me my riffle.
He then went to the trunk of the vehicle and pulled out a sack of water melons.
“Should I set them in place for you sir?” he asked.
“Yes please”.
Edward’s loyalty was priceless and as I watched him align the gigantic water melons for me I wondered if he would ever sell me out. Everyone had a price and I had to wonder what his was, he didn’t seem like the flashy kind to me neither did he talk much about his family.
Once he was out of site, I aimed my riffle at the water melons and fired away. After eight shots and not missing a single target, I swelled with pride. I had not lost my sniper skills and it all felt good. Edward lingered in the back with a smoke in his right hand as I walked towards the crushed water melons. The sight of it made me happy and I coldly wished that one of them was Brad’s face.
I then strolled back to the car, stretched out my arms and took in a lungful of fresh air. There was a lot I needed to put into consideration before I could calculate my next move. But first I needed to know what David knew, he was my biggest worry. I was not sure if he would tell Sarah about his findings too and this literally sent shivers up and down my spine.
But I was sure about one thing, Brad had to die! It was true what they said, there is no honor among thieves and old habits die hard. If I was going to take a deep into my past life, why not start with the traitor? After all, once a hit man, always a hit man.
24
Sarah
After puking for a second and third time and taking a nap ay 10:00 in the morning, I sat in Robbie’s office chair and stared at the images the laptop presented me. I never saw myself as a wife material to anyone but here I was looking at wedding dress designs and thinking about the man I loved.
I knew the wedding would be nothing short of glamorous, with Robbie being a billionaire I expected nothing less. There was something that was a bother though with my current situation, David had not taken the news so well and I wanted to know why.
I placed a call to him almost immediately and he picked up after the third ring.
“Hello Sarah”.
He sounded so formal, a clear indication that there was something gravely wrong.
“How is my favorite brother doing?”
“I am your only brother”.
“That is why you are my favorite”.
The twinge of anger in his voice was evident which got me worried.
“What is going on David?”
A stilled awkward silence followed after my question. I wanted to back it up with another question but he answered me in good time.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean you have been as cold as the North Pole ever since I told you about my pregnancy”.
“I am not mad about that”, he answered “I love babies and cannot wait to be an uncle”.
I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or genuinely happy, he indeed loved babies.
“What are you mad about then?”
“Your marriage to that pompous rich asshole”.
And there it was, all set out in the light and made clear as day, he did not approve of the wedding but it nevertheless did not come as a surprise.
“David”. I started but was interrupted by his next words.
“Let’s not do this on the phone”.
“Can we meet today?” I asked.
“Sure”.
“In about half an hour?”
I could feel the hesitation in his voice as he went silent again and answered “I will cancel a few things”.
David was smart, he knew better than to annoy a pregnant woman who had very unstable hormones.
“Alright, I will see you then”.
I hang up the phone and threw my glance back to the wedding dresses on the laptop. I suddenly was not in the mood anymore and somehow wished I had a group of girlfriends to help me choose the perfect dress.
After downing a cold glass of orange juice and feeling slightly refreshed from it, I called Sebastian to tell him I would like to leave the mansion.
“Does Mr. Robert know you want to leave the house?”
I gave him a blank stare as I sieved the different insulting words that I could hurl at the old man.
“No he does not, did he give orders about me not leaving the house?” I inquired sharply.
“He only said we should notify him when you leave and where you’ll be headed”.
I wanted to let out a sarcastic laughter but again refrained myself; I looked at the old loyal man and blinked back my contempt.
“Alright, please get a car ready for me”, I said with a tone of finality.
I watched him leave the room and took in another deep breathe, a dizzy spell overwhelmed me a second time. I let it pass and got to my feet and headed to the car, being rich was a privilege. Everyone waited on me like a fragile ornament; I could definitely get used to this.
The drive to the rendezvous spot was smooth and it made me crave for a cold milk shake. I knew just the place I needed to be and texted David the address.
“Edward, do you know where the smoothie factory is in town?” I asked as he drove on.
“Yes I do”.
“Please take me there”.
“Yes ma’am”.
The last one week had been a fairy tale to me, I had not stepped foot at work neither had I answered any phone calls. Nothing sounded or felt important to me anymore other than the baby I was carrying inside me. I took in a deep breath and thought back to how hard I had worked at my career. Was I now going to be a rich trophy wife? I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Mr. Dawson would not let me out in the field once he knew I was pregnant and disclosing my current state to him was a necessity.
Robbie had been nothing but sweet and I had pictured myself getting married to him and living with him for the rest of my life. That was the scariest part, living with someone for a lifetime could not in any way be easy. A much as I tried to avoid thinking about my current circumstances
, I could not. Maybe David would help me reason clearly. I thought about all this as Edward drove on and finally parked in front of the Smoothie factory. My salivary glands started acting up at the sight of smoothies, shakes, ice cream and frozen yoghurt. I felt like I had just walked into the gates of heaven and had been greeted at the door with the most mouth watering and angelic delicacies.
I had my feel of frozen yoghurt and promised myself a glass of shake for later as I looked for a good spot to seat. David called me after I had indulged in my first spoon and assured me that he was only minutes away. I took in my surroundings and could not help but notice the different couples who were seated at the smoothie factory. Most looked at each other with lovey dovey googly eyes as they fed each other spoons of ice cream. I thought back to the days when public displays of affection nauseated me and let a smile light up my face.
I was now in the same world as them and I knew exactly what they felt.
“Hello stranger”, David’s voice made me jump back to reality “I thought pregnancy women were supposed to eat healthy foods?”
Trust David to always be cautious and protective of me, I smiled and indulged in yet another hearty spoon as my response.
“I have been thinking of nothing else since morning”, I confessed. This was a partial lie, I had been thinking of a lot since morning, David’s reaction to the news was of course one of the things that had been constantly on my mind. I took in a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye, we never danced around the truth with David and I wanted to get rid of the awkwardness that had befallen us.
“So what the hell is your problem, David?” I asked and could not help but stain my voice with emotion “Why are you not happy for me?”
David shifted slightly in his seat before looking up at me and letting out a sarcastic smile. I wasn’t sure if it was sarcastic or all knowing but I was pretty damn sure he was hiding something from me.
“I don’t like him”, he answered.
“Is that it?”
“No”, he went on “I don’t think he is the right man for you Sarah. You deserve so much better”.
