Fallen Angel, Part 1

by Podger, Tracie

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “He was a good man. He cared for his children, and he cared for Robert and Travis but at the time there weren’t many opportunities for someone who had just got off a boat from Italy. It was the only way he knew how to make the money to raise us. The Mafia, as such, has never really been around, in numbers, in Washington. They thrive in Italian communities, it’s where they recruit from, and Washington is the home of the President. Despite that, there’s always been families, organised crime, gangsters, whatever words you want to use, and because there was no established Mafia here, my father used that to his advantage I guess.”

  “What about your brother, what happened to him? If he was not happy about Robert, could he have come back now?” I asked.

  “The last time I heard anything, he’d started and failed many businesses and yes, it’s something the boys are looking into, trying to track him down.”

  “What was it like, to grow up in that environment?” I asked. “Were you not scared?”

  “It was all I knew. After my mother died, my sister and I looked after the family, Robert and Travis included. Being a girl, I wasn’t involved of course, but yes I was scared sometimes. Scared for my father, but I knew Robert would protect him, like he has protected me all these years,” she said, smiling at him sadly.

  “Like he’ll protect you for always,” she added.

  “So where does this leave us now?” I asked Robert.

  “Travis and Mack are trying to find Joey, Evelyn’s brother. It won’t take them long and if it was him, we can deal with it.”

  “How? How will you deal with it?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  “It depends, Brooke. I am not going to lie to you, I don’t like being shot at, and I like it even less that you were there. If it is him, he can’t be given a chance to do it again.”

  I saw his eyes darken and a little shiver ran up my spine. I looked at Evelyn; it was her brother he was talking about.

  “Brooke, if he was stupid enough to do this, he’ll pay a price for that. It’s how it works,” she said.

  “He’s your brother, Evelyn. You can’t sanction that, surely,” I said, hearing the panic in my voice.

  “No I don’t, of course, but he knows how important Robert is to me, and he also knows how fond our father was of him. If it’s him, he has made his bed, Brooke, now he has to lie in it, whatever the consequences.”

  I held up my hands, “I don’t think I want to know any more, not right now.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes; Evelyn and Robert gave me some time to digest what they had just said.

  “Do you want to look at the CCTV clip?” Robert asked and I nodded, anything to distract me from what I had just heard.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I leant over Robert’s shoulder as he sat at his computer. I breathed in the scent of him. I knew so much more about him and whether I’d liked it or not, I was still in love with him and I still wanted to be with him. There seemed to be an unexplainable tie, I hardly understood it, but even knowing what I did, I knew I would not leave.

  He opened an email and we watched Miranda walk into the foyer. She handed something to a girl standing behind the reception desk.

  “Pause it,” I said, looking closer. The screen was a little grainy, but I was sure I knew who I was looking at.

  “That’s Gabby,” I said, pointing.

  “She doesn’t work on reception, she works in Sam’s office, why is she there?”

  Robert picked up his phone and called Travis over.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Yes, I know the picture’s not great but I’m sure it’s her,” I replied.

  Travis walked into the room and I repeated what I’d just said.

  “Don’t get mad all right, but I think she’s been following me,” I added.

  Both Robert and Travis looked at me.

  “What the fuck do you mean, Brooke, and why have you not mentioned this?” Robert asked, his voice was frighteningly low.

  “I said, don’t get mad. I didn’t really think about it until now. There have been a couple of times I’ve seen her, across the street when she should have been at work, following Sam when he met me for lunch. I didn’t say because I didn’t understand what I was seeing. There was a time when we went to lunch, I thought she asked too many questions about your business, something niggled at me but it has only come to my mind now. She asked me if I knew what you really did. Another time, she came to Sam’s when I was there, planning his blessing, she seemed to make a list of guests, and your name was at the top.”

  I wracked my brain for any other example, “You’re going to think this strange, Robert, but you met her, in the foyer when Sam and I were going out. She didn’t react to you at all.”

  “Now you’ve lost me,” he said.

  “You must have noticed, every woman you meet ends up a simpering idiot, but she didn’t. She seemed, I don’t know, detached might be the right word. Trust me, she works with Sam, why would she be on reception?” I asked.

  “Trav, get on it, find out who she is, who employed her, as much as you can,” he said.

  “She told me that she worked at one of the hotels. I think she was on reception but transferred to your office because she wanted to learn more, move about the business a bit. She said she wanted to be the first woman on the board,” I added.

  Travis left, immediately putting his phone to his ear and called Mack. Perhaps they had something to go on, perhaps it had nothing to do with Evelyn’s brother after all, but for the life of me, I couldn’t come up with a reason for Gabby either.

  “Have you met her before, is she an ex or something?” I asked.

  “Brooke, despite what you might think, I haven’t dated that many women that I would forget one. No, I haven’t met her before,” he said, studying her face on the computer screen.

  “Start from the beginning and tell me everything again,” he asked.

  I told him everything I could remember, adding that Sam had said she’d only been around about a month, that he thought she didn’t have many friends, and the times I thought I saw her. Closing the computer down we made our way to the kitchen for dinner, something smelled great, and with relief I felt my tummy grumble, my appetite was back.

  After serving, Evelyn left and we were finally alone.

  “How are you doing, really?” Robert asked.

  “I’m scared, obviously, for me and you. It helped talking to Taylor and Patricia, to get an understanding of what I should feel like.” I put my knife and fork down.

  “I get why you didn’t tell me any of this and I appreciate that you have now, but I have to be honest, my head tells me to get the hell out of here but my heart won’t let me.”

  He nodded and pushed aside his plate.

  “My head tells me to make you get the hell out of here, but my heart won’t let me also,” he didn’t look at me when he spoke.

  “I just want to make time go back a day, not go to that show or not stay that late after. I want to go back to where we were, before I knew all of this,” I said.

  “I don’t come from your world, Robert. You say you’re not Mafia but I know that’s just a play on words, and people back home don’t carry guns, but I can’t imagine my life without you, not anymore.”

  He turned on his stool to face me. He pulled me towards him and his hands cupped my face.

  “What do you see, Brooke, when you look in my eyes? Do you see anything different from yesterday, a week, a month ago?” he asked.

  “No, you see exactly the same, don’t you.”

  A tear fell from my eye and he kissed it away.

  “I would kill anyone who hurt you,” he said, and I knew he’d meant every word he had just said.

  Taking my hand he led me downstairs and while I gently cried, he undressed me. He placed small kisses over my neck, my shoulders, and his fingers trailed up my spine. The desire I felt for him seemed to
have intensified, I wanted him to make love to me, to reconnect with me. He pulled his shirt over his head, stepped out of his jeans and held me to him, skin on skin. I could feel his heartbeat, I could smell him and I let my hands travel all over, feeling him.

  He picked me up and laid me gently on the bed, climbing on beside me. We lay facing each other and his fingers traced a line down my cheeks, over my shoulder and down my side to my hips. My body responded to his touch, my breath quickened, my stomached knotted, and I felt that familiar heat travel over me.

  He gently pushed me onto my back, he kissed me, and it was the gentlest kiss. His mouth moved down to my throat, to my chest, his tongue ran around my nipples and my hands fisted in his hair. His lips moved down over my stomach, his tongue found my clitoris, which throbbed at its touch. His fingers probed inside me and soon enough an orgasm overtook me.

  He moved above me, sliding my legs apart with his, and very gently pushed himself inside. He moved so slowly, his face was above me, and his eyes looked straight into mine. He was gentle, tender, and took his time, bringing me to another orgasm before he gave in himself.

  Lying on top of me, he whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

  I held him tight and cried with a mixture of sadness and happiness. He had told me he loved me. I thought I’d heard him say it the previous night but couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a dream.

  The words I wanted to hear the most, he’d just given to me. He moved off me, onto his side and his hand swept my hair from my face.

  “I love you, Brooke. You’ll never know just how much because there are no words,” he said, looking me straight in the eyes, he really meant it.

  I watched as his breathing slowed and his eyelids closed, he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept much the night before. He moved onto his stomach with his head facing me, resting on his forearms. My fingers trailed over his back, like I would soothe a child, and I let him sleep.

  “My Fallen Angel,” I whispered, as my fingers traced the tattoo on his back.

  With his arms where they were, it was like her wings were spread, ready to fly. At some point I fell asleep myself, facing him with my arm over his back keeping contact.

  ***

  I woke as the sun rose, alone in the bed. I touched the pillow where his head had been, hugging it to me and I breathed in his smell. I thought back at how tender and caring he had been, how far he’d come from that very first night. I was grateful to him for letting me in, and I appreciated how hard it had been for him to open up to me. It made me feel special. I was the first person he’d really been himself with, shown his inner feelings to, and the first person he’d ever told he loved.

  “Can you forgive him anything?”

  Those words came into my mind and without hesitation, the answer was yes. Yes I could.

  I had my appointment that morning and knowing Robert had already left for work, I slowly showered, washed my hair, dried it, and applying some makeup. It was time to get back to me, show the world I was okay. I dressed and headed upstairs, a cup of tea was waiting for me, and I smiled at Evelyn. I wanted her to know that I was grateful to her too. She had told me about her father, her life and I doubted there were many who knew. She trusted me to share that information with.

  “You look lovely, Brooke. You have your appointment this morning don’t you?” she asked, she knew my movements as well.

  “Yes, then I thought I would go to the shops. I want to get some workout clothes for Kerry; we have training tonight. Don’t worry I’ll be careful, I have Mark with me,” I said.

  Dr. Jackson was a lovely woman, a specialist in women’s medicine, she’d told me. She gave me a thorough check up, took my blood pressure, which I was surprised to see was not at all elevated. I’d lost a little weight but was not too concerned about it and we discussed my birth control options. I explained about my ovaries, I wanted the birth control for my periods and she suggested the right medication.

  One hour later, I was back in the car, having sent a text to Robert to let him know how I got on, I added, “All good, healthy and well.”

  I asked Mark to find a sport shop on the way back home. He parked the car in a no parking zone right outside the shop.

  Another one who doesn’t get parking tickets I thought and we wandered in.

  Looking through the rails, I wondered if people thought we were a couple, perhaps one who’d had a row since we didn’t speak. I selected a few items and made my way to the till. As I paid and collected my bag, I was stopped in my tracks.

  Browsing the rail nearby was Gabby. I discretely touched Marks arm and hoped he would follow my gaze. He didn’t and I panicked a little, had he been told about her? Walking towards the door, I pretended I hadn’t noticed her but she stepped from the aisle in front of me.

  “Hi, Brooke. Have you bought anything nice?” she asked breezily.

  Remembering what Robert had said, I smiled, “Gabby, I just wanted some new workout gear, have you got the day off?” I asked, tying to keep any emotion from my voice.

  “Yes, a couple of days, catch up on some shopping, how about lunch?” she asked.

  “Oh, I would love to but I’ve an appointment in a bit, maybe another time,” I said.

  She didn’t seem to want to move and I was unsure what to do. She looked at Mark and a spark of fear shot through me. They knew each other. I saw the recognition in her face.

  “Let’s get in the car,” she said and Mark did nothing to stop her.

  I tried to fumble around in my bag, find my phone without being noticed but she had and snatched it away.

  “Don’t make a sound,” I heard Mark say behind me as he grabbed my arm, his fingers dug into my biceps.

  How could he? How could he betray Robert this way?

  Keep calm, I repeated over and over in my head, remember what Patricia said.

  No one attacks the wives; there would be trouble. I only hoped that it was just another way to frighten Robert.

  Mark opened the car door and I climbed in, Gabby followed.

  “Gabby, what’s this all about?” I asked.

  “Shut it, Brooke,” all pretence at being friendly had gone.

  “Mark, what the fuck are you doing?” I asked.

  He ignored me.

  We drove towards the house and I knew that the car would allow us in. I frantically thought of what to do. I needed to get out before we got there, I tugged at the door handle; it was locked. What was supposed to keep me secure had now trapped me inside.

  Evelyn was my next thought. Where was she, would she be in the house? If so, what would happen to the two of us?

  “Robert is expecting me to call, Mark. You know if I don’t he will be trying to contact me,” I said.

  He picked up his phone and dialled a number.

  “Just taking Miss Stiles back to the house, her phone battery is dead, can you let Mr. Stone know,” he said, and with a sickening smile in the rear view mirror he disconnected the call.

  The gates opened and just as we were about to drive in, a man got in the front of the car. Short and stocky, he was definitely Italian, and familiar. I’d seen him before; he’d been smoking a cigar as he’d leant against a well. My stomach knotted.

  Turning in his seat to look at me, he smiled at Gabby, “Good work,” he said.

  We pulled up at the front of the house. Mark opened the car door and grabbed me by the arm to drag me out.

  “There’s a camera at the gate, someone is watching us right now,” I said.

  “Not if they’ve been moved, and by the time they figure it out it will be too late,” the man answered.

  He had done his homework. I looked up at the house; there was no sign of Evelyn, and no lights on above the garages either.

  “Open the door, Brooke,” the man said, as he handed me the keys from my bag.

  With shaking hands, I unlocked the front door, and before I could enter I heard a noise. It was a quieter version of the shot I heard the night before. I turned and saw M
ark slowly fall to his knees; blood seeped through the front of his shirt. My hand flew to my mouth as I looked at him. His mouth was moving but no words came out, his eyes stared wide before he fell, face first, into the gravel. I turned to Gabby, who also looked as shocked as I did.

  “What have you done?” she asked.

  “Not required anymore,” he said, and with his gun, he ushered us up the stairs to the lounge.

  A flash of inspiration came to me and I ran across the room.

  He laughed, “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he said.

  He thought I was running to get away. I just prayed in my mind it would activate the camera in the room.

  “What the fuck did you just do?” Gabby shouted him.

  “There are cameras all over this place, people are on their way now,” I said, trying to calm myself.

  “Mark took care of your cameras, Brooke,” he said. A cruel smile crept over his face and I hope he didn’t know about the one in the room.

  “Mark isn’t the only one that deals with security, there are at least five others. The cameras were updated yesterday, you have about fifteen minutes to get out of here,” I lied.

  Gabby walked over to him she pulled on his arm, “Please, let’s get out of here, you’ve made your point,” she begged.

  He swung his arm, the back of his hand connecting with her mouth, splitting her lip, and she sprawled to the floor. The fear on her face was evident.

  “Don’t ever talk to me that way. I’m not here to just make a point, I haven’t finished with the precious Brooke yet,” he said.

  I calculated what I needed to do; I had one chance to try to get away. I slid off my shoes and slowly walked towards them holding my hands up, pretending to check on Gabby. When I was close enough I kicked out, my foot connected with the hand holding the gun, sending it flying across the room. Seconds later I aimed another kick to the side of his knee. I heard it crack and he went down, clutching his leg.

  “You fucking bitch, you’re gonna pay for that,” he screamed, but before he could finish the sentence I’d run, taking the stairs two at a time.