Sparks (Wild Irish Silence Book 1)

by Sherryl Hancock

  To her surprise, the lie worked and she drove up to Allexxiss’ house. She knocked on the front door, and was told that Allexxiss was upstairs. Angelica went up to the room she was directed to. She knocked, and heard someone say, “Come in.”

  As she walked inside, Angelica saw Allexxiss lying on the bed. She was dressed in a sweat suit. She walked around to the side of the bed, and was shocked to see fading bruises on Allexxiss’ cheek and mouth.

  “Allex, what happened?” Angelica asked, kneeling next to the bed.

  Allexxiss looked at her, but her eyes didn’t seem to register who she was.

  “What happened?” Angelica repeated, sounding concerned.

  Allex shook her head slowly, then buried her face in her arms.

  “Allex,” Angelica said, reaching out to touch her hair, “tell me what happened, please?”

  Allexxiss just shook her head, keeping her face buried in her arms. Angelica sat on the floor next to the bed for a long time. Finally, she gave up, but she thought maybe she’d just keep coming back until Allexxiss talked to her. With that thought in mind, she got up, leaned over, and kissed Allexxiss’ head.

  She walked out of the room and was surprised when a young girl stopped her.

  “You’re Ms. Allexxiss’ friend, no?” said the girl in a French accent.

  “Yes,” Angelica said, “do you know what happened?”

  “Oui, the mister, he get very angry with her and they fight,” the girl said.

  “Did he hit her?” Angelica asked, but she knew he must have.

  “Oui,” the girl said, “but the spirit, it’s been broke long before this.”

  Angelica winced at the thought.

  “Thank you,” Angelica said, “can I ask you one favor?”

  “Oui, mademoiselle,” the girl said.

  “Can you watch out for her for the next day or so?” Angelica asked.

  “Oui,” the girl said, looking at Angelica curiously.

  “I might have an idea of what to do here,” Angelica said, smiling.

  Angelica called Devlin when she left Allexxiss’ house and he told her to come to his house in Malibu. Once there, she told him everything that she’d been told.

  “We need to do something,” Angelica said to Devlin

  “Yeah, we do and we will. Let me call Tabbie, we’ll go straight to BJ.”

  An hour later, Angelica and Devlin walked up to BJ’s house.

  “I think Angelica and I should go talk to him,” Tabitha said, as she let them in.

  “And what should I do?” Devlin asked, with a crooked grin.

  “Stay down here and listen for yelling,” Tabitha said, smiling at him.

  “I always get the fun part,” Devlin said.

  Angelica and Tabitha went upstairs to Brenden’s room. Tabitha knocked and Brenden told them to come in. He was sitting on his bed, wearing sweats and no shirt. Angelica had to admit to herself that BJ Sparks was a good-looking man even at almost forty.

  “What are you two doing here?” Brenden asked.

  “Daddy, we need to talk to you,” Tabitha said cautiously.

  Brenden sat back and blew his breath out, bringing one knee up to his chest.

  “’Bout wot?” he asked.

  “About Mom,” Allexxiss said.

  Brenden’s face closed down instantly as he shook his head.

  “That’s over, Tabitha,” he said sternly. “Over and done with.”

  “Daddy, wait!” Tabitha said. “You have to listen to this, first, please? This is Angelica Benita, and she’s in the movie Mom’s been working on. She’s talked to Mom about what’s been going on. Please listen to her.”

  Brenden looked rebellious, but he could see that the two young women were on a mission.

  “Fine, make it quick,” he said, his tone disgusted.

  “Look, Mr. Sparks,” Angelica said, stepping forward. “I know why Allex left you.”

  “Yeah, why?” Brenden asked sharply, but the pain reflected in his eyes told Angelica he was still hurt by it.

  “Because Max threatened her,” Angelica said. “He told her that if she left him for you, that he’d ruin you.”

  Brenden’s look was cynical.

  “Daddy,” Tabitha put in, “Angelica told Devlin and Devlin had your lawyer check into it, and he told us that you’re worth way more than Max is.”

  “But when I told Allexxiss this, she said she saw some financial report Max had on you that said you were only worth eighteen million, and that fifteen of that was tied up in the movie,” Angelica told him.

  Brenden grinned at that point, shaking his head.

  “What did she see, Daddy?” Tabitha asked.

  Brenden shrugged. “Probably a financial report on BJ Sparks.”

  “Huh?” Angelica asked.

  “My real name is Brenden James O’Malley,” Brenden said, “and a lot of my money is hidden under that name.”

  “To keep people like Max from ruining you?” Tabitha said.

  “To protect you, baby,” Brenden said. “From men who might go after you for your money.”

  “Oh,” Tabitha said.

  “So, see?” Angelica said. “Allex was trying to protect you. She said she could handle Max ruining her, but she refused to let him hurt you or Tabitha. That you’d worked too hard to get where you were now.”

  “I suppose coming and talking to me about it was just too logical, huh?” Brenden muttered.

  “Max told her to break it off immediately,” Angelica said. “She said she couldn’t face breaking it off with you, and that was why she went to Jamaica.”

  “With him,” Brenden put in.

  “No,” Angelica said, “she wasn’t with him in Jamaica. He planted that story.”

  “And the baby?” Brenden asked.

  “There was no baby,” Angelica said. “In fact, she said if there had been a baby it would have been yours, since she had stopped sleeping with Max the minute she was back with you.”

  Brenden sat back, taking a deep breath and expelling it slowly.

  “Daddy, there’s something else now,” Tabitha said, her tone changing slightly.

  “What?” he asked, sitting up.

  “Allex has been really depressed,” Angelica said. “Since New York, but now …”

  “Now what?” Brenden asked, sensing this was not going to be something he wanted to hear.

  “Apparently she and Max are fighting and he hit her a few days ago,” Angelica said.

  Brenden shot up off the bed. “He what?” he said, his voice low and threatening.

  Angelica swallowed. “I went over there today to see her, and she has fading bruises on her face. She wouldn’t tell me what happened, but a maid there told me that he’d hit her.”

  “I’ll fucking kill him,” Brenden growled.

  Tabitha and Angelica looked at each other. There was no doubt whether or not he still loved Allexxiss.

  “Give me their address,” Brenden said, as he walked toward his closet.

  “You’re going over there?” Tabitha asked.

  “You have a better idea?” Brenden asked.

  “Uh,” Tabitha stammered, “Daddy, maybe you should let one of us get her to come here.”

  “After that shit in New York?” Brenden asked from inside his closet. “You think she’s ever going to approach me again?”

  Tabitha looked questioningly at Angelica, figuring she was more likely to know Allexxiss’ state of mind at that moment. Angelica only shook her head sadly. She knew Allex wasn’t likely to make another overture to BJ again.

  “Well, okay,” Tabitha said, “but maybe someone calmer should go over there with you.”

  Brenden came out of his closet wearing faded jeans and a black tank top, carrying black alligator skin boots. He sat on the bed to put them on.

  “I’m perfectly calm,” he said, but the light burning in his eyes was anything but calm. “And I’ll continue to be calm while I take his ass apart.”

  “Daddy!
” Tabitha said, worried that he’d get himself into trouble.

  “Relax, Tabbie,” Brenden said, standing up and walking over to his daughter. He kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll only kill him a little.”

  Brenden walked out of the room before Tabitha could stop him. He headed down the back stairs to the garage. Devlin caught up with him just as he went to start the engine of the Barracuda.

  “Where ya goin’?” Devlin asked, leaning on the hood of the car.

  “Out,” Brenden replied mildly.

  “Can I come?” Devlin asked, his smile falsely beatific.

  “Nope,” Brenden said.

  “Ah, come on,” Devlin said, grinning and refusing to get off the hood of the car.

  “Get off my car, Dev,” Brenden said, narrowing his eyes.

  “Now, is that any way to talk to your best friend?” Devlin asked.

  “It is if I’m getting ready to run your ass over,” Brenden replied.

  “Fine,” Devlin said moving away. “Just call me if you need help.”

  “Will do,” Brenden said as he started the engine and hit the button on the remote to open the garage.

  Brenden pulled up to the security gates to the Putnam Estates twenty minutes later, after blowing five stop signs and three red lights. The security officer at the gate looked at him for a long moment.

  “Your name?” the officer said.

  “BJ Sparks,” Brenden answered evenly.

  “You’re not on the list,” the officer said, without a flicker of recognition.

  “Let me put it to you simply,” Brenden said, putting his hand calmly on the side of his car. “Open the gate now, or I’ll use this car to ram it.”

  “You wouldn’t,” the officer said offhandedly, looking the car over, “What is this, a sixty-eight ’Cuda?”

  “Yeah,” Brenden replied, grinning in spite of himself. “So you can see it would be criminal for me to fuck it up on Putnam’s gate, right?”

  “Yeah, it would be,” the officer replied.

  “But you see,” Brenden said, taking off his sunglasses, “Putnam has something that belongs to me in that mausoleum of a house,” he said evenly, “and I want it back.”

  The officer looked back at him for a long moment, and suddenly it hit him who he was talking to.

  “Hold on, you’re BJ Sparks,” the officer said.

  “That’s what I said, yeah,” Brenden said, doing his best not to roll his eyes at the man.

  “Well, in that case,” the officer said, reaching into the guard shack.

  Brenden hoped that he wasn’t reaching for a gun or the phone to call the police. He’d been serious about ramming the gate though, one more crime for rock’s bad boy. The officer took out a clipboard.

  “Says here you’re kinda on Putnam’s most wanted list,” the officer said.

  “Am I now?” Brenden said calmly.

  “Yeah,” the officer said, “but since I think I know what you’re here to reclaim, I’ll let you in. Can’t say my fellow officers will be so easy on you though,” the officer told him.

  “S’okay, I’ll take it as it comes,” Brenden said.

  The officer inclined his head to Brenden. “You have a good day, Mr. Sparks.”

  “You too,” Brenden said, grinning as the gate opened. “And if you lose your job over this, come see me.”

  “I’ll remember that, sir,” the officer said, breaking into a smile.

  Brenden drove up to the house and got out of the car. He walked up the stairs and rang the bell. The butler came to the door.

  “I’m here to see Allexxiss,” Brenden said politely.

  “She’s indisposed at the moment, sir,” the butler replied.

  “Well, I can deal with indisposed,” Brenden replied, with a tight smile on his lips. “Just tell me where she is.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, she’s not available at this time,” the butler replied, getting more indignant by the moment.

  Brenden looked back at the man for a moment, then leaned indolently against the doorjamb. “Is Max available, by any chance?” he asked, his light blue-green eyes glittering with malice.

  “No, he’s not here at the moment,” the butler said.

  “Then get Allex, now,” Brenden said.

  “Sir!” the butler blustered as Brenden pushed past him into the foyer.

  “Look,” Brenden said. “I’m going to see her, one way or the other, so either tell me where she is, or be prepared to do a lot of cleaning when I’m done trashing the place to find her.”

  “I’m calling security!” the butler blustered, moving down the hallway.

  Brenden shook his head, then looked around him. He saw the staircase and started up it, looking down both ends of the hallway when he reached the top.

  “Monsieur,” called a girl from the side of one of the doors.

  Brenden looked at her. “Yeah?” he asked.

  “Allexxiss, she is down here,” the girl said.

  “Thank you,” Brenden said. Max sure had a lot of staff willing to betray him.

  A minute later, he was in Allexxiss’ bedroom and found her lying on the bed. As he approached her, he noticed that she held something in her hand, and was turning it around and around. It was his lighter, a black Zippo with blue and white lightning bolts.

  He knelt down next to the bed. “So that’s where that went,” he said softly.

  Allexxiss looked at him, and her eyes widened as she realized who was talking.

  “Hey baby,” he said softly, reaching out to touch her cheek.

  “Bren?” she queried softly.

  “Yeah,” he said, his fingers caressing her cheek. “And we need to get you out of here, babe.”

  “I can’t,” she said, shaking her head sadly.

  “You let me worry about can’ts, okay?” he told her, standing up and picking her up in his arms.

  “Bren …” she whispered. “I can’t …”

  “You can, and you are,” he said, then started walking towards the door.

  He got down the stairs and saw two security guards waiting for him.

  “Gentlemen,” he said, inclining his head, and continuing to head for the front door.

  “We can’t let you do that,” one guard said.

  “Really?” Brenden asked, looking genuinely surprised. “Why not?”

  “Mrs. Putnam belongs here,” the other guard said.

  “Who says?” Brenden said, staring back at them.

  “Her husband said she’s to remain in this house,” said the first guard. He was a short stocky man with close-cropped blond hair and tiny mean-looking eyes.

  “I don’t know if you realize this or not, Nazi-boy, but this is a free country, and Allex can go wherever she wants to go.”

  “She doesn’t look like she’s going of her own accord,” the second guard said. He was a slightly taller version of the first. Max definitely hired all brawn no brains kind of guys.

  Brenden looked down at Allex, who was staring up at him as if she couldn’t believe it was really him.

  “You want to go with me, or stay here, baby?” he asked her.

  He was praying she wouldn’t repeat the “I can’t” phrase again, but either way he was getting her out of this house.

  “Bren?” she queried softly.

  Brenden nodded, thinking she was probably drunk. No help there.

  “Look, boys,” he said finally. “I’m leaving here with her and you’re either going let me, or you’re going to have to stop me. I’ll tell you right now, I’ll hurt anyone that tries to stop me.”

  “And we’ll beat the shit out of anyone that he doesn’t finish,” Devlin said from the doorway. He smiled malevolently as he stood with one of Brenden’s own security team, a large man with large fists and an Airborne Ranger tattoo prominently displayed on his forearm.

  The two guards looked at the security guy and Devlin, then back at Brenden. Max went cheap on the security people, so neither of these guys were armed, and they were
both smaller than Brenden.

  “What’s it gonna be, boys?” Brenden asked.

  There was a long moment of silence, then both security guards stepped back out of Brenden’s way. He carried Allex out of the house, and put her into the passenger’s side of his car. He had to unlock her fingers from around his neck, she was holding on to him so tight.

  “Thanks you two,” Brenden said, with a nod to Devlin and his security guy.

  “Couldn’t let you be gallant all alone,” Devlin said, grinning.

  “Makin’ us look bad,” the guard added, flashing a grin.

  Brenden laughed.

  “I’ll meet you two back at the house,” he told them, as he got in on the driver’s side of the Barracuda.

  “Will do,” Devlin said.

  On the drive back to his house, Brenden noticed that Allexxiss was leaning heavily against the car door. He suspected she’d been drinking a lot, and wondered if she’d been medicating in other ways too. Once at his house, he carried her upstairs to his room. She was asleep by that time. He laid her on his bed and covered her up.

  He stood watching her sleep for a while, then went downstairs.

  “Is she okay?” Tabitha asked him the minute he walked into the kitchen.

  “She seems pretty out of it,” Brenden said.

  “I think she’s been taking anti-depressants lately,” Angelica said, having seen a bottle of Prozac in her trailer a couple of times.

  “And drinking, it smells like. Lovely mix,” Brenden said, “been there myself.”

  Angelica nodded, looking worried.

  Devlin walked in then.

  “What took you two so long?” Brenden asked.

  “Had a little run in with the locals,” Devlin said.

  “The police?” Tabitha asked.

  “Yup,” Devlin said, nodding.

  “What happened?” Angelica asked.

  “Nothing,” Devlin said. “We explained that we were merely visiting a sick friend, and that she was being taken somewhere for care,” he said, smiling broadly.

  “You lied to a police officer, Devlin McGregor?” Tabitha asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “No,” he replied, “I merely stretched the truth a bit.”

  “That’s called lying, honey,” Tabitha said, winking at him.