Unforgivable Cin An Opera in Three Acts (Cin Fin-Lathen Mysteries Book 5)

by Alexie Aaron

  I prayed that Harry hadn’t heard that. I didn’t need him teasing me about it later.

  I lifted the program and scanned the names of the performers. The lights dimmed. I had succeeded in not making eye contact with Dave. I settled back and tried to enjoy the opera.

  ~

  Harry and Sally left for the intermission. Marco waited a moment, checking his phone. “Bella, I must make a call, business.”

  “I’ll go and use the facilities.”

  “Bella, try not to lose your shoe.”

  I smiled wickedly but didn’t answer.

  I thought about taking the stairs but worried that my state of undress would be readily seen. Instead, I waited for the elevator. I smiled at the others waiting there but didn’t venture into any conversation. I could feel the judgment of the women and the lust from the men. I was very happy when the doors opened. I was not happy to see who came out of those doors however.

  To say that Dave was angry was a major understatement. He was furious. He looked at me, taking in the bracelet, and said, “Sold out for a pretty bauble?”

  “Don’t be a child,” I responded, aware of the stares of the departing people and breathed a sigh of relief when the doors closed.

  It was just him and me standing there now.

  “Marco D’Amore is a dangerous man. But you know that. What are you doing?”

  “Harry is with me. I will not be abducted tonight,” I said icily.

  I had hurt him. I turned around and prayed for the elevator to return quickly.

  “Cin, you look beautiful. God, you’re so beautiful.”

  “But damaged. Please understand, Dave, that I need to move on. And if it’s on Marco’s arm, so be it. Yours is unavailable presently.”

  The door opened and I got in. He got in after me. “You and Harry are up to something.”

  “What if we are? The goal is to clear you. Don’t stand in our way. Tonight, I am not bait. Tonight, I chose to be here. To show them that what Kyle did to me will no longer hurt me.”

  “Bravo. Be careful, Cin. Remember whose lover he was. He’s on the list.”

  “No kidding.”

  The doors opened, and I walked out and over to the restroom. I wanted to hide. I walked in, used the facilities, and touched up my lipstick.

  “That is a beautiful dress,” a young woman gushed. “Where did you get it?”

  “I found a new designer, Celia Cabral. She’s amazing. You should really check her out. Now if you’ll excuse me,” I said and left the washroom.

  I wanted a drink so badly, but I didn’t know the custom. I thought, what the hell. I doubted that Marco and I would last for more than this evening anyway. I walked towards the bar. It was like the parting of the red sea, but this sea was made up of men. The bartender looked at me and smiled. He handed me an expensive scotch without my asking for it. Waving off my payment, he nodded upward, and I turned around to see Marco looking down at me as he conversed on the phone. I lifted my glass to him and smiled.

  “Funny meeting you here,” Harry said from behind me.

  I turned around and laughed. “Are you enjoying yourself? You have the most beautiful girl on your arm. I’m jealous.”

  There was an odd sound. I looked puzzled.

  “That’s the sound of a dozen cell phones taking our picture,” Harry said, smiling.

  I smiled back as we made our way out of the throng. “Dave caught up to me.”

  “Me too. Sally is hiding out. I expect she’ll spill her guts Monday at work. I love the bracelet.”

  “Yes, according to Dave, I sold my soul for this bauble.”

  A photographer blatantly walked up and took Harry’s and my picture. We posed. Harry’s arm wrapped around my waist.

  “Headlines, ‘They’re at It Again,’” Harry joked.

  I finished my drink, and Harry took it away. I decided to risk the stairs. Marco put away his phone and watched me climb.

  I reached him, and he drew me to him and kissed me. I heard the phones, but I didn’t care. He put his arm around me and rested his hand on my behind. “Bella, you light up the room.”

  “I am very lucky to have the most handsome man with his hand on my ass,” I said, smiling as a photographer took our picture.

  “Come quickly, I would like to show you something before we have to return to our seats.”

  I let Marco guide me to a curtained alcove. There he kissed me while his hand moved up my skirt. Okay, I’d like to explain my behavior, but I can’t. He took me quickly, and when he was done, he handed back my panties. He took my hand and kissed it, telling me, “Now when you think of the opera, Bella, you will not think of Kyle; you will think only of me.”

  The opera was, from Marco’s and Harry’s comments, “marginal.” I thought the music was a bit restrained for Carmen. Antonia Aldana was a bit old for the part. I hoped that we would leave for dinner, but Marco said, as a patron, he had to put in an appearance at the after party. I stopped off at the restroom before joining him in the hall. He was most demonstrative when I appeared. I think Marco liked a show. I smiled a lazy smile and accepted the drink he offered me.

  “Don’t forget who you came with, Bella,” he said with a deep chuckle.

  Ouch.

  Preston almost pissed himself when he saw me. I looked at him as if he were dirt. Marco pulled me in closer. “Don’t worry, Bella. I know how that snake in the grass played you. I will kill him for you, just ask.”

  “What did he do to me? Am I not here with you? It seems to me that I have won.”

  Marco looked pleased.

  Preston had the balls to come over. I expect he had to do face-time with Marco.

  “Diva, Marco, you make an interesting couple. Diva, your dress is divine, but I would have put you in heels.”

  “I prefer a little stability,” I said.

  The principal performers arrived, and I knew that Dave would soon be entangled with Antonia. He had to play his part. Marco and I made the circuit, and then he whisked me off to dinner. It was a place frequented by the opera crowd. The late hour diners were loud and a bit drunk on expensive wine. Marco ordered for us. He had reverted to a chauvinistic role, and ashamedly, it excited me. Cin would have baulked at having food and wine ordered for her, but Bella just smiled and put her hand on Marco’s thigh.

  Couples stopped at our table, curious about Marco’s new lover. When they realized who I was, they were speechless. I could tell Marco was pleased by this. If he murdered Kyle, it would have been for something other than jealousy. Marco was all about his pleasure. He wasn’t a mean man. He was a romantic and spared no expense to show it.

  Our night at his penthouse apartment was memorable. He was careful not to move in on me too quickly. He was a sensitive but ardent lover. After, he put me in a cab, and I went home smelling of his passion. Harry was not home when I let myself in. I headed for the bathroom and started a bath.

  My cell rang, and I saw that it was Marco. This was either going to be his I have moved on to different pastures call or, perhaps, he wanted his bracelet back.

  “Hello, Marco.”

  “I wanted to make sure you got home alright, Bella.”

  “Thank you, I’m well. I have drawn myself a bath. I had a wonderful time. I so enjoyed being with you.” I stepped into the bath and slid into the water.

  “And I with you. Thank you, Bella.”

  “Thank you, Marco,” I said, expecting these were going to be his last words to me.

  “Bella?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why did you let me have you?” he asked.

  “Because I wanted you. You surprised me, but I enjoyed your attentions.”

  He laughed. “I am a bad man, Bella, but I worried you would think I did that to debase you.”

  “No, nothing you could do would do that, Marco.”

  “You are a puzzlement. I will call you again.”

  “Why? It couldn’t be any better than tonight. You were a wonderful date an
d a responsive lover, but you have other women to make love to. Goodnight, Marco,” I said and hung up. I high-fived myself.

  Marco

  I had heard Harry come in late, so in the morning, I tiptoed around the kitchen, making myself a small filet of steak and cut up a bowl of fruit. I craved protein. It was an expensive undertaking, but as I dined on it, I realized my body was directing my taste buds.

  I slid into the pool after and did some laps before I lay in the sun. I heard the slider and expected Harry. I didn’t expect Buslowski. I looked over and winced. Dave had brought the papers. I reached over and tapped on Harry’s door. He walked over and opened it. He was in his Cary Grant pajamas.

  “Dave’s here. We have to take away his key,” I said, ignoring Dave’s glare from the table.

  “I brought coffee and donuts,” he said, as if that would fix everything.

  “Okay,” I said, getting up. I moved slowly. My legs had had a lot demanded of them last night. I walked over and eased myself into the chair. “You can cross Marco off your list.”

  “Fine,” he said between clenched teeth.

  “How was Antonia? I heard she was a double bagger,” I sniped, reaching for a coffee.

  He smacked my hand away. “Be patient.”

  Harry dragged himself outside. He looked cute. His hair was a curly mess, and he had a hangover. “Who had steak?”

  I raised my hand. “Okay, we’re all assembled. Can I have my coffee?” I asked.

  Dave handed me a black coffee. “This black brew is for Bella. Harry is the latte, double espresso.”

  “I take it, it’s time for the papers,” I said, lowering my sunglasses.

  “Yes it is. Harry, you’re going to have to request another retraction.” He opened the paper. There under the question, “Are They At it Again?” were Harry and I. We both laughed as Harry had almost guessed the caption last night.

  “I love this picture. We should use it for our website,” I said.

  Dave looked at me funny. He moved on. There was a picture of me arriving with Marco. I didn’t have any problem with the picture. The caption however… “Marco D’Amore and Bella arrive for Carmen.” “Doesn’t he call all his women Bella?” I asked. “It’s going to get confusing.”

  “Is that all you have to say, really?” Dave asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  “How about this one?” he asked, tapping one of a nice selection in The Shiny Sheet. The picture was of Marco and me walking on the upper level with his hand on my ass.

  Harry looked over at it. “What no caption? Whose ass is he grabbing, Cin? Yours or Eldora’s?”

  “Cute, very cute,” I said. “Oh look, there’s one of you, Dave.”

  He was in the alcove behind the bar with his hand around the waist of Antonia Aldana. The caption read, “Dangerous Man and So-So Soprano.”

  I started giggling. Harry pushed me so I would stop. I pushed him back.

  “Honestly, and you guys call yourselves professionals,” Dave said. “Cin, how long did it take for the patron to get in your pants?”

  I wanted to say pretty damn quick but held my tongue. I didn’t give him any indication that I’d had any sex. “Dinner was nice.” I told him the name of the restaurant and asked, “Have you ever eaten there? Oh no, not on your salary,” I said, getting up. I took my coffee over to the edge of the pool and sat with my back to him. I put my sunglasses on so he couldn’t see my guilty look.

  “What did you find out?” Harry asked Dave.

  “Preston and Marco had a big fight the night before Eldora left,” Dave reported.

  “I thought Preston was gay,” I said. “Why would they fight over her?”

  “He’s bisexual,” Harry said. “I talked to Mandy last night. Preston swings both ways.”

  “Cin, you said I could take Marco off the list. Why?” Dave asked.

  I took a sip of the coffee, just in case he confiscated it. “He’s not mean. He’s a scoundrel and a romantic, but there isn’t a mean bone in his body. He did, however, offer to kill Preston for me, but I knew that was bravado. He was just trying to impress me.”

  “Any further observations?”

  “He’s not cheap. He listens. He is a bit of a chauvinist, but one would expect that in an opera group.”

  Harry argued, “I like opera. I’m not a chauvinist.”

  “That’s true, but you’re an outlier.”

  “Is that a compliment?” he asked Dave.

  I got in the pool and started swimming, figuring anything worthwhile Dave had to say, Harry would tell me about. After a while, I coasted to a stop. I started to haul myself out of the pool when I noticed that Harry had gone. I didn’t see Dave until I turned around. He was sitting, glaring at me, from a lounge chair.

  I took the towel and wrapped it around myself. I put my sunglasses on and picked up my coffee and started to go in.

  “Wait, I want to talk to you.”

  Here it comes. “Sure.” I walked back.

  “What is going on with you?” he asked.

  “You’re going to have to explain that question. There is a lot going on with me. I’ve been hypnotized, I’ve been to the opera and dinner, and I ate steak for breakfast. That about covers it… No, I also had a bowl of fruit.”

  “How about all the stuff between the lines?”

  “Harry and I have been investigating Kyle’s murder. Since I was also targeted, I have every right to stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong,” I growled at him.

  “Calm down, freckles.”

  “Please don’t…” I said. “Don’t call me that. You no longer have the right,” I said coldly.

  He looked at me without talking.

  “Do us a favor and leave your key on the counter before you leave,” I said and walked into the master suite.

  He walked in after me.

  “Get out of here,” I demanded.

  “No, you’re going to listen to me if I have to tie you to the bed.”

  My look of terror stopped him cold.

  “I’m sorry. It’s an expression.”

  “Give me a moment to get dressed. I will sit out in the living room and listen to all you have to say. I promise. Right now, there are too many memories in this room, and I can’t really focus.”

  “Fine,” he said and opened the door to the living room and shut it behind him.

  I debated rinsing off but knew Dave ran on a short fuse. I pulled on some shorts that were too big and the top from my Donna Karan outfit. I tossed a sweater on as I was feeling a bit chilled. I walked into the living room, still carrying my coffee.

  “I would like to apologize,” he said.

  “K.”

  “I’m sorry for how I have been treating you.”

  “I don’t really know how to respond to this,” I said honestly. “I get that what happened to me freaked you out. It did a major number on me, but I’m actually not in a bad place right now. The hypnosis was a good move. Once I was able to see the extent of what had happened and forgive myself then…”

  “Forgive yourself? You were the victim.”

  “God, the first thing I should have done was fall to the floor and refuse to get up. Basic self-defense training. It was his previous slap that had paralyzed me. No, he didn’t slap me in the banquet alcove, but it was the remembered pain that paralyzed me. The pain pulled me into Sidney’s garage and reminded me of the beating I took.”

  “Cin, you depended on me, and I failed you.”

  “Yes, you did. But we were so manipulated by Preston that I can’t hold you accountable for what Kyle did to me. I’m sorry I gave up. I only could take so much of a pounding.”

  Dave rose.

  “No, don’t come over here. I’m okay.”

  “That night in the parking lot. Why were you there?” he asked.

  “I wanted you to make love to me. I spent a ton on that dress. I wanted to push through that fear, and I wanted you to take me there, but…”

  “W
hat happened?”

  “You rejected me. I didn’t have a car, so I started walking. I got home eventually,” I said laughing. “Harry carried me out of a biker bar. I lost a shoe, same old, same old.”

  “I mean, have you?”

  “Oh, that’s none of your business.”

  “Not Marco!” he said upset.

  “Dave, it is none of your business, and if it will make you feel any better, someone else took me through the hell, and I’m grateful.”

  “Who?”

  “Next question.”

  “Who do you think killed Kyle?”

  “Preston. But I can’t prove it. I had to get a read on Marco first before I could exclude him. Pello Viteri isn’t smart enough, and Antonia isn’t strong enough. Besides, she was with you when I was being killed. Ryan, no. Carlos was in on it. Is he in jail yet?”

  “Tony arrested him after he found your panties in his apartment. He broke down and admitted chaining the door. He was in love with Kyle. He would have done anything for him,” Dave said. “However, he didn’t see anyone else there.”

  “Have you been cleared yet?”

  “They are allowing me to work on the investigation. Tony is still in the lead position.”

  “Good to know. If there isn’t anything else…” I stood, expecting him to leave.

  “What about us?”

  “There is no us,” I said and wanted to leave it at that.

  “This is bullshit!” he said.

  I turned back to him and said, “You had your chance. I stood, dressed to the nines, ready to forgive you for not coming to the hospital. You brushed past me as if I were trash. After the hypnosis session, I thanked you for helping me, but I could see the disgust in your eyes. Dave, I did not seduce that maniac in any way. I didn’t encourage him. I didn’t lure him to the workroom for a slap and tickle. I was brutally savaged, and even though the psychopath was killed before he succeeded, I am, in your eyes, damaged goods. So that’s okay, because I’m not in others’ eyes. Why don’t we leave it here? I don’t hate you, but I am no longer available to you in a romantic way. Please leave your key on the counter.”

  I got up and waited until he did just that. I locked the door, walked into my room, and instead of collapsing and crying, as Cin would have done, I took a shower, fixed my hair, and went to the grocery store. That’s what Bella would do.