“I just… took pictures,” his voice lowered while my eyes widened.
“What?! That’s awful!” I protested. He shook his head, “I know, but I did it so I could tell Mark. I wanted to call him to the party initially, but I thought he’d be too heartbroken so I just, took the photos as evidence.”
“Oh come on,” I looked at him in disbelief, “Are you for real? What next? You showed them to Mark?”
He pressed his lips and shook his head in denial. I groaned internally. Not for one second I had thought that this story could take such a turn, “You didn’t,” I said. I could read his face.
“I didn’t want to hurt Mark.”
“What happened next?”
Earnest’s voice dropped to a low regretful whisper, “He saw the photos in my phone one day.”
“You didn’t delete the pictures?!” This was painful to hear. I think I stared at Earnest as if he was the dumbest man I had met. He gave quite the competition to the ones that I have.
“I was young, I was foolish… I just. Didn’t. I…” He trailed off.
He swallowed and I screeched internally. I hoped I was wrong about what I was going to say.
“Mr. Hathaway,” I breathed, “Did you, by any chance, liked looking at the pictures?”
His eyes dropped to the ground. We had stopped walking now. This was practically taking the shape of a fierce confrontation. I was offended on dad’s behalf.
“You’re sharp,” he said sheepishly. I took three breaths and tried to hold my temper in.
This was ages ago. It wasn’t my concern. In my mildest voice, I said, “Call Henry, sir and he should be able to tell you how many violations of the law you’ve made back then.” Coming from me, it sounds ridiculous, I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not annoyed.
“About four laws, I know now,” he said, “It was a foolish thing to do, but… you know. The pictures were – “
“No, no! I don’t want to hear it! Please don’t say it.”
“Yeah. You get what I’m saying –“
“Yes, I do. Please stop.”
He kept the pictures because he liked what he saw. The rest of the story went like this, Mark found out. He thought old Ernie had slept with his girlfriend as well. He dumped the girl, he dumped Ernie and the rest is history because he never really got over his friend.
Earnest tried to explain, but I understand Mark. This was a fatal breach of trust. I would not have trusted a man like him again. My only query now is, why are we having this conversation? I’m not sure I had signed up to hear this sort of a tale.
“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable like this,” Earnest apologized after he had finished the story, “I put you in an awkward position.”
He had. “Does Mark know about this?”
“Yes.”
“He believes you?”
“I chased him around for ten years before I gave up and settled overseas. I used to email him during those years as well, and I kept in touch when I returned. He believes me, now, yes. Thanks to you.”
I ignored the last part, “Has he forgiven you?” I asked.
“We had a rather intense conversation about it. He hasn’t. But he admitted that he missed me too much to keep holding on to the grudge. It’s an improvement.”
I’m not sure I’ll understand this camaraderie. Earnest’s dedication was remarkable, as was Mark’s persistence to not forgive him. I tried to put myself in Mark’s shoes, and then in Earnest’s. I tried to imagine what it would have been like, had Kelly or Shinoda done something of that sort to me.
The answer is, I don’t know. Maybe I’m not supposed to know. This is between them. It should remain there.
“Earnest…” I finally said, “I understand that I asked for the truth between you and dad. But why did you decide to tell me right now?”
“Because my son is in love with you Anna.”
That caught me off guard. I knew it, but the words somehow hit me like a solider punch when I heard them come out of a third person’s mouth.
“A-And?” I hesitated.
“I’ve heard rumors about you, dear. I won’t beat around the bush. I’d trust you despite anything I might have heard because you’re Reeves’s daughter. I want you to trust Henry the same way. He’s my son, he might do or say something foolish, but please remember that he loves you. He’d never get over you if you left.”
Why would I leave?
Despite myself, I smiled, “You’re assuming we are the same as you and dad.”
“I know my son is horribly like me.”
“Which is why he’ll betray me?”
His face fell, “No, which is why he will never leave you.”
“And you’re telling me this because?”
“I want you to trust him Anna. Truth is, I wanted to talk to him about this, but I saw you guys in the car and he looked somewhat shocked. You seemed quite nervous as well, which is why I decided to call you out instead. I don’t know what happened, and I have no right to interfere, but because you agreed to help me out with Markian even though you didn’t have to, I had to tell you this. Loyalty runs in the Hathaway’s blood, even though we might make stupid decisions.”
So that was it.
I’m not sure how I felt about it. It was nice of him, it was uncomfortable for me, but maybe he was right. Henry and I had had disagreements for quite a while now, but he was always the one who came around to me first, more gently after an argument. The fact that he had inherited loyalty made me feel discomforted.
I nodded to Earnest, not sure what he wanted me to do. I mean, I had told Henry everything. The rest was upon him. If he chose to run away or betray me, I’d be very deeply fucked. I deserve a little credit here for trust I think. The thought of Henry going back against me seemed impossible, and thinking about it hurt, but I’ve said before. I’m heard headed. My head works all ways even if it rips my heart apart.
Like, Julius must never have thought Brutus would betray him either, right?
It wasn’t a very nice sign that I had been walking around with his father for a good half hour and he hadn’t even called. Or maybe he needed more time.
Of course he does, my mind told me. You just dropped bombs on him.
My heart twisted, turned and ached. It’s impossible to control emotions. Even more impossible is to know everything and yet hope for an outcome that I know can’t be. It didn’t make sense for Henry to come find me in a half hour. And yet I wanted him to. So desperately wanted him to tell me we were alright, it hurt both my feelings and my pride.
I don’t know what else I can do.
Chapter 19
Henry
Okay.
So I’ve been making love to a CIA agent. My God. I did not know I could score so good.
I should’ve punched myself in the head for having a thought like that, but it’s true. It’s the first thing that came to my mind when Anna was telling me about herself. She’s technically not CIA but… damn.
Damn.
She’s good. She’s so far away from being a thug, and yet her story makes so much more sense… I’m not sure what I was even thinking when I was afraid she might be a mobster. I swear at one point I was preparing myself to hear her say, “Hathaway, I’m with the mafia. I might become the boss someday.”
I was numb. I don’t know if it was because she had blown my mind away or if I was thrilled about her life. Goosebumps ran over my body. It’s true I don’t know how to respond. But now that I’ve heard it, she feels way out my league.
How did I manage to be with her?
I’m stunned, surprised, and I can’t believe she can be so amazing at twenty three. I swallowed. I don’t know how long it took me to sort out my thoughts because when I looked beside me, Anna was gone. I frowned and stepped out of the car. My heart was beating so fast, I was thrilled enough to actually feel hot. I breathed and smiled ear to ear. I knew from day one that Anna Reeves was involved in dangerous shit. But I cannot believe she’s a freel
ancing Lady Batman. My Lady Batman.
I turned around to make my way into the hall, but as fate would have it, I couldn’t meet Anna the entire night.
I was kidnapped.
And as it turns out, everything with Anna is a first.
I’ve only seen it happen in movies. In real life, it is hard to imagine that anyone would abduct anybody. Sure I’ve seen detective T.V. shows and movies and I am a lawyer, but abduction is a bit extreme, isn’t it?
A fact that a lot of people do not know is that abduction and kidnapping are two different terms. In the simplest of explanations, kidnapping is the word used when a minor is taken away. The term literally has kid in it. Abduction is the word you go for if you pick up a man who came of age ages ago.
That was the first thought in my head when I woke up.
I woke up. That is also the anomaly because I realized I didn’t know where I was or what had happened. Or why I was waking up. I remembered stepping out of the car. I remembered wanting to go to Anna but staggering a little. Then, everything had gone black.
Had I fainted?
I could hear foreign voices around me. My eyes were blindfolded and my wrists hurt from what I imagined was a duct tape around them. My feet were bound as well, and I was definitely sitting on a chair. Which made me realize in dismay – I had been abducted.
As soon as the realization hit me, I freaked out. What in the world? Why the fuck would anyone abduct me?
I was no use!
My mind raced and I concluded two possibilities – it was either because of the Hathaway Constructions or Anna Reeves. Dad is a billionaire with no heir except me, and Anna was – well, a part time agent.
My gut told me it was the latter.
Swallowing, I concentrated on the voices. They spoke Italian I think, which I didn’t get a word of, but my experience told me Italians abducting me was a bad deal. Mafia! The Godfather. Vito Corleone! Was I going to die here?
My heart beat faster. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t half awed by the situation. I was terrified, yes, but I was also kind of looking forward to how I would be saved.
I would be saved right?
The sound of footsteps around me increased. After about a half hour of me regaining consciousness, they removed my blindfold. I had made sure I didn’t move even an inch during the time they didn’t untie me. What if I ticked them off?
Although I do think I ticked them off by not moving.
While the blindfold was ripped off my eyes, my vision was filled with the face of a square jawed, bearded man who was twice my size and height. He was smoking a cigar as he shoved his face too close to mine, before grunting, “You up mate?”
I am not your mate.
I swallowed my reply and tried a smile. It must’ve been lousy.
“Ah – yeah.” I said.
“How long you been up?”
“About a half hour.”
“Why you not call for help?”
“Well… I was trying not to tick you off.”
I noticed four more men seated further around me. I think I was in a warehouse of some sort, because the place was filled with tools. Or maybe it was a repair shop. I couldn’t figure out. I saw a door to my far left, another huge guy amongst the other four, and three who were kind of leaner. I’m no Bruce Wayne, so I studied my surroundings and decided I was fucked. The least I could do was figure out why I was here.
The humongous man nodded at my reply, the five talked in Italian again and laughed out loud. The beard-man said to me again, “You call Boogeygirl mate. We have no business with you.”
Boogeygirl?
“I don’t know who that is,” I replied honestly.
“You shoving your tongue down her throat tonight man. Anna. The Reeves woman. She thinks she is John Wick. You call her now!”
It’s funny how gangsters get pissed so easily. Like, you could explain the situation to me at the very least. However, my insides did groan. Anna, Anna, sweetheart. What mess did you land into now? All of my protective instincts sprang up. They were getting to Anna over my dead body.
Which could technically be true.
“How do you know her?” I asked. Maybe to buy some time. Maybe for distraction. I don’t know why I asked that stupid a question.
“Everyone in business know her.”
“What business?”
“Is this man really her boyfriend?”
The humongous man looked back at his minions – I imagined he was the boss thug – he barked in Italian again. His men said something back and the expression on the guy grew fouler. They all glared at me before he spoke in broken English again, “You not her boyfriend?”
Will they kill me if I said no?
I could feel bugs crawling down the length of my spine. I swallowed. Let’s stick to the truth. I can’t protect Anna by dying.
“What do you want with her? Why did you bring me here?” I evaded answering.
My eyes tried to look for any weapons that the men might have had on them. I didn’t want to be gunned down. As various possibilities ran through my mind, I realized more and more what a precarious situation I was in.
“She destroy our business, we destroy the bitch.”
A swear almost escaped my lips. I held back and breathed.
“You should have brought her directly then. Why pick me up?”
“You kidding? She monster. We need gun to handle her.”
They did have guns!
Terror seized my soul. My heart pounded in fright. What do I do?
“So your plan is to call her here to save me?”
“Yeah.”
“What if she doesn’t come?”
“You not the boyfriend?”
“What did she even do to you?”
It was the wrong question to ask. The boss man’s face turned fouler and what came next was a series of tantrums. More than anger, he seemed like a frustrated man whining about his superior at work.
“She tells police about my dealing,” he was loud, “she beat up my Antonio boy. I can’t find out who tells her my plans! There is a mole here! She a monster, your woman. She haunts my memory, everybody knows she Toni’s daughter, can do nothing about her. I want revenge. I beat her up tonight by holding you hostage. Then I fly from country.”
As stupid as it might sound, this was the man’s plan. He looked very sincere when he talked about it. I wanted to smack my forehead. Is it a thing with me that even the villains in my life are plain morons? My first case, my first adventure…
But these were morons with guns, which put me instantly at a disadvantage.
“She with police, she with my boss, she with FBI, she everywhere! Is she God? What you see in her man? How she not scare you?”
“Well… she did the first time I saw her.” The words escaped my mouth involuntarily. I recalled the dark alley, the vodka shot restaurant and how she had never come around to telling me why she had wanted to meet a lawyer at two in the night.
“I gun her today!”
I was starting to lose control. I’ve been taught to be patient, but this man’s constant rant against Anna was flaming my anger. I realized right then what a loyal boyfriend I am. I think at that moment I also understood why people call love moronic. I knew that maybe if Anna came here she could rescue me, but I didn’t want her near here anywhere at any cost. She had to be safe. I could deal with this. Guns and all.
“I calling her now,” the man said.
“Woah, wait! I don’t think she will come. We’re not that close.”
“Don’t lie man. We just going to beat the little shit up. Can’t kill her. She knows our boss.”
“Your boss?”
“The Don of the Outfit.”
“The Chicago mafia?”
“Yes.”
“What are you doing all the way down here then?”
“Business, man.”
I was baffled. Anna knew the Don of the Outfit?
“How does she know your boss? Isn�
�t she – you just said she’s with the police!”
“Police work with Dons and bosses. You don’t know shit man. Give and take, we don’t fill their street with drugs, the mayor don’t interfere with our business.”
“So Anna knows your boss how?”
“You ask too many questions.”
I was also surprised that the gigantic man was answering them. He was quite talkative, while the four behind him simply drank beer. This is a farce, but I’m torn on how serious I should be. Or what should bother me more.
“Just curious. She never told me a thing, you know.”
“She scary. She must not want to scare you.”
“Maybe.”
“The Boogeygirl saved the Don’s wife, so he agreed to keep drugs off the street. I lost business because of it, and Don says I can’t harm her. It angers me man!”
Now who the heck is Boogeygirl? I asked, and the man practically fumed, “She your woman! Anna Reeves! You making fun of me?”
My head hurt. Honestly.
Long story short, Anna had somehow saved the wife of the Outfit’s boss, which had made him make a pact with her to keep drugs off the street in Chicago. This bearded man had lost business in Chicago and Anna hadn’t left him alone even when he had moved here. She always knew where his deals were taking place and the police ended up busting them. This man called Kahn couldn’t kill her because of the Outfit, so he wanted to beat her up to satiate himself. He couldn’t beat her up as long as she was alone, so he infiltrated the party and saw us kiss in public. Hence, this extraordinary situation, because I’m the boyfriend he can hold hostage.
I was both flabbergasted and at a loss. It’s difficult to fathom all this in the span of a few hours, when yesterday only I thought of my girlfriend as an ordinary thug. She’s involved in so much shit at twenty three?
I’m twenty seven and still struggling for a breakthrough case!
I can’t say I’m not jealous.
The man’s patience finally ran out and he gave Anna a call. My heart beat in my mouth, I tried to stop him but he had run out of things to tell me and his underlings had finished their drinks. I don’t know what it was, but something about the scene disturbed me. I couldn’t imagine my Anna in places like these – alone – surrounded by men like this, fighting them off. I don’t know. It disturbed me. More than that, it scared me.
My Thug Bride Page 13
