“Don’t I get a vote?” I ask.
“No,” Merc and Sophie reply in unison.
Merc walks into the kitchen, and I hear the tap run, he comes back with a wet cloth just as blood drips down over my eye. He presses the cloth against my head, and I wipe away the blood.
“Leigha, you need to protect yourself. You’re safer with me than you would be with anyone else. We’ll find Olivia and put an end to this, and then you can walk right back into Evan’s arms. Alright?” Merc reasons.
“What?” I gasp.
“What are you talking about? I need to call Evan. I need to tell him I’m okay,” I protest.
“Leigha, you can’t do that,” Merc is serious.
“You’ll put him in danger,” he adds.
“He’s already in danger!” I cry.
Merc stands, and he looks at the woman, who shrugs.
“Told you, dumbass,” she sneers.
“Evan didn’t steal that SD card with me, you did. If that’s what Olivia’s after, she’s not going to go anywhere near the Stone family; she’s going to come running after you,” Merc points out.
Fuck.
What am I supposed to do? If Evan comes after me, he’s going expect me to be at Merc’s apartment. When he sees that mess, I know he is going to assume something happened to me.
“He’s going to think I’m dead,” I say.
“Precisely,” Sophie interjects.
“Keep her awake,” Sophie adds.
“If she does have a concussion, the last thing we want to do is take her to the hospital,” she explains.
Then, Sophie rolls her coat on over her shoulders.
“Where are you going?” Merc asks.
“I’m going to go lie to our superiors and tell them that you’re not a fucking idiot and that you’ve got this in the bag, Torelli. Do you know what that means? You better find Olivia Winthrop before she finds you,” Sophie snarls.
“Sophie, come on!” Merc pleads with her.
“No Merc, no! I would’ve been wise to ask for other partners ages ago, back when all this shit first started. I doubt they’re going to give me so much as a lick of a choice when this shit hits the fan. I’m going to end up in some backwater office shuffling paper for the rest of my goddamn career because of you, making fucking coffee for the players while they get to have all the fun. Thanks a fucking lot, you asshole! Fucking Torelli! Honestly!” she seethes.
Sophie’s rage is barely contained. Merc says nothing as she leaves.
“She’s probably right,” he tells me.
Merc presses the cloth against my head. I press my lips together because I have a selfish thought that I don’t want to share: I don’t care what happens to Merc, or Sophie, even if they just saved my life.
All I want is to be back in Evan’s arms.
But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.
19
Evan
January 20, 2019
As nighttime falls, and the last of the snow hits the ground, my life is once again shattered into a million pieces.
There is nothing anyone can do to put it back together again. Last I’d heard from Leigha, she was at Merc’s, dropping his car off and then she was going to come right home.
Home.
The word stings me with its meaning.
Next thing I know, Merc’s building is burnt to the ground. Several people are dead.
I know in my heart the truth: one of them could be Leigha.
“It’s not enough that I lost Vic, and it turned out she was alive all along, now I’m going to lose Leigha, too,” I tell Corban.
Maybe I want to cry?
No, I do want to cry, but I’m too numb to think straight.
“I think you’ve had enough, brother,” Corban tells me.
With my chin on my father’s desk, I look from him to the almost empty bottle of Smirnoff, and then back at him.
“This was Leigha’s favorite,” I tell him, now deep into the bottle, and sloppily drunk.
Vic took the baby into the bedroom and shut the door. I think she’s disgusted by my ridiculous act.
I know I am…
“The first time we kissed, we were both drunk, and it was a total accident!” I tell Corban.
He rolls his eyes, but plays good brother-in-law and listens to my rants, shaking his head at all the right times. I try to stand, and sway erratically to and fro, weaving over the desk, as I try to keep my balance. The room is spinning quite a bit, now.
“I knew from that first kiss that no other woman was ever going to compare to Leigha,” I holler.
Thankfully, Vic had the sense to leave this pathetic scene.
“There’s no reason to believe she’s dead, Evan. No one’s even been identified, yet,” Corban points out.
“Then, why isn’t she at the hospital?” I ask, flopping back into my chair.
I knock the bottle over onto the floor. It’s empty, anyway. I look around, cannily. I know there must be another bottle somewhere in the office. Aha! I find one in a drawer in the desk.
Stoli.
Not my fave, but it will do nicely. I open it, filling my glass nearly to the top. I put the bottle down and try to sip the rim of the glass.
It is full.
I lick the rim, like a dog.
My voice dripping with sadness, I don’t care if Corban knows how upset I am.
He’s seen me cry before - but just that one time.
Now, for the second time, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.
“Listen, I’ve been thinking, didn’t you say that she went somewhere with Merc?” Corban asks.
“That wasn’t a vacation,” I huff testily, sniffing back tears and finally realizing the only way to drink this properly is to grab the son-of-a-bitch by the sides and chug it.
I set it down, unsuccessful in my attempt to move it to my mouth. The room is spinning too damned much. I set it back down and lean back in my chair.
Corban continues.
“Ah. I thought so. What if something happened, and then something else happened, and then that’s why the fire was started? They’re saying it’s arson. Maybe someone was trying to cover something up?” Corban asks.
I sit bolt upright and knock over my glass, spilling vodka everywhere.
Shit.
That’s a mess…
How could I have been so stupid? I take a swig from the bottle.
“You’re right!” I slur loudly.
Corban stares at me.
“Evan, it was just a suggestion,” he says.
He’s trying not to get my hopes up.
Fuck him.
Fuck Leigha.
Fuck Merc!
Fuck Vic!
Fuck my Dad!
“My father’s fucking alive, and Leigha had a video, of my father in a cell,” I say.
“What!” Corban gasps.
“Why didn’t you fucking say that Evan! Get your head out of your ass!” Corban chastises me.
“Leigha asked me not to, she said it was a matter of national security, she wasn’t even supposed to have that video,” I tell him.
“Well, fuck! You still should’ve said something,” Corban swears at me.
Then, he screams in frustration, balling his fists.
“Jesus Christ, Evan!” he shouts, pointing at me.
“We’re all barely surviving, hoping against hope that Noah isn’t dead, and you kept this from us?” Corban says, trying to maintain his composure.
It seems he is fighting a losing battle, there. But the spinning room ignores us.
“I just found out, relax; it’s not like the house is on fire,” I deadpan.
“Oh, my God! Are you seriously cracking jokes?” Corban yells at me.
“Ah, fighting just like the old times,” I cackle at him.
Corban laughs.
“It feels good to fight with someone. Ava and I haven’t fought in months. It’s like we’re tiptoeing casually around
each other while the boys turn the house upside down. Tinsley barely keeps her head above water, all she does is focus on Sebastian because that’s all she can do, now that your mother is… er- normal?” Corban asks me.
“That’s as normal as she comes,” I say.
“Well, normal, then. You get what I’m saying, your family is falling apart, and you had the key to making this go away in your goddamn hands,” he snarls again.
“I just got it into my hands,” I correct him.
“Now Lucius and Aidan are searching the city for Leigha!” Corban booms at me.
“We’ve got a better chance at finding her than we do my father,” I point out.
I put my head in my hands. Getting drunk was not the best move I have made, recently, I think. I put my head on the desk. At least the room has stopped spinning…
Corban falls silent. He knows, even as drunk as I am, that I’m right.
“Well, let’s hope they find something, then. In the meantime, you’re telling Tinsley that you know Noah is alive. But sober up please, for the love of God!” Corban instructs.
* * *
A while later, after some coffee and a shower, and a brief fight to avoid throwing up which I barely win, we are in my father’s office, again.
I guess the help have cleaned the place up. At least it’s no longer spinning like a top.
“Evan has something to tell you,” Corban says, setting me up.
Thanks, bro, I think.
“Tell me what?” Tinsley asks.
She has a tray of food in her hands that she is getting ready to set down in front of me.
Tinsley looks at me expectantly.
“Leigha and Merc found a video, of my dad, Noah Stone, alive,” I tell her, say the words and pray she doesn’t kill me.
The tray crashes onto the table, scattering snacks everywhere.
“Noah’s alive!” Tinsley shrieks.
She comes around the desk and starts to hug me, squeezing me tightly, as tears run down her face.
“I think I need to sit down,” she says tearfully.
Overcome with emotion, Tinsley sits beside Corban on the leather couch, tears streaming down her face with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.
“We’re going to be together again!” Tinsley whispers to herself.
“Oh, I can’t wait to have him back!” she exclaims.
“Me either, it’s getting dull around here without him,” I laugh.
Tinsley scowls at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Dull? I would hardly say it’s dull around here. Any word on Leigha?” Tinsley asks brightly.
I shake my head.
“Nothing,” I say.
Back to the task at hand, I swallow more coffee. Tinsley notices the spilled platter and begins to gather the scraps. She wipes up some of it with a paper towel. She goes about it with a quiet reserve, and I can see why the Old Man loves her as he does.
* * *
I’m awake until the wee early hours of the morning, and no one’s come up with any answers.
I watch the news in a vicious cycle. I keep waiting for Leigha’s name to appear in a list of the dead from Merc’s place.
Nothing.
I am in limbo. I have gone back to vodka. I’ve been a bit more careful, this time, but it has dulled my senses somewhat. It’s depressing, to think that I might have to go on without her.
Physical pain, it hurts me and makes me want to vomit.
When Corban wanders back in my father’s office at six in the morning, I am still awake.
“Man, did you even sleep?” he asks.
“No, I moved on, to the whiskey,” I slur.
The entire night is a blur of fighting an inner battle and watching the cycle of news on every station. I’ve got all three screens in my father’s office tuned to different stations reporting on the tragedy.
Leigha’s name still hasn’t appeared. It’s a blessing and a curse.
Not knowing, and relief and hope, juxtaposed with fear and the nagging thought she’s gone forever, this time.
“Well, Lucius is back, Evan. And Aidan. This time, it appears that they’ve got news,” Corban says.
I see the two men come into the office. I greet them, my eyes bleary.
“You’re going to want to see this,” Lucius booms.
He pulls out his iPad. It’s a mishmash of video that he’s managed to put together from different angles. My eyes struggle to focus. I see a scene lit in broad daylight, as a van screeches across the streets of London, with another vehicle chasing after it, before I turn and rolls down into a ditch.
“So?” I ask.
“Now watch this,” Lucius points.
The camera from across the street comes into play, and I see figures and an unmistakable blonde head forced into the van.
Olivia has Leigha!
“It was Olivia? Wasn’t it?” I ask Lucius.
“I’ve got footage of her entering the building, but there’s nothing to indicate that she left, and none that anyone else was there either. It’s damned peculiar. Peculiar enough that they must’ve made sure to stay away from the cameras. But, to answer your question, I think Olivia has Leigha,” Lucius tells me.
But what about Merc? Is Merc dead?
Surely, they wouldn’t report his death on the news?
Suddenly, I’m at a loss for words.
Merc could be dead this time.
Then, I realize that I don’t believe that for a second.
“He’s going after Leigha,” I tell Lucius.
“And so am I!” I declare.
I stand up, ready to take on the world.
For my love!
For Leigha!
Then, the world goes black.
20
Leigha
January 20, 2019
“I’m so tired,” I whine.
“I have to keep you awake, in case you do have a concussion,” Merc insists.
“Fine,” I grumble.
“Get me coffee,” I order him.
Merc dutifully brings me more of the coffee sludge he’s made. It is terrible coffee, but I slurp it up anyway because I don’t feel like dying.
“Talk to me,” I order.
“You talk to me,” Merc bounces back.
“Did you and Evan work things out?” he asks.
I pause.
If there’s anyone that can tell where my head is at, it’s Merc. All I can think about is Evan anyway; I may as well talk about him.
“It’s difficult, Merc. Evan and I lost that baby, and now he’s got a baby with someone else. I want to hate Vic for being able to give him that, but I can’t hate her for something she couldn’t control,” I explain.
Merc goes eerily silent.
I wait. And wait.
And wait.
Then finally, he says something I’m not expecting.
“Do you know that baby was Evan’s?” Merc asks cautiously.
“You mean, Ethan? Little thing looks like – oh, wait. You mean?” I ask, suddenly realizing what he’s intimating.
I swallow hard.
Damn!
Either it’s the concussion, or I had forgotten about that possibility.
“Well, Evan and I didn’t exactly use a condom or pull out for that matter, back then. It was pretty reckless, in retrospect. Foolish, if you ask me now.” I ask.
Merc laughs.
“Of course, I remember! I just always wondered why you went to him first, when you knew? I was there with you, that day, before you even ran into Mr. Perfect,” Merc says.
“Instinct,” I say. I am honest with him.
“Ah, the old case of you always choosing Evan,” Merc teases me.
“I still choose him,” I tease back.
“Almost,” I added sadly.
“Hey! Don’t worry, fair princess! We’ll get you back to Evan in no time! In the meantime, we’re going to bring Noah Stone home, too! All will be well before you even know it,” he say
s, cheerfully.
“Merc, how long have you been chasing after Olivia Winthrop?” I ask.
“It’s been a while,” he says smoothly.
“Since you first started?” I venture.
From the shock on Merc’s face, I can tell that I’ve hit the mark.
“Oh,” I say.
“It’s been that long, and it’ll be longer, if I don’t close this and someone else takes my place,” Merc tells me.
“Would they do that? Fire you?” I ask.
“No, they’ll just send me somewhere else,” Merc says.
“So, where are we going then?” I ask him.
“What’s this, then? Twenty questions?” He asks.
“Well, I’d like to know where you’re going to drag me off too if you’re not going to give me a choice,” I say.
“I can’t give you a choice Leigha. You’ll put Evan and his family in danger,” he says casually.
It’s like a stab to the heart. Evan and I are no longer married, and I’m reminded that Vic, Ethan, and Evan make a family. I’m just the woman he loves, even though I feel that sometimes it doesn’t count for anything.
“Oh shit, sorry, Leigha,” Merc apologizes.
“No, I mean it’s true. Evan and I don’t have a baby together,” I tell Merc.
“You’re still his family. You’re the only woman he’s ever wanted to be with,” Merc argues with me.
“But I’m not the mother of his son,” I say with finality.
“So, what do I fuck up next?” Merc asks sheepishly.
“I can’t seem to say anything without it triggering you, somehow,” he mumbles.
“Should I make a move on you, maybe go sleep with Sophie, get Tara pregnant?” Merc jokes.
I double over because I’m laughing so hard at the last part, tears running down my face.
“Oh my god, please don’t,” I choke on my words as I continue to laugh.
“I thought you’d like that one,” Merc says.
Then, he smirks at me. Merc the smirk.
I yawn and finish the coffee.
“Can I sleep now?” I ask.
“Nope,” Merc shakes his head.
“Just a little nap?” I plead.
FRACTURE: Hearts of Stone Book Six Page 11
