Fallen Angel, Part 4 - A Mafia Romance: Fallen Angel Series Read online

  “There was an explosion. The kitchen, we think,” Gerry replied.

  After having spent a few years at the home, he and Ted had become firm friends, and I often took Gerry back so he could keep that connection.

  “An explosion in the kitchen? Well, I hope you had your dinner first,” Ted said followed by his usual smokers cackle.

  We followed Ted into the house as Gary and Dan headed, on foot, back down the drive.

  “How about you watch a little TV, and I’ll rustle up a sandwich and some chips?” Ted said to Gerry.

  It was clear Gerry was unsure. He looked up at me and I pasted a fake smile across my face. I nodded and released his hand as he made his way to the living room. Once he was settled and we could hear a movie playing, I slumped into a chair and my head fell into my hands.

  “Right, what the fuck happened back there? I’ve kept quiet way too long, and I want to know how Scott is,” Sam said.

  I looked up at him. He had stood with his back to the door, his arms folded across his chest. I was surprised by his stance, by his manner. That wasn’t the Sam I knew. My best friend would have been waving his arms, pacing—wailing even—all drag queen style. The Sam standing in front of me was cold as ice.

  “I don’t give a fuck what Robert said—I want to know why we had to run and why I wasn’t allowed to go back to Scott. You’re important to Robert, Brooke, but Scott is important to me.”

  The kitchen door opened and Gary entered with Ted following behind him.

  “Keep your voice down, son. If I could hear you from the front door, so can Gerry. We don’t need to scare the little one, do we? Now, let’s have a coffee,” Ted said as he filled the machine with water. Sam slumped into the chair opposite me.

  “I’ll keep my voice down for Gerry, but I want some answers.”

  “And you will get them. Let’s just catch our breaths first,” Ted said.

  Just as Ted finished speaking, Gary took a call on his mobile. All heads turned his way as we listened, trying to gain further information. Gary’s responses were his standard “yes” or “no.” He gave no indication of who he was speaking to or what the conversation was about. As he lowered the phone, his conversation over, Sam started again.

  “I want your phone, Gary. I’m calling Scott.”

  “Scott is fine, Sam. Just a few cuts and bruises, nothing more. Robert has had him taken to an apartment for safety, but it’s better if you’re all separated for the moment.”

  “What do you mean ‘separated’? And what the fuck do you mean Robert has had him taken. Can none of us make a decision?”

  “Just give us five or so minutes, then you can call him,” Gary replied.

  “I don’t get this. It was an explosion in the kitchen you said. Why the fuck do we have to be hiding out?” Sam asked.

  Sam looked between us all. “I said that to keep Gerry calm, that’s all,” I replied.

  “Then what is it you’re not telling me?”

  There was silence for a moment. “Someone set off a bomb. A small one, but a bomb nonetheless. For your safety, you’re to stay here,” Ted quietly said.

  “I need to get to Scott,” Sam replied, standing so abruptly from his chair the scrape of its legs against the tiled floor set my teeth on edge.

  “Did you hear what I said?” Ted asked. “Someone blew up the hotel. Someone knew you were all in there. Someone tried to kill you.”

  That statement had Sam sit back down with a gaping mouth and eyes wide. He looked from Ted to Gary before his eyes settled on me.

  “Why would someone try to kill us? I mean, you can’t know that for sure. You can’t know someone tried to kill us. Like, us specifically. Or do you?”

  Again, a silence followed. I sighed.

  “Why was someone chasing us down a fucking alley?” he asked.

  The Sam I was expecting was making a return. There was panic to his voice; his tone had risen on every word.

  “I don’t know why someone was chasing us down an alley just yet,” Gary replied.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Brooke,” Sam said.

  Ted placed three mugs of coffee on the table, a jug of milk and a bowl of sugar. I took my time pouring my milk, heaping a spoonful of sugar that I didn’t want into the mug and stirred it slowly. Anything to buy me some time. I could feel Sam’s stare boring through me.

  It was time. It was time to tell my best friend, the man I had grown up with, the man I had shared every detail of my life, the man I had never kept anything from, that I had been lying to him for the past five years. A tear leaked from one eye and rolled down my cheek. As I kept my gazed fixed on the silver spoon in my hand, I also watched the tear drip to the table.

  Chapter Two

  Ted had left the kitchen while Sam continued to stare at me, demanding answers, only to have the situation escalate when Ted returned.

  In his hands he held two revolvers. He placed one on the table in front of me. I looked at it. It was small, black in colour and similar to the one I had stored in the gunroom at home.

  “Brooke, you take that one,” Ted said, pushing it a little further towards me.

  “Why does she need a gun? Brooke, why do you need a gun? That is a fucking gun,” Sam said, over pronouncing the word “that.” The panic in his voice was causing his pitch to get even higher.

  “She knows it’s a gun, son,” Ted replied.

  “Brooke, I’ve known you my whole life. Please, tell me the truth. Why is there a gun on the table, and why would someone blow up a hotel?”

  I tried but failed to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as I looked up at him. The adrenalin I had been running on was fading fast. The coffee and the situation had my nerves jangling. I looked over to Ted who sat at the table.

  How could I tell the man I’d know my whole life, as he pointed out, the truth? For nearly five years I’d kept secrets, I’d lived two different lives and it was all crashing down around me.

  “Son, Robert hasn’t always been on the right side of the law, and sometimes that part of his life makes an unwelcome return. We don’t know what happened yet, but it’s possible someone wanted to let him know they were back.”

  I couldn’t have put it better myself.

  “So Robert was a baddie? That’s not news. How bad is bad though? How far on the wrong side of the law was—or is—he?”

  “A long way on the wrong side. Continents on the wrong side,” Ted answered.

  After a moment of silence, Sam looked at me. “Did you know this?”

  I could only nod my head. Once again, Sam stood, gripped his face in his hands and paced while mumbling to himself.

  “So, what? They’re gangsters?” he said with a chuckle, although I didn’t believe he thought what he had said was remotely funny.

  When he gained no response from Ted or me, he stopped his pacing. His arms fell to his side and he blinked just once as he stared at me.

  “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

  I closed my eyes as I shook my head. I didn’t want to see the hurt or the anger on his face. I sucked in deep breaths trying desperately to calm the rising anguish.

  “You married a gangster! Little old Brooke married a fucking gangster. This isn’t a fucking movie, you know. Or maybe it is. Maybe this is all just a fucking joke,” he laughed bitterly. “Oh, this is just great. You came here wanting some excitement. You sure got it, huh?” He waved his arms in the air and continued to pace.

  “That’s enough, Sam. I don’t know why you feel the need to be angry at Brooke,” Gary added.

  “Oh, I’m not angry. I’m…I don’t know what the fuck I am right now. All I do know is you have dragged me and Scott into your gangsta moll life, and now we are on the run and Scott is hurt,” Sam spat the words at me.

  I covered my mouth to stop the sob that had been building up in my chest. This wasn’t Sam, not the Sam I knew. The words that spewed from his mouth were not words he meant. I hoped he was just still processing
what had happened.

  “So Robert is a baddie. I get it now. The security, the fucking Italians, guns. What else? You, what’s your role in all this?” Sam said, looking towards Gary.

  “I protect Brooke, Sam,” he replied.

  “Big bad Robert leaves you to be looked after by Gary? That’s brave of him.”

  “Don’t you dare—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence before Gary cut in.

  “Robert keeps Brooke safe by keeping her away from him. Separation, Sam. If someone is after him, they go after him and him alone.”

  “You’ve lied to me for the past five years, Brooke…” Sam’s voice tailed off into a whisper and the hurt he felt showed.

  Tears formed in his eyes. I stood and moved around the table. I wanted to hug him but he took a step away from me. He held up his palms and shook his head.

  “I don’t know who you are anymore,” he whispered.

  On that, my heart broke.

  “I need some air. Am I allowed to get some fresh air?” he asked Ted.

  Ted stood and unlocked the back door. He stepped to one side to allow Sam to pass. I watched as he sat on the swing seat on the porch—the same seat I had spent many an hour in chatting with Kerry.

  Memories of Sam and me as children sitting on a garden swing at home flooded my mind. We had laughed and used our feet to swing that seat as high as we could.

  Thinking back on cherished moments together, my heart shattered.

  I knew I had lost my best friend.

  ****

  No one spoke. I kept my head bent low and watched my tears drip onto the old pine scrubbed table. As they soaked into the wood, the stain spread. That tearstain merged with another, perhaps an old tea stain, and I wanted to laugh. That stain represented my lies, my life; it absorbed all it came in contact with.

  I wanted my son, I wanted to be held by my husband. Only one of those things could be fixed now.

  I stood and made my way to the living room to check on Gerry. The TV was still on, and I guessed the movie was on a loop as it appeared to have just started over. However, Gerry was asleep. I pulled a throw from the chair by the window and placed it over him. I smoothed the hair from his forehead, careful not to touch the small cut and the congealed blood, and blew out a relieved breath that other than the few cuts, he was okay.

  “You okay, girl?” I heard. Ted was stood in the doorway.

  “No, not really.”

  “Don’t you be worrying about Sam or this little one. You and I know Robert is a good man. That’s all that matters.”

  The sound of a buzzer startled us, and I watched as a pair of headlights swept up the drive. Michael must have released the gates. In all the panic, I had totally forgotten he and Dan were still outside standing guard.

  A black Range Rover pulled to a stop by the front door. I knew that car.

  I rushed from the room and opened the front door. Barefoot, I ran across the gravel and flung myself into Robert’s arms before he’d even had the chance to straighten himself after getting out of the passenger seat. The relief I felt was instant.

  “It’s okay, I’m here,” he whispered as I cried into his chest.

  Robert let me cry myself out. All the time he whispered into my hair, words I couldn’t quite hear but comforted me anyway.

  “Where’s Gerry?” he asked once I had finally calmed down.

  “He’s asleep. He hasn’t said too much, and to be honest, I feel like shit. He sat in the living room watching a movie. I should have sat with him to make sure he was okay.”

  “If he’s fallen asleep, he’s probably okay. We can take him home now.”

  “Why did we have to come here?”

  “I wanted to make sure the house was clear. Mack had a team go and check.”

  As Robert finished speaking, Mack climbed from the car.

  “You okay?” Mack asked. I nodded.

  “How is everyone else?” I asked.

  “Let’s get inside. I think I could do with a coffee,” Robert replied.

  “Sam knows. About you,” I confessed.

  Robert simply nodded in response, probably already knowing I’d have had to tell him something. He looked exhausted. I hadn’t realised the time; it was early hours of the morning.

  Robert placed an arm around my shoulder, guiding me back to the front door, and we made our way to the kitchen. As we entered, I saw that Sam was sitting back at the kitchen table. He didn’t acknowledge either Robert or Mack at first.

  As Robert accepted a cup of coffee from Ted and took a chair, Sam stood.

  “What the fuck happened and why am I being kept away from Scott?” he demanded, his voice was full of aggression, something I’d never heard from Sam before that day.

  Robert sighed. “Sit the fuck back down, Sam. Scott is fine. He’s in an apartment in Columbia Heights. Call him.” Robert handed over his mobile.

  It only occurred to me at that point that Sam’s mobile was in his jacket pocket that was still at the hotel. I should have let him use Ted’s but I just hadn’t thought.

  Sam took the phone and made his way out to the porch.

  “Who was hurt?” I asked.

  “Sofia. She…” In all the years I had known Robert, I had not seen him so choked. He didn’t need to finish his sentence for me to know.

  “Oh, no. Oh, God, not Sofia,” I said.

  “She was heading for the restroom too. The blast knocked her from her feet. I don’t know what happened to be honest. I guess we’ll find out for sure in a day or so. Gianfranco is at the house with Ev and Travis.”

  “I saw bodies in reception. I saw…” I couldn’t finish the sentence as the image of the bloody mess came to mind.

  “One of the security guys took the full force of the blast. I suspect, I don’t know yet, but I think he threw himself on the bomb. Some of the other guys were hurt,” Robert replied.

  My stomach recoiled at the thought. “What happens now?”

  “There’ll be an investigation. We’ll see what we can salvage from the CCTV, but I promise you this. I will find who did this, and they will pay.”

  We sat for a moment in silence. I’d heard the words ‘they will pay’ before and knew exactly what Robert meant. He’d track down and he’d kill whoever had planted that bomb. It was with some sadness that I realised I didn’t feel upset at that thought. Had I become immune over the past five years? Had I lost all empathy? I prayed it was just the shock that had me emotionless to that statement.

  “Shit. There was a man in the alley. He followed us. He didn’t chase us, really. He was walking, not running, but he seemed familiar,” I said.

  “I know, Gary texted. In what way did he seem familiar?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I just have this sense of knowing him,” I replied.

  Our conversation was halted with the return of Sam. Ignoring us, he poured himself more coffee. What hurt was when he kept his back to us while he sipped from his cup.

  “Mack, can you take Sam to the apartment? Take Dan back with you too,” Robert asked.

  On hearing those words, Sam turned towards the door, ready to leave without another word. He had only taken a few paces before I spoke.

  “Sam, let me walk out with you.”

  He stopped but didn’t reply immediately. Then he raised his hand and shook his head.

  “I don’t know who you are anymore.” He looked over his shoulder at me with such sadness in his face. “You were my best friend once. I’m so sorry you ever came to America.”

  Those splinters of my shattered heart embedded against my chest. I clutched my chest, a physical pain felt at Sam’s rejection.

  Without another word, without a backward glance, he walked away.

  My Sam would understand why I had to keep those secrets. My Sam wouldn’t walk away from me. As much as he didn’t know me, I didn’t know him right then either. He had been so quick to judge, and I could only hope he wasn’t thinking straight. I looked
at his retreating back, held so stiff as he walked without his usual swagger. It was as if I was watching a stranger. The sadness that engulfed me, mixed with the hurt, the upset, and the fear threatened to overwhelm. I was barely holding it together.

  “Give him a day or so, and then call. He must be fucking terrified right now. Let him get to Scott and process not only what’s happened but what he’s learned tonight, okay?” Robert said.

  I could only nod, because if I opened my mouth, the cry that was stuck in my throat would explode out.

  “Come on, let’s get home.”

  Robert picked Gerry up from the sofa still wrapped in the comforter and we made our way to Sam’s car. Ted placed an arm around my shoulder, the first display of affection I had ever received from him. Once Robert had settled Gerry into the rear seat, he turned to Ted and took the black revolver that was being handed to him. I watched as he placed it in the glove compartment before guiding me into the back seat.

  In silence, we made our way home.

  ****

  The house was a hive of activity when we arrived. It reminded me of the night I found out who Robert was. Lights were blazing, people were milling about in the shadows and torchlights were zigzagging through the woods—security on patrol, I guessed.

  Robert took Gerry straight to his bedroom. We didn’t want to disturb him, so just removed his jacket, his tie and shoes before covering him up. I took a deep breath, appreciating again that he was safe, before I made my way upstairs alone as Robert headed over to Travis’ apartment.

  Evelyn was sitting at the breakfast bar with her head in her hands. I took the stool beside her and placed my arm around her shoulder. She looked up at me with such sorrow on her face.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I am now. How about you?”

  “I’m numb, Brooke. I just can’t process what happened. After all this time, why now and why us?”

  I had no words. We had been trouble free for so long. Or had we?

  “Where’s Gianfranco? I thought he was here?” I asked.

  “He’s with Travis at the moment. I think he needs to be around the boys. Perhaps I remind him too much of Sofia. I don’t know. I saw her leave the table for the restrooms, and then I saw her lying on the floor. Oh, Brooke. Franco just held her. He wouldn’t let anyone near to check on her, not even the paramedics at first.”