The Scent of Sage and Vengeance

by Lacuna Reid

  Eventually, my growling stomach gets the better of me and I pry myself away from Theo’s arms and join Gino and Elias around the breakfast trolley. It’s filled with herby roasted tomatoes, coddled eggs, grilled bacon, and fried potato rosti with sage and thyme.

  “This is amazing, Elias.”

  “This is why I’m the best, yes?” he smiles and winks at me as Gino elbows him jokingly.

  As I pile my plate high with food, Theo gets up, and joins me. Then Helio finally stirs, sniffing the air.

  “Bacon?” he says, and he’s up like a rocket, ready to get amongst the food. The five of us eat, and then we relax for a while, lolling back against the pile of blankets and mattresses…

  This could get interesting…

  Of course, Lana picks that exact moment to video call me, and I make the most of the opportunity to introduce her to the guys, panning my phone around me, while they wave at the screen.

  “Oh. My. God. Mira – you…. You wonderful harlot! You’re in bed with them all at once!”

  I laugh. “Kind of.”

  “You are going to call me back as soon as you’re done with them and give me details – explicit details! I want to know everything! EVERYTHING!” I laugh again and hang up the phone. Of course, I’ll have to call her back eventually and tell her that it wasn’t quite what it seemed, but for now… I’ll just let her stew for a while.

  Gino’s phone buzzes.

  “Just an email,” he says, looking at the screen, and then he frowns. “Damn,” he says. “Immigration issues again. Sorry, Mira, I thought I had this sorted.”

  “So, which one of us are you going to marry to get permanent resident status?” Elias asks, jokingly.

  I feel a queasy sensation at the question. “Umm… actually…”

  Theo’s phone sounds, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Saved by the bell.

  Theo glances at the screen, and then his face darkens.

  “What is it?” Helio asks.

  “There’s another package here for Mira,” Theo says. “And it’s a big one.”

  “Do you want…” Gino starts to say, looking at me. “I mean, we could send it away – send it to the police, tell them it’s from a stalker.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  It’s probably just another present from Cliff, and as Lana keeps telling me, it’s about time I stood up to him. “I better see what it is.”

  “We’re coming with you,” Theo says.

  I hesitate, but it’s too late; Theo and the others are up and looking determined. “Okay…” I relent.

  They follow me down to the lobby. Marina is there, and a big square white box tied with a red ribbon is sitting on the reception desk. I approach it cautiously.

  “It’s very light,” Marina says, noting my hesitation. “So, it’s probably not a bomb.”

  I know she’s saying it as a joke but none of us laugh, so she stops smiling.

  I pull at one of the strands of red ribbon. The bow comes loose and slips away. I reach for the lid and lift if off to reveal… rose petals?

  God, Cliff. Why do you have to be so creepy and symbolic… or whatever this is.

  I reach in and rustle through them, terrified that I might find something gross like an animal heart or a dead bird. In the end, all I find is another small box… another jewelry box. My heart sinks as I lift it up.

  There’s an inevitability to all this, and I’m already sure I know what’s inside, but I can’t put it back. I can’t hide it. It’s too late. They are all here, and they are about to find out my secret. I open the small black jewelry case to reveal a plain gold ring.

  My wedding band.

  The guys around me gasp and so does Marina.

  “Is this… is this a proposal?!” she cries, clasping her hands over her mouth. “Who is it from?” She looks around at the guys, and they look at her and each other blankly.

  “No, it’s not a proposal,” I admit. “It’s my wedding ring. I probably should have told you guys this already… but I’m kind of… married.”

  Epilogue: Cliff

  “The plans, sir.”

  I give a dismissive nod to the engineer and he leaves me with the roll of blueprints. I glance over the details.

  “Yes, this will do quite nicely,” I say to myself, checking the ultra-high security measures put in place.

  I look out my window at the darkening sky and the twinkling lights of New York City, imagining what my new office will look like instead with a view of snowy mountains, instead of buildings for miles around.

  There’s a knock at the door. I turn to see Strand walking in. He’s young, but he’s proven himself to be one of my most trusted scouts.

  “Is it done?” I ask.

  Strand nods. “Mission accomplished.”

  I smile thinking of the nasty surprise he has delivered to Mira that should jolt her out of whatever sub-standard reverie she’s found herself in and remind her of who she really is, where she really belongs.

  Strand hands me a memory stick, which I know is laden with information I need to complete my plan.

  “How was it?” I ask him.

  Strand laughs. “Easy as walking right in through the front door. Despite all their security measures.”

  I laugh with him. “I wonder if Mira will like her present…”

  It’d better remind her that she’s mine.

  Strand shrugs. “I told you we should have left a camera – hidden it somewhere on the box.”

  “Too obvious,” I say. “I want her to remember her commitments; I don’t want her to realize the lengths I’m going to. I need to stay in control.

  I dismiss Strand with a nod, then I insert the memory stick into my computer system, watching the footage as it flashes up on the big monitor, surrounded by smaller screens. I look over the different views into the El Cielo compound – the filthy hippie commune where Mira is blissfully embroiled with those brutes.

  There’s no sight of them, just some staff, but I can see what Strand means. He’s used the opportunity to hone in on the weaknesses… the limitations of their cameras and the positioning of the front guards.

  I clasp my hands together in satisfaction.

  Despite the increased security that Gino’s clearly employed and despite his cleverness, I can see at least three options. All of them come with risks and it will be even better if I can get her to leave the compound again.

  I was in New York last time Mira escaped with Gino on some jaunt around Barcelona, but I won’t be caught off-guard again.

  Things are running smoothly with the business and I hear remote working is fashionable these days. I pick up the phone and speak to my assistant.

  “Cheryl, inform my pilot we leave tomorrow. Time for another Mediterranean vacation, I think.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replies as always. Another willing and humble servant, eager to follow my commands. If only Mira would realize that this too is in her best interests.

  I roll the blueprints out again on the table examining the next stage in the project. Every detail is in place. Soon it will be ready for me to move in and lay the biggest trap of all.

  “Don’t worry, Mira,” I say. “It won’t be long until you’re home again with me… and then you’ll pay.”

  If you want to find out what happens next, order book 3!

  Read on for a sneak peek of book 3…

  Chapter One

  “I’m… married.”

  “You’re… what?” Gino says.

  “I mean… I’m separated. I was married to Cliff and then I left – five years ago. I walked out and I haven’t spoken to him since.”

  “It didn’t cross your mind to file for divorce?” Helio teases, but I’m not in the mood.

  “I don’t want anything to do with that man,” I say. “I didn’t want to have to negotiate with him. Plus I couldn’t afford a lawyer to file for divorce. It was easier not to think about it.”

  “So you want to stay marrie
d?” Theo asks me. There’s pain and concern in his eyes.

  “No. Not at all,” I say. “Look… as far as I’m concerned I’m no longer married to him, but…”

  “But legally…” says Elias.

  “Legally you are his wife,” Theo says.

  “I guess…” I look around the room at the guys. Marina seems to have quietly melted away into another room, giving us privacy. I’m glad because all their faces show some kind of pain and betrayal that they either can’t mask or aren’t trying to hide.

  “Which means you can’t marry any of us to get out of this immigration bind,” Gino says, his eyes downcast, his voice distant. “That’s too bad; it would have simplified things.

  “But you can still sort it out… right?” I ask.

  “I’ll do my best, Mira,” Gino says, “but this complicates things. We are trying to show that your life is here – but perhaps Clifford is telling them otherwise, perhaps his lawyers are getting in the way of your application because you are still his wife.”

  “I don’t want to be,” I say.

  “Then file for divorce!” There’s rage in Theo’s voice, and even though I know it’s probably not directed at me, it still feels that way. I flinch.

  He notices. “I’m sorry Mira,” Theo says, looking down. “This is all a bit too much for me, on top of everything.”

  Theo just had to deal with his closest confidant trying to kill me… Victor was now in police custody, for the murder of fifteen year old Tiala, many years ago. The danger might have passed for now, but we’ve all been through so much in the past twenty four hours that this “gift” from my ex really couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  “It’s too much to deal with now,” I say. “Let’s just all take a few days to relax.” But even as I say it, my voice full of false cheer, I can see the darkness in the faces of these four men… I have developed strong feelings for all of them, and I’ve been demanding the truth from them, yet I’ve been keeping a secret, and I can tell they’re hurt.

  It wasn’t a big deal for me, I tell myself, as the guys make their excuses and disperse, leaving me standing here alone.

  But that’s not really true is it, Mira, another voice in my head says, sounding unnervingly like my mother who passed away when I was younger. You’d like to think it’s not a big deal, but really you’ve been in denial this whole time and you need to stop running from yourself.

  I go back to my rooms, feeling terrible. I was so young when I married cliff… only 19, and I didn’t know any better, not after the way my father had raised me. I unwittingly went from one controlling man to another. Cliff and my Father are like two peas in a pod, both rich, business-minded, isolated and power tripping.

  I sprawl out on my bed and mope for a bit… feeling sorry for myself.

  Now the guys don’t trust me… and is that really because I didn’t trust them?

  I didn’t tell them I was married. I didn’t want to seem frumpy, like an old married lady… or old fashioned in that frowned-upon marrying-at-nineteen kind of way.

  I have the need to talk to someone, to vent about how I feel, but somehow I don’t feel like anyone here is on speaking terms with me. I briefly consider confiding in Marina. She seems nice, but really, I hardly know her. Instead, I reach for my phone and call Lana, my best friend who’s back in New York, living nearby where I used to live. It strikes me that my old life in New York was only months ago… it feels like years.

  The phone rings and Lana picks up.

  “Finished your orgy?” she says. I’d forgotten that she had only just called me, a couple of hours ago, and I happened to be lying on a pile of mattresses with four sexy guys. That also feels like a long time ago.

  “That wasn’t what it looked like,” I say.

  Nothing had happened – sexually, not at that point. We had just all slept in Theo’s study after Victor was finally apprehended. I’d not wanted to be apart from any of them and they’d not wanted to be away from me. It was special… it felt like a new level of something in our ‘relationship’ – if you can call it that, but of course Lana assumed we’d all been fucking.

  “Sure, sure,” Lana replies. “You know you don’t have to hide your sultry slutty side from me. I’m here for it. Let me live vicariously through you. Show some charity to those of us who are happily partnered with just one guy.” Lana has been with her boyfriend Dave for a very long time. He’s a sweetheart and she is happy, but she does keep asking me for details about the unusual romantic situation I’ve found myself in.

  “I guess I better explain how it all happened.” I tell Lana about the night we’d just had – about Tiala’s ghost and Victor being the killer, and how the guys had helped and how we’d all ended up sleeping in Theo’s study.

  “Wow,” Lana says. “That’s so intense. Are you alright – given you were almost murdered!”

  “I’m alright now…” I say.

  “You should write a movie script about all that. Wait, what’s wrong?” Lana asks, as if she’s only noticed the sadness in my voice, and that I’m not really alright after all.

  “It’s Cliff,” I say. “He sent me a box full of rose petals… and my wedding band.”

  “What. The. Fuck?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That’s creepy stalker material,” Lana says. “You really should be writing a soap opera.”

  “It’s not funny, Lana,” I say. “The guys didn’t know I was married and it kind of… it makes things weird.”

  “That’s not fair,” Lana says. “You were practically a child bride. Did you tell them that?”

  “No, because it’s not true,” I say.

  “You were so innocent!” Lana argues. “It’s totally true.”

  “I think it’s mostly the fact that I didn’t tell them that’s bothering them, and also… there are some immigration issues. Gino thinks Cliff is behind it with his lawyers – sabotaging my being here… maybe me still being legally married means that Cliff can argue that my life’s not really here and I shouldn’t have longer term residency, or something.”

  “That’s fucked,” Lana says. “I’m sorry honey.”

  It feels good to get her empathy.

  “So even if the guys do know that my marriage doesn’t mean anything to me, it’s getting in the way on a practical level, and it also means one of them can’t marry me to help me stay in the country.”

  “Wow – that developed fast,” Lana says. “You’d really do that?”

  “It doesn’t mean anything, does it?” I ask. “It’s just a piece of paper saying you’re legally connected.”

  “So romantic,” Lana says, sarcastically. “You know, it’s not fair that someone like you is getting all the romance. It’s totally wasted on you.”

  “Shut up,” I say.

  “I would shut up, but then I wouldn’t be able to tell my best friend some important news about my life, that is – if she’s not too wrapped up in her own to care,” Lana is joking but there’s an edge to her voice.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “What is it?”

  Lana holds up her hand to reveal a sapphire ring on her wedding finger.

  “No way!” I say. “Dave proposed?”

  “Finally,” Lana says. “I was about to give up on him and just do it myself.”

  “Congrats, honey!” I say. “I really am happy for you.”

  “Good, then you can be my bride’s maid.”

  “I’d be honoured… ummm… when’s the wedding?” I ask.

  “Oh, probably not for years. It took him this long to propose, I can’t imagine he’s in a rush.”

  “Keep me in the loop,” I say. “And I really am thrilled for you!”

  “Of course,” Lana says, smiling at me. “Look, I’d better go, but you keep me in the loop too. Let me know what happens, and I’m always here if you need someone to chat to.

  “Thanks Lana.”

  We exit the phone call, and I lie back on my bed again, feeling better someho
w. I know I need to make things right with the guys. I need to talk to them one-on-one, and make sure they understand that me being married doesn’t mean anything to me… that it doesn’t change anything between us.

  I get out of bed and shower and then I go to my wardrobe, eyeing the nice things that Theo generously gave me. I put on a fairly casual looking top. It’s cream linen, and it feels expensive, but I pair it with my worn blue jeans anyway because I’m not in a fancy mood.

  I pile my hair up into a messy bun and put on my sneakers, and then I go in search of my four kind-of-boyfriends. I don’t really know what to call them. We haven’t talked about official titles, but there’s definitely some kind of relationship between me and each of them, although after the shock this morning I’m worried that one or more of them will have changed their minds about wanting to be close to me.

  I try Theo’s office first. His outburst this morning did put me on edge, but it’s so uncharacteristic of him. I want to make sure he’s okay. There’s no answer when I knock on his door. I pause for a while and then continue across to the main building, to Gino’s apartment. I press the buzzer but there’s no response there either… how mysterious. I Go downstairs to the lobby.

  Marina smiles at me, through her long eyelashes. With her beautiful caramel curls, she always looks perfectly groomed and despite my shower this morning I’m still feeling dishevelled.

  “Tough day?” she says.

  I sigh. “How did you guess?” I say, with a touch of irony in my voice.

  “Gino and Theo left earlier, if you’re looking for them,” Marina informs me.

  “Where..?”

  “They didn’t say,” she replies before I even finish answering the question.

  I eye her suspiciously, not sure whether to trust her.

  “Look, Mira,” she says. “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I like you, and I want you to know that whatever is going on between you and the guys, there’s no judgement from me, okay?”