In a few weeks, I’d achieved so much. Nan was safe and well and provided for, and it was a huge weight off my mind. Her beloved furniture had been split up amongst the family and given to the local charity shop after she’d announced, “I don’t want all that old crap in here.” I’m sure it made her day when she still managed to surprise us all. Everything apart from her old record player and albums had gone. She now had all brand new furniture that filled the room she now permanently occupied at the care home.
I had moved into The Manor, as accommodation was provided as part of the package deal in my new role as one of the two Deputy Managers. I was shocked at how easy it had been to leave the only place I had ever really called home. But as I had locked the door for the final time on the shop, I knew it was time to move on. Truth be told, without my nan there with me, it just hadn’t felt right anymore. My room at The Manor was bright, modern and comfortable. The only trouble was it was just a few doors away from the room Brody kept as his own. I knew he wasn’t even in the country, but walking past the door several times a day meant he was always at the forefront of my mind. Who was I kidding? He had claimed that place as his own and nothing was shifting him.
My list had nearly been completed, apart from the one thing I had refused to write down on the paper in the first place. But as Winter had, every time I picked up the now dog-eared piece of paper to cross something off, his name and the question mark next to it jumped off the page at me, demanding that I gave it some attention.
I needed to work out what to do about my “friend” Brody.
He had texted me daily, sometimes more than once, since I had received my Christmas present. The texts had started off inhibited, like we were strangers getting to know each other, because in a way I supposed we were. Slowly, over the days and weeks that followed, we had become more relaxed with what we wanted to share with each other. Eventually, our messages contained all the little things you would share with your best friend. My days now started with me waking up and sending him a “Good morning” text. While he was in the U.S., with the time difference between us, I would wait a few hours until he replied. During each day, we shared all the funny and annoying anecdotes we could think of with each other, and then at night we would make contact again to wish each other good night. In a nutshell, he had become the person I contacted first when I wanted to share anything at all.
I still missed him, because quite simply in that short week we had spent together, I had fallen in love with him. I only hoped my “friend” was still available to move forward with.
A knock at my door brought my attention back to the here and now.
‘Come in,’ I answered.
The door pushed open and I looked up to find Maria behind a huge bouquet of the brightest coloured mixture of flowers I’d ever seen. The vibrant colours immediately lit up my sparse looking office.
‘Miss. Harper, these have just been delivered for you. Aren’t they simply stunning?’
‘Wow! They’re gorgeous. Could you put them on the side table please?’
I got up from behind my desk and followed her to the table, eager to read the card I could just see poking up from the top of the foliage.
‘Thank you, Maria.’ I watched as she smiled back at me and then vacated the room. After putting my nose down to smell the perfume wafting up to me, I plucked the small white envelope from its hiding place. Hurriedly, I tore the envelope open and pulled the card out from inside.
Morning Beautiful
I just wanted to wish you a great first day in your new job.
I know I fucked up.
I hope you’ve had enough time to do what you needed to do,
because I’m back in a few days and I’m
more than ready to claim what’s mine.
This fucked up mess between us ends, no refusals to listen
and no more walking away.
I won’t live without you, because I can’t.
Brody
Just reading his words made my heart accelerate and my stomach turn over like a washing machine on the spin cycle. I ran my finger over his words, then because no one could see me, I clutched the card tight to my chest and let out a muted squeal of excitement. Everything we felt for each other was there, right there. We had only known each other existed for all of six weeks and only spent one of those weeks together, but the strength of feeling I had for him barrelled around inside me, demanding to be let free. Unlike my mum, he was returning just like he had promised. I texted him immediately, thanking him for his gift. I didn’t mention the words he had written, as I quite simply didn’t know what to say.
He hadn’t forgotten me, he was coming back.
I looked at the flowers he had sent and grasped just exactly what all the bright colours reminded me of, they reminded me of his tattooed torso. My whole body buzzed with excitement at the thought of seeing him again.
My door knocked again and before I answered, I tucked the card back into its envelope.
‘Come in.’ I tried to sound professional, but knew my voice was just slightly off.
‘It’s only us.’ The door flew open, banging the antique, ceramic handle against the blue and silver, silk papered wall and I winced, hoping it hadn’t marked. Lauren and Winter, as always, pushed around each other to get through my doorway first.
‘Calm down. I’m not going anywhere.’ I laughed at them both as they crossed the threshold and then stood in the room turning around slowly, taking in my magnificent work space.
‘My God, they certainly pull out all the stops when you’re fucking one of the bosses, don’t they?’ Winter opened our conversation as she pulled a chair further away from the desk in preparation to sit down.
‘Shhhhhhhh.’ I placed a finger to my lips as I took in that the door hadn’t fully closed behind them. I looked at them both and shaking my head I silently reprimanded Winter for her choice of language. I walked behind them and pushed my office door shut with a bang. Then I turned around to face them, leaning my back on the door as I did so.
‘Firstly, I’m at work. You both understand that, don’t you?’ I nodded at them enthusiastically and put my hand down to check that the door was sitting snug against the frame and that it was firmly closed. I really didn’t need the reception team being party to what was probably going to be a pretty base conversation. ‘And just so you both know, I’m not fucking anyone right at this minute. So, this fantastic office is just down to me, thanks very much.’ I smiled broadly at them both.
They laughed and enthusiastically nodded their replies to me. ‘Secondly, both of you better come here for a hug before you sit. I’ve missed you so much.’ I pushed myself away from the door and opened my arms wide, gathering them both to me and squeezing them for all I was worth.
‘Have you been working too hard as usual, Lauren? You look tired.’ I squinted at her as our grip on each other began to loosen and I took in her pale complexion.
‘Oh, you know me, probably,’ she replied with a small smile and a shrug of her shoulders.
Lauren looked over at Winter as they positioned themselves at the chairs on the opposite side of my desk and spoke to her as they sat down. ‘And, Winter, I’m sure you’ll be exploring all the perks of shagging the boss very soon. I bet twenty pounds you’ll have an office all of your very own in Vegas within a month of being there.’
Winter answered her with an overly pronounced tut and a shake of her head.
God, I’ve missed these two.
‘What you’re implying, Lauren, is so not going to happen… maybe I’ll just marry one of those uptight prigs that my mum and dad keep trying to force on me instead?’ She burst out laughing at her own joke.
‘I’m not sure that even being married would put Cade off you, Winter. In fact, watching the way he acts around you, it just might make you even more interesting to him, if that were at all possible.’ I put in my two pennies worth.
‘He can look, but not touch,’ Winter announced. ‘I have much h
igher standards than some bloody drummer. Anyway, we came to talk about you, Amy.’ I watched as she crossed her legs, almost on instinct at talking about Cade.
‘We’ve just seen Raff outside and he told us that Brody and Cade will be back in a few days. So, when are you going to remedy that situation?’ Lauren pushed into the conversation as she leant herself comfortably back into her chair, looking extremely pleased with herself.
I walked away from the door, choosing to go the long way around behind them, so I could gently touch the flowers that Brody had sent.
It was a gesture that wasn’t missed by my audience.
‘Those are from him, aren’t they?’ Lauren questioned as she followed my every move, twisting herself around in the navy blue, fabric-covered tub chair.
I smiled, found my way back behind my desk and sat down. I knew that my face gave me away completely. I nodded at them both and pushed the small card across the desk for them both to read. I watched as they read his words, swivelling a little from side to side on my chair in my excitement.
‘That’s damn hot, Amy! He’s coming back to claim what’s his… Whoah.’ Winter was pretending to fan her face as she spoke. ‘Who would have thought it, our Amy bringing the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the U.S. to his knees.’
‘It does read that way, doesn’t it? I don’t mean the on his knees stuff, but the fact he’s coming back for me?’
Their heads lifted from the card they were reading over and over in perfect synchronisation and their wide eyes found mine.
‘YES!’ they both yelled over at me in agreement, smiling from ear to ear at my stupid question.
‘There is no mistaking what he’s written on here. Get your best underwear out lady, he’s reclaiming what’s his!’ shouted out Winter, a little too loudly.
I grinned back at them.
‘I can’t wait to see him, I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed him.’
‘You don’t need to tell us, we both know. So, when are you next off? I’m sure once he gets you in his grip, he’s going to want to keep hold of you for a while,’ Lauren asked.
I looked at her smiling. ‘It’s a great job. I work four days and then have four days off. It gives me time to see Nan…’
‘It gives her days to spend in bed fucking Brody,’ Winter added, talking directly to Lauren.
‘So, occasionally if I need a day off from The Fairy Garden you might be able to cover me?’ Lauren questioned.
‘Not so you can fuck Toby, she can’t,’ added Winter.
‘Winter!’ I scolded. ‘Of course I can, Lauren, as always just let me know.’
Ignoring Winter, Lauren carried on, ‘We’re so proud of you, Amy. You’ve had so much thrown at you. You came through the other side and now you have a future to look forward to. If I didn’t love you so much, I’d envy you.’
I felt my forehead crease as I looked at Lauren smiling at me and thought over her words. When would she see that she needed Raff back in her life? I hoped it would be soon.
The girls left me soon after our conversation, and I went back to work determined to do what was required of me. I managed to complete my day’s work in half the time. Thoughts of Brody coming back in only a few days kept the adrenalin flowing around my body.
‘There you go, asswipe.’
I opened one eye to see Cade holding an opened bottle of still mineral water. I adjusted my position, sat up and uncrossed my arms. Holding out my hand, I took the bottle from him. I hadn’t been sleeping, I was just lost in my thoughts as I listened to the engines of the plane.
‘Cheers,’ I toasted, clinking my blue glass against the brown of his beer bottle.
I took a mouthful of the cool water, put it down beside me and watched Cade take a seat opposite.
‘So, let’s go there, shall we? We’ve known for two whole days and we left McCarran airport over two hours ago and you still haven’t said a word about it.’
I sniffed, exhaled and put my leg up. I placed my ankle on my opposite knee and started tapping out a tune on my protruding ankle bone.
‘Talk to me!’ Cade moved suddenly, leant forward and knocked my leg down with his hand. ‘Don’t shut the fuck down, I’ve seen it before. We know where it leads.’
‘Fuck off, Cade.’ I righted my leg, glanced quickly at the shiny drinks cabinet behind him and then looked away. I knew what he meant, but for the first time ever, I felt absolutely no compulsion to go there. I knew exactly what I needed to take away the guilt and pain. All I wanted was to be buried balls deep in Amy. I only hoped she still wanted me there. Amy had messaged me to say thanks for the flowers I’d sent. She hadn’t however mentioned what I’d written on the card and it was a worry, as I’d meant every single damn word I’d written. I turned my wrist over to look at my watch, we had at least eight more hours in the air. It was too fucking long.
‘Not going anywhere, man. Let me in,’ he demanded, immediately expelling the picture of Amy that I had in my head.
‘What can I say? What do ya want me to say?’ I threw my arms wide open and felt my tic begin to spasm above my cheek.
‘Look, I know Nico can be an asshat, but he’s my brother. Inside he’s a good guy, you don’t know him like I do.’
I burst out into what sounded like manic laughter.
‘Right… Then you tell me how the fuck you would feel if your baby sister just married into the mob?’
I watched as he slowly raised his eyes to mine and then as his fingers started to tap up and down on his knee. It was a sure way to tell his anger was ramping up.
Bring it on. It wouldn’t be the first time we’d gone for each other. I carried on. ‘And not just into the mob. Oh no! … But the head of the fucking mob. Perhaps even the head of five fucking families, like in The Godfather,’ I added, knowing I was being an asshat. I spoke the words so vehemently I saw my own spittle leave my mouth.
‘He’s made the family business legit and you know it.’
‘Your brother’s a fucking killer and you know it.’ The air between us crackled.
I knew I was being unfair to Cade, but at this moment I didn’t give a flying fuck. He had walked away from his family’s business a long time ago, wanting nothing to do with any of it. He had made his money the same way I had. When we’d met nearly twenty years ago, the two of us owned nothing, except a love of music and a troubled fucking attitude. We rented a run down, filthy dirty apartment together, right on the edge of the strip itself and some days we didn’t even eat. Together we’d played in some real shit joints just to get our name out there. The only thing he’d kept was the Morello name, and mostly they’d left him alone and let him live with his decision. We’d all heard the stories that came our way, as soon as people found out who the fuck he was related to. Yes, the Morello family were now running completely above board, but I knew how the fuck they’d got that way. Nico Morello was a man who liked the thrill of violence far too fucking much to give it all up completely.
Now that same man was married to my baby sister. He was thirty-five years old and she was thirty-three. There was a two-year age difference, but over one hundred in life experience. She told me he was good to her, and he offered her the security she needed. When I’d asked her if they were in love, she’d stuttered before she answered me and I knew the answer she gave was a lie, just by that simple show of anxiety.
I jumped up and started to pace up and down the aisle in between the carefully positioned groups of seats. As I got close to the bar area, I allowed my fingers to brush along the walnut edging and then pulled them away just as fast.
‘What really has me fucking riled is we didn’t even need to be in Vegas. There wasn’t anything wrong with the hotel. So, your brother is a fucking liar, too.’
‘It’s obvious why he did that, isn’t it?’ I looked at him as he stared back at me, his eyes opened wide with disbelief and he shook his head.
I looked away and carried on walking around.
‘Is it?’ I q
uestioned, with my back turned on him.
‘For fucks sake, Daniels, get your head out of your ass. She can’t get you to be in the same room as her. You’re so eaten up with guilt that isn’t yours to own, that you’ve pushed her away. He lied for her sake and that’s what tells me that their marriage stands a chance of fucking working. He lied about business, to get you to come and listen to what she wanted to say.’
I stopped walking and looked at Cade. The bastard was sitting back, relaxed in his seat, showing me just how confident he felt. He really believed he had everything all fucking worked out and that was the bit that got to me.
Cade never had shit worked out.
‘You need to let her live her life, Daniels. He’ll take care of her now.’ His voice was quieter, offering me the sense of calm I’d not felt in the two days since I’d found out.
‘You can’t know that for certain. How the fuck will he deal with her?’ I asked.
‘I’m convinced I do. I know him, better than he thinks and I’ve thought of nothing else for two fucking days. He’ll help her, because her vulnerability calls to the brother I know and love, the one he keeps hidden and buried deep down inside. This could be good for them both. My mama always used to say he was a man who needed a wife and now he’s got one. Maybe my brother is just the sort of man she needs in her life. For far too long you’ve bailed her out. She’s not your little sister anymore, she’s a grown woman and she deserves to live that way. Let’s face it, you’ve tried every other fucking thing and it hasn’t worked, how many hundreds of thousands have you spent bailing her out and paying for rehab?’
‘It’s only fucking money and I’d have spent everything I ever made to make her happy.’
‘I know, man. But it’s just fucking money and, Brody, love goes so much fucking further than money ever could.’
I sat back down opposite Cade and stared at him, trying to take in everything he was saying.
Brody (Default Distraction Book 1) Page 24