by David A Max
“How dare you call me a murderer!” Jake shouted back, “I have already forgiven him, because I have never trusted you. Have you forgotten you have always been a cheat and you were cheating on your husband with me, so this did not come as a surprise.”
“You are as guilty as I am Jake,” Gina replied, “all I know is that I am no longer comfortable being around you,” she insisted.
“Well I can leave the room, there are many rooms in this house. And why was part of your bracelet found close to where Carlito was stabbed? You might be guilty of trying to murder him just to cover up your revolting cheating ways,” Jake answered and stormed out of the room.
Andreiá kept sobbing in her room, she got up and decided to go to Carlito’s room. She knocked on his door, “Who is it?” Carlito asked. “It’s me Andreiá.”
“What do you want?” Carlito replied.
“I want us to talk,” Andreiá answered, “please let me come in.”
Carlito unlocked his door and quickly shut and locked it behind her immediately she walked into the room.
“You cannot keep isolating yourself from everybody, especially from me, I have done nothing wrong,” Andreiá said staring at Carlito.
“I just saw you and Emilio kissing in the garden,” Carlito shouted, with a frown on his face.
“He forced himself on me, I pushed him back and actually slapped him, didn’t you see that?” Andreiá protested.
“I only saw you guys kissing,” Carlito said looking at Andreiá.
“I can’t hurt you, I don’t want anything to happen to you. When Emilio told me about you and Gina, I was upset but forgave you because I can’t stay mad at you,” Andreiá said as she walked towards Carlito and kissed him, “Please believe me.”
Carlito looked into her eyes and hugged her.
“How long have you been locked up in your room?” Andreiá asked Carlito.
“About two weeks now,” Carlito answered.
“We need to take a stroll, it’s a nice evening to take a stroll,” so they both walked out of the mansion holding hands.
“It feels nice to be out of the mansion, the fresh air makes me feel invigorated,” Carlito said, swinging Andreiá’s hand as they walked further away from the mansion.
“You needed the fresh air,” Andreiá replied, as they walked towards the local shops.
There was a sudden tyre screech behind them, Carlito and Andreiá turned back and saw a car driving towards them about to hit them. Carlito jumped out of the way and pulled Andreiá and they both fell down on the ground beside the road. The car drove past them and stopped. Andreiá and Carlito hailed insults at the driver as he stopped, then Carlito saw the reverse light on the car come on and he quickly got up from the ground and pulled Andreiá up. They both ran as the car reversed towards them, they ran into a corner street, and hid behind a truck; the car chasing them drove into the street but couldn’t find them. The car parked at the end of the street, far away from where Carlito and Andreiá were hiding, so they decided to wait for some time, until the car drove away.
Ten minutes later, Carlito got up to peep and see if the car was still there. Andreiá suddenly heard a noise behind her, she turned back and saw a masked man just behind her with a knife. The masked man punched Andreiá hard and pushed her hard out of the way, she fell down and hit her head on the ground and temporarily passed out. The masked man charged towards Carlito with the knife. Carlito held the masked man’s hand, stopping him from stabbing him, they both struggled, the masked man’s head booted Carlito and he fell to the ground. The masked man jumped on top of Carlito, and was about to stab Carlito but Carlito held his hand again; they struggled with each other, suddenly something hit the masked man on the head and he fell to the ground beside Carlito. Carlito heaved a sigh of relief, looked up and saw that Andreiá had hit the man on the head with a stick.
Carlito got up, grabbed Andreiá’s hand and they both ran; they ran as fast as their feet could take them back towards the mansion. They ran back into the mansion and went straight into their room.
Carlito hurriedly shut the door behind them, breathing heavily; he locked the door and sat on the couch still breathing heavily. Andreiá sat on the bed, “We should have removed his mask,” Andreiá said.
“There could have been two of them, that was why I decided we should run,” Carlito replied.
“That’s true,” Andreiá agreed.
“I need to call the detectives, this has gotten out of hand, someone wants me dead. I need to leave this house by tomorrow and go somewhere quiet and safe,” Carlito said, pacing around in the room.
“I agree, it’s becoming dangerous for you to be anywhere around here,” Andreiá said as she nodded.
That night Andreiá and Carlito slept late. Andreiá needed to get up to go and use the toilet; she was about to get up when she saw a masked man sneaking towards Carlito with a knife in his hand. Andreiá screamed, and the intruder turned and looked at Andreiá. She got up and tried to run towards the door to get help, but the masked man picked up a small stool and threw it hard at her. She fell hard on the floor and broke her leg.
Carlito got up and hit the intruder on the head with a side lamp, he fell to the ground, so Carlito quickly grabbed a decorative baseball bat in his room but the man had got up and was wielding the knife at Carlito. Carlito swung the baseball bat and hit the knife out of the masked man’s hand; the knife fell on the couch with the blade facing up, and as the man tried to pick up the knife, Carlito swung the baseball bat and hit the intruder on the head, he fell hard on the knife and the knife pierced his chest and heart. The masked man died instantly.
Carlito ran towards Andreiá, “Are you okay?” he asked as he assisted to get her up and put her on the bed. “Remove the mask, let’s see who it is,” Andreiá said.
Carlito walked gently to the lifeless man and removed the mask gently. Carlito and Andreiá covered their mouth, shocked at who they saw.
“I thought he said he was okay about what happened, why would Jake still want me dead?” Carlito sighed.
Chapter 7
Jake had been buried for a week but Gina was still sobbing. Carlito held her and consoled her, “Please stop crying,” Carlito whispered in her ear. “It is really painful that he’s gone, I thought he had put our relationship behind him, I’m really sorry,” Gina said as she sobbed on Carlito’s shoulder.
“Do you need some time on your own?” Carlito asked.
“Please don’t leave,” Gina wept, “stay with me.”
Carlito carried Gina and laid her on the bed, he lay next to her and cuddled her. She kissed him, they both kissed for some time, he stroked her hair and she held him tight until she fell asleep. Carlito quietly turned her over and covered her with the duvet; he gently snuck out of the room, and walked to his room. Andreiá was fast asleep when Carlito entered the room; he lay down quietly next to her and fell asleep.
The next day Kevin woke all of them up and told them to join him in the living area; Carlito, Andreiá, Emilio and Gina, entered the living area, Kevin and Déborah sat on the couch with two other strangers.
“This is Greg and Elsa,” Kevin said, “Greg is here to take over the role of Jake.” Greg got up and shook hands with all of them, “Elsa is going to join Andreiá, Emilio and Carlito, she will go on missions with the three of you.”
“Hello,” Elsa said, waving her hands at everyone. Emilio admired Elsa as she waved, she was a beautiful blonde from Sweden, well dressed with nice curves. Emilio leaned over and shook her hand, “I’m Emilio,” he said with a grin on his face.
Gina admired Greg, he was tall with a well-chiselled body; he was of mixed race, half South African half German but grew up in Germany. Gina said hello to both of them but was kind of flirting with Greg already. Carlito noticed but pretended he did not know Gina was flirting.
“I will leave you all to get more acquainted. Greg and Elsa have separate rooms down the hall from the four of you,” Kevin said as he and Débora
h got up to leave, “we will be back to work soon.” Kevin got up and left with Déborah.
“Have you both known each other for a long time?” Gina asked Greg and Elsa.
“We just met today at the mansion,” Elsa replied, “speaking of mansions this is a beautiful place.”
“Yes it is beautiful,” Emilio answered, “I’ll take you on tour round the estate.”
“That will be lovely,” Elsa accepted.
“And I will take you round the estate, so you don’t feel left out,” Gina told Greg.
“Thank you,” Greg smiled.
“Have you known Kevin for long?” Carlito asked Greg.
“I met Kevin about a week ago. I was in some kind of trouble and he rescued me and brought me here.”
“Same thing happened to me, I was in trouble, Déborah rescued me and brought me here,” Elsa said looking a bit shocked. Carlito looked at Andreiá and Gina and nodded his head.
“Do you know your rooms?” Andreiá asked.
“Yes we do,” Elsa answered.
“You both should get some rest, relax and we can take you round the estate later,” Andreiá said staring at Carlito.
A couple of days later Greg and Gina were having dinner together in the dining room, “You are beautiful I must admit,” Greg told Gina.”
“Thank you,” Gina replied, “you are handsome I must confess too,’ she added, and they both giggled.
Carlito entered the dining room and joined them at the table to have dinner; Carlito was not smiling.
“What’s wrong with you?” Gina asked Carlito.
“Nothing is wrong with me Gina.”
Gina looked at Carlito and left the dining room, Greg tried to follow her to find out why she was upset. “Please, I want to be on my own,” Gina told Greg as she walked to her room.
Greg went back to the dining room, “Carlito, is everything okay? It seems you don’t like me, I know Andreiá is your girlfriend so I don’t think I’m doing anything to offend you.”
Carlito looked at Greg, “Who said you are doing something to offend me, we don’t have to be best of pals do we?” Carlito replied.
“Well I’m sorry you feel that way,” Greg replied and left the room.
Carlito finished his dinner and went to Gina’s room; Gina was lying down. “Carlito what is your problem, why are you trying to make me feel uncomfortable talking to Greg, you have your girlfriend don’t you?”
Carlito looked at Gina and shook his head, “Fine if that’s what you want,” he replied. He turned round and was about to leave Gina’s room, Gina quickly rushed and grabbed him, “Don’t do this to me,” she pulled Carlito closer and pushed him on the bed, she kissed him, “Carlito, you are seeing two of us in this house and you are still jealous when I talk to Greg,” Gina said as she stared into his eyes. “You know I love you and I won’t let anybody come between us.”
“You better not allow that to happen,” Carlito replied. Carlito slept over in Gina’s room that night.
The next morning Andreiá was looking for Carlito. Carlito tapped Andreiá’s shoulder, “I’m here darling.”
Andreiá turned round, “I was looking for you, where did you sleep last night?” Andreiá asked.
“I dozed off in the living area,” Carlito lied, “I’m not lost and nobody is trying to kill me anymore.” Carlito and Andreiá smiled and kissed as they walked back to the room.
Emilio was talking to Elsa in the back garden, “Where were you working before you were brought here by Déborah?” Emilio asked Elsa.
“I was working for the Swedish government; you can’t tell anybody this but I was a spy, did a lot of espionage,” Elsa whispered.
“So how did you end up here?” Emilio asked looking shocked.
“I got mixed up in some wrong dealings, I got some information from my government and some from the English government, I was trying to make money from both sides and I was caught out,” Elsa said, looking sad, “the strange thing was that on my way to where I was supposed to drop some information, there was an alleyway and I heard a loud noise followed by thunder sounds in the alleyway. I was petrified and ran in the other direction and as I was running I met Déborah. She told me we should hide in a car. As we hid in the car I saw about five British agents walking past the car with their guns drawn out, they were looking for me and I would have been killed if it was not for Déborah. I don’t how she got to the alley or how she knew the British agents were looking for me,” Elsa said as she shook her head.
“Never mind, you will find out more in time,” Emilio consoled her and put his hand on her shoulder. “I want to take you for dinner in a fancy restaurant tomorrow,” Emilio asked Elsa.
“Let’s get to know each other better first, we live together so that shouldn’t be that hard,” Elsa smiled and gave Emilio a kiss on the cheek, she got up and went into the living area. Emilio was elated but tried not to show it, ‘she likes me,’ he thought to himself as he touched the cheek where she kissed him.
Gina was in the living area when Elsa walked in. Elsa sat down, “Hello Gina,” Elsa greeted, “how are you today?”
“I’m fine,” Gina replied, “are you enjoying the house?” Gina asked.
“Yes I am, there are a lot of helpers around to cater to one’s every need,” Elsa said impressively.
“Yes there are, Kevin wants us to be as comfortable as possible.”
“Where is Kevin, I haven’t seen him in days?” Elsa asked.
“He has his own section in the building so he hardly ever comes here,” Gina answered.
Greg walked into the room and sat down next to Gina, “How are you guys doing?” Greg asked.
“We’re fine,” Elsa and Gina answered. Elsa got up, “I’ll be back, I want to get something in my room,” Elsa got up and left for her room.
Greg looked at Gina and touched her shoulder, “I really like you Gina, I want to get to know you better,” Greg leaned forward to kiss Gina, but Gina pulled back and got up. “Sorry Greg, I’m not looking for that now,” Gina replied and left the room. Greg shook his head and sighed.
Elsa came back into the room, “Where’s Gina?” she asked.
“She left, but I don’t know where she’s gone,” Greg replied. “Do you want to go for a stroll around the estate?” he asked Elsa.
“That will be nice,” Gina answered.
So Elsa and Greg walked round the estate and they both talked. Greg tried to hold Elsa’s hand but she gently removed her hand, and when they got back to the mansion Elsa gave Greg a peck and said goodnight.
Elsa sat down alone in the sitting area and was watching TV when Emilio walked into the room. “Hello Elsa, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” she replied and smiled.
Emilio brought out flowers from behind his back, “This is for you,” he said, giving them to Elsa. She took the flowers, got up and hugged Emilio, “Thank you for the flowers.” Emilio smiled and walked out of the room.
A few hours later Greg came into the sitting area and sat next to Elsa, “I bought you some chocolates, I was out earlier and picked them up for you,” Greg said as he handed over the chocolates to Elsa. “Thank you, you shouldn’t have,” Elsa replied.
The next morning Emilio knocked on Elsa’s room door, “Who is it?” she asked.
“It’s Emilio.” Elsa got up and opened the door, Emilio was holding a tray with breakfast on it, “I brought you breakfast,” Emilio said.
“You shouldn’t have, Emilio,” Elsa replied, “can you please take it easy, like I told you before let us get to know each other better.”
Emilio put the tray on the bed, please don’t be upset,” Emilio said, “I really like you.”
“It’s okay,” Elsa said. Emilio stared at Elsa and left the room.
That afternoon Elsa sat in the sitting area alone and Greg came to join her; he sat on the couch next to Elsa, they joked for some time and Greg leaned forward to kiss her. Elsa pulled back and told Greg to stop, she got u
p and left the room.
About two days later Carlito was watching a programme on TV in the sitting area, he sat alone enjoying the show and laughing.
Elsa walked into the sitting area, she said hello to Carlito and sat next to him, “What programme are you watching?” Elsa asked.
“It’s an American show, it’s quite funny,” Carlito replied. They both watched it and Elsa soon started laughing with Carlito. After about twenty minutes of watching the show, Elsa stretched her legs on the couch and put them on Carlito’s lap. Carlito was taken aback, he looked at Elsa’s legs on his lap and looked at her without making a sound.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Elsa said, smiling at Carlito. Carlito could not say a word, Elsa then leaned over and kissed Carlito on the lips, “Where is Andreiá?” she asked.
“She’s in the bedroom,” Carlito stammered.
“I like you Carlito,” Elsa said, talking and kissing Carlito, “I like your rugged look, you are most women’s dream guy, I’m sure you get that a lot,” she said kissing Carlito. Carlito just nodded his head without an answer; they both kept kissing. Elsa got up and pulled Carlito up and took him to her room.
That evening Carlito snuck out of Elsa’s room, looking round making sure no one saw him and he was about to turn into his room when he saw Gina. She walked close to him, “Follow me to my room now.”
Carlito kissed her and said, “I will see you later, I have to see Andreiá first.”
“Make sure you come soon,” Gina frowned.
“Okay, I’ll see you later,” Carlito answered, then went to his room, cuddled with Andreiá and slept there until the next morning.
The next morning Gina, Elsa and Carlito were having breakfast together, “Can you please pass me the milk,” Carlito asked Gina. Gina did not acknowledge or answer him, Elsa had to pass the milk to Carlito. Gina did not say a word to Carlito throughout her breakfast, and when she finished breakfast she got up and left.