“Who is it?” I heard Bobby ask on the other side of the phone.
“Rose. She said she’s in Roberto’s office, but she doesn’t know what to look for.”
“What? Give me the phone,” Bobby said. I heard a few crackles and then Bobby came up on the line. “What the hell do you mean you don’t know what to look for?”
I sighed, “The files with something about the children on them. I can’t find anything related to them. I need for you guys to find out if there’s another code name or something that he uses.”
“How the hell are we supposed to figure that out?”
“I don’t know Bobby, but I can’t find anything. We only have so much time before Roberto’s guard dog gets back, and I can’t get in here. I need some help.”
Bobby sighed, “Fine. Stand by. We’ll figure something out. You keep looking too. I’ll call as soon as we find something.”
“Okay. Tha-“
Bobby hung up the phone.
“What did he say?” Lorena asked.
“He’ll call me when he finds something. When or if they call though, I’ll just type it in the search bar, in his documents, and something should pop up.”
Lorena nodded, “Let’s look a little more.”
I sat up straight and grabbed the mouse, “Yes ma’am.”
We searched through numerous documents and even made up a few code names that we thought Roberto would use. I typed in multiple names, but still nothing. There were just too many files with nothing but information about nothing.
We finally gave up and started searching for flash drives or discs that may have information on them. Roberto had nothing of the sort in any of his drawers, so then we decided to check Bruce’s room, which also had absolutely nothing.
“Do you think that if Roberto had a flash drive, that Bruce took it with him?” I asked Lorena.
Lorena shrugged, “It could be possible.”
“What if Roberto took it with him?”
“No. He needs Bruce to run everything while he’s gone. Including the children.”
I sighed, “This fucking sucks.”
“I agree. Let’s go take a break,” Lorena said. She walked out of Bruce’s room and turned down the hall.
I sighed and followed Lorena. We both stopped in the kitchen where Lorena went to grab a bottle of red wine out of the cabinet.
“Lorena, you know I can’t drink. I’m working like two jobs right now,” I said sitting down on a stool at the counter.
“Exactly why you need a drink,” Lorena said as she searched for two wine glasses.
“So when someone breaks in, you’ll be the one to save us?”
Lorena shrugged and put the wine and glasses down on the counter. “There won’t be a break in. I mean there was the situation at the mall, but people are too afraid to come.”
“Yeah, they’re afraid when Roberto is here.”
“They are also afraid,” She started pouring the wine into my cup, “that Roberto will find out that they were the ones who did the breaking in. I mean, Roberto has everything and everyone on lockdown, so when someone does something stupid he finds out, and then he has them killed.” She poured her a cup full.
“Jeez, do you really need that much?” I asked eyeing her full glass.
“Yes. Bruce isn’t here, therefore I don’t have to worry about him taking advantage of me.”
“I wouldn’t let him do that,” I said, as I reached out and took my glass.
“Right. You are my super hero, aren’t you?”
I took a sip of the wine and smiled.
Alex came walking in through the sliding glass doors dripping wet with a towel around his waist.
“You have a good swim?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Alex nodded. “It was refreshing.” He looked over at our cups full of wine and slightly smiled. “I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be in my room watching TV if either of you need me,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.
My eyebrows slowly drew together when I thought about what he meant. Alex was a very smart boy for his age, and he could really tell that there was something going on between Lorena and I?
Lorena turned to me and almost spit out some of her wine while trying to hold back a laugh. She sat the cup down on the counter and wiped her chin.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Your face,” she laughed.
“Whatever,” I took a sip of my wine and thought back to the time we fought in my aunt’s kitchen. I could still picture Lorena’s face covered in flour, and laughed at how scary she looked. “I can’t wait until we get back to how we used to be.”
Lorena shifted her weight to her left leg. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“Like back in high school. We were so innocent. Sort of. I couldn’t understand how I was feeling about you back then.”
Lorena cocked her head to the side as she thought back to our high school year together. “I couldn’t either. You’re the only female I’ve ever been attracted to. Is that weird?”
“I really don’t know. I didn’t feel weird back then, and I don’t feel weird now. It’s just natural to me I guess,” I sighed. “I never felt any different than any of the other girls in school. I just had different interests.”
Lorena bit her bottom lip and I could tell that she was starting to feel a buzz. I could never understand how someone who drank as much as her could have such a low tolerance. It could have just been me though. It’s not like I even put a dent in my drink.
Lorena made her way over to me and sat down on the stool next to mine. She stared down at her wine glass for a moment as she thought to herself.
“Is it bad that I felt like it was wrong? Like in the beginning,” Lorena began, “when I first started having feelings for you. It felt wrong,”
I shrugged, “I don’t think so. I mean, you dated boys all your life, and then I come along, penis free.”
Lorena and I laughed for a moment and then got quiet again.
“I don’t know,” Lorena sighed. “I mean, it felt wrong, but it felt good too.” Her eyes moved from her glass and over to me. “I liked how you made me feel like I was beautiful, and special. Josh was so bad at doing that. Then I started to really get to know you, and I just…loved you.”
My cheeks filled with heat as I tried to hold back a nervous smile. I knew that she loved me, but I loved to hear her say it.
I leaned over and bumped her shoulder with mine.
“You know,” I started, “no one could ever replace you. When I was with Cameron…” My heart dropped at the thought of him, “all I could think about was you. I loved him, but our love wasn’t the same.”
“It was that way with Roberto.” Lorena went back to looking into her glass. “At first though, like before I learned how crazy he was-or is. I mean he’s borderline insane, but in a rich, proper kind of way now.”
We both started laughing, and I had finally taken another sip of my wine. After about two hours of reminiscing, we finally made our way upstairs to Alex who was sitting on his bed and watching TV. His eyebrows raised in question when he noticed how tipsy we were, but then he just went back to watching TV. Alex never got relax time like he did today, so he wasn’t going to waste any of it watching us.
The three of us sat on the bed and watched cartoons for the rest of the day. There was nothing better than sitting around, doing nothing, and feeling safe. When nightfall came around though, that feeling was snatched away from me.
My phone rang and I jumped to grab it. My buzz had finally worn off and I was now fully alert and ready for anything. Almost anything.
“Hello?” I said in a raspy voice.
“Rose,” It was Bobby on the other line this time.
“Bobby?” I whispered. “Why are you calling me on this phone?”
“Who cares what phone I call you on right now? Are you okay?”
I sat up with a frown on my face. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Good, that m
eans they didn’t get there yet,” Bobby sighed. “I’m on my way there.”
“What?” I blurted as I stood to my feet. “Bobby what the fuck is going on?”
“Abigale called. Said that Bruce wasn’t there and her people were coming.”
“Sarah? Everything okay?” I heard Alex ask.
There was a loud crashing sound, as if a window had just shattered.
“No, you and Lorena go hide in the bathroom.” I turned to look back at the both of them, and then I pulled out my gun. “Now.”
“Come on Alex,” Lorena whispered as she scooted off of the bed.
Lorena and Alex quickly, but quietly, ran into the bathroom and closed the door.
“Rose, what’s going on?” Bobby asked.
“Someone’s here. I got to go,” I answered.
I flipped my phone shut and stuffed it back into my back pocket, then I tiptoed to the door and cracked it. As soon as I opened the door wide enough, Marie slipped inside and I had my gun pointed at her head.
“Whoa, whoa,” Marie said with her hands up.
I sighed and lowered my gun. “You scared the shit out of me,” I sighed.
“Did you see who was out there?” I asked.
“No. I snuck up here as fast as I could. All I saw were two shadows coming through the back door.”
“OK, just go into the bathroom with Lorena and Alex. Make sure to lock the door and don’t come out until I say so.”
“Okay,” Marie nodded, then she quietly went to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
I raised my gun again and peeked out of the cracked door. Outside of Alex’s room was pitch black, but luckily my eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
I listened to any sounds that the intruders may have made and heard nothing, so I quietly slipped out of Alex’s room with my gun held out and ready to shoot. After I looked up and down the hall I crouched down and made my way over to the stairway.
I held my breath while listening for any footsteps, and clear enough I could hear soft footsteps coming up the stairs. They sounded far, so I knew that they must have just gotten to the stairway.
“You’re too fuckin’ loud,” an unfamiliar voice whispered.
“Shut-up. It’s just two women here anyway,” another voice said.
I smiled to myself. They had no idea that one of those women was a highly trained officer with a damn good aim. Once I come out I would aim for the legs and be careful not to kill them so that I could ask questions later.
I let out the breath that I was holding and waited patiently for the first guy to come to the top of the stairs. They had no idea that I was ready for them.
Two pair of feet stopped on the second floor and I didn’t waste any time shooting one of them. The intruder screamed in pain, and I raised my gun higher and shot his thigh.
“Fuck!” The intruder fell back and I heard him tumbling back down the stairs.
“What? What is i-“
I stood from behind the railing and pointed at the second man who was standing around looking shocked and confused. He pointed the gun at me, but then turned and ran back down the steps while shooting behind him.
I ducked again to avoid being hit by the wild gunfire, then peeked over the railing and shot twice. I guess I couldn’t see them as clear, because I actually missed both shots. The wildfire came flying back at me, and I ducked again.
“Come on!” I heard one of them yell.
“My fucking leg man!” The other man yelled.
I stood up again and fired until I was clean out of bullets. The two men ran to the door, one limping, and rushed out. I was going to run down and follow them, but I heard bullets cracking on the house outside the door. The other man just wanted to make sure that I didn’t catch up.
Once the firing finally stopped I ran down the steps and opened the door, but no one was there. I jogged out and looked around, but there was no one in sight.
“Fuck,” I said, wiping the sweat off of my forehead. I had no idea how they got off of the property, but they were gone. I would have to look for gaps in the fences tomorrow.
I was just about to turn around and head back inside when two headlights blared through the gates. I squinted my eyes and saw the car door open, but I couldn’t see who stepped out of the car.
“Rose?” I sighed with relief to hear Bobby, but then became nervous about him being here.
I jogged over to the gate where I could see Bobby more clearly. His hair was going in all directions, and his eyes were almost bulging out of his face.
“Rose, are you okay?” Bobby asked.
I nodded, “Yeah. I’m fine. The men that broke in got away, but I injured one.”
“Yeah, I saw one limping away in that direction.” He pointed to my right.
I sighed and slightly smiled, “You didn’t have to come. You know I can handle myself.”
“Yeah. I’ve been questioning that lately,” Bobby said as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Anyways, glad you’re safe. Abigale told me that Bruce pretty much announced that he had left Roberto’s house, and news got over to them fast.”
I frowned. I had the feeling that Bruce would send someone here, but I didn’t think he’d actually do anything that stupid. He was really willing to cross Roberto just to hurt me.
“Guess you two aren’t on good terms.”
“Yeah. Far from it.” I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and looked up at him. “And what about us?” I asked.
“What about us? We just work together. ”A slight smile creeped up on his lips. “Besides, it’s Abigale that you need to make up with.”
“I didn’t even do anything to her,” I sighed.
“Yeah, well she feels differently.”
I shook my head. “Whatever, I’ll talk to her after all of this is over. You should get out of here.”
“Yeah. I’ll contact you about that code, or whatever, as soon as I can, but you keep looking.”
“I’ll do my best,” I shrugged and walked away.
Chapter 34
“Goodness!” Marie yelled as she ran down the stairs. “What did you do? Chop them into pieces?” She stopped at the puddle of blood on the bottom step.
“No. I just shot him,” I chuckled.
Lorena and Alex stood next to me at the top of the steps and looked down the bloody stairway.
“I heard a lot of gunfire,” Lorena started. “I wonder where all the bullet holes are?”
I just shrugged. Who cares? Wasn’t my house. I was actually surprised about how calm I was, because usually I’m either pumped, angry, or just outright crazy. I guess after everything that’s happened, this whole situation didn’t even faze me.
“So, I don’t think they’ll be coming back. I reset the alarm system since Bruce left it unlocked. Anyone ready to go back to bed?” I asked.
Marie looked up at us. “Yeah, you guys go back to sleep. I’ll clean up this mess,” she said.
“Alright. Thank you Marie,” Lorena said.
“No problem Mrs. Bellerose,” Marie walked off to the kitchen.
Alex yawned, “Well, that was uneventful.”
I drew my eyebrows together while smiling down at Alex. “You are so different,” I said.
“Different is good,” Alex turned around and walked back to his room, then he turned around and popped his head out, “and you two are not going to crush me in my bed again, so you can either get a room, or sleep on the floor…unless Mrs. Bellerose wants to come sleep next to me. It’s okay for her,” Alex blushed and then gently shut the door.
Lorena and I looked at each other.
“Alex said ‘get a room’,” Lorena giggled.
“What does he even mean by that? That kid…” I shook my head while laughing. “Well look, I’m going to take a shower, and then I guess I’ll come to your room? Unless you wanted to sleep alone.”
“No, that’s fine,” Lorena said with a glimmer in her eye. She gave me butterflies, and I could feel the heat rising
to my cheeks.
“I’ll be in there in a little bit.”
“Okay,” Lorena rested her hand on my shoulder as she walked passed me and down to her bedroom.
I turned around and watched as she entered her room, leaving the door cracked just for me, then I went to take a shower.
While under the water I couldn’t help but think about our times as teenagers and how we fell in love. Just like now, we had so much going on in our lives, yet we still had the time to love each other. Being with her was what truly made me happy...
I stepped out of the hot shower and grabbed my towel. Once I was all dried off and dressed I checked on Alex one last time and then went into Lorena’s room. All the lights but the bathroom light were off, and I heard the shower running.
I stood by her bed and debated on getting into the shower with her, but I knew that wasn’t a good idea. Images of her in my shower behind the shower door came to mind. I was so young and innocent back then, but now, not so much. I wanted her, but I wasn’t sure if this was the right time to take her. Being here, in this house with Lorena felt wrong, but then again it felt good. I loved being with her. Just hearing her breathe made my heart race, and I could only imagine how I would feel if I heard her moan.
I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves. I was still on the operation, and making love wasn’t a part of it. As far as Bobby knew me and Lorena were still looking for some kind of clue, but there was nothing here. Roberto left us with nothing to find, and I wasn’t so sure that we could even save them anymore. Like Bobby said, no one else has ever gotten as close as me, but I wasn’t close at all. I still had nothing. It was like those kids didn’t even exist.
“Rose...” Lorena was out of the shower and wrapped in nothing but a towel. I turned my head to see her standing in the bathroom doorway with her hair pulled back into a bun.
We both stared at each other for a moment, and all I could think about was her naked body in my arms. I kind of understood why Roberto was so possessive with Lorena. I mean she’s a ten, and no woman could match her. She’s just one of a kind.
Lorena could read my mind. She reached into the bathroom to turn off the light so that I couldn’t see her for a moment. I could hear her slow footsteps making their way towards me on the carpet, and when I looked down I saw her bare feet in the moonlight first. My eyes scanned up her legs to her thighs, then to the white towel wrapped around her, and finally to those beautiful blue eyes.
Caged 2 (Caged Series) Page 23