All The Pieces (Pieces of Lies 3)

by Angela Richardson

  ALL THE PIECES

  (Pieces of Lies 3)

  by Angela Richardson

  ALL THE PIECES

  Copyright © 2013 by Angela Richardson.

  All rights reserved.

  MOBI ISBN 978 098 750 5538

  Thump, thump.

  I see blue eyes.

  Thump, thump.

  I see brown eyes.

  Thump, thump.

  But where are the green eyes?

  Thump, thump.

  Where are my green eyes?

  Thump, thump.

  My green eyes have been taken away from me.

  And all I can hear is the thumping of my heart.

  As I slowly descend into my darkness,

  Unable to breathe,

  Unable to feel,

  Unable to say anything for fear I will scream and crumble.

  Thump, thump.

  I had one minute to tell him.

  One minute to let him know that it didn’t matter, that nothing mattered anymore.

  But I didn’t.

  I didn’t get the chance to tell him my own secret.

  Thump, thump.

  And now he is gone.

  And so am I.

  I banged forcefully on the cold wooden door as tension and nervousness coursed through my veins. I closed my eyelids hard and opened them, looking down to the floor. I noticed my hands were clenched. I rolled my neck and returned to looking at my fists. Of course they were clenched. I desperately needed to hit something to stop this mess of unexpected emotion bubbling inside my chest. I felt the faint beading of sweat form on my brow. I stood back on my heels; moving away from standing so close to the door. I couldn’t help the way my body was reacting. It was because of her. Lenorah. In a minute I would see her, and everything I thought I could do, everything I needed to do, would probably fall to pieces. I couldn’t let that happen though. I was the better man, and I knew I had to be strong and do this for her.

  “Mate, what the hell do we say to her?” Weston’s voice seemed to pierce my stilted mind. My body flinched at the sound of him. My hands unclenched themselves and began to rub onto my jeans, wiping away the remnants of sweat that had built up in my palms from squeezing so tight.

  I turned to look at Clint standing next to me. Mate? When did Clint Weston and I become fucking mates? Oh that’s right. When we both realized we weren’t each other’s enemy and now had a common goal. But even though we were here with the same purpose, the same plan; the way he called me mate still touched on a nerve. I still couldn’t be completely comfortable with the guy who was her first. Knowing he had touched her in her most intimate places still had my blood boiling and my eyes seeing flaming hot torches. When I looked at him, all I wanted to do was rip off his arms and beat him to death with them so he’d never have a chance to touch her again. I was however, able to control that particular urge in this situation. Mate? Really Weston — C’mon. Perhaps the term was his way of dealing with this fucked-up situation too. Our history with her was all competition against each other. Friendship seemed like the most unbelievable kind of outcome, yet here we were, working together, and not choking each other until one of us passed out. I suppose we had to both put the need to pummel each other out of our heads if we were to make it through this, and I had to remind myself, it can’t have been easy on the guy as well. He loved her just as much me, I think, and we both lost her to ‘him’. I didn’t even want to acknowledge his name, but it was in my head, every second as I thought about her. Fuck, do I even dare say it? Yes, I suppose I should. Joshua Hollows. Joshua ‘I—manipulated—those—two—ignorant—fucking—goons’ Hollows. He was the reason we were here after all. He was the reason we will n...

  STOP. I couldn’t think about that right now. If I did, I would turn and walk away from this door and this plan would be tossed to the wind. Joshua Hollows did not deserve our help. Joshua Hollows deserved to never see her again and rot in whatever hole he had crawled into. Weston and I had discovered what he did and planned on confronting Josh and telling Len everything when they returned from Europe. However, due to these untimely and complicated circumstances far from our control, we could no longer do what we intended. Now, we were here for Lenorah, and Lenorah alone, even if she was part of a joint package.

  Damn. This was going to be hard. I knew my words would change once I saw her face, but I had to remember what I was here to do. I couldn’t forget our purpose.

  I cleared my throat as I turned to Weston. “We tell her as little as possible. We tell her the basics. Everything else has to happen naturally. It’s the only way we get to him, and it’s the only way to see this through to the end. Alright?”

  I heard Weston gulp. I could understand why he wanted to do this. He had explained his reasoning on the plane, but still, it must have been eating him up inside like acid. It was the same for me too except I had mentally locked up my heart in an iron box before leaving New York. I couldn’t possibly let my heart lead my actions here. If I did, it would certainly have disastrous consequences. When the time came to do what we came here for, I don’t think either of us would be able to really follow through or be able handle the look on her face. This was going to be gut-wrenching painful, to the point where I would be writhing around on the ground, trying not to dry heave myself into a coma. But, both of us set out to finish this, and nothing, especially my love that was still burning like wildfire for Len, could stand in the way.

  “She isn’t going to like us being here. This is her holiday, and after that call she made to her Dad, the last thing she will expect is the two of us showing up like white knights. It’s going to look really bad and suspicious.”

  I nodded at Weston in agreement. “Yes, I know she is going to have a million and one questions, and she’ll probably slap us both in the face just for being here sticking our noses in where we don’t belong, but we have already discussed this. You know what has to happen. You know what we need to do.”

  Clint rubbed one of his eyes in frustration. “Do I? Do I really? Look Sam, I really don’t know if I can...”

  Shit. Weston was already knee-deep in hesitation and we hadn’t even seen or spoken to her yet. I swear, if he stopped this from happening, I would take him out myself. Fucking hearts and flowers pretty boy here was going to ruin this before it even got going. No bloody way was he about to selfishly change the plan. I had my orders and my own reasons. If it wasn’t for Clint’s connections in London, I would knock him out right now.

  “Are you fucking kidding me Weston? After you begged me and her Dad to do this. You’re changing your mind now?” I stared at him coldly as I watched him take another gulp as we waited at the large wooden door. It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Time had stopped in that little Czech hallway between me and my former rival. Suddenly our urgency to get to Lenorah had slowed down and stopped moving. Perhaps it was because I could sense Clint’s restraint and fear and it suddenly filled me with doubt too. I suddenly felt the urge to break down the door and carry Lenorah back with me to New York and forget about the letter in my pocket, and everything that was already set in motion.

  “It’s just... Norah. You know... Norah. My... Our... Norah. I can’t let her... With him. I can’t... I just don’t know. It’s going to be so...” Clint trailed off.

  I cracked my neck, shaking off my own doubt. It was lucky for Lenorah that I was more of a man than Clint Weston and I could put her needs before my own. I wondered what she ever saw in him in the first place. I found it hard to believe there was more to the guy then all this weak emotion, and since he was acting like such a girl, I figured I needed to get in touch with my feminine side to help him see sense. I
decided to rest my hand on his shoulder, trying to be understanding of his uncertainty. I’ve seen chicks do this when they try and calm a guy down. Should work on pussy-boy here. Hopefully it will ease Weston’s head back into the game.

  Clint’s body flinched as he turned to look at my hand on his shoulder. “Man, why are you touching me like that?”

  “’Cause you look like you are going burst into tears and cry like a bitch,” I thought to myself. I smirked at the idea of Clint becoming a weeping mess right now. That would look really weak to Len, and I could use a good laugh. Although if Weston fell apart we would be much worse off. He was an important part of this equation. I sighed, remembering again that I needed to keep things moving along. “You look like you need to relax and get your head back in the game. Look, I know how you feel. Trust me, I know. But we have to do this. It was your choice to come with me remember. Len’s Dad and I appreciated all the information you gave us, but we didn’t need you here and now that you are, I swear if you do anything to deter this...this...I will fucking end you. Got it?”

  Weston moved away from my hold, and my hand fell to my side. He was still dealing with everything; I could respect that. As long as he did nothing to deter the plan, I could handle his doubt and hesitation. Hell, I would control it if I had to. I would nail him to a wall inside a broom closet for the duration of this whole fucking mission to make sure he didn’t affect its course.

  Finally the door knob started to twist. About damn time. The wood looked like it was being pulled towards itself, but with no success. The door knob twisted again, and this time a thump came from behind the door. I think someone was kicking it from the other side. Some rather loud curse words and another swift thud followed.

  “Fuck this God damn fucking door...fuck, fuck, fuck!...”

  Weston turned to me, looking a bit taken back. “Holy shit, that’s not Norah, that’s...”

  Weston stood back as the door flung open and a cute-looking red-head stepped forward, closing the door swiftly behind her so we couldn’t see in. I had seen this girl before but I couldn’t quite place her in my head. She had dark brown eyes like Len, and choppy red fire engine hair. Her face reminded me of an animated doll, her lips jutting out, her mouth open in shock. Her eyes bulged and became very wide as she looked at the two of us. She shifted her exasperated expression back to Weston.

  “What the fuck are you two doing here? Seriously, what the fuck Clint? When Norah’s Dad said he was sending a couple of guys to help, the last fucking thing I expected was Norah’s two ex-boyfriends showing up.” The red-head eyed me again. “Your name’s Samuel isn’t it? I remember your face from the Gala.” Her finger was resting rather forcefully on my chest. I pushed it away, and she sneered at me as I eyed her back. “Someone better start explaining this fucked-up little reunion I just walked into. This has to be some kind of sick and twisted joke, and considering the situation, it’s far from fucking funny.”

  Clint tried to step forward towards to her, but she instantly held up one of her palms, stopping him from getting closer to the door. Clint backed off from the little firecracker to avoid hitting her hand. “Tess, please just stop. Joe sent us alright. We are, ‘the guys’. We were the ones sent here to help.”

  Ahhh, Tess. The best friend.

  She eyed me again and then Weston, shaking her head furiously. “Not. Fucking. Possible.”

  “Believe it,” I said. “Now move it Red, we have business here.” I snapped my head towards her, already annoyed by her interference. This was taking too long as it was. I had to get into that room. I stepped forward. Tess held out her arms on each side of her body, blocking the entrance like a gate. I stopped right in front of her face and stared into those fiery brown eyes. My whole body was beginning to feel the effects of all my built-up fury and I was finding it difficult to hold back from grabbing this girl and throwing her out of our way. I didn’t want to hurt one of Lenorah’s friends, but if it meant getting to Len faster, then I would have to make an exception.

  “Believe it Tess,” piped up Weston. “We are the guys. Now c’mon, let us into the room. We need to talk to Norah. It’s really important.”

  This time Weston stepped forward too. I could sense he was getting quickly frustrated with Tess being such a road block. Tess huffed loudly. “You two,” she raised her voice now, “cannot go into this room. Now leave.”

  This was getting ridiculous. Why was this girl suddenly acting like she was stopping us from seeing a crime scene? What was going on behind that door? Then I realized, something felt off. Really fucking off.

  “Something’s wrong with Norah isn’t it? That’s why you won’t let us in, right?” Weston had noticed Tess’s urgency and clued into the same thinking. We both surged forward towards Tess, who continued to try and be a barrier against the door.

  “I’ll repeat myself again. You two — cannot go in there. Now make a call or whatever you have to do, and find someone else to come deal with this. Better yet, give me your cell and put her Dad on. I will explain.”

  I saw Weston’s feet shuffling. He was worried as well. Tess was hiding something behind that door, something she clearly didn’t want us to see. My eyes darted to Weston’s, whose head was motioning towards Tess’s arms. As if our minds were both thinking alike, Weston yelled to me, “Grab her arms!”

  Tess tried to sidestep my movements as I reached towards one of her arms, but she was too slow. She swung back, trying to push her body up against the frame to stop Clint from getting to the door, but I quickly seized one of her arms, then the other, and swung them so they were both behind her back, my own hands clamped tightly around them, planting her in one spot so she was unable to move.

  “Quick now, go in!” I yelled at Weston, having seized Tess.

  I didn’t have to tell Clint twice. He threw his weight against the door and turned the knob to force himself in. With his strength, it didn’t take much before I heard the door swing open from behind Tess’s body. I felt Tess shudder as she attempted to wriggle free from my grip.

  “Stop Clint! Don’t!” she screamed at him, but he didn’t listen.

  Suddenly I heard Weston gasp as he stepped inside the room. He froze after two steps, not going any further. Something had brought him to a grated standstill. My head emerged from behind Tess, trying to see what had stopped Weston the way it did. I could barely see past Weston’s body so I let go off Tess, who squeaked a bit as I released her, but she quickly turned to go into the room, following me as fast as she could. I raced in and stood next to Weston, also suddenly having an immobilizing ability to go any further than two steps. We could see her now — Lenorah, and I understood now why Tess had tried to keep us from getting in.

  Well...God damn.

  This is bad.

  24 hours ago.

  I couldn’t get the way Norah looked at me last night while we were making love, out of my head. We had spent yesterday afternoon in the throes of some very exciting role-play, but last night we reached a whole new level of intimacy. It was raw, exposed, and as she lay beneath me, keeping her eyes glued to mine, she cried. Norah has never cried during sex before. She’s screamed my name a million times over, but never cried. It felt like every wall she had instilled in her skin was ripped down and she allowed herself to be really vulnerable. There was no question that since we got together, the intensity and love we had for each other continued to grow, but last night was different. Norah was different. She was looking at me in a whole new way. Something had changed.

  And then there was, the pause.

  Norah stilled during our love making, reached up to my face, stroked my cheek, and said, “Josh, I think, no, I mean I know...”

  Then she paused, and didn’t finish what she was going to say, leaving me to wonder what she meant. Know? Know what? Could it be possible she knew about...?

  I was too petrified to ask if she knew about I did to Clint and Samuel. And if she did, would she still marry me? The truth about what I instigated had b
een on the tip of my tongue since I followed through with my plan six months ago. I didn’t regret what I did to those guys. I fought hard to get the love of my life and didn’t regret any of the seconds I’ve had with her, but I slowly realized I owed Norah the truth. She deserved the fairy tale and I had taken that away from her. I wanted to feel as if our love was pure from this day onwards, and I knew I couldn’t marry her without first telling her everything. I would probably lose her, I could almost bet on it, but I needed to expose my dark side too. My love for Norah was unconditional. The only hope I held onto was that maybe she felt the same kind of unconditional love for me and could move past my lie.

  Maybe she will forgive me?

  Maybe she won’t.

  I was pacing back and forth as I waited for Norah to emerge from the bathroom. I really thought I could ignore the feelings, the guilt nipping at my heart every minute of every day, but with the way she looked at me now, with her future, with belief it was from real true destiny and emotion, I couldn’t hide from the lie any longer. I finally had her, all of her, but now I couldn’t look at her without seeing their faces. Clint and Samuel. It was like their spirits sat on each of my shoulders, weighing me down, both laughing at me and taunting me that she’ll find out someday soon and go back to them. I could admit it; that was part of the reason I had kept it a secret so long.

  But I had no idea it would hit me like this after last night. The guilt was finally overtaking my ability to ignore it. I didn’t think it would slowly make me crumble into telling her what I did on this day; our wedding day. But if we were to be married it had to be because of the truth. ALL of the truth. I had been selfish in keeping her because of that manipulation for far too long. If she told me to leave, I would beg her to give me one more chance and show her she could trust me again. I would fight for her again, and again, and again to win her back, but next time, it would be because of my own actions, and not from her thinking the worst of others.