Samuel gave me another angered look before his eyes swept over Norah’s sleeping body and he took a step back, acknowledging Tess as being the voice of reason. She was right. I too relaxed my body and stepped away from Samuel and Norah, hoping she wouldn’t wake up.
Samuel looked like he was going to walk back to his seat, but shook his head and then marched right up to me, his mouth inches from mine, almost spitting at me as his voice spoke in a murderous yet whispered tone. “Don’t you dare fucking touch her again! You got that pretty boy? Because if you do, I’ll make sure Lenorah gets to see what a pussy you really are and I’ll send you back to New York. Are we clear, mate?”
I just glared back at Samuel, not giving him an answer. He didn’t seem to need one because after he made his threat, he stalked back to the other end of the plane to cool off, leaving Tess standing near me, just shaking her head at the two of us. She then watched as I kept my eyes on Norah’s face as she slept. I wanted nothing more than to get close to her again. Just being a few steps away from her had my body feeling the six months of emptiness that had kept me from being really alive. In that moment, I knew Norah was my life source. The only real true thing that made me feel...more. More than this empty life of money, parties, Lappell and business. None of that mattered to me. It never had. Only Norah mattered.
Tess sighed, and rested her hand on my shoulder and used her other hand to swing my face around to meet hers. “Look Clint, I understand this must be like opening up everything you’ve probably buried deep inside yourself for months. She told me about what Josh did to you and I’m sorry that happened. I really am. It wasn’t right what he did to you, so I know this must all be very painful. I know you are not a bad guy and I see the way you are looking at her. I know you are far from over it.” Tess looked over to Norah and then back to me. “But if you are really here to help Norah, you need to respect what she needs, and distance yourself from those feelings.”
I looked to the floor of the plane, knowing Tess was right. Loving Norah meant being respectful about what made her happy. And I wanted her to be happy; I just wanted her to be happy with me.
“If it makes you feel any better Clint, from where I was sitting, you didn’t look creepy. In fact, the way you were stroking her hair looked really caring and sweet. It was beautiful to watch. I know you did it with loving thoughts in your head.”
Tess then gripped my shoulder with her hands, her nails digging in. She was sending a message now. “But don’t pull that kind of shit again. Norah doesn’t need you being a complication here, and she doesn’t need to be anymore confused than she already is. She needs lots of support, and she needs to find Josh — so be a friend, do what you said you were here to do, and don’t get in her way. Alright?”
I nodded at Tess, who seemed satisfied that I understood her correctly, and that certainly was how I wanted to appear, but after what I had just experienced with just one touch of Norah, I knew I had opened up the floodgates to what I really wanted. I wanted Norah back, and I was going to do everything I possibly could to make that happen. London was going to be my opportunity to fight the fight. It was going to be my turn to rotate the tables in my direction. I was going to be the man Norah fell in love with in Morewell, and that man was strong, determined and had a real, true connection to this girl. It was clear to me that neither Tess, nor Samuel, or even Josh, was going to get in my way. Yes, I was going to fight for our love, until the very end.
We were picked up in a car from a small airstrip and taken to Richmond, a town south-west of London where Clint’s family estate was situated. Clint told us that the house was a seventeenth century old mansion that had been passed down through the Weston family for generations. It looked like something that would feature in a Jane Austen novel with its glorious manor-style architecture and fittings. The thought made me think of Morewell and the Literary Ball. The same ball that Clint selected Mr. Darcy as his character subject that evening. Seeing Clint walk in these kinds of surroundings, he looked every bit the picture of Mr. Darcy of Pemberley Manor. I couldn’t help but smile behind him as I remembered the memory of us and a time that suddenly didn’t feel so long ago; when I was once his Elizabeth Bennett. Now I was here in his family’s home, getting help from his sister. I wondered how Clint could be so supportive after everything that happened. How he could be so caring or, as Austen would put it, so agreeable after what Josh had done?
That’s when the questions and statements began to erupt into my head. It was the first time since Josh told me about what he did to Clint and Samuel, that I was starting to really feel the impact of the words. The depth and realization of what I had so easily ignored or didn’t want to confront back in Prague.
The harsh understanding of how quickly I jumped from Clint to Josh in New York without really looking further into what happened and why. Why Norah, why? Did I want to run away from Clint so badly that I didn’t stop to remember everything good we shared? Was his reaction in doing what he did with the fake hit, out of love and protection, and not malice? Would I have done the same? I never really gave Clint a chance to see his point of view. I didn’t really listen to his reason for doing what he did and the choice he made. Perhaps if I had stopped and spoken to Clint and Sam before running into Josh’s arms, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now. I wouldn’t be chasing some mad man through London to save Josh.
A sudden surge of guilt made me cough out loud as more and more questions that I hadn’t even considered, hit me hard. But even if my conscious wanted me to re-examine everything I said and did with Clint and Samuel, it had still all led me to Josh. My green-eyed best friend who I had known since I was thirteen. My soul mate. The guy who had always been there for me and had helped me through everything. No matter what, it was still Josh. I couldn’t imagine not being with him, even after all this. Even knowing what he had done. A switch had flipped in my head because there was so much more to our story now.
I coughed again, and suddenly my mind started to spin. The lightheaded feeling caused my ankles to bend at right angles, my body wanting to drop. Clint turned to look at me as my eyes rolled back into my head. His arms went out and grabbed my body, and I fell into his arms, my head flopping forward against his chest.
“Are you okay?” His hands were under my shoulder blades, trying to hold me upright. My head stopped spinning, and I managed to stand up. My eyes met Clint’s and I tried to pull away, but he held me steadfast and strong, refusing to let me go.
“I’m sorry. It’s just this whole situation. It’s so exhausting. I’m not used to feeling so weak.” I bit my tongue the moment the words left my mouth. I wanted to be guarded around Samuel and Clint, not open with my emotions. I had to keep my barrier up. Just because they were here to help me didn’t mean I could really trust them. I still had the odd feeling that there was something they were not telling me, something they were holding back. This time I was trusting my instincts about the possibility of a reveal.
Clint studied my face intently, looking for signs that I was going to fall again if he let go of me.
“I’m alright,” I said to him, trying to sound convincing. Clint didn’t look sure he believed me. He could still sense the frailty in my words, the way I hesitated when I lied. He still knew all my signs. He eyed me again, not withdrawing his hands from my body, even though I was on my feet. “Really, I am fine.” My words pleaded for him to not look further. I had already bared too much. Clint opened his mouth like he was about to bombard me with questions when Samuel and Tess appeared beside us.
“What happened?” Samuel asked, assisting Clint to hold me up. I pulled away from them both. Now the guilt of what I had said to Samuel was hitting me. How I could see in New York that he was being honest on that day he joined with my Dad, and how I just refused to believe it. I knew it in his eyes and his voice that he was telling me the truth, and yet I believed what I wanted to believe. It was a new kind of pain that was slicing me up inside, making me feel exposed and vulnerable
. I had been so blinded by so many lies, so much fear, that I couldn’t see what was true anymore.
My head spun once more, and this time I felt the sense of nausea. My stomach doing flips and spins. What was going on? I couldn’t let this new and overwhelming confusion get to me. I needed to get myself together. I had picked my path, and these were my consequences. At that moment, I knew that I needed to put some distance between us all. I couldn’t let my head mess with my body here, even if I had no control. “I’m okay guys. I think I just need some more sleep. I think I may have hurt myself more than I realized back in Prague. That’s all.”
Tess eyed me carefully, knowing I was hiding something more than I was letting on, and was quick to back me up. “Oh yeah, for sure,” Tess said, now throwing her arm around my shoulder. “That was some scary, acrobatic, Jekyll and Hyde type of shit I saw.” I tried to generate a small smile, but Tess saw my face fall. “But it was very entertaining Norah, let me tell you. I mean if I could bend the way you do, then I’d never be alone on my Friday nights.” A real smile found its way to my lips as I tried not laugh at Tess’s sense of humor. She could always make me feel better in the most awkward of situations, even if it was crude and rude. Tess hugged me closer, but I pulled away from her and began walking in the same direction Clint was leading us, hoping I didn’t have to turn around and face them. I tried to ignore the three sets of eyes I knew were on my back as I walked away. I didn’t need ears to be able to hear their thoughts, and the screams of worry from inside their heads.
Clint caught up to me, sticking close to my side. He continued to show us through the house and onto a terrace which looked over lush gardens and the biggest hedge maze I had ever seen. It looked like something out of the movie Labyrinth, a favorite film of mine. We all stood in a row, staring out at the gardens, just taking a second to breathe and take in the magnificent sight of the manicured countryside. The little girl in me made me want to run down into the gardens and get lost in that maze. I think it was calling out to the inner child in all of us as we stared wide-eyed at the entry only a few yards away. But it wasn’t a time for fun, and this wasn’t a holiday. We were quickly reminded of that as we all turned around at the sound of heels clacking on the floor near the terrace doorway. A woman, not much older than Clint walked out. She stood for a second and then looked our way, squinting a little as she did.
She was gorgeous, with dead-straight blond hair that fell just past her shoulders. Milky white skin, high cheekbones, and she was wearing one of those eighties-style black power suits only a woman with her tiny figure could pull off. As she got closer, her eyes went straight to me in recognition. They looked me up and down and then they moved to Clint, a smile instantly spreading across her face.
“Little brother.” Her arms went out and drew him in. They looked so comfortable in each other’s hold. Clint had told me he was close with his sister, but seeing them like this, really warmed my heart. I knew he didn’t share this type of relationship with his parents or his older brother.
“Hey Delia. It’s great to see you.” They stepped away from their embrace and looked each other up and down.
She punched him gently in the stomach. “You’ve lost a few pounds since the last time I saw you.” Her gaze switched quickly to me before going back to Clint. “Something making you lose your appetite in New York?”
He stood, trying to looked relaxed, but his fidgeting hands showed he was nervous about what she had asked. “I’ve just been busy with work lately. No time for food. But you always did worry too much about me.”
She brushed her hand across his shoulder. It seemed almost motherly, the way she swept her hand over his clothes, like she was trying to swish away lint in an effort to make him look tidy. “Well...someone has to.”
Delia smiled warmly at her brother again before turning to where me, Samuel and Tess had huddled together in a small group. “I guess it’s time for introductions then.” Clint walked beside her as they came closer to us. I took a few steps back, already feeling uncomfortable. Did she know what happened with me and Clint?
“I’m Delia Weston...And you are...?” Her eyes swept over the three of us, waiting for a response.
“I’m Samuel Voltaggio,” Samuel spoke up first. He stepped forward and held out his hand to shake Delia’s. “I’m here to serve and protect beautiful women such as yourself.” Samuel lifted his eyebrows at Delia, trying to get her to react. I forgot how boyishly charming he could be. She smirked at Samuel, trying to hide her grin from getting even bigger. Tess shook her head at his blatant flirtation. Leave it to Samuel to be the icebreaker.
“God. You are so obvious.” Tess walked forward next to Samuel and pushed him out of the way as she took her turn to shake Delia’s hand. Samuel laughed at Tess’s intrusion, and yet somehow I think he expected Tess to do that.
“I’m Tess. The witty and sarcastic, yet completely cool best friend in this little rescue operation we have going on.”
“Oh...I see.” I don’t think Delia knew how to take Tess, but she was quick to turn her attention away from Tess and onto me. I took another step back. Delia walked in my direction now. She looked determined in her approach, and I couldn’t have felt more out of place. Her stare made me feel like she was about to give me the third degree. Perhaps she did know everything? It certainly appeared that Clint would be open to her about his feelings and what had gone on. They seemed to have that kind of bond.
“You are Norah, right?” She looked me up and down again, the coldness in her eyes not hidden from my view. They were frostily on display so I couldn’t misinterpret that she was about to say something that wasn’t warm or inviting.
“Delia...” Clint warned with his voice.
“Yes,” I said, finally facing her blue judgmental eyes with my scared, apprehensive brown ones.
“So you are the girl who shattered my brother’s heart and ran off with another guy only days after breaking up with him?”
I gulped. “It wasn’t really like...”
“Like what? That wasn’t what happened? You didn’t run off with another guy? The same guy who lied to you and my brother and made him look like the bad guy, just so he could get his hands on you?”
I gulped again. I really was a cold-hearted bitch when it was put that simply. No wonder she was biting my head off. The light-headed feeling in my head surfaced once more, and I felt my ankles start to shake. I was not at all prepared for this. So much had happened in the span of only a few days. So much to take in. So much to process. So many emotions both in the present and now from the past.
My ankles wobbled once more and I knew that I needed to sit down. Clint was all of a sudden next to me, like he knew I was about to stumble and fall. His presence helped me get some of the oxygen back into my body and calm my nerves. I secretly thanked him in my head for being a pillar of support. “That’s enough Delia. She only found out a couple of days ago. And she is not the one to blame. I am. So back the fuck off.”
“Yeah Clint, call off your sister, or I will.” Samuel was now rushing to my defense, the charm in his voice long gone. Tess stepped forward too, but Samuel held her back.
Delia halted in front of me and Clint, staring at us both, her eyes going back and forth. She held up her hands and stepped away. “Sorry. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m just really protective of my little brother.” She sighed and leaned in. “I’m sorry Norah. Please forgive my lack of understanding of all this, and my poor manners.”
I tried to summon a smile. “It’s fine,” I said. “It’s great that Clint has someone like you watching out for him.”
“Look, let’s just start over. Would that be okay with you?” She held out her hand to shake mine and everyone fell silent, waiting to see what I would do next.
Looking at her defending Clint, I realized I couldn’t be angry at this woman. She made a really good point, and not only that, we needed her to help us find Josh. We needed to get back to our reason for being here.
I took
her hand with mine and forced my mouth to turn up, trying to be as sincere as I could manage. “Thank you for helping me. I appreciate any information you can give us about the whereabouts of Joshua Hollows.”
“Well, Norah. Let’s get started, but just so you know, I’m only doing this because Clint asked me to help you. I love my brother and would do anything he asks from me. You know that right?”
Even though her words dripped in venom, I couldn’t help but think she was a wonderful sister. If I had one, I hoped mine would have done the same for me. This time I smiled at her out of respect, and without fear, because of her protective nature for Clint.
“Yes, I do.”
She nodded and then motioned for us to follow her to an office that wasn’t too far from the terrace. There were a couple of couches and office chairs in the room and Delia told us all to get comfortable and take a seat. She walked over to a desk where a laptop was sitting. Delia punched at the keys and then turned the laptop around to face us so we could all see the screen.
“This, ladies and gentlemen, is Hamilton Brooks. An elite Lappell member, and the highest ranked Lappell member alive.”
On the laptop screen, a man in his early fifties appeared. He was standing at a large window in what looked like a company boardroom. His face was long and oval, with soft features. He was wearing a black tailored suit, and had a neatly trimmed grey beard covering his face, and a tall, lean build. He looked like a regular business man. Kind of like a younger version of Sean Connery.
“Now what you all need to know is that this man is Europe’s equivalent to someone like your father Norah. He is extremely powerful, very connected, and...how should I put this...likes to make up his own rules for both business...and pleasure.” She paused and walked around to the other side of the desk before she continued her speech. “This man is very dangerous, and word has it, he does have your boyfriend Norah. He wants to see you, and he is using Joshua as bait. Whatever his plans, I can almost guarantee you, it won’t be for anything good.”
All The Pieces (Pieces of Lies 3) Page 7