by Jill Prand
Allison walks over and says, “Hand me your phone, I’ll call Arthur.” I do as she says and let her handle getting the car here. I’m so lucky to have her. I’ll have to add to the Christmas gift I’ve already gotten her. I hear her mumbling something, but can’t make out the words, still it is definitely more than just ‘come get Lisa’ so I lift my eyebrow in question when she hands my phone back, “He’ll be here in twenty minutes,” she says. “He thought you would be a while yet.”
It is strange that he wasn’t close by, he usually can get to me within two minutes when I call. If all the stores weren’t closed by now I’d think maybe he was Christmas shopping, but it’s a little late for that. Diane and Simon both stay with me, I send Allison back into the party to do damage control with the other clients. She is going to tell them that I got sick and had to leave so Simon’s story will match up. I am still surprised by the amount of support he and Diane have given me.
By the time Arthur gets there I am so ready to just get to bed and forget this night ever happened. I want to snuggle up with Bobby’s pillow, in his bed and dream of him coming home to me. My phone beeps telling me of an incoming message.
Hey pretty girl hows it going? I don’t want to tell Brad what happened over a text and I’m too tired to talk right now. I know he would want to come get me and while the thought of having his arms around me is comforting I just want to be alone so I type back:
Leaving now… will call when I get up in the morning. Been a long night but I’m ok.
I’m here if you need to talk. <3 U
<3 u 2 Did I give him an inkling that I’m upset or is he just worried about the whole Bobby situation? I can’t deal with this right now. I need a drink and a bed in that order. The drive to Bobby’s is less than ten minutes. When Arthur opens my door he says, “Do you need me to come up with you? I can sleep on the sofa if you don’t want to be alone.” Now I know Allison has told him something.
“No Arthur,” I tell him, “I’m okay. I just need to get some sleep. And please when Bobby comes back don’t tell him anything about this. I want to do that, okay?”
He gives me a pained look like he doesn’t want to withhold anything from Bobby, but agrees. I get into the elevator and sag against the back wall. I just have to hold it together until I get inside the apartment. My breathing is getting choppy as I walk to the door. I get it open and drop my keys and bag on the table just inside. The tears start to fall as I make my way towards Bobby’s bedroom. When I’m inside I kick off my shoes and unzip my dress. It puddles at my feet and I don’t bother to pick it up. I draw back the covers and hug his pillow to me. I sob as I go over what Stuart did and I fall asleep praying to God that Bobby makes it home soon.
Brad
I’m woken up by the doorbell. I glance over at the clock and it is sixthirteen. Who the hell is at my door this early on a Saturday morning? I stumble out of bed in just my boxers, fuck them if they want me to put clothes on. Hell the sun’s not even up yet. I don’t get up this early in the winter. If it was summer I would already be up and on my way to the boats.
As I stagger down the stairs I can see through the glass in the door that Arthur is standing there. Shit! Did something happen to Lisa? I jump down the last few stairs and hurry to unlock the door. “What happened? Is Lisa alright?” I demand.
“She’s fine,” he tells me. “She had a problem with Stuart last night, but from what she told me he won’t be a problem anymore. His boss is firing him and she won’t have to deal with him.”
Okay that makes me feel a little better, but I wish I had been with her last night. If he gave her problems she might have needed someone to hold her. Wait, if Arthur’s not here about what happened with Stuart, “Arthur, did something happen with Bobby?”
His shoulders sag, “I was asked to come into the offices last night. Bobby didn’t make it out. One of the team members was shot and he went back in to get him. By the time the team realized that he wasn’t right behind them they couldn’t get back into the compound. They don’t know if he’s dead or alive.”
Oh shit! This is going to kill Lisa. Especially the part about not knowing, “Should we wait to tell her until we know one way or the other?”
“I don’t know if we’ll find out,” he sighs. “Even if he is currently alive, he may not be for long. The target they were after was killed so the people who have him will probably want retribution. They may keep him alive and torture him for information, but once he is no longer useful they will kill him. Mr. Harber will not be ransomed and unless they post his execution online we may never know what happens to him.”
“Don’t we have people in the area that we can get information from?” How could they run an operation without credible intell? There has to be someone to find out.
“From what I understand, the one person that got us the information in the first place was brought back with the team. They were afraid he would be found out and killed.”
“Well, send him back in!” Were these people for real? Whose life is worth more? “It’s not my call,” he runs his hand across his face. “I spoke to a couple of the guys on the phone last night after I dropped Lisa off. Most of them want to go back in to get him either way, but the guys with the money funding all of this are telling them to either get on the plane home or be left there without a means back.”
“So they’re just going to sacrifice him?” Lisa cannot know about this. She’ll scream so loud they’d hear her in Washington. A thought pops into my head, “Did Bobby tell them he was quitting?”
“I don’t know. I know he was wrestling with the decision to tell Lisa what was really going on, but as far as I know he hadn’t made up his mind about it.”
Is it possible that they knew he was going to tell Lisa? Could this all be a set-up so what they actually do doesn’t come out? Can I trust Arthur?
“Arthur, who pays your salary?”
His eyes whip to mine, “Are you accusing me of something?” “No, but I have to know who I can trust with Lisa and if your salary comes from Harber Security I don’t know if I can trust you.” Should I be laying my hand on the table?
“My salary comes from Mr. Harber’s personal account. I am not an employee of Harber Securities although I occasionally moonlight for them. I have no loyalty to that company and you can trust that I will lay down my life for Lisa just as he would have wanted me to.” He stands straighter like he’s daring me to contradict him.
I don’t have time to deal with this right now, I can figure out what to do about him later. Right now I have to figure out what to tell Lisa. “You don’t expect him to make it out on his own?” If there is a chance that Bobby will make it out, I have to give Lisa hope.
“No. It would be nearly impossible for him to break out with no help. Even if he did he would have no support to get away and probably be captured all over again.”
I have to sit down. My mind is faltering. Do I call Jodi to help me with this decision? No, I think that the fewer of us that know about this the better. I have to decide what to tell Lisa. If there is no hope of him coming back, would it be better to just tell her he died and they couldn’t recover his body? At least with that she would have closure and eventually move on. Fuck! Why did he have to do this to her! She’s going to lose it.
“What time does she want you to pick her up today?” I need to know how much time I have.
“She didn’t which is why I’m here. I want you in the car with her when I tell her.” Does he know how close Lisa and I have gotten in the past week? “She is going to need someone there to hold on to.”
“Yeah, she is, but I don’t want you to tell her he may come back. This needs to be final since we will probably never know what actually happened. You need to tell her he’s dead. You need to make her believe it so she can move on. If she knows there’s a chance she will never let him go and spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for him.”
Arthur is nodding his head, “Yes, I agree. I’ll
make sure the guys all tell her the same thing. They are going to want to tell her how sorry they are for not bringing him back.”
“How are they going to spin this for the press and public?” Bobby is a big deal in the papers. One of New York’s hottest bachelors, him just disappearing is not going to fly.
“A cover story will be made up with all the proof the press needs to run with it. I don’t know the details and really don’t want to, but we will have to go along with it,” he demands of me.
“Is Lisa in danger from these people?” I don’t like the way this conversation is going. “Not that I know of, but if they think she knows too much they might try to keep her from saying anything. We’ll have to keep an eye on her.” This is not what I want to hear.
Now, I have to get my shit together. I need to let Jodi and Lisa’s mother know so they are forewarned and can support her. “When do you want to leave?” I ask Arthur.
“I’d like to at least get into the city for when she calls me. We can park in the basement of the Dakota and wait. It’s what I usually do,” he says.
I start to formulate a plan in my head. “Okay, let me go get dressed and then we can leave. I can make a few calls from the car and get everyone on the same page.” I get up and get to the stairs before turning back to him, “Do you mind if we stop for coffee on the way?”
“Not at all, but I do want to leave fairly quickly,” he says rushing me along. “Okay,” I mumble as I make my way up the stairs. When I get to my bedroom I sit on the bed for a minute. From this moment on, Lisa will never be the same. I’m going to have to be strong for her like never before. I just hope that she’ll be able to go on and not slip into a deep depression like she did when he left her after that New Years.
As I shower my thoughts turn from Lisa to Bobby. If the circumstances were different, we could have been friends. When he lets himself, he can be a fun and caring guy. I see the way he treats Lisa and I know he does love her. He’s made some really shitty decisions when it comes to her and he’s been trying to rectify it. If he would just be totally honest with her she would never leave his side, but he keeps hiding things. Shit, I’m going to be hiding something from her now, too.
Is my decision to tell her he’s dead just easier on me or am I really trying to protect her? If she thinks there is a chance he’s alive, she’ll pin all her hopes on that and never get on with her life, but is it fair to destroy her by saying he’s dead? I would love to get some advice on this, but I can’t tell anyone else. Jodi would never let me lie to her and John would try to figure out a way to find him. Maybe Jimmy? No, if John would try to find him Jimmy would go ballistic and he has a family to think about. I can’t put him in harm’s way when Debbie is counting on him. I’m in this all alone. It is my decision and by writing me that damn letter, Bobby has put me in this position.
Ugh! Why did Arthur have to be straight with me? He could have just come here and told me Bobby was dead and I would have consoled Lisa and been none the wiser. Now this will hang between Lisa and me, I can only hope the guilt doesn’t become too much for me. I’ve never hidden anything from her.
As I step out of the shower I realize that my life will never be the same. Lisa will be free now, but at what cost? And how long will it be until she is ready to move forward. His death could cost me the woman I love if she ever finds out I lied to her. I steel myself to these thoughts. I just need to help her through this and everything will be fine.
I get dressed and go downstairs where Arthur is waiting by the door. He stands like one of those guards at Buckingham Palace, stoic and straight, not taking in his surroundings. I wish I could trust him, but no matter what he tells me, he is still part of that world, the one that could be a threat to Lisa. He notices me approaching. “Ready?” He asks.
I feel like I need to bring something with me, but for the life of me I don’t know what I’m missing. I have my phone, wallet and keys what else is there? Grabbing my jacket I turn to him, “Yeah, let’s go.” As I lock my door I wonder if I will be the same person next time I open it. I put my keys in my pocket and glance at the time on my phone, five to seven. I can’t call her mom yet, it’s too early and I don’t want to worry her yet. I’m sure she will be worried enough until she can get to Lisa. Jodi and John are probably still sleeping as well but I don’t care, I need them up and ready to deal with this. Giving John enough time to process this before I bring Lisa through the door so he can help her is my main concern. I know that he is going to take the news hard. After we discussed my letter he actually went to his own house for the night. I can’t remember the last time he did that, he lives at Jodi’s house. He inherited his parent’s house a couple years ago, but as far as I know he only goes there to check on it and clean it once a month. He keeps saying he’ll put it on the market soon, but he never does. For him to have stayed away from Jodi for the night, he had to be really hurting so this is going to hit him hard.
Once I’m settled in the back seat I dial Jodi’s number. It goes to voicemail, but I don’t leave a message. I just end the call and hit redial. She picks up during my third call, “Brad, what’s wrong? Is Lisa alright?”
I feel like a shit for waking her up and the pain I’m about to cause her man, “It’s not Lisa, at least, not right now.” I take a breath, “Bobby’s dead.” I hear her intake of breath and wait for what I’ve just told her to sink in.
Suddenly John is on the phone. “Brad, what did you say to her?” he demands.
I didn’t want to be the one to tell him, “Arthur woke me up about an hour ago, Bobby’s dead and I’m on my way into the city to tell Lisa.” I get it out all at once hoping to focus him on Lisa instead of his own loss. “I’m going to need you guys when I bring her back.” He doesn’t say anything so I just wait. A minute later I check the phone to make sure we weren’t disconnected, but the call is still live. I hear nothing, maybe he dropped the phone.
I’m trying to decide if I should hang-up and call back when Jodi says, “Brad, we need to call you back.” Then in a softer voice she says, “Just give me some time to get him together.”
My chest is heavy with the thought of what he is going through and this is only the beginning. I want to give them both time, but I don’t have much to spare. “Jodi, I need to talk to you before I tell Lisa so please call me back soon.” I end the call and sit back. I feel like a shit laying this on them and then expecting them to help me, but Lisa is the most important thing right now. I have to make this as easy as possible on her. I stare out the window and try to calm my anxiety. I need to convince myself that lying to Lisa will not affect our relationship. It may not even be a lie, Bobby could be dead by now, we will probably never know when he dies. The only other option would be to not tell her anything and that is no longer viable since I talked to Jodi and John.
My phone rings making me jump, I really need to calm down. “Okay, tell us what you need,” Jodi says and I can tell she has me on speaker. “I’m not really sure,” I tell her. “We are almost there, but we are going to wait in the garage until she calls to come home. According to Arthur she asks him each morning if he’s heard anything so that’s when we’ll tell her. I expect it to be bad and I want to get her back as soon as possible.”
John speaks up, “Did you call anyone else?” “I was going to call her mom, but it’s still too early. If Lisa doesn’t call to be picked up by nine I’ll call, but if she comes down before then will you call?”
“Why don’t I just call her?” offers Jodi. “That way you don’t have to worry, you can concentrate on Lisa. What do you need for when you get here?”
“I have no idea. I guess it depends on her reaction. I think just if the two of you can be there for her that will be enough for now.” We are about to enter the Midtown Tunnel. “Hey if I lose you I will call you back, we’re going through the tunnel.”
“Should I start calling everyone?” John asks. “I would hold off.” That’s all I get out before I hear the bing telling me the ca
ll was dropped. If John starts to call everyone, we run the risk of someone calling Lisa before we can tell her. I need to have her in my arms before she is hit by everyone’s calls. We emerge from the tunnel and we will be at the apartment within fifteen minutes. I hit redial and John picks up on the first ring, “I’ll call you when I’ve got her in the car and on our way back. You can start to call everyone after that.”
“Do we know when his body will be back?” Jodi asks. They are thinking about a funeral and again I feel like a shit for lying, “I don’t know if his body has been recovered.” I can’t say more than that without revealing that I don’t know if he’s really dead. “I’m sure we will know more when the team gets back.”
Arthur’s phone rings and I hear him say, “I’ll be right there, Lisa. I am about five minutes away.”
“She just called Arthur,” I tell them. Arthur calls her back as we enter the underground garage she’ll be here in a couple of minutes. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. She walks out of the elevator in the basement and Arthur is there looking stoic, “Good morning,” she says. “Any word?” He opens the back door and I look at her. I can see her surprise and she stops moving forward. She steps back and her mouth opens. “No!” She yells and shakes her head hugging herself.
I get out of the car slowly approach her, “Lisa, we’re going to get through this.” She’s backing up shaking her head. The whimpers coming out of her mouth break my heart. Her back hits the wall and she looks up at me with pain in those caramel eyes. Tears are streaming down her face and she staggers. I grab her before she can fall. “He’s gone, baby,” I whisper in her ear.