“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Clark.” Damien said cordially. “I know you’re acquainted with my fiancée, Ms. Becker.”
“Yes, of course,” he nodded at her. “There’s something I need to tell you, before we continue.”
Please God don’t let him tell Damien they had sex, she thought.
“Yes?”
“Since Ms. Becker’s trial I’ve grown close to Jordan Stewart. He arranged for me to represent Ms. Becker, and we’ve stayed in close contact.” When he said the name Damien’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t show any other signs of his anger, but Arianna could feel it as easily as if he’d started yelling. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”
“I…” Damien was speechless.
Jordan Stewart, really? Couldn’t he have just said that on the phone? If he had, he wouldn’t have arranged the meeting. But Sam Clark was the best defense attorney in DC. The absolute best. He wished his father had called him as soon as he was arrested, even demanded he do it. But his father didn’t like change, and wanted to stay with his life-long lawyer instead. A lot of fucking good that did him. If he had called Sam Clark, he wouldn’t have represented Arianna. And Damien wouldn’t be standing here wanting to punch him in his face for mentioning the name Jordan Stewart.
“I need some time to think on it,” Damien finally finished. “Thank you for your honesty. I appreciate it.”
“I’ll be waiting for your call. Ms. Becker,” he said and nodded to her. Those bright blue eyes held so many feelings Arianna could only nod back.
“Let’s go to lunch, Arianna,” Damien said as he led her back out of the office and toward the waiting limo.
Vince looked down at his phone and saw Sam Clark was on the other line. He didn’t want to answer it, but some masochistic desire he didn’t know he had forced him to touch the screen.
“Vince, thank God you answered. I just spoke to Arianna,” he said hurriedly.
“You just what?” Yes, very masochistic. He remembered the way he felt when Damien Tremblay hit him. This felt worse.
“There WAS an ulterior motive to her staying with Tremblay,” Sam celebrated. Sam Clark enjoyed being right more than just about anything, until Arianna Becker walked into his life.
“You’re bullshitting me,” Vince growled. “Sam, I really can’t handle much more of this.”
“Damien went to the restroom. I asked her to explain herself. She said, and I quote,” he paused for dramatic effect, “He knew his mother was killing those girls and.”
Vince waited. “And what?”
“Damien came out of the bathroom just then. Don’t you see? THAT’S her reason for going with him.”
“I don’t get it.” Vince was feeling a little too stubborn. He did get it; he just wanted it explained to him. Sam was so much smarter than him, but unlike Jordan, he was also social and personable. Vince was secretly glad Jordan had him.
“What is the most important thing to Arianna Becker,” Sam explained patiently.
“Damien Tremblay?” He really felt like hurting today. The fact that Arianna spoke to Sam before him…
“She asked for you, you fucking moron.” Sam couldn’t take Vince’s pig-headed attitude any longer. “The first thing out of her mouth was ‘I need to see Vince.’ Is that what you wanted to hear? Do you feel better now? Can we fucking get on with it, asshole?”
“So you think she’s with Damien Tremblay, biding her time, to kill him in revenge for all the other executioners?” Yes, that was exactly what Vince needed to hear. He felt much better.
“That’s exactly what I think,” Sam said. “And I think you’re the biggest douche bag I know.”
“You’re probably right,” Vince agreed. “I’ll be on the next plane down.”
“Don’t you have a job?” Sam wondered.
“Fuck the job, Arianna needs me.” He felt alive. He felt like his purpose for living had returned. He felt like the sun had just come up for the first time in three months, and he could finally breathe.
Jordan listened to the conversation again. Of course he knew each time Sam called Vince. He’d programmed SIB to trace both their calls. He wanted to know if either of them received a call from Arianna, but she’d called neither of them, not even her mother, since she’d been with Damien Tremblay. Arianna never called her mother once while she was working for the Secretary. Jordan should have known.
Sam had been right all along. Ari had a reason for being with Tremblay. Damien and Jordan were playing chess, but both forgot that Arianna Becker was a strong, dangerous, intelligent woman who had reasons for everything she did. She wasn’t a queen that could be moved around the chess board by the king. She was so much more than that.
The fact that Arianna asked for Vince shouldn’t have surprised him, but it still hurt. Arianna and Vince, they were cut from the same cloth. Neither of them could be fooled, or played. Jordan still had no idea how Vince knew that he had Margo Tremblay killed. No one else knew, or suspected. But somehow Vince knew.
Jordan listened to the conversation once more. Sam really didn’t like Vince for some reason. Jordan had never heard Sam use that kind of language, unless he was talking to Vince. Jordan chuckled. He bet no one else ever talked to Vince like that.
“Do you mind if I go see my father instead of lunch,” Damien asked. “I feel I need to see him.”
“You don’t want me to come with you?” She didn’t want to meet his father. What would she say? Hello, I’m the woman your wife wanted to kill?
“No, I think it best that I go alone,” he sighed. “I’ll drop you at the hotel.”
“Okay,” she nodded.
“What will you do?” He wondered. What he wanted to ask was if she would see Jordan.
“Probably have lunch in my room,” she shrugged.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Damien nodded.
They stopped at the hotel first, and Damien pulled her into his body. “I’m not angry at you. You’ve made me so happy,” he said as he touched her bicep.
“Me too,” she said, and kissed him gently before she climbed out.
Once inside their hotel room she did something that she thought she would never have to do. She picked up the phone on the desk and dialed 10101. The line was empty; there were no beeps, no ringtone. There was nothing to indicate that anyone had answered. But she knew someone was on the other end.
“SIB, connect me to Sam Clark’s cell phone,” she said.
“Yes, Arianna, connecting now,” the familiar female voice said. Jordan had explained it all to her, and told her exactly how to contact SIB, before she left for Singapore. He wanted her to have a direct line to the computer if she was ever in trouble. She had no way to call anyone on the island. And she didn’t want anyone to know the reason she was with Damien Tremblay. But now those reasons were gone. She knew she was never going to hurt him. She couldn’t.
Now her focus was getting away from him. She had to get as far away from him as she could, so she could think straight. Being around him, his words, his daughter; it all confused her too much.
She heard the phone ringing, and thought he might not answer.
And then she heard him say, “Hello?” She wondered what number showed up on his caller ID to make him sound that hesitant.
“Thank God, Sam,” she sighed. And then she laughed. The tension inside her broke, and all she could do was giggle.
“Are you okay Arianna?” He wondered.
“Is Jordan okay? Are you really friends now?” She needed to know.
“Yes, I’m practically living with him,” he said.
“And Vince?”
“No, Vince is in New York,” he said gently.
“I need him here,” she insisted. “I need to see him.”
“He’s probably on a plane right now. I talked to him after I saw you earlier. Arianna, what about Jordan,” Sam wondered. Why was Jordan always an afterthought to Vince and Arianna?
“I need to see him too,” she admitted. “And
you Sam.”
“Really, why me,” he wondered.
“I need to get the three of you together. And I need something from you, Sam. Can you get the bag full of money, and guns, out of my closet and keep them for me? When I see you three, I’ll explain it.”
“Of course,” he said. Why did she need to see the three of them? And why did she need that much money?
“I’ll call you and let you know when I can get away.” And then she hung up.
She slowly removed her clothes, and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look pregnant. Her body was still the same, nothing had changed. But soon she would show, unless the baby was Damien’s and she’d just recently become pregnant. Then it could take a few months.
She pulled on her jogging clothes, and headed down to the lobby of the hotel. Once there she dialed 10101 again, and said, “SIB connect me with Vince Argento’s cell phone please.”
“Yes, Arianna, connecting now,” she responded. She didn’t really expect him to answer, and she ended up getting his voicemail.
“If you get this, I’m going jogging at the mall.” And then she hung up the phone.
She lost track of time. She felt better with the blood pumping through her veins and the crisp fall air filling her lungs. She felt like she was at home again. This was familiar to her.
And then a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind a wall of one of the monuments. She was quickly shoved against it, her hands pinned over her head.
“Vince,” she whispered. She could see his white oxford and his black slacks and jacket, and then she was consumed by his kiss. Her eyes were wide open, and his dark brown eyes were full of lust and love. She returned his kiss hungrily.
Her chest became tight, like an invisible hand grabbed her heart and her lungs and squeezed them roughly. She thought they might explode inside her, and she’d die happily from his kiss.
“I shouldn’t want to kiss you,” he growled at her as he pulled away. But his lips returned immediately to hers, and he released her hands to pull her against his body. The fire inside him didn’t ignite; it flowed through his body like a blowtorch. As soon as he touched her his fingertips burned, and his mind was scorched of the bad memories.
She felt every long line and ridge in his body. His kiss filled her heart and soul. His kiss made her insides do flip flops. His kiss…
“Why didn’t you tell me,” he insisted as he pulled away again. “I’ve been dying inside little by little without you.”
“I couldn’t tell you I intended to kill someone. You’re a federal agent,” she reminded him. And he kissed her again.
“I swear I’ll help you kill him,” he sighed.
“Don’t, please,” she shook her head.
“What,” he growled.
“Go and see Jordan. I’ll call you both when,” she said, and pulled him toward her to kiss him again.
“When what princess? You’re not going back to him,” Vince insisted.
“I have to, and then I’ll explain it. I just can’t right now.”
“No more secrets,” he said, and he pinned her hands over her head again. “Tell me.”
“I can’t, Vince, just please trust me.”
“I’m not letting you go again,” he shook his head.
“I’m pregnant,” she said. He let go of her immediately. “Go see Jordan.” And then she ran off. He was just shocked enough to stand there and watch her. She was pregnant with Damien’s child. He punched the wall in front of him. He’d just got his knuckles completely healed, and his skin broke open easily. He didn’t even feel it.
He was back in the hotel room and waiting on her when she returned. He stared at her angrily. “Where were you,” he wondered.
“Jogging at the mall,” she said honestly.
“You didn’t see Jordan Stewart did you,” Damien asked. He stared right into her eyes. His were dark emerald. He was upset.
“No,” she shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
“Did you?” He asked again.
“No, I swear,” she answered. She didn’t lie. He didn’t ask about Vince. He must have known that Vince was in New York.
“Good,” Damien nodded. “Go and shower and get dressed. We’ll go eat.”
The last thing Vince wanted to do was see Jordan. This was all his fault, after all. Arianna was pregnant with Tremblay’s baby, and it was Jordan’s fault. He knew that if he saw him again, he’d punch him. But he still found himself in a taxi on his way there because Arianna asked him to go.
He got out and paid and saw Sam’s convertible was already there. He wondered if they were sleeping together yet. He walked toward the front door and it opened, and he saw Sam Clark standing there. “Come in,” he said.
Vince lived there once, and now someone else was welcoming him inside. It felt weird, especially since it was Sam doing it. He walked in and looked around. Nothing had changed. But Vince turned toward a mirror over a table in the entry way and looked at himself. He had changed. He looked older, thinner, and he needed to shave. And Arianna saw him like this. Why did he do that to himself? All the women, the alcohol, even the first cheeseburger made him sick but he ate it.
“Jordan’s cooking dinner,” Sam said gently. “I already told him about Arianna.”
“How is he,” Vince asked as he looked away from his reflection.
“He’s better now,” Sam nodded. “He knows why Arianna did what she did.”
Vince said nothing. He knew she was pregnant, and neither Jordan nor Sam did. He thought perhaps she would tell them separately.
Or maybe not. Maybe she would go back to Damien and forget about them completely.
He walked toward the kitchen, toward the sound of a knife on a cutting board. And then he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, and Jordan was standing at the counter. It was all so familiar. It was his home, where he belonged.
“Hi,” Vince said gently, much more gently than he expected to. He took in Jordan Stewart, from the top of his too long dark brown hair, over his light brown eyes and pale skin, to his expensive shirt and brown leather shoes. “You look like hell.” He had bags under his eyes as well.
“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Jordan asked pointedly.
“Not enough, apparently,” Vince said, and took a step closer. “What’s for dinner,” he asked as he picked at the cucumber Jordan just cut.
“Vegetarian hamburgers and salad,” Jordan said as he slapped at Vince’s hand. But Vince grabbed his wrist and held it. They stared into each other’s eyes for several moments.
Jordan’s heart raced as he gazed up at Vince. He couldn’t begin to say how much he’d missed him. “I’m sorry: for saying I didn’t want to sleep with you anymore, and I’m sorry for putting Arianna in danger.”
“I know,” he nodded, and released his hand. “I know.”
He inhaled deeply and stepped away. After Arianna announced that she was pregnant, Vince wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive him. He saw Sam hovering in the doorway, and shook his head slightly. “I hope you brought the wine.”
“Of course,” Sam laughed.
Chapter Seventeen
“Jordan Stewart,” Damien said as he picked up his glass of wine. Arianna refused wine again at dinner. Damien didn’t question it. “Did you know of his relationship with Sam Clark?”
“No, it must have been after,” Ari couldn’t continue. After what? After he’d kidnapped her?
“After you left for Singapore?” Damien somehow made it seem a little more acceptable.
“Yes,” she agreed. It wasn’t a lie. She had no idea that Sam and Jordan had grown so close after the night they spent together.
“You know what he did to my family?” They were finally going to have the conversation, right there in the middle of a restaurant. They’d avoided it so well up until then.
“Can we not talk about this now?” She stared down into her water glass, but it was crystal clear. It reminded her of how cloudy her lif
e was at that moment.
“You’re on his side,” Damien groaned.
“I’m on no one’s side.” She wondered if he knew it was a lie. Of course she was on Jordan’s side. Margo Tremblay tried to get Arianna to kill Jordan. And she was going to kill Arianna. AND she had Vince shot. Could she explain that to Damien? “Does it really matter at this point?”
“Does it matter? My father is facing jail, and my mother committed suicide, because of Jordan Stewart.” His intensity bled through his normal, civilized persona again. How he could change his personality so fast was beyond Arianna.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now, in public Damien. Don’t ask me to.” He must have forgotten why his mother hired her, and what she hired her to do. She was a killer. That part of her was never gone.
He must have seen the change somehow. Perhaps in her eyes or in the set of her mouth. But he saw it. She followed his eyes and looked down, and realized that she gripped the steak knife, lifted just off the table, as if she was about to stab him with it.
She dropped it quickly, but it was too late. That was everything he needed to know.
“That’s why you came with me,” Damien said as he waved to their waiter. Their meal was half-finished and forgotten in front of them. “That’s been your goal all along.”
“Damien,” she said, but she couldn’t deny it. She was tired of all the lies. She was tired of all of it. “Not now.”
“When,” he wondered. “When you’ve got a knife to my throat?” He glowered at her, his eyes blazing with anger. “You probably didn’t even have the birth control removed. That was just another lie to convince me to trust you.”
“No, that was true,” she said. He stood to leave, and she followed after him. She walked beside him toward the limo, out of earshot of the handful of people gathered at the front door. She grabbed his forearm, and said, “Damien.”
“No, Arianna, don’t,” he said as he quickly grabbed her wrist and shoved her hand away. “I can’t believe I trusted you. I loved you. And you were just waiting for the perfect moment to put a knife in my back.”
The Executioner 2: Love, Lies, and Revenge (The Executioner Series) Page 17