You Can Always Go Home

by Rogers, Desiree

  You Can Always Go Home

  By Desireè Rogers

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  YOU CAN ALWAYS GO HOME

  First edition. September 26, 2013.

  Copyright © 2013 Desiree Rogers.

  Written by Desiree Rogers.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Prologue

  Walking to his office, he looked around, soaking in every detail, the skyline of Washington DC stretching out before him through the huge plate glass windows of his office building. Nodding to the secretary, he took a right, moving past a row or partitions. How many of them were in on it? One of the senior partners of his accounting firm strolled past, a faint smirk on his face and he wondered what he was thinking; did he know what was about to happen? Was he one of them? The paranoia was creeping up and Donald fought it back, knowing that if anyone suspected what he was on to, he would be in for serious trouble.

  At the sight of his boss at the end of the row, his steps faltered; sweat pooling in the palm of his hands.

  “Donald, how are those reports coming?” Mr. Cunningham asked, eyes flickering over his face.

  “Good sir.” Thankfully, his voice didn’t betray him. “I should have them done by tonight.”

  “That’s my boy,” a pat on the shoulder and the older gentlemen was gone.

  Releasing a ragged breath, Donald hurried to his office and moved to sit behind the large oak desk, as a hand swept through his straw colored hair. His life was never going to be the same. He’d known that as soon as he’d found the discrepancies. The company that he’d devoted the last five years of his life to was laundering money. Gathering the papers he had on his desk, he folded them neatly and put them inside the red journal next to his computer. After today, nothing would ever be the same.

  Eyes roaming his desk, they fell on a picture of his wife, Alexina. They’d been married two years this month and he was looking forward to celebrating. He had everything planned for a nice romantic cruise. Reaching for the phone to call her, it rang beneath his hand. A chill swept down his spine, but he shook it off and picked the handset up.

  It was nothing.

  “Hey Donald! How’s it going?”

  With all the background noise going on, it was hard to tell who it was. A moment later, it registered and he smiled. “Jake, where are you?”

  “I had a few things to do for Mr. C. You know how it is.”

  Donald could hear the mental shrug in Jake’s voice. They joked all the time about being overpaid gofers. “Yeah, I do. So what’s going on?”

  “How about we have lunch?”

  “Uh, sure.” The request caught him by surprise. He had a few things to do before he met with the FBI and he didn’t want to be late for the meeting. “How about one?”

  “That’s great.” Jake muffled the phone and Donald could hear him talking to someone in the background. “We can talk about what you found. Bring it with you.” The unnatural excitement in his voice made the hairs on the back of Donald’s neck stand up.

  “I’ll make sure to do that.”

  The hell he would.

  Donald hung up the phone, mind running over the possibilities. Something was off about Jake’s voice and he didn’t know what. Lately, Jake’s eagerness to look at all the documentation had worried him. He wasn’t sure that he could trust him anymore. A quick glance the clock on his computer told him it was eleven now, so whatever he did, he was going to have to do it soon. Pushing the thoughts aside, he reached for the phone again, dialing Alexina’s work number.

  She picked up the call on the first ring, the smoky quality of her voice thrilling him.

  “Hey honey, how’s your day going?” Just hearing her talk had the ability to smooth his day, make all the problems going on around him just melt away. Maybe, on the cruise, they could talk about having kids. He was ready, and he knew that their babies would be beautiful.

  “It could be better. Marcie is trying to convince us 60 our work weeks are the way to go,” The tense, chilly tone of her voice concerned him. She was working too hard.

  He chuckled, trying to ease the tension. “Hey, I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  “Oh?” the tightness of her tone didn’t lift and he got the distinct impression she was not excited at whatever he had was about to say.

  “Yeah...I was thinking,” his voice faltered and now he wasn’t so sure he should bring it up. He pressed on anyway, “We haven’t really gone anywhere since our honeymoon, and I-”

  “Donald-”

  He rushed in, instinctively knowing what she was about to say. “I booked us a cruise for the end of the month. We’re going to the Caribbean.”

  She sighed, the weariness of it hitting him like a ton of bricks. “Donald...we need to talk about this tonight.”

  Donald didn’t like the sound of that. Where was the excitement, the pleasure at being alone with her husband? He knew, in his gut, that she wasn’t happy and tonight his whole world would change. “Sure honey. Uh, I have to let you go. I’m going to meet Jake for lunch and I have a few errands I need to run before that.”

  “Okay. I have to go anyway.”

  “Alexina, I love you.” The drive to tell her was hard to ignore, even if he could tell in the way she sucked in her breath it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

  “Me...too,” she hung up quickly.

  The unhappiness in her voice was staggering and he didn’t know how to fix it. Leaning back in his leather chair, he gazed unseeingly over the traffic flowing on Massachusetts Ave below him. For the past year, there’d been no intimacy between them, both keeping to their sides of the huge king size bed. Until now, he hadn’t really noticed, so busy with his job and the spreadsheets and the annual year-end report. His eyes flicked over the huge bookshelf against the office wall, the awards and books no longer brining him the thrill they used to. Now that his mind was on bigger, lie altering issues, he could see the distance looming between them.

  Standing, he gathered the journal and a small silver flash drive, placing them in his leather briefcase. As soon as this was over, he was going to devote all of his attention to Alexina.

  Donald looked at his watch, smiling as he exited he car, leaving the door open partway. A nice little daydream of how things would go on the trip played in his head. Stopping to bend down and look into his driver side mirror, he adjusted his tie. The strong vibration in his pants made him jump, heart ricocheting in his chest.

  Damn it, it was just the cell phone. Lately, his nerves had been so bad everything made him jump. The meeting with the FBI and then this trip would help all of that. Donald opened the phone, “Hello?”

  “Hey buddy! Where are you right now?” Jake’s voice came across the line, an odd tension in the background of his tone.

  “I just got to the restaurant; I am in the parking lot right no
w. Why is something wrong?” he straightened, hand braced on the open door.

  “No, of course not. Just making sure I’m not too late. Hey listen, if it isn’t too much to ask, just hang out till I get there. I’m about five minutes away.”

  “Sure. Jake, is there something I need to know?” The knot in his stomach was back, growing with each passing moment. Jake was up to something, he knew it, just by the way he laughed at his question, a violence that swirled around the edges.

  “Yeah, don’t forget.”

  His throat closed up and he fought to get the words out. Jake’s voice had gone from tense to taunting, as if he had a secret that Donald would not like. “Forget what?”

  “That Mr. C doesn’t tolerate traitors.”

  Tires squealing behind him made Donald look in the mirror to see the approaching black car, driving too close to the edge and too fast to stop. In that split second, he knew it was too late.

  Alexina, what was she going to do without him?

  The car slammed into Donald’s body, ripping the still open car door of its hinges, dragging it and his limp body 50 feet down the road, before a speed bump dislodged his broken body.

  The driver of the car careened wildly, crashed into a parked car, before he gunned the engine and left the scene; tread left behind as he pealed out. Donald’s body, bloody and mangled lay in the middle of the street as people milled around, screaming for someone to call 911.

  Jake jumped out of his car that he’d parked in a side alley and taking cover in the mass of people running around, ran to Donald’s body. He made a cursory motion, as if checking for a pulse, though he could care less. Jake just needed to make sure he was dead. Satisfied that there was no pulse, He turned and yelled for help, asking someone to call for help.

  Jake faked a few tears, well aware that his life depended on his reaction to the situation; wouldn’t do to seem as if he didn’t care.

  “Don’t leave me buddy! You’re going to be fine!” Jake yelled a quick glance at the crowd to gauge their reaction.

  A minute later, a police car and an ambulance pulled up, sirens screaming as they blocked off the road. The cops were trying to create room for the medics, but more people were gathering now, looking at Donald lying there, lifeless. After clearing enough space, the medic’s went to work, trying in vain to save Donald’s life.

  After a few minutes, one of them looked up, blues eyes heavy with sadness, “I’m sorry sir, there’s not much we can do for him. He didn’t make it.”

  Jake took a step away, hand to his mouth in mock despair. Mr. C would be pleased by the news. After the police questioned him and he gave his account of what happened, they let Jake go. He stared at Donald’s car forlornly, trying to see if what he was looking for was in the car. When he didn’t see anything, he trudged back to his car.

  On the way back to work, his phone started ringing. Jake answered the phone, listening to the voice on the other end. “Yes sir, it’s done. No, I couldn’t find the information. I don’t know where it is, He didn’t bring it.”

  Chapter One

  Alexina stared at the hole in the ground, her back rigid. She ignored the wailings of the large white woman sitting next to her, her gaze fixed on the pastor. She wished she could offer some comfort to the woman sitting next to her; she was her mother-in-law after all, but she found herself numb, unable to more than hold her hands stiffly in her lap. She ignored the frigid November breeze blowing through; her body colder than any wind could get it. She made sure not to make eye contact with anyone, not wanting to see the pity or concern or ill-concealed curiosity in anyone’s eyes. Wrapping the black woolen shawl around her body tighter, she kept her back straight, refusing to let the tears fall. How could this be happening to her? How could she be alone, again? They’d only been married 2 years, with plans and dreams between them. Her thoughts raced through her mind as she watched them lower her husband’s coffin into the ground.

  The outline of the burnished wood coffin blurred a moment, and she had to blink rapidly to clear her vision. She stiffened when she felt a large hand pat her on her shoulder in comfort, before withdrawing. She didn’t have to look back to know it was her father. She wished that she could take comfort in him and his strength, but she just couldn’t.

  The minister’s voice washed over her, leaving her with feelings of remorse and guilt and anger. She could do this. She had to. She felt someone press a tissue into her and she took it, wiping away the single tear that had slipped out. No longer able to keep her gaze on the coffin, she looked away, past the crowd of people, to a spot just beyond the last headstone, praying for an end.

  After watching them cover her husband’s grave with the last of the dirt, she walked slowly to the black limo waiting for her, her mind numb. She waited while the driver opened the door for her, a compassionate smile on his face.

  “Thank you.” She murmured, sliding into the warm interior.

  Resting her head against the back of the seat, she let the car movements soothe her, the tears falling freely now.

  Alexina arrived at her father’s house, the limo pulling up to the curb. She sat in the back a moment, gathering her thoughts and repairing her makeup. After taking a fortifying breath, she got out of the car and headed to the front door. Bracing herself, she opened the door and stepped inside. She found herself immediately engulfed in a tight, back breaking hug, red frizzy hair obscuring her view, tickling her nose.

  “Honey, I’m so sorry. Donald was such a nice man.” The small round woman stepped back, her chin wobbling.

  Alexina smiled tremulously, nodding her head. She was starting to feel smothered, boxed in and trapped. She looked around when the little woman opened her mouth again, desperately needing someone to come to her aid. Her eyes collided with her father’s then skittered away. She just needed a moment to gather her thoughts, to put the mask back in place.

  “Cousin Dorothy, why don’t you come with me? Let’s give Lexi a moment to rest.”

  Alexina gritted her teeth at the use of her nickname, bristling at the woman’s usage of it. She gave a strained smile at her stepmother, grateful for the intervention. She walked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with everyone, keeping her sight on the wide marble staircase that would lead her to the safe haven of her old bedroom, away from everyone. She had her foot on the bottom step when she felt a hand on her elbow. Steeling herself, she half turned, her eyes connecting with her father’s tiger brown eyes.

  “Honey, where are you going?” his voice was gruff, an accusatory tone to it that had Alexina feeling as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

  “Dad, I just need a minute. All these people...” She turned away, her hand flexing on the banister.

  “Sweetie, they’re here to support you.” Her father admonished, his brow creased in disapproval.

  Alexina sighed heavily, her body sagging in on itself. She really didn’t want to get into it with her father, not now. “Dad, please. Just a minute!” She looked away, her bottom lip trembling.

  She wished that he would pull her into his arms and hold her, tell her that everything was going to be ok, the way he used to do before her brother died. She heard her father sigh and turned her head back to see him run a large hand though his curly brown and gray hair in an agitated manner.

  “Ok, but only a minute. I’ll let Sharise know that she’s in charge until you get back down.”

  Alexina gritted her teeth at the mention of her stepmother, but she hid it with a tepid smile. “Thank you dad.” She turned and hurried up the stairs, eager to get away from it all, at least for a little while.

  Her father watched her go, a worried gleam in his eyes. He turned to his wife, his hand wrapping around her slender waist.

  “I don’t know what to do for her. She seems so...so alone.” He looked back at the stairs, his eyes trained on the dark hallway where his daughter had disappeared. “She’s so closed off.”

  “First her husband is killed and then the house is ra
nsacked.” Sharise looked up at her husband, placing her hand over his heart in a comforting gesture. “Paxton honey, just give her time. She’s still dealing with this.”

  Paxton looked back to where his daughter had disappeared, softly stroking his mustache.

  Alexina came back downstairs ten minutes later, rested and on firmer ground. At the foot of the stairs, she took a left and headed into the crowded great room, prepared to handle anything. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as if someone was watching her, but she ignored it, concentrating on the people in front of her. She was making the rounds of the room, greeting and meeting all her family and friends that had come to show her support, when she felt a hand on the back of her neck, gently rubbing. She whirled around, shocked and stunned to come face to face with a pair of warm welcoming gray eyes, framed by long beautiful eyelashes and thick eyebrows, a scar over his right eyebrow. She had to take a step back, her heart beating fiercely in her chest. What was he doing here?

  “Lexi, how are you holding up?” he ran a large hand down her arm, a soothing motion that had her body instantly melting. She fought to shrug it off; this was not the time or place.

  She moved away from his hand, her body instantly tensing without his warmth and smiled at him softly. “Luciano, I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Luciano chuckled, his hand flexing on the cup of coffee in his hand. “So it’s Luciano now, I remember when you used to call me Luc.” He took a sip of coffee, his eyes trained on hers, “I heard about your husband, so I came. I’m sorry.”

  Alexina’s eyes swept over him, taking in every detail. He was an impressive 6’2, much taller than what she remembered, with a wide chest and large, muscular legs. The dark blue suit he was wearing set off his skin; a sexy golden biscuit color. He was still wearing his hair in a buzz cut, an attempt at controlling his thick curly hair. His face was a rugged, masculine rectangular face, softened only by his thick and sensuous lips. She could remember very vividly running her fingers over them. Heat spread slowly through her body when he smiled at her checking him out and she looked away, guilt-ridden at the emotions sweeping through her. She’d just buried her husband for god’s sake.