After the Dust Settles (California Dreaming Book 3)

by Stacey Johnston

  My cell vibrating in my palm reminds me of Sean’s message. Typing out my response, my head is still planning how to deal with padre dearest. Something up close and personal is what really appeals to me.

  Me: My father was here. Please be careful, he knows I’m up to something. I will be in contact once I have fixed the problem. I love you xx

  Sean: Be careful Hads, I couldn’t do another funeral.

  If nothing else, that message from Sean grounds me. The thought of not making it out alive never occurred to me at all. I need to break away cleanly, but I can’t do that without removing the one person who keeps me chained here. I am never going to be truly free until my padre is morte... dead.

  Me: I have no plans on dying, lover boy, but I promise I will be careful xx

  I just hope now I can keep my promise. Turning the cell off, I slip it in my bag, I can’t talk to him anymore tonight, it will only produce feelings of guilt. If I am going to pull this off, I can’t be harboring any of those kinds of feelings, I need my game face on. This family needs a new head, my fratello being the obvious choice.

  “Why are you still here, Hadley darling? You never stay for more than a couple of hours.”

  Putting down my biro, I glance at my madre who has made herself comfortable in the leather seat across from me.

  “As much as I despise what this building represents, madre, I’m required to oversee the day to day operation.”

  Normally, I would have made my escape by now, so it pains me to see her this morning, because I know the night has not been good to her.

  She looks tired and worn, more so than usual. When I looked over the sign in sheet I received from Maria an hour ago, I noticed that my madre was kept busier than usual.

  “Why are you so mean to me, figlia of mine?” she asks, breaking our silence.

  I don’t mean to take my frustrations out on her, but I hate watching her waste her life like this.

  Sighing, I push the sheet of paper in front of her, “Because of this, madre, because you allow padre to treat you like a piece of meat. I hate the way you let him manipulate you, so that you’ll sell yourself night after night for him to profit.”

  Slumping back in my chair, I sit and wait, to see what lame excuse she comes up with for what she does. I know I have put her on the spot, forcing her to acknowledge the reality of her situation.

  “This is all I know, sweet child,” she quietly admits. “I love your padre dearly, and it’s the only way I can stay close to him…. And my children.”

  Whoa, What. The. Hell….

  “I know you hate him, Hadley; that you hate the man he has become. Please understand he has not always been this way.”

  I know what she’s trying to do, but she is wrong.

  “How do you know that, and what do you mean it’s the only way you can stay close to your children?” I accuse.

  Honestly, how does she know that he wasn’t just playing her? Did he threaten to take me and Gerrick away if she didn’t whore herself for him? It makes no difference to me, because from what I have observed over the years, my padre is a very good fucking actor.

  “There are just some things you can’t fake, my child. Forget I said anything about you and your fratello.”

  Laughing, I lean back even further. “You’re naïve, madre, you can fake everything under the right circumstances. You can’t make a comment like that and ask me to forget. I grew up around that man. I’ve seen it for myself what sort of a man he his.”

  Straightening up, I lean forward on my arms, taking her in. She would never believe me if I told her, so now’s not the time to speak badly of him.

  “He has his faults, I’m not that blinded, but the man I met is not what you see today. That is the man I love, and always will. I am not going to speak of what I should not have mentioned. Please do not ask again.”

  There is no polite way of speaking about the man who told me when I was sixteen that I had to earn my place by his side. I never really noticed my madre’s absence in the main house when I was younger because she was still around. It wasn’t until I became a teenager that I wanted answers to my questions. I needed my madre and he would only allow limited visitations with her. I still don’t understand why. I have just come to accept that it was his way of controlling us.

  Now I can picture what she has had to endure to keep us close to her. All the more reason for me to put an end to his reign.

  “As you wish, madre, live in your denial, but don’t ask me to treat him any differently. In my eyes, he’s not worthy of my love. If you knew what he has forced me and Gerrick to do over the years, you wouldn’t be so defensive.”

  Sighing, she rises, murmuring goodnight as she leaves. I love my madre, but I won’t sit around anymore watching her life waste away before her eyes. Twirling my chair around to watch the sun rising through my window, I stare at the beams of light reflecting off the glass. A quick glance down at my watch tells me it’s nearly seven am. This is usually the hour I find myself curled up on one of the sofas at Milk and Roses, drowning my sorrows with one of Mrs. Zegarelli’s hot chocolates. Every morning, since Sean left, has seen me follow the same methodical pattern, a trait my padre despises. ‘Predictability is a weakness’ he always preaches. ‘It is what will get you killed.’

  My padre will be the reason I get killed, not my predictability or love of coffee.

  “What’s troubling you, Hadley?” a deep voice from behind rumbles.

  Whatever thoughts I had are now shattered as I spin my chair around to the direction the voice is coming from. With visits from my padre, madre and now my fratello, it’s becoming a bit of a family affair today. Very rarely am I ever granted the privilege of all three of their presences in the space of twenty-four hours. Now I know something is definitely wrong.

  “Your visit for one,” I declare coldly.

  Gerrick’s eyes narrow suddenly, his lips tightening into a thin line. I have angered him, but I don’t care. I refuse to allow him or my parents see any of the vulnerability I’ve been feeling lately.

  “Why are you here, Gerrick?” I sigh heavily.

  Frustration is creeping under my skin, and my patience for bullshit is wearing thin.

  “Padre sent me, he is concerned about you.”

  And there is that bullshit I was talking about. I knew there had to be a reason behind his visit. Gerrick always texts me, he never just shows up expectantly.

  “He believes your obsession with the Valentine boy is clouding your judgement. He doesn’t believe your priorities revolve around the family business anymore.”

  Shit … I knew it!

  “There is no obsession, he was just a fuck. A good one at that, if you must know,” I reply with a smirk.

  Watching my fratello screw up his face is priceless. That’s what he gets for being a nosy fuck and a messenger boy.

  “Do you have to be so crass?” he sighs in return.

  “Yes, because you and padre have stuck your noses in my business for too long. If I want to fuck the target instead of killing him, I will. Whatever business we had with them died when Silo’s daughter died.”

  Sitting back, Gerrick stares at me, trying to read my thoughts.

  “I don’t believe you, Hadley, you like this one. You may think you can hide it, but I know you better than padre ever will. What I want to know is why? Why this boy?”

  Leaning forward in resignation, I rest my arms on the desk in front of me. Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose briefly, before running my fingers through my hair. As my fingers pull at it gently, my head rests against my hand, forcing my arm to carry the weight. Sighing once more, I open my eyes to see Gerrick still watching me, but more intently now. I may be able to fool my parents, but I can’t lie to my fratello. Our bond goes deeper than that. I won’t allow myself to betray his trust.

  “There is something about him that makes me feel safe, that makes me believe I can have a life away from the family,” I reluctantly admit. “When I
’m with him, nothing else matters, and I want that, Gerrick. I want to be normal.”

  He just sits there, continuing to watch me and for the first time in a long time, I’m actually afraid.

  Finally, I watch as Gerrick leans forward and gestures for me to give him my hands. Reluctantly, I give in and place my hands in his. Compared to mine, they are large, with a roughness to them. The texture of his palms, mainly the harsh feeling of them, reflects the type of work my fratello is involved in. Everything about his role is hands on, which pains me, because the last couple of years have been no easier on him than they have on me.

  “Then go for it, Hadley, chase your dream.”

  Did I just hear him correctly? Surely not, because that would mean my own fratello - my own family is telling me to leave, and escape.

  “It’s not that easy, Gerrick, you of all people should know this.”

  Grunting in what I believe is frustration, my fratello shakes his head.

  “Nothing about our lives has ever been easy, but I’ve never seen you back away from a challenge before. What’s stopping you now?” he replies, pulling his hands carefully from mine to sit back in his chair.

  With his arms now crossed over his chest, I have to wonder if this is a test to see whether I’m still loyal to the family.

  His face is stoic, giving nothing away, but I’m tired of hiding and in a quiet voice, I concede. “There is only one way I’ll ever be able to walk away and that’s if I end our padre’s life. I can’t do that to you and madre.”

  Fidgeting, I twirl the pencil I’ve picked up, focusing my attention on the exit instead of Gerrick’s face. An admission such as the one I have just given should result in my death, and if that’s what’s to happen, then I welcome it. After the brief interlude with Sean, I know that I will never be the same person I was. I’m fooling only myself to think I can revert back to that cold, heartless girl.

  “I want him dead as much as you do, Hadley, he needs to be held accountable for the things he has done to us,” Gerrick quickly blurts.

  The expression reflecting on my face will be one of shock, especially after believing, all these years, that he idolized our padre. What surprises me the most is that my fratello feels the same way. I’ve heard the stories over the years, rumors of the horrific things Gerrick has been subjected to, but he never speaks of it. Many times, I have tried to get inside his head, but he shuts me down and becomes distant.

  “It’s time for me to be honest with you, Hadley, and finally give you the answers you have been seeking.”

  Chapter Seven

  Sean

  “Good morning, mother,” I greet cheerfully as I enter into our kitchen area.

  She is quietly reading her book at the dining table, sipping on the raspberry tea in front of her.

  “Good morning, Sean,” she beams back at me. “You seem happy this morning. It pleases me to see you this way. I’ve missed your smile, son.”

  A huge smile radiates on her face as she responds to me, and I realize that I share her sentiment. I have missed her smile as well.

  “For the first time in a long time, I feel I have a reason to smile.”

  I haven’t made the past twelve months easy on myself, but when I woke this morning, I was happy and full of hope for the future. I spent last night waiting up until I had a response from Hadley. Although I knew that the reality of our situation meant that her messages would be few and far between, I couldn’t sleep until she had made contact. This girl I have found brightens my world, bringing in a lightness that I never thought could exist.

  “I’m happy to hear that darling. Is there any progress on your young lady’s retrieval?” she asks, putting her book down to give me her full attention.

  I love how she allows her glasses to sit on the edge of her nose, it reminds me of a school teacher I adored in junior high.

  “Not yet, but apparently, Hawke will brief me once I have finished with breakfast. I’m only getting limited Intel from Hadley’s end, so I don’t know what is going on back in Brooklyn.”

  “Please be careful, I don’t think this old heart of mine could handle any more tragedy,” her now small voice pleads.

  Placing my bowl on the benchtop, I choose actions over words. Walking up behind my mom, I place my arms around her midsection to embrace her. Kissing the top of her head, I promise to be careful. Releasing her, I move toward the communications room, where I know Hawke and my father will be waiting.

  “Ah, there you are, my boy,” my father hollers from his place in front of the multiple screens Hawke has installed.

  For a man who was supposed to retire from the Central Bureau of Intelligence last year, he is still actively working as an agent. He works behind the scenes these days, mainly intelligence after opting out of field work when Sherlyn died. At the time, he cited that he could no longer disembody himself from his work and his family. He believed his judgement would impact the missions and would not be responsible for another death.

  “Come see what we have discovered.”

  Taking the empty seat next to him, I look at the photo of Hadley on the screen.

  “You’re looking at the brains of the Alexandria family,” he continues. “Jason Alexandria isn’t going to let his daughter go without a fight. Are you ready to get your hands dirty?”

  Why my father felt he needed to ask that question, I don’t know, but shit yeah, I’m ready to get my hands dirty.

  “What more have you uncovered, what’s our plan?”

  During the briefing with Hawke and my father, I learnt that Hadley Alexandria is, indeed, the brains behind the Alexandria family. She has been linked to racketeering, loan sharking, prostitution, murder, and pornography, and that’s just what we know of. Her involvement in the sex industry is a concern for me, and the man in me is praying she wasn’t in front of the camera.

  If so, was it voluntary or forced?

  When we were investigating them during the ordeal with Sherlyn our main focus was on her father, and Vincent. I knew that Jason Alexandria had a son, and daughter, but never really took much notice of those details. Up until just a few moments ago, I had never seen her photo in any form. She was never a concern for me, my main focus was her father, and the contract he had with Silo. Taking the file from Hawke, I excuse myself to retreat to my room so that I can read up on my girl in private. I’m under no illusion about what I will find; honestly, I’m expecting the worst. Sitting back against the wall on my bed, I cagily open the file, and straight away, I’m confronted with Hadley’s photo. Everything about her face reflected in that picture is hard and guarded, and not like the girl I have come to know.

  Skimming quickly through the file, what they have on Hadley is a lot more extensive than I bargained for. It’s also lot thicker than I was expecting, and by the looks of this, she has played an active role within her father’s organization. I know I shouldn’t be shocked, but her involvement in her family’s business is greater than I anticipated. Whatever hopes I had of retrieving her quickly, and without incident, seem redundant now. My father wasn’t wrong when he said we would have a fight on our hands. What doesn’t help the situation is not knowing what’s happening on Hadley’s end, and what she’s doing to aid our mission.

  Delving deeper, I’m starting to understand why I had so much trouble tracing the monetary trail. It appears that she was heavily involved in the racketeering side of the business. From what I’ve been reading, my girl is extremely successful at extorting money, and finding ways of laundering it. Over the past three years, through Hadley’s involvement, her father’s worth has increased by at least fifty million. There is no way he is going to want to lose her. The problem the C.B.I has encountered is, although they know what she is up to, they’ve never been able to arrest her. There is no actual physical evidence that can be tied back to her, she is that damned good at masking her activities. Everything they have on her is inconclusive, and mostly word of mouth. People love to talk when money is thrown at th
em, and that seems to be the case here.

  Unfortunately, that’s not where her involvement seems to end.

  Over the years, many have snitched, or leaked information against her, but not one of them is alive today to tell their tale. Each and every one of them has been the victim of a tragic accident within days of passing on their information. Although there is no actual evidence to prove their theories, agents at the C.B.I believe the one and only link to their deaths is Hadley herself. As much as I’d like to believe she is innocent of these accusations, I’m also not that naive or stupid. I have no doubt she played a part in their murders, after all, she did confess that I was meant to be one of her targets as well.

  Regardless of what is written in this file, there will be no impact on how I feel about this girl. My own actions over the past couple of years has been questionable, to say the least. What I have to do now is converse with Hawke and work on a plan to bring Hadley here with us. How we are going to do that is a question I have no answer for right now, and our progress has been brought to a standstill as I wait on word from Hadley.

  Grabbing the burner phone I borrowed from Hawke’s stash out of my bedside drawer, I turn it on to check for messages. Waiting for it to turn on is having a nervous effect on me, as I wait and hope that she has sent me something. As the screen lights up, it doesn’t take long for the phone to start beeping, and a smile covers my face.

  Hadley had sent three messages…

  Hadley: Hey sexy boy, I’m missing you xx

  Hadley: I have news for you. I will phone you at 8pm Brooklyn time.

  Hadley: Can’t wait to hear your voice xx Love you!

  Shit……. What time is it?

  I wonder what the time difference is.

  I didn’t think of that, and to be honest, I have no idea. I guess I’ll just have to leave the phone turned on until she calls. Throwing it beside me on the bed, I return to Hadley’s file to see if there is anything in it that will help us plan her escape.

  I can’t deny I’m curious about the news she has for me. Maybe it will be something that will help us bring her home.