by Bea Paige
Chapter Twenty-One
Night edges into dawn, and still Bryce and I are up waiting for more news. It has been hours since Max last called, and I am getting increasingly panicked. Sleep evades us both.
“What if he’s killed her, Bryce?”
“Shh, don’t think like that,” he says, holding me close. We are sitting on the sofa in the living room watching the clock. I stare at his mobile phone, willing it to ring. Then it does.
Bryce snatches it up. His eyebrows pull together as he answers in single syllables.
He flicks off the mobile. “They’ve found Nisha.”
“Is she okay? Are they bringing her home?” I ask, the words coming out in a rush.
“She’s at Chelsea and Westminster hospital…”
“What has the bastard done to her?” I say, standing.
“She’s being checked out by a doctor. I could hear her in the background cursing like a fishwife. From what I can gather, Nisha gave her captors as good as she got. They think she’ll be fine to come back home in a couple of hours.”
“What about Smithy?”
“According to Cal, he got away. Saw the guys coming and did a runner. The police are on to him now.”
“Where did they find her?”
“Clifford tracked his mobile back to a warehouse in Brixton. She was being kept there by some of Smithy’s men. Max and Hudson got into a scuffle with them. Max was slashed across his bicep with a knife.”
“What?!”
“He’s okay, they’re sorting him out now. He needed a few stitches.”
“A few? How many is a few?”
“Fifty or so…”
“Fifty? I want to see them. Now,” I say, striding towards the stairs. Bryce catches up with me.
“Louisa, they’ll be sent home in a few hours. Clifford has already got the police in to take statements. Once there, it’s unlikely you’ll get a chance to speak with them for long.”
“But…” I can feel my body begin to shake with relief. Adrenaline courses through me. “Thank God she’s okay.” Suddenly I find that my legs seem incapable of holding up my weight.
“Hey, come sit,” Bryce says, capturing my arm and steering me back towards the sofa. “I’m going to grab you some tea and toast. You need to eat and sleep, you’re exhausted.” He leaves me for a moment to fix me some breakfast. I watch him as he moves around the kitchen. He looks exhausted too. I remember how I spoke to him last night and I feel a surge of guilt. None of this was his fault, neither was it Max or Hudson’s.
“Here we go,” he says, placing a tray on the coffee table in front of us.
I pick up a cup of tea and take a sip. My stomach grumbles as the liquid hits my stomach.
“Who’s Clifford?” In all the worry, I’d forgotten to ask.
“He heads up our security detail. Calum is part of their team.”
“Security detail? Why do you need a team of security?”
Bryce sighs. “Freed Corp is a multi-million-pound company, Louisa. This isn’t the first time we’ve been targeted by criminals.” Bryce looks at me, as though he’s trying to weigh up his options. “There’s something you should know.”
My stomach does a little summersault at the possibility I am not going to like what he’s about to tell me, but I follow him back to the sofa and take a seat anyway.
“A few years back, when the company really took off we hooked up with a business man called Luke Amory. He was a great guy who gave us some sound business advice. He introduced us to a gentleman called Santiago Garcia who owned some real estate in Columbia. Luke thought it would be a good idea that we start broadening our horizons and look for places to build our luxury holiday apartments abroad. Max and I weren’t keen. I didn’t know much about Santiago, but Hudson always liked taking risks and at the time he was seeing Luke’s daughter Beth, so his business sense was skewed by his feelings for her.”
“Feelings? Hudson told me he’d never…” I begin.
“Aside from you, Beth was the first woman who I think Hudson could have eventually opened up to. Except,” Hudson stalls, pressing his fingers against his eyes.
“Except what?”
“Except the business deal didn’t go according to plan. Luke, Hudson and Beth travelled to Columbia to meet with Santiago. Beth was just there for the holiday while Luke and Hudson finalised the deal. While they were out there, Luke found out Santiago had some dodgy businesses on the side, that he wasn’t the person he presented himself to be.”
“What business?”
“Drugs, cocaine mainly. He was, still is no doubt, one of the most powerful drug lords of all Columbia.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“When Luke pulled out of the deal, things got nasty, quickly. Santiago Garcia took it upon himself to punish Luke by sending his minions to attack Beth. She was beaten badly, she spent a month in hospital out there. Hudson stayed with her the whole time. He flew her home when they knew she would be strong enough to survive the flight. During that time Luke had a massive heart attack and died. It was a fucking mess, Louisa. Since then, we’ve got our own security detail. Hudson still has eyes on Santiago. I worry that he’ll eventually try to take revenge.”
“What happened to Beth?”
Bryce doesn’t answer for a moment, he seems to be gathering the courage to speak. He looks at me directly, his hazel eyes haunted. “Beth is in a nursing home. She’s paralysed from the neck down. She also suffers with severe post-traumatic stress and barely talks. We pay for around-the-clock care for her. Hudson visits her once a month. He would go more often but I don’t think he can take the guilt. Besides, she barely knows he’s there anyway. It’s fucked up.” Bryce rests his head in his hands.
Placing my mug of tea back on the table, I scoot closer to him and put my arm around his broad shoulders. “I’m sorry.” I don’t know what else to say. Bryce seems as affected by this tragedy as much as Hudson must be. “You’re fond of Beth too?” I ask gently.
He lifts his head. “We all are. She was a nice person. You would have liked her, but the Beth we all knew isn’t around anymore. She checked out the night those bastards almost killed her.” Bryce allows me to pull him close, his arm snaking around my back.
“I didn’t mean to put Nisha in harm’s way. I honestly thought she’d be okay. The possibility that she could’ve ended up like Beth… I would never have forgiven myself.”
“I know that. But no more secrets, okay? If we’re going to do this, be together, all of us, then there mustn’t be any secrets. Agreed?”
“Yes, darling. You know I’ll do anything to make you happy,” Bryce says, bringing his face close to mine. “I meant everything I said last night.”
“I believe you,” I say, and I do.
We must have fallen asleep on the sofa, because the sound of the front door slamming and footsteps climbing the stairs wakes us both up. I untangle myself from Bryce’s warm arms and am immediately on my feet. The wall clock says it’s two in the afternoon. They’ve been gone a lot longer than I expected.
Hudson is the first to step onto the floor. He looks utterly exhausted and there is a huge purple bruise blooming around his right eye.
“Damn it, Hud, that’s one shiner you’ve got there,” Bryce says.
“Don’t worry, the guy who gave it to me is worse off.”
“Where’s Nisha?” I say, rushing forward. I want to hug him, but not before I see Nisha first. I catch Hudson’s eye and give him an apologetic look.
“It’s okay,” he says, shaking his head.
“I’m coming, Lou,” Nisha says, climbing the stairs. Max and Calum are following behind her. I can’t see any obvious marks on her face, although she is holding herself awkwardly, so I know she’s in pain. The moment our eyes meet, whatever strength she’s holding on to dissolves and tears flood down her face. Now it’s my turn to be strong as she throws her arms around me. We hold onto each other for a long time. Over her shoulder, I can see Max loo
king deathly pale and Calum, utterly defeated.
“I’m so sorry, Nish, this is all my fault,” I whisper into her hair. I can feel the wet of her tears against my neck. “Come on, let me take you to your room.” We move past Calum; he steps forward as though to speak with Nisha, but he hesitates for too long and we pass him by. I look over my shoulder at the four men watching us walk away. “I’m going to stay with Nish for a while, okay. I’ll come see you as soon as I can,” I say directly to Max. He gives me a tight smile.
“Don’t sweat it, Icy. We’ll all be here waiting.”
Closing the door gently behind us, I manoeuvre Nisha to her bed. She is shaking like a leaf.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask gently.
Nish wipes away her tears on the back of her top. In fact, I realise it’s Calum’s jumper she’s wearing. He must have given it to her at the hospital or something.
“No, I don’t. I just want to sleep,” Nisha says, her voice quiet.
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Please. But I want to have a bath first.” She moves to get up, but I rest my hand on her arm.
“I’ll do it.”
“Thanks,” she mumbles.
I head into her en suite, turn the taps on and pour in some bubble bath, leaving the water to run. When I step back into the room I am shocked by the bruises covering Nisha’s back.
“Nisha!” I cry, covering my mouth with my hands. Tears well in my eyes. She looks over her shoulder at me, covering her front with Calum’s jumper.
“That fucking bastard. I’m so sorry.” An anger overwhelms me, drying up my tears in an instant.
“I fought him, Louisa. I fought so hard. That prick ruined my date with Cal…” she says in a half-hearted attempt to make what happened to her sound trivial. It wasn’t as though Smithy had poured drink over her, he’d fucking kidnapped her.
“That man will never hurt you again,” I say vehemently as I pull her in for a hug. Neither of us is able to articulate in that moment just how we feel. Instead we cling onto one another, just like we’d done all those years ago on the park bench when we first met.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A crack of light appears as the bedroom door opens. Calum steps in.
“What time is it?” I mumble, half asleep. I must have dozed off. For a long time, I had watched Nisha as she slept, like a worried mother would with her sick child. Then, when my own exhaustion had crept up on me I’d lain down next to her on the bed and closed my eyes.
“It’s eight o’clock in the evening. I just wanted to see how Nisha is doing. Do you need anything?”
“I didn’t want to leave her. We fell asleep,” I say by way of explanation.
“Sure,” Calum says.
Nisha is restless beside me. She starts to groan in her sleep, her head moving from side to side. I reach out to touch her shoulder. “Nisha…”
“No, get off me, you bastard!” she screams in her sleep, sitting bolt upright. Calum flicks on the light and rushes to her side before I am even able to react. He holds onto her tightly.
“Nisha, it’s okay. You’re okay,” he says, looking at me over her shoulder. He’s worried, his eyes are wide with concern.
I rest my hand on Nisha’s arm, stroking her skin whilst Calum runs his hand gently up and down her back. Nisha pulls back, seemingly coming to. The nightmare still lingers in her face, but surprise overtakes her features as she realises who is holding onto her.
“Cal?”
“I wanted to check on you. I apologise for overstepping,” he says, letting his arms fall to his side.
“Don’t apologise,” Nisha says quietly, placing her hand on his.
“I think I should leave,” I say.
Nisha’s eyes flick to mine. She grabs hold of my hand. “Thank you for staying with me.”
“Will you be okay?”
Nisha looks at Calum, and a tentative look of hope lights her eyes. “I think so.”
“I’ll look out for Nisha now,” Calum says, and I’m pretty sure he’s talking about more than just the next couple of hours.
Closing the door gently behind me, I make my way back to the living room. Hudson and Bryce are sitting on the sofa. Outside rain is pouring heavily. A flash of lightning illuminates the sky, making me jump. My teeth start to chatter, and I wrap my arms around myself in an attempt to make me feel better.
“Hey, darling, how’s she doing?” Bryce asks, getting up to greet me.
“I don’t know. She just woke up from a nightmare. She’s covered in bruises. Calum is with her now,” I say in a rush. Even though I’ve managed to sleep a little I am beyond exhausted.
Hudson moves towards me. “Are you hungry? Can I get you something to eat, drink?”
“Honestly, I…” My lip starts to wobble, and I try to hold onto the tears, but I find I don’t have any strength left.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Hudson says. “You coming, Bryce?”
“I will, but I want to check on Max first.”
“How’s he doing? I should go speak with him,” I start, rubbing at the tears that still persist in falling.
“He’s whacked, baby. It can wait till morning.”
“I don’t care if he’s asleep. I need to see him,” I insist.
“Sure,” Hudson says, nodding his head and taking my hand in his. We walk upstairs and enter Max’s room. He’s fast asleep on the bed, his right arm above the covers. A bandage is wrapped around his bicep. Letting go of Hudson’s hand, I sit on the edge of the bed, swiping his golden hair back off his forehead. He murmurs in his sleep.
“Oh, Max.” Leaning over, I brush a lingering kiss against his cheek and a sudden well of emotion fills my chest. “I love you, Jester.”
He must have heard my words, because his eyes flutter open and he reaches up to touch my face. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say that.” He winces, the pain registering as he drops his hand back down.
“Oh, Max. You brave, stupid man. Thank you for bringing Nisha home. I love you,” I repeat.
“Tell me again in the morning, Icy,” he says with a gentle smile, before his eyes flutter closed once more.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you to bed,” Hudson says.
“No, I’m staying here. I’m not leaving him.”
“Okay.” Without saying a word, he helps me to undress. There is nothing sexual in the act. He is kind, caring, loving even. Walking around the other side of Max’s bed, I get in. Hudson undresses quickly and gets in behind me, tucking his body close and wrapping a hand around my stomach. More lightning carves across the sky followed by a deep roll of thunder, but Max doesn’t stir.
“He lost a bit of blood, and they gave him some painkillers. It’s knocked him out,” Hudson observes. I draw my knees up to my chest, the shaking coming back in earnest now as the reality of what could have happened crashes over me.
“It’ll be okay,” Hudson says, drawing me closer against him. He tucks his legs up around me, cupping my body with his.
“You don’t know that. He got away, Hudson. He might hurt her, hurt me. Like Santiago did to Beth.”
I feel Hudson tense. “Who told you?”
“Bryce, today.”
Hudson’s hold tightens. “I won’t let that happen. Smithy won’t touch her again and he will never get near you,” he reassures me fiercely. But I don’t feel very reassured, I feel scared. Worse, I feel guilty.
“Nisha was hurt because she’s important to me. Max and you were hurt in the process of helping me. I am nothing but trouble, Hudson. Bad luck follows me wherever I turn.”
“You haven’t lost Nisha. She’s safe now, and me and Max, we’re fine,” Hudson says.
“None of this is fine. This could’ve been so much worse. That creep is still out there, and he will come for you because of me.” Huge racking sobs spill from my mouth and I cry bitter tears for my mum who couldn’t love me enough to save herself, for the father I never knew, for Nisha
and the horror she’s just been through, for what she will go through trying to get over it, and for the men I must walk away from if I am to save them from myself. A sudden overwhelming panic tightens my chest and squeezes the breath from my body as I comprehend how close I came to losing Nisha, as I realise that I must break my promise to Hudson. I should leave now, but I don’t have the strength.
The door to the bedroom opens and Bryce walks in. Hearing my distress, he hurries over to the bed and climbs in between Max and me. Hudson lets me go as Bryce pulls me against his chest. I fold myself into Bryce’s arms, crying heart-wrenching sobs against the curve of his neck. Behind me, Hudson gentles his hand down my back, trying to soothe my heartache with his touch.
“Shh, baby. It’ll be okay,” he says repeatedly.
“It won’t be okay. It’ll never be okay. I’m bad luck. I’m damaged goods. I am never meant to be happy. It isn’t safe to love me. This is my fault, all of it. You’re better off without me. I should leave,” I say, pushing against Bryce’s chest.
Bryce grips me by my shoulders. “Look at me, Louisa.” I keep my gaze fixed on his chest.
“Damn it, look at me.” Holding back the tears, I look up at him.
“Don’t say that, don’t ever say that again. Do you hear me, Louisa? You’re not damaged goods. None of this is your fault. We’re not better off without you. I love you, goddamn it. I love you.” Bryce crushes me against his chest once more, squeezing me tightly. I curl my arms around his back, clawing at his top as I cry harder. It’s like all the years of heartache have been uncorked and I am powerless to stop it from spilling out.
“Sweetheart, it will be okay. We’ll be okay,” Bryce reassures me. He holds me until I have no tears left.
“Bryce, may I?” Hudson says after a little while. The wracking sobs may have subsided, but the tears have not. “There’s something I need to say to Louisa.”