Safe Word

by Mummert, Teresa

  “I had no choice. I had another guy with me. If he had mentioned it and I said nothing I would have been in the gutter. You should have gotten rid of her, sent her into protective custody. You brought this on. Her death is on you!” He pulled out his phone and barked a few orders. I held out a hand to Rose and she took it, completely in shock. I pulled her to her feet and into my arms. I pressed my body flat against hers, needing to feel the heat of her and the steady beating of her heart. I turned her away from Amber’s body and stroked her hair as the tears rolled down my cheeks. The walls I had built around myself had finally crumbled, leaving me buried in the rubble below.

  “It’s over,” I said to her as I ran my hand over her hair and tried to steady my breathing to keep her calm. I was going numb, wanting to desperately block out everything, but I was pulled right back into the reality of the situation.

  “Not quite. I just got a promotion. This deal needs to go off, and I need to make it happen. We have the potential to take down a rival mob with this, and you aren’t going to fuck it up again.”

  “What the fuck does that mean? How many people need to die for you to put an end to this shit?”

  “As many as it takes. I’ll be saving thousands in the long run. Every war has casualties, Bishop. This is about the bigger picture.” A small silver car with heavily tinted windows pulled up beside us and Whitey slipped his gun inside his coat before nodding once and getting into the passenger side. It pulled off in a hurry, leaving us to process what had just happened.

  Several more cars approached us and I sighed with relief when I recognized them as unmarked police cruisers. Brock stepped out and glanced down at Amber’s and Danny’s bodies.

  “Colton Bishop, I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Daniel Abruzzo.”

  “What?” Rose called out in shock as I unraveled my arms from her waist.

  “Brock, you can’t do this. You know this isn’t fucking right.”

  He nodded and walked toward me. I turned around, staring Rose in the eye. I had been so close to having my forever with her, and now it was being taken away again. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

  “See the stars, Rose,” I called out, hoping that one day I would be able to find her again. It was selfish and I knew I was giving her false hope, but if there were any way possible for us to be together again, I would take it.

  Brock placed the handcuffs on my wrists and took me to his cruiser, leaning me over the back end and kicking my feet farther apart.

  “No! Cole, tell them you didn’t do it! Tell them!” Rose called out from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at her and my heart broke. She was being held back as she fought to get to me. I pulled my eyes away from her and tried to block out her pleas.

  “Please don’t let them take him. Mom!” Rose cried out as she pulled on her mother’s shirt. Her mother stood with her arms folded over her chest, shaking her head.

  “He stole from us. You really want to protect him?” Craig asked with a smug look on his face. The female officer tightened the cuffs around my wrists.

  “I just want what’s best for you.” Craig placed his hand on her shoulder, his eyes locked on mine. I spit in his face and was jerked backward by the cold metal that bound my hands together.

  “He didn’t steal anything!”

  I wanted so desperately to hear her say that I was with her. It wasn’t possible for me to be the one who stole jewelry from her house while her parents were at dinner. In the end it was better she said nothing. Her safety was more important than my ego. It killed me to not be able to protect her while I was gone but, thankfully, another string of robberies had cleared my name. Rose was never the same after that. Her eyes no longer shined and she had virtually given up. I swore I would make Craig pay for whatever he had done to her while I was gone.

  “You know I don’t have anything.” The hot metal of the car burned through my clothing. I watched the police officers from the other cruiser talk to Rose, urging her to get inside the vehicle willingly. She wasn’t being arrested for anything and I was thankful that at least she would not be used as a pawn for the government in this whole mess. Maybe she could finally start over. Brock rattled off my rights as he pulled open the back door to the car. I slipped inside as I watched the woman I loved get in the car in front of us. Seconds later an ambulance and a coroner arrived, along with several other police cars. I laid my head against the cool vinyl seat and closed my eyes as my head throbbed. Brock got into the car and sighed loudly.

  “I had no choice but to do it this way.”

  “What is going to happen to her?” I kept my eyes closed as I spoke, not wanting to break down.

  “It’s possible some of Danny’s friends will try to come for her, now that you have been named his murderer. I will get her into witness protection.”

  I nodded to myself and my chest tightened. I was thankful that she would be taken care of. That was all I ever wanted for her.

  “We knew it could end this way, Bishop. This way she is safe.”

  “And me? What happens now?”

  “You go to jail; we get you put in solitary, which will be the best way to get you on the outside with no one knowing. We report that you committed suicide and Colton Bishop ceases to exist.”

  “My life ends with me looking like more of a criminal and Rose thinks I killed myself.”

  “So you start a new life. You fall into a new job. At least she knows you aren’t a murderer.”

  My eyes met his in the rearview mirror as he put the car into drive and pulled out of the dusty lot in the opposite direction as the other car.

  “The government will really protect her when she knows their secret?” I wished I could explain to her what she had just witnessed; she was a smart girl, but I know I still came out of this looking like a criminal.

  “They aren’t animals, Bishop. They know she will be scared for her life and she won’t have you to protect her any longer. She isn’t going to be making an appearance on Fox News anytime soon. They will make sure she has a great new start. She will move on. Isn’t that what you want?”

  I nodded, feeling the tears begin to form. This is what I wanted for her. She deserved a real second chance.

  “What sort of new job?”

  “You fucked this one up royally. The way they see it, you owe them.”

  Epilogue

  It had been four years since Colton Bishop hung himself in his cell. I looked in the mirror and saw my shorn hair and clean-shaven face. I looked older, weathered and tanned from the hot California sun. I was a new man in a new town, using my connections to get what I wanted. Now I stood at the mirror rubbing sunscreen on my shoulders.

  “If you’re not ready in ten minutes we are leaving without you, Cam.” Mindy leaned her head in the doorway, her soft blonde curls framing her face. She was your typical California girl, never wearing anything but a bathing suit if she could help it, and today she had blessed us with a white bikini that looked amazing against her tan. She winked at me with blue eyes that matched mine and smiled, revealing deep dimples in her cheeks.

  “I’m waiting on Drake.” I grinned and turned off the light and stepped into the hallway.

  “The wait is over my friend,” Drake yelled as he wrapped his arm over Mindy’s shoulders. She laughed and put her hand on his stomach before kissing his cheek.

  Drake had short chestnut hair that stuck up in every direction like he had gotten fucking electrocuted. He actually styled it that way on purpose. He wore board shorts like mine, with a polo shirt that had the collar popped. Fucking douchebag. He and Mindy had been together for six months and because of their mutual love for money they were the perfect couple, even if she did eye-fuck me every chance she got.

  “The guys will be meeting us at the boat,” he said as he raised his free hand. I cringed inwardly as I gave him a high five. I had been putting up with this shit for nearly a month. I was in between jobs and tak
ing the time to reinvent myself for the next task sent down from the suits. They wanted me as part of the in crowd. I would be off to Miami in only a few weeks to immerse myself in the drug world of the overly privileged. I’d get to party with models and have all the money I could ask for and I wanted none of it.

  “Who all is coming?” I asked as I walked out of the front door of his overpriced mansion.

  “Everyone!” He laughed as he set the alarm and pulled the front door closed.

  “You gonna let your little brother tag along?” His brother was sixteen and on his way to becoming a full-fledged tool just like Drake.

  “Yeah, but if he gives me any shit he’s going overboard.”

  I smiled as I slipped into the passenger seat of his white Land Rover. Jimmy coming meant his tutor would be coming. I hadn’t met her yet and Drake went on and on about how much he wanted to fuck her.

  “I just want to go to the spa.” Mindy was in the back seat inspecting her nails.

  “You’ll get your chance, baby. I want to get on the water for a few hours. Then we can party all night at the villa. You chicks can do whatever you want from there.” He craned his neck to watch her in the mirror.

  I put down my window and inhaled the salty smell of the ocean. Drake cranked the air conditioning and it brought me back to Amber yelling at me for letting all the bought air out. My cell phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket, rolling my eyes.

  “Yeah?” I answered and looked over at Drake. “Some chick from the club last week,” I whispered to him before focusing on my call.

  “Some chick? I thought I was more special to you,” Brock joked.

  “This important? I’m kind of busy.” I looked over at Drake, who was flipping through the satellite radio stations for a decent song.

  “You think I called you to talk about the stripper I banged last night? She was fucking kinky and the shit she did with her tongue…mind-blowing.”

  I laughed and shook my head, glad to have thousands of miles between myself and that fucking pervert, but he was the only connection to my old life. Part of me missed him because he reminded me of the fact that Rose was real, not just a figment of my imagination.

  “Get to the point.”

  “Where are you? You are supposed to check in at Las Vegas in two days.”

  “I’ll be there.” My tone was less playful. I knew they still didn’t trust me after what had happened in New York, but I had more than proven myself to be loyal in the last four years.

  “Don’t be late.”

  I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket as I turned up the radio and let the noise drown out my thoughts.

  My only goal in life was to find Rose and make sure that her life had changed for the better. I needed to know that her story didn’t end back in New York. There was only one place I knew that she would come, but so far all of my leads had been dead ends. I drifted in and out of memories until the car finally pulled to a stop by the water.

  As I stepped onto the boat, it swayed in the water. I preferred to keep myself on dry land. No need to test fate more than I already had.

  “Hey, Cam.” Jimmy was sprawled out on a lounge chair on the deck of the boat, his hands behind his head.

  “How’s it going, Jimmy?”

  He shrugged and gave me smile, his mouth full of braces. He looked exactly like I would picture Drake at his age.

  “He’s living the good life.” Drake patted me on the shoulder as he boarded the boat.

  “Must be nice.”

  “I’ve seen your car, Cam. You’re living it too.” Jimmy seemed so much younger than I had at his age. I was already dealing with abuse and neglect and struggling to protect the girl I loved at sixteen. That gave me hope. The world wasn’t such a bad place. It wasn’t great for everyone but a lucky few get to grow up as children and not have the burden of the world on their shoulders.

  “You bring a chick?” Jimmy asked as he looked around me.

  “Just me, Jimmy. You know I can’t be tied down.” I smiled, but my chest tightened. It was easy to become a new person. To fake a past and create false memories, but denying that I had ever loved felt like the ultimate act of betrayal.

  “I hear that.” He sat up and slapped my hand in some weird handshake that I never did understand. I bumped my fist against his and walked around his chair to stare off at the ocean. Mindy slid beside me, her arm against mine as she leaned over the railing with a mischievous smile on her face.

  “Not much of a sailor?” She nudged me playfully.

  “I prefer my feet on solid ground. You keep your head in the clouds.”

  She feigned being offended as she bumped into me again. I was bored with her flirting and while it was nice to have friends, I trusted and became close to no one. It hurt too much to have them ripped away.

  “You flirtin’ with my girl?” Drake came up behind us and flung his arm over Mindy’s shoulders. I gave my biggest smile even though I knew this asshole took every opportunity he could to cheat on Mindy.

  “How could I not?”

  “I’ll let you have seconds!” He laughed and Mindy jammed her elbow in his ribs, not having to fake her anger.

  “You asshole!” she yelled and stalked off to the back of the boat to mingle with others.

  “You have a way with woman.” I looked back out over the water.

  “It’s a gift.” He shrugged as he tapped his fingers absentmindedly against the boat.

  “Speaking of which, I invited a few hotties along for you.”

  I rolled my eyes as I cracked my neck.

  “I know. I know. You are picky as shit, but these chicks are prime, man. One of them is the heir to diet-pill fortune and the other is the daughter of an actor. You can’t go wrong.”

  “Have you slept with either of them?”

  “I had to check out the merchandise.” He smirked and I had to restrain myself from knocking him over the railing. “Let’s grab a drink and I’ll introduce you.”

  The party was in full swing and by that I mean all of the guys were wasted on wine coolers and the women looked bored but hopeful they would get their claws into a man with money. Tiffany, the daughter of the prominent actor, had been talking my ear off for an hour about the plight of being the child of a famous actor. Her bottled blonde hair hung dead straight down her back, her eyes, green and virtually lifeless.

  I filled her in on what it is like to be an agent who jet sets around the world discovering promising young talent, such as herself. It was the perfect cover to explain away my constant travel. It also made me a magnet for young women with severe self-esteem issues, which I could have lived without. I was only in California for one reason.

  When the boat finally docked, I stumbled. I had only nursed one glass all night but had left everyone under the impression I was wasted. I couldn’t take another minute of this fake existence. Tiffany grabbed my wrist and pulled my arm over her shoulders.

  “I have to go change for the party. You wanna come help me pick out something to wear?” She pushed out her lower lip in a fake pout.

  “I’d love to but I think I’ve had a little too much to drink. I think I should lie down.”

  “We could do that too.” She giggled and I rolled my eyes, pulling my arm off her so I could retrieve my hotel key card.

  “Bonfire in twenty.” Drake swiped his card before I could and pulled open the private entrance to the Hotel Loriette.

  “I may be a little late. I think I’m a little seasick.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of him.” Tiffany snuggled into my side. I carefully pried her off my body.

  “No. You should go to the spa with the girls. I’ll be out later. I promise.” I winked at her and she smiled brightly as she wrapped her arm in Mindy’s and they took off ahead of us to discuss their pampering.

  “You sure you’re all right?” Drake asked, and I nodded as we entered the elevator. He swiped his card again and hit the button for the sixth floor. I pressed
five and tried not to smile. I would finally have a moment’s peace.

  I stepped off on my floor after assuring everyone I would make an appearance later on. After I safely navigated the halls to my room and stepped inside, I found my luggage, which I’d had delivered before the trip, tucked away in the closet. I pulled it out and tossed it onto the bed. I grabbed an old pair of jeans and a navy-blue T-shirt.

  I watched the clock on the wall and waited until I knew all of the guests from our group would be enjoying their bonfire on the beach and the women would be off doing their own thing.

  I grabbed my cell phone and dialed the hotel.

  “Hotel Loriette, how may I assist you?”

  “My name is Roland Pittman, head of security for Mr. Loriette.”

  There was a brief pause as the young woman tried to process what I was saying.

  “Yes of course. How may I help you, sir?”

  “Mr. Loriette would like to make an appearance at the hotel this the evening. I’ll need to make sure the security is up to par.”

  “Well, of course. We are fully staffed for the weekend.”

  “Great. That’s good to hear. I’ll also be needing a list of the guests staying for the next two days.”

  “I’m not sure I can do that, sir.”

  “Look, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but you’re putting me in a tight position. A former friend of Mr. Loriette’s may be here this weekend, and since his plans have changed and his wife has decided to join him, things could get a little messy. We wouldn’t want that for him.”

  “Of course not, sir.”

  “I just need to know if a woman by the name of Ruby Hayes has checked in within the last forty-eight hours. Can you do that for me, sweetheart? It would make Mr. Loriette very happy.”

  I listened to her type away on her computer as she searched for the guest in her system.

  “Oh, my. She checked in a few hours ago into room 512. Her room was paid for by a Mr. Drake Morrison. I will send security up to her room now.”