by Dahlia Rose
“So the date is set then?” Adrian asked.
“Next Friday, after the bar closes and River Street
is empty,” Adrian replied. “You’ll have to take that information to Jordan as well. The eyes will be watching me more than ever.”
He said it and tried to believe it. There was no other option, because if it was over, what was all this for in the first place? Nothing would be worth a damn thing without Sasha to share it with.
* * * *
A few days later, Adrian sat waiting for Tom to come back from Sasha’s house. He’d sent him there to check on her and to see if anyone was watching her just in case she was still in danger. It was Sunday and the bar was still in the midst of the early afternoon lunch, so it was relatively quiet. When Ton finally strode in and sat next at the bar, he said nothing for a few minutes.
Adrian slid a beer in front of his friend and asked impatiently, “Well, how did it go?”
Tom took a sip from the bottle of Guinness. “Not good.”
“Are you going to elaborate, or do you want me to shake it out of you?” Adrian snapped. After the incident with Sasha he’d found his mood getting progressively worse.
“I’d like to see you try it,” Tom replied. “You need to curb that attitude with me. I’m not afraid to punch you.”
Adrian refused to apologize. “Just tell me what happened.”
“For one I stood out there ringing the doorbell for more than a bloody hour. Her car was there, and she refused to even say hello through the intercom,” Tom began. “Then a neighbor was leaving and with my usual charm I got some information. Sasha has not left her apartment in days, nor has she been playing her usual ghostly roil on the balcony I was told. None of her friends have come by, and her answering machine is full.”
“Maybe she’s gone out of town. Oh shit, you don’t think that John and his people did anything, do you?” Adrian felt anger and panic rise in his chest.
Tom shook his head. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. She’s there. The friendly neighbor—Diane is her name—let me in after I gave her some flimsy excuse about her having some paperwork. She was certain that nothing was wrong with Sasha because she was picking up her mail in the foyer of the building. I rang her doorbell when I got upstairs, and she came to the door looking disheveled and wearing glasses. To which when she saw my face, she told me in no uncertain terms get away from her door. If not she would call her police friend and get me arrested, the end.”
“So she is just holed up in her apartment,” Adrian asked.
“It’s messy too. When she opened the door I could see food takeout cartons and papers all over the place,” Tom commented. “I tried to tell her that everything was not as it seems, that she might want to listen to you if you came calling. When she heard your name, she couldn’t help but sob, and then she slammed the door in my face.”
“I thought you said the end before.” Adrian hit his hand against the bar, and everyone close by jumped.
“Calm yourself before we have no customers,” Ton snapped. ‘You thought it would be easy to get her back, because you are the charming Adrian Faraday. Boyo, you broke her heart. Even if it was for the right reasons, you did it the wrong bloody way. Now take your lumps.”
“I’ll take my lumps alright, right out of John’s hide,” Adrian growled.
Chapter Six
The plan went off without a hitch. So perfect that it played out like a television show where the bad guys were in jail and all was right in the world. The bar closed, and when the last of the cars pulled out of the parking lot, and cabs were called to usher the drunk tourists back to their hotels, John strode in. He tried to look dapper in jeans that covered his fat body and a leather jacket while wearing sunglasses even though it was the middle of the night. Valerie held his hand like the devoted concubine, and Adrian wondered if the idiot knew that she had tried to use her body to snag him. Adrian had no doubt women like Valerie did what needed to be done. She didn’t meet his gaze, and that old him her feelings still smarted from his words.
“Adrian Faraday, how good to see you!” John called out and held out his hand. “We should have a drink.”
“We’re not here to pretend we like each other, John. Let’s get this over with,” he snapped. “You want your goods. Let’s go get them.”
He watched John’s eyes turn cold. “In the old days we conducted business like men, civilized, and people knew how to treat their elders.”
“You are not my family hence I don’t have to respect you. You held my uncle over a barrel of his own choosing. Let it be known I don’t have such a plight,” he replied.
He watched Valerie hide a smirk, and he narrowed his eyes at the woman dressed in leather pants and a top. What’s that about? More than likely Valerie had another ace up her sleeve. Women like her didn’t ever walk without a plan B, and from the look on her face, she had one. The poor bastard at her side wouldn’t see the betrayal when it came.
Two of John’s men grabbed Adrian and punched him in the gut. Tom caught the one closest to him around the neck in a chokehold that could easily break a neck. Adrian came up with a fist and made sure he connected with the other man’s nose. He felt great satisfaction in hearing the bone break under his fist and blood gush.
“Enough!” John called out. “Must we resort to a bar brawl? We’ll be doing this a long time, and there is money to be made. Let’s go get the goods, and we can leave his bar without wood being splintered.”
“Heel, boys.” Adrian grinned wickedly.
Tom shoved the other man away, and they went back to their boss’s side. From there, it was John who led the way through Fergus’s tunnels. He’d been there a few times so while he walked he chatted about Ireland and maybe visiting taking a trip there in the fall. Adrian refused to be pulled into the conversation, so after awhile John, directed his attention to Valerie. They stood at the opening of the tunnel hidden by underbrush under the river and close to the bridge. It looked like an overgrowth of thorns and bushes, so of course no one would be expecting that behind all that a tunnel led to River Street
. The motor of a speedboat was heard, and soon the pristine white machine came across the river moving with sleek speed. When the boat came close to the shore, the driver cut the engine and threw a rope to the bank. John’s men began pulling it in.
“Help them,” John ordered.
“Fuck no. I’m not your lackey, nor is Tom,” Adrian shot back.
“You’ve got balls.” John signed. “Your impudence is going to get you killed.”
“When you are ready let me know. I’ll give you a good fight,” he replied mildly.
John shook his head and watched as his men finally had the boat close enough to shore they could get the cargo off its deck. Of course they had to get their feet wet, but Adrian said nothing. Finally, John moved over to the crate and opened one. He cut a package and pulled a drug test kit from his pocket to test the purity of his heroin. The big grin on his face told Adrian he was satisfied, and his men began to roll it into the tunnels. As soon as it was back on Faraday property, the cops moved in with lights and sirens. They seemed to come out of the darkness, loud voices screaming for them to drop to the ground, and they all complied.
Jordan went over to the merchandise and turned to Adrian with a grin. “This is the mother load. You did good.”
John turned to him in rage. “You did this? You will fucking die for it!”
“Can we add threatening to kill me to the charge?” Adrian asked.
“Sure. If you stub your toe, we’ll tack on another fifty years to his charge,” Jordan replied. He shook Valerie’s hand. “Good Job, detective.”
Adrian couldn’t help that his mouth dropped open. “Detective, why didn’t you tell me she was on the inside all this time?”
“Because we needed more than the drugs. We needed the paper and money trail, and she got us that.” Jordan grinned. “She sure had you fooled. The wire picked up the nasty things yo
u had to say to her. Maybe you should think about an apology.”
“Don’t worry. It’s all part of the job,” Valerie replied. “I’ll talk to your girl if you need me to.”
“I’ll handle my own business, thanks,” Adrian replied and then said grudgingly, “I’ll think about the apology though.”
Valerie grinned. “You do that.”
The wrap up and the witness statements went on through the night. John’s men folded and told on his dirty dealings, sealing the old man’s fate. By nine in the morning Adrian was completely exhausted, but his mind turned to Sasha, and instead of going home, he drove directly to her house. Sasha came out looking better than ever in a rose business suit and carrying a large portfolio case. Her hair that usually hung lose was pulled into a tight bun, and she was wearing sunglasses. Unable to help himself Adrian ran up to her. If she was surprised to see him, the dark tint of the glasses hid it well. But the chill that came off her body and the rigid way she held her shoulders told him everything was far from ok.
Adrian shoved his hands in his pockets. If he didn’t he would end up grabbing her to him. “Hey.”
She inclined her head and only said his name. “Adrian.”
Sasha wasn’t going to give an inch, so he went on. “Everything I said to you, everything you saw was a lie. Baby, I was trying to protect you. I can tell you everything now. My uncle left me his deal with some blasted drug dealer. I was working with the cops to get him in jail. The girl in my apartment was working for John, but then I found out she was an undercover detective. They threatened to kill you, baby. I couldn’t let you be hurt, so I had to send you away for your own protection.”
“So you decided to hurt me in another way instead?” She gave a somber laugh. “You know how people say you can hear a glimmer of truth in the lies. I heard it from you, the talk about me being a child, how I didn’t complete my thesis and I needed to grow up. I got all that. You were always on my ass about my degree. Hell at one point you asked about my rent. I’m glad your police raid or whatever worked out. I’m glad you are safe. But I took your advice. I grew up and finished my thesis, sent it in. I’m on my way for my final interview and then off to another interview for a job in the career field I was taught in.”
“What about your own business?” Adrian asked. “That was your dream.” He missed her the way she was, and it killed him that he was the cause of this person that was in front of him. This was not his Sasha.
“Dreams fade when the sun rises and you get up for a new day.” Sasha moved past him to go to her car. “Goodbye, Adrian.”
The finality of her words struck him and on instinct he whirled her around and pulled her tight against him. For a moment, a small instant in time, she relaxed into his touch, but just as quickly as it happened, he felt her body go rigid and hard as she put the wall back in place.
“Let me go,” she said quietly. “Please, let me go.”
No matter what she said, he heard the fragility in her voice. She was holding herself together as hard as she could so he couldn’t hurt her again.
“I won’t let you go, and I won’t give up on you,” he muttered thickly even as his arms freed her and she turned to the car. He watched her get in and drive away before he got into his own vehicle and left. He would be back, wouldn’t let this be the end of something so important. Adrian was about to scale her walls and invade her heart once more, and this time he was never leaving again.
* * * *
Sasha held it together through her thesis interview to explain her theories. She didn’t even remember half the questions she answered, and in an hour it was over. She grabbed a bottle of water from a store. She couldn’t eat because she knew it would not stay down. So she drank the water to stay hydrated in the Savannah heat and went to her job interview. There too she held her own, answered, smiled, laughed, and it all felt so fake. She assumed it went well because she came out with a handshake and a start date for her new job in two weeks. Missions accomplished. She proved to everyone she could do it. She wasn’t a screw up or living in a reality of her own. She was in the real world where she could conquer anything she put her mind to.
Yet these thoughts brought her no satisfaction or happiness, just a gut-wrenching knowledge that everything was forced. Not in her time but on another schedule. Sasha walked into the coolness of her apartment and dropped her portfolio on the floor. She stepped out of her professional three inch heels and threw the business coat aside, not caring where it landed. The skirt came off, and that too was left lying where it lay. By the time Sasha climbed into bed, she was in her bra and panties. It was only then that she let the pain in and hugged her knees to her while she cried. He hurt me so bad, she thought and cried all the while. His explanation made sense, but no one should be that cruel to protect someone they loved.
She didn’t understand the bluntness of it, and maybe that’s why it hurt so bad. In her worldly ways Sasha realized that she was still naive and innocent enough to be hurt, and how would she overcome that? What if she let him in and he destroyed her again? Sasha cried until she fell asleep and knocking on her door made her get up with scratchy eyes that felt swollen. She opened the door without even caring to ask who it was, and Tom stood holding lilies in one hand and roses in the other.
“These are from me because I kinda feel bad that I didn’t stop you fast enough and you got hurt feelings.” He extended out the lilies. “These roses are from Adrian ’cause he’s miserable without you, and if he snaps at me one more time I’m going to punch him. He is so very sorry, Sasha.”
She looked up at the tall man with the Irish lilt to his deep bass voice. His eyes held sadness, and as big as he was he shuffled his feet.
“I’ll take yours ’cause you’re not at fault.” She took his lilies. She grabbed the roses and hit him in the chest with them until they fell apart and left their red petals across the hallway floor. “I don’t want his.” She could tell that Adrian was in the hallway. She could sense him as easily as she could feel her heart beating. She stuck her head past Tom’s big frame to look at the man who broke her heart. “That is what I think of your flowers, Adrian Faraday. Thanks for the flowers, Tom.”
She closed the door in Tom’s grinning face and heard Adrian yell from behind the door. “You’ll not get rid of me that easy, Sasha. I will be back.”
“I’ll be waiting,” she yelled back.
“That’s my fire. You keep it up, a thaisce!”
She pressed herself against the door and heard Tom calling him crazy as they went down the stairs. His treasure, the words were etched into her soul. She hated that her heart still jumped at his words, wished she could cut him out of her world and pretend that it was ok. Hell she couldn’t deny that she still loved him, but damn she was going to make him work for his supper. She didn’t think he would have been back that day, but she heard singing from the backyard again. Sasha calmly got up from watching TV and filled a big pot of water. She went out to her bedroom balcony and threw it out onto Adrian, cutting off his singing as he sputtered and coughed from being doused.
“Cruel, Sasha, so cruel!” he called up to her.
“That’s what you do when cats yowl outside your window,” she retorted.
“I’m not giving up,” Adrian yelled. “I’ve been devoted to you from the very beginning.”
“You hurt me!” Sasha blurted out.
“Baby, please understand. I love you. God, I love you so much!” he implored.
“Uh huh.” She closed the balcony door and left him outside.
He began to sing again louder than ever, until one of the neighbors came out and promised to pay him to sing at her daughter’s wedding. He left after the song was done and yelled, “I love you, my treasure.”
One of her neighbors called and told her to forgive him because he was a persistent Irishman. Plus, he didn’t need him singing outside every night since his wife was enjoying the show a little too much. She said she would think about it and went to bed. She
had to admit, it was on her mind when she went to sleep.
The morning came, and it was Sunday, but instead of her usual of sleeping in and just relaxing, she was roused from bed by loud pounding on her door. She pulled on a pair of shorts and a top not knowing what to expect. It was lucky she did because when she opened the door she was hauled over Tom’s shoulder and carried downstairs.
“What the hell are you doing?” she screeched. “Tom, I don’t know what your last name is, put me down!”
“Certainly not. I can’t have you slamming the door in my face now can I? There’s something you have to see. I’ve already taken pictures, but it has to be seen in person,” Tom said. “Oh, by the way, my last name is Shea, Thomas Shea.”
“Uh huh, well, Tom Shea, is this kidnapping?” Sasha asked.
“Nope better than that.” Tom’s voice held humor, and she soon saw why.
There were balloons covering the entire sidewalk in front of her apartment building, along with fire breathers, stilt walkers, gymnasts, and clowns. Tourists and Savannah residents alike were watching the show that came with music. But one clown caught her attention, a tall one with a sad face. He wore a red clown suit and red nose, but his eyes wear painted on sad and his mouth too. It was the sweetest thing she ever saw, but when he held up a sign that said ‘Forgive me’ she felt her heart melt. He threw that down and the next one said, ‘I love you, my sweet treasure.’ That sign was thrown on the ground, and the last one said, ‘Marry me, and I will love you for the rest of my life.’
The crowd took up the chant of marry him as he walked forward slowly. This time he pulled out fake roses that she couldn’t destroy, and attached to one a ring hung, and it glinted in the sunlight.
He sank to his knees in front of her. “Turn my frown upside down. Say you’ll be mine.”
She nodded and she could feel the smile that was on her face carry straight to her heart. “I guess I can forgive you, but, Adrian Faraday, if you hurt me again, I’ll get drastic.”