Silver Dove (Silver #2)

by E. J. Shortall

  “I love you, Ambs. I’ll get this mess straightened out I promise you,” I whispered and gently caressed the soft skin of her cheek. She didn’t move when I bent over and placed a soft kiss to her slightly parted lips. This woman was my life and I had to do whatever I needed to do in order to protect her.

  Twenty minutes later I was sitting in my parked car outside Sid’s Café. This had been the first place I thought of to confront them; knowing that they frequented the place regularly. Sitting here, though, I began to question if I’d done the right thing. Should I have tried to get more intel before pursuing them? Should I have come with backup in case things turned nasty? “Fuuuuck,” I hollered into the car, feeling the frustrations of everything brewing by the second. I had to do something… anything, but with my emotions so clouded I just couldn’t think straight.

  My eyes caught on him entering Sid’s and my decision was made. I was here, he was here… alone. Perfect! Without any further thought I jumped out of the car and made my way into the café.

  “Why if it isn’t my brother-in-law,” Andre smirked as I dropped down in the seat opposite him.

  “Ex, and wasn’t that a fucking wonderful lie?” I said between clenched teeth.

  He crossed his arms and rested them on the table in front of him. “Now, now, Craig. No need to be such a bitch.”

  I leaned in. “I’m not here to catch up on old times, Andre. I’m here to warn you to back the fuck off. Enough is enough.”

  “What can I get you?” Sid asked stopping at the end of the table and watching us closely as we continued glaring at each other.

  “I’m good,” I said not taking my eyes off Andre.

  “I’ll have the works, Sid. You know me, growing boy and all.” Sid rolled his eyes and walked off.

  “And what exactly are you warning me to back off from?” Andre eventually asked slouching back in his seat.

  “James, Amber… not fucking cool! You have issues, you take them up with me. You don’t fucking murder innocent people to get back at me for not giving your sister what she didn’t deserve anyway.”

  “Whoa! What the fuck are you insinuating here, Craig? Because from where I’m sitting you just implied I killed someone. That’s a pretty disparaging statement you’re making.” He sat forward in his seat once again, leaning over the table with a menacing glare.

  “I’m not insinuating or implying shit. I’m telling you I know you were involved in James’s attack and what you did to Amber just doesn’t sit well with me. The only reason I’m not pulling the same shit on you right now is because I need to be there to support her.”

  “I don’t know what you’re fucking talking about.”

  “Don’t give me that bullshit,” I roared.

  “Think what you fucking like, Craig, but I’ll tell you right now, I’ve done nothing to your precious princess. Now if you don’t mind, I came in here to enjoy a quiet meal.” He picked up the newspaper in front of him and started reading, effectively dismissing me.

  “Don’t fucking ignore me. This shit ends now, Andre. I swear if something else happens to Amber or someone close to me, I will take you, your brother and your whole fucking family down.”

  He slammed the paper back down on the table. “You and who’s army? The fancy fucking suits that call themselves lawyers? Give me a break!” he laughed mirthlessly.

  I moved in closer and dropped my voice. “Andre, I know you killed James and it is only a matter of time until you are brought down for what you did.” He visibly paled but didn’t move. “I also know you attacked Amber and killed my baby and for that I will get retribution, mark my words.”

  Our menacing gazes remained locked, neither one backing down or showing any weakness. “Good luck with proving the James thing and I don’t have a fucking clue what you are talking about with Amber. I haven’t touched the bitch.”

  I was out of my seat leaning over the table with my hand gripping his t-shirt in the blink of an eye. “Don’t fucking talk about my fiancée like that. I know you did it, you or your dick of a brother, she saw you.”

  “Well, whatever she saw it wasn’t me. Damn, did I miss an opportunity?”

  Gripping the t-shirt tighter I was getting ready to beat him to a pulp right there in Sid’s, consequences be damned. “Watch yourself, Andre. You forget I grew up around you guys, I’m not the fucking pussy you take me for.” I glanced up and saw a furious Sid walking toward us. Letting go of Andre’s shirt I shoved him back into his seat. “Just watch your fucking back.”

  As I strode away Andre called out from behind me, “Think what you fucking like, Craig, but I had nothing to do with whatever happened to Amber.” I didn’t stop or reply. I needed air.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Amber

  I’d been so exhausted from everything that I’d actually managed to cry myself into a somewhat restful sleep. When I woke the room was bathed in a golden glow from the setting sun, and for a while I just lay there transfixed by the changing colours in the sky. It had been a tough few months, and I needed that alone time to gather my thoughts.

  When I walked into the kitchen ten minutes later I was surprised to see Val sitting at the table. “Oh, Amber, sweetheart. How are you feeling?” she greeted me, looking up from the book she’d been reading.

  “Where’s Craig?” I asked, looking around.

  She watched me with sympathetic eyes as I walked over to join her at the table. “He asked me to come over while he popped out?”

  “Where did he go?”

  Her smile faded. “I don’t know, he didn’t say. Are you okay?”

  I frowned wondering where he’d gone. He’d said he would be working from home all day, that he would be around if I needed him. “I’m okay, I guess. Well, as well as can be expected.”

  Val watched me nervously. “Amber, do you… would you like to talk about it?”

  Shaking my head I tried to keep my composure. I wasn’t ready to try and explain to others how lost I felt.

  “Okay, well when you’re ready, if you want to, you know where I am.” I managed a small smile. Val was great and I appreciated her concern but I just needed time.

  After a minute of awkward silence I stood to go and make myself a coffee. As I watched the machine do its thing it suddenly occurred to me that things would revert back to how they were… before. I could drink coffee again and didn’t have to worry about what I was eating. If I wanted a glass of wine I could have it. Normal! But it felt odd, it wasn’t right, it wasn’t normal. Those restrictions to my diet had become second nature straight away, an unconscious act of protecting my baby, but now they weren’t needed. It was almost as if the last few weeks had all been nothing but a figment of my imagination. I squeezed my eyes closed and took a deep breath to try and keep the tears away. I needed to be strong!

  A knock on the door had me opening my eyes and turning around. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I’ll get it. You make your drink.” Val stood and with a smile and nodded at the coffee maker before walking out of the room. I was stirring sugar into the steaming dark liquid when Val came back.

  “Um, Amber?” She sounded anxious. “You have a visitor.”

  I plastered a smile on my face and gripped my mug tightly ready to turn and greet my unexpected guest, anticipating that it would be Becki.

  It wasn’t Becki.

  Startled, I shuddered as a sob tore from my throat and my cup crashed to the floor, scattering shattered china and scalding liquid everywhere. Standing beside Val was Marika looking at me forlornly holding a wriggling Giana.

  “Oh shit! Amber, I’m so sorry. God, I didn’t think. What a fucking idiot. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll leave. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She rambled and started backing up along the hallway.

  “No, wait!” I cried, trying hard to hold it together. I’d lost it with Craig earlier; I wasn’t going to do it again. “Don’t go, I’m okay, it’s fine.”

  I took a few tentative silent steps forward, my eyes l
ocked on Giana. Marika did the same toward me. When we were mere feet apart, Giana looked up and upon seeing me a beaming smile lit up her face and she squealed bouncing in Marika’s arms. The moment she flung herself forward toward me and I instinctively reached out to catch her, was the moment I broke down for the second time that day.

  “Amber, let me take her from you. I’m so sorry,” Marika said as I hugged Giana tight to my chest and breathed in her baby scent through my silent tears.

  “Amber, come and sit down,” Val said and tried to steer me to sit at the table.

  “Maybe this wasn’t-”

  “You really should take a-”

  Marika and Val were talking but it was just a jumble of noise in the distance. The smarting pain in my abdomen from twisting my wound to grab Giana was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. Having her in my arms brought every emotion, every feeling of loss and loneliness to the surface. I cuddled her and wondered what my baby would have looked like. Would we have had a boy or a girl? Would they have had Craig’s amazing green eyes? The song “Gone Too Soon” came to mind as I wept for the loss of my hopes and of the dreams our child would have brought us.

  “Come on, sweetheart, come and sit down.” Val wrapped an arm around my shoulder and urged me to walk into the living room. She helped me ease down onto the sofa and sat beside me leaving a hand resting gently on my arm. She didn’t try to talk, she didn’t try to take Giana from me, she left me to grieve and take comfort from the tot in my arms.

  A short while later my tears were shed and I sucked in a shuddering breath trying to pull myself together. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled and lifted a hand to wipe away my tears.

  Despite my overemotional state, Giana had fallen asleep in my arms and I couldn’t help the small smile from creeping across my face. Despite my despair and loss I couldn’t deny how much this little girl meant to me, especially now.

  “Marika, would you mind making Amber a drink?” Val asked and I sensed her eyes on me.

  I looked to Val and met her eyes; they were red and glittering with unshed tears, reminding me that I wasn’t alone in my feelings. There were people around me who were hurting too. Hurting for me, hurting for Craig and hurting for what they had also lost.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  Val gently squeezed my arm. “No need to thank me, sweetheart. I think you need to talk about things, though. Don’t bottle it all up.”

  “I’ll be okay, I just… I feel so empty and confused right now. Craig had only just really accepted the pregnancy and then poof, in the blink of an eye it was all over, cruelly snatched away.” I whispered.

  Marika re-joined us and set three mugs of coffee on the table. “Amber, I’m so sorry for upsetting you. I honestly didn’t think. I just wanted to pop by and see how you were. I’ve been so worried about you,” she said taking a seat in one of the armchairs.

  “It’s okay. I’m not going to lie and say it’s not upsetting seeing Giana, it is. But she is my niece and I love her, and holding her gives me a tiny bit of my strength back.” Her skin was warm and soft under my fingers as I stroked her chubby cheek.

  “You’ll get stronger every day, and then one day in the not too distant future you will hopefully be strong enough to move on and maybe try again,” Val said.

  I nodded. “I hope so.”

  “I hope so too.” Craig had arrived home and was standing behind me looking down at Giana. “How are you doing Pingu?”

  I wished people would stop asking how I was, if I was okay, could they do anything. I didn’t need to be molly coddled. Tilting my head back so I could look up at him I drew on his strength and smiled. “I’m doing better. Your mum is right, I need to give it time, process what has happened and then we can try again, if you want to.”

  “Sounds good to me, but only when you’ve recovered.” He bent forward and kissed the tip of my nose before turning to talk to his mum. Things were tough at that moment and I knew I had an emotional struggle ahead of me, but I had every faith that eventually things would be okay.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  July

  Amber

  Freedom, that’s what I had for the next several weeks. I’d left the school behind me for six weeks allowing me the choice to do exactly what I wanted, when I wanted. I had no plans other than to relax and enjoy the summer in our lovely garden with a book or several.

  The sun was beaming down and the temperature was in the high eighties. I had the top down on the white BMW convertible Craig had brought me and “You Make Me” by Avicii was blasting through the speakers. I was happily singing along and bobbing my head and shoulders to the beat. With my sunglasses on, hair blowing about in the breeze and cheerful music playing, I was feeling great, the lightest I’d been in a long time.

  Taking the left turn onto our street I immediately spotted Craig’s car parked on our driveway. I hadn’t expected him to be home so early. I pulled in next to his car and while the roof was closing and I gathered my things together my iPod shuffled to “Paradise” by Coldplay so I continued singing along. I glanced up and Craig was standing in the front doorway. He was casually leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest and was laughing at me.

  “Something funny?” I questioned walking up to him.

  “Nope!” he chuckled and nodded his head toward my car. “Good to see you’re getting proper use out of the car. I’m surprised you didn’t have “Summertime” drowning out the neighbours.”

  “That probably would have been on next,” I replied with a wink as I moved to walk past him and indoors. “What are you doing home so early anyway…” I trailed off as I stepped into the hallway and noticed several suitcases stacked against the wall. “Craig? What’s going on?”

  He moved up behind me and pulled me against his chest, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m taking you away for a few days,” he purred against my ear.

  I looked around at the numerous packed cases. “But Craig, there must be enough stuff here for a month away.” Stuff for a few days would fit in a single holdall or small case… “Wait, so my stuff is in there?” I pointed at the cases. “How did my stuff get in there?”

  “I had some help.”

  “Who helped? Or do I not want to know?” I asked turning around in his arms.

  He smiled. “Are you going to get angry if I tell you Becki came over?”

  I snuggled into his chest and soaked up his incredible scent. “That depends. Did you leave her alone at any point and did you check what she packed? She has this terrible habit of sneaking inappropriate things into my luggage.” I thought back to the racy item of lingerie she’d hidden in my case for my first trip away with Craig.

  He must have been thinking about it also because his chuckle reverberated through his chest. “One can only hope,” he joked which earned him a playful slap on the arm from me.

  “So where exactly is it we’re going with all of this, probably inappropriately packed, luggage?”

  “The Hilton. A car will be here in about half an hour so you better go freshen up or do whatever it is you ladies do,” he said grinning.

  “Half an hour?” I shrieked and sprang backward out of his arms. “I’ll never be ready in half an hour.”

  Craig ignored my outburst and started walking toward the study. “You’re ready now if need be, Ambs. Everything you might possibly need is in the cases, trust me,” he shouted over his shoulder as he stepped into the room. I watched as he walked over to the hidden safe where he kept all of our important documents and a few items of jewellery he’d inherited from his grandmother.

  I was stuck, rooted to the spot looking at the cases bewildered by the whole impromptu trip when Craig called out again, “Um, Ambs?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Twenty Five minutes. Tick Tock,” he chortled as he moved around in the study.

  I moved quickly rushing up to the bathroom and was relieved to find there were still some toiletries left in place. I took a very quick shower a
nd rummaged around the clothes left in the wardrobe for something to wear. It didn’t escape my notice that there were a hell of a lot of clothes and accessories missing for just a few days away. I pulled some linen trousers and a light floaty top off their hangers and dressed quickly. I was just pulling my hair back into a messy bun when Craig shouted up that we needed to leave.

  Walking back downstairs, I came to a screeching halt at the sight of a rather dapper looking man dressed in a charcoal grey chauffeur’s suit. He was taking our luggage out to a large, luxury car. Keeping my eyes on the guy I asked Craig, “Why is there a well-dressed gentleman putting our stuff in that car? Why aren’t we just taking your Rover?”

  “So many questions,” he joked and flicked the tip of my nose as he took the last of the bags out to the driver. I watched as he spoke to the driver who nodded and moved around to stand by the rear door. “Are you ready?” Craig asked walking back toward me.

  “Are you sure you have everything we need? I kind of feel a bit lost having this sprung on me,” I admitted. I wasn’t used to having everything done for me, and the control freak in me was screaming that whatever he and Becki had done would be all wrong.

  “All you need is your pretty self and the handbag you dropped when you came in. Anything else you might possibly need is packed in one of those cases.”

  I looked between Mr. Chauffeur man, Craig and then behind me into the house, feeling totally and utterly lost and bewildered. “But, I-”

  “Shh,” Craig whispered and placed a single finger over my lips. “No ifs, buts or maybes. We have this all under control. You don’t have to worry about a thing.” Then after a brief peck on my cheek he reached down for my bag and handed it to me. “Come on let’s get out of here.” He took my hand in his and led me toward the car.