Fallen Angel, Part 1

by Podger, Tracie

“I thought you’d gone,” he said. “I woke up and you weren’t there.”

  “Where would I have gone? I can’t get out,” I replied, a biting comment.

  “I need to go into work, I want you to come with me,” he said.

  “I can’t just come and sit in your office all day. Why do you want to go to work after what has happened?”

  “People have to see that nothing has changed, I’m not running scared, Brooke. I know what happened last night was terrifying for you, but I need to carry on as normal until I know what it all means. If someone meant harm to us, believe me, it would have happened. Now, I don’t want to leave you here alone for two reasons,” he said.

  He took a step towards me and desperately wanted to take a step back. He reached forwards and ran his fingers down my cheek. I held my breath, willing my body not to react to him; I lost.

  “First, if you’re with me, I know you’re safe and second, I don’t want you to leave me,” he said, quietly.

  I took a few minutes before answering, “We’d better get dressed then.”

  I sat in the car as far away from Robert as possible and looked out of my window. I couldn’t help but be on alert as such during the drive. I watched the occupants of every car that pulled alongside us. I understood with the dark windows people could not see in, but I was still on edge. We pulled into the car park and made our way through security. There seemed to be more guys than I remembered, and I was pleased about that. Gina greeted us as we exited the lift. She obviously had no idea what happened and as much as I tried, it was difficult to act normal.

  “There’s one thing, Brooke,” Robert said, looking up from his papers once he had settled at this desk, “You can’t tell Sam anything, please. He works here and I really don’t need for people to know what I’ve told you.”

  I understood that, Sam was my best friend; there was no way I would have told him. He would have been terrified for me. My phone vibrated and looking at the caller display I saw that it was Taylor. I mouthed to Robert who was calling as I answered, and he nodded.

  “Hi,” I said.

  “Honey, how are you? I worried about you all last night.”

  “I can’t say I’m fine, but I’m here with Robert, at the office. Taylor, can we meet? I really need to talk to someone, other than Robert, about this.”

  “Sure, honey, why don’t I come on over? We can grab some lunch.”

  “Please, but I don’t think I’m allowed out right now.”

  “You leave it to me, I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  I disconnected the call and waited for Robert to finish his. I told him I was meeting Taylor for lunch; that she was coming here to collect me.

  “Brooke, I can’t let you do that,” he said.

  “I can’t sit here all day and I don’t want to get in a situation where I feel imprisoned. I’m not asking for your permission,” I said. “After last night, I doubt she’s coming alone.”

  “Okay, but go to the club, I know you’ll be fine there.”

  Taylor arrived and with Mark sitting up front with her driver, I climbed into the back of the car. She hugged me to her and held my hand as we made the short journey up town.

  I turned to her, “Oh it’s good to see you. I’m just so confused right now.”

  She put a finger to her lips, her eyes signalled to the guys in the front of the car. We rode in silence until we reached the club. I waited for Mark to open the rear door for us; I bet it had child locks so I couldn’t even do that for myself. Walking up the stairs to the lounge, I saw Patricia.

  “Honey, talk to us, tell us what happened after we left,” Taylor asked. She wanted to know what I knew.

  “We got as far as me learning how he started in business, who Joe was, what your men do, but that’s about all, for the moment. He’s promised to tell me more tonight,” I said.

  Standing beside those two women I looked a bit of a mess. I had no makeup on and my hair was tied back. I really could not be bothered that morning. But there they were, made up, hair perfect as if nothing had happened, a normal girly lunch.

  “Are you okay, Brooke?” Patricia asked, and I was touched by her concern for me.

  “To be honest, I’m confused. Here I am, four weeks into a relationship with someone and I find out he has led a life I’ve only seen in movies. I just don’t know what to do,” I said.

  “Henry, please bring us a bottle of wine, and can you shut off this room for us,” Patricia asked a passing waiter.

  Those women seemed to have as much power as their men.

  “Honey, what happened was so unfortunate. Well, I guess that’s not the right word, but you have to believe us when we say, nothing like this has happened for a long time. Life has been quite normal until now,” Taylor said.

  “How did you meet Mack, Jonathan, and did you know what they did?” I asked them both.

  Patricia spoke first.

  “I met Jon thirty years ago and like you, I didn’t know to start with. It’s not something the boys are going to advertise. Jon worked for Joe, as did the others, he was the one who looked after the accounts. To be honest, I was not entirely sure what he did. All I knew was that he sat in an office, wore a suit, and worked nine to five.

  It took a couple of months I think, before I started to meet some of the people he worked with and I guess I just cottoned on. One day Jon asked me to marry him and I said no, not until he told me who he really was. Most people knew who Joe was, but by that time I was in love and to be honest, I thought it was a bit exciting, I was young.”

  Pausing to have our wine poured and waiting for Henry to move on, she continued.

  “I believed because Jon worked in an office, it wasn’t so bad. It’s not like he was Mack for example, and I guess I shut my eyes to what was really going on. Jon was never involved in anything dangerous, he was Joe’s advisor and the admin man.”

  “What do you mean, not like Mack?” I asked Taylor.

  “Mack was one of Joe’s fighters before heading security. The cars we are driven in, the people that look after us; Mack is the one who deals with that. If there was a problem, he sorted it. I knew immediately who he was, my father had business dealings with Joe, and Mack would normally accompany him when they met. I was a teenager. Honey, I am not going to divulge my age, but way too young,” she laughed.

  “Are you not just a little scared about what happened last night?” I asked.

  “Of course. I think I’ve been around, how should I say it, violence I guess is an appropriate word, a long time. I’ve seen Mack come home, bloodied after dealing with some problem or another but, like Patricia, I love my man so I stand by him.”

  Patricia continued, “I remember when Robert came along, I think Mack used to refer to him as a fucking upstart. From what I can recall, he had the business brain. He was a runner first, collected debts, sometimes he boxed, a gambling thing, and sometimes he had to hurt people, Brooke. He was way too frightening when he was younger, but it was not often he’d start laying fists on people, if he visited, they paid up.

  After a few years he started to badger Joe, to let him run one of the businesses. It was a construction site I think, and he got the job done without any problems, every bit of paper work correct. By that time, I think old Joe was thinking of a successor. He saw that in Robert. As each year went by so Robert turned his hand to one business or another that Joe owned and he made them legal. He got Jon to do the books and between them they started to turn it all round.”

  “So why now? Who has come back to haunt them now?” I asked.

  “That we don’t know yet, but you have to trust me on this, Mack and Travis will find out. They won’t rest until they know what this is all about and they will deal with it. As a family, and we are a family, we have been trouble free for a long time and despite what they were, no one wants this,” Patricia added.

  “You also have to know that it is highly unlikely anything will happen to one of us, the wives. You might not believ
e that right now but if anything happened to us, there would be trouble,” Taylor said.

  “Are they the Mafia?” I asked, my voice sounding small.

  “Honey, crooks, gangsters, whatever you want to call them, and sure in the past they might have been called that, but Mafia is an old thing. Most families are like ours. They run legitimate businesses, some will have something dodgy on the side, drugs or counterfeit goods mainly, but Robert would have none of that. It’s not like the movies.”

  “So what did Rosa mean? She said she couldn’t live like this again, what did she mean by that?” I asked.

  Patricia answered. “We all started to receive photos, like the one Robert got of you. The boys know it’s a message but they don’t know who from. Rosa has always struggled with this lifestyle, but to be honest, her and Paul have problems anyway.

  Paul is a bit of a loose cannon, Robert keeps him on a tight leash, and he finds that hard to deal with. The boys have to play the game, Brooke. Robert is in charge and what he says goes, we all know that. I think, and it’s only my opinion, that Paul believed he should have been the one to take over, not this young kid who had come along after. However, Robert was the one with the vision, he isn’t comfortable with his background and he wanted to stay loyal to Joe, but he wanted to earn an honest living, Paul wouldn’t have done that.”

  I started to relax a little, to understand that I wasn’t in the middle of some movie, and I had to keep in mind that what I knew was in the past.

  “Do you feel any better honey?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes, I think so but I still don’t know what to do, I mean about Robert. I don’t know if I can live looking over my shoulder and worrying about him all the time, but equally I can’t walk away from him,” I replied.

  “You have nothing to worry about where Robert is concerned, he can look after himself, and honestly, Brooke, this is going to get sorted. In the meantime, you have to carry on as if nothing has happened. Whoever this is, can’t see that any of us are rattled,” Patricia added.

  We ordered a club sandwich and although I was not in the least hungry, I ate, soaking up the glass of wine.

  “What about all of this, Patricia? You asked that guy to not let anyone in here and he hasn’t, is that normal?” I asked.

  She laughed, “Because of who we are married to, we command a certain amount of respect. People remember the old days and Robert is still powerful, respected, maybe feared even. Believe me, it can work to your advantage.”

  “I just don’t think I can get used to all of this. I mean, he gave me a black Amex for my birthday, all those clothes, for Christ’s sake. It must have cost a fortune,” I said.

  “Honey, you have no idea of Robert’s wealth have you?” Taylor asked.

  “No, and to be honest Taylor I don’t want to know. I don’t want people to think I’m here for the money. Four weeks ago I had a nice job, a small wage and now I’ve been swept of my feet by trouble, shot at, and have a wardrobe I could only dream about.”

  For the first time in a while I laughed, we all did. It was surreal really.

  “Do you love him, honey?” Taylor asked.

  “Yes, like I’ve never loved anyone before. It’s like he’s my destiny, my purpose for existing. I love him so much it hurts. I can’t breath without him,” I said, quietly.

  “Then you will get past this and we’re always here for you as well.”

  I picked up my bag and noticed missed calls from him; I’d left my phone on silent.

  “Oh, God, he’s called me five times,” I said.

  “Rule number one, Brooke. Always be available. Always have your phone and not on silent. The boys are very protective, he will always want to know where you are,” Patricia said as I dialled him back.

  I ought to write these bloody rules down.

  “Hi,” I said, when he answered, “I’m sorry, I had my phone on silent. We’re just heading back now.”

  “I was worried, that’s all,” he said.

  “I’m fine, I’ll see you in a bit.”

  We headed downstairs and were met by Mark and Taylor’s driver. We made our way back to the office.

  “Thanks, Taylor. I appreciate the talk,” I said.

  “Anytime, honey. You don’t know how pleased we are that he has met you. We all love Robert and all we want is for him to have a great relationship with someone. It was always going to be with a special, strong person and you’re it, but you’re going to have to learn how to be his wife.”

  “What would be so different?” I asked.

  “Honey, he was the head of a powerful family, he’s now the head of a powerful business,” she said, quietly so as not to be overheard.

  ****

  I decided to pop by Sam’s desk on the way up and he was pleased to see me, gushing about the fashion show. I noticed Gabby hovering nearby.

  “I heard you guys had a good night,” she said.

  Wary of what to say, all I replied was, “It was great, there were some amazing dresses.”

  “How long did you stay at the party?” Sam asked.

  “Not too long. To be honest Sam it wound down quickly, we just headed off home about half an hour later.” It wasn’t a lie; I’d just omitted the bit in between.

  I headed back up to Robert’s office with Mark in tow. I would have to talk to him about Mark. If I had to have someone with me, at least give him permission to have a conversation with me, it was most unnerving. Seeing Robert in his office with Mack and Travis, I decided to leave them to it and make myself some tea. I caught Robert’s eye and gave him a small smile, and I saw his face relax a little.

  “Gina, I need to get a doctor’s appointment. Travis was supposed to let me know of one, can you help?” I asked, as I handed her a coffee.

  “Sure, Robert uses a private clinic not too far away. I don’t want to pry but can you let me know what type of doctor you want? I can get you an appointment.”

  “Oh, of course, I need to get a prescription for my pill, you know birth control,” I said.

  “Of course, I’ll give them a call now.”

  She made me an appointment for the following day and added it to her online diary. It pinged to my phone and simultaneously I saw Mark look at his. He’d settled himself on the sofa and I guessed Gina had been instructed that he was my driver for the time being.

  I noticed Robert gesture for me to come into his office.

  “Did you have a good lunch?” he asked.

  “It was good to talk. Mack, I just love your wife, she’s amazing,” I said.

  “Well, I kind of think so too,” he said as he stood, he gave me a hug and left.

  I sat in his vacated seat, “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, Gina made it for me,” I told Robert.

  Letting my partner know my movements was something new to me, and I would have to make an effort to remember. After my conversation with the girls, I understood how important it was for Robert to know where I was. How I felt about it was another matter, but one I would have to deal with another time.

  “Can I ask something?” I said.

  “Shoot,” he replied, looking at some papers on his desk.

  “Bad choice of word right at this moment,” I said, with a smile.

  “If I have to have Mark, can you tell him, it’s okay to chat to me? I don’t like silence and to be honest, it’s a bit boring travelling around with him.”

  Travis laughed and Robert said, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  We made our way down to the garage and in the lift I let my hand find Robert’s, our fingers entwined. From the corner of my eye, I saw him glance at me with a small smile on his lips. I knew that I wouldn’t, couldn’t, leave him. I would just have to deal with his past and move on. The lifestyle would take some getting used to, and I had a lot to learn.

  “We pulled the CCTV on the day Miranda dropped the envelope off. It looks like she was telling the truth. We can see her hand the envelope over the desk and then it’s gi
ven back to her,” Robert said, as we drove home.

  To be honest, after the previous night, that had gone completely out of my head. “Have you spoken to the girls on reception about it?” I asked.

  “Yeah, no one can really remember anything about it. We get people in all the time, dropping off mail, but we’re still looking at it,” Travis said.

  “Can I see it, the CCTV?” I asked.

  “If you want too. I’ll have a copy sent over to Robert’s email,” he replied.

  We arrived home, Travis parked the car, and Robert and I walked into the house. Evelyn was preparing dinner and I sat at the breakfast bar with another glass of wine while Robert changed out of his suit.

  “How are you feeling, Brooke?” she asked.

  “Better, thanks. I met with Taylor and Patricia today, had a chat. They put me at ease a little but until this is all sorted, I still feel on edge,” I said.

  “I know, we all do,” she replied.

  “You stayed friends with Robert all the time he worked with Joe, did you know about what they did?” I asked.

  She went to answer, but was interrupted by the sight of Robert who had come up the stairs, she looked at him.

  “Its fine, Evelyn. Tell her what she wants to know,” he said, as he sat beside me, pouring a glass of wine.

  She stopped what she was doing and pulled a stool to sit and face me.

  “Giuseppe, everyone called him Joe, was my father,” she said.

  “The boys didn’t know that when they tried to steal my bag, but I asked my father if he would help them. It was coincidence that he caught Robert trying to steal, from my uncle’s shop I might add.”

  “Oh,” was all I could say, wide eyed.

  “My mother died when I was young, I have a brother and a sister I told you about. I haven’t seen or heard from my brother for years. It didn’t go down too well when Robert started to take over the family business.

  My parents came over from Naples, they wanted a better life. At first money was really short, he was an immigrant, but got involved in construction, and I guess as time went on, he made money through crime. We’re talking fifty years ago, Brooke. It’s what most immigrants did. They started life in Chicago and then moved to Washington. My father died, oh, it must be about ten years ago now. Cancer got him in the end. So that’s how I know,” she said quietly.