“How did you find out about me anyway?” he asked.
“A little rat told me,” Lincoln answered. “Eddie was pleased to hear you were out too, but was disappointed you didn’t stop by to say hello.”
“And why would I do that,” Matt growled. “I’ve no intention of coming back, so you can save your breath and get lost.”
“Can’t do that,” Lincoln said. “I was sent to give you a message. The boss needs you for a job.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t owe him anything. You can run back to him and say thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”
“Do you think you’ll turn him down and just carry on with your new life, as if nothing happened?” Lincoln asked. “You know better than that.”
Matt let out a sigh as he stared at the beer in his hand, but said nothing.
“Do you want to spend your life looking over your shoulder?” Lincoln went on. “Do yourself a favor and get back in the saddle. You’ve never known anything else other than a life of crime.”
“Maybe I’m sick of it.”
“What?” Lincoln scoffed. “Do you think Eddie’s going to say poor Matt, we better leave him alone then because he’s unhappy?”
“If he knows what’s good for him.”
Lincoln’s head rocked back as the burst of laughter erupted.
“You’re good,” he said and lifted a hand to point. “I’ll give you that…, you can tell a good joke.”
“Screw you,” Matt cursed.
There was silence for a few seconds as Lincoln composed himself and the expression on his face hardened.
“I take it your pretty blonde will be more than happy to go on the run with you to avoid the fallout from your decision.”
Matt bristled and leaned forward to confront his adversary.
“You leave her alone or so help me…,” he warned. “She’s got no part in this.”
“Oh, Matt, Matt,” Lincoln said and shook his head. “Don’t be such a fucking pussy. You know Eddie will use any leverage he can to get what he wants. If you turn him down, he’ll ground you into the dirt and take down anyone around you to make you suffer. You didn’t have a chance as soon as the news reached us that you were out.”
Matt tightened his lips together as he settled back in his seat. He was being backed into a corner and knew that getting out of it was going to be nigh on impossible. Lincoln seemed to know everything about his new life and he was certain that saying no would put Brigitte in danger. It was something he couldn’t do and he needed to buy himself some time.
“What do you want from me?” he asked.
“That’s more like it,” Lincoln said. “Eddie’s enjoying a long weekend of relaxation, but he’ll return on Tuesday. You’re going to be at his place on the evening of that day for a discussion about what’s needed, so be there at seven o’clock. Do you understand or do you want me to repeat…?”
“I got it,” Matt said in a dull voice. “Eddie’s place at seven on Tuesday evening.”
Lincoln raised the bottle he was holding to his lips and took a final drink.
“It was nice to hang out with you again,” he said in a mocking tone when he put the bottle down. “Enjoy the beer I bought you.”
Matt said nothing in reply and simply watched as Lincoln slid to the end of the seat and got to his feet. He waited until he was alone before lifting a hand to cover his eyes.
“Fuck,” he cursed.
The life he was hoping for…, the life he wanted was now in danger of being ripped away from him and he smacked his palm down on the table. He lifted the beer to drink the last of it and wanted to curse again. Things seemed on the up when he bought it, but the rug was pulled out from under him in the time it took to drink.
He was in danger of being sucked back into a life he didn’t want and couldn’t see a way out of it.
Chapter 11
Brigitte lay staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom in the darkness before dawn and silently cursed at her inability to get back to sleep. Being awake enabled thoughts to race through her head and there was only one thing concerning her. She tried to convince herself that the situation with Matt was an unstoppable force of nature that carried her along in its wake, but it was a lie and she knew it. There were plenty of opportunities for her to back out of it.
Firstly, saying no to the offer of a drink on Saturday would have stopped things before they even got started. Secondly, refusing the offer of being walked home would have ended the evening. Thirdly, saying her father was in the house would have prevented Matt from coming inside, but she never even came close to doing it. There was no denying that she willfully passed up on one chance after another to stop the situation developing. As she lay in bed thinking about it, she couldn’t decide if that made her happy or unhappy.
She rolled over on her side and closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come as her mind remained active. No one knew what was going on although that didn’t make turning up at work the previous day any less nerve wracking. There were no appointments to meet with program participants and that allowed her to work quietly at her desk. Mr. Brody didn’t mention her lack of conversation and as far as she could make out, simply got on with his own work. There was no doubt in her mind that he would disapprove of what she was doing and that probably went double for Mrs. Johnston. In fact, she suspected everyone she knew would think she was losing her marbles to get involved with an ex-con. Well, with one notable exception.
“Sarah,” Brigitte let out as she rolled on her back to stare up at the ceiling again.
She’d been so preoccupied with concerns of what she should do that she never even considered talking to her friend. Her impulse was to get in touch straight away, but she glanced at the clock on the bedside table to see that it was still before six o’clock in the morning. That was too early to make a call although not to get up, so she threw off the covers to get moving.
Twenty minutes later, she was showered and dressed for work. The light of Tuesday morning was beginning to filter through the darkness when she walked down the stairs to the kitchen and went to switch on the kettle. She got herself some cereal while she waited for the water to boil then made herself a cup of coffee. After she finished her breakfast, she decided to just get going and it was around seven thirty when she arrived at her desk in an empty office.
“Well, well,” Mr. Brody joked when he walked through the door of the office fifty minutes later. “Have you turned over a new leaf?”
Brigitte looked up from the file she was studying and put a smile on her face.
“Getting to the office first, you mean?”
“It’s not like you,” he went on as he walked to his desk. “Are you after my job or something?”
“No,” Brigitte said and laughed. “I couldn’t sleep, so I got my day started.”
“Ah, so you have troubles on your mind,” Mr. Brody said.
Brigitte’s smile faded away as she glanced across at him, but she saw the expression on his face and realized he was simply teasing her with his comment.
“No troubles,” she lied. “I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. My father is away for the week, so I didn’t have anyone to talk to at home and there was no point just sitting around. I thought I would be more productive here.”
“What time did you get here?”
“About seven thirty,” she admitted.
“I’ll have to watch you,” Mr. Brody went on joking. “You’re definitely after my job.”
“Not me,” Brigitte replied and smiled. “I plan to pick your brain for its extensive knowledge, so I need you here.” She paused for a second before going on. “When I’ve finished doing that, I’ll go after your job.”
“Well it’s nice to know where I stand,” Mr. Brody said and laughed.
Brigitte returned her attention to the file in front of her to carry on working and they only really started speaking again about an hour later in preparation for the arrival of a new member of the program. The appoi
ntment lasted around fifty minutes and helped to take her mind from her problems as she concentrated on the discussions. She only thought about Sarah once she returned to her desk and decided to see if her friend wanted to meet up for lunch.
“How are you?” Brigitte asked when the call was answered.
“I’m good,” Sarah replied. “How are things with you?”
“OK,” Brigitte went on. “I’ll buy you lunch if you meet me at Dimitri’s Café at twelve thirty.”
“Yeah, sure,” Sarah said. “What’s the occasion?”
“I need to talk to you,” Brigitte said then went silent.
“Do I get any more than that?” Sarah asked and laughed.
Brigitte glanced across towards Mr. Brody’s desk, but he was concentrating on his work.
“I can’t talk at the moment,” she said quietly. “I’ll see you at twelve thirty.”
Sarah agreed to the arrangement and the call came to an end. Brigitte carried on working until around ten minutes after twelve then got to her feet.
“I’m meeting a friend for lunch,” she told her boss. “Is it OK if I come back around two?”
“Well, you did start early this morning,” he said and smiled. “So, I don’t see a problem with it. No later than two though.”
“I won’t be,” Brigitte told him.
She walked out of the office and went to catch a ride into town. It was almost twelve thirty when she got off the bus and she hurried to the café. Sarah was already sitting at a table waiting and she moved across to her. All she did was put her bag down and ask what her friend wanted before moving over to the serving counter to buy the food and drink. When it was served, she picked up the tray to move over to the table. Nothing was said as she put the plates and cups down, but it was obvious that her friend was itching to know what was going on.
“So,” Sarah started. “Why couldn’t you speak on the phone?”
Brigitte picked up her glass to take a drink of orange juice and put it down before she answered.
“My boss works in the same room as me. I didn’t want him to hear.”
Sarah finished eating a bite of her sandwich.
“Hear what exactly?” she asked after wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Umm…, I did it,” Brigitte let out. Even though she was speaking to a good friend, she still felt the blush of heat on her face.
“That’s nice,” Sarah said and laughed. “Could you clue me in a bit more?”
“Remember what you said when I first told you about the work I would be doing,” Brigitte went on. “About a frustrated ex-con being driven crazy by a cute blonde?”
Sarah narrowed her eyes as her mind ticked over and the realization came to her.
“You’re kidding me, right?” she let out a bit too loud and slapped a hand over her mouth for a second or two before pulling it away. “I distinctly remember you saying that was nothing more than a fantasy.”
“I meant it at the time,” Brigitte said. “But, well…”
“You drove one of those bad boys crazy,” Sarah teased and laughed.
“We kind of drove each other crazy,” Brigitte admitted.
She then proceeded to tell the tale of her first encounter with Matt at the government building, the tension that arose in the subsequent meetings and what happened on the weekend that just went by.
“Bad, bad girl,” Sarah teased when the story ended. “Where was your father?”
“He’s away on a week-long business trip,” Brigitte answered. “I thought about saying he was inside when I got to my home on Saturday night with Matt, but…’
“The hormones kicked in, huh?”
“And some,” Brigitte confessed. “It was the best sex of my life.”
“Was it his…”
“Yes,” Brigitte interrupted. “He confessed to me that it was his first time since getting out when I asked.”
“Oh shit,” Sarah let out and smirked. “That is so hot. Can you get one of those frustrated bad boys for me?”
“Shut up,” Brigitte said. “This is serious. I’m not telling you this just to give you a cheap thrill.”
Sarah shrugged her shoulders and laughed.
“So, what’s he like?” she asked.
“Amazingly easy to get along with,” Brigitte replied. “Like I said, he didn’t just want to get laid and leave. He stayed almost all of Sunday before going home. We had a nice day together.”
“You like him then?”
Brigitte tightened her lips together before pouting them to let out a long, slow breath.
“Yes, I like him,” she replied. “More than I want to admit to myself. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.”
“It doesn’t sound like a mess to me,” Sarah commented. “You like him and he likes you. What’s so wrong with that?”
“Nothing…, but for the fact that he’s a convicted felon that was sentenced to four years in prison for assault and he worked as an enforcer for a gangster,” Brigitte pointed out. “On top of that, I’m a government counselor who’s supposed to be working to help him move on to better things away from a life of crime.”
“Well, by what you told me, you’re certainly helping him with something and I’m sure it’s improving his life,” Sarah said. “It’s making yours better as well.”
Brigitte screwed up her face to scowl at her friend and let out a sigh.
“That’s not funny,” she complained. “This could turn into a disaster.”
“Oh, come on,” Sarah said. “It’s not like you’re about to marry the guy. You hit it off with him and had some fun. Where’s the harm in that?”
“I’m not sure my bosses would see it that way,” Brigitte replied. “And what the hell would my dad say? You know what he’s like. He would probably flip his lid.”
“How would they even know about it?” Sarah pointed out. “I assume you’re not planning to tell them. Do you think Matt would?”
“Well…, no, I didn’t get the impression he would do that,” Brigitte said. “But then, I don’t really know him.”
“It sounds like you know him pretty intimately,” Sarah went on. “What’s your gut instinct about him?”
Brigitte picked up her sandwich to take a bite as she pondered the question.
“He actually seems like a decent person,” she admitted. “The man I read about in the files wasn’t really the one I met. I mean, he’s no angel and he would admit that himself. He’s been involved in crime since his teens and he’s not someone you would want to get on the wrong side of, but I think the jail sentence made him realize he needed to change things. He genuinely appears committed to getting away from the life he was leading.”
“There you go then,” Sarah said. “A bad boy gone good and he’s crazy about you. I want one of those.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Like I said, you’re not about to marry him,” Sarah went on. “Relax, enjoy the sex and see what happens.”
“I don’t think I can,” Brigitte said. “I really do like him, but this could blow up in my face big time. I’m not sure I could cope with the fallout.”
“Then ditch him,” Sarah said. “If you don’t think he’s worth the hassle, don’t get involved.”
“But I want to get involved,” Brigitte said and shook her head as she put her head in her hands. “This is such a mess and I have absolutely no idea what I want to do.”
“You’re making way too much out of this,” Sarah said. “I’ve never seen you get like this about a guy before.”
Brigitte lifted her head from her hands.
“So, what do I do?”
“There’s only one person that can make that decision,” Sarah replied. “Has he called you since Sunday?”
“No,” Brigitte replied.
“Then you need to get in touch with him. Maybe if you meet up and speak to him, it will help make things clearer about what you should do. For all you know, it might have only been sex that
he was after and you’re working yourself up into a state about a relationship that might never get off the ground. I know you pretty much said you didn’t think he was using you, but it’s not like he would be the first guy to sweet talk a girl just to get into their panties. I would think that applies even more to someone who hasn’t been laid in four years.”
“You could be right,” Brigitte conceded. “But I was as much to blame for what happened as he was. There were plenty of chances for me to put a halt to things, but I didn’t. It wasn’t just him making the moves.”
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