by Sonia Belier
“I wonder how long it’ll take for that crude boyfriend of yours to show up?”
He patted my head as he walked by me and I fumbled around in response, trying to find some way to free myself from the chair I was bound to. Scanning his body as well as I could do in the dark, I searched for any sign of a weapon. Relief came over me to see that he wasn’t carrying one.
“You don’t have to resist. I’m not going to do anything at all to your pretty face. You’re just bait. For Hatton.” He took out a cigarette and lit it mere inches from my face.
“I gotta say, it’s pretty funny how much trust we tend to put in elderly people. They’re just as capable of committing the same crimes as a person generations younger than them. Why did you trust that old man anyway?” I furrowed my brows at him in hopes that he would get the memo that I didn’t want to talk.
“Not the talkative type huh? Eh no matter…you won’t be talking soon anyway.”
How could I possibly talk with this towel wrapped around my mouth, you idiot!
“Tell me something Ada, have you heard of a man named Rex Rodham?”
My eyes shot open at the name and in that moment, I knew exactly who I was dealing with.
I used all of my energy to wiggle the chair and my tied arms as hard as I could. The pain in my side when the chair collided with the ground was unbearable. A muffled screamed squeezed through the towel on my face.
“Ah, so you have heard of me. Good.” He crouched on the floor and blew a huge plume of smoke in my face. It stung so much, it was torturous not being able to wipe my eyes dry.
This man was pure scum.
He gently moved the toweled down off of my mouth and to my neck. I didn’t hesitate to spit in his face the first chance I got.
“Now now, that’s not very nice, is it?” He dragged his hand across his face, wiping it clean. “Since you have a present for me, I have one for you.” Rex Rodham disappeared into the shadows for a brief minute.
“I’ve got to get out of here! This man will kill me!”
My hands worked together to try and force the towel apart from my arms. I wiggled and wrestled as hard as I could, chafing my arms in the process. When he reemerged from the shadows, he flicked the light switch on the side of the wall.
“VALOR?!” His eyes twitched at the sound of me calling his name. He was bound to a wheelchair and looked as if he’d been stashed away in a dark room here for days. His once glowing skin was dim, his vibrant hazel eyes a mere shadow of themselves. His pouted lips chapped from dehydration.
I got a better look at his captor, Rex Rodham.
He was an older man with intricate wrinkle carving paths on his face. Ten years ago he was probably keeping the company of more women than he could count.
Good looks, awful person.
Rodham rolled Valor into the room, setting his chair next to me.
“You see Ada, Valor has this exact same tendency that you do. You know, that stupid childish belief that you can trust everyone? He thought I brought him to this building to complete some kind of truce. BAH!! What a complete idiot!” He slapped Valor on his back causing him to wince in pain.
“Stop it!! Take all of the Hatton brothers loot!! I’ll show you where it is myself, just please let us go!!” Begging and pleading was the only thing I could do at this point. If only this madman gave a shit.
“That might have worked a few days ago, but not anymore. I don’t want the loot. I want to watch you all go throw the same suffering I have these past few months. Trying to chase you down, having my best workers getting arrested. Do you even know what that feels like??”
“No, but tell me how jail is when you get there tough guy.”
Fate?!
“This is him boys. Take him in.”
A swarm of officers entered the room and apprehend Rex Rodham. His blood-curdling screams could probably be heard by the whole city and I could care less.
Fate ran over to me and worked quickly to get the bindings off.
“Ada, I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner! I got here as soon as I got Valor’s call.”
“Valor called you?? When?”
“We’ve always carried these pagers on us in case of emergency. It’s old school, but that’s exactly why we use ‘em. He paged me right around the time you left the university.”
He spoke loudly over the officers that were hauling Rex Rodham out of the building. There was not a single moment in my life where I felt more relief than I did now. I finally felt that the apprehension of the last five months was finally gone.
I held on to Fate and cried.
Not tears of anger or sadness.
But relief.
The officers helped us out of the ominous building and escorted us back to Long Island and to the Hatton Estate. The ride was long and everyone was silent. There was an air of stillness over us that I think we could all appreciate.
I never thought I’d be happier to see that gaudy building.
Butler Frederic helped a limping Valor into the east wing. He was completely out of it and obviously traumatized. He didn’t utter a word even when we arrived at the estate.
“Don’t worry about Valor. He’s shaken up. He’ll be okay tomorrow.” Fate rubbed my back as he caught me staring at Valor in concern. I trusted his words.
“Been a long day for you. How about we head back to my suite and unwind?”
That sounded amazing honestly.
“I’d like that Fate. Let’s go.”
We could hardly wait until the door was closed to smother each other in a kiss filled embrace.
We were loved starved and kissing madly, definitely sucking the souls out of one another with a vacuum seal. He didn’t stop and neither did I.
There would be a new point for our love to reach and we would reach it now.
God, the jeans and shirt I was wearing constricted me and ever on time as if reading my mind, Fate moved to undo the final bastion of my defense against him. I echoed his movements, removing any flimsy article of clothing that prevented me from realizing him. Realizing the man that would undoubtedly in any instance, be at my beckoning call.
Each kiss was an emotional shackle that I freed his dark heart from. Each moment a glimmer of hope in an opaque life filled with crime and regret. He panted against my trembling lips when we parted for air.
But oh, we weren’t parted for long.
I took his mouth again against mine, this time impaling him with my impatient tongue, dancing and twirling beside the hungry flesh.
I threw his bare body to the large bed, closing the distance almost instantaneously.
Kisses against his firm chest left a trail of evidence of my love for him, if ever there was any doubt. Bites against the tenderness of his flesh awakened the darker parts of me and he moaned huskily at the feeling.
Dragging my body against the length of him, I hustled to take the most sacred part of his body. Firm like a railroad spike, I worked harder than a commercial vacuum, basking in the whimpers he produced.
Reducing this man so strong, so masculine, so virile, to a puddle of emotion was the highest feel I’ve ever known.
“Ada…w-wait a minute.”
I answered his plea by working my mouth harder against him, until I could almost feel him losing his senses…
Then I stopped.
He was left gasping for air. Reaching into the sky for an ounce of relief that I wouldn’t soon give him.
No.
It was now my turn to expunge the meaning of his dedication to me on his body; the perfect casualty.
I rose my body over him, taunting him with the slick feeling of my desire. When I lowered myself on to Fate, he looked as though he couldn’t breathe.
Veins protruding from his neck, he sighed restlessly as he was forced to endure the strength of my yearning.
It felt so right. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
The depths of me consuming him turned me into a hungry savage. No doubt just as ca
pable of a life of crime as he.
Up, down, up, down, up and down. My thighs tightened at the rise and fall.
My name became stained on our eardrums as he called it repeatedly. Pleading with me to give him a second to regain his hold on me.
But I had no intention of that.
Hungry love locks silenced his mouth from saying my name. And I kissed him over and over again.
He saved me. My life. My emotions. He would realize the implication of that after tonight.
My hands drew maze-like patterns against his toned abs, and my steady riding rhythm didn’t deter.
I was on a mission.
Throbbing, trembling, increasing inside me. The feeling was becoming too much.
I would end it like this.
Our bodies connected. One.
Skin slick with sweat, the result of my efforts.
Emboldened with the passion of the most furious lovers I rode the length of his love until he could handle it no more, releasing his passion for me.
My name…stained inside my eardrums…
I collapsed next to him.
“Fate…”
He sighed repeatedly trying to gather his breath and grabbed me close to him, holding me in a bear tight embrace.
There was never any wonder what Fate’s dedication to me was. All this time his dark heart was concealing a man of courage and love. It simply needed to be realized. For me to be able to be the one to do it, meant so much.
“Ada, it’s over. Everything is done. The life. The loot. Rex. It’s all over. We can finally relax.”
I looked over my shoulder to see the biggest smile of bliss on his face. He was truly at peace.
“There’s nothing I can say to describe my love for you Fate. I knew you would come save me and Valor. I just knew it.”
“You were brave. You held your own. That’s my girl.” He pinched my cheek lightly and laughed. “Rodham didn’t know who he was up against when he decided to pick a fight with you.”
Things progressed so fast and it was all so strange.
From moving into an apartment, to meeting the Hatton brothers, to being thrust in the middle of international organized crime. And through the end of it all, I managed to walk away with some meaning and love.
“Will Valor stay with us from now on?”
“Yeah, my brother’s not going anywhere. We’ll keep an eye on him.” He folded his arms behind his head and stared into the skylight on the ceiling above us. The stars were shining with glory.
“Hey, you see that cluster of stars over there?” I pointed my arm to the rightmost corner of the sky.”
“Yeah I do. What’s it supposed to be? I’m not too good with that astronomy stuff.”
“That’s the constellation Gemini. The stars are like twins. You see? The two brightest stars there represent the heads.”
He squinted up at the sky for a good minute and then looked back at me, shaking his head.
“Can’t say I see it, but I’ll take your word for it.”
We laughed together and held our bodies closer as we continued to gaze into the stars. Any challenge that would come my way had no chance against the love we had for each other.
“I love you Ada. I never thought I’d say that, but promise me you’ll never leave my side.”
“Don’t worry. I promise.”
Chapter 7
Valor
It took a few days of coping, but eventually I recovered from the dreadful encounter I had with Rex Rodham. Yeah, I should’ve listened to fate, but I figure at this point there was no sense in litigating the past.
He told me straight up: “No more heists, no more black-market, no more crime.” Fate made it clear that his true intentions were to start a life with Ada and I respected that. Of course, there was a tinge of jealousy that came over me at the thought that he won the girl. But I was happy for him nonetheless. She was a good woman and I chose to focus on that.
We all decided to lay low in the estate from now on as Ada had no need to travel back to Columbia University after all that happened.
Knocking on their suite door in the west wing, I waited for the opportunity to talk to Ada.
The door flung open. I was greeted with her warm smile, her soft floral scent, he whimsical curls and copper-colored skin. She was beautiful but she couldn’t be mine.
“Ada, have a moment?” I adjusted my glasses and she motioned me to come into her and my brother’s suite.
I kept trying to shake my attraction to the woman. It was near to impossible.
Just be happy that Fate’s with her. Leave it at that.
I repeated the sentence like a mantra in my head.
“Valor, it’s good to see you up and running again!! I was so worried!” She plopped one her bed in her usual carefree mannerr and motioned for me to join her. And I did just that.
“Thanks Ada. Listen, I’m really sorry for all the crazy shit I put you and Fate through these last few months. If I could take back my naivety, I would.”
“Please Val, that’s in the past. Let’s not focus on that okay? I want to focus on starting our new lives and forgetting about all that nonsense.” She kicked her feet in the air back and forth, leaning her hand on her hand and staring directly at me. Her reassurance put me at ease, but I felt there were still things that needed to be addressed.
“I understand that Ada, but because of me you were put in massive danger. I want to apologize for that. Mostly, I want to thank you for taking care of my brother. He’s never been one to show or care for emotion but since he’s been with you I feel like he’s a different man. Not so hardened anymore. I wanted to see that in him all my life and I think you brought that out in him.”
“Valor…I love your brother. I want to start my life with him. If you think I’m the right person to do that, I accept with open arms. We didn’t think to ever be thrust together. But funny enough, I think that’s just how fate works.” She placed her hand over her mouth as she chuckled a bit and I nodded my head.
She was right.
“He’s lucky. Take care of him for me Ada.” I reached across the bed and placed my arms around for a deep hug. I could feel her breathe steadily against my chest.
“I will Valor.”
I broke the hug and left her suite to look for my brother.
I found him in the kitchen. Cooking.
Very, very strange new habit he developed.
“Fate, you’re a top chef now? When did you decide to work on your cooking chops?” I gave him a hearty slap on his back.
“Since I figured Ada and I need to eat a couple of months ago. What’s up my brother? You feeling well?”
“Feeling a lot better thanks to you. We could go into a whole conversation about this but…I’ll save it. I owe you Fate.” We bumped fists casually and he shook his head folding his arms.
“What are brothers for? I couldn’t leave you to deal with that mess on your own. I’m just glad you’re back.”
I felt a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. I came here to tell Fate something that he might not like. But I had to do it.
“Fate I’m actually not going to be staying here at the estate with you and Ada.”
The spatula he was holding hit the stovetop.
“Whaddya mean?”
“I decided to take our loot back to their proper places. I don’t want the baggage of being associated with that crap anymore. I’m heading out for Europe tomorrow.”
There was a chance that Fate wouldn’t understand why I wanted to do this. Or maybe he was just angry that I was leaving so soon after I recovered? No matter the reason, I resigned myself to the belief that he’d understand eventually.
“So wait, you’re leaving already is what you’re telling me?”
“Yeah. Leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”
There was a silence between us for a moment. Fate was my right hand. My best friend and companion. We’d never been a part for more than a few hours. But in order to right
some wrongs, this had to be done.
“I’m not gonna fight with ya. Do what you think is best Valor. Just make it back in one piece you hear?”
“Of course. Take care of your girl Fate. She needs you.”
He gave me nod and I left.
I wasn’t sure when I’d be back at the Hatton estate or when I would see Fate again. But I left with strength and an open mind. This was the beginning of the end of our life of organized crime and it would be for the better.
Ada
“Fate! I need you to pick Aiden up from school today! I’ve got more clients than I anticipated!” I called out from my vanity, Fate could probably hear me I thought.
“I hear you babe, I’m right behind you.” He came around from behind me and wrapped his arms around my back as I doused my face with setting powder.
“Hello everyone, I’m Professor Hatton and I’m excited to be providing teaching consulting services for you today.”
I turned to look at Fate.
“How does that sound honey? Too dry?”
“Yeah, maybe a little.” Whacking my hand across his chest gently, I let out a laugh.
Fate and I were married seven years ago.
I had our Aiden, our little boy, six years ago.
My life was feeling more complete than I could’ve ever dreamed.
“Well, do you have a better idea smart guy?”
“How about, ‘Hi, I’m Professor Hatton and I look so fucking sexy today.” He moved in on me with a kiss and pressed my body close to his. I wrapped my arms around him and relished in sharing our love.
My body shivered still against his chiseled frame, as it did the first time I held him seven years ago.
The Hatton twins deserved a chance at redemption.
I deserved to be loved and I was capable of loving.
“I’m heading out to grab Aiden. I’ll see you soon baby.”
“Be safe on the road Fate.”
“I will.”
Watching him walk out of our house every day filled me with purpose. Despite his past, he was raising our son Aiden in a way that made me hopeful for our future.