Fatal Mistake

by Karen M. Davis

  Lexie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Could someone actually mature overnight?

  ‘I’ve met someone, you see,’ he continued. ‘It’s pretty new and only recently, very recently, I realised how much I like her. It made me think about how I would hate me if I was in Josh’s position.’ He extended his hand. ‘So can we be friends?’

  Lexie took his hand, knowing instinctively Batman was sincere. ‘So who’s the lucky girl? Would I approve?’

  Batman smiled and put his foot on the accelerator as the light turned green. ‘I think so.’

  Lexie had a feeling she knew the identity of Batman’s new girlfriend, but she said nothing. They would tell her in their own time.

  They were driving along Campbell Parade. Lexie glanced to the right, where Bondi Beach sparkled like a gem while people strolled along the promenade. To her left, restaurants and bars had a euphoric atmosphere about them. People were celebrating the end of the work week. The night was young, alive, brimming with potential and possibilities.

  Lexie couldn’t wait for it to be over.

  • • •

  Berni could not believe Rocco’s house. It was crazy. Nestled at the end of a long driveway, in the exclusive suburb of Vaucluse, the two-storey home was sleek and modern: white rendered walls, large ornate windows.

  Rocco greeted them with a wide smile at the front door. He was so handsome in a silky black tuxedo, white shirt and red bow tie that Berni had to catch her breath. He looked classy, sophisticated and very tame in comparison to some of the outlandish outfits she had seen him wear at the club.

  ‘You look lovely,’ Rocco told Berni. His eyes ran over her slinky black dress with appreciation. ‘I still don’t understand why you’re going out with him.’ He shook his head and winked at TJ. ‘I’m so glad you could come to my party.’ Rocco pulled TJ in for a brotherly hug and a slap on the back. Then he turned to Berni and wrapped her in his muscular arms.

  When her breasts squashed against his hard chest, Berni thought she might die of delight. Rocco smelt delicious: of expensive cologne and peppermint. In heels, Berni came up to Rocco’s chin. When he leant down, she felt his warm breath in her ear, and Berni thought her legs could give way. Then, when he nibbled on her neck, her knees did buckle and she had to lean into him for support.

  Rocco’s actions left Berni in no doubt she had been right when she felt the electricity between them the first time they met. He wanted her. Rocco was discreet, had kissed the side of her neck furthest away from her boyfriend, so TJ remained oblivious to their chemistry. Butterflies twirled inside Berni’s stomach as an image of Rocco naked crystallised behind her eyelids. She had seen his most private parts, witnessed his sexual prowess. One day she would make him forget about all those other women he’d known before her. One day it would just be the two of them. Rocco would belong to Berni.

  ‘Let me show you around before other guests arrive,’ Rocco said. ‘But first I must get you a drink.’

  A waiter miraculously appeared and handed Berni a glass of champagne, and TJ a bottle of Mythos beer.

  ‘Have you decided to stay the night? There is a spare room that’s yours if you’d like it.’

  ‘Yes, we would love to stay,’ Berni answered. ‘We very much appreciate your hospitality.’

  Rocco nodded, looking at her with that gleam in his eye. ‘My pleasure.’

  Berni’s heart fluttered.

  The grand tour of his incredible home began on the lower level. The living room was huge, filled with creamy leather lounges and carved wooden furniture. The floor-to-ceiling windows ensured a view from every angle. The kitchen was all gourmet stainless steel and marble bench tops and was the size of Berni’s whole apartment. Two young girls – the caterers – glanced up from preparing little pastries on trays and smiled. There were two large bedrooms with a shared bathroom, as well as a home theatre, complete with popcorn and lolly counter.

  Rocco ushered them up a majestic, curving staircase with an ornate wood balustrade to show them another four bedrooms, all with private marble bathrooms, and a games room set up with pinball machines and a large screen for computer games. The floors were polished wood. The walls were painted off-white. Expensive pieces of art, which looked to Berni like multicoloured scribbles, were displayed throughout. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. Berni could not believe the opulence of the home.

  ‘Not a bad little pad you have here,’ TJ said.

  They were standing on the upper level balcony overlooking the large deck below. There was an impressive silver bar set up at one end and a Balinese-style spa bath at the other. Berni imagined sitting in the warm bubbly water with a glass of champagne and Rocco’s buffed body beside her. Darkness had fallen and the twinkle of lights in the distance illuminated the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city skyline. Berni could just make out the shadowy coastline and ocean beyond.

  She was not concerned that he had glanced at her only occasionally during the house tour. She understood why. He was smart, was being cautious, and making sure TJ didn’t notice their attraction.

  ‘That bedroom—’ Rocco pointed across the games room to the last of four doors, ‘—is yours. Put your things in there and make yourselves at home.’

  Moments later, Rocco was on the deck below talking to other guests. Berni and TJ remained where they were. Sipping her drink, she gazed over the grassy back yard, which slanted down to a boatshed and little jetty along the water’s edge. Berni wanted this life. This was where she belonged – with Rocco.

  Hearing a door squeak behind them, Berni and TJ turned just in time to see Erika and Johnny slip into the bedroom next to the one that was to be theirs.

  ‘I told you,’ Berni whispered.

  TJ shook his head. ‘Not that I care, but that is pretty blatant, don’t you think? Lucky’s downstairs . . .’

  ‘Maybe that’s what does it for them,’ Berni said. ‘The element of danger.’

  She looked back to the deck below and recognised some well-known faces: a couple of models and actors; a radio announcer.

  ‘This will be us one day. I will be like Rocco,’ TJ promised. ‘I’m his protégé, he is my mentor.’

  She smiled.

  ‘Let’s have a line before we go and join the party,’ TJ suggested.

  Who was she to argue when he was supplying the gear?

  TJ took Berni’s hand and led her into their bedroom. They could hear Erika and Johnny moaning and groaning through the wall.

  In the bathroom, which was bigger than her bedroom at home, Berni watched TJ sprinkle cocaine along the vanity, and chop and spread the powder into two thick lines with a razor. Greedily, she moved towards it, hungry for the taste of the drug, the buzz it created, the confidence it provided.

  TJ stopped her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pushed her face down over the vanity. Bent beside the basin, he lifted her dress and bunched it around her hips. She was not in the mood but quickly resigned herself to what had to happen.

  ‘Just a quick one?’ TJ whispered.

  Leaning on her elbows, Berni braced herself against the cabinet. Without the help of Rocco’s nose spray, it would be over quickly, and then she could get high. TJ had his pants down and was inside her in an instant. While he drove himself into her, groaning and jerking behind her, she stared at the lines of cocaine.

  This was just how it was right now, she told herself. It would not always be this way.

  CHAPTER 51

  ‘Impressive,’ Batman commented as they drove past Rocco’s house.

  They found a parking spot at the end of the narrow street. As they got out of the car, doof-doof music assaulted their senses.

  ‘Oh dear.’ Lexie glanced at Batman. ‘And here I was looking forward to some eighties music. Maybe some Abba. My mum loves Abba . . . everyone loves Abba.’

  ‘Not everyone,’ Batman replied dryly, locking the car.

  Following the noise, they walked towards the party. Lexie’s heels crunched across the g
ravel of the long driveway and Batman took her hand as they approached the front door. He squeezed it tight.

  The door swung open in front of them. Inside the lavish mansion, a sea of glamorous people sipped drinks and engaged in animated chatter. Lexie jerked on Batman’s hand, suddenly anxious. It was too crowded; intimidating.

  Batman turned and smiled at her encouragingly.

  A group of partygoers crowded in behind Lexie and Batman, pushing them not so gently inside. Swallowed up by the crowd, and swept along by a current of writhing bodies, Lexie clung to Batman’s hand so they wouldn’t be ripped apart. Sharing a bewildered glance, they scanned the crowd while trying to appear relaxed.

  Suddenly the crowd parted like the Red Sea and Rocco stood before them. He shook Batman’s hand affably, then turned to Lexie and kissed her cheek. His hand lingered on the small of her back.

  ‘So glad you could come,’ he said. ‘You look spectacular.’ Rocco’s eyes travelled hungrily over her face, and then down her body and back up again. ‘How is your family, Lara? It is such a sad time, with your uncle and his very sick mother. How is she, by the way?’

  ‘She’s still hanging in there,’ Lexie replied.

  ‘You must try to enjoy yourself tonight.’

  Lexie nodded, her instincts on high alert, looking for anything that suggested his demeanour had altered towards her. It hadn’t. Rocco was his flirty, touchy-feely self. While he was talking, Lexie had to concentrate on keeping her eyes locked on his, instead of searching for Lucky and Johnny. She also had the feeling she was being watched from above, though did not dare to glance up. Don’t get paranoid . . .

  Lexie and Batman engaged in small talk with Rocco, discussing his house and other guests before Rocco realised they had not yet received a drink.

  ‘Oh, I’m a bad host!’ Rocco exclaimed. ‘I’m sorry.’ He summoned a waiter, who handed Batman a beer and Lexie a glass of champagne. Rocco’s gaze drifted over Lexie’s shoulder. ‘Oh, and here comes Tiffany,’ he said.

  With Rocco’s attention distracted for a moment, Lexie discreetly glanced at her watch.

  They had exactly fifty-three minutes to lay eyes on Lucky and Johnny and confirm they were here. In fifty-three minutes this would all be over. Rocco’s organised crime syndicate would be demolished. The bomber of the Assassins’ clubhouse would hopefully be captured. Their operations would be complete.

  Lexie had a feeling these were going to be the longest fifty-three minutes of her life.

  • • •

  When TJ had rejoined the party, Berni had remained in the bathroom to clean up after their – or more accurately, his – moment of passion. When she was done, she’d taken the opportunity to stand behind the balustrade on the top floor and gaze down at the party from above. The cocaine was working its magic and, as a waiter had walked past, she’d plucked her second (or was it third?) glass of champagne from his tray.

  Many more people had arrived since Rocco had left them – beautiful people, Berni had noticed with displeasure. It was as if a busload of attractive, scantily dressed women had been dropped at the front door. As they’d sashayed through the crowd in single file, Berni had wondered if they might be prostitutes who worked above the club, here to provide their services. Most of them could have been models and apparently some were. She couldn’t imagine how anyone could lower themselves to having sex with strange men for money. Berni didn’t stop to consider that her relationship with TJ was not dissimilar, only that she was remunerated in cocaine instead of cash.

  Berni had watched Rocco holding court, free to observe him without anyone noticing. He looked so breathtakingly handsome, so manly, she’d felt her heart race just gazing upon him. Berni imagined their first time together. It would be romantic, passionate, incredible. The chemistry between them was undeniable. It was special. There was no way Rocco had that with other girls.

  A couple had walked in through the front doors and approached Rocco. Berni watched him shake the man’s hand and exchange pleasantries. He then turned to the solid yet elegant lady who looked to be in her mid-forties. He brought her in close for a hug and whispered in her ear. The ear away from her escort’s line of vision. Berni’s stomach had clenched as, to her horror, she saw Rocco brush the woman’s neck with his lips exactly as he had done to her.

  Berni’s heart had stalled, shattered by what she had witnessed. Her disappointment and sense of betrayal had been pungent, piercing. She’d stood, frozen, watching as Rocco had made the same moves on the next four women who arrived. No doubt each walked away feeling extra special – as Berni had done. She’d felt stupid and angry. Rocco was nothing but a serial flirt and a womaniser.

  Do not cry, she’d told herself. Do not let your emotions get the better of you. This is just an act Rocco puts on. It doesn’t mean he is not attracted to you.

  Berni had gulped down the rest of her champagne and snatched another from the tray of the waiter lingering nearby then brushed away the fluffy cobwebs filling her brain, the despair licking at her heels. Rocco would be hers one day.

  She had felt lighter for just a second, until she’d glanced around at all the beautiful women Rocco could have if he desired. Did she even stand a chance? Her emotions zig-zagged and darted all over the place, exaggerated by drugs and alcohol. Then her eyes had strayed to TJ, standing in a corner, talking to another barman from the club. Berni caught him eye off a tall blonde-haired woman with inflated breasts. She felt her pulse sprint, her stomach squirm. This world was tempting to a guy like TJ, it had everything he craved: drugs, money, beautiful women. Berni would have to be careful, keep him close so he didn’t stray. She needed TJ until she got closer to Rocco. That’s right, stay positive, she’d reminded herself. Berni Kirk always gets what she wants . . .

  Staring at the empty glass in her hand, Berni wondered where the champagne had gone. The waiter was quick to offer her another. Her limbs were already growing numb. The room had softened to a blur and the light was dim, casting everything in a warm glow. The tension in her neck and back had eased, but she was waiting for the alcohol to fill the hollow gap inside her. Right now, the light-headed buzz was making her feel restless and alone.

  Berni’s eyes strayed back to Rocco. It was as if she was encoded, programmed to his magnetism, only capable of averting her gaze temporarily. He was in conversation with an elderly man. Abruptly, he excused himself. Something, or someone, had caught his attention. He split the crowd in his haste to greet a good-looking couple who had walked in. The man was tall and slim with dark hair, and wore a black suit. The woman was beautiful, wearing an emerald green dress that clung to her long, lean body. Her wavy black hair hung down her back, almost to her waist, and she wore red lipstick. The rest of her face was hazy, but Berni knew her features would be perfect. Instant dislike left a pungent taste in her mouth. She drank more champagne to wash it away.

  Rocco shook the man’s hand and kissed the woman’s cheek. Berni waited for him to do his move, whisper in her ear and brush his lips against her neck. It didn’t happen. She wondered why this girl didn’t receive Rocco’s usual routine. Perhaps he didn’t know this couple well, although he was certainly lavishing her with attention, which didn’t seem to concern the boyfriend. He was either supremely confident or very stupid, Berni thought, deciding it was time to join the party. As she began to descend the grand staircase, the room tipped and swayed. How many drinks had she had? Holding tightly to the balustrade, Berni trod very carefully. Falling would be a spectacle she could not endure.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw a shimmering flash weave through the crowd. It was Tiffany, a stand-out in a glittery gold evening dress, overly done up and with her trademark puffed-out platinum hair. Predictably, she was heading in Rocco’s direction. The stupid woman couldn’t keep away from him for long. It was embarrassing. Not that she was any threat; TJ had told Berni Tiffany’s little secret and that had annulled any jealousy she had felt towards her.

  Berni made it down the stairs
safely and figured she should head to the kitchen for some water. She needed to sober up a little. She wanted to enjoy tonight and remember it in the morning. Negotiating bodies as she crossed the large room, Berni purposely walked behind the girl in the green dress, who was still talking to Rocco. She hoped to get his attention, have him notice her among the masses; however, his eyes remained fixed on the girl in the green dress. In fact, he looked completely mesmerised.

  A knife twisted in Berni’s chest.

  She heard Green Dress laugh at something Rocco said. Her back was to Berni and she could see Rocco’s hand resting on her bare skin. Gritting her teeth, Berni strained to get a better look at her. But she was dwarfed by the crowd so it was impossible. Among all these tall, attractive people, Berni felt small and invisible.

  Stop being a downer. You’re staying the night. You’ll have time with Rocco later, when the other guests are gone; when Green Dress has gone home with her boyfriend.

  Berni was lingering, she realised, loitering, obsessively staring at Rocco’s group. If he saw her now he would think she was a freak, a weirdo. She tried to move, instructed her feet to walk. Was about to slip through the crowd when Rocco leant towards Green Dress.

  Here it was. He was making his move. Berni became transfixed, waiting for his lips to touch the skin of Green Dress’s neck. Rocco swept silky dark hair back over the woman’s shoulder and held the long mane with one hand to allow access to her ear. He spoke closely, but did not touch his lips to her skin. Raising his other hand, he touched a scar that ran along her hairline. It appeared she had tried – unsuccessfully – to cover it with makeup. When Green Dress imitated Rocco’s actions, lifting her hand and tracing her fingers over the scar, Berni imagined Rocco must have asked how she obtained such a mark. Or maybe he made a joke, because she laughed again. Berni could only just hear her deep throaty chuckle above the music, which wasn’t so loud inside the house.