by Lacey Silks
I freshened up in the washroom and headed downstairs, where my mom was already up making breakfast.
“Why are you not sleeping in?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me? Do you know the last time I had guests over for breakfast? Never. And why are you not sleeping in?”
“Work.”
“Aha. Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know yet. Listen, if I have to go away for a few days with April, would you watch the kids?”
“By watch, you mean, don’t leave the house?”
“Yes. Not even for school or shopping. I’d get you everything you needed before we left. I can get Parker’s school work and we can have Charlie’s emailed so the kids don’t fall behind.”
“And can I know where you’re going?”
“Switzerland.”
“Business?”
“And maybe some pleasure. I’m not sure if we’ll need to go just yet, but if we do…”
“I’m here for anything you need.”
“And you know where the gun is, right?”
“Sean…”
“Please, Mom, don’t ask questions. I’d have extra security here so you’d be safe, but just in case. I need them safe. I need you safe.”
“Of course, honey. I’ll take care of them.”
“Thank you.”
“Take care of who?” April stepped into the kitchen. She was wearing one of my shirts and a pair of boxer shorts rolled up around the waist. Looking at her long legs gave me a hard on.
“Join me in the sun room?”
Last night’s storm had passed. Early fog hovered over the landscaped property, slightly lifting and dissipating. April sat down in one of the lounge chairs, and I passed her a cup of coffee, lowering my lips to hers for a delectable kiss. She shrank back for a moment, slightly caught off guard.
“Are you ashamed to kiss me, beautiful?”
“Your mom is next door.”
“So?”
Her cheeks flushed, reminding me of that pink shade of her nipples, and my dick got hard again.
“And I have questions.”
I still had to earn her full trust back. I had hoped that last night showed her how much she meant to me and how much I needed her, but with April’s history, it didn’t exactly surprise me that it would take time for us to rebuild that first connection.
“I was thinking that maybe we should clear things up first before anything else happens, Mr. Marks.” She straightened her back. My real name sounded so much better on her lips.
“I can do that.”
She gave me that questionable look and tilted her head to the side. Morning sun shone onto her brown hair, lightening it, and I had trouble concentrating on anything else.
“So you were hired by someone to find out whether I have fifty million dollars from the insurance policy my deceased husband supposedly set up. Well, now that you know I don’t have it, what’s next? Do you just report to your ‘boss’ and that’s that?”
“It’s not that simple.” I reached for the manila envelope that had been waiting on the side table for the right moment, and handed it to her. Her brows scrunched up, and I nodded for her to open it.
She pulled out the photographs, and her jaw dropped open. Her eyes popped out and breathing quickened. Slowly, her hand, the one she held the evidence in, began trembling.
“Now do you understand why they won’t believe you don’t have the money?”
Speechless, she stared. Once in a while April closed her mouth when she thought she was ready to speak, and then she opened it again without a sound. Aware of exactly what I had shown her, I waited until the information sank in.
“That’s… that’s me.” She pointed to the woman in the picture at the bank, counting money, stuffing it in a bag, and then signing documents.
“Yes.”
“But it’s not me.” She shook her head.
“If you say so, I believe you.”
“I think I would have known if I had withdrawn fifty million dollars. I didn’t.”
“Like I said, I believe you. My boss won’t. They’re convinced you hid it. They wouldn’t have hired me to get the money they were promised if they weren’t sure. We have to prove it, or…”
“Or what?”
“Or find the fifty million.”
“What, they want my bank account numbers? Statements that aren’t that amazing?”
“Won’t work. You could have stacked it in a secret account, or be holding it in cash.”
She dropped the pictures to the floor and lowered her head into her hands. “Why is this happening to me? Why won’t they just leave me alone?” she sobbed.
Shit!
I crouched on the floor in front of her. At that moment, I’d have done anything to take away that fear enveloping her body. She finally lifted her head, and when I saw her tear-filled eyes, I promised myself to make things right. Whoever had fucked with her life may as well have dug his own grave.
“We’ll fix things.”
“How?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“There’s always a choice, April. I don’t want you going into this unless you trust me.”
She waited a moment as if setting a new resolve for herself. “Okay, then I trust you. What do I have to do?”
“First, find out exactly who your twin is.” I pointed to the picture. “I have a feeling that once we find her, we also find the money.”
“But where do we start?”
“We go to Switzerland this coming weekend. Talk to the bank and see what information we can get.”
“This weekend? But…”
“We don’t have much time. I might be the only one hired to look for the money at the moment, but the longer I take, the more likely it is that my boss will hire others. And they won’t be as understanding. See, when I do a job, I make sure the perpetrator deserves the punishment. Others don’t care as much. They don’t ask questions.”
“Punishment… meaning death?”
“Usually they get what they deserve.”
“I don’t like people who put themselves above the law.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Both my brothers are cops, by the way.”
“I know. And I’m not trying to put myself above the law. That’s the total opposite. I’m just trying to bring justice to those that our system fails. I thought it was my boss who was the victim. I thought you were the one who scammed them of their money. But I was wrong, April, and I’m glad that I was.”
“How are you able to do all this?”
“I network with lawyers, the police, private investigators, and government departments to make sure the job I do is justified.”
“But the justice system…”
“The justice system fails us more than it helps us.”
Please trust me. Please believe me. It’s the only way this will work.
“Okay, we go to Switzerland. What’s next?”
“We leave in a week. I’ll set everything up. In the meantime, you’ll continue with your normal routine. I’ll watch over Parker at school. When we leave, I’d like him to stay here with my mom and Charlie.”
“I can have my brothers watch him.”
“He’ll be safer here. I promise.”
“Can I decide just before we leave?”
My house was off the grid. It didn’t even exist on a map. I wouldn’t leave Charlie here if it weren’t safe. But I couldn’t push April too much.
“Fine.”
“Okay.” She lowered her gaze to the floor. I crouched in front of her again and lifted her chin with my finger.
“Look at me, April. I know that’s a lot to take in, but I need you to be that strong and confident woman I met in Hawaii. No doubts. No hesitation. Okay?”
I gently brought my lips to hers, barely touching them, giving myself only a tease of her taste. She didn’t move, but I could tell it gave her the ass
urance she needed.
“I’m with you on this all the way. No matter what it takes. I promise you’ll have your life back soon, and hopefully it will still include me and Charlie.”
Her face softened. I would have given my life to see every day what I saw in her eyes at that moment. This woman would either save me, or be the ruin of me.
“I don’t want Parker to know about this.”
“I agree. The less we tell the kids, the better. I’m not going to ruin their innocence with fear.”
Her eyes bulged wider.
“They’re safe here.” I reaffirmed. “I’ll keep my eye on Parker during the school week and can have a friend watch your house 24 hours a day until we leave. Or…”
She held her breath as if she knew what I was about to propose.
“Or you stay here with me.”
“In your room?”
“In whichever room you want.”
She exhaled.
“Mom?”
“Dad?”
Parker and Charlie both peeked into the sun room. I blocked April’s body, giving her enough time to compose herself, saying, “Good morning. Ready for a fun day?”
“You have more planned?” Parker asked in awe.
“Well, I was thinking we could take the boat out on the river and catch dinner.”
“Can we, Mom?”
“Yes, I think that would be fine.”
As April stood up, I whispered, “Don’t answer me now. Wait until after dinner.”
I saw in her eyes that she wanted to argue, but she didn’t. If she was as intelligent as I knew she was, she wouldn’t forget what we had talked about, or all the possible dangers that going back to her place involved.
After breakfast, I excused myself to book our flight to Switzerland and set up the appointments with the bank. When I came back to the kitchen, April was gone.
“She said she went to get some stuff from her house,” my mom explained.
“How long ago?”
“Half an hour.”
“Kids?”
“They’re building a fort on the deck with blankets and chairs. Go. I’ll watch them.”
“Thank you.”
On my way to Pinehurst, I picked up a bunch of lilies and stopped by the cemetery. The date on Charlie’s headstone would forever be engraved in my memory. In a way, we both died that day. My headstone was next to hers, except I just went off the grid. Being here, thinking about that day, never got easy. No matter how much time passed, I could never forgive myself for what I’d done. Hopefully, when our daughter grew up and I was brave enough to tell her the truth, she’d forgive me for not getting help for her mother in time.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and set the flowers in the permanent vase, pouring the bottle of water I’d brought inside. “I met someone the way you told me to. Finally. It only took seven years. She’s not you, but she’s solid. I mean, she’s someone I could see Charlie looking up to. And she makes me happy. She takes away the pain of losing you, and I hope that one day I can let her fill my heart the way you did. She’ll never fill it completely, because you’ll always own a piece of it. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d like to move on and do it right. I’m not sure how to do that just yet. It’s complicated, but life is usually complicated, and…”
From the corner of my eye, a slight movement caught my eye. I stayed still, not wanting to draw attention to myself. It was April. She was sitting on a bench by a grave, talking and wiping her tears with a tissue. I wanted to go to her and comfort her, but when I saw someone peek from behind a tree, I stayed in my spot, watching both him and April. Fifteen minutes later, she stood up and walked back to the parking lot. The man followed her. His hairpiece slid off center, and he adjusted it. The sun bounced off his sunglasses. His entire demeanor screamed, “Look at me.” He didn’t appear to be a professional, and his posture looked a lot like the man who followed us from the zoo.
He got into a black SUV and followed April. I, of course, had to pursue them both. Whatever his business was with her, it had now become my business, and he was my problem.
She parked her car in the driveway and went inside her house. A minute later, he followed her in.
“Why didn’t you lock the door?” I said to myself and ran to the house. When I entered, it was quiet. Either he’d already gotten to her, or he had yet to see her. The shuffling of her feet upstairs and humming under her nose told me it was the latter. She came back down with a suitcase and a bag, and I couldn’t help but smile. I snuck into the dining room, which gave me a better view of the kitchen and the partially open pantry door.
Amateur.
As soon as April went to the kitchen and crossed the hallway toward the front, I grabbed her, covering her mouth, and whispered. “It’s me. Don’t scream. Someone’s in your house. Do as I say.”
She nodded. I guided her behind a curtain in the living room and pulled the fabric over her body, completely covering her. “Don’t move.”
She nodded again.
I scuttled back to the front door and opened it, making sure it was loud. I could confront him in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure whether he was armed, and I’d left my gun at home. It had been a while since I’d had to carry one on me, and it looked like I’d have to make it a routine again.
“April? I’m here. Dave called and said he’s a minute away. You know, when you said I’d meet your brother, you didn’t tell me he’d threaten me like a cop.”
I listened for the sound of the back door opening and closing.
There ya go!
The intruder dashed out the back door, and I hurried to the front window to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator. A gun was stashed in the back of his pants.
Good call not to apprehend him, Sean.
Without a weapon of my own, he would have had the upper hand. Especially since he seemed to have no qualms about entering someone else’s house. Who the hell was he?
“He’s gone.” I pulled the dining room curtain aside to find April, trembling.
“Oh, my God!” She fell into my arms.
“Shh, you’re okay now.” I smoothed her hair back, keeping my lips at her scalp. “But I must insist that you and Parker stay at my house.”
“I have a few more things to pack.”
“Good.”
“How did you know?” she asked.
“I was at the cemetery visiting Charlie’s grave. It looks like we have even more in common than we thought. I saw him follow you from there. I didn’t think Simon would be buried outside the city.”
“It was his wish. His dying words to me were to bury him at Crossover Cemetery.”
Really? Shouldn’t he have said he loved her and Parker?
“Let’s get your stuff and go.”
“Okay.”
I quickly typed a message to Gord, asking him to give me all the details on Crossover Cemetery. If my instincts were right, then Simon didn’t choose it by accident.
Chapter 17
April
My entire work week had been canceled, and I signed Parker out of school with a vacation excuse. Given we didn’t want anyone to suspect we were together, Sean still taught there during the day. Lily had volunteered to do homework with Parker, while I made plans to catch up on paperwork. My dad usually never questioned my time off, but with this request to work from “home” just over a month after my vacation in Hawaii, even he raised an eyebrow.
“Is everything okay, honey?” he asked when I called him on Sunday night.
“Yes, I just have some personal things on my mind.”
“Is it Sean? Because he looks like an honest man. You know you can talk to me about anything.”
My dad was the best judge of character, so I welcomed his affirmation.
“Sean’s great. I promise it’s nothing to worry about,” I lied.
My son never asked why we were not going back home and instead staying at his teacher’s house, but I had a feeling he knew more than he wa
s letting on.
I called Millie first thing on Monday and told her I’d be working from home for a while. She wasn’t happy, but was definitely excited that I’d be spending more time with “Eagle Man.” I missed work. Getting lost in a new case was exactly what I needed to stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong in Europe; and paperwork did not match the rush I got when examining a body. But when she called me mid-week and I told her I was flying out to Switzerland, she nearly had a heart attack.
“You’re officially worrying me. What’s going on?”
“This stays between me and you.”
“I’m listening.”
“And no matter how much my brother begs you, you know nothing.”
“I cross my heart.”
“Even if he offers sex.”
“Well, now you’re pushing it.”
“I’m serious.”
“All right, all right. Not even for sex with Dave.”
I quickly told her about everything that had happened since I’d found out Sean was not a teacher. Of course I left out the part where I was supposed to impersonate the woman who impersonated me to try and find where she’d stashed the money. Millie was so quiet I thought she’d hung up.
“What do you think?”
“You’ve gone from an eagle man to a peacock to a full-out vulture. I feel like you’re living the adventure I want.”
“Millie, this is serious. Like fifty million times more serious than usual.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to involve Dave?” she asked. “He’s a cop. A really good cop, although don’t tell him I said that. I’m sure he can help.”
“No, I’ve already asked him for too much, and he has more questions than I can answer. If he knew the truth, he’d be acting like a father all over again.”
“Maybe he should be.”
Dad hadn’t taken Mom’s passing too well, and my brothers had taken over her role for a while. Given that they were four years older than me, at eight it felt like they were twenty. And they sure acted like it, too.
“Look, Dad’s done great as a single parent. I don’t want him worried about me, and I don’t want my brothers trying to step into a parent’s place again. Do you remember when I went to my prom? Justin waited outside the hall until the dance was over and personally drove me home. And they haven’t met Sean yet. I’m sure they’d have way too many questions that I’m not ready for or can’t answer.”