by Allen, Sara
He never thought he would have a chance with Sydney Hamilton. After watching her for a month for some douche bag, he never thought he would have a chance to make her his. Now that she was there with him, he felt some kind of way about her not knowing that she was an assignment of his. He wanted to keep her trust, but he was just doing his job when he was watching her. Like she had said before, and even though he wasn’t an attorney, he too had a client privilege to uphold.
Marco’s previously relaxed state left his body with the fear of Sydney thinking he betrayed her if he told her the truth. However, he had to put that thought away, and figured he would deal with the consequences if it ever came up that he was once watching her. In the meantime, he and Sydney had a case to win against a very dangerous man, and Marco had to get all of the information he could so that the job could end quickly and he could keep Sydney safe. He just didn’t trust that this guy wouldn’t go after Syd after the shit Bradford had pulled. He had to make sure that his guard was up and that his focus was strong. Otherwise, someone would catch him slipping, and Marco Bellomi did not get caught slipping.
Chapter 11
Marco and Sydney were going strong now that they began dating officially. It had been a few weeks since they first made love and ever since, they had never been apart. They had spent almost every night together, either staying at his place or hers. He just didn’t want to be away from her. Plus, the more information he dug up on Thomas Moore, the worse his gut feeling about Sydney being in danger became. He knew she was able to handle herself because she had self-defense training, as well as boxing, but it was his job to protect her, and by any means necessary, he was going to do just that.
Marco’s clientele had picked up some, so he was unable to devote all his time to Sydney’s case. Besides, he felt like they had plenty of information to win a custody battle if it came to that. However, Sydney felt that if they let Moore and his attorney know that they had damaging information with proof against him, Moore would slink off quietly like the snake he was, leaving his wife and son alone. Marco, however, wasn’t so sure about that. He figured that he and Sydney needed to elude to the information they had without giving it all to Moore. Moore clearly was able to get whatever he wanted by any means necessary, so Marco knew that Moore would hurt Sydney if he had to, but Marco would be damned if that shit would go down.
Marco knew he had to put a plan in motion that may just jeopardize everything he and Sydney had built, but he just couldn’t risk her safety any longer.
***
The man continued to watch Sydney Hamilton. Her routine was pretty much the same every day. She would go to work, the center, and either her place or Bellomi’s. Marco was always there. There wasn’t any time that Sydney was alone. He had to make a plan to get to her. His boss was not happy with the information that Bellomi had dug up. He knew that he had been talking to that stupid bitch Cindy Collins, but there wasn’t much he could do about her. As soon as she blabbed, she got protected and disappeared. He figured it must be the Feds hiding her because there wasn’t a trace of her to be found anywhere, and if the Feds were involved, then this shit was about to get messy, and he really hated messy.
He’d been watching Sydney for nearly a month, and he could tell that she and Bellomi had become lovers during that time. Their contact with one another had changed. At first, it was friendly hugs and greetings. They once always remained at a comfortable distance and they seemed friendly but not too friendly. But lately he noticed the two of them were much cozier than before. Now they were holding hands, stealing kisses; they were practically sitting on each other’s laps. Before, it was easy to get close to her. The man had been right outside of her apartment and her firm without anyone giving him so much as a second look. Now, Bellomi was there, and he had to get those two away from each other if he was going to get close enough to her, and he knew just what to do.
***
“Hey, Syd, this package came for you this morning,” Rose called to Sydney as she entered her office.
Sydney paused at her office, turning around to get the package from Rose. Sydney took the package, examining it. “What is this? And it doesn’t have a return address. Who dropped this off?”
“A delivery guy; FedEx, I believe. He must be new, though, because I didn’t recognize him. Is something wrong?” Rose asked.
“No…I mean, it’s not ticking or anything.” Sydney chuckled nervously. “It just doesn’t have a return address. I guess I’m a little jumpy with everything that’s going on,” Sydney responded, letting out a deep breath.
What Sydney failed to tell Rose, or anybody for that matter, was that she was certain that she was being followed. She didn’t have definite proof, but she had a feeling that she was being watched, and she just couldn’t shake it no matter what time of day it was or where she was. The feeling slowly crept up on her when she saw the mysterious man standing dressed in all black on the corner of her apartment building. At first, she didn’t think anything of it, until later that week when she could’ve sworn that she saw that same man standing outside of her firm. That had been two weeks ago. Although she hadn’t seen him again, and she wasn’t completely sure that it was the same guy, she was always aware of her surroundings, and he was not someone that was regular in either place. As a matter of fact, when she tried to get a good look at him, it was as if he were avoiding being seen.
“I understand. You’re stressed with all the cases and the volunteer work at the center. Maybe you need to take a vacation or something,” Rose suggested with a small smile.
“That sounds exactly like something I need to be doing; sipping drinks with little umbrellas while soaking up the sun.”
“Take me with you,” Rose dreamily replied.
Both women sighed, coming back to reality. “Maybe in a month or so, Rose.”
“Right. You know you work too much, Syd…Oh, by the way, today is the day I need to leave a little early. My niece is debuting as the prima ballerina for her kindergarten class.” Rose laughed.
“Oh yeah. No problem. You enjoy yourself, and tell the kid to break a leg.”
“She is clumsy as hell so she just might.”
Both women laughed and went their separate ways, Rose to her desk and Sydney to her office, holding the mysterious package in her hand. She had no idea what could’ve been inside or who it was from, so she decided to just open it to see what it was.
Sydney was shocked to see what the package held. It was papers that listed information about her; emails, phone calls, pictures. Marco Bellomi had followed her for over a month. He was working for that asshole Bradford Murray! How could he betray her like this? She knew logically that it was before they knew each other and it was a job, but everything changed the minute they laid down together. The moment he had made her scream out in ecstasy, was the moment he should’ve let her know that she had been watched by his firm.
Chapter 12
“Hey, little lady. How’s your day?” Marco asked, answering his phone on the first ring.
“Not so good,” Sydney stated, her tone clipped and short. “We need to talk. Is there any way we can meet for lunch?”
“Uh yeah,” Marco responded cautiously. “Sure…You okay?”
“Can you meet me at the City Tavern in about twenty?” Sydney replied, not answering Marco’s question.
“Yeah, Bella Donna…I can do that. See you in twenty.”
When Sydney disconnected the call without saying goodbye, Marco knew the shit had hit the fan. There’s nothing worse than your woman telling you “we need to talk.” Marco wiped his hands down his face, and blew out a long sigh.
Shit!
Marco closed out his work on his computer and grabbed his keys. “Mel, I’m going to meet Syd for lunch. Don’t know how long it will take. If there’s anything urgent, call me. Otherwise, just let Frank know.”
“Sure thing, boss…. Everything alright ?” Mel asked, her perfectly arched brow raised high in question.
&
nbsp; “I hope so,” Marco all but mumbled as he left the office.
Marco knew that Sydney was upset. He had never heard her use that clipped tone to anyone, especially him. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good.
Twenty minutes later, Marco was sitting at a booth in the back of City Tavern waiting for Sydney to arrive. He felt anxious, and he didn’t know how to act. He had never let anyone get him this riled up before, particularly a woman, but he knew that Sydney wasn’t just any woman. He was falling for her fast, and he didn’t want to lose her.
Sydney walked into the bar looking radiant as usual. Her hair was actually down for once, falling in soft waves around her face. She had on a light blue shift dress with a pair of matching heels. Her make-up was light with a touch of lip gloss. She would’ve looked like a walking wet dream if it weren’t for the tight look she held on her face as she approached.
“Hey, Bella Donna,” Marco tentatively spoke. He was a man that knew when he was in the dog house.
“Hey.” Sydney slid into the opposite side of the booth and pulled out a large envelope from her bag. She looked Marco directly in the eye as if she were searching for something. Her beautiful brown orbs were filled with anger and what Marco saw to be hurt.
Is Sydney hurt? She looks to be in such pain, Marco thought as he reached for her hand. But Sydney pulled her hand away before he could touch her, and she slid the large envelope closer to him.
“Open it,” she said with a nod.
Marco sat up straight and let out a long breath. He opened up the package and looked at the contents, seemingly unfazed. He knew that he should’ve told her about having to follow her, but it was part of his job not to.
“Syd, I can explain this…”
“Really, Marco? Why didn’t you tell me that you knew who I was before I hired you? Hell, after I hired you, or maybe before we slept together, or even after that? I trusted you. Why wouldn’t you tell me this?”
“Syd, you know as well as I do that when you have a job like I do, you can’t go running your mouth. I am known for being discreet, and that didn’t change just because we were together.”
Sydney sat back, stunned at the lack of empathy Marco had for her feelings. “I get that it was your job, but you still should’ve told me. We are in a relationship. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Of course it does, Bella Donna. Don’t be silly. You know you mean the world to me…I would never hurt you intentionally, you know that…you have to know that,” Marco pleaded with his hazel eyes locked onto her brown ones.
“I’m not being silly, Marco… I just…” Sydney shook her head and cleared her throat, seemingly keeping the tears at bay. “I just didn’t think you would keep something like this from me…I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I felt like I could tell you almost anything, and you could tell me anything.”
Marco grabbed Sydney’s hand brushing his lips over her shaking palm. “Sweetheart, you know better than anyone that there are things about our jobs we can’t divulge, even to each other.”
“I get it…I am just… hurt…I think I need some time to work this out…” Sydney replied, slowly pulling her hand from his grasp.
Marco’s shoulders slumped. His heart hurt so badly that it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. But he understood. “I understand, Syd. Take the time you need, but just know I would do anything to make you happy, and to protect you. You know that, right?”
Sydney nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She knew he wanted to protect her, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
***
Sydney left the bar feeling like she was hit by a bus. Her head hurt, her body hurt, her feelings were hurt, and worst of all, her heart was hurt. She knew that she was slowly falling for Marco as they got to know each other. She knew that sleeping with a man so quickly was her down fall in the past, and why she thought this time was any different was beyond her. She shook her head at herself. I should’ve known better. I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. It just felt so right with him.
Sydney stood up straight, took a deep breath, and shook her head again to clear away the self-pity she was feeling. Sydney got in her car and headed to her office. She had a woman and her son to help, and nothing was going to stop her from helping them, not even her questionable judgment when it came to her love life. Throwing a pity party over something like this just wasn’t her style. She would deal with Marco and his betrayal later. With all the new information on the Moore case, she knew that her client wouldn’t even have to go to court. They would go to a mediator if they had to, but Sydney didn’t think that Thomas Moore would even want that after she finished with talking to his lawyer.
Forty-five minutes later, Sydney was at her office waiting on her client. Mrs. Moore had called her saying that she needed to speak with her urgently. She sounded panicked, and she was sniffling like she was crying. Sydney’s alarm bells instantly went off.
Sydney’s office phone beeped. It was Rose letting her know that Megan had arrived. As Megan entered the office, Sydney could tell that something was extremely wrong.
“Megan, what happened? You look as if you saw a ghost,” Sydney remarked taking in Megan’s unkempt appearance. Her blouse was wrinkled and partially untucked from her pants. Her normally coifed hair was coming down from her bun, strands were hanging wildly around her face.
“I saw someone today… an associate of my dear husband….I know of this man. He’s around on occasion, without really being there, if you know what I’m saying.”
“Megan, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I am understanding you…. Please have a seat. I’ll have Rose get you some water…and start from the beginning.”
Sydney led Megan to the large couch she had in her office. She gave her the bottle of water Rose brought and Megan began to tell her everything from the beginning.
“There’s this man that has always just kind of been there, you know? He doesn’t say much, and I’ve never had a real conversation with him. My husband only said that he was a longtime associate, and I would never have to worry about who he was. I know him only as Mr. Blackwell. Thomas never told me anything more about him. I didn’t see him that often, but I soon came to realize that he was some kind of fixer. He would only show up when my husband had some kind of problem.” Megan exhaled her breath as she continued. “I was never privileged enough to know what my husband’s dealings were. I wasn’t exactly his confidant, but I heard the whisperings… I’m not a dumb woman…I know my husband is not a good man.…” Megan trailed off, seemingly remembering things about her husband that she didn’t want to admit.
Sydney grabbed Megan’s hand to comfort her. “I know that you aren’t dumb…I would never think such a thing. When things were at its worse, you sacrificed yourself to get your son to safety. That takes courage, Megan. Don’t be so hard on yourself. He was your husband after all. We tend to make excuses for the people closest to us in our lives.” Sydney was trying to reassure Megan because the woman seemed to be unraveling right before her eyes.
“What does this Mr. Blackwell have to do with why you look so panicked? I assume that is the reason you brought him up, right?” Sydney questioned.
“Yes…I’m sorry I’m rambling….” Megan cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts. “Like I said, Mr. Blackwell only comes around when my husband seems to have a problem…and now I am my husband’s problem.”
Sydney shook her head, still not grasping everything that Megan was telling her. “So you saw an associate of your husband’s and you assume you are in some kind of danger?”
“I don’t assume…I know…This man isn’t seen unless he wants you to see him. He just sits and watches…a cold chill went up Sydney’s spine at Megan’s revelation.
“Seeing him today is some kind of warning…I have to get my son out of here….I tried doing this the legal way, but I think it’s time I take my son and get far away from here.”
Megan began to cry. “I know…I ju- just don’t know what I’m going to do! I can’t let him have my son!” Megan yelled, growing almost hysterical.
“Okay…It’s okay…” Sydney was using a soothing voice, trying to get Megan to calm down. “We can get a safe place for you to hide while I take care of your custody battle. I can look into this Blackwell person and make sure he’s not a threat. I promise that you and your son will be alright.”
Megan nodded her acquiesce.
Chapter 13
Sydney knew just who to call to get Megan and her son a safe place to stay.
“Hey, Kel, I need another favor,” Sydney said to her best friend after she picked up on the second ring.
“Damn, you only call when you need something nowadays. How about ‘Hey, girl, you wanna go get a drink? Maybe ‘I’ll buy you dinner for the last favor you did for me’?” Kelly questioned sarcastically.
“I know, I know. But this is a level ten situation.”
Kelly sat up, instantly recognizing their code for emergencies they had since college. “Okay, Syd, I’m listening. What can I do to help?”
Sydney told Kelly all she could about the case she was working on and how she needed a safe place to stash her client. Kelly, being the CEO of one of the largest hotel chains in North America, had plenty of places Megan and her son could stay without any red flags or questions being raised. Although Megan was hesitant to let her son go without her, they had to be moved separately just in case anyone was watching. Megan left Haley’s House dressed in baggy jeans and a short brown wig under a hoody sweatshirt with a woman and her young daughter. She looked like a teenage boy to anyone watching. TJ had left earlier in the day with a group of children going on a field trip. He and two other boys were dressed similar so that when TJ slipped away, nobody would notice.