Image of Deceit

by Raines, Rumer

  “Isn’t this nice? My husband’s slut came to gloat,” Sam’s gravelly voice whispers.

  “Are you happy to see me like this, Alexis? You spoiled bitch. You had Nick and now you’ll get Noah,” Sam continues while I just stare at this empty fucking vessel in front of me. Anyone else in her position would be asking for help. She is still spewing her hatred towards me.

  “I’m sorry,” I shout since I am still standing across the room from her. Oliver puts his hand on my lower back to give his support.

  “What?” Sam asks and even though I knew she heard me, I say it again. I tell her that I am sorry for what happened with Nick. I tell her that I would never have gotten involved with him if I had known he was married. I reach into my purse and pull out a bottle of water and I walk towards her. Oliver grabs my arm to stop me, but I shake my head and pull away from him. I lift the bottle as Sam narrows her eyes and tilts her head back to take a few sips. She is so thirsty that she tries to drink too fast and almost chokes. I lightly tap her back and she narrows her eyes at me.

  “Sam… Lola has two babies. They cry for her every day. What did they do to deserve this?” I whisper as I move the hair away from her face.

  “I asked for a trade. Nick’s body for hers,” she says, and I glance back at Oliver whose eyes have suddenly gone cold.

  She wants proof that Nick is dead. I don’t understand it at first, but then it occurs to me. If Nick’s body is found, he can be declared legally dead. She wants his shares of Noah’s company and his money. I am positive that his body wasn’t put somewhere that could be easily accessed. It’s been over a year and no one has stumbled across it. I look over at Oliver and I am assured by the look on his face that I shouldn’t even think about making the request.

  “If you tell us where Lola is, I can promise you that Noah will sign over Nick’s shares to you,” I offer, and I watch as her eyes widen.

  “Do you think I would fall for that? Lawyers would have to be involved and none of them would let that happen without Nick being there,” she smirks.

  “No ordinary lawyer would. You know who my brothers are, Sam. Tell me where Lola is, and I promise you that it will be done.” I reach into my purse and pull out a recent picture of the twins and hold it for her to see. “These babies need their mother, Sam,” I whisper, and Sam looks away from me. I start to walk away when Sam suddenly rambles off an address. She warns that we’ll need more people with us. A small tear falls on my way toward the door. I promised Sam that she would be given Nick’s shares of Noah’s companies. I promised her that Alex and Frank would make it happen for her. The truth is, I doubt that she’ll live through the night once we find Lola.

  Oliver calls Alex and gives him the address. When we finally arrive Alex, Frank, and Thomas are waiting. Oliver and I jump out of the car and Alex and Frank look stunned to see me. When Alex starts yelling about Oliver putting me in harm’s way, Oliver shouts back that I am the reason they have the address. Frank reminds them both that there is no time for arguing and tells me to get into his truck and lay in the backseat as he pulls his gun out.

  Several gunshots later, Frank walks out holding Lola in his arms. He gently lays her in the backseat with me and we rush her to the hospital. The doctors advise that Lola is severely dehydrated and malnourished, but she will survive.

  The hospital lobby soon becomes a meeting place for everyone that was at the safehouse. Everyone waits until it’s their turn to see Lola. It doesn’t take me long to realize that none of the kids are here. I ask Adele who’s watching them, and she gives me a small smile. They were all in such a hurry that they had to get a spur of the moment babysitter, but she would greatly appreciate it if I can go relieve him.

  I have been such a bitch to her and Lola that at this point I think I owe her this one. She gives me the key and I head back to the safehouse to watch the kids. Once inside I come face to face with Noah.

  Noah

  I am not a praying man. When Alex got the call that Sam had given the address, I prayed. I prayed that Lola was still alive. I prayed that she wasn’t too badly hurt and that she would still able to be an active mother to her kids. I wanted to go with them when they were called, but they insisted that I would only get in their way. Alex tortured Sam and I hated to hear her screams. She knew I was there and she would call out for me to help her when the pain became too much.

  Working with the mob had its disadvantages. You had to prove yourself to them. They only trust you if they have information on you. Or at least that’s the way the Delucas work. Once Lola was found, Alex called me to advise that I needed to do my part. I went to where they kept Sam and I pulled out the loaded gun that Frank had left for me. Sam’s eyes widened when she saw it was me coming into the room. She looked relieved to see me and took a deep breath. I slowly approached her and pulled out the gun. I saw one tear fall down her cheek before I shot her twice in the head.

  I thought I would cry or get sick after killing her. I hadn’t felt anything but a little relief. I had killed the woman that killed my only brother. Sam pressured me for months to find Nick. She knew we believed he was alive knowing that she had already sealed his fate.

  The gun had felt so heavy in my hand, but I remembered the last thing that Frank told me was not to leave the fucking gun. I walked out and sent a message to Thomas that the deal had been done. I can’t remember the exact words I used, but fuck it, I just killed the woman that I thought of as my sister for years. Alex assured me that once she was dead, Thomas would get rid of her body. The only request I had made was that she wouldn’t be put anywhere near Nick. I wanted him to rest in peace.

  When I finally got back to the safehouse everyone was rushed to go the hospital. I noticed Adele wasn’t rushing anywhere and she said that someone needed to stay with the kids. I must have been in shock because I volunteered to babysit them, so she could go see Lola.

  Now that everyone as gone, I play a few rounds of hide and seek with the kids, in which I only pretending to look for them. After the last round, I let them know it’s now bedtime. I finally have them tucked away and the house is quiet, when, suddenly, I hear a car pull up. The front door slowly opens, and I am face to face with Alexis.

  I take a deep breath at the sight of her. She is more beautiful than I remember. Her eyes widen in shock as we finally stand there staring at each other. I slowly walk towards her as she looks me over. I softly cup her face in both hands and pull her tightly against me. I lower my lips to hers and for the first time in months, I feel as if I am home.

  Alexis whispers that she can’t believe I am here. Our happy reunion quickly changes as she starts to question me on what I was doing with Thomas and Oliver. I close my eyes and pull away from her before telling her that I had no choice but to make a deal with the devil. Alexis and I have both have had the people closest to us lie to us. The last thing I will do is lie to her. I pull her over to the sofa and once she’s seated I tell her everything. It’s not easy telling her that I had to trick Sam to get her back to Chicago and that I knew she was being tortured daily. I sat by silently while I listened to her screams and her calling out to me. Alexis cringes and turns away from me while I describe the sounds and smells that I endured. I explain to her how I managed to co-exist with Frank, Alex, Oliver, and even Thomas. I don’t think I will have to avoid Chicago anymore, which is a relief because I don’t think I can stay away from her. When Alexis’ beautiful dark eyes stare into mine, she asks me the one question I was afraid to answer. She asked me if I knew when Sam would be released and if she’ll still cause me problems in Boston.

  I lean back and run my hand through my beard. I turn towards her refusing to hide the truth.

  “Sam is dead,” I whisper, and her eyes widen.

  Alexis starts asking more questions. She wanted to know who, what, when, and why. I stare at her remembering when I felt like a normal person. I was a normal person before I pulled the trigger. I stare into her eyes and explain that I had no other choice but t
o kill Sam. It had to be done and her brothers insisted that I had to be the one to do it. I had to prove to them that I could be trusted. I had to make a fucking sacrifice and now I must trust them not to turn their backs on me. Months ago, I hated every one of them. Hell, I wanted to kill Alex and Frank. I stood in the alley with a gun and waited for them. Today, I killed Sam because they instructed me to do so. They could have easily killed her, but they didn’t trust that I wouldn’t go to the cops. If I try to take them down, they know I’ll go down with them. I swallow realizing that I am no better than any of them.

  I feel a warm hand on my face and I glance at Alexis. She gives me a gentle smile and nods, still accepting me even though I am now a cold-blooded killer.

  Noah

  It’s been one month since I killed Sam. Lola has been recovering quite well. The family has dinner together every Sunday, and I have gone to each one with Alexis. I no longer feel threatened or have hatred toward Frank and Alex. They both have seemed to warm up to me a little bit as well. I won’t say they talk to me about their business, but I can’t say I want to know about it either. Maurice has really become a big Alexis fan and always asks about her when I call to discuss business. I think he has gotten used to me being in Chicago seventy-five percent of the time. Luckily being fifty percent owner of the company allows me privileges such as phone conferences. The Delucas did have Nick declared legally dead. I am not sure how they did it and I didn’t ask any questions. One of the hardest things I had to do, was to tell my parents that their favorite son was dead. I told them that he was protecting a woman and Sam killed him. My parents both confided that they never liked Sam and they then surprised the hell out of me.

  Nick had told my parents that he was having an affair. He was unhappy in the marriage and thought Sam was only after his money. I guess my brother was smarter than I thought because he had left everything to my parents in the event of his death. I had to laugh when I heard that. Sam did all this scheming for nothing. Even if she had proven he was dead, she wouldn’t have gotten a penny.

  My parents wanted to sign their shares over to me, but instead, I purchased them from them. I close my laptop for the night as Alexis finally comes home from work. She comes directly to me and gives me a kiss and I pull her into my lap to nuzzle her neck. There is nothing better than having the woman you’re in love with come home to you at night.

  Alexis pulls away suggesting that we go out to dinner and I pull her back telling her that I will cook. The last thing I want to do is go out tonight. When we are finally finished with dinner, we clean up and I throw her over my shoulder and we head to bed. I watch as she settles herself on the bed and I remove my clothes before crawling onto the bed and nestling between her legs. She looks so damn sexy as she strips her shirt over her head and yanks off her pants. I think this woman was created just for me.

  “Tell me what you want me to do to you,” I whisper as I crawl further between her legs kissing each inch of her.

  “I want you to fuck me so hard, that I will never forget who I belong to,” she tells me, and I thrust into her making sure I do exactly that.

  Alexis

  Noah and I have been together for three months. I honestly don’t think I have ever been happier. He spends a majority of his time in Chicago. He does occasionally have to fly back to Boston for a few days, but when he does I put in more hours at the store.

  This morning, I had woken up to find my leg thrown over Noah’s and him pressing his thick cock inside me. He had to go back to Boston and he wanted to make sure I was taken care of before he left. My whole body is still aching even now, hours later, reminding me of every place he had touched. I am not sure why, but something just doesn’t feel right today. I am used to the aching that Noah causes, but to be honest, I haven’t felt that great for days. I am having dinner tonight with Adele and Lola so hopefully, this will pass.

  Lola is doing so much better, but I can tell she is still a little uneasy about going out at night. I think she would have had a panic attack if we chose to go anywhere else, but Deluca’s. I am sure that Alex and Frank will be lurking around somewhere, and I think having them nearby with guns will make Lola feel better.

  “I think Alexis and I will just take all the chocolate you can bring,” Adele moans and my eyes lift as I look up at her

  “Why do I need chocolate?” I ask, and Alex growls giving her a quick kiss. “On that note… I have work to do,” he adds, and Frank nods and leaves too.

  “We always eat chocolate together this time of the month,” Adele reminds me, and I feel the air being sucked out of my lungs as she innocently looks at me. I excuse myself to the ladies’ room and throw water onto my face as I stare at myself in the mirror.

  “I’m late,” I whisper, and I watch as the color slowly drains from my face.

  On the way home, I find myself at the drugstore staring at several types of pregnancy tests. Why does there have to be so many brands and tests? I grab two tests and head home.

  I stared at the test for days. I just couldn’t force myself to take one. How can I when the results can change my life?

  It’s been a week and the test remain untouched. Noah and I have been through so much, but I am not sure we are ready to go through this. I tuck away the test in the night stand as I think of our future.

  Noah should be home today. I can’t wait to see him and talk about our potential surprise pregnancy. As I try to find the perfect words, the phone rings. Noah says that he ran into a few issues at the office and he won’t be able to come back until next week. I sigh and hang up on him as he reminds me that he loves me. I didn’t say it back, I am pissed off. How can we have a real future if he’s only going to be here for me part-time?

  “What is going on with you?” Adele asks me as we close the store. I glance at her and shrug my shoulders not knowing what she’s talking about?

  “Your boobs,” she whispers, and I look down at them and lift my eyes back at her.

  “What about them?” I ask.

  “They look…bigger,” she tells me as she laughs and walks away with me staring like an idiot at my own boobs.

  I have ignored most of Noah’s phone calls. He’s left me several messages apologizing and begging me to talk to him. I am just so fed up with him and Boston. It never bothered me before, but for some reason, it’s really pissing me off now. It’s one thing for him to go to Boston and to say he’ll be back on Tuesday and show back up on Tuesday. It’s another story for him to say he’ll be back on Tuesday and call telling me he’ll be back two weeks from Tuesday. I know I am being irrational, but I can’t help it. I lie in bed and cry myself to sleep wondering if this is the end for me and Noah.

  The next morning, I pull several suitcases out of the closet. I pack up Noah’s clothes and move the bags next to the door. Noah will be home today and once he arrives, I’ll ask him to go. I know I am not being fair, but to be honest I don’t care. I can’t handle anyone that lies to me and keep secrets. I have convinced myself that Noah is lying. He isn’t going to Boston for business, he’s seeing someone else. It is the only reason he had to extend his stay. He has been so honest with me and now he is lying.

  I don’t want Noah to go, but he has to. I lie on the floor cradling myself as the tears continue and I cry myself to sleep.

  “Baby,” I hear him whisper as he softly rubs my cheek. I lift myself up and stare into Noah’s confused dark eyes.

  “Whose bags are these?” he questions.

  “They are yours. I want you to leave,” I whisper, and Noah tilts his head in confusion.

  Noah

  I caught the first flight out of Boston. I wanted to get home to Alexis. I know she isn’t happy that I had to stay in Boston for another week. However, something else was wrong with her. She was snippy when she did talk to me and then she stopped answering my calls. I left her messages begging for her to talk to me, but she wouldn’t.

  Alexis stood and looked at me and then the bags and told me this wasn’
t working for her. She needs someone in Chicago and not someone who spends so much time in another city. I nod as I listen to her and tell her that I’ll only be going to Boston once a month.

  “Did you end things with her or is she coming here?” she asks.

  I shake my head in disbelief, looking at Alexis and walking away from her, as I ask in a deadly tone, “What are you talking about?”

  “The other woman, Noah. I know you’re cheating on me. Just admit it!” she screams, and I tilt my head back and rub my beard as I attempt to contain my anger.

  “Are you fucking serious?” I yell… I guess I couldn’t contain the anger the way I wanted.

  “After everything we have been through, you’d think I would cheat on you? ” I start to laugh.

  I stalk to our bedroom to grab some of the paperwork that I keep at home. I pull open the drawer and lose my breath when I see two pregnancy tests. I take them out of the drawer and stare at them as I fall onto the bed. Is Alexis pregnant? Is this the reason why she is acting so irrationally?

  I find Alexis standing in the kitchen with a bottle of water. She doesn’t even hear me enter as she takes a sip. When she finally looks over at me, I hold up the tests. Her eyes widen, and I ask her if there is anything we should discuss. Alexis takes a deep breath and shakes her head. I tilt my head confused. Doesn't she think we should talk about this?

  When I ask her if she took the test and if she is pregnant she says she doesn’t know. She hasn’t taken one, she’s just late.

  I walk over to her and take her by the hand. “We need to take the test…now.”

  We sit next to each watching the timer in silence. I will soon find out if I am going to share a child with the woman I am in love with. I glance at Alexis and I already know the answer. She is pregnant with my child and I have just gone through her moodiness proves it. There is no way she could honestly think I would be cheating on her. Even though we are both staring at the timer, we jump when it goes off. Alexis stares at me and asks what we’ll do if it’s positive. I tell her that if it’s positive, we’ll have a baby. She rolls her eyes and I know that isn’t the answer that she wants. Sitting next to Alexis, waiting for the results only proves one thing for me, I want to have babies with this woman. If the test comes out negative, I’ll make sure she is pregnant before morning.