The Deal (The Fallen Angel Series Book 1)

by S C Cunningham

Jack888: Well, he was crazy to have left you. You’re beautiful.

  AngelEyz: Ahhh…thank you.

  Jack smiled as she beamed.

  AngelEyz: If I’m honest, my bio pic is two years old. I’ve a few more wrinkles now.

  Jack888: Trust me, you’re beautiful.

  Amy blushed and gave a little happy dance in her seat. He’s so sweet. Thank God, he can’t see me now. I’m looking a right mess.

  Jack threw his head back and laughed.

  Alice stirred on the sofa and awakened with a start. Jerking upright, her eyes darted around the room, taking everything in.

  Angel888 wrote: I have to go. Sorry.

  Amy typed quickly and closed the laptop, snapping it shut, leaving Jack888 hanging.

  She got up from the table, picked up Alice’s tea, and sat down beside her, waiting for her to calm before handing her the cup.

  “It’s OK Alice. You’re safe. He can’t get you.”

  Jack walked out of the room.

  Chapter Seventy

  The girls chatted until the early hours. Alice became more and more relaxed. She hadn’t communicated with anyone else in weeks. Her old self started to come back. Next to Amy’s strong determination she felt safe. She told Amy everything.

  “I’m supposed to be under armed guard. I hope you don’t get in trouble.”

  “Well, they haven’t done a very good job, have they? How did you escape?”

  “I don’t know. I guess my Guardian Angel helped me,” she admitted nervously. “Someone left the security door ajar, so I slipped through. No one saw. I just needed to get away. You don’t know who you can trust. Dio was a Doctor, you know. He had a hospital surgery room in his apartment. I never want to see a hospital room again as long as I live. He made me watch a few of his procedures. He was sick. Having those doctors and nurses around me made me want to retch.”

  “I’ve a pen pal friend who can find out stuff for us if we want, like where or who James is.”

  “You can’t tell your friend where we are.”

  “It’s OK. He lives on the other side of the world.”

  “That may be, but you can’t trust anyone. What if he has contacts over here?”

  “But I’ve a good feeling about him. I think I can trust him.”

  Alice yawned, too tired to argue with her.

  Amy checked her watch. They’d been talking until midnight.

  “Look, let’s talk about this in the morning. Get some sleep. Use my bed and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

  Alice looked up to protest, but Amy raised a hand at her.

  “Not another word. This is my house, my rules.”

  She took Alice into the bedroom, showed her the bathroom, and gave her a towel. Alice sat on the bed, bone-tired. Her head rolled to her chest. She started to cry. Amy sat quietly beside her, hesitantly touched her, welcomed Alice’s heaving shoulders resting against her. Alice allowed Amy to comfort her until the tears subsided.

  “Thank you,” snuffled Alice as she kicked off her shoes and pulled off her hat.

  Pink hair tumbled to her shoulders. Amy tried to hide her shock upon remembering where she’d seen Alice before.

  She was the face in the picture she’d found in James’s apartment, the photo lying on the floor. Why would he have a picture of Alice?

  Curious, she decided she better wait to ask Alice about it when they were more refreshed. She would wait ’til morning. Alice had only just started to relax.

  She kissed her on her forehead and left the room.

  She needed to find out more about James.

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Amy showered, taking extra precaution to stay quiet. Carefully and quietly, she pulled an old baggy T-shirt over her head and slipped her feet into her faithful tread-worn slippers. Tiptoeing into her compact kitchen, she poured a glass of red wine and sat at her computer. She took a chance Jack888 would still be on his computer and messaged him, ready to take Jack up on his offer.

  AngelEyz wrote: Hello, are you there? Please be there.

  No answer. She examined the clock, working out the time difference between their time zones. He had to be no more than five or six hours behind her. So, he should still be awake.

  She tried again.

  Hello, Jack888, are you there?

  Nothing. She took another sip of her wine.

  She’d call Sally for a chat if it weren’t so late. Her stomach rumbled. She realised she was starving. Cooking this late made her tired just thinking about it; besides, she didn’t want to disturb Alice. Takeaway vendors had all shut down for the night. Her last option? Ice cream—delicious, quiet, and satisfying.

  She propped herself against pillows on the sofa, turned the television down low, and tucked into ice cream, her focus glued to a thriller movie. She dipped the spoon, missing the inside of the carton.

  Halfway through the movie, boredom set in, the plot was drifting into the mundane. Disappointed, she checked the time again.

  “For fuck’s sake. What a load of drivel? I’m not wasting another second of my life watching this crap.” She grabbed the remote and flicked the television off, blissful silence. She stared into space, contemplating the way her crazy day had unfolded.

  Ping!

  She sped to the laptop. Her tummy flipped to see Jack888 on the screen. She slid into a chair in front of the screen, tingling with excitement. She couldn’t believe how quickly he was getting to her.

  Jack888: Hey, beautiful, you OK?

  AngelEyz: Send me some pix of you. I want to see more of you.

  Jack888: Errr…well I don’t have many, but OK.

  AngelEyz: And I want to hear your voice. Can you call me?

  Silence.

  Jack888: Errr…not right now, but I will, if you give me your number.

  AngelEyz: And I want you to check out a person for me…well…two people, actually… have you got time to chat? I’m feeling a little frightened right now and can’t sleep.

  Jack888: Yeah, sure…what are the two names you want searched. And why are you frightened?

  AngelEyz: James Smythson, about thirty, lives in Knightsbridge, I think…and a polish girl called Maria Iwanska, about nineteen years old. Her mother is Eva and lives in Wales. I think she may have been in the Doctor Buchanan’s house when it was raided.

  Jack888: I thought you said you were nowhere near all that shit.

  AngelEyz: I did…I’m not…I may have lied, stretched the truth. The girl on my sofa was one of the victims. She seems to be on the run, and I’m scared I’m in the middle of a whole load of trouble.

  Jack888: Hell, yeah. OK, we’ll start with the names. Talk to me whilst my guys get back to me.

  Whilst Jack888 worked at sourcing information, they chatted to kill time, waiting on results to surface. She found it strange sharing things with someone she’d never met in person, but it felt easier than talking to someone she knew, apart from Sally.

  Jack888 was sensitive, kind, sexy, protective, funny. She loved chatting with him. It went on for hours; their gentle banter flowed effortlessly back and forth, she felt as if she’d known him forever. Before she knew it, it was 4.00 a.m.

  AngelEyz: Oh my god…I have to sleep. I’m knackered.

  Jack888: OK, I guess you’re going to need it. Alice needs looking after.

  Silence.

  Jack888: You still there?

  Silence.

  Jack888: Hello?

  Silence.

  Jack strode into the room through the wall. His concern turned to smiles as he saw Amy draped over the desk, hugging her open laptop, mouse in hand, snoring.

  Jack888 wrote: OK, speak later. Good night, Amy Fox.

  Ping!

  The sound of the message shocked Amy awake. She squinted at the last few lines of text and slowly typed.

  AngelEyz: Nite-nite.

  “Night-night, my guardian angel,” she whispered as she closed down the laptop and snuggled up on the sofa, pulling the blanket over her tired body
.

  Jack smiled as she called him her angel; he walked back out through the wall. He had many things to do.

  Amy, on the edge of falling asleep, sat bolt upright. How did he know my name?

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Jack landed on the rooftop of Amy’s apartment block. He’d spent the past two hours searching for Gregori, but to no avail.

  He sat on the roof tiles, getting his breath back. The morning sun blazed the sky with deep orange and pale blues. Birds skipped from chimneys to tree limbs shading the street. A cool breeze blew his unkempt hair from his face. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up to the sky, taking a moment to enjoy the calm before the city awoke.

  He pulled out his phone. She’d wanted to hear his voice. He wondered if it could make calls. He wasn’t sure he could bare it.

  The small phone made it difficult for his clumsy fingers to operate its functions, but he’d quickly adjusted, proud he could nearly type at a speed equal to hers. He kept his sentences short and succinct to keep up with her. In the beginning, she’d sent several messages to his one. He’d barely had time to answer one question when the next two or three came flying across his screen. She was a speedy typist.

  He scrolled through the messages, re-reading them over and over again, smiling at her humour and quick-witted observations.

  He tucked the phone inside his pocket, looked up to the skies, and made an announcement.

  “I love Amy Fox, and I’m going to get her back.”

  He stood up, looked down to his feet and let his body drop through the roof into her building.

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Jack floated into Amy’s sitting room. He stepped through the adjoining wall and peered into her bedroom. Alice lay huddled in the foetal position, gently snoring, enjoying her first uninterrupted night’s sleep in weeks.

  Happy she was safe, he crept back into the sitting room.

  Amy, sprawled across the sofa, had one leg on, one leg off, as she tossed and turned in her dreams.

  The morning sun seeped through the gap in the curtains. A white line of light travelled across her carpet, crossed over her shoulder, and settled on her beautiful face. He pulled the curtains tightly closed to prevent the light from disturbing her.

  He sat on the edge of the sofa and observed her breathing. Tears streamed down his face. He had to make this work; he couldn’t lose her.

  He pulled both slippers off her feet and gently lifted her roaming leg off the floor, returning it to the sofa. He retrieved her blanket heaped half on her, half off, and spread it across her body, tenderly tucking the edges under her hips and shoulders.

  He knelt on the floor close to her face, swiped stray strands of hair back from her eyes, and leaned down to kiss her forehead goodnight. A small sigh came from her open mouth.

  “Jack,” she whispered.

  He froze, hovering over her face. She lay still, silent. He placed his lips over her eyelids and gave butterfly kisses to her lashes. Her mouth pulled into a silent smile. He loved her smile, her dimples, the lines creasing the corners of her eyes.

  He rested his head on her forehead, closed his eyes, and breathed her in. Her smell sent tingles all over his body. What was it about her that turned him on? He took a deep breath and pulled himself up to view her. Still on his knees, he memorized every detail about her. He wanted her, now.

  Eyes closed, smiling, she gave a soft groan as her head pushed back into the pillow. Her arms stretched out above her head, her chest and hips pushed up from the sofa, her leg fell to the floor, opening, as if welcoming a lover. She groaned again, pushing her hips up into the air.

  “Jack,” she whispered, her mouth opening as if in a kiss.

  His cock lurched. She was dreaming about him. Fuck.

  He shouldn’t, should he? But they were sort of an item, and she was dreaming about him. Sod it.

  Gently pulling at the blanket, it eased to the floor. She was barelegged, wearing only a baggy T-shirt. He tentatively placed a hand on her chest. She arched her back, willing him on. He trailed his hand across her body. Feeling soft breasts through the T-shirt material, nipples hardening as she lifted her chest to join his touch.

  He wove his hand down her body to between her legs and yanked on her outer leg, forcing them wider apart, his eyes gazing up and down her body. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.

  Still on his knees, he lined himself up between her legs, pushing the T-shirt up over her hips, stomach and chest, exposing her body. His cock hardened.

  He grabbed the soft skin of her inner thighs and spread them wider. She groaned as her head rocked side to side. Her hips rose, pushing towards him, willing him to touch her. He blew cool air between her legs, across her wet lips, she giggled and shuddered.

  “For fuck’s sake, Amy, what am I gonna do with you? You are too much.” He lowered his mouth between her legs.

  Amy whimpered as her back arched and her knees lifted into the air with the exquisite shock of his tongue. She placed her hands on his head, her fingers massaging tousled hair as she pushed his grinding face into her. His mouth drove her crazy.

  “Oh my god,” she gasped.

  He couldn’t hold back any longer. He unzipped his trousers, pushed wide hands up under her bottom, grabbed her flesh, and pulled her to the edge of the sofa, lining her up to him. She lifted herself up onto elbows as if trying to see what he was doing.

  “Please, please…” she moaned, eyes closed.

  He seized her waist and eased her body onto him. She was wet. She slid down his shaft easily with a silent open-mouthed cry. Her head fell back; her eyes rolled with yearning.

  He leaned forward, took her head in his hands, held her face close to his and slowly pulled in and out of her.

  “I love you, Amy Fox. I always have.”

  Their lovemaking went on into the early hours, until, exhausted, Jack snuggled up beside her and fell asleep.

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Amy woke with a start to a darkened room, still on the sofa, but dishevelled and sweaty. Wow, what a dream!

  Jack888 had visited her, or what she imagined him to look like. She smiled at the memory of him, hugging herself under the blanket, trying to keep hold of the warm squishy feeling, before it wafted away into the ether, to that place where all dreams fade.

  She rested her hand against her forehead as reality crept back into her thoughts. She listened for Alice, but no sign could be heard from the bedroom. She checked her watch, shocked to see it was midday. What the hell? Thank God it’s the weekend.

  She snuggled back under the blanket, wallowing for a few minutes more in the lovely tingling feeling of being with Jack888.

  The next time she looked at the clock, it said 3.30 p.m. Alice was shaking her shoulders, offering her a cup of tea.

  “Wow, Amy, we’ve slept the day away. Are you ok?”

  Alice placed the tea on the floor beside the sofa and plonked herself down on the armchair facing the spread-eagled Amy.

  “Yeah, you?” croaked Amy, pulling herself up into a sitting position.

  “Yes, thank you. I feel so much better. I had a shower and borrowed this dressing gown. I hope you don’t mind. I feel bad you’re sleeping on the sofa. Was it OK?”

  “Oh, no worries. I had a great dream. And last night I chatted with my pen pal friend, Jack, who’s looking into Maria and James for us.”

  Buzz, buzz.

  The two girls jumped. The entry doorbell’s ring blasted the room. They looked at each other. Jack went to the window and stepped out of it.

  “Don’t answer it, Amy.”

  “Hey, it’s all right. It’s probably a delivery man or the mailman.”

  “Please don’t answer it.” Alice pleaded, scared and shaking.

  Amy reassured her and wrapped her arms around her, giving a reinforcing embrace.

  “Don’t worry. Stay there, I’ll have a quick look out the window to see if I can make out who it is, OK?”

&nbs
p; Buzz, buzz—buzz, buzz.

  The sound rang with more insistence. Alice grabbed Amy’s hand to pull her back.

  “Don’t.”

  “Shhhh, it’s OK. They won’t see me.”

  Amy pulled her T-shirt down over her thighs and tiptoed to the edge of the window frame. She pulled back the curtains a fraction and peered down to the street below.

  Jack stepped back into the room, his eyes furrowed in thought.

  Alice sat with baited breath, waiting to hear who was there.

  “It’s James… Oh my god, how does he know where I live?”

  Brrr, brrr, brrr.

  Amy’s phone rang, causing the two girls to jump again.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She picked up the phone and noticed a mobile number she didn’t recognise. She looked down into the street again. James paced back and forth in front of the doorstep with his phone pushed against his ear.

  “Yes,” she answered, as pissed off as she could sound.

  Alice put her hands to her face with worry.

  Jack, placing his hands on his hips, raised his eyes to the ceiling.

  “Amy, it’s me, James. I’m outside. Let me in.”

  “James who?”

  “James Smythson. We met last week.”

  “Who?”

  “You know exactly who. Now let me in,” he shouted.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are. I don’t take illicit calls from people I don’t know. Goodbye,” she said, clicking the phone off and punching the air in satisfaction.

  Jack smiled and started to leave the room to follow James.

  “Who was it?” asked Alice softly.

  “James Smythson. I put the phone down on him.”

  “OK, and you did that because?”

  “He shagged me, and then didn’t call me for days. How dare he.”

  “Maybe he was playing hard to get. I really want to speak with him, Amy. He needs to know about the bastard.”

  Brrr, brrr. Brrr, brrr.

  Her phone rang in her hands, annoyingly.

  “What about the fact we don’t know who we can trust?”