Image of Deceit

by Rumer Raines

  “It’s been handled. I sent a message to Adele that you are sick and won’t be in,” he tells me.

  “You did that? Didn’t she get suspicious that you would be calling in sick for me?” I ask and Oliver smirks.

  “Yes. I am sure by the end of the day, I’ll have to convince your brothers that we aren’t fucking. Now, will you please grab a bag? You can stay at my place until I figure out who the hell did this.” Oliver gives me a small push towards my bedroom. I throw a few things into a bag and glance at the yellow tape as I leave my home which is now an official crime scene.

  Noah

  “Excuse me?” Maurice yells as we both stare at Sam. We are in my office and Sam is giving us her demands. I run my eyes over her and I am shocked by the change in her appearance. She is wearing 3-inch stilettos and a black pencil skirt that molds her ass like a glove. She is also wearing a white silk shirt with a pearl necklace. Sam has even lightened her hair and it’s been cut to just below her shoulders. The last time I saw her, she had black hair and it went down her back. She looks like she just had a major makeover. She went from looking like a slut to a badass businesswoman.

  “I think I have made myself perfectly clear,” Sam yells back at Maurice who hops out of his chair and starts to pace my office. I lean on my desk scratching my beard wondering what the hell is going on right now. Maurice looks over at me and back to Sam and I keep my eyes focused on her.

  “Why are you doing this, Sam?” I finally ask, and Maurice stops pacing to wait for her answer.

  “I am entitled to it, Noah. I could be asking for a lot more, but I’m not. I am sick of struggling while Nick is God knows where,” she spits out. I narrow my eyes at her. I can’t stop thinking about what Oliver told me in the alley. He said I can’t trust Sam and I thought he was full of shit, but now I am starting to wonder.

  “Tell me exactly what you’re expecting,” I want to know as I lean back in my leather chair

  “Nick is still a partner and being paid his fair share. I don’t have access to it, so I want 50 percent paid to me. I’m his wife and shouldn’t have to go without because he forgets he’s married,” Sam tells us, looking at me and Maurice. I glance over at him and shake my head.

  “We can’t do that, Sam.”

  “Yes. you can, Noah. I am not some stranger off the streets. You know Nick and I are married and that he is missing. We have a house that requires me to pay the mortgage!”

  “Maybe you should get a job,” Maurice suggests and Sam’s head jerks over to look at him.

  “Fuck you. I can get a lawyer. I am entitled to this,” she says.

  “Oh, fuck you! You aren’t entitled to a damn thing. If Nick wanted your hands on his money, he would have put you on the damn account. You aren’t getting shit from this company,” Maurice tells her angrily, and I see Sam’s eyes darken, and I notice something in them that I haven’t seen before.

  “Noah” she turns to look at me. “You know Nick would not want me to be homeless. I am his wife. I am not asking for much, all I am asking for now is half. Please think it over and call me,” she requests and leaves the office as we both watch.

  “What a bitch!” Maurice is still shouting, as he pinches the bridge of his nose and falls back into the chair across from me. “Does she really think she is entitled to anything? This is exactly why I will never get married. I won’t have any bitch thinking she is entitled to anything that belongs to me.” Maurice shakes his head and looks at me.

  I look past him still staring at the door that Sam just walked out. Oliver said not to turn my back on her, she can’t be trusted.

  “Maybe she wouldn’t be acting like this if you didn’t tell her Nick was having an affair,” I say to him, and his eyes widen and his head snaps back.

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t tell her shit,” Maurice denies, and I tilt my head and stare at him.

  “What do you mean you didn’t tell her? She knew that Alexis was involved with Nick. You hired the damn private investigator. You must have told her.”

  Maurice holds his hands up and laughs. “Do you honestly think I would tell her anything? I don’t know if I would tell her a train was coming if she was drunk and sitting on the damn track.”

  Rather than go home after work, I head over to Nick and Sam’s. I don’t even call to tell her I am on my way. It’s gonna be a surprise visit. I see her car in the driveway. I knock several times, but there’s no answer. I ring the doorbell a few times and call out for her to answer the door. A few seconds later, Sam opens the door and she is wearing a robe. She looks shocked to see me and I give her a small smile and walk past her to go inside.

  “Noah, what are you doing here?” she asks while tightening the belt on her robe.

  “I thought we could talk about your request,” I tell her and as I walk further into the room, I hear someone walking around upstairs.

  “Is someone here?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

  “No. This isn’t a good time, Noah. How about we discuss this tomorrow at the office?”

  I’m seconds away from answering, when some bald guy wearing only boxers strolls into the room. “Baby, what are you…” he stops when he sees me and my eyes narrow and I stare back at Sam.

  She turns to him and asks him to leave us alone. The guy looks me over and walks back to wherever the hell he came from. I chuckle as I glance over at Sam and she crosses her arms defensively.

  “You bitch. You waltz your ass into my office demanding we pay you half of what Nick has when you’re fucking someone else?” I turn to leave, and she grabs my arm to stop me.

  “I am still legally his wife, Noah. I am not going to sit around and suffer waiting for someone to find Nick! I should be asking for 100%, but I’m not. We both know it’s only a matter of time before I take Nick’s place in the company.”

  I shake her hand off and I stare at her. She isn’t upset that Nick is missing or about being caught with this other guy. She is laying down the damn gauntlet letting me know that she’s going after what’s Nick’s. I storm out of Nick’s house knowing one thing, Sam knows he’s dead. She’s just waiting to cash in.

  Alexis

  “Where are we going, Oliver?” I ask when it becomes obvious that we aren’t going to his home. We have been driving for over an hour and I can’t help but notice his cell has been ringing nonstop.

  “We are going to a safe house.”

  “Who keeps calling you?”

  “Who do you think?” he answers, and I know it’s either Alex or Frank. I am sure they have found out about Chance being killed at my house and Oliver calling in sick for me today.

  “Do you think they are pissed at you?” I ask, and he nods.

  “I am sure they are.”

  “Will they kill you?” I ask.

  “No, they won’t Alexis. They will yell at me, but I am following the code.”

  “What code?” I ask, and he turns back to look at the road.

  “We take care of family, Alexis. No matter what. Once I tell them that I got to you immediately and got you out of town they will understand,” Oliver tells me as he grips the steering wheel. I watch as his knuckles go white from gripping the steering wheel so hard and wonder what has him so tense?

  I don’t question Oliver more as I stare at the ringing phone. Once the ringing stops, I turn the phone off and lay my face against the cold window thinking about Chance.

  I wake up as Oliver is pulling into the driveway of a two-story home that has a white picket fence. The house is white with black shutters and has a perfectly mowed lawn and I also notice a swing set in the backyard. My eyes widen as I get out of the car and look between Oliver and the swing set.

  “It’s a safe house, Alexis. The swing set was here when I moved in and I just didn’t have the heart to remove it,” he tells me as he puts his hand on my lower back and escorts me into the house.

  “I didn’t think anyone in the mob had a heart,” I comment.

  “We have
hearts, Alexis. It’s why we do what we do. We take care of family and our community. Look at the fucking government, they don’t care about anyone but themselves. They are the heartless ones. We do what we do, to give to people. They do it to take from them,” Oliver says to me and for a few minutes I understand what he’s saying, and I nod.

  “How long do we have to stay here?” I ask, and he lifts his shoulders.

  “I don’t know. Alexis… Whoever killed Chance wasn’t after him. They were after you.”

  “What? Why would anyone want to kill me?” I whisper, and Oliver doesn’t answer.

  “We’ll figure it out. Until we do, you will stay here.” I notice he says I will stay here, not we. I don’t want to stay in Mayberry by myself. My home is in Chicago with taxis and noise. We have been here for twenty minutes and I haven’t heard a damn thing.

  “Are you not staying here with me?” I whimpered, and Oliver looks past me.

  “I will stay tonight and will come back to check on you, but no I won’t be staying.”

  “You can’t leave me by myself, Oliver! You just said someone is after me!” I plead, and he rubs his head considering my words.

  “Trust me no one will find you here. If you are worried I can have someone watch the house.”

  “NO! I don’t want someone watching the house, I want you to stay with me.” I beg, and Oliver’s eyes widen.

  “I already told you, Alexis…”

  “You work for Alex and Frank, right?” I ask cutting him off and his eyes narrow on me.

  “Yes,” he says slowly almost questioning where I am going with this.

  “If you work for the Delucas and I am a Deluca, wouldn’t you have to listen to me and stay as I ask?”

  Oliver starts to laugh and shakes his head at me

  “That is not how it works, Alexis,” he tells me as he walks towards the kitchen and I follow him.

  “What if I call Frank and demand he let you stay here with me for my own protection?” I ask, and Oliver turns towards me suddenly, almost making me bump into him.

  “I can promise you, Alexis, if you called Frank or Alex the last thing they would do is request I stay in this damn house with you tonight.” We both back away before things get awkward. Oliver walks over to the fridge and slams it shut letting me know that he’ll have to run to the store to grab me a few things for a few days. I nod and before he leaves, he grabs his phone to call Frank.

  They are on the phone for almost twenty minutes, but I have no idea what they are saying. Oliver is very good at hiding his side of the conversation. He only makes vague comments and not enough for me to figure out anything.

  Once he hangs up, Oliver remains quiet and walks out of the house. I can only assume he is going to the grocery store, so I snoop around the house until he returns. The house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The closets are fully stocked with men and women clothing. There are even extra toothbrushes in the closet. I start to pull open the drawers and I find the normal t-shirts and socks. When I walk over to the nightstand I start to wonder if I should leave it closed. People always keep personal items in the nightstand.

  I don’t follow my own gut instinct and when I open the drawer I find a gun. I slam the drawer shut and stand to walk out of the room, but I can’t move. I sit down on the bed and pull the drawer open again and glance at the gun. I pick it up and I look at it. I hold it and point towards the mirror looking at myself with it. I set the gun on the bed and turn back towards the nightstand and find a box of condoms. The box has already been opened. I wonder who Oliver has had in this house that he needed condoms with? I am tempted to count them to find out how many are missing, when I hear someone coming up the stairs.

  I grab the gun and point towards the doorway and put my hand on the trigger. The minute the footsteps get closer I yell that I have a gun.

  “If you have a gun, that means you snooped in places your ass shouldn’t have been looking!” Oliver yells as he slowly walks in with his hands held up.

  I lower the gun and drop it on the bed as Oliver leans over to grab it.

  “You didn’t have the safety off. I don’t know if I should be happy or worried.” He puts the gun back in the nightstand. Oliver ushers me out of the bedroom and back down the stairs. I see several bags of groceries, so we put everything away and I notice he has been quiet.

  “You bought a lot of things. How long are you expecting to leave me here? A year?” I ask, and Oliver turns to look at me before pulling out one of the black bar stools and sitting at the black marbled island.

  “I talked to Alex and Frank while I was gone. They decided it would be best for me to stay here with you. We’ll figure out who the hell tried to kill you and then we can both get back to Chicago.”

  “Okay,” I tell him, not wanting to appear overly relieved.

  “We just need to figure out who the hell you pissed off, Alexis.”

  Noah

  It’s been two weeks since I found out Oliver was correct about Sam. She has made herself well known at the office. She has pissed off everyone who has come within five feet of her. Sam has started coming to meetings, on Nick’s behalf. She has taken over his rarely used office and has hired a lawyer. Maurice and I stared at her in complete shock when she announced that she will be acting on Nick’s behalf since he is missing and until he returns. It’s almost like she has been planning on doing this shit for months.

  I grumble at Pam and slam my door closed as I consider if there are any available options when dealing with Sam. A few seconds later, Maurice walks in and slams the door, with a chuckle.

  “This day gets better and better.”

  “Please don’t tell me she ordered more furniture,” I beg, and he shakes his head and tosses a newspaper on my desk.

  “Take a look for yourself,” he advises, and I pull my chair to the desk and lift the newspaper. I gasp when I read the headline in the USA Today. “Police confirm Mafia Princess Alexis Deluca not a suspect in murder at home.”

  “What the fuck?” I read the rest of the story and shake my head when I see that Chance was shot dead in Alexis’ shower. The newspaper said that it was early in the morning and if he took a shower there, it means he slept there. Was she fucking Chance after I left?

  “You’re wondering if she was fucking the dead guy, aren’t you?” Maurice questions me, as I slam the newspaper down and look at him.

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, I can hear you grinding your teeth and you suddenly started to get this angry look on your face,” Maurice claims and I glare at the newspaper.

  “I’m not angry. I am done with her. Whatever she does is none of my business. I couldn’t care less.” I remind him, and he sighs.

  “Sure, you are. Can you do me a favor?” Maurice asks, and I push the newspaper aside and look up at him.

  “What?” I respond.

  “Give me a few days’ notice before you go back to Chicago and leave me here alone with that bitch of a sister-in-law of yours.”

  Once I am finally home, I pull out the newspaper article about Alexis and sit with a beer. I can’t believe they called her a damn Mafia Princess. I stare at the phone sitting on the table across from me and I fight the urge to call her.

  Alexis

  Oliver is in the kitchen wearing jeans and a black T-shirt. I haven’t seen him in casual clothes in years. Usually, he always wears a suit, but he looks so normal dressed like this. I am not sure what he’s cooking us for dinner, but my guess is a stir-fry. Oliver wipes the sweat from his forehead and lifts his shirt to wipe the rest as he turns towards the table. I glance down at his rock-hard stomach and notice the tattoos that also decorate his chest. When he is done wiping he lowers the shirt and notices that I have been watching him.

  “Alexis…” he grunts and turns back towards the stove

  “Stir-fry?” I acknowledge, and he nods.

  “Thomas has been watching the store,” he advises, and my eyes widen.

  �
�Why?”

  “We need to figure out who tried to kill you. We were hoping that whoever it was, shows up at the store asking about you,” he says.

  “Has anyone?”

  “Apparently, no one was upset that you aren’t dead,” he says, and I shiver at the thought that anyone would want me dead. I have lived the most boring life this past year, except for my time spent with Noah.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Oliver. Besides the time I spent with Noah, I have barely even existed this past year,” I tell Oliver and he tilts his head and looks past me.

  “Was he involved with anyone else?”

  “No. The only other woman that I saw him with was Nick’s wife. I was with him one night and he kicked me out when she showed up,” I say and his gaze snaps back to me.

  “Sam? She was in Chicago?” Oliver asks and now I am tilting my head wondering how in the hell he knows about Sam?

  “You know her?” I whisper and Oliver leans over the table and puts his hand on mine.

  “Alexis… answer my question. Was she in Chicago?” he stared, complete surprise on his face

  “She saw you with Noah? Did she know who you were?” he questions, and I pull my hand away and sit back, staring at him.

  “Yes, and I don’t know. Noah may have told her who I was. He didn’t know that I was involved with Nick at the time, so I doubt he told her I’m the girl who was screwing her husband, if that’s what you’re asking,” I respond, and Oliver takes a deep breath and starts to pace the kitchen.

  “Oliver…what’s going on? Why are you stressing over the fact that Sam was in town? Oh shit, you don’t think she knew about me and Nick, do you?” Oliver doesn’t answer and keeps pacing “You think she is the one trying to kill me?” I question, and Oliver stops and looks at me.

  Oliver walks past me and grabs his phone off the counter. Is Nick’s wife trying to kill me? Would Noah have told her that I was with Nick? I bite my lip wondering if I should call Noah. I shake my head realizing that I can’t call him. He wants nothing to do with me. Noah hated me when he left Chicago.