| |
It’s been an hour. Will is right by my side. Dan is standing an inch from James; Davey is standing half an inch from Dan. Jacob is curled up in the foetal position, sitting on the floor, and Sid is guarding the door. And I really need to pee. “Excuse me.” I stand, and Will moves with me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I need to visit the ladies.” I give Will a little smile and walk around him, so I’m a bit surprised when he follows me out. “What are you doing?”
“I’m staying with you.”
“Will! I’m only going to the loo.”
“So am I.” He takes my hand, lacing his fingers through mine, and I don’t even want to argue the point. I just shake my head and let him lead the way. I’m dying to talk to him. To get him alone, but this isn’t the time. Will squeezes my fingers like he’s thinking exactly the same thing.
––––––––
When we come back, not ten minutes later, there are two more men in the room. One has a black hood over his head, his arms tied behind his back, and Frankie is pinning him to a wall.
“Hey, boo.” Frankie smiles at my wide-eyed, wide-mouthed expression, totally unconcerned with the situation. Just another day at the office.
“Hey.” I clear my throat.
“Let him go,” Dan growls. The man’s head whips around towards the sound of Dan’s voice, although he can’t see him through the hood. Frankie raises an eyebrow at Davey, asking what he should do. Davey nods his okay. Frankie releases him but the man doesn’t move.
Frankie steps away. Dan moves into Frankie’s position. He pulls off the hood and Daddy De Luca is staring blankly back at his youngest son. They look very much alike. It’s creepy.
Dan grabs a handful of his hair and smashes his fist into his nose. Again and again, until his father, his own father, is just a howling mess of snot and blood.
“Now, now,” Davey chides, pulling Dan away. “You don’t get to have all the fun. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this arsehole for way too long, to stand here and watch.”
“You faked it!” Dan screams, his neck corded and his face reddening. “You bastard!” He swings again and knocks the older man clean out, his head cracking against the wall before he hits the floor.
“Awww. Now I’ll have to wait for him to wake up,” Davey pouts. “But that guy. He’s all yours.” He nods towards James, who recoils. His eyes dart around, looking for an escape route that doesn’t exist.
“What about him?” Dan asks, his attention on Jacob still curled up on the floor.
“Oh, his arse is mine,” Will tells him in a cutting tone. Jacob doesn’t react at all. Like he’s already accepted his fate.
Someone knocks on the door. We all look around and Sid, Frankie and Davey step in front of the man splayed on the ground, blocking him from view. Stefan peeks his head around the door.
“Eva? Your girls are asking for you.”
“Okay. Thanks, Stefan.” I rush out after him, but the girls must have known where we were. Summer charges at me, closely followed by Mae. “Whoa! Hi, monkeys!”
Shit! Shit, shit, shit! I need to get them out of here. “Let’s go get some juice,” I tell them excitedly, and gently push them away. Away from this chaos.
And Davey steps into view. “Hey, Baby Blue!”
“Angel Davey!” Summer squeals, and launches herself at her uncle, while Mae is quickly scooped up by Will. And then I realise why. Dan is right there. His eyes only on Summer. She glances over when she feels him watching her. She tilts her head.
“I fort yow were Uncle Gawy. But you’re not.”
“No. I’m not...I’m...Dan. Gary’s brother.”
“Hewow. I’m Summer.”
“I know who you are,” he says softly. His face is so tormented. I can’t stand it.
“Shall we go, girls? I could use a drink.”
“Wait! Wait, please. Just one minute. Please.” I swallow hard, my lungs shaking. He steps closer to Davey and Summer. Davey angles Summer away from Dan, his face set hard. A warning. Dan speaks softly. Keeping his distance, not moving at all.
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”
“Why?” Summer asks, her nose wrinkled. “Do yow know my mum?” Dan nods, his throat bobbing as he swallows. “And Angel Davey?” He nods again. “Do yow know my daddy?” The colour drains from Dan’s face as he realises what she’s saying. “Yeah. I know him too.” Dan’s voice is tight. Raw.
“I’m four. How old are yow?” she asks, glad to be able to talk to the adults with no one interrupting her.
“I’m thirty. A lot older than you.” He smiles, and his hand lifts a fraction before it falls back to his thigh, like he’s dying to touch her but doesn’t dare.
“My mum is having a new baby swoon. Me and Mae will be big sisters.”
“I think you’ll be the best big sisters ever.”
“Come on, now,” I encourage lightly. I need to move. I need to not be here a second longer. I inch away, just one step down the corridor, then another.
“Summer, you go with Mae now and get that juice, okay?” Summer nods, and Davey sets her on her feet. Then she moves the wrong way. She darts to Dan and hugs his legs. His hand rests lightly and hesitantly on her head, like he’s scared he’ll hurt her, and I can’t breathe. His eyes meet mine, a soft smile on his lips.
“Bye, Dan,” she sings, and grabs Mae’s hand as they dash away down the corridor. They run off in front, skipping ahead as though that wasn’t one of the most difficult experiences of my life.
“She’s beautiful, Evie.” He smiles so sadly, watching her go. “She’s amazing. You did a great job.” I just nod and turn to walk away.
I spin around when Dan’s roar echoes off the walls. “No!” And he dives through the air, throwing himself between me and the bullets that tear from the weapon Jacob Stone just fired.
Jacob is killed on the spot. A bullet between his eyes. I don’t know whose, but Dan is bleeding out on the ground. And I’m torn. I want to get my girls out of here, but I don’t want him to die. Not here. Not now. Not with his daughter feet away. I look around and the girls are gone. The decision is made, and I run towards him.
I yank off my jacket and wad it up, pressing it hard to the wound. “Go! Stay with the girls!” I tell Will. “And call an ambulance!”
Will looks just as torn, but runs off after the girls. Dan takes hold of my wrist, pulling it away. “Leave me, Evie.”
“No! No, you don’t mean that.” I redouble my efforts to stem the bleeding.
“Look at me.” He coughs, and blood bubbles from his mouth. My eyes meet his at last. I can see the pain. But I can see how happy he is too. “I do. Please. I...have no right to ask you for anything, but please...will you do this for me? Will you let me die in peace with my daughter’s scent still in my nose. Her voice still in my ears. Knowing I finally did something right.”
I allow him to move my hands away, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You’ve saved me one too many times, Evie. My luck just ran out.” I shake my head no. No! But he’s already slipping away. The light in his eyes has faded.
I watch Will run back towards me, his phone at his ear, his eyes wide with shock. And I can do nothing but sit here and watch.
Will pulls me to my feet, my blood-stained hands shaking and loose at my sides as he presses me to his chest, his lips in my hair.
––––––––
I watch the paramedics run down the corridor, the stretcher held between them. One guy leans down to take Dan’s pulse. I know he’ll be colder now. There will be no thump-thump under the fingers pressed to Dan’s neck. The paramedic raises his eyes to his colleague and shakes his head.
The second guy kneels at his side to start chest compressions, but the older guy stops him. It would do no good at this stage. The pool of blood is too big. Dan is dead. And I’m still waiting to feel something. Anything... anything except relief.
––––––––
We watch them lift Dan’s body onto a stretcher and carry him away. De Luca Senior came round at exactly the wrong moment, only to discover that his son is dead. The guy who pulled the trigger is already cold with a bullet in his own head. No chance for revenge.
So, he turns his attention to the only man he can blame now. James. James cowers away when the head of the De Luca family strides towards him. Davey, Sid and Frankie make no move to stop him.
Will catches me when my knees finally buckle, and he lifts me into his arms, safely pressed against his chest as he strides towards the lift.
The doors slide apart, and Will steps in. “I can stand.” He shakes his head, not speaking. “Will, I must weigh a ton now.”
“No, you don’t. I’ve got you both.”
“I know you do. But I can still stand.”
When the lift delivers us to our floor, Will carries me over to the door, only reluctantly putting me down when he needs to reach a key.
He follows me inside, and I grasp his hand tight as we both sink to the sofa, still trying to take it all in. Will is the one to speak first. His voice is hoarse. “It should have been me, Eva.” I gasp, my face flying to his.
“What are you talking about!”
“He saved your life. Not me. It should have been me.”
“No! No, Will.” I move closer to him, as close as I can get without physically sitting on his lap. “No. Don’t ever say that! I couldn’t...I couldn’t live without you. If that had been you...” Tears flood my eyes at the thought. “How can you say that!” I yell. “How could you want to be taken away from me and the girls!”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that...now he’s always going to be the man who saved you...and...Jacob tried to shoot you!”
I scoff. “No. Will. Of all the men in that room today, more than capable of heroics, I’m glad it was him. I’m glad it was him, because it would devastate me to lose anyone else... but it would kill me to lose you. This.” I take his hands and put them on my cheeks. “This should be you. This is where you need to be. With me. Not in a morgue.”
“You’re not... upset? Or...” My face screws up, but I answer him honestly, if quietly.
“No. Does that make me a bad person?” Will inhales, quick and sharp.
“Baby...” He shakes his head. “Does it make me a bad person that I’m glad? Not that he’s dead. But that you’re not...upset?”
“No. It makes you human. And my husband. And exactly where you’re supposed to be.” He watches my eyes for a few more seconds.
“You need a shower,” he says softly.
“So do you.”
“Can I join you?” he asks, hesitancy stilting his words. I nod. I need to be near him now.
––––––––
Will leads me to the bathroom and gently, slowly, peels off my blood-stained clothes as the shower heats up. My eyes stay on his. I won’t touch him, because I have Dan’s blood on my hands.
When my underwear hits the floor, I stay still and wait for Will to remove his own clothes, before he leads me into the shower cubicle.
He pours soap into my cupped hands and I rub them together, watching the bright red arterial blood wash away and rubbing at the drying brown patches. Will loads the natural sponge with more soap and gently, methodically, cleans my body, top to toe.
When he’s done, he rinses it out as I stand under the spray, allowing it to rain down on my head and into my face. And then I take the sponge from him. It’s my turn.
I soap him down too, every inch, running the sponge lightly over his arms, his chest, his torso. When I approach his pelvic area, he catches my wrist. “I’m sorry. I...” I reach for him with my other hand. He sucks in a sharp breath as my palm curves around his hardening cock, my fingers stretching out for his balls.
“Eva...you don’t have to...”
“I want to,” I whisper. “I want to feel your heartbeat. Your breath. I want to feel your body move with mine. I want to feel alive. With you.” I tilt my head to his, and kiss his lips.
“Baby... I could have lost you tonight. So many times...”
“Shh. Kiss me.” Will’s hand flattens on the back of my head, pressing my mouth to his as my hand keeps moving. He groans, dropping his head and surrendering to my touch.
He walks me up to the wall, my back against the cold tiles. I don’t care. He lifts my knee to his hip as his fingers explore and work me into a frenzy. His hips pump, pushing into my welcoming hand, and I increase the pressure. I want him to come. Hard and fast. I want him to feel why it’s supposed to be us. Here. Now. Together.
My ministrations become uncoordinated as he increases the pressure too, pressing hard and circling, until I’m trembling against the wall, my thighs shaking. I feel the swell and throb of his imminent release and let go, calling out until Will silences me with his lips on mine. His hand slows and his cock twitches in my grasp, our mouths soft and sensual as we calm and still.
“You’re really okay?” Will asks, his forehead against mine.
“Yeah. I’m really okay. Maybe I shouldn’t be. But I am. Are you?”
“Baby, I’m over the bloody moon to have my wife naked in my arms. There’s nothing that trumps that.”
“I’m so sorry, Will...”
“What! Why? You did nothing—”
“I did. I had to make him think that—” Will’s lips press to mine, and I stop trying to speak.
“I know what you did, Eva. Do you have any idea how much I love you for it?”
“What!” I gasp.
“You...” He raises his hands to smooth my hair away from my face. “I knew it the second I saw you. That you’d be the most perfect honeytrap ever to exist, but I had no idea you could achieve the impossible.” I frown, confused. Will reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Eva. Baby. You ask anyone in the industry, and they’ll tell you it’s not possible to trap the trapper. To play the player. They’ve seen it all. Done it all. But you did. You did it. And... I think it’s really over now.”
“Me too,” I gasp, wiping my eyes. “But...what about Daryl?”
“He’s fine, Eva.”
“I mean the charges?”
“He dropped them.”
“Oh! Well...good.” I think.
“He understands what happened. He only pressed charges because Davey asked him to. To get me out of the way.” He smirks. “The hunter became the hunted,” he muses. “My wife, the honeytrap.” He continues to grin at my screwed-up face.
“I love you so much.”
“I love you, baby.” Will kisses my lips lightly. Teasingly. And shuts off the water.
“Where are the girls?”
“Mary took them to hers in a hurry.”
“Good,” I breathe. “Thank you.”
“Will you tell her? Summer?”
“I...I don’t know. What do you think?”
“He is her—” I clamp my hand on his mouth.
“No. He wasn’t. She told him so herself.” I feel Will’s slow smile behind my hand, and gingerly pull away and kiss him instead.
“She did, didn’t she?” he says softly, gazing into my face. Until I shiver, and he grabs a towel and wraps me in it.
“Huh!” I gasp, my hands flying to my belly. Will places his hand with mine, and I move it to where his baby is kicking. His entire being lights up when she does it again.
“Oh!” He falls to his knees and presses his cheek to my belly. “Ow! You’re grounded!” He laughs when he gets poked in the face. And then he turns his head and kisses the spot the baby is pummelling.
“Let’s get you warm, baby.”
––––––––
When we emerge back downstairs, there’s no sign that anything ever happened here. Just a yellow ‘cleaning in progress’ sign.
Sid is loitering by the coffee bar, and I can see that the whole area has been cordoned off. I wonder how long it’s been like that.
“Evie...” He jogs towards us, and Will’s fingers tighten around my waist.
“Hi.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Can you just drop it. Please? I really don’t want to talk about any of this ever again.”
“I need to tell you I’m sorry. I overstepped the –”
“Okay. Thank you.” I dismiss his apology. I don’t want it. I don’t even need it anymore.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us. I need to spend some time with my wife.” Will gives him a cool smile.
“You don’t deserve her,” Sid says, his voice too soft.
“I don’t know a man who does.” Will smiles into my eyes, slowly bringing his lips to mine.
“I do. I’m looking at him,” I choke, and our lips melt together in that hot, soft way only Will can do.
“We have one more week of honeymoon left, baby. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“You weren’t going to get one. But not here.”
“Oh?”
“Come with me.”