Chapter 1
“Honey,” Simon Casey called out. “I’m home.” He walked through the kitchen, smelling the air. A lovely aroma arose from the stove. Lifting a lid, he looked down on a pot of gravy and vegetables cooking.
“Oh, darling,” Jessalyn Casey exclaimed, breezing into the kitchen. “You’re home early. My surprise is ruined,” she faked a pout. Simon moved to her, brushing back her long blonde hair. She looked so domesticated in her jeans and pale purple sweater. It brought out the color in her dark blue eyes.
“It’s our first anniversary. I wanted to surprise you,” she said, turning her bright smile up to him. He smiled. How did I get so lucky? He thought to himself. A little over a year ago, he had met the most perfect woman. Jessalyn ran an art gallery in Washington D.C. From their first meeting, their connection grew, daily. Neither felt it was rushing to jump into marriage. The two couldn’t be parted, having spent night after night together. Leaning down, he kissed his wife.
“I couldn’t wait to get home. I wanted tonight to be special.” Reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket, he pulled a small black velvet box out. She smiled, flashing her white teeth at him.
“I thought we said no gifts?” Excitedly, she pulled the box from his grasp and opened it. “Awww,” she ran her finger over the diamond earrings. A full carat each, he had dipped into funds he secreted away, to buy them. He would do anything to make his wife happy. Though there may be consequences to using that money. It was the only connection to his past, and he would have to deal with those consequences if they arose. His wife, whom he met only a short time before they married, was a woman so full of life. She owned an interior design firm, and was able to make her own hours. It seemed to suit her. She took to the house wife life, making sure he came home from work, to a nice home cooked meal. They ate together every night. Even if Simon had a lot of work to get through, he would pack it up, go home to eat with her, and then work in his home office the rest of the evening. They had a happy life together.
“So, what’s this delicious smelling meal?”
“Pot roast, with homemade bread,” she said, putting the earrings on the counter, she turned back to her husband. “You, go into the den and make yourself a drink.” He nodded, kissing her forehead. Moving into the den, he glanced over his shoulder as his wife rushed back into the dining room. He couldn’t help but wonder what surprise she had planned for him, that had her all flustered. At the wooden bar, built into the bookshelf along the wall, he poured his bourbon into a glass and slid into his favorite seat. He took a sip of the amber liquid, enjoying the warmth it provided as it slid down his throat. With a sigh, he got back up. No rest for the wicked, he thought to himself. Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he turned back to the bookshelves on the wall. The were built around a stone fireplace in the wall. He pressed a hidden button and the gas fire place lit up. As the flames sizzled, he dropped the paper into the fire, watching it burn. Shifting to the right side, he slid out a worn copy of Walt Whitman poems from the shelf. His wife hated poetry, so he knew that she would never touch it. His drink was set on the bookshelf. Opening the cover, it revealed a cut-out hole. Simon slipped out a cell phone, and dropped it into his pocket. He replaced the book on the shelf and picked the drink back up. He moved into the kitchen.
“How long til dinner?” Simon asked. His wife bustled around, moving dishes to the dining room.
“Five minutes.”
“Ok, thanks, I’ve got to send a few emails.” He kissed his wife on the cheek and moved through the dining room. Through there, was a hallway, leading to the living room and his home office. Shutting the door behind him, he sat behind his desk. Setting down the drink, he powered up the phone. As the device loaded, he took a sip. Letting the alcohol burn its way down his throat, he pondered what happened that day.
Simon ran an office for International Real Estate. His secretary, Mrs. Bostwick, was an older woman. Her husband, had been Simon’s mentor, in his previous life. Or as he called it, the pre-Jessalyn life. Since meeting her, he had made so many changes, became almost a different person. Mrs. Bostwick was a widow. Her husband had been Simon’s mentor in that past. Before George Bostwick had died of cancer, Simon promised he would take care of Beatrice. When he opened the office, she was the only person he considered hiring. The woman had helped him go from a small rented office in a dingy building, to a high rise in D.C. When he met Jessalyn, his business was already successful. He bought a home in the suburbs. On Sundays, Beatrice joined them for a family dinner of sorts. Though, he only told Jessalyn that Beatrice had been a friend of his family, and been there for him when his parents passed away. Though this was true, both Beatrice and Simon, made an agreement, to never tell Jessalyn of his past. She didn’t need to know. It would only hurt her. And Simon would never allow anything to hurt the lovely, warm hearted woman that had forever changed his life for the better. But his past had finally caught up to him. There were very few people who knew him from before. He had thought, that he hid all traces of that life well, but apparently someone very resourceful had found out.
At the office today, Beatrice had come in, closing the door behind her. Now that Simon’s business had grown, he had four employees to help handle the work load. They helped companies and very rich people, buy homes, factories or whatever they wanted, in other countries. She had set a plain envelope on his desk. There were only two words typed on the front.
The Lion
He had blown out a breath, and opened it. Looking up at a woman who had become like a second mother to him, he gave a halfhearted grimace. She sunk into the chair before him.
“You could ignore it. Forget about it,” she told him. He shook his head.
“If they found me, then they are determined. They won’t stop until I give them what they want.” The sheet inside had only said one thing.
Burner
They both knew what it meant. All business in that life had been conducted via an encrypted phone. It wasn’t used for calls. Only messages. It had an IP address only, no phone number.
Glancing down at the device, an incoming message popped up.
Prague
That was it. He would have to go. Powering it down, he stowed it in the top desk drawer. It would end up having to go with him. He rose, leaving the glass on his desk, and joined Jessalyn in the dining room. She set down the last dish and turned to him.
“Perfect timing,” she pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him. With his arms wrapped around her tiny waist, he held her against him. Whatever it took, he would handle this situation and come back to this. To the perfect life he had created. How one man with such a tumultuous past had gotten so lucky, he would never know. He took her simple kiss and turned it into one filled with all the passion and love he felt for this woman. Though the strain, of secrets held close, caused some anxiety, he never let it show. That’s what a man did for the woman he loved. He held the burden of those secrets for the both of them.
“What was that for?” she giggled breathlessly as he pulled away.
“I just want you to know how much I appreciate you. This looks amazing, as always.” He pulled her chair out, pushing it in as she sat. “Tell me your secrets,” he laughed. “How do you constantly manage to impress me? You run a successful business, and still make being a wife, look easy.” She smiled at him as he sat next to her.
“I want you to be happy.”
“Success,” he joked, spooning food onto his plate. “I definitely am, but I’d be just as happy with grilled cheese and milk if you chose. This is almost too perfect to be true.”
“Honestly, I enjoy it. I want to do this for you. My parents had a happy marriage, until,” her voice trailed off. Sadness gleamed in her eyes. He knew the story. Tragic, really. The couple had been in a horrible car crash on their way to visit her at college. He covered her hand with his.
“I love you. And nothing will ever change that. I’m glad you had a good example of a happy marriage, happy life. That’s what I want to give you too.” She grinned weakly at him.
“Let’s eat,” she took the dish from him, heaping food onto her own plate. “So, how was your day?”
“Unfortunately, I have to leave in the morning for a few days. There was a problem with a deal in Prague that I have to go clear up.” He glanced up to gauge her reaction. Trips out of town weren’t often, and they were all, for his actual work. But this one would be different. It was something else. She tilted her head, the diamonds shining under the lights in the room.
“Bring me back something nice?” Nodding, he chuckled.
“Always.”