My father clears his throat and puts his napkin on the table. “And on that uncomfortable note, I have a conference call with Auckland that I am already late for.”
He stands up and leaves the dining room without another word, which is his cue that this particular family dinner has come to a close. Mom rolls her eyes and gets up to retrieve Chloe from her high-chair.
“That was even more short-lived than usual. Shall I call you kids a car?”
Arie looks confused, but Logan just chuckles as he gets up from his chair. “Dad is getting very particular in his old age. He loves us, but when he’s ready for his peace and quiet, he’s ready for his peace and quiet.”
I take Chloe from mom with a sigh. “No car. We can walk. It’s a nice night and it’s only six blocks and an avenue.”
Mom leans over to give me a hug, and when she seems to be sure Arie is out of earshot, whispers, “Don’t you do anything to hurt that girl again, you understand me?”
* * *
We’re walking down Fifth Avenue, each quietly enjoying the bustle of the New York streets as Chloe points and plays in her stroller. Arie seems especially distracted, and I’m just about to ask her what’s on her mind, when I spot something out of the corner of my eye that sets me on edge. About ten feet from where we are standing, waiting for the light to change, a man in a dark blue track suit seems to be watching Arie intently. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s wearing sunglasses even though the sun has almost entirely set. She doesn’t appear to notice him, but there is an intensity to his demeanor, and the way he is focused so singularly on Arie, that is making me deeply uncomfortable. Every nerve in my body, every ounce of my training, is telling me that something is off about this guy.
I give Arie a gentle nudge when the light changes. “How about some coffee? Would could pop into this shop on the corner for a second.” But she looks at me like I’m insane.
“Do you have any idea how messed up I’d be later if I drank coffee right now? I’d like to sleep this century. Besides, it’s getting late. We should get Chloe home so she can get to sleep.”
I look down at Chloe through the little window in her stroller cover and see she is happily wide awake, but I have a feeling that Arie won’t abide me arguing with her. Yet, I can still see the man in my periphery, and he’s getting closer, inching his way through the crowd as if he’s trying to get as near to Arie as possible without being seen. Except he’s clearly not all that skilled at whatever his job is, because I made him in a minute flat. Arie, however, is oblivious.
We round the corner and I can see my building in the distance, but I don’t want to give this guy, whoever he is, any information in terms of where Arie lives. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but everything about this guy is screaming “trouble” and I’m not about to let trouble just walk through the doors to my apartment.
I take Arie by the arm with one hand and grip the stroller beside her with the other. “Let’s keep walking. Maybe toward Bergdorf? We can get Chloe some new clothes,” I say as I keep my eye on the man. Arie gives me another withering look.
“Are you crazy? I don’t want to go shopping. And did you miss the part about Chloe’s bedtime? What is wrong with you? Who buys baby clothes at Bergdorf anyway. She’s going to grow out of them in ten seconds.”
The years certainly haven’t made her any less stubborn.
“Yeah, okay, fine. You’re right. Listen, I’m not ready to go home. Why don’t you take Chloe back to the apartment and I’ll go for a little walk? Work off some of this excess energy?”
Arie raises an eyebrow, and then shakes her head. “Whatever you say. Just don’t make a racket when you get back. She’s a light sleeper and it’s hard enough to get her down as it is.”
“What? How do you know that?”
Arie just keeps walking. “What? I didn’t say… She took a nap this afternoon. I noticed. Go take your walk.”
I don’t have time to linger on that exchange. Instead, I wait until Arie and Chloe are a few steps ahead of me, then I double back to where Track Suit Guy is standing next to a street light, watching. He’s so focused on Arie, he hasn’t noticed that I’m right next to him, so when my hand closes around his throat, dragging him into the alley, his eyes go wide with alarm. All of his faux cockiness is gone.
I slam him up against the brick wall of a high-rise and lift him off the ground by his throat, growling in my most intimidating voice. “What the fuck are you doing following us you piece of shit?”
The fear that was in his eyes initially disappears, and is replaced with arrogance. He smiles, and points to my hand, which is squeezing his windpipe and making it impossible to talk. I appreciate the complication and lower him to the ground, but I press my hand against his rib cage.
“If you so much as blink in a way that pisses me off, I will crush your ribs and make your heart explode, do you understand me?”
He reaches up and rubs at his throat where I’ve left a deep red handprint. “I could have you arrested for assault.”
I snort. “And I could have you arrested for stalking. So, let’s cool it with the idle threats, huh?”
He shakes his head. “I’m just a man talking a walk. You’re the one who came up to me out of nowhere and put his hands on me… Mr. Cochran.”
I feel my blood run cold with a combination of fury and confusion. “How the fuck do you know my name?”
“I know a lot of things, Mr. Pierce Cochran. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll mind your business where it comes to me and my associates. Understand?”
I feel a wave of my old, reckless self come back, and I slam him against the wall again. “Did you just threaten me? I know you didn’t just threaten me. No one could possibly be that stupid.”
The man reaches up with both hands and shoves my hands away from him, never losing his overconfident smile. “Listen, kid. You’re in over your head. Just stay out of our way and you and your kid won’t get hurt. It’s not complicated.”
I don’t have time to say anything else. A black sedan flies up along the side of the street and the man saunters off, then jumps into the back seat, before the car speeds off. And I’m left standing in the alley, completely baffled as to what the hell just happened.
Arie
“Arie, I want to know what the fuck is going on and I want to know right now.”
Pierce has just stomped back into the apartment, and he looks furious. His hands are shaking, his face is red, and I get the impression he wants to punch a hole in the wall. The only thing stopping him is the fact that Chloe is still awake and watching him carefully. It’s like she knows exactly what is going on and is just waiting to judge his next move. I’m sitting on the couch, and I grab a pillow to hold for comfort, even if it’s only emotional.
“Maybe if you tell me what you’re talking about, that might help,” I say, trying to play it as innocent as possible until I know how much he knows. He crosses his arms, clearly impatient and not in the mood for games.
“Oh, I don’t know, Arie. Some goon in a tracksuit just threatened me and my daughter, in extremely vague terms. He was following us down the street for blocks, watching you, specifically. So, I’m going to ask you one more time, Arie. What the fuck is going on? What have you gotten yourself, and by extension my family, into?”
I start running scenarios in my head. He’s going to kick me out. He’s going to turn me into the cops. Can he turn me into the cops? He’s going to hand me over to the Cannizzo family. I’ll have come this far only to lost Chloe again. What the hell do I say?
“I didn’t get you into anything, Pierce. I’ll handle it. I promise.” He’s not going to accept that.
“That’s not an answer, Arie. This guy was not fucking around, and it wasn’t me he was interested in. So, are you going to tell me or not?”
“Not,” I respond, trying not to make eye contact, afraid he will see right through me.
“Goddamnit, Arie. Fine. You want to play it this way, fine. But the Arie I knew would never have gotten mixed up with people like that. And the fact you’re refusing to tell me the truth makes me believe it’s even worse than I can possible imagine. You’re putting me at risk, but worst of all, you’re putting Chloe at risk. I can’t have that. As far as I can tell, there is only one way to handle this.”
My stomach drops all the way down to my feet. He’s going to make me leave. I think I’d rather he just drop me off in front of Cannizzo’s headquarters and let them kill me. I can’t go through all of this again.
Pierce sighs. “That Auckland meeting dad was talking about? I’m supposed to fly over there tomorrow and set up a satellite office in the city, then meet with some new clients. I was supposed to be there for two or three weeks while I get everything organized and acclimate the new clients to our way of doing business. I was going to go alone, and leave Chloe here with you. Instead, I think you should both come with me. And maybe, while we’re there, you will decide it’s in everyone’s best interest that I know what the fuck you’ve gotten yourself into.”
My jaw drops. I’ve never been outside of Manhattan, even when we were dating as kids. I’ve never even been on an airplane. So, the idea of flying all the way to New Zealand is absolutely amazing. And terrifying. I also feel like a jerk, because Pierce is only taking us with him so I don’t get him and Chloe hurt. How could I possibly have thought I would just skate my way through this with no consequences?
Chloe toddles over and crawls up into my lap with a smile, then lays down in my arms and starts to doze off. I have to bite my lip to stop from crying. I missed my little girl so much, but have I been selfish? Should I have just stayed out of her life, and Pierce’s, for their own good? I feel like I am just making a mess of everything, and Pierce is doing more than he should have to, to make up for my stupidity.
“Are you sure? This seems like a lot of expense, and effort, on your part… for me. Maybe you and Chloe should just…”
Pierce shakes his head. “First of all, I can’t take Chloe to New Zealand by myself, look after her, and get the work done that I need to on my own. Second, what kind of asshole would I be if I abandoned you here in the middle of whatever the hell this is?”
“Pierce, I…”
He holds up his hands. “I’m not going to push you, Arie. But don’t think this is over either. When we get back from Auckland, you’re going to tell me what is going on. Deal?”
“Deal,” I say, choking back tears. I’ve never cried, or almost cried, this much in my life. Even when I was sick, even when I thought I was going to die, I didn’t cry this much. I’m starting to feel like a bigger baby than my child, who is an actual baby.
“Okay, go pack up your stuff. You have a passport, right?”
Shit. Bailey. He was getting me a passport. I wonder if that’s gone through. “Um… I was in the process of getting one. I need to make a phone call and see where I am in the process. How long do I have?”
Pierce scowls and looks at his phone. “I can put the trip off for a day or two, but not far beyond that. How are you getting… You know what? Never mind. Just add it to the list of things you owe me explanations for.”
As he leaves the room, I grab my phone to call Bailey. He answers on the first ring.
“Twice in one day! To what do I owe this distinct pleasure, Miss Blanchard?”
I peek around the corner to make sure Pierce is safely ensconced in his room before I say anything else. He’ll get his explanations, but today is not that day. “You mentioned getting an expedited passport for me. Any chance you can make that super expedited?”
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear! Your passport arrived just this afternoon. I checked my office mail on my way home. Wait… why? You’re not running, are you? Did something happen?”
The concern in his voice actually gives me a sense of comfort. It’s been a while since I believed anyone was truly looking out for me, even though I’m not sure why he’s been doing so much for nothing in return. “No, not exactly. Though I think Cannizzo is having me followed? I don’t know, honestly. Something is going on. But Pierce wants to take Chloe and me with him to New Zealand for a work thing until it blows over.”
“He knows?” Bailey asks, his voice skeptical.
“No. But I will tell him. Eventually. Just not now.”
“Uh huh. Well, I’m not going to bust up in your business since Mr. Cochran knows I am little Chloe’s former guardian. I will have a bike messenger bring you over the passport now. Keep an eye out. And Arie?”
“Yes?”
“Watch your back. If Cannizzo is having you followed, this may be worse than we thought.”
When I hang up, I look down at Chloe’s sweet face as she sleeps, and yet again, I have to choke back tears.
What the hell have I gotten her and Pierce into?
Pierce
Apparently, Arie hasn’t caught on to the fact that the entire apartment is equipped with a state-of-the-art security system. Security is my job, and my life, and I wouldn’t allow for Chloe to be protected by anything less than the absolute best. That means every room has a motion-activated camera, a sound system, and the ability for me to monitor it all from the computer in my bedroom. It’s not so much about spying on anyone, as it is about making sure Chloe is safe and secure at all times.
The fact that I am able to listen to Arie’s phone call is a just a perk.
I hadn’t intended to listen, but I’d forgotten to turn off the computer earlier, and the camera in the living room had been activated when I walked out. The right thing to do would have been to close the computer and walk away, but it wasn’t just her safety in question now. Or mine. It was Chloe’s.
Now I am looking up the name “Cannizzo” on the web and I am not happy with what I find. The first thing that comes up is an article from the Times, and I feel my face going red with anger just at the headline.
Sonny Cannizzo Convicted of Bankruptcy Fraud! 48 Murders Remain Unsolved
I almost walk away from the computer; afraid I might flip out if I read anything that makes me believe this Sonny Cannizzo character is connected to Arie in anyway. But I know I have to keep reading. I have to know what is going on, especially if Arie isn’t going to tell me.
The trial of notorious mob boss and career criminal Salvatore ‘Sonny’ Cannizzo was concluded on Friday afternoon, and while Cannizzo went before a jury facing charges including murder, securities fraud, racketeering, extortion, money laundering, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, and attempted bribery of a federal official, he was convicted of the lone charge of bankruptcy fraud.
Among the initial charges were three accusations of murder: Cannizzo was accused of ordering the killings of police officer Janice Trumbull from the borough of Brooklyn, FBI agent Martin Morrison, and FBI agent Leslie Brookwood, both of Washington D.C. Prior to the trial, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Penny Elliot believed they had a slam-dunk case against Cannizzo.
“The evidence on all of the charges is overwhelming. The grand jury saw fit to file all of these charges against Salvatore Cannizzo and I trust that his reign of terror over the good people of Manhattan will finally be coming to an end,” she said outside the courthouse on the first day of her case-in-chief.
But something went wrong along the way. Accusations of jury tampering ran wild, and despite numerous requests from Elliot that the jury be replaced, Judge David Monaghan refused. When the verdict was returned after just two hours of jury deliberation, Cannizzo was convicted of one count of bankruptcy fraud due to misfiled paperwork, and sentenced by Judge Monaghan to six months in a white-collar prison.
As she stood on the courthouse steps, a visibly shaken Elliot seemed baffled and frustrated. “We had ample evidence that Sonny Cannizzo ordered the murders of three innocent civil servants. We can connect him to forty-five more murders across several decades, in multiple states. There was no justice in that courtroom today.”
Cannizzo’s only son, Sebastian ‘Angel’ Cannizzo, had a very different take on the trial’s outcome.
“My pop fought the good fight. He showed those assholes that you can’t fight the Cannizzos and win. In six months, we’ll see who is back on top.”
The FBI Director and Brooklyn Chief of Police could not be reached for comment.
I feel my blood pressure rising. What possible connection could Arie have to people like the Cannizzo crime family? Was she on the jury? Did she accept a bribe? My mind is racing with a thousand different possibilities, when I see another link, further down the page, and it makes me even more nervous.
Sebastian ‘Angel’ Cannizzo Arrested in Connection with OTB Attack
It hasn’t been a good year for the notorious Cannizzo family. Mere months after Sonny Cannizzo found himself sentenced to time in a federal, white collar prison, Sonny’s oldest child, Sebastian “Angel” Cannizzo, was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. The alleged attack took place at the off-track betting parlor owned by his family.
Ardin McManus, 24, of Newark, was stabbed repeatedly in what at first appeared to be a random attack at Barney O’Toole’s Pub and Grille, an OTB. McManus survived, and directed police to Angel Cannizzo, claiming that he had been stabbed as the result of a disagreement over missing funds. It was later revealed that McManus worked for Cannizzo at Barney O’Toole’s as an enforcer, and authorities believed that Cannizzo had accused McManus of stealing money from the pub.
However, according to reports, when police arrived at the pub to question suspects, despite the fact the pub was full at the time of the attack, no one saw anything. All of the security footage from the day of McManus’ stabbing had disappeared, and the bartender who had directly witnessed the event, one Juliette Stratford, had suddenly moved to an unknown country.
Detective Jonathan Holtz has stated that the police have no intention of dropping the case, but for the time being, they are at a stalemate with the Cannizzo family.
“These guys think they have the city by the balls. But we are going to take them down. One-by-one if we have to. But I swear on my mother’s grave, we’re going to get them.”
When reached for comment, Angel Cannizzo said, “Go f*&k yourself.”
Nothing about what I just read is surprising. A lot of mafia kids in the city get their start by taking over gambling empires, and it seems like this Angel guy is no different. But there is no way Arie would ever get involved with gambling. Her Uncle Sal was in Gamblers Anonymous thanks to years spent squandering what little money they had at the OTB on horse racing. Arie loathes gambling. I can’t even process the possibility that she would have lost money betting on anything. No; it has to be something else.
I’m just about to look up Angel Cannizzo specifically when there is a knock on my door. I close the laptop quickly and try to wipe any trace of guilt off of my face.
“Come in,” I whisper shout, in case Chloe is asleep. Arie pokes her head through a crack in the door.
“Can I come in for a second?”
I nod, and she tiptoes into my room, just far enough so that we technically occupying the same space. “My passport is on its way. A bike messenger should have it here in an hour or so. So, we can leave whenever you want.”
“How did you get your passport that quickly?”
She shrugs. “A friend was getting it together for me anyway and apparently, it arrived today. The timing just worked out. I’ll give it to you when it gets here, so you can book flights.”
I cross my arms and turn toward Arie. “You have a friend who can get you a passport on short notice? And then bike messenger it over to you in the middle of the night? But you have to work as a nanny for your ex-boyfriend to make ends meet?”
Her mouth opens and closes like a fish, and then she scowls. “He owed me a favor, and we’d ordered the passport a while ago. It’s not like I called up the US government, asked them to send me a passport, and they did it.”
I get up from the chair and cross over to her. Arie starts to inch away, but I put my arm up, blocking her exit. She shrinks a little at the closeness between us, but I don’t give her an inch. “Arie, we have a lot of history. I screwed things up, I was an asshole to you. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t know you like the back of my hand. That doesn’t mean I don’t know you now.”
I don’t know what comes over me, but I find myself leaning in even closer to her, until our faces are barely a breath away from each other. The tension is so thick I can practically reach out and touch it, and all I want to do is throw her down on my bed and fuck her the way she deserves, the way I should have that night all those years ago. Like she’s a queen, a goddess. But right before our lips can touch, before the tension can be released in any sort of meaningful way, she ducks under my arm and out into the hallway.
“You don’t know me now, Pierce. You think you know everything, everyone, just because you can read people now. But you don’t know anything.”
She heads down the hallway toward the guest room I’ve designated hers, but she turns right before she walks through the door. I think maybe she will change her mind, that she’ll come back and kiss me, admit she still feels the passion that exists between us.
“Let me know when the messenger gets here,” she says before going in the room and shutting the door.
My shoulders slump, and I’m left standing in the hallway, feeling like a complete ass.
Some things never change.
* * *
It took a few days for me to sort out our travel plans, but now the three of us are sitting in JFK waiting for the first leg of our flight to Auckland. It’s going to be a long day, especially because I didn’t have time to stretch out our travel and linger on the way. We’re going from New York, to Los Angeles, to Sydney, to Auckland, and I have a feeling Chloe is going to be a cranky mess by the time we finally get to New Zealand.
However, crankiness can’t begin to compare to Arie, who is sitting next to me in the first-class lounge, shaking like a leaf and downing way too much herbal anti-anxiety medication.
“I can’t believe you’ve never been on an airplane before. You’re how old now?” I ask as I sip from a frosty mug of beer and help Chloe with a wooden puzzle. Arie frowns at me.
“What does my age have to do with it? I’ve never had a reason to go anywhere. Or the time. Or the money. So, I’ve never been on a plane. And instead of being a snob and judging me about it, maybe you could offer some advice on how not to freak out for the next twenty-four hours?” She leans over and puts her head between her legs, which makes Chloe giggle.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. Okay, well. This one time, my unit and I were flying into a firefight in the middle east, and the helicopter we were on got shot down, so we had to bail out over the desert. We only have enough parachutes for three people and there were six of us, so…”
Arie looks up from where she was leaning between her knees, and her eyes are wide with panic. “Are you kidding me right now? I’m freaking out about getting on a massive commercial airliner, in first class no less, and your way of making me feel better is to tell me a story about your plane crashing?”
“I mean, it wasn’t a plane. It was a helicopter. So, not the same thing.”
Arie groans and puts her head back between her legs, and I shrug. Chloe keeps playing with her puzzle, and I answer some emails until priority boarding for the first-class cabin is called. Arie finally looks back up, and her face is practically green.
“This was a bad idea. I’ll just stay here. You can pick me up in the airport when you get back. I’ll make do, live in the terminal, like that Tom Hanks movie. What was it called?”
I snort laugh. “The Terminal?”
“Yeah, that one. Pick me up at Cinnabon in three weeks. I may be a hundred pounds heavier, but you’ll spot me pretty easily.”
I hoist Chloe onto my hip, then grab Arie’s arm and pull her to her feet. “Come on. I don’t pay for priority boarding just so I can get jammed through the line like cattle. Besides, we need to get Chloe settled. This is her first flight too, so you can figure out how to toughen up together.”
Chloe just grins and looks at Arie like she’s the silliest person in the world, which I find endlessly amusing. I have to practically drag Arie to the gate, and when we get there, it’s up to me to hand the ticket agent all of our information.
“Welcome, Mr. Cochran? And do you have your wife and daughter’s tickets as well?”
That snaps Arie back to reality. “I’m not his wife. Not. His. Wife. Arie Blanchard. Do you need my passport? I have my passport. But if there is any kind of problem with the ticket, I’m sure it’s not too late for me to go home.”
I roll my eyes, but the agent just grins, as if she’s seen this a million times before. “No problem, Miss Blanchard. When you get into your seat, let your flight attendant know that Angela said to give you the ‘knuckler special.’ You’ll thank me later.”
Arie looks suspicious, but it distracts her enough that I can push her down the jet way and into her seat. As I watch her grab hold of the armrests, her fingers turning white from a death grip, I can’t help but chuckle.
It’s going to be a very long day.
Arie
I’m still not sure what the “knuckler special” is, but the gate agent was right. I want to thank her. The first-class flight attendant brought me a drink that I chugged down as soon as we got in our seats, and within minutes, I felt like I was flying high on something other than an airplane. I looked over at Pierce with a grin once we were airborne, and let out a long, lazy sigh.
“Flying isn’t so bad.”
But what I thought I said isn’t what came out. It sounded more like, “Fwazing imnt to blarb.” Pierce just laughed at me and patted my arm.
“Go to sleep, little stoner.”
The next thing I knew, I woke up and we were in Los Angeles, rushing to make the flight to Sydney. Chloe was a trooper the whole time, napping and playing with her toys, drinking her juice and munching happily on snacks provided by the attendants, all of whom fell in love with her. I stayed drugged on the magic knuckler potion the entire time, and before I know it, Pierce is gently shaking my arm.
“We’re landing, Arie, and I need to drop you two straight at the hotel and go right to our new office. The plane is late getting in and I don’t have time to piss around. Will you be conscious enough to look after Chloe?”
I stretch and cross my eyes, then let my tongue loll out of my mouth, before laughing. “I’m fine, Pierce. We’ll get unpacked at the hotel and then go look for some food. Don’t worry about us.”
An hour later, we are at a boutique hotel on High Street, and Chloe and I are sitting in a living room in a loft suite, watching Pierce run back out the door. As always, she is impervious to change. I am perpetually in awe of my little girl’s ability to roll with the punches and adapt to any situation. Meanwhile, I have no idea what time, or day, it is, I’m starving, tired for no reason, and suddenly can’t remember what side of the road they drive on in New Zealand.
God, I hope I don’t have to drive us anywhere.
Chloe and I spend the day walking up and down the High Street, checking out the shops and the food, and eating samples of anything anyone will give us (mostly because Chloe is so adorable). Pierce didn’t give us any money before he left, and I certainly don’t have any, so we’re relying on the kindness of strangers, and it turns out that strangers in New Zealand are exceptionally kind. By the time the sun starts to set, and it begins to get really chilly, I decide to take us back to the hotel. If Pierce is going to be working all night, I figure we can eat at the restaurant in the lobby and charge it to the room. He can’t be mad about that, right?
We head back to the hotel room, and when I open the door, I almost have a heart attack. Standing in an elegant suit, holding a single flower.
“What do you say to a night on the town?”
Pierce
When I get to our new CSL offices in a beautiful classic building on High Street, just up the road from hotel, I am utterly shocked at what I find. I expected to show up to an empty block of cubicles, or a loft space that hadn’t been furnished yet, since our plans for opening up in Auckland had been fairly last minute. Instead, into a huge, beautiful office space with vaulted ceilings and exposed beams, polished wood floors, a Victorian-designed interior, and an open work space complete with a vintage pool table. There is a “boss’s office” off the back, but the sliding doors are mostly glass and rich antique wood, giving it an accessible feel that nothing in our building in New York has. Even the bathrooms are state-of-the-art, with showers and changing rooms, making them perfect for long work nights or employees returning from extended trips.
We still haven’t hired anyone to work here, or cover the office full time; that is one of the tasks my father has assigned me while we’re in Auckland. Our first clients are due in an hour, and without a receptionist, that means I have to cover everything myself. I don’t mind, but it doesn’t look terribly professional for me to answering the phone and welcoming clients myself. For a moment, I consider calling Arie and having her pretend to be my secretary, just for the day, but then I decide she and Chloe are better off having a day to themselves.
I barely have time to log into the computer and confirm the client meeting before two men from the New Zealand government are standing outside the sliding door, looking grim and serious. I try to remain as calm as possible as I greet them.
“Gentlemen! You must be from the consulate. My name is Pierce Cochran, and I am Head of Overseas Logistics and Security Maintenance. I will be coordinating all of your initial planning with CSL until the office is organized.”
The men each take a seat across from the desk without me offering. The taller of the two hands me a business card. “My name is Spencer James, and the formalities are unnecessary. We are very well-acquainted with the world Cochran Securities does, and we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t prepared to sign with you today. There is just one caveat.”
I lean across the desk. “I’m listening.”
“We need very… focused attention. And it will require full-time concentration from someone who knows the industry inside and out. So, we are hoping that you will consider relocating to Auckland and handing the project yourself.”
I sit back, not sure I just heard him correctly. “I’m sorry. Could you repeat that? You want me to do what?”
The short, round fellow scootches forward in his seat and holds out his hand, but doesn’t offer me a name or a business card. “Mr. Cochran, we’re not really from the consulate. We’re not at liberty to say what our business is until you agree to our terms. But when my associate says we need someone with a special set of skills, a history in the industry, and a reputation for being a standup guy, assume those terms are non-negotiable. Our business requires discretion, concentration, and talent. We’ve done our homework and we know you are the man for the job. Now all we need is assurance that your attentions will be entirely on us, here, full-time, and the contract is yours. And Mr. Cochran?”
“Yes?” I respond trying to hide all of the nervous energy that is bubbling up inside of me.
“Trust me when I say, you and your company want this contract.” He reaches into his pocket and pull out a piece of paper, then slides it across the desk. I pick it up, look at it, and don’t understand.
“What is this? An account number?”
They laugh. “No, Mr. Cochran. That’s how much we’ll pay you.”
My jaw drops.
“Per five-year contract. At the end of every five years, we’ll reevaluate our situation, and if we’re all happy with how things are going, we will re-up. With a .5% increase in payment.”
I sink down into my chair like the I’m a balloon that has just been popped. This is too good to be true! This is… oh, shit. This is too good to be true.
“Is what you do illegal? Is that why we’re going through all the pretext? Because if you’re operating some sort of illegal business, I can’t and I won’t get my family involved.” I am actually confident my father would take the money regardless, but I’m not my father. The men just laugh and shake their heads.
“On the contrary, Mr. Cochran, what we do is quite the opposite of illegal. But that is for another time. Please, consider our offer. And then, call the number on that card. We’ll give you twenty-four hours to think it over.”
The men quickly get up, shake my hand, and then walk out the door before I can say anything else. And I’m left standing in the office, staring at the payment offer they left on my desk, trying not to cry from happiness. If I pulled in an account this big, Dad would have to let me do whatever I wanted. Go wherever I wanted. If I wanted to leave Manhattan, and start a new life in New Zealand with Chloe, for that amount of corporate profits? No way he’s going to tell me no. Chloe is still young enough that a move this big won’t mean much to her. If anything, it will help her fully leave behind whatever memories she might have the life she had before she came to me. I try not to think of it too often, how bad it must have been for her until she got to me. Auckland would be a fresh start.
For both of us.
And then I think of Arie, sweet Arie, taking care of Chloe right now, as I sit here making this huge decision. She’s barely been back in my life a week, and I feel like no time has passed at all. We both look like we’ve lived whole lifetimes in the years between, but when I’m with her, it’s like we’re teenagers again. Except I’m not being a jerk. I can’t stand the idea of leaving her behind again, so soon after getting her back in my life. But would she ever consider moving here with us? Even just as Chloe’s caretaker?
The idea of being with her doesn’t scare me anymore, but it might scare her now. Just because she’s forgiven me enough to work for me doesn’t mean she has enough to be with me in any other way? I realize I’m not going to find the answers sitting here in this empty office, so I make the decision to talk to Arie. There is no point in driving myself crazy if she won’t even consider leaving New York.
I rush out of the office building and back to the hotel, but find that Arie and Chloe are gone. They must have gone out for a walk, and it’s definitely still too early to worry. So, I call down to the front desk.
“Concierge. Good evening, Mr. Cochran. What can I do for you?” a cheerful female voice answers.
“Yes, hello. I was wondering if you offered child care or babysitters of any kind? I was hoping to take my friend out for dinner tonight and didn’t want to drag my daughter along as well.”
“Ai!” she responds even more cheerfully. “For our most important visitors, we can certainly arrange that. What time would you like your trained childcare to arrive this evening Mr. Cochran?”
“Seven o’clock this evening? Can you recommend a restaurant? We’ve only just arrived and I’m afraid I don’t have my bearings yet.”
She sighs, as if she’s already jealous of food I haven’t even had. “Oh, yes, sir. One of the finest restaurants in the country, Civace, is located just up the street from us. I will call and book you a table. They should have no trouble making space for you.”
The concierge confirms the details and I hang up the phone with a spring in my step I can’t quite explain. I hurry into the bedroom up at the top of the stairs and change into my favorite navy blue, ultra-tailored suit. I hear the front door of the room opening just as I get back to the living room, so I grab a daisy from the vase and put on my best smile before Arie and Chloe can come in. When the door opens, Arie’s jaw drops.
“What do you say to a night on the town?” I ask with a mischievous grin. Arie just continues to stare. Chloe reaches out for me, so I grab her from the stroller and give her a hug. Finally, Arie finds her voice.
“Why are you dressed like that? What happened? How can we go out? It’s way too late for Chloe to go anywhere. And she’s probably exhausted. We’ve been out exploring all afternoon.”
I hold up my free hand with a laugh to stop her nervous train of thought. “It’s all taken care of! I’ve arranged for a babysitter for Chloe, and we’re going to go to the one of the nicest restaurants in Auckland.”
Arie raises a suspicious eyebrow at me. “How could you possibly find a babysitter in Auckland when we’ve been here for six hours and you don’t know anyone? And I’m not sure I have anything appropriate for a ‘nice’ restaurant. I came here to New Zealand with exactly what I moved in with. Which is to say, not much. What would I wear?”
I pick up a brochure off of the coffee table that outlines the services offered in the hotel. “There is a store right downstairs! I’ll give you some money and you can go buy a dress if you’d like to feel a little fancy. We have some time before the reservation, so there is no rush. Find something that makes you happy.”
“Pierce, I don’t know about any of this,” she says, bristling. “You paying me to watch Chloe is one thing, but giving me money for designer clothes is quite another. I’m not comfortable with that.”
I roll my eyes. “Arie, it’s a dress. Not a car. I need to talk to you about some things and I don’t want to do it in a McDonalds. Here,” I say as I hand her a stack of rainbow-colored Kiwi money from my pocket. “Our reservation isn’t until seven, and the babysitter will be here at 6:30. So, go shopping. Have some fun. We’ll be here when you get back.”
Arie looks apprehensive, but she takes the money and nods, and walks out the door like she’s being led to a firing squad. I just shake my head and settle in with Chloe to watch some TV.
That girl has more secrets than a government spy, and I’m going to figure out what they are…
Arie
I step into the posh store on the first floor of the hotel, and immediately, six sets of eyes all turn to me like I am a woodland troll who has wandered into a royal palace. I look down at my torn jean shorts, and baggy button-down shirt, and can’t entirely blame them for thinking I don’t belong here. I clearly don’t. One glance at a price tag confirms that without Pierce’s money, I couldn’t afford so much as sock in this store. One of the salespeople walks up to me with a very condescending look in her eye, and I’m prepared for an exchange that will send me running back upstairs.
“Hello… miss. Are you a guest of the hotel?”
I cross my arms over my chest in a self-conscious move I don’t entirely plan. “Yes, I’m staying in the Bradford Suite.”
The expression on all of the women working in the store changes in an instant. All at once, I have a glass of champagne in my hand, a plate of chocolates in my lap, and a collection of dresses being show to me that there is no way in hell I would ever wear. Hanger after hanger of slinky, lacy, short dresses is flashed in front of me until I feel like Julia Roberts in that rom-com, except in reverse. I’m not sure where these women think I’m going tonight, but it’s clear they don’t intend to dress me for dinner at a nice restaurant.
“Ladies,” I say, holding up my hands, “listen. I am… pretty conservative when it comes to my style of dress. I don’t do well with flashy outfits. Do you have anything a little more… relaxed?”
The women look at each as if I’ve just let the air out of their tires. One sighs and clicks her nails on a glass countertop.
“Well, we just received the new Carolina Herrera collection today. I’m sure there is something in there you would like. Give me a moment.”
She disappears in the back and returns a few moments later with an armful of garment bags. The ladies start unzipping bags, and I see a collection of dresses that are much more my style. The last dress she removes from a bag makes my heart leap out of my chest. I’ve never had this reaction to clothing before, but there is something about this dress that just calls to me. It’s an A-line, tea-length dress with a nude slip, covered by beautiful tulle and mesh, embroidered with black ivy. The jewel neckline gives it a classic look; it looks like something Audrey Hepburn would have worn in the 50s and I love it.
“That one. Can I try on that one?” I ask, pointing to the dress.
“Of course, you can! Looks like it’s in your size, and it will look beautiful on you. We’ll find you the perfect shoes to match, and can we set you up with our makeup person? She can give you a makeover so you look completely sensational for your big night.”
I cringe. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Just the dress and shoes will be fine. I’m not a makeup person.”
The women tsk at me and then two of them begin fussing over getting me in the dress. The third rushes off to the back to find shoes. By the time she comes back, with a pair of Prada pumps in her hand, I’m snugly zipped into the dress, and feel more beautiful than I probably ever have in my life. The women “ooh” and “ahh” over how I look, and I know I’m probably blushing. So, when one of the women jots down something on a piece of paper, then says, “That will be five thousand, one hundred and eight dollars please. New Zealand dollars of course, miss,” I have to try not to turn green with shock.
“I’m sorry, what? How much? I don’t know if I can…”
The woman holding the shoes just smiles at me. “It’s okay, miss. Charge it to the room. I’m quite sure Pierce Cochran can afford it. And once he sees you looking like that? Ooh la la!” The women all giggle, but I’m confused.
“Wait, how do you know who Pierce is?”
The older of the three women hushes her compatriots, but looks just as invested as them. “Everyone knows who the Cochrans are. Now, anyway. Their business is set to be a big deal in Auckland, and we’ve been very excited about their arrival. Word spread quickly that he was staying in the hotel with his daughter and lady-friend.”
“Oh, I’m not…”
But I don’t have time to finish. The women have me sign a receipt and the next thing I know, they are pushing me out the door of the store, telling me to have a wonderful night. And I am flummoxed as to what it is I’ve gotten myself into, again…
* * *
When I walk back into the hotel room, Pierce and Chloe are asleep on the sofa, a classic cartoon blaring away in front of them as they snore identically. My heart swells as I see how much Chloe is like her father, and I realize how hard it is, and will be, to hide from him that I’m her mother. It’s starting to feel like too much. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this secret, along with every other secret I’m currently sitting on. I also don’t know how long Pierce’s been awake, or how long I’ve been staring at him like a dork. He just grins.
“Jesus, Arie. You look beautiful. Beyond beautiful. I’m not sure there is a word for how you look.”
I know I’m blushing. “It was so expensive, Pierce. I’m so sorry. But the salesgirls were talking so fast, and I didn’t really register the currency difference and I can totally take it back right now if you want me to.” I know I’m babbling but Pierce only smiles.
“I would soon cut off my own pinky before I told you return that dress. It’s stunning… But not as stunning as you.”
My stomach does a flip-flop, but thank goodness, I don’t have time to respond. There is a knock on the door as the babysitter arrives. She barely looks older than Chloe, but she assures us she is eighteen, certified, and more than qualified, so despite my visible nervousness, we walk out of the hotel and down the street to a restaurant called Civace. When we walk inside, the place is dimly lit with lanterns and candles, and clearly designed to be a place where romance blooms. I glance over at Pierce and he is trying not to make eye contact… just looking straight ahead for the hostess.
When she finally arrives, she looks a little embarrassed. “I’m so sorry for making you wait! Reservation?”
“Cochran for two.”
The woman immediately begins fussing around, nervous as a hen. “Oh, Mr. Cochran. Thank you so much for visiting us tonight! We’ve reserved you our best table, and a bottle of our most delicious champagne has been chilling in time for your arrival.”
I try and hide how impressed I am at all of this. Pierce always had money, but when we were kids, no one treated him like he was any kind of big shot. And then later, before our relationship ended, he never took me anywhere. Like, ever. We spent all of our time sitting in his room, playing video games and eating bad take-out. It had been like we regressed into children in a way we’d never been before. But now… it feels like we’re grownups. Even though we’re merely friends now, or employer and employee, there is an easiness to our time together that, even in such a short time, I already appreciate deeply.
We sit at a booth in the back of the restaurant, and within seconds, waitresses are bringing us champagne, and plates full of gorgonzola cheese, marinated figs, fresh honeycomb, baked eggplant with ginger and chili sauce, and bruschetta with confit aioli. I’ve never seen such delicious food in my life, and it takes all of my willpower not to start stuffing my face right away. But Pierce looks nervous about something.
“What’s going on, Pierce? Why did you want to come here, without Chloe?”
Pierce takes a piece of the bread and carefully spreads some of the cheese and honey on it, as if trying to delay the moment. Finally, he takes a long, deep breath, a long slug of champagne, and steels his shoulders.
“Arie, that meeting I had today. It was with a major new client, and they have requested that I take over their account full-time. That means…” He takes another slug of champagne. “That means I would need to move to Auckland. Permanently. Well, as far as I know anyway.”
I feel sick. Terrified. Alone and afraid all at once, though I really have no reason to. He still has no idea that I’m Chloe’s mother. He has every right to move anywhere he wants with his daughter, at least as far as he knows, or as far as I am allowed to be concerned. But there is no way I can tell him the truth. Not until I am sure that the Cannizzos are going to leave me alone for good. So, all I can do is nod and try to force on a smile.
“That’s amazing, Pierce. What a wonderful opportunity! I’m so excited for you and Chloe.” The words practically stick in my mouth. I’m surprised I can get them out at all. But Pierce rolls his eyes and reaches across the table.
“Stop pouting, you nerd. I want you to come with us.”
My jaw drops, probably for the tenth time today. “You want me to what? Here? Why?”
“Because. I’ve known you for most of my life, Arie. And now that you’re back, however fast this may be, I want you to be a part of that life again. I’m a better person now. I know it. And I think I’m ready to earn your trust back. If you’ll give me that chance. Even if it’s just as friends. I don’t want to lose you again.”
My whole body goes numb. “Pierce, I don’t know if I can just pack up and move to a whole new country. It’s easy for you. You have money, a job waiting here. But for me…”
Pierce leans forward with a serious look on his face. “Arie, I know something is going on for you in New York. Something bad. And it’s damn well time you tell me exactly what it is.”
Pierce
Arie’s face goes completely pale. “What are you talking about.” It’s not a question.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Arie. You didn’t show up at my door, looking for a job, just because there weren’t any other jobs in New York. You could have done anything. Why did you come to me? Tell me what is going on with you.”
She sighs and runs her hands through her hair. She looks so grown up, in a way I never imagined I would get the opportunity to see her. Not to mention so fucking beautiful that I find myself getting aroused.
Get your shit together, man.
“I don’t even know where to start, Pierce. And I don’t want to tell you everything. I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. But… the crux of the situation currently is that I own a ton of money to loan sharks that I can’t pay back, and, well, they are threatening to kill me.”
I feel the rage return, and I think that if one of these guys were in front of me right now, I could kill him without a single shred of remorse. All of my trained reflexes are kicking in, and I just want to neutralize the situation, and make sure Arie is safe. I have to take deep breaths to lower my blood pressure until I can breathe and think normally again.
“Arie, tell me you didn’t get caught up in gambling. After what your uncle went through? After what Marie went through to get him out of it?”
She emphatically shakes her head. “No! Never, Pierce. I would never do that. I was in a horrible position and I needed money. I was… I needed to pay a bill. Or the people I needed to pay wouldn’t keep helping me. And the, for a while, it seemed like having to pay these people back wouldn’t be an issue. Then, suddenly, it was an issue again. Now, I don’t know what to do.”
I squint, reading her face. I learned a lot in the SEALs about spotting the signs of deception in a suspect. And Arie is not lying. But she is holding a lot back. And that isn’t going to fly.
“Arie, there are more holes in that story than Swiss cheese. Tell me everything, and tell me now. How am I supposed to help you otherwise?”
She reaches down and wraps her arms around her stomach, and begins to look queasy. I didn’t want to ruin dinner, but I also know this needed to happen. I need to know what she has gotten herself into. So, I reach over and squeeze her arm. “Arie, please let me help you. Please.”
Arie reaches up and hides her face behind her hands for a moment. When she comes back, there are tears in her eyes, but she quickly brushes them away. “I was sick, Pierce. Really sick. I thought I was going to die. The doctors thought I was going to die. For a while, I was doing everything I could to fight it. And it was expensive. So expensive. I couldn’t afford the treatments, so I was forced to take money from these men I met at an OTB. By then they told me there was no hope, and they said I had maybe a few months to live? So, I took more money to pay off the hospital, thinking, ‘Well, I’m going to die anyway. What are they going to do about it?” And then, there was good news and bad news.” She pauses for a second and sighs. “The doctors discovered they’d been wrong all along. They’d misdiagnosed me, and now they said I was going to live. I just needed surgery, and to take some pills for the rest of my life. But now… I’m very much alive, and very much in debt to some horrible men. And I don’t know what to do, Pierce. I don’t.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Well, obviously, I’m going to give you the money, Arie. Why didn’t you just ask me to begin with?”
She just shakes her head sadly. “As I said earlier, it’s one thing to work for you, Pierce. To come by the money honestly. But I refuse to owe anyone else money. The whole ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ thing.”
“Arie, you aren’t robbing me. It’s my money, and I can do with it as I see fit. And I would never ask you to pay me back. I just want you to be safe.”
Arie smiles sadly. “I appreciate it, Pierce. But I’ve gone to great lengths to make sure they don’t know anything about me other than… me alone. I just need to see if they will let me pay them back in installments now that I have a real job.”
I wince remembering the man from the other day who followed us. “Honey, they know more than who you are. They know where you live, where you work. They know me, Chloe. I think they know a hell of a lot more than you expected.”
Arie starts to panic. “Oh, my God, do they know we’re here? Could they hurt Chloe? We have to get back to her! What if they…
“Calm down, seriously. It’s okay. There is no way they know we’re here. I’ve been watching since we left New York and no one is following us. But Arie, if you’re not going to let me pay them, what do you want to do? You really expect them to agree to a payment plan? Like they’re the bank and you’re refinancing your house? The Cannizzo family isn’t going to be amenable to you paying in installments.”
She leans back away from the table and crosses her arms over her chest. “How did you know it was the Cannizzo family I owe the money to?”
Well. Shit.
“I… I just… um…”
She taps her fingers on the table.
“The house has a security system. I overheard you talking to your ‘friend.’”
“So, you were spying on me,” she says with a scowl.
“I wasn’t spying. I was worried. And apparently, I had a right to be, based on what you’re telling me. But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is getting you out of this horrible situation. And don’t you think moving to a new country will help you get away from them, especially if you can’t pay them off?”
Arie groans. “I can’t just run away. They will follow me. I know they will. They said they will. And I don’t think they will have a problem finding me here, no matter how far away it may be.”
The collection of waitresses shows up again, this time with New Zealand filet and duck fat potatoes, thyme-roasted Portobello mushrooms with peas and mint feta, and spicy Moroccan lamb pie with a creamy mash. I want to keep arguing with Arie, but the food smells too amazing, and the next thing we know, we’re tucking in, eating everything we can get our hands on, and drinking another bottle of the delicious champagne like it’s water. By the time they bring a collection of desserts, we’re both stuffed, and definitely buzzing with the gentle haze that expensive champagne allows you.
A manager walks up as we’re finishing dessert, and he looks equal parts elated and nervous.
“Mr. Cochran, we are so honored you chose to dine at our humble little restaurant. I hope you found everything to your liking?” His face makes it clear that anything less than a glowing review might destroy his life.
“It couldn’t have been better. I suspect we will be frequenting your establishment many times over,” I say, feeling extremely verbose thanks to the champagne. The manager claps his hands together.
“And your wife? Did she enjoy her meal?”
“Oh, I’m not…” Arie starts to say, but I cut her off.
“She did, most definitely. My wife thoroughly enjoyed every dish. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my wife eat so voraciously before.” I wink at Arie, and she blushes. Damn, what has this champagne done to me? Stop being so damn forward, you goon, I think as I watch Arie shrink back into the booth.
“That is wonderful to hear, Mr. Cochran! If you need anything else tonight, or would like to return at any point during your stay in Auckland, just let us know and we will get you a table. No trouble!”
I tip a glass in his direction, and he scurries off back to the kitchen. Arie looks me, flabbergasted.
“Your wife, huh?”
I wink at her. “Want to head back to the hotel, Mrs. Cochran?”
* * *
When we walk through the door of our hotel room, we discover the babysitter chilling out on the couch, watching TV and flipping through her phone. I look at my watch and see its 9pm, so I suspect Chloe is asleep. The babysitter turns with a grin.
“She went down like a trooper. Been asleep for an hour, sleeping like an angel. She had dinner before, so she should be good until the morning! And with that, I’ll be on my way,” she says as she gathers her bags and starts for the door.
“What do I owe you?” I ask before she can escape. But she just shakes her head with a smile.
“Not a thing. The hotel has taken care of your bill. You two just enjoy the rest of your night.” She gives me a wink before she leaves, then shuts the door behind her. When I turn around, Arie is standing in the middle of the living room, and she looks so beautiful, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. I don’t know what I want to do; part of me wants to cross the room and pull her in my arms and kiss her. For real. Like I’ve never kissed her before. Her huge, beautiful blue eyes are flashing at me, so full of life, and energy. I am suddenly completely overwhelmed by my passion for her. But, I don’t want to take advantage of her vulnerability, after everything we talked about tonight, and ruin it with my stupidity, or my lust. So, I just stand there like a fool. I don’t do anything about the tension coursing through the room.
But suddenly, she does. Arie rushes up to me, grabs my head in her hands, and ferociously pulls my face down to hers. She kisses me, hard. She nibbles at my lips, and plunges her tongue into my mouth, and I can’t help but respond in kind. Yet, suddenly, grief takes over me. Grief for the way I treated her before. Guilt for the man I used to be. And I don’t want to hurt her again, even though I want nothing more than to make love to her right here on the living room floor.
“Jesus, Arie. If you don’t stop doing that, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to, honey,” I warn her as the tug in my groin clues me into just how much I have been longing for her touch these past few years.
“Who said I want you to stop?” She is breathless from our frantic kiss, her eyes alight with passion and wonder. “Chloe might wake up. I don’t know how much time we have, but I don’t want to waste a second of it.”
She drags me over to the living room, leading the way, holding tight to my hand; she is determined in her steps, and when we get to the stairs that lead up to the loft, she gives me a playful glance over her shoulder. Then she kisses me again, a frantic and demanding kiss, as she pulls me down on top of her on the stairs. I am suddenly enveloped by the familiar scent of her, spicy, yet homey. Her hair smells of lavender and roses, and it brings back a flood of memories that threaten to drown me.
I take off my jacket first, then my shirt, and she reaches out and lets her hand run up and down my chest. As I drop my pants to the floor, however, I am suddenly hit with a pang of self-consciousness. No one but my family and my doctors have seen what a mess my leg is now, and I am afraid she will be horrified. I wince, and start to step away from her, but she just looks up at me with a sad smile. Then she stands up too, and slowly unzips her dress. After it falls to floor, she takes my hands and puts them on her stomach, where I can feel a thick scar across her abdomen. My heart begins to thud a thunderous beat as she stands in front of me, defiant and brave, dressed now only the slightest wisps of lace underwear, and so beautiful I think I might cry. Arie looks up at me and whispers,
“We all have scars, Pierce. You and me, we fought hard for ours. They are nothing to be ashamed of. They make us beautiful.”
I can feel tears welling in my eyes, so rather than let her see me cry, I swoop her up into my arms, and set her down on the stairs again. I bury my head in her stomach, kissing her navel and then tracing kisses along scar and back up, as my hands drift along her sides and ass. She moans as I squeeze the mounds of flesh in my hands, full yet soft… just like her. I glance up into her lovely face, and then ease my way back up, so I can kiss her perfect lips again. She is less aggressive now, but I can see the lust smoldering in her sapphire eyes. Arie closes her eyes to me as I plunge my tongue into the depths of her beautiful mouth, savoring each moment, each taste. Her tiny hands hold tightly to my shoulders, then loosen their grip as they begin to explore my body.
“Oh, Pierce,” she purrs as she lets her fingers dance over my muscles, and as I pepper another flurry of kisses down her neck, to the pink lace covering her pert nipples. I cup her breast, clad in the flawless lace, and begin to tease her nipple with my tongue. She is so perfect, even more beautiful than I remember, even more amazing than she has been in my dreams. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of our lives exploring her body like it’s the first time, to tease her forever, but I tell myself to hold back. To give her the attention and love she deserves, after everything she’s been through. My fingers edge down the lace of her bra, letting her full, sensuous breasts fall free. I suck gently at first, increasing the pressure, until she gasps when I gently bite down on her erect nipple.
“Do you like that, my darling Arie? You want more of that, don’t you?” I ask her, watching her lovely face as I pinch the nipple between my thumb and forefinger.
She nods, biting intently at her lip. I feel my cock throb at her unintentionally sexy gesture, and move my attentions to her other breast, where I lavish the same attention. She is sighing with every movement I make, so I let my hand slide lower, over her soft belly, until I am gently cupping her pussy. I let a lazy finger softly stroke her moist lips, and I wait until I feel the encouraging gesture of her hips rising to meet my anxious hand. I am so content with her response, I give her sexy nipple another squeeze.
“Pierce, please. I need more. I need you,” she begs, her hips grating against my touch. I inadvertently let out a deep, low growl, loving the way her body responds.
In one swift movement, I slide down her panties, as she unfastens her bra and throws it across the room. I kneel in front of her on the stairs, and pull at her knees so her legs are spread apart, her thighs spread open for me, reveling in the aroma of her, and marveling at just how damn wet and hot for me she is. I run my finger down the inside of her slick folds, and rub tenderly at her clit.
“Oh Pierce, don’t stop, please,” she cries as I pull away my finger. I tilt my head down, and let my tongue jut out to where she is waiting for me; I lap softly at the spot where I’ve just pulled away my fingers, and I can already tell she is in heaven. Arie tastes so delicious, and I can feel the pull of her body as it pulsates and writhes with pleasure. Just when she’s starting to settle into the feeling, I plunge two fingers deep inside her and build her up with a relentless rhythm that instantly threatens to take her over. “Oh, god Pierce, I need you now. I’m think going to come!”
“No Arie, I want you come. You deserve this. Next time, we will get there together, I promise.” I continue to lavish her pussy with my undivided attention until she cries out softly, and I feel her soft muscular walls tighten around my fingers. A rush of fluids bathe her even further in delectable, salty juices.
Arie’s body goes limp, and I inch my way back up her, resuming my attention on her luscious breasts, sucking and biting until she begins to writhe against me once more.
“Are you sure about this, Arie?” I ask. I know this is nothing like our first time, but I also don’t want her to make at decisions she might regret. She looks at me, her eyes impatient, and reaches down to take my thick cock in her small hand, and guide its quivering head to her soft pussy. “I guess you’re sure,” I say with a moan at the feeling of her hand wrapped around me.
“If you don’t get inside me soon, Pierce, I may just have to take care of myself,” she jokes impatiently. But the aching tip of my cock has already sensed that her warm, moist depths are so close, and I’m not sure I could stop if I wanted to. Suddenly, she grabs my ass and pulls it downwards toward her, and we are one once again. It feels even better than I remembered.
“Fuck, Arie,” I groan as I her tight pussy wraps around my thick cock; she is snug, and our fit is perfect this time, and everything about our bodies meeting is fucking delicious.
We rock and rut; I pull her legs up, so they are on either side of my head, so I can lose myself balls deep into her sweet, snug folds. She matches me blow for blow, demanding my everything, and giving me more than I ever could have imagined in return.
“Yes, Pierce! Harder!” she cries as her nails scrape and rake against any part of my body she can get her hands on. “I need you to fuck me harder.”
I gladly oblige, giving her every scrap of energy I have, and relish the look on her face as her next orgasm takes her over. As I feel her inside muscles milking me, I come too, hot and hard. Then we fall down onto the stairs in a satisfied heap together.
I can’t stop smiling, feeling like a version of a teenager I never got to be, as I hold her glossy, sweaty body against mine, trying to force my breath return to an even pace.
“Shit,” she says eventually. “I didn’t expect tonight to end that way.”
“I didn’t either, but I’m not sorry it did. Do you regret it?” I ask, suddenly wary. I hadn’t planned for us to end up like this, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I think I would be devastated if she said it was a mistake.
“No, I don’t regret it. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about everything going on with me sooner. But I just didn’t even know where to start. Maybe we should have started here and worked backwards,” she says with a smile.
“I can’t believe you would even consider giving me another chance, Arie. I don’t deserve it,” I say gently, lazily stroking her smooth skin.
“Yes, you do deserve it. And so do I. And when you’ve survived the things we have, it makes you realize that you can’t keep worrying about what the past, or even the future. You just have to live in the here and now.”
I can hear just how much being sick has changed her, and I wish with all of my heart that she hadn’t been forced to grow up in such a horrible way. There is such a softness about her now; all of her naiveté is gone, and she has grown into a world-weary woman. It makes me deeply sad in a way I can’t describe. She deserved to have an easy life… not a life like this.
“Life is for the living, you know?” I agree. “After my accident, I was in so much pain all the time. I couldn’t imagine going on that way. But the pain subsided, eventually. And after a while, you find things to live for. Like Chloe. And my work. And maybe… us.”
She reaches up and brushes my cheek. “You’re so brave, Pierce. So strong. I’ve never met anyone who turned their life around like you. And honestly, the SEAL thing is pretty damn sexy, I have to say.”
“Ah, now we get to the crux of the matter. You only want me because I’m a soldier,” I joke.
“Well, obviously,” she says as she props herself up on the stairs. Her soft, silky curtain of hair drops down across her face, and I reach up and brush it away. She grins and dips her head down to suckle tenderly at my nipples, and I find myself shuddering. I’d never really put much thought into how reactive my own nipples could be, but out of nowhere, I can feel the rest of me coming to life again too. I stare at her beautiful face, amazed as my cock rears up again, ready to fill her up once more. “But… I also want you because of that damn perfect cock.”
I laugh and reach for her, but she puts a hand on my chest, and stops me from lifting up to kiss her. Then she bends her head towards my cock. I groan as she takes my thick manhood in her nimble fingers, and hungrily licks away the bead of milky fluid that has appeared on the head. She circles it with her expert tongue, and then envelops me with her soft, warm mouth, and sucks gently. She creates a perfect symphony of pleasure, rising up and down, her mouth and hand moving in perfect unison. Her pressure is firm, and the sensation is practically paralyzing. I lay completely still, incapable of doing anything other than groaning softly and relishing the waves of pleasure rushing through my entire body.
“Arie, you should probably stop,” I say, gently trying to push her away. I want to hear her come again, be inside of her again. She looks so beautiful beneath me, all I want is to experience the sensation of throbbing inside of her while she rides me on top. I try to edge her into my lap, but she shoves my hands away.
“No Pierce, I want you to come. You deserve this,” she says, parroting back my own words, the sounds of her voice vibrating down my shaft as she takes me back into her mouth again. My hips rise to plummet deeper into her, and she willingly accepts. My eyes slam shut as the thrashing in my balls becomes borderline painful, while desire drives itself in swirling torrents throughout my entire body.
“Oh, shit, Arie!” I cry as I unexpectedly come again, and come hard, my seed exploding out of me into her waiting mouth. She swallows, and wraps her hand around my length in soft strokes, as she curls up next to me.
“We should probably get some sleep before Chloe wakes up. And you have work tomorrow,” she says with a mischievous smile, then leans over to kiss me on the lips.
I can’t stop staring at her. This isn’t the Arie I knew as a teenager. This isn’t even the Arie I said goodbye to before I left for the SEALs. This is woman I don’t know, and she is a woman I want to learn everything about.
She is a woman I could love…
Part Three
Arie
We’ve just landed back in New York, and I’m completely terrified. After three weeks in Auckland, and a week touring around the rest of the country, Pierce decided we needed to go back to Manhattan to deal with some things. He needed to wrap up some business at the Manhattan office, close things up at the penthouse, and… oh, right. Pay off the loan sharks that I owe my life to.
After a month of arguing about it, crying, and threatening to go back to New York on my own if he didn’t stop offering, I finally relented and agreed to let Pierce give me the money. And I only agreed if it would be in the form of a loan that I could work off by acting as both his receptionist and Chloe’s caretaker. I still haven’t summoned up the courage to tell him about Chloe, but I’ve decided I’m going to do it before we go back to New Zealand for good. I figure then, if he doesn’t ever want to see me again, he will have the option of making that decision before we embark on this huge life change together.
We’ve also been together a lot more in a way that I never imagined we would be again. That night after dinner, when we both put our cards on the table and then had that incredible sex on the stairs, something changed between us. A spark was reignited that hasn’t been there since we were teenagers. But it was better than when we were teenagers. We were old friends who had discovered each other again, but who had grown into fully-formed human beings. We knew the worst about each other, and still we wanted to be together.
Yet, we haven’t committed to anything yet. Sure; we’re acting like a couple, especially when we’re out in public. Everyone we interact with in Auckland thinks we’re married, or at the very least engaged. But we haven’t agreed to any titles, or even to the fact that we are together. I think at the end of the day, we’re both a little afraid of what that means. All I want is for Chloe to have a normal life, and to stop waking up terrified that today is going to be the day I get murdered by a mob boss. Being with Pierce, even without the security of a “title,” has given me a sense of safety I haven’t had a long time.
But now that we are back in Manhattan, I am sure that everything is going to end. The mobsters are going to catch up with me, Pierce is going to leave me when he finds out the truth about Chloe, and I will be alone again, because legally… I gave up parental rights to my daughter. And heaven knows I don’t have the resources to fight the Cochrans to get her back. Everything hinges on the next few days and how Pierce reacts to this last, crucial confession.
But first, we have to get back to the apartment, and decide how we are going to tell Pierce’s family we are leaving for good.
Instead of going back to the apartment right away like we planned, Pierce makes an executive decision to go right to his parents’ house. When the town car pulls up outside, he takes a long, deep breath.
“I don’t think Dad is going to care one way or the other. But Mom is going to be furious. Especially because I’m taking her granddaughter sixteen hours to the opposite side of the world. I don’t think she’ll have an issue with me leaving. Just Chloe.”
I can’t help but laugh. “I’m sure she will miss you too, Pierce. With Logan back and forth in the service, and you gone, who is she going to fuss over?”
“My mother does not fuss. You know that better than anyone. She will mostly be frustrated that she can’t control things anymore. But, I know she will miss Chloe. And at the same time, I can tell you: she won’t miss me.”
I roll my eyes. “At least you have a family that cares enough to be pests. I love Uncle Sal and Aunt Marie, but they aren’t going to be terribly broken up if I leave. If anything, they’ll appreciate that they don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
Pierce reaches over and takes my hand in his, giving it a soft kiss on the top. My whole body lights up. “The only person who has to worry about taking care of you now is me. And I will never let anyone hurt you again. That’s a promise.”
I take a second to gather my thoughts, and try not to blurt out everything right there in the car. The driver looks at us in the rearview mirror, clearly getting impatient for us to pay him and get out of the car.
“This is your stop, correct? Can I help you with your bags?”
“We’ll be fine. Thank you.” Pierce hands him two $100 bills, and the man shuts up immediately. When we get out of the car, the Cochran’s attendant is waiting for us, and begins collecting the bags immediately. Pierce shakes his hand, and Chloe reaches out for him, but the man looks less than enthused at the prospect of holding a child, so I take her.
“Good to see, Nelson! Are my parents inside?”
Nelson takes the bags up the stairs with a stiff and resolute stature. “No, sir. They’ve gone to Martinelli’s for dinner. And they’ve requested that you join them at your earliest convenience. I think they were expecting you a while ago, sir.”
Pierce looks frustrated. “I told them when we were arriving. They couldn’t wait until we got to the house?”
Nelson shrugs. “Your guess is as good as mine, sir. But they said they’d wait for you before eating. I suspect that didn’t pan out either.”
Pierce follows Nelson inside and they talk for a moment before Pierce returns, looking even more annoyed. We start walking toward Martinelli’s, a restaurant very near the house that happens to be one of the most exclusive places in New York. It is a family-owned Italian restaurant that has been part of the city’s landscape since 1947, and tables are essentially owned. Unless you are invited by someone who owns a table, or inherit one, there is no chance you’re getting in. If you call and ask for a reservation, they will laugh and hang up on you. So, the fact that I am about to walk in there and even see the inside is making my hands shake. Pierce sees that I’m nervous as we walk up to the door.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Pierce, this is Martinelli’s! I’ve never felt brave enough to so much as walk by the front door, let alone go inside. People die without getting to eat here. I can’t… just walk up like it’s nothing.”
Pierce shrugs. “My family owns a table, Ari. You can come in, you can eat, you can yell at the waitstaff if you want. I wouldn’t recommend it. But it’s certainly an option.”
“Pierce! I would never. Are you crazy? Are you sure it’s okay if we go in? Chloe and I are allowed?”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” Pierce says as he opens the door and shoves me inside. I am blown away by what I see when I stumble into the restaurant’s lobby. It is nothing like I expected; it’s like a snapshot from a different era. I don’t think anything has changed in the years since they opened it. The whole place is smaller than half of Pierce’s apartment, and it’s dark, with a slight earthy smell that is tempered only by the overwhelming aroma of knee-buckling deliciousness. The smell of the sauce alone is heavy in the air, and I can’t remember having ever been this hungry in my entire life. Ever since the surgery, I find it hard to eat huge amounts of food at a time; I can only pick at small amounts, and I rarely get hungry. The restaurant in New Zealand was stretching it. But right now, I think I could probably eat everything on the menu and not care about the consequences.
We walk to the back of the restaurant and find James and Carol sitting in a booth with their name on a placard above it, eating from an antipasti platter and looking at each other like they are the only two people in the world. It must be something about this restaurant because I’ve never seen them look that in love before. Pierce has to clear his throat to get their attention.
“Pierce, my boy! So glad you’re back in Manhattan! Tell me all about New Zealand,” James says without ever entirely pulling his focus away from Carol. We sit down at the booth with them, and Chloe immediately grabs for a piece of thin white cheese. I don’t stop her, because I can’t really blame her. Everything looks amazing. But Pierce seems too nervous to eat.
“Dad, I actually hoped we could talk about that. You see, those clients you had meet with in Auckland? Well, it turns out, that account is a lot bigger than we expected. And worth a lot more to the company than we ever could have imagined. And… it has the potential to get us in with some very important organizations in other countries moving forward.”
James slaps his huge hand on the table, and all of the silverware goes flying in the air. “That’s fantastic, my boy! Well done! We can start hiring local people as soon as possible.”
Pierce shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and I try and focus on Chloe. “That’s the thing, Dad. The two men in charge have specifically requested that I run things in Auckland. It’s part of the deal. If I don’t stay in New Zealand and head things up, then they will take their business elsewhere. They want someone with “boots-on-the-ground” experience running their ops, and they trust me based on my history with the Navy. So… I’m going to be moving to Auckland. As soon as possible.”
James’ face goes still as stone, and Carol’s jaw drops so low it almost hits the table.
“What do you mean, you’re moving to Auckland? You can’t move to New Zealand, Pierce. That’s ridiculous. You’re going to take Chloe and move to a country on the other side of the planet? No. I forbid it,” Carol says, the hand holding her glass of wine shaking. James reaches over and gives her arm a reassuring squeeze.
“Son, are you sure it’s a non-negotiable?”
Carol lets out a squeak. “You can’t be serious, James! You can’t let him go! You can’t let our son move so far away. And take our only grandchild with him? This is madness!” Tears are forming in her eyes, and I can’t tell whether they are tears of sadness or rage. But James just shakes his head.
“My darling, Pierce is a grown boy, and it isn’t our place to tell him what he can and can’t do anymore. Even so, while I will be requesting a thorough vetting of the details of this deal, it does sound too good to pass up. If this is what it takes to take CSL to the next level? I don’t see how we can say no.”
Carol crosses her arms over her chest stubbornly. “Will you at least let me spend some time with my granddaughter before you go? Is that too much to ask?” Carol reaches out to take Chloe from me, and then holds her like it’s the last time she’ll ever see her. I can’t blame her. I’ve been in that position before and it’s impossible to even fathom saying goodbye to Chloe.
“Mother, don’t be ridiculous. We aren’t leaving for a few weeks yet. We have to settle a few things up in New York before we go, so it will take some time.”
James raises his eyebrows. “’We’? I take it that ‘we’ isn’t referring to just you and Chloe?”
Pierce looks at me with a grin that makes my heart flutter. Somehow, I wasn’t expecting this to come up tonight, but he looks ready to get everything out there. Well… almost everything.
“Mom, dad. Arie and I are together again. We’re a couple. I mean, if she’ll have me, that is.”
My eyes go wide. Did he really just ask me this in front of his parents?
“Of course. If you’ll have me,” I say, shocked this happening. Shocked that so much has changed in my life in such a short amount of time. James and Carol just sit there, continuing to look utterly baffled, while Chloe grins and waves her chubby little hands. Finally, Carol breaks the lingering silence.
“My goodness, what an unexpected and delightful turn of events! I couldn’t be happier, Arie. Really, I couldn’t. And you are going to move Auckland too? Your family is okay with that?”
I force a smile. “Well, it’s just me and my Uncle Sal and Aunt Marie. As you know. And the truth is, I don’t think they will mind if I leave. They have enough to worry about with the garage and…”
“Your uncle’s gambling habit,” James says, not missing a beat. My eyebrows shoot up, and Pierce’s face turns bright red with rage.
“What the fuck, dad? How did you even…”
James gives a small shrug. “I told you I was going to look into her background when she just showed up again. It’s what I do. I love you, Arie, but it felt fishy.”
Oh, god. Does he know about Chloe? How well did Bailey cover his tracks?
“I understand, I guess. But what did you find out that was so terrible? Besides Sal’s gambling problem, that is. Which I am sure you will admit has nothing to do with me,” I respond, trying to remain as calm as possible. James and Carol look at each other with concerned eyes, and I am suddenly petrified that this is it. They are going to out me to Pierce and I won’t be able to tell him myself, to explain things for myself, and he’s going to be furious.
“Honey, you could have told us you were sick. That was nothing to be ashamed about. I only wish you’d come to us at the time. We could have been there for you, supported you. Even while Pierce was gone. There was no reason for you to be alone. Even when he was being a shit, we were still your family,” Carol says with a sad smile. Once again, I find myself overwhelmed with a combination of guilt and absolute adoration for this family who seems to love unconditionally.
“I didn’t even consider it. I thought…”
James shakes his head. “You thought wrong, young lady. You were part of our lives for the better part of a decade. We never would have abandoned you in your hour of need. But, what is past is past. How are you feeling now? Is everything better?”
I answer, but try to steer the conversation away from my health as quickly as possible. We end up spending two hours at Martinelli’s, talking, laughing, and eating the most amazing food I’ve ever tasted in my life. Well, since the restaurants in Auckland anyway. By the time the waiter arrives to ask if we’d like after-dinner drinks, I think I am about to explode.
The waiter walks away with a polite nod as we get up from the table, and I can’t help but hide my confusion. “Don’t we have to pay a bill or something?”
Pierce laughs. “We don’t. And that’s because my parents pay so much to maintain their claim on this table, the food is considered a perk. We just tip the wait staff, but the food and drinks are considered part and parcel with the ‘membership fee,’ as they refer to it. I’ve never asked how much they pay and honestly, I don’t want to know. I have a feeling it’s probably my inheritance.”
“And Logan’s,” James says as he walks up behind us. I stifle a snicker, but Pierce scowls at his father. Carol strolls up next, with Chloe asleep in her arms.
“Why don’t you kids take a walk and enjoy your night? Let me take my grandbaby home with me and soak her up while I can?”
I only hesitate for a second before suddenly relishing the idea of being alone with Pierce for a while, and then realizing this is the perfect opportunity for me to talk to him.
“Sure, I bet Chloe would love that. And we can pick her up in the morning after breakfast?”
We walk outside and Carol gives us a little shove in the opposite direction. “Whenever! Just go have fun. You deserve it.”
We part ways and Carol and James head in the direction of the house, while Pierce and I start toward the park. We don’t say anything, just walk in silence, the warm night air hugging us like a blanket as the sounds of the city play a concert more soothing than any conversation. There is so much unspoken between us, and so much that doesn’t need to be said. The only thing left is the one huge thing I am too afraid to say, and I don’t know even know where to begin. So, as we turn the corner and walk in front of an alley, I resolve that now is the time.
“Pierce, I…”
“Do you trust me, Arie?” Pierce asks, cutting me off.
“Of course, I trust you. What kind of a question is that?”
Pierce smiles at me and grabs me by the shoulders, spinning me around into the alley until I bump back against the brick wall of a brownstone. The alley is dark, and mostly obscured from view by the road, but I can feel my heart racing at the thought of what he’s hinting is about to take place.
“Good,” he whispers into my ear as he lifts my arms over my head, and kisses me with a fire I haven’t felt in him yet. I gasp under the pressure of his body, at the way the hot brick feels against my skin as he presses all of his weight against me. When he pulls away, I can barely breathe.
“What the hell are you doing, Pierce? We can’t do this. Not here. Are you crazy?”
“I am. You make me crazy. And we can do this. We’re going to. I want you, Arie. Right fucking now.” He pulls down the top of my dress, my breasts fall free, and he takes my nipple in his mouth. He sucks it between his teeth, and I have to bite my lip hard to fight back the moan that is building deep inside of me.
I feel like my whole body is about to buckle when Pierce kneels on to the ground at my feet. He slides my panties down over my thighs and I descend into a giant mass of shivers. He can’t seriously be doing this. Not here? Not like this.
“Pierce! What the hell are you...?” I can’t finish.
He looks up at me as he meanders his hands up my inner thighs, sending a shudder of apprehension and desire up my skin.
“Tell me, Arie,” he says as he spreads my legs apart, lifting one higher to reveal my burning sex to him, “how does this feel, baby?”
Pierce leans forward and blows a warm stream of air across my wet folds. My back begins to arch against the wave of intense pleasure, like I have no control over it. Is this really happening?
“That’s… amazing,” I manage to croak out.
He leans in closer and licks a lazy trail to my clit, stopping to pulse his tongue against my core. “And how is that?”
Oh, Jesus. “Even better.”
He groans against my smooth skin, licking fervently as I drag my nails down the brick wall behind me. I reach down and run my fingers through Pierce’s thick, beautiful hair. But he grips me tighter, and I have to anchor myself to the wall as he laps at my clit with rough strokes. I think they can hear my moans in Brooklyn.
I feel helpless, at the mercy of the pleasure Pierce is inflicting on me. I am lost in the sensations and the fear of being caught, and I love it all. My sex throbs under his skilled tongue, and waves of pleasure crash over me.
Pierce leans back and kisses my mound. “You’re so gorgeous, Arie. I want to see you come, baby. All over me.”
He latches his lips around my clit, and firmly sucks, pulling it into his mouth. He sends my whole body into a flurry of lightning with his touch, working me harder and faster, pushing me toward a cliff of pure pleasure, then directly over the edge.
I come in a cry that is far louder than I mean to let out. My whole body spasms, shuddering and trembling and soaring as he sucks and licks and nibbles on my clit.
Pierce laps up my release, propelling his tongue into my channel before getting back to his feet and pressing me harder against the wall. As I begin to feel I’m going to collapse right there on to the alley floor, overcome with ecstasy, Pierce unzips his pants in one swift motion. He raises my legs in the air, supporting me with his arms, and in a swift, powerful thrust, he buries his cock inside of me.
I cry out, even though I know it’s a terrible idea, especially in this part of town. Holy shit, what the hell are we doing right now? His cock throbs inside of me and I pull at the lapels of his shirt collar.
“Pierce, we can’t do this. Not here. What if someone sees us? What if…”
He quiets me with a passionate kiss, pushing his tongue past my dissenting lips to circle my own with a need more intense than anything I’ve ever experienced. Over and over he laps, letting me taste my own juices in his mouth, allowing me to relax and adjust to his size, which is always new and surprising. He lets his hands slide up my body, until he finds my nipples. Then he begins circling them in firm but gentle strokes with his thumbs as he pulls back, sliding his thick member out of my channel until only the head remains inside.
The loss of his thick manhood inside of me rolls through me in a rush and I can’t help but whimper at how empty I suddenly feel.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Pierce asks, concern in his eyes.
I let out a little groan. I know we shouldn’t be doing this. Not here. Not in public. But I don’t want him to stop either. So, I search his perfect green eyes and tell him exactly what I want.
“I want you to keep fucking me, Pierce.”
He slides, unhurried and measured, back inside of me, filling me up until nothing else exists in the world but him, and me, and the way our bodies feel connected together. He leans his head forward into my own, so we can’t look anywhere but in each other’s eyes, as he strokes my breasts.
I kiss his dimpled chin and lean into him. All I’ve ever wanted was to feel safe, to feel like someone would love and protect me and be stronger than me when I needed it. Now, in this moment of passion with Pierce, I feel like I finally have that. And I never want it to end.
With a mischievous grin, I whisper in his ear. “I want you to fuck me, Pierce. Fuck me like you mean it. I want you to take me for real. For always.”
Pierce pulls back and looks deep into my eyes again, searching my face for confirmation. “Really? I don’t want to…”
I nod and kiss him.
“I love you, Pierce. You could never hurt me.”
I close my eyes tight, taking a long breath as Pierce trails kisses across my collarbone and throat. Then he plants his hands on either side of my body, bracing himself against the wall.
All at once, he thrusts back inside of me, burying himself as deep as he’s physically able. All of the air blows out of my lungs in a hoarse puff, exploding from my mouth in an unexpected rush. Fuck. He pulls back and thrusts again, increasing his speed as he uses the wall for leverage, driving his hips until he wedges me against the brick with every stroke. Over and over, I slam against the wall, scraping against the rough brick and feeling my skin start to react, but I don’t even care. I just wrap my legs tighter around Pierce’s waist, securing my feet together for control.
With each blow of his body against my own, my breath escapes in a gasp and a blinding orgasm is building inside of me. I want to come while I’m riding him, so I tighten my muscles around his cock like a vise as he comes inside of me. But just as I slide harder into him, forcing my hips into his, he pulls away from me. His cock slides free of me, leaving me feeling empty again, and wetness slides down my thighs.
“Pierce, what are you…”
He suddenly grabs me by the waist and spins me around, so I’m facing the brick wall. He pulls my ass back toward him and slides my legs out wider, then positions himself right behind me. I can feel the rippling muscles of his chest and abdomen against my back, his still-thick cock against my backside. Oh, God! He slams himself inside of me in one powerful thrust, and my face pushes against the wall. My nipples rub against the brick, and the sensation makes me crazy. I find myself begging him for more, for everything, for anything he will give me.
With one skilled hand, Pierce finds my clit again, and begins squeezing and stroking as he buries himself so far inside of me I can’t get a breath. He pinches my clit between his strong fingers and I come again, practically weeping, unable to control anything that is coming out of my mouth. As my muscles tighten around him, he moans in my ear, and comes inside of me over and over again.
I sink down to the ground of the alley. I just grab for my dress, laying haphazardly at me feet, and cover up as best as I can with shaking hands.
While I recover from my orgasm and try to return to some semblance of normal breathing, Pierce steps back. He tucks himself back inside of his jeans and zips up, not caring that we’re both looking a disaster. With delicate fingers, he reaches down and brushes my hair away from my forehead, then gives me a soft kiss on my forehead.
“Are you okay, Arie?”
I know I’m smiling like a fool. “I’m fantastic. If this is how you get when we have sex outside, maybe this is the only way we should do it from now on.”
Pierce frowns and reaches down for my panties, which are sitting on the ground. He scowls as he stuffs them in his pocket. “I lost control. I was too much like the old Pierce. I was too rough with you.”
I catch his arm as he helps me from the ground, then throw my arms around him, giving him a huge hug. When I pull away, I look him right in his emerald eyes so he knows I’m serious. “No, Pierce. You weren’t. I you gave me exactly what I wanted, what I needed. Don’t you dare apologize. And you don’t have to let the old Pierce go completely. Some parts of him were all right. Wonderful, even.”
Pierce leans over and kisses me softly on the lips, helping me fasten the neck of my dress. “If you say so. We should get home. And maybe take a shower. Though I’d be lying if I said I don’t love the idea of you walking the city with my cum inside of you.”
I blush. He’s not wrong. The idea is so sexy. But now, I just want to get home so we can talk. Like I’d planned. Before the alley. Even though I can practically still feel him inside of me, it doesn’t change the fact that I need tell him the whole truth tonight. Whatever that means for us.
No matter how much it hurts…
Pierce
When we get back to the apartment, we’re both quieter than usual. At first I think that maybe it’s because Arie is embarrassed about what we just did, or because we could have been so easily caught by anyone walking by, but when I go to take a shower, she follows me in, and makes it very clear embarrassment wasn’t the problem. After the shower, I head to the kitchen in my bathroom, leaving Arie in the bedroom, and I start poking around for something to eat. Despite the massive meal at Martinelli’s, I’m suddenly hungry again. I can’t imagine why, I think as I stick my head in the fridge, looking for some fruit. Suddenly, Arie’s voice from behind me startles me so badly, I hit my head on one of the fridge shelves.
“Pierce, we need to talk and we need to talk right now and it can’t wait another minute.” There’s something desperate in her voice, something that makes me immediately pay attention.
I spin around, rubbing the spot on my head that I’ve just clunked. “What the hell, Arie? That couldn’t have waited two seconds until I didn’t have my head in the refrigerator? You scared the shit out of me.”
“I literally just said it couldn’t wait. Can you please sit down?”
The look on her face is making me nervous. She looks panicked, like she’s about to throw up, and suddenly… I’m not so hungry anymore. “I’d rather stand,” I answer as she sits down herself on one of the barstools.
“Okay. That’s fine. But I need you to promise that you’ll listen to me all the way through, until I’m done, before you say anything or do anything or make any decisions.”
I think my heart is going to leap out of my chest. “For the love of God, Arie. Just tell me. You’re making whatever it is worse with all this build-up.”
She takes a slow, deep breath, and sets her hands on the counter, as if she’s trying to prove she has nothing to hide.
“All right. You know that I was really sick, and the doctors told me I was going to die. Multiple doctors told me this. That there was no hope. My life was over. That was why I thought there was no harm in taking the money from the loan sharks…”
“Yes, we’ve been over this. I’m going to find those bastards this week and…” She holds up a hand and cuts me off.
“This isn’t about the money, Pierce. This is about something else. This is about… our daughter.”
It feels as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Everything starts to spin, and I begin to feel dizzy, sick, unhinged. Like the world isn’t spinning on the right axis anymore and I’m about to float away.
“What do you mean ‘our daughter?’ Because we’re together, right? You want to be Chloe’s mother?” I’m grasping at straws. Hoping for any other answer than the obvious one.
“I think you know exactly what I mean, Pierce. Chloe is my little girl. Yours and mine. When they told me there was no way they were going to be able to save me, I didn’t know what to do. I was desperate. I couldn’t leave her with Marie and Sal; they are even more broke than me, and they don’t have the resources to take care of a child. I didn’t want her to end up in foster care, so the obvious answer was to make sure she was raised by the one parent she had left. That was you. I didn’t want her to be burdened with memories of her deadbeat, sick mother, so I found Roger Bailey, and he agreed to help me. To help Chloe, start her new life.”
I collapse back against the counter, afraid my legs are going to give out. “Fuck, Arie. Why didn’t you tell me? When you got here that day, pretending to want to be her nanny, why didn’t you just tell me then?”
Tears start to form in Arie’s eyes, and she brushes them away with the back of her hand. “Because of the Cannizzos! I knew they were still after me, still are after me. I didn’t want to take the chance of you and Chloe getting hurt, so I thought if I stay close, but distant, I could keep you safe until I figured things out. But nothing worked out the way I planned, and I fell in love with you again. I didn’t expect it happen, or for us to be here like this, again. But it did happen. And I knew I had to tell you before we moved to New Zealand. I couldn’t hide the truth from you anymore.”
Oh my god, New Zealand. We’re moving to New Zealand. Arie is Chloe’s mother. We have a child together and we’re moving to New Zealand. I can’t breathe. I’ve never had a panic attack in my life, but I imagine this is what it feels like. I’m full of rage at Arie for lying, and sadness that she felt so hopeless, and desperation because I have no idea what to do. Even though I wish it didn’t, the rage wins out.
“Well. I guess you’re lucky Chloe still isn’t talking. She might have called you ‘mommy’ and given away your whole game.”
Arie’s face collapses. “Pierce, please. Please try to understand. This was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Don’t you see? I signed away all of my rights to my child. She is entirely yours now. If you decide you never want to see me again, and took her and went to New Zealand without me, I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. But I needed you to know the truth. I couldn’t keep lying you to you. Because I love you.”
I back away slowly, trying to temper my breathing like I learned in the SEALs. I walk past Arie, ignored the look of hurt on her face, go into my bedroom, grab a pair of sweats and a t-shirt off the floor, put them on, and then head right back out for the front door. I need to think. I need fresh air, air that isn’t heavy with so many lies. I’m almost to the elevator door when Arie runs up behind me and grabs my arm.
“Wait, Pierce! Please! Don’t just walk out. We need to talk about this.”
Her face crumples into a mass of tears, but I can’t focus on anything but the betrayal.
“I’m sorry, Arie. I can’t think right now. I’m not sure I have a right to be mad, but I am. I know you were sick. I know it seemed like your only option, but Jesus — ” I stop, mid-sentence. There’s nothing else I can add. My chest clenches tight. “I need to get out of here.”
How did I not know?
I can hear her sobbing as the elevator door shuts behind me, hiding my own tears as they trickle down my cheeks.
Arie
I don’t know what I expected would happen when I told Pierce the truth. That he would forgive me on the spot? Understand why I lied to him for all these weeks? Months even? There was no way that would happen. But the look of utter betrayal on his face was more than I could bear. I don’t think I’ve ever been this devastated in all my life, and it’s entirely my own doing. I should have told him right away, I should have picked honesty. And because I didn’t, I might lose the love of my life and my daughter in one fell swoop.
I’m not letting him go without a fight, I think as I run into my room and grab some shorts and t-shirt. I will find Pierce, no matter what it takes, and I will tell him how sorry I am and beg him to forgive me. I will look for him all night if I have to. I’m just about grab my purse when I hear the elevator doors open, so I rush to the foyer.
“Pierce! You came back! Please, let me expla — ”
But it’s not Pierce standing in the foyer. It’s Danny. Hulking, leather-clad, terrifying Danny, enforcer for the Cannizzo family, and my own personal lurking demon. I take two steps back, trying to see how close I am to the phone that calls down to the doorman, but it’s too far away for me to get to it before he could get to me.
“Danny… What are you doing here? How did you get in?”
He smirks. “Your doorman is taking a nap. He’ll be fine, but he might wake up with a headache. You’ve been avoiding us, Miss Blanchard. You left the country. My employer isn’t pleased.”
I take two more steps back, but Danny is following my every move, and I know he will be faster than me. I have no play; I’m like a rat trapped in a maze, and he knows it.
“I came back, didn’t I? You said I had a month. That month isn’t up for another few days. I will get you your money.”
Danny laughs, a big booming laugh that makes my stomach roll. “Forgive me, Arie, if I say that we don’t have a lot of faith in you one way or the other anymore. You dick us around for months, you leave New York, you’re obviously planning something with your fancy-ass boyfriend. Mr. Cannizzo is out of patience.”
I glance to my right and see a knife sitting in the sink. Can I get to it before he gets to me? Am I that fast?
“Pierce will be back any minute. He can give you your money tonight.”
Danny just shakes his head. “It’s not about the money anymore, Miss Blanchard. It’s about your character. We can’t count on you. And Mr. Cannizzo no longer believes you are of the kind of character he wants to deal with.”
The venom in his words hangs heavy in the air, and it scares me just enough that I don’t see how I have anything to lose. I bolt for the kitchen, thinking that all I have to do is get my fingers around the handle of the knife. If I can just do that, maybe I can get Danny off his feet, even if it’s only long enough to call the cops. But what I didn’t count on was that he would have a gun, and for a burly man, he is faster than me. So, when the barrel of his gun hits me on the back of the head, and the lights start to go out, I don’t have time to be angry at myself for being stupid, and thinking I could beat this man.
I only have time to think… I really hope I get to see my daughter again.
* * *
When I wake up, my head is throbbing, and I’m in a room so dark, I can’t make out anything around me. I can hear the quiet hum of voices outside, and a gentle drip drip drip coming from behind me. I’m sitting in a cold, steel chair… Well, sitting is generous. I’m tied to a cold steel chair. My hands are bound behind me with what seems to be a zip-tie, and my ankles are strapped to the legs of the chair, so I can’t so much as shimmy in any direction. I tell myself not to panic, but my heart is racing so fast, I think I may pass out again. I have no idea what to do. I’ve never even considered ending up in a situation like this, so it’s not like I’ve trained for it, or come up with an escape plan.
Pierce would know what to do.
Oh, god, Pierce. He was so angry when he walked out of the apartment. What if he doesn’t come back for hours? What if he thinks I just packed up and left because of our fight? I could just die in this room and no one would ever know. I suppose it’s my own fault; I made some stupid decisions that landed me here, and if I were to die now, like this… It would just be par for the course. But I won’t go down without a fight.
The zip-ties are tight, but they aren’t so tight that I can’t move my arms and legs at all. I know that even if I got my legs loose, that wouldn’t do me much good as long as my hands are still tied, so I decide to focus on them first. I interlace my fingers, trying to make my hands as small as possible, and begin wiggling them inside of the zip-tie. It’s a close fit, but I can feel my wrists begin to slide loose, especially when the rough edges of the tie begin to cause the delicate skin on my hands to bleed. I think I’m just about free, when the sound of the door across from me unlocking startles me, forcing me to stop the struggle.
The door opens, flooding the small room I am in with light and totally blinding me. All I see are shadows of two men as they walk in. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but when I do, my stomach drops down to my bound ankles. One of the men is Danny, and the other I recognize from his time on the front pages of the New York papers. He is dressed in a meticulously tailored suit, and his short black hair is slicked back with enough gel to drown someone. His smirk is off-putting given the circumstances, but I can see how it would be charming in a different scenario.
I am staring into the cold, black eyes of Sebastian “Angel” Cannizzo.
Angel walks up to me with an arrogant swagger, and squats in front of me. His eyebrows are thick, making him look like he’s surveying me for some sign of weakness, even if he’s not that smart. When he speaks, his voice is thick with a Jersey accent, and his tone is slow and patient. He’s not in any rush, because he knows I’m sure as hell not going anywhere.
“Nice to finally meet you, Miss Blanchard. I wasn’t sure I would ever have the pleasure.”
I have to force myself to stifle an eye roll. “I can’t say I return the sentiment, Mr. Cannizzo. Seeing as your associate there abducted me from my home and assaulted me.”
Cannizzo laughs a low, core-shaking laugh. There is no humor in it. Only cruelty. “Well, Miss Blanchard, if you hadn’t seen fit to get on a plane and go to New Zealand for a month when you owed me almost a hundred grand, perhaps we could have met under different circumstances. I have to say, you’re exactly the type of spitfire I’m attracted to.” He reaches out and runs a finger along my jaw, and I jerk my face away. His touch makes my skin crawl.
“First of all, I came back. I fully intended to come back and pay you your damn money,” I respond defiantly. “Second, I wouldn’t let you touch me if you were the last man on earth. So, kindly keep your disgusting hands to yourself.”
He and Danny have a hearty laugh at my expense.
“I told you she was a sexy little thing. It’s a shame we have to kill her.”
I force myself to stay calm. They are taking their sweet time with whatever they are planning to do, so that gives me an opportunity to keep them talking, and hopefully, buy Pierce some time to figure out I’m missing.
“I find it ridiculous that you’re willing to kill me over seventy-five thousand dollars. What the hell kind of business model is that? If you kill me, you don’t get your money. Money that I had every intention of giving you on our agreed upon delivery date. What exactly does killing me accomplish?”
Angel smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. “Honestly? I don’t give a shit about the money. It may have been about the seventy-five large a few months ago. But now? It’s about the principle of the thing. I can’t let word get out that I’ve gone soft. I don’t care if it’s a million dollars or fifty fucking bucks. You borrowed money from us, Arie, and you didn’t pay it back. The story ends there.”
I’m just about to give him some sort of smartass answer when a cell phone rings. Angel reaches into his pocket and answers.
“I’m in the middle of something. What is it?... Fine. Give me a minute. I’ll call you back.”
He hangs up and turns his stare back to me. “You lucked out, Arie. I have more pressing business to attend to at the moment. So, you get a stay, as it were. Danny is going to be just outside, keeping an eye on you. In the meantime, don’t get any ideas. Understand?”
I actually roll my eyes this time. “What the hell am I going to do, dumbass? You’ve got me tied to a chair in an empty room and I have no idea where we are.”
Angel just laughs at me, like I’m a bug he can squish, a toy he can play with. “Yeah, you’re a real spitfire.”
He walks out of the room, leaving me alone with Danny, who looks less-than-enthused to be there. We just stare at each other for a minute, and then out of nowhere, he rears back and slaps me across the face. Hard. I see stars, and I can feel burning in my cheek. But more than anything, I’m pissed off. Danny just scowls.
“The boss may think you’re funny, but I don’t. If you get mouthy with me, I will shut you up permanently. I don’t care what he says.”
Danny walks out of the room and locks the door behind him, and I try to stretch out my jaw, which is throbbing. Tears start to build in the corners of my eyes, but they are as much from rage as pain, or fear. I start struggling against my bindings again, and whisper into the empty room…
“Dammit, Pierce. Where are you?”
Pierce
The city is strangely silent as I walk. I ignore the throbbing in my leg, pushing it far past the point that I’m supposed to. My physical therapist would lose his shit, but at this point, my brain needs the exercise more than my leg needs its nightly rest.
How could she?
The words echo in my head, over and over. It’s like a mantra, an unwanted one. Something evil and intrusive in my brain, stuck on repeat.
It’s clear exactly how she could. It was all for Chloe. Like everything in my life has been since I met her. My mind gets it. But my heart breaks every time I go over it in my imagination.
I’ve practically walked to Brooklyn and back, and while I don’t feel any better about the fact that Arie lied to me, I know why she did. People do crazy things when they are scared, and she had plenty of reasons to be beyond terrified. I don’t know how she has managed to stay disconnected from Chloe for so long; it must have been tearing her apart. I can’t imagine a day without Chloe. I’ll be angry for a while, but at the very least, I think I can begin to forgive her.
I’m angry at myself, too. For not knowing. For not being there. For fucking her over and leaving her in the first place. Pregnant, alone. And then sick.
Why wasn’t I there?
That’s the other thing I focus on, even though it doesn’t do me a damn bit of good. I can’t go back in time and make it all right. Undo everything that’s been done. I wish to God I’d never left.
But one thing is for sure… I refuse to let her go. Not again.
I walk back into the building, and am surprised not to see Thomas hurrying to the door to greet me. It’s his week of working nights, so he should be at the desk at the very least. But I don’t see anyone. In fact, there is something unsettlingly quiet about the entire lobby.
“Thomas? Buddy?” I call out. But I don’t get an answer. I walk slowly around the corner of the lobby desk, wishing I had my gun on me, even though I don’t technically have a reason to be concerned yet. I step up to the desk and lean over, and realize that yes… I should have my gun.
Thomas is in a heap on the floor, blood pooling underneath him from a head wound. I can see his eye twitching, and his chest rising and falling, so I know he’s alive. But he may not be that way for long. I leap over the desk and come crashing down on my useless leg, trying to ignore the searing pain that shoots from my foot up to my hip. I crouch down next to Thomas and try not to move him; afraid I might worsen whatever condition he’s currently in.
“Thomas! Thomas man, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?”
His eyes flutter, and he opens one eye lazily. He looks dazed, definitely concussed, and he groans.
“Mr.… Cochran. A man. He… asked… about Arie. Then he… with the butt of a gun. My head really hurts, Mr. Cochran.”
My blood turns to ice in my veins. I want to bolt upstairs and straight to Arie, but I can’t. Not yet.
“Don’t move, Thomas. Just breathe. I’m going to call you an ambulance, okay?”
I grab the phone off the desk, call 911, then take off my shirt and put it under Thomas’ head, so at least he’s not lying directly on the cold tile floor. Once he’s secured, and I can hear the sirens of the ambulance in the distance, I run up the stairs for at a time, pain be damned. I use my keycard to unlock the private door, and when I get inside, my stomach drops again at the sight before me.
The apartment has been trashed. It looks both like there has been a struggle, as well as that someone has just intentionally destroyed the place. I carefully into the living room, trying not to disturb anything in case I need to bring in the FBI. I know there is zero chance she’s still here, but I have to try.
“Arie? Baby? Are you here?”
When I see the kitchen, I know for sure she’s gone. There is blood on the floor and the counter, and strands of her hair are everywhere, as if someone grabbed her by her hair and pulled her backwards. I back out of the kitchen, and bolt for the bedroom.
Please don’t have taken the computer.
Please don’t have taken the computer.
I throw the bedroom door open and can just see the corner of my laptop sticking out from under my pillow. I slide it out and flip straight to the security cameras, then rewind until I see it. I see everything. A man walking in from the elevator, Arie slowly trying to back away, then darting for the kitchen and grabbing for the knife. But the man beat her into the kitchen, and hit her with his gun, sending her crumbling to the floor. But not before she slammed her head on the corner of countertop.
My stomach drops. The man never shows his face, and without a direct ID, it’s going to take me forever to find some trace of him in the apartment. I don’t know what I’m going to do, when suddenly I notice, the man reaches into his pocket to take out his cell phone. I turn up the volume as high as it will go, and can just make out his gruff and miserable voice.
“…in the lobby… Nah, she’s out like a light. Should I bring her to the house?... No, you’re right. Stupid idea. The warehouse by the dock?... You got it… No problem, Mr. Cannizzo.”
I slam my fist down on the bed. “That fucking son of a bitch!” I scream out loud just for the satisfaction. But I know I don’t have time to be pissed right now. I need to figure out where they took Arie. I use my access to the public records research database I have through work, and find that Sonny Cannizzo owns a warehouse, but the address has been deleted as a matter of public record. Cannizzo probably paid off a politician to get the information removed. I know that I should call the police, the FBI… get hostage negotiators involved, people who aren’t personally invested in the outcome of whatever happens next.
But all I want to do is put my hands around that man’s throat and squeeze. So, if I want to have the satisfaction of making the man pay for hurting Arie, I’m going to have to take care of this myself. And there is only one man who can help me.
I fish Roger Bailey’s card out of my pocket and make the call.
* * *
I can hear Bailey swipe everything off his desk in anger, and something glass shatter on the floor.
“Are you kidding me? She had twenty-four hours! That son-of-a-bitch. Wait… How do you know about her and me? Did she tell you?”
I grumble. “Yes, she told me. And we don’t have time to talk about this now, Bailey. I need your help. Cannizzo had her taken to a ‘warehouse by a dock.’ But the city records have been redacted, and I don’t have time to go through my usual channels. I thought you might know something I don’t.”
Bailey shuffles around some papers and I hear the sound of keyboard clicking. “This is going to take me a minute, Cochran. I’m not some mob lawyer who represents made men. I just happen to know people who know people who work for people like that. I need to see if my contact in Mexico is… Wait. Hold on.”
He puts me on hold, and I think I’m going to put my fist through the wall. Every minute that ticks by is a minute Arie thinks I’m not coming for her, and it’s making me sick. Just went I think I might lose my mind with worry, Bailey comes back.
“All right, my guy in Mexico was awake. He said the warehouse in Brooklyn. I’m texting you the address now. But listen, Cochran… Be careful. Sonny Cannizzo is a dipshit, but his son Angel is a monster. He’ll shoot you down as soon as look at you. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking he will show you any respect, or decency.”
I thank him and hang up. Then I take a deep breath and prepare for whatever is about to happen. And then I get my weapons.
* * *
I drive to the docks in Brooklyn, and park as close to the warehouse as can without running the risk of being detected by Cannizzo or any of his goons. I’m in my tactical gear, which I haven’t so much as looked at since I got hurt, and the pants feel tight against the wounded muscle in my leg. My knife is strapped to hip, and I have my gun in my hands, as I inch my way around corners, until I’m standing outside the door that leads into the Cannizzo warehouse.
It’s completely unmarked, and anyone walking by would probably assume it was abandoned. But through a dirty window, I can just make out the telltale signs of life inside. A gently glowing light is illuminating a hallway in the distance, and I can see a shadow moving back and forth under the light. I know I can’t just walk through the front door, so I have to find a different way in. And considering the building seems to have a limited number of entrances, I’m not sure how I am going to get inside.
With steps as light as I can manage, I weave my way around the warehouse, until I come upon a slightly ajar window facing the water. The problem is, the window is over the water, so I will have to shimmy along the edge of building and hope my leg can hold me. I use the edge just over top of the water to keep myself up, then tip-toe slowly across, until I’m able to hang off the window ledge.
I use all of my upper body strength to pull myself up, and look inside. The room is dark, with only the faintest trace of light from outside creeping in. But it’s just enough for me to make out Arie’s back. She is tied to a chair, arms and legs, but I can see she has been working to get free, because one of her hands has almost come loose from the zip-tie. I’m thrilled she’s still alive, I know that Cannizzo and his man won’t let her stay that way for long. As quietly as I can, I push the window open just enough so I can roll inside. But I miscalculate the shittiness of the building, and the window squeaks a lot more loudly than I would like.
When I land on the floor, Arie’s head spins around.
“Who is there? Who the hell is that?”
I rush up behind her in a squat run and whisper in here, “Hell of a tight spot you’ve gotten yourself in here, Arie Blanchard. How were you planning to get out of this one?”
Arie lets out a long, exhausted sigh. “Pierce! Thank goodness! How did you find me? How did you… you know what. Never mind. You can tell me later. Get me out of here. Cannizzo is gone for the time being, but that shithead Danny is just outside the door and I don’t think he will take too kindly to finding you here.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” I say as I take out my knife and cut her wrists free. She groans as she pulls her hands around front and inspects the damage, then tries to stretch out some of the pain. “I’m more than going to get you out of here. I’m going to make that man pay for what he did to you.”
I’m just about to cut away the ties holding her ankles to the chair when the locks on the door start clicking. Arie turns to me, panicked.
“Hide. If he finds you as soon as he gets in here…”
I make a face at her. “Arie, I’m a SEAL,” I hiss. “You think some mob schmuck is going to get the drop on me?”
“He has a gun, you idiot. And trust me when I say he’s faster than you expect him to be. Please, just hide!”
I dive for the darkest corner of the room where I can blend in, and hopefully, get the drop on this douchebag. I watch as he walks inside, with an arrogant stroll that just pisses me off more. He walks up to Arie, and gets way too close for my comfort.
“Well, Miss Blanchard. It looks like the boss is on his wake back. And when he gets here, he said I can do whatever I want to you.”
That’s all it takes. All of my training tells me to wait until he’s totally vulnerable, but hearing him threaten Arie like that, my Arie… It’s too much. I slide up behind him and before he even has time to realize that I’m there, my knife is at his throat. He sucks in a deep breath, but doesn’t dare speak, so I do the talking for him.
“Listen. And listen closely. You have precisely two ways out of this. One is in a body bag. The other is in a police car. But in one of those options, you are alive. So, I’d think about this carefully if I were you. Either you call your boss and tell him to meet you exactly where I say, then you trade places with Arie and sit still like a good boy until the cops come for you…”
Danny snorts. “Or what?”
“Or I let you go and you find out all the ways the Navy taught me to make a man’s dying moments the most miserable of his life.”
He doesn’t answer for longer than is probably appropriate given his options. Finally, he shrugs his shoulders a little in what feels like an attempt to get me to loosen my grip. I don’t.
“And where exactly am I telling the boss to meet you?” he asks sarcastically.
“The coffee shop on Avenue A and Second in an hour. Tell him Arie is secure, but you need to talk him about something important. And if he doesn’t meet you, it could mean trouble for the whole Cannizzo family. Got it?”
Danny squirms, and grumbles. “Fuck, man. I got. But you have to let me have a hand or I can’t make the call, ya know?”
I give him enough leeway to get his phone from his picket, and he makes the call. I search both voices for any sign that they are betraying a code, but I don’t pick up on anything. So, when he hangs up, I take a couple of zip-ties out of his jacket pocket, and start by tying his wrists together. I pull the plastic tie a lot tighter than it needs to be, but I don’t really care if his hands fall off from blood loss. He would deserve it. Then I cut Arie’s legs loose from the chair, and the minute she’s free, she stands up, jumps up and down a few times, walks over to where Danny is standing…
And kicks him square in the balls.
He goes down like a ton of bricks.
That’s my girl.
Arie
Pierce and I are standing in an empty office building across the street from the coffee shop where Danny told Cannizzo to meet him. As soon as we left Danny in the warehouse, moaning and crying like a baby, we went straight to the police station. It only took about two seconds for us to be ushered to the Major Crimes division, where a US District Attorney named Penny Elliot offered me total immunity if I testified against Angel for the kidnapping and assault. I was afraid at first, mostly that the Cannizzo’s would try and hurt me, or Chloe, or Pierce, but Miss Elliot assured me that I could return to New Zealand until the trial, so at least that made me feel safer.
Now, we are waiting here to watch Angel get arrested.
A handful of police officers and detectives surround us, and Penny Elliot stands by my side, with an earpiece planted firmly in her ear. She is dictating instructions to room full of men who are listening to her with rapt attention. I am kind of in awe of the power she commands; I’ve never seen a woman in control like that before. Even with her expensive business suit and shiny blonde hair and sky blue eyes that make her look like a model, there is something utterly authoritative about her. Everyone listens when she talks.
“Holtz, Markum, make sure you have the exits covered. Daniels confirmed that Cannizzo’s car just arrived, and he’s approaching the coffee shop. I don’t want him to have the opportunity to bolt. And make sure every procedure is covered thoroughly. I refuse to let some scumbag lawyer get him off on a goddamn technicality.”
I get the shivers listening to Penny talk. Pierce makes me feel safe as he puts his hand on the small of my back reassuringly, but I am convinced that Penny will keep us from harm in the long run. She seems thoroughly committed to taking Cannizzo down, and that makes me happier than anything that happened in the last month.
Suddenly, the room goes deathly quiet.
“Standby. Cannizzo is entering the coffee shop,” Penny says into her earpiece. Everything is silent for a moment, and then… All hell breaks loose. We can hear screaming and smashing and glass shattering from inside the shop, and Penny starts pacing. “Someone tell me what the hell is going on in there!”
Seconds later, two detectives walk out of the shop, Angel Cannizzo in front of them in handcuffs. Penny rushes outside, and we follow behind her. She crosses the street and gets right in Angel’s face.
“You’re going down, Cannizzo. You’re going to spend the rest of your life in federal prison, and I am going to make sure you never see the light of day, you piece of shit.”
Cannizzo scowls and Penny watches with dancing eyes as the detectives roughly shove him into a squad car. I hurry over to Penny and grab her arm.
“Is it over? Are we really safe?”
Penny crosses her arms with a smile. “For now? You bet. We’ll still have to go to trial, which means you will have to come back to the states to testify. But with his father in jail for a while longer, and your rock-solid testimony against him, along with all of the new evidence we’re uncovering thanks to your… whatever your boyfriend said to Danny Lorenzo, well. These dirtbags are going to be locked up for a long time. We may get to stamp out the Cannizzo crime family yet. And it’s all thanks to you, Arie. Just do me a favor, huh?”
“Yeah?” I respond, nervous she’s going to want me to confront Angel directly.
“Stay away from the OTB,” Penny says with a wink. Then she clicks off in her expensive high heels, chasing after the detectives and barking orders at them like a drill sergeant. I can’t help but grin as Pierce walks up next to me.
“Man, that woman is a bulldog. And not so hard on the eyes, either.”
I slug him in the arm. “Hey! Just because she’s blonde and brilliant and powerful and…”
Pierce sweeps me up in his arms, and gives me the sweetest, longest, most knee-buckling kiss I’ve ever experience in my entire life. When he pulls away, his eyes sparkle with the same old mischief that made me fall in love with him a thousand a years.
“Don’t you worry, princess. I only have eyes for one beautiful, brilliant, powerful woman, and she’s got sexy black hair and she’s standing right in front of me.”
Pierce pulls me back into a giant bear hug, and for the first time in a long time, I am purely and blissfully happy. Everything is right with the world…
Part Four
Arie
Six Months Later
I can’t believe the life I am living anymore. It feels like just yesterday that Chloe and I were crammed in a dumpy studio apartment in Alphabet City, and I was convinced that I was going to die, alone, without my baby by my side or anyone to care. Now? Now I’m living in Auckland in a gorgeous two-story penthouse with my little girl, our half-wolf/half-dog Daisy… and my husband.
My husband.
My husband, Pierce.
It still sounds so strange to say it out loud. Barely a day after Cannizzo was officially behind bars, James and Carol had invited all of us, Logan included, to join them at Martinelli’s to celebrate the end of my ordeal. We were drinking wine, eating their delicious pasta and chicken parmigiana, and talking about our upcoming move. Chloe was chewing happily on a breadstick, when suddenly she looked up at me and said,
“Mama!”
The entire table went silent. We all stared at her cheery little face, and her glowing, chubby cheeks, with our jaws agape.
“Chloe! What did you say? Did you… did you say something?”
She smiled and wrapped her fingers around my wrist. “Mama!” Then she pointed her chewed up breadstick at Pierce and said, “Daddy!”
I don’t know why, maybe it was an overflow of all the emotion from the last week, but I burst into tears. Pierce pulled Chloe into his lap and showered her in kisses.
“It’s not much, but it’s a start! I bet she’ll be talking up a storm before we know it,” he said with a laugh.
“And you’ll be longing for the days when she didn’t speak at all,” James said with a sly grin. Carol gave him a smack on the arm, but everyone chuckled. I wiped the tears from my eyes as Pierce handed Chloe to his mom, then got up from the booth with a bit of a grunt. Ever since the incident at the warehouse, his leg had been a little stiffer than usual, so he’d been working out double-time to try and get back to his usual self. But he was still more sore than he cared to admit. Yet, he stood at the edge of the table, tall and handsome, and gave me his most dashing smile.
“Arie, this seems like the perfect time to ask you something I’ve been meaning to for a while.”
Pierce reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little blue box, and my heart practically stopped as he got down on one knee. I couldn’t even utter a word, but Carol more than made up for it when she shrieked loud enough that several of the chefs and a few waiters came running over to see what commotion was. They immediately stopped in their tracks with giant smiles on their faces. I had a feeling they’d been privy to this scene many times before.
However, when Pierce open the little blue box, it was my turn to make a scene. The ring was a huge pear-shaped diamond in a platinum setting. The entire band was encrusted with smaller diamonds, and even the main stone was surrounded by little sparkling stones. The lights from the candle hit the largest diamond and set off sparkles all over the wall like a prism, and Chloe exclaimed happily as she tried to grab at them. But I shook my head, terrified to so much as touch it.
“Pierce… I can’t accept that. It’s too much. It’s too big. I can’t…”
He got up from the floor and sat back down in the booth next to me, then slid the ring on my finger with a smile. “You deserve this, Arie. You deserve all of it and more. You deserve a thousand rings, you deserve every diamond in the world. And if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing them down for you. And for Chloe.”
I started crying again and threw my arms around him. “Yes, of course yes. Forever, yes.”
The rest of the night was spent talking about details for a wedding, and listening to Carol try to convince us again not to move to Auckland. But the first thing Pierce had done once we were sure that Cannizzo was firmly in prison was book our tickets back to New Zealand, so there was no question about us leaving. The only question left was whether we’re going to get married in Manhattan, or New Zealand.
In the end, we decided to have the wedding in our new home. But not before I had to testify at the trial of Sebastian “Angel” Cannizzo.
The pre-trial phase had moved a lot faster than Penny had anticipated. For a moment, she even thought Cannizzo might cut a deal, which would have prevented me from testifying at all. But then, Sonny Cannizzo died in his white collar prison, a sudden heart attack taking him out on the racquetball court, and Angel had decided that meant he needed to take over the Cannizzo crime family. And while it was possible for him to control things from jail, he made it perfectly clear that he didn’t intend to, and he started the process of doing everything in his power to get out of his charges.
It started subtly, with the Cannizzo family paying whatever they had to to high-priced lawyers who would use any underhanded tactics they could to get Angel off. When they couldn’t find any legal loopholes to get him out of jail, they started resorted to illegal ones. First? It was witness tampering. And by tampering, I mean that Angel’s right-hand-man, Danny Lorenzo, was found floating in the East River, a bullet between his eyes. There was no evidence to prove that Angel was connected, but Penny was sure he had him killed so he couldn’t testify for the prosecution.
After that, Pierce, Chloe, and I had round-the-clock FBI protection until the trial. At first I thought it was going to be intrusive and terrifying, but it wasn’t long before we got used to having the agents around. They were always in the apartment, the car, at dinner with us eating our food, and attending family events. Penny tried to speed things up so we could get on with our lives, and before we knew it, Pierce and I were sitting outside a courtroom, waiting for a bailiff to bring me inside.
I walked in the courtroom, and the only people in there were the jury, a judge, Penny and her assistant district attorney… And Angel, surrounded by his cadre of lawyers. I’d be lying if I said was petrified, but I did the only thing I could: I told the truth. About everything. No matter which lawyer was asking me questions, I told the truth. When you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. So, my story was consistent, and there was nothing Angel’s lawyers could poke holes in. Just facts: I owed him money, he and Danny kidnapped me, and threatened to kill me. End of story. After two hours of testimony, I walked out of the courthouse, holding Pierce’s hand. Then we went home, picked up Chloe, got on a plane to Auckland, and didn’t look back.
Three days later, we got a call from Penny. Angel had been convicted. But more than that, because he and Danny had pulled guns on me, assaulted me, and inflicted serious bodily harm on me, the judge had added level after level on to his actual sentence. By the time he was done, Angel Cannizzo had been sentenced to seventy-five years in prison with no chance of parole. The whole of New York City could probably hear my excited screams from New Zealand at the thought that I was finally free of that man.
Once we were sure that the trial was finally over, we were free to plan our big day. And what a day it was. Family came from all over the world for our Kiwi wedding, including my Aunt Marie and Uncle Sal, who Pierce bought airline tickets for. We ended up getting married on the Bay of Islands at a resort on the Kauri Cliffs near Matauri Bay in Northland, and it was the most incredible experience of my life. The lodge and all of the guest cottages looked out over the cliffs and onto the beautiful beaches and ocean below. Our room had a huge fireplace and a massive bed with a view of the ocean and a private infinity pool, where we spent most of our time with Chloe. However, James and Carol were kind enough to keep her in their room, so we could truly be alone, and take advantage of the romantic spa, the amazing dinners, and the quiet walking trails.
By the time the actual wedding day rolled around, we’d practically forgotten we weren’t the only two people in the world.
The wedding was beautiful. We were married under a canopy on the cliffs in full view of the Pacific Ocean, and the perfect warm summer winds danced around us as we took our vows. I expected that I would be the one to cry like a baby, but it was Pierce who broke down in tears when we said our vows. I don’t think either of us expected to end up where we did, when we did, with who we did, or go through so much to get there. The emotion of the moment overwhelmed both of us, and then I started crying too, which made our families break down in tears. Luckily, the tears quickly turned to laughter, and before I knew it, Pierce and I were husband and wife.
I was Mrs. Arie June Cochran, and with my husband holding my hand on that beautiful cliff, I felt like there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish together.
Now, we are on our honeymoon in Fiji, and I wake up every morning surprised at how relaxed, and free I feel. It’s the third morning of our two-week honeymoon, and I wake up in the massive bed in our overwater bure at the resort where we are staying on Malolo Island. I stretch and look around, surprised to find that Pierce isn’t in the room. I crawl out of the bed, marveling at the sparkling blue water beneath the glass under my feet, and wrap the bedsheet around my naked body. No one is around us, so we’ve had ample privacy, and it’s allowed us certain liberties that we’ve taken full advantage of.
I walk out onto our private patio, and find Pierce laying naked on the dock on a lounge chair. He’s already developed a deep tan, and his rippling muscles are shiny from a thin sheen of sweat. I feel my insides start to twist up just at the sight of him, and have to remind myself how unbelievably lucky I am that this is my husband. He seems to become aware of my presence, because he lifts his head from the chair, and lowers his sunglasses with a smile.
“Good morning, Mrs. Cochran. You’re looking especially beautiful this morning.”
I feel myself break out in a full-body blush. I will never get used to his compliments.
“I could say the same thing about you. Speaking of, we’re bound to have neighbors soon. I’m not sure how much longer we can get away with nude sunbathing.”
Pierce reaches over and yanks away my sheet, throwing it down on the dock, and leaving me standing in front of him, totally exposed. Then he takes my hand and pulls me onto his lap. I can feel his body heat, combined with the warmth of the morning sun. And then he is growing against me. So masculine. So big. And I so want him inside of me that I suddenly can’t think of anything else.
Our gazes fix on each other, and a heartbeat later, Pierce takes me by the shoulders and pulls down to him. His lips desperately reach for mine and he kisses me with every ounce of the passion he has inside of him. My reaction is based on unadulterated reflex. I returned his kiss with the same appetite, the same demand. We are practically mauling each other.
Any thought of modesty is completely abandoned in favor of our desire for each other.
Pierce lifts me up into the air like I weigh nothing, and he carries me to the glass floor that sits overtop of the sparkling turquoise water. The cool of the glass against my skin combined with the disorientation that comes from feeling like I am suspended over the ocean is a heady combination, and my mind begins to spin in a way I can’t explain. Pierce lays his strong body on top of me, the curve of his muscles rubbing against my soft flesh. He kisses me again, until I am practically ready to pass out from lack of oxygen and the thrill of his taste. He kisses a trail along the side of my neck. He licks a path down my skin to my collarbone, and lets his fingers trace shapes on my sweaty skin.
Pierce makes a happy sound when he leans back and takes in the sight of my breasts. Ever since we got engaged, since I’ve been healthy and felt safe, I’ve been putting weight back on, and he seems to revel in my curves, my softness. Pierce leans down and takes a quick cursory lick, making me shiver. His touch is like fire against my skin, burning me up from the inside out. With his strong hands, he cups my breasts and squeezes my firm flesh. Then he leans down and peppers my breasts with soft kisses, before stopping to suck my nipple.
“Oh, god, Pierce,” I moan, not caring if someone could hear us. All I want is to spend the rest of our lives on this dock.
Desire sears my skin like I’m being branded by Pierce’s love. He lazily drags his tongue from one nipple to another, letting his hands squeeze tighter around my breasts. Then he scrapes his teeth on my hardened bud, and flicks his tongue across the edge before he begins sucking on me intently. The whole time, he is rolling the other nipple with his skilled fingers.
“Pierce,” I whisper. “Lean back, baby. I want to see” I give his shoulders a gentle push so he is hovering over me. He smiles softly and kisses me again before he rocks back on his knees. He flinches a little when his weight shifts on to his leg, and I suddenly feel guilty. “Are you okay? Are you hurting? Should we go inside?”
He shakes his head and grins. “I will always be okay when I am with you.”
Sweet Jesus, I am so lucky. Not only is Pierce the most wonderful man in the world, but he is also the most beautiful. His gorgeously tanned skin glows in the yellow light of the sun. His six-pack abs ripple, and his strong arms make it clear he could carry me to Australia and back. My husband is a perfect specimen of manhood, and I can’t believe he’s mine.
Pierce leans forward and kisses me on the lips. His emerald eyes glitter. “You’re so goddamned beautiful, Arie.” He slips one finger, and then another, inside of me, and growls like an animal when my sex contracts and throbs around his fingers.
“God, you feel amazing, Arie.”
I can’t say anything as he hooks a finger inside of me, hitting a spot that sends my whole body into shivers instantaneously. Pierce growls again as I shake and shiver around him. “I love it when you come for me, Arie.”
I reach out and grope for him, wanting to feel him in the same way he just felt me. I give him a gentle squeeze and his cock comes alive in my hand.
“I shouldn’t be the only one getting off today.”
Pierce laughs, and I worship him as his cock stands strong and proud in front of me, extraordinarily thick and long. My mouth waters, and all I want to do is taste him, but I can tell that he isn’t interested in foreplay this morning. Instead, he positions himself at my opening and slides inside of me like he belongs there. His copious shaft fills me before I even have time to register that he’s there.
I gasp, as always, surprised at just how fully he fills me up. He is so unbelievably big and I never feel fully ready to take him, but he always manages to make it work. With a primitive moan, he shifts himself so he fills me up all the way to the brim. I wrap my thighs around Pierce’s waist for purchase as he rocks into me fast and hard. He has hardly thrust into me a dozen times when I feel another orgasm wash over me out of nowhere, and seize my entire body without warning. Absolute satisfaction pours through my entire body.
Pierce sees it, and he smiles from ear to ear. “Fuck yeah, baby. Come for me. Let’s keep going. I want more of you.”
I am just about to finally catch my breath when Pierce rolls off of me. Then he sits up and pulls me into his lap. I straddle him, clutching tight to his shoulders. With one hand, I take hold of his shaft and press the tip to my opening, slipping him into my heat. I moan as that glorious familiar stretching sensation returns. I ease myself down a little bit further, relishing the slow feeling of Pierce filling me up again, but Pierce gets irascible. He grabs hold of my hips and pulls me down, piercing me with his thick cock. We both moan as his cock pulses inside of me. Burning. Agonizing. Amazingly fantastic.
He kisses the spot where my neck meets my shoulder and whispers into my ear, “I want you to feel every part of me, Arie.”
“I…” start to stutter out, but I can’t form a coherent sentence. The indulgence is too perfect, too all-consuming.
Pierce wraps his arms around my waist and rocks me back at an angle. Riding him from this new position floods me with a new wave of extraordinary sensations. I can feel the smoothness of the skin of the head; the firm hardness of his perfect cock fills me up and sends me reeling in the most perfect of ways. I can’t fathom how deep inside of me he is right now. He gyrates as if he is trying to get even deeper inside of me, but there is no way that’s possible. I am completely stuffed to the absolutely limit. His thick manhood ravages my pussy, pushing me into places I’m not sure my mind can handle.
“Pierce,” I scream.
Pierce gently rubs my back as he floods me with a deluge of focused thrusts. He rains crash upon crash of pounding plunge until all I feel is the fire of our bodies meeting. The wicked scorch is driving me to the point of climax, and I know I am right on the edge. I hold my breath. Pierce slams once. Twice. Again. One more time.
And then, an orgasm tears through me. Blinding, exhausting, and beautiful.
Pierce jerks underneath me, reaching his own climax. His huge cock shudders inside of me, emptying his seed. I can feel his every spasm, the clip of his labored breathing. He kisses my chest as our waves of ecstasy begin to ebb away. When the final of pleasure drifts away, I feel sleepy and satiated. All I want to do is sleep in the sun in Pierce’s arms.
I slide myself off of him, though he seems hesitant to let me go. I laugh, exhausted. “So, how long were you out here waiting for me to wake up?” I ask.
“Too long.” Pierce grabs me by the waist and rolls me onto my back. We tumble on to the glass floor and Pierce ends up back on top of me. “I’ve been thinking about it since I woke up and saw you laying there in the morning sun, asleep, glowing, and beautiful.”
I try to hide a grin. “Funny you should mention the word ‘glowing’ actually.”
Pierce raises an eyebrow and surveys me with curious eyes. “Oh?”
“Well, right before the wedding, I was feeling queasy. Sick. I started to worry that maybe something was wrong again. That I was going to need to go back to Manhattan to my doctors. But then I realized…”
Pierce sits up. He’s catching on, and his face is practically on fire with excitement. “You realized?”
“I was late. So, the concierge picked me up a pregnancy test.”
“And?” he asks, practically jumping out of his skin.
“We’re pregnant,” I answer, trying to stifle my smile. When I look up, Pierce looks like he’s about to explode. He laughs happily and picks me up in the air, spinning me around and around until we are both dizzy and giggling. When he puts me down, he kisses me long and slow, then pulls away and brushes my hair out of my face.
“You’re my family now, Arie. And I’m going to make sure you, and Chloe, and whoever else the universe brings us, will be safe forever. I love you, Arie.”
And when he pulls me into his arms, the warmth of the Fijian sun beating down on us and the gentle lapping of the waves filling out ears, I believe him.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Congratulations on the addition to your family, Mr. Cochran. We heard you and your lovely wife welcome twins.”
Spencer James and the man I’ve come to know as Rufus are sitting across from my desk in our Auckland office. I look at the picture sitting across from me: Chloe on the beach with our twins, Layla and Beckett, and my heart swells. Chloe may look like me, but the twins are the spitting image of Arie, and together, we make a perfect family. I peek over the men across from me, and see Arie sitting at the reception desk. She was going crazy at home, so we got a nanny for the kids and now she works in the office with me. As if she knows I’m watching her, she turns her head and gives me a wink, then goes back to answering one of the dozens of emails we get every day, asking for our services.
While we take on the occasional side case, then contract out to another local security firm, my main business is what Spencer and Rufus brought me over a year ago. And it was a doozy. The men were the head of the Worldwide Securities Agency, or WSA, a privatized offshoot of the CIA. They were a group of elite former Marines and SEALs and “secret agents” who were hired to take on missions too intense for any federal government to handle. Sometimes, the cases were so covert, a government might not even know about them. But they were always too dangerous to risk the lives of anyone who was considered a “volunteer.” So that is where we come in.
For the last year, Cochran Securities LTD has been putting together a private, select collection of men and women who travel across the globe, helping solve issues that the average person never even hears about. From our base in Auckland, we assist the WSA in finding agents to help complete their missions. My job isn’t just to find the agents; I help them plan, organize, and do damage control, accounting for any eventuality and strategize future missions. It’s an amazing, rewarding, and challenging job, and I can never allow myself to devalue its importance.
Arie has also proven to be an invaluable part of our CSL branch in Auckland. I always knew she was brilliant, but over the last few months, she has shown me that she is a wiz at mapping and charting. Every time I think I have figured out the best course for a planned mission, she shows up and within five seconds, she’s found a safer, more efficient course. I couldn’t even begin to guess how many lives she’s saved, or how much money. She calls herself my receptionist, but she’s much more… and she knows it.
I realize I’ve been staring at Arie when Spencer clears his throat. “Mr. Cochran?”
“Yes! Sorry. You were saying?”
“Well, first, we wanted to thank you for saving our asses in with that thing in Tasmania. Not sure our guys would have made it out without your help.”
I nod. “That’s our job.”
“Now, we need to ask you for something else,” Rufus says with a stern look. I try and keep my poker face. There is no telling what these men want from me. It could be anything. Literally.
“Go ahead.”
Rufus sets a chubby hand on my desk. “Mr. Cochran, we’d like you and your wife to start doing some field work. Getting out there in the muck, so to speak.”
I don’t remotely intend to laugh out loud, but that is exactly what happens. I actually laugh loudly enough to draw Arie’s attention from the front of the office. Laughter isn’t generally something she hears coming from meetings with the men from WSA.
“What the hell are you talking about? We can’t go out in the field. My leg never properly healed from the injury I sustained in service and Arie isn’t trained in… anything. What could you possibly want us to do in the field?”
Spencer gives me a very serious raised eyebrow. “Mr. Cochran, we know full well that your wife is the brains behind your mission charting. And she’s exceptional. Training or no training, she has an instinct that can’t be taught. And you may be injured, but the fact you think that means you are sidelined from the game permanently? That’s just disappointing.”
I sit back, processing what he’s just said. “So, explain to me what it is you want us to do. What you think we can do.”
“Track and report only. You will travel to wherever we tell you and collect whatever information we need. Maybe follow a target. Maybe gather some intel. Maybe just map out a mission that we’re planning before we go boots on the ground. Nothing that would put either of you in any immediate danger. But we feel that your unique talents are being wasted in an office. Both of your unique talents.”
I can’t even begin to guess how Arie is going to respond to this. “Can we have some time to consider it?”
They stand up at the same time, and nod at the same time. “You have twenty-four hours. Same as last time.”
Before I even have a chance to follow them out to the waiting area, they have completely disappeared from the office.
“How do they DO that? How do they just… vanish like that?” I ask Arie, who is eyeballing me. But Arie is looking at me with a very defined scowl.
“Forget that. What exactly do you have twenty-fours to decide? What is going on now?”
I look at her and chuckle. “Oh, right. Well. How would you like to be a spy?” I ask with a wink. Arie chokes on the mouthful of coffee she just swallowed.
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Spencer and Rufus have asked us to become, well, field agents of sort. Nothing high-risk. No espionage. Well, light espionage. Travel to some exotic countries, gather intel, maybe steal the occasional priceless antiquity and sell it on the black market.” I think I’m hilarious, but Arie isn’t laughing.
“Pierce, don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t even finish college. I am your receptionist. I am not remotely qualified to be any kind of field agent. And what about you? Your leg is just starting to heal! You want to risk your progress for what?”
“Adventure? Intrigue? A chance to travel on someone else’s dime?” I know I shouldn’t be joking because Arie is worked up, but I can’t help it. I’ve been in this situation before, and I know in the end, she is going to side with me. The allure of the unknown is just too great. But she is still frowning at me.
“That’s fine for you, but what about the kids? Layla and Beckett are babies, and Chloe… I can’t leave her again. What if she thinks this is the time I leave her for good? I don’t want our kids to end up orphans, Pierce.”
I cross over and sit on the desk next to her. “We’re not talking about parachuting behind enemy lines in a war zone, Arie. It’s basically analysis work in the field. Some traveling. Occasionally following a few bad people and seeing where they are headed. And I promise you, we will never be away from the kids for more than a long weekend.”
Arie scrunches up her face and crosses her arms over her chest. Then she starts thinking, and she thinks for so long, I’m pretty sure the twenty-four-hour deadline might pass. When she finally speaks, she actually startles me.
“And you promise me we’ll never be away from the kids for more than four days at a time?”
I nod. “I promise. And we’ll bring them back lovingly-curated knick-knacks from every trip.”
Arie shrugs. “Okay then, let’s do it.”
My jaw drops. “Really? Just like that?”
“Well, not just like that. We’ll have to work out a lot of details and prepare for every eventuality, but we should at least try it. I think we’ll regret it if we don’t give it a shot, you know?”
I grab her, sweep her up in my arms, and give her a huge, long, kiss. I really am the luckiest man in the world, to have a wife who is so brave, so utterly fearless. When I put her back on the ground, I kiss her again.
“You deserve this, you know. You are brilliant, and capable, and this is your chance to shine.”
Arie stretches up and gives me another kiss. “I do all the shining I need to with you.”
Just as I’m considering taking her into my office and really making her glow, the phone in my jacket pocket rings. The phone that only Spencer and Rufus have access to. I look at Arie with a smile.
“Ready for our next adventure, Mrs. Cochran?”
She winks. “I was born ready, Mr. Cochran.”
[ Image: HEAT.jpg ]
Copyright © 2016 by Jess Bentley
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