Chapter 14 ~ Alexander #2
My father wouldn’t let me marry her without good reason, but then he didn’t see Roberts’ betrayal. None of us did. So, who the fuck knows anymore?
Suddenly, Sebastian stands up, smiling and starts waving. Christopher tilts his head back, covering his eyes with his hand, blocking out the sun and soon waves as well. Carlos twists his head to look up.
My back is to the house, but I know who they’re waving at, Isabella’s windows face the pool.
Standing up I face her window, putting my hands in my pockets as I peer up at her.
Isabella was smiling and waving back at Sebastian and Christopher.
But the smile and joy fades from her face as soon as she sees me stand and face her.
She slowly steps away from the window, the sheer curtain hiding her from view, but I keep looking at her, knowing she is still standing behind the veil.
I mumble to Carlos. “I thought Anna was with her today?”
Carlos pipes back. “She was, but Danny took her home after the meeting.”
I turn back, take my seat while grabbing my drink, and take a sip. Sebastian looks at me, confusion on his face.
“Why doesn’t she want to come join us?”
I hunch my shoulders and take another sip. Christopher leans over to me and looks me in the eye.
“What the fuck did you do to her, man? She won’t even come and have a drink with us. Is she not allowed out of her room or what?”
I lift my glass to my lips, looking at the bottom. My voice echoes back at me.
“Father said she’s to be watched and I’m watching her.” I hunch one shoulder and swallow.
Christopher jabs at my shoulder.
“Yeah, from your creepy cameras behind a locked bedroom door.”
Sebastian doesn’t add anything to the jibe my brother gave me; he just sits there drinking his water.
I hold my glass in my hands and say coolly.
“She’s allowed out of her room; she just prefers not to.”
Christopher stands up and stretches.
“Yeah, well, as much as I would like to stick around here and talk about your wife, I’ve got a man to call and one I got to watch. I’ll catch you guys later. I’m going to head down to the club and make sure Marcus has the backup that he needs.”
I nod my head in approval.
“Sounds great, brother. If you need anything from me, let me know. I’m going to head back to my office and start investigating that bank, then book us a couple of flights. I want this shit show to be over with sooner rather than later.”
Christopher gives us the peace sign with his fingers, “Later Brothers.”
I look over at Sebastian. He’s still staring at his water bottle, slowly peeling the label off. I know he wants to say something, and I know he doesn’t approve of Isabella being in her room all the time.
“Spill it, Sebastian. It’s written all over your face. But I’d like to hear you say it, anyway.”
I push his knee and he looks up at me, pursing his lips to the side of his face.
“What are you going to do with her, Alexander? Deep down, I don’t think she’s involved, but somehow, I think she is. Sorry.”
I swirl the ice in my glass.
“I feel the same, brother. She’s my wife. We may not get along all the time, but she’s still my wife. And I hope whatever the fuck is in that safe deposit box proves us wrong.”
Sebastian nods. Her father is fucked, but no one wants to see Isabella go down with him. That pain in my chest gets tighter and I rub it a little harder. The acid rises, it had to have been that tuna sandwich. I hate tuna, but I ate it anyway.
“So, she’s basically a prisoner here?” He nervously twists the cap on his bottle off and then back on.
My temper rises, and I adjust my tie. That’s twice now that the word “prisoner” has been tossed in my face.
“If you see it that way, I won’t try to change your opinion. But no, she is not a fucken prisoner. She chooses... mostly to stay in her room. Her studio is there, and she paints all day. Does that make me less of a monster in your eyes now?”
He looks at me and says, “I see it as it is, brother.” He looks up at her window and stands up.
“I’m out. I have paperwork to chase.”
I don’t say a word as I watch him leave. They all see me as some kind of cruel bastard, when I have been nothing but as accommodating and “nice” as I know how.
Carlos hasn’t said a word since the meeting, which on the one hand makes me a little nervous, but on the other hand, it’s expected. He’s a processor. He needs to think this shit through before he speaks. Danny, well, he just gets up and gets fucking started.
He finally breaks his silence. “What are you going to do, Alexander?
I sigh, “I really don’t know.”
He flips his knife closed and swings it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger.
“She must be involved somehow, someway. Your father was adamant that Danny watches her.”
My shoulders slump and I run my finger around the edge of the glass.
“She is. The question is, is it knowingly or unknowingly? This makes treading water with her quite a risk. Half of me wants to take her and choke her, and the other half wants to choke her in a good way, if you know what I’m saying.” I chuckle.
Carlos doesn’t laugh.
I hold my hand up. “Okay, okay! I know what you’re trying to say. This could end badly for her.”
Carlos puts his knife away in his chest holster.
“You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me.
You like her more than you have ever liked any other woman.
You don’t buy gifts and jewelry? And you have never, in your entire life, held a woman in your arms the way you hold her.
No matter what happens, this is going to hurt, and I want you to be ready for it. ”
He’s pissing me off now, and my damn chest keeps getting tighter and tighter. I swivel in the seat and look at him.
“So, what the fuck do you suggest I do? Be her friend, stop trying to be her husband? Jesus, that sounds so fucked up. I’m out of my element.”
I run my hand over my face. “I was out of my element the day I got married. I don’t know how to be friends with women, you know that.”
“I don’t know what you’re going to do. Until we know either way, my suggestion would be to keep it civil.”
“Civil?” My mouth falls open and I shake my head.
“How in the hell am I supposed to do that? No matter what happens, Robert is fucking dead anyway. Him and those four other cocksuckers won't make it out of this alive. I guarantee you that. No matter how this plays out, she’ll hate me for killing her father, or she’s a traitor and she’s dead. It’s a lose-lose situation.”
Carlos put his hand on my back.
“If it’s like I think, she will forgive you if her father dies. She knows a betrayal like this can’t be left unpunished. You can get her back, or try to.”
I take a sip of my ice watered down drink and stare out over the water. Carlos is right; I do like her; I’m very attracted to her. There’s something about her that just draws me to her. This whole thing is so fucking complicated. I never really craved a woman before, like I crave Isabella.
I never wanted a woman to smile at me the way she did with Sebastian. I enjoyed how she needed me, curved into my body as I protected her from the press. I liked that. I wanted that.
Now I have to watch and be careful to guard my every move. I had a feeling from the beginning that they sent her as a decoy to weaken us. It was those innocent green eyes and her charming smile. She seems too sheltered from the world to be real.
Carlos stands up, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“Let’s go get another drink, book some flights to California, and watch the fucken game. I’m wiped.”
I get up and look at her window; she’s gone. I know it. I rub my chest and follow Carlos.
~ ~ ~
It is Thursday morning, and I have avoided Isabella for the last two days. My brain just can’t seem to get past this whole cloak and dagger move of Angelo’s. My father knows more than he’s saying, but until we get that information from the safe deposit box here, he won’t say shit.
I look at my watch; it’s 11:45. And Sasha should be bringing Isabella her lunch soon.
I left things as they were. As much as I don’t want it to, my trust is wavering. Every day, the tension I feel in the absence of answers makes me angrier, and she is the match to my gasoline, so I stayed away.
I open her camera feed. She’s in her studio, but she comes out wiping her hand on the towel on her shoulder.
She smiles at Sasha and takes her tray to the coffee table, and like every day, she picks up those dumb dead flowers, which are basically sticks now, and puts them in that bowl and sits in her window to eat her lunch.
I zoom in. Even though she eats every day, she seems to have lost weight.
I can see that her cheeks are a little more sunken in, and her t-shirt is loose around her shoulders.
Despite the weight loss, she looks so pretty sitting there in her shorts and t-shirt covered in red paint.
I bought that statue for her. Stupid, I know.
But I wanted to give her something to look at out her window besides snow over the winter if she lives long enough to see it.
My chest tightens again, and I rub it. I need to call the museum and see when it will arrive
My phone vibrates on my desk, and I look at the number. It’s Sebastian. What the hell?
“Brother? What can I do for you?”
He takes a shaky breath, “Get Carlos, I’ll be there in less than twenty minutes.” and hangs up.
Okay, that’s fucked up. I text Carlos.
Alex: My office, ASAP.
Carlos: I’m just pulling up. Be there in five.
I call Rose to bring some coffee and cups. This feels more like a whiskey kind of meeting, but I’ve drunk far too much the past couple of days and it’s affecting my stomach.
Carlos comes in, closes the door, and takes a seat.
“What’s going on?”
I lift my hand in the air.
“Fucked if I know. Sebastian called in a panic by the sounds of him, and said he’d be here in twenty minutes.”