Chapter 12 Dog
DOG
“Robert,” Maggie’s panicked voice calls out. I rushed out of the bathroom into our bedroom. It’s still early, and she’s not dressed yet, her hair mussed, cup of tea on the bedside. She’s holding her phone, and her face is void of colour.
My heart stops for a minute at the pure devastation on her face. Hurrying to her, I take her phone from her and read the message there. My heart sinks as I read the message from Bella.
Bella – Hi Mum and Dad, sorry that you’re waking up to this message.
I’m a coward and didn’t want to face anyone.
I love you both so much. Sam and I didn’t work out.
I’m going to travel for a bit. It worked for Noni, so I hope it will work for me.
Beau will take care of the business. I’ll work remotely, so don’t worry about your investments.
I’ll keep in touch and let you know where I am so you don’t worry.
There’s so much I want to tell you, but I’m not ready yet.
My phone is going to be switched off for the most part, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me right away.
I hope one day I find what you two have, what Onyx and Draco have.
Love you both to the moon and back. Thank you for being the best parents a girl could ask for. Bells xxx
“Robert,” Maggie sobs, and I pull her into my chest. I hold my wife as she cries and wonder what the hell had happened.
It would be almost two years before I’d find out what Bella was up to, and when I did, it didn’t fill me with rainbows and roses.
Instead, my worry ramped up, and for the first time in our married life, I kept something from Maggie.
I couldn’t add to her worry, not when she was almost fading before my eyes.
It didn’t take either of us long to realise that Bella wasn’t travelling and was instead somewhere in the UK.
Her text messages were the only communication we had.
The only time Maggie was her old self was when she was with our grandchildren, so I made sure that they spent as much time with her as they could when they weren’t in school.
We rallied around and kept her busy. The busier the better, and every time we got a message from Bella, the angrier I got at my daughter.
I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but I knew it couldn’t be good.
And I was right.
It was at Sam and Ally’s wedding that I started to get an inkling of what she was doing.
***
September 2016
Sam and Ally have just had their first dance. For the last ten minutes, I’d had a feeling that I needed to be outside. Maggie was sitting chatting with Kate, Bev, and Maura. Gunny, Thor, Shep, and Colm were keeping her company.
Standing, I lay a hand on Maggie’s shoulder and whisper, “I’m going to step outside for a bit, Mags. Are you okay here? Can I get you anything?”
Maggie looks up at me with a soft smile. “I’m okay honey. Go have your smoke and I’ll keep pretending I don’t know.”
Chuckling, I press a kiss to her cheek. “Should have known I couldn’t hide anything from you. Love you, gorgeous.”
“Love you too. I’m okay I promise.”
Squeezing her shoulder, I walk away and out the front doors of the hotel.
Shaking a cigarette out of the pack, I light it up and inhale.
A bike with two riders on is parked in the dark a little way from the hotel but with a clear view into the ballroom where Sam and Ally’s wedding reception is being held.
I’d know my daughter’s form anywhere, and I know for a fact that she’s the passenger on the back of that bike.
I don’t recognize the man she’s with. It’s too dark, and they’re not wearing any identifying patches.
I sense he’s there before he says anything, so I ask. “Is my daughter going to be all right?”
He hesitates before answering, “I don’t know.”
My heart thunders in my ears when he doesn’t confirm that Bella will be okay. It may break Maggie and me if something happens to Bella. And her brothers will go on a rampage.
“Is her sacrifice worth it?” I want to know.
“It is,” he assures me before continuing, “She’s been trained, she has help, and she knows what she’s doing. We’ve covered her as much as we can, but the honest truth is that what she’s doing is dangerous, and while we see a lot, we don’t see everything.”
“I don’t like it, and if something happens to her, then I’m not holding her mother and brothers back,” I inform him, turning towards him.
“Understood, and you won’t be the only ones taking revenge if something happens to her,” he assures me.
I turn back towards the road, but the taillights have long faded. When I turn back towards him, he’s gone.
“Fuck,” I whisper, raking my hand down my face and saying a brief prayer that my daughter is kept safe. I can’t tell Maggie what I found out tonight; she’s already worried sick and knowing that Bella is working for the Cursed Skulls will only add to that.
I send a brief prayer up to anyone that’s listening to please keep our baby safe.
It’s a long time before I’m able to go back inside.
It was hard, but I kept what I knew to myself until I couldn’t anymore.
My brothers, they knew something was up and pushed me until I caved and told them.
By then, Christmas was upon us, and I knew it would be another one without our daughter joining us.
Making a decision, I packed Maggie up, and we went to Zambia with Maura and Thor.
When I told Gunny and Shep what I was planning, they bought tickets.
It was just what we needed — time in the sun with our closest family members.
I had a quiet word with Noni about wanting to spoil Maggie.
And spoil her we did. By the time we left, she was glowing and smiling.
Almost back to her old self. Not even the Christmas messages from Bella had set her back.
“Did you have a good time, gorgeous?” I ask, taking hold of Maggie’s hand and kissing the back of it as we take off from Dubai, where we’d caught our connecting flight to Heathrow.
Maggie turns her head towards me and smiles. Tugging on my beard to bring me closer to her, she kisses me before replying, “I had an amazing time honey. Thank you. I feel like a new person. I know it was you who arranged all the pampering that I got.”
“You deserve it, Maggie. You’re the best of the best. Love you to the depths of my soul.”
“Oh Robert,” Maggie caresses my cheek. “I feel the same. I’ll do better.
We know that she’s alive and that’s all that matters.
All we can do is hope and pray she makes it back to us.
I’ve decided that I can’t change anything and worrying is making me sick so I’m going to let fate do what needs to be done and we’ll either pick up the pieces or we’ll be pleasantly surprised. ”
Jesus, this woman.
I run the back of my hand down her cheek as always amazed at her strength.
“Okay, gorgeous, we’ll do that. Now, have you checked out the menu? This flying first class is fucking awesome. I’m never going back to economy after this. It’s probably just as well Bella’s good at making us money even if she’s not with us.”
Maggie bursts out laughing and rests her head against my shoulder. Gunny and Shep look over at her laugh, and I can see the relief in their eyes that Maggie’s happier.
I think we’d have to make it a yearly holiday and spend Christmas with Noni, Bull, and the Crowthorne chapter every year. The sunshine had been good for us.