Chapter 45
Aria
Ican’t help but to play with the bracelets that adorn my wrist as I watch Serena play with her son. We are waiting from some sort of notification from Leo or Santos that Elliot made it back from his meeting with his mom and that their plan worked.
It has yet to come.
So I’m sitting in my best friend’s living room, impatiently waiting.
I move one bracelet to the right, I move the other to the right.
One is from Elliot and the other… from Henry.
Both came to me by surprise, but the second one caught me off guard.
It was the night we went to dinner at Lane Manor, before Elliot and I went upstairs and he told me about his past. I had gotten up to get more dessert in the kitchen and I didn’t realize that Henry had followed me while everyone was wine happy in the massive dinning room.
“Miss Aria, I’ve been wanting to speak with for a moment, if I may.” Henry said, as I sliced into the boysenberry pie he said he bought from a bakery nearby.
I looked up at him mid slice, a smile on my face. “Is everything okay?”
Henry gave me a nod. “Absolutely. It’s just something I wanted to share. From me and you.”
Wariness started to take over my mind. “Okay?” The word came out more as a question than a statement.
The smile that Henry gave me though, calmed me down a bit.
I watched as he walked over to one of the drawers in the far end of the kitchen, opened it and took something out. From what I could see, was a small box.
When he walked back over, he handed it over to.
It was a black velvet box that one would find a necklace or a bracelet in.
I took it from him and with my curiosity dictating my movements, I opened it. Inside was a gorgeous silver bracelet with a small charm in the middle. A charm that happens to be a stethoscope.
“This is beautiful.” I said, running my finger against the silver.
“The bracelet itself has some sentiment behind it and the charm is a new piece that I thought would go perfect with it.”
I smiled and looked up at the man in front of me. “What is it for?”
“A thank you. One from me to you. For your help in making sure Mr. Grayson had a successful recovery.”
A blush creeped up my cheeks. “Henry, thank you but this is too much. I can’t accept it. I was just doing my job.”
“And it was a good job at that.” He said, his wrinkles showing when he gave me another smile.
“If you won’t accept it for helping Mr. Grayson, can you at least take as a token of my gratitude for being a great nurse?
And if you are worried that I’m playing favorites, I did send something to Miss Martinez as well. ”
I guess knowing that Sophia also got something made it a little better.
I looked down at the bracelet again and couldn’t help but smile. If I turned the down the bracelet for a second time there is no doubt in my mind that it would somehow make it back to me just like my Chanel and Tiffany’s purchases.
So I accepted it. I took the bracelet out of the box and put it on right next to my other.
One it was in its place, I gave Henry the box and placed a kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you, Henry. I will cherish it forever.
The bracelet has only left my wrist when I’m on shift but goes back to where it belongs as soon as I leave the hospital. It has become one of my staple jewelry pieces.
I continue to twirl the bracelets.
“Are we currently operating on no news is good news?” I voice as I watch Noah dump his blocks for the third time.
He dumps them and then picks them up and then dumps the bucket again. It’s a pattern that he enjoys so much.
Serena answers me from where she sits next to her son, handing him the blocks. “It’s anxiety inducing, I know, but when they have something, they will let us know.”
I know the smile she sends my ways is supposed reassuring, but I feel anything but.
It’s the whole mother thing that is making me anxious.
What if she doesn’t tell him? What if she uses them meeting for something else.
Elliot is already in a vulnerable state when it comes to his mother and I don’t want her to abuse that.
What about Jack?
I can’t give two shits about Jack. He can fall off the face of this plant and never be seen again and I wouldn’t care. As long he is stopped and he doesn’t hurt the people that I see as family, that is all I care about.
My fingers twist the bracelets a few more times. Around the sixth twist, and third time Noah drops all the blocks on the floor, I hear a door open somewhere.
Instantly, both Serena and I go on high alert, getting up from where we’re sitting and looking toward the entrance of the sunroom that Leo built for his wife.
Three men appear a few seconds later.
First Leo, then Elliot and Santos at the end.
All three look stoic, all three look angry.
I want to so badly go over to Elliot, to wrap him in my arms and have him tell me that happened with his mother, but I stay rooted in place. Something feels off and I can’t pinpoint what it is.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as soon as Santos closes the door behind him.
Elliot walks over to me and takes my hands in his. The way his face is set scares me a bit. It’s the same look someone my give you when someone died.
Did someone die?
Did something happen while Elliot was out and the other two men where God knows where?
When Elliot doesn’t say anything, just works his lips as if he is trying to find the words, I ask my question again.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I then look him over. “Did your mom hurt you?” He looks fine, but the maybe the wound is superficial.
“Nothing is wrong, per se.”
“Then why do you look like you about to tell me someone died?”
Leo is the one that answers. “A few things came up and we need to ask you a few questions that may be a little touch to answer.”
It feels like I’m in a time drama and have been brought in for questioning right now.
I look at the other two men, and then back to Elliot. “Okay. What are the questions?”
Elliot is the own who speaks. “When you and Harrison were together, did he ever seem off to you? Maybe always needing to have his phone on him? Taking calls in a different room?”
Okay, definitely a cop drama.
I give him a small nod. “Yeah, he did all of those things but I was his mistress. For a long time I didn’t know he was still married. Those calls could have been his wife. He was also running for a political seat, I thought that was part part of it.”
Elliot nods, accepting my answer. “Did he ever introduce you to someone that felt off, like maybe that person didn’t have the right intentions.”
I drop his hands and take a step back. “No.” I look at him and then at the two men stand a few feet away. “What’s going on? Why are you all acting like you are trying to solve a murder?” I pause and then let my mind go wild. “Oh my god! Did Jack murder someone?”
Santos scoffs. “That would have been easier.”
Elliot sighs and answers my question. “We had a theory that Harrison was in some dirty shit and trying to cover something up and that was why trying his hardest to hurt the cartel. Because whatever it was fell in their territory.
“Is that theory true?” I find myself asking.
Elliot nods. “Marisela told me what he was into and it’s not good.”
Serena asks the question before me. “What is it?”
The room is silent for a few beats before Santos is the one that answers. “Prostitution.”
The blood drains from my body.
“What?” I ask in disbelief.
Two years. I spent nearly two years with this man and he was involved something so dark and evil? I can’t believe it.
“According to Marisela, he took part in facilitating a whole ring, and involved anyone you can think of. City and State officials, athletes, everyday people. Harrison doesn’t participate from what she can tell, he just arranges the meet ups and controls the money that comes in.”
“That’s why you asked me what you did.” I voice to Elliot, feeling like I’m zoning out.
“Yes. I needed to make sure he didn’t involve you in any way.”
I try to think of my time with Jack. I go from the first time we met at the hospital to the last time I slammed my front door in face seven months ago. Nothing stands out that would tell me that he would do something like this.
Yes he was secretive about certain things, always on his phone and would get irritated when I asked too many questions about his day, but again, he was cheating on his wife with me.
I was his second life when the first one was interfering.
But it turns out he wasn’t living two separate lives, but three.
“Did she mention the ages of those involved?”
Elliot looks like he is seconds ways from punching something. “She told me she didn’t know details but that she heard some rumblings of the youngest being fourteen.”
My mouth falls open in disbelief and pain radiates through me.
Fourteen. Fourteen years old.
I should have castrated him when I had the chance. When he was harassing me beyond measure, I should have castrated him in sleep and then maybe put a stop to all of this.
I’m still thinking of ways I can still make Jack’s life a living nightmare, when Serena speaks.
“What does have to do with the Muertos? You don’t have a hand in prostitution.”
Thank fuck.
“No, and we make it known that if anyone is to bring prostitution to Austin or even touches trafficking, there will be deadly consequences.” Leo informs her.
“We asked on our side and some of our guys have heard whispers of things happening at a few motels but didn’t have anything concrete so they hadn’t mentioned it yet. ”
“Those men will get reprimanded. You don’t hear that type of information and keep it to yourself.” Santos adds.
I hate that some of Leo and Santo’s men will pay a price for not disclosing information, but Santos is right, this isn’t the information you keep to yourself. You share it and take the necessary steps to put a stop to it.
For a few beats we are all silent, expect from the noises coming from Noah. I can’t help but to look down at him and have my heart hurt for him. Such a small, innocent child put into a dangerous world.
Eventually, I break the silence.
“What happens now?”
I don’t miss how Santos and Leo look at each other, with and evil smirk forming on Santos’ face.
Leo is the one that answers. “Before turning this over to the feds, and giving my sister’s future husband more work, we are going to pay the congressman a little visit.”
I’ve seen enough crime movies and TV shows to know what that means. Beat Jack for his sins and confess to his actions.
My mouth speaks for me before I can think about it.
“Can I come?”