Inevitable (14 page)

I let out an involuntary groan as I slowly lowered my aching legs to the floor and stood up.

‘Bad, eh?’

‘As I’ve never ridden anything all day long before, I have nothing to gauge an answer on.’ I started to walk towards the bathroom door desperately needing a wee. Listening to his roar of laughter behind me, I knew that once again I had fallen into another great joke on me.

‘If you say so, darlin… if you say so,’ came the deep gravelly voice behind me. I turned in the doorway of the bathroom and quickly whipped off his T-shirt, chucking it at his laughing, gorgeous face and giving him a quick flash of the boobs he had always loved. That wiped the smile off his face and I fleetingly saw lust return to his eyes as I closed the door with a bang.

It appeared the joke was on me though, yet again, as after cleaning my teeth and having a wee I had to re-enter the bedroom wearing nothing but a smile.

Oh what the hell, I had never been shy about my body.

I strode out as if butter wouldn’t melt. I could see him out of my peripheral view, but paid him no attention and stood there butt naked in the middle of the room, emptying out the few pieces of clothing Aunty Jean had actually packed. I had meant to find myself some clean knickers, bra and T-shirt for the day as quickly as possible, but the sight that met my eyes as I emptied out the bag onto the the top of the crumpled, slept-in bedding, was enough to make me cry and laugh at the same time.

I had enough thongs and socks to last the week, but no bras other than the one I wore yesterday. There was a thin pair of ripped, cut-off shorts, one pair of pumps, a clean T-shirt for every day and a short cotton dress that really needed a particular bra to go with it, otherwise the girls would have to go loose and free. I shook my head and laughed out loud. I knew exactly what she had been up to. This was Aunty Jean’s idea of the skimpiest clothing she could find, to tempt the man she knew I loved.

What a wily, cunning lady she was?

A voice from the corner of the room broke through my thoughts.

‘If you want me to fucking throw you down on the bed and do exactly what I goddamn dreamed of all night, then you’re going the right way about it… Can I suggest you get some clothes on and NOW! A man only has so much fucking restraint.’

I looked over at him. Dressed in the creased T-shirt I had thrown at him, back in his leather trousers and boots, with more scruff on his face than I had ever seen before and a feral look in his eyes, he was gripping his phone so tight in one hand I thought it was possible it may fold under the strain. It took everything I had in me to not just stand there with my mouth gaping wide.

His mobile rang and broke the heated moment between us.

As he answered and his gaze left mine, I stepped into a thong and pulled on a T-shirt. Only having one bra meant it was now for emergency use only. My leather trousers were folded up on the table next to me and I pulled them on quickly. I stood with my arms crossed over my chest listening to his change in tone as he spoke to either Edwards or Alex, I couldn’t work out which.

‘Yeah I’m putting you on speaker now.’

Alex’s voice broke into our small, rundown motel room.

‘Morning, Bella. Frankie sends her love.’ I heard her shout out in the background “Love you, bestie” and I covered my mouth as I fought hard to hold back my tears.

‘Right, I’ve just explained to Nate… we have had, as yet unconfirmed reports that Marku Antonescu and at least two other men flew into Newark International about forty-five minutes ago. I say unconfirmed… Edwards is looking over the security footage. I would suggest, as you two seem to have been waylaid somehow this morning, you get underway now and grab some food later. Get as many miles away as you can. If it is them, we will have them tailed ASAP… OK?’

‘Yeah we hear ya, bro. Call us as soon as you have further info.’

We both said our goodbyes and I shoved my few bits of clothing into my rucksack, with my toiletries and hairbrush on top. We were good to go in less than five minutes. My light, happy feeling had gone, eaten away by that one phone call. A sense of absolute terror and dread ate away at my insides.

In trying to put my past to rest, I had brought it to the forefront of everybody else’s life. That was a bitter pill to swallow.

I ran a quote over and over in my head as I got back onto the bike.

“I am not what happened to me, I am who I choose to be.”

“I am not what happened to me, I am who I choose to be.”

We needed to get through this together. I was going to fight Candy tooth and nail for Nathan. He was everything I had always wanted and I wasn’t going to lay down and give up now. Since my brush with the Antonescus my life had been a battle and I was not going to let them beat me. No way in hell.

I got up close to Nathan and placed the claustrophobic helmet back on my head. The engine revved up beneath my thighs and I felt a sense of relief as we pulled away from the motel, and hopefully further away from my past.

BELLA

T
he vibration and rumble from the bike was somehow hypnotic and almost soothing. I craved the regular coordinated sounds, as Nathan revved and subsequently changed gear. They were the pacifying constant for my over anxious mind. My ears were relentlessly on alert, just waiting for the next call to come through.

Nathan was silent, I wasn’t sure where his mind was at. I needed him to concentrate on the road ahead, so I decided to let our peaceful companionship continue.

The morning was bright, so bright that we had been grateful for our visors to hide behind, as the sun was already reflecting off the road.

A constant pulsing sound suddenly broke through my daydreaming.

‘Speak,’ I heard Nathan use his normal retort.

‘It’s me, asshat,’ I heard Alex reply.

‘Yeah… sorry that’s how I normally answer and I’m not going to change it for my very old and boring brother, now am I?’ Nathan followed that up with a laugh.

‘Right, well when you’ve finished, fucker… I’ll be able to goddamn let you know what Edwards has found out, won’t I?’

‘I’ve zipped it… go for it.’

‘It was definitely Marku Antonescu. We think it was Ioan with him, but we’re still waiting for a positive ID on that. Unlike the rest of the world, for some reason he doesn’t seem to appear on social media… Hunter is trying to get hold of a copy of his passport as we speak, and the third man was Ioan’s younger brother.’

‘Petre?’ I interrupted their conversation in my disbelief. Disbelief that they had finally managed to suck Petre into their sordid dealings. Petre had been my saviour so many times. He was a quiet, thoughtful soul. It made me sick to the stomach to hear that he had been dragged into the whole sorry situation. Then the second thought hit me, it turned into a ball of worry immediately, making my stomach ache.

Maybe they had found out what he had done to help me?

Alex was talking again. I fought hard with my feelings of panic and guilt. I needed to pull myself together and concentrate very hard on what he was saying.

‘Bella? … Bella?’ I heard finally break through to me.

‘Sorry, I was just momentarily stunned… Petre isn’t like them… he helped me to get away. I’m scared that they have somehow found out and that’s why he’s been dragged over here with them… Oh my God… what will they do to him if they’ve discovered our secret?’ My stomach was turning over in fear, for the one friend I had made in the whole vile family. He was the only one in the very sick extended clan that could see what they were doing was not only illegal, but totally inhumane.

I needed to help. ‘Have you found a picture of Ioan?’ I questioned.

‘Still waiting, Bella… Why?’ I had interrupted a conversation between Nate and Alex, but Alex was on the ball. I think he could tell by my tone of voice that I needed to be heard.

‘If you can get a close up of the second guy’s face from the footage…’ a shudder ran through the length of my spine, ‘if it is Ioan, you will be able to see where…’ I hesitated for just a moment as I swallowed down the bile that was rising fast, up and into my mouth, ‘where I cut down the left side of his face… with his knife… he came at me when I confronted him with what I’d discovered his family were up to.’ I shook myself free of the past memories that had temporarily taken hold of my body and turned it cold, even though it was so warm in the sun. ‘He normally wears make-up to cover it, but I noticed when I went back that it was still visible.’

I could hear Alex talking now, not to us but obviously to someone in the same room as him. He was issuing out instructions, as only Alex could.

‘OK… we’re zooming in on the image now.’ Once again I could hear Alex’s deep voice in my ears, but only the bass tones. He was discussing the picture with someone I could only presume was Edwards.

The first sound we heard that was actually directed back at us, was a low appreciative whistle. ‘Hell… remind me when you become my sister-in-law not to fucking cross you, sassy. That’s a fucking beauty!’

I felt Nathan speak before I heard him, a profound sound that seemed to come up from his boots.

‘So we have a positive ID, then?’ he questioned.

‘We sure as hell do! John has had to leave us but I will get Hunter to notify the British authorities that the Antonescus have absconded court bail.’

Where the hell had Edwards gone?

The by now familiar feelings of being out of control and rising panic took a hold of me. I started to go through the process of inwardly trying to calm myself down. My voice however still showed the traits of alarm. Edwards was the epitome of reliable, strong and competent.

Who the hell was Hunter?

‘Where has Edwards gone?’ I interrupted them once again. ‘Why has he left when we need him here?’ I asked the question, but I needn’t have as the answer suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. In my shock and fear I sat bolt upright, pushing myself away again from Nathan’s body as I did so.

‘HOLD THE FUCK ON… NOW!’ I heard Nathan yell at me. My body was so attuned to his that I complied almost immediately.

‘I’m sorry, Nate… Alex please tell me my family is OK, please say he hasn’t had to go to them?’

I heard a deep exhale of breath. ‘I can’t tell you that, Bella… the boys on board needed his specialist help. They were unhappy about some of their fellow passengers. John has left today, he is flying into Madrid where he will board the ship. Brent is on board already with some of our other guys… It is under control… I promise you.’

‘I didn’t realise Brent even worked for you?’ I had met Brent last year, when Nathan had taken Frankie and me to watch Alex play rugby. We had been introduced to Brent before the match started. It had become evident then that he had served with Alex in the Navy. In turn they had all been part of the unit that had been deployed with Frankie’s cousin JJ, when he had been killed in Afghanistan.

This was all too much to take in. I thought my family had gone away on a nice little holiday whilst my past and present collided. I hated the thought that they were now under threat, too. This was fast becoming much more than I could handle. I had to trust Nathan and Alex, I had no other choice. They had shown me before that together they could handle anything, I just hoped they were strong enough to take on the sick bastards and all of their abhorrent friends.

‘Bella… Hunter is John’s right hand man; I assure you… you have nothing to fear. We will protect you.’ Alex carried on talking to Nathan, but I heard no more, my brain had hit full-on freak mode. I was having palpitations. I fought to control my overwhelming emotions. Clutching hold of Nathan, I dug my fingers into the worn leather covering his chest. I needed to be closer to him, for him to erase the feelings coursing through my body. I wanted him. I reached into the slight gap where his jacket wasn’t quite zipped all the way to the top. By pushing my fingers in first and then moving them around, the zip started to lower even more, until eventually I managed to find the new barbell he was wearing in his left nipple. Over the top of his T-shirt, I grazed it with my long blue finger nail.

‘Yeah… Ok, Al… we’ll speak to ya soon.’ He inhaled sharply. I heard the line go dead inside the cocoon of torture that I was being forced to wear daily. ‘What the fuck are you up to, darlin?’

I didn’t answer with words but pushed my hand very slightly further in, between the warmth of the leather and the hard muscular contours of his body. My own movements, in trying to tempt him, were creating a ball of fire deep within my core. I could feel him begin to tense up and the noise from the engine told me the bike was starting to slow.

“Bella… you haven’t fucking answered. I know what ya game is. I understand, more than you know, exactly what you need, but darlin you keep poking at the bear and I’m tellin’ ya, you will awaken more than you can fucking handle at this moment in time. Sit the fuck still and stop rubbing your cunt into my ass… I will sort you out, on my fucking say so… when I know we have some room to goddamn breathe…’ I heard him take a calming breath. I couldn’t remove my hand completely, I needed the connection, but I did what I had been told and stilled the movement in my fingertips. That was bloody amusing in itself, as I fought very hard against ever doing as I was told. It seemed as though this was becoming a habit around Nathan. It was liberating to let myself go and trust someone again.