Perfectly Star Crossed (11 page)

Brian, Adrian and I chatted for awhile before my phone rang. I looked down and a smile came to my face. It was Isaiah. He had been gone for four hours and I already missed him. I was rather disgusted with myself actually. How could I depend on him so much, honestly, I had never missed anyone in my life.

"Hey," I answered.

"Hello love," it was so good to hear his voice. "I'm just getting to George's house and I wanted to call and see how you were doing before I went inside."

"I'm doing alright. I'm pretty upset with you though," I said and the two people in the room looked at me, bewildered.

"Why are you upset with me?" His voice was deceptively calm. I groaned.

"I have never missed anyone, ever Isaiah. And you're gone for a couple measly hours and I'm practically dying," I pouted. I saw Brian smirk at Adrian. I rolled my eyes. I heard Isaiah's deep chuckle from the other end of the line.

"Oh Princess, you know how to warm a guy's heart. If it makes you feel any better, I'm upset with you for turning me into a sap," I could picture his scowl as he said it and laughed. "It's not funny. When it concerns you, it's like my manliness goes straight out the window," I snorted unattractively.

"Not in the bedroom, or recently, the basement" I said with a devilish grin.

"Damn good thing or I'd be pissed," he said in a growl. I leaned my head back against the chair I was sitting in, closing my eyes and picturing him. I sighed.

"I hope all goes well with you Isaiah, I want you back here with me," I admitted.

"It will Princess, I will see you soon. I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too," I said before hanging up slowly. I turned my attention to the other two. "He's just getting there. I know I probably shouldn't be, but I'm worried, honestly," I frowned, feeling a burning behind my eyes. Oh no, I would not cry in front of them. Isaiah was the only person and would be the only person to ever see me cry. I washed away all thoughts of negativity and was glad when I was distracted by my phone ringing again. It was Donovan.

"I hope you're a bearer of good news old man," I tried to sound cheerful.

"Oh, I am young one. Frances is pleased with you, and if the boss is pleased with you, everyone else has no choice but to be pleased. I told a little fib, well, actually I don't know if it was a fib because I don't know the whole story. I told them Derek tried to rape you and you got a hold of his gun and shot him in self defense. You know how well the guys handle rape, they were furious. I think you should call Frances though," he added.

"You are a life saver," now that I think about it, it was ironic that I chose that phrase because of how true it really was. "I owe you big time Donny," the gratitude was evident in my voice. I could feel his smile through the phone.

"Just visit this old geezer before he kicks the bucket and that will be good enough for me," I smiled.

"I'll try Donny, but I don't know when I'm coming home. Do you think you can make it, oh let's say nine months?"

"Oh beauty, are you pregnant?" His voice sounded excited.

"Yes and the baby has a wonderful father," I told him smiling.

"Who is it?"

"I'm not at liberty to give you his name just yet Donny, I apologize," I was truly sorry I couldn't tell him.

"I understand. When you visit me though, you definitely have to tell me the whole story. For you, I can wait nine months. But I have to go now, it's time to take my pills," he said.

"Thank you again Donovan, I truly appreciate it."

"No problem kiddo, keep in touch," he said before hanging up. I smiled at the other two in the room.

"Just one more phone call to make and things are cleared up on my end," the relief was evident in my voice. I excused myself and headed out to their deck. I dialed the number to Derek's old office. I didn't have France's number so it was my best bet really.

"My love?" Came an amused voice at the other end of the line. I raised an eyebrow.

"Um, hello?" I questioned. He laughed.

"That's what the number came up as, I can only assume it's Delilah," yup it was definitely Frances.

"You assume correctly. Donovan said I should call you," I told him.

"Oh yes, I owe you my deepest gratitude, and that is general consensus around here. Everybody is glad to be relieved of Derek," I could hear the smile in his voice. "Is there anything I can do for you Delilah?"

"Yes, actually there is. I want out. I want you to destroy all documentations on me, and I don't want to be a part of this life anymore. I swear to you on my life, that I will tell no one of what I've been a part of and I will reveal no secrets," I sounded so formal that it surprised me. "Not that I really know any secrets, Derek's father always kept me in the dark, probably for this reason I assume."

"Do you need provision? I can get rid of all of your papers, make it look as if you never existed, but I want to be able to provide for you if you need it," he said sincerely and seriously.

"If you could just keep my credit card opened for now, I'll keep the name that I am under right now. I will be fine," I told him.

"If you're sure that's all you need. You have our numbers if you are in need of any assistance. If you find yourself in trouble just call," he said and I smiled.

"It's truly appreciated Frances, and I will keep that in mind. But honestly, don't expect to hear from me again."

"The offer still stands, but I understand. Take care of yourself Delilah," and with that he hung up. I was filled with so much relief that I could barely contain it. I felt on top of the world. There hadn't been a fight, everything was coming together nicely. I only hoped that the same would go with Isaiah.

Chapter Twenty-One – Punishment

It was official, I was worried. It had been a whole day, and I had no word from Isaiah. Nobody got any calls and when anybody tried to call him it went right to his voicemail. I would even catch Brian with a worried look on his face when he thought I wasn't paying attention.

"Where the fuck is he?" I yelled. "He should have called by now! I 
need
 to talk to him. Brian I need to go see him," I had begged him to take me and he was firm in his answer, no.

"Delilah, I know that you're worried. But he will get in contact with you when it's safe. Don't worry, he is George's favorite, so he won't kill him," I could just hear the end of that sentence 'but he'll beat him to a bloody pulp.'

"If they kill him, I will hunt them down," I said viciously. It wasn't an empty threat. That was four hours prior to the door being banged on vigorously. Brian, ever cautious, made sure he had his gun on him. When he opened the door Isaiah literally fell through onto him. I felt my heart stop momentarily.

He was bruised and dried blood was everywhere and his breath was interrupted by wheezing. It took me all of two seconds to dash across the room and fall down by his side. Forget the "tough as nails" façade, I started crying. I lifted his head into my lap and smoothed his hair back from his forehead. He looked up at me through swollen eyes and tried to smile. It looked more like a grimace.

"Oh babe, what did they do to you?" I said softly.

"It's okay, I'm fine," he said through ragged breaths. Here he was beat half to death and he was comforting me. I had to laugh at that, though there was no real humor. Brian lifted Isaiah as easily as he would a sack of potatoes. I was momentarily awed by that considering how small he was compared to Isaiah. I followed them to the bathroom where Brian left us.

I started the tub, adjusting the temperature so it wasn't too hot or cold, and carefully started taking off his clothes. I started crying again when I saw his torso. They had cut him. It wasn't too deep, but just a mediocre cut with some punches to it would hurt like crazy. Once I got him undressed I helped him into the tub. I grabbed a cloth that was hanging on one of the towel bars and started gently wiping him off.

"Thank you, Princess," he said softly. I could only nod, I didn't trust myself to speak. The water was already tinted red and I hadn't even gotten half way down his stomach. I had to stop for a minute. It was too much and I started bawling. Not dainty little tears that you see in the movies. No, tears that had me almost screaming, and snot running down my face. Isaiah rubbed my head as I cried. When the worst of it was over he spoke up. "Delilah, this was being merciful. I had to have a punishment. I expected it, which is why I didn't let you go," his voice was hoarse and it made me want to cry more, but I forced myself not to. "George understands the situation and he wants to meet you. He wants to help us D, but he needed to put me in my place for lying to him. Liars are not tolerated," I sniffed and nodded. "Baby, stop crying, I'll be okay. At least I'm not dead," he gave me a half of a smile.

"I know, I just hate seeing you hurt. It's like, they might as well have done this to me," I started my task again and when he was all clean he laid in the water awhile longer, saying it soothed his aching muscles and then I helped him out. He wrapped a towel around himself and we went into the room I had been staying in. "Lay down and I'll get some peroxide, it won't hurt as much as alcohol," I told him.

I went downstairs and asked Brian where I could find some peroxide and he showed me. He also gave me some bandages to cover the cuts up. I made my way back upstairs to find Isaiah passed out on the bed, his towel hanging dangerously low. But I didn't even take the time to admire it with him being in so much pain. It was better that he was unconscious. It wouldn't hurt so much.

I did the job carefully, making sure I thoroughly cleaned the wounds so they wouldn't get infected, before bandaging them up. When I was all done I just sat and stared at him. How had one person come to mean so much to me? I couldn't fathom it. Half a year ago I didn't care about anybody. If I had passed Isaiah on the street, I wouldn't have even looked twice. Now, by an odd turn of events, he had come to mean everything to me.

I curled up next to him, not touching him in fear of hurting him. Warmth was radiating from his body. I carefully grabbed his hand and set it on my stomach. "We made this, Isaiah. We made life," I whispered. "It's making up for all the lives we've taken. This kid's going to have the best life," I sighed. Isaiah's hand started to move on my stomach.

"Yes it will Princess, don't you worry about anything," he said groggily. His hand moved up to my face, though his eyes were still closed. Yeah, we'd get through this together.

Chapter Twenty-Two – Sorting Things Out

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. That's what I kept telling myself. It had been a week since Isaiah had gotten his "punishment", and we were a block away from George's house. I gripped Isaiah's hand tightly, mine was sweating. I never sweat, yet here I was, sweating like a pig, which I have to tell you, is a ridiculous phrase because pigs don't sweat. At least that's what I've heard, but I could have heard wrong. 
Anyway,
 I was nervous, that's all you need to know.

"Calm down Delilah," the first four times he said it his voice was understanding and soothing. This last time, he just snapped it. I could understand his irritation, if I were him and had to put up with me being so nervous, I would have lost my patience after the first time.

"Sorry," I muttered. I couldn't help it. I didn't know why I was nervous, I am almost never nervous. Finally we pulled up to a gianormous- yes I know it's not a real word- house. It was a beautiful brick building with the greenest lawn I've ever seen in my life. It wasn't gated like most big houses. But as we pulled up to the front I saw a lot of cameras. Isaiah parked the car and we sat there for a minute.

"Everything's going to be fine Princess. George will take care of us, I promise," he said as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Will he let you out?" I asked quietly. Isaiah's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Huh?" Any other time I would have thought the look was amazingly cute, but not today, not right now.

"Will he let you out, so you don't have to do missions anymore?" His face lost it's confusion and his eyes softened. He sighed.

"I'll need to work for him for awhile longer, so he's not supporting us for nothing," he said softly. There were the tears again. I didn't let them fall but I felt that irritating burning.

"I understand," I whispered. When the hell did I get so whiney? Honestly, I couldn't stand myself. "Maybe, by the time the baby comes around?" I asked hopefully, but I didn't count on it. Isaiah just sighed and got out of the car, coming around and opening my door for me. He didn't wait for me as he walked up to the front door and so I hurried to catch up to him and took his hand in mine. He held it loosely. Okay, he was mad at me I guess. I squeezed tightly on his hand until he reacted and held my hand properly.

He rang the doorbell and was answered almost immediately. A tall, tan, heavy woman opened the door and hugged Isaiah to her. "Oh good, you're here! We were getting worried," she said in a thick Italian accent. She looked down at me and smiled. "This must be Delilah," she said letting go of Isaiah and grabbing me. I stiffened, not use to any physical affection from anyone but Isaiah. I patted her on the back and she let go. "You really must be something for our Isaiah here to lie to us," there was no malice in her voice, she was genuinely sweet. "Come in, come in. Georgie is expecting you," she said, waving us into the house.