The Fey (13 page)

The entire day of July eighth was spent in
the honeybee hives. Max and Alex went frame by frame through their
five hives checking the health of their queenbees and the growing
supply of honey. The hot, detailed work absorbed their entire
attention. Twelve-thirty came and went almost without notice.
Hanging their bee suits in the shed around four in the afternoon,
the twins discovered a mini-party forming in the house. Samantha,
their oldest sister, was visiting from Washington DC. John lit the
barbeque just as Colin and Julie arrived. They laughed their way
through barbequed salmon and bottles of red wine.

They were uneventful days that started when
Alex opened her eyes to John’s face and ended when she closed her
eyes nestled under John’s arm. Simple, boring, mundane days. But
for Alex, who had been in the military since she was seventeen
years old, every day sparkled with the brilliance of the Hope
diamond. Plain living–dinner at home, trimming the roses, checking
the bees, bubble baths–was new, special and perfect. Day after day,
Alex woke up at home, ate at home, worked at home, played at home,
laughed at home. Home. The very thought of home made her smile.

Near the end of July, Alex stood at
Alexander’s grave. For the first time in almost two years, she no
longer yearned to lay under that stone.

FFF

Rebecca arrived in Denver near the middle of
July with a clear agenda: get Erin’s life back on track. Refusing
to utter Marcos’s name, Rebecca moved through Erin’s broken life
like a gale force wind picking up the clutter and leaving only
bright sparkling possibility in its wake. Erin re-enrolled in
school. The cosmetic dentist finished Erin’s teeth. A long visit
with the family lawyer was celebrated with a new hairstyle and a
complete new wardrobe. Erin was poised to flourish.

Matthew surprised Erin with a two week
vacation to the Outer Banks and the family began work on the loft.
Patrick, Max and Colin spent three entire days clearing everything
out of the loft. The Denver Post ran a picture of a filthy Patrick,
standing next to a dumpster filled with broken glass and furniture,
with the heading: ‘There are some things a father must do himself.’
A team of plaster experts repaired the holes, chips and splatter in
almost every wall. After the walls were painted bright happy
colors, the hardwood floors were sanded and varnished.

John and Max spent a weekend moving
furniture from this spot to that spot, as Rebecca tried to make the
loft just right. Alex sat on the floor and assembled lamps, small
tables and whatever else was in the trunk of her mother’s Mercedes.
Colin and Julie made the bed, set out linens, and unpacked
glassware while Patrick ‘helped’ Max connect the Internet and
cable. Samantha arrived with a variety of rugs then escaped for a
‘meeting’ leaving their placement to Rebecca and her boys.

At twelve-thirty on August eighth, Alex was
arranging a dozen orange roses when Matthew called from the
airport. The entire family waited. Erin gave a small scream and
burst into tears when she saw the loft. She floated like a worker
bee touching one thing then the next. She hugged each person and
returned to the warm embrace of Matthew’s arms. Alex couldn’t
remember a time when Erin seemed happier. She watched her sister
look up into Matthew’s face and smiled at the love that passed
between them.

Erin was moving forward in her life too.

F

CHAPTER TEN

Ten days later

August 18 – 5:30 P.M.

Denver, Colorado

“
You look nice,” John said
coming up the stairs. Alex was adjusting her fake blonde hair in
front of the full length mirror. She wore only a lace thong. “Is
this what you’re wearing tonight?”

Alex laughed. He ran his hand across her
belly while his fingers played with the large round diamond she
wore in her belly button. He kissed her neck before tugging her
toward him. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and they
watched themselves in the mirror.

“
Have I mentioned that I
love you recently?” he asked.

“
I’m not sure,” she said
catching his eyes in the mirror.

“
Oh love.” He dropped his
mouth to her neck again. “When are we due at dinner?”

“
In a half hour,” she
said.

“
Hmm,” he said.

She smiled at him.

“
What would you say to
a…”

“
Hey!” Max called from
downstairs.

John spun Alex around and kissed her with
such intense passion that she was out of breath and melting to his
touch.

“
Later,” he
said.

John moved into the bathroom to take a
shower.

Alex was almost dressed when Max came into
the bedroom. Screaming that she was wearing old lady clothing, he
dug into her closet and handed her a tiny red strapless metallic
stretch nylon dress hiding in the back. They argued back and forth
until Max convinced her to try it on.

“
Where did that come
from?” John came into the bedroom with a towel around his
waist.

“
Max bought this dress
online. He’s become very interested in slutting Alyssa’s dress
code.”

John raised his eyebrows to Max.

“
Thanks man,” he said as
he walked into his closet to change.

Alex watched herself in the mirror. The
dress was just long enough to cover the scarring on her left leg
and hip. The skintight red metallic fabric covered from the top
edge of her breasts to just below her hips. Turning sideways, she
made a face and tugged the fabric down. Max handed her a pair of
four-inch red patent leather stiletto pumps. She slipped them on
then watched herself in the mirror again. When she looked up, John
was staring at her, the blue of his eyes virtually consumed by his
black pupils. Max looked over at John then laughed.

“
It’s unanimous,” Max
said.

“
Can you help me with
this?” Alex asked.

She gave Max a tube of concealer. Together,
the twins covered the fairy tattoo.

“
No Fey today?” John asked
coming out of the bedroom dressed all in black.

Alex shrugged. “I went with Erin today to
get her black ‘F’ tattoo and saw this concealer. Alyssa shouldn’t
be so tattooed.”

“
Weapon?” John
asked.

“
Yes, that too,” Alex
said.

She went into the bedroom. When she came
out, the men shook their heads.

“
Where is it?” Max
asked.

“
What?”

“
Your gun?” John
asked.

“
Ah, some things are
better left to the imagination,” she said.

Laughing, she went down the stairs. They
walked a few blocks to a trendy restaurant where they met Erin and
Matthew, Colin and Julie, and Samantha. The siblings laughed
through dinner then took a cab to a nightclub on South Broadway.
Despite the long line, they were waved into a dance club by a
bouncer Matthew knew. They danced until they were thirsty and drank
until they were dancing again. As the night wore on, Colin and
Julie made an early exit. Samantha slipped into a reserved section
with a handsome professional football player. With a wink to Alex,
Max disappeared with a beauty.

When Matthew and Erin went to the rooftop to
dance under the stars, John took Alex’s hand and led her off the
dance floor. Pressing her into a dark corner, he kissed her lips.
His hands ran over the tight dress and her responsive flesh. Alex
burned with rising desire. She held him in a tight embrace as his
lips worked down her neck and shoulders. He let out a breath.

“
Let’s go home,” she said
into his ear.

“
Just one more.” He took
her lips with his lips.

“
Ah Johnny,” a voice said
over the music.

John stiffened at the voice.

“
I didn’t expect you to be
an exhibitionist,” the man’s voice continued in some form of
Gaelic.

John pushed Alex from him. Two slight men
grabbed him by the shoulder.

“
Not so fast.”

John’s eyes filled with desperation. Shaking
his head, he continued to push Alex toward the corner.

“
She’s not a part of
this,” John replied in the same language.

“
Oh yes, she is,” a bright
red haired man said speaking the same Gaelic.

“
Let’s go for a little
drive?” the dark haired man said to John.

The red haired man grabbed Alex by the arm
and pressed a handgun into her ribs. She was about to take the
weapon away from the man when she caught John’s eyes. He shook his
head ‘No.’ His eyes pleaded with her to go along. Alex looked down
at the ground. She would bide her time in this made-for-television
kidnapping.

At gunpoint, the men escorted them through
the club. They were near the door when Matthew came flying down the
stairs. Without looking at him directly, Alex raised her left hand
and he stopped in his tracks. She moved her hand horizontally and
he nodded. They walked past him and out the door into the deserted
alley behind the club. The men tied Alex and John’s hands behind
their back then shoved them into the back of an SUV.

“
I realize we are in the
middle of a made-for-TV movie,” Alex said in English. “But I’d like
to know what’s going on.”

She wasn’t sure what form of Gaelic they
were speaking. It was similar to Irish Gaelic which she spoke
fluently. She wasn’t about to let them know that she spoke any form
of Gaelic.

“
Listen, maybe you should
be more choosey about the married men you pick up in
clubs.”

“
He’s…”

John fell into her. He murmured in English,
“Whatever they say, remember that you are now and have always been
my only love.”

Alex turned to him as if she was stung.

“
What? You didn’t know he
was married?” the dark haired man asked in accented English.
Irish?

“
Fuck you,” John
said.

“
Ah, yes, fuck me. Johnny,
your family’s missed you all these years.”

Alex closed her eyes for a moment. She felt
a spinning sensation in her head. She bit the inside of her mouth
to stay present. Tasting her own blood in her mouth, she pushed her
emotions away. When she opened her eyes, she felt nothing. She
would deal with John later. She saw the glimmer of Jesse in the
car. At least she wasn’t alone.

They drove in silence until the SUV slowed
at a warehouse. The men dragged John and Alex from the SUV. When
they stopped to open the door, John attempted to protect Alex with
his body. The men laughed. They pushed John through the door and
into the empty warehouse.

Alex followed John into the warehouse
without a word. She was relaxed and calm. Just waiting for action.
After all, it was only two small men. Irish? Maybe Scottish. She
shrugged. Either way they weren’t much.

After tying them to chairs, the men went to
the edge of the open space to make phone calls and Alex began to
undo her ropes. Working with the spike of her stiletto heel, she
loosened the knot. Her ropes fell to the ground. Standing barefoot
on the concrete floor, she jumped rotating her hands from behind
her back to in front of her. With her hands in front of her, she
untied John’s ropes then he untied her hands. When the men
returned, John and Alex were standing near the chairs.

“
I’m a Homeland Security
agent,” Alex said.

“
And I’m Father
Christmas,” the dark haired man said holding the handgun on Alex.
“I don’t know how you did that but…”

“
I won’t kill you if you
let us go” Alex had to work to keep the amusement from her
voice.

“
Why would I let you go?”
the dark haired man continued. “I’ve wanted to talk to your
boyfriend for over twenty years.”

“
All right,” Alex said.
“We talk then we walk.”

“
Who the fuck are you? I
have a gun!”

Shifting to the left, Alex kicked the gun
from the man’s hands. The gun skittered into a far corner of the
warehouse.

“
Now you
don’t.”

“
Will you shoot them?” the
dark haired man said to the red haired man.

“
I don’t know, Cian. This
isn’t going very well,” the red haired man replied.

“
Holy fuck. Cian?” John
asked.

“
Johnny. It’s a big Kelly
family reunion. Now shut the fuck up,” Cian said.

“
You’re John Kelly,” Alex
said with more breath than sound.

John’s head wrenched toward her. His face
flushed with emotion while his mouth moved. Without saying a word,
he dropped his head.

“
That makes you Cian
Kelly,” Alex said in clear Irish Gaelic. “You’re Irish Republican
Volunteers.”

“
Now we have to kill her,”
the red haired man said. His arms dropping to his side. “Fuck Cian,
we didn’t even know if they needed killing. I told you we should
have left her at the club.”

“
Who’s in charge?” Alex
asked.

“
I am,” Cian
said.

Alex reviewed the man’s curly dark hair and
blue eyes, not quite John’s cobalt, but deep blue anyway. He was
smaller and older than John. She shook her head.

“
No you’re not,” Alex
said. She sat down in the chair she had been tied to. “Call whoever
is in charge and tell them this: ‘I captured the blue
fairy.’”

“
I’m not going
to…”