Retribution

Chapter 22 - Friends, Fat, and Frights

Monday morning, I was a bag of nerves. Jake left at five a.m. as the director needed some dawn shots. I'd not been able to sleep since. Each minute dragged by like an eternity. His lawyer, Harry, had driven all the way up from London. I was astounded at the lengths Jake was going to, and quite frankly, the strings he was able to pull.

"If he wants to play games of who you know, I think I'm a fair match," Jake said, grinning.

I had no doubt about that at all. He'd promised to call as soon as he'd spoken with Harry. When Harvey woke up shortly before eight a.m., I managed to occupy myself for forty minutes as I got him ready for school. He walked over to me as I packed his lunch and threw his arms around my waist.

"Love you, Mummy," he said.

I nearly burst into tears. He was such a sweet little lad.

Jake had left his Audi here, taking my BMW instead. With what was going to happen today, Adam wouldn't be looking for me in a sleek, black Audi. Harvey was absolutely ecstatic at being taken to school in such a cool car, and with Marco and Jonny's imposing presence too, he couldn't wait to show off to his friends.

The explanation I'd given him was that I'd fallen down the stairs and hurt myself. Jake had left his friends with me to make sure I was ok, and it didn't happen again. I hated lying to him, but he was far too young for the harsh truth.

We all knew, and expected, there would be a reaction from Adam today. As a result, I'd arranged to go riding with Charlie after I'd spoken with Jake. I didn't want to be anywhere near the house; I knew this would be his first pitstop.

After taking Harvey to school, keeping myself busy for the next hour was torture. I checked my phone every couple of minutes, making sure I hadn't missed any calls or texts. I kept double checking I had a signal, so Jake could get through when he needed to. What's taking so damn long? It had been hard enough to get to nine a.m., let alone ten.

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't had breakfast. I was such a ball of nerves, I really didn't feel like eating. Seeing Marco and Jonny stood in the hallway, motionless and rigid, I suddenly felt sorry for them having to babysit their bosses' new woman. It couldn't be the highlight of their careers.

Curious, and also hating the stony silence, I decided to find out a little more about my pitbulls. "What did you do before Jake hired you, Johnny?"

His brow arched up in surprise before Marco gave him a brief nod to answer. "I was on the security detail for an Italian politician for three years. Before that I was guarding an American model for two years. I served in the US Marines for six years before that."

"Quite a varied life then. What prompted the switch from model to politician?"

He shifted from foot to foot. "She was shot and killed. It was my fault." He cleared his throat as he finished speaking.

My cheeks flushed at his awkward admission. I felt like such a fool. "Sorry, Johnny. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

He looked down at the floor, his hands clenching together in front of him. "I appreciate your kind words, Miss Simmons, thank you. Unfortunately, it was my fault because I was involved with my client and let my guard down."

Flabbergasted wasn't the word. An awkward silence fell over the three of us. I became acutely aware of the quiet now upon us. Johnny was still looking at the floor, his shoulders tense as his dark eyes wandered off into his memories.

Needing out of there, I decided to get changed ready for going to Charlie's. I headed upstairs and pulled out the tatty jeans I used for riding. I propped my phone up on the windowsill, making sure it had the best signal possible.