Mike held his breath, wondering what she would say. If her eyes gave any indication as to what her next words would be, he would be listening to what he'd been hoping against hope to hear her say for the past year.
Her hand lay on top of his, her thumb resting against his palm and her fingers pressing against the back of his hand. She was shaking and her fingers were cold. She was terrified. He could feel it.
Say it, Carrie, just say it once, please. I don't care if you take it back immediately, I don't mind if you say it was all a mistake afterwards. Just say it once so I can look back on this moment and remember.
He marvelled at how beautiful she was as she struggled to speak. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, her chin trembled as she fought against her conscience, fear and doubt.
"I. . ."
"Damn!"
Mike and Carrie sprang apart as the muffled voice from the other side of the bushes interrupted them.
They gave each other a questioning look before they peered into a break in the bushes and saw a slim, black-clad figure get up to her feet awkwardly and rub her backside.
She wore black cargo pants, a black turtleneck, combat-style boots and was carrying a very lethal looking Glock 9mm. Her wavy black hair was slicked back and pulled into a ponytail at the base of her neck.. They couldn't see anything more than her back as she stretched gingerly and tested her muscles.
She placed her hand on the headset she wore and tuned the dial carefully. Her voice was hushed as she spoke into the miniscule microphone. "Cherub to Archangel, do you copy?"
She must have received a reply in the affirmative because she went on to say: "Think I bruised my backside on the way down. Impossible to take the first route due to tryst taking place in my drop zone. . . I don't know, some random couple having a heart-to-heart. . . Yeah, I'll be all right. . . Roger, meet you at the rendezvous point. Cherub out."
She turned towards the cloistered little bower where Mike and Carrie were sitting, and took the safety off the gun.
Carrie acted quickly, intent on pretending that neither of them had heard a thing. If the young woman found out they had inadvertently spied on her, they were going to be in danger of being shot first and questioned later.
In a moment of pure genius, Carrie wrapped her arms around Mike's neck and planted her lips on his. He took her cue and hauled her up against his chest. They kissed violently, their lips, teeth, tongues, arms, and hands making it seem as if they were oblivious to anything but each other. It was frantic, it was reckless and it was wild.
Carrie all but climbed onto Mike's lap and straddled him, running her fingers through his hair and rubbing up against him. He thought he heard her moan as one of his hands found its way to the small of her back and the other migrated to area between her shoudlerblades, pulling her into even closer contact with his body.
She pulled her lips away from his and kissed a path up along the side of his jaw to his ear. She bit down on his earlobe ever so gently and whispered, "It worked. She's gone."
Mike was so turned on that it hurt, but he reluctantly relaxed and let go of her. Carrie disentangled herself from him and took a few steps backwards, then turned her back to him.
She hugged her arms and took a deep breath.
"Mike, we need to talk."
Mike ran a hand through his hair, trying to repair some of the damage that she'd done to it.
"Yeah, you're right."
Carrie whirled around and faced him dead on, her eyes drilling into his.
"I want you to tell me the real reason Aunt Gus is here."
The hairs on the back of Gus' neck stood on end. Something was very wrong here. She could feel it.
If Shane sent extra agents here and didn't tell me about it, I swear I'll boil his Limey backside in oil!
She moved away from the appetizers table after grabbing one last canapé and headed towards the the gardens.
Carrie's demand was totally out of the blue. Mike's eyes widened as he managed to sputter, "What?!"
"You heard me, Mike," she said as she went to sit down next to him. "I know that Gus is part of the ISA, and she's carrying her 9mm with her, so it's obvious that she's not taking a vacation in Salem. That was an agent we just saw. There's too small of a chance for this to be a coincidence."
Mike looked away and folded his hands, pressing his thumbs against each other. "The only thing I know is that Gus is on a mission, Carrie. It has something to do with Franco Kelly."
"Is he wanted by the ISA or something?"
"In a way."
"What do you mean?"
"Gus is here to keep him from getting killed."
"You mean that when Sami got shot at Franco's birthday party, it was meant for him?"
Mike pinched his nose between his thumb and his index finger and massaged the area between his eyes. "That's her suspicion. Mine too, although whoever it was that pulled the trigger was definitely not an expert."
"How can you tell?"
"An assasin worth his salt wouldn't have missed."
"But what if he meant to hit Sami?"
"What could that possibly do?"
"Well, a lot of people knew that Dad was out on an ISA mission. What better way to get him to come home than have his daughter shot at?"
"Are you saying that the assasin made it look like Franco was the one supposed to be shot and Sami was the real target?"
"It's a possibility."
"That means that somehow your father is connected to this whole thing. But what was he doing while he was away?"
"He was in Lugano. It had something to with art smuggling."
They sat there together, passion put aside for the moment as they considered the ramifications of their deductions.
"I think we should pool our information with Gus and your father if we're going to find out what's going on," Mike said, watching her as she sat in thought.
She looked up at him. "I think you're right. If Dad's in trouble then we need to figure out what's going on and alert him."
"You sound just like Gus," he said, admiring her determination as she rose from the bench and smoothed her dress.
She threw him a coquettish glance over her shoulder. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now come on, we should rejoin the party before anyone comes looking for us."
They had entered the arbor as two people in search of privacy and solitude. They now walked out as two people with a mission.
Austin raised his arm to knock on the door to the pool house. He was unsure if this was the right thing to do, but he felt like he had to do something.
Nicole answered it.
"Hi, Sami's almost ready. Can I help you, Austin?"
Austin was speechless for a moment. He hadn't realized what a knockout she was. Her hair was done up in a French twist and she was wearing a burgundy sheath. Eric was a lucky guy.
"I'm, um, looking for Sami. Could you ask her if she has a minute? It's kind of important."
"Sure," Nicole said, grinning as she let him in. Good Lord, he's gorgeous. Carrie's a lucky girl. "Give me a minute."
She went in search of Sami as Austin sat down on the couch in the modest living room.
Sami, I wish there was some other way. You don't deserve this. If only he would just disappear so you could find someone who would always be there for you and Will. . .
"Austin?"
Austin turned his head and was struck dumb for the second time in less than a minute.
It's a hackneyed saying that the brides are always beautiful, but in his eyes, Sami had never looked as lovely as she did at that moment. Her hair was crimped and left down, and her simple wedding gown wasn't as stylish as the one she'd worn to their wedding, but it made her seem innocent and sweet. Her veil with its tiara had been fixed in place and she didn't seem to be wearing any makeup.
He wanted to reach out and stroke her cheek, just to see if she was real.
"Austin, I'm so happy to see you." Sami smiled at him and held out her hands to him. "Thank you so much for coming to my wedding. It means a lot to me."
Austin took her hands in his own and squeezed them gently.
"It's good to see you, too, Sami."
She looked down for a moment, as if she was uncertain about what she wanted to say. She finally looked up at him with an expression of regret in her eyes.
"I know this isn't the best timing, but I want to let you know that I'm sorry. For everything," she said as she gripped his hands. "It may not ever be enough, but I am sorry for what happened between you and me and Carrie. I've been so selfish in my attempts to find love and security, and I have caused more grief than I can imagine. But I want to take full responsibility for everything that I've ever done to make other people's lives miserable, and I'm starting with you. Can you ever forgive me, Austin?"
The look in her eyes of anguish combined with a spark of hope and pleading made him want to hug her and tell her everything was forgotten. In that moment, Sami was no longer the vindictive little bitch that had terrorized his life for so long, that had made him and Carrie so frustrated for years. She was growning up and holding herself accountable for things she'd done wrong.
"Sami," he replied as he squeezed her gently, taking care not to crush her veil, "Sami, I understand. You've been through more hell in five years than most people experience in five lifetimes."
"I never thanked you for being there for me when Alan. . ."
"Shhh," he said, cradling her head against his chest. "Let's not talk about it."
She pulled away and smiled sweetly. "You're right. I'm getting married today, and to a wonderful man who loves me as much as I love him. Do you know what I love about Franco, Austin?"
Austin shook his head, dreading what she would say. Maybe he shouldn't tell her. What harm could it do to let her go on believing that Franco was faithful to her?
Sami was glowing so much that she didn't notice the change in his face. She looked up and grinned as she gushed, "I can trust him. Completely. Do you know how hard that is to find in a man these days? He's made me feel so special. He's made me believe in myself, and he's given me confidence that I am worthy of being loved. I just know that he'll be such a good father to Will. . ."
Austin's head snapped up at that last sentence. Would he let Franco Kelly raise his nephew, the little boy he thought of as his own son? Would he even allow Franco anywhere near Will after the way he'd betrayed Sami? He felt an icy fist of resolve grip his heart tightly as he made his decision.
"Sami, there's something you need to know about Franco."
"What?" she asked, turning her bright, trusting eyes towards him. She noticed the expression on his face. It was dark and menacing. "Austin, what is it? Are you all right?"
She was becoming alarmed, scared of what he was about to tell her, but desperate to know what it was.
"Tell me, Austin! What's wrong?!"
Austin steeled himself, taking a deep breath as he confessed, "Franco's been unfaithful to you."
"What?" She said it in such a small, little voice as her hand came up to cover her mouth that he wasn't sure if she'd said anything at all.
Austin felt his resolution crumbling as he saw the light go out of her eyes, as he saw the glowing smile fade from her face, but he pressed on anyway. "He's been seeing that stripper who was at his bachelor party."
"No, it's not true. You don't have any proof! How dare you-"
"I heard him, Sami!" Austin barked as he realized that he was losing her attention. "I went to the motel and heard them having sex!"
"No, you're lying!" Sami sobbed as she beat her fists against his chest, "You're lying! You're lying! He loves me, he would never do that to me! How could you say something like that to me on my wedding day. . ?"
Austin restrained her easily, holding her with one hand, her fists in the other. She crumpled and would have fallen if he hadn't caught her.
"Sami, I would never lie to you," he said softly, "I know what I saw and I know what I heard. It was Franco."
He held her as she cried.
Sami couldn't accept that this was happening to her. How could he do this? How could he lie to her and make her feel like such a fool? Would she let him get away with it?
Not on his slimy Sicilian life!
She felt some of the nastiness that had been her old persona seep into her soul. She slowly pulled away from Austin and wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her gown, being careful not to stain it with her mascara.
"Sami, are you going to be okay?" he asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, yes, I most certainly am," she replied as she reached up and undid the pins holding her veil in place.
Austin swallowed nervously as he recognized that look.
Sami set her chin as she threw the veil on to the couch. Her eyes became as cold and as hard as glacial ice as she took a deep, shuddering breath.
"When I'm through with that bastard, he's going to wish he was dead!"
|
