BOOK ONE • PART TWO
Author’s Note: Thank you to everyone who has engaged with this story already! Your comments, feedback, favourites and ratings are wonderful and most welcome.
This part sees the world of the story expand. There are new sexual adventures, new threats, new facts… The mysteries of the world won’t be answered quickly, if they are answered at all. I hope you enjoy and start thinking about all the possibilities — all the danger and all the opportunities.
Please enjoy this next part and leave a 5-star rating if you are so inclined. After this part, there will be a slightly longer wait for the next one as I will be traveling for a couple of days.
All sexual activity is between characters that are 18 or older. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to real persons, places or events is purely coincidental. The below is not intended to serve as a template for real life sexual encounters or relationships, nor should it be regarded as such. Stay safe, happy and healthy! 🙂
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14 • Terminal
The cross pendant on Isabelle’s necklace swung around as she splashed her face with cold water. Her faith was straining.
She had just killed a man.
As the crowds flooded onto the street, she knew something was wrong. She grabbed the gun she wasn’t supposed to have — the gun Alicia made her buy. Forcing open the door of the Maybach, she started moving through the stampeding mass of bodies.
It wasn’t easy, and the people almost crushed her, but she was determined to push through. Then, when she saw her boss and her colleagues locked in a struggle, she knew what she would have to do.
The first shot wounded one of the attackers. The second made him slump to his death.
Firing a third shot, Isabelle wounded a second attacker in the shoulder. She thanked god that not one bullet hit the crowd… She knew she was lucky.
Everyone got away in the end, and that started the longest 12 hours of the young American’s life. She would surely go to prison, although they managed to flee the scene before the police arrived. Then, there was her boss… Surgery had been quick and dirty — supervised by a top doctor who pledged to keep quiet and agreed to operate at a private plane terminal.
Isabelle couldn’t think straight as everything swirled around in her head. All thoughts of losing everything, but without any regrets. She would do it again if it meant protecting her people.
“He’s waking up,” Alicia interrupted, causing her partner to stop washing her face. “He’ll want to see you before you leave.”
“Have we decided where I’ll be hiding out?” Isabelle asked.
Alicia shook her head; she never envisioned having to spirit away one of her colleagues. There was no plan for this.
“You know it’s fucking cousin, right?” Isabelle spat. “There’s no way we had a leak. The only other person who knew–“
“We’ll focus on that later–“
“I’ll kill her!”
“We can’t be sure, Izzy. Now, c’mon, he’ll kill me if he doesn’t get to see you.”
Isabelle nodded, turning off the tap and checking herself in the mirror. Professional conduct still applied and she wanted to look neat for the boss. More than that, she wanted to show him that she wasn’t scared.
As they entered the ‘recovery room’, the two women stood either side of their wounded principal. He was sweating, his eyes tearing up, his face red, his words slurred… “My sisters! Where are they?!”
“We sent a dozen men to go protect them,” Alicia assured, gently squeezing a shoulder.
Isabelle reached for Oliver’s hand as tears started flooding down his cheeks. He was clearly delirious. “Tell them I love them, please! I don’t… I don’t have a will…”
“You’re not going anywhere, sir.”
Oliver grumbled then whimpered; his skin glowing bright red and his eyes looking dull. Alicia was enraged, “Doctor! What the fuck is going on?! You said he was out of the woods.”
A wrinkled old man with a full head of silver hair approached. He hardly looked at his patient as he spoke, “He’s perfectly fine, aren’t you, Mr Orwell? We’ve had to be aggressive with your treatment; that’s all you’re feeling.”
As Oliver continued to writhe, Isabelle felt tears rolling down her cheeks. “Boss, I need to go away for a bit.”
“No! No… Why?”
“We kept a gun in the car for emergencies. It was unlicensed, but I had to use it… Don’t worry, boss, I didn’t waste a single shot and I’d do it again.”
Oliver’s breathing was becoming even more laboured. Suddenly he shut his eyes as if the room grew brighter and burned them. He looked motion-sick, like he was trying to overcome nausea and dizziness. Isabelle and Alicia watched as he gnashed his teeth responding to what must’ve been terrible pain.
Again, the silver-haired doctor insisted it was all fine.
Speaking through the agony, Oliver begged Alicia, “Let Isabelle come with us! Wherever we’re going to hide, she can hide there too.”
“No, sir,” the protector answered. eryaman escort “We’re going as far south as possible. We need to split everyone up for a little while, just to be safe.”
“No!” he bellowed; making his bed shake as he seethed.
“It’s for the best, sir. Everyone will be safer for it!”
For a moment, it seemed like Oliver wanted to say more. It was like his tongue was stuck in his mouth and both women grew even more concerned. Suddenly, a young trauma doctor who’d been called to assist joined them. He was furious. “What the hell is going on here?!”
“Nothing to worry about. He’s perfectly fine,” said the older doctor.
“Fine?! Are you insane?”
“Listen here, I have decades more experience–“
“Experience treating rich people for scrapes! I’ve worked with hundreds of stab victims and this isn’t how it’s supposed to go. Sedate him before the pain kills him! You’re torturing the man!”
As the medical team scrambled, Isabelle felt Oliver’s grip on her hand loosen.
15 • Assegai
I watched the old ceiling-fan spin dust around the bedroom that had become our sanctuary.
When we arrived, it was clear our hideaway had been abandoned a long time ago. Yet, even among the sparse dated furniture and cobwebs, I felt safer than I could in any penthouse or mansion.
As I turned onto my side to get a little extra sleep, my sister’s finger hooked my collar. She pulled it down, leaving a secret kiss that seemed a silent prayer of thanks. It wasn’t a romantic kiss, nor was it the kind of kiss often shared between siblings. It was an Elle kiss: a kiss only she could give, and only I could receive. Our kiss.
She hadn’t left my side being anxious and afraid and wanting to care for me. Meanwhile, Tecla was hidden away on another continent with our mother. She lost the coin-toss between twins that decided who goes where.
My security bosses insisted on splitting us up. They were certain my enemy could only attack one place at a time.
Elle draped her leg over mine and wrapped an arm around my torso, pulling herself closer to me. “I bet you can’t wait to see Tecla. Then you’ll have both your sisters pampering you with love.”
“It almost makes getting stabbed worth it,” I smiled weakly. “You two have never been apart this long… It must be agony.”
Resigned whimpering was all the answer I needed. My little sister rolled out of our embrace and got to her feet before rounding the bed to open the curtains.
At first, Elle simply peeked through them. A slither of sunlight cut across my face — peppered into my eyes like a sticky glue that kept them from opening. I pushed through the discomfort and soon my vision was adjusting. I let my body grow heavy and sink into the mattress. The old springs compressed and I groaned in unison with their metallic clang.
As my eyes focused, I couldn’t help but throw a compliment my sister’s way as I watched the morning sun trace her shape. “God… You are gorgeous.”
Elle laid a hand on her heart and blew me a kiss with the other before stretching her body. I watched as her legs tensed from her toes to her thighs, ending at the shorts of her tattered summer pyjamas. Like her twin, she was almost lanky, yet she composed herself with a maturity that few could ever muster. Her long inky black hair fell to the small of her back as she cleared rogue strands from her face. Then, with a yawn, she gripped the room’s curtains and split them apart to reveal a green valley outside. As I adjust to the new light, Elle clambered over me, settling her slim-strong body against my frame.
The world beyond our enclave consisted of hills and mountains in shades of green and yellow. It was all garden paths and god-sculpted topography.
We were just outside Cape Town, South Africa, on a wine-farm that had seen better days. Watching the world through the dirty glass, I could smell the sweetness of the sunbaked soil. Yet, the pleasant feeling was soon overcome by the taste of metal — the taste of fear.
In a way, our little place between the rocks and dirt was limitless. In another, the shadows cast a net that boxed us in.
As much as I enjoyed being in Elle’s arms, I had a long day ahead of me. I allowed myself the luxury of a few more minutes in bed before slowly rising to my feet. As my back straightened, I felt a little better about life than I had the day before.
It was the feeling of recovery. The feeling of a body healing.
Elle decided she’d be staying in bed for a while longer as I padded to the kitchen on bare feet. The rest of the winery was much like my little bedroom. Dilapidated.
This place was definitely not as glamorous as the London townhouse, but it told its own story. In truth, I’d never seen the farm listed on the documents I trawled through for the inheritance. That’s how much I had — how many material things I possessed — that ‘forgetting’ a whole swathe of land seemed almost trivial.
I walked past a bank of wood-framed eryaman escort bayan windows that looked out over the other side of the farm. Here, I caught sight of the vines in the distance that seemed so lush in contrast to the house itself. I could even spot a couple of horses that seemed well cared for by the handful of workers that roamed the grounds. Reaching the kitchen, I found Alicia prepping our regular breakfast: toast and eggs.
My protector wore thick make-up to conceal bruises she’d sustained on my behalf. By her standards, she was casually dressed, wearing jeans and a rather masculine shirt. The clothes didn’t make her look severe or less feminine and the smile she gave me was soft. Sweet.
She had saved my life. She kept me safe.
A wooden cane leaned against the kitchen counter. It was another sign of Alicia’s injuries, but she never used the thing in front of me. Pride made her pretend her ribs didn’t hurt, or maybe she just didn’t want to worry me.
“Good morning, sir,” my protector greeted, bringing over a tray of Rooibos tea.
“By now, we should be on a first name basis.”
“No… That wouldn’t be appropriate.”
There was no need to argue and I conceded as we sat down. Despite the formalities of our relationship, we’d spent the last few days eating at the same table.
I drank from the steaming cup of tea. The red and sweet liquid was therapeutic; settling me into the day.
Alicia started our morning with good news. “Scotland Yard have taken responsibility for the shooting of the men who attacked us.”
“But it was Isabelle–“
“Not according to the UK government.”
I couldn’t help but express relief, “So, she’s in the clear?”
“Well, there’s definitely a cover-up going on. I want her to lie low for a few more weeks.”
“Does any of this make sense to you?” I asked with a hand on my temple.
Alicia shook her head. She couldn’t offer answers, but she did produce one piece of new information. “This might be hard to watch,” she said, handing me her phone.
It was CCTV footage from the night of the attack. The sequence opened on the street, time-stamped when we should’ve arrived in the area. One of our attackers was on his phone, coordinating with someone. His friends seemed to be loitering near the edge of the frame, but you couldn’t see them clearly.
The video cut forward to when we actually arrived. One man checks where we park while two slip into the club. Now, I was looking at an interior camera that had eyes on the dance floor. The men try to open the door to the service corridor but fail. Yet, just as they’re walking away, we open it from the other side so I could get to a bathroom… We walk right in their direction.
I put the phone down, not wanting to watch the actual attack. Not wanting to relive the absolute horror of those sights and sounds.
“They had intelligence,” I inferred. “Who were they on the phone with? Are we any closer to finding out?”
Alicia confessed ignorance, “The Mayfair house has been swept for bugs twice. Everyone on your detail was near either you or someone else, so they couldn’t have made the calls. All we have is this… We know they’re part of a specific street gang. One that keeps exotic pets and coats their blades–“
“Yes, I know,” I grumbled. “Sorry… It’s hard hearing about it. Sometimes–“
“It’s like the pain isn’t there until you’re reminded of it?” Alicia completed with her own body having been attacked.
“That’s exactly it… Alicia, if Natasha is somehow involved in all this, it will kill me.”
My protector was sympathetic, but there was nothing she could say to guide me either way. The truth was we knew very little and the police cover-up meant we might never know anything more.
“At least we can now assume my benefactor and your former employer was murdered,” I speculated. “She didn’t fall — she was pushed — and much like our attack, the police covered it up.”
“Yes, sir,” Alicia accepted. “I wasn’t there for her, in the end…”
For a second, it felt like the stoic brunette’s hand was inching towards mine, but it never quite got there. We took a shared breath — in sync and in solemnity — before moving on.
There were some things we could still control and Alicia started briefing me on my day. “The doctor will come see you, then you have the meeting with my friend… Your cousin will arrive during. Don’t worry, our people will help her get settled.”
“And when do you see the doctor?” I asked.
“Only tomorrow, sir. I’m already feeling much better.”
“I’m glad to hear it!”
Alicia exhaled contently as she turned her attention to her plate and we ate together. There was something very familiar about the way we could live in the same space. It was seamless — two people joined at the hip by strange events outside their control.
I wanted to theorise more about the attack, but the sound of Elle leaving the bedroom took my mind off intrigue escort eryaman and violence.
Every morning, Alicia would stand when my sister walked into the kitchen. It was a show of respect and a sign of the tension between them. It’s definitely not something she would do for me, but she knew I didn’t have those expectations. She knew she didn’t have to win my favour.
She had it. Eternally.
The same was not true between her and Elle.
As sweet as my little sister was to me, she could be harsh on other people. This was especially true of other women, who all seemed to remind her of our mother or pose a threat. Joining us, she seemed ultra-alert. She sat down, started eating, only to drop her cutlery a minute in. “When are you leaving, Alicia?”
“I… Uhm…”
“Are you still leaving?” Elle asked, uncomfortably.
Not sure what was going on, I tried to get to the bottom of things. “What’s this talk about leaving?”
Alicia’s ears turned red and her usually cool exterior shattered. “It’s something I mentioned to your sister, sir,” she explained. “Because I failed… Because you got hurt–“
“Oh, shut up!” I snapped, rubbing the back of my neck as my thoughts briefly went blank.
It was not my intention to be crass, but the stinging pain in my torso and the prospect of losing Alicia put me on edge. In the moment, I was mad at Elle for being so subtly bitchy, mad at Alicia for wanting to leave, and mad at the world for existing.
“You didn’t fail,” I assured. “You wanted me to wear a stab vest — I refused. You wanted me to stay home — I refused. If you intend on resigning, I won’t accept it. Then again, if you feel I’m too difficult a customer–“
“No! No… Not at all, sir. Uhm… Maybe we both messed up?”
Elle wasn’t pleased, but she also wasn’t the type to throw a tantrum. Instead, she awkwardly pressed her case, clearly wanting Alicia gone. “She’s already found a potential replacement who’ll be arriving this morning.”
Alicia confirmed, “Yes, I was going to introduce her to you after breakfast.”
“Her?!” Elle scoffed, breaking her soft demeanour with uncharacteristic irritation. “Why does it have to be a her? Since when do so many women work as bodyguards?! Isn’t it a little butch?”
I rolled my eyes. Alicia definitely wasn’t ‘butch’ — her baby-face giving her a distinctly feminine appearance.
My sister’s tone was beginning to irritate me and I felt it was my job to settle her down. I put a hand on hers and gave a stern look that told her everything she needed to know.
Although she flicked her hair and huffed, Elle followed my lead calmed herself. After all, I was her big brother and that counted for a lot. Without a dad, and with an absent mother, I was the one who always had to ‘discipline’ my sisters. At the very least, I was responsible for teaching them manners.
I never wanted to lord over the twins but, every so often, a stern hand was necessary. With Elle settled, I started dealing with the situation she had helped create.
“I’ll meet with the new protection agent,” I conceded. “She can fit in somewhere, I’m sure. Who’s my current head of security?”
“You don’t have one,” Alicia responded.
“No wonder I got stabbed.”
“Yes.”
“Well, the job is yours. The new agent will take over your old position and you’ll focus on management.”
Alicia seemed excited by the fact I insisted she stay (and the promotion). She did well to hide it though — her cool facade restored after my sister’s shock tactics. Turning to Elle, my new head of security flashed an almost motherly smile. “Why don’t you and I go do something while Mr Orwell meets with my friend?”
“Like what?” my sister interrogated, skeptically. “I wanted to go to the meeting with him!”
“Well, if Mr Orwell allows, I would like to take you to the firing range. It’s on the farm, so we won’t have to go far, and it could help to learn a little about self-defence. After what happened…”
I approved, “That sounds like it could be good for you, sis! Please be careful though… Don’t shoot each other.”
Elle’s animosity toward Alicia seemed to fade at a rate of knots. In fact, she looked delighted at the prospect of firing a gun for the first time.
Seeing a ceasefire made me happy. When Alicia left to prepare for their trip, I had a moment with my sister. “Don’t feel threatened by Alicia–“
“I don’t!”
“Then why are you so rude to her?” I asked.
“I… I didn’t mean to be rude, Olly. I promise… It’s just… Everything is so confusing and there are so many new people.”
I understood. “I think you’ll learn to love her. She’s very nice, and she takes good care of us. Enjoy your afternoon with her, sis.”
“Okay… I’ll try.”
I smiled, pulling my sister in for a hug and leaving a brotherly kiss on her forehead. “Love you, Elle.”
“I’m glad you’re alive,” my sister began sobbing and I held her closer.
“It’s going to be alright, sis. It’ll all be okay.”
Elle gave me one final squeeze before heading for the door. “Do you want me to make you some more tea before I leave?”
“No thanks,” I turned to my sister, but she wasn’t there.
I shook myself awake, thinking I was simply exhausted. People imagine things now and then, don’t they? Surely, it was one little slip-up and nothing to worry about.