Circle of Deception 2 (26 page)

“How do you know you can trust the word of that boy? You said it yourself, he’s a killer just like her.” Rogelio stated.

“Because Ben does. He would never give me any information that would harm Allison. I trust his instincts.” Broderick was growing impatient with the lack of faith Rogelio seemed to have in Ben’s obvious love for his grandchildren. Broderick had no doubt in his mind that Ben wouldn’t have disclosed any information that could be harmful to Allison. He was just ready to get the search underway and made his presence known by slamming his hand on the desk, heightening the argument.

“Well, I don’t know about all this,” Rogelio countered.

In the midst of the argument, Maria slithered up and took the locator into her hand. The men were so engrossed in their squabble, they didn’t see when she grabbed her purse and Emilio’s keys. She managed to get all the way to the car before she heard someone following closely behind her. When she turned to see Meg, she jumped. “Mom, what are you doing?”

“Megan, you scared me. I’m going to check this out. While they’re arguing our girl is sitting there missing her mommy and daddy.”

“This is dangerous mom, you should let them go.”

“No, this is my mess, I’ll go and get her. I need to do this.”

“You’re not going,” Meg turned. “I’m getting papa.”

“No, Meg,” Maria pleaded. “Don’t do this.”

Meg shifted to the side and placed her hand on her cheek. “Do you trust Ben’s instincts?”

“Yes.”

“Well then let’s go.”

“No, I won’t take you. You’re my daughter, I won’t let you do this.”

“She’s my daughter, I won’t let you go without me.”

Maria looked at the determination in her eyes and saw that she wasn’t backing down. She saw so much of herself in Meg it wasn’t funny. She embraced her and unlocked the door for them to get in. When the back door flew open both their eyes widened. “I thought I saw you two planning something stupid,” Maddie huffed closing the door. “Let’s go, I’m in.”

The ladies drove in silence for the first few minutes, then Maria broke the ice. “Girls, I’m going in alone. I don’t want you to leave the car.”

“Mom, we’re coming in. If what Sean said is true, three is better than one. She won’t be able to overtake all three of us,” Maddie replied.

“And if he’s wrong, you two could be in danger. It makes no sense for all three of us to perish.”

“I thought you said you were sure,” Meg said confidently. “You have to in trust yourself and in Ben’s love for Allison,” she laughed. “I never thought I would say that.”

Maria looked to Meg and patted her hand. She knew she was right, and she would need them just in case they were wrong. Meg could slip Allison out, and Maddie could drive them far away.

When they finally pulled to the destination, Maria stopped a block away observing the vacant building. She scanned the area noticing nothing in plain sight and no people lurking around this was a good sign that there weren’t others, but it also could mean they had the wrong place. When she turned to her daughters, she smiled and opened the glove compartment. She revealed a revolver, their eyes bucked finally grasping the severity of the situation. “Maddie, you stay here for when Meg returns, and Meg, you sneak around back in two minutes. Keep this with you and if she gets anywhere near you, you shoot first and ask questions later.” She opened the door and looked back to them tearfully. “Be safe.”

“Mom, what are you going to do?” Meg asked.

“I’m going to be your distraction. Seeing me will throw her off her game, and that’s what I’m counting on.”

***

While the girls said goodbye to their mother, back at the house, Alex had grown tired of the arguing and threw his hands up in the air. “I’ve had enough! You guys shut up and let’s get over to the address. We will scope the place out and play it by ear.” When he looked to find Meg and let her know what was going on, he saw that she was missing. “Hey, where did Meg go?”

“I haven’t seen her in a little while. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Maria and Maddie for a while either,” Matt replied.

“Check upstairs, while you’re doing that we’ll load up and get the locater,” Emilio offered. While Alex walked up the stairs, Emilio looked around for the locater and had no luck. That’s strange,” Emilio sighed. “We left it right here.”

“They aren’t upstairs.” Alex shrugged, coming down. “Maybe they stepped outside.”

“See if they know where the locater is,” Emilio called out.

When Alex walked out and discovered Emilio’s car missing, he yelled. “Dammit! They’re gone! They left without us.”

Emilio’s eyes widened and he slammed his fist on the table. “Get your keys son! I think I remember that address. Let’s go!” They all loaded in the cars and raced out of the yard. Rogelio took the lead with his sirens blaring letting the people in traffic know to let them pass. As they raced over, Alex gripped the steering wheel tight cursing to himself. If only he had noticed them missing sooner, he could have been right there. If anything happened to them, he would blame himself forever.

***

Meg looked to Maddie after watching Maria venture off towards the building. “Maddie, listen, if I don’t come back, you take Allison and run. Don’t look for us, just run with my daughter.”

“No. I won’t agree to that. You’re coming back, I won’t accept any less. If you have to, you put one right in between her eyes. Do it for Tia Carmen.”

“For Tia Carmen,” she smiled and hugged Maddie tight.

Meg got out of the car and ran towards the building. When she got closer, she slowed down and went to the back door. She placed her ear to it and listened. She couldn’t hear any movement and that made her nervous. With trembling hands, she reached out and pushed the door open slowly with the gun in hand. At first sight, she saw nothing, no Maria, and no Allison or Amanda. Walking further inside, trying to be as quiet as possible, she heard something.

Hearing voices, made her heart leap into her throat. From what she could make out, it was a man and a woman’s voice and neither sounded pleased. Meg inched closer quietly trying to figure out what they were saying and stopped when the voices got louder. The woman appeared to be trying to make the man do something he didn’t want to and then she heard a loud noise that sounded like a slap. She was nervous until she heard Allison’s voice.

Meg’s nervousness was replaced with determination, when she realized Allison was doing okay. She continued to inch closer quietly until she got close enough to see the threesome. The man was sitting in a chair of some sort, and Allison was on the floor coloring. She sighed when she saw that she was content and not in distress, this meant she hadn’t been mistreated. At the very moment Meg gained a visual, Allison seemed to look straight in her direction as if sensing her there. She hoped she hadn’t spotted her, but when she put her finger to her lips, Allison stood.

Allison was just about to draw attention to them, when a loud noise in the far corner distracted her and Amanda, giving Meg the opportunity to move. When Amanda heard the noise, she raced over to see what it was, and that’s when Maria pushed over a few boxes landing them right in front of her. Amanda’s eyes bucked in horror when she realized Maria was standing before her. “You! I fucking killed you! There is no way!” Maria laughed at her and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I guess you just aren’t that good.” While Maria taunted Amanda, Meg made a mad dash for Allison. When Amanda noticed Meg in the room, she pulled out a gun and aimed it in her direction. Meg had her back to the whole scene and didn’t see the gun, but Maria had a full visual. Before Amanda could pull the trigger, Maria tackled her, knocking her and the gun to the floor. “Meg run!” she screamed while wrestling with Amanda.

“Mommy!” Allison screamed and ran into her arms.

“Alli bear, run! Your Aunt Maddie is outside waiting for you, you just run out that door and keep running until you see her.”

“You too,” Allison pleaded.

“I will be right there. Just go!”

“Okay, mommy,” Allison replied and ran towards the door. Meg watched as Allison ran to safety, and she raced over to help Maria. On the way, she approached the man  and noticed he was tied down to the chair. She decided she would come back and help him after making sure Maria was okay, but when she tried to pass him, he grabbed her arm. She tried to fight her way out of his grip, but he held tighter.

“Let me go!” she screamed.

“You have to help me! She’s crazy! She has held me for months, I need to get away from her!”

Meg pulled and when she fell the chair tipped over revealing his face to her. She stood to run towards Maria, but something about him stopped her in her tracks. As she stared down at the man, she saw her own hazel eyes staring back at her. She stood frozen until she heard screams coming from the corner. Amanda was inching towards the gun and, Meg raced over kicking it away. Maria and Amanda continued to struggle until Meg pushed Maria out of the way and grabbed Amanda jerking her across the floor by her hair. “You bitch! You turned my life upside down and now you’re going to pay.”

When Meg threw her into the wall and pulled the gun from her waistband, Maria stood next to her trying to talk her down. “Megan, this isn’t you. You’re not like this woman. You don’t kill people, you’re a wife and a mother. She is not worth your life.”

“I want her dead,” she cocked the gun back.

“Shoot her,” the man yelled. “Shoot her now!”

“You shut up, this is my daughter! She will not kill anyone, she is too kind for that.”

While Maria was screaming at the man, Meg aimed the gun and a gunshot rang through the building. Maria gasped, and when she looked back, she saw the blood seeping onto the floor. Meg’s hands were steady as she cocked the gun back and aimed again. Maria screamed her name and she heard nothing, she just stared blankly at Amanda with the gun still pointed in her direction. Before she could fire off another shot, the doors burst open and the guys crowded into the building.

When Alex found Meg with the gun still in her hand, he walked to her and pulled it away. She began to tremble in his arms and sank to the floor in shock. “I shot her Alex, I shot her. Is she dead? I want her dead,” she mumbled.

Alex looked around and saw all the blood and pushed her into his chest. “It’s over, baby, you don’t have to worry anymore.”

Rogelio lifted Amanda to see that she was only shot in the shoulder and pulled her up placing handcuffs on her wrists. He called for an ambulance and read her rights to her as they applied pressure to her bleeding shoulder. He held her up while scanning the room in amusement. The women in this family really were a force to be reckoned with. They had come in and gotten the job executed perfectly without an ounce of help.

Alex continued to hold Meg in his arms as she mumbled incoherently. He knew she was still reeling from the whole ordeal, but when she stopped suddenly, he pulled her up to look in her eyes. “The man,” she mumbled. “The man needs help, he grabbed me when I was running.” Alex scanned the room and saw the man tipped over in the chair and stood to walk over. When Maria, who was now accompanied by Emilio, saw them heading for the man, she too started off in his direction.

When they approached, Alex flipped the chair over and shook the man to wake up. He had a gash on his head from the fall and was out of it. When Alex moved to untie his arms, his eyes blinked, slowly opening. Meg looked to him, and again saw a familiarity she couldn’t explain. “Do I know you?” she asked quietly.

“I don’t know anyone here. That crazy woman swore I knew her, but I...” When Maria approached, he stopped in midsentence. She looked at him and her eyes began to twitch. He placed his hand to his head as all the memories flooded into his brain. He closed his eyes tightly and stood stumbling with each step. When he reached out and touched Maria’s face, he sighed in relief. “Maria.”

She shivered at his touch. “Richard.”

“Richard?” both Alex and Emilio said in unison.

“Yes, Richard,” Maria replied and fainted.

“Aw, hell,” Alex replied, looking between the expressions on both Meg and Emilio’s faces.

Chapter Thirteen

Matt paced around in the living room as he waited for Melia to get home from work. They had been living under the same roof for days now, and had yet to discuss anything as far as their future. He knew he still loved her, but their problems were very real. The baby had come at an awkward time in their lives, but he was all set to be there for her no matter what. He needed her to know he was going to be the best father to their new baby no matter what the circumstances were.

When she walked in, he smiled and motioned for her to join him after taking a seat on the couch. He looked her over, she looked tired, but her beauty still shone through. He watched as she slipped her jacket off and waited as she got settled. When she looked and saw his intent gaze, she looked nervous all of a sudden, and he tried to offer her a genuine smile to put her at ease. Before she could comment, he moved his hand to her stomach.

“How do you feel today?”

“The baby has had me running back and forth to the bathroom, but other than that I’m okay.”

“That’s good, I mean about you feeling okay, not the running to the bathroom,” he laughed nervously.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him adoringly. “What about you? How has your day been?”

Matt sat back and looked at her with a huge grin. “It was fine, I hope you don’t mind, but I prepared dinner for us. I thought we should talk about everything. We’ve been avoiding this conversation.”

Melia looked down and stood from the couch. If she was going to get her heart broken, she didn’t want to do it over a long drawn out dinner. She wanted to go ahead and rip the band aid off and climb into her bed. When Matt saw her defensive stance, he rushed to pull her to him. “Sweetie, don’t think that way. I just want to talk to you, I swear. I just need you to hear me out.”

When she looked in his eyes, she saw the sincerity and dropped her guard. She knew he was genuine in his offer, but she had to protect her feelings. Where he was concerned, they were all over the place. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, she allowed herself to fall into his embrace. “I’m sorry, I just have a lot on my mind. We can sit down if you still want to.”

“I would love to, sweetheart.”

When she reached the table, he pulled her chair out and she sat down. After securing her in a seat, he emerged from the kitchen with two plates. She grinned at his attempt and was appreciative of the gesture. He had prepared them steak and potatoes, her favorite. Her mouth began to water, and she giggled to herself. The baby had really increased her appetite, and before he even got to his seat, she had her fork and knife in hand. When he saw her he laughed as well. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “This baby makes me greedy.”

“Sweetie, you were always greedy.”

“Shut up,” she tossed her napkin at him. He continued to watch her as she ate and enjoyed the sight. They were happy in that moment, it almost felt like it did in the beginning. She watched him watching her and couldn’t tear her eyes away. He was amazing, and she couldn’t bring herself to think about the possibility of saying goodbye. After the talks she had with both her parents, she saw how stupid she was being. They were all right about her, she was spoiled and ungrateful in the past. Now, faced with having to give Matt up, she was ready to be any and everything he needed. Men like him didn’t come easily.

She was submerged in her thoughts and when she looked down into her empty plate, she knew it was time to face the music. When she looked over, she saw him reaching for a file and shuddered. When he put it on the table, she reached for it slowly, holding her breath the entire time. “What’s this?”

Matt sighed and flipped it open. “It’s an agreement. I had Alex draw it up. It covers all your hospital costs after insurance and I’ve set up trusts for the children. If you keep reading, you will see that I’m giving you six of my ten million dollar trust and splitting everything else with you down the middle. You can keep all the cars except the one I drive and the house is yours. I hope this works for you, I just want you and the kids to be taken care of.”

She looked over his generous offer and pushed the folder up. Looking at it in black and white made it all so real to her, and she couldn’t hold herself together. Instead of letting him see her tears, she stood to walk away. When she started for the stairs, he watched, wanting to reach for her, but sat frozen in his fears. He thought he was doing the right thing by showing her that he had a plan, but he had miscalculated her feelings. He knew this was going to be a hard process, but he didn’t want to keep holding her back. She deserved to be happy, and he wouldn’t be the reason she wasn’t.

Matt hit the top of the stairs and was heartbroken to hear her sobbing in her room. He gently pushed the door open, but she didn’t turn to face him, she just kept her head buried in the pillow she was laying on. When he ran his hand down her back, she cried louder. “Mel, I know it’s hard, but it’s for the best. We need to move on, you know I love you, but I can’t make you stay with me if you’re not happy. If you’re not content with the agreement, then we can adjust it. I’ll give you whatever you need to make sure our children have the best life.”

“Where is Cici?” she whimpered.

“With Alli. Meg said it was okay for her to spend the night.”

“Matt, if you don’t mind, I would like to just lay down. I don’t feel well.”

“Do you need something?”

“No, just rest.”

“Okay, let me know if you need me,” he replied and stroked her hair as he stood to leave.

She sat up and watched as he vacated the room. She wanted to call out to him, but her words were muted. As she watched him walk away, her mother’s words rang in her mind.
Fight for what you want, fight for what you need.
She stood from the bed with new determination and walked to the door. When she pulled it open, she took a deep breath and walked down the hall towards the guest room Matt was sleeping in.

He was lying in the bed looking out of the window when she laid down next to him, taking his hand in hers. He was surprised to see her, but when she touched him, he just held her tight and sighed. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. One day we will look back at this and know we did the right thing. It’s not healthy to stay in something that doesn’t work. I love you enough to let you be free.”

“None of it works, we will have to make some changes to the agreement.”

“Just tell me what you need, I’ll make it happen.”

“I need it all to go away. I don’t want any of it.”

He turned to face her and positioned his hands on her cheeks. “Sweetheart, you have to take something, you are the mother of my children. I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of. I won’t accept no for an answer.”

“I don’t want your money. I have money, I need you, and I want you.”

“Baby, we’ve been over this, I won’t make you stay.”

“And you can’t make me go either. I love you, I want you, I miss you,” she touched his face. “You’re the only man for me, and I’ve been stupid all this time. I don’t want any of this without you. I want us to raise our children together as a family.”

“You don’t have to worry, Mel, I’m going to be here for you. You don’t have to stay with me for the kids. We will still be a family, I promise you.”

“Matt,” she huffed. “Stop being so damn noble. You’re not leaving me, I won’t let you. I’ll never agree to anything that means us being apart. You’re not splitting up our family.” When he remained silent, she stood from the bed and walked out of the room briskly.

When he finally came to grips with the situation, he jumped up and raced after her. He reached the bottom of the stairs to find her with the folder he presented and a bottle of vodka in her hands. Before he could reach her, she walked out their side door and tossed the folder on the pavement, dousing it with the vodka and lighting it on fire.

“Mel, are you crazy?” he yelled, looking at the large flame flickering. “Put the bottle down, let’s talk about this.”

“No!” she screamed busting the bottle in the fire. “Not until you listen to me. Every time you send me papers, this is what’s going to happen to them. I won’t sign a damn thing. You’re my husband dammit! I’m not giving you up.”

Matt looked at the desperation in her eyes and began to laugh. When she heard him, her eyes grew darker and she swung at him with all her might. “How dare you laugh at me? I’m fighting for you, and you’re laughing. I told you I love you, and you’re laughing? You insensitive asshole!” Matt continued to laugh as he pulled her closer to him. When he finally contained the wild swinging, he placed a heart-stopping kiss on her lips. She caved and allowed herself to melt into him, savoring the moment. When he finally pulled back, he smiled with his forehead against hers.

“Mel, shut up. I love you.”

“I know you love me Matt, but that doesn’t answer...” he pulled her into another kiss and grabbed her hair holding her tightly against him. When he released her, she was out of breath. “Matt, you can’t keep...” he grabbed her again, this time lifting her into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist. When he pulled back enough to look into her eyes, he ran his forefinger down her swollen lips.

“Mel, stop talking. We have forever to talk, now I just want to make love to you.”

“So this means you’re staying?”

“Try and get me out of here. I’m not going anywhere until I have to be at work on Monday, and even then I might not leave. If you’re sure this is what you want, then I’ll never leave you again.”

“I’m sure. I love you so much,” she said with tears in her eyes.

He reached over to wipe her weeping eyes. “You don’t have to cry, not anymore. You have me and you always will.”

“And you’ll always have us,” she said, placing a hand on her stomach.

“Well, baby, that’s more than I could ever ask for. You just promise me that we won’t lose who we are again because the man that I am is crazy in love with you.”

“I promise you that the kids will be first, but you will be a strong number two. I always want you to know what you mean to me.”

“What do I mean to you?”

“You make my heart flutter when you walk into a room, you make me smile when I’m feeling like my world is about to crumble, and you just happen to be one of the sexiest men I ever laid eyes on. God, you make my body want things I think should be outlawed,” she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed it. “Do you remember the last time I was pregnant?”

“Oh yeah,” he smirked. “Let me get you upstairs.” They lost themselves in their room for the rest of the weekend, only coming out for food. Matt was so happy to be home, he never wanted to leave. They spent the entire weekend reaffirming their love to one another. Melia surprised him with breakfast each morning. He didn’t even know she could cook. He saw then and there that she was serious, and he knew as long as she was trying, he would never go anywhere.

***

Meg threw the pile of folded clothes on the floor and Jordan squealed in delight. He had been sitting on the bed watching his mother as she dismantled the room unintentionally. Jordan was way advanced for his age, he was already trying to form words, and she swore she could make out the word yes, everytime something new hit the floor. When Alex walked in and saw the most recent mess, he began picking it up with no hesitation. He knew her mind was all over the place with the discovery that her real father was still alive and now wanted to get to know her.

It had been two weeks since the whole ordeal. When they arrived home from rescuing Allison, everyone was on edge. Gio, Marco, and Lexie were gone, but the remaining people had a million and one questions for Richard. The first being where in the hell had he been for almost thirty years. Richard explained that Ben had, in fact, shot him and the last breath, Ben remembered, was just him losing consciousness. He was near death when a homeless man stumbled upon him to take his wallet. When the man learned he was still alive, he got help, but not before stealing everything he had worth something.

The gunshot wound to his head was very extensive. They had to go in and remove the bullet and when they did so, the part of his brain that helps to remember was damaged, and since he had no property, he couldn’t be identified. With no knowledge of who he was and no one looking for him, he just started over developing a new identity. For twenty-seven years, he had been living as Melvin Franklin. When Maria heard this, she was in shock, but then started laughing. When they asked what was funny, she explained that Melvin Franklin “blue” was always his favorite temptation, and he too began to laugh, saying even without his memory, he still kept some of himself.

When they asked Richard how he ended up getting mixed up with Amanda again, he explained what made him come to California in the first place. He had been living in New York, for years, and when the news coverage about the case aired, he had been watching and saw Bianca and Sean’s pictures. Nothing about Bianca rang familiar, but Sean’s picture looked just like him. The resemblance was so strong, he decided to come and follow any lead he could to his old life.

When he arrived in Los Angeles, he unknowingly ended up bumping into Amanda while inquiring about Sean and Bianca, and she accosted him from there. She held him for months trying to make him remember their past life together, and he realized quickly that Amanda was severely unhinged. She wanted desperately for him to remember when they used to be in love, but nothing she said or did triggered his memory. When all she did failed, she cooked up the plan to bring Allison to him to start over with a new family. He tried to plead with her to let him and Allison go, but she refused, saying that he would remember her if he just tried.