Devil She Became (Devil's Angels Book 1) (6 page)

As spring arrived, Reese and Harrison’s lovemaking became more frenzied, more passionate than ever. Reese was more desperate to have him to herself. Thinking of their ever-present quandary, Reese found herself confiding to her friend, Darrell, more and more.

One night at dinner, Reese drank too much and poured her heart out to Darrell.

“Darrell, what are we going to do? I love Harrison. He’s my everything. But I can never marry him or even have a normal relationship with him. My mother calls all the time asking when I am finally going to ‘get a man’ and I already have one that I can’t tell her about! My sister thinks I’m a lesbian because I haven’t talked about any other guys since I got divorced. It won’t change as long as I am with Harrison.” Tears spilled down her face in muddy streams from her eye makeup.

Darrell hugged her. “Look, Reese, I have heard you cry over this for months now. I know a way out of your situation. Maybe. I don’t know if it will be something you would consider though.”

Reese straightened up immediately. “Anything!”

Darrell sighed and ran his hands through his thinning hair. He got up and paced a bit before getting another drink for them at the bar.

“Here, drink this first.”

Darrell threw back his whiskey. “Ok, this may not work for you. You and I have become close friends these past few months, but what I am going to suggest isn’t for the faint of heart.”

Reese was puzzled. “You aren’t going to say I need to just forget Harrison and get an available guy are you?”

Darrell remained standing and gripped the table. “No, Reese. This is serious, very serious.”

“Here, let’s move to that table in the corner. No one needs to hear this.” Suddenly Darrell started acting very secretive, furtive, and odd. It frightened Reese.

“What? Why?” she asked as he grabbed her hand and led her to the back.

“What the hell is going on, Darrell?” Reese snatched her hand back.

“Keep your voice down. This is no joke, Reese. But if you want Harrison for yourself, I can tell you how to get him.” Darrell’s face was deadly serious and stark white. His eyes appeared black in the dark light. The corners of his mouth were tucked in firmly.

“Tell me, Darrell. You can absolutely trust me,” Reese whispered.

Darrell’s hands shook as he removed a card from his jacket.

“Absolute secrecy. Swear to me. You can only share this with Harrison if he swears as well. This is life and death.”

Reese began to shake a bit. What was on that card?

“I promise, Darrell.”

Silently, he handed her a bright-red business card with a strange black shape on it.

********

“Ava Cavatica. Who the hell is Ava Cavatica? Is that a spider? What the hell is this?” Harrison asked later that night as he stared at the card Reese had gotten from Darrell.

Reese bit her lip.

“Is this for real? What the fuck, Reese? You can’t be serious!” Harrison grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

Reese had tears in her eyes from the pain of biting her lip. She just sat stone-like looking at the red card with the tiny black spider printed on it.

Harrison continued to pace the room, running his hands through his hair. He spun on her.

“So is Darrell admitting he killed his wife? What the fuck? This is insanity. I am a lawyer! I’m not about to kill anyone! I don’t like her, but I don’t want her
dead.
That’s crazy, Reese!” Harrison screamed.

“Shhh. Keep your voice down please. I promised. No, he didn’t kill anyone.” Still in shock, Reese spoke barely above a whisper.

“Do you want me to kill her? Seriously, Reese?”

Reese began to cry. “No, Harrison. I don’t want to kill anyone either. He just gave me this card and told me never to tell.”

“So did this Ava person kill his wife? Did he pay her? That’s still conspiracy!”

Reese was shaking all over. “I am not sure. All I know is he said get in touch with Ava. That’s it. He refused to give details. I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know.”

“This is crazy. Throw that fucking card away. Now.”

Silently, Reese took the card and threw it in the trashcan.

Harrison breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t talk to Darrell anymore, Reese. I mean it. Let’s just forget about this.”

Tension between them was thick that evening as a dark cloud hung over their heads. Both were secretly entertaining the idea of talking to this Ava person to see what, if anything, she could do to help them, but neither of them dared speak of it. Neither of them wanted to ‘give the order’ on someone else’s life. Neither of them wished to face the consequences if they were caught.

After Harrison left that night, Reese fished the card out of the trashcan. It was the strangest business card she had ever seen. It was bright, almost blood-red stock with a tiny black spider in raised print in the corner. The card merely read ‘
Ava Cavatica’
in tiny black letters with an email address. She tucked it into her large jewelry armoire in the back of her closet for safekeeping. One never knew when having an assassin’s card might come in handy.

The sound of her phone ringing woke her from a deep, satisfying sleep. Who the hell would be calling right now? It was the middle of the night. Oh, God, she hoped her family was okay.

She turned her phone over. It was Harrison. What was this? He never called her at night. She didn’t know if she should answer. Maybe it was his wife, but that was impossible because Harrison kept his phone locked at all times.

“Hello?” she asked softly.

“Reese. It’s me. Look, something has happened. I need to see you first thing in the morning,” he whispered.

“What is it? Are you okay?”

“I am fine. I just want to talk to you asap.”

“Why don’t you just come over in the morning?” Harrison usually came over before he went to work.

“It has to do with
her
. I need to talk to you. Just be awake and ready by 7:00 a.m.,” he was still whispering.

“Ok. I will.” Reese was puzzled. With that, he hung up. Wide awake, Reese shuddered. What could be wrong? Did he kill Lisa on his own, or what? No, he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t do that. Maybe he wanted to break it off with her, or he had thought of a way to get a divorce. She couldn’t imagine what it was.

At 7:00 a.m. sharp, Harrison pulled his Aston Martin up to her building. Reese was up and waiting for him.

Harrison bolted through the door. His hair was disheveled, deep rings were under his eyes and he hadn’t shaved.

“What? What is it, baby?” Reese ran over to him.

“S–She knows,” he stammered.

“Who? Your wife?” Reese became alarmed.

Harrison nodded.

“Yes.” He swallowed hard.

“How did she find out? What does she know?” Reese was confused.

Harrison sat down in a chair. He took a deep breath. “Well, she doesn’t know about you specifically, she just suspects I have someone else.”

“How?”

“One of the mothers from our daughters’ dance class saw us together last week. I don’t even know this woman personally. She just recognized me from the pictures Lisa posted of me on Facebook.”

Reese gulped hard. She had seen those pictures too.

“Fuck Facebook. I told her I didn’t want my pictures up on that damn site.” Harrison slammed his fist on the chair arm angrily.

“What did you say to her? How did you explain it?” Reese came over to stand beside him.

“I told her that you were a legal assistant for one of my partners, and we were all meeting to go over a case. I kept calm. I don’t think she thinks much of it, but I don’t like it.”

“Wow. I don’t know what to say.” Reese bit her lip afraid she would start crying. She was so afraid he was going to tell her he had to break it off with her.

Harrison grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto his lap.

“I love you, Reese. I think you know what we have to do. If it gets out I am having an affair, I am finished financially, professionally and personally. I would lose everything. She would drag my name through the mud. My family would disinherit me. All I would have left is what I have in a few Swiss bank accounts she doesn’t know about. It’s not very much compared to what I have now.”

“What are you saying, Harrison? What do you want to do?” she asked in a whisper.

Harrison sighed deeply. “I think you know what we have to do. Reese, I love you and I want you, but I can’t keep seeing you. There’s just too much at stake.”

Tears began spilling down her face. “No, Harrison, please. I love you. I want us to be together. There has to be a way.”

She buried her face in her hands.

Harrison stroked her silky blonde hair, inhaling her heavenly scent.

“Baby, this is for the best. I can’t lose everything.”

Reese felt him slipping further and further away from her. “But your family has money. It doesn’t matter if she gets a lot of your income. You have several trust funds.”

Harrison shook his head vehemently. “No. It doesn’t work that way. I would still be cut off from my family’s money if I divorced her. My family adores Lisa. They think she’s the perfect mother and a model wife. She’s a Jackie… you know like Jackie Kennedy. You are–”

“–Marilyn… I get it,” Reese said miserably, looking at the floor.

“Baby, I don’t want to do this, believe me, but I have no choice. She’s watching me now. You are a gorgeous girl, Reese. You are young, smart and a total knockout. Any man would want you. You are the total package.” Harrison held her close.

“If I’m so great, why won’t you just leave her?” Reese looked up at him with tear-filled blue eyes.

Harrison cupped her chin in his hand. “Honey, what don’t you get? I told you why. It isn’t a competition between you and her. Ten years ago, things might have been different, but now I have two daughters I have to support and raise. She and I are prominent in the community. We have many friends together. This isn’t at all personal.”

Reese continued to cry. “Could we still see each other sometimes?”

Harrison stroked her hair softly. “I would love to, but it wouldn’t be fair to you or me. I’m not kicking you out of here, so don’t worry about that. The rent is paid up on this lease for another six months. The car is yours too.”

Reese pushed him away. “I don’t want your money! Fuck all this! I want you!” She ran into the bedroom, crying.

Harrison swallowed hard. He hadn’t expected it to be this hard to break it off with her. He followed her into her bedroom. “Reese, I need to go. Remember always that I love you. You are special to me and always will be. Perhaps I will text you in a few weeks. Know that you are always in my heart. Your beauty will visit me in my dreams.” He touched her shoulder then seized her and kissed her deeply.

Reese jerked away. “Get away from me!”

Harrison cast a sad glance in her direction and walked out the door. Reese covered her face with her hands and wept. Her heart was broken. What would she do now?

********

Weeks passed. Reese continued to lie around in bed. Several of her friends came to see her, but she would hardly do more than talk with them a few minutes before asking them to leave. Her days were spent in bed only moving to eat a little, shower, and curl up to watch movies. Occasionally, she would text Harrison only to have him not text back. A few times he merely said “Hi” and nothing else.

Meanwhile, Harrison would receive her numerous text messages and feel sharp pangs of guilt. He couldn’t stand not seeing her. He ached for Reese. At night, he would toss and turn with an incredibly strong longing for her. When he closed his eyes, he could see her beautiful face, her big blue eyes, her long legs. He could feel her soft blonde hair, her large breasts, tiny waist and smell her perfume. He would roll over and pull a pillow over his head to drown out Lisa’s snoring.

One evening, in an untypical fashion, Harrison arrived home to have a surprise dinner with his family. The girls were ecstatic to see him, but Lisa gave him the usual cold shoulder.

As Hattie, the housekeeper, began serving the meal, Lisa turned her icy eyes on Harrison.

“To what do we owe this pleasure? Did you give your secretary the night off?” Lisa’s hatred of him was so palpable he winced.

“No. I decided I have been working a lot lately, and I wanted to eat dinner with my girls. Is that ok?” Harrison sipped water from a tall goblet.

Lisa pursed her lips and looked at him. “I suppose. So how are things at work?”

Harrison began cutting his steak. “Very good. Dad just acquired a multimillion dollar property in Orange County. I might have to go take a look. Maybe you and the girls would like to come.” The girls bounced in their chairs. “Yes, daddy! We want to go!”

Lisa snapped at them. “Sit down. That’s not the way to behave at the dinner table. Alaina, I told you to put your napkin in your lap. Olivia, it is impolite to speak with your mouth full.”

Harrison stared at her. “Oh, my God, Lisa, they are little girls. Let them be.”

Lisa threw down her napkin.

“You see what happens, Harrison? I am trying to raise well-bred young ladies, not the street trash you like to run around with. As soon as you come around, all their manners go out the door!”

Harrison bit his lip.

“Lisa, you sound as if rearing children is the same as raising thoroughbred racing stock. Seriously, give them a break.”

Lisa slammed her hand on the table so hard that the water in the glasses sloshed out onto the linen tablecloth.

“Harrison, enough. How I rear our children is my concern. Just go indulge yourself elsewhere.”

Harrison’s mouth was agape. “Lisa, that is quite enough. You are so–”

“–I’m so what? At least I’m not sick with nympho–”

“–LISA! That will be enough! The girls…”

Harrison held his hand up at her. The girls sat quietly looking down at their plates.

Lisa glanced at them and nodded.

“Daddy? What’s wrong with you? Mommy said you’re sick.” Olivia asked, worry in her big blue eyes.

“I’m ok, baby.” Harrison smiled at her.

“No, he just has wonder-eyeitis. That’s all. No big deal. Now eat your dinner, girls. Now.”

Lisa drew her mouth into a stern line.

“What’s wonder-eyeitis, mommy?” Alaina asked.

Harrison answered before Lisa could. “It’s when daddies get sick of listening to certain people’s mouths and leave.” With that, he scooped up his plate and went into the kitchen leaving Lisa sitting there with the girls, fuming.

As he went upstairs, he began undressing while thinking of what a total bitch Lisa was. How dare she bash him to his own daughters. He couldn’t stand to think they would grow up to be like her. He had begun to really despise Lisa. He already resented her very presence as it was keeping him from Reese. Sooner or later, Reese would move on and marry some other lucky guy. Some guy that wasn’t him. The thought made him physically ill.

Later that night in his home office, while Lisa was sleeping, he flipped through her pictures on his PC. Reese kept texting him regularly. Every time she texted, he wanted to tell her how much he missed her and needed her, but he just ignored her. It was easier than having to explain it all again to her.

********

During the night, Reese would sit up in bed and listen to songs that reminded her of Harrison. She kept his picture as the home screen on her phone. Whenever she left the apartment out of necessity, she would see him in every tall, dark-haired man wearing an Italian business suit. A few times, she went by the same coffee shops they had gone to hoping to bump into him, but to no avail.

Soon, her once beautiful, shiny blonde hair became lank and hung lifelessly down her back. She seldom wore any makeup, and her complexion became pale and dull. Reese also began losing weight as she rarely ate much. Her expensive clothes merely hung unused in her vast closet as she continually wore the same couple of worn pairs of jeans day in and day out. Finally, her mother called to FaceTime with her and was shocked at her appearance.

“Reese! What are you doing to yourself? You look awful!” Even from thousands of miles away, Meg as though she were right there with her.

Reese rolled over on the bed to talk to her mother. “I don’t care anymore, mom. It’s just not worth it.”

“What is wrong, Reese? If you don’t tell me, I am going to fly out there myself and stay with you until you do!” Knowing her mother, Reese knew she would do exactly that.

“There was this guy I was seeing…”

“You had a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” Meg sounded excited and frantic at the same time.

Reese sighed. “We aren’t seeing each other anymore… he’s gone…” Tears started welling up in her eyes again.

“I don’t get why you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend. How long were you together? Who is he?” Meg, ever nosy, was full of questions.

“His name is Harrison. He was… wonderful.” She began weeping in earnest.

“It’s okay, baby. Calm down. How long were you with him?”

“About six months or so.”

“So what happened?” Meg said with a more sympathetic tone.

Reese blotted her swollen eyes with a tissue. “We just decided to stop seeing each other.” Reese couldn’t bring herself to tell her mother the truth.

“But you seem like you still have feelings for him… this was his idea?”

Reese nodded. “I still love him… I… always will…” she choked out.

“Oh, baby, I wish I was there. This guy sounds like a jerk. Reese, you are so beautiful. Stop this wallowing in misery. There are so many wonderful men, who would love you. You are only twenty-eight, so young… and educated too!” Meg teared-up to see her daughter so upset.

Reese shook her head. “I don’t want anyone else. I only want to see him… be with him…”

Meg became frightened. “Reese, don’t hurt yourself, please. We all love you. Come back to California. Get out of that freezing cold city and come home! I can fly out and help you.”

“No!” Reese shouted. “I am staying here. I won’t kill myself, mom. I’m just… I’m just… I just need time, okay?”