His Four Poster Bed (Bedroom Secrets Series Book 2) (17 page)

Todd took my bag and held open the car door.

“Where are we going?” I asked, sliding into the smooth black leather in the backseat of the Tesla.

“I’m not supposed to tell you,” Todd said, cringing. “I’m sorry, but we’ll be there soon,” he offered.

“All right,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Now get me out of here before I change my mind.”

He closed the door and we pulled away from the curb.

Our destination was Elliot Bay Marina. I was shocked to realize my next great adventure with Marco was destined to start at such a normal location. The parking lot was packed with cars and people coming and going on their way to one of the restaurants along the waterfront. Todd parked and opened the door for me my bag in hand.

It wasn’t terribly late but the sun set early in the winter time.

“This way miss,” Todd said, softly. I wrapped my arms around myself my breath freezing in bursts as I followed Todd across the lot.

He turned and smiled and I thought of how much he had changed since the first night he’d checked the little black book that granted me access upstairs. Todd had looked so freckle faced and young. Now he had bags under his eyes and his jaw was tense. These days were hard on everyone close to Marco, not just me.

We passed a darkened shop window with a blue and yellow neon sign in the shape of a NYC skyline hanging overhead. Manhattan Galleries the sign buzzed and flickered in the evening light. Marco had always said he would take me to Theo’s gallery. I felt as though Marco and I were coming full circle. We had met at a table filled with Theo Manhattan’s art and here I was disappearing with Marco steps from the gallery.

Todd stopped walking when we reached the end of the parking lot. He pointed down a gradual bank with a paved path that led to beach access of the Sound. It was a cold and miserable night with a biting wind. White caps crashed onto the shoreline below.

On a level stretch of rock up from the beach, Marco and Veronica argued. The wind was too strong for me to make out their words. They stood beside a shiny black helicopter with an enormous gold A on its side on what looked like a private helicopter pad.

I stopped in my tracks. Why were we taking a helicopter from the Amador fleet? And why were they fighting? This didn’t feel right to me but I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel on a night like this anyway.

Marco looked up at me and held up a hand indicating I should stay where I was. He turned and seemed to shout something more at Veronica. She stood, arms crossed her face unreadable and walked to the helicopter as Marco walked up the hillside towards me.

My heart fluttered as I watched him jump off the rocky terrain onto the paved switchback trail that tourists used to walk to the shoreline. He wore a black coat and a cap over his head. Over my shoulder were the window seats of Palisades with views of the water. If we took off from here we would be clearly visible to scores of diners.

My heart pounded and I gripped my single leather bag in my hand, palms sweating as Marco approached.

Then everything happened very quickly.

The helicopter propeller sprang to life with a roar, kicking up more wind.

“Marco!” I shouted as he reached me.

“Odessa!”

With his arms around me, I buried my face in his chest and looked up into his eyes. We stood beneath a street lamp, bathed in yellow light. “Where are we going?” I shouted

Marco didn’t answer right away, the helicopter’s spotlight turned on passing over us with a blinding white light.

I blinked my eyes seeing spots.

“Change of plans!” Marco shouted, his arms on my shoulder. I thought I’d misheard him.

“What?”

“Change of plans! You aren’t coming with me,” he shouted even louder.

“No, no you can’t do this. No!”

He held me at arm’s length as I struggled against his grip, dropping my bag, throwing punches at the air.

“You need to trust me Odessa!” He shouted.

“No, we are going together!” I gasped, still struggling.

“This is the only way. You can’t give up your life. I won’t do that to you.”

“It’s too late! It’s done!” I cried, tears pouring down my face. Marco turned away from me, still holding me in place. I struggled to get in front of him, to look him in the eyes. “Don’t do this, Why are you doing this?” I sobbed.

He pulled me close, his voice next to my ear. “You need to trust me. Trust us. Everything will be okay. I love you.” Then he kissed me, his lips hard and fierce against mine and I felt him turn to go as another set of hands gripped me around the waist.

Veronica.

“No!” I screamed kicking and struggling against her.

“Come with me!” She shouted pulling me away from my viewpoint.

“No! No! No!”

Behind us in the parking lot a small crowd had gathered under a covered stretch of walkway with a clear view of my breakdown and the spinning helicopter.

“What is going on?” I gasped, sobbing and finally stopping. “I don’t understand what is happening. Why is he leaving without me?”

Veronica said nothing but loosened her grip enough so I could turn and see the helicopter rise into the air. It buzzed the marina twice giving everyone a clear view before pivoting and heading out to sea.

Light glinted off the enormous gold A on the helicopter’s side. I stood in shock watching the love of my life disappear into the blackness riding in one of his father’s fleet.

“You lied to me,” I said to Veronica. The deafening sound of the helicopter dropped to a soft hum as it moved farther away.

“You need to go home,” Veronica said, her expression revealing nothing. “Todd will drive you.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you people!” I shouted.

There was a tremendous flash of light followed by a deafening boom. People screamed behind me.

I turned to see the helicopter spiraling and ablaze.

“Marco! Marco! No!” I pushed past Veronica screaming.

The helicopter zig zagged across the sky before hitting the water. It hovered above the waves glowing orange and red then sank beneath the surface.

“Marco!” I sobbed, falling to my knees and sinking into the dirt and mud beside the trail. “Call 911!” I shouted at Veronica. “Call the police! Do something! Do anything!”

Veronica offered me her hand, her face a mask. “Let me help you,” she said. “There is nothing we can do here.”

“No!” I swatted at her hand and stood on my own. The crowd under the walkway had grown larger. People held up cell phones taking videos and making calls. I heard the distant sound of sirens.

“Don’t be stupid Odessa,” Veronica said. “Todd will take you home. Marco wouldn’t want you out here like this.”

“Don’t talk to me about what he wanted,” I spat at her, unsteady and sobbing. “He wanted me to go, didn’t he; he wanted me to go and you stopped him. That’s what you were fighting about.”

“I’m not going to answer that,” she said her voice cold.

Todd approached his eyes wide and glistening with tears. “Please Miss,” he said, reaching for me. “Let me take you home.”

“No, not you, I’m not going with any of you,” I stumbled past them moving toward the crowd. Marco was dead. I felt as though my heart had been torn from my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I needed to breathe. Lights blurred and I heard voices but I couldn’t make sense of anything as I fought my way through the crowd.

“Amador helicopter . . .”

I needed to get away.

“I think that was the son.”

I had to escape.

“Doubt there were survivors.”

I had to keep moving.

I felt a strong hand on my arm and looked into a familiar set of pale blue eyes. In my panic I couldn’t remember his name but I knew his face, I knew that Marco trusted him.

“Help me!” I whispered, grabbing his arm. “Help me, don’t let them take me.”

“Easy, easy,” he said, moving me out of the rain and under cover.

Veronica and Todd appeared beside him. “Thank God,” Veronica said, “We’ll take care of her,” she said. reaching for me. I backed away and pushed against the man’s chest.

“She’s in shock,” the man said.

“We’ll take care of her, I’m a friend.” Veronica stepped forward. “She’s upset.”

“She’s not a friend,” I whispered. “She is a liar, a liar . . .”

“Right. Well, I don’t believe she wants to go with you,” the man said. “It’s a bit of a problem you see.”

Veronica stepped toward him. “You don’t know what you are doing.”

“That may be true, but I know this woman is hysterical and she doesn’t want you to touch her.” The man stood his ground stepping protectively in front of me.

Veronica looked from me to him, as if she were weighing her options. “Make sure she gets home.”

Todd nodded and handed my bag to the man and they walked away.

“You want to sit for a minute?” The man asked. His face kind, and he had an accent, British I believed.

“Yes, yes please,” I whispered wrapping my arms around myself. “I’m so cold.”

“Come inside,” he opened the door to the gallery that I’d passed earlier. Inside the lights were low and I could see a small wood stove glowing softly in the distance. “I should reintroduce myself,” he said. “We’ve met before. I’m Theo Manhattan. You’ll be safe here until the police arrive.”

“I remember you,” I said. “Thank you.”

And that is how Theo Manhattan saved me the day Marco disappeared into the sea.

“Would you like a hot cup of tea?” Theo said, walking me past the studio displays to a small room in the back with some comfortable chairs and the wood stove I’d seen from the door.

“Yes, tea,” I shivered. I felt outside of my body. I’d watched Marco’s helicopter fall from the sky but my mind refused to process the information in a way that made sense. This felt like a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. I blinked my eyes twice willing myself to wake. Could I wake? Was it possible that this was just a horrible dream?

I pinched my arm and felt pain. I wasn’t waking up. “This isn’t a joke is it?” I said, facing Theo. “It’s real. This is really happening,”

“I’m sorry, yes,” Theo said, his mouth locked in a sad smile. “I know it doesn’t seem real. Horrible things seldom do.”

He spoke with some authority. I looked into Theo’s pale blue eyes and I saw a sadness there that I didn’t remember. Granted we’d only met once, the night he and his girlfriend installed the silver tree in the condo, but he looked different to me now. He was a shadow of the joy filled man I’d seen that night.

“Would you like to sit?”

He pointed to an oversized plush chair and ottoman that faced the fire. A half-filled cup of tea sat on the table beside the chair along with an open sketch book with an incomplete picture of a woman laughing.

“Thank you,” I whispered, sinking into the soft chair. The sound of the siren grew louder. Red and blue lights flashed dimly into the room.

“You will need to see a doctor,” Theo said, placing a china cup on the table beside me. He held a kettle of steaming water in his hand and poured a cup. “You are in shock.”

“I’m okay,” I said, shivering.

“Here.” Theo set the kettle down and placed a soft blanket around my shoulders.

“What is a doctor going to do for me,” I whispered, staring at the fire. “I’m not okay, nothing is okay.” Sobs shook my body.

Theo nodded and sat on a wooden chair in front of me. “The police will be here soon, the paramedics as well.”

“But there is nothing for them to do,” I hiccupped. “The bodies are at sea.” I inhaled sharply and bit down on my knuckle the image of Marco sinking beneath the waves was too much to bear.

“Paramedics always come when there is an accident,” Theo said, swallowing. “No matter what has occurred.”

We sat in silence for a moment.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked. “You don’t really know me.”

He looked at me as if considering his words carefully. “I remembered you from the night I did the installation at Marco’s house. Marco was good to me, he was a good man and you were clearly in distress. He would have done the same for me.”

“He’s dead,” I whispered the words sounded foreign to me. “I saw him fall from the sky.”

“I know,” he said, nodding at me. “You really should allow me to get the paramedics.”

The red and blue lights continued to flash.

“They can’t help me,” I said, my voice thin and high. “The man I love is dead. I know what’s wrong with me. He’s dead and I want him back.” I collapsed in a wave of tears. I pulled my knees in close to my body and wrapped the blanket tight around my shoulders as I cried.

My tea cup sat untouched on the table in front of me.

After a few moments, Theo reached out and placed a hand over mine and squeezed. It was a small gesture but it felt big to me. I nodded at him and mouthed the words thank you.

“Can I sit next to you?” I asked, once I’d recovered enough to speak.

“Of course.” Theo scooted over and made room for me on the couch beside him. We sat side by side and not speaking staring into the dancing light of the fire.