Page 56 of The Gambler
She didn’t question why she had so much faith in his ability to find her, she just did. It never entered her mind that he would be angry with her, he was her angel; he loved her.
Andros was scared and pissedat once, but there was no outlet for his anger. Gramps kept insisting that she knew what she was doing, which might well be true; but he wasn’t the kind of man who could ever be okay with his woman taking the lead. Especially after he’d told her no. When he thought of who she was beneath all the espionage and bullshit it just scared the shit out of him. His flower was too gentle, too innocent…
They heard the explosion on their second circuit around the neighborhood. He’d decided to follow the map she’d left behind for him, hoping that she was going to come climbing up through a manhole.
“Stop him boys.” He heard gramps’ warning as he threw the car door open and started running. His shoes weren’t made for running and neither was the suit he was wearing but none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting to her. He didn’t doubt for one second that she had something to do with whatever that was that had just gone off behind the high walls that surrounded the presidential residence.
He could hear voices raised in alarm and men running beyond those walls. He didn’t know where the fuck he was going, he just knew he couldn’t sit in that car and wait for her to show up.
Garrett and Jameson were hot on his heels, they were the ones who pulled him back just as he was about to scale the wall. He had reached the point where he didn’t care what happened to him. He had to get her the fuck out of there.
He saw the man first in the distance. He didn’t let himself believe, until he saw the much smaller shadow next to the seemingly injured man. He was running towards her in the dark as the night sky lit up with orange flames.
When he reached them he dragged her away from her dad and into his arms. “Let’s go boss we gotta get outta here.” The guys helped the old man as he pulled her back to the car with him. He didn’t trust himself to speak, didn’t think he could.
He pulled her into the car with him as the others got in and they drove off at high speed, back to the villa. It was a bit cramped back there so she had to sit on his lap. She started rubbing his hand as soon as they were settled. He knew what she was doing, but it wouldn’t work this time.
His fear turned to pure anger as he felt his heart finally settle. No one said anything as they made their way through the darkened streets. Sirens blared going hard in the other direction and he held his breath until they cleared the gates.
“He needs care, it looks like they worked him over pretty good.” Garrett imparted that little tidbit as soon as they left the car. “Too fucking bad we’re not hanging around here call ahead and make sure the plane is ready to leave as soon as we get there.”
They only went inside long enough to collect their stuff, which wasn’t much,before they were headed back out. He’d sent one of the planes back so there was only the one left.
Theycouldn’t appear too suspicious as they made their way, so they had to drive at an almost sedate pace while the rest of the island seemed to have come alive. News of the explosion had already spread and he had no doubt that the army or someone might call for a lockdown soon and he wanted to be in the air before that happened.
He didn’t breathe easy until they were boarded and the jet was cruising down the runway. It was a three and a half hour flight to Toronto. He spent the time in silent contemplation as he held her hand gripped tightly in his.His heart was finally beating somewhat normal again and his vision was clearing from the rage. He never wanted to feel that sick helplessness ever again in his life, and he knew he had to find some way to get it through to her.
“Angel.” He didn’t answer her, neither did he look at her, he couldn’t. He was afraid that if he did, he would lose his shit and do, or say something that would hurt her. He was going to need some time here; time to put everything he’d learned in the last few days in perspective. He knew now that what he’d believed in the beginning isn’t what really was. Along with her innocence and beauty was this other being that was capable and strong. Strong enough to do whatever it was that she’d done here tonight.
The others were talking in hushed tones as they sensed his mood and knew to steer clear. Her old man had tried talking to her, until Andros turned such a look of hatred on the other man, that he’d limped back to his seat and dropped into it as if all the air had been knocked out of him. he’s lucky the younger man hadn’t chucked his ass out a window already.
He guessed Garrett was right and the man needed medical attention, but he couldn’t find it in him to give a fuck. Had they taken more care with her, none of this would’ve happened. She wouldn’t have had to put her life in danger and scare twenty fucking years off of his.She tried once more to get his attention but he kept his head turned to the window. He was holding her hand, let that be enough for her for now. There was no way he was going to let her off that easily, no fucking way.
When they finally made it back to American soil hours later, they were a tired group of people who walked to the waiting car that would take them back to the estate. Andros still hadn’t said a word to anyone in all this time. He was very well aware that she’d cried herself to sleep on his shoulder the second time he’d rebuffed her. She was too exhausted from her little escapade to feel it when he kissed her hair, or to hear his softly whispered promises of love.
He took her up to bed, after leaving her old man in the care of Willie. The senator and her husband were still in residence and had been asking questions before they’d retired for the night. He’d almost forgotten that they were here and had to remind himself to find out in the morning from his men what had gone down with the would be assassin. He was too tired to deal with much of anything else now though, so he just took her upstairs to bed.
She watched him with sad eyes as he silently undressed her for bed. He was finally able to check her over for injuries, finally able to reassure himself that she really had survived the night unscathed. “Angel.” This time she turned his face to hers. He could still see the evidence of her tears and it hurt his heart just a little that he was the cause of them. He never wanted to bring her pain or sorrow, but she’d put him in a tough position.
He realized as he knelt at her feet looking up at him that he was more upset that she hadn’t needed him, than anything else, and that was fucked up thinking. Alice had been vulnerable; she’d needed him at every turn. He’d fought her dragons and kept her safe until he wasn’t here and she’d been destroyed.
Jenna didn’t need him to fight her dragons; she was probably more equipped than him. He no longer felt the need to lash out at her, to rant and rave until she promised to never do anything like this again. Instead he just felt tired all of a sudden. “Let’s get some sleep little flower, we’ll talk about it in the morning.” He kissed her forehead and helped her under the covers before heading to the shower.
She was out by the time he got back into the room and climbed into bed with her. He pulled her into his arms and wrapped them around her until he too gave in to the weariness of the long night.
The dream started out like so many others he’d had over the years. She was running through a field of flowers and he followed, calling out for her to wait, to not enter the woods where he knew danger awaited. Like always she kept going and he felt the fear hit him in the bowels like it always did as he tried to catch up. No matter how fast he went, he could never make up the distance between them.
This time the dream changed though and she waited for him at the edge of the woods. She looked…different, somehow. Her face no longer carried the soft roundness of youth; instead he was staring down at an older even more beautiful version of the little sister that he’d lost. He looked down between them as she reached out and took his hand. It felt so real in his, that little hand that he remembered so well.
“Stefano.” He was taken aback by how real that sounded, how real everything appeared. He knew he was asleep, and that this was a dream, what else could it be after all? but it felt so completely different from all the others that had come before.
She led him away from the woods and to a meadow hidden on the other side. There was a garden there, with stone benches and those little fountain statues. Butterflies of every color flew around and he could hear birds chirping in the branches of the trees. He could even smell the sweet scent of the flowers, and feel the sun on his face.
“Alice…what?”
“Shh.” She held her finger up to her lips as she pulled him down next to her on one of those benches. There was a stream there unlike any he’d ever seen before. He watched the water as it flowed calmly and waited for her to begin. A part of him knew what this was, knew that it was a little more than a dream, yet he couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He never was any good at the hoo doo shit.
“I’ve missed you Stefano, all these years I’ve been wanting to come to you, but it wasn’t the time.” She smiled and squeezed his hand as he looked down at her. “She’s something isn’t she?” He knew who she was talking about, his Jenna, so he just nodded his head.