Caught by Her Page 12

  Gramps was sitting in his usual spot, a game of chequers in front of him. He looked up with a smile which broke into a broad grin when he noticed Lena standing next to me. “Lena!”

  She beamed at him, rushing forward and holding him in a tight embrace. “Hi there, Gramps. I’m sorry I’ve been delayed in visiting you”

  I noticed his smile go even wider, if that was possible, at her reference to him. I’d never been one to seek approval from others, but my Gramps meant a lot to me, and the fact that they clearly liked each other filled me with joy.

  He’d never been keen on Clarissa. Even before everything that happened, there had always been an atmosphere between them. Clarissa had always had to make a conscious effort to try to get on with him. It had felt false and strained, whereas with Lena it seemed so natural.

  They sat down, laughing and joking with each other. Once my Gramps was comfortable, he turned to look at me, trying - and failing - to look cross.

  “I told you to let me know in advance if Lena was coming.” He sounded annoyed, but I could tell he was pleased that we’d sorted things out and when I held up my hand, which contained a bag from the bakery just down the road, he stopped speaking and grinned, nodding happily.

  He turned to Lena and patted her hand. “I’m glad my boy here pulled his head out of his arse to sort things out. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him. I told him so myself.”

  I rolled my eyes and Lena burst into carefree, happy laughter. . “So I heard! We’re good, Gramps. We were both being silly and stubborn,” she said, offering me a bright smile as she spoke.

  How could I have been trying to resist this? Lena fitted into my life so effortlessly it was as if she had always been a part of it, as if she was always meant to be a part of it.

  I cut the cake and placed in on the tray as they played a game of chequers. Lena beat him, much to the delight of my grandfather.

  We stayed for almost two hours before we needed to leave. It was relaxed and enjoyable, and I almost felt bad leaving, although Gramps assured us, with a twinkle in his eye, that he had his own plans for the evening.

  I winked at him over Lena’s head and he cackled, causing Lena to turn around to look at him as he tried to feign a coughing fit.

  She shook her head at the two of us, a slight blush staining her cheeks. “I don’t want to know, do I?”

  We both shook our heads, confirming to her that she didn’t. “Just don’t go getting yourselves caught again! I swear you’ve been on your last warning for the last two occasions I’ve had to come in for a discussion!” I waggled my finger at him in warning before we left.

  We went back to my place. An hour or so after we’d returned home, the doorbell rang and Lena glanced at me in surprise before getting up to answer it.

  I’d arranged for Marcus, Lindsay, Kelly, Maddie and Christian to call over for the afternoon. I knew Lena felt bad for leaving Maddie the evening before, despite the fact that I think we were both aware that it had been a set-up.

  A few moments later, I heard shrieking and knew that everyone had arrived. They all piled into the kitchen, the girls chattering away excitedly whilst Marcus caught my eye and pulled a face making me snigger.

  We’d ordered takeaways and had a relaxed afternoon, chatting, catching up and getting teased by our respective best friends. The girls were attempting to make plans for a night out, which was made more difficult by their various shift patterns. Lena kept catching my eye and smiling at me.

  This felt good, better than good. I suddenly understood all those god-awful clichés that people bandied about - how their “other half” completed them, and all the other nauseating phrases I’d scoffed at over the years.

  I’d loved Clarissa, but it was an immature love born out of affection, youth and dreams rather than the all-consuming addiction that was Lena.

  I looked down at her and smiled. I didn’t care how soft she’d turned me; this woman meant everything to me.

  I went into the kitchen to get myself a beer when Marcus stood up and followed in after me, “So, we’re good?” His brows were drawn together as if in question, but he was antagonising me. He was referring to our last interaction, when I’d threatened to knock his teeth out at the bar.

  I handed him a bottle of beer. “You’re an arsehole.”

  “You know it, Bro.” He clinked the neck of the bottle with me.

  I thought back over the previous evening. The instant I’d seen Lena, It had confirmed to me how pointless and ridiculous the week without her had been. I’d felt the overwhelming urge to grab her and brand her, mark her somehow so that every other fucking prick in the place knew that she was mine and to stay the hell away from her - because she was mine. No matter what happened, what I told myself, or what she thought she knew, she was mine.

  I’d turned to join her on the dance floor when Marcus had called out that I was too late. I’d looked down and seen that Lindsay and Kelly had joined them so I’d stood back with him, watching.

  He’d slapped my back and called out “unlucky,” clearly enjoying the chance of drama, when some random guy had gone onto Lena, putting his arms around her and pulling her in close to him. I’d squeezed my hands around the railing on the balcony, watching the exchange with a mixture of interest and rage.

  Marcus, noting my temper and being the best friend that he is, had helpfully pointed out that he had warned me, adding with a smirk, “Lena needs a man, not a pussy – she’s already got one of those.”

  I’d glowered at him and warned, if he ever spoke about my girl’s pussy again I’d knock his teeth out, to which he’d replied mockingly,

  “Doesn’t look like she’s your girl to me! Make your move or lose her, Nate!” His eyes had dared me to challenge him, but with one last look at Lena and Mr. Fucking-Happy-Hands, my feet had propelled me towards her. Marcus’s mocking words ringing out loudly over the music, “Go get her, Tiger!”

  “The warning stands,” I said with a smile and he laughed loudly, drawing the attention of Lena and Lindsay who looked at us curiously.

  Lindsay stood up to go just before 5.30pm, explaining that she needed to go to work. Marcus bid his goodbye at the same time - he’d travelled with Kelly, who needed to get back for work herself. I looked expectantly at Maddie.

  “Don’t worry, Nate! We’ve not got any plans. We can stay all evening,” she said sweetly.

  Just as I was about to tell her that that wasn’t an option, Lena piped up, “I’ll kick you guys out myself, Mads,” she deadpanned, and we all laughed.

  They left shortly afterwards. Without speaking, I turned and caught Lena, picking her up and carrying her upstairs in my arms. She clung to me, shrieking and giggling as I raced up the stairs, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

  Marcus had been scowling all morning, snapping at anyone who got too close and generally giving off a strong “stay-the-fuck-away-from-me” vibe.

  I’d tried to catch his attention, but he’d purposefully focused on the screen in front of him or the pile of papers to his left. I’d tried to entice him to the staffroom to grab a coffee but he’d declined so I’d had to let it go. It wasn’t like Marcus to be so obviously affected by something; I’d need to get to the bottom of it.

  The Sergeant poked his head around the door just after midday to inform Marcus he needed to get a statement from a local business owner. Marcus slumped forward in his seat. Clearly he wasn’t enthused about the prospect.

  I pursed my lips to suppress my smile. “It’s not far; shall we walk? Show a visible presence to the local community?”

  Sarge turned his attention to me. “I wasn’t really thinking of it being a two-man job. I take it your paperwork is up to date, Masters?”

  I nodded smugly. He waved his hands in a “whatever you want” gesture and walked out. I turned back to Marcus, feeling triumphant, but he just glared at me.

  “I don’t want to talk,” he snapped as he stood up and moved from behind his desk.
<
br />   I shrugged and followed him out the door. “So….” I asked, drawing it out. We’d only just left the station and made it about 10 steps down the road.

  He ignored me and carried on walking. I kept pace beside him, throwing a glance in his direction every few steps until he huffed in annoyance and stopped, glaring at me.

  “I said I didn’t wanna talk. Let it go, Nate. You’d think after all these years you’d have learnt that part of friendship is knowing when to mind your own goddamn business and leave me in peace!”

  I laughed, making his face darken further. “I’m sorry,” I replied sarcastically, holding my hands up in mock surrender. “I’m still at the part where you need to let your friend know when they’re acting like a crazy PMS’ing bitch… You’re acting like a bitch by the way.”

  He stood there, looking like he’d love to take a swing at me as I grinned at him inanely, goading him to react. He turned away and carried on walking, his posture stiff and his feet pounding against the pavement.

  I called out after him, “C’mon! Don’t make me do this! You started this by dipping your finger in my relationship – not that I’m not grateful - but don’t make me have to contact Lindsay to repay the favour.”

  He whirled round to face me, catching me by surprise, so that I almost walked into him. “Don’t be a fucking prick, Nate!”

  I grimaced as a member of the public passed us, a teenage boy, who, thankfully, didn’t look the least perturbed by Marcus’s choice language. I walked after him and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him towards an empty bench.

  He pulled his arm free as we got close, but I could see the fight had gone out of him. He sat down, looking miserable. “She’s considering a job offer.”

  “Lindsay? She’s leaving the force?” I asked, in surprise. I’d had no clue that she was looking for something else.

  His eyes met mine briefly before he looked back down at the floor, and continued to speak. “She applied back last year when her ex-boyfriend was moving away. She was going to go with him, but, when they split up, she didn’t bother. She was contacted last week – there’s a new vacancy and, of course, they thought of her.” he muttered.

  “Doing what? Did you ask?”

  “No, I fucking didn’t. I should have - maybe I would have if she’d given me half a chance, but no – it’s all Ok - she’s been getting all the information she needs about her life choices from Jeremy, the fucking ex. Can you believe this bullshit?”

  I cringed and he caught the expression. “Yeah, exactly, so no, Nate, there’s fuck all you can do or say to make me feel better. C’mon, let’s go, - and change the goddamn subject!”

  He stood abruptly, forcing me to follow him as he began to walk off down the street again.

  I was surprised at how much he’d divulged so easily. Marcus was never one to speak about what was bothering him. He’d had a quite different childhood from mine and had learnt from a young age that the less said, the better. Even after a friendship spanning half our lifetimes, I still sometimes felt that I knew only a fraction of his life story. He opened up to me occasionally, but anything that meant something to him, anything that involved emotions, usually involved a whole lot of alcohol and more questions than answers.

  Clearly things had moved on from the friends-with-benefits-set-up that Marcus and Lindsay had been enjoying. I’d need to see if Lindsay had mentioned anything to Lena. They seemed to have been getting on well when we’d all caught up at my place the other day.

  Women talked right? I made a mental note to ask her.

  As I caught up with him, he changed the subject. Obviously he was done with talking. “So - miserable ex-partners - Anything further from Medusa?” I chuckled at the name he’d taken to calling Clarissa.

  “I’ve had quite a few messages - requests to catch up and questions about Lena and me. I think Jess has been shit-stirring.” I shrugged indifferently.

  I’d turned down all requests for another meeting, citing difficulties with shift patterns but deep down I knew that I’d give in eventually. I felt obligated, even though my parents had insisted that I shouldn’t. I couldn’t just walk away, as much as my head was telling me that I should.

  His scowl deepened. “They’re up to something, Nate. Seriously, I don’t trust either of them. Just watch yourself! Don’t tell them fuck all about you and Lena - it’s got nothing to do with them!”

  “Hey, that’s my brother you’re talking about,” I jested, nudging him with my arm.

  “I’m your fucking brother, Nate. That guy is just someone that shared your gene pool - that’s all. He’s an absolute disgrace. Just be careful, Ok? I wouldn’t put it past the two of them to be sending you weird shit to try and mess with your head. They’re unhinged, the pair of them. I know you don’t like to think about the money, Nate, but the time is almost up for him to have sought help. That money is going to be coming to you and they are going to be going after it one way or another.”

  An elderly woman called out to us, beckoning us over to her, which ended the conversation.

  Driving home, the hands-free began to ring and, glancing at the number, I was relieved to see it was Stevie, my friend, who was supposed to have been getting information for me. I’d tried a few times to speak to him but the call hadn’t been able to connect.

  “Stevie! I’ve been trying to get hold of you, guy. You dropped off the grid!”

  “Cheeky Bastard! – I tried getting hold of you before I went! I’ve been away on a security job. I tried you a few times and left a message before I flew out. I didn’t get back until a little while ago.” He gave me some shit about asking for favours and then ignoring his calls.

  I debated about making him feel like a prick by telling him about the accident but decided to let it go: I was too keen to know what information he had on whoever had attacked Lena. “Yeah, yeah! Just tell me what you’ve got!”

  “I’ll forward you the file that I have with address and contact info. No arrests on file, but there have been three separate occasions when the police have been called to the house for domestic issues. All those instances were a while ago and no charges were pressed. He’s not too far from you, but it wasn’t your station for the previous instances. He’s moved since then. New address details are in the file. This last instance - that was you guys - another call made regarding domestic disturbance - looks like a repeat offender but again, no charges were pressed. It seems the call came from a passerby who saw the husband attacking the woman through the window. The wife denied it. Makes you fucking sick doesn’t it. I don’t know how you cope, the women would frustrate the shit out of me and the men need a damn good beating…anyway,” He cleared his throat, “You could probably get the information on that side of it easily enough?”

  I knew he was puzzled about my reasons for going to him rather than looking into it myself, but I needed to make sure there was no trail back to me. Stevie would have been discreet and I could trust him. We’d had each other’s backs in Afghanistan, and I knew that he’d have me covered here. I didn’t know how this was going to play out and I wasn’t sure how I was going to deal with it, but I knew that I would, it made sense to be cautious.

  There was no way in hell anyone was going to hurt Lena. Knowing that he didn’t hesitate when it came to inflicting injury to a woman made my insides twist.

  I’d kill him before he laid a hand on Lena again.

  If he was coming after her, he was going to have to get past me first, and that was never going to happen.

  “I don’t want to look into it where it can be traced. Every keystroke I make is recorded against my ID and I need this to be untraceable,” I answered grimly and he was silent for a beat.

  “You gonna need any help with this?” he asked, and my face broke into a grin.

  He had no idea what I was planning and hadn’t asked for information, yet he was offering help. I was almost as close to some of the regiment guys as I was to Marcus. You couldn’t go through some of the things t
hat we’d experienced and seen without developing a bond. The fact that he’d go into this blind for me spoke volumes.

  “I’ll be alright. Thanks for doing this for me.”

  I heard his chuckle down the line. “Don’t be doing anything stupid and making me regret it. You need anything, you give me a yell. I’ll forward the file to you. Remember what they say -Act in haste, repent at leisure - so think things through carefully.”

  He wasn’t telling me not to do anything; he was telling me to use my head and not get caught.

  “He seems like an arsehole, a real fucking scumbag for hitting women, but there’s nothing that jumps out at me – middle-of-the-road-job, nothing interesting or noteworthy about him. Since you’ve not shared your reason for looking this guy up, I don’t really know what you’re looking for. If he’s hurt someone of yours, though, I hope he gets what he deserves, man. Just be careful! Seriously Nate, you need anything, man, you call me!” He emphasised the last part, his voice warm and genuine.

  I might not have a relationship with my actual biological brother, but, between the regiment guys and Marcus, I had my own band of brothers. I assured him that, if I needed anything else, I’d be in touch. We hung up, promising to catch up soon.

  My phone beeped to acknowledge the file had been received but, as I was still driving, I couldn’t look at it. I was going back to my house. Lena was visiting her parents after work, so I’d have some time to look through everything that he’d found.

  I was about 10 minutes away from home when my phone rang again. I answered and Lena’s excited voice filled the car. “Babe! Get to my parents’ house. Come straight here! I’m here…” She was breathless, so flustered that she was barely making sense.

  “Lena, what’s happened?” I was already pulling the car over, getting ready to swing an about-turn.

  “It’s all good! Great, in fact! Just get here as soon as you can!”

  I pulled up outside her parents’ place and saw that her car was parked haphazardly across the drive. I felt niggles of trepidation; clearly she’d been in a hurry to get to their house. But she was happy I kept reminding myself. Whatever it was, it was going to be something good, finally.