Betrayal of the Dove

Chapter Six

“I should have known she would call you.”

“You should have called me,” Thomas nearly growled. “We’ve always been close. I’m sorry you hate me now.”

“I don’t hate you,” she said. “I love you more than I love myself, Thomas. You’re a huge part of my heart and you know it. I just…Adam was a huge part of it too and I just needed some time away.” She came to help Alyssa, not get a surprise call from her big brother on a Monday morning at the store when she couldn’t use any excuse to get away. She had just opened ten minutes ago and as Alyssa had told her, the store didn’t start to get busy until about ten o’clock. She was sure that was something her big sister had alerted Thomas to when she called him and told him she was in town.

“You took the job,” he said somberly. “The one in London. You’re going and we’ll never see you again. We hardly see you now.”

“Good Lord,” she sighed. “It’s not like I’m moving to Mars. Get a grip. It’s not like you to dramatize things. I think Thena’s rubbing off on you,” she had enough humor in her tone to make sure Thomas knew she wasn’t insulting him or his wife. “And about Belfast,” she turned serious. “I didn’t tell you I was going there so you could play big brother. I can’t believe you sent Blaine in there. I was fine.”

“Fine?” He nearly snapped. “From what I hear things got hot and you could have died. You might not care if you end up in a box, but I do! I’m not going to lose you. It would kill me, and you know that.”

She couldn’t argue with him there. Things had taken an unexpected turn for the worse…no, she would be lying if she said she didn’t expect it. All along she knew it would. This was the IRA, they didn’t do interviews unless they had hostages on the other end and they were trying to get demands met. They also didn’t leave people behind alive. She knew that going in, and on some level she just didn’t care. She was going to get the story even if she didn’t live to write it; somebody else would get her gear and they would write it for her. When the shooting started she hadn’t bothered to try to get away. She just stood there and shot as many pictures as she could get. That’s when she felt a large hand grab her arm and drag her out. She looked up to one angry looking Blaine Ashworth and she knew her brother had once again been looking out for her. But did he have to send Blaine? The man seemed to think he was her father or something. Way too protective—much like Thomas in that regard.

“Details,” she said passively dismissing his concern for her safety.

“You want me to bury you is that it? Well I won’t do it. You tell me where you’re moving in London and I’ll have somebody there to watch your six because clearly you don’t care enough about yourself or this family to do it for yourself.”

Jeeze, he was angry. Maybe he had a right to be. She hadn’t been thinking about anything other than the enormous pain where her heart used to be. She just wanted it to stop, to go away, and she hadn’t, not until Belfast, thought about what her death on any of those assignments would mean to anybody other than herself. Blaine had, not so delicately, pointed out the error of her ways when he broke it down for her in morbid details. He painted her the picture of her body in that box, her family standing over that grave, and the one that hurt her most was the image she conjured up of Thomas standing there weeping over her dead body. She couldn’t do that to him. She wouldn’t do that to him.

“Look, I’m not—”

“You are telling me!” He barked. She laughed and that seemed to anger him more.

She laughed harder. “Thomas, if you would just put your war horse back in the stable I could tell you that I’m not moving to London. They offered me the job, but I decided to take the one in Hawaii instead.”

“You had a job offer in Hawaii and you didn’t tell me?”

“They offered it to me the day before my London interview. I wasn’t sure which one I was going to take, but Hawaii…well, it’s tropical and sunny and London is historically beautiful, but cold and not so sunny. I think I need sunshine in my life right now.”

“And what are you going to be doing; exposing government corruption?”

“No, that’s your job,” she snickered. She hadn’t freely laughed since Adam died, she didn’t know she could still do it. She had forced several smiles, but over the past few days, being with Alyssa and talking with Thomas, her laugh was definitely back; this was genuine. “I’m working the pieces I wanted to work while Adam was alive,” she said. “I’m telling the world about some of our heroes right here at home. Some of the jobs might get dangerous, but for the most part I’ll be safely tucked on the sidelines of whatever goes down. I’m starting with a piece on the HCG. The Coast Guards have rolled out the red carpet for me,” she laughed again. “They seem to think it’s an honor for me to be there, while I think it’s an honor they’re letting me come along and write about them.”

“Thank God,” he said. “I know people on the HCG.”

“Figures,” she retorted. “Don’t you dare play big brother or I’ll take the job in London instead.”

He conceded to not interfering with her work. “But I am letting Valencia know you’re coming. I’m going to ask her to keep an eye on you.”

“Which eye?” She chuckled. “Seriously, I’m going to be on Oahu. She’s living on Kauai with her opera composer soon-to-be hubby, Harrison Sinclair.”

“She’ll still make sure you’re okay. From what I hear she has a place on Oahu.”

“I know,” she agreed. “I’m renting it for the year. I’ll probably try to find my own place later, but her place is fabulous and she’s letting me have it for next to nothing. I couldn’t pass that up.” She planned to get some black and white film photographs for Valencia at her wedding, if she managed to score an invite that is. She knew Thomas would be there because Valencia thought of him like a brother, but that didn’t mean she would invite her. If she did, she was going to take her Yashica and do the best black and white photographs ever. Then she would print them on fiber based paper and present them to her as her wedding gift. She had it all figured out—mostly anyway. If she didn’t get an invite she would have to find something else to get to thank Valencia for all she had done, not just for her, but for Thomas too.

“You told her before you told me?”

“I wanted to make sure I had living arrangements secure before I told you. I came prepared for whatever you would throw at me.” She heard him growl and it made her laugh. She sobered quickly. “Thomas,” she waited for his response. “Thanks for helping me get my laugh back. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that again, but I have thanks to you and Alyssa. Thank you.”

“Thank you for sharing that beautiful laugh with me.”

She could hear the pride in his voice. They were reconnecting the way they were before she withdrew. She knew she would never love another man the way she loved Adam. She would never allow herself to fall in love and she would never, ever date another man with a suicide profession. But she would love her brother, and she would be the sister for him that she used to be. She had lost a part of her heart; she wouldn’t take a part of his away by withdrawing from him. She wouldn’t inflict that pain on him.

“So, you and Thena will come visit me in Hawaii; yes?”

“Yes,” he agreed. “We’ll come once you get settled.”

Eve ended her call with Thomas right before the first customer walked in. “Family,” she mumbled with a smile on her face. “If you need help picking something out for your wife, or girlfriend please let me know,” she smiled at the officer in front of her.

“Actually, I was looking for Alyssa.”

“Oh,” she said. Alyssa hadn’t mentioned a cop being in the romantic mix. Although it was clear her sister had the hots for the security guard, maybe she had missed something and this cop was a factor too. “She’s in court today.”

“Court? Is there a problem?”

“Oh, I think it’s a discrimination law suit, but she’ll be fine. She’s meeting with her attorney, his attorney and the judge to see if it needs to go to trial. She should be back at work by Wednesday.” She knew Alyssa might be out of chambers on Tuesday whether it was the end of things or not. If this suit moved forward they would have to set a court date. But she also knew her sister needed a real day off. She wanted her to just sleep in for a few hours, and then go down the Row to the spa and have a spa day on her. The woman needed to relax some. She worked all the time, constantly trying to keep her business stable and growing. She needed a break, a day off to herself. Eve would suggest she stay up in the room and rest all day, but she knew her sister. Alyssa would be up before the crack of dawn working on a new piece of jewelry if Eve didn’t find a way to get her out of the flat for the day. The spa seemed like a good enough idea to her.

“So how long are you here?”

Not that it was really any of his business, but it couldn’t hurt anything. “I’m just here for however long she needs help with the store. I have to make the rounds on seeing family before I move so probably just a few days—unless the case doesn’t close and she needs somebody to run the store for longer.”

He nodded. “Tell her Craig Davis stopped by, please.”

“Will do,” she smiled. “Have a nice day.” She watched him walk out of the shop. He seemed thoroughly disappointed that the wrong woman was behind the counter today. She shrugged. He wasn’t entirely friendly, but maybe that was just a cop thing or something. And since Alyssa hadn’t mentioned him there couldn’t have been anything romantic on her part. Alyssa had gone on and on about Shane, how great he was, how skilled he was, his military exploits and how little she knew about his family. Eve didn’t think Alyssa even realized how much of their conversations had revolved around the man. That’s how Eve knew her sister was deeply in love with the man in her security room, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

She heard the security door open before she looked up to see Shane watching her. “How are you doing out here?”

She grinned. “Like you don’t know. I saw those monitors while I was in that room Saturday and I know for a fact you have full view of this store—of my sister while she’s in here.” She smiled. “So, are you watching her daily, Shane Maxwell?”

He brushed his hand through his short cut hair. “You’re really observant.”

She nodded. “She is too, when she allows herself to be. I bet you’re checking her out all day; aren’t you?”

He laughed. “Change of subject,” he insisted.

“Okay, but know this; if you hurt my sister I’m going to hunt you down and kick your butt.”

He laughed. “Oh, I will,” she said. “And if I can’t take you I’ll find somebody who can.” She was serious as a heart attack on this one. Her sister meant the world to her and she wouldn’t see another man hurt her the way her ex did. She had been the one Alyssa cried with when it went south and she was not going to watch her suffer that same pain again.

“Noted,” he nodded. “I have no plans to hurt her.”

She nodded her understanding. “Then I’d suggest you stop sitting on your behind and make a move already.”

He laughed. “You’re both very direct women, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “Life is too short to sit around and waste time. Trust me on that. If you like her, go after her. She’s not going to make the first move because you’re her employee and she wouldn’t think it’s fair, or right, to do so.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, are you okay out here?”

He watched the store entirely too much. She was sure he noticed in her down time, between customers, she was combating tears. She hated resting from working, because the moment she stopped being busy she thought about Adam, his life, his death, her loss, and she didn’t want to have to think about that.“I’m fine. I’m just trying to decide which one of these pieces I want to buy. Alyssa never lets me buy anything, she always gives it away, but I’m going to buy it and you’re going to help me.”

“I am?” He looked at her, his green-blue eyes silently questioning her.

“She’ll never let me pay her, but you…I think you can buy it with my money without her knowing.”

“Um…won’t she think I’m buying it for a woman then?”

“Probably, but I’ll be right there and after you buy it I’ll take it from you. It will be too late for her to change things then.”

He shook his head and laughed. “You women and your plotting ways.”

“I know my sister,” she said. “She won’t let me buy anything from her.” And if he thought this was the first time she had found a way to trick her sister he would be wrong. Alyssa had a heart of gold and precious gemstones. She would give her last to any friend and anybody on the street; that’s just who she was as a person. “Besides, I’m planning to take a few of her clothing items with me so it all works out,” she laughed.

“You’re not the same size. You’re smaller than she is, and you’re taller.”

She shrugged. “We’ve always shared some things. I’ve lost weight,” she admitted. “I’m like a zero in size now and she’s still a two, three at the max, but I can still fit her sleeveless tops and I’m sure some of those knee-length sundresses will work despite my height.” They would be shorter on her, but hey, Hawaii was the perfect place to show off her legs.

“Were you trying to lose weight? You look great, but I bet you didn’t need to lose any.”

She shook her head no. “Let’s just say I spent a lot of time running for my life over the past year and that is definitely a weight loss inducing activity.”

“Playing it dangerously close to the edge; are you?”

“I was,” she admitted. “But Blaine showed me the error of my ways and I realized I needed to change some things—at least a little.” She couldn’t live on the edge forever. Adam wouldn’t have ever wanted her to do that. If he were alive he probably would have lectured her six days ‘til Sunday. But then again, if he were alive she would have never taken ninety percent of the assignments she had taken.

More customers came in, causing Shane to retreat to his security room while she worked at making sales. She hoped Alyssa’s day was going as favorably in court as her day was going in the store. The sales were top notch, and she was happy she would have some good news to break to her sister once she arrived home…maybe two things of good news because she still hadn’t told her she would be staying Stateside instead of moving to London. Well, that’s what after work conversations were for, and she was going to be sure to make sure they had a long conversation tonight. Just the two of them, like the sisters they had always been, and would always be. She missed her family, missed the days of being in touch with them more regularly and she was going to correct that; that was her promise to herself.

“And it’s your assertion that she didn’t hire you because of the color of your skin?” Judge Parker adjusted his stylish silver frame glasses on his face. Alyssa always noticed details; maybe that’s why she became obsessed with making jewelry. The little things captivated her, but right now, even though Judge Parker had what she knew to be a Doyer original design sitting on his face she could barely focus. She knew it was original because Jodi Doyer had a special way of making her frames distinctive and even from across the table, Alyssa could see the design. That was at least an eight hundred dollar frame sitting on the judge’s face. She knew the design because she had had a chance to tour the shop where the frames were made. Being a designer herself gave her access to designers in many fields and she loved it because she found inspiration in the little things—not always from their designs either. While touring the Doyer frame shop she saw a triangular light feature followed by several rows of circular features and it gave her an idea for her pyramid collection of necklaces and bracelets. She found inspiration in everything, and she thought that maybe one day she might find inspiration in this too. Maybe, just maybe, she could venture into the dark side of design and make a piece that represented the rat faced weasel of a man sitting in the opposing chair. Maybe she could drive a nail through his eyes in her design. No, that wouldn’t be right. Just because she was angry now was no excuse for thinking of ways to torture a symbolic replica of the man.

Gregory Alexander Dumas nodded affirmatively. “She’s prejudice,” he said. “Against black people.” Right, she was darker than he was. He was a high yellow, as some would call it. It was actually an attractive coloring for him because it made his chestnut colored eyes stand out. His eyes were one of the first things she had noticed about him after she spent some time looking over his resume. He had flecks of darker brown striations mixed in with the smooth chestnut color. They had a two minute conversation, if that, when he dropped off his resume. She remembered because he came in, he placed his resume on the counter and then told her he was there to apply for the job. He asked if there were any forms to fill out, which there weren’t because she didn’t have any applications she was just working off resumes. She told him she was still accepting resumes, but that she would have her decision made on whom to call back for interviews by the end of the following week. In fact, now that she thought about it, the conversation was probably only a minute long, at best.

Alyssa refrained from rolling her eyes. She could tell the judge was also trying to wrap his brain around Gregory’s logic—if anybody could. Right now she was mentally kicking herself because she had actually put his resume in her “to be considered” pile. He didn’t have a lot of experience, three months and that was it, but he was affordable and he had presented himself moderately well. Quite frankly, she just wanted an extra qualified body in the store in case something did happen. Her concern wasn’t about the daily safety of her merchandise. She had caught a couple shoplifters herself once or twice. Usually they were sorority girls pledging, or socialites trying to get away with something even though they had money to pay for the product. She was more concerned with her safety than the safety of her products. She just wanted to make sure that if somebody was scoping out the Row and trying to find the most vulnerable store to hit next, that they didn’t pick her store. She lived above the place and anything that happened downstairs could potentially travel upstairs. She knew that before Shane pointed it out, she just tried not to focus in on it. There was something unsettling about living her life in fear, so she refused to do it.

“What do you have to say about this Miss McGregor?” Judge Parker asked her. What she wanted to say, and what she could say, were two different things. Right now she had a few choice words that she wanted to say, but she didn’t exactly think the judge would be happy with her verbal assault of the man trying to ruin her financially. She didn’t need to curse; she had enough words in her vocabulary to inflict the same damage as some of those four letter words.

Instead of saying what she felt, she stuck with using her brain to keep things legally professional here. They were, after all, still on the record. “Your Honor,” she stated calmly. “I had Mr. Dumas’ resume in my call back pile, but another gentleman walked into my store and he was more qualified so I hired him.”

“And he’s white,” Gregory said and the judge cut him a look that told him he might want to shut up now.

“Is this accurate?”

“Yes; your Honor, he is white. However, that had nothing to do with my decision. Shane Maxwell is a retired Navy SEAL. He is a freelance security consultant and he came highly recommended. Since he’s been in my store we’ve brought my security out of the Dark Ages of technology and into the twenty-first century.” She quoted Shane to the letter. “He’s been a great asset to my business and that’s why I hired him.”

Judge Parker looked over the paperwork she had brought. He nodded his head sporadically. “So let me get this straight, Mr. Dumas. You have three months experience in security. This man has over twenty years of protecting this country and securing encampments and you think she hired him because of the color of his skin.”

Gregory nodded, “yes I do.” He shifted in his chair. “I mean look at her. Clearly she’s a mutt and she’s just unhappy that she can’t pass so she hired the cream sickle instead.”

“Excuse me?” Alyssa felt her anger starting to rise. She wasn’t some dog that he could call a mutt just because she had a mix of blood running through her veins. Much like Eve, she looked more black than any of her other races, except for her hair, which most people assumed was fake anyway, and her eyes…she had her dad’s side of the family blue eyes—only a deeper blue than any of the others. Still, she was not a mutt. Her attorney put his hand on her forearm to silently tell her she needed to settle down. She knew she did, but right now she wanted to knock that man’s head off for insulting her family lineage.

The judge took one hard knock of his gavel on the wooden base on his desk. “There won’t be any racial bigotry in my chambers,” he said. The stenographer was swiftly typing. Alyssa was sure she, too, was silently shaking her head just from the look of shock on her face. Gregory might have had a chance before he threw in that bit of an insult, but now, she was sure he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in a four alarm fire of painting her as the racist. At least she hoped he didn’t.

“From careful consideration of the evidence and facts presented to me,” she heard the judge say and right now her heart was beating so hard in her chest that the sound of it almost seemed to drown out his voice. She wanted this over and she was praying the judge would make a decision to end this case today instead of making them take it inside the courtroom. “Therefore,” he said. “I find in favor of the defendant.” She felt overcome with joy. It was over. The judge had sided in her favor. He rambled on several other words, words that basically chastised Gregory for bringing a frivolous suit before him, but she wasn’t paying any of it too much attention. She had won. Thank goodness for that because had she lost the man obviously had a mean streak that told her he would go for her entire bank account in court.

The judge had dismissed them, but that hadn’t stopped Gregory from inflicting one last threat before they were out of the courthouse. He narrowed his eyes, his lips thin and brittle with disdain and he said, loud and clear, “this isn’t over,” before turning on his heels and exiting the courthouse. Her attorney assured her they could get a TRO if Gregory tried anything, but right now there wasn’t anything she could do.

“Yes there is,” she smiled. “I can go home.” And that’s exactly what she did, taking the journey out of Phoenix and back into Scottsdale.

Her case had been delayed for several hours before they even made it before the judge. There were three cases before them and even though she had to be at the courthouse by nine that morning, her case hadn’t actually been scheduled to go before the judge until almost eleven. One delayed case led to another and it was three o’clock before she even set foot in chambers. She needed to get back and tell Eve and Shane the good news, but she was also starving. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she drove past Fidora’s Sweets, which just happened to be one of the best bakeries off the Row. Deciding she needed more than just a delicious apple fritter she bypassed Fidora’s. She could eat something when she got home. A quick salad and sandwich and then she would rescue Eve from the duties of the store. She could handle the store for the remainder of the open hours and let her sister get some rest.

She was going to have to give Eve something for her help. She had saved her—big time, and she wanted to repay her for that. Eve had been eyeing a few of the summer dresses in her closet, maybe she would let her take the few she liked the most. They had a distinct habit of sharing clothes after Eve hit high school and wanted to look more business adult than “teeny bopper” high school. She never let her borrow anything that was too grown up, but a shirt here, or a vest there, never hurt.

Within seconds of entering the store she saw the chaos Eve had probably been dealing with all day. There were ten shoppers demanding attention so Alyssa tossed her bag behind the counter with her keys and she jumped right in. Her late lunch mixed with dinner could wait until things settled. She grabbed her spare set of casing keys from a drawer behind the counter and she started showing the requested pieces. Six sales later and the store had finally cleared out.

“Whew! Was it like that all day?” Alyssa tossed the spare keys back in the drawer.

“Off and on, but most of the people weren’t that pushy.” She shook her head. Alyssa understood, her day crowd was moderately milder tempered than the people who came in at night. She assumed maybe they were on their way home after a long day at work and they were just cranky as a rabid skunk. “Forget about it,” Eve waved her hand dismissingly. “How did it go today? It took you so long. Was it bad?”

She smiled. “We got delayed. My case didn’t get before the judge until three o’clock, and it wasn’t a wham bam thank you ma’am kind of hearing, but we won.” She laughed. “It’s over, at least legally. Mr. Dumas assures me it’s not over yet.” She hadn’t even heard Shane come out of the office. The man was too good at sneaking up on people. He alerted her to his presence with a firm, “he tries anything and it’ll be the last time he does it,” remark that was uttered with such conviction that she knew it wasn’t a threat; it was a promise.

“Are you okay?” He asked sincerely. She was okay. Her stomach was a complete mess because her nerves had been on edge since she received those papers, and that nervous tension had increased by a thousand when the day actually came.

Her stomach growled. Eve laughed. “You’re hungry obviously.”

“Starving,” she laughed. “I have not eaten since breakfast. I didn’t know it was going to be an all day thing or I would have taken some snacks or something.” Once she had arrived in the courthouse she stayed firmly planted on the bench outside the judge’s chambers. Her attorney had told her they should stay put because that door could open any second and if she wasn’t there then she would automatically forfeit her case. Actually, thinking about how long she stayed in one place reminded her of another problem, she really needed to use the bathroom.

“Go on up. Get some rest and I’ll close up.” Eve offered.

“I’ll just freshen up and come down to relieve you for the close,” she protested. There was no way she was going to leave Eve to work the entire time. She wanted her sister to have some time to herself while she was there too.

“No. You rest. I bought you a spa voucher too, so you can use it tomorrow.” Alyssa started to protest and Eve held up her hand, stopping any dissent within seconds. “I’m going to work the store. Since everything is settled I’m going to leave day after tomorrow.”

“So soon? Why?”

“I have to get my stuff ready to be shipped and I have a new job I have to start in two weeks.”

“London?”

“Hawaii,” she smiled. “I didn’t take the London job. You all wore me down,” she shook her head. Alyssa smiled and threw her arms around her sister. She was so happy that she wasn’t leaving the country. Hawaii was far, but somehow it just felt better knowing she would be there. Not much could go wrong in paradise, she initially thought until she realized she was dealing with Eve McGregor here and if anything was wrong, Eve was probably going to be the first person on board to uncover it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to move to Arizona?”

“Positive,” she chuckled before ushering Alyssa out of the store and back up to her place. “Go,” she had said, and so Alyssa went. She needed a bathroom, and she needed food, in that order. She would have time later to lecture her sister on being safe in paradise, and staying in touch once she got there.