7 Degrees of Alpha (a collection of seven new BWWM, Alpha Male Romances) (38 page)

“Hey, little lady. How’s your day?” Marco asked, answering his phone on the first ring.

“Not so good,” Sydney stated, her tone clipped and short. “We need to talk. Is there any way we can meet for lunch?”

“Uh yeah,” Marco responded cautiously. “Sure…You okay?”

“Can you meet me at the City Tavern in about twenty?” Sydney replied, not answering Marco’s question.

“Yeah, Bella Donna…I can do that. See you in twenty.”

When Sydney disconnected the call without saying goodbye, Marco knew the shit had hit the fan. There’s nothing worse than your woman telling you “we need to talk.” Marco wiped his hands down his face, and blew out a long sigh.

Shit!

Marco closed out his work on his computer and grabbed his keys. “Mel, I’m going to meet Syd for lunch. Don’t know how long it will take. If there’s anything urgent, call me. Otherwise, just let Frank know.”

“Sure thing, boss…. Everything alright ?” Mel asked, her perfectly arched brow raised high in question.

“I hope so,” Marco all but mumbled as he left the office.

Marco knew that Sydney was upset. He had never heard her use that clipped tone to anyone, especially him. He wasn’t sure what he had done, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good.

Twenty minutes later, Marco was sitting at a booth in the back of City Tavern waiting for Sydney to arrive. He felt anxious, and he didn’t know how to act. He had never let anyone get him this riled up before, particularly a woman, but he knew that Sydney wasn’t just
any woman.
He was falling for her fast, and he didn’t want to lose her.

Sydney walked into the bar looking radiant as usual. Her hair was actually down for once, falling in soft waves around her face. She had on a light blue shift dress with a pair of matching heels. Her make-up was light with a touch of lip gloss. She would’ve looked like a walking wet dream if it weren’t for the tight look she held on her face as she approached.

“Hey, Bella Donna,” Marco tentatively spoke. He was a man that knew when he was in the dog house.

“Hey.” Sydney slid into the opposite side of the booth and pulled out a large envelope from her bag. She looked Marco directly in the eye as if she were searching for something. Her beautiful brown orbs were filled with anger and what Marco saw to be hurt.

Is Sydney hurt? She looks to be in such pain,
Marco thought as he reached for her hand. But Sydney pulled her hand away before he could touch her, and she slid the large envelope closer to him.

“Open it,” she said with a nod.

Marco sat up straight and let out a long breath. He opened up the package and looked at the contents, seemingly unfazed. He knew that he should’ve told her about having to follow her, but it was part of his job not to.

“Syd, I can explain this…”

“Really, Marco? Why didn’t you tell me that you knew who I was before I hired you? Hell, after I hired you, or maybe before we slept together, or even after that? I trusted you. Why wouldn’t you tell me this?”

“Syd, you know as well as I do that when you have a job like I do, you can’t go running your mouth. I am known for being discreet, and that didn’t change just because we were together.”

Sydney sat back, stunned at the lack of empathy Marco had for her feelings. “I get that it was your
job
, but you still should’ve told me. We are in a relationship. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“Of course it does, Bella Donna. Don’t be silly. You know you mean the world to me…I would never hurt you intentionally, you know that…you have to know that,” Marco pleaded with his hazel eyes locked onto her brown ones.

“I’m not being silly, Marco… I just…” Sydney shook her head and cleared her throat, seemingly keeping the tears at bay. “I just didn’t think you would keep something like this from me…I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I felt like I could tell you almost anything, and you could tell me anything.”

Marco grabbed Sydney’s hand brushing his lips over her shaking palm. “Sweetheart, you know better than anyone that there are things about our jobs we can’t divulge, even to each other.”

“I get it…I am just… hurt…I think I need some time to work this out…” Sydney replied, slowly pulling her hand from his grasp.

Marco’s shoulders slumped. His heart hurt so badly that it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest. But he understood. “I understand, Syd. Take the time you need, but just know I would do anything to make you happy, and to protect you. You know that, right?”

Sydney nodded, her eyes filling with tears.  She knew he wanted to protect her, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.   

***

Sydney left the bar feeling like she was hit by a bus. Her head hurt, her body hurt, her feelings were hurt, and worst of all, her heart was hurt. She knew that she was slowly falling for Marco as they got to know each other. She knew that sleeping with a man so quickly was her down fall in the past, and why she thought this time was any different was beyond her. She shook her head at herself.
I should’ve known better. I don’t know why I keep doing this to myself. It just felt so right with him.

Sydney stood up straight, took a deep breath, and shook her head again to clear away the self-pity she was feeling. Sydney got in her car and headed to her office. She had a woman and her son to help, and nothing was going to stop her from helping them, not even her questionable judgment when it came to her love life. Throwing a pity party over something like this just wasn’t her style. She would deal with Marco and his betrayal later. With all the new information on the Moore case, she knew that her client wouldn’t even have to go to court. They would go to a mediator if they had to, but Sydney didn’t think that Thomas Moore would even want that after she finished with talking to his lawyer.

Forty-five minutes later, Sydney was at her office waiting on her client. Mrs. Moore had called her saying that she needed to speak with her urgently. She sounded panicked, and she was sniffling like she was crying. Sydney’s alarm bells instantly went off.

Sydney’s office phone beeped. It was Rose letting her know that Megan had arrived. As Megan entered the office, Sydney could tell that something was extremely wrong.

“Megan, what happened? You look as if you saw a ghost,” Sydney remarked taking in Megan’s unkempt appearance.  Her blouse was wrinkled and partially untucked from her pants.  Her normally coifed hair was coming down from her bun, strands were hanging wildly around her face.

“I saw someone today… an associate of my
dear husband
….I know of this man. He’s around on occasion, without really being there, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Megan, I’m sorry, but I’m not sure I am understanding you…. Please have a seat. I’ll have Rose get you some water…and start from the beginning.”

Sydney led Megan to the large couch she had in her office. She gave her the bottle of water Rose brought and Megan began to tell her everything from the beginning.

“There’s this man that has always just kind of been there, you know? He doesn’t say much, and I’ve never had a real conversation with him. My husband only said that he was a longtime associate, and I would never have to worry about who he was. I know him only as Mr. Blackwell. Thomas never told me anything more about him. I didn’t see him that often, but I soon came to realize that he was some kind of fixer. He would only show up when my husband had some kind of problem.” Megan exhaled her breath as she continued. “I was never privileged enough to know what my husband’s dealings were. I wasn’t exactly his confidant, but I heard the whisperings… I’m not a dumb woman…I know my husband is not a good man.…” Megan trailed off, seemingly remembering things about her husband that she didn’t want to admit.

Sydney grabbed Megan’s hand to comfort her. “I know that you aren’t dumb…I would never think such a thing. When things were at its worse, you sacrificed yourself to get your son to safety. That takes courage, Megan. Don’t be so hard on yourself. He was your husband after all. We tend to make excuses for the people closest to us in our lives.” Sydney was trying to reassure Megan because the woman seemed to be unraveling right before her eyes.

“What does this Mr. Blackwell have to do with why you look so panicked? I assume that is the reason you brought him up, right?” Sydney questioned.

“Yes…I’m sorry I’m rambling….” Megan cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts. “Like I said, Mr. Blackwell only comes around when my husband seems to have a problem…and now
I am my husband’s problem.
”

Sydney shook her head, still not grasping everything that Megan was telling her. “So you saw an associate of your husband’s and you assume you are in some kind of danger?”

“I don’t assume…I know…This man isn’t seen unless he wants you to see him. He just sits and watches…a cold chill went up Sydney’s spine at Megan’s revelation.

“Seeing him today is some kind of warning…I have to get my son out of here….I tried doing this the legal way, but I think it’s time I take my son and get far away from here.”

“Megan, you can’t do that. If you could, you would’ve been gone by now. Plus, you would be a fugitive on the run with a small child and no money. Just how far do you think you would get?”

Megan began to cry. “I know…I ju- just don’t know what I’m going to do! I can’t let him have my son!” Megan yelled, growing almost hysterical.

“Okay…It’s okay…” Sydney was using a soothing voice, trying to get Megan to calm down. “We can get a safe place for you to hide while I take care of your custody battle. I can look into this Blackwell person and make sure he’s not a threat. I promise that you and your son will be alright.”

Megan nodded her acquiesce.

Sydney knew just who to call to get Megan and her son a safe place to stay.

“Hey, Kel, I need another favor,” Sydney said to her best friend after she picked up on the second ring.

“Damn, you only call when you need something nowadays. How about ‘Hey, girl, you wanna go get a drink? Maybe ‘I’ll buy you dinner for the last favor you did for me’?” Kelly questioned sarcastically.

“I know, I know. But this is a level ten situation.”

Kelly sat up, instantly recognizing their code for emergencies they had since college. “Okay, Syd, I’m listening. What can I do to help?”

Sydney told Kelly all she could about the case she was working on and how she needed a safe place to stash her client. Kelly, being the CEO of one of the largest hotel chains in North America, had plenty of places Megan and her son could stay without any red flags or questions being raised. Although Megan was hesitant to let her son go without her, they had to be moved separately just in case anyone was watching. Megan left Haley’s House dressed in baggy jeans and a short brown wig under a hoody sweatshirt with a woman and her young daughter. She looked like a teenage boy to anyone watching. TJ had left earlier in the day with a group of children going on a field trip. He and two other boys were dressed similar so that when TJ slipped away, nobody would notice.

Both Kelly and Sydney worked together to get the duo to one of the many hotels in the area under fake names. Once they made it to the safe house undetected, they were guarded by a private, out-of-state security firm to help ensure their safety.

Now with Megan and TJ secure, Sydney went to work on finding out who Mr. Blackwell truly was.

***

Sydney was still at her office. It was after ten at night, and she was nowhere near finished researching who Mr. Blackwell was. She worked another couple of hours when the clock struck midnight; the chime could be heard throughout the empty office, but Sydney was still hard at work.

Sydney was exhausted; not being able to see Marco everyday was affecting her more than she anticipated. She knew she missed him and she would eventually get over their argument, but he had to earn her trust again, even though she knew where he was coming from. She still didn’t like the idea of him keeping secrets. They would need to come to an understanding on how to deal with information they couldn’t tell each other and keeping their trust in one another.

Sydney didn’t need to think any more about Marco, however. With Megan’s case, her stress level was through the roof. She decided as soon as she finished helping Megan, she was definitely taking that much needed vacation.

An hour later, Sydney was in the building elevator heading to the parking garage. At this time of night, the building was dark and empty, and the parking garage would be equally dark and very eerie. Sydney shuttered at the thought. Why she stayed after Sam left when she could’ve just did the research at home, she would never know. In the end, it was worth it because Sydney had found out who Blackwell was. Megan was right; Blackwell was a fixer of sorts. He was definitely Thomas Moore’s go-to guy for any problems he needed to have solved. Any questions that seemed to be raised concerning Moore’s business or even personal life somehow vanished before they gained any traction. The only connection Sydney was able to find with Megan’s help was the outgoing of funds to an off shore account that had dates that coincided with the problem being solved. Blackwell himself was another problem though. Because like another man in her life, there was hardly any trace of him anywhere. She knew what she had to do, but calling for Marco’s help wasn’t something she wanted to do. However, she made a promise to help and that’s exactly what she was going to do.

As Sydney hurriedly walked to her car, she sensed that she wasn’t alone, but after looking around, she didn’t see anyone. Her hair on her arms seemed to be standing on end, and she didn’t like the feeling. This was the first time that she felt unsafe in the three years that she’d worked in this building.

Sydney exited the elevator and reached in her purse to retrieve her keys. She held them out, ready to open her door with her finger already on the key fob. She remembered in a self-defense class that she took once that the instructor told them to always have your keys out and ready and to hold them like a weapon just in case an attacker is waiting for you. Ever since that class, Sydney was always mindful of her surroundings. Sydney’s stiletto’s clacked against the concrete floor of the silent garage. The lights flickered on and off, making a low buzzing sound as if she was in some sort of horror film.

When Sydney heard a noise, she looked around without stopping while quickening her pace.

She thought to herself,
I will not be the silly bitch that falls while running from the monster with the machete. Get it together, Syd. You’ve walked this garage a million and one times.

She took a deep calming breath when she made it to her car. Just as she unlocked it and reached for the handle, a big masked man came into view in her driver side window! Her eyes went wide and she let out a blood curdling scream that was cut off when the man’s hand holding a cloth came up and locked over her mouth. His other hand held a weapon that she couldn’t see.

“Shhh. Don’t struggle….”

Sydney fought against her instincts to do just that…struggle. Her mind was racing and her body was tight with fear.

The masked man spoke again. “He’s watching us…and you have to close your eyes and pretend to pass out. Otherwise, we are both dead.”

Wait…I know that scent; that manly woodsy smell I love so much, and I know that voice….Marco??? What in the holy hell is going on?
Sydney’s thoughts raced, but she followed Marco’s directions and relaxed her body, falling into his arms.

***

Marco caught Sydney in his arms. His left hand held, not a weapon, but a device to call his guy, Frank. The wheels of the white van Frank was driving screeched as he quickly stopped in front of Sydney’s car. Marco jumped in with Sydney and they sped away, making it look like a successful kidnapping.

Once they were in the van and some ways away from the parking garage, Sydney sat up, staring at Marco like he was some kind of mad man. He had removed the mask and she took in his disheveled hair and his five o’clock shadow. He looked sexy as hell, and she missed him, but she needed to know what in the world was happening.

“Marco, what the hell?!” Sydney yelled.

“I’m sorry that I scared you, Bella Donna, but I couldn’t tell you what I had planned. It had to look real, like you were really being snatched from your job.”

“I am so confused right now,” Sydney said shaking her head. “I feel like I’m in a Liam Neeson movie…I need answers from you!” Sydney responded in a raised voice.

Marco responded in one word. “Blackwell.”