All The Pieces (Pieces of Lies 3) (6 page)

“Then let me try once more. That alright with the two of you?” Samuel had lowered his voice so it was softer and sounded more reasonable.

I don’t think either Clint or myself were happy with the idea of Samuel touching Norah again, but we didn’t fight him on it. We just nodded and tried to look away as Samuel got back into the same position he was in before. He copied the same movements, with his hands running along her back. He brought his mouth to her ear and whispered softly. When he was finished, he kissed her again. Almost as soon as his lips touched hers this time round, Norah blinked twice like she had snapped out of a dream, and once recognizing Samuel, she pushed him off her, quite forcefully. Her body twisted until she was sitting upright in one jerk-like action. Samuel looked away, with an annoyed look on his face that I couldn’t understand. Whatever he said this time round, looked like something he had hoped he didn’t need to say. His annoyance was quickly replaced with relief when Norah’s eyes squinted at Samuel in recognition.

“And...she’s back!” Samuel said proudly, even though he looked anything but. I think he was trying to make the situation feel less intense. Norah shot Samuel a small smile, which I think was her way of thanking him for bringing her back to the land of the living. It was clear they had been in this situation before and I was now happy Samuel was here to come to her rescue. God knows how long Norah would have stayed like that without Samuel’s help.

“I’m really sorry,” Norah managed to say as she looked at all our expressions and then pulled herself up off the floor.

Clint tried to speak up. “Norah you don’t have to say sorry, you have nothing to be sorry ab...” Clint’s words halted as she stood, tugging her wedding dress down so it floated around her ankles. The boys’ mouths fell open at the sight of Norah in a wedding dress, the realization hitting them again about what she was going to do with Josh. She was adjusting it like she was getting ready to actually go through with it. That was, until she realized what she was doing and stopped to look again at Clint and Samuel, who were now standing, mouths agape at her. The tension was radiating off them all and here I was, standing off to the side like some weird onlooker who couldn’t take her eyes off them all, like it was a car crash. I didn’t how what to say in a situation like this. I was still blown away by the fact that Norah’s two ex-boyfriends had been sent here as the ones to help. Then, Norah clued into that realization too.

“Wait. What are the two of you doing here anyway?” Norah queried, rather uncomfortably at Clint and Samuel.

It was the million dollar question.

“Your Dad sent us to help you,” Samuel spoke up.

“Yes, that’s right,” Clint said, supporting Samuel.

What? That’s all we get?

I thought seeing the guys would make Norah spontaneously combust with anger and confusion, but she looked calm. Focused even. Norah nodded and then held out her hand. “Cell please. I broke mine.”

That was my cue.

“I already tried to call your Dad Norah, but it went to message bank,” I said, as I handed her Samuel’s cell.

“Thanks Tess. He has more than one number I can contact him on. I’m going to the bathroom to call him to get some information and to change my clothes.” She looked back and forth between Clint and Samuel. “You guys better be telling me the truth.” There was clear hostility in her voice as she said it. She was suspicious too, which of course, was the response I knew she would have, and rightfully so. She walked over to a backpack that I had moved to the corner of the room and took it with her into the bathroom.

“What was that?” Clint said, still taken back by Norah’s reaction and words.

“Give her a few minutes,” said Samuel confidently. “Once she talks to Joe, she’ll know we are on board and be more responsive. Remember how it must look to her.”

Clint look worried as fuck and Samuel was quick to try and calm him down. “Just relax. She’ll be out in a second and then we’ll explain everything to her.”

 I let my eyes drift out the window as I waited for Norah to return. I had no reason to make small talk with these guys now that Norah was back with us. Then Norah burst out of the bathroom. She had changed into tight fitting black pants, a black tank top and black boots. She had also tied her hair up into a high pony tail on her head. She looked like she was in full commando mode, ready to hunt down Josh. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, now embracing Samuel and Clint with a weird look on her face. This was going to be an interesting conversation, and I secretly wished I had some popcorn for the show.

“So I’ve heard it from my Dad. Now I want to hear from the two of you. Why are you two both here? Why did you two choose to come?”

Choose?

“Well...I was with your Dad when you called him about Josh. I know how this looks, but I’m here to help you, I swear. You know I would never lie to you again And more importantly, I know how to make people talk. I asked him if I could come so I could help you get the information you need about Josh. I’m also here to protect you. Your Dad trusts me to do that.” Samuel glanced in my direction for a second and then winked at me. “I guess you can say, I’m the muscle of this operation.”

Oh. Come. On. Who is this guy?

Norah look satisfied at Samuel’s response and then eyed Clint, who just stared back at her. For a moment, I saw her eyes shift down, unable to keep herself from looking up at him. She seemed sad seeing Clint, not angry. It was odd. I really thought she would have gone off a lot more than this. I guess after her ‘episode’ she was just trying to put these pieces together and focus on finding Josh with what she had to work with, but still, I saw something a little guilty in the way she tried not to look at Clint.

“And you?” she said softly at Clint, still avoiding his eyes.

“Your Dad and Sam came to see me when they couldn’t get answers from Kyser about where the Lappell had taken Josh, so they came to me hoping I could help. I told them I could because I know people and have connections over here and that I will be able to track him down. I’m here to help you Norah.”

She stared at Clint now, her eyes big and round. “Who do you know who can help?”

“My sister Delia. She works for the chapter president over here. She’ll be able to help us locate Josh. But we have to go to London to see her. From what she has already told me, I’m pretty sure that’s where Josh is too, but she’ll be able to give us more details once we are there. I brought my family’s plane to take us as well.”

“Oh.” Norah’s voice was barely a whisper. “Thank you Clint.”

Norah’s head then jerked twisted back and forth as she studied them. “That’s so nice of you two — to want to help me I mean. I really appreciate that you want to do this for me. My Dad assures me you two are the best for guys for this job, and I trust...my Dad.” Norah then went and hugged both Samuel and Clint, taking them into her arms in a friendly and warm embrace. I was beyond mystified by her behavior. I couldn’t fathom how she could be so normal around them after everything they had done. Perhaps her coping abilities and her Dad’s assurance was enough.

After she hugged them both, and they were both smiling like they were heroes, Norah gestured to me with her hands. “Tess, my best friend, can you come and stand over here next to me, please?” I quickly walked over and stood next to Norah who was now standing next to the dresser near her bed. Once I was by her side, she quickly opened the top drawer and in one swift movement, she withdrew her gun and pointed it at Clint and Samuel.

WHOA!

“EEEEEEASY, Len,” Samuel said, stepping closer to Norah, not at all surprised by this turn of events.

“See, I told you it would look bad,” Clint hissed at Samuel.

“Please lower your weapon. We are here to help,” Samuel said as calmly as he could.

“No you are not! I know alright! I know!” Norah was yelling at them both.

Know what?

“Josh told me about what he did to you both, and I’m sorry guys, very sorry that happened.” Norah lowered her eyes and her gun as she said it, but then squeezed her hands and lifted it back up to the guys, holding it even tighter. “Is that why you are here? Are you going to use me to get close to him and take him out? Is that your plan?”

Wait, what did I miss? Josh did something to Clint and Samuel?

Both guys didn’t move. They didn’t say yes and they didn’t say no. They just looked like they were caught out and didn’t know how to respond.

“I can tell by the looks on your faces you two know
exactly
what I’m talking about.” Norah’s hand was shaking. I had absolutely no fucking idea what was going on, but the fact that Norah had a loaded gun pointed at her two ex-boyfriends who may have been here under false pretenses, was certainly not good. This couldn’t end well, and I had to do something to calm her down. I couldn’t let Norah get blood on her hands after everything she had already gone through. She deserved so much better than that. I moved closer to Norah and put my arm around her shoulder as her hands, and then her body began to shake. She did however, relax a little in my grip. I could sense she really needed the support and with my arms around her, it seemed to give her some kind of mental relief.

“It’s not what you think Len. Really. I know how it must look and I know you don’t believe us, but we are here to help. You need to take a second and remember what your Dad just told you. He would never lie to you. Not about this. He told you to trust us, didn’t he?” Norah’s hand was still jerking from side to side but I could tell she was thinking hard about Samuel’s words. Samuel stepped forward ever so slightly and made a movement with both his hands, bringing them from his chest and raising them down to his hips, almost like he wanted Norah to follow the same movement with her hand and the gun.

“Now please Lenorah, lower your gun. I promise you, Clint and I are not the enemy here. We are here to help you,” Samuel pleaded, and as his words sank in, Norah slowly lowered the gun. Clint breathed a huge sigh of relief as Norah appeared to at last be seeing sense of the situation.

Suddenly, Norah lifted the gun again, and began waving it towards both guys. Both backed up a few steps in sheer shock, not sure if this was about to escalate.

Norah’s voice was low and harsh but steady as she spoke. “If I find out either of you are deceiving me...if you are here to hurt Josh...if I’m sideswiped by some big huge gigantic lie...I WILL SHOOT YOU BOTH! Do you understand me?”

They both swallowed and nodded.

“Answer me!” she yelled at them.

“YES,” both guys said in unison.

Norah immediately lowered the gun. “Good. Then I’ve made myself perfectly clear on the matter. Now let’s get moving and go see your sister Clint.” She paused, taking a second to breathe steadily and compose herself. “Please.”

Norah then strode back into the bathroom, gun in hand to go get her backpack. She yelled out to me as she walked away. “Tess, come into the bathroom with me and I will fill you in on the details about Josh. You should know about what he did so you can help me keep an eye on these two.”

I nodded and went to follow Norah into the bathroom but stopped when I saw Clint glance at Samuel with a look of dread on his face like they should have come clean. I didn’t miss it. I saw the way Clint’s eyes bulged at Samuel and the way his head motioned to Norah. Samuel’s head did a tiny shake, ignoring Clint. But it was clear that these guys were here for something else, and whatever their reason was, I intended to find out. There was no way I was about to let these two clowns hurt Norah again. No, not on my watch.
Game on.

Where was Norah? I couldn’t find her in the crowd of art enthusiasts, media representatives, and her Dad’s ‘family’ who had come to support Norah’s latest show. Norah had been posing for photos all evening for the press and interviews. Her show was a resounding success, not that I had any doubt it would be. She had natural talent. Her creativity came from parts of her past that she used in conjunction with her hopes and dreams. It was a combination that made her work very inspiring and almost impossible to take your eyes off.

The murmurs in the crowd were all praise, and also talk that she would be the next big thing in the art world. I wasn’t sure how Norah would handle anymore spotlight than what she had already achieved. Her career as a successful artist would only make her more known, which would in turn, place her at further risk with the dangerous worlds which surrounded us both. It was contradictory to what she really wanted, but her rebellious need to follow her dreams, appeared to win more than her need to keep herself safe. She would most certainly argue that it was the story of her life. I myself, was also in the same kind of tug-of-war. As much as I wanted to support her dreams and be proud of her success, I also wanted to keep her locked up from the public eye so she’d never have anything to fear.

I pushed through the sea of people, hoping to find my girl who was a vision in blue tonight. She had on a long beaded navy-blue dress that hugged her body, accentuating every curve. It was hard to focus on her art and the people around me when she looked so stunning herself. She had always been her own version of a masterpiece, and now she was all mine to admire.