Illusions of Love (57 page)

Jason looked at Jimmy, a flash of nervousness flickering across his face.
 
‘We didn’t stop to check.
 
You told us not to stop.’

Jimmy swung back round to look at them both.
 
‘Of course I told you not to stop… Jesus… The more damaged the better, but I wanted him alive.’

Amos shrugged as he chewed on a match sticking out the corner of his mouth, a slight smirk on his way-too-cocky face.
 
‘Surely leaving him for dead would’ve gotten the message across more?
 
You hear what I’m saying?’

Jason shot his sidekick a warning look as Jimmy glared at Amos, who glared back, seemingly unflustered as Jimmy walked over to him, leaning over as he spoke in a low and darkly dangerous tone.

‘You listen to me and you listen good.
 
Your opinion is neither relevant nor wanted.
 
I’m paying you to do what
I
say not to offer up fucking ideas, so keep your loose mouth shut and your brain very much in neutral.
 
You hear what
I’m
saying?’

Amos broke the stare, spitting the chewed matchstick onto the floor as Jimmy backed off, walking towards the corridor that led to his office, not looking back as he spoke.

‘Get out of here, both of you.
 
Lose the car, and lie low.’
 
He turned around for a second, fixing both of them with a look that neither could ignore.
 
‘Because, if I hear of any bragging, any boasting… anything that links either of you two to what happened today, I will not be happy.
 
And you really don’t want that to happen.
 
Believe me.’
 
He turned back around and carried on walking towards the corridor, lighting up another cigar as he walked.
 
‘If I need you again, I’ll be in touch.’

And, slamming the door behind him, that was it.
 
He was gone.
 
Away to contemplate just what his next move was going to be.

CHAPTER 33

Reece felt as though a hammer was being slammed constantly against the side of his skull, every bone in his body aching like he’d just run a succession of marathons, one after the other.
 

Wincing as he pushed himself up into a sitting position he fell back against the pillows, closing his eyes as he tried to remember the past couple of days, and the incident that had put him in this much pain.
 
But everything was still very much a blur.
 
He remembered running out of The Amber Palace; he remembered that still-resounding anger he’d felt at finding out just what it was that Michael had done to India, he remembered all of that.
 
How could he forget?
 
But, after that, all he remembered was an incredible amount of noise and a crashing blackness descending over him.

He’d spent just two days in hospital, suffering no more than a fractured wrist, a couple of broken ribs and slight concussion.
 
For a man of his age it had been a miracle he hadn’t been hurt far more seriously, so the doctors had told him.
 
But the Brogan’s were a tough bunch, that was for sure.
 
Look at how
India
had survived
her
accident?
 
Nobody had expected her to come through it alive yet here she was, just months afterwards, fit and healthy.
 
His beautiful daughter who – along with Martha – had been by his bedside constantly, so grateful he was okay, her eyes filled with frightened tears as she’d clung onto his hand, just as he’d done with her not that long ago.

‘Hey, what are you doing?
 
You should be resting,’ Martha sighed, bustling into the bedroom, looking like the most glamorous nurse anyone could ever imagine.

Reece couldn’t help smiling.
 
‘I’m sitting up, Martha.
 
Not doing cartwheels across the bedroom.’

‘Still got your sense of humour then?’ she said, a smile starting to appear at the corner of her mouth.
 
And she hadn’t really smiled in days, not until she’d known her husband was going to be okay.
 
She sat down on the edge of the bed, taking his hand, bringing it up to her lips and kissing it lightly.
 
‘Is this going to be a lesson to you?’

Reece looked at her through slightly narrowed eyes.
 
‘A lesson?’

‘Leave the past alone, Reece.’

He flung the covers off and climbed out of bed, wincing again at the pain he still felt every time he moved.
 

‘Reece… Come on, honey, you shouldn’t be getting out of bed yet…’

‘Martha, I’m not a bloody invalid!
 
I may be getting older but I’m not done yet, okay?
 
And I’m sick of lying here, tired of having nothing to do all day but think… I need to talk to
India
.’

Martha stood up, pushing a hand through her hair.
 
‘What about Michael?’

Reece looked at her.
 
‘What about him?’

‘Are you going… are you still going to confront him?’

Reece continued to get dressed, ignoring the pain.
 
‘Do you even need to ask that question?’

‘Reece, honey… do you not think everyone’s had enough to deal with over the past few days?
 
India
included.
 
She was so scared, baby.
 
So scared for you, because she loves you so much…’

‘And I love her too, Martha.
 
Which is why I need to do this.
 
She needs to know I’m there for her.’

‘She already knows that, Reece.
 
What she doesn’t need is the past bringing back up, what good would
that
do?
 
And think of Ethan.
 
India
and Michael are getting on now, aren’t they?
 
They’re talking to each other, they’re working together, things are okay…’

‘Martha, she’s sleeping with Michael’s son.
 
A son he didn’t even know he had until a couple of weeks ago so how does that, in any way, go towards making this situation any better?’

‘Forget Dominic.
 
He’s got nothing to do with
India
and Michael’s past.’

Reece pushed a hand through his grey-flecked hair.
 
‘No, maybe not… Look, Martha, I know this really isn’t the time to be doing this, but… Jesus, I just need to talk to her.
 
Can you understand that?’

She walked over to him, smiling, quickly kissing his mouth as she gently stroked his cheek.
 
‘Of course I understand.
 
And I know how much you’re struggling with everything – with what I told you, but… for that little boy’s sake, honey…’

‘Martha…’

‘For Ethan’s sake, let him have his mom and dad, okay?
 
Let that little boy have both his parents, because he was far too long without that.’

‘For good reason,’ Reece whispered, feeling tears start to prick the back of his eyes and he stared up at the ceiling, blinking furiously, because he couldn’t cry.
 
He had no time to be weak.
 
‘She forgave him, Martha.
 
I don’t understand… How could she do that?’

Martha stroked his cheek again, making him look at her.
 
‘Because she needed to, baby.
 
She needed to do that.
 
For whatever reason.
 
And maybe
you
need to do that too.’

‘How can I?
 
What he did… She’d just had his baby; Ethan was seven months old, Martha.
 
He was just seven months old, and his father...’

‘Okay, Reece, stop.
 
Please.
 
Listen to me.
 
Listen.
 
You have got to think about
India
here.
 
She’s trying to make a new start…’

Reece pulled away from her, walking over to the mirror, staring at his tired and battered reflection, his face bruised and sore from the accident but those Irish Brogan eyes were still shining.
 
Despite everything.
 
‘With Michael’s son, Martha.’
 
He turned round to look at her, leaning back against the sideboard.
 
‘How the hell could that ever be considered a new start?’

‘You can’t help who you fall in love with, Reece.’

‘Yes.
 
You can.
 
And
she
should have known better.’
 
He grabbed his jacket from the back of the door.

‘Reece… where are you going?’

He turned round once more as he opened the door, throwing her a small smile.
 
‘I’m going to get some fresh air, Martha.
 
That’s all.
 
I’m just going to get some fresh air.’

***

Vince stood back and stared at a scene that, only a couple of days ago, had resembled nothing but carnage.
 
Yet now, looking at the usual everyday goings-on that surrounded a Vegas resort, it was hard to believe that anything had happened at all.
 
Still, that was what he paid top dollar for, wasn’t it?
 
To make sure that any shit that
did
happen was cleared up as quickly as possible.

Sticking his hands in his pockets he walked back towards the entrance of the hotel, smiling hellos at people he knew, and those he didn’t – Vince Maine was the perfect Vegas host.
 
He could turn it on with the flick of a switch, whether he felt like it or not.

Thinking back to what had happened, how more people hadn’t been hurt Vince didn’t know.
 
So far the police were coming up with no leads as to who was responsible, and Vince knew they never would.
 
Because
he
knew
exactly
who was responsible.
 
And so did Charley.

Walking through the imposing glass doors of The Amber Palace, into the exquisite atrium with its vast glass ceiling and towering indoor palm trees, the bright and airy atmosphere giving the place an almost outdoors feel, Vince wondered if it had been such a good idea coming back to Vegas for this movie.
 
He loved this city, it was in his blood.
 
He loved everything about it.
 
It was where he’d got together with Charley, it was where their daughter had been born, it was where his life was.
 
His whole world was wrapped up here.
 
So why was so much shit happening?
 
Again.

He sighed inwardly as he checked his cell phone, a message flashing up on the screen from one of the casino managers.
 
He’d really wanted to oversee filming today.
 
It was the first day back on set after the recent goings-on, but his hotels came first and if there were any problems with those then they needed to come before anything else.
 
Michael was more than capable of handling the movie side of things.

Sliding his phone back into his pocket he stopped at reception to pick up any messages, suddenly feeling a wave of total exhaustion sweeping over him.
 
He’d left Charley upstairs in their apartment, catching up on sleep she’d missed through nights of staying awake and crying and he’d promised her he’d leave her in peace – no more talking until she felt strong enough.
 
But he was beginning to realise that he couldn’t really go on today if he didn’t face up to things, if he didn’t talk to her properly, tell her what was on his mind.
 
Crazy things, things that couldn’t possibly be true but until she put his over-active imagination to rest he wasn’t really in any state to carry on with his day.

So, he quickly tapped out a message to his casino manager, took a deep breath and headed for the private elevator that took him up to his and Charley’s private apartment, hoping beyond anything that every fear he had buried deep inside him was wrong.

***

‘Your dad
is
gonna be okay y’know.’

India
turned to look at Dominic, watching as he absent-mindedly tidied a pile of magazines she’d left lying around on the dining table.

‘Yeah.
 
I know.
 
It was just the shock, that’s all.
 
The realisation that he’s not indestructible, that he’s not going to be around forever.
 
That scared me.’

He turned round, leaning back against the table.
 
‘That’s totally understandable.’

‘What I don’t get, though, is why he was even on set that day.
 
I mean, his scenes were over, he’d finished.
 
I thought he wanted to spend more time with Martha, not hang around watching us lot at work.
 
Why would he want to do that?’