Page 60 of Alpha Bait

The Talk

INDIE

We need to talk.

Richard had never been so serious with me. Even after Donnie made his lethal mistake, we struggled to keep what was growing between us as light as we could. No family talk had become a welcome rule.

We need to talk. Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of men and women everywhere like that simple, direct statement. You can unravel 10,000 times after you've heard it and even if nothing comes of it, the pangs of worry may remain with you for ages.

I wanted to ask Rich what he wished to speak about, but if he said we needed to talk in person about the mysterious subject, asking would do no good. Rich shared my stubborn streak and he felt the gentleman's pressing need to address problems head-on.

He never avoided responsibility. That was more than I could say for my brother who had become a prominent thorn in my side since Donnie had killed that Carter girl.

I did my job. I did what I could to protect my family and to ensure we spared no expense in fighting Donnie's case.

Despite what I had done to help Jamal and Donnie, I could never come around to what they had done. I did my duty, nothing more.

They had gone too far and pushed the feud from something harmless into something bloody. I feared it would only get bloodier. Our family had intensified the feud to this level only twice before. Both times, blood had been shed. My mother had seen the potential for the disagreement to escalate and she attempted to quell problems early.

Only now, she seemed to have come down on the wrong side of things despite all her talk. Perhaps I shouldn't have trusted in her to maintain the peace. Perhaps at the end of it all, when a Holloway looks at a Carmichael all that they're going to see is an enemy.

If only I could feel that way about Richard.

Our family's feud had no impact on my feelings for him -- whatever those feelings were. Love? Infatuation? A mix of the two? I refused to accept this could be pure lust. Lust doesn't lead to you risking everything just to be with someone. It has to be more than that.

My feelings were small at first, planted like a sapling within the fertile soil of my heart. Slowly, the roots pushed through driving a great discomfort throughout me as I fell for him. When I was finally ready to admit what I felt about Richard Carmichael, my love for him had blossomed into a delicate flower.

I knew he was on the wrong side. I knew that I would be punished harshly for involving myself with him, no matter how hard I tried to keep it a secret. But I couldn't deny that light inside of myself, those unfurling petals of deep affection that now overwhelmed me.

Rich and I met at a different hotel every time. We changed the addresses, texted each other in a simple code and spoke to each other infrequently. Of course, even if we had wanted to, we had very little time for actual discussion.

We would meet at the hotel under the cover of night and without much talk, we would begin to wash off the stresses of the day with kisses and then with delicate touch and then with screaming passion.

Richard ignited a wildness within me that I had never before experienced.

He knew how to turn every inch of me into a bundle of nervous pleasure. I was titillated by his touch, tempted by his kisses and perpetually aroused by his lovemaking.

I arrived later than RIch did for a change. The doorman used the false name we had given him and led me up to Richard's floor. I rapped on the door gently, listening for his footsteps as they tapped across the marble floors of the hotel room.

He opened the door and I grinned.

"The Plaza. Great choice." I stepped in and he smiled back, unable to take his eyes off of me as I walked by.

"We needed the setting to be right."

"What do you mean?"

He jumped straight to the point.

"I have bad news."

I couldn't hide the worry in my expression. Bad news these days could mean anything from a slight inconvenience to a death in the family.

"How bad?"

His expression softened and he began to undo his tie. He shifted the cravat around his neck as he undid the knot, shifting the tie from side to side in his collar to loosen it.

"Not too bad considering the circumstances."

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