James Schwartz walked into the darkened room and glanced in mild astonishment at his friend, the Boss, who looked dead on his feet.
The drapes had been drawn, and the lamps around Lucien's large oak table were lit, making his face seem even more haggard and grave.
As debonair as ever in his grey suit, Schwartz pulled a face when he saw the half-empty decanter on the table and said, joking,
"Celebrating, huh?"
Shark who walked in behind him looked worried,
"Bro, bad news."
Lucien directed a cold look at handsome Schwartz and ignored his remark.
Swiveling in his seat, leaning his head back in the rich upholstery of the leather chair he jerked his chin, his eyes opened to half slits as he growled,
"What?" he asked Shark who had moved to the well-stocked bar and was pouring himself a large shot. He moved back to the table and settled himself in a chair facing Lucien after handing Schwartz a drink as well. The Handsome man made a face; unlike the other two, he was not a heavy drinker.
Taking a large gulp, Shark made a face and spoke,
"Just confirmed with my other sources, "
He went on, his expression serious," Dmitri's planning to come for you," he said it with an expression of concern on his face.
"Mate, I'd say you should lie low for a couple of weeks. Scrap that meeting in Estonia on Friday," urged Schwartz, his lean, handsome face tense. Lucien scowled. The Don was beginning to realize that little Proserpina had charmed her way into the heart of the handsome Scotsman with her gentle nature and her cooking to say nothing of her luscious body.
"They're safe here." grunted Lucien, getting up and stretching his stiff limbs. He had not been to the gym in the basement for a couple of days and his body was stiff. His knuckles had healed and he rolled his massive shoulders and powerful neck, absentmindedly scratching his hirsute chest. He had opened his shirt to his waist, as was his wont.
"Dmitri can't touch them here." He went on, gazing at the security men who were on the lawn, patrolling. There were still others who were hidden by the dense thickets bordering the lawns.
***
Proserpina emerged from her patio, walking slowly. It was evening and she was probably taking a break from her work. Earlier in the afternoon, he had heard her telling Beatrice that she was going to put in a few hours of work. He stared hungrily now, looking at the small curve of her belly as the dress pulled against her body in the breeze. A pretty cotton dress, pale green in color that suited her hair, the brown masses confined in a top knot that threatened to come undone as she walked, accompanied by one of the women who was bringing her the laptop.
Damn. He had been ogling her every day but he had had no inkling of her condition. He smote his fist on the glass and his friends stared at him.
"Mate", said Schwartz carefully,
"He might try to hurt you by hurting your family."
His friend's words sent a chill down Lucien's spine.
He watched his wife sink into a deck chair and smile up at the maid who had rushed over to place a footstool under her feet.
She looked so lovely; he thought hungrily, so endearingly beautiful with her freshly washed hair blowing in the breeze, for the topknot had come undone, her small face turned up to catch the winter sun. Her breasts were full, her belly a curved mound as she sat, watching her children. No, his children.
He could not bear the thought of putting them in danger, he thought, a dread surging through him. Not those beautiful children.
Not his lovely wife and unborn child.
He would kill Dmitri.
*
Even after Shark had left, Schwartz lingered on. The men discussed how to deal with Dmitri, the information they had managed to obtain from the man they had captured.
Finally, as the evening stretched into the night and the darkness outside began to grow heavier, Lucien leaned back.
Schwartz glanced quizzically at the empty decanter and said in a low voice,
"Mate, what's eating you? You're going to be a father again; you've got the loveliest woman in your house, here with you...? So what's bothering you?"
He stood up and walked to the windows as he spoke, almost ruefully,
"When I see your kids, I miss my bairn. And Fiona."
He shoved his hands in his pockets and stood, balancing himself on the balls of his feet, staring aimlessly out across the lawn.
"Don't throw it away, Delano."
The warning in his voice was subtle.
**
Lucien looked up hostilely. He knew that Schwartz's fondness for Proserpina was not just that of a concerned friend. When no one was watching him, Schwartz's eyes stayed on Proserpina for longer than was necessary watching her intently. Proserpina was oblivious; her behavior towards him remained that of an exasperated friend. She loved him, and laughed the most when he was around, but that was all. Lucien knew that the little woman was completely guileless. But that could change, though Lucien, broodingly.
The problem was, he, Lucien Delano, would understand if Proserpina was attracted to the handsome debonair man with the deep dimples and cheerful nature. After all, Schwartz had only been kind and caring, whereas, Lucien had treated her like a wh*re although she had loved him blindly all the while.
But he would kill his friend with his bare hands if he so much as suspected her of caring deeper for Schwartz.
***
Looking back at the evening later he thought that the drink must have loosened his tongue and egged him on to unburden himself before his closest friend.
With his back to his friend, he growled,
"I took her by force that night. That's how she got pregnant. She hates me for it. She won't forgive me."
The silence behind him made him aware that Schwartz was listening intently.
Suddenly his friend was beside him, his face a picture of fierce anger. Gripping his arm, the lean man's hands dug into the Don's thick, muscled biceps as he stood, unmoving and cold.
James Schwartz was shaking with anger, livid. Although Schwartz was taller, it was Lucien who was stockier and powerfully built and the two men stood facing each other off for a while.
Finally, Schwartz seemed to gain a hold of his emotions.
"Delano," he said in a low, angry voice," That woman there used to worship you. We thought you were the luckiest man alive to have such a woman in your life. And you were like a crazed man when she ran away. And you FORCED her into sex? Are you saying that you f*cking RAPED her?"
He dropped his hand as though he loathed the man before him who continued to remain, stonily meeting his glare, unflinching.
Handsome James turned away, struggling with his emotions. Then continued after a pause,
"Now I can understand why she looks at you like she loathes you. F8ck man, you disgust ME!"
He began to pace up and down restlessly,
"Mate, I know how brutal you can be. I've seen the way you treat those whores- like they were f*cking trash."
Stopping to stare at Lucien, he shook his head in exasperation, in pity, in something close to hate as he continued in a low voice shaking with fury,
"You don't deserve her, mate, you don't."
He turned away, his body tense as he gripped the chair. Lucien knew Schwartz was judging him and finding him wanting. His own guilt was eating away at him but he had needed to confess to someone...
Goaded beyond endurance, Lucien burst out in frustration,
"Fu*k, Schwartz, but I did not want to feel this f*cking way about her, damn it! It's like I can't f*cking live without her!"