Chapter Six: The Man Who Grew Roses

Leon turned off the TV in disgust. There was nothing on. Though to be fair to the producers, it was one o'clock in the morning. However, that excuse did little to alleviate his foul mood. A few years ago, he would have thought that the night was still young, partying and drinking with his friends until dawn. Now he lived alone with the voices on the TV as his only companions.

No friends came anymore. No girls warmed his bed. He couldn't even find solace in the bottle; the alcohol interfered with the medications he took for the pain. He had built his whole social life around football. When he could no longer play, his whole world had fallen apart. He couldn't stay in school and get a degree. He was only passing classes because his professors weren't allowed to fail him. If he had stayed in school, he would have had to start studying. And studying was never his thing.

No, when he was discharged from the hospital, he used what was left of his inheritance to buy this cottage where he could be alone. Where he wouldn't have to put up with all the whispers and the stares. Though part of him wondered why he bothered getting out of bed each morning. There seemed little point in living this half-life.

The depression then threatened to engulf him only lessened when Leon glanced out his window at the rose garden outside. The roses were the only thing that kept him going. Because when he looked at their beauty, when he contemplated their elegance, anger flowed through his veins and helped him feel again.

The roses reminded him of her.

He would never forget how that bitch had tricked him. How she had ruined his life. The roses wouldn't let him forget about the evil done to him and the wickedness of the female gender. For it didn't matter how beautiful and innocent they looked, all woman had thorns that would pierce him if they could.

Women were all deceivers and haters of men. Oh, they acted sweet and helpless when it suited them, but they were, without a doubt, the most ruthless creatures on earth.

The anger continued to grow within him and told him that he couldn't end it all, because ending it all would mean letting her win. And the one thing that hadn't changed after the accident was that Leon Forest never ever let someone else win.

He'd show her. Yes, he would. He had grown the best rose garden on the islands and his roses were sold in all the upscale floral shops. He had survived her trap and he would keep on living and one day he would have his revenge.

The sound of footsteps and a raised voice interrupted thoughts. Damn kids.

The local kids would often poke around his house on a dare. He knew what was said. Come and see the holoholona, the beast, the man with no soul. Well, if those kids wanted a scare, he would give them one. Grabbing a baseball bat, Leon stepped outside.

He had guessed wrong. There was no group of kids on a dare or drunken teenagers stumbling around, but only a single man who was prowling around his garden.

"You!" Leon hollered.

The man quickly turned, but not before Leon caught a glimpse of a gun before the intruder tucked it into his waistband. "Sorry, to intrude, but I am looking for a thief. She stole something valuable from me and I saw her headed in this direction."

While the gun did concern him, Leon refused to be intimidated on his own property. Especially by some flop of a man who tried to sweet talk him like he was blind. Taking two steps, Leon walked into a moonlight portion of his yard. "There is no one here. Leave my property now."

The intruder gasped when he saw Leon's face. And Leon had to admit that the one benefit of his scars was that it did make him appear dangerous. He didn't care if it was the burns, the disfigured nose, or a head that was partly bald that caused the man's fear. But it did the job and now that the man had seen it, he couldn't leave fast enough.

"I'm sorry, man. I'll go."

Leon watched the man scamper off into the woods. He would keep an eye out as he didn't think that he would go far. Not if he believed that the object of his hunt was in this area. Though he could have warned the man that catching her wouldn't be worth it. Women never were.

He turned to go back inside the cottage when he spotted a few broken branches on the ground. His anger returned with a fury. The blasted man had messed up his roses.

Storming over to the ruined bush, he carefully pushed aside a branch and saw the thing he hated the most. A young woman.

She yelped as he discovered her, but she retained enough sense to rise and come out into the yard where he could look at her, though her eyes constantly darted around the yard in fear. It seemed that the man had been telling the truth. He was looking for this girl.

"Help me," she begged. "If that man finds me here, he'll kill me."

Leon remained silent as he looked at the girl. She looked like a whore. She was wearing a ripped cocktail dress, that would have revealed plenty even before the damage. Her feet were bare and bleeding. Her arms and face were covered with scratches, and her black hair had partially escaped from a tight bun. A schoolgirl's backpack was slung across her shoulders. That didn't make any sense, but it wasn't his job to make sense of this woman and her problems.

She was trembling and, when their eyes met, she gasped in fear and quickly looked down. Leon shook his head. A woman. It had to be a woman. And this one looked desperate, which meant that she was dangerous. He needed to get rid of her and fast. "I'll call the police," he growled.

She began to panic. "No, please! No cops."

"Fine then," he snapped, quickly losing patience with the whole situation. "Just go!"

"Can't you just hide me for the night?"

Who did this girl think he was? There was no way that he was letting her stay within sight of his cottage. "You can't stay!"

Her voice gained that whiney tone that always drove him mad. "I can't leave. They'll kill me!"

"Go away!"

"Please," she cried. "I'll do anything!" Then reaching up she started to undo the ties on her dress.

Offended, Leon roared, "What do you think I am? A beast?"

The girl jumped back and looked ready to bolt. However, he wasn't ready to let her go now. Not after what she had just done.

"Look at me!" he ordered.

Shaking, the girl gulped and then forced herself to meet his eyes.

"What is your name?"

Her voice was a whisper. "Alia Vidalgo."

Seeing the ring on her finger, he asked, "Where's your husband?"

"Dead."

"You're young to be a widow."

"You're young to be hermit," Alia shot back.

How dare her! How dare she come onto his property, hide in his garden, dare to insinuate that he was a beast controlled by sexual urges and then judge his lifestyle! Well, he would show her. He'd prove her wrong. So caught up in his rage, he barely even realized that he was about to do the one thing he swore he would never do: give aid to a desperate woman.

"I told you, I'm not an animal! So stay! Sleep on the couch and I'll figure out what to do with you in the morning."

"Thank you. Thank you. You won't regret this."

Leon snapped his mouth shut. He was regretting it already. However, this would just be for one night. He'd turn her out in the morning. And there was no way he was giving up his bed. She could sleep on the couch!

Besides, he would not let himself forget. It didn't matter how beautiful or helpless she appeared. She was a woman. She had thorns and she would hurt him in the end. It was what all women did.

The first ring woke Chin from his slumber. The second barely had time to register before he had snatched the phone off its cradle. He had learned to move quickly in order to avoid waking up his children.

"Hello."

"Chin, it's Steve."

The tone in Steve's voice told him this call wasn't about Alia, so he asked about the other most likely reason for his boss could be calling. "Where's the body?"

"Dumped in an alley in Pearl City. Chin, its State Senator Bennett."

Chin let out a low whistle. The political repercussions from this would be huge. Why hadn't that man agreed to work with them? He would have ruined his reputation, but saved his life. Now, both were lost. What a waste. "I'm on my way."

Steve gave him the address and hung up. Lin rolled over and looked at her husband. Years of experience meant that she didn't need to listen to the other side of the conversation to know what was going on. "Should I expect you back in time for breakfast?"

Chin leaned in and gave his wife a quick kiss. "Not today. Don't wait on me for dinner either."

"That big?"

"Lead story on the morning news big."

Lin's eyes widened, but she didn't press. She knew that she would have to find out the details when the rest of the island did.

After changing into a suit, Chin exchanged one more kiss with the most wonderful woman in the world. "Love you."

How he wished that he had time to linger, but he did not. So without another word, he rushed out the door to discover just how Senator Bennett had met his untimely fate.