Attn: I do not own these characters ABC does. Don't sue cause then I won't have any money and I really do need some. LOL. Any original character I DO own however. Special thanks to Tina for letting me snake her story idea and for all the help she has given me on this story.
Chapter 8
The kiss continued until Natalie heard someone clear their throat loudly. She pulled away breathing heavily and somewhat shaky. She looked at John who looked as dazed as she felt. That kiss was unlike any she had never experienced before. Not even Jesse's kiss had affected her as much. Jesse... The thought of his name filled her with guilt. She realized that John still held her to him and pushed away, guilt making her look everywhere but at John's face.
John felt Natalie draw back and swallowed a moan of disappointment. As he let her go he saw the guilt on her face and knew she felt like she had betrayed Jesse by responding to him. As much as he would like to regret the kiss he couldn't. That was the best kiss he had ever experienced and he wouldn't take it back for anything. He licked his lips and turned towards the noise that had interrupted them. It was the bank manager. Realizing his hands were shaking, from the kiss, he put them to his sides and gave a sheepish shrug. "Sorry, guess we got a little carried away."
Natalie saw John talking to the manager then noticed then cameras in the room. Sudden understanding hit her. The man had been watching them. The kiss had been for his benefit... The fact that John had only kissed her to keep up their story filled her with disappointment. She refused to examine the reason why that was.
The manager looked at Natalie again and noticed that once again she was stiff and looked uncomfortable. After that kiss she and her fiancé had shared he didn't doubt that they were engaged. The heat from that kiss could have melted glass. Maybe she just wasn't big on public displays of affection, there were lots of women that were. "I have the key, you have yours?"
John nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. Stepping away from Natalie he reached into his pocket and took out the key. After showing it to the manager he followed him into the vault and together they placed their keys in the box. After that the man left him and Natalie alone with a "call me when you are finished."
John pulled out the box and set it on the table. He looked at Natalie and asked, "You ready for this?"
Natalie nodded, holding her breath as John lifted the lid. She stared a second then said softly, "Oh my God!" She stared down into the box in shock. She had suspected that Jesse had maybe stolen someone's drugs but she hadn't really believed it! But she couldn't deny what she was looking at.
Cocaine? That's what it looked like to John. And about five pounds of it if he were to guess. He looked at Natalie's shocked face and said, "It doesn't mean anything." And he tried to believe that but as he took out the package and then opened it to test it he wondered himself if maybe Jesse had been on the wrong side of the law.
"Don't taste it!" Natalie hissed at John as he brought a tiny amount to his lips.
He did. "Cocaine," he muttered. "This must be the product the guy was talking about."
At those words Natalie's heart broke a little. She had known that this would be bad. Jesse had cocaine in his safety deposit box? What else was he hiding in there? "Is there anything else?" she asked, not wanting to look.
John set aside the drugs and rummaged thru the box, sifting thru some papers. His hand his something hard underneath the papers and he moved them aside. It was a VHS tape. He took it out and set it aside. He continued looking thru the papers and he found two more things of interest, an envelope labeled "Natalie" and a picture of a young girl probably around 7 or 8 years old. "I found something."
Natalie looked over his shoulder. She was curious now and wanted to know what he found. She saw the tape and looked at him. "What's that?"
"I don't know," he said then handed her the envelope. He was saddened by the way she looked. It was as if she had been slapped in the face. And in a way she had. They both had. Finding drugs in Jesse's possession made him realize that he hadn't known Jesse at all. If he was into drugs what else was he into that John hadn't known about?
Natalie felt betrayed. She felt angry. She didn't know why Jesse had those drugs but it couldn't be for anything good! He had lied to her; he had been involved in something that had almost gotten her killed as well. She felt like her world was spinning and nothing would ever be the same when it stopped. She wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come and she just looked at John, wondering how she could have been so wrong about Jesse and if she ever really knew him at all.
John put everything back into the box except the tape, the envelope, and the photo. Then he looked back at Natalie and asked, "Aren't you gonna read that?"
Natalie looked back down at the envelope and slowly opened it. She reached inside and pulled out a sheet of paper. Tears threatening to fall she began to read...
Dear Natalie,
If you are reading this I must be dead. I am so sorry that I put you in such an awful position. It wasn't my intention for you to be involved in this. By now you must realize that I have been lying to you. For that I am truly sorry. I know you don't understand what I have been doing or why. It all started years ago, when I was only 15. My sister was murdered. I never spoke of her to you, or even to John, the memories were just too painful. Anyway when she died I made a vow to find and bring down her killer. By any means necessary. It's why I became a PI and it's why I joined the Columbian Mafia. For 10 years I have been with them, trying to find the identity of the man that killed my sister. I did what they asked of me because they could help me take down Jacky DiAngelo. He is the one that killed Alison. I just found out and if you are reading this I was too. The drugs are Jacky's. I had to take them so the Columbians would trust me. I have done so many things that are unforgivable in my quest to find Alison's killer but the one thing I regret the most was lying to you and John. He is my best friend but he has no clue about this double life I have been living. Will you tell him that I am sorry and that his friendship and loyalty, though I never deserved it, meant more to me than I can ever say...
And you love Natalie... You mean everything to me. I love you so much. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I will always be grateful that you were in my life. Never forget that.
Love,
Jesse
PS. Tell John that the tape will answer any other questions he is bound to have. But please Natty don't watch the tape. Please.
Tears dripped don't Natalie's face as she read the letter. He hadn't really told her anything yet he told her everything. 10 years, he had been lying to her from the beginning and she hadn't known it, hadn't even suspected. She should hate him for it. But she couldn't. She had loved him yet she hadn't really known him and that made her sad not angry.
John watched Natalie as she read the letter and his heart ached for her obvious pain. As the tears trickled down her cheeks he wanted to wipe them away and kiss her. His mind flashed back to the kiss they had shared earlier and his body warmed at the memory. As many times as he had imagined their first kiss it had never even come close to the reality that was Natalie. He wanted to taste her again, this time not for anyone else's benefit except theirs. Natalie handing him the letter brought him out of his thoughts.
He took it but didn't look at it. He was unsure whether he should. "Go ahead," Natalie told him so he did. After reading it he too wondered how he could have missed such a big part of Jesse's life.
To be continued...
