CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT (IF IT WERE EASY, ANYONE COULD DO IT....)
Jim Brass knocked on the door facing. The hotel room was on the bottom floor of a two story complex. He waited, not really looking forward to anyone answering, were he honest with himself.
Vincent Duvalier opened the door, his expression guarded. The two men exchanged minute nods, the FBI Agent, stepping aside to allow Brass' entry.
The room was surprisingly large, but it still was one of the lower priced offers Vegas provided.
"She's down at the office, getting some towels." Duvalier had sent Haley down himself. "I wanted to talk to you first."
"About?" Brass turned, halting his examination of the room. It had a garish bedspread on a double bed, two built in tables by the bed with dim lights attached to the wall and a television that had seen better days.
Jim stood by the long dresser on which the set was housed, having noted an ice bucket, a few opened cans of Budweiser and a take out dinner from Jack In The Box.
"What are you going to say to her?"
"None of your business."
"She's been through enough shit...if it's 'goodbye'..." Duvalier's temper flared. "I gotta know the reason so I can do some damage control after. You owe her that damned much, at least."
Jim hesitated. "It's...not what you think. And I'm not the bastard you paint me out to be..have a little faith, hum?"
"I know you don't intentionally want to hurt her...but, I know things that you don't, Brass." The man had calmed. "...Or...do I."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jim was stumped, which seemed to settle something inside Duvalier.
"...She likes you...just.." The other man got another beer from the dresser. "Make it a clean shot, ok?" He turned grim eyes to Brass.
Haley kicked on the door. "I forgot the card, Vincent." She called out, her hands full of goodies. Four white towels, some cokes..a bunch of junk food and a newspaper.
The man opened the door. "We got company." He motioned behind him and the girl..froze, her expression altering drastically.
"..Oh." She forced a smile. "..Hi."
"Hi." Jim's smile was a gentle, open one. It was good to see her again, inspite of the reason. "Need some help there?"
Vincent started unloading the stuff she carried unto the dresser. Haley sought the man's reassurance, which Brass did not miss.
"..I have to go check on the guys." Duvalier made his exit with but one look to Jim Brass.
"You don't have to go." She hurriedly stepped to the door, attempting to convey that she did not wish to be left alone just yet.
"Yeah," the man corrected, his eyes holding Haley's willfully. "I do..." He shifted the steel grey to Brass for a beat. "It'll be ok..." He told the girl.
Haley swallowed hard and..nodded. She closed the door quietly.
She..turned, forcing another smile. "He..he babies those guys too much, if you ask me."
"Has it come to that, Haley?" Jim was a very astute man. "You don't want to be alone with me?"
She flushed slightly, pushing her hair behind her ear. She had it down today, small butterfly clips holding the tendrils at her temple, making her look younger somehow.
She wore a black tee and jeans with suede docker shoes.
"It's not...that." She lied uneasily. She chanced a look at him. "..Please just..say what it is you've come to say." The woman closed her eyes, the stress getting to her for a beat. "..I..just as soon get it over with, ok?"
"That obvious, huh?" Brass felt like shit. The silence came and..a depression settled in for both Haley and himself. "I...guess I should start.." He wasn't sure, upon reflection. He had practiced a lot of different ways in the car, coming over. None of them seemed worth shit now.
He studied the dark weave of the brown and white speckled carpet beneath his feet for a goodly spell.
"..I was coming to..see you..last night." The words formed and he spoke them. "..I thought there was an intruder on my porch." The man shrugged aimlessly.
Haley wasn't sure what one thing had to do with anything else but..she listened.
"...Weena's back." Jim jumped ahead. He sought the impact out, his statement had made on the woman.
Her face was..shocked. Much as his had been, he imagined, when he had seen Weena.
"She..was waiting for me."
Haley...sat in the one lone chair by the air conditioner. It hummed quietly blowing the heavy drapes a little. "Weena." She repeated softly.
She had not expected...that. A part of her was relieved. He did not know about her dad.
"Yeah...she's eh..." Brass swallowed, gesturing with his hand. "She's...carrying my kid."
"WHAT?" The woman shot up like a spring, her face incredulously pale.
Jim allowed the news to sink in, watching Haley closely. "...Haley...I think you know..that ..I .." No, that was stupid. Put it another way, dumb ass. "I..feel...things for you. I'm not going to pretend I don't."
Haley raised stunned eyes. Weena was..pregnant?
"I just don't..." Jim shook his head. "I know...you don't want kids. That...was ok. Really but.."
"No." Haley held up her hand but quickly lowered it, her fingers balling into a fist. She was shaking. "No..I...hey." She smiled weakly. "Hey...she's...it's your kid. I get that."
"I..." Jim closed his eyes for a beat. "Shit...this is..."
"It's ok." Haley moved closer, wishing to comfort the man. Sensing how hard it was for him to be here now. "I..I thought you...I had done something wrong."
"NO..." Brass shook his head negatively. "Hell, no! Never, Haley...it had nothing to do with.."
"Yeah." She..nodded. "...yeah."
The silence returned two fold and Brass was loathe to allow it to continue but, for the life of him, he simply could not find the correct words to make this situation bearable.
"...I 'get' it, now." And..she did. The woman felt a little better, but she had no idea why. "It's..ok." Haley smiled, her eyes full of empathy. "Really."
Brass ran his hand across his brow, squeezing the tension from his mind. "I would rather cut my damned arm off than hurt you. God, I hope you believe that." He sought her out, his own expression gravely sincere.
"...I know that." She drew in an even breath. "This must be...shitty for you."
Jim sat heavily on the bed, running his hands over his face, then interlocking his hands, placing his mouth on his fingers for a long beat. "It's fucking killing me, honey." He told the truth.
She...sat beside him. He turned his head, his expression a bleak one. His eyes beseeched her to ..understand. Did he need forgiveness?
"You never ever said...you did not love her, Brassman." She reminded. "You always were straight about that."
Had he been? He didn't know if that was a truth.
"I told you..from day one." She remembered. "That I only wanted the sex...well," she grinned. "Maybe that evolved into something..more but..." She touched his upper thigh with a light graze. "When I thought...the other. Well, that was ..unacceptable but...this?"
She took a moment to think it through. "Well, I hate it, of course but..." She had to be truthful. "I can.. 'take it'...the other? I ...couldn't. So.." She set her mind. "As long as we are still...not enemies?" She grinned over at him. "I'll...be ok."
"I could never be anything but..." What? What could they now be? Friends seemed so..lame and anything more was not acceptable but..
"Ships that passed in the night?" She tried to lighten the mood but..it feel short. "Like..maybe the Titanic and the Lusitania?"
He...forced a smile for her. "Yeah..maybe like..that."
The silence came.
He hated that damned silence with a passion.
"..I..wanted more." He could tell her that much.
She checked with him to ask the proverbial..'what'?
"Than ..the sex."
"Did you, Brassman?" She..swallowed a lump in her throat, the large green eyes filling with the threat of tears.
"..Yes."
"..Good to know." She nodded, and..allowed the tears. They slid down her cheeks and unto the fabric of her jeans. She swiped them aside, arising.
She sniffed a bit and swiped her tears determinedly away. "You better go now." She was suddenly awkward and uncertain. "This is about all I can take without being..stupid...so.."
The man arose, having no other choice.
He...took a moment to look at the woman. Really...look at her.
"..You really are ..quite beautiful."
She laughed hollowly. "Yeah, I can imagine." She dabbed her nose with a tissue she had found on the dresser. It was a Jack In The Box napkin. "I feel so pretty and desirable right now."
She tried to joke.
"You could never be anything but." He walked to the door, his hand hesitating on the knob. He lifted his head. He turned, his brow furrowed deeply, his eyes troubled. "You better believe that. Take it from someone who knows first hand just how lethal you can be when you set your mind. You hear me?"
She..nodded, fighting the tears. Her heart was breaking and it felt...worse than shitty.
Brass...opened the door and..left.
Haley sat...allowing her heart to grieve. She wept brokenly. She hurt. It hurt. It hurt so bad.
She thought she had prepared herself, but..she had not. And even understanding the 'why' of it all...did not help at that particular moment in time.
She wanted to run after the man. To plead for him to stay with her, but, she knew she would not.
He needed to stay where his kid was. He needed..something she could not give.
All the reasoning in the Universe, did not help the pain to lessen.
Haley wept freely. Because...she was hurting and it..sucked. Really bad.
She heard the door open and felt strong arms go around her trembling body.
She welcomed the comfort gratefully, leaning into the emotional support.
"What did the bastard say to you?" Duvalier's expression was a darkly forbidding one. He had trusted the son-of-a-bitch. What the hell had happened?
Haley tried to compose herself but..she simply needed to cry. So...she did.
Vincent allowed her the time, simply holding her tightly. Silently.
Haley felt his body tense by the minute however, finally seeking him out. Questioning him.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked all too quietly, his gaze searching her face religiously.
"...What's..wrong?" She sensed..something. "..What do you..mean?"
"No one hurts you like this, Haley..." The man was relatively certain he would not allow such a thing, at least. Not without..repercussions. "...NO ONE."
Haley scowled, blowing her nose, wiping her nose.. She got up, going to the sink to splash some water on her face. She related the story in halting terms. Stopping occasionally to weep a bit, but...she sought his reaction when finished. "So..you see? He ...didn't hurt me on purpose. It's just...something that..happened. He can't help how he feels, Vincent..can he?"
"He knocked up this woman..this...what the hell is her name?"
"She is carrying his child, yes." Haley corrected, her temper short. "Don't say it like that...and..her name is Weena."
"He's doing it for the kid?"
"No..not only for the kid." She explained. "They have a history. I knew that going in." She sat back on the bed, straightening the tissue in her hand, folding it into squares as she spoke. "It still..hurts, damn it. I'm allowed..that, right?"
Haley lifted earnest eyes. "I..know he has to be..with her. It just..." She trailed off. "I...hoped.."
The man drew in an even breath. "Yeah, I know what you...hoped."
"Vincent?" She leaned against his thigh, her head on his stomach. "Can we go home now?" She raised hopeful eyes. "...I want to go home."
The man...nodded, his hand filtering into her hair, his fingers gently massaging her scalp. He looked down on the shiny crown of the blonde head, taking in the visual beauty of the silky locks. "Is that what you want?"
She nodded. "Yes..it's what I want."
"Then that's what the hell we will do." It was that simple for the man.
