Disclaimer : As chapter one
Notes. Nearly done, just one more chapter to go.
Please read and review. If you don't I'll cry.
CHAPTER TEN
Nigel was surprised, to say the least. He had turned around to find the man whose death they were investigating, just standing there…and he was smiling.
At first he was glad to see him, happy that Sydney and Jenny would no longer have to grieve. In a flash, the sheer joy at seeing Randall alive and well changed to all consuming anger.
Randall saw the change of expression on Nigel's face and took a hasty step back. He wasn't quite fast enough though. Before he even had a chance to try and stop him, Nigel had knocked him flat on his back with one well-aimed punch and now stood above him, rubbing his hand and scowling.
Randall lay there, rubbing his jaw and staring up at the much smaller man with something akin to respect. He started to get up.
"Don't move!" Nigel snapped. "If you even think about getting up, I swear to God I'll hit you again."
Randall held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll stay here, Nigel. Just calm down so we can talk."
"Calm down!" Nigel was shouting by now. "How in the hell do you expect me to calm down? You're daughter and fiancée think you're dead, you do realise that? How could you do that to them? They've been through hell the last couple of days!"
Through all this Randall was trying to get a word in. "Nigel, I can expl…"
Nigel was so furious, he just carried on yelling. "Sydney's keeping me awake all night, tossing and turning and the only time Jenny eats is when Preston reminds her. I could kill you right now for what you've put them through. You've hurt two of the people I care about more than anything, and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you for that."
Nigel was starting to run out of breath, so Randall thought it would be a good time to interrupt. "Are you finished?" he asked,
"For now."
"Good. So is it alright if I get up and say something now?" Seeing Nigel nod he continued. "First of all, where did you learn to punch like that?"
Nigel had to smile. "Hanging around with you daughter for the last couple of years, I guess I picked up some things."
"I should have known," Randall said with a smile, before growing serious. "Now, I have a couple of questions. What do you mean, Sydney's keeping you awake all night and who, exactly, is Preston?"
Sydney's been having trouble sleeping since she heard you were dead and she doesn't like being alone at night, so I've been sleeping with her and that's all we've been doing, sleeping. Preston is my older brother. I asked him to keep an eye for jenny until we could get over here because I knew she didn't know anyone in England. They've become quite good friends over the last couple of days." He paused to take a breath and then carried on, his voice rising again. "And you've got no right to play the indignant father and fiancé right now, anyway. Not after what you've been putting them through."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Randall glanced at his watch. "I have to leave, it's getting late."
"What?" Nigel was confused. "You're not going to let them know you're alive?"
"I can't, it's too dangerous. You can't either."
"Randall, I can't lie to Sydney. Especially not about something like this."
"If you love her as mush as I think you do, you have to lie to her. She can't know I'm still alive. While they think I'm dead, they're safe. You have to trust me, Nigel. I know what I'm doing."
"If you weren't going to let them know you're alive, why did you contact me?"
"I had to know my girls were looked after. I knew you would look after Sydney, but I was worried about Jenny. I should have known you would take care of her as well."
Nigel stood there, silent. He was surprised when the other man pulled him into a rough hug. "Look after them for me," he whispered. "I wouldn't trust them with anyone else." Nigel just nodded, too shocked to say anything. "One more thing," Randall said as he backed away. "Get Syd to drop the investigation into my death. It's too dangerous."
Nigel sighed. "I'll try, but you know how what she's like when she gets her teeth into something. She can be incredibly stubborn when she wants to be."
"Tell me about it," Randall said with a smile. "You're going to have a hell of a life trying to cope with her, but I think you'll do okay." He almost laughed at Nigel's expression, but quickly grew serious as he realised how late it was getting. "I have to leave," he said. "I'll try and get in touch with you again in a couple of days. Meanwhile, do what you can to keep them out of trouble. Okay?"
"Okay." Nigel turned when he heard a noise behind him, but it was nothing. When he turned back, the other man had gone. He stood there for a moment, alone with his thoughts before deciding to go back and join Sydney.
She looked up when she him come into the room and gave him a smile so beautiful, he thought his heart would stop.
"Hey!" she said quietly.
He smiled as he sat down and picked up his drink. "Hey yourself."
"So, who were you talking to?"
Nigel took a sip of his drink to give himself a chance to think. "Hmm? Oh, just an old school friend. He heard I was staying here and wanted to catch up on old times, that's all."
"Oh. I thought it might have had something to do with Dad."
He looked over to see the pain in her eyes. "Oh my love," he thought. "I wish I could tell you the truth, but I can't. And that hurts more than anything I ever imagined."
Nigel reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "No," he said gently. "Just an old friend. You look tired, maybe it's time for bed."
She smiled sadly and nodded. "Okay."
As they walked out of the hotel bar, she had a thought.
"Nigel," she said. "Before we got interrupted, you were about to tell me something. What was it?"
"Hmm?" he said. With all that had happened, he had totally forgotten about their conversation. He smiled at her and took her hand. "It was nothing."
"You sure?" she asked.
Nigel nodded. "I'm sure," he said as he led her up to the suite. "It can wait for another time."
They didn't notice Sydney's father watch them walk into the lift, hand in hand. Nor did they notice the tears running down his face or his sad smile.
"My darling girl," he thought as he turned to walk away. "I may never see you again, but knowing you'll be happy with him by your side will make it easier. For some reason, I don't think I'll have to worry about Jenny either. I will never stop loving either of you, remember that."
Randall Fox left the hotel and walked out into the cold, dark night. Alone.