Mark woke up the next morning and stretched, looking around the guest room he was now using at Vince's. He had much preferred to sleep with Amy, but Vince had started grumbling about that and he had to admit it was getting to be almost impossible to stop himself from making love to her. He wondered why he was even waiting, but the answer came to him in a flash. He respected her. A smile tilted his lips up as he thought about her. He also wanted to drive her absolutely wild for him, make her as frustrated as he possibly could. That way she'd be ripe for the picking, more than ready for her first time. Plus he had firmly decided he wanted her in his own home with him, not here where she was always being watched over. Now all he had to do was persuade Vince to his way of thinking, and he had a feeling it would be difficult. In the meantime he was enjoying dating somebody and making out, it made him feel younger.
His eyes shot to the door when it opened and Amy popped her head around it, looking to see if he was awake. "Don't you know how to knock?" he asked her, smiling.
"I was hoping you'd be naked," she joked, grinning.
"Feeling confident are we?" he drawled, motioning her over to him and grinning wickedly when she got within arms reach and he grabbed her. His other hand threw back the covers and then watched as she went red.
"No," she wavered, her eyes darting from one part of his body to another.
Mark grinned wickedly and pulled the covers back over his body when he heard faint voices outside his room. "Looks like you're gonna have a lucky escape, darlin'," he drawled, his grin getting worse when Vince called Amy's name and then tapped on Mark's door. "See?"
Amy gave him a disgruntled look and went to open the door, smiling innocently up at Vince as he looked in the room to see what was going on. "What are you doing in here?" he asked her, frowning at Mark over her shoulder.
"I just came in to wake Mark up," she explained, giving a happy sigh and taking her godfather's arm. For some reason he was in protective mode again and she didn't mind one bit.
He looked down at her and patted her arm, a warm smile making him look younger. "Well, that's good. Let's go get some breakfast," he said and looked up at Mark. "You going to join us?"
"Yeah, I'll just grab a shower and I'll be with you," Mark said, winking at Amy as Vince pulled her out of the room.
Mark stretched again as they left and found himself smiling yet again. He did that a lot, he thought, since he had met Amy and it was a good feeling. He just hoped there weren't any storm clouds on the horizon to spoil it all because he had had an odd feeling for the last couple of days that he couldn't shake.
Later that day Amy was surprised when Kevin showed up in the workroom. "Hey little lady," he said, giving her a friendly grin.
"Hi, Kevin. What's that?" she asked, indicating the garment he was clutching.
"It's a pair of my jeans, they have a rip and I was wondering if you'd be good enough to fix it for me. I was going to wear them in the ring tonight," he explained, sitting down in a vacant chair near her.
"Sure, hand them over," Amy said, examining the rip once he had done so. "This won't take long, do you want to wait?"
"Yeah, why not? I tell you what, I'll go get some coffee for us, how's that?" he said, standing up again and raising his eyebrows.
"That would be really nice, thanks. I could use a cup," she admitted, smiling. She liked Kevin, in a purely brotherly way. She started sewing the tough fabric as he left the room, her mind already narrowed down on to what she was doing. The faint ringing of a telephone didn't get through to her for a few seconds, but then she frowned and wondered where it was coming from. She knew there was a pay phone on the wall in the corridor and she put down the mending to go and see if it was that. No-one else was in the corridor when she walked outside and she looked at the phone with a frown. Who would call a pay phone? Unless it was someone who had dialled a wrong number. She shrugged and picked the phone up, saying hello.
"Hello, pretty. Surprised?" A voice growled in her ear and she jumped, a gasp breaking from her lips.
"How...?" she said breathlessly, her eyes widening.
"How did I get this number? How did I know where you were?" Tony asked, laughing sarcastically. "I'm very resourceful when I want to be. What you really want to ask yourself is how I knew you weren't at home."
Amy swore she felt her heart stop when he said that, then it kicked up again beating twice as fast. She looked around her to see if he was watching her from somewhere, but she couldn't see anyone.
"That's it, you little bitch, see if you can find me," he said, making all the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "I'm watching you, and I'm waiting. And as soon as I think the time's right, I'll be coming for you."
The line went dead and Amy shakily replaced the receiver, her breath puffing in and out frantically as panic overwhelmed her. She felt a hot tear slide down her cheek as she pressed her back against the wall and looked up and down the corridor. Oh, God, he was here. It would almost have been better if she could see him, then the fear could be centred on something. To know he was watching her and she didn't know where from was awful.
Kevin rounded the corner with two coffees and looked puzzled when he saw her standing there like a statue. But when he got nearer his puzzlement turned to concern as he saw her white face and the way she was shaking. He put the coffees down and stood in front of her. "Amy ?What's wrong? Has something happened?"
She was staring at him blankly, and his words jerked her out of her trance. "He...he...phoned me...here, he..." she broke off and tried to breathe normally, panicking again when she couldn't take a deep breath in.
Kevin grabbed her and dragged her the short distance to her workroom, realising she was hyperventilating. He rummaged through the cupboards until he found a paper bag and then he held it over her mouth. "Breathe into this, come on," he demanded, his words gentle despite the authority in his voice. He watched with concern as she breathed jerkily in and out, the sounds lessening and then becoming more even as the paper bag did the trick. "Better?" he asked her, removing the bag and running a hand over her hair.
She nodded. "Thank you. Kevin, he's here," she whispered, her eyes huge as she looked at him.
"He ?That guy who rang you the other day? Does Vince know?"
"You're the first person I've seen," she explained and Kevin put his arm around her and cuddled her.
"You poor kid, you don't deserve this psycho on your back all the time. Come on, let's go tell Vince and he can get security on to it."
Amy let Kevin walk her to Vince's office, his arm still around her shoulders as he offered her the only comfort he could think of.
To Mark's eyes it didn't look like comfort at all. He saw them walking away as he came around the corner, and he had no idea Amy was upset about anything. His brows drew down as he watched his friend pulling his girlfriend against him, the touch anything but innocent in his eyes, and he felt his temper start to spark, his self doubts rearing up again. He had believed Kevin when he had told him nothing was going on, but now he wondered if that had been the truth. But what of Amy? She had been genuinely upset, hadn't she? He shook his head and tried to banish the thoughts, but they wouldn't quit. It had happened before with Sara, what was to stop it happening again with Amy? He would have to talk to Kevin, and try and remain calm this time, give him a chance to explain. He didn't want to make an enormous mistake.
Sara watched everything that happened from the shadows and stared with curiosity at the large man who had been growling threats into his cellphone whilst he watched Amy. She moved to stand behind him as Kevin and Amy disappeared into the workroom, then reappeared and walked away, seeing Mark standing there looking furious as he saw them go. A smile curved her lips and she gave a soft laugh as Mark, too, walked away. The noise startled the big man and he swung around to see who was behind him, his eyes running over the slender figure of the tall woman he found there.
"Who are you?" he asked her, scowling.
"I could ask you the same question," she said, a smirk making her look less attractive than he had first thought. "You're not supposed to be here are you?"
"What makes you say that?" he asked, striving to retain a cool demeanour.
"Oh, nothing much, just the threats you were issuing to that girl," she said, her smirk intensifying.
Tony Castrogiovanni ran his eyes up and down the woman's figure again, and wondered if he shouldn't just break her neck and be done with it. Her next words made him change his mind.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't mind those threats at all. In fact, I think we may be able to help each other out."
"How's that?"
"Well, I'm no fan of little miss perfect there, but you obviously are. It's her boyfriend I want, and I think that if we help each other, we may both get what we want. What do you say?" she asked, raising one eyebrow confidently.
"I think you've got yourself a deal. So, tell me, what's the plan?" he asked, smiling at her for the first time and Sara smiled back, taking his arm and walking along the back corridors with him, taking a route that very few people used so they wouldn't be seen.
"Here?" Vince bellowed, jumping out of his seat and hitting the desk with such force that both Amy and Kevin jumped. "How the hell did he get in?" He picked the phone up and called security, shouting into the phone and then shouting even louder when he didn't get the answer he wanted.
Amy sat down and let her shoulders slump, hating the fact that she was bringing any trouble to Vince when he had been so good to her. She felt Kevin take her hand and allowed him to hold it, knowing he only meant to comfort her and right now she needed that comfort. She just wished it was Mark sitting here with her instead.
Vince eventually slammed the phone down and looked at Amy, giving a frustrated sigh. "They haven't let anyone in matching his description," he said, surprising Amy into looking up again.
"But he said he was watching me...he knew what I was doing when I picked the phone up, he..."
"Maybe he was guessing, maybe he got lucky, who knows? But if he is here, they haven't seen him," Vince said, breaking into her speech.
Amy's face fell as she looked at him. "You don't believe me do you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh honey, of course I believe you!" Vince said, moving to crouch down in front of her. "I've got security searching the building now to see if he's still here, if he really was here. I believe what you told me, and there is every possibility he was watching you at that moment. But he didn't come in here through any of the doors, so it's equally unlikely he got in at all. Do you understand?"
Amy nodded. "But it really sounded like he was watching me, with what he said."
"I know, babygirl. Lets just hope he was simply trying to scare you," Vince said grimly, standing up and bending to kiss the top of her head.
"He succeeded," she mumbled, taking a deep shaky breath and feeling Kevin squeeze her fingers right at the moment that Mark walked into the room. She had to fight to keep herself from pulling her hand away from the other man as Mark glared at them with narrowed eyes. He didn't say a word, however, and with a slight nod he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
"What's eating him?" Vince asked, frowning as he checked his door over to see if it was damaged.
Kevin gaped at the closed door and then shook his head. "Not again," he muttered, his lips thinning in anger. He looked at Amy's bent head and felt sorry for her. After having that asshole call her again, the last thing she needed was Mark pissed off at her. "I'll go and find him," he said, disengaging his hand from hers and leaving the room.
Vince looked down at Amy and shook his head, sighing as he pulled her up into a hug. "If it isn't one thing it's another, isn't it?"
Amy nodded and closed her eyes, wanting to go home and just sit in her own room, alone. "Why does he have to be like that?" she mumbled, frowning.
"Ah, Peaches, he's just jealous, that's all. At least you know that he cares about you, because otherwise he wouldn't feel anything when he saw you holding Kevin's hand."
"But now he's going to be all horrible like he was the other day," she said, drawing back to look up at Vince with worried eyes. "I think I'd rather just not face him."
"I can see how you'd feel that way, honey, what with the phone call you just had as well. I'll get a car to drive you home if you like, if I can make sure you won't be alone?"
Amy thought about missing Mark's match and frowned, not liking the idea of not being there for him. But she wanted to go home. "I think it might be best," she said slowly, her mouth drooping as she said it.
"Okay, I'll make a call in a second. Er...first, though, I haven't had you sign a contract yet have I?" Vince asked, going back around his desk and shuffling some papers.
Amy looked puzzled. "No, I didn't know I had to."
"Everyone who works here has to, it just slipped my mind," he said, with a strange smile. "Ah here it is!"
He pushed a big pile of papers towards her and pointed to where she should sign. "Shouldn't I read them first or something?"
"There's no need, it's just standard stuff and you know you can trust me, Peaches. Just sign there and then there," he said, turning pages for her. She didn't notice that he was only lifting the edge of the paper so she could sign each successive one underneath, and when she got to the bottom of the pile he took them away from her and nodded with a big smile, putting the whole bundle in his desk drawer and locking it. "Great, all done." Vince motioned for her to sit down and then called Linda, Stephanie and Shane, frowning deeper after each successive call. "I'm sorry honey, there isn't anybody to go back with you, and I don't want you there on your own."
Amy shook her head. "It's okay, I shouldn't really be running away anyway. I'll go and do some more work, it'll help keep my mind off things."
Vince nodded and watched her go, admiring the way she straightened her shoulders and got on with it, even though it was obvious she was upset by the days' events. He wondered how long it would be before she stopped letting things get to her so much, knowing that it would eventually happen now she was living with them. He just wished she was already strong enough to cope with the crap she was currently going through, for her own sake.
