Chapter Five
Bridget's POV:
Bright morning sunshine poured through the guest bedroom window. Covering her eyes with the back of her hand Bridget couldn't help but smile. It was amazing how much could change in such a short time. Take yesterday, while lying in the motel bed she thought her relationship with Andrew was done for good. She didn't think he could forgive her, and he hadn't completely, but last night showed a promising start.
Rolling over, she smiled into her pillow and pulled her left hand up to stare at the platinum and diamonds that sparkled and danced in the morning light.
After the surprising encounter with Andrew on the balcony they stayed up, and talked for hours. They decided to get to know each other, without lies, and take things slow. They talked about their pasts both serious and silly, and it felt good to be able to show him her true self. Honesty was to be the tenet of their new relationship. It wasn't all pretty, but she was happy to see how supportive he was.
The one subject they didn't talk about was the possibility of his being the father of Siobhan's twins. Time would come for that, but she had a feeling talking about it would get his hopes up, and she didn't want to push him.
Instead they talked about everything else until Bridget fell asleep.
Bridget smiled as the memory came into focus.
She had fallen asleep against his shoulder and woke to him lifting her in his arms. He laid her on the guest bed with a kiss to the forehead and a promise to see her in the morning. She immediately missed him, but she didn't have to miss him for long.
A few minutes later, Andrew walked back into the room. He was so handsome as he leaned against the doorframe while he contemplated his closed fist with a soft smile.
"I almost forgot." He walked toward the bed. Stopping at the edge. "I wanted to give these back to you."
He held out the rings she had returned to him at the Hampton's. One was Siobhan's engagement ring, a huge stunning princess cut solitaire, one was the eternity band of diamonds, and the other was the re-engagement ring he gave Bridget on his and Siobhan's anniversary, the night he wanted to ask her to re-marry him. That ring put the others to shame. Its massive oval diamond sat nestled in a ring of smaller diamonds, which sparkled and shined without fail. The night before he gave her the ring was the first time she told him she loved him. Her breath caught in her throat.
"I know we have a long way to go, and I don't want you to think that this is a declaration of forever, but since you are playing Siobhan you need to have these."
He sat on the bed and took her left hand placing the eternity band on first, but hesitated before placing either of the other rings in front of it. Slowly he picked up the re-engagement ring and examined it.
"I remember when I gave this to you." He smiled. "I wanted to buy you something that reflected how much I loved you because you had become the woman I always wanted. I realize now that I bought it for you, not Siobhan. I bought it for the woman who made me fall in love with her 8 months ago."
Before he could place the ring on her finger, she clenched it tight.
"No, hold on to it." She placed her palm against his cheek. "Give it back to me when you know that you have that woman again, when you want to share a life with me. Give it to me then."
Andrew studied her face before smiling. "All right."
He placed the ring in his pocket and put Siobhan's engagement ring on her finger instead.
"Well, good night, Bridget."
"Good night, Andrew. Sweet Dreams."
"Same to you."
Bending, he kissed her chastely, but she reached up just as he leaned forward, and soon they found themselves half reclined on the bed kissing as if they might not last the night. Minutes passed as hands roamed, fingers clutched, and mouths tried to slake an eternal thirst.
Andrew cursed and pulled away.
Bridget panted, and he laughed hoarsely.
"Taking things slow is going to be harder than I thought," he whispered.
Bridget could only nod.
He placed his hand on her chin and rubbed her lips with his thumb.
"Good night," he said huskily.
"Night."
Bridget shook herself free of the memory, rolled to her back, and studied Siobhan's wedding set as it glittered on her finger. A knock sounded on the door. Sitting up, she fixed her hair and straightened her nightgown in case it was Andrew.
"Come in," she called.
Juliet poked her head in.
"You know I was hoping you would be in daddy's room," she said without preamble.
"I don't think we are quite there yet." Bridget laughed.
Juliet's eyes narrowed. "No, but something happened. Daddy has been smiling and whistling all morning."
Bridget beamed. "He has?"
"Yeah, it's a bit annoying," Juliet grouched, though her smile belied her words.
"We came to an understanding last night."
"And?"
"And it is none of your concern, young lady," Andrew said from doorway. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for school?"
"Aw, come on," Juliet whined. "Spill. Are you two back together?" She raised crossed fingers.
Andrew looked at Bridget, and her insides warmed.
"We are taking things slow."
"Boo!" Juliet rolled her eyes. "Old people are so dense. You are crazy for each other. Get over it and get married already."
Andrew shook his head and Bridget laughed.
"Go get ready for school. The second we decide to get married you will be the first to know. As of right now, we are taking things slow and getting to know each other."
Juliet rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said in a long-suffering voice only a teenager can perfect.
Bridget smiled widely as they watched Juliet leave the room.
"I'm still in awe of her acceptance." Earnestly she stared at Andrew. "I promise I won't let her down. Even if things don't work out between us." Her heart ached just thinking about it. "I won't let that change things between Juliet and I. I will always be there for her, no matter what."
Andrew nodded.
"She has been amazing me a lot lately." He sat on the bed. "I was so furious in the Hampton's but it was Juliet who made me stop being mad long enough to think." He took her hand. "I'm glad she did."
"So am I."
They shared a smile and Bridget felt light as air.
"I'm going to head into the office today and arrange for some days off."
Bridget nodded.
"This way we can work on finding Siobhan," he assured her.
The weight that had lifted sank back on her shoulders. As much as she would like to concentrate on re-building a relationship with Andrew and deepening her relationship with Juliet they had a bigger problem to hunt down and solve. Siobhan.
There was no getting around it. Finding her had to take precedence. She drew her knees to her chest and laid her chin on them.
"I think we need to find Henry. He could tell us what alias Siobhan was using. If she hasn't changed then we could track her down through that. If she has changed it then at least we have somewhere to begin looking."
"I'll call him," Andrew agreed.
"He changed his number and left the city. I wasn't sure where to start looking for him."
"I believe he has family in Chicago. When I'm at the office I will make some calls and see what I can find out. With any luck I might be able to track him down."
Bridget nodded. "While you're doing that, I'll head over to the loft and see what I can find. I can look here anytime; so I'll start there first."
"Well, we better get to it. I'll be back in a few hours and we can look here together."
She smiled happily. "I would like that."
Slowly he leaned forward and captured her lips. The simple goodbye kiss deepened, and they found themselves once again lost in each other.
"Uh-hum."
Andrew and Bridget jumped apart like guilty teenagers at the sound of Juliet meaningfully clearing her throat.
"Well, I guess things sped up since I was in here a few minutes ago," Juliet teased.
Andrew brushed the hair behind Bridget's ear before sighing.
"Are you ready for school?" he called over his shoulder.
"Yes, daddy," Juliet said sweetly.
Andrew stood and left the room but not before throwing a smile to Bridget.
"Let's go, Juliet. You don't want to be late for school."
"Okay, daddy." She winked at Bridget before leaving.
Bridget flopped back on the bed and sighed. Things weren't as they were, but they sure felt good.
Siobhan's POV:
Siobhan waited until Bridget got into a cab before lifting her cell phone to her ear.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, I disconnected the surveillance. They called in the tech support and they will have it up and running in 20 minutes at the latest so if you are going to go in undetected, now is the time."
Siobhan shut the phone, adjusted her hat, slipped on oversized glasses, and crossed the street. She waited until the doorman was busy before slipping past him. She glanced to the guard station and saw the fuzzy surveillance televisions. A uniformed tech was working on them. Quickly, she made her way to the penthouse elevator.
The elevator dinged her arrival. he stepped off and was greeted by an empty wall. Her portrait was gone. Bodaway had knifed it when he was chasing her. It was too bad; she loved that photo.
Quickly, she made her way through the apartment until she came to the walk-in closet of the master bedroom. Her old clothes hung mockingly next to many new ones. Fury filled her. Bridget got to wear the newest and latest while she was stuck with last years' designs. It wasn't fair.
Livid she put several Marc Jacobs accessories as well as a few Chanel and Gucci dresses in her oversized bag. Methodically, she chose the most expensive pieces of jewelry and shoved them into her purse when a noise stopped her. Quietly, she snuck to the door of the closet and listened.
The elevator dinged and heels could be heard walking through the apartment.
Bridget was back.
Quietly, Siobhan pulled a stun gun from the pocket of her beige trench coat. She slipped out of the closet and made her way down the hall.
Bridget was in the office bent over the desk searching in a drawer. She pulled out a set of keys just as Siobhan jumped forward. Before Bridget could turn Siobhan slammed the stun gun against her neck and pressed the button.
Excitement leapt though Siobhan as Bridget's scream turned into convulsions. Her head slammed against the desk and her body fell limply to the floor.
Siobhan tilted her head and studied her unconscious twin. Bridget's expertly highlighted hair, thanks to Siobhan's stylist, fanned against the dark floorboards. A bright slash of red, dripping blood on the floor, from where her temple struck the desk stood starkly against her pale skin.
It was getting harder and harder to see a resemblance between them. Siobhan thought to herself. She was strong, and Bridget was weak. It disgusted her that they shared the same DNA let alone the same face.
Bridget moaned.
Siobhan maliciously leaned down and stunned her again in the ribs. Smiling savagely, she jammed it harder and reveled in the feel of the electricity coursing from the plastic in her hand to her slutty sister's body. Bridget jumped and twitched though she remained unconscious.
Siobhan stood and put the stun gun away. She prodded her sister with the toe of her pointed boot, then reared back and kicked her in the stomach. Bridget didn't say a word. Disgusted Siobhan bent forward and ripped the wedding set of Bridget's lifeless finger. She slipped them back on her own hand and backed away.
A weakling, she thought with repugnance, didn't deserve beautiful things. Besides, Siobhan earned them, along with everything else she took, for putting up with Andrew over the years.
Slowly she reached into her purse and pulled out her semi-automatic pistol, and lovingly aimed it at her sister's head. She stroked the trigger and imagined the bark of a shot as it fled the chamber and rammed through Bridget's head.
It would be so simple to pull the trigger. The explosion would end the stupid bitch's existence, and Siobhan could slip back into her life without anyone being the wiser.
Her finger twitched and tightened on the trigger but stopped before pulling it.
No, she needed to be smart. She couldn't kill Bridget now. She had no way of getting rid of the body, and the mess would be too extensive to clean up before Andrew and Juliet got home. She would have to wait.
"Another time, sister dear, another time and you will get everything you deserve."
Sighing, she placed the gun back in her bag, knocked Bridget's feet out of the way, and took the back stairs to exit the building.
Another time.
Andrew's POV:
Andrew walked to the elevator of the penthouse and got on. He was anxious to get upstairs. He smiled and looked up at the numbers, willing the lift to hurry. Thinking of Bridget made him cut out earlier than he originally intended, and he wanted to let her know that he had a lead on Henry. He also wanted to hold her again.
He smiled. It was amazing what letting go of anger and resentment could do for happiness. If someone told him a week ago that he would be excited to see Bridget, he would have called them a filthy liar, but a whole lot could happen in a week.
It felt so right having her in his arms again. He knew that they needed to work on their relationship, and do it slowly, but he looked forward to the journey of dating while they got to know each other fully and re-build the trust they lost.
He arrived at the apartment and stepped off the elevator whistling. He dropped his briefcase at the console near the entrance and loosened his tie.
"Bridget? Are you home?" he called as he made his way through the apartment.
"Bridget?" He rounded the corner to the office, and his heart stopped. "Bridget!" Rushing forward he dropped to his knees and pulled her lifeless body onto his lap. Blood matted her hair at the temple and her skin was chillingly pale. Terrified, he felt for her pulse, and relief flooded through him when it throbbed against his fingers. He closed his eyes and thanked God.
"Bridget! Bridget! Wake up!" He stroked her face, but she didn't move.
Swiftly he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He told them his wife was unconscious, the address, and told them to hurry.
While he answered the operator's questions he noticed something on her neck. He turned her head and found burn marks. He placed his forehead against hers'. "Please, darling, please wake up! What happened to you?"
She moaned and his heart beat again.
"Bridget?"
Her eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, thank God," he whispered sincerely.
"Andrew? Wh-what happened?" she moaned.
"I'm not sure, love, I'm not sure. Just lie still. I called an ambulance." He stroked the hair from her face. "Did you see who did this to you?"
With a furrowed brow she spoke.
"I came home, because I for-forgot the key to the loft. I went to the desk to get it." She paused and took a breath. "I heard someone behind me but before I could look…I felt in-incredible pain all over, and th-that's all I can remember." She moaned. "I, who…"
"Shhhhh, don't say anything more. I want to get you to the hospital and get you checked out."
Bridget hated hospitals, but she didn't think she could move.
The elevator dinged and the concierge followed by the EMT's filed into the room.
"Please, my wife is over here," Andrew called frantically.
"My head hurts," she said before sinking back into oblivion.
Andrew held her hand and watched helplessly as the emergency team did their job. He couldn't lose her. Not after finding his way back to her. He couldn't lose her.
Siobhan's POV:
City sounds surrounded Siobhan as she watched her sister's unconscious body loaded into an ambulance. Andrew, ever the fool, followed closely behind. This only confirmed her suspicion that he still didn't know Bridget's true identity. He would never forgive her if he knew the truth. She studied his worried face. He certainly wouldn't be so concerned.
Siobhan shook her head as she slipped her oversized sunglasses back on her face and turned to walk in the opposite direction. It was truly amazing that her sister could keep Andrew on the hook even after he found out about Siobhan's affair with Henry. She must be really good in bed. She laughed to herself. Well, she was a prostitute. Whores get a lot of practice on their backs so she shouldn't be surprised. She probably screwed Henry, too.
That thought stopped Siobhan in her tracks as rage filled her. Quickly, she slipped into an alley and leaned against the dirty brick wall. She wanted to rip her gun out of the bag, run to the ambulance, and put a few rounds in her slut of a sister's face.
Her hands trembled, and she took deep breaths until the rage receded.
How could Henry do that to her? Tears slipped from her eyes, and she sank to the trash strewn alley floor. She wept into her knees. It was the only explanation why Henry would steal her money and tell her he no longer loved her. Especially after everything she did for them to be together. Bridget must have gotten to him. She got him to turn on Siobhan, and now they had her stolen money while Bridget bided her time until she could steal Andrew's, too.
That greedy little slut wouldn't get away with it. She stood quickly and let the need for vengeance fill her and move her forward. A woman walking past the alley took one look into Siobhan's crazed eyes and sidled past quickly.
Siobhan wiped her cheeks dry, gritted her teeth, and swept into the foot traffic. She balled her hands into fists and ground them into the bottom of her coat pocket.
The bitch would pay. She would pay if it was the last thing Siobhan did.