Nothing Up His Sleeve [Fiction]

You bastard! Why aren't you picking my calls? You think you can hide from this? Know that I'm taking you down with me.

Wolfe Hartmann ended the voicemail and flung his phone onto the couch. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass door of his living room, the entire town spread before him.

It was past two am. The sky was dark and starless, tiny house lights blinking across the sleeping streets. He gulped down the last of his scotch and sucked his teeth as the drink burned down his throat.

He gazed dropped to the RF monitor around his ankle that blinked at intervals. He groaned. Being the deputy mayor, he was given bail and placed under house arrest.

He burned with rage. He wanted to make Cole Edgewood pay for his silence at that crucial time but he had nothing up his sleeve. Yet.

It was the bastard's fault! He clenched his hands and the alluring image of Victoria replaced Cole's in his mind.

He sighed, and slid down onto his plush Persian rug, gripping his head. The night that complicated his life unspooled before his eyes like a reel running through a projector.

He was working late again. Then he heard soft sobs and sniffles coming from Cole's office. He stepped into the hallway and realised all the staff had gone home.

“Hello?” He called, opening the door to see Victoria sitting on the edge of Cole's desk. She looked…fragile and more beautiful. Vulnerable in a way that stirred something dark and protective inside him.

She and Cole had lost their only child, George, just months before.

“Victoria? Are you alright?” He whispered, moving towards her with his arms stretched out.

Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I…I need Cole. Do you know where he is?” She pressed a handkerchief to her face.

“Oh Victoria.”

She was in his arms in an instant and wept against his chest. The scent of vanilla and caramel from her skin made him close his eyes and bury his face in her hair. Her silk top glided softly on her body as he held her.

Wolfe's hands had a mind of their own at that moment, gently stroking her back before gliding down to her backside. Victoria was no longer crying but softly moaning.

She pulled back slightly to look at him. Their faces were too close. The sight of her teary eyes and slightly parted lips undid him. He crushed his lips to hers in a blink.

Damn it! He muttered, snapping the memory. He pushed himself to his feet and began to pace his living room.

She was dead and buried, yet her presence haunted him day and night. Her scent was everywhere he went.

But he had seen her first and wanted her.

Back in high school when he and Cole were friends. He'd always come second to Cole in everything. He had the ideas and brain while Cole had the charm and his family name. Victoria chose Cole instead.

He thought he had made his peace with it until that night.

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece that is a chapter in a thriller series. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "nothing up my sleeve". You can follow the attached links to keep up with the story.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{_{Image credit: Scigola}}