Heart of Ice (17 page)

“Thirsty,” she managed to rasped out. Martha
quickly got her some water. She took little small sips.

“It’s okay dear, Charles and I will take
care of you.” She said rubbing soothing circles on her back.
Christina bit her lip and tried to hold back the tears. She was
hungry, exhausted and scared of what to do next. Matt was crazy.
What if he came looking for her? She had to get out of town
fast.

Charles entered the room with Martha’s
homemade chicken and dumplings soup. He passed the soup to Martha
after she released Christina.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. He was surprised
that she looked at him with shame in her eyes. She had nothing to
be ashamed of. He finally asked her the questioned that had been on
his mind since the call.

“What happened?”

Christina looked at Charles and couldn’t
hold it in anymore. She needed to talk to someone. She had to get a
hold of Sarah and fast.

“He found out, and he wasn’t happy.” She
sobbed.

“Calm down,” Charles said while Martha
patted her on the back.

“Oh Charlie, I had a doctor’s appointment on
Monday, because I was late. I’m pregnant.”

Martha shouted for joy and jumped up and
down. She shoved Charles out of the way before taking Christina’s
hands.

“That’s lovely dear. I’m so excited.” She
said bouncing in her seat. Christina began to laugh. She was happy
that someone was excited about the babies. Wiping her tears away
she decided to drop the bomb on them.

“Well, I hope you are because there’s two.
They are going to need papa and nana to take care of them.” She
giggled.

Charles and Martha looked at each other, and
then Martha burst into tears. It took Christina completely by
surprised.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong,” she
asked bewildered.

“No you’ve said everything right.” Charles
said stroking his wife’s hair.

“So I take it the boyfriend wasn’t too
happy.”

“No, I’ve never seen him so furious. I had
just found out about being pregnant with twins and I was going to
tell him everything when he got home. He went berserk. I can’t go
back. I wouldn’t. I got to get away. He’s very powerful and
probably has eyes and ears everywhere.” Christina said.

Charles watched her carefully. He’d seen
that look before. It was a hunted look, and clearly she was the
prey. Was this her first time? Clearly the boyfriend couldn’t be
that powerful.

“Eat up,” Martha said smiling feeding
Christina.

“You’re eating for two.” Christina opened
her mouth wide and ate. Tears sprung to her eyes, it must be the
hormones. She was very grateful to have met this couple.

***

Matt sat on the couch despondent while
Collum cleaned the penthouse up. It was on this very couch that his
little angel rocked his world. He remembered releasing into her
mouth, her chanting his name. He stood up and screamed. Dammit! He
would not let another woman run him from his home. He decided to
help Collum clean up, at least that would take his mind off things.
Picking up the glass, he saw little spots of blood among them. Had
he hurt her? He hadn’t meant to. What if she was out there bleeding
in the rain somewhere? He ran to the bathroom to cool down. He was
a sicko. Even if she was a murderer he still wanted her. He could
make her fall for him, and he’ll give her the world. If it was
money she wanted she could have it. She didn’t have to kill him for
it. He would give it to her as long as she stayed with him. They
would be okay. Everything was going to be fine. He would need to
check and make sure she wasn’t lost out in the rain. He grabbed a
jacket and umbrella.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Collum
asked him.

“Out for a walk.”

“In this shit, please.”

“I’m going to get her back.”

“No! I will not allow you to have another
emotional breakdown. If you do it again the company wouldn’t be
able to handle it Matt. You went off for so long that I didn’t
sleep. I was worried about you, worried about the company. I am not
skilled enough to be running a multibillion industry. I don’t want
those responsibilities Matt. I will not stand in and take control
of the reins anymore. Grow the fuck up.”

“Pardon me,”

“You fucking heard me man! Every time you
lose something. You act like a child. They are nothing but women.
They are like instruments, play them and then move on.”

“Where did you get your analysis or
experience from? Hmm, sounds like you’ve been played.”

“Fuck you!”

“Who’s the child now?” Matt said taunting
Collum. In a fit of rage and a moment of stupidity, Collum rushed
at Matt. He threw the first punch. Matt dodged it and brought his
knee up to counterattack. Collum used both hands to thrust down
before side stepping and appearing behind Matt. He grabbed his arm
ready to flip him, when Matt widen his stance to throw of the
momentum. They both hit the floor. At this point they rolled around
trying to strangle each other.

“You motherfucker, I hate you!” Collum said
reaching up to strangle Matt.

“Same, you dirty bastard.”

They both gritted their teeth and yelled
obscene terms at each other until they expended their energy. Lying
on the floor the two men caught their breath.

“Look man, I’m…”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to talk
about it anymore,” Matt said. His hearted ached in his chest. His
fury had been so great with Natalia, but with Christina all he
could think about was her wide innocent grey eyes. He fought back
the tears. He would cry in private.

***

A week had past. Christina had been spoiled
rotten by the couple. Charles was at work and she was having tea
with Martha. Christina was trying to come up with a plan. She
couldn’t stay in New York forever. She had to get away. She brought
the idea up, but they insisted that she stayed just a bit longer
and before she knew it, she had been there for a week. She smiled
as Martha kissed her on the forehead before tending to her small
garden. Christina retreated to her bedroom. She decided to give
Sarah a call.

“Hello?”

“I’m starting to think that you don’t want
me around Chris,” Sarah said hurtfully into the phone.

“That’s not true. I wasn’t safe.”

“What?!”

“Matt totally went ape shit on me, and
that’s not even half of it,” she cried into the phone.

“What happened? Where are you?”

“Sarah I got to get out of New York. You
know how powerful Matt is. I’m sure he has eyes and ears
everywhere.”

“Are you absolutely serious?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I own a cottage, it yours for the
taking everything works.”

“What’s the problem then?”

“It’s in Cornwall.”

“Eh? You mean England?”

“Yup.”

Christina held the phone. Her thoughts raced
around in her mind. It was definitely far enough from Matt. Could
she do it? Hell yeah she could do it. She no longer had a choice.
She really didn’t have to work; she invested enough in the stock
market to be able to live off it.

“I’ll do it.”

“Good.”

“How would we get there? I don’t want Matt
to know where I’m going.”

“I don’t know. You got me stumped with that
one.”

“Okay, I need to call around and figure
something out. Then I call you back.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

Christina debated about calling Mr.
Williams; she turned his business card over in her hand. He did
tell her to call her if she needed anything. This was beyond
needing anything though. She needed a whole new identity. She threw
the card down. She couldn’t get any more people involved.

It was there on her bed with glassy eyes
Charles found her.

“What’s wrong?”

“My friend has a cottage in Cornwall that I
could live in until this stuff blows over, but I don’t want my
boyfriend to know where I’m going.”

“You need a new identity?”

“Well yes.”

“Perhaps, I could be of some assistance.” He
said smirking at her. She looked at Charles in surprise. Just who
in the hell was this old man?

Chapter 22

Two weeks later, Christina held all her
official documents in her hand. She was no longer Christina Moore,
she was now Tina Washington. She was so grateful to Charles. She
hugged and held him tight and close.

“You will always be my dad, Charlie. I’m so
grateful.” She whispered into his ear bringing tears to his
eyes.

“Don’t think Martha and I would let you get
far. We have home in Cornwall as well dear. It’s going to take some
time wrapping up ties here before leaving, but you be safe.”
Charles turned to Sarah; he knew instantly who she was when he saw
her. He doubt if she recognized him, but he would be forever
grateful for all the support she’s given Christina.

“Okay, we’re ready to go now,” Sarah turned
to the older couple and hugged both of them. When she hugged
Charles, his cologne smelt familiar. She shook her head. Grabbing
Christina’s hand they left.

“You know you still haven’t told me the big
secret?” Sarah said turning towards Christina.

“I know. I was so focused on coming up with
a plan of action. I just wanted to be safe, and oddly I didn’t
realize how small New York was until I needed an out.”

“Go on.”

“I’m pregnant Sarah, with twins.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Sarah yelled staring at
Christina with wide eyes. Sarah watched Christina with speculative
eyes. Her hair was no longer black, but a deep auburn color, her
eye brows were dyed to match the color of her hair, but her large
grey eyes still gave her away.

“Do you think the cottage will be big
enough?” Christina asked.

“Yeah it’s big enough. It really just sleeps
one but you’ll be able to accommodate the twins. I mean you can’t
live there forever of course, because they’ll outgrow it. It
sufficient for their toddler years.” She said looking at
Christina.

“This means, I’m going to be an aunt! Omg!”
Sarah squealed.

“Wait a minute, was this the reason you guys
had that row?” Sarah asked.

“Row?”

“I meant argument.” Sarah said correcting
herself.

“Well yeah. What’s strange was even when I
told him he still called me a liar. I didn’t have any idea what he
was talking about.”

“Weird. Is there anything about your past
that someone of Matt’s caliber could have come across?”

“No.” Christina said immediately. Matt was
just crazy. She wasn’t ever going back to that bastard. The women
boarded their flights and were soon airborne. They were on their
way to Cornwall.

***

Christina gasped as she took in the scenery.
Sarah wasn’t kidding. It was definitely isolated, but it looked
cozy and safe. She reminded herself that Charlie and Martha would
be here soon after they wrapped up their business. The cottage was
perfect. It was small but it would do. Its outer layer consisted of
wooden material with a White Sea window. It was right on the ocean.
She entered the cottage with Sarah.

“Sarah this is lovely,” she said turning to
hug her friend. The living room, bedroom, kitchen occupied one
corner of the small floor plan. You could see the entry part from
the corner of the cottage. She loved how the cottage was nested on
the sea side. It was oddly peaceful and she could definitely take a
break away from her crazy life. Just focus on nursing the two
little babies that were growing inside of her.

“No problem, you are my heart. Now go sit
down while I whip us up something to eat.”

Christina relaxed on the couch. It felt so
good to let people take care of her for a change. She closed her
eyes and was soon fast to sleep.

***

Charles was upset. He didn’t want to press
Christina for more information but he wanted to know who the
identity of the bastard that harmed her. He would make him pay. He
left Martha in the house and went to the gym. He was in great
condition for a man in his early fifties. Charles’ body was in the
same physical shape it was in his younger days. He took out his
frustration out on the equipment. He decided to retire from the
company. The only reason he remained at the corporation was due to
loyalty. He didn’t want to leave Matt in a difficult position. He
smiled when he realized that little Christina did enough work that
the company would be fine for two years. She even did some
investing into stocks and they were reaping the benefits now. The
child was clearly a gift, and he was going to be a grandpa. After
all the pain, the loneliness that he’d been through, he was finally
going to have a family. He knew Martha had been devastated when
they realized that she wouldn’t been able to give him what he
always wanted, but they were going to be fine. He had a daughter
now, and he could think of nothing better to do but spoil her and
those future babies. He grinned; twins. Martha and his life would
never be the same. He knew there was something about her the moment
he met her. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t realized that someone
had joined him.

“How have you been doing old man?”

“Collum Davenport, what are you doing here?”
he asked him rising from the weight bench.

“Same as you. Letting go some
frustration.”

“Just so you know; I’m retiring.”