Only Consenting Adults Ch. 20

[Author's note: After learning that his wife, Rosa, is probably being held at Sanctuary Point, Aidan has made up his mind to rescue her. Eve has decided to help, against Adam's advice.]

---

THE CAVALRY

Aidan turned the key in the lock. The front door clicked open and he pushed it, revealing an empty hallway. He crossed the threshold, alert for any sound within the apartment, but there was only silence. Eve followed behind him, and he turned.

"Do you mind waiting here?" he asked.

"Sure, no problem," Eve nodded.

Aidan's gaze roamed the walls. He settled on the kitchen and strode towards it.

It looked the same as it always had, even down to the positioning of the salt and pepper by the knife block. Everything was neat. He went over to the refrigerator and opened it, cataloguing the contents. There was a carton of milk in the door and he took it out and opened it. His nose wrinkled at the sour smell. Checking the side, he found that the date had expired. It was still half full.

Aidan closed the door, sweeping the room again. There were glasses upturned on the drying rack; the sunlight making them sparkle. He crossed the hallway into the living room, finding the same scene. The cushions were plumped, the coffee table cleared, everything left neat and tidy, revealing nothing.

The bathroom was the same, but her toothbrush was missing. The milk came back to his mind, the expiry date, how full it was. The apartment had been empty for a while. He opened the storage cupboard, noting two suitcases there. He pushed one and found that it was full. At last, he came to the bedroom. Standing at the closed door, he halted, his hand on the knob. Aidan gritted his teeth and opened it.

The bedroom was different to how he remembered it. The bedsheets were new, pure white and expensive looking. The items on the bedside tables were different too, there were things he didn't recognise, but only on her side. Aidan's side of the bed was bare. On a whim he opened the drawers but found nothing in there. He looked in the wardrobe, then in the tall chest of drawers, finding nothing. She had removed everything he'd left behind. He thought back to the two suitcases, and suddenly the vigour drained from him: she had packed him up and stored him away. He could just take the suitcase and leave, and it would be like he'd never lived here.

He found himself staring at her clothes, hung up in the wardrobe. There was the sleeve of a summer top, and suddenly he was back in the car, years ago, in the warm sun with the windows down singing as the wind whipped Rosa's luscious, long, dark hair around her face. He remembered the look in her eyes, as if it was a moment ago, the way she had smiled at him, her excitement as they hurtled through the countryside.

His view rippled and he blinked rapidly, brushing the moisture away from his cheeks. But, he couldn't stop remembering the way they had felt, the two of them together facing the future. The silence of the apartment enveloped him, the cold present impinging on the past: a rolling, surging tidal wave of emptiness that threatened to drown him. It had been so perfect.

He began to move, lurching forward, out the door and down the hallway. He could see Eve, still waiting outside.

---

Eve watched Aidan disappear into his apartment, and then she called Adam.

"Hey," she said when he answered.

"Hi," the voice replied, "What's news?"

"Just thought I'd check in, see how your day was."

"Fine. You?"

Eve hesitated, "Yeah, look, good so far."

"So far?"

There was a note of suspicion in Adam's voice.

"Yeah. Well, I'm standing outside Aidan's apartment at the moment."

Another pause, longer this time.

"You still there?" Eve asked.

"Yeah," Adam replied, "Still here. Uh, why?"

"Why am I here?"

"Yeah."

Eve cast a glance down the hall, watching Aidan moving from room to room.

"Aidan needed to check it out, and he doesn't have transport."

"I'm sure he's got friends, Eve. Why are you the one helping him?"

Eve wrinkled her nose.

"Because he needs help. You know me, you know that's what I do."

"He doesn't need your help, Eve."

"Are you saying I just leave him to it?"

"Pretty much. It's nothing to do with you."

Eve paused, frowning. When she spoke, there was an edge to her voice.

"You heard him, the other night. You saw the look on his face."

"I did, and I realised that there are some things I shouldn't get involved in."

"Just wait," Eve replied, more forcefully now, "What if his wife's there at Sanctuary Point? She sure as hell isn't home. This place looks deserted."

"What if she's taken her new boyfriend's offer to have time away? What if he's making her feel better with spa treatments on the house? Eve, really, if you were in her shoes, with an ex turning up out of the blue and stalking you, wouldn't you jump at the chance?"

Eve's words died on her lips; Adam was making sense. The talk of Richard Scott and blackmail recordings and secret rooms had appealed to her professional curiosity, casting the events in a particular light. But Adam's view was equally plausible. There was a chance that Davey didn't have his father's recordings, that the blackmail was being continued for other reasons by other associates of his father.

"Adam," she mumbled, "I guess. But what if you're wrong? What if she's in trouble?"

There was a sigh on the other end of the line, then, "Don't go to Sanctuary Point, Eve. Promise me you won't go on some wild goose chase."

"I...."

"You're a cop, right?"

"I know, and that's why...."

"He's got a restraining order. What if Davis is there? What are you going to do then? Aren't you aiding and abetting?"

"No."

"You sure?"

Aidan was coming down the hallway towards her now, his face dark and brooding.

"Look, hey, I gotta go," she blurted.

"Eve, don't do anything foolish."

"I won't. Look, I'll call you."

There was a brief pause, then Adam said, "I love you."

Eve nodded as Aidan approached her.

"Me too," she said and ended the call.

She looked up at Aidan brightly. "Find what you wanted?" she asked as he stepped back into the corridor.

"I think so."

"Was it a weapon?"

Aidan gave her a sharp look, but could see that she was teasing.

"Let's go," he replied.

"Where?"

"You know where. Sanctuary Point."

Aidan closed the door behind him, but made no move to walk away, his hand still on the handle.

"You can't go there Aidan. The restraining order, remember?"

"Where else could she be?" he rumbled, "She's there. Davey's got her."

Suddenly he was in motion, pacing towards the elevators. "Let's go," he called over his shoulder, "You drive."

Eve stared at his retreating back, unsure. What if Adam was right? What if he was wrong? What did her gut say? Putting her head down, she followed Aidan to the elevators.

---

The conversation died before they'd got out of the city, and Eve drove the rest of the way to Sanctuary Point in silence. Aidan had a simple plan. He'd booked a spa treatment under a false name and was going to spend the day there; all Eve had to do was drop him off. It seemed straightforward, allowing Aidan to wander the facility until he located his wife. His reasoning was sound enough: she needed to eat, she would want to use the facilities, it wasn't a large place. He'd see her soon enough if she was there.

After that point, his plan became fuzzy, which was giving Eve cause for concern. He seemed to think that appearing in front of her and confessing his love would be enough, that she would see the truth at last. He was prepared to risk everything to win her back. But what if Adam was right? Instead of helping a friend in pain, what if she was aiding a stalker to locate his victim? She confessed to herself that she was playing a hunch. There was a little gut instinct that told her to go along with him.

Sweeping up the hill on the gravel road, Aidan became animated again.

"Just there," he said, "Can you see it? There's a carpark in front."

"Yeah, okay."

"Just drop me, I can take it from there."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

They crested the hill and swept down to a collection of low sandstone buildings. Eve parked the car and turned off the engine. She hesitated for a moment, and then unbuckled her seatbelt.

"What're you doing?" Aidan asked.

"I'm coming."

"Why? I'll be fine."

"I'll just go with you to the reception. That's all. Okay?"

Aidan paused, his hand on the door handle, then nodded.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," he said, and got out.

Eve cursed herself silently. If Davis was in the building, this was a breach of Aidan's restraining order, and his goose would be cooked. There were too many variables. Reluctantly, she picked up her purse and her phone and got out of the car.

Standing in the middle of the gravel carpark, she scanned the buildings. The warm, amber sandstone yielded a large single door in a richly polished dark wood. Other than that, there were no obvious features of the building. The grass sloped away down the hill, revealing other structures nestled in the landscape in close proximity. The location was exposed, set high above the vast expanse of a lake below that glittered in the morning sun.

Aidan hadn't moved. He was looking up into the sky above the building, his eyes fixed on a single dark speck dancing high in the cloudless blue. It was a single swallow, darting and weaving in the air above Sanctuary Point. Aidan smiled.

"Cheers, Hardy," he murmured to himself, "Thanks for the help."

Eve frowned. "What?" she asked.

Aidan was suddenly in motion, approaching the sturdy wooden door.

"It's all good," he muttered, "Such is life."

Inside, the reception area was circular and expansive, clad in the same warm stone and lit from above by a ring of skylights. Opposite them was a woman behind a desk that matched the dark wood of the door. Aidan crossed the sandstone floor towards her, striding purposefully, but Eve hung back a few paces, watching from a distance.

"Fuller," he announced to the pretty receptionist.

She peered at her screen and then nodded, saying, "Mr. Fuller, yes. Nice to meet you. Booked in for eleven o'clock?"

"That's correct."

She smiled warmly. "Good. Let me just get someone to see to you. One moment."

Aidan appeared relaxed. So far, his plan was working, Eve conceded. Perhaps Adam's caution was undeserved.

The receptionist stepped away from the desk, looking down the corridor behind her, then back to Aidan.

"Sorry," she said, "It seems everyone's busy... ah, wait."

"Do you need something?" rumbled a man's voice, unseen behind the wall.

"I have a new guest," she replied, "I was looking for someone to...."

"Of course, I can do that."

The way that Aidan tensed told Eve that something was wrong. When the man appeared, he turned to face Aidan and then stopped. A smile spread slowly across his face, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen.

"Yes, could you come to reception please?" he said, "Urgent, yes."

Calmly, he ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Aidan," he said, "I would say that's it's a surprise, but it's not. Too easy."

"Davey," Aidan growled, "Where's Rosa?"

Davey didn't respond. Instead, he folded his arms.

"What have you done with her?" Aidan persisted, "You piece of shit."

Another man appeared, bigger than Davey.

"I don't care who you fucking call for back-up," Aidan hissed, "I want to see my wife."

"Aidan, I just thought I needed to let you know, you're within fifty metres of me. I'm concerned for my safety, and you're using threatening language."

"Fuck you. You can't stop me seeing her."

"Wanna bet?"

Aidan shook his head slowly, turning to Eve for a moment. She saw it there in his eyes, and she understood. He knew he was fucked, that there was no way through, and yet he was going to do it anyway. He closed his eyes. She wanted to call out, say something, but it all happened so fast.

Aidan unleashed himself in one fluid movement at his one-time friend, catching him square in the chest with his shoulder, sending Davey backwards into the wall. Davey's head hit the stone with a crack, but the security man was in motion now, lunging for Aidan, knocking him off-balance. Davey reeled, rebounding from the impact, trying to extricate himself. He wasn't quick enough, clipped by Aidan's swinging fist and sent sprawling across the room, pressing Eve up against the wall as Aidan wrestled with the huge man in the black t-shirt.

Davey leapt back into the fray, his face a mask of fury, and grabbed Aidan by the arm. The security man took advantage of the distraction, kicking Aidan's legs away, slamming him to his knees and pinning Aidan's arm behind his back.

"That's enough," the man grunted, "Stay down. It's all done. Just stay down."

Davey stood over him, breathing hard, his initial icy demeanour stripped back to reveal a wild look in his eyes.

"You've really outdone yourself now, man. I'm going to enjoy what happens next."

"Try me," Aidan rasped, "You just fucking try. Let's go."

"Nah, but you got that right. You're gonna go. You're done."

"Come on Davey, just you and me. Or do you need back-up because you're too piss weak to deal with me yourself?"

"You're hilarious, you know that? Tragic, and hilarious. It's such a shame. I cannot for the life of me see what she ever saw in you."

"Come on, prick. Call him off and let's do it. I'm gonna fuck you up and then I'm gonna find my wife. C'mon you fucking coward. Do your own dirty work."

Davey looked down at him, rubbing the back of his head where he'd slammed into the wall. He took a deep breath.

"That's the thing, Aidan. I don't have to."

Davey looked up, noticing Eve against the wall. "I'm very sorry you were exposed to this incident. We've never had this behaviour on the premises before, but as you can see, we're prepared for all eventualities. Please accept my apologies."

Davey straightened his collar, brushing against the red mark on his chin where Aidan's fist had caught him.

"I think we're done here, aren't we?" he mused.

Aidan looked over to Eve, standing close to the wall, his eyes pleading for help. Eve dusted herself off, but instead of coming to Aidan's assistance, she turned away, marching to the reception desk.

"Marissa Jain," she announced to the receptionist, then looked back over her shoulder at Aidan. "That was unpleasant."

Subdued, Aidan could only look on helplessly. The receptionist, visibly flustered by the altercation, made a show of scanning her screen. She looked up with a confused expression.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Jain, I don't...."

"Ten thirty," Eve insisted, casting glances back to Aidan and the burly man pinning his arm behind his back.

She snapped back to the receptionist. "I don't know what's going on here, but I would like my reservation. Jain. J, A, I, N. Please check."

The receptionist shook her head, slowly.

"My husband booked the spa for me for my birthday. You must have it."

"I'm sorry, I don't."

Eve stared at her and then slowly began to sag. She began to rub her arm where Davey had crashed into her. When she spoke, it was in more subdued tones.

"My ex-husband," she confessed, "He must have cancelled it."

The acid tone was gone now. Eve looked imploringly at the receptionist.

"It's just, uh... I just really needed a spa day," she said in a small voice.

"I understand, please, let me see what I can do."

Eve looked across to Aidan, held kneeling on the floor by the security man while Davey called the police, then back to the receptionist.

"Whatever you can do, I'd appreciate it," she said. "Men can be so unreliable."

---

Davey strode through the main area of Sanctuary Point, fiddling with the cuff of his shirt. He'd lost a button in the altercation, one final annoyance from having to deal with Rosa's baggage. Still, it had all worked out superbly, even down to the look on Aidan's face as the police led him away.

He passed through a set of tall double doors out onto the wide balcony area where guests were resting in ones and twos between treatments, soaking up the sunshine. The spa was buzzing, running at close to full capacity, but it was the calibre of the clientele that was especially pleasing: up-and-coming notables, the in-crowd, attracted through an aggressive social media campaign that had begun ironically enough with Aidan's posts of his beautiful, sexy wife in her bikini on the balcony of the private suite.

He approached a small table where a woman sat on her own, and he took a seat without waiting for permission. She was older, in her fifties, with straight blonde hair down to her shoulders, framing an elegant face, her slim figure flattered by a summer dress in white and pale blue vertical stripes. She held a coffee cup in delicate fingers, poised close to her full, soft lips.

"Sorry, Jodie, just a little business I needed to deal with."

"No trouble, Davis, none at all. Though any trouble for you? You seem a little flustered," Jodie asked. "There's a mark on your cheek."

"No, far from it. Everything's going as planned."

"Good. You must be run off your feet. The place is brimming."

"I'm managing, thanks to the team. They're handpicked."

"And discreet?"

"Yes, extremely discreet."

"That's wonderful."

Jodie emptied her cup and placed it down carefully on the table.

"Speaking of which," she continued, "I would love a tour."

"Where would you like to start?"

"Ah, wherever you like. Then, why don't you show me your little project? I'm dying to see."

Davey swung himself off the seat, beckoning his companion to follow, leading her between the tables and inside. He paused at the doors into the treatment centre, patting his belt, frowning.

"A problem?"

Davey looked up. "No, I just need to visit reception for a minute."

He strode through to the front, a wry smile on his face. He had to hand it to Aidan, he'd been quick. Davey hadn't even felt the lift, but his keycard was gone. He shook his head ruefully: what had Aidan hoped to achieve? In the reception area, he approached the pretty receptionist.

"Would you be able to follow up with the police, please? I believe the gentleman stole my access key. Have them frisk him for it when he gets to the station."

The receptionist nodded.

"Oh, and I'll need a replacement."

"Not a problem."

Davey waited while she tapped her screen. A few moments later she slid a blank card into the machine and then handed it to him.

Yes, Davey thought as he made his way back to Jodie, that was Aidan through and through: too many spy movies, all impulse and no plan. What Rosa had ever seen in him was beyond Davey's ability to comprehend. Re-joining Jodie, he tapped his new keycard and the door clicked open.

"Sorry about that. Shall we?"

Davey gave his companion the tour, showing her the gym, the indoor pool, the sauna, the state-of-the-art kitchens. Eventually, they came to a halt in the wide corridor that led through the facility and out through a glass door to the chalets set into the hillside beyond. Jodie reached out and laid a hand on his arm.

"Your Daddy would have been so proud, Davis. If he could see what you've achieved, he would be bursting."

Her hand shifted, her fingers tracing over his torso, pausing on his chest. She looked up into his eyes and smiled.

"I'm so proud," she murmured.

"I'm glad," Davey replied, "That you're proud of me."

Jodie studied his face.

"Richard was so concerned about leaving you an orphan, but look what you became. Who."

She patted his chest, smiling up at him.

"Such a wonderful boy. So strong."

The hand reached up to brush his neck, her eyes following the progress of her fingers over his skin. She bit her lip.