Suits & Aces (#3)

90 // Good Samaritan

Brianna slipped out of her heels and shrugged off her coat simultaneously, and then threw the coat on the armrest before plopping down on the couch with an exasperated sigh.

She laid back, facing the ceiling, and closed her eyes. It was ten minutes into 12p.m., and she had just arrived home from Ireland. Thankfully, her husband was at work and the kids were at elementary school, so she could catch a rest before the kids made their return.

Brianna barely slept the previous night, she was exhausted from the hectic evening she had and from travelling. And to top it off, she was losing her mind waiting for Javier to update her on his trip.

Her eyes were heavy and she was starting to drift off when her phone blared up, and she fumbled about and searched her coat, retrieving the phone and answering the international call.

"Javier!"

A soft chuckle sounded from the other side, and she slumped back in her seat, relieved to hear his voice. "Missed me that much?" He asked, humour in his voice.

"I was worried about you," she admitted. "How did it go? Is everything in place?"

"Well... so far so good, the plan is in motion. I'm keeping everything on the quiet. Thanks for the location, by the way, Danielle is going to see Samantha later."

She knew she did not need to tell them to be careful, Danielle knew better than anyone exactly what Samantha was capable of, and Javier would never allow for anything to happen to his wife.

Brianna had never been close to Danielle, but she could see her brother cared about her a lot despite her history with men and alcohol.

"How are things on your side? Any luck tracking down Sienna's kidnappers?"

The hope in his voice tied her insides in a knot, and she wished she had the answer he wanted. "No, nothing yet." The silence that followed was deafening.

Brianna could feel his pain and desperation, and she wished there was a way to lift it all off his shoulders. Everything that happened lately made her think about their relationship and how she always fought to keep him away instead of embracing him, and now, she wanted nothing more than to embrace him without having to hide her identity.

"Javier," she said after a while, his soft breathing was the reassurance she needed to know that he was still on the line. "I don't want to hide anymore, I'm tired of running away from who I am. I am tired of living in fear... I want to be free. And the price of freedom does not entail losing you. I realise that now."

"That's good, Brianna, that's good."

She relaxed as if a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. "So then, would you like to join us for dinner sometime later next week?" He remained quiet, and she quickly understood why. "No funny business, I promise, Javier. I want to start on a clean slate. It's going to be me and my husband, and the two of you. You can also meet the kids."

"I'd really love that, thank you, Bree. Get some rest, I'll call you later."

The line died, and she laid back on the couch and prepared herself to sleep when her phone rang again.

“Hello?” She answered lazily.

“Hi, am I speaking to Brianna?” A woman’s voice asked, and Brianna sighed.

“I’m not interested in an insurance policy.”

The woman chuckled in humour. “Uhm… Miss? I’m calling from Ms Sienna Ortiz’s phone.” Brianna’s eyes bulged as she scrambled into a sitting position. “You are one of the only two contacts on her phone, so, I was actually just calling to let you know that Ms Sienna was admitted earlier today.”