Honey Trapped

Chapter Forty-Two- -THE END

They took Liza's car to the airport with Brogue taking the driver's seat. Liza offered Pria the front passenger, but she declined. She rolled down her window to give Silvana one last hug. As they pulled out of the drive, Liza reached into her glove compartment and offered her brother a piece of gum.

"All right," Pria said, finally breaking her silence. "What the hell is it with your brother and that damned gum?"

Brogue and Liza looked at each other, sharing a smile.

"What?" Pria asked.

Brogue was unwrapping the piece as Liza said, "It's his thermometer for the women in his life." She turned laughing eyes to Pria. "It's how he gauges our moods."

"Good to know." Pria snatched the gum out of Brogue's hand and chucked it out the window, then sat back against her seat and folded her arms.

Brogue glared at her through the rearview mirror. Liza burst into laughter.

They arrived at the airport as the sun made its appearance. He guided her to the terminal and they sat, waiting for their flight like two strangers, sitting side by side but their bodies leaning away from each other. The terminal was mostly empty, with only a few bystanders here and there. He glanced over at her, but she was staring off into the distance, chin in her hand. They hadn't spoken a single word to each other since she had given him the pictures.

The flight was equally as silent. The only word Pria spoke to him was a quick, "Sorry," when she almost knocked his drink from his tray. He didn't know how to be this way with her. This whole thing was ridiculous.

Her head bobbed as she began to nod off. Brogue rolled his eyes at himself as he lifted the armrest between them and pulled her against his chest while he leaned against the window. She melted into him easily and settled into sleep.

As they made their way out of the airport and to the car park, he finally got tired of the silence. If today was the last day she ever spoke to him, then he wanted the air clear before they parted ways. Brogue opened the truck door for her,then put the bags in the bed. He glanced over at her again as he settled into the driver's seat and started the engine. "Where is he buried?"

She flinched. "St. Raymond's."

The cemetery wasn't in the best neighborhood, but the grounds were consecrated and well maintained. He pulled along the curb at the row of gravestones Pria directed him to. "Are you coming?"

"In a bit. I'll give you some time alone. It's the seventh stone on the right."

There was a small ceramic teddy bear attached to the stone. The stone itself was engraved with the constellation of the baby's zodiac sign and inside a large crescent moon was the picture of his eternally sleeping son. He sat in the grass, uncaring that his suit pants would be worse for wear. A long time passed as he stared at the picture of his little boy.

Her footsteps crunched lightly in the grass, and when she sat next to him, he took her hand in his.

"Did you know it was Vic? Before I went to question you, that is."

"Yes. He was the one that pulled me out of my car."

"Why didn't you tell me it was him?"

She blew a raspberry. "I wasn't exactly in a trusting mood back then."

"And you, with your stubborn streak, didn't think to ask for help. Even from Williams. Did you have support?"

"Niki." Pria's eyes watered. "I called her right after you left. She stayed with me through the whole thing."

"Why did you choose the name Angelo?"

"Look at him." Her gaze was on the stone in front of them, expression tender. "It's hard to make out in the pictures, but his face was perfect. His mouth looked like a little heart. The perfect little angel."