A Dangerous Affair

By the time that Tom and Stephanie arrived back at her house both of them were exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Stephanie went upstairs and Tom followed. When she came out of the bathroom she said goodnight to Tom before entering her bedroom and climbing straight into bed. Tom went into the spare bedroom, took off his suit and shirt and then went back to Stephanie’s room. He climbed into bed behind her and she looked back at him with a frown but when he pulled her against him and held her tightly in his arms she realised that she really wanted him there. Besides she was far too tired to argue with him so she held onto his arms which were wrapped around her and closed her eyes. Surprisingly Stephanie fell asleep almost instantly but Tom lay awake for hours, despite the fact that his body craved sleep. Many thoughts went through his head that night. He wondered again about Stephanie’s father. Who was he that the Carltons should know about him? The words of Henry Carlton also went through his head over and over again. He wasn’t so concerned about Henry anymore as he was now in custody but his biggest worry now was Henry’s father. He looked down at Stephanie sleeping in his arms and he felt so amazed that she had put so much trust in him. He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, he felt honoured to be able to do so although he feared that he had let her down in some way that evening. He tightened his arms around her and kissed the back of her head, nuzzling into her hair and breathing in the reassuring perfume of her. He’d die before he let anyone touch her again.

When Tom awoke in the morning Stephanie had already got up and he was surprised that he hadn’t noticed it beforehand. He bolted out of the bed, a little disconcerted by her absence, but he was relieved to hear noises coming from downstairs and he found her making coffee in the kitchen.

“What time is it?” Tom asked, sitting at the kitchen table.

She turned and placed a mug of coffee in front of him. “Time we should be getting to work. I want to figure out Hugh Carlton and wrap this whole thing up. The sooner the better.”

“I’ll second that,” Tom said, watching her face and trying to assess her mood. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I just want this finished.”

He jumped up off the chair, picking up his mug. “Let’s finish it then. I’ll just get changed.”

In the car on the way to the office Tom broached the subject of explaining last night’s events to Brick. To his surprise though Stephanie was vehement in her insistence not to tell him about her being taken by Henry.

“But don’t you think we should be open about everything? We need to work together on this and I don’t like the idea of any secrets being kept,” Tom pointed out.

“Please Tom,” she begged, “don’t tell him about it. He’ll panic and stop me from working on the story. He’ll probably stop me from working full stop!”

Tom frowned in confusion. “Why would he do that? Okay he may want to pull you off the story but in the end we are involved in it now whether we like it or not. The best thing is to work together on it and see the thing through.”

“I know that but if he realises how close I came to being taken he’ll react. He worries about my safety.”

“As do I but he can’t stop you from working for god sake, you can prosecute employers for things like that!”

She looked out of the window and replied quietly. “He knows I wouldn’t do that.”

Tom was surprised by her attitude. “Why the hell not? That’s not like you Steph, you don’t normally let people get the better of you.”

She went quiet and he began to think about her reaction. “What has Brick got over you Steph that you are so anxious about this?”

She became uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “Nothing. Can we just drop this now Tom? Let’s just see what we can find out about Hugh today and go from there eh.”

Tom decided to leave it for now but he was well aware that he’d hit a raw nerve with Stephanie about Brick. He didn’t know why but he’d find out.