Broken Faith Read online

  "Pretty much the whole story, I think, but we'd been friends for about four years before 'Rika opened up enough to tell me." Lee paused and looked seriously at her companion. "Terry, she's a very private woman, and I'm only telling you because I know you care about her and frankly, I'm bloody well at my wit's end."

  The young woman nodded solemnly. "I would never hurt her, Lee. And anything you tell me, I'll keep in strict confidence. She was there for me through some pretty hard times. I want to be here for her too, if I can."

  Lee nodded. "Well, I know you'll tell Jan 'cause I tell Dana everything too, but keep it just between the two of you, okay?" When Terry assented, Lee launched into her story.

  "You were right about her folks splitting up, and because her mother was an alcoholic who could barely look after herself, Marika's father took custody. I got the impression the relationship between them was okay up until her dad remarried, and then he got wrapped up in his new family. I guess there were a couple new babies in quick order, and Marika sorta got shuffled off to the side."

  Lee glanced up to see that Terry was paying rapt attention. "I don't think she was neglected or mistreated or anything," she assured the younger woman who nodded her understanding. "I just think she was a lonely kid that felt like a fifth wheel although she was pretty taken with her baby brother and sister."

  Terry raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Marika and kids? I kinda got the impression that was like mixing oil and water."

  Sighing, Lee shook her head. "Well, when you hear the full story I think you'll understand why she shies away from kids now, but actually Marika's pretty darned good with Danny. He loves the way she talks to him like another adult and, to tell you the truth, I think he has a little crush on her."

  They both chuckled at that and then Lee picked up the tale. "Anyway, so her father is this legal big shot, and they live pretty high off the hog. I mean they had a cook, a driver, a nanny and a part-time maid."

  Frowning at the ceiling, Lee racked her memory. "What the hell was her name? Rosanna...Rosalie...I dunno, I can't remember exactly, but the maid is really nice to Marika all the time. She talks to her, encourages the kid, tells her how wonderful her piano playing is, but most of all, she listens to Marika."

  "Bet she didn't get much of that," Terry said sadly.

  "No, I don't think so. Inevitably, Marika starts regarding this woman, who's probably twice her age, as a friend."

  "Oh shit," Terry groaned. "I know where this is going."

  "Yeah, you got it. Our sixteen-year-old girl falls head over heels in love for the first time in her life, and when Rosie seduces her, she's all too willing. Hell, she just handed over her innocent heart and body lock, stock and barrel."

  "Tell me that Svengali got what was coming to her?" Terry asked hopefully.

  "Don't I wish! Unfortunately, this isn't a fairy tale, and the wicked witch doesn't eat the poisoned apple," Lee said sadly. "Marika starts meeting Rosie outside of the house, even cutting classes to go to the woman's apartment."

  "Wait a minute," Terry said frowning. "I think I do remember Marika saying something about this. She got caught in bed with her, didn't she?"

  "Uh huh. It was a weekend and Marika was just waking up when Rosie came into her room. She told 'Rika that her folks had gone out and promptly strips down and crawls into the kid's bed for a little early mornin' lovin'. Except that her parents hadn't gone out, which Rosie damned well knew, and they were just getting into it when Marika's father came in to wake his daughter. It was a pretty ugly scene from what I understand, and he ordered both of them to get dressed and meet him in his den. 'Rika's terrified, but Rosie keeps telling her every thing is going to be fine and to trust her."

  "Why do I get the feeling it'd be safer to trust a snake?" Terry asked, wincing with apprehension.

  "Oh yeah! Got that right. Anyway, they get down there, Daddy's reading them the riot act, threatening to send Rosie back to wherever she came from and 'Rika starts screaming at him that she'll go with her. I guess Rosie's just standing back while they yell at each other, but finally she hauls a big envelope out of her purse and throws it on the desk. Pictures spill out, and they're all of Marika and Rosie in bed at the bitch's apartment. Turns out she had her boyfriend taking pictures every time they met."

  "God!" Terry exhaled. "That must have devastated Marika!"

  "She told me that she just stood and stared. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was so shattered that she never said a word while her father brusquely paid the woman off, threatened her if copies ever turned up and banished her. Dear old Dad then proceeded to inform 'Rika that she was a fool and that he couldn't allow her indiscretions to taint his name or influence her little brother and sister. He told her that arrangements would be made for her to go to a boarding school overseas, and in the mean time, she was to remain in the house."

  Lee saw tears well up in her companion's eyes and smiled grimly. "Oh, it gets better. She said that only thing she remembers from the next few days was that she went to the nursery one time to see her little brother and baby sister. Her brother was napping and the baby was fussing a bit, so she picked her up to cuddle her and settle her down. Her father's wife came in and freaked out on her. She grabbed the baby and summoned the nanny to give her strict instructions not to leave the children alone. Then she ordered 'Rika out of the nursery. She said after that it was all sort of a blur until she was on a plane for Geneva. They wouldn't even let her go find her mother to say good-bye. She tried to call but couldn't get hold of her, and she never knew if her mother even realized that she'd gone."

  Terry rubbed at her wet eyes. "Didn't she try to talk her Dad out of it or anything?"

  "I think she was in such a state of shock at Rosie's betrayal that she just accepted her exile without protest. And you know how 'Rika is, she probably wanted to get away and hide anyway. When she hurts, she retreats."

  The younger woman was quiet for long moments and then she looked at Lee quizzically. "It was a terrible thing to happen, but how do you figure it relates to Cass?"

  Lee frowned. "Think about it, Ter. The first time she falls in love, her whole world collapses around her. The object of her affection betrays her in the worst manner possible, so what lesson does she take from that?"

  "Love sucks?" Terry asked wryly.

  With a small snort, Lee corrected, "Not exactly. I think she longs for love as much as any of us, maybe more, but I don't think she trusts love. God knows she's yet to have one long-term successful romance, and it's always because she sabotages herself. Hell, you and I can attest to that."

  Terry nodded. "Yeah, we can. So you think she goes to Cass because she doesn't trust anyone enough to have a normal relationship?"

  Shaking her head, Lee said, "No. I think at some level, she believes someone like Cass is all she's worth."

  Gaping at her, Terry protested, "But that's just dumb!"

  "I agree," Lee said ruefully. "You and I know that, but I haven't been successful in getting 'Rika to know that."

  * * *

  Marika tugged her jeans on and took her shirt off the hanger. Looking around, she spotted her purse dropped by a large suitcase leaning against the wall by the bedroom door. She winced as she recalled the harsh words that luggage had caused last night when she'd arrived.

  Following Cass into the bedroom, Marika stumbled slightly over an overnight bag jutting into her path. She nudged it back by its larger counterpart and looked up to see the other woman frowning at her.

  "Going somewhere?" she asked lightly, somewhat surprised at the quality of the expensive set.

  Cass strode back to her and grabbed a handful of long blonde hair. "You're here for one purpose and it's not to ask questions," she snarled before roughly taking possession of Marika's mouth.

  Picking up her purse, she glanced back to the bed to see cold, half-lidded eyes watching her insolently. Without a word, Cass rolled over, away from Marika. The blonde stared at the woman's naked back for a moment
and then silently left, pulling the bedroom door closed behind her. Padding on socked feet to the kitchen, she opened a cupboard looking for a clean glass. The shelves were virtually bare, but Marika found a glass for water.

  As she drank, she contemplated the empty state of the entire apartment. It hardly seemed like anyone lived here. There were no dishes, few towels or amenities, and only bare bones furniture except for the bedroom. When she'd once worked up the nerve to question Cass on her decorating tastes, the woman had sneered at her and told Marika that she had no intention of wasting money on a trick pad.

  Marika knew better than to press the matter, and she wasn't really surprised by Cass' reference to the apartment. If she called, she got the answering machine far more often than the woman herself. She was never certain when she dropped by whether Cass would be there or not, and frequently the windows were dark. They'd been dark when she'd come last night, not even sure why she'd driven there from Lee and Dana's. She'd parked on the street and stared up at the unlit windows, not particularly disappointed that Cass was apparently not home.

  She was about to start the car to drive away when her door suddenly opened. She gasped with fright, only to look up and see Cass eyeing her speculatively. After long moments, the woman jerked her head at Marika and strode away, leaving the door open and never looking back to see if the blonde followed.

  Disturbed at the memory of how she'd obediently locked her car and trailed after Cass, Marika quickly rinsed the glass and returned it to the cupboard. She'd learned early that the other woman wouldn't tolerate slovenly habits.

  Quickly making her way to the front door to retrieve her jacket and shoes, she noted that Cass' duster was the only other garment hanging in the closet. Eager to leave, Marika didn't pause to contemplate the mystery any longer, exiting the apartment swiftly.

  Driving home, the blonde resolutely kept her mind off the activities of the previous night and focused instead on the long hot bath she planned to take as soon as she got back to her condo.

  Once her car was parked in the underground garage, she jogged quickly to the elevators and sighed with relief when one of the doors opened promptly for her. Grateful that the lift was empty, she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes, wanting only to reach her sanctuary as soon as possible.

  Long legs carried her rapidly down the hall to her door and she fumbled with her keys, almost desperate to get inside. Only when the door closed behind her did she relax, sighing with relief. Tossing her jacket and purse on the hallway chair, she walked down the short corridor to the living room only to start in astonishment at the sight of Lee and Terry staring at her.

  Groaning inwardly and unwilling to endure any confrontations, her voice came out more harshly than she'd intended. "What are you two doing here?"

  She saw the look of surprise on Terry's face and the resignation on Lee's. It was the older woman who spoke first. "We were concerned when you didn't answer your phone and thought we'd check and make sure you're all right."

  Gruffly, Marika stated, "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get cleaned up."

  Terry stood and walked toward her holding out a conciliatory hand. "Marika, Lee told me what's going on and we want to help."

  The blonde whirled to stare angrily at her old friend. "God-damnit, Lee! Just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you? Who asked you to stick your nose in anyway? Last time I checked, I was well over the age of consent and didn't need to check with Mommy whenever I want to go out!"

  Terry froze as Lee jumped to her feet. "Jesus, Marika, you know we're just worried about you," the big woman half shouted as she strode over to Terry's side.

  "Well, don't bother. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself." Marika felt exhaustion wash over her. She just wanted the women to leave and to let her alone. She couldn't deal with their concern right now.

  Lee regarded her intently. "Yeah, you're doing a helluva fine job looking after yourself. You look like something Spooky dragged in from the bush."

  "I'm just tired," the blonde mumbled a feeble protest. "I just need some sleep, and I'll be fine."

  "What you need," Lee informed her sharply, "is to stay a million miles away from that parasite. She's eating you alive and you don't even see it!"

  "What I need," Marika parroted, her anger rising rapidly, "is for you to stop lecturing me."

  When both Lee and Terry began to speak at once, her temper boiled over. "Stop it!" she yelled, distantly aware of the shock on their faces as she backed away from them. She only stopped when she hit the wall, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "I don't need your approval. You're both so bloody smug because you've found True Love." She practically spat the words. "Well guess what, ladies? Some of us never do and never will, but we'd get along just fine if you'd stop gloating and crowing."

  Lee and Terry looked at each other in dismay. When Terry tried to speak, Marika shook her head. "Just leave...please, just leave."

  Without staying to see if they acquiesced to her plea, she turned and walked steadily down the hall to her bedroom, closing the door firmly to shut them out.

  * * *

  Lee carefully locked Marika's front door behind them and then the two women walked silently to the elevators. As they waited, Lee said ruefully, "Well, that went well, don't you think?"

  Terry gave a little groan and asked, "Do you really think we should have left her alone?"

  "I don't think that was up to us, Ter," Lee answered sadly. "She made it pretty clear she didn't want us there."

  "So what do we do now?"

  The big woman sighed and shook her head. "Dunno, Terry. 'Rika will want to withdraw for a while now, and I think it might be best to let her. Give her some time to cool down. It won't take her long to realize that whatever we did, we did because we love her. Then it'll just be a matter of breaking through her damned pride to get things back to normal, because she'll isolate herself for the next ten years before she'll admit that she needs us."

  The elevator arrived and both women entered, both now lost in their own thoughts as they left their troubled friend behind.

  Chapter Six

  LEE GLANCED NERVOUSLY as the panel light signaled the seventh floor. Inwardly chastising herself for being a coward, she stepped out of the elevator and turned left. Walking down the hall towards Marika's office, she rehearsed what she'd say to her friend, trying to decide if she should apologize, or act like the previous weekend had never happened. She was pretty sure Marika would welcome her initiative, but understood too that it was up to her to take the first step.

  With the benefit of years of experience, Lee knew that it wasn't that the lawyer refused to apologize when she was in the wrong; she'd been on the receiving end of some very sweet apologies after they'd argued. But Marika never took a chance of being rejected by making the first move. She'd wait forever until Lee signaled that she wasn't angry with her for her outburst. Sadly, Lee acknowledged to herself that Marika would allow a friendship to crumble before she'd risk repudiation. They'd once gone two months without speaking after an argument before Lee accepted that Marika simply couldn't bring herself to be vulnerable.

  She and Dana had discussed that last night after Marika once again failed to pick up her phone when Lee called. Pointing out to her partner that she'd been miserable about the estrangement, Dana had urged her to go to the lawyer and make amends. After checking in with Terry, who'd had a similar lack of success in reaching Marika by phone, Lee decided to confront her friend in the office the next day.

  Turning into the large room that held a bank of lawyers' offices along the windows and multiple cubicles for their assistants and clerical staff, Lee headed directly for Marika's office. She smiled as she saw Rhiannon frowning at her computer screen scrawling some notes, and glanced beyond the young woman to see that the office appeared to be empty. Disappointed but not discouraged, she drew even with Rhiannon's open-sided cubicle.

  "Good afternoon, Lady Mouse,"
Lee said, grinning at the young woman.

  Rhi leaned back in her chair and smiled warmly at her large visitor. "Hello, Madam Dragonslayer. Haven't seen you around for awhile."

  Lee perched on one corner of the desk, idly noting the complete lack of personal items in the small enclosure. "No, I had to do up the paperwork on our bid this week, so I haven't had time to drop in. If all goes well though, you may see me around more often."

  She was pleased to see that prospect appeared to meet with Rhiannon's approval. Lee liked the legal assistant despite her prickly exterior and had decided there was much more to the young woman than met the eye. Recalling her business here she asked, "Is your boss still in?"

  Rhi shook her head, glancing over at the open office door. "No, sorry, she left early today."

  Lee raised an eyebrow. That wasn't like Marika, even on a Friday afternoon. "She did?"

  "Uh huh," Rhi nodded. "Marian had her baby last night, and Ms. Havers was going up to visit her at the hospital."

  "Last night? That was early wasn't it?"

  "I'm not exactly sure, but I know that today was supposed to be her last day and they'd planned a going away luncheon in the conference room."

  "Hmm, sounds like she jumped the gun a little then. So you're in the hot seat now, are you?"

  "I guess so," Rhi agreed amiably. "But it was only a day earlier than I would've taken over anyway."

  "Think you'll like working here?" Lee asked, mildly curious how Marika rated as a boss. She was pleased to see a smile on the younger woman's face.

  "Yeah, I think I will. The work is very interesting."

  "And..." Lee drawled encouragingly and then grinned at the raised eyebrow she got.

  "And?" Rhi questioned innocently, but Lee could see the sparkle of understanding in her eyes.

  Rolling her eyes a little, Lee leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "And how is the formidable Ms. Havers to work for? Has she been cracking the whip, or is she really a pussycat in disguise?"