Howie and Sarah both turned their attention towards AJ as he opened the door. The smile he greeted them with soon faded as he saw the tired looks on their faces.

"What’s wrong, ‘D’?" he asked as he carefully shut the door behind him.

Howie didn’t answer AJ’s question. He purposely walked over to the black leather chair that sat behind his desk and plopped down into it. He rested his elbows on the desk and covered his entire face with his hands. So many things were running through his mind, clouding his ability to think rationally.

In the meantime, Sarah wiped away the remaining tears and introduced herself.

"Hi, Alex. I’m Sarah, Kristina’s best friend" she said, trying to smile despite her inner turmoil.

AJ looked at her and then towards Howie, who was now staring at the two of them.

"Oh my God!" he said as he held out his hand to her. "Kris spoke highly of you."

She smiled. " And you as well. She used to have me dying laughing at all the crazy things you did just to maker her laugh."

AJ turned to Howie, almost letting the cat out of the bag so to speak. "Does she..."

"NO!" Howie all but yelled. "Sarah has come to warn me that Stephen may be in town seeking revenge against me."

"Revenge? For what?" AJ asked, confused.

"He thinks that Howie took Kristina away from him" Sarah interjected.

"He’s fucking NUTS!" AJ said angrily.

Howie was now standing at the mini bar and had poured himself a drink in an effort to calm his anger and regain control of the situation at hand. He turned and smirked at AJ’s comment.

"Oh, you haven’t heard the best part yet. Tell him, Sarah!"

AJ stared at Sarah, "Tell me what?"

Sarah paused, trying to decide just what to say when Howie startled her with his anger for a second time. "TELL HIM!"

Surprised by Howie’s fury, AJ stepped closer to Sarah and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her that everything would be okay.

Sarah shrugged his hand from her shoulder and whirled around to unleash her pent up frustration and anger upon Howie, thus confusing AJ even more.

"Look Howie – I’ve already told you that he wasn’t always a bad person. Don’t you think that I did everything I could to protect Kris? I begged her to confide in you and she didn’t listen to me! I didn’t choose the family that I was born into and believe me; it hasn’t been easy for any of us. My mother has been completely destroyed and my father blames himself. He even lost his job and they had to sell their home and move because of the outcry in the community. So, don’t you stand there and judge me OR my love for Kristina based on Stephen’s actions! I lost my best friend at the hands of my own brother and that is something I will NEVER get over!"

AJ was shocked and horrified at what he had just heard. "Your brother? Stephen is YOUR brother?" he asked.

"TWIN brother!" Howie sneered.

"Holy Shit!" AJ said as he sat down in the chair that Sarah had been sitting in earlier.

Sarah turned to Howie, but he put his hand up and began walking towards the door. "I’ve got to get out of here. I can’t listen to anymore of this, much less comprehend it all."

" Hey, ‘D’-"

"Save it, Bone! I’ll call you later," he said as he tossed him the keys to the club. "Lock up for me!"

Howie slammed the door to his office just in time to find Kristina on the top stair, looking at him with a perturbed look on her face.

"Baby! What are you doing here?" he asked, worried that Kristina might have heard some of what had just taken place.

"Alex and I came to surprise you," she said. "Is everything okay?"

He took her hand in his and squeezed gently. "Everything is fine. Let’s go, I have a full day planned for us."

"What about Alex?" she asked as she turned and hesitated.

Howie glanced back at the closed door to his office and then at Kristina. "Something came up, angel. He said he would call us later tonight."

He hated lying to her, but he didn’t want to spoil their day together by bringing up Stephen and Sarah. At least not until later when he had been able to think about the situation and formulate a strategy.

Kristina sensed something was amiss but decided to let it go. She was in a good mood and had no intention of ruining it by arguing with the man she was head over heels in love with.

Together, hand in hand, they walked out of Tabu.

Chapter 44       Index