Real Rocknrolla
Chapter 4
Eartha Kitt
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
The sound of Lenny's shouts startled Izzy awake. She turned her head groggily to look at her bedroom door and slumped her head back down into her pillows with a groan,
"Isobel!" She heard from down the hallway. She slowly rolled on to her back and inhaled loudly as she pushed her fingers into her eyes. "Isobel!" Came from right outside her door. Said door flew open. the lights were flicked on and she groaned at the sharp, bright light that burned into her cornea before she scrunched her eyes shut.
"For fucks' sake," she croaked and pulled her duvet over her head. Lenny ran up to her bed and panted as he spoke.
"Isobel! Isobel." She felt him grasp her leg and he shook it hard.
"What?" She moaned from under her duvet.
"The painting!" Lenny panted. "The painting! Izzy it's gone." Izzy folded the duvet open and looked at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean the painting's gone?" She asked flatly as panic began to build in her chest.
"What the fuck do you mean, what do I mean? It's fucking gone! It was on my wall and now it ain’t. Now get the fuck down the stairs. Now!" She watched through squinted eyes as he patted the sweat from his brow while he stormed out of her room. She sat up and watched as he disappeared out the door before she let herself crumple in utter disbelief.
Fucking Johnny! Fucking shit!
She pushed her face into her pillow and screamed as loud as she could before she sat up and pushed her hands into her face.
"Johnny, I'm going to fucking kill you myself when you crawl out of hell," she muttered as she grabbed her silk dressing gown and tied it tight around her middle, dragged herself into her slippers and did as Lenny had told her and sleepily ambled her way downstairs. ***
Izzy leaned against the windowsill and pressed her hand up over her mouth with her elbow propped up on her other hand, as she stared wide eyed at the bare wall behind Lenny's desk. Lenny paced back and forth in her periphery as they both silently contemplated what this might mean for them. Not just the Coles. But Archy, the boys. And quite possibly anyone who has ever done business with Lenny.
Archy arrived with his boys some time later and entered the room with his hands in his pockets and his eyes also on the bare wall. He turned to Izzy with a finger pointed at the empty space and a panicked look on his face.
"Do you know anything about this?" He demanded. Izzy glanced sideways at him as her stomach twisted at his question. Technically yes, but also no. Instead of the complicated truth, she shook her head and kept her tired, uncomfortable eyes on the wall. Archy moved around the desk to stand in front of her, spared her a fleeting glance, and turned towards the others.
“Where was it Len?” Bandy asked like a child would ask why the sky was blue. Izzy closed her eyes and shook her head as Lenny came to a stop from his long paces, while Archy stared at him.
“Let's take a wild stab in the dark, shall we Bandy?” Lenny said conversationally before he turned to Archy and gestured towards Bandy. “Archy slap him and then send him to school 'cos I can't take any more of this. You sort it out, get that picture back and bring me a body, I am going to back to bed.”
Lenny stomped off through the door and up to bed. Izzy glanced up at Archy who’s attention was on the door before he turned to address Bandy.
“Bandy if you ever ask a stupid question like that again, you see Danny there? He's gonna slap you.” Danny looked startled by Archy’s claim and glanced between him and Bandy.
“Sorry Arch, it's just... I was trying to use initiative,” Bandy reasoned with a nervous shrug.
“Danny slap him,” Archy demanded flatly. Izzy sighed as she watched the back and forth, leaned her hands on the sill under her, and kicked one leg across the other to make herself more comfortable while they sorted themselves. Izzy’s mind wandered to earlier in the day when she had been stupid enough to let her guard down and left Johnny unsupervised to have a shower. Every self deprecating thought flowed through her head before she closed her eyes and sighed quietly to herself.
It was then that Archy rounded the desk and startled her from her thoughts.
“For Fuck’s sake,” he muttered as he stomped over to Bandy and gave him a proper Archy backhander. “Like that.”
The room watched in silence as Bandy became a little boy again. He sucked on his bottom lip as though it were his mother disciplining him. Izzy settled in for the Archy business lesson that she felt was about to occur.
“Now,” Archy began, and returned his hand to his pocket as he regarded Bandy and the rest of the boys. “If you men can master a slap like that, there's no need for your clients to hold back. They'll open up like a fountain full of words after one of those.” He gestured to Bandy with a nod. “No need for strong violence, no no, they're straight back to their childhood. Putty in your hands, ask Bandy... Look, thinks he's back at school.”
“But he never went to school, Arch,” Danny helpfully informed him. Izzy couldn’t help the surprised giggle that bubbled from her chest. Archy turned to regard her with an arched brow.
“Daniel, do you want a slap as well? Now, if the slap doesn't work, cut 'em, or pay 'em, but keep the receipts 'cos this ain't the Mafia.” Izzy blinked with amusement at his statement. "Get out there and look for the Painting!” The boys all filtered out of Lenny's office as Archy pushed his hands into his pockets and turned to regard her. Izzy made to move towards the door but Archy caught her elbow.
"Not you. I want a word," he said lowly. Izzy nodded and began to regret her decision to stay as she leaned against Lenny's desk. Archy waited for the doors to close before he turned his eyes to her.
"You didn't have anything to do with this painting going missing did you?" He asked again, eyes on the floor and his hands in his pockets. Izzy sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Of course not Arch." Archy stepped closer to her, leaned one hand on the desk next to her, and moved his eyes up to the bare wall behind her.
“Forgive me if I don't completely trust you on that. I know what you're like when you're bored."
Izzy crossed her arms.
"You don't know anything about me Archibald."
His full name gave her his full attention. He reached out and brushed a finger down her arm, his eyes fixated on the goose bumps that followed his touch.
"I know more than you think, love," he husked.
Izzy's heart hammered loudly in her chest; which Archy could probably hear from where he stood. He moved closer to her, his fingers wrapped around her hand and pulled it up to his lips. "I've known you since you a long time, and I know something happened while I was locked up. But for the life of me I can't work it out."
At his words, Izzy tensed. She didn't want to go there. She didn't want to remember. She wet her lips and took her hand back.
"You're the only person who has ever looked out for me, Arch. When you were sent away... I was all alone." She dropped her gaze to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself.
Archy absently ran his thumb across her hand, while his eyes followed the movement of his thumb. He got lost in thought as they both stood in silence, the clock on the back mantle the only noise in the quiet night. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again, and thought some more. He couldn't bring himself to ask her once more if she were involved with the missing painting. He took her hand, pressed another kiss to it, placed the other on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm here now, sweetheart." Izzy nodded before she furrowed her brow and looked up into his face.
“What is it?” He asked quietly as he let her go and leaned back to regard her.
"Where do you find them?" Archy turned himself to look at the door before he looked back at her with a shrewd smile.
"Who?"
"Well Bandy for a start."
"He's Danny's cousin," Archy shrugged. He smirked at her as he scratched his face, glanced back at the door, and stepped right up to her. He came to a stop between her legs, though didn't reach out to touch her.
"Okay. So answer me this one," she muttered with a grin. Archy leaned down and placed a hand on the desk again.
"Fire away," he muttered with amusement.
"Where the fuck are they supposed to find a painting at this time of night with no leads?" Archy's eyes trailed away from her and came to a stop on the wall behind her as he turned the question over in his head. "Not to toot my own trumpet but I'd say I'm reasonably intelligent. And, might I add, that you are too."
"You think so?" He breezed with a grin.
"I know so." Archy hummed as he turned his eyes on her again, his face mere inches away from hers. "So how is an intellectually deficient individual like Bandy supposed to find a painting he's never seen before?" Archy chuckled before he ghosted his hands up her arms and over her shoulders until he cupped her face.
"You think too much, love," Archy rasped before he placed a hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him in a hard kiss. Izzy moaned as he pressed closer to her between her legs and his hands came down to lightly trace up the inside of her thighs, drawing a trembling moan from her. His fingers pushed her dressing gown to the side oh so delicately as his lips moved against hers. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue and slipped it between her lips and deepened the kiss. She leaned back on her hands as he leaned over her and his kisses became more and more hungry the longer they stayed wrapped up in one another. Izzy felt herself tremble when his hands deftly untied the knot on her dressing gown and let it drop from her shoulders.
As though a cold bucket of water had been poured over him, Archy abruptly pulled away. His hands grasped her shoulders as confusion creased his brow and he frowned.
Without another word, Archy turned and left the room.
Izzy pressed her lips together and stared silently at the door before she pushed her hands up into her face and sighed quietly. She rubbed her face harshly, slid down off the desk, fixed her dressing gown and her hair before she slowly exited Lenny’s office.
The house was dark and quiet, and Izzy began to wonder whether their conversation had echoed down the panelled hallways and up the stairs. She wandered slowly down the short hallway and came to a stop just before the foyer.
Archy opened the front door and glanced up when he heard floor creak behind him. Izzy stopped at the lip of the hallway and tightly crossed her arms as she leaned a shoulder on the wall. They observed each other for a long moment before Archy stepped back and closed the door quietly, crossed the room, and pulled her into a softer, gentler kiss than the previous one had been. Izzy’s hand snaked up and grasped the collar of his shirt while he wrapped his arms around her.
He pulled away and searched her face while he towered over her. His features were filled with remorse before he slowly let her go and returned to the door, and without a word, left the home.
Izzy stared at the door with her lips pressed together until she took a deep, levelling breath, pushed her hair back, and made her way up the stairs. As she passed Lenny’s room, the sound of heavy footsteps behind her had her whip around in startled fright.
"Alright, love?" Lenny appeared from the shadows, donned in his dressing gown with his sunglasses still on. "Just had to get myself a drink. This fucking painting going missing is all I fucking need. I needed a whisky or something to take the edge off." Izzy nodded as she spotted the crystal tumbler in his hand, filled halfway with a large measure of Scotch. Her heart thundered in her chest as she realised he’d been so close to walking in on her and Archy’s little display in the foyer. "Listen, I need to ask you, and I need you to know I trust you with my whole heart, love. But have you spoken to Johnny recently?" Izzy considered him for a moment before she answered.
"No Len. Not a peep." Lenny considered her before he nodded his head once and he stepped up to his bedroom door.
"Alright, love. G'night then." Izzy strode up to him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Night, dad.”
