Rachel Rose looked at the track seeing someone she never thought she’d see again.  Feeling surprised, she walked over to the window and reflected on her loud surroundings. She had always loved the crowded Philadelphia Horse Race Track with its abundant, adventurous people. It was a place that encouraged her to feel at ease, until she saw him.  The figure of Jake Blackwood.  A brutal mobster with a charming personality, short brown hair, with brilliant green eyes. Always wearing a black suit with an body any woman would swoon over. He caught her in his web five years ago. Looking back on it now she should have known.
She thought he was just a regular person who moved into an apartment above a beat down pub called “The Bards”. Having fading red shutters, cracked, mud brown base, the door was nailed shut with two by fours. Walking down 1200 Subway St. to the corner of 1300 Charles Rd, she heard his thick Irish accent.As his broad shoulders caught her eyes, she smiled  and walked up to say hello to the newcomer.
After talking for a little while, he asked if she would like to go to dinner at Rose’s with him.  After that first dinner, he had her caught and they both knew it.
Remembering that first memory, Rachel gulped. Glancing at her own reflection in the window of the VIP room. She was a spiteful, cold hearted, woman with deep chocolate hair that reached her lower back and brown eyes that had a copper tone around the rim. She had a body with curves in all the right places.
Her friends saw her as a woman you don’t want to mess around with. Walking over to the polished black table in the middle of the room lined with glass bottles with aged alcohol. She picked up E&J brandy, pouring it over ice in a crystal glass. Taking a sip, she scanned the crowd for Jake.
When she found Jake in the crowd, the time froze as they made eye contact. Raising the glass, she tipped it towards him. Jake, giving a slight nod of the head to acknowledge her presence, walked with graceful long strides, for a man of 6’6. As soon as he was out of sight, she knew what was going to happen today.
Hearing his heavy footsteps come closer to the oak doors, his hand made a loud thud on the door. She waited a second before she said, “come in.”  The door swung open and he stepped through closing it behind him. She didn't need to look behind her to know that he was glaring at her.
Jake  growled, "Look, Rachel," with a witty glare that reminded Rachel of the day she left him. "All I want is the money you took from me. I promise nothing bad will happen to you."    
"Jake, all I want is for you to leave me alone. I don’t have the money," she replied. Rachel looked into his eyes even more irritated, she turned around slowly, they looked at each other with angry feelings, like two bombs ready to explode with just one spark.
Jake glared, "Do you want me to kill you that badly?"
Rachel regarded Jake's charming words. "I don't have the money," but before she was able to finish Jake grabbed her and pinned her up against the nearest wall.
“Don’t joke with me!”
“I’m not!” Rachel yelled as Jake's fingers wrapped around her wrist. Having one hand on his hand trying to pry it off, she had her other hand pushing on his chest.
“Yes, you are. Before you left there was five million dollars in the account,” Jake glared outside before looking back at her. “You ran away and all the money was gone! The only reason that I could think of you doing this was because you found out that I was in the mob. You were scared of what would happen if we found out you knew.”
Rachel looked Jake in the eyes and said, “you're right... I was scared, but it was for us!” “What do you mean?” he asked with a look of confusion.
“Exactly what I said,” feeling that his grip was loosening, “I was scared for you. I didn’t want you to get hurt or... killed. I didn't want to have you find out then try and get rid of me because I knew. I didn’t want us to be separated, but then I thought you would have been forced to, so I panicked.”
His grip was now just a light hold on her wrist. Rachel had tears going down her face, reliving that she still loved him in his eyes.
“Then what happened to the money?” asked Jake as he gazed into her eyes.
“I don’t know, but all I can tell you is that I don’t have the money,” she said with a tone of urgency. Not knowing if he would believe her or not, she held her breath. Out of nowhere, he gave her a fiery kiss that made her knees weak. It lasted for 30 seconds, but if felt like a lifetime for her.
“Come on,” he said, as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along with him to the door. Not knowing  where they were going she just let him take her wherever he was planning to go.
*****
He didn't know why he believed her about the money, but he has never seen her cry. Somehow it made him think that she was telling the truth. He has alway loved her and has never stopped even after she left him. Driving in silence he looked over to see her looking out the window. There was the light sound of her foot tapping the floor, knowing she only did it when she had something to say.
“What is it?” he asked as he looked over to her before looking back at the road.
“Where are we going?” Rachel asked with curiosity.
“The pub.”
“Oh,” she said with a worried look on her face.
He knew what was going through her mind right now. He couldn't keep a tense smile from forming on his face because it felt good to see her be worried, like he was when she left him five years ago. The car ride was short, but tense with sparks of words that need to be spoken between them. Pulling into the parking lot to Bards, he unlocked the doors and stepped out. Walking around the car to open the door, he glanced through the windshield to see her staring at the pud.  Jake opened the door and she stepped out the car asking, “Why here, out of all places?”
“Because it’s where I know we can talk without anyone bothering us,” he said with a matter of fact tone.
He grabs a hold of her upper arm and walked to the doors of the pub, pushing it open with ease. Walking to the bar, he singled for her to take a set, while he went behind to pour a drink for them.
“E&J brandy still?” he asked her while holding a bottle.
“Yes, that's right,” Rachel said, while looking around the bar from her seat, “nothing has changed in here.”
“Not really.” Jake set the glass down in front of her.
“So there has to be a reason you took me here? I mean you didn’t just take me here to have a drink and talk about old times.”
He leaned on the bar top with his hand, holding his brandy, looking at her with a hint of regret and anger. “I want you to tell me where the money is?” he said as he lifted the glass to his lips.
Rachel looked him in the eyes and repeated herself to him, “ I don’t have the money!”
“Bull s*** Rachel, then who do you think took the money if it wasn't you,” he growled at her with his hands in fist. He started at her till she averted her eyes first. “I will not repeat myself again,” he stated.
“I think it was Red,” she said with a cold voice.
“Red?”
“Yes,” Rachel said while looking back at him, “she has never liked me even when we were dating. I think she was the one who took the money, to make it look like I took it. To have you hate me and try to get you to like her.”
“You must be crazy to think that it was her,” he said while he ran his hand through his hair looking at her, “she can't even kill a fly, let alone come up with a plan like that.”
Rachel went to say something, but the doors to the pub opened, Red came walking in.  She stopped in her tracks when she saw Rachel sitting at the bar with Jake behind.  Looking back a forward between the two she grabbed for a gun that was in her purse, pointing at Rachel.
“What are you doing here?” Red asked as she pointed the gun at Rachel’s chest.
“Jake brought me here, so ask him.” Rachel said as she pointed to Jake.
He looked between both women, walking out from behind the bar. “Put the gun down Red. I brought her here to ask her about the money.” he said, as he stepped in front of Rachel like a shield. She lowered the gun while glaring at Rachel.
“So did that trader of a b****, tell you where she’s hiding the money?” she spit out at Jake.
“No she did not. But she did tell me something really interesting.”
“Whated she say?” Red asked with a confused look on her face.
He walked up to her and looked her in the eyes till she averted hers from his.
“She said, you took the money to frame her.” Jake said while taking a drink from his glass.
“That’s right. All I wanted...” Red stuttered at the end looking at Rachel taking a step forward, “was for you to be gone!”
“What do you mean Red?’’ asked Jake with a straight face and cold eyes.
“I framed her. Making it look like she took the money. But I did it for you. I love you Jake, you don’t need her. You have me, I can take care of you.” She raised the gun again and pointed it right at Rachel, smiling with a wikied grin.
“You don't have to do this Red. I don't care if you framed me. It’s all in the past.” Rachel said with her hand up looking at the gun pointed at her.
“I don’t care if you forgive me, I care that you came back!” She screamed, going to pull the trigger when she fell to the ground with a thud. Jake was behind her with a baseball bat in his hand.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
“Yes I'm fine.” she said as she ran to him, clasped in his arms with tears running down her face. She clung to him while he ran his hand down her back telling her it’s ok and that he loves her. “What are we going to do with Red?”
“I’ll have my men take care of her. She’ll have a proper barile in the old cemetery.” he said with a sad tone to his voice.
“I'm sorry, I never meant for this to happen.” Rachel said while looking at Red. He took her hand and lead her out of the bar to the car and went to go explain everything to the Boss of the family.