“Alexa, how long have you been playing music?” she asked the device.
“I have been playing music for three hours and twenty-four minutes.” Alexa’s automated voice answered, then went back to playing the metal music. That was a long time to be going at this. I put my hands down and hung my head. I felt defeated.
I felt her come up behind me. She put her arms around my waist. I covered them with my own. “I am sorry, Mary.”
She didn’t say anything. She just held me tighter. The longer she held me, the more I realized that the stuff I was angry about was stuff I could not change. I needed to let it all go. I shifted to stand up straighter. She came to face me. She looked up in my eyes. I crushed her to me.
“Alexa, turn off music,” I said. I let her go and started to work on getting my gloves off. Mary helped me pull the right off first. Then we worked on the left. I winced and hissed. Yeah, I’d messed my hand up.
“Oh, Ben.” Mary was looking at my hand. It wasn’t that bad. I had done worse. “Let’s go upstairs and get this taken care of.” Her lips were tight; I could tell she was upset that I had let that happen.
“It’s fine. I’ll wash it. I have everything in my locker,” I said, pulling back from her. I started heading to the locker room. She followed me. Thankfully, no one else was in the locker room. She turned the water on for me and held my hand under the cool stream. She saw the stack of towels to the side and grabbed one. I reached for it, but she would not give it to me. I shut the water off and she took my hand and gently dried and dabbed at it. “Which locker is yours?” she asked.
“Eight.” She went to it and took out the cream and bandages. She helped me doctor my hand. “Thank you, Mary. I am sorry.” She put the cream back in my locker, grabbed my keys, and tossed my wallet at me. I had my phone. There was nothing else I needed. She had her jacket, which I had learned acted as a purse, holding all her things.
“Ready?” She turned and walked out. I followed. She got into the driver’s side and started the car.
“Mary, we have to talk.”
“Are you ready to?”
“I don’t know. Everything is just too much.” I looked out the side window, still trying to figure out what I wanted to say. “I have to let go of the things I can’t change. I am having trouble doing that.”
“Letting go is really hard. I am here to catch you. You are not alone anymore. You told me you could protect me, take care of me, of us, that you got us financially. Well, I am telling you I can take care of your heart and mind. All you have to do is talk to me.”
I thought about what she’d said; she was right. I had to trust her to take care of me as she was trusting me to take care of her. We pulled up just as Rosa was walking out of her house.
“Hello, Mary, Ben. How are you two today?” She had a bright smile on her face.
“Hello, Rosa,” Mary said, giving Rosa a hug. “Thanks for dropping dinner off.”
“No worries.” She looked at me, spotting my hand. “Ben, you okay?”
“I will be. Thank you for including food for me, Rosa,” I said.
“What can I say? I love feeding people. I will see you guys tomorrow, or at least drop off your dinners,” she said, waving bye as she headed back to the restaurant.
“Come on, let’s shower and then eat,” Mary said, expecting me to follow her. I grabbed a plastic bag from the kitchen for my hand; I didn’t want to disturb it with rewrapping. I followed her in the shower. We helped each other get cleaned up. I threw on a pair of gym shorts. Mary slipped on one of my T-shirts and served up what Rosa had left for us.
We sat down. “I love you, Mary. I trust you to catch me.”
“I love you, Ben. I trust you to take care of me.” She smiled at me.
“Are you ready for tomorrow? Nervous? Scared?” I asked.
“I want it over. I want Gena to get whatever and never deal with that asshole again. What about you?”
“I am scared to death that I am sending you into a lion’s den. I am questioning everything and if I have done enough to protect you.”
“We have trained a lot; you have given me a lot of tools to use tomorrow. You will be right outside in that van, watching. Everything will be fine.”
“This is the hardest mission I have ever done. After this is over, I don’t think I can ever handle you doing something like this again.”
“Hopefully I won’t have to. That tasted good. You ready to lie down?”
“Yeah,” I said. We worked together to get the dishes done. We went and lay down on the bed. It was too early to sleep, but I wanted her close. I wanted to memorize the feel of her in my arms. She started kissing my neck and made her way to my lips. I rolled us so I was on top; we were lost in our kisses.
“Ben, make love to me,” she breathed out.
I took off her T-shirt and my shorts. I went back to kissing her, stroking her cheek and holding her close to me. She spread her legs farther apart so I could comfortably settle between them. I raised up on my elbows and found her entrance with my cock. Wrapping my fingers from under her shoulders, I slid into her slick sheath. We kept our eyes locked on each other’s. I pulled back and slid in till I bottomed out. I went almost painfully slow, prolonging our orgasms as long as I could.
I was getting close, but Mary was not, so I reached between us and rubbed her clit. Soon, I felt her starting to contract around me; that was all I need to go over the edge with her. I crushed her to me, our foreheads touching. “I am never letting you go.”
“I won’t let you,” she sniffled. I saw she had a few tears on her cheek. I kissed them away.
“They are happy tears. I love you.”
“I love you.” I held her close as her breathing evened out into sleep. I stayed awake for a long time, memorizing her face.
Chapter 28
Mary
Ben was gently kissing my face and neck to wake me up. “It’s time. I am going to make breakfast.” He stepped into his shorts as he walked out.
I was sad to see that view covered. Our lovemaking last night had been on a whole new level. I felt like we were connected in a new way. No matter what we faced, if it was together, we would be fine. I finally believed everything that he had been telling me.
I got up and got dressed in my typical work clothes. A teal polo I had embroidered, khakis, and my sensible shoes. I put my hair up in a ponytail. I could not wait for this to be over. I walked into the kitchen. Ben had my yogurt, a plate with a small amount of scrambled eggs, and a slice of toast set in my place.
“Please try to eat that,” he said as he set his plate with an obscene amount of food on it next to mine. I sat down and tried to eat what he made. “Tarzan’s team, minus Tarzan, will be here in twenty minutes. They will outfit us. Gena says she has let Ari have his way with her. She got their coms squared away. So, we will be all set. You will drive over in your car; we are following in the van. Domino and Hack are in another van. He said he contacted Stevens, our FBI contact, and got him up to speed. He will be on-site with a team, just in case.” Ben was babbling.
“Honey, everything will work out. We will go in; Gena will get the data from his computer. She will set up whatever, and we will be done and out.” I didn’t know if I was reassuring him or me.
“I know. I also know all plans, no matter how well thought out, go to shit. We just have to be prepared,” he said, kissing the top of my head as he took our plates to the dishwasher.
“How’s your hand today?” I noticed the bandage was gone. It looked raw and painful to me.
“It’s not bad; letting it breathe a bit right now. I am going to go change.” He kissed me as he walked by. I walked to the front of the house, looking out my windows, trying to stay calm. I saw the van pull up and park. Lego, Ninja, Joey, and Oatmeal. I let them in.
“Morning, Mary, how are you?” Oatmeal said, giving me a hug.
“Nervous. How are you all?” I asked.
“Good. Ready to go,” he answered.
<
br /> “Where’s Ben?” Joey asked.
“I am right here,” he answered, walking from the bedroom. Like the others, he was dressed in black. They had more pockets on their pants than I could ever hope to fill. Ben had said they would have gloves and masks to put on in the van so they would not show an inch of skin, keeping their identities safe.
The guys talked for a few moments. I tuned them out. I was getting caught up in my thoughts of how many ways this could go wrong. I didn’t hear Ben approach me. He reached out and stroked my arm, startling me.
“I have your coms. Can I help you get it on?” he asked, holding up a case.
“Yeah.” He helped me get it on, so it was completely hidden.
“I also had this brought for you.” He knelt and lifted my pant leg. He strapped a holster to my ankle and added a small handgun. “Technically you can’t use this; you should not have it. But I can’t send you in unarmed. Use this in the worst-case scenario.” He looked up at me as he put my pant leg back down, completely concealing the weapon.
The look on his face was heartbreaking. Part of me just wanted to forget the whole thing. But then Greta, Ben’s sister, and every other woman that ever was trafficked would never get justice. “I will.” I was trying to sound strong and confident, but it didn’t sound that way at all. God, I hoped all this worked.
“We are all heading out to the van. Mary, collect your things and head out in ten minutes. You will start to hear us on the coms in less time than that. Make sure you check in when we do,” Lego said. I nodded at him. They left to finish their prepping. I sat in my recliner, just trying to breathe.
Soon I heard the guys checking in; I heard Gena and Ari as well. I checked in, then I heard Ben check in. I could totally do this. He was right there with me. I got up, got my jacket, and headed to my car.
I drove over to Mr. Greyson’s and parked. I was early. Ari was going to arrive five minutes late. It was a thing, he said. I went to Mr. Greyson’s door. He let me in. “How are you today, Mr. Greyson?”
“Just fine, Mary. I must say; I am excited about this. I was really hoping for you to just make everything, but I think this idea of yours is quite intriguing.” He was staring at me. I just smiled. He looked at his watch. “So, where is he?”
“He is a designer; these types always have to be fashionable!” I giggled. I hated the way I sounded. I looked out the window, willing Ari to appear.
“Well, can I get you anything to drink?” he asked
“No, I am fine. Did all the shirts meet your expectations?”
“Yes, I was very impressed that you got it done so quickly.”
“They were the right length; just had to take out the bulk. That can be done quickly since the whole garment doesn’t have to be taken apart.” I saw a flash come from the window. I turned to look. “Oh, he’s here.” Thank God.
Ari’s sparkly black Mercedes pulled up. It looked like he had gotten someone to drive them over. “Is his car covered in glitter?” Mr. Greyson asked.
“It’s his trademark. Sparkly black, he calls it.” I opened the door to let them in. Gena greeted me quietly and stepped out of Ari’s way. I knew he would make some grand entrance. He couldn’t help himself.
“I simply must meet the man that lives in this charming house. Where is he?” Ari said. “Oh, there he is. And look at him, a dashing fellow, what great glasses he has, showing off those blue eyes. Hello, I am Ari.” Ari walked up to him and held out his hand.
Mr. Greyson shook it. “I am Michael Greyson.”
The driver had dropped a few bags just inside the door and left. No one paid attention to the fact that he really did drive the car off.
Ari saw the bags. “Oh excellent! Michael let’s get started. I have samples for you to look through. Mary will take all your measurements, and we will agree on a style. Gena! Please pull the blues first; I simply must show off those eyes of his!” Ari was in his element. We got to work. He pulled Mr. Greyson into the center of his living room. The lighting was good in there, so they could look at the fabric swatches. Gena pulled the swatch card he wanted.
I pulled out my measuring tape and started giving the measurements to Gena as I got them.
“Do you have a navy pinstripe?” Ari asked.
“Yes, did you want to see it?”
“Oh yes, please!” Ari clasped his hands together.
“I will be right back.” Mr. Greyson went upstairs.
“Please excuse me, I need the ladies’ room,” Gena said. Here we go.
“Here, Mary, help me get out the rest of the samples,” Ari said. We made a show of setting out the samples he had brought. Gena made her way to Mr. Greyson’s office.
Ari and I had just gotten out the last of the samples. We had our backs to the stairs. We were discussing the charcoal samples.
“Just what do you think you are doing?” Mr. Greyson said from behind us. “Turn around slowly with your hands up.”
Ari and I looked at each other. We knew we were in deep shit. I hoped everything Ben had taught me would keep me safe. We put our hands up and turned. Mr. Greyson had a gun trained on us. “Let’s go to where Gena is in my office.” He waited for us to start walking “Come on, let’s go,” he said, trying to hurry us. We walked calmly to the office. Gena was at his computer, typing away. She looked up and saw us; all the color drained from her face.
“Get in there.” He pushed Ari. Ari stumbled but regained his footing. “Stop whatever it is you are doing over there and stand up.” He pointed the gun at Gena. She did as he instructed. “Come stand in front of your friends here.”
“I was just fixing your internet,” she said, trying to make it seem like she was doing something innocent. She moved very slowly away from the desk.
Greyson took a shot towards Gena; she tried to get out of the way, but she was not fast enough, he hit her. Now I was pissed.
“You two, kneel,” he said. I went to my knees; Ari didn’t. Ari got pistol whipped for not following the directions. “Did you really think I would not know if you came into this room? I have it monitored. Stupid bitches. You all are only good for one thing.” He was spewing.
I heard “Go, go, go” on the coms. Rescue was on its way.
I waited for him to get close enough. As soon as he stepped into my range, I let loose on his balls. I grabbed the gun from his hand and turned it on him.
“You stay there! Right there on the ground. Do not move, you piece of shit!” I watched him curl into the fetal position, crying about his balls. I was pretty sure I crushed one.
I heard the front door slam open, cracking against the wall. I heard their feet pounding on the wood floor. Then they were in the room with me. “Arrest this piece of shit!” I yelled. Soon I saw hands turn him over and cuff his hands.
“Careful, she ruined my balls!” Mr. Greyson cried as they moved him.
“You are lucky that is all I did for everything you ever have done!” I yelled at him.
“Mary ... honey? Could I have that gun, please?” I felt Ben next to me. I made sure the safety was on, like he’d showed me, and turned it so I could hand him the grip. He passed it to someone in an FBI vest.
I heard a cry and soon felt Ben’s arms around me. “Shhh, it’s over. Everyone is going to be fine.” I realized the cry had come from me.
Chapter 29
Ammo
I held her tight as she worked through what had happened.
“Gena’s okay? She was shot!”
“I was grazed, Mary. It burns like a bitch, but I’m fine,” Gena said from where she sat with Joey on the floor, holding a bandage to the wound.
“Ari was hit in the head!”
“And he has a hard head; he will have a headache, but he will be cool bananas,” Lach said from where he was helping Ari on the floor. His Australian accent and surfer look made it hard to believe he was a doctor.
“See, everyone is fine. Well, not Mr. Greyson; he’s crying about his balls, says you broke them,” I said
to her. She finally looked at me.
“I think I did. I felt it squish when I punched him for the gun.” She looked at me. Then squinted her eyes at me.
Ammo and Mary Page 15
