by Unknown
Carla got out the car and stretched. “This is nice. An actual house with windows and a big front porch, but we’re in the woods again.”
Zach leaned against the hood of the car and chuckled. “At least here you have scenery. There is a lake out back and a couple of row boats. Think of this as a mini vacation.”
“Hmm, do the doors open and close when I touch them or will I be locked inside again?”
“The doors open but I expect you to behave this time, Carla. No running off on your own. This place is not as secluded as the cabin, and there are other houses surrounding us.”
She crossed her heart. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
He pointed a finger at her and raised his brow. “I’m holding you to that. Let’s get inside.”
Zach opened the door and saw Rodney consoling a crying Tonya. He handed the garbage bag containing the food to Carla. “Do you mind putting this stuff away? The kitchen is down the hall.”
She took the bag. “I should talk to Tonya first. I’ve never seen her cry before.”
“Please, just take this in the kitchen.”
Reluctant, she took the bag and went to the kitchen. Zach walked over to where Rodney was seated with Tonya. “What’s going on?” he asked taking a seat in a bamboo chair.
Rodney shook his head and sucked his teeth. “The men who tried to abduct Carla.”
“Yeah, the assholes got away but what about them?”
Rodney scratched his neck. “The driver was Tonya’s brother, Myron.”
Heat seared around Zach’s neck. “Are you fucking kidding me! All this time Yezhov has known Carla was home. Dammit! While we were trying to flush him out he was hoping to lure Carla away from you.”
“This takes an interesting turn, Zach. We don’t know who Yezhov is paying to get to Carla.”
“Did you get her phone, Rodney? We can’t take any chances that she’ll call anyone.”
Tonya wiped her face smearing her makeup. “I didn’t call anybody! Myron called me earlier today asking about Carla. I didn’t know she was under protective custody or that nobody was supposed to know she was at home. Y’all could have told me what was up.”
Rodney patted her on the back of the hand. “We should have included you, Tonya. But please understand the position we’re in.”
“I do now. I wondered why I’d never heard of you before. I know everybody in Carla’s immediate family, and she never mentioned an Uncle Rodney.”
Rodney nodded turning his attention to Zach. “I have the phone and took care of it. I believe she doesn’t know about Carla’s situation.”
Zach took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Tonya, have you had any contact with Phillip lately?”
Tonya nodded. “He called me at my shop last week asking if I’d seen Carla. We aren’t exactly on speaking terms, so when he called collect I started not to accept the charges. But, I changed my mind since I hadn’t seen Carla in a couple of days.”
“He called your beauty shop instead of your cell phone? Do you remember where the call came from?” Zach felt Carla’s standing behind him. He didn’t bother to shoo her away. Eventually, she would learn about what went down and might as well hear it first-hand.
Tonya drew her long hair in her hand laying it across her shoulder. “The operator didn’t say and I didn’t ask. I told him I hadn’t seen Carla and not to call me again. I was on the phone with Phil less than a minute.”
Rodney got up from the couch. “I’ll get the phone records from the shop. He was smart not to use a cell phone.”
Zach continued to question Tonya. So far she was their only lead to finding Ty and Phil. “How do you know the driver of the car was your brother, Myron?” Zach heard the loud gasp come from Carla’s mouth before she yelled.
“What! Myron is working for the man trying to kill me! Damn, Tonya, is that why you called Rodney in the kitchen? You knew he was downstairs waiting for me?”
Zach jumped out the chair before Carla could leap on Tonya. Holding her in a bear hug he tried to calm her down as she struggled in his arms. “Relax, Carla. Let me find out what she knows.”
“Let me go, Zach!”
“Not until you stop fighting! We’re all stuck here together and have to get along.”
“Screw that! How do you know she didn’t text him saying where we are? They could be on their way here now!”
He restrained her tighter, cutting off her circulation until she stopped squirming. “Listen to me! Rodney has her phone. She can’t call anyone.”
“I didn’t know, Carla,” Tonya cried defending herself. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
Carla narrowed her eyes at Tonya. “I can’t believe you! We’re closer than blood relatives! How much money did you get, Tonya? Or were you promised something else? You don’t do anything for free so I know you got something for selling me out.”
Rodney came back in the room, and Zach picked up an infuriated Carla, throwing her over his shoulder. “You stay with her and I’m gonna take this one outside to calm down.”
He carried her out the back door and down the wooden steps leading to the sandy beach with Lake Erie as the backdrop. There were a few people lazing around but not many for a Wednesday evening. The lake houses were timeshares or rental vacation homes and not many residents stayed in them year-round. The two-bedroom beach house was owned by friends of his sister and located in Port Clinton, Ohio. Instead of getting on the plane that morning, he came here to contemplate his next move.
Zach knew his life was forever changed after that night with Carla. She was on his mind constantly. He found himself worrying about her safety and didn’t trust Rodney to protect her. It had to be him that protected her. He wasn’t sure if he had developed feelings for her or if it was just his overbearing need to be in control. Not until that night on the beach when he encountered a beautiful woman walking her dog.
She approached him, and they seemed to hit it off. She had invited him back to her house for drinks where she talked about herself for hours, and he listened. Once he had a few drinks in him, he was able to unwind but when the woman stripped down to her birthday suit and offered herself to him, he couldn’t do it.
Her lips didn’t taste like Carla’s and her body, although it was what he preferred, wasn’t Carla’s. For the first time in his adult life, he couldn’t perform sexually. He blamed it on fatigue when the woman questioned him. She offered him oral satisfaction, and he refused. Instead of explaining himself, he gathered his clothes and went home. That’s when he knew Carla had spoiled his ability to sleep with women as a recreation. He now cared about someone. Could Carla Parker be the woman he needed in his life? And if so, how would he let her know that.
Zach walked to the edge where the lake’s water kissed the sand. He sat down placing Carla between his legs. He didn’t want to risk her running back to the house to finish off Tonya. She was fast, and he was too tired to chase her after the fiasco at the apartment building.
“Zach, please let me go, I’m not going to do anything to Tonya.”
Her voice sounded sincere, but he wasn’t sure he could trust her. “We’re going to stay this way for a minute,” he said wrapping his arms around her to pin her back against his chest. “Look at the water, Carla. I know Lake Erie has its fair share of bad jokes but look how soothing it appears. Lose yourself in the calmness of the waves.”
“This is not working, Zach. I’m furious; it’s going to take more than looking at some freaking water to calm me down. I can’t believe Tonya.”
Her warm tears dripped on his hands. He released his grip enough to turn her to face him and lifted her chin. He said, “Hey, we believe she’s telling the truth. Rodney will continue to interrogate her, but I’m sure she didn’t know you were in danger.”
“Her brother agreed to kidnap me. I’ve spent the night at their house, gone on vacations with them, ate Sunday dinners with them. This hurts, Zach. It hurts so much to kno
w that Myron thinks so little of my life or how my death would affect my family.”
“Yeah, there are a lot of unanswered questions, Carla. I’ll do my best to get you answers to them.” He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. The action stunned him. He’d never stroked or kissed anything he wasn’t about to penetrate.
He looked down at her face. Teardrops dangled on her long lashes. He wished he could take away her pain by ending this nightmare. Using his thumb, he removed the tears that pooled under her eye. With a gentle finger, he traced her jawline. Her skin was smooth. He bent his head lower, and her neck tilted back. Their lips parted, and Zach covered her mouth with his. The sweet taste he’d become familiar with, filled his mouth, awakening his senses. Their breathing became heavy as their tongues played.
Carla’s arm went around Zach’s neck, and his hand went to her breast. His thumb was arousing her nipple through the fabric. He broke the kiss long enough to say, “I’m glad I’m back.”
“Zach, what are we doing?”
“Carla, I wish I knew.”
She licked her lips and sat up to face him. “Okay, well, I guess this is pity sympathy you’re showing me.”
Pitying her never crossed his mind. He looked for the needy woman looking to have her hand held. That person didn’t exist. She was too headstrong to want or need anyone’s pity. What he saw, looking into her eyes, was a woman he desired to care for on a daily basis. With his job, he knew that wouldn’t be possible.
Zach followed in his father’s footsteps after receiving a degree in criminal justice. His father was a cop for forty years and never achieved a rank higher than patrol officer. Zach felt regular police work was boring and repetitive. He wanted more. After serving on the police force for five years, he applied and got accepted at the FBI. It wasn’t long before he joined the Organized Crimes Division. It gave him the adventures he sought but also took away the need for him to plant roots in one place.
Zach stroked Carla’s cheek and said, “I don’t pity you.”
She sighed heavily. “Thank God. I guess what I want to know is if I broke through that cold heart of yours?”
“Carla, don’t ruin this, let’s take in the scenery and chill.”
“I’m serious, Zach. I don’t want you to remember me as the first black woman you slept with, but that I meant something to you.”
Zach kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re a frustrating person. You know that right?”
She grinned through her pain. “So are you. It’s funny how people like us have no chance of a future with anyone.”
He rested his chin on her head, kicking himself internally for not being able to tell her how he felt. He lived by rules he later may regret. Years flew by faster than people expected. The young felt they had forever to get things done. Zach included himself in that group. However, if the crystal ball were to reveal his future now, it held a life of loneliness. No wife to grow old with or children or grandchildren to pass along his wisdom. And, not only that, he was the last link to future Murphy heirs. He was the only son.
Shaking off the gloom of his future, he stood up bringing her with him. He brushed the sand off his jeans. “We should get back to the house. Are you good? I don’t want to have to handcuff you.”
Carla brushed the sand off her pant legs and nodded. “Yep, I’m straight. But, I can think of better uses for those handcuffs.”
Zach put his arm around her shoulder and together they started the walk up the beach. “I like where your mind goes.”
They sat around the table eating the spaghetti dinner Carla had prepared at her apartment. Only the clinking of forks against plates was heard. Zach observed the three quietly. The lines on Carla’s forehead were visible above her arched brows every time she looked at Tonya. Rodney picked at the food on his plate, pushing the noodles back and forth with his fork. Tonya would release dramatic sighs between sips of water. He knew she was looking for sympathy to ease her role in the events surrounding tonight. She’s been cleared of any involvement and needed to let it go instead of irritating Carla further.
Zach got up from the table taking his plate to the kitchen. Rodney followed behind him. “How long do you think the truce will last?” Rodney asked scraping the spaghetti in the garbage.
Zach shrugged his shoulders. “Carla feels betrayed and Tonya has to gain her trust again.”
“I don’t get the brother’s connection to any of this, Zach. Carla has to mean something to him. They are like family. That dude was going to look her in the eye and kill her. That is cold all the way around.”
“Doesn’t make sense to me either. He’ll be questioned and hopefully we’ll get some answers. Did you call Lowes?”
“Yeah, he has Cleveland police looking for Myron. Once he’s found, they’ll turn him over to us.”
“It’ll be interesting to know his story. Yezhov had to make a deal with him in exchange for Carla. I want to know what it was.”
Rodney nodded. “While we’re waiting for that to happen, can you explain why you’re not in Russia?”
“I have my reasons,” Zach said not elaborating on what they were.
“Well, I know you aren’t checking up on me since I have more experience than you, so it has to be Carla you’re concerned about.”
He frowned, thinning his lips. “I followed my gut instinct and opted not to get on that plane because I felt she needed me.”
“Bad move, Zach. You cannot get emotionally attached to that girl. The bond you’re forming with her is unhealthy. When the case is over, how are you going to walk away?”
“Like I do every case I finish. I bid the victims farewell and be on my way.”
Rodney looked at Zach skeptically as he leaned against the counter. “Bullshit, Zach. I saw you on the beach. I saw the way you held her. I saw the kiss. Why lie to yourself?”
“All right! I know I fucked up, Rodney. I let myself slip,” Zach said running a hand through his hair. The confession lifted a weight off his shoulders.
“Look, I know I talk a lot of shit about women, Zach. Don’t let what I’ve said or done with other women affect you feel about Carla.”
“What?”
“Tell her how you feel. Regardless that she denied you’ve slept together once...”
“Twice,” Zach corrected.
Rodney’s fist flew to his mouth. “Twice? Damn, you work fast.”
“The first time didn’t count. It just happened and wasn’t supposed to again. But damn she made my eyes roll like triple sevens on a slot machine.”
Rodney chuckled. “Damn, man, I would have gone back for a second helping too.”
Zach frowned. “She’s addictive.”
“Man, you’re digging yourself into a hole. Carla is very vulnerable. You really don’t expect her to make definite decisions with the hell she’s going through?”
Clenching his teeth, Zach drew in a breath and held it. He didn’t like being lectured. “I got it under control.”
“Really? Do the math; you’re her knight in shining armor, her Superman that’s sexing her up on the side. Break the shit off unless you really care about her.”
“There’s nothing to break off! Now, get off my ass.”
Rodney growled in a low tone. “Listen to me; you will not treat her like you do those bimbos you pick up in bars. Either you show her some respect or I’ll call Lowes myself. Trust me, when he reassigns you, I’ll personally make sure your ass is on the plane and strapped in your seat.”
“Don’t threaten me.”
“I’m not threatening you; this is a promise. You will not treat Carla Parker like a piece of meat. Not while I’m here.”
The words flew from his mouth propelled by anger building in his body. “Shut your fucking mouth! I do care about Carla. I care about her a lot!” He stormed out of the kitchen. He entered the living room and saw it was empty. The dishes were still on the dining room table, but Carla and Tonya were gone. His heart raced, looking around the stylish living
room, it wasn’t that big and really no place for them to go but outside.
“Rodney!” He yelled.
“What!”
“There’re gone!” His cell phone rang. “Murphy,” he answered.
“Agent Murphy, we finally get to chat. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Zach broke out in a sweat when the thick Russian accent filled his ears. “Yezhov, she doesn’t know where Tyrone and Phillip are. Let the women go, they have nothing to do with them.”
“I have the one I need; the other one was of no use to me. However, you might want to find the young lady before she expires from her wounds.”
Zach ran out the door with Rodney following him. Thinking Yezhov couldn’t be far ahead of him. “Where did you put her so I can get help for her?”
“I don’t know how to tell you directions; I’m not familiar with the area. Maybe you'll hear her cries and find her that way if she’s still alive.”
His chest heaved as he searched the lot looking for fresh tire tracks in the gravel. It was too dark and with no lights illuminating the area, he was wasting his time. “Let me speak to Ms. Parker. I want to make sure you have her.”
“Of course; I’ll allow you to say goodbye to her. It really sad she has to die; she’s such a beautiful girl and so young.”
He put the phone on speaker as Rodney stood next to him. “Zach.”
“Carla, I’m coming for you.”
“I don’t think so. Please do what I asked you. I need them to have closure. Promise me you’ll do it.”
“Carla, I won’t have to do that. Listen carefully, do what you do best Carla and I’ll catch up with you.” The terror laced in her voice proved that time was of the essence. He prayed she caught onto what he was telling her to do before it was too late. Rodney gave him a signal, and he followed him to the car getting in on the passenger’s seat.
“That’s enough talking. I let you say goodbye to your friend. You should have advised her to tell me what I want to know instead of giving her false hope, Agent Murphy.”
