by T M Kelly
“When we dropped off Anora’s car,” Journey said and sat down on the couch beside me, “she said Ray had just arrived at your house about ten minutes prior.”
“Did she say if he looked angry?”
“Livid. She indicated he was yelling your name. She could hear from all the way in her home.”
I stood and made my way into the kitchen. “Anyone hungry?” I couldn’t just sit around and wait. “Please tell me there is decent food in this place?”
“The housekeeper went shopping this morning.” Malik stepped into the room and sat down at the kitchen island.
“Housekeeper?” I started to open every cupboard to see what we had. In the second to last cupboard, there were two boxes of mac n’cheese. I held up the boxes. “Perfect comfort food.” In a bottom cabinet, I found the sauce pot and measuring cups. “So, tell me about yourself.” My hands were on the door to the cabinets as I asked the question. I turned my head slightly and noticed Journey look over at Malik. “Are you like some kind of secret service agent or something?”
“Or something,” Journey said.
“Why get involved in my mess?”
“They know how to keep you safe,” Malik said.
“So what branch of the government are you in?”
“What makes you think that?” Journey sat down in the chair next to Malik. I shot her a look that she read loud and clear. “CIA.”
I was happy my hands were empty at that moment. “I’m sorry. Come again?”
Malik cleared his throat. “I used to work with them. Your situation seemed serious.”
“It is serious,” Journey corrected.
“Right.” He nodded. “They’re in town for an AFC fight. Now they’re here for a fight and to protect you.”
“You’re both fighters, too?” I filled the measuring cup with water and poured it into the pot.
“Were. Now we use the skills in the field.”
“You can’t stop your life for me. Ray will find me eventually.” I opened the boxes and waited for the water to boil. “I don’t know why I even left.”
“Would you rather die?” Lincoln said and leaned his tall frame against the counter beside the stove.
“Link,” Journey yelled.
“What? That’s what will happen eventually.” Lincoln shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s okay,” I said and found four bowls. “I don’t know. I guess it’s either die now or later.”
“What if we could guarantee you would never die?”
I looked up at Lincoln. “That’s a broken promise and you know that.”
“It’s not,” Lincoln shot back. “Your friend told us all about your husband. We’ve met his kind in the field many times.”
I poured the pasta in the boiling water. “It’s hard to believe right now.”
Malik leaned against the counter. “Just give it time.”
“I hope I have some left.” It felt weird to know I was sitting in a house with two CIA agents. I glanced over to Malik. “You used to be an agent?”
“A long time ago.”
I never thought my marriage to Ray would bring me to this place in my life. “I still don’t understand how my situation warrants you all to be here.”
“I asked them for help,” Malik said.
“And we wanted to help,” Journey said.
After we finished eating, I walked over to the kitchen table and made myself comfortable. “So what now?”
“Who wants to play?” Lincoln held up a deck of cards.
I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh. Maybe I was free from danger. Ray couldn’t track my whereabouts. Malik made sure of that earlier by smashing my old phone. The shiny new device he gave me was now buzzing. Anora.
Anora: I miss you already.
Me: Come stay here with us.
Anora: I need to be here. We have to act like everything is the same.
Me: I’m nervous he will hurt you, too.
Anora: There is twenty-four-hour surveillance. Don’t you worry.
I was worried, though. Ray hated Anora and he knew how close we were.
10
“Where is the weakness?” Malik said and placed his hand over mine currently wrapped around his neck. “It’s not the four fingers, right?”
“Shit.” I dropped my hands and stepped away.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s like everything you’ve taught me was thrown out the window the other night.”
Malik walked over and grabbed a towel. “Jenny don’t think about that right now. Let’s just make sure you’re ready for the next time.”
It had been six days since the incident. I was still hiding out at Julian’s guest house with Malik. The first four days Journey and Lincoln were with us, but then they were called away. They mentioned something about a case and quickly left.
My back was still giving me fits, but the pain was slowly subsiding. For the last two mornings, I forced myself to do a few yoga moves. Charlie had told me a while ago, yoga practice in conjunction with mixed martial arts would be amazing on the body. Any way I could build strength, I was all in.
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time.” I walked to the center of the mat and put my leg back. “Let’s do this again.”
“You’re relentless.”
“I’m a survivor.”
He placed his hands around my neck and tightened his fingers slightly. “What next?”
I closed my eyes and forced my mind to stay in the good place. Both his thumbs were in the center of my neck by my throat. His thumbs were the weakness. I dropped my head down and quickly moved out of his hold.
“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about. Do it again.”
I let him get in position, and then I placed my hands over his and dropped my head down. His thumbs released every time because they couldn’t latch on to anything the way his fingers could. “So if I try to escape with your fingers in position…” I made the attempt but his grasp around my neck tightened.
“Once the attacker knows you are going to fight against them, they will strengthen their position.” Malik dropped his hands to his side. “Want to break for the night?”
“Only if you promise to go over the choke hold down on the mat tomorrow with you positioned on top of me?”
“Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“But are you ready?”
I stepped forward and placed my hand on his chest. “Yes, Malik. I’m ready.” Of course I was lying, but the only way to get through this was head on.
He grabbed my hand and held it close to his chest. “We’ll see.”
“What’s this we’ll see shit?”
“Just like it sounded.” He placed his palm against my cheek. “Let’s make dinner and rest for the night.”
Three days ago before Journey left, she knocked on my bedroom door. I had been sitting in a lounge chair reading. It was funny; I thought she’d come into my room to talk to me privately about what had happened. Instead, she’d started to share little pieces of information about Malik. I remember asking her why she felt the need to divulge some of his secrets. Her answer had taken me by surprise. She’d said, “Have you paid attention to how you both look at each other?”
Her question was on my mind now. I placed my hand over his. “What’s for dinner?”
“What are you hungry for tonight?”
Why did it feel like my heart rate was increasing? “Well, we’ve had pizza two nights in a row.”
“So that’s out, eh?” He used his free hand and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Pasta?”
My breath hitched at his touch. “I have been told I can make a mean lasagna.”
“Oh yeah,” he whispered and stepped closer.
“Malik.” I looked directly into his sea-of–chocolate eyes staring back at me.
“Is this wrong?”
Besides the fact I was still married? Although, an argument could me m
ade once you try to kill your wife, the marriage would be null and void. “No.” I smiled. “Actually, for the first time in a very long time this all feels right.”
He slid his hands behind my neck and brought his head down closer to mine. Just as he was about to tenderly touch my lips, there was a sound from across the room that would not let up. “What the fuck?” He looked around and found my phone buzzing.
“I thought I had an untraceable phone?”
“You do.” He handed it over to me. “But we’re monitoring Anora closely.”
I grabbed the device. “Anora. Is she okay?” Malik pulled up the live camera in Anora’s house. We could see her sitting on the couch watching TV. “She looks fine. I think she’s even laughing.”
“Let’s pull up the outside cameras.” In the backyard by the backdoor, my husband was standing off to the side holding a knife. Malik quickly dialed 9-1-1 and reported the incident. Then he called Anora and put the phone on speaker so I could hear.
“Malik. Is Jenny okay?” By the sound of her voice, she had no clue what was about to happen.
“Remember what Journey and Lincoln talked about if someone tried to get in your house.”
“Yeah. No one is here, though.”
“Go to that space now, Anora. Don’t question me.” She didn’t hesitate. I forced Malik to go back over and find out where Ray was now positioned. He wasn’t by the door. We couldn’t find him anywhere. “Are you there?” Malik asked Anora.
“Anora, answer us,” I said a little too loudly.
A second later a text message flashed on the screen. “He’s in the house.”
I looked at Malik. “We have to go help her.”
“We won’t get there in time.”
I knew he was right but those weren’t the words I wanted to hear. “We can’t just watch my husband kill my best friend.”
“We’re not. The cops are thirty seconds away.”
“She may not have that kind of time.” I started to pace the length of the room. Now my husband was after my friend. His motive was obvious—he would attempt to hurt those I loved. It was a smart tactic. Malik stepped close to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “What are you doing?”
“This.” He wrapped his arms tightly around my body.
At first I wanted to protest and continue pacing. Then something happened. His hold started to calm me. “How is this helping my friend?” I said with my head resting against his chest.
“You’ve stopped shaking.” He brushed his hand down my back and combed his fingers though my hair. I closed my eyes and let myself feel for just that brief moment. Then my phone rang. Malik grabbed it and hit accept. “Anora, is that you?” It was on speaker so I could hear.
“Who’s this?” A chill went up my spine when I heard the voice. I knew at that moment my friend had to be dead. Ray wouldn’t care who he killed to get to me.
“Doesn’t matter. Where’s Anora?” Malik still had his arms wrapped around my body.
“Looks like she’s taking a nap at the moment.” Ray let out a soft chuckle. “Where’s my wife? Is she there with you?” I lifted my head up and looked at Malik. He shook his head, which meant keep quiet. “I had a feeling she was sleeping around on me. Are you the lucky guy?”
“There are cops on the way, Ray. What did you do to Anora?”
“Like I said, she’s napping.” Then the phone went dead.
Malik quickly called the sheriff. “It’s possible the woman in the house is injured. Are you there yet?” I couldn’t hear their conversation this time. “Hurry up.”
He hung up the phone and grabbed my hand. “You’re good friends with the local police?”
“Something like that.”
I shook my head. “Are we going finally?”
“Only if you promise to stay out of sight.”
“All I want to know is if my friend is still alive.”
“Let’s find out.” I followed closely behind him as we made our way to the truck. “Since there’s no tint on the windows, you’ll need to stay down when we get closer.”
When he pulled up behind a cop car, I covered my head with a hat and placed big sunglasses over my eyes. There were only two cars present, which seemed odd. If my friend was being threatened, where was everyone? I slouched down in my seat and watched as Malik made his way over to the one cop standing on the sidewalk outside Anora’s house.
A few minutes later, Anora stepped out onto the porch with the second cop. She was holding her hand over her side as the cop led her down the steps. She was okay.
Where was Ray? I glanced around, afraid he could be close by.
I watched as Malik walked over to Anora. He leaned over and said something next to her ear. She glanced toward the truck and back at Malik. They exchanged a few looks before the cop whisked her to the back of the ambulance that had just pulled up.
Malik made his way back and jumped up into the driver’s seat about two minutes later. “What am I missing?”
“Ray heard the sirens and bailed, but not before he managed to stab Anora on her side just below her rib cage.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. They’re going to take her to the hospital now. I’m more worried about the cop’s disinterest in talking to Ray.”
“What do you mean?”
He turned to face me. “Jenny, you said Ray works at a hotel and casino?”
“Yeah, he’s the vice president of finance.” His question had me worried. “Why?”
“The cops sounded concerned—”
“Then they heard Ray Andrews’s name.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
I dropped my head back against the seat. “I knew I should’ve just kept my mouth shut.”
“No, that would’ve been the wrong answer.” He reached for my hand. “Was that the first time you ever really pissed him off the other night?”
“Since he started drinking. Yes. He would get angry, but he has never tried to kill me.”
“When did he start drinking?”
I thought about the timeline. “About two years ago.” The last year was the worse, but it was definitely over two years now. “Are you still an agent?”
“No.”
“Then why do you sound like one right now?”
He laughed at my words. “I guess you can’t take the agent out of me completely.” He looked back over his shoulder. “Your marriage was good in the beginning, right? He was good to you?”
“Yeah, the most loving man.” I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around my shins. “Could there be more to the story?”
“I don’t know. I need to check with a few people before I say yes to you.”
“Can you take me back home?” I raised my hand to stop him from protesting. “Not the house behind us, my new home.”
He lightly brushed his finger across my cheek. “I’ll figure this out.”
“I know you will.” I sat up and buckled my seat belt. The thought of my husband getting messed up with the wrong people ran through my mind. It would make sense, though. His change in behavior toward me. The frequent late nights and coming home drunk may have a source now. It didn’t excuse his actions toward me. I didn’t even have it in me to accept any of this nonsense. I found myself not caring if he was in trouble.
“Is it a pizza night again?” Malik placed his hand on my lap. His touch sent a shock wave all the way to my core. I glanced over and couldn’t take my eyes off him. He softly chuckled. “What? You hungry for something else?”
Was it wrong to want him? After two years I finally felt things I thought were gone forever. “Maybe.”
“Jenny. What is that look you’re giving me?”
“What look?” I struggled to hold in my laugh. I unbuckled my seat belt and slid my body closer to him. “I don’t give looks.”
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “You so gave a look.”
“Is it bad?” My head was resting on
his shoulder, and I fluttered my eyes up in his direction. “Maybe you should be worried?”
“I don’t know. Should I be?”
11
“Think you can stay under the radar for a few more minutes?” Malik squeezed my side. “I want to check on Anora before we go back to the house.”
“I was hoping we could.” I laced my fingers with his. “Ray could be there already. You sure I should go?”
“Hell no, but I also don’t want to let you out of my sight.” He reached his hand up and scrolled his contacts for a specific number. The person named unknown on the screen answered on the first ring. “Hey, you available?”
“Is this when I say, yes?” he answered through the speaker.
“Pretty much.”
The guy chuckled. “Then for you Malik, I’m always available.”
“Anora Copelin was just taken to Las Vegas Medical.”
“And you can’t do this yourself?”
“Her friend requires my attention right now.”
“Now the truth comes out.”
Malik shook his head. “Can you help? You owe me one.”
“Let me wrap up what I’m doing, and I can be there in twenty-minutes.”
Malik thanked him and hung up. “Who was that?” Malik never once said the guy’s name. “Is he a ghost or something?”
“Or something.” He turned into the hospital parking lot. “It’s an old friend. Devon the trainer at the gym, it’s his brother. The guy is pretty deep. Even Devon doesn’t know all the shit, but I worked with him for a short stint.”
“My lips are sealed.” I ran my fingers over my lips, pretending to zip them up like he did to me once.
“Let’s make sure Anora’s okay.” He hopped out of the truck and I followed beside him.
We stepped through the emergency room doors of the hospital. I had the hood to my sweatshirt pulled down low over my eyes and dark sunglasses adorning my two shiners. The waiting area was packed full of people, several of them were standing at the front desk, yelling for attention. I wrapped my arm around Malik’s bicep and stepped closer to him. Just then I noticed the EMT from earlier walking out of a side door, carrying a red bag.
