Heart of Light

by T. K. Leigh

  “See. I’m not a bad guy.” He winked. “Mama taught me to always open and close the door for a woman.”

  Jolene clutched her bag to her chest, turning to face forward, his proximity making her jittery. “Thank you.” Her chest rose and fell in an increasingly fast rhythm. She let out a slow breath once he finally closed the door.

  She looked down at her trembling hands, her heart racing at the thought of being alone with a man for who knows how long as he drove her to a place she had never been to before and couldn’t really be sure even existed. What if he works for him? she thought. She prayed that he didn’t. That’s all she could do at the moment as she glanced down at the lock on the door and cursed whomever decided that installing child locks in cars was a genius idea.

  “Ready?” he asked, getting in behind the wheel.

  She nodded quickly. “It’s not far, is it?” Her voice shook in trepidation.

  Benny smiled at her, trying to make her feel at ease. “I promise we’ll be there in less than five minutes. You can trust me. I’m not going to hurt you…or touch you,” he explained, his face sincere.

  “Okay,” she whispered. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the headrest and listened to a Jimmy Buffett song that had just come on the radio, the gentle sound of the steel drum soothing her nerves.

  “Where are you from?” Benny asked a few minutes later.

  “I’d rather not say,” she responded forcefully. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but the less you know about me, the better off we’ll both be.” Her eyes met his and she sent him a pleading look. All she wanted was somewhere that no one knew her name or what her story was. She wanted peace. She wanted to finally feel free, and if anyone knew her name, it would only be a matter of time before someone came asking questions…too many questions.

  Sighing, Benny shook his head. “Okay. I won’t press you. But if you’re not going to tell me your name, what am I supposed to call you?”

  “Maybe I’ll tell you my name tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” Benny nodded. “Tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  SECOND CHANCE

  “THIS IS IT,” BENNY said as he pulled down a narrow sandy road and into a small driveway, turning off the ignition. He ran around and opened the passenger door for Jolene, taking a step back as she jumped down from the cab.

  The sound of the ocean surrounded the area, the steady wind whipping her hair in front of her face. She couldn’t see the water in the darkness of night, but it was unmistakable that she was on the shore. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. A calming sensation ran through her body and she said a silent prayer, thankful that, after over a decade, someone had finally listened. Someone finally thought she was deserving of a second chance.

  Setting her eyes back on the quaint two-story beach cottage, she grew giddy with excitement over the thought of never having to share her bed, her home, or her body again. She couldn’t wait to fall asleep with the windows open and listen to the sound of the ocean, instead of her cries and screams for once.

  “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

  Jolene snapped out of her trance and followed Benny around to the front of the house. “I bet the sunrise is amazing out here,” she commented as they climbed a short flight of stairs onto a decent-sized deck.

  “Yeah. You could say that. I’m usually out here every morning surfing with a few of my friends. Actually, the guy who owns this house is one of my surfing buddies,” he explained as he punched a four digit code into a lock box attached to the door handle.

  “You don’t own it? Then why are you renting it out?”

  Benny shrugged. “I work in real estate. My buddy bought this place with no intention of living here, so I kind of manage the property for him.”

  “Why doesn’t he live here? If I had a house on the beach, I’d never leave.”

  He stared at the door for a moment. “He lives on the island, but can’t bring himself to step foot in here. That’s all I can really say.”

  Jolene gazed at the solemn look on Benny’s face, wondering what horrible memories the house she was about to spend the night in held for its owner. “Okay. I won’t pry anymore. I know all about wanting to keep your past in the past. I just hope that no one died in this house,” she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  Benny smiled, unlocking the front door and pushing it open. “No. No one died. Don’t worry about that.” He walked through the entryway and found the light switch, flipping it on.

  “It’s a homey little place, isn’t it?” she commented as she walked into the small living room just off the front entrance. “I love the high ceilings.” She leaned her head back, looking up at a ceiling fan before her eyes settled on a second floor landing overlooking the living room. “Makes this room look bigger. Makes this whole place look bigger.”

  “It does.” Benny folded his arms in front of him, watching as Jolene walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

  She cautiously maintained her distance from him, running her fingers across the Mexican-inspired tile on the kitchen counter, the small island finished in the same way. “Is this the bedroom?” She made her way past the kitchen and toward a room with the door closed.

  “Nope. Well, it’s a bedroom, but the master is upstairs.”

  Jolene nodded and pushed open the door, surprised to see a beautiful piano sitting in the room.

  “Wow,” she remarked, turning to face Benny. “And you’re only charging me a hundred a week for this place? What’s wrong with it?” She opened the lid of the piano and ran her fingers across the delicate ivory, a calm feeling overtaking her as memories of her childhood came rushing back.

  “Nothing. It’s not about the money.” He looked at the playful expression on her face as she caressed the piano keys. “It’s just nice to have some warm bodies in here once in a while. It would be a shame to waste the sunrise on an empty house.”

  Jolene smiled at him, excited about being able to see her first sunrise over the beach. It was something she had hoped to experience years ago, but he took that away from her. He took everything away from her.

  “Let me show you the master bedroom.”

  Jolene’s eyes went wide and she immediately grew uneasy about being alone with a man in a place that was completely foreign to her.

  “I’m a good guy. I promise.” Benny stepped back. He could tell that she was hesitant, her momentary relief waning. The playful expression that was on her face just seconds ago was replaced with a look of complete fear, and he could only imagine what she had been through to make her have that reaction. “Or you can go upstairs on your own and check it out if you’d feel more comfortable that way.”

  “I’m sorry.” She gave him an imploring look. “It’s just…”

  He held up his hands, stopping her mid-sentence. “You don’t need to tell me why. Go on. Staircase is just off the living room.”

  Jolene met his gaze, the sympathy he appeared to have for her clear in the way he regarded her. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “You got it, Tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “You won’t tell me your name and I need to call you something. So I’ll call you Tomorrow in the hopes that tomorrow you’ll finally feel comfortable enough with me to tell me your name. Master is at the end of the hallway on the left.” He winked and allowed her to head upstairs before retreating into the living room.

  He tried to figure out what made her frightened to be alone with him and appear to be scared of anyone touching her. He didn’t want to think too much into it. Maybe she had a thing about germs. It was dark and she was in a brand new place with a man she had never met before. It was probably smart to be slightly cautious.

  “It’s perfect,” Jolene said, bounding down the stairs several minutes later, an excited glow about her.

  “I’m glad.”

  She reached into her bag, finding the cash she had stolen from him, and handed a few hundred dollar bil
ls to Benny. “This should cover the first month.”

  He grabbed the cash and stuffed it in his pocket.

  “You’re not going to count it?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

  “No. I trust you.”

  “Trust. I wonder what that’s like,” she muttered.

  “What did you say?” Benny asked.

  “Don’t worry about it. My problem, not yours.”

  “Okay,” he exhaled, making his way to the front door. It was readily apparent that the tall brunette had no desire to divulge any personal information. He reached the door and spun around to face her.

  “Listen.” He handed her a business card. “This is my cell number. If you need anything, please call me. Consider it an emergency number just in case something should happen.”

  Jolene scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, grabbing the card. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing, really. If you get spooked or anything, just call. I don’t care what time of day or night it is. I want to help you if I can. It’s obvious that you’re running from something and, in the limited time that I’ve spent with you, I’m pretty sure you’re not a criminal. I could be wrong, but my gut is usually always right about these things. I just want you to know that, if whatever you’re running from finds you, I want to help. Okay?”

  Jolene stared at him, processing the words that came out of his mouth. There was something about Benny that made her want to tell him everything she had endured over the past decade. She had to keep reminding herself that no one could know who she was. She had already placed her own life at risk. She couldn’t do that to anyone else.

  “Tomorrow?” His soothing voice caught her attention. “I’ll help you if you need it.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be fine. I promise.” She straightened her spine in a feeble attempt to make her seem confident and sure, instead of scared and weak. “But if I’m not, I’ll call.”

  “Good. The landline is connected so if you need to, you can use that. Make sure you bring the cordless into the bedroom with you…just in case.”

  “I’ll be fine. No one will find me here,” she said, more for herself than anyone else. She wanted to believe it was true.

  “Well, I better get home before my girlfriend starts to think that I’ve left her for another woman.” He winked. “I’ll come by in the morning to check on you. Okay, Tomorrow?”

  “Okay.”

  “There’s coffee in the cupboard and a bit of milk in the refrigerator. Help yourself to anything you want.”

  “Is everyone around here as nice as you are?”

  “You’re in the south, sweetheart. Get used to it.”

  She nodded, smiling at his words. “Thank you. For everything.”

  “You got it. See you later, Tomorrow.” He turned and left, making sure the front door was secure behind him.

  As he climbed down the steps and jumped into his truck, he wondered how he was going to explain to his friend that a girl who looked alarmingly like her had appeared on Amelia Island wanting to rent his newly-acquired beachfront cottage. But Benny didn’t care. He had tried everything over the past few years to pull him out of his shell. He wanted his friend back, and maybe this girl ended up on the island for a reason.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  SENATOR DAVID MURPHY WANTED out of the damn car. They had been trailing the bus for nearly sixteen hours. On more than one occasion, he thought Jolene would never get off. Was she really worth it? Of course, she was. He refused to call it an obsession. He could walk away from her anytime and find someone else to satisfy his needs. But he felt that he owned part of Jolene, and he wasn’t going to just let her hide from him, not after everything they had been through. It didn’t matter that the attraction was purely one-sided. David didn’t care about such insignificant little details.

  She was his.

  A glimmer of hope came in Jacksonville when he saw Jolene climb off the bus at a truck stop. He waited, keeping his dark beady eyes trained on the concrete building, disgusted to see overweight travelers leaving with bags of junk food and carbonated sugar in the form of soda. The bus left a short while later and she hadn’t returned. He grew anxious, relieved that he was getting much closer to finding out where she was going to stop running.

  Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, he saw a woman with Jolene’s stature walk into the warm Florida sun. He grinned a mischievous smile and felt a sudden twitching in his pants. Her hair was no longer blonde and straight, but was dark and wavy. But he’d recognize those eyes anywhere…a blue so clear that it couldn’t be found in nature. He held his breath when he saw her glance at the car he sat in before turning her gaze in the direction of a newspaper bin.

  She has no clue where she is, he thought. He remained calm as he observed her flip through several newspapers and magazines. She made a phone call and a cab pulled up a short while later.

  “Sir?” his driver asked as they watched Jolene climb into the back seat of the taxi.

  “Follow her.”

  The car pulled out of the truck stop and tailed the yellow cab that his Jolene sat in, heading east.

  After an hour, it finally stopped outside of a coffee shop and let her out, leaving her in the parking lot. She nervously scanned the area, looking at her map for her final destination, David assumed. He had to give the girl credit. She was playing it as smart as she could, taking every precaution so she wouldn’t be found. She had no idea that he had been following her since Chicago.

  David saw a tall, attractive man with chestnut hair approach her. His face flashed red with anger and jealousy. He hated the thought of Jolene speaking to any other man. He knew it was an occupational hazard, but it never made it hurt any less. And that was why he had followed her all the way from Chicago. To make her his in every way.

  He tried to make out the conversation that Jolene was having with the man, but couldn’t risk getting any closer. Not yet. His blood spiked when he observed her get into a pick-up truck and drive away with the mystery man. He had his driver follow the truck a few short miles to a quaint little cottage adjacent to the shore, watching as Jolene entered the house with the man. He still didn’t know what was going on…until the man walked out of the house and got back into his truck. When the lights from the upstairs room were extinguished a short while later, he knew that Jolene had reached her final destination.

  “Bingo, princess,” he said under his breath, his heart racing in excitement and desire.

  Desperation took over and he very nearly left the Town Car and ran up to the front door with the sole purpose of forcing Jolene to take him into her bedroom. But no matter how painful it would be to not smell her delicious scent at that very moment, to not feel her body beneath his, to not muffle the sound of her cries and screams as she fought against him, he needed to be patient for what he was planning. He grew hard thinking about her perfect skin becoming pink from his hands. God, he loved the fight in her. But if he approached now, he would just scare her off and she might run again. He needed to lull her into a false sense of security. It was necessary to keep his distance…for now.

  “Take me to a hotel,” he barked at his driver. “There’s got to be something good on this island. In the meantime, call my secretary and have her find me a house here. It looks like we’ll be spending some time in Florida.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  FORMER DETECTIVE GREGORY MATSEN made a detour on his way home from the Chicago precinct at which he now worked. Sitting outside the house where his Angelina took her last breath almost thirty years ago, he became overwhelmed with emotion. The guilt of what happened wore him down. Each day was a struggle to get up and move forward.

  His mission always remained the same…find who took Jolene, and who sent those men to his house to kill his fiancée and shoot his partner, nearly killing him, too. That bullet wasn’t meant for his friend. It was meant for him. It was just by chance that Mark was there with Angelina and Jolen
e while he ran out to grab more beers for the big game.

  Greg never should have left…

  As he sat outside of the house that he had hoped to raise his family in, he wished he had at least gotten a name from Angelina. He had nothing to go on, besides a few photos of the men who killed his fiancée seconds after he returned with a case of Coors Light.

  He could still hear Angelina’s cries as if it had just happened.

  “Please, no,” she begged. It took all of his resolve to not barge into the house, bullets flying. Greg knew he had to play it smart if there was a chance of saving all of their lives.

  “So this is him then, is it?” one of the voices asked. “The guy you left us for? The boss is not happy. I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded that you had a deal with him.”

  “That’s not…”

  “Yes. I’m the guy,” Greg heard his partner interrupt, knowing full well what he was doing. It made him sick to his stomach to think that Mark was putting his own life at risk.

  Creeping around the exterior of the house, he tried to stay as quiet as possible while he made his way to the back door. Slowly pushing it open, his eyes grew wide in terror when he saw a gun pointed at Mark’s chest.

  “We know you’re just his partner, so you taking the rap isn’t going to change anything,” one of the men said. “Just make sure he gets this message from our boss. You take something of his, he takes something of yours. It won’t be now, but you will live in fear every day throughout your entire life of when he will return the favor. It will eat you up inside, knowing that you won’t be able to do anything to protect your only daughter.”

  He pulled the trigger, shooting Mark in the shoulder, just as the other intruder shot Angelina in the chest.