Deadly Interpretations

by Andie Alexander

  We headed into the living room. “We’re going out, Archie,” Jim said to the bald man. “Order in for pizza or something.” He handed Archie a wad of cash.

  “You’re the man.” Scotty cheered and gave Jim a high-five. “Hey, what’s your name?”

  “Jim. I’m Harley’s new boyfriend.”

  “Great.” Scotty slapped Jim’s arm. “Get me some beer and we’re set.”

  “Beer?” I asked. “When have you had beer?”

  “Oh, I’ve never had that.” Scotty’s head shook from side to side.

  I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands. “Unbelievable. I need a cigarette.”

  “No, you don’t,” Jim whispered into my ear. “He needs a man in his life. I’m just the guy to do it.” He looked toward the blond-haired goon. “Jordan. Keep him out of trouble and watch the place. We’ll be back.”

  “Yes, sir.” Jordan saluted, and Jim returned the salute, almost laughing. We headed into the parking garage for the apartment, where he steered me away from my motorcycle and toward a small red sports car.

  “Yours?” I asked.

  “Yep.” He pointed toward the license plate. “Dr. Bond. That’s me.”

  “Egotist.”

  He helped me into the passenger’s side of the car, then walked around to his side and got in. After turning the key, he revved the motor and drove out of the garage, flashing a badge to the attendant. He weaved in and out of traffic, changing gears on his manual transmission while I held onto the seat with white knuckles.

  He glanced toward me. “Problem?” He smashed his foot on the brakes at a red light, making the tires squeal and forcing me into the dashboard, even though I was wearing a seatbelt.

  I shook my head with my stomach in my throat. “Not at all. I’m used to this.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m driving like this. I want you to feel at home.” He reached over and patted my arm. “My little sweetheart.”

  I sighed. What had I gotten myself into? He was psychotic. “So you were a medical doctor and the CIA recruited you?”

  “Yep.” He shifted gears and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. We took off with a screech, making the back of the car fishtail. I lowered my head, thinking about vomiting all over his cute little red sports car. It would serve him right.

  He continued talking. “They needed a medic out in the field and since I already knew French and Spanish, they wanted me. I want to think it was for my good looks, but they said something like the name fit. Anyway, I quit my practice and went to work overseas for a few years until that fateful day when Queen Eva changed my life with the bomb threat.” He snorted. “I’ll never forgive her for that.”

  “So you were On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?”

  He shot me a snide look. “Movie titles. Not funny. I was in charge of making sure she stayed alive.”

  I hid my laughter. “Can you ever get back with the CIA?”

  “Only when she forgets or dies. I’m banking on her dying, and if I had my way, it would be today.” His expression was serious. I could only imagine the number of people he’d killed.

  “Nice comment. Do you always want to take down the governments of foreign countries?”

  “Only ones that deserve it.”

  This man had more power than I’d imagined. “Have you ever had psychological counseling? It sounds to me like you need help.”

  He pulled into the parking lot for a Chinese restaurant. “You’d understand if you met some of the people I’ve had to deal with. Your problems at the United Nations are a walk in the park compared to some of the situations I’ve been in.”

  It made me wonder how badly he’d had it in his life.

  “I hope you like Chinese food.” He pointed toward the building as he parked.

  “Love it. I spent six months in China and—”

  He touched my hand and I stopped talking, just from the electricity between us. “We have phone records from when you were there, as well as where you went and who you met with.”

  I pointed toward my chest. “Me? Why would you do that?”

  “That was right after Dieter. Need I say more?”

  I looked out the side window, wondering how much of my life was an open book. How long had they bugged me and kept surveillance on whatever I did? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, so I kept my response brief. “I guess not.”

  He put his hand on my arm. “Wait and I’ll help you out of the car. I’m very chivalrous.”

  “No, that’s fine.” I opened the car door and got out. He did the same and caught up with me as I walked toward the restaurant door.

  “Why did you do that?” he asked.

  My head was high and determined, just to prove a point. “To show I don’t need a man. No man is going to make me bow down to him. I really don’t need one, you know.”

  “Can you play along like you do for a while? I really need everyone to think you’re enamored with me, and not just sexually.”

  I stopped walking. “Sexually?”

  “Oh yeah.” He grinned. “You should see your face after just a simple kiss.” He reached up and caressed my cheek with his warm fingertips. “Just a touch puts you in la-la land, and it’s so much fun to watch.”

  I closed my eyes against my will and sighed. “You made your point. Now can you leave me alone?”

  “Oh, no,” he whispered. “This is how I’m going to hold onto you.” He touched my lips with his, the heat traveling throughout my body. I even tingled in my toes.

  “Ready to go inside?” he asked, his voice still a whisper. “Or do you want me to hold you up in the parking lot all night long?”

  I opened my eyes and saw his arms surrounding me, with mine around him. “I guess we can go in now.”

  He laughed and moved beside me, his arm still around my waist. “Does Billy excite you like I do?”

  I wasn’t about to stroke his ego and didn’t want him to know anything. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

  He snorted and chuckled. “Liar. You’re really bad at it, too. Billy isn’t into sex with you and we know it.”

  I stopped walking. “How do you know that?”

  “He never slept with you, did he?”

  I crossed my arms. “No, because it’s not what I wanted.”

  He smiled. “Sure. He also never pressed the issue or even did any more than kiss you, twice. I’ve done more with you in the short time I’ve known you than Billy did in over a year.”

  This was unbelievable. “Where do you get all your information?”

  “Many sources.”

  Just as he took my hand, my cell phone rang. I fished it out of my purse and snapped it open.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you?”

  “It’s Billy,” I whispered to Jim, then turned back to the phone. “I’m out. Why?”

  “You should be home, bawling your eyes out. But you’re not. Instead, you have a whole bunch of men at your apartment. Do you know they’re there?”

  I winced at Jim. “Yes, they’re the new babysitting service.”

  “Wait till they hear that,” Jim muttered with a chuckle.

  “Who’s there?” Billy asked.

  “Uh, I’m at a restaurant with some people from work, and they’re listening to my conversation.”

  Jim moved in and kissed my cheek with his arms surrounding me, then ran his fingers through my hair.

  “I hear kissing,” Billy yelled. “Are you kissing someone other than me?”

  My eyes went shut. “No, just eating. It’s very tasty, too.” I ended the call and felt every nerve tingle as Jim ravished my mouth.

  “You’re right,” he whispered, moving toward my ear. “It is tasty.”

  I was doomed. “Mmmm….”

  “Are you ready to go inside now, or do you want to go to a hotel?”

  “Hote—inside.” I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. “Where did you learn to do that?”

  “Do what?”

  �
�Take over my mind with just a touch.”

  He grinned, but he never answered. Instead, he kept walking, making me wonder about Dr. Bond.

  Little did he know but doctors were hotter than cops. Considering he was both, I was in big trouble.

  Chapter 5

  Jim took my hand and proceeded to guide me inside the restaurant, still ignoring my question. “I have a reservation for two under the name of Manford.”

  “Yes, sir.” The older Asian woman looked in the book at the front desk.

  I couldn’t handle this new wrinkle in my life by the name of Jim. I leaned up to his ear. “Can I go outside to have a cigarette?”

  “Like a cigarette after sex?” he whispered in return.

  “Sure. Close enough for me.”

  His face turned determined. “No. You need to kick that habit. If I’d known you were smoking, I’d have stopped you weeks ago, before I even knew who you were. Same with the drinking.”

  I rolled my eyes, opened my purse, and removed a cigarette. As I headed toward the dining area, I was held back by my arm. “No.” He grabbed the cigarette. “Cold turkey. I won’t tolerate this and I’m going to make sure you make it.” He threw it into the trashcan, right near the doorjamb.

  “Follow me,” the older woman interrupted. She took two menus and led us toward the table while Jim started a conversation with her in Mandarin Chinese.

  “Have you been in this neighborhood long?” he asked, in Chinese.

  She stared at him for a moment. “Yes, for about thirteen years. Where did you learn Chinese? You speak so well.”

  “I visited China a few years ago and learned the language.” He glanced at me. “She speaks it as well, for the United Nations.”

  The woman looked over at me, speaking in Chinese. “You’re an interpreter?”

  “Yes, I am,” I said in Chinese. “I know quite a few languages.”

  She motioned to a big man, standing in the corner. “They speak Mandarin and she works for the United Nations.”

  “Is that right?” he asked, in Chinese, walking toward us.

  I nodded.

  The guy was a large man, towering over me by a good six inches or more, and at least two hundred or so pounds heavier than my tiny frame. He looked like he was a sumo wrestler, even though he wasn’t Japanese. “Do you know our ambassador to the United Nations?” he asked.

  “Yes, I know Mr. Wing,” I said. “I work with him sometimes, when I have to interpret back into English. Why?”

  “He’s my uncle.” The man smiled. “Is your name Harley?”

  This was too weird. I glanced at Jim, who had his eyebrows raised.

  I turned back toward Mr. Sumo Wrestler again. “Yes, it is. Does he talk about me?”

  The man lowered his eyes down over me. “He wanted to fix me up with you.” He reached out and touched my hair. “He said you had long black hair and the eyes the color of the light blue sky in the spring.”

  Jim grabbed my waist and pulled me up against him, making all the air escape from my lungs with a giant whoof. “She’s taken,” he snapped in English. “She’s with me.”

  “You are?” Sumo man asked me, in English. “But my uncle said your boyfriend was an idiot and you were ready to move on.” He stared at Jim, looking like he was ready to beat him up. Jim glared back at him. I just wondered if I could break up a fight between the two of them. They were both bigger than me. I considered hunting for some popcorn, just to watch them fight. Since I really didn’t care who won, I’d just root for the guy who was ahead. Considering the weight difference, Sumo-guy would win.

  “When did Mr. Wing say I was ready to move on?” It was hard to talk and even breathe with the death grip Jim had around my waist. I pried his fingers from me and wrapped my arm around his waist, just so he wouldn’t grab me again.

  “A week ago.” The man raked his eyes down over my body again with a grin. “He told me to come to visit you, but I didn’t have time. He said you were going to be doing a special job for him and needed protection.” He glanced at Jim and turned toward me. “Want to go out anyway?” He pointed toward Jim. “He looks like a loser.”

  I studied Jim’s face, realizing the answer had better be no, or I’d be put in jail. “No, I’m taken. Sorry. And he’s no loser.”

  The giant sumo-wrestler type man shook his head. “Too bad. When he dumps you, give me a call. My uncle will give you the number. You’d be perfect because you don’t really like the United States.”

  “But—”

  Jim grabbed my waist and squeezed hard.

  “He’s right,” I said, just trying to breathe. “Your uncle’s right about all of that.”

  The man took my hand, kissed the back of it, and walked away. Something weird was going on, and I’d rather have never known what it was. But I suspected the answer lay in my near future. If only I had vacation time, I’d be gone.

  Chapter 6

  Jim helped me to my seat. Once he sat down, we both read over the menus handed to us by the old woman.

  “What will you have?” the older woman asked.

  “I’ll have a bottle of beer and your vegetable dish,” I said. “I’m a vegetarian.”

  “You are?” Jim whispered.

  I nodded.

  He looked up at the woman writing it all down. “She’ll have tea, not beer.”

  I grabbed his hand under the table and glared at him, but he let go with a laugh. “I’ll have the beef and broccoli dish and a cola.”

  The woman took the menus from us and walked away.

  “Since when did you become a vegetarian?” he asked.

  “Last week. Why won’t you let me drink beer?”

  “You don’t need it. What are you doing to your body? Why did you become a vegetarian?”

  “It’s not fair that animals should keep me alive when there are perfectly good vegetables out there for me.” I stared around the restaurant, decorated in light colored wallpaper with leaves, pandas, and bamboo shoots filling the empty spaces. I wondered how that would look in my apartment and if my landlord would approve. It had to be more cheerful than the black walls. I never would’ve thought about it if Jim hadn’t mentioned it first.

  He leaned up closer. “Meat and protein are good for PMS. Did you know that?”

  “No. I think you’re making that up.”

  “Not at all.” He took my hand. “I still keep up on medical things for my job.” He pressed a kiss into my palm while I stared at him in awe. What was it about him?

  I took a deep breath and thought of a way to change the subject. “Why do you think that guy wanted to know if I was loyal to the United States?”

  “He probably wanted to make you his woman, take you back to China, and make you listen to him.”

  “Over my dead body.” I tried to stand up, but Jim pulled me back to my chair.

  “Touchy, much?” he whispered.

  “Just because I’m a woman? That man has it coming to him.” I pushed up my sleeves. “I’m really not in the mood for this.”

  “The man doesn’t realize he can get what he wants and the woman would never know it. It takes a real man to make that work.” He winked and I was ready to slap him, but kept my nonchalant demeanor.

  “Do you know any real men who could pull that off?”

  He nodded slowly, watching my face. “You want to play that game. I’ll show you a real man.”

  I calmly drank my water and then put my glass down on the table. “Is he a friend of yours or are you going to hire out? I’d see that coming a mile away and would put you to the ground. Again.”

  He inched up closer to me. “You’re really nasty. What pills are you taking, anyway?”

  “Birth control. I have for years, just to regulate things. They make me mean, and quitting smoking isn’t helping.” I checked my watch. “It’s been about seven hours now since I’ve had a smoke. Can I go outside?”

  “No, and I think it’s time to change that prescription and to get you a pat
ch for the nicotine craving.” He touched my hair. “What does your doctor say about the pills and you smoking?”

  I watched his blue eyes. He was playing doctor. Be still my heart. “Nothing. I never tell him. I go in, get the pills and leave, pretty much.”

  “I’ll have a chat with him.”

  “No, you stay out of it.” I looked away, because I hated this type of conversation. “It’s not your problem.”

  He put his fingers on my chin and turned my face toward him, his eyes glued to mine. “If I have to deal with you, then yes, it is my problem. I want you to be nice to people, if I have to make you take drugs to force you to do it. Understood?”

  I was ready to fan myself. But I couldn’t tip my hand. “And I’m the mean one here?”

  The older woman brought our meals to us and I studied my plate, then Jim’s plate. Maybe this vegetarian thing wasn’t the way to go after all.

  I took a bite of my food, but the aroma of the steak on Jim’s plate wafted toward my nose. I reached my fork to his plate. “Do you mind if I try your theory?”

  “Go for it,” he said with a grin.

  I took a bite, letting the meat melt in my mouth. I missed meat so much, and like a meat junkie, I wanted more.

  “Good, huh?” he asked.

  “Yeah, but I need to eat my meal.” I looked down at my plate.

  “Why are you a vegetarian?”

  “It’s a long story. Billy—”

  “He made you become a vegetarian? Is he controlling?”

  The real answer saddened me. Billy knew how to handle me, holding things over my head. But Jim didn’t need to know anything. “I dealt with it.”

  “I’d get rid of him if I were you.” He stuffed some of the food into his mouth. “As a matter of fact, if I heard your conversation right, he suspects something’s going on already.”

  “Yes, he went to the apartment and saw your goons.”

  “The babysitters.” Jim nodded in understanding. “I wonder if he’ll track you down.”

  “He’s the type, for sure.”

  Jim laughed. “I can hardly wait. He needs to learn a few lessons about women.”

  “Who’s going to teach him?”

  “An expert in the field, with tons of research to back him up.”