by Terry Towers
“I wanted to check on Chris and Tina. You know, to make sure she’s not using and leaving him by himself again.”
“Oh.” My smirk died. “How were they?”
“Good.” He turned back to the stove, turned the bacon, set down the spatula and grabbed a tea towel, wiping his hands before throwing it back to the counter and walking up to me. “I’m happy with her progress to be honest.” He stopped walking a couple of feet from me. “There’s a new resolve in her eyes, I think maybe this last trip to rehab may have actually done it. Maybe she’s finally got it together. I hope.”
Me too. I really did. From my conversation with him the other night, that little boy was such a sweet and wonderful kid. It was shocking how well-behaved and well-mannered he was considering the situation he was being forced to live in. Although call me a skeptic, but I just wasn’t as optimistic as Elijah was about her progress or resolve to get well.
But then again, what did I know, I didn’t know her and quite frankly I wasn’t much of a fan. Of course, I’m sure she wouldn’t be asking for my autograph anytime soon, unless it was to resell it for drug money. I grimaced and silently chastised myself for being such a petty bitch. But fuck, the bitch gave me a split lip and goose egg on my forehead.
“Hey,” he grabbed my upper arms and looked down at me with concern. “What’s the matter, you not, you know…”
I cocked a brow at him. “Not what?” A grin formed on my lips. “Jealous?”
He opened his mouth to speak and then snapped it shut, but his expression told me what he was thinking, he was embarrassed to have even brought it up. He took a step back from me, waving a dismissive hand in my direction and then turned to walk back to the stove. “No, of course not.” Picking up the spatula he began turning the bacon again.
“Do you think that I’m going to turn into one of those jealous girlfriends now that I’ve admitted to falling in love with you?” I followed him over to the stove, slipped my arms around his waist pressing my naked front to his back and placed a kiss on his shoulder. “Do you think I’m going to become some clingy, stalker girlfriend?”
Dropping the spatula he spun back around in my arms and rested his arms on my shoulders, flashing a cocky grin my way. “Expect? No, not really. But I think you stalking me would be a wicked change.”
~*~*~*~*~
Elijah
It was rather risky, but so far it seemed to be going okay. We weren’t disguised nearly as well as we had been at the convention, but I thought our tourist getups would work well enough.
“Really Elijah, the subway? That’s your idea of a day to remember?” Sidney leaned in and whispered to me as she cuddled tight to my side on the two-person plastic seat, wearing a pair of cheap black sunglasses and one of my old ballcaps on her head, a chestnut brown ponytail hanging out the back. “That drunk guy is sleeping in the corner and I think he wet his pants.”
I snickered; I’d seen the drunk, passed-out guy sitting in a puddle of his own urine. “When was the last time you’ve been on a subway?” I responded, flashing her a smile. I also donned a pair of glasses and ballcap. Thanks to Sidney and her announcement on live television I was also a target for the paparazzi.
“And what happens if we get made?”
I made an exaggerated grimace at her. “Yeah, that would suck. Guess you’re going to have to tone down the diva in you so you’ll blend in.”
She laughed and gave me a swat on the shoulder. “Shut up, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not a diva? You can be such a dick.”
“And you still love me, how crazy is that?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Very crazy. Can I take it back?” The ponytail whipped back and forth, catching me in the face.
“Ugh. Yeah, no. No backsies.” I stood and extended my hand to her. “Come on. It’s our stop.”
Laughing a little louder, she crinkled up her nose as she stood. “Where are we?”
“We’re in Chinatown. We’re going to buy some cheap knockoffs, just for the fuck of it.”
“That’s illegal,” she whispered.
I made a face at her. “Geez, we’d better not get caught then.”
She groaned and rolled her eyes.
“Then carry on to Little Italy for a quick lunch and then up to Central Park for a nice horse-drawn carriage ride.”
“So we’re playing tourist?” She followed me out and into the subway station. We walked up the stairs and surfaced in the middle of Chinatown.
“Yeah, like normal people. You told me not too long ago you’d like to be able to walk around like a normal person once in a while, so we’re going to. And we’re going to walk all the way up to Central Park from here so I shouldn’t have to listen to you complain about all those calories you’re going to consume on the pasta.”
She looked up at me and smiled. “You’ve really thought of everything haven’t you?”
“I have.” Damn, I loved her smile and couldn’t imagine going a single day without seeing it.
“In case I forget to tell you later, I had a really great time today. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome sweetie.” Despite the joy that filled me, I still had a very dark cloud hovering over my head and it gnawed at me. I wanted us to have a completely honest relationship, no secrets, I’d promised no secrets. However, I knew that for the rest of our years together, I’d always be in a state of worry that somehow she’d find out about me, about what I’d spent years being paid to do, but coming clean wasn’t an option. Some secrets were just too dark to be shared. I just had to pray she never found out.
Chapter 22
Sidney – 1 Month Later
We were back in Los Angeles and this was one of the few times I was alone. Elijah was off doing some chore that he insisted he needed to get done alone, he claimed I had too hard of a week and needed to relax, but I know when I’m getting the brushoff. So I was left at his Santa Monica house and was in exploration mode until the call came in. It was from a private investigator I hired to track down Josie aka the closet girl. Closet girl was what they’d been calling her in the media anyhow. He’d given me her address; apparently she was living with her sister in Hawthorne.
I was going to wait for Elijah, but changed my mind. She seemed to be doing okay, but having a strange man in her house might make her nervous. I decided going on my own would be the best idea so silently thanked Elijah for his super-secret chore he insisted on doing alone. ’Cause I now also had a super-secret chore of my own.
After quickly jotting a note for Elijah I grabbed the keys to his Lamborghini and went into the garage. Honestly, I have no idea why he had a Lamborghini, he never drove it. It sat in his garage collecting dust. A ‘Lambo’ was meant to be enjoyed, not stored. Silly men.
Pressing the button to open the garage door, I got in the car and started it up. I rarely drove myself so the odd time I did get to drive it was a thrill. Especially when it was in a car like this. I’d considered calling Josie before showing up, but I wanted to see her in person and share my story about those men. A phone call was just too impersonal, besides, I might be mistaken for some reporter.
The ride to her sister’s house in Hawthorne was a wonderful one. Feeling the wind through my hair as I sped down the highway with the music blasting was so freeing. Rolling up to the house I noticed a couple of cars in the driveway and hoped it meant she was home. Parking in the driveway, I shut off the engine, grabbed my purse and got out, hustling my way to the front door.
I’d only had a chance to knock once when the door was flung open and as luck would have it I came face to face with Josie Chen. Upon seeing me she squealed. “Ohmygod! You’re Sidney Lopez, right? From The Hunters… And that new movie with Anthony Anderson! Ohmygod!”
I spread my hands out to the sides and nodded, a blush heating up my cheeks. “Guilty as charged.”
Another “eeeek” escaped her.
“Do you have a minute so we can talk?”
She nodded and st
epped aside, motioning me in. “Would you like a coffee or soda or…”
I gave her a smile of appreciation. “Thank you, but no, I’m fine.”
Josie ushered me into the living room and sat on the sofa as I took a seat in an adjacent armchair.
“This is really cool.” Her grin was contagious and I found myself smiling back at her, however her smile faded slightly, her nose crinkling up at me, “but why are you here?”
Taking a deep breath in I slowly released it, gaining the courage to tell her about the night at the bar, something only Elijah and I knew about up until this point. I raked a shaky hand into my hair. “I saw what happened to you in the news.”
“Oh.” Her smile faded completely. “Yeah. It’s… I’m just trying to walk away from it, you know?”
I nodded. “I know. If I tell you something will you promise it’ll stay just between you and me?”
She nodded.
I wasn’t sure if I could believe her or not, but I had no reason not to. Besides, if I wanted her to trust me then I needed to return the sentiment.
“The reason I’m here is because those men who took you also attacked me. But I got saved before that could happen.”
Her eyes went wide and she wormed her way to the edge of the sofa seat. “By who?”
“My boyfriend.”
“Anthony Anderson saved you! So cool, so he’s like a real-life hero!”
I chuckled. “No, not Anthony, we’re not together anymore. We broke up a couple of months ago.”
“Well, who is it?” She got an excited twinkle in her dark eyes. “Do you have a picture?”
At first it kinda surprised me that what she was interested in was a look at my new man, but as soon as the thought came to mind, I remembered she was only nineteen. Of course that would supersede her interest in whatever it was I had to say. With a shrug, I pulled my smartphone from my purse and scrolled through until I came to a picture of us, the one taken at the comic con the day he was pissed over Anthony. I passed her the phone.
Her smile faded and brow knit as she stared at the image. She didn’t just look at it, it was if she were hypnotized by it. I waited – impatiently, not sure what was going on with the girl, but not wanting to press her.
“That’s the guy…” she finally said, keeping the phone in her hands and continuing to stare at it.
I crinkled my nose up at her. What guy? What was she talking about?
“You know him?”
She nodded and her hands began to shake, ever so slightly. “I know him.”
“How do you know him?”
“He saved me too –” suddenly she looked at me “– but don’t tell him or anyone I told you. I promised. That was the deal. He saved me and I wouldn’t tell.”
It didn’t make sense, when would he even have time to save her? We spent every second together.
“Not to be doubtful, but are you sure? Could you be mistaken? You had an ordeal, I just couldn’t imagine…”
She handed the phone back to me. “No, I’m sure. He drives a black Mercedes.”
“Did he threaten you or…”
“Nope, just asked I keep his identity to myself.” She shrugged. “Kinda thought he should take the credit, he saved me and everything, but he said no. He asked I pretend I didn’t get a look at him and so I did.” She laughed. “It was kinda funny ’cause he was complaining that he was late for something. Someone was going to have his ass for being late. It seemed really funny since I couldn’t imagine him being bullied by anyone. He’s really hot by the way. I think he has Anthony beat.”
She continued rambling on. The girl could do some serious talking and I let her. My mind was spinning as I tried to figure out how it could have possibly been him. But he had said numerous times he should have killed them. Could he have followed through on the threat? But when… I continued to search my brain for the answers and then suddenly it came to me. The day he’d shown up late to pick me up, he’d been slightly frazzled, claiming he’d overslept. I hadn’t really believed him, but reasoned he had no reason to lie… But now I knew the truth. Now I knew the reason. He’d saved Josie and followed through with his threat.
As I stared down at the picture of us I was floored. I was shocked. My head was spinning and I was feeling faint. How do I process this?
“Are you okay, Sidney?”
I looked up at Josie, feeling her hand on my arm. Here I was being consoled by a teenager, what was wrong with me? She went through the trauma. But I was the one who was in love with the rescuer. Murderer. But could I consider someone who saved that girl a bad person? But did he even know she was there? How could he? He’d gone there to kill them, period, Josie just happened to get lucky he did. Elijah was hardly a bad person, he was a sweet, protective, loving…
“You didn’t know?”
I shook my head. “I had no idea.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have opened my stupid mouth. I promised him I’d keep the secret and now I’ve gotten him in trouble.”
Looking up I saw the distress in the young woman’s eyes and shook my head, forcing a smile onto my lips. “No, no, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m just surprised. That’s all.”
“I don’t think he’s a bad person, Sidney. He saved me. If it weren’t for him…” Tears filled her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “I owe him my life. Promise you won’t be mad at him. I had to open my stupid mouth, I’m sorry. Why can’t I learn just to shut up?”
I promised, simply because I didn’t have a clue how to feel at that moment. I thought we could trust each other. I thought we told each other everything. No secrets. We’d made that vow to each other the night at the beach.
“Are you scared he’ll do something to you because you told me?”
She shook her head. “But I promised. I pinkie sweared.”
Pinkie sweared? My face contorted into a look of confusion. Elijah pinkie sweared? Apparently I was missing a whole side of Elijah, when I thought I knew all sides of him. In truth, I think that was what was even more upsetting than the fact he’d gone and finished the job on those two men. We were supposed to be a team. I sighed, I just didn’t know what to think.
~*~*~*~
Elijah
A part of me was screaming this was too fast, way too fast. It was screaming that she was going to run in the other direction, it had only been a month since she’d told me she loved me too. I just may ruin everything, but I didn’t care. Parking the Mercedes in the garage I pulled the ring case from my inner jacket pocket, opened the little velvet box and peered down at the large clear diamond. It was perfect. Tucking the ring back into the inner pocket of my suit jacket I got out of the car and made my way into the house. It wasn’t like we needed to get hitched tomorrow, it could be a long engagement. I was fine with that.
“Hey Sid, where are you hun?” Shrugging off my suit jacket with the ring still in the pocket I hung it over the leather chair in the foyer. I had to find the perfect setting for the proposal and was leaning towards the beach.
“In here.”
I followed her voice and found myself in the living room; she was curled up on the sofa reading a script. “Hey beautiful.” Leaning forward I gave her a quick kiss and sat next to her. “What’s going on?”
She closed the script and tossed it onto the coffee table. When she lifted her eyes, I could see the turmoil in them. “Where were you?”
“Just had something I had to do.”
“Right.”
All right, now I was getting seriously concerned. Sidney was always so upbeat and cheery. Even when she was upset it took just a joke and her mood would lighten. Something told me that a joke wouldn’t fix whatever it was that was on her mind. “Is there something wrong?”
“Where were you the day you were late to pick me up last month?”
“What day?” I knew what day. I was never late for her and my memory was borderline eidetic. Admittedly it was much better as a child, but even a
s an adult my ability to recall events was astonishing.
She glared at me. Really glared at me. Like she wanted to punch me in the fucking face until I gave up the truth. “Stop lying to me.”
“You mean the day I fell to sleep.”
She punched me, sending me falling back onto the sofa. And when I say she punched me, it wasn’t a little knock on the head – hell no – she put her whole body into that punch. I think she may have broken my fucking nose.
“What in the fuck Sid!” Grabbing a napkin from the coffee table, I held it up to my bleeding nose. “What in the hell was that for!”
“For lying to me. How dare you lie to me after promising we’d never lie to each other!” The fire in her eyes was actually scary. I’ve never seen her so angry, at least not at me anyhow. Nope, come to think of it, I don’t think she’d been this angry with anyone.
“Have you gone off of your meds Sid? I think you broke my fucking nose!”
“Then tell me the truth. And in case you feel like lying again, let me say that I already know the truth, but I want to hear it from your lips. I want to hear you confess what you did to me.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” How could she have possibly found out about the men, about Josie… As the thought came to mind something else sprang to mind; the brief conversation we’d had not long after the story of Josie Chen quickly followed. She’d mulled over the idea of opening a charity fund in Josie’s name. But she seemed to have forgotten the idea, or dismissed it, either way it seemed to be a fleeting thought. Apparently not. Fuck, I leave her alone for a moment and everything unravels.
“You spoke to Josie…”
“I spoke to Josie.”
“And you talked about me.”
She nodded.
“And she told you it was me.” Jesus, my nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. The handkerchief was saturated with blood.
She nodded again.
“Are they the only ones?”
Lie, Trevor. Lie or you’ll lose her! a voice in the back of my mind screamed. “No. They weren’t.”
