I took the car keys off of the counter where Ryder had set them the day before, and then—taking my bags—I slipped quietly out the door. My heart was racing as I made my way to the car. Part of me worried Ryder would catch me and the other part of me couldn’t help but imagine that the gator his Granny fought with was lurking somewhere close by. It would be just my luck to get eaten by a gator just about the time I found the courage to face what was going on in my life.
Once I was in the car, I held my breath until I was off the dirt roads and back on the main one that led to New Orleans. I was glad I’d paid attention when Ryder brought me out here so that I at least knew how to get back to town. There was one stop I had to make on the way. As we’d passed through the little town of Houmas the day before, something had caught my eye. It was a payphone. It was the first one I’d seen, or at least noticed, since I’d been in the United States. It sat at the edge of a small convenience store attached to a gas station. I deposited my coins and dialed the now familiar number.
“Biology lab this is TA Brewster.”
“Yes, hello. Is Aleks Melua in yet?”
“Yes, he’s here. One moment please.” I heard the student put the phone down and call for Aleks. A few minutes later he came on the line. The sound of his voice was one of the few things left in my life that comforted me. Aleks was always my favorite. He was always the good one.
“This is Aleks.”
“Aleks, it’s Aishe.”
He swiftly switched to Russian. In our language, he said, “Where are you?”
He sounded worried and I felt bad.
“I’m headed back to New Orleans. Can you meet me in about an hour?”
“Headed back from where? The garage was blown up at the mansion yesterday. They said one person was dead, but they didn’t release the name. I thought it was you, Aishe! Why didn’t you call me?”
“I’m sorry. It’s a long story, but the bodyguard took me out of there, and when we got to the motel I was going to stay at, his men were already there. They shot him, Aleks.”
“They killed him?”
“No, he’s okay, but they could have. The dead man at the mansion was Charles. He was my friend. I can’t put people at risk any longer. I have to leave here and go far away.”
“Go where?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll start just by getting on a train, but can you meet me at the train station with the papers?” Aleks had found someone who would make me a fake U.S. birth certificate and social security card. The plan was to wait until all other options were exhausted because I was still working on my accent. I felt like we were in that place, and as far as my accent, I’d just have to work harder.
“Are you ready for that, Aishe? A life alone and on the run. How will you support yourself?”
“I’ll do what I have to, Aleks.”
“What? Like Mom did?” I didn’t answer him. Just the fact that he would ask was insulting to me. Yet, at the same time, although I couldn’t imagine myself as a prostitute, I knew somewhere deep down that if that was what it took to protect the people I loved, I would do it. “This is a bad plan, Aishe. It’s time we go to the police.”
“No! You know we can’t do that. If we do that, I will go back to Russia and to prison and he wins. Think about it, Aleks. The police will charge me, not him.”
“Fine, I won’t call the police but don’t run. You can stay here with us. Let’s figure this out together.”
“I can’t come there and put your family at risk. I have to go, Aleks. Ryder will be looking for me soon. I have to be far from here. Now that I think about it, I should just have you send me the papers once I’m settled. I don’t want you here in case they show up.”
“I don’t want you there if they show up. That mansion was supposed to be a safe place for you with all of that security and look what happened there. Imagine being out there alone without anyone to protect you!”
“The mansion was good for a while. It took him a long time to find me. As far as taking care of myself, I’ll just have to learn. I have to go now. I’ll be in touch when I get to a place where you can send me the papers. I love you.” He was still talking when I hung up. I pretended I didn’t hear him. He was asking me how I intended to manage being so far from the baby. At least here I had the chance to see her. The thing was that, although I felt like my heart was breaking, I finally realized I needed to put much more distance between her and myself in order to protect her. I stood there for a few minutes until I had the strength to get back in the car and finish the trek to New Orleans.
Once I was there, I parked Ryder’s car in the parking lot of the train station and made my way inside. My paranoia was working overtime. Every man I saw in a suit looked menacing to me. I felt like everyone was watching me and I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. My only hope was that if they were here, they wouldn’t try anything in such a crowded place. I still wasn’t sure where I was going. I didn’t have much money, so my options were limited. I got in line at the ticket counter with the intentions of simply buying a ticket for the furthest destination I could afford.
“Where are you going?” the whisper of a man’s voice so close to my ear nearly sent me crawling out of my own skin. I pretended I didn’t hear him, but everything inside of me was shaking. “Listen carefully, Alicia. My name is Blake. We’ve only met once. I work with Ryder. I’m here to help you.”
I chanced a glance up at him. He was a big man like Ryder but much more intimidating. His features were all hard lines, as if he’d been carved out of stone. His green eyes were dark and almost expressionless, and his short blonde hair would have made him look like a soldier, even if he hadn’t been dressed in army fatigues. The one time I’d met Blake, Ryder had been in the room, so I’d paid little attention to him. All I really remembered was a big man in a suit with a really deep voice. “I don’t need help,” I whispered back. “Thank you.”
He stepped even closer. I could feel him against my back. If I stepped forward, I’d be up against the stranger in front of me though, so I stayed put. “Alicia, I followed you through the GPS Ryder and I have on all of our company cars. I don’t know how your friends found you, but if you glance around, you’ll see three men in expensive black suits that stick out like sore thumbs in a place like this. I’m guessing they’re here for you, and I’m also guessing that you’d rather come with me than go with them.”
I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes. How did they find me? It had to be the phone call to Aleks. I never called his house or his cell phone. We’d both thought it would be too much for them to track the university number. Once again I’d underestimated the power that my ex-husband possessed. “What do you want me to do?” I whispered to Blake in a shaky voice.
“Just keep moving forward.” I did as he told me because I didn’t know what else to do. The alternative was to try and run, and if these men in suits were here for me, I wouldn’t get far. I felt like my knees would give out before I reached the counter. When it was my turn, Blake took over before I had a chance to speak. “My sister and I will take two tickets to Gulfport,” he said. The girl behind the counter hadn’t smiled once since I’d gotten in line. That changed as soon as she saw Blake. A smile as radiant as the sun lit up her face.
“Of course, sir,” she said. “Are you on a leave?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said in his smooth, deep, Louisiana accent. I actually think he emphasized it a bit. “Home from the Middle East to spend some time with my family.”
Her fingers were moving slowly across the keys of the computer in front of her. Either Blake made her nervous, or she was just trying to keep him there as long as she could. “Can I see your IDs?”
I looked up at Blake in a panic. I hadn’t thought about needing identification to get on a train. He didn’t look worried. He winked at me and then took out his driver’s license and some kind of military I.D. and lay them down on the counter. Leaning in as close as he could to the bars that separated us
from the smitten girl he said, “My sister forgot her I.D.; I don’t suppose it would be possible for you to make a small exception for us just this once? Our parents are expecting us. They have a whole spread laid out by now I’m sure, and I’ll just bet Mom invited the whole neighborhood. I’ve been gone for a while.”
The girl looked torn. It was obvious she wanted to do this for him, but she didn’t want to break the rules. Blake smiled bigger. It completely changed his face from hard and intimidating to magazine model. I hadn’t even noticed how hot he was until that very moment. Apparently the girl behind the counter noticed, too. She looked around as she was typing his information in to make sure no one was watching, and then she looked at me and said, “What’s your name?”
“Alicia Donovan,” he said before I had a chance to say anything. He smiled again and actually batted his long eyelashes at her. If I wasn’t such a bundle of nerves, it would have been comical.
She finished typing and printed out the tickets. Instead of letting them slide down in the slot, she held onto them and his I.D., so Blake had to take them out of her hand. He let his fingers brush against hers as he did. “Thank you…”
“Lynn.”
“A pretty name for a beautiful woman. Thank you, Lynn. I have one more favor to ask.”
She laughed. “Do all of these favors at least get me your phone number?” He grinned and picked up the pen attached to a chain on the counter. Taking a slip of paper out of his pocket, he wrote a number down on it and slipped it to her. I wondered if it was his real number. She flushed bright red and gushed, “Thank you. Now”—clearing her throat—“what else can I do for you?”
“A man in a suit is about three places behind us. He’s going to ask you where we’re going. Will you tell him California?”
She giggled and then said, “Are you serious? Normally, we just tell people that’s against the rules.”
“He might be very persuasive. If you just tell him California, it will save you and me both a lot of trouble.” She nodded, and he winked at her and said, “I’ll be looking forward to that call.” I heard another giggle as Blake took hold of my arm and we walked toward the boarding platform. It would never fail to amaze me the things some people would do for money or a pretty face.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ALICIA
I had been further surprised when Blake and I actually got on a bus headed for Gulfport. My head was filled with questions, but my anxiety kept me silent on the one-hour drive. When we got to the bus station and stepped off, I was ready to ask them, but as soon as I saw Ryder standing there waiting for us, my mind was back on that one track. He was wearing the same kind of uniform that Blake had on—only his had short sleeves. His biceps bulged out from underneath it, and in spite of everything else going on in my life at the moment, I was almost driven to touch them. I didn’t have to wait. He approached as soon as he saw us, and right there in front of Blake he took me into his arms.
As I was crushed to his big chest I said, “I’m so sorry.”
I felt his lips brush against the top of my head. “It’s okay, just promise me you’re going to let us help you. You can’t do this alone, Alicia.”
I pulled back and looked up at his handsome face. I saw everything I was looking for in his eyes. “Okay” was all I could manage. He put his arm around me and looked at Blake.
“We’ll meet you there in fifteen?”
“Twenty,” he said. “Unless you want to lend me your bike.”
Ryder laughed. “Twenty,” he told his friend with a wink. I didn’t know what they were talking about until he led me over to a shiny black Harley-Davidson with bright orange flames painted on the gas tank. He slipped two helmets off of the handlebars and handed one to me. I took it but couldn’t believe he actually expected me to get on that thing.
“I’ve never been on a motorcycle.”
He grinned. “Another first then—like the boat. I feel honored.”
“Ryder, I don’t know…”
He cupped my chin in his hand and tipped my face up to his. “Trust me?” I nodded, and he took the helmet out of my hands. He slipped it over my head, and I stood there and let him strap it on. As I said before, the things a person will do for a pretty face. I watched him slip on his helmet and then straddle the bike. “All you have to do is hold on,” he said. “I’ll do the rest.” With a deep breath, I swung a leg over the bike and sat behind him. “Hold onto me, Alicia.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he started the bike. It rumbled and growled to life and began to vibrate underneath me, sending tingles to every part of my body. I leaned into him tighter, not because I was scared at that point, but because I could hardly contain the excitement I was feeling. I felt him reach down and cover my hands with his for a second, and then suddenly we were moving. I felt the wind whipping through my hair and the pressure of the velocity pushing against me as he gained speed. That wore off as soon as we were cruising, and I was able to pick up my head and look around. Somehow Mississippi looked more beautiful from the back of a bike. Or maybe, it was simply the back of his bike that made everything look better. It definitely felt good to have my arms around him. I was completely comfortable…right up until he leaned the bike nearly down into the pavement and zoomed around a corner. My stomach flipped and rolled and my heart pounded against my rib cage. Once we were back upright, my vital signs continued to soar, not because I was scared but because I was so excited. Ryder sped up one street and down the other. I had no idea where he was taking me, but for the first time in a long time I allowed myself to completely trust someone, and it was amazing at how much lighter just the idea of telling him my secrets suddenly made me feel.
I was having so much fun on the bike that I was almost disappointed when we drove up in front of a small house in a quiet little neighborhood. I reluctantly let go of him when he stopped the bike and slid off. As I pulled off the helmet, I couldn’t contain the giggle that welled up inside of me. “That was…incredible.”
He grinned and put the kickstand down and slid off the bike himself. He slid off his helmet and took mine and attached them both to the handlebars. “When this is all over, I’ll take you for a real ride.”
I loved the sound of all of this being over. I also loved the sound of Ryder still being a part of my life when that happened. I might be kidding myself, but I wanted to believe that so badly.
He took my hand and started to lead me up to the house. He stopped suddenly before we reached the door. After that ride and now with his brown eyes locked into mine, my entire body was humming with need. He brought a hand up and lightly played with a piece of my hair that hung down along the side of my face before tucking it behind my ear and then leaning down to kiss me. I could hear his heavy breaths, and just before our lips met the thrill of the fact that I was doing that to him ran through me. He kissed me deep and hungry, and I heard myself moan into his mouth. That seemed to spur him on, and his hands were suddenly on my waist, pulling me tighter against him as his hot tongue explored my mouth. The rest of the world had all but disappeared right up until I heard the sound of Blake’s deep voice. “Come on you two, get a room. You’re sickening.”
I pulled back, embarrassed. Ryder didn’t look embarrassed in the least. As a matter of fact, he looked kind of proud of himself—and that made me feel even better. It took me a second to realize there was another man with Blake. He stepped up to the door and unlocked it. This man was shorter than Ryder and Blake but looked to be just as muscular. He was wearing the same thing they were, and the tattoos on his dark arms ran from underneath the sleeves of his t-shirt all the way to his wrists. His black hair was thick and sticking up in about five different directions, but it was a good look on him. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, but when he trained them on my face, all I saw there was softness. “Alicia, this is Abrahem.”
He smiled and the whiteness of his teeth sharply contrasted with his dark olive skin. “It’s a pleasure, Alicia.” He had
an accent, but it was one I didn’t recognize. Judging from the looks of him, I’d have to guess he was from somewhere in the Middle East. He stepped back and let me enter the house first. I was startled by the sight of another man in the living room until I realized I knew this one, too. It was Leif. He’d filled in for Ryder a lot at the mansion, and I really liked his easy-going ways. He usually looked like a young country boy to me, but today—in his camo uniform—he looked like a soldier, like the rest of them.
“Have a seat, Alicia,” Ryder told me. “I’m going to get us something to drink.” Leif looked up from the computer he was typing things into and said hello.
“Hi,” I told him, as I took a seat in the chair across from him. Blake followed Ryder into the kitchen and Abrahem sat down on the couch next to Leif. Leif looked at him and pointed at something on the computer screen. Abrahem pulled his brows together in the middle and seemed to be reading something.
When he finished he asked Leif, “Have you verified that?”
“Yep, just now.”
“Does Blake know?”
Leif shrugged. “I haven’t told him yet. Y’all just got here, remember?”
Abrahem rolled his eyes at Leif, and then looked over at me and said, “Are you doing okay, Alicia?”
I nodded. I was okay but still anxious and slightly confused. As I looked around the room, I could see all kinds of sound and surveillance equipment. I wondered what it was all for. I didn’t ask however. I waited for Ryder and Blake to come back from the kitchen. Ryder handed me a glass of sweet tea and then sat on the arm of the chair I was sitting in. Blake took the other chair, and once everyone was settled, he looked at me with those piercing green eyes and said, “So let me tell you what we know Alicia, and you can fill us in on what we’ve missed when I’m done, okay?”
I nodded and took a sip of my tea to soothe my dry mouth.
“Once we realized you were the target and not the baby, we started looking in a different direction. What we found out surprised us, to say the least. Your ex-husband seems to have a lot more money and power than we gave him credit for. Once we started digging, we realized that was probably due to the fact that he’s been accused of trafficking drugs, as well as humans, for years. So far nothing the authorities have on him has stuck. Usually someone else becomes the fall guy. None of his men will talk. It’s obvious they fear for their safety, or the safety of their family. Witnesses that have come forward have disappeared without a trace within weeks of agreeing to testify. Once a man goes to work for him, it’s for life. Either he will die an old man in Abel’s service, or as a young man, possibly at Abel’s hand. They seem to prefer prison over the idea of betraying him. That’s possibly due to the fact that the bodies in every murder Abel has been accused of have been badly mutilated before death.
RYDER: A Standalone Military Romance (Blake Security Book 1) Page 11
