by Wendy Davy
“You call me baby, James. How can you do that? I’m an assignment to you, remember? You’ll move on to another job, another location soon.” The sadness in her heart was reflected in her voice.
“That’s true. You were just an assignment to me at first. But it changed when I got to know you. It didn’t take long for me to fall for you, you know. You were under my skin within a few days.”
“Under your skin. You mean like an irritant? Like an aggravating bug bite?”
“No,” he laughed. “Like an incredible woman has a tendency to do to a man.”
“Do you often fall in love with your victims?”
James looked up sharply. “No.”
Victoria regretted her words. “I didn’t mean...”
“I think you did.” He cut a piece of gauze and started to cover one of the deeper wounds. “You’re lucky you don’t need stitches. And no, I don’t often fall for my suspects. Never, to be exact. Not before you anyway.”
Victoria felt somewhat mollified by his disclosure. Still, the pain made her keep her guard up.
“So, why don’t you think it’s a good idea for me to stay here to protect you? Don’t trust me?”
Victoria scoffed. “What do you think?”
“You know, Vic. One day you’re going to have to accept that everyone is human. And having real relationships means you will get hurt on occasion by those who love you. Even when they don’t mean or want to hurt you.”
“You should listen to your own advice, James. How many people do you let get close to you?”
“I’m not talking about me,” he said gruffly.
“I know. But maybe you should look into taking your own advice.”
“That’s funny.”
“What’s funny?” Victoria countered.
“You may want to do the same.”
“How do you mean?”
“You tell me to forgive. Yet I haven’t heard you say that you forgive me yet,” he said, finishing bandaging one foot and starting on the other.
Victoria sat speechless for a moment. When Tyler came into the cottage announcing his presence, she was relieved. “Back here,” she called.
Tyler popped his head in the door. “I’d like to see the note,” he said curtly.
James pulled it from his back pocket and handed it to Tyler. “I’d like to discuss it outside.”
“Why?” Victoria chimed in. “This involves me and Gramps. I want to know what it says too. And I want to see the other notes.”
“They aren’t important anymore, Vic. This one is.”
“Then you can discuss it with me.”
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because, I said so.”
“You sound like my father.”
James shrugged. “Are you as obstinate to your father as you are to me?”
“Not usually. He’s a lawyer. He’s better at persuasion than you are.”
“I don’t sugar coat things.”
“Really? I didn’t notice.” Victoria’s remark dripped with sarcasm.
James gave her a quick, irritated glance. “You’re all fixed up. Stay off of your feet until I come back,” James said as he carried her to the sofa. “Want me to put a movie in for you?”
“What I want is to not be kept in the dark. I want to hear what you’ve got to say.”
James sighed, “I don’t have time for this now, Vic. We have to establish security around the perimeter. You would only distract me.”
“Okay, but what about the note?”
“Look, I’ll show it to you later. No use in upsetting you more now.”
“I’m already upset.”
“The answer is still no.”
Victoria sighed as she remembered her promise to do exactly what he said. “How long are you gonna be?”
“It may be a while.” James walked over to Victoria’s expansive DVD collection. He chose a movie for her and stuck it in the player.
“Where are you going?” Suddenly, the thought of him leaving her alone scared her. “What if he comes back?”
“I’m not leaving you, Vic. I’ll be right outside.”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly.
James walked to her and took her hand. “I promised to keep you safe remember?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me do it.”
“Okay. I’ll do what you ask me to do. I’ll stay off of my feet.”
“Yes you will,” James said as he left the cottage.
Victoria’s mind worked overtime as the images and conversations of the past few days rumbled around in her head. The movie finished and she didn’t even hear two lines of it. She could recite the movie by heart anyway. James had picked out one of her favorites. She wondered for a second if James knew that. He probably did with all of his top secret info on her. He probably knew her shoe size and favorite type of candy bar too.
“I bet he knows all of my dirty secrets,” she said to the ceiling as she laid her head back. “Not that I have any really bad ones.” She thought about what he may have found out about her and admitted to herself that it didn’t really matter anyway. She had nothing to hide. He may have found a few dust bunnies or cobwebs in her closet, but no skeletons.
She glanced down at her feet. The throbbing had eased and she saw that the bandages looked professionally wrapped. His numerous skills just kept popping to the surface. He did prove to be quite a talented handyman. She let out a bubble of laughter at the irony of it. He truly was a handy man, like he had originally portrayed himself to be.
Victoria toyed with the idea of calling Ashley but couldn’t reach her cell phone. She couldn’t reach her Bible to read, and her checkbook was also out of reach or she would have balanced it. She had already bitten her nails down to nubs, so she couldn’t even chew on her fingers. She looked around and found nothing within an arm’s length to do, so she made due with watching a fly circling around the room.
As the time passed slowly, her determination to stay put wavered. She had to use the bathroom. She wanted to prove to James that she would do as he said and stay off of her feet. So when she couldn’t wait any longer she climbed to the floor and crawled like a baby toward the bathroom. Wouldn’t you know it? That’s when he decided to walk back in the door.
****
James saw Victoria down on her hands and knees, scooting along the floorboards.
“I’m not touching the floor with my feet. I keep my promises.”
“Oh yeah? Why didn’t you stay in the car earlier then?”
“I didn’t promise I would.”
“Ahh. So that’s your excuse.” He laughed as he walked over to her and lifted her into his arms. James carried her into the bathroom and gave her the privacy she needed. His smile disappeared as he went to the living room and his thoughts turned to the new note. He paced across the length of the room. He didn’t want to show it to her, but knew that she needed to know the circumstances. If she knew the specifics of the threats, maybe, just maybe she would listen to him and not argue over his instructions.
When Victoria had finished in the bathroom, James carried her to the couch. He didn’t waste any time before pulling out the note. He handed it to her and watched her face as she read it. “I didn’t want to show you before, because I didn’t have time to stay with you. I knew you’d be upset.”
“Upset?” She raised her voice and she paled. “You could say that.”
James took the note from her and read the contents aloud as if she hadn’t just read it herself. “Do as we say or she’ll pay.” Someone had typed the words in red ink. Underneath the words was a picture of a tombstone. It had Victoria’s name carved into it.
“James, it looks real.” Her voice wavered as she spoke.
“It could be a computer image.”
“H-have you showed this to Gramps?” Victoria asked stuttering through the words.
“Yes. He’s upset of course.”
“Oh my. I have to see him
. I don’t want his sugar levels going out of whack. You know stress can affect diabetics’ sugar levels.” She started to get up and kept rambling. “I need to make sure he’s okay. I’ll fix him something to eat. I know just what to…”
“Victoria,” James said taking hold of her arms and keeping her from getting off of the sofa. He didn’t like seeing her so afraid. He prayed for the right words to calm her and said, “I’m here. You’re not alone.” He took her in his arms and held her. He felt her shaking turn into larger, heaving motions as she began to sob. He felt her wet tears gather and absorb into his shirt as she let her emotions settle.
James held her until she pulled away. She sat up and he saw her red, swollen eyes seek his. He swiped a stray strand of her hair away from her face and saw the moment her stubborn streak returned.
She dried her tears and said, “I’ve cried more in the past two days than I have in the past two years.”
The floodgates of guilt opened and poured into James like a tidal wave. She had shed most of those tears because of him. He asked, “Are you ready for this? We could postpone a few days…”
“It’s too late for that isn’t it? Whoever shot at you today is going to tell his buddies that you chased after him.”
“They think I’m a handyman, chasing after someone lurking in the woods. They don’t know who I am or what I know.”
“That’s true.”
“So, I’ll ask you again. Do you want to wait a few days before we cut the supplies off?”
Victoria sat up straighter and took a deep breath. “No. I’m ready for these guys to be behind bars.”
“Good. That makes two of us.”
****
James insisted on carrying Victoria to the farmhouse, even though she protested the whole way. He left her at the kitchen table and said he’d be right back as he went outside. She sat in the empty kitchen and yelled for Gramps. She heard him ruffling around upstairs and looked for him as she heard his footsteps on the stairs. He entered the kitchen holding his shotgun in both fists.
“Ain’t nobody gonna mess with you ‘darlin,” Gramps snorted. “I’ll take the hide right off of ‘em first.”
“Gramps! I don’t think…” her sentence was cut off as James came up behind Gramps. Neither had heard him come back into the house and they both jumped.
“Mr. Connor, I understand your concern. But Tyler and I have things under control. There’s no need for you to have your shotgun out. In fact, it would be more dangerous for all of us if someone were to wrestle it from you. Wouldn’t you agree Mr. Connor?”
“Call me Gramps. And I guess I do see your point, son. I’ll go put it away.”
“I’d rather keep it if you don’t mind,” James said and put his hand out, but didn’t take it. He was clearly letting Gramps take the initiative. “Gramps?” James added in a lower voice.
“All right, I’ll trust ya, son,” Gramps said and handed over the weapon.
James nodded at Gramps and disappeared with the shotgun.
Gramps took a seat next to Victoria. At least James hadn’t pulled out his own weapon. She suspected if it had been Tyler, or any other agent, Gramps would’ve been disarmed forcefully.
“He’s a good man, ‘darlin. I believe he’ll keep you safe.”
“I know he is, Gramps. Obviously you read the note.”
“Yes,” Gramps sighed. “I guess it’s too late to apologize again for getting us into this mess?”
“It’s never too late Gramps. I know you’re sorry and I forgive you.” The words were out of her mouth before she planned to say them. The relief on Gramps’ face was worth putting the pain aside and letting go of her pride.
He took her hand and said, “Grandma would be so proud of you, ‘darlin.”
Victoria smiled and would have lost another tear if there had been any left in her. “I love you, Gramps.”
“I love you too, ‘darlin.”
A Matter Of Trust
A Matter Of Trust
Chapter Eleven
That evening, Tyler, James, Gramps and Victoria sat at the kitchen table in the farmhouse, eating a takeout pizza that Tyler had picked up. Victoria took a bite of the sausage and pepperoni pizza and absently chewed as she looked over the photographs that had been sent to Gramps. James had asked her to look at them closely to see if she could find anything unusual.
James ate as quickly as he could, as if eating wasted his time. He pulled out a laptop computer and set it up on the table. He connected to the internet and tapped at the keyboard. Victoria glanced at him while he studied the screen in front of him.
Tyler finished his dinner quickly and fiddled with a high tech gadget. “I’ve set up an alarm at the end of the driveway to alert us of any vehicles coming. I’ve also set up several alarms around the perimeter of the house and cottage.”
James spoke up, “Tyler and I will be here at night. During the day, we’ll be close by. We don’t want you two going anywhere alone. If you have to go somewhere, we’ll either be with you, or following you. After tonight, the risk will be higher.”
“Why?” Victoria asked.
Gramps grumbled, “‘Cause we ain’t gonna give them fools one more dang thing. They’re ‘specting a load of sugar tonight, ‘darlin. I’m glad to say, they ain’t gettin’ it.”
James looked at Victoria thoughtfully. “We don’t know how fast they’ll come looking for you. It could be as early as tonight.”
A shiver passed through Victoria. Suddenly, she wished she hadn’t eaten the spicy pizza as nausea ate at her. Her queasiness must have shown through because James said, “Maybe we should head down to the cottage.”
We.
Even though infinitely grateful that she didn’t have to be alone, the fact that James would be staying with her in her small cottage was adding to her already rattled stomach. She prayed she’d be able to keep her food down.
Victoria and James headed down to the cottage together a few minutes later. He stopped by his truck and picked up a duffle bag. “Where is Tyler’s truck?” Victoria asked while looking around for it.
“He hid it in the woods. We figured if anyone saw it they would be suspicious.”
“What about yours?”
“We figured if anyone saw mine, they would only think we were sleeping together.” James shrugged as if it didn’t matter to him what anyone thought.
“Oh.” Victoria swallowed, hoping her sudden blush was hidden by the darkness. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight. What if they try to come after us?”
“I’ll be waiting.” He opened the door to the cottage for them and went through the entire cottage, searching each room. “It’s clear.”
Victoria fell asleep faster than she thought she would, and morning arrived before she knew it. James said he would sleep on the couch, but when she went to bed, he was up watching out the window. When she walked into the living room, she found him at the same window, in the same clothes. He turned to look at her when she came into the room. She noticed a difference in his demeanor this morning. Tension radiated around him.
“I guess all was quiet last night?” Victoria asked.
“Yeah,” James said as he stood up, stretching his muscles. He looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but didn’t. For a moment, an awkward silence stretched between them. Apparently, James didn’t know what to say any more than Victoria did. He cleared his throat and looked away first.
Victoria walked to the kitchen and said, “I’m sorry I don’t have any coffee.”
“That’s okay.” Silence filled the cottage again.
She came back into the living room. She realized she hadn’t done a thing when she went to the kitchen. She meant to go in there to get something, but what was it? She shook her head trying to clear it and asked, “Are you okay?”
James looked at her, swept his eyes over her once and said, “I’m fine.” Then he turned to look out the window again.
“Okay.” Victoria had enough of
trying to squeeze a conversation out of him. If he didn’t want to talk, so be it. She had no extra energy to try to pull words out of him.
She ended up in her bedroom getting her running clothes and shoes on. As she walked back into the living room she heard James let out an aggravated breath.
“Are your feet okay to run?”
“Yes, they’re much better today. I took the bandages off already.”
“Good. But you’re not going out there alone.” His statement was clear.
“I figured as much. Are you going with me? Or, are you afraid you can’t keep up with me?” She teased, trying to remain pleasant, which was hard under his intense scrutiny. He didn’t look too pleased with the idea and didn’t answer.
“Did you sleep any last night?”
“Enough.”
This time Victoria let out a deep breath. “Then come with me. I’d really rather not run two hundred circles around the cottage.” She looked for any sign of a smile, but found none.
“I’ll go,” he finally said as he reached into his duffle bag for a pair of running shoes.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Victoria asked as they stepped outside into the early morning dampness. The humidity wrapped around them like an unwelcome cloak. It was already warmer than usual this morning and she wondered how hot it would be today.
“Something’s not right. I can feel it,” James remarked as he scanned the area surrounding the cottage. Victoria knew he took in every detail of the environment. He even studied a small boat passing by on the other side of the lake. She started to feel ill at ease as he continued to scrutinize the landscape.
Victoria gave an involuntary shutter. She looked at him for guidance. When he said nothing more she asked, “Have you checked on Gramps and Tyler?”
“We checked in with each other each hour last night. Everything was quiet.”
Victoria wondered how James could have possibly gotten ‘enough’ sleep if he and Tyler had kept tabs on each other each and every hour all night.
“Let’s go then,” she said.
James nodded his head but didn’t move until he double checked the gun he was wearing on his ankle holster, tucked up under his jeans. “I’m ready.”
