by Lauren Wood
“I won’t be releasing her. I’m going to help her escape. There is no releasing her this early.”
Stan looked at me and I didn’t know what to say. I was under the impression that he would get her out and get her passport back, so we could be free. He didn’t say that we would have to run away and never come back. I knew that Callie wasn’t going to like whichever way this went. I didn’t have time to talk to her though. I wanted her free, that’s what we were here to do, but how could she stay here with her new lover if she was wanted for escaping? What if we get caught and then she gets even more time, or worse? There was a whole lot of ifs now and I wasn’t sure what to do with them.
“Why can’t you let her go like you did me?”
“Because he can’t Eve. I had to make sure that Callie was represented so that she would be convicted. It was all I could do to get you out of here. They aren’t going to let go of their prize. I didn’t think they would.”
It was new to me that he had thought that and that he had thrown her under the bus even though I’d asked him not to. Now I didn’t know what to say, but Lasir was looking at me, waiting for an answer.
“She is in love with one of the guards and I don’t know if she will want to have to leave Cambodia. Then she would never see him again.”
He waved me off like it was nothing. “This is normal in the jails. The girls will give what is needed to get what they want, and the guards will say what is needed. It all works out in there, but not out of jail. She will not be happy here with him.”
I wanted to believe what he said, but she seemed happier than usual. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the reputation of running through some men, because she did, but it did feel like this time was different when she was talking to me. Her whole face had been alight, and I don’t know if it was like all the other times. I had a feeling that this time, something special was going on and who was I to ruin it?
Lasir was getting impatient and I knew that this opportunity would not happen again in this way. I was sure of that, but I still wasn’t sure what to do.
“What should I do Stan?”
“I want you home. You know my answer. This fling may end up ruining her life if she stays here. I can’t see that sort of love coming out of this circumstance.”
It was silly because I felt like a whole lot of love had come out of this circumstance, but it was between the two of us. It had come on fast and strong and whose to say that it hadn’t happened that way for Callie as well?
I was confused, and I really didn’t know what to do. I wanted her out of there. It was better than it had been before, but it was still jail and not even a good jail.
“I guess that we should get her out of here. How will we be assured that you won’t tell them that she’s escaped?”
“If she is found here and I’m found to have helped her, there will be hell to pay. I will get more than a few years in jail for something like that.”
I was convinced that he wouldn’t say anything, but I wasn’t convinced that Callie was going to be very happy with the plan. I wanted her to be happy, but it couldn’t be here, right?
I agreed and tried to tell myself that it was the best thing to do. I wasn’t sure if it was, I really didn’t know, but there was a part of me that knew she wasn’t going to be happy here for very long. The appeal of Qing would wane, like it did for everyone else that she fell head over heels for.
I couldn’t leave her though and I couldn’t ask her, so I was going to have to make the decision. Hopefully it was the right one. I really didn’t want my best friend mad at me.
Lasir told us where we should meet Callie and how everything was going to go down. It wasn’t going to be easy and we were all going to have to leave quickly. It was going to put us all in danger and I asked Stan if he was sure about this.
“I wish there was another way. I really do. But this is how it’s got to be.”
“What if she hates me because of this?”
“If she is mad, she will come around.”
I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t sure that he was right or not. How mad would I be if someone got in the way of me and him? I would have been livid, and I can say that I would have been upset at the roadblock that was in my way. Was I the roadblock now?
“So how are we going to get out of here if she is going to be flagged?”
“I hired a private plane. They don’t check the wealthy in the same way, so we will be able to fly out of here without much of a check.”
He sounded sure and my head hurt so much from all the worry. I was just going to hope for the best. It was dangerous, but everything since I’d been here had been in one way or another. At least I had Stan by my side. Him just being there was a lot off me and I was finally able to breathe. I hope everything turned out okay. One way or another I would find out soon enough.
Chapter 21
Stan
The situations that this woman kept getting me into was unbelievable. I would have never thought that me, a lawyer, would be helping an escapee get out of prison and the country. It was surreal, but at the same time, I could see how it was the only choice we had. There wasn’t another way to take care of this. This is how it had to be done.
Eve was afraid that her friend was going to be mad at her because of it, but I hoped that wasn’t the case. Eve had been through a lot to get her friend out of there and I couldn’t understand wanting to stay here in the first place. I was sure that once she was out, she would change her mind and be happy that she was back in the states.
We had to do it all in the cover of nightfall and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I don’t know why I was so worried, but I was sure that something bad was going to happen. I didn’t do things like this and if I had, I would have worried about what the outcome would have been. It was Eve that I was doing this for and I couldn’t believe that she was able to convince me that this was a good idea. It wasn’t. Anyone that had half a brain could see that this was a bad idea, but here I was doing it nonetheless. Eve had hold over me and we hadn’t even talked about what was going to happen when we got back home. We still lived hundreds of miles apart.
“You’re quiet.”
We were waiting in a cab at the backside of the jail. We were waiting for one of the prisoners to escape so that we could bring them over the boarder illegally. Yeah, this was not something that I had seen coming and I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to it if it would have been anyone else. I couldn’t blame it on Carl anymore. I’d helped his sister. I just hadn’t known that she was going to be this way. I didn’t realize that I was going to fall for her like I did.
“Yeah, this is kind of out of my element. You look too calm.”
She shrugged. “I’m more worried about Callie being mad at me then I’m worried about anything else. We’ve been friends for forever and I don’t want her to be mad at me. I hate when she is. She gives me the silent treatment and everything else. “
“It will pass.”
Eve didn’t look so sure and I wasn’t concerned about it. Her friend could be mad at her in America. That’s all that mattered. We just had to get her in the car and get her to the plane. From there, we would be out of their airspace in minutes and that would be that. I would be happy when I could leave Cambodia behind. Far, far behind.
My eyes had long since adjusted to the darkness outside of the car and it wasn’t long at all until I started seeing movement at the back of the jail. It was more than one figure though. It appeared that Callie was bringing a friend and when they got closer, I could see that her friend had a guard uniform on. It didn’t take much sleuthing to realize who it was that was with her. She’d decided to take her lover with her on her escape.
That would be aiding an illegal into the country to the list of crimes that I’d committed in the last few hours. They seemed to stack up quickly and I wasn’t sure why I was so bothered by that. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d done something that wasn’t exactly according to the l
aw, but this was the first time that I kept doing it. I should stop. I know I should. I would have done anything to get Eve back in my arms though and that couldn’t happen if she was here in Cambodia trying to save her friend.
“Who is this?”
“This is Qing.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal Callie. What are we supposed to do with him?”
“He is coming back to America with me.”
I wanted to tell her that it was a bad idea, but Eve beat me to it.
“This is not going to end well. You have to have papers to be in America.”
She waved her friend off and told her that she wasn’t leaving without him.
“If you stay, you’re a fugitive and you will go back to jail for even longer Callie. This isn’t a good idea. You can’t stay here.”
“You made it that way.”
Eve closed her mouth and didn’t say anything more. I know that she felt bad about it, so I told her that it was going to be fine. He could do the paperwork when he got there. I knew that it was going to be a bigger mess, but that was something for another day. Instead of arguing in the back of a jail with an escaped prisoner, we really needed to get out of here and get in the air. I wasn’t going to feel safe until we were out of Cambodia and on our way home.
The cabbie was the same one that I had used both times that I was here. He knew a bit too much, but the pay was very good for him and he was the sort that knew when to keep his mouth shut. When everyone was in, he started towards the airport and the plane that was on standby waiting for us.
I had never been so happy to see an airport in all my life. I couldn’t help looking behind us every so often just to make sure that we weren’t being chased. I know that the man we paid off said that it wouldn’t be until tomorrow when they realized that she was gone, but there was always that chance. Nothing ever went the way it was supposed to, and I was waiting for it all to go to hell. I half expected it to really.
But nothing happened. We got to the airport and the cabbie took us towards the back where the private planes were, and we were on board and on our way in no time at all. Save for a couple of stops for fuel, it was nonstop home and now that I had everyone with me, I could finally relax. I came back for Eve and I ended up with two other stowaways.
Like I said before, that was a problem for another day. Not today.
Chapter 22
Eve
The plane ride was a long one. We had to stop twice for fuel and since we didn’t get back to late that night, I was tempted to sleep some of the way. I got cozy with Stan and fell asleep on his shoulder. I was exhausted, and it felt too good to have him next to me.
When we arrived, Callie was eager to get Qing to her place and I invited Stan to stay with me. It was late, and I knew that he didn’t want to get back on the plane and go for another couple of hours. He looked like he was tired as well.
“This is a big mess, isn’t it?”
He shrugged and didn’t say much. I know that he had went above and beyond for me today.
“It’s over now.”
“I know, but you did a lot for me Stan and I’m not going to forget it.”
“I told you before, I did it for Carl.”
“Did you?”
He agreed, but Stan wasn’t too sure anymore. He was looking at me in the sort of way that told me he wanted something more than to snuggle. He wanted inside of me and I wanted him there as well.
“Well, whatever reason that you did it, I will always be grateful for you doing that. It was more than any old friend from school could have asked for.”
“You would have done it for Callie. You did that and more.”
“Yeah, but it’s Callie.”
That was the only answer that I really had. I would do anything for Callie. We were close, had been for a long time and there was nowhere that I wanted to go that didn’t have her there with me.
“And because you helped me get my very best friend out of jail, I think we should go take a shower and get dirty. You deserve some fun time.”
Stan instantly perked up and I couldn’t even tell that he was tired. All the sleepiness that he had before was gone and the grin was all the way from one side of his face to the other.
“Shower huh? We haven’t done it in a shower yet.”
He talked like we’d been together for a long time, or that we were together now. It was confusing, but instead of trying to figure out a name for what was going on with us, I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about the title. Whatever was going on between us was something that I didn’t want to stop, at the same time I couldn’t in my mind see how it was all going to work out. How were we supposed to make something work when we lived so far away and were so different in every other way?
“Why do you look worried all of a sudden?”
Stan was close and looking at me like I was going to melt I was so delicate.
“I’m just, never mind. Let’s go take a shower and see what happens next.”
He growled at me and chased me into the bathroom. I was going to have to be careful with Stan because tomorrow was so uncertain.
***
The next morning Stan was still beside me and I can’t say how much I enjoyed waking up next to him. He was looking at me as my eyes opened and I had to wonder how long he had been staring. Every time we slept together, and I woke up, he was staring at me. It was a hard feeling to deny and the way he was looking at me made me a little nervous. He was ready for another round and I wasn’t.
There was a knock at the door and both of us looked towards the sound.
“Did you have anyone coming over?”
“Not that I remember. I bet that it is Callie coming over. She always comes over in the mornings when we are here because she lives right down the corner.”
“Oh, well do you want me to get dressed and get it?”
“No, I don’t want you getting dressed. Let me just talk to her for a minute and then we can get a little naked cuddle time and we will meet up with her later.”
I was excited because I wanted him to be a part of my life and I wanted him to start now. But what I didn’t seem to get now was the fact that he was going to be leaving. He might have to leave now, and I was going to be left alone. He lived in New York after all and it was a long way away from Chicago.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, I guess I forgot for a moment that you got to go home.”
He smiled and pulled me to him as the knocker knocked again. “I do have to go back eventually, but not right now. Get rid of whoever is at the door and then we can have a proper breakfast in bed.”
“Are you going to cook for me?”
He shook his head and said that he wasn’t.
“No Eve. You’re the main dish and I won’t be sharing.”
Another shiver ran through me because I already knew rather intimately what he could do with his tongue and I was already shaking in anticipation. I was going to get Callie out of here in no time at all and I was going to hold him to his words. I wanted him now and if the person wouldn’t have been so damn persistent at the door, I might have ignored them so I could have Stan. My original idea that I wasn’t ready for more was wrong. I was in dire need. It wasn’t like Callie though to knock like that and I started to think that something was wrong.
Pulling the silk robe that was hanging up on the back of the door around me, I padded towards the door, hollering that I was coming if she would just hold her horses.
“Damn sis. It took you long enough to answer the door.”
I stopped when I saw who it was. “Um Carl, what are you doing here?”
He pushed past me asking me if I was going to let him in or not. Truthfully, I didn’t want to because his friend was naked in my bed and this wasn’t going to end well.
“Let me in Eve and get some clothes on. When did you get home last night? I tried to call but it just rang and rang. I tried to get ahold of Stan and he wasn’t answering eithe
r. You two have me worried to death. You better not leave the country for a long damn while again.”
I was trying to think of anything to say. “Well I’m wiped out moneywise for a while, so you get your wish that way. I think I will travel around here for a bit.”
He smiled and motioned for me to cover up. I pulled the robe tighter and shut the door. I didn’t want to accept that Carl was here, so I knew I had to get rid of him.
“I’m probably going to go back to bed…”
“Come on Eve, I’m hard and horny. You need to get your ass back in this bed or I promise you won’t be able to walk later.”
I could feel my face getting bright red and I didn’t have to look at Carl to know that he was getting over the shock that there was a guy here.
“Who is that Eve? You just got back last night. You move fast.”
He was embarrassing the hell out of me and I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to tell Stan to shut the hell up, but it didn’t matter because he was walking out of my bedroom with his cock out and swinging in the air. It took him a few dirtier suggestions to see Carl standing there.
“Put some pants on so that I can beat your ass Stan. I can’t punch you with your dick hanging out.”
Stan just stood there froze and I was silently telling him in my head to cover up. He was making matters worse and I could see the accusation in my brother’s eyes. “You don’t take long at all do you Eve.”
“Stop Carl. I love him, and he loves me. A lot happened over there and I’m not going to let you fight.”
I looked back to make sure that Stan was still standing there, and I could see that he was getting dressed. I tried to stop him, but this was between the two of them. Even though I was in it, it wasn’t about me, not really.
“How could you do this with my sister Stan? What the fuck? You were supposed to help her get out of a jam, not…this.”
