Love Me Carefully

by A. C. Arthur

  Hell, he didn’t know what he wanted from her. She wasn’t exactly what he was looking for in a woman. Mentally reverting back to the little list he still carried in his wallet, he thought pretty didn’t describe her. No, sitting in the driver’s seat after just witnessing a shooting and with her lips swollen from his kiss, she was absolutely beautiful. She was almost as tall as he was, give or take an inch or two. That wouldn’t photograph well, he thought sadly. Lastly, from the way she was looking at him now, she could never love him, of that he was sure. Surprisingly, that was the most disappointing thing of all.

  He almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Here he was in a car, in the middle of the night, comparing a living, breathing woman with the ideal he’d created as a child. Why had he not thought of the list with Tanya? That surely would have saved him a lot of money and heartache.

  But Leah didn’t seem at all like Tanya. She was honest, for one thing. She didn’t mince any words when she was dealing with him. And her loyalty to her job and her clients impressed him. If she were that loyal to strangers, just imagine how loyal she would be to the man lucky enough to claim her heart.

  Spurned by his quickness to be away from her, Leah took offense. “Don’t let it happen again,” she told him before switching the ignition on.

  “What am I going to tell my mother?” He’d deal with the confusion of his feelings for Leah later. Tonight he had to think of Rosie.

  “I don’t know,” she said briskly. She was agitated and aroused. His reaction to their second kiss had royally pissed her off. The first time he’d bolted out of her office so quickly she hadn’t had a chance to say anything. This time she could say something, but didn’t really know what to say. “Look, Terrell, I don’t know what you’re going to do about your mother and Donald. All I know is that come tomorrow morning, I’m going to have my secretary draft a letter removing myself as her wedding planner. There’s no way I can continue with this with so many unanswered questions.”

  “Unanswered questions, exactly. There’s so much we still don’t know.”

  “Are you crazy? Terrell, what we did tonight was dangerous. People have been killed for stuff like this. The men lying in that alley are proof of that! We need to be getting out of this car and going over to the police station. I’m surprised they haven’t come out here in droves.” She backed up and turned into oncoming traffic.

  “I can’t let my mother find out that way. I have to be the one to tell her about Donald. But I shouldn’t have involved you. I’m sorry.”

  “You had good intentions, Terrell, but I really think we should go to the police, tell them what we saw.” She was so busy arguing with Terrell that she didn’t see the truck pull out in front of her. And, for the second time that night, she slammed on her brakes to keep from hitting the black SUV. Donald looked up and saw her. His steely eyes glinted at her through the windshield. And when he saw Terrell in the seat beside her, his scowl darkened.

  Terrell swore. “Just act like we’ve been out on a date,” he said as he watched Donald get out of his truck and come around to the passenger side of the car.

  Nervously he rolled down the window. “Hey Donald, what’s going on, man?” His voice was surprisingly calm, Leah noted.

  “Nothing much. What’s going on with you?” Leaning over, Donald looked into the car, recognizing her instantly. “What’s your name again?” He was talking to Leah.

  “Um, I’m Leah. Leah Graham,” she told him in a voice that sounded as shaky as she felt.

  “Yeah, Leah Graham.” Nodding his head to the other guy, Donald reached for the door handle. “Get out of the car, Terrell.” The wedding planner and his future son-in-law—what were they doing here?

  “Nah, man, we’ve been hangin’ out all night, and both of us have to go to work tomorrow. I think we’re gonna just head home.” Clutching the door handle, he prayed for her sake that Donald would let them be. The look on Donald’s face told him differently.

  Leah’s door was pulled open. “Don’t be shy, little lady, I won’t hurt you.” The other man was huge, and his thick hand reached in to grab hold of Leah’s arm and pull her out onto the street.

  “Be careful, Cable, remember that she’s female,” Donald’s irritated voice informed his partner. His grip only intensified when she tried to pull away. Still inside the car, Terrell cursed the drastic change in circumstances and decided he didn’t have much of a choice. He slowly climbed out of the car only to meet Donald’s massive chest head-on.

  “Now, why don’t we just go for a little ride?” Taking a step back Donald cleared a path for Terrell to get into the truck.

  Terrell hesitated, knowing once they were in the truck they were completely under Donald’s control. Replaying the events that had just taken place in the alley, he knew that definitely wasn’t where he wanted to be. “Donald, she’s tired. Why don’t we drop her off? Then you and I can go wherever you want.”

  “I was under the impression that I had answered all your questions, put a rest to your doubts. I guess I was wrong.” Donald shook his head dismally. “Just shut up and get in the truck.”

  It wasn’t so much the tone of Donald’s voice as it was the sight of the black gun the other man pulled from his coat that had Terrell finally walking toward the truck.

  In the backseat, Terrell reached for Leah’s hand and clasped her fingers. She sat back in the seat, wondering where they were going, almost sure they would be killed. She tried to remain calm. Terrell’s fingers were long and warm and gave a sense of safety. Even though Terrell wasn’t as built as Leon, his long arms sported pretty thick biceps and his chest, as she’d found out this evening, was broad and tight with muscle. Physique aside, she was shocked that his presence alone comforted her, the little that was possible right now.

  They drove through the city in a westerly direction. Leah could tell because they weren’t far from the hair salon. When they turned onto a dark, winding road, she held her breath in dismay.

  In the front of the truck Donald sat silent. Terrell wondered what Donald was thinking. He wondered what he himself had been thinking to get Leah mixed up in any of this. He should have just gone to his mother and let her handle her fiancé and his unsavory dealings herself. Better yet, he should have minded his own business. Shaking his head, he took that back. The whole purpose in his background check on Donald was to keep his mother from making a big mistake, so if nothing else, he was glad he’d found this out before the marriage. But if he were killed tonight, his mother would never know the person Donald really was. The thought of his mother marrying this man and getting mixed up in the drug underworld was too much for him to stand.

  Guilt over dragging Leah into this situation weighed heavily on him. If she were hurt because of him, he’d never forgive himself. As the truck turned off the main road onto the dark, winding path, he figured that if they were both killed, then he’d probably just burn in hell. Ironically, that paled in comparison to the regret he felt.

  He looked from the side window to the back one in an effort to figure out where they were being taken.

  Sensing his puzzlement Leah whispered, “It’s Leakin Park.”

  Terrell turned to her in the darkness of the back seat. They were surrounded on both sides by tall looming trees. The streetlights were mostly out. Scooting over the soft leather of the seat, he paused only when his body was touching hers. Drawing her close to him, he silently vowed to protect her with his own life if need be.

  His body was warm against her side. The night had grown chilly, and her thin leather jacket wasn’t doing the job. Both the darkness and the realization of where they were being taken made her nervous. Leakin Park was notorious for the number of dead bodies the authorities found there year after year. Struggling not to panic, Leah leaned into the comfort of Terrell’s outstretched arm and wondered what would happen next.

  When the truck suddenly stopped, both Leah and Terrell held their breath. Eyes on their kidnappers, they waited for wha
tever was to come next. Sensing their nervousness and experiencing a flurry of emotions himself, Donald stepped out of the truck first, with the driver immediately following him.

  * * *

  Rounding the vehicle, the two men stood near a small opening that led deeper into the park. “What now?” Cable pulled a cigarette out of his back pocket and proceeded to light up.

  “We need to do something with them until I can find out what they know.” With his hands stuffed in his pockets, Donald stood with his back to the truck.

  Blowing smoke into the brisk night air, Cable shook his head in disagreement. “I say we just get rid of them now. It’s too risky to take any chances. You heard what Slick said. Ray Ray’s gonna be looking for us by the morning. We can’t afford any more delays. Rohan won’t like that.”

  “No, I don’t want any more bloodshed.” Donald looked back at the truck. Terrell. The look of sheer contempt in the young man’s eyes when they’d first met had caused him to consider inviting him outside to settle their differences. But something in Terrell’s eyes had stopped him. The man was simply protecting his mother. Donald couldn’t begrudge that. But now he’d crossed the line. He’d poked his nose into one sticky can of worms and it was Donald’s job to handle it.

  Rosie had underestimated her son; they both had. Now he had to take care of the situation.

  * * *

  “What do you think they’re saying?” Shifting in the backseat, Leah tried to scoot closer to the driver’s side window to get a better view of the two men.

  “I don’t know. They’re probably trying to figure out the best way to handle us.”

  Abruptly sitting back against the seat, she asked, “And that is?”

  “I hope it’s not what you think it is, but that seems like their MO.” Against his side he felt her shiver. Grabbing her hand, he shifted so that he could look into her face. Fear etched her hazel eyes, and her small lips were pressed into a thin line as she tried to think of something other than her possible impending death. Guilt-stricken and remorseful, Terrell spoke from his heart. “I’m sorry, Leah. You were right, I shouldn’t have gotten you involved.”

  “Ms. Rosie’s my friend, Terrell. I care a lot about her. I guess, deep down, I wanted to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake, either.” Terrell’s dark eyes were full of regret, and his shoulders sagged with despair. She wished she could make it better for him, but there wasn’t much either of them could do at the moment. “Besides, you didn’t hold a gun to my head to get me to come downtown,” she mumbled as an afterthought.

  “Considering our present situation, I don’t think that was a good phrase to use.” His lips curved into a bleak smile.

  “I guess not. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I made the decision to come so, in a way, I’m just as responsible as you are.”

  “But had I listened to you in the beginning, none of this would be happening.”

  “Yeah, then your mother would be marrying a drug dealer involved in murder. Get real, you did what you thought was right, and now we just have to deal with whatever comes next.”

  She was so optimistic. Tanya would definitely have been crying, in a state of panic by now. Yet this woman was offering him words of comfort. He was liking her more and more.

  “You know Leakin Park is known for the number of dead bodies they find here each year?” That small fact just rolled right off her tongue, giving birth to a fresh wave of fear. They’d been stopped there for about fifteen minutes, and not one car had driven past. Donald and his thug friend could shoot them both right now, roll their bodies down the incline, and go on about their business. There would be no witnesses, and their bodies probably wouldn’t be found for at least a week or two. It was rumored that police made regular inspections of the park for just that purpose. Leah hoped it wouldn’t take that long. Not that it would matter, because she’d be dead anyway.

  Dead, she thought morbidly. Was she ready to die? There was so much she hadn’t experienced, so much more she wanted to do. Take her business, for instance. Leah wanted to expand, maybe branch out into a full-scale event planning company. She wanted to buy a house of her own and she wanted to travel, to finally get out of Baltimore. Although she loved the city and would never dream of living somewhere else, there were a few places she’d like to visit.

  Considering her words about dead bodies, Terrell frowned. “That’s good to know,” Terrell added in a bland tone, facing his own thoughts of impending death. If this was how he was going to die, then he hadn’t lived much of a life. When he was younger he’d thought going to college and maintaining a secure and profitable career was what life was all about. Of course, in those days he’d envisioned a wife to share everything with. But now, at thirty-three, he was facing death. His career had certainly been profitable, even though he hadn’t yet reached the level he’d originally aimed for, but he was alone, without a wife or even a girlfriend for that matter. And to top it off, his mother, the one person in this world he loved above all else, would most certainly marry this man who was bad for her. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back on the seat, seeing no possible way out of this situation.

  “Terrell?”

  Slanting his head in her direction, he opened his eyes slightly, enough to see her worried face. “Yeah?”

  “I’m scared.” The words almost lodged in her throat as tears began to well in her eyes.

  Stunned at her admission, and angered by his own helplessness to make it better, he tightened his grip on her, resting his chin atop her head. “We’re going to be okay. I got us into this, and I’ll come up with a way to get us out.”

  * * *

  “Good morning, baby, I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you’d be getting packed.” Greeting Donald at her front door, Rosie paused for a brief second in surprise.

  “I’m already packed. I just wanted to see you before I go.” Pulling her into his arms he let her soft, cushiony body relax against him.

  “Well, I thought you weren’t leaving until tonight.” Loving the feel of his bristly beard on her skin, Rosie remained engulfed in his arms. He looked a little worried this morning, and she wondered if something was wrong. Donald didn’t talk about business with her, so if that was the source of his worries, she wouldn’t even bother to ask.

  “I have a few things to do before I get going, so I wanted to see you first. Is that alright?” Holding her away from him slightly, he stared into her pretty, cherub-like face.

  “Of course that’s alright. It’s just that you look a little worried. Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to get this trip over with. As soon as I sign the rest of these papers and this loan goes through, I’ll be able to sell the shop and we can get out of here.”

  “What do you mean, sell the shop?” Rosie was shocked. She had no idea Donald had been thinking of selling the salon, and where did he think they were going?

  “I’m tired of it, Rosie. I want something bigger and better for us. I’ve been talking with some people, and we’re working on something big down in Jamaica. If it goes through, I’m gonna sell the shop and we can move down there for good.”

  “I don’t want to move to Jamaica.” Moving out of his arms, Rosie went into the living room and sat down. Jamaica was so far away from her family. So far away from Terrell. This hadn’t been a part of the original plan. She’d just assumed that they were getting married, and that everything else would remain the same.

  Cursing himself for blurting it out like that, Donald followed her into the living room. “Why not?”

  “Because my family and friends are here. You never said anything about Jamaica. I mean, I know your daughters live there, but you never said you wanted to live there.” Wringing her hands, Rosie sat on the couch trying to still the rapid beating of her heart.

  “Have you ever been to Jamaica?” Donald was afraid that not only would she reject the idea of moving to Jamaica, but of marrying him as well. He had meant to ease her
into the idea, but time was running out, and he needed to get things rolling. The deal was about to close, the Feds were getting antsy and he needed to make his move.

  He’d made the delivery last night, and now he needed to collect his money and be done with it. Rosie, he found, had become a crucial part of his life. He needed her with him. Taking a deep breath, he decided then that drastic measures would have to be taken.

  “No, I’ve never been, but that really doesn’t have anything to do with it. I mean, I would be leaving everything I know and love. My job, my family, my son.”

  At the mention of Terrell, Donald’s eyes darkened. He hadn’t forgotten that Terrell had followed him around last night like some renegade spy. Nor had he forgotten what he’d done to ensure that he’d be able to collect his money without any interruption.

  “I know, baby. Look, why don’t you come down with me? See the island for yourself, and then we’ll talk about the move some more. I don’t want you to feel pressured into this decision. I want us to enjoy our new life together.” Sitting beside her, he took her hands in his, kissing her palms gently.

  Her smile told him she was weakening. “I don’t know,” she began.

  “Come on, say you’ll come with me.” Kissing her lips, Donald worked his mouth over hers persuasively.

  “Do I have time to pack?” she whispered breathlessly.

  “Hurry up, I’ll be back in an hour to get you.”

  Planting one last kiss on her supple lips, Donald stood and went to the door. Before Rosie could change her mind, he was gone.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Leah’s head hurt like hell. The simple act of lifting her eyelids was sheer torture. Groaning, she lifted her arm to cover her eyes and prayed the pain would go away. It was at that moment she realized she wasn’t in her bed. Snatching her arm down quickly, she braved discomfort and opened her eyes. Her heart beat frantically as she searched the room for some semblance of recognition.