“Lando,” she said uncertainly, and began shaking her head.
“It will be fine, sweetheart. He can take care of you,” Lando soothed.
“But I will be so afraid.”
Lando took her mug from her and climbed on the bed beside her. He took her into his arms. Placing his chin on her head, he began in a reasonable tone, “Sweetheart, who better to keep you safe than another of us? Who else to better understand what action to take?”
Though Christy could see his reasoning, she couldn't help but feel it would be like the fox in the hen house deal.
“But what if he hurts me?” she said shakily. She couldn't live through another attack like Rick's.
Tilting her head gently, Lando cupped her chin and gazed into her frightened eyes. “I would never hand you over to anyone I thought would harm you,” he promised.
“Couldn't I just stay here alone?” she asked in desperation. She could feel her heart rate quicken.
“I can't leave you alone, not only at the mercy of others, but of the elements. The snow will be falling in greater amounts. You could get trapped here. I can't leave you to starve or freeze to death. The gas for the generator will run out soon. Then what would you do?”
“I was so afraid of you when we met, but I love you. If you say to trust you, I will,” Christy said, bowing her head in acceptance. He was, of course, right.
“Trust me,” she heard Lando reply. He cupped her face tenderly and gazed now into her frightened eyes earnestly. Christy nodded.
Christy's body rocked faintly as the jeep bumped down the dirt road. They were going to find a town. Lando needed to find a phone. They drove in silence, Christy still struggling with the concept of what he was expecting her to do. Lando said he would buy supplies and they would return to the cabin. When she asked him where he would get the money, he was once again evasive. He told her he would worry about it when the time came.
When the small town appeared in view, Christy couldn't ascertain from his look if Lando was feeling relieved or not. She became curious when he stopped at a pay-phone. He seemed to be making numerous calls. Christy was positive they must have been collect calls—he had no money.
When Lando returned to the jeep, she thought he looked relieved. They were off again, only this time to a bank. Again, Christy remained in the car as Lando entered the building. She felt a great relief he did not take the shotgun with him. From where she was positioned in the car, Christy knew Lando was watching her from behind the tinted windows while absently conversing with the teller.
Again, Lando looked relieved as he exited the bank. He drove straight for the grocery store. When he stopped, he looked at Christy, assessing her. She was not wearing a disguise. He appeared to be in deep conflicting thought. Christy gazed back a bit apprehensively. She didn't want to be left all alone in the vehicle near the back of the store; it was stolen, after all. Lando would not be able to keep an eye on her through the windows of the grocery store—too many blind spots. She also wondered if the bodies of Rick and his men had been discovered. She continued to look up at him, unable to keep the frightened, woeful look from her worried eyes.
“Come on,” he said to her finally; it was apparent he had reached a decision.
Christy smiled gratefully at him and, with his hand on her arm, she followed him inside. Lando grabbed a cart and began throwing mountains of food into it. Christy became concerned, wondering again how they would pay for it. She couldn't see the bank giving him money out of charity. She knew he hadn't robbed it. There was also a great deal more than she and Lando needed.
“Lando, how will we pay for all of this?” Christy asked quietly.
“Don't worry, everything will be fine, but I don't want you to say a word. When we get to the front I don't want you talking to anyone. Understand?” Christy did understand, she could see how apprehensive he seemed. She vowed to remain as unobtrusive as possible.
* * * *
“You folks from out of town?” the young girl behind the cash register asked.
“Yes.” The purchases were placed quickly on the belt. The girl rang them in slowly, not really concerned at the look of consternation the man showed. She was used to the out-of-towners always being in a big hurry, while she had all the time in the world. She studied the eggs for a moment, opening their carton and inspecting each one individually to make certain none were broken, then lazily running them through, settling them into their own bag.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
She was bored, and the couple in front of her were the first people to have been in all day. They were certainly an interesting pair. When the girl could finally take her interested eyes off the massively built, impressive form of the man before her, she looked at the woman. She noted with a bit of dismay the bruising on the woman's throat and face, the frightened look that gazed back at her for only a brief moment before trying to hide behind the huge man.
“Look, we're in a hurry,” the man snapped.
The girl looked harder at the brutish, now glaring man; he was obviously trying to intimidate her. He's a mean one, she thought. She rang the order in faster. She felt it might be a good idea to mention them to her father. Her father was the town sheriff here. She hoped the young woman wasn't being beaten by the man. He was huge, extraordinarily muscled. It wouldn't take much to harm the poor little thing. She already appeared terrified.
When she finished bagging their groceries with the man's help, the petite woman beside him gave a sharp gasp of surprise when he removed a wad of cash from his front pocket. There had to at least been a few thousand dollars there. The girl behind the register raised surprised eyes as well; not many flashed that kind of wealth in this lazy town. The large man threw a bunch of bills at her, mumbled to keep the change, gripped the bruised woman to him and, grabbing up his purchases, he practically dragged the tiny woman away. The young cashier waited by the window as they left, taking down their license plate number. She then went to find her cell phone.
Lando was in a beyond foul mood on the way back to the cottage. He was furious with himself; he never should have pulled out a huge wad of cash in front of the cashier at the store. He never should have allowed Christy to come into the store with him in the first place; he should have known her bruising would raise suspicion. Yet, he was loath to leave her unprotected in the jeep, or alone at the cabin. He should have put a few hundred dollars into a different pocket instead of pulling out the entire wad of money.
“Damn!” Lando viciously struck the dashboard. He screwed up. He hadn't realized retiring from his profession would make him stupid. He couldn't afford to stop thinking of survival now when everything depended on him being his sharpest. He needed to remember who he was dealing with. In order to do that, he would have to remember what he was. That could prove tricky, as he did not want Christy to become frightened of him.
“Lando?” Christy asked, wide-eyed. “Are you angry? Did I do something wrong?”
Though he knew she was not afraid of him, his raised voice had caused her to automatically cower against the door away from him.
Lando glanced at her, taking in her pale face, the way her body shook. Her eyes flickered quickly to his, then were immediately cast down once more. He shook his head slightly with agitation. How was he going to be two people at the same time? Fearsome and hard, yet tender and gentle? This would indeed prove to be tricky.
Not two people, two types of emotions, the voice reasoned.
He thought about that. He wasn't very good with emotions. It seemed remarkable to him he had been able to gently make love to Christy. He decided suddenly she would not make him soft; he would use his ability of new and greater control more effectively. She was teaching him how to cope with change.
“It's fine, sweetheart. I'm not angry with you, I'm just mad at myself,” Lando said soothingly. He watched her noticeably relax.
“Lando, where did all that money come from?”
“From one of the phone cal
ls I made.”
“Who did you call?”
“A detective who is very grateful I'm still alive. He wired the money right after I called him.”
“So he is coming for you?” Christy asked fearfully.
“Not exactly,” Lando replied hesitantly. His hand reached to clasp hers. Slowly, he rubbed his thumb over the backs of her fingers. “I didn't tell him where we are staying. He knows the vicinity. I told him I needed to take care of something, and we arranged a meeting place.”
“When are you leaving? Will it be soon?”
“In a little while. I need to make certain you are safe first,” Lando replied.
“Your friend is coming isn't he?” He heard the unmistakable trepidation in her words.
“Yes, he is coming, sweetheart. He won't hurt you, I promise,” Lando said softly.
“What's his name?” Christy inquired softly, head bowed.
“Wolf.”
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* * *
Chapter Fifteen
* * * *
Christy sat curled into a tight ball at the far corner of the couch in the living room. She was watching a large man, who was conversing with Lando. Periodically, his gaze centered on her. Each time, Christy cowered fearfully. He would hold her gaze, delving into her terrified eyes, and then release them. The man was not as large as Lando, but big nonetheless. He had short, black hair and deep brown eyes. His impressive chest was not nearly as broad as Lando's, yet he moved with a calculating walk that oozed predator. The way he held his head still as though listening intensely, the way his eyes took in his surroundings...he even appeared to smell the air. Christy shuddered. No wonder they called him Wolf.
Christy could see Lando unobtrusively watching her as she watched Wolf. He knew she was terrified of him. When she had awoken in the morning, it was to find him talking to Lando at the kitchen table. Lando had introduced her, pulling her hesitant form forward, wanting Wolf to see the extent of her injuries.
Christy had begun shaking the moment Wolf looked at her. She had only been wearing a small, revealing t-shirt and tiny panties, and Wolf had studied her bruising critically, much to her embarrassment. Lando had whispered soothing words into her ear as he turned her and exposed the bruising high up on her back as well. Lando had said he wanted Wolf to be aware of just how much care and attention she would require.
After she had changed, with great relief, Lando had handed her a steaming mug of hot chocolate. After one sip she realized he had dropped a healthy dollop of Kahlua into her mug. She thought perhaps that wasn't such a bad idea. She had gone through three hot chocolates until Lando had worriedly cut her off.
When Lando finally rose, venturing closer to her side, Christy went to him immediately. She buried her face into his chest, pulling him close, resisting the urge to cry.
“You need to eat something, honey,” Lando said with concern while looking into her pale face.
“Please don't leave me. Please, can't I come with you? I won't be any trouble, I promise,” Christy whimpered up at him, clasping at his clothing.
“We've been through this, sweetheart; it's not safe for you to come with me. I'll be back before you know it. Wolf will keep you safe. He won't hurt you, I promise,” Lando soothed.
Christy ventured a glance at Wolf, peeking from around Lando's secure frame. He was sitting lazily in his chair, his head cocked off to the side, watching her with an assessing gaze. Christy couldn't help but be reminded of the way Lando was always watching her. He said it was a habit from his line of work. Perhaps it was part of their job description. Maybe a prerequisite, Christy mused; powerful killers required, must be able to unnerve people with one glance, Christy thought, suddenly then blushed. She almost thought she detected a hint of amusement from Wolf. Lando said he couldn't hear her thoughts, but maybe Wolf could.
Lando steered Christy back to the couch. She felt the blood drain from her face and she looked up at Lando in panic.
“I think maybe one more spiked hot chocolate might not be such a bad idea after all,” Lando declared as she sat on the edge of the couch shakily.
He ventured to the kitchen. Christy watched as he put the kettle on. It was not long before he had bacon sizzling. With practiced ease, Lando whipped eggs together with a dollop of heavy cream, and soon had them cooked and settled on pumpernickel bread, topping it with caviar. He took a plate to Christy with hot chocolate.
“I don't think I can eat anything,” Christy mumbled, knowing she would not be able to eat a bite while sitting anywhere near Wolf and his unnerving, impassive looks.
Lando looked at her with concern. “I don't want you starving yourself to death when I leave. I can't ask Wolf to follow you around demanding you eat. He's an assassin, not a babysitter,” Lando said fretfully. He was standing before her with a worried look. She could almost see his mind turning the situation over. She then heard him mumble as he walked away; “I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. I can point out, no Christy, no money.”
Christy ate slowly although she had no appetite. Lando was going to leave her with a merciless killer; how could he do that? But Lando had promised her Wolf would cause her no harm. Lando kept his promises. Perhaps Wolf felt the same way Lando did. Perhaps he never harmed women, she thought hopefully. Then Christy's shoulders slumped inwards. She remembered Lando had avoided that question when she asked him. He had hinted vaguely in Wolf's defense, not only men were skilled with weapons, not all assassins were male. Christy shuddered at that, then had an evil thought. Maybe Lando could hook Chad up with one of these women. No doubt it would be Chad left cowering in terror!
Sighing, Christy put her plate down. She carefully tucked her knees up under her chin. She was just going to have to trust Lando. Slowly, she sipped from her mug. She concentrated on the glorious view from the window. She watched the sunlight dance upon the gentle, rippling water. Sighing gloomily, she realized she was trying to keep her mind from shutting down.
Christy was loath to fall back into her world of loneliness. She didn't have to be Wolf's friend, but she would eventually have to converse with him. Lando and she had found things to talk about even in the beginning.
Christy had a frightening thought; she had angered Lando on occasion, but he had promised not to leave her. What if she angered Wolf and he left her unprotected? What would she do? With Lando gone as well, she would be defenseless.
She was so intensely involved in her frightening thoughts that she jumped, spilling her hot chocolate, when Lando sat suddenly down beside her. Lando took her mug and made sure she hadn't burnt herself. He pulled her soothingly into his arms.
“Lando?” Christy whispered.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Will you please tell Wolf I don't try to be annoying?” she asked fretfully. She accepted that he needed to go away and she was trying to deal with her fears.
Lando was smiling at her serious expression. “I will tell him,” Lando promised. “Don't be afraid, he won't leave you all alone.”
“Please come back to me soon. I need you. I love you,” Christy begged.
He held her firmly to him, running a gentle hand down her back, trying to ease her fears. “You know I don't want to leave you. But I have no choice. Hopefully, I can return soon. But, honey, because of the delay of the plane crash I was unable to appear in court. With no witness, there was no case. The charges against my ex-boss had been withdrawn and now he's free. I have to get him off the street before word of you reaches his ears. If he were to discover you even existed, I might lose you. You would be hunted mercilessly.” Christy shuddered with intensity, realizing just how much danger she was in.
“When do you have to go?”
“Tomorrow. I will return as soon as I can. Christy, Wolf may move you around a lot. I need for you to listen to him. I need you to listen to everything he says, do you understand?” Lando said urgently.
“Yes, I understand,” Christy said on a soft sigh. Her eyes fled to the wi
ndow, resigned.
She suddenly found her chin gripped tightly within Lando's large hand. Firmly, but not ungently, he forced her to look deeply into his eyes. Christy felt a moment of apprehension when she was faced up close with Lando's fierce, direct stare.
“You will do as he says,” Lando demanded.
Christy's chin trembled; she understood how important this was to him. Through his intimidating glare, she could see the worry etched around his tired eyes. If Christy didn't know she would have thought him afraid. Then she realized he was. He feared for her. The thought was sobering from such a powerful man. She felt ashamed of herself.
“I will listen to him. I will do whatever he asks of me, I promise,” Christy said solemnly. She realized she wasn't the only one who was making sacrifices for them.
Lando loosened his grip on her face and again pulled her close. When he raised to his feet, he took Christy with him. Though fearful, she followed him to the table. Lando sat her down closely beside him.
“Christy, ask Wolf your questions,” Lando encouraged her.
Christy shot a glance at Lando, then bowed her head. Lando was important to her.
“Ask me, Christy,” she heard Wolf say. His voice was smooth and not intimidating, and with the slightest hint of an accent. Christy looked up at him. He wore absolutely no expression on his face. His entire body sat completely motionless. He did not fidget, he did not cross or uncross his legs, not a muscle moved, not even an eye twitched.
“Will you hurt me?” she asked quietly, head bowed.
“No.”
“Will you keep me safe?”
“Yes.”
“You won't leave me all alone?”
“No.”
Christy looked directly into Wolf's emotionless eyes, battling her great fear of him. “Promise?” she whispered, her eyes searching his.
Love's Dangerous Territory Page 15
