The Law of Motion (Law Series)

by Di'Nisha Robinson

  Dario didn’t really know what to say to that. “Well, uh. You have a visitor.”

  “Visitor?” I perked up for a second thinking that some miracle brought Victor back early from Ft. Leavenworth.

  “Kris Powell, the girls don’t know if I should send him back or not. Mr. Neil usually puts you in a funk when you see him.” He only half teased.

  I rolled my eyes at him. Yes, Paul did piss me off to no end, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of ruining anything else, we were done in my eyes. “Send him back please Dario.”

  Kris looked a lot different from the last time I saw him. He looked, better. His hair was cut and his clothes were a lot neater. “Hey, Miss Marshall.” He greeted still standing awkwardly in the doorway.

  “I think that you and I have been through enough that Miss Marshall, doesn’t cut it. Alyssa please.” I requested motioning to a seat in front of my desk while I took my own. “Now, what can I do for you, Kris?”

  “Well, you said come to you if I ever needed anything.” He started.

  I tried to ease his nerves with a smile. “It’s ok Kris. You did me a huge service even when you didn’t have to. Tell me what you want and it’s yours.”

  “I need help finding a job.”

  It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it wasn’t an impossible feat. I wanted to see how honest he would actually be with me, so I asked him a few questions. “How old are you Kris?”

  “Twenty-one Miss Ma Alyssa.”

  I nodded, “Ever been in trouble?” I altered my question, “Other than the obvious.”

  He shifted uneasy in his chair but nodded, “ Arrested twice when I was younger, lifting cars.”

  I nodded and continued, “Education?”

  “I dropped out of high school. I swear I gotta have ADHD or something because it didn’t keep my attention, you know?”

  “Well, I can see why you’re having trouble finding work.”

  “Can you help me?”

  I nodded, “I think I can. Do you have an idea where you want to work?”

  He shifted uneasy in his chair again but answered all the same, “I was hoping here.”

  “Here?” I repeated, “Why here?”

  He shrugged, “It seems cool.”

  “Is it the guns and the fact that we’ve killed people, because that isn’t what we ”

  “No, I overheard some of the guys saying that you do security for important people sometimes.” He corrected.

  I took a deep breath calming myself, “That’s Dario and Adrian’s side of the business. Sometimes they work with senators and stuff but mostly rich people in town for a weekend maybe a few famous people but not many.”

  “I worked security for a year.” He boasted.

  “It’s not the same.” I corrected kindly. His face fell and I sighed, “I’ll make you a deal.”

  “What?”

  “You get your GED. Stay out trouble long enough for us to actually teach you what it takes to acquire permits and licenses needed, and you can be a P.I.”

  He looked a little wary but embarrassed at my conditions, “I can stay out of trouble Alyssa…but getting a GED is pretty rough. That was years ago, there is no way I can learn all of that stuff.”

  “Kris, there is a lot of work that goes into being a private investigator. We do surveillance work, process serving, skip tracing, surveillance counter-measures, and a lot more on the security side.

  People hire us because they want themselves, or someone else safe. If you can’t pay attention enough to finish school then I can’t trust that you will pay attention when someone’s life is on the line.”

  I stopped myself and took a deep breath, I was starting to sound like a mother lecturing her child and I was barely six years his senior. “Look Kris, I like you,” I admitted. “But I won’t give you a pass. You have to show me that this is what you want.”

  “School was really hard for me Alyssa,” he admitted.

  His despondent expression told me that this was seriously something that he struggled with and it definitely wasn’t easy for him to admit. With a stiff nod I pushed my chair back from my desk. He watched me walk around and open the door. “Tink, can you come here please?”

  “What’s up, Boss?” Tink questioned, practically running down the hall on her tip toes.

  I pulled her inside and turned her to face Kris, planting my hands on her shoulders. “Tink, I need you to do me a favor. Kristopher here, has to pass a GED exam.”

  “Got it, got it, got it.” She caught on, but kept an oddly composed face. “Well the Kris, looks like I’ll be your tutor.”

  Kris look from her to me, “You’re serious? You’re going to help me?”

  “I’m as serious as you are.” I answered.

  “Then we should get started.” Tink suggested pulling him out of the chair.

  Once he was up he wrapped his arms around me, practically picking me up. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  “Kris…” Tink cautioned, “Rule number one about being around Alyssa, she doesn’t really like being touched.”

  “Oh… sorry,” He nodded retracting his arms looking down at me for confirmation.

  I nodded, “Don’t take it personal. I’m that way with a lot of people. Don’t worry, if you want to thank me, just work hard.”

  “I will,” he pledged. “Staying out of trouble will be easy, and I’ll take that test over and over until I pass.”

  “That’s a good attitude,” I approved.

  Tink tsked and rolled her eyes, “No, no, no! That’s a horrible attitude. I’m insulted that you think you’ll ever need more than one go working with me.”

  “She’s kind of a genius.” I explained wryly.

  Once again modesty went out the window when it came to the facts with her. “Kind of? I finished high school at thirteen, and had two master’s degrees by the time I was your age Kris.”

  The poor boys eyes widened in intimidation and I didn’t even attempt to chide her. She grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him form my office, “Come, come, come. We need to test your aptitude and work out a tutoring schedule.”

  I just smiled and shook my head going back to the stack of papers on my desk. I had over two weeks’ worth of catching up to do.

  Another set of raps at my door got rid of that idea, “Come in.”

  Doc stood in the doorway all pale skinned, dark haired, and wearing her contemplative expression on that heart shaped face of hers.

  “Spit it out, Tawn.”

  “What are you doing?” She queried.

  I sighed, “I was about to call future clients to set up meetings.”

  “Kristen does that.” She countered simply.

  “Ok then, I’ll check potential client backgrounds.”

  “Tink does that.” She contested.

  “Well then, what would you like me to do?” I surrendered dropping my pen.

  Three words. “Explain. Kristopher. Powell.

  I wanted to kick myself. I didn’t even consider the idea that Tawny would have a problem with me giving Kris a job.

  In my eyes Kris was an innocent, caught up in everything that happened like the rest of us. I could separate him from Terry, Myles, Zoe, Maverick, Roman, and everyone else involved. But maybe he was too close to the circle and innocent or not it could be a constant reminder for Doc or Ross.

  “Doc, have a seat,” I requested gingerly.

  She had that pensive face that came with her being in therapist mode. I hated that face because it was trained to appear hooked on the person’s words without broadcasting any of her own internal thoughts. She took a seat in front of my desk and waited expectantly.

  “How would you feel about me offering Kris a job?”

  Doc’s face showed her mulling it over in her mind, but it didn’t reflect her feelings as she processed. When she finished her minute of silence she answered me with a question, “ What would he do?”

  “Help Dario and the boys
with the security side of things. Nothing too serious, maybe handle all of the process serving too.”

  She nodded like it would make sense. “Why are you doing it?”

  “Because he asked me for help.” I admitted. “I need to know that you, Ross, and Juan will be okay with this. If not, I will make arrangements for him to work somewhere else.”

  “Oh, we’ll be just fine. He did save my son and best friend’s life after all.” She answered plainly, but her face kept the same carefully absorbed expression.

  I was a second away from telling her to ‘spit it out’ again but she beat me to it.

  “You’ve changed,” She declared without any doubt.

  “Of course,” I breathed out, because it was the third time that I had heard someone I cared about say those exact two words.

  “Tired of hearing it?” She guessed, once again right.

  I nodded.

  “Who else said that you changed?”

  “Hunter, two weeks ago said that I changed. That I wasn’t the same logical soldier that I had been when we were friends. The old me could have separated the fact that I was attached that I knew the boys personally, and I would have come up with another plan that didn’t put me in harm’s way. He said that I handled all of this a lot more emotionally than I normally would have, and he is right.”

  She started to comment but I continued to divulge. “Carmen, before we left Atlanta said that I had changed. That I wasn’t as free spirited and full of life as I was when we were younger. She said that I didn’t just use to look like my mother, but I had her heart more then, than I do now.”

  I swallowed a lump in my throat, because the truth was, what Carmen said actually bothered me. I never really saw myself as being anywhere near as loving and warm as my mom was, but the thought of having those things and then losing them saddened me. “So tell me Doc, how did I change in your eyes?”

  “When I first met you, you didn’t really trust anyone. But for some reason you decided to take a chance and trust three completely strange women. Which is funny because when you met me, I tried to steal from you, Kristen kicked your ass, and Tink found a way in by making you insecure.”

  “Tried to kick my ass,” I corrected.

  She smirked but otherwise ignored me, “They were three instances where any normal person that had been through what you did wouldn’t have trusted. Yet you did. You’re a lot more forgiving than I gave you credit for and for that I owe you an apology.”

  “Me, forgiving?”

  She nodded, “The Alyssa I knew wouldn’t have stopped me from killing Roman Maxwell, and she wouldn’t separate Kris’s involvement. You’ve changed, and I’m not saying it’s bad in anyway. You are starting care.”

  “Won’t that impair my judgments?”

  She giggled, “Oh of course it will someday, but it’s helping you transition back into how you were.”

  “Is it really?” I questioned feeling mixed up. I hated feeling confused and I never felt more confused than I did at that moment, because if everything was true than I was scared because, “I don’t know who I am.”

  “If I’m not that sweet, loving, and kind Alyssa that Carmen remembered; and I’m not that quick-witted, logical Babes that Hunter knows, and I’m not that apathetic and hardened Chance that you know who exactly am I, Doc?”

  “My Honeyface,” Adrian answered making Doc and I jump. He was leaning against the frame with his arms crossed, comfortable, like he had been there for a while.

  Doc’s hand flew to heart as she tried to restart it, “God you scared me Adrian. Don’t do that.”

  He pretty much ignored her, his grey and blue eyes too engaged with my own to pay attention. “Did you hear me, Love? You’re my Honeyface. Kind, loving, warm, tough as nails, and as logical as you need to be. Got it?” He demanded, inviting himself in and taking a seat on the corner of my desk, taking my hand to pull me close to him.

  “Adrian…” I breathed, letting him pull me in between his legs so that he could wrap me closer to him.

  He kissed my forehead and ran his finger down the bridge of my nose before kissing the tip, “No arguing with me. So what you aren’t the same Alyssa, Chance, and Babes that everyone knew. You took the best parts of all of them into the beautiful package in my arms.”

  There was something about Adrian that I couldn’t wrap my mind around. He would always admit that when it came to me he didn’t always know the right things to say, but there were times like this, when I needed it the most that he knew exactly what to say to make it all better. “The best of all of them?” I repeated skeptically.

  “Don’t ever doubt it.” He growled, nipping at my neck playfully though it almost sounded like a threat.

  Somewhere between Adrian’s entrance and his declaration Doc had excused herself silently to give us privacy, which was a good thing because the kiss that he planted on me would have made even Kristen and Macon blush (and they had no aversion to PDA).

  When I was Carmen’s Alyssa, Hunter’s Babes, and Gravity’s Chance all at different times in my life. I existed, sometimes better than others but I was never truly happy. But being with Adrian, was the only time that I could be all three at once along with a little bit more. It was foreign and new, and scary but it felt like having the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle. “I don’t mind being Honeyface.”

  “Good, because I plan on you staying that way.” He chuckled kissing me again.

  “Forever.” I swore.

  THE END

  Epilogue: The End and the Beginning

  Hunter was outside waiting for me and I had to go. “Adrian, have you seen my jacket?” I called down the stairs when I heard the horn honking from the driveway.

  “Found it,” Adrian called up to me.

  I took the stairs two and three at a time almost crashing into him. My guy steadied me giving me a disapproving glance as he held out my jacket to help me shrug it on. “Thanks, baby.”

  “So... Has Hunter told you where he was taking you yet?” He questioned as casually as he could, a hint of annoyance still hiding in his grey and blue mix.

  I shook my head buttoning it up and opening the closet for an umbrella. “Not a word, but he said I was going to flip when I did know. He likes torturing me, he knows I hate surprises.”

  “Some guy I don’t like is taking my girl who knows where…” He tossed over in his head, “how am I okay with this?”

  I smirked up at him, “I thought you guys were friends now.”

  “Not the least bit, Honeyface.” He chuckled apparently finding my assumption hilarious. I pouted and he sobered up opening the front door for me. He looked at the storm outside and then to Hunter’s Infiniti with running idle with the wiper blades on the highest setting. “Be safe for me.”

  “I thought the over-protectiveness kicked into hyper drive after the wedding,” I accused still rising on my tip toes to kiss him before he could argue.

  Not that it stopped him, “I’m always in hyper drive when it comes to you, you’re a magnet for trouble.”

  “No Mr. Harris, that’s you,” I corrected.

  I looked back at the car shinning its lights in the doorway and though I couldn’t see inside because of the rain, I was sure Hunter was a second or so away from blowing the horn.

  “Ok, go…” Adrian surrendered.

  I grabbed my umbrella letting him kiss me again, “I’ll be safe, see you later.”

  I didn’t even open it for the short sprint to the car. Hunter just opened the door and I slid inside. “Took you long enough, how long does it take you to primp now, Babes?”

  “I wasn’t primping,” I defended as he sped out the driveway, “I had to tell Adrian bye.” He shifted up a gear merging onto the highway shaking his head while I changed his radio station. “So where are we going?”

  He shrugged, “Why don’t you give it a guess.”

  “You know I hate guessing,” I muttered sitting back in my seat. “Give me a hint.”

  �
�Nope.” He denied heading north on the 495. “Just sit back and relax, Babes.”

  His speed kind of worried me in the weather we were having, but I didn’t say anything. I just continued to change through the stations until I found something we would both like and sat back. For a while you could only hear the sounds of classic rock and wiper blades.

  “How was your trip?” He inquired after about forty minutes of heading west.

  I smiled as I shrugged out of my rain coat., getting comfortable. Apparently we were going to be in the car for a while. “It was good, my family sends their love. Altagracia said to hug you for her.”

  “Carmen too?” He asked skeptically.

  I huffed a laugh, they hated each other. “No she sent another sentiment that I won’t repeat.”

  “Let me guess, she told you to smack me upside the head?” He joked, sure of himself.

  I shook my head, “Nope, a knee to the groin.”

  His smile faded, “I hate her,” he swore.

  “Hunt…” I reprimanded. “She’s my cousin.”

  “She hates me too, why do I get the ‘be cool’ lecture and she never does?”

  “Because you know what gets under her skin and you do it on purpose,” I accused.

  “I prefer the term ‘reality checks’,” he corrected. “She isn’t as hot as she thinks she is.”

  They loathed each other for as long as I could remember, but I wasn’t quite sure what sparked it. It could have been that Hunter was a huge joker and didn’t really take anyone seriously. It could have been that Carmen used to be one of the most self-obsessed women you could ever meet. Or that Hunt had a tendency to call her any other variation of her name but her actual name and she hates that. Or that Carm had a habit of sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. I could speculate forever but since I wasn’t there it wouldn’t matter.

  There wasn’t a person on this Earth that was friends with everyone they met. I just happened to care about two of them, but as long as they didn’t kill each other it was fine with me.

  When we started to switch over to the 70 west I realized that we had been driving for over three hours. “Why are we heading towards Pennsylvania? Are you kidnapping me?” I demanded, mostly itching to know where we were going because my patience was in overdrive.