by A. L Long
“I’m not running away. I just don’t like the feeling of being judged or disbelieved.”
“I never said that I didn’t believe you, Emma,” I argued.
“Maybe not in so many words, but I wasn’t born yesterday, it’s written all over your face.”
Maybe I did have a hard believing that it was work calling, but in no way did I mean to judge her. All I wanted was for her to let me in and tell me what was really going on. Squeezing her hand tighter, I pulled her close to me and lowered my mouth to hers. At first, she hesitated in returning the kiss, but then her lips parted to let me in. Between the heat of our kiss, I said the only thing I could. “I’m sorry.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Emma
I could have thrown my phone out the window. When TJ called, I thought for sure that he was calling to apologize for the way he acted earlier. I had no idea it was to tell me that it was him that took the money from the safe in my room. I didn’t even have to ask him how he got in my room or how he was able to get into the safe. I guess he knew me pretty well. I should have never used the digits of my birthday as the code, zero-nine-one-seven. It wasn’t too hard for him to figure it out, since he was still living under the bridge and helped celebrate my birthday. My present from him was a Snickers candy bar with a single candle placed in the middle.
Lou always managed to make things better, though; as angry as I was at him for not believing what I said, his kiss took all of that away. When his lips met mine, it was like I was in a different place and time. It was only us, no sadness, only rainbows and butterflies filled the space. The feeling didn’t last long though. Two spectators brought us back to the here and now when their little giggles filled the air. Breaking our kiss, Lou looked over to the two young boys and said, “Now that is how you kiss a woman.”
I had never seen that shade of red on any one person. Lou opened the door and the two boys hurried up the steps, making their escape inside the building. Heading in ourselves, the sound of voices filled the air as we walked down the wide hallway to the gym area. I was surprised to see so many young people inside the building; most of them were boys playing basketball on half of the court. The other half of the court was set up for anyone who wanted to hit a few balls over the net. As we walked to the other side of the court, most of the boys recognized Lou by waving to him and saying, “Hi.”
Looking over to the boys, I said with a smile. “Your fan club, I presume.”
“I guess you could call it that,” he replied.
Once past the gym court, Lou and I went through a metal door, which brought us to another hallway. Turning to the right, we came upon another door, which Lou stopped at. Pulling a set of keys from his pocket, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. It was dark when we went through the door, but not for long, Lou flipped the light switch on and I could that it was another gym, only much smaller, with mats covering the majority of the floor.
A little bit confused, I entered. I scanned the room and asked, “Any particular reason why we are here?”
“I thought maybe you would want to learn some of what I teach my students,” he said.
“Students?” I asked, totally confused.
“Yeah, I teach martial arts to some of the kids. Three times a week,” he added.
“So, you think you can teach me a thing or two about martial arts?”
“I would sure like to try.”
Lou had a smile on his face that could have convinced me to do anything he asked. Leading me to the middle of the room, he began showing me a breathing exercise that was supposed to help in clearing my mind. As I breathed in and out, I had to admit that it was working. My body felt relaxed. All of the tension was gone and I began feeling my mind clear.
After we had finished out breathing exercise, Lou began showing me different positions. It almost felt like I was in the movie Karate Kid. “Wax on, wax off.” I couldn’t help but start laughing. I was laughing so hard that I fell to the floor holding my side, because I couldn’t stop. When the door to the gym opened and a teenage kid walked in, my laughing spell eased as he approached Lou.
Putting his hands together, he bowed to Lou like he was someone important and said, “Hello, Sensei.”
“What the heck is a Sensei?” I asked as I watched Lou return the bow.
Turning to me, he held out his hand to help me up and replied with a smile, “Teacher.”
Lou walked over to the young man and whispered something in his ear. As I stood on the mat, without warning, they began going after each other. I was just about ready to yell at them to stop when it dawned on me that they were only putting on a show. I couldn’t believe how much precision each move had. It was almost like they were dancing with one another, but on a fighting level. Neither one of them outdid the other. When they had finally finished the demonstration, Lou walked over to me and said, “This is what I teach. Someday I would like to teach you the art of karate.”
I was at a loss for words. I would never be able to do what they just did, but I also knew that Lou would never take no for an answer. While I stood thinking about what he said, Lou walked the young man to the door. Thinking that he was far enough away, he dug into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. I was pretty sure that Lou gave the boy a couple of twenties. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen, but I also knew that it was something I needed to keep to myself, at least for now.
~****~
Waking up feeling the soreness of muscles that I didn’t even know I had, I tried to ease my body out of bed. I loved spending the day with Lou at the YMCA. There was a side of him that I really liked. Not only was he a great teacher, he really cared about the kids that went there. It made me wonder how many there actually were.
Barely able to make it to the bathroom, I turned on the water to the shower and slowly began removing my clothes. As I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t believe how bruised my upper arms were, and my upper legs. Lou was really gentle with me as he showed me the different defense moves, so I knew that they couldn’t have come from him. They had to have been from landing on the mat after falling several times when trying to land my punches or kicks. One thing about it, they looked a lot worse than they felt.
When I was finally able to lift my leg high enough to step inside the tub, the water on my sore muscles felt like heaven. I could have stayed like this all day, but I knew that eventually the hot water would be gone and I would end up freezing my ass off. Until then, I was going to use every drop of hot water there was.
Standing under the stream of hot water, I started thinking about the money that TJ took and what I was going to do. I only had a few more days left before I would have to leave the motel and go back to living on the streets. The only idea that came to mind was convincing TJ that there was enough money for both of us to share. Surely he would be willing to share. I thought about threatening him with going to the cops, but then that would lead to an investigation, which would lead to more problems for me, and I just couldn’t do that.
Ending my shower and getting dressed. I unplugged my cell from its charger and found TJ’s contact number and waited for him to answer.
“I was wondering when you were going to call me back,” he stated.
“All I want to know is why. Why did you take my money?” I demanded.
“Oh, come on, Emma. You think I would be stupid enough to believe that the money was actually yours?” he replied with a chuckle.
“Mine or not, you had no right to take it. I want it back, or at least half of it.”
“No can do, babe. The money is gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” My heart was racing. If he spent all that money he had better hope that I never saw him again because if I did, I was going to kill him.
“Your little stash helped me to pay off a debt that was long overdue. You might have just saved my life. Gotta go.”
“Wait…” The phone went dead before I got the chance to ask where. Ringing TJ again, it went right to voic
email, which told me that he must have turned his phone off.
I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. Slumping on the bed, I began rubbing my head to try and figure out what I was going to do. I didn’t have much time before I would be out on the street again. Grabbing my small purse. I opened it up to see how much money I had left. By the time I finished counting it, there was only one hundred twenty dollars. This was not enough money for what I needed. Stuffing it back inside my small purse, I leaned back on the bed and just stared at the ceiling. Knowing that there had to be another way to get off the street, I pulled myself together and stopped feeling sorry for myself. Thinking that I would just need to find another job, I took a couple of dollars from my purse and decide to go to the motel office and grab a paper.
The minute I opened the door, a gentleman in a suit and a woman in slacks and a silky blouse appeared in front of me. “Ms. Atwood?” the man asked.
“Yes, I’m she,” I answered hesitantly.
“My name is Detective Shaw and this is Detective Bentley. We have a few questions for you.”
I had no idea what the cops would be doing here or how they even found me. The only thought that was running through my mind was the money. They must have found out that I took it. Moving to the side, I allowed them to enter my room. Closing the door, Detective Shaw had his cell phone in his hand, searching for something. Holding it out to me, he showed me a picture of Kate, one of the girls from the Park Lane Hotel.
“Do you know this girl, Ms. Atwood?” the woman detective asked.
“Yeah, she works at the Park Lane. She’s a maid.” I replied, looking up at Detective Shaw, confused.
“She was found dead this morning in her apartment. Her throat was slit,” he divulged.
It was like I had run into a brick wall. My legs gave out and I fell down on the bed. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. Two girls that I knew were dead, and they both worked at the hotel.
“Ms. Atwood, are you okay? You don’t look so well,” Shaw pointed out before continuing. “Do you know of any reason why someone would want to kill her?”
“Are you kidding me? How the hell would I know?”
“Well, if you hear of anything, please let us know.” Detective Shaw handed me his card as I just sat there in shock.
As soon as they left, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Lou. I heard his voice on the second ring.
“Lou, I need your help. I think I’m in trouble.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Gainer
Finishing my workout, I was surprised to see Emma’s number appear on the screen. What surprised me even more was the sound of her voice. I could tell that she was upset, and when she said she was in trouble, it didn’t take me long to grab my keys and head over to the motel where she was staying. Heading down to the parking garage, everything bad that I could think about entered my mind. Even the drive to the motel was filled with concern for her.
Putting my truck into park, I headed up the steps to Emma’s room. When she opened the door, I could tell that she had been crying. I wasn’t even inside before she wrapped her arms around me and said, “Lou, I’m so scared.”
Comforting her the best I could, I held her tight to my body and asked, “What’s going on, baby?”
“It’s Kate, they found her dead in her apartment. Her throat was slit just like Melissa’s,” she blurted in a trembling voice.
“Who is Kate, Emma?” I asked, confused by what she just told me.
“She works at the hotel. She was one of the girls that went out with us to Surge. Now she’s dead. What if I am next, Lou?”
As I held her tightly in my arms, the tears from her eyes began to spill. All I knew was that if these two murders were connected, there was a good possibility that she could be next. I just needed to figure out what that connection was. One thing I knew for sure was she wasn’t going to stay in this motel any longer. If I had any chance in protecting her, I needed to keep her close, and in order to do that she would need to stay with me.
“Emma, grab your things. You’re staying with me for a while,” I commanded gently.
“Lou, who could be doing this?” she asked in a small, childlike voice.
“I don’t know, baby, but me and the guys are going to find out.”
Kissing her lightly on the forehead, I watched as she gathered her things. I couldn’t believe that everything she owned fit inside the one bag. The same bag she had protected when we first met. As she loaded the empty bag with her things, I noticed that she no longer had the cans of food that she was packing a few days ago. As she placed the last of her things inside the bag, I walked up to her and took hold of the strap, slinging it over my shoulder.
“You go check out. I’ll meet you at the truck,” I said.
Nodding her head, she followed me out of the door and down the concrete steps. While I went straight, she headed to the motel office to turn in her key and to take care of her bill. I didn’t know what I was thinking. Hurrying to the truck, I set her bag on the back seat and sprinted to the office. The least I could do for her was to pay her bill. I knew that she didn’t have much money, and even though this place couldn’t have been much per night, I knew that it was going to make a big dent in her wallet to pay the bill.
Opening the door to the office, I saw that the manager was actually handing her money back. This was a first for me. I had never seen money be given back to a guest, unless of course their stay was paid in advance and they were refunded the days they weren’t staying. He must have handed her at least three hundred dollars, if not more.
“Sorry you had to cut your stay short, Miss,” the manager stated.
The door slammed so hard that it alerted Emma and the manager of my arrival. Stuffing the money in her pocket, she said good-bye to the manager and walked towards me. Pushing the door open for her, I handed her the keys and said, “I’ll be just a minute.”
When the door closed and Emma was on her way to the truck, I walked over to the manager and asked, “Can you tell me how long Emma has been staying here?”
“A good week and a half. She was a nice girl, paid for her stay in advance, nine hundred-sixty dollars to be exact,” he confessed.
Trying to digest what he just said, I found it hard to believe that Emma would have that kind of money. “Thanks,” I said as I headed out the door.
Emma was waiting in the truck, ready to go. Getting in, I looked over to her and asked, “Ready?”
~****~
It was going to be different, but in a good kind of way, to have Emma here with me while the guys and I figured out who was behind the deaths of her friends. I wasn’t sure what Emma preferred as far as the sleeping arrangements, so I did the gentlemanly thing and placed her things in the guest bedroom. It was only after she picked up her bag and looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes that I knew what she really wanted.
Confirming what I already knew, she asked, “I’d like to stay with you in your room, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, I would love for you to stay with me.” How could I say no to her? Having her with me in my bed was like a dream come true.
After getting the sleeping arrangements sorted out, I decided to cook a nice wholesome meal for her. Even though Emma was the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen, it wouldn’t hurt for her to put on a few pounds. While I prepared dinner, Emma sat at the breakfast bar watching me, inquiring about where I learned how to cook and what it was exactly that I was making.
One of the best things that I could have learned in the military was how to cook. I actually think all of the brothers at Jagged Edge were the best of the best when it came to cooking. As I stood by the stove sautéing the onions and mushrooms, Emma asked softly, “Can I help with anything?”
Turning towards her, I replied with a smile, “You can set the table if you want.”
Once I showed her where the plates and silverware were, she walked over to the dining table and began setting the ta
ble, only it wasn’t really setting it as she just placed the plates on the table with the silverware stacked on top. Trying hard to contain my amusement, I said, “Thank you.”
“Where did this woman come from?” I thought to myself. There was no way that she could have been so ignorant to the basic ways of life. Testing my theory, I asked her with a smile, “So, do you cook?”
“Are you kidding? I barely know how to open a can of beans, let alone cook a meal,” she confessed.
“So, your mom never showed you how to cook?” I inquired.
