Touched

by Vicki Green

  “And what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Amber?” I lean back in my chair and fold my arms.

  “Well, I haven’t seen you for a few days and I just wondered how you liked the project I’m working on with you and does Jade know about that and if not how do you think she’s gonna react? I mean you know how she can be, um, how she is and well…” Oh, my Lord the woman can talk so fast.

  I lean with my elbows on the table and fold my hands. “Amber, slow down. I’ll tell you what. Let’s go down to the cafeteria and I’ll buy you breakfast. I’m starving. Then if you can speak slower to me, and I mean slow-er, than we can discuss the project. How about it? Can you do that?” She nods eagerly. “Very well. Go and gather your things and I’ll meet you at the elevator.” She’s up in a flash and leaves the room. Damn, this is going to delay my leaving, but I’m also excited about the house project and want her opinion on a few things. I gather up some paperwork, lock it in my desk drawer and pick up my phone to call Jade. It rings several times before I get her voicemail, and I figure she’s probably working out with Emerson. “Angel, I may be a little later than planned. Not too much later though. See you soon.” I end the call and make my way to the elevator and notice Amber is already there.

  We get our food, and I pay for us both then find a table over in the corner by the windows, remove all our food from our trays, and I deposit them at the tray cabinet. Once settled we begin eating and talking about the plans. “Did you like the plans?”

  “Yes, but with the back looking out at the beach, this part of the deck around the pool will need to have a solvent that withstands the salty air. And this… This area would be perfect for a covered outside bar.” She’s pointing at the plans I’ve drawn up, and she’s right. She has a very keen eye.

  “Very good. I like that idea.” I stop and look over at her. “Do you think…? Do you think she’ll really like this house? I mean who wouldn’t but you know her better than anyone.” She gives me an incredulous look.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? She’ll love it. The room you picked out for her special room, looking out over the beach and the small balcony, just wow!” Placing her elbow on the table and laying her chin on her hands she smiles. “Can I be adopted?” She bats her eyes at me, and I burst out laughing.

  Our lunch lasts longer than I would have liked, but we got some really good ideas down. When I get back to my office, I quickly call Tabbie, who landed a job as a real estate agent and with her just starting out this could really push her career up fast. “Yes, I will go over there later today and get someone on it. I’m so excited and happy for you and Jade.”

  “Thanks, Sis. But she doesn’t know about it so make sure you don’t say anything to her if you talk to her, ok? This is a surprise. I know what your excitement does to you.” She laughs loudly in my ear and agrees. I end the call and see what else I need to accomplish while I’m here as I plan to take the next couple of days off.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THUD! My breath is knocked out of me again, but I did it! I took down at the almighty Emerson! “Damn! You did it, girl! Crap, hold on.” Emerson lays next to me panting heavily. I roll over onto my side and smirk at him. I can’t believe I took him down. Finally, he rolls over to his side and laughs. “I’m proud of you. You did well. Knox will be proud too.” Now I’m beaming. I hear my phone ringing over in the counter of the gym and have to huff and puff to get up, but I manage and half jog over to it.

  “Hello?” I am so out of breath. I need to work out more.

  “Jade! Hi, it’s Tabbie!” My ear is aching from her screaming, but I’m so glad she called.

  “Tabbie, how are you? Are you adjusting ok? You know I’m happy to help with what you need.”

  She giggles. “No, everything’s good. I was just wondering what you’re doing later. I need some girl time and I now you’re stuck there and well… I wasn’t sure if you knew that it’s Knox’s birthday tomorrow?” Oh, my God! I’ve never asked him when his birthday is, in fact, I’m not even sure how old he is. What the hell kind of girlfriend am I? I guess one that hasn’t been one before. Idiot! “Hey, it’s ok. I know you’re beating yourself up and don’t. This whole relationship thing is new for both of you. I bet he doesn’t know you’re birthday either.” Huh, I bet she’s right.

  I look at Emerson and tilt my head towards the door letting him know I’m leaving, and he simply nods and smiles then I head towards the bedroom so when I’m done talking, I can jump in the shower. “I would love to see you and yes, I’m feeling a little bad I didn’t know his birthday is tomorrow.”

  “Don’t. Here’s the thing. I’d love to have a get together at your place tomorrow for him? You know it’s only going to be you, Amber and me unless you can think of anyone else to invite. Would that be ok?” Hmmm, isn’t that sad? I don’t even know if he has any other friends. This just makes me think that we really don’t know that much about each other. We’re going to have to fix that.

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea. When can you be over?” She proceeds to tell me she can be over in an hour and that gives me plenty of time to get cleaned up and make some goodies for us to munch on and before Knox gets home. Perfect!

  I have to say Tabbie is prompt as she arrives right at an hour later. Thank goodness I can still walk after being tackled and tackling Emerson. Knox called and said he is being delayed, and even though I am disappointed it actually works out better. “I want to see your new room. Can we have our snacks in there and talk?” She asks as we gather the food I made in the kitchen.

  “Oh, I would love for you to see it, what a great idea.” We pick up everything and take it to my room, and I quickly move all the pictures I had set on the table to the desk, so we can put our food and drinks there. We sit in my chairs, and I watch as she looks around.

  “This is great! I’m a book lover too and I knew you were by the library in your old apartment. You’ll have to come over soon to see what I’ve done to the place. I just love it there. Thank you again for letting me live there, although I wish Knox and you would let me pay for it. Oh! Did he tell you I became a real estate agent?” I take a bite of my cookie and shake my head. “I did. He has a friend who owns an agency and I’ve had my license a long time but have never been real active and I love my new job. It’s not modeling but Knox still wants me to be in some ads for the company so I can do both!”

  I set my cookie down on my plate and take a drink of my water. “That’s great, Tabbie. I’m so glad you’re happy and that everything is working out for you.” She nods as she eats. “Tabbie? Can I ask you a question? I feel kind of weird because you’d think I would know this but how old will Knox be tomorrow?”

  She starts giggling. “I’m sorry but that doesn’t surprise me. Knox has always been a really private person, doesn’t like telling anyone anything about himself but I know he feels differently about you. It probably just hasn’t come up.” She smiles at me sweetly making me feel somewhat better. “He’ll be twenty nine tomorrow. How old are you?”

  Hmmm, that’s not too bad of an age difference. “I’m twenty four but I’ll be twenty five on December 21st. I was almost a Christmas baby.” Smiling, I remember Mom always making sure to celebrate my birthday separately saying it would never be combined with Christmas and that everyone should have their own special day. I miss her so much.

  “Oh, how cool is that? So, I could come over early tomorrow and maybe you can get Ralph or Emerson to come up with something to distract Knox and we can decorate a bit, make a bunch of food, I dunno, what do you think?” She asks then takes another bite of her cookie.

  I sit up straighter in my chair and smile. “I think it would be great and this really is perfect timing. Knox and I had our pictures taken the other day and I had one made special for him. They should be delivering them later today. It will be a perfect birthday gift for him.” She reaches over and covers my hand with hers.

  “You’re the perfect gift for him, Jade. You make him the happ
iest he’s ever been and it shows how much you love each other. I’m so happy for you.” She rises and takes the two steps to me, enveloping me in a hug. I’m trying my best to keep my tears at bay, but she’s making it very difficult. She turns to go back to her chair but then walks over to the window. “What a lovely view.” Then she picks up something from my desk and turns around abruptly. “Do you mind? I love looking at pictures especially when they’re of you.” I shake my head smiling. Watching her face as she flips through the pictures makes the memories start flooding through my mind. I startle when she yells out, “Oh, my God!” She looks at me with wide eyes and shock on her face. “It’s you!” She comes towards me holding up the picture of me and the little boy playing in the sandbox. “This is you?”

  “Yes. We lived in Pennsylvania for a year when I was four.” I take the picture from her and stare at it. “I was devastated when we moved and I had to leave the only friend I had. Funny, we never exchanged names. I didn’t know where he lived or anything about him. We played in the sandbox at the park nearly every day. Every once in a while I wouldn’t see him and would wonder where he was, what he was doing, but then he’d show up the next day. I’ve thought about him over the years wondering whatever happened to him.” I look back up to see tears in her eyes. “Tabbie? What’s wrong?”

  She kneels down in front of me, taking my free hand in hers. “Jade. Oh, my God, Jade. This is Knox.”

  My eyes widen, my heart begins to race and so many feelings come to the surface that it makes me confused. “What?” I look back down at the picture and stroke it with my finger. “Are you sure?”

  She laughs with her smile so bright on her face that it makes the tear running down her cheek look out of place. “Jade, are you kidding? I took this picture and I remember it like it was yesterday.” She leans up and hugs me as my own tears begin to fall.

  “How can… How can it be? Oh, Tabbie!” I squeeze her tighter as I start to sob into her shoulder. Knox. All along it’s been Knox. I fell in love with him as a child and then once again. Some people believe in fate, in karma, but I’ve only ever believed in survival, but I do believe in fate. We finally release each other, and as she sits back down she grabs a few tissues from the box on the table, handing me some as she starts to wipe her eyes.

  “What happened? Does Knox know? Of course, he doesn’t. He would have told me and obviously, you didn’t know. Wow. I’m just so happy. You were always meant to be together.” She smiles as she dabs her eyes and my heart is soaring so high right now that it’s like I don’t know what to do with myself.

  “My father had a job offer in Colorado, so we moved but I went kicking and screaming.” Looking down at the picture in my hand, I sigh. “I didn’t want to leave him. I knew I’d never see him again.” I look back up at her to see such a sweet look about her. “I went there, the day we were moving, but he wasn’t there. I waited and waited hoping he would come, but he never did.”

  She looks down at her hands. “That was probably one of his bad days, one of those times that my mother beat him, blamed him for everything wrong in her life.” Her eyes look up at me with such sadness in them, it breaks my heart. “If he could have been there, he would have been. Just think, if he had come there and you had exchanged addresses or phone numbers or some way to keep in contact, you may never have gone through all you did and maybe he would have escaped my mother and you all would have been together long before now.” She laughs and covers her mouth with her hand. “Oh, listen to me. You were only four years old and he was eight. What a silly girl I am.”

  I turn to look out the window for a second and then back at her. “It’s a nice thought though, isn’t it?” She smiles and nods. “I still can’t believe it was Knox. All this time I’ve wondered what happened to my friend. Oh! I have a favor to ask. Let’s not tell him until his birthday tomorrow. When I get the picture I’m giving him, I’ll put this picture along with my card. What a surprise this will be!” She claps her hands, and we begin making plans for the best birthday party ever.

  Three hours later and still no Knox. I’m getting worried but also lonely. I’ve never really been that lonely, always busy, or reading my books and rather enjoyed my own company but now that I have him, I can’t stand to be without him. I worked out some more, ate a bite of lunch and read some more. I tried calling him and got his secretary who said she’d give him a message, and now I’m going crazy with boredom. I looked around the apartment to find Ralph and Emerson and can’t find them anywhere either. What the hell? I guess I’ll go read some more. Sigh.

  § § § §

  I’m so annoyed! A crisis came up with one of the projects that must be done today so I’ve spent the last three hours working on it with the lead person in the conference room, letting Harriet know I can’t be disturbed. That’s what I get for coming in today. Thank God, Jade is home and being protected, or I’d be beside myself with worry. By the time I get back to my office, I look through emails again and one sticks out. When I open it, I reach for my phone as my eyes are glued to the screen. The phone rings and rings on the other end but no answer. Where’s Ralph? I try Emerson. No answer. My heart lodges in my throat as I quickly grab my keys, unlock my bottom drawer and take out the gun I keep there, sliding it behind me into the waistband of my pants. Standing up I put on my suit jacket and look at the screen one last time.

  She is dead.

  The adrenaline is raging through me. My heart feels like it could beat out of my chest as I forward the email to the local police station and my street address with shaking fingers. Quickly, I run out of the office and see Harriet out of the corner of my eye stand, her mouth open like she’s going to say something, but I can’t stop. Amber also stands and yells at me, but I reach the elevators and luckily, the doors open immediately. It seems to take forever for the elevator to get to the main lobby, and it reminds me it will be an equally long ride up to our penthouse when I arrive. I get in my Jaguar, start it up and pull out like a madman. I dial the police station as I try to keep my eyes on the road. Good thing I have a built in Bluetooth for my phone, or I’d get in a wreck on the way although my driving right now is questionable at best.

  “Twelfth precinct, how may I help you?” A woman’s voice comes through the car speaker, and I’m almost at a loss for words.

  “I sent you an email. Knox Dunway. Read it, act on it. Now! A life is in danger! May need an ambulance as well. I’m on my way there.” I shout at the car.

  “Sir, please tell me what is happening? You need to stay away and I’ll send over some cars,” she persists.

  “Hell no! Just send them. It’s my… My… My wife! Do it now!” I disconnect the call and press my foot down on the accelerator as I weave in and out of traffic. My phone begins to ring, and I press the call button on the steering wheel.

  “KNOX!” Jades scream echoes throughout the car. There are sounds of scuffling, and my entire body is consumed by fear and anger.

  “Shut up, BITCH!” I hear a slap and Jade crying out.

  “You BASTARD! Leave her the FUCK alone! What do you want? Money? You can have all that I have, just let her go!” I’m yelling, and my heart feels like it’s about to explode as my tires screech when I avoid hitting a car and swerve to miss it.

  Medieval laughter hits my ears. “There’s not enough money in the world that you could give me to erase the nightmare that she caused, shattering my life and destroying my family and me. She deserves to die for her sins.”

  “Alex, think about what you’re doing. You’re only hurting you and your family more by killing her. Her death won’t take away what’s happened in the past. Think about that,” I blurt out pleadingly.

  “HA! You don’t know shit! You don’t know what all this bitch did to me so shut the fuck up!” He screams, and I hear Jade yelp.

  My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles are white. “Angel, I’m coming for you. Don’t give up hope and don’t forget that you’re strong. I know you’ve bee
n working out a lot,” I say calmly trying to give a hint for her to try to use her self-defense training but at the same time I’m afraid it could get her killed too. She’s my stubborn fighter and I know she’ll do it anyway.

  “UH!” she screams, and I’m seeing red. I swerve the car again and horns honk all around me, but I don’t give a shit. My angel needs me.

  “Alex.” The line goes dead and so does my heart. I’m going crazy with worry until I turn onto our street and then hit the garage door opener and wait very impatiently as the door lifts. Once inside, I barely turn off the ignition before I open the door and run to the elevators. Hitting the UP button over and over doesn’t help get it here any sooner as I watch the floor numbers slowly creep down in numbers. My head snaps to my left when I hear a moan, and I run over to the set of storage doors and pull them open. Ralph and Emerson lay there, bound and gagged, blood everywhere on their faces. Squatting down I check Emerson, who seems to be alert. I untie his hands and remove the gag from his mouth.

  He starts coughing and then looks at me. “Help me up. I’m going with you.” I gently push him back down and turn to Ralph, who’s out cold. By the time I get Ralph untied and remove his gag, Emerson is standing and limping towards the elevator. I look at his leg and notice a bullet hole in his jeans on his upper thigh. I jog over to him, which doesn’t take long with his slow speed.

  My hand rests on his shoulder as he looks at me. “Don’t be stupid, you’re hurt. You might be more of a hindrance than help.” The corner of his bloody lip curves up.

  “I can take that rat bastard with my eyes closed. He just snuck up on me before.” His brows furrow over his eyes, and his mouth turns into a snarl. “Won’t happen again.” He smacks my arm, and I nod. “He’s a devious bastard so be cautious.” I reach behind and pull out my gun from my waistband and bring it forward, removing the safety and checking the bullets. “Good thing I’m the one that taught you how to use that.” He grins and then we arrive at the elevators.