Hostile Contact

by Tamala Callaway

  “Oh I could always use one of your sedatives any time, but right now, Trevor asked me to give you a message away from Symóne. He wanted to tell her himself, but wanted you to know right now.

  Faye perked up for what seemed to be serious business. “What is it?” she asked.

  “They think that the guy they have in custody is only one of the stalkers. The things he's saying, leads the Detectives to believe that someone else is also behind this whole ordeal. They are going to wait to see if anyone comes to visit him, because he's not getting out. He's in for attempted murder of Trevor and assault on Symóne,” he finished.

  Faye gasped, “So there is more than one of these freaks?” she was upset.

  “Yes, they think so. Trevor doesn't want you to leave Symóne's side until he gets back here,” he said, then gave her a look of caution. “Faye, if you feel uncomfortable about anyone coming into this room, a nurse, orderly, doctor—anyone, don't hesitate to call me. I will radio dispatch and get someone here immediately. Then I'll call Trevor and be on my way as well,” he said with seriousness.

  “I want you to be extremely careful of your surroundings as well Faye. You know you're my Boo Thang, and I will catch a case up in here if something were to happen to you,” he declared.

  Her face did an Awe gesture and she stepped to him for an emotional embrace, then returned to Symóne's room to keep watch over her. Alex left and headed back to the station to deliver his report.

  The nurse left out, then Faye pulled up a chair beside Symóne's bed. She began to caress her face and changed the subject by talking about the grand opening of Creative Designs In Store.

  “So we're only four days away from the big day, and I want you to get plenty of rest. Let me finish getting the store set up,” she strongly suggested to Symóne. “Don't worry, Trevor gave me the go ahead to hire another sales associate to help out. You know that Angela from work said that she would love to come work for you at the store. So, since she is so friendly and sociable, she'll be perfect,” Faye informed her of the decision.

  Symóne was appreciative of the extra help, especially since she wouldn't be able to do much standing or walking around. At least she will get more of her design plans done this way.

  “Have you talked to her yet?” asked Symóne.

  “Of course. I called her while you were in surgery this morning. She's coming by this afternoon to do all of the paperwork. She was happy to be putting in her two week notice today. Oh…and she said to tell you she's praying for you, and to call if you need her sooner. She'll get off work and come right over,” Faye chimed at another accomplishment.

  Symóne smiled then sighed. She was missing Trevor and wondered what was taking him so long to come see her. Faye noticed her anxious behavior and did her best to keep her occupied with conversations about her new relationship with Alex.

  “So what's the status between you two? What do your parents think of Mr. Alex?” Symóne asked.

  “They really like him. Daddy thinks he's too young, but he still likes him, especially since he's in law enforcement,” Faye grinned.

  “Um hmm…and I'll bet you're loving that uniform too?”

  “Oh yes! That man knows how to cuff a girl. He's so smooth and quick with those things, I get excited,” she was about to let loose all of her business to Symóne.

  “I take it you're going to tell me all about it?” Symóne giggled.

  Faye got up and closed the door to Symóne's room. She came back and sat down, making herself comfortable.

  “Okay, so the first time I was kind of teasing him. You know…talking dirty and such, just to see where his mind was. He was playing hard to get, at least I think he was, because he was acting all shy on me. I was like…Alex, have you ever been with a woman before? He hesitated to answer me, but then admitted that he has had a few,” Faye breathed then paused because she thought she heard someone coming into the room, but the person continued on down the hallway. “So, I asked about some of his experiences and he told me that none of the others lit his fire or were anything special. Well, you know me, I was thinking that this was my opportunity to hook him up with a little Faye-play,” they both giggled at the way Faye suggested herself with the comment.

  “Don't tell me you brought him to your parents' house?” Symóne shivered.

  “No! He has an apartment. He invited me over and ordered dinner. Girl, he was about to get the Fourth of July treatment and didn't even know it,” Faye was becoming serious.

  “Did you at least let the man eat, you know…build up his energy?” asked Symóne.

  “No. I made him work up an appetite before the food even arrived. It felt like I took his virginity all over again when we first started, but then something clicked in him. His freaky side came out and that's when the handcuffs magically appeared. I didn't think he had it in him until I heard myself calling him by his work name. 'Officer Rose…please forgive me for being a naughty girl. I promise to be good from now on,'” she giggled at herself. “Then he was like… 'Who said I wanted you to be a good girl? Get up against the wall, Miss Brimmer!', And he picked me up and put me against the wall and tore my ass up! I was so weak when he finished with me, I couldn't stand up on my own. My legs collapsed when he let me down,” she shivered violently at the thought. Her smile was so big, the shape of her face changed. Symóne shook her head and thought that her best friend had finally met her match. She was happy to see her happy and not ready to run for the border as usual.

  “So Faye, has he asked you to move in with him yet?”

  “Oh he made that suggestion right after that first time. I've been trying to find a way to break it to my parents, because I really want to.”

  “Faye! Really? You are almost twenty-nine years old. This is how you handle that situation… 'Mom, Dad, I'm moving in with Alex. Here's my new address, I'll be out by the end of the week,' then you go and start packing your crap and get the hell out before they realize that you're serious,” Symóne snorted, but was serious.

  They both got a good laugh and then Faye began to think about Symóne's suggestion seriously.

  “I guess I should just rip it off like a band aid and get it over with, huh?”

  “Girl, I'll bet you have already been taking some of your things over there subconsciously, haven't you?” Symóne glared at her.

  Faye gasped in thought, “I do have a lot of stuff over there. He gave me a key and told me to use it any time I wanted. That I didn't have to tell him if I wanted to go hang out even if he was at work,” she gave it more thought.

  “See there. You've already got one foot in the door. Go on and slide that other foot in and be free damn it!” Symóne burst into laughter but stopped abruptly when her ribs began to hurt her. The machine went off as her blood pressure rose from the pain, sending the nurse in to check on her.

  Once she tended to Symóne and left out, the door opened again. A man entered wearing navy blue cargo pants and a burgundy polo shirt. He had short blonde hair and glasses.

  “Miss Lassetter?” he said.

  “Yes?”

  “Hello, I'm Daniel Moore. It's nice to meet you,” he held out his hand to shake hers, but she only looked at him with curiosity.

  “Sorry, I guess after all you've been through, you're not very trusting. Let me start over—I'm Daniel Moore, Vince Moore's brother…of Harrison and Moore. I have an event planning business and I'm here on two accounts of business,” he breathed, then continued. “One, I would like to partner up with your interior design business for planning major events for some of my prominent clients, and…” he was interrupted by a woman bringing an insanely large and beautiful bouquet of pink, orange, and red roses. She handed them to Symóne and a yellow ribbon fell down to her lap with a black velvet satchel attached to it. She and Faye gave each other a look and when she opened the satchel, there was a diamond ring in it that must have been at least six karats with a pink ice stone setting encompassing it. She looked up at the woman who was now gone,
but instead standing in the spot where she had just been, was Trevor. He came to sit beside her on the bed and took the ring and held it up in front of her.

  “Symóne Lassetter…will you grace me with the honor of you being my wife forever?” he asked her.

  She hadn't closed her mouth from the initial shock to even take a breath. She seemed to be hyperventilating, but finally caught her breath. “Yes,” she whispered, then looked up from the ring he was placing on her finger, to his face. He leaned in and kissed her gently, but passionately. Afterward, he looked to Daniel, “You may finish now,” he smiled.

  “Well Symóne, the second thing is…I was hired to plan your wedding,” he smiled at her.

  Symóne's mouth fell open and her smile grew. She could only nod yes at Daniel, then reach out for Trevor to hold her. The tears began to fall, and Faye was in awe.

  “Congratulations honey. This is so exciting!” Faye squealed.

  Daniel handed Symóne his card, telling her to call him when she was ready. A few minutes later, he left seeing that the couple needed some privacy, and Faye also stood to leave.

  “I'm going in to the store to get some work done. Call me if you need me to come back,” she told them, then left.

  As suggested, she made a call to Alex to let him know her whereabouts and then headed to work.

  Symóne looked up at his smiling face, “Trevor…oh my goodness. I can't believe this…why now?” she asked, becoming emotional.

  He gently eased his way to lay beside her on the bed, one arm around her and the other hand holding hers that wore his ring. He kissed it, then kissed her.

  “I didn't want to waste another minute not being truly tied to you. I know that this is sudden and fast, considering that we've only been together for a little over three months, however…I knew that I wanted you in my life from day one. That's why I was so persistent,” he explained.

  She lay her head on his shoulder and held her hand out in front of her to gaze upon her new outlook on life. Is this what I want? Would Trevor always be this good to me? Will he be everything to me that I need? Yessssss! She said to herself.

  “How do you think your mom and Drew will react?” she was curious.

  “Well, mom already knew you were the one when I told her about you…before you even gave me a chance. She has superior instincts about the chronology in my life. With that being said, she loves you and so does Drew,” he explained.

  Symóne was in awe. To have a family of her own, that actually cared about her. Growing up in a group home didn't exactly prepare her for such a far off desire.

  “What are you thinking about babe? I can tell your mind is wandering,” asked Trevor.

  “My childhood. Growing up homeless after my mom had passed, then being stuck in a group home where all the kids were eight years younger than me,” she said sadly. “You know Trevor…I never expected to get married and have a family until Brent came along. He promised me things that were too good to be true. I felt like a fool for not noticing the signs before hand,” she sighed.

  He rubbed her arms, waiting to hear more. They had discussed some of her past, but he didn't push. He let her set her own pace on sharing her life with him.

  “That's why I was so hardened when you came along. I was done trying to be normal, but you wore me down. I realized that you are nothing like Brent. He talked a good game, but you show an awesome reality. I do love you and want to marry you, but are you sure that you can handle me?” she asked sarcastically.

  He snorted, then leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Symóne…as you well know, I'm not easily intimidated by anyone. I do not back down from any challenge, and I want to love you for the rest of my life and beyond,” he declared.

  “By the way Mr. Harrison—” she began.

  “What did I tell you about calling me that? I'll go lock the door, I swear!” he teased her.

  “Oh Mr. Harrison, yes Mr. Harrison, wait Mr. Harrison, now Mr. Harrison…” he kissed her to stop her from saying his name over and over again.

  “Mmmm Mr. Harrison. I want to go home now,” she told him seriously.

  “Not until you've been released,” he smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, which she hadn't done in a long time, and it caused him to chuckle.

  “Oh yeah, I was going to ask you what took you so long to come back? What happened with that creep?” she wanted to know if he was safely behind bars.

  “Well, he did have several prepaid phones and a pocket full of prepaid phone cards. He also had in his possession, a micro listening device and recorder,” he raised a brow, then continued. “…and a couple of syringes along with a bottle of professional grade anesthetic. That's what he used on me,” he told her. She frowned and looked angry, but was happy that things weren't worse.

  “So why does it seem like there's more?” she asked.

  “Because there is, babe. He has recordings of yours and my conversations, even the ones from the bedroom,” he tilted his head forward, waiting for it to sink in.

  “Oh my goodness! He's been listening to us having sex?” she screeched.

  “Yes. Every time,” he breathed. “I had to sit there while two detectives and an investigator listened to our private moments to see if he said or did anything during those times. He was careful not to be heard on any of the recordings.”

  “Trevor! How embarrassing! What did the detectives say?” she was panicking.

  “Not much…” he smiled.

  “What did they say, Trevor?” she demanded.

  “They were more shocked than anything. They smiled at me a lot, and gasped at some of the things you said. The language you used in conjunction with calling my name, was a bit entertaining to them,” he chuckled.

  Symóne dropped her head into her hand and let out a gush of air.

  “Okay, are they going to keep him locked up? Or will he make bail?” she worried about going home. She was suddenly remembering the broken glass door, and realizing that they had no idea how the man got inside the condo.

  “He's locked up for a while. He won't be eligible for bond either, seeing as he confessed to several different crimes against us both. The thing is…Symóne, I don't want you to panic, but you need to be aware,” he gained her attention. She tensed for the next bit of information.

  “He says he wasn't doing these things alone. He has an accomplice, and we're not sure that there isn't more than one,” he told her.

  “What are we going to do? I'm scared to go back to the condo now,” she whined.

  “Here's the thing. They have run all the phones and cards from his possession and tested them against the calls to your phone. All but two of them have been confirmed. The detectives and I think that he wants us to believe he had an accomplice, so we won't take any chances. The car he was driving, shows up in all of the video footage, once we get home. It is in the parking lot of the Plaza and had been identified by a few of your neighbors from your apartment complex. Not to mention, he has a place not far from the Plaza where they have found pictures of you, Faye, me, Alex, my mom, my brother, Vince, Miss Henry, Gloria—looks like everyone I know. Therefore concluding that this man has an agenda towards me and you,” said Trevor.

  “Is he someone from one of your cases?” asked Symóne.

  “I'm really good at remembering faces, but I can't place his face anywhere. They've run a background check on him to see if they can trace him to any of my clients or their opponents. The complete check should be back in twenty-four hours. Meanwhile, I've reinforced the security again. No calls or messages have come through to your phone since last night and they are still looking through the video footage for an accomplice.”

  Symóne sighed a heavy breath of air, then lay back against the pillows that were propped up behind her. Trevor stood and walked around to the other side of her bed and took a seat in the chair Faye had been sitting in earlier. He took her hand and caressed the back of it, then held it up to his lips and kissed it.

  “Babe?” he began. Sh
e looked at him in response.

  “If it's okay with you, I really would like to talk to you about the baby thing,” he said softly. He wasn't sure where her mind was on the entire situation, but if they were going to continue to be intimate, he needed to know whether to use protection or continue as they had.

  Her head fell back and she looked up at the ceiling. He was still holding her right hand, but her left hand raised then rested on her stomach. “I can't believe that we made a baby together. The entire time I was with Brent, we never used protection because we felt that what will be, will be. I believed that I couldn't get pregnant, that's why I was so carefree with you. Now that I think about it, it's possible that he was infertile,” she shrugged.

  “So now that we know that this is a possibility, how do you want to handle things now?” he asked.

  Symóne shrugged again. “I'm not sure. I finally have my dream career set to go, and I know that a baby would not affect that negatively, but this whole stalker things is what scares me,” she breathed.

  “Here are my thoughts on babies,” Trevor started. “I had never thought about them until I was told that there was one. I was taken by surprise and had some time to think about it seriously. Thinking rationally, you should get your business established, at least give yourself a year to get into the groove of things. Also, I think we should get past this whole stalker situation, because your safety is my number one concern. I don't want what happened this time, to ever happen again. That would break my heart,” he took a deep breath, then finished. “Other than that, I'm all for it babe.”

  Symóne reached for him to help her to sit up again, so he did. She started to turn as if she wanted to get out of her bed, but he stopped her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I really have to pee, Trevor. Just help me to the bathroom and get situated, then I need for you to run for the hills. Go make some calls or something. Don't return for about thirty minutes or so. I'll call the nurse to help me back to bed when I'm done,” she hissed.

  “Umm…I don't think so. I've been to the bathroom behind you before, and if I could handle it the first time you stayed, I can surely handle it now. Besides, you are already comfortable with joining me for conversations in the bathroom while I do my business, I consider that real love,” he smiled.