His mother tried desperately to stop the bleeding from his father’s knee. Frantically, she tied it up, hoping her son had not nicked an artery. The young man was focused on the interloper on the floor. He continued to taunt his biological father with information he knew would be unsettling to a man who thought he was in control.
“In the nightstand on your wife’s side of the bed, all the way in the back is a photo of me in a small silver frame,” he said to this father. “You bother us again Michael Kurtzwilde, and my next visit will also be in the middle of the night to your wife. She has a nice body for an old broad who spit out three kids.”
That was enough of a threat to stave off his biological and others who would do them harm. Michael Kurtzwilde left them alone and sent his brother Oscar to the young man’s high school graduation intent on recruiting him for a special division of The Company. The young man hated them all, but it served its purpose. His mother now lived in Florida with his Aunt Cora in a retirement community, where happy hour occurs every day from four to six. The last time he visited Paula Mann, he saw by the door at her place a backpack filled with a pair of undies, socks, a toothbrush, and a change of clothing. The fear was always with her of Michael Kurtzwilde coming back to harm her.
“Maybe that’s what’s driving me with Shanice,” he mumbled. No woman or child should ever have to spend their lives worrying whether a bad choice for a lover would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Men like Michael Kurtzwilde preyed upon young women like his mother and Shanice. They were poor, uncertain of themselves, and wanted something better for their lives. Instead, both ended up with controlling men who believed they owned them. He was pretty sure the man who wrote that contract on Shanice and her boy thought the same thing, until she left him. Five years.
Whoever he was has been pissed off for five years.
It didn’t add up.
Shanice must have something on him.
He wants her silenced.
Roger, too, had planned to use her for whatever he could get. Shanice and the boy deserved something good in their lives. So do I. It was years past due.
It would either work out beautifully, or he would allow the dust to settle, used the money earned from the contract, and send her and the boy on their way to a new life. You can spend the rest of your life in my arms. He clung to those words like some lovesick teenager that fueled him to do this stupid thing. A stupid thing to bring her into a new life which was safe. He sincerely hoped her new life would be with him.
Chapter 9- Say What Now?
From the balcony, Shanice spotted the back of his head as he spoke with Janie. Butterflies filled her stomach as she descended the stairs from the second floor where she stacked books and rearranged a display of comics. She wanted to sneak up behind him, wrap her arms around his waist, and squeeze him against her body, but thought better of it, knowing such an action would signify an intimacy between them. It was none of Janie’s business what happened between her and Roger on their date. This was also part of the reason she agreed to have dinner with him elsewhere in case Janie decided to trot across the street and be nosey.
Her steps slowed as she reached the two in conversation. The man talking to Janie was the same height. He was almost the same weight and build, but the voice was different. She froze in her tracks as his next words almost stopped her heart.
“I feel terrible about all of it Janie, which is why I came to apologize in person. I truly don’t even know when I sent you the text stating I was sick on Saturday night. And, boy was I ever,” the real Roger explained to Janie.
Janie’s eyes met Shanice’s.
“Here she is now, you can extend your regrets face to face and maybe reschedule,” Janie said. “Shanice, this is my friend Roger Flynn.”
How she managed to remain standing was beyond her. The man who stood before her clearly was not the man she’d been with on Saturday night. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she eyed this stranger who bore a slight resemblance to her Saturday night lover. Bile rose in her throat, burning the insides of her esophagus as it made its way up to her mouth. Saliva pooled around her tongue to indicate she was ready to hurl, but she swallowed it all down. She wouldn’t cry.
I am strong.
I am strong.
I screwed up again.
“Shanice, I am so sorry I missed our date. I was hit with something out of the blue that put me flat on my back. I woke up in the middle of the day on Sunday and tried to envision a number off the license plate of the truck which bowled me over,” Roger said to her.
The smile was disingenuous. The veneer capped teeth were duplicitous. The way he held her hand in his as he shook it felt all wrong. She didn’t like this Roger. He was a con man. A predator. She pulled her hand away.
“It’s quite all right Roger. I still had an interesting evening,” she told this truth with an equally fake smile.
Roger held her gaze for only a second before he looked away, saying to the floor, “I hope I can make it up to you by taking you to dinner?”
“I don’t know Roger. As a single Mom, it is so hard to get a sitter,” she began to say.
“Oh you have kids?”
“A son. A very active and precocious five-year-old Hellion,” she said back with a mischievous smile.
“Wow! Janie didn’t mention that to me,” Roger said, physically taking a step back. The word precocious triggered in his brain to hear the words my child is bad as hell and I can’t control him.
“Well, it is true. I am eager as well to find me a husband to help raise that young ‘un of mine,” she said rubbing her belly. “Kinda eager to give him a sister or a brother, too. Maybe have a whole parcel of chilluns, so they can keep each other occupied and not worry the crap out of me!”
Shanice saw Roger physically recoil. She pounced on it and drove her point home and him out the front door. She reached out and tugged on the arm of his shirt.
“On second thought, I know Janie here told you I haven’t been on a date in a while. Man, I tell you what, as backed up as I am, one touch from you could make me preggers just like that!” She joked, snapping her fingers.
“You know, I am going to be late for class. Janie, great seeing you. Shanice, I will be in touch,” Roger said backing his way out of the door.
Shanice stood there rubbing her belly as she winked at him then blew him a kiss. “Call me future baby daddy,” she yelled after him. The man almost ran to his car. The same little flashy red car she rode in the other night.
She turned to find Janie frowning at her.
“What? You should be frowning at his sleazy ass. He was just as fake as those overly white horse teeth in his mouth. Seriously Janie! You thought me and that schlep would make a good date?”
“Janie was only trying to help,” her boss responded.
“Maybe from now on, Janie can let Shanice take care of her own life and dates,” she said, turned on her heel, and headed back to the balcony. First, she needed to stop by the bathroom and chuck up her breakfast. The humor of it all hung just below the trauma that some man had pretended to be Roger.
The man who pretended to be Roger got her into bed.
He also bought dinner on Roger’s credit card, used Roger’s phone, and by the look of it, had driven Roger’s car. Dinner with the real date would not have ended the same way. Then a horrible thought flashed in her head.
The broken brake line.
My disabled car.
He’d done those things. What made him change his mind?
“Can I stay the night in your arms?”
“You can spend the rest of your life in my arms,” she said aloud. That’s what I told him.
“Holy fuck!” She yelled out. He was going to come back for her. Rocky! “Holy shit!”
She made it to the bathroom just in time as she started to vomit as fear punched her in the belly and sent urine streaming down her leg. Run Shanice. Run.
It was futile.
I h
ave nowhere to run and nothing to run with.
I have to stay and fight for my life or plead with him not to take it.
A sinking feeling held her to the bathroom floor as she realized Eric Guilfoyle had found them. He also wanted them dead, but the assassin had a change of heart. The route she took home went down a steep hill. The broken brake line would have meant her certain death on that hairpin turn.
He wouldn’t let me drive my car.
He had my car repaired and brought it back to me.
A glimmer of hope tapped her on the forehead right where Hester had anointed her head. Whoever he was, had a plan.
“Trust my gut, Hester told me,” Shanice said. “Sure thing, right after I fuck him up when he comes back to finish the job!”
Factoring in the variable of it taking him a while to get the job finished, nearly three days total to pull it all together and get the details in place. After his two-hour stint at the library on Sunday, he left Venture and headed three counties over to locate the unfortunate bodies of a homeless woman and her young child, who’d become the victim of a hate crime. The bodies were torched beyond recognition. He hated that anyone could be so cruel.
He also hated that he could not get that smell out of his nose or out of his vehicle. This truly felt like a new low for him.
“Hey Man, what did you do today? Nothing much, had some coffee at a dive off some back route in Georgia, then stole a couple of dead, burnt up bodies! What about you? Are you having a great day?” He shuddered as he pulled back into Venture on Wednesday night. Sneaking over to Shanice’s, the silhouette of her in the living room window tugged at him. The tug didn’t come to his head but lower.
Rarely, if ever, had he spent time with a woman that he wanted to see again. In Blairsville, one or two existed from high school that he would on occasion give a call, take out for a drink, and then blow off some steam. It was just sex. They knew it. He knew it.
That wasn’t the case with Shanice. Waking up next to her didn’t leave him with the cold feeling of finding his underwear and hitting the first exit out of town. He wasn’t compelled to leave a few bills on the night stand as a thank you. I want a life with her.
On Monday, he drove back to Blairsville to set up a few things before he stole the bodies and headed back to Venture. This job took a toll on him physically, especially since his mind continued to wander off and imagined waking up to find her in his kitchen, making French toast or something similar.
“Pancakes,” he mumbled. “I prefer pancakes.”
Sixteen times at a minimum he kicked himself for taking such a grave risk. His father didn’t bother him. He worked autonomously. It was a good gig, outside of well, killing people. He went to work every other month. After this, he wouldn’t have to take another job for almost sixty days. That would give him time to get his family settled in.
“My family,” he smiled at his words.
The thought of driving down to Florida one weekend to introduce his mother to the grandson she is about to find out she has is going to be comical. How will I introduce Shanice? As my wife?
Should I marry her...give the boy my name?
A door opened on the lower floor jolted him out of his current state of stupid. First thing was first. He had to steal Shanice’s car, add two bodies, and set it on fire. That, in his estimation was going to be the easy part. The hard part would be facing a very angry, confused, and possibly emotionally vulnerable woman. If, and it was a huge if, he could get her out of the door in less than fifteen minutes, all of it would work out. Anything over that, and they all would be compromised.
He started the little Toyota and got to moving. By 9:30, everything was in place. He doused the car in a highly flammable solution which burned hotter than anything he’d ever encountered. He set his watch. He only had a total of twenty minutes. Eight of those, he needed to get to his car then to Shanice’s.
The man touched the stop watch.
The countdown had begun.
Chapter 10- And away we go!
Man knew he was many things to several people, but rude was not in his repertoire. He stood on Shanice’s doorstep at 9:39 knocking lightly with his closed fist. The shadow at the base of the door indicated she was standing there, peering out the hole.
“Fuck you,” she yelled through the door.
“Shanice, let me in,” he said solemnly.
“No! Go away or I will call the police,” she told him.
“Go ahead,” he said as he slipped the key he’d made from her key ring in the door and turned the handle to let himself into the small apartment. She dropped her phone and came at him swinging, windmill style. He dodged the first few blows to grab her hands and pulled her body hard against his. “Calm down, we have less than 16 minutes to get the two of you out of here,” he said into her ear.
Hearing his voice in her ear sent shivers down her spine as she recalled the intimate things he whispered in her ear a few nights before.
“I’m not going anywhere with you asshole! Who are you some hitman?”
“Yes,” he said again in her ear. The proximity of her body so close was sending his mind into overdrive. “Stop fighting, if you want to live you need to come with me.”
“How about NO! Mr. Terminator wannabe! I am not going anywhere with you,” she said to him.
“If you stay here, or try to run, he is going to find you and send someone else. I did not know about the child. Evidently, he didn’t either, but when he found out, he amended the order to include the boy,” Man said in a lowered tone. He looked at his watch, saying, “fourteen minutes, you need to move now!”
“And if I refuse,” she asked, leaning against him, needing his strength to help her stand, but not wanting to rely on him in any fashion.
“Then you will die. All I know is you have 13 minutes to move your ass or we are all compromised. This is a one-time offer. If I leave without you two, I am not going to look back,” Man said to her.
At the sound of their voices, Rocky came from his bedroom. He was a cute kid with a head full of unruly, curly hair. Confusion registered on his little face at the sight of his struggling mother with the stranger.
“Let my Mamma go!” Rocky yelled taking a defensive karate stand.
“Oh, that is just so cute,” Man remarked. The cuteness wore off when the five-year-old came at him, performing a perfect round house kick to his knee, nearly taking him down. “Ouch, that hurt!”
Man released Shanice, but Rocky was in full blown attack mode. He went at him again and swung his little balled up fists, tiny little toes, and a handful of attitude.
“What do you think you are doing?” Man asked Rocky.
“I’m going to beat your ass for hurting my Mama! That’s what I’m doing!” The boy aimed for his jewels, swung his little fist, and made contact with the man’s inner thigh.
He’d had enough. Time was running out. He grabbed Rocky by both of his arms, pinned them to his side as he lifted the boy in the air to meet him at eye level. Small, dark brown eyes bored into the man’s blue ones as a crinkled little forehead gave Man a stare down. An intensity was present that Man admired. Instantly, he liked the kid.
“What’s your name?”
“Rocky Elloh! Put me down, so I can finish kicking your ass!” He demanded.
It was the cutest thing he’d seen in a long time, but there wasn’t enough time for this. They had to leave and fast.
“Rocky, I am not going to hurt you or your Mama ever, but we have to leave right now. Can you help me out? I need you to go to your room, pick one toy, your favorite pair of shoes, and some underwear, right now okay?”
“NO!” Rocky said and kicked at his stomach.
Man tightened his grip on the boy’s shoulders, loosened it, and put the child down on his feet. He turned his little body towards the bedroom, swatted him on the butt, and pushed him towards the bedroom. “You have two minutes to do as I just told you. Move it now!” He said to Rocky with authority in his v
oice causing the child to frown at him with more attitude. But still, he marched off to his bedroom.
His eyes went to Shanice. He held up his hand. “If you don’t get a move on, you will be next! I will swat your ass until my arm gives out. Go! Now! Pack one change of clothing, your Xanax or any other medications, throw it in a backpack, and we need to be out of this door in less than a minute. Put your emotions in your pocket and trust your gut. But more importantly, I need you to move it now Shanice!”
Rocky came around the corner with a teddy bear, a pair of Transformer underwear with matching socks, and his pillow. Man stuffed the underwear in the pillow case, stepped around the child to enter the room, grabbed sneakers, a light weight jacket, jeans and a tee shirt. Shanice came out of her bedroom looking more pissed than he’d ever seen any woman.
“I can’t just leave. All my stuff, my bank account, my bills...,” she started saying.
He interrupted her. “Nothing in this house is worth more than you and Rocky’s life. You only have $125 in your checking account, one credit card with a $2k limit in Charlie somebody’s name, and roughly $26.79 in savings. Trust me, you will thank me. Let’s go,” he instructed.
Those were the words. Trust. Trust her gut. Hester had said the same thing to her less than 72 hours ago. It still didn’t sit well. She didn’t like it all either. She told him so, but he didn’t seem to notice her words. His attention was focused on Rocky.
In his arms, he carried Rocky as he took the stairs by two and ducked through the shrubbery into the alley, where his car was waiting for them. He secured Rocky in the backseat, asked the boy to lay flat on the seat as he drove them down the alley.
“What about my car?” She asked him.
“Ahhh, I set it on fire,” he said as he drove down Candlestick, made a right on Butcher, then drove up Baker.
She reached over and punched him hard in the arm.
“I had to in order for the burned bodies in it to burn again,” he said flatly, keeping his eye on the road.
Blind Date Page 6
