Surrender

by Angela Ford

  “Call me Brett please,” he said in a tired raspy voice. He watched her move elegantly across the room.

  “Already on a first-name basis, are we?” She said and helped herself to a coffee. She turned and took a sip. “You may call me Lauren.”

  “Can’t sleep?” He tried to keep their conversation general. He wanted to change the subject and take his mind away from the thoughts that raced through it. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking of her that way. She was an assignment and had been the wife of the man who had been like a brother to him in college. A man they just buried hours before.

  She shook her head and then joined him at the table. “I tried to sleep.” She looked around.

  “John and I bought this house two weeks before our wedding. Our first night here was our wedding night and the last night he made love to me in this house. He became distant after our honeymoon in Mexico.”

  Brett sat quietly and listened. The sadness he seen in her eyes and her recent words made him question if it had been a loveless marriage. Then he wondered if John had confronted Nick Mendez in Mexico and told him he wanted out of their business deal.

  Lauren suddenly rose from the table and began to walk out of the kitchen. She turned to him.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get personal.” She smiled politely.

  “That’s okay, Lauren. I’m a good listener.”

  Brett pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for her to sit. She hesitated for a moment and then joined him. He began to pick up the papers and put them back in the folder.

  Lauren picked up a picture. “Who’s this?”

  “Nobody” He quickly grabbed the picture and placed it in the folder. She didn’t question his hasty response when she noticed John’s picture. He saw tears form in her eyes. Brett didn’t grab the picture this time. His heart went out to her. She remained quiet as she looked at the picture of her recently-deceased husband.

  “Do you recognize the man with John?” Brett quickly changed his focus back to the case.

  Lauren shook her head. Her eyes hadn’t left the picture.

  “The man in the picture with John is Nick Mendez. He is known to run the drug cartel operation out of New York from Mexico. I’ve tracked him for three years. This is the man who would have assigned a hit for your husband and you,” Brett told her point-blank. He didn’t know how else to tell her. There wasn’t time to gently break the news. He could tell his words frightened her by the look in her eyes.

  “This can’t be true. John is…was a decent man.” She began to speak but the tears took over.

  Brett reached out and covered her hand. It killed him to admit that the man who’d been like a brother to him had been caught up in this tangled mess. He hadn’t accepted it in the beginning either until he dug a little deeper into John’s financial records. He remembered John’s determination in college. John spoke of building his own successful business. Brett knew John’s brilliant mind first-hand. That’s how they met. Brett needed a tutor and John saved his ass from being expelled from college. Brett’s determination to stay in college and not live off his trust fund forced him to go to John. Then they became friends. John, on the other hand, didn’t have that choice. He grew up in foster homes.

  “I’m not saying your husband wasn’t a decent man. His financial records show a fall about two years ago. The Mendez family are known to prey on opportunities like this. They probably approached your husband.” Brett tried to comfort her. He imagined it to be a lot to digest at a most difficult time.

  “I thought I knew my husband. I was wrong. Guess you never really know someone,” Lauren sadly remarked.

  The expression in her eyes grabbed his heart. He didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to tell her he personally knew John had been a decent man when he knew him, but he couldn’t.

  “You know,” Lauren said and looked into Brett’s eyes. “My father didn’t approve of John in the beginning. He said six months wasn’t long enough to really know someone before you marry them. My father said this only because John didn’t come from old money. Maybe I should have listened to him but I thought I fell in love and listened to my heart.” Lauren sighed and took a deep breath.

  Brett knew exactly what she meant. Her father sounded like his. He chuckled silently as he heard his father’s words in his mind. Old money does not mix well with new money. We need to remain in our own circle.

  “You were only married a few months?” Brett inquired.

  “Yes. We married six months after we met. I thought I knew everything about John I needed to know,” Lauren responded.

  “John tried to get out of his contract with the Mendez family for that exact length of time. I believe he wanted to be a decent husband but one can’t walk away from the Mendez family without consequences.” Brett knew this information would not comfort her but he felt she had a right to know about John’s intent. He just made the wrong choice to get involved with the drug cartel to save his business.

  “That’s why they killed him?” Lauren asked.

  “I hoped my husband loved me more than his business. My father never did. His company always came before my mother and me.”

  Brett nodded. Her words saddened him. He remembered how his father’s wishes mattered more than what Brett wanted.

  Lauren picked up the picture again of John and that man outside John’s warehouse. She turned to Brett with a horrified look.

  “I remember when we were on our honeymoon in Mexico, John left me for a day. He said he had business in a nearby town. Maybe he met with this man.”

  Lauren waved the picture in her hand.

  “Maybe that’s why he became distant. I thought it might be me or the fact that he’d become so pre-occupied accepting my father’s partnership offer and selling the warehouse.”

  Lauren placed the picture on top of Brett’s folder, “It doesn’t matter now”.

  “Why me” she asked. “Why do you believe they want to kill me?”

  “They’re only concerned that you may know about them. That’s all. To them it’s just business.”

  Lauren seemed to swallow those words hard. She stood and walked toward the patio doors then stared into the darkened sky for a few moments. Brett sat quietly and watched her until he noticed a reflection outside. He quickly sprang up from the table. His chair knocked over as he leaped for Lauren. The bullet pierced through the glass door and just missed her. Brett had taken her down hard and covered her body with his. Silence remained in the room for a few moments before Brett spoke.

  “Are you hurt?” He asked. She shook uncontrollably in silence, “No.”

  “Stay low and move slowly around the corner between the cabinets.” Brett sat with his back against the cabinets and reached for his gun. He peeked around the corner slowly. He saw nothing but darkness beyond the patio doors. He moved suddenly toward the table and stayed behind it. There wasn’t a sound and nothing but darkness outside. He reached up to flip the light switch off and hoped for a better look through the glass doors into the backyard. Still, he saw nothing. Brett moved along the back wall until he reached the patio doors. He slowly drew the blinds to cover the open glass and went to Lauren. She shook behind the cabinets with a look of terror in her eyes. He reached out for her hand. “It’s safe now. Come with me.”

  She took his hand. “Where are we going?”

  “It isn’t safe to stay here. Trust me. I will keep you alive.” His voice remained calm. She nodded.

  ****

  Lauren didn’t say a word and drifted to sleep in the car. When she awoke, it was still dark outside. Brett never said where they were headed. It appeared he drove toward the coast and south. For some odd reason she trusted this man she’d just met. She looked over at him. He looked exhausted.

  Why is this man
going out of his way to protect me? She thought.

  “Are you not tired? Where are we going?” she finally asked.

  “I am and where you will be safe. We’ll stop soon and get some rest,” he answered without taking his eyes off the road. A few miles later, he pulled into a rundown motel next to the road.

  “Why are we stopping here?” Lauren asked him.

  He put the car in Park and turned off the ignition, then turned to her. “I just told you we need to rest.” He sounded beyond exhaustion.

  “But why here?” She asked him. Lauren Reynolds had never stayed at a motel in her life. She had been used to luxury her entire life. He had been in her house. He had probably searched her financial records as well as her husband’s. She figured he must know she deserved better than this.

  “Sorry, it’s not the Ritz, but it will have to do.” He laughed.

  His laugh only infuriated her more. She slammed the car door shut and stormed toward the motel entrance. Why do I trust this man? She wondered.

  Brett locked the car. He looked around before he entered the motel. She figured he was checking to see if they’d been followed. Irritated with him, Lauren folded her arms and waited for him to check in. He took the key and thanked the frail old man who sat at the front desk.

  “Follow me,” Brett told her.

  She felt frustrated that he had completely ignored her attitude about his decision to stay at a motel.

  “Fix this air conditioner,” she demanded.

  He turned the switch for the air conditioner and it came off in his hand. He laughed and handed it to her. “Guess you will have to open a window.”

  “Do you know what the humidity factor is out there?” Lauren screamed. The past week had been unusually humid for late September. The weather called for a warmer October than usual as well.

  Brett shrugged. “Hot?”

  His sarcasm only ignited her temper. She stormed past him and slammed the bathroom door.

  “Hot-tempered snob,” Brett announced. He knocked on the door. “I’m sorry this place is a dive. I need a shower and a few hours of sleep. I promise the next place will be better.”

  Lauren opened the door. “And where is that Agent Donovan?” She asked.

  “Ocean City”

  “What the hell is in Ocean City?”

  “My place”

  “Bathroom is all yours.” Exhausted and hot, she didn’t care to argue with him anymore. She hoped his place wasn’t a one-room bachelor apartment that required a torch rather than a cleaning, or she’d call her father.

  Lauren looked at the motel bed and wondered if it would be clean enough to sleep on. She broke down and tears streamed down her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if the tears were for John, the supposed hit or both. Beyond exhaustion, she’d cried for days and hadn’t slept well. Then Agent Donovan knocked on her door and now she was stuck in a hot, dingy motel. She heard the shower stop and regained her composure. Her mother taught her to cry in private.

  She felt shocked when he opened the door naked. The steam from the bathroom poured out around him and into the room. “Have you no decency?” She snapped at him. It didn’t seem to bother him to be naked in front of her.

  He smiled. “Forgot my bag” He walked past her.

  She knew she should turn around, but she swallowed hard as she watched his bare ass when he walked across the room. He definitely kept his body toned. As quickly as that thought crossed her mind, she tried to block it. Minutes before, she’d been in tears for her husband. Why do I keep thinking of him this way? This man infuriates me.

  “Sorry, does this bother you?” He tossed the bag on the bed and unzipped it, inches away from her. This man definitely has a big ego.

  “No, prance around naked all night if you want. It’s definitely too hot in here for clothes.”

  He laughed at her comment and threw the sarcasm back at her. “Feel free to do the same.” Lauren gave him a smug look and he laughed louder.

  “You need to relax. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re very uptight,” Brett informed her.

  “I have every right to be uptight. My husband just died. Someone wants me dead. You’re parading around naked. I’m stuck in a dingy motel room—with no air conditioning I might add.”

  “There’s only one way to shut you up.” Brett smiled and took her in his arms quickly and kissed her.

  Lauren took a step back and looked at him. She wasn’t sure whether to slap him or kiss him. An inevitable desire to kiss him answered for her. Her hands touched his chest. She felt his heart pound. He hadn’t yet dressed. She felt his arousal against her. His lips parted. His fresh-showered scent drove her senses wild. Nothing else mattered at this moment. Desire overcame her as she met his inviting kiss. His lips brushed against hers as the thought of danger left her thoughts. The fact she’d just buried her husband no longer registered. She opened her mouth to deepen his kiss and the outside world disappeared. She stepped back toward the bed. He followed her lead without letting go of the kiss. A tangled mess led to tangled sheets as they devoured every inch of each other’s bodies.

  Chapter Three

  The sun’s rays peaked through the ripped curtains in the motel room and Lauren opened her eyes. She felt rested for the first time in days. She remembered what happened and the smile left her face. She turned to see Brett and reality hit her hard. It had happened. What was I thinking? Guilt suddenly set in. She hadn’t cheated on her husband, since he was dead, but she still felt as though she had. She snuck out of the bed quietly. She needed a shower. She thought about Brett in the shower which only added to her guilt. The man irritated her. He wasn’t from her world. He’d taken her to a motel not to her liking. But then he made passionate love to her. No man had ever made her feel the way he had, not even John. She’d loved her husband and had no complaints. Brett was different. Something dark about him intrigued her. One thing she knew for certain, he definitely knew what to do in the bedroom.

  “Lauren! We have to go, now!” Brett’s voice and loud knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Still wet, she opened the door to find Brett with his back up against the wall by the window and gun in hand.

  “What the hell is going on?” Lauren stormed across the room.

  Brett grabbed her with one hand and brought her back quickly beside him. “Stay away from the window,” he demanded.

  His tone scared her. “Don’t tell me that man tracked us here.” Her lip quivered. She wondered if she was scared or cold because she stood naked and wet from the shower.

  Brett must have seen the horror in her eyes. “I’m not sure. Someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole and saw two men. They didn’t appear to be motel staff, so I ignored the knock. They’ve been knocking on every door. My gut tells me we need to move fast.”

  “Do you think they followed us to the motel?

  “I feel certain someone did”.

  She shook as she got dressed and gathered her belongings without another word.

  Brett stopped her as she reached for the door handle. “We have to go out the back.”

  “What back door?”

  “The bathroom window” Brett grabbed their bags and led her by the hand to the bathroom.

  “You want me to climb through that window?” She pointed to the small window.

  “Yes and do it quickly,” he snapped at her.

  Without another word, she climbed through the window. Brett tossed the bags out the window first and then hoisted himself up and through. She wondered if he always lived like this. It didn’t seem to bother him in the least. It appeared he embraced danger. At least he offered to carry her bag. She thought back to the night before. Both pleasure and guilt entered her
mind. Those thoughts ended quickly when she heard him announce they had to walk about two miles through the woods.

  “In these shoes?” she barked at him.

  “You can always go back to the men who want you dead,” he offered and began to walk toward the woods. Lauren grunted aloud but followed him. Anger set in and she walked quickly past him. “I wouldn’t walk so fast in those, it’s going to be a long walk,” Brett called out to her.

  She just ignored him and didn’t look back. She’d reached the edge of the woods when she heard a noise from behind. She turned to see Brett swinging their bags at a man.

  “Run!” Brett yelled at her.

  Lauren ran between the trees and didn’t look back. She could easily get around the streets of New York, but not in the woods. She hoped she ran in the right direction. It was one thing to shop all day in heels, but to run in them was another story. She ran until she couldn’t and hid behind a tree. She shook in fear and tried to control her breathing. She began to pray and then wondered if it would help. Within minutes, she heard Brett’s voice call out her name. She moved slowly around the edge of the tree and saw him. She ran into his embrace with great relief. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. The comfort of his arms calmed her enough to release from his hold.

  “It’s safe now,” Brett touched her face gently and smiled.

  “You keep saying that. Can this be the last time?” A tear crept down along her cheek and he wiped it away.