Lead the Way

by Prince, K. L.

  “You have?”

  “Of course. You’re all that I’ve been thinking about these past few days. You have no idea how many times I’ve wanted to come over. My Aunt Rosa told me to give you space, so I did. You have no idea how many times I got in the car to come here and then stopped myself.”

  “Look Gabriel, I’m really sorry for the way that I treated you. I’m messed up, you know that. I thought that you were using me and I didn’t want to get hurt. I had someone leave me already because of my illness. I just didn’t want to go through that again.”

  “Eva, I’m not the type of guy that plays games. I hate nothing more than a guy that leads a girl on. If I didn’t have feelings for you, I wouldn’t act like I do. I would never do anything to hurt you. You can trust me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Just know that my feelings for you are genuine. Whatever you feel, just come to me and talk to me. Don’t shut me out. It does neither of us any good. We just wasted five days not speaking when we could have dealt with the problem right away.”

  “I know. I promise that in the future I’ll just be upfront and speak with you, instead of running away.”

  “Eva, l just want to hold you. I just want to touch you. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get the chance again, and now that I’m here, I just want to be close to you.”

  He leans down and kisses her gently. Eva stands on her toes to and kisses him back.

  “I’ve missed you,” she says, in between kisses.

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  Gabriel lifts her up and carries her into the bedroom. So many emotions are going through her head. She knows what’s about to happen, but is she ready for it? She is so sick of letting her fears rule her life and ruin it. She decides that whatever happens between her and Gabriel in this moment, she is going to let it. She is going to enjoy this moment and she is going to let Gabriel make love to her.

  “Eva, do you want me to stop?” Gabriel asks, as if he can read her mind or sense apprehension.

  “Don’t stop. I want you to keep going.”

  “Are you sure because we don’t have to do this,” he says, kissing her neck.

  “I want this. Trust me, I want this, more than you know,” she says, running her hands through his hair.

  He looks at her for one last confirmation. She nods her head, giving him the green light. There is no turning back. She doesn’t want to. She wants this experience to happen and she doesn’t care what the consequences are. Gabriel is a good guy and he cares about her. She trusts that when he says he wouldn’t hurt her, he means it.

  She turns her complete attention towards him. She doesn’t want to miss anything. She wants to feel every touch and she wants to be completely present while he takes her body. She wants to forget everything outside of this bedroom for a while. It’s just her, Gabriel, and this moment. It is the first time a man has made love to her in five years and she wants to remember every single minute of it.

  * * * * *

  Ryan’s been sitting outside mystery man’s house for days, waiting. The mystery man hasn’t left for anything. The fact that the mystery man hasn’t left the house for days intrigues Ryan even more. What kind of man doesn’t leave his house for days – not to go to work or to the store? Ryan has been dying to find out what the mystery man has been doing inside those walls.

  Ryan was starting to think that he was never going to leave, until today, when everything finally changed. When the mystery man finally left, the mystery man looked him right in the eye as he drove fast. Ryan thought that he was busted, but when the mystery man kept driving, he breathed a sigh of relief and prepped to break in. His mission? To find out everything he can about Eva’s mystery man. He needs to know how he’s going to use the mystery man for maximum benefit and if this mystery man is going to be a problem for him.

  Breaking in the house is easy. He can thank his youth, growing up on the mean streets, for his break-and-enter skills. Growing up he had been a petty thief and a very good one at that. He’s moved on since then.

  He’s always known that computer’s were the way of the future. From a young age, he’s learned everything that he possibly could about computers. He likes to think of himself as one of the best computer hackers in the world. Being behind prison bars didn’t slow him down one bit. Being a janitor in the jail and cleaning the administrative buildings without much supervision, he had access to a computer whenever he chose.

  He can hack into just about any network or system he wants. If he had any trouble, he would just consult other inmates convicted of computer crimes and problem solved. His skills have allowed him to never be without enough money and he’s been able to keep very close tabs on Eva. She’s never been out of his sight.

  What the computer didn’t tell him was who this mystery man is. He makes his way through the house. He travels through the kitchen, picking up unopened mail on the kitchen table and looking at it. The mail is addressed to a woman. Is this mystery man married and cheating on his wife with Eva?

  He travels down the hallway to the bedroom area. He is hoping that the bedroom will provide some better answers. He passes the first bedroom. It’s clearly a woman’s bedroom with perfume bottles neatly lined up on the dresser and woman’s clothing hanging from hangers in the closet.

  He makes his way to the next bedroom. He notes men’s clothing hanging in the closet and he steps inside. If this mystery man is married, then he and his woman are sleeping in separate bedrooms. It seems odd. He decides that whoever is living inside the home is not married, but possibly relatives or friends.

  He picks up a piece of paper that is lying on the dresser. It has the logo for the Navy on the top. He quickly skims over it. So, our mystery man is named Gabriel Law and he has been officially discharged from the Navy. Ryan smiles to himself. So, the mystery man is a tough guy, and could quite possibly, be a problem for him. He will need to move Gabriel out of the way to get to Eva. Mr. Navy Man is not going to go down without a fight, that he is sure of.

  His thoughts are disturbed by a noise coming from the other room. He freezes to listen. “Gabriel?” a voice calls out. It’s the probably the woman, who’s name is on the mail in the kitchen. He hides behind the bedroom door. If the woman knows what’s best for her, she’ll let it go and not come into the room, because he will not hesitate to harm her.

  “Gabriel, is that you?” she calls out again. Ryan can hear her making her way down the hallway to find the noise she heard. When she gets to Gabriel’s room, she pushes the door open. “Gabriel?” she says again, hobbling into the room on her crutches. When she realizes that there is no one in the room, she turns to leave and makes eye contact with Ryan.

  “Ryan, what are you doing in my house?” she exclaims.

  Ryan doesn’t answer. He hits her in the head with the butt of his pistol. He watches her body go limp and she falls to the floor, her crutches falling on top of her. He doesn’t recognize this woman’s face. How did she know his name?

  He sits on the bed and watches a blood pool form around the woman’s head. He contemplates whether or not to kill this woman. He decides that he will use this moment to his advantage. When this woman regains consciousness, she will tell Eva that he has been around. It will instill fear into not only Eva, but her mystery man, Gabriel.

  It will remind them that he has the upper hand. It will remind precious Eva, that he can get her to at any time and no one in her inner circle is safe. He likes these psychological games. She will know that she is next. She will know that he will be coming soon.

  Chapter 10

  “Morning,” Eva says, walking into the kitchen and rubbing her eyes.

  “Morning,” Gabriel says, in the middle of making scrambled eggs.

  “How long have you been up?” Eva says, kissing him and then taking a seat at the kitchen table.

  “A while,” he says, smiling at her.

  “What time is it… and what are you up to?”

/>   “It’s ten o’clock in the morning and how do you know something is up?”

  “I can tell by the look on your face that you’re up to no good.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it no good, but I do have a surprise for you.”

  “What kind of surprise?”

  “I have to warn you that my surprise will require that you completely vacate this apartment.”

  “I will have to go outside?”

  “You will have to go all the way outside of this apartment, into the car, and to a place where I take you.”

  “Gabriel, I don’t know.”

  “Eva, you can do this. Do it for me.”

  “You know what, fine. I will go along with your surprise for now, but I’m telling you, if there is any moment where I feel uncomfortable, you have to promise that you will bring me home.”

  “I promise. Scout’s honor. Hey, have you talked to Rosa at all?”

  “No, I haven’t. Is something wrong?”

  “I’ve been trying to call her for the past couple of days and she hasn’t returned any of my calls or messages. I find that really strange. She always returns my calls.”

  “That does seem a bit odd. Rosa always returns my calls too. I don’t think there has ever been a time in the past five years where I haven’t been able to get a hold of her. The max that I haven’t been able to get of hold of her, is maybe, a couple of hours.”

  “After we eat, I’m going to go over and check on her. Maybe she’s fallen or something and can’t get to the phone.”

  “I doubt it’s that serious, but better safe than sorry.”

  After they eat breakfast, Gabriel jumps in the shower. He can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong with his Aunt. He wishes that he forgot about the shower and just went over to her house. He gets dressed, kisses Eva goodbye, and gets in his car. He tries to call his Aunt again on the way, but there is still no answer.

  When he pulls up to his Aunt’s house, her car is in the driveway. He doesn’t think that she would be able to drive with her cast, but he wouldn’t put it past her to try. She is a stubborn woman and hates to ask for help. He wouldn’t at all be surprised if he received a call that she had been in an accident trying to drive herself to the store.

  When he gets to the back door, nothing seems out of place. That is until he turns the knob and he realizes that the door isn’t locked. His Aunt wouldn’t leave the door unlocked. He rushes inside.

  “Aunt Rosa?” He doesn’t get an answer.

  He begins to work his way through the house, calling her name and getting no answer. He starts to convince himself that maybe his Aunt had someone pick her up and take her out. He has been gone for a couple of days and maybe she needed something from the grocery store. The panic he initially felt starts to disappear.

  He decides that he will wait around a while for Rosa to get back, and while he waits, he will get some clothes to bring back to Eva’s. Before he gets to his bedroom door, something on the floor catches his eye. He’s not sure what he’s seeing until he gets closer. Finally, what he sees, registers. It’s blood. He rushes into the room to find Rosa on the floor.

  “Aunt Rosa,” he says, frantically. He checks for a pulse. He is able to find one, but it’s weak. His Aunt’s breathing is shallow. He frantically dials 9-11. “Rosa, it’s going to be okay. Help is on the way.”

  He waits for the ambulance, staring at his Aunt in disbelieve. Who would want to

  hurt his Aunt? Was it a robbery gone wrong? Why is she in his room? So many questions run through his mind. He’s just thankful that his Aunt is still alive. If he had waited much longer to check on her, he may have found her dead. She’s in rough shape.

  “Hold on Aunt Rosa,” he says, over and over.

  It seems like an eternity before the paramedics arrive. He watches in shock, as they load his Aunt onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. He asks them over and over, if she is will be okay, but they can’t give him any answers. He knows they aren’t being dishonest with him. He knows that they can’t possibly know the answers to his questions.

  He follows behind the ambulance to the hospital. They rush his Aunt in to have

  emergency brain surgery. The police are waiting for him when he gets to the hospital.

  “Hello. I’m Officer Williams, we need to ask you some questions about your

  Aunt,” the officer says, shaking Gabriel’s hand.

  “Sure. I don’t have much to tell you. I came home to check on my Aunt because she hadn’t been returning my phone calls. I found her lying on the floor, bleeding. That’s all I really know.”

  “Did you happen to notice if anything was missing?”

  “No, but I didn’t really look. The back door was unlocked. I remember thinking that was strange, because my Aunt would never leave the door unlocked.”

  “Did you Aunt say anything to you when you found her?”

  “No, she didn’t say anything. I tried to talk to her, but she was unconscious.”

  “Does the name Ryan mean anything to you?”

  “Ryan?”

  “You’re Aunt kept saying the name Ryan in the ambulance. Does that mean anything to you?”

  “Actually, it does. My girlfriend was attacked five years ago by a guy named Ryan Collins. He just recently got out of jail. My girlfriend was warned that he might try to come after her. Do you think that it could be the same Ryan?”

  “It’s possible. We wouldn’t rule it out at this point.”

  “I don’t understand how he would know about my Aunt, unless he’s been watching me or following me. My Aunt works for my girlfriend, but she broke her leg and hasn’t been over to the apartment in weeks. He couldn’t possibly have known where my Aunt lived, unless he’s been following me. Holy shit, I have to call my girlfriend.”

  “Mr. Law, I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. You’re Aunt sustained a very serious head injury, so anything she says we have to take with a grain of salt. What she was saying might be accurate, but we can’t possibly know for sure with the level of impairment that comes along with head injuries.”

  “I understand that, but you are going to investigate, right?”

  “Of course. Is there anything else you remember or want to tell us?”

  “Not that I can think of.”

  “Thanks for your time, Mr. Law. We will be in touch.”

  “Thanks, Officer.”

  * * * * *

  Eva sits on the living room couch. She’s all dressed up and ready to go. She wonders where Gabriel is. He’s supposed to have some sort of surprise for her. She’s been trying to call him, but his cell phone has been off.

  Before he left, he told her to be ready by eight o’clock. She wasn’t going to get ready, when Gabriel didn’t answer her calls, but she decided that it wouldn’t hurt anything if she did. If Gabriel doesn’t show up, she’ll simply just get undressed. She’s sure that there is a reasonable explanation why he’s gone M.I.A.

  When the clock hits eight-thirty, Eva decides that Gabriel is going to be a no-show. She kicks off her heels and is about to get off the couch and change into something more comfortable, when Gabriel comes rushing through the door. She is shocked at his appearance. He looks disheveled.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. Something terrible happened and I wasn’t able to get away.”

  “Gabriel, you’ve been gone for like eight hours. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “Well, that didn’t work. I was worried. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Listen, I’ve been planning this surprise for you for days. Once we get where we’re going, I’ll tell you everything.”

  “Gabriel, you look terrible. What happened when you went to check on Rosa?”

  “I promise I will explain everything. Put your shoes on and let’s go. I’ve got people waiting.”

  “Okay,” she replies, reluctantly putting her shoes back on.

  Eva is so worried about Gabriel t
hat she hardly notices leaving the apartment building and getting into his car. The look on Gabriel’s face and his lack of communication scares her more than anything else. Her agoraphobia is the last thing on her mind.

  When they pull up to the beach, she is surprised. She thought he would be taking her to some fancy restaurant. “What are we doing at the beach?”

  “I told you it’s a surprise. Put this on,” he says, giving her a blindfold.

  She puts it on. She just wants to get to the part where he explains to her what is going on. She doesn’t like all the mystery and secrecy. She wants to hear the truth and she wants to hear it right now.

  She listens as Gabriel gets out of the car and then opens her door. He helps her

  out of the car. After a few feet of walking, she feels her heels digging in the sand.

  “Gabriel, where are we going? I know we’re at the beach, but it’s the middle of winter.”

  “We’re almost there,” he says, continuing to lead her to their destination. He leads her up a couple of steps and suddenly she feels warmth on her face.

  “Can I take my blindfold off now?”

  “Yes,” he says.

  When she takes off her blindfold, she is definitely surprised. They are in a gazebo. There are candles set up and soft music plays. There are plates of food and glasses of what appears to be champagne. A heater in the corner pumps out heat, keeping the place toasty warm.

  “Gabriel, what is this?”

  “I wanted to take you out, but I wanted it to be somewhere private. I thought a crowd with a lot of people would overwhelm you, so I came up with this place. I hired some people to set it up and prepare the food for us. Do you like it?”

  “Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful. What you’ve done is so thoughtful,” she says, looking at him, wishing that he didn’t looked so worried and stressed out.

  “Let’s sit down,” he says, helping her take her coat off.

  “Look Gabriel, I appreciate all of this, but I really need you to tell me what is going on.”