Strength of Love

by D. Anne Paris

  Elle took hold of it. His shake was strong but not strong enough to break her hand in two. "Miranda Jones, stranded motorist."

  "Well, Ms. Jones, I am sorry about your being stranded, but I assure you this is the best town to be in." He released her hand and shoved his hands in his pant pockets. "I'm sure our mechanic Roy will be able to fix your car."

  "My car was stolen."

  "Oh, well that's something he can't fix." He frowned. "I'm sure the sheriff will make sure all law enforcement in the area will be on the lookout for your car."

  Elle looked at his chocolate brown eyes. "Yes, I hope they find it soon."

  "Where were you headed?" When he leaned against the Sheriff's desk, she shot him a look of disgust. He didn't seem to care.

  "Black Mountains."

  "Oh, well, I don't mind driving you out there if you can wait until the weekend."

  Elle stopped herself from getting too excited. Sounded like too much of a coincidence that he, of all people, would be going to the mountains. The golf course, yes, rugged mountains, no. "It's such a far drive. I was going to see if maybe I could get a rental in the next town over," she lied.

  He waved it off. "Rental car? Come on! I'll be using the same amount of gas whether you are with me or not. I was planning on going hiking out there and was going to stay at my friend's cabin."

  "I don't want to ruin your trip..."

  "Ruin it? How? I'll actually enjoy the company. It's a pretty lonely drive if you don't have anyone to talk to."

  "But I don't have enough money."

  He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'll just add it to my good deed list." He smiled. "I'm on my way to the office, but I can take you to the guest house so you can wash up and maybe take a nap. You look a bit tired."

  Elle sighed. This guy wouldn't take no for an answer. And, yes, she was very tired and she was having a hard time staying awake. She stopped at the diner past midnight. With her car getting stolen and filling out reports she hadn't slept a wink. The bright rays of the sun peeked through the windows of the small station and reminded her it was morning.

  Maybe she’d think more clearly after a nap?

  “Thank you for the offer Edward, but I’d like to stay here for now.”

  He looked disappointed but then quickly shrugged it off. “I understand. If you change your mind the Sheriff knows how to reach me.”

  Elle nodded and shook his hand before he walked out the door.

  Elle turned back to the sheriff. “If you don’t mind, Sheriff, I’m really exhausted and would love to take a nap.”

  “Sure, we have a cell that’s open that you can use.” She got up from her chair and headed out of her office.

  Elle took her coat and purse and followed, hoping her luck will change.

  Chapter 21

  "This doesn't look right," Tiny muttered next to Keith as they sat in his Jeep hidden behind some shrubs. They watched the house diagonally across from them. According to Daniel, Elle's car was inside the garage. They’d gotten there in record time and miraculously hadn't been caught speeding. Tiny was sure Keith was relieved to be off the highway with him. He noticed on more than one occasion that Keith gripped the door handle so hard he had white knuckles.

  "We have to assume these guys have some connection with the Agency," Keith replied, studying the house through his binoculars.

  "But why would they just take Elle? Why not all of us?"

  "Maybe they caught her when she went out shopping."

  "I'm never letting her go anywhere by herself," Tiny muttered.

  Keith lowered the binoculars and shot him a questioning look. "She is an adult, Tiny, and last I heard the two of you weren't married."

  "Not yet."

  Keith's eyebrows shot up. "Not yet? Did I just hear you correctly?"

  Tiny rubbed his hand across his face. "Yeah."

  "Ok, who the hell are you and where is the real Tiny?" Keith mocked. He brought the binoculars back up and studied he house again.

  "I've changed. No, she changed me," he admitted to Keith as he leaned against the steering wheel and peered at the house. At least his wounds had healed, and he could put pressure against his chest again without screaming like a soprano.

  Keith laughed. "Never thought I'd see the day your ass would decide to settle down with one woman."

  Tiny leaned back against the seat. "Can't we just run in there and storm them?"

  "You are not thinking with your head, Tiny. You know we assess, formulate a plan and then implement it."

  "It's taking too long. Look, there are only two cars on the driveway. So at most there would be 10 people. We've fought against bigger groups."

  Keith brought down the binoculars and gave him a cold look. "Tiny, I know how you feel. If it were Jeri instead of Elle I'd be going crazy, too, but I would tell myself to calm the fuck down and figure out the right extraction plan. We can't go in there with guns blazing. There could be civilians."

  Tiny's cell phone buzzed and he looked down. There was a text from Daniel.

  Couldn't find link to Agency for this address. Did find bunch of criminal records- robbery, larceny, car jacking, list goes on.

  "Car jacking?" What if Elle was car jacked and they left her on the side of the road somewhere?

  "What?" Keith asked.

  Tiny showed him the message. Keith frowned. "Shit. So we're dealing with some criminals not the Agency."

  "We have to go in, Keith. What if they car-jacked her and left her stranded on the road somewhere?"

  Keith sighed and stared ahead. Tiny knew the look. He was contemplating what to do, looking at both the benefits and consequences. It was also mid-day, so if they stormed in it would be in broad daylight. If Keith wasn't there Tiny would have stormed in and beaten the information out of whoever was there. Images of Elle laying in a pool of blood popped into his mind, making his heart race.

  "We'll have to wait until nightfall." Keith grabbed the binoculars and peered through them.

  "Are you fucking kidding!?" Tiny yelled, more fear gripping him with every passing minute. "We have to go in now! Elle could be half dead somewhere .If we don't find her now she might be dead by the time we get to her."

  "Calm the fuck down, Tiny!" Keith slammed the binoculars on the dashboard.

  "You can't order me around anymore, Brinks!" Tiny spat back as the pool of blood in the horror picture of his mind got bigger. "I'm going in, with or without you, and I don't fuckin care what you think!"

  He pushed open the car door as Keith yelled at him to come back into the car. He slammed it and trotted toward the house. The street was deserted, so he was able to cross it right away. He pulled down his hood on his jacket and walked by the side of the garage. There were voices coming from inside it. This was his chance. He knocked on the side door. The voices all muted and the door did not budge. Something was going on. He knocked again. No answer. This shit was getting old. He wrapped his hand around the knob, fury filled him and he put pressure on it. The knob fell apart in his hands and he smiled. His powers were back in full force. These fuckers were toast. He pushed the door open and stood behind the door frame.

  "Hello?" he added a drawl to his voice to make him unidentifiable. "Anyone here?" The fluorescent lights illuminated the garage and he glanced through it. It was a three car garage, but it was long enough to accommodate up to six vehicles. Six cars filled the whole garage, some of them parted out. Others were still intact. A row of stacked tires stood by the door, which was perfect for Tiny to hide behind. He crouched down and quietly moved behind them and waited. As much as he wanted to pound the assholes, he also didn't want to have welts from any shots they would fire at him. Plus, he wasn't sure if all his powers were back yet, so he wasn't going to test them now.

  A few minutes went by and he started to hear some shuffling in the back.

  "Think he's gone?" a male voice asked.

  "Think so," another one answered.

  "I told you to lock the fucking
door!" a different voice rang out.

  "I did! I swear!"

  "Well, go and fucking lock it now!"

  Someone began shuffling to the front. Tiny pulled out his gun and waited. The man ran right into Tiny and reached into his pocket. Tiny was faster and moved behind him and took hold of him in a headlock, gun pointed against the man's throat.

  "I just want to talk," he said with a smile. Not that the guy could see it.

  "What the fuck!?" The other men in the garage screamed and ran to the other door. They opened it to reveal Keith standing with his gun pointed at them.

  "Where you going?" he mocked them. The younger man pulled out his gun and Keith shot his hand, making him scream and grab it as it oozed blood.

  "Anyone else want to eat bullets?" he asked the remaining two men, who became pale. "Sit down against the wall." Keith motioned to the back wall, which was on his left. The men shuffled over to the wall, never taking their eyes off of Keith. Tiny dragged his hostage towards them and pushed him against the wall so hard the man left a dent and then collapsed on the floor and rolled in pain.

  "Who the hell are you?" a tattooed man with a red shirt asked.

  Tiny flung his fist above the man's head, right through the wall, and ripped a chunk of it out.

  "We ask the questions. You give us answers," Keith blankly told them.

  "The fuck we will," the young punk with the bloodied hand spat back at him.

  Keith grabbed his hair and pulled his head up until he was staring at him. Tiny could see the guy's pupils dilate until they were pitch black. Keith was using his powers on him. "Where did you get the white coupe?"

  "I didn't bring it in, Martin did," he flatly told him.

  "Which one is Martin?"

  He pointed to the man on the ground who was slowly starting to get up.

  Tiny grabbed him by his blue shirt and crushed him against the wall. "Where did you get it?" Anger flowed in his veins. He willed himself to calm down.

  "Fuck you!" the punk screamed back at him and spat in his face.

  Tiny's fist flew above his head and missed by an inch but brought down another big chunk of wall.

  The man started to shake, and Tiny felt Keith next to him. He took the man and made him face Keith.

  His shaky breathing stilled and his whole body stiffened. Tiny never had the experience of being under Keith's powers, so he never really knew what happened to a person who was under his persuasive skills.

  "Where did you get the white coupe?" Keith repeated the question.

  "At a diner in Wyoming."

  "Did you car-jack it?"

  "No, it was in the parking lot. I just stole it."

  "Where is the location of this diner?" Keith continued.

  "On U.S. Hwy 26 outside of Orin."

  The man began to shake again and Tiny threw him against the wall, denting another portion of it.

  He walked over and grabbed an extension cord. He and Keith herded the men together and wrapped the cord around them tightly. Tiny walked over to Elle's car, which was still intact and was parked close to the door. He went around to the front of the garage door and saw the two cars parked in front. He stormed over to the first one and pushed it right into the second one, crushing both of them. He pushed them again and again until there was room to back out Elle's car. He grabbed a two by four piece of wood then bent down and pulled the garage door up, breaking the opener and springs. He propped the wood stud under it to keep the door from closing.

  He strode back to Elle's car and opened the door. Inside he saw some wires dangling under the dash and there was a button wired to them. He pressed the button and the car started. He'd make sure he got that fixed for her. He closed the door behind him and reversed the car out and drove away. Keith soon followed behind him in his Jeep. Tiny pulled out his phone and brought out the GPS and punched in the information he had. They'd get there by nightfall. Hopefully they would find Elle there unharmed. If she was hurt though, he'd come back for these bastards and he'd make sure they would never walk straight again.

  Chapter 22

  "Thanks again for taking me out to dinner, Edward." Elle walked down the cobblestone path towards the guest cottage. Staying at the police station turned out to be a very bad idea. The cell the sheriff let her nap in was the most foul smelling disguising room she ever been in. After ten minutes she was gagging. She bolted out of there and decided to take her chances with the mayor’s guest house.

  The sheriff gladly went with her to the house and stayed until Elle felt comfortable enough to be alone. She was also given the key which opened all the locks to the house so she felt fairly safe. On top of that she checked to make sure all the windows unlocked and opened easily in case she needed to make an escape. She didn’t want to chance anything.

  Edward stopped by later in the day and insisted she go to dinner with him. She was hesitant at first to take him up on his offer but she was hungry and the cottage fridge only had water and beer. So she took a chance, figuring if they were out in public she would be safe. Edward was quite an interesting man. Even though he was the mayor of the town, he had a couple of side businesses he was trying to get off the ground. One business hired out caregivers to seniors’ homes. He’d gotten the idea from taking care of his own father, who needed assistance. When Elle shared some of the experience she had he listened intently and even took some notes on his cell phone. It was nice to have someone interested in hearing about her job and her experience. It was also nice to be taken out to dinner. She couldn't even remember the last time she went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. Sure, she and Christina would sometimes stop off at some casual restaurants, but none were as fancy as the one he took her to.

  "I take it you enjoyed the food. You seemed to devour it," he commented as they walked down the path to the guest cabin.

  Elle felt a little embarrassed. Everything tasted so good she couldn't help but inhale it. That included appetizers and dessert.

  "It was really good food. I meant it when I told the waitress to tell the chef that everything was excellent."

  Edward jogged in front of her to unlock the door. "Would you like to go out tomorrow night, too?" He opened the door and she walked past him inside.

  "It sounds nice, but you've really done too much for me already. I can run to the store and get some frozen dinners."

  He closed the door behind him. "Don't worry about it. I miss having the company, and I love our conversations."

  Elle shook off her coat and placed it on the loveseat. "I do enjoy our conversations."

  Edward walked over and leaned against the loveseat. "Then it's a date. Tomorrow night, same time." He turned around and headed towards the door.

  Elle's stomach formed a knot at the word 'date'. "Uh, Edward?"

  He stopped and turned back around to face her. "Yes?"

  Elle felt her cheeks redden. "Let's just call it dinner."

  He frowned and looked sheepishly away. "I'm sorry. I didn't..." He looked back up at her. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

  Elle stopped. Tiny had made it very clear to her that loved her and wanted to be with her, but did she love him back? A part of her missed him, but that wasn't necessarily love, was it?

  Her silence made Edward uncomfortable. He opened the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." He gently closed the door behind him. Elle slumped on the couch and cradled her head.

  Why was she so unsure about Tiny? Her heart always felt different when he was around her nothing like she experienced before, but was it love? Life would have been a whole lot easier if there was an emotion dictionary she could use to sort out what she was feeling.

  A loud bang made her jump from her chair. She lunged towards the door and opened it. The sliver of the moon cast a glowing light enough for her to see Edward laying a few feet away, holding onto his side. A woman hovered by his side, pointing a still smoking gun.

  "You shot me, Kara! What the hell?"

  "That's for divorcing me, you bastard!"r />
  "You cheated on me!"

  "You ruined my life! No one will hire me or talk to me in this town! I had to move my whole life away from here!"

  Edward's head started to tilt backwards. "That's nothing compared to how much your cheating hurt me."

  Elle switched into nursing mode and rushed over to him.

  Kara pointed the gun at her. "Oh, is this my replacement?"

  Elle lifted her hands to show she was unarmed. "I'm just a friend, and I'm a nurse."

  "A friend? Ha! I don't believe it, and he doesn't need a nurse. He needs an undertaker." She pointed the gun back at Edward. The flash of the gun went off and Elle tackled Kara and placed her hands on her face and pushed the force of her power on her. Her eyes widened and her mouth moved, but nothing emitted for a couple seconds. Then she started to scream out alien words and flung her arms. Elle caught one of her arms, but the other one with the gun hit Elle in the head. The whole world turned dark.

  Chapter 23

  Tiny gently closed the door to Elle's car, even though he was fuming and angry. The soft rays of morning light peeked through the clouds. It had taken them all night to get to the diner.

  "Surprised you didn't slam the door and break it." Keith caught up with him, and they headed into the diner.

  "Damn, fucking bees!" he swore as they walked through the parking lot.

  "You'll have another great story to tell when we come back." Keith kept pace with him to the door.

  "Being stuck on the expressway because of an over-turned truck full of bees is not a good story." When they reached the door he pulled it open. "I couldn't do anything. If it had been cows, pigs or even chickens then I could have at least herded them back into the truck!"

  Keith followed him up to the counter.

  An older woman walked up to them with a pad of paper and pen. "What can I get you gentleman?"

  "We need some information," Keith told her.

  Tiny pulled out his phone with Elle's picture. "Have you seen this woman?"

  She reached over and took the phone to get a better luck. "No, haven't seen her."