by Dale Mayer
About anything. It was the only way.
She and her father had never seen eye to eye. When she was home, she was busy doing private tutoring of some kind in her students’ homes. It was a way to fill her hours, get away from her Father, and make some spending money. He hadn’t wanted her to go into the military. But she’d succeeded despite him. And she had been happy there for a while.
But that had blown up too. As she swallowed the last bite of baked potato, she realized she couldn’t eat any more. She set down her knife and fork and leaned back in her chair. “Oh, my God! I ate so much food.”
“Good. Your body needed it.”
And she realized she’d eaten twice as fast as he had. He still had vegetables and half a steak left. She winced. “Right now my mother would chastise me for my poor manners.”
He raised his blue eyes and shook his head. “No judgment here. When you’re hungry, the best thing you can do is eat.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “Are you staying at Richard’s house?”
He nodded. “I am, and a spare room is there for you if you want it.”
She shook her head. “Better not.” With that reminder she glanced around, making her once again wary.
“You can’t keep running. One day you’ll either get caught or run out of energy.”
“Well, neither of those things will happen today.” She watched as he kept eating. Eating this big meal had made her tired. One of the things about running was it was hard to rest. She was forever afraid somebody would catch up to her.
“You could tell me who you are running from.” He put a bite of steak in his mouth and waited. When he could talk again, he said, “You might be surprised at the resources Levi and the company have. It doesn’t matter where you go, you’ll be protected.”
“Maybe not.”
“We’ve dealt with some pretty hard cases—shaken up a lot of brass in both military and law enforcement.”
“Good for you. But it doesn’t apply to me.”
“Right.” He went back to eating.
She settled into her seat a little deeper. “I just want to go to bed now,” she whispered. “That’s the problem with eating a big meal like that. I need a digestive nap.”
“Once we get outside, the pressure will revive you.”
“How are you getting to Richard’s house?”
“I can either call for my guys to come get me, or I can take a cab.”
She frowned at him. “Cabs are expensive.”
“Life is expensive.” He put the last bite of steak in his mouth and set his knife and fork on the platter. “I’m really glad you came here with me. That was excellent.”
She got nervous because now he would ask for something else. One way or the other, guys always did. She knew this ahead of time, but she wasn’t sure how the hell she would get out of it now. “Thank you very much for dinner,” she said as she started to rise.
“Sit down,” he said, his voice soft. Dangerously soft.
She slammed into her seat and glared at him. “You’ve got no right to keep me here.”
“No, I don’t, but some men just walked in the front door. And one of them looks like the guy you threw coffee on.”
And she realized he wasn’t angry at her. Once again he was protecting her. “Shit.” She stared at him nervously. “Do you suppose the back door is open so we can make a break for it?”
He gave her a crooked smile.
She was starting to recognize his moods, and she hated to say it, but was almost waiting for those different smiles. They were like a bright ray of sunshine in some very dark and gloomy days.
“I never back down from a fight as long as there’s a chance I can win. In this case, how about you and I give those two morons a bad day?”
She straightened, feeling his approval and confidence like a balm to her sore, wounded soul. “As long as I don’t get hurt. I’m not so certain about them,” she admitted.
“Sure enough,” he said cheerfully. “And here comes the other two.”
She desperately wanted to turn around and make sure. But she knew he would not lie about something like that. “It would be nice to have your other two friends around.”
“Don’t worry about that. They came into the restaurant behind us.”
She gasped. “Are you serious?” She was shocked at herself for not knowing. She leaned across the table and said, “I really want to look at them.”
He shook his head and said, “Don’t turn around. We’re about to have company.”
Instinctively she shifted farther over to the edge of her seat. “I’ll sit here beside you.” She moved her plate and coffee with one sweep.
She’d seen it happen too many times. Somebody sat in the middle of a bench seat, and then someone else sat down beside her so she couldn’t get out again. Not happening today.
Suddenly shadows fell beside them. She looked up to see the guy she’d thrown coffee on and one of the others beside him. “Do you really need to be here?” she asked quietly. She picked up her coffee and held it up to him. “I don’t want to lose this cup too.”
His gaze hardened. “You’ll get yours, bitch.”
She shoved up her chin. “I might,” she said in a hard voice. “I can guarantee that I’ll take you out at the same time.”
The other two thugs joined them. Now there were four of them again. Despite all her bravado, she could feel the nervousness slide down her soul.
Harrison, on the other hand, appeared to be completely oblivious. He leaned across the table, added some cream to his coffee and asked, “Can I help you gentlemen?”
“Yeah, now that she’s got all her friends with her,” said the man she’d thrown coffee on, “we would like to talk.”
Zoe snorted and shook her head.
“I think you should hear what it is they want to talk about first,” Harrison said.
Zoe frowned at Harrison, then said, “Absolutely.”
Harrison put down his coffee cup and turned his friendly smile toward the men. “So, what’s this about?”
“Zoe needs to come with us.”
She stiffened. “Sorry, that’s not happening. I’m currently occupied. And why do you want me anyway? You’re obviously hired muscle. So, who is so interested in me that he sends four guys to collect me? That’s almost an insult, you know? Surely I deserved six.”
Harrison chuckled. “And now that I’m here, that’s actually very insulting.”
“Cut the crap. We have a job to do. Our orders are to pick her up. Somebody wants to talk with her.”
“Absolutely,” Harrison agreed. “She’s willing to talk to somebody. But since that person didn’t bother to come here, then they better arrive in the next ten minutes. Otherwise we’re gone.”
“He doesn’t come out in public much.”
“He doesn’t?” Harrison asked. He deepened his tone and added, “If he wants to talk to her, he talks to her with me, and we don’t appreciate the strong-arm tactics.”
Zoe piped up and said, “Tell him to call me. Tell him that he can talk to me over the phone.”
The men exchanged glances, not sure what to do.
“He does use a phone, I presume?”
One of the men pulled out his cell, hit a button and held it up to his ear. “Boss, she said she would talk to you over the phone.” He winced at the bellow easily heard across the table.
But in a sleight-of-hand move, Zoe bounced off the bench, snatched the phone from his hand and said, “This is Zoe. What the hell do you want with me, asshole?”
She sat down again as she registered the number on the phone. She quickly memorized it as she listened to the spluttering on the other end.
“All four men are standing here, facing me, but I’m not alone. I certainly don’t expect to be strong-armed into doing what you want for nothing. If you’re the asshole who shot my father and beat up my mother, I don’t care how far you go or where you hide, I’ll find you.” She opened her mouth to
blast him some more, but his voice stopped her.
He snapped, “I’m not. It wasn’t me.”
She froze. “Then what do you want with me?”
“I want you to know I didn’t do it. You probably can do some research and see there’s a history of bad blood between us. Inasmuch as I don’t like your father, I respected him. He was off his rocker on some things, but at least he stood by his beliefs. Probably a few years ago, I might’ve done this. But I didn’t. And I would never have touched your mother.”
“Then why the hell don’t you tell me who you are, so I can check you off my list.”
“You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“And my brother?” She hated to ask, but Zoe kept her voice hard, cold.
“You watch your back. Don’t you step out of line too. I didn’t do this, and I wouldn’t touch you either. But somebody wants to take out your family. You’re on somebody else’s list, so make sure you keep your nose clean.”
“It doesn’t matter whose list I’m on if my nose is clean. I won’t let anybody get to me.”
There was a hard sigh on the other end of the phone, then he said, “True enough. When you see your mother again, give her my best.”
And he hung up.
She ended the call, saw the name of the contact list and handed the cell off to the man. “There now, we talked. Get the hell out of my sight.”
The men didn’t know what to do. They milled around, uncertain for a few minutes, then left the restaurant.
She turned to face Harrison as he watched the men leave. When he settled back again, she asked, “Have they all left the building?”
He nodded. “They have, indeed.” He turned to look at her. “Now what the hell was that all about?”
“The name on the contact list was Colfax. I’m sure he’s been an enemy of my father’s for a long time. He wanted me to know he didn’t do it. And I think the reason he didn’t do it is because he’s sweet on my mom. There was just something about the softening in his voice when he mentioned her.” She quickly relayed the extent of the conversation to Harrison.
He took notes and then pulled out his phone, making a call.
She caught the waitress’s attention and asked her to bring more coffee. She didn’t know if Harrison could handle any dessert after that meal they had. She was still too full but ordered a piece of cheesecake anyway. She didn’t know how things would go without Harrison at her side from now on.
She vaguely remembered Colfax as the shadowy criminal figure who always escaped the law. And, if he was right, somebody was taking out her family. That meant her brother could be in trouble too. Maybe. He always escaped punishment. It was easy to see him missing out on this nightmare. Still he was her brother, rat that he was. She sent Alex a text.
Are you okay?
There was no response. Then she realized she needed to warn him.
Watch your back. Somebody is taking out the family.
No answer. She shrugged. She’d warned him. That was enough.
Harrison got off his phone and said, “Originally I thought it was more of a personal attack on your father. But, when I thought about your mother’s beating as well, that changed things.”
“Absolutely. Why do you think somebody’s got us all on a list?”
Harrison shook his head. “No idea.” When he heard her phone chime, he asked, “Have you heard from your brother? Is he safe?”
She brought up the texts and held her phone so he could see the short exchange. “He’s safe. For the moment.”
*
Harrison wanted to trust she knew what she was doing. It was hard though. And went against his instincts. He’d learned a lot lately about tough, capable women. But watching Zoe, seeing what she was going through? It was not so easy to back off and let her do her own thing.
He had to wonder at her motives. Normally he was very good at reading people, but he wasn’t sure at all where she stood on the issue of her brother. He leaned forward and asked, “Do you think he had anything to do with your father’s attack?”
She looked at him, startled, and shook her head. “I don’t think so. He was angling to get a house from our father, so I doubt he’d have taken him out. Even dead, his estate goes to Mom. We get nothing. Or so Father always told me. And Mom wasn’t as quick to hand over anything to Alex. Or maybe everything’s in Father’s name. Who knows? Alex got what he wanted easier from Father. And Alex wanted a lot more from him.”
“And if something happened to both your parents?”
“Everything’s in an iron-clad trust, with monthly allowances to be doled out to each of us by a firm of grim-faced attorneys. All old. All men. Not likely to bend to Alex’s whims. Again this is secondhand information from Father. I have no direct knowledge of any of this.”
This time, at least, her voice had more life to it. He settled back, motioned at the table and asked, “Are you full now?”
She finished her coffee and set it next to her empty dessert plate. “I’m done. Thank you very much for dinner.”
And now she was back to the polite tone of a stranger. Still figuring out her emotions, he asked for the check. When he paid the bill, he said, “Come on. Let’s go.”
They walked through the restaurant and out the front door. When they stood on the steps, she asked, “Where are we going?”
He turned to study her. “Where do you want to go? I offered you a place at Richard’s house. Do you have better lodgings? Do you have safer lodgings?”
“Colfax only wanted to get a hold of me to let me know he had nothing to do with the attacks on my parents.”
“And those four thugs were his men, right?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“So, is it safe to go home now that you know they won’t be after you anymore?”
She stiffened and glared at him. “No, I won’t go home. Ever.”
And she turned to the right and stormed off down the sidewalk. He watched her for a long moment, wondering if she would disappear from his sight. Right now, in her current mental state, he could say the wrong thing, and she would fire off like a bullet.
“That’s your MO, right? Something happens, and you run,” he called behind her.
She spun around, crying out, “That’s not fair. You don’t know me enough to make that assessment.”
“Something happens in the army, you run. Something happens at home, same thing. I say the wrong thing, you run.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t run from the army. I tried so damn hard to change things. To make her death matter. At home, there’s no home to return to. Remember? My mother is in the hospital. My father is dying. What would I possibly return home for? And as for you, I’ve been on the verge of walking away since I first met you.” She gave him the sweetest fake smile she could manage and turned on her heels, heading off again in the direction she had been walking.
Instead of being angry, he had to admit seeing that porcupine again was fun. He started to laugh, falling in step behind her, though she was quite a way ahead of him. But now that he was laughing at her, he could see her hands clenching into fists as her steps moved faster. Of course, that wouldn’t work, as he could easily keep up.
As he rounded the corner and strode up the side street, she stopped and said, “You don’t have to look after me anymore. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“Sure you are. Maybe I need to look after the rest of the world. Maybe you’re a danger to them.” He hadn’t meant the words in any way, except that nothing made sense yet, and he needed her to talk to him. To trust him. And he wanted her to let something slip about her past. In his mind, he was already thinking about calling Levi to get the details about Zoe and her friend who had died, but Harrison needed a few minutes alone for that.
She shot him an uncertain look and said, “I’ve never hurt anybody who didn’t deserve it.”
He nodded. “I can’t say the same. A lot of people’s definition of what deserve means
is different from ours. Just because we have somebody in our lives, doesn’t mean we have the right to turn around and hurt them.”
“I’ve never hurt anybody like that,” she said softly but took off down the sidewalk again.
He didn’t change the pace of his stride, but when she stopped once more, he stood in front of her. “And right now, I’d like to know that you have a place to sleep tonight. A safe one where you won’t get into more trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“Your father’s been shot. Your mother’s been beaten. How do you know the person who did that isn’t after you?”
She turned her head to stare off in the distance at some point of interest beyond his shoulder. He watched her features twist as she concentrated. “He was shot on the front doorstep. The chances are he opened the door to the gunman. I don’t know how my mom got involved. She’d have done a lot to avoid that.” She gave him a shuttered look and said, “My father is abusive. He hits her—sometimes badly.”
Inside Harrison something settled, it was hard, deep, and ugly. “So he’s a wife-beater?” He kept his voice low. He was busy, sending a text to Levi. Lots of interesting tidbits here.
She nodded. “Yes, always has been. He tried to beat us when we were little. Mom managed to stop Alex from being abused, but not me and because she never could stop Father from beating her, they escalated. I tried to step in, tried to stop him, but she would always tell me to leave him alone. That he needed the outlet.”
“He could have gone to a gym and used an actual punching bag.”
She stared at that same place in the distance. “We told her that. Many times.” She shook her head. “It never made any difference.”
He’d seen too many similar cases to go over the same hollow excuses as to why women stayed when they were beaten. Often they stayed out of guilt, or twisted love. But he suspected that by taking the beatings, she was protecting her kids.
“Any time he raised a hand to us, she’d step in and take the blow.”
He hooked his arm through hers, gently clasping her hand. “So you don’t think he beat her up before he was injured? Or maybe he was shot to stop him from hurting her?”