by Lenise Lee
Against his better judgment to avoid all eye contact with the woman, Marcello made another critical mistake. He glanced up and was immediately entangled in her hazel gaze. Two pairs of curious eyes became locked in a passionate stare. No movement. No breathing. The rest of the world, and its list of never-ending worries and burdens, drifted away.
The wailing of a police siren cut the intense moment, alerting the agent that his burrowed time had expired. At this phase of the plan, Marcello could not afford to have any dealings whatsoever with local law enforcement. Run. Now. His honed instincts warned him to flee. Despite his continued reluctance to part from the enchanting female, he had to obey. There were no more seconds to spare.
His buzzing mind worked fast to translate his words into English.
“You are…okay?” Marcello spoke his question in a hoarse whisper, hoping it would be enough to cover his heavy accent.
The woman nodded slowly in response.
“Yes…I…think so,” she whispered in a fragile voice. With the back of her palm, she swiped away unshed tears from her dark eyelashes.
A burst of anger flared up within his veins. Given a second chance, for trying to harm such a delicate flower, Marcello would have squeezed the life from her attacker’s wretched neck.
Blue and red swirls bouncing off the edges of the walls signaled that the police had arrived. Once he stood to his feet, Marcello willingly made one more flawed move on the chessboard.
“Goodbye…Marissa.” The instant he spoke them aloud, the words stung his lips like a forbidden kiss.
Without looking back, the special agent bounded across the blacktop street and entered his vehicle. A surge of regrets coupled with curiously exciting sensations consumed his thoughts. While attempting to play the role of a dark hero, the mission leader had made at least a dozen perilous mistakes that could jeopardize his objective; even so, a defiant passion remained beating strong within Marcello’s heart. He would gladly repeat every error and toss caution to the wind all over again, for the sake of saving the woman whom he had dared to ignite a silent yearning for.
Chapter Two
Lady
In a matter of seconds, the hooded man sprinted to the back end of the street and entered a dark car. The turbo engine revved to life then the sound of screeching tires pierced the tense air. As the vehicle sped in reverse toward the alleyway’s rear exit, the stinging smell of burning rubber filled Marissa Stiles’ nose. By the time she lowered her head to cough in response to the pungent aroma then raised her chin again, the driver had turned the car forward and sped out of sight.
One thought remained lingering, even as his dust trail drifted away – He spoke her name.
Marissa shook her head in disbelief. Her fear had caused her to hallucinate the familiar word. He had probably said something like Impossible. Goodbye, Miss or Ma’am. After all, how could he have possibly known her name? He was a complete stranger, a random person driving by who had decided to help her fight off the thug who tried to attack her. This was the only answer her mind would accept as truth. The other possibility was too frightening to believe.
Marissa stiffened; a heavy chill rolled down her back. Had she completely mixed up the events? Instead of being her champion, had the second man actually been an accomplice to this terrible event? At the very last moment before the robbery, perhaps he had changed his mind and gotten into a disagreement with his partner, which caused the fight. If that were true, and if he really did know her name, had she somehow been drawn into a trap?
Marissa’s emotions spiraled from fright to shock then back again in a rapid cycle. Her pulse hammered at her temples while she drew in huge gulps of air. As oxygen and blood rushed to her brain, her vision became blurry. Confusion was filling her body with massive doses of adrenaline and panic. The woman had to regain control of her sanity and to force back the terror running through her mind, because she was only seconds away from blacking out on the concrete sidewalk. Even as darkness started to settle over her eyes, Marissa pressed her palm to the center of her leather jacket, just above her covered breasts, and willed her erratic heart rate to calm down.
After a frightening moment of nearly succumbing to shock, smooth and even breaths slowly paved the way toward her internal recovery. Seconds later, the blare from a shrieking siren echoed off the brick wall behind her, shattering the peace Marissa was desperately grasping for. Nearby, the rumble of the crowd intensified. Shrill screeches of tires freezing up on the asphalt, followed by car doors being thrown open, and the vibrations from feet pounding up the thruway pushed Marissa’s fragile nerves toward an overload. A fresh infusion of cold fear shot through her entire body, sending her limbs into violent and uncontrollable trembles.
Her eyes darted in every direction as a half dozen men dressed in navy blue clothing suddenly surrounded her. Were they going to attack her? Or were they here to help her? She couldn’t think straight. There were too many people moving toward her all at once, too many sounds raking over her tender eardrums. On all sides, she was being consumed by sharp and intrusive noises. Horrible glaring faces that were twisted into wicked scowls silently mocked her, while a tangle of arms reached out to snatch her up. On instinct, the woman jumped to her feet and pushed her back against the wall once more. She dug her nails into the hard brick surface and prepared her body to stand and fight or to flee if she was overpowered.
“Hey, miss, calm down,” a man’s voice called out from among the approaching attackers. “We’re not gonna’ hurt you.”
The menacing group moved in tighter. Marissa’s mind yelled out and warned them to stay away, but her lips were frozen in place. When her mouth trembled slightly, not even a tiny murmur rolled off her tongue. Soon, one of the men was close enough to lay his fingers on her upper arm. The instant he touched her, the horrified woman’s fear reached unimaginable heights, gripping her in a paralyzing embrace. At the sensation of his heavy palm on her shoulder, Marissa’s body went numb. She screamed until her lungs were emptied of every ounce of air. Then her hearing went silent and her vision faded to black.
Gargled voices floated in from the surrounding darkness.
Marissa’s eyes flickered open and were immediately flooded with blinding white light. Snapping her eyelids closed, she quickly shut out the intense glow. She wasn’t quite ready to confront the outside world. Her mind preferred the cool darkness rather than the reality awaiting her. Her thoughts desperately wanted to float back behind the dark veil she had just emerged from, but the string of voices on all sides prevented her escape.
It was only a nightmare, nothing more than a bad dream. They’ll all disappear when I’m asleep again.
Marissa continued to reassure herself that she was safely tucked away at home. Without reopening her eyes, she pulled the thin blanket up around her shoulders and snuggled her body deeper into the mattress. As a cozy slumber slowly crept over her thoughts, the voices trickled further away into nothingness.
Marissa.
A familiar female voice sliced through the ensuing silence. The woman bolted upright and stared wide-eyed into the small group gathered near her bedside. Her sight bounced from face to face; however, none of them matched the person she was searching for. Eventually, and to Marissa’s great relief, a worried face parted the crowd of nursing staff and police. The anxious female darted toward her with outstretched arms, which Marissa quickly accepted and wrapped herself in, clinging to the girl with every ounce of her strength.
“Jasmine,” Marissa sobbed while burying her face against the front of her sister’s cream-colored wool coat.
The younger woman wasted no time in taking on the role of comforter.
“Missy…it’s okay, I’m here. Shh…don’t cry.”
Her words came too late; the hot stream had already started to flow freely over Marissa’s burning cheeks.
Without warning, an icy hand touched her bare wrist causing her to shudder.
“I’m sorry,” a polite voice quickly respo
nded. Afterward, a pair of serene gray eyes peeked over her sister’s shoulder. “My hands are probably cold, I should have rubbed them together first.” One of the female nurses offered a small smile, but Marissa was hesitant to return the sentiment. “I’m going to take your vital signs and check your IV, sweetie.”
Without knowing exactly why, maybe because she could not trust her own mind to make the right decision, Marissa looked to Jasmine for help. Her sister nodded a reassuring approval. She moved her protective hold away from Marissa only enough for the nurse to apply the stethoscope and cuff to the frightened woman’s arm, and not a single inch more.
“I passed out.” Marissa spoke the words as someone who was unsure of whether or not the voice coming from her throat was her own.
“Yes, sweetie.” The nurse replied without making eye contact with Marissa. “You’re in the emergency ward of the county hospital.” Her tone was flat and empty, as though she had spoken this statement a countless number of times beforehand.
“For how long?” Marissa asked the question to the open air rather than to anyone in particular.
Her mind was only beginning to focus in on the present scene. The sensation was like emerging from a dream, which had become so deep and so intense that it refused to release its firm grip on her mind. The waking world seemed like part of her wavering imagination and felt almost nothing like actual reality.
“The ambulance brought you in about an hour ago. As far as I know, this is your first time awake since then.”
An hour? All of those terrible events felt as if they had happened not more than five minutes ago, maybe less.
“Ma’am, we need to ask you a few questions.” A raspy male voice cut their conversation short.
Marissa’s gaze shifted to her right. On the other side of the bed, two policemen, one Caucasian and the other Hispanic, were staring at her with blank expressions. Years of street patrol had probably made the two men immune to feeling sympathy for most victims. Very few crimes would be heinous enough to stir up their hardened hearts. Based on the expressions of indifferent on their faces, Marissa’s case did not qualify as one of those instances.
Jasmine released Marissa from her arms but kept a secure hold on her hand. She stood up and turned toward the two male officers.
“Sir, I don’t think this is the right time for questions.”
The olive-toned officer advanced two steps then tilted his head forward respectfully.
“We understand your sister has been through a lot this evening, Ms. Stiles. However, we still have a job to do. We can’t catch whoever tried to attack her unless she gives us some details.”
“She’s not ready,” Jasmine’s tone was defensive. “Can’t you see that she’s still shaking? How is she supposed to calm down if you pounce on her the minute she opens her eyes?”
“Ma’am,” the second police officer moved in closer, “we’re going to have to ask you to leave the room. You’re not helping the situation. The faster we get a statement, the faster we can investigate the crime.”
The air became thick with tension. From the corner of her eye, Marissa saw the nurse’s movements cease while she quietly watched the standoff. Marissa’s gaze flicked back to her sister, whose lips were poised to shoot out another snappy response.
“I didn’t see their faces.” Marissa rushed the sentence from her lips.
One more word from Jasmine’s mouth may have been one more word closer to her being escorted away in cuffs. Such an outcome was probably highly unlikely, but Marissa wasn’t willing to take the chance.
“Did you say they?” Jasmine’s eyes widened.
Marissa nodded weakly.
“How many assailants were there, ma’am?” The second officer asked the question while walking over to stand beside Jasmine.
“There were two.” Marissa hesitated as the memories flashed across her vision. “No…no…just one.”
“Excuse me?” The policeman nearest to her lowered his eyebrows. His tone was filled with impatience. “Which is it?”
“I told you she wasn’t ready.” Jasmine turned an angry scowl toward the man standing next to her. “She’s confused.”
The cop with the pale skin tossed the feisty woman a warning glance.
“Only one man actually tried to assault me,” Marissa said while pushing herself up higher in the bed.
Before continuing, in effort to calm her sister’s bitter reactions, she squeezed Jasmine’s slim hand. Even under the menacing glare of an officer of the law, Jasmine Stiles was strong-willed and not easily intimidated.
“He put a knife in my face and that’s when a second man came running out of nowhere. He knocked it out of the mugger’s hand then the two of them fought. When the man who came to help me was distracted by the crowd standing at the corner, the mugger hit him hard then ran off.”
“What about the second man?” The Hispanic officer asked the question while scribbling onto a small notepad. “Did you see where he went?”
“After he helped me to pick up my belongings, he ran back to his car and drove away.”
The two men glanced up and eyed each other. Their faces were fixed in serious stares, as if they were communicating with muted words. A few seconds passed before either one of them spoke again.
“Was this a domestic dispute?”
The Caucasian officer folded his arms across his chest. That one motion was enough for Marissa to feel as if her role had suddenly been shifted from victim to suspect.
“Is it possible that your two boyfriends didn’t know about each other? Maybe you were out on a date with one and got caught.” He paused, possibly to rethink his next words. “Were you caught in the middle while they were trying to settle the matter?”
His sly accusation was beyond offensive. Marissa snatched her hand out of Jasmine’s hold. She leaned in closed enough for the buffoon to see the fury in her eyes.
“What are you trying to say? I just told you I didn’t see their faces. Wouldn't I know what the men I’m supposed to be dating looked like? I don’t have a reason to lie…Do you have a reason why you’re trying to make me into the villain?”
The cop narrowed his eyes at Marissa, but remained silent.
“We weren’t trying to offend you ma’am.” The sound of his partner’s voice distracted her simmering attention. “We need to be as thorough as possible, that’s all.”
“Yeah…sure,” Marissa answered in one sharp breath. Afterward, she snapped her lips closed before her temper flared any wilder.
“Guys, I think Ms. Stiles has been through enough for one night,” the ER nurse finally spoke up. “Maybe you two can leave a card and she can give you a ring tomorrow, once she’s had some rest.”
She moved from the monitoring equipment and gave the moronic man a slight tap on the shoulder as she passed by him. His response was a hard clench of his jaw muscles.
“Yeah…we’ll do that,” he said, but walked out of the room immediately after speaking.
After his partner disappeared into the whitewashed hallway, the first cop stayed behind. He pulled a business card from the upper pocket of his buttoned uniform shirt and handed it to Marissa. Out of habit, she automatically reached out and accepted the offer.
“Call that number when you’re ready to schedule an appointment to come to the station and give a full statement. You ladies have a safe trip home.” He gave another cordial nod of his head then followed his colleague’s route through the open door.
When the man was out of sight, Marissa crumpled the card in her palm. This experience was almost as horrifying as being attacked for a second time in a single night. There was no way she was going to willingly volunteer for another interrogation.
There are times when good people must endure the icy touch of evil hands. Unfortunately, this was Marissa’s season to live through such a dreadful ordeal. Tonight had become a turning point in her life; for the rest of her days, she would never forget the events of this evening. Although she was tha
nkful to still walk amongst the living, she was yet to shake off the sinister shadow that remained crawling across her anxious body.
Could it be possible that the robber had not chosen her at random? If so, would he return to stalk her again? From this day forth, would Marissa have to study every creeping and dark silhouette to ensure that the villain would not emerge from its bottomless depths?
These frightening thoughts swirled around in the woman’s mind while she stared through her apartment window. Even at midnight, the city that never sleeps would not pause for a small nap. The rows of bright streetlamps, twinkling billboard displays, and streams of car headlights and blazing rear bumpers illuminated the busy Manhattan boulevard below as if it were midday outside and not two minutes passed the witching hour.
“You okay?” Jasmine’s soft voice floated in from behind.
“Yeah…I’m fine,” Marissa lied through a small smile.
She wanted to keep the younger woman from becoming stricken with panic and fear, which was still holding her hostage, even several hours after the actual event.
Marissa rubbed her hands along her arms. Despite wearing a thick sweater and the thermostat being set at eighty, the frigid chill would not release its frosty clamp on her bones.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to sit up with you?”
“No, Jaz, you go to sleep.” She forced a broader smile to form on her lips. “I’m on my way to bed in a few minutes. I need to get some sleep before my shift tomorrow.”
“You’re not seriously thinking about going to work, are you? Not after this crazy night.”
Marissa laughed. It was the first cheerful moment she had experienced in hours.
“Well…it would be kind of hard to call out sick when I live upstairs from my job.”
“Missy, what happened to you tonight was serious.” Jasmine’s face and voice were full of concern. “It’s okay to take a day off to get your thoughts in order. You don’t always have to be brave, and especially not in front of me.”