1 3 7 – ZOË

by C. De Melo

  “If the shoe fits,” Lance whispered.

  Michael glared at his younger brother. “Shut up, Lance. Stay out of this.”

  Majed laughed. “Too late.” He turned to Bushra. “Don’t you see what’s going on here?”

  She shook her head. “No…”

  “Michael Adams got sold out by his own brother,” Majed hissed. “Wait here and don’t do anything until I get back.”

  Majed walked out. Bushra spoke to the guards in Arabic and then looked at me. “And what about you? Were you spying on your husband, too?”

  “No,” Brady replied on my behalf.

  “I wasn’t asking you,” Bushra retorted, still looking at me. “Well?”

  I shook my head because I wasn’t capable of lying under this kind of pressure.

  Majed entered the room with a furious expression. He held up his hand to show Bushra the tiny tracking device. “This was stuck to the undercarriage of your car.”

  She gaped at him, askance. “Impossible!” she cried in outrage.

  Majed closed the gap between them with angry strides and slapped her hard across the face. “It was you who led the police to our door because of your carelessness,” he shouted. “This is the reason why I was against working with you- women cannot be trusted! They are foolish, weak and stupid!”

  He then began to yell in Arabic and Bushra’s eyes widened in panic. “No, please…I beg you!” she cried desperately.

  Ignoring her pleas for mercy, Majed gave his men the signal. They took aim at Bushra and fired their guns. Since she was standing only a meter away from where I stood, I let out an involuntary scream. I watched in horror as Bushra’s body was riddled with bullets and fell to the floor. Blood began to pool beneath her wounds while she stared blankly at the ceiling. I was shaking so badly that my knees became weak. I moved towards the banister and took hold of it in order to steady myself. I wretched and heaved several times, but I didn’t vomit.

  “And now I have to decide what to do with all of you,” Majed said calmly, as though nothing horrific had just happened.

  I was convinced he was a psychopath.

  “It would be foolish of you to kill us,” Brady said reasonably.

  I was amazed by his calm demeanor in the face of such gratuitous violence, and then I remembered that Brady had been a U.S. Marine for two decades. I was willing to bet everything I owned that he’d seen much worse scenarios than this one.

  “You are mistaken. It would be foolish of me to not kill you,” Majed contradicted.

  Brady’s response to that was a casual shrug. “You won’t get away with it, you know. The remaining SWAT team is outside calling for back-up as we speak,” he pointed out. “You’ll never leave this house alive.”

  “That may be true,” Majed agreed with a determined gleam in his eye. “But there are causes worth dying for and my people have been known to sacrifice their lives for what they believe in. I am no exception.”

  I was horrified by his words. Lance’s expression was sad when I captured his gaze. We both knew in that moment that there was the possibility of one or both of us dying tonight. The pang of regret that shot through me made my heart ache.

  Suddenly, one of the armed guards standing behind the SWAT members fell to the floor with a hard thud, then another.

  “In the name of Allah, what is this?” Majed exclaimed before watching in shock as all of them followed suit.

  Majed fell, then Brady, then Lance. I was about to run over to Lance to see if he was alive when I experienced a strong dizzy spell. A strange tingling sensation overtook my limbs, making them feel as heavy as lead. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was Lance’s serene face and I was happy for that last memory. I was unconscious before I hit the floor.

  ***

  Everything was black but I was aware of sounds; muffled noises that came from far away. My head felt as if it was stuffed with cotton. I heard voices, footsteps and wind (in that order). I opened one eye and saw the moon and the spindly shadows of trees. I could also see red and blue lights flashing against the tree trunks and the side of the house. The sight of the latter brought me back to the present instantly.

  “Zoë? Can you hear me?”

  I was stretched out on the soft grass with a blanket over me. I shivered. Something was crawling on my hand. It was a cricket. This made me smile. In Asia, crickets were considered good luck.

  “My lucky cricket,” I murmured, wiggling my fingers and scaring away the insect.

  “Thank God you’re okay.”

  Lance’s blue eyes were staring down at me. When I smiled at him, he smiled back with that endearing dimple of his. I threw my arms around his neck and he held me tightly.

  After helping me up, he said, “Yolanda managed to sneak into the house and throw P-pellets into the room,” he said.

  “What are P-pellets?” I asked. “And who is Yolanda?”

  “P-pellets emit a gas which temporarily paralyzes the nervous system and renders a person unconscious and immobile for about a half hour,” Lance explained. “And you know special agent Yolanda as Maria.”

  “Maria is a spy?”

  “Yolanda,” he corrected. “And yes, a damn good one.”

  “Did you know?”

  He shook his head. “I just found out tonight.”

  “Mar- Yolanda tried to save me from Bushra when she kidnapped me at the gallery. They fired guns at each other and I saw Yolanda get shot.”

  “She was wearing a vest, so she’s okay. She’s one tough lady.”

  I frowned. “Her affair with Michael…?”

  “Her assignment was to infiltrate the household, get close to Michael and collect as much information as possible.”

  “Well, I guess she takes her job pretty seriously.”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” he agreed.

  “Let go of me…You’ll be hearing from my lawyers!”

  We both turned around at the sound of Michael’s angry voice. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and he was being led towards a cruiser. When he caught my eye his face expressed remorse and he mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry, princess.’

  Lance stood tall and placed his arm around my shoulders as he drew me close to his side. My husband looked from Lance to me, and then back to Lance. Realization dawned on him and his eyes hardened and narrowed threateningly. Michael was not a man accustomed to losing, and he didn’t take kindly to Lance’s possessive gesture towards me or his challenging stance. When he finally turned his eyes towards me again it was with contempt. I was truly shaken since my husband had never looked at me like that before. Lance shielded me from Michael’s stare by shifting his body and taking me into his arms. The intimate display was a public announcement to Michael and everyone else that we were a couple. It also announced my infidelity.

  I could still see Michael from the corner of my eye. I watched as he was pushed unceremoniously into the backseat of the police car. He turned his head in order to keep his icy gaze upon me. Even as the car drove off, his eyes remained locked on me and his expression was as hard as stone. I was grateful when the blackness of the night finally erased the car from my view.

  Lance kissed the top of my head. “You’re coming home with me.”

  I nodded in response. There was movement behind us and I turned around. When I saw Bushra’s body being carried away in a black body bag I shivered.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Lance said. He got Brady’s attention and said, “I’m taking Zoë to my place.”

  “Good idea. I’ve got to fill out some paperwork at the police station,” Brady said. “The police chief is a real asshole. He just loves it when outside agencies take over his precinct. I’ll send Yolanda with you.”

  Brady walked over to Yolanda, who was explaining what had happened to the officers who had arrived on the scene. He interrupted her and pointed at us as he said something into her ear. Yolanda frowned and nodded before excusing herself from the policemen and walking towards where we stood
. Brady remained behind with the officers.

  “I’m taking her to my house,” Lance announced when Yolanda was within earshot.

  “Yeah, I know. She’ll be safer there.” Yolanda turned to me. “Let me introduce myself, Zoë. I’m special agent Yolanda Guarez.”

  I shook her outstretched hand. “I don’t know what to say except thank you for trying to save me at the gallery. I’m so sorry you got shot on my account.”

  She waved her hand at me in dismissal. “Good thing I placed that tracking device on Bushra’s car.”

  I owed this woman my life. “Thank you for that, too,” I said.

  Yolanda explained that she became suspicious when ‘Naomi’ first came to dinner and kept tabs on her ever since. “Something about that woman was off. Call it gut instinct,” she said. “When she asked you to go down to the gallery after hours, it didn’t smell right to me. That’s why I followed you.”

  “I’m glad you did.”

  “As for my relationship with your husband…it was only business. Nothing personal.”

  “Yes, I know that now. And I’m not upset about it.”

  Yolanda glanced at Lance and gave me a knowing look. She knew I was in love with him. “No hard feelings, then?” she asked with a little smile.

  “None whatsoever.”

  She nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Let’s get you out of here. I think you’ve had more than enough excitement for one night.”

  “There’s just one more thing,” I said. When she inclined her head for me to proceed, I asked, “It’s about the trunk...the one that was hidden in the attic and then got moved to the garden shed.”

  Yolanda smiled. “You know, I told you to look for your grandmother’s linens in that stupid trunk only to piss of Juana.” She laughed and added, “That woman is so prim and proper. Nice lady, but a total tight-ass.”

  “Well, she seemed pretty upset about it, which is what made me so suspicious that something forbidden was hidden inside.”

  “You and Lance did some great detective work. Good job on finding those documents.”

  “Did Juana know about them, too? Was she trying to protect Michael?”

  “That’s just it- she had no idea what was inside the trunk and neither did I.” Yolanda began laughing and added, “She told me that Michael had instructed her never to open the trunk because it contained ‘items of a personal and rather embarrassing nature’ so she assumed the trunk was full of kinky sex toys!”

  “Poor Juana,” Lance said, chuckling and shaking his head.

  “Poor Juana is right,” Yolanda agreed while looking at Lance. “Being the religious and modest woman that she is, she called Carlos and had him help her lug that thing into the garden shed. She was afraid Zoë would go back up into the attic and pry it open or worse- demand Michael to open it.”

  “Sex toys would have been the least of Michael’s worries,” I pointed out.

  “No kidding!” Yolanda agreed.

  We walked to one of the police cars and Yolanda made arrangements with an officer to drop us off at Lance’s condo. When we arrived, Yolanda announced that she would ride on to get her car and then pack a bag for me since she had the keys to the house. I thanked her profusely for that courtesy since I was in no state to go home.

  Lance fixed me a cup of chamomile tea while we waited for Yolanda to return. It was almost five in the morning and I was utterly exhausted. I sipped my tea quietly while Lance gently traced a pattern on my back with his fingertips. His touch was relaxing and I was soon breathing a little easier. When I finished the tea he led me into the bathroom where we stripped off our clothes and took a hot, steamy shower. He lathered my body and made me stand beneath the massaging stream of water for a few minutes. The feel of his big strong hands on my skin was delicious, but I was too physically spent to make love. I hung my head and he turned off the water. I dried myself with a thick towel.

  “I’ll wait up for Yolanda,” he said as he led me into his bedroom.

  Wearing nothing but one of Lance’s tee-shirts, I crawled into his bed and was soon fast asleep.

  ***

  I woke up to the smell of coffee. At first I didn’t know where I was, but then the memory of last night’s events flooded my brain. I recognized my suitcase and travel kit sitting side by side on the floor near the door.

  “Lance?” I called out.

  He appeared in the doorway fully dressed. “Hi.”

  “Good morning,” I replied, rubbing my eyes.

  “More like good afternoon.” He came over and kissed the top of my head. “Sleep well?”

  I nodded. “What time is it?”

  “Almost two o’ clock.”

  “Two o’clock?” I repeated as I quickly got out of bed.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Placing an arm around my shoulders, he added, “Stay in bed longer if you’d like. You’ve just undergone a harrowing ordeal and your body was on high alert for hours on end; you’re exhausted. You need to recharge your batteries.”

  “Where’s Yolanda?”

  “She came by with your suitcase at sunrise and took off immediately afterward.”

  “And Michael?”

  “Brady called about an hour ago. Michael is still in custody and being interrogated as we speak.”

  “Oh.”

  “I think you should stay in bed. I’ll even join you,” he said with a wink. When I didn’t smile, he frowned. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head. “I’m…it’s just…I’m scared.”

  He made me sit on the bed and sat down beside me. “Of?”

  “Of what’s going to happen next. Michael knows we’ve betrayed him and he’s probably angry. I’m afraid of what he’ll do to us.”

  “Look at me, Zoë,” he said, taking hold of my chin and turning my head so I would face him. “I will not let anything happen to you. As for betraying Michael…he betrayed us first. He negotiated with terrorists and has a string of mistresses. You should not feel guilty about anything; he sure as hell doesn’t!”

  Lance was right, of course. “So you want me to just…stay?”

  “Yes!” he replied without hesitation.

  I nodded and hugged him. The physical contact led to kissing and caressing. Within minutes we were naked beneath the covers and making love. How different Lance was from his older brother, who was affectionate but not passionate (at least not with me). Lance touched me like no other man had ever touched me before, and my reaction was just as surprising. I could simply let go with him; there were no inhibitions, no hang-ups. It was divine.

  He nibbled on my ear afterward. “Coffee?” he whispered.

  “Oh, yes,” I replied before kissing him on the lips.

  He padded to the kitchen without bothering to put on any clothes, and came back a moment later with two steaming cups of coffee. My smile was ear to ear.

  “I love it when you smile,” he said, handing me the coffee cup.

  “Thanks,” I said before taking a sip.

  “Are you happy?”

  “So far my day consists of sleeping in, a gorgeous naked man, great sex and a cup of good coffee- who could ask for more?” I looked at the digital clock and added, “Look at the time! Damn it, I was supposed to work at the gallery this afternoon.”

  Lance shook his head. “Nancy Ashford has already been notified that you won’t be going to work for the next few days due to a private legal matter.”

  “Who notified her?”

  “I did. I called her early in the morning.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “That excuse sounds so mysterious.”

  His eyebrow shot upward. “Would you prefer she know the truth?”

  “No, but I think she deserves a better explanation. We have a big event coming up and she just had a baby. Someone has to run the gallery.”

  “Let the intern do it; Sally, right?”

  “Suzie. I suppose she can hold the fort for a day or two…”

  “Of course she can. It’ll be good experi
ence for her, too. Besides, the gallery should be the last thing on your mind.”

  “You’re right.”

  He stood up and announced, “I think we should get dressed and grab a bite to eat. We can talk about our next strategy.”

  Our next strategy…It suddenly hit me that Lance and I were a team now. A couple. It felt strange, but definitely good. I felt alive and I felt safe.

  We got dressed and stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine. My stomach growled and I was surprised that I could be hungry after the drama I’ve endured.

  “What are you in the mood for?” Lance asked as he reached for my hand.

  I looked down at our entwined fingers and met his gaze. He was smiling. “Anything.”

  “There’s a great Lebanese place not far from here. We could even walk.”

  “Fabulous.”

  We walked hand in hand for a few blocks and I felt as giddy as a high school girl. I was falling deeply in love with Lance and nothing could taint my mood; not even thoughts of Michael.

  The eatery was small and impeccably clean. A pleasant-faced young woman with beautiful dark eyes greeted us when we entered. We sat down and ordered the special of the day. Before long we were munching on grape leaves stuffed with rice, chicken in a savory sauce and flatbread.

  “Do you have your own attorney?” Lance asked.

  I finished chewing before I replied. “We- I mean Michael and I- were both represented by the same people.”

  “That’s not going to cut it, sweetheart. You need to get your own attorney in case things get ugly.” At the sight of my worried expression he added, “Not that I think it will. Just in case. Michael is a smart man and he’ll want to break clean. No scandal. The divorce will be quick and I’m sure the settlement will be generous.”

  “I don’t want his money. I just want out.”

  He nodded. “Good.”

  “What about your relationship with him?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been preparing myself for the worse…I’m upset, of course, but Michael chose not to do the right thing. He chose that, Zoë. A man as wealthy and as powerful as my older brother should uphold a higher standard in life; it’s his social and moral duty.”

  “I agree with you,” I said. “I just can’t believe I’ve been so blind. I never suspected anything.”