Love Through Time ~ Revised Edition

by Nana Prah

  He and Jasmine had spent the day touring Boston with visits to Quincy Market, Boston Commons, and strolling along the waterfront. All places they could chat, hold hands, and sneak in some sweet kisses.

  What the hell had prompted him to take her on a moonlit stroll at two in the morning? He didn’t want to say goodbye, and if they’d gone to either of their apartments, they would’ve ended up making love. He wasn’t ready for that yet, either.

  Their walk around his neighborhood had started out romantic. Then these two thugs came along asking for their money at knifepoint.

  Jasmine had given them her purse, which had shocked the breath out of him. He thought she’d been on the cusp of handing them an ass kicking, but she’d maintained her calm composure.

  He’d hoped that when they’d handed over their stuff, the guys would take it and run. They had yet to move.

  The guy holding the knife circled them. “She’s a pretty bitch. Never knew that part. We could have some fun with her. Right, Reg?”

  Reg’s eyes bugged out. “What are you talking about? That’s not what we’re supposed to do.”

  The first guy rubbed his crotch. “Yeah, but we’ve done most of the job, now it’s time to get our bonus.”

  “No way, man!” Reg waved his hands so fast they became a blur. “That’s not the job. Let’s finish it and go.”

  “He said she was feisty. She don’t look feisty to me. She do look good, though. She don’t look like she could even kick my little sister’s ass. Let’s do her.”

  “Naw, man. Stop looking at her body and look at her eyes.” He shook his head and grimaced. “They look wild.”

  Sean and Jasmine assessed the argument. They glanced at each other and Sean suspected she’d come to the same conclusion as he had. They had been set up.

  “Cut him up like we been paid to do and then get the hell out of here,” Reg pleaded. “We already got their money. I’ll let you do Shanti tonight.”

  “Shanti ain’t nothing but a whore. This lady here is classy. I ain’t never did no classy lady before,” he said, swishing the knife in Jasmine’s direction.

  “I don’t feel right about this, Loc.” Reg backed up a step. “She looks wild, man. She looks wild.”

  Sean glimpsed at Jasmine and shifted away from her before recalling they were on the same side. Her eyes shot sparks while her facial expression remained neutral. The combination disconcerted him and yet she hadn’t propelled into action.

  “What you know, anyway? You the deputy, I’m the sheriff, and what I say goes.”

  Loc never took his gaze off Jasmine, and yet he didn’t seem to see her. Otherwise, he would’ve known to back off while all his bones were connected.

  Reg shook his head, but kept quiet.

  This made Loc smile. “Watch him, while I take her over there and give her the best she ever had.”

  Jasmine looked at Sean and shrugged. He swore he could almost read her thoughts. Her eyes pleaded for him to leave the fighting to her. What kind of man did she take him for?

  “Come here, bitch.”

  Jasmine stepped toward the hired thug and whimpered, “Please don’t hurt us. You have your money. Just take it and go.”

  “This bitch ain’t feisty at all,” Loc snickered to Reg. “Having her is gonna be easy, and I bet her thang is tight and sweet as hell, too.”

  Sean stepped forward, but Jasmine put her hand out to stop him. “No, Sean.”

  “You try to come at me like that again and I’ll cut ya.” Loc chuckled, waving his knife at Sean. “Supposed to do it anyway, but I’ll gut ya instead of just messin’ up your face.”

  “Come on, Loc, let’s just finish the job and get out,” Reg muttered, once again trying to reason with Loc.

  Jasmine held her hands up. “Please let us go. We gave you all of our money.” Before anyone could blink, she lunged at Loc. Swiping her hand down, she captured his knife-wielding hand.

  Sean thought he could help in some way, but Jasmine was just too fast. She’d flung Loc into Reg while still holding onto Loc’s arm.

  Reg stumbled backward and, before he could even think about swinging his own knife, a kick landed in his stomach, slamming him against the wall of the building. This left Sean with nothing to do but move out of the way.

  Jasmine extracted the knife from Loc then pummeled him with punches and kicks. Sean broke out of his stupor and picked up the knife Reg had dropped. Reg had backed up against the wall holding his stomach while trying to catch his breath. When he saw Sean coming at him, he tried to run, but Sean caught him with a right hook to his face.

  Damn, it feels good to do something instead of watching from the sidelines. Sean shook his hand in an attempt to get rid of the excruciating pain.

  ***

  How had a romantic walk with her love end in a street fight? She took out her fury on the punk, who’d intended to take advantage of her, by ramming her elbow into his head.

  A quick glance at Sean revealed that he’d taken care of Reg. The dimwit who didn’t know when to back off received an uppercut to his gut.

  Thinking about how they’d planned to destroy Sean’s face, she thrust her knee into the thug’s groin and then drove his face into her raised knee.

  The slight satisfaction of his blood squirting from his nose did little to assuage her.

  A downward elbow to his back sent him flying to the ground where he curled up in a fetal position with his hands covering his head as he groaned.

  Poised to kick the bastard in the ribs, the sound of her name being called broke through her rage.

  “Jasmine! Jasmine. It’s all right. Let’s call the police to come get them.”

  It took longer than it should have for her to even decide to lower her leg from delivering the deadly blow. By that time, Sean had dragged her away from the coward.

  “No, Jasmine. Let the police take care of them. No more fighting. You’re about to cross the line from self-defense into murder.”

  Her nostrils flared with the exertion it took to calm down. Sean came into focus. His words penetrated her irrational thoughts of vengeance, and she nodded.

  “They had a mission,” she growled.

  “I know.” Sean pointed the knife at the one named Reg. “He might be the best to get information from.” He smoothed his free hand down her arm. Sean raised his voice so that Reg could hear every word. “I’ll do the interrogation. I’ve seen what you can do when someone doesn’t talk fast enough to please you.”

  Jasmine resisted walking up to Reg and smacking him upside the head with a closed fist. “If he doesn’t talk, I’ll make him.”

  Sean turned to the man slumped against the wall. “Who sent you?” Reg remained mute. “Listen. I’m trying to do us all a favor,” Sean continued. “The woman your friend wanted to rape has a merciless temper. The last time I saw her get information from someone she snapped the man’s wrist like a dry twig. She’ll get the information by any means necessary.” He paused a beat. “For the sake of any body part you hold sacred, just tell us what we want to know.”

  Jasmine tilted her head to the side, creating a loud crack. “You’re talking too much, Sean. This situation needs action.”

  The thug attempted to slide against the wall as she stalked toward him. “Okay, okay. Just keep her away from me.”

  If the situation hadn’t been so dire, Sean would’ve smiled at the irony of anyone being afraid of his sweet, innocent-looking--well, not now, but usually--Jasmine.

  “A guy hired us to cut you up.” Reg’s voice shook. “We wasn’t supposed to do nothing to the chick. We figured since we was going to cut you, we might as well make some extra dough by robbing you, too.”

  “What was the name of the guy who hired you?”

  “He went by a strange name. Started with a V, but I can’t remember it. I never heard it before.”

  “Was it Venge?”

  “Yeah, that sounds real familiar.”

  “Why did he want you to come after me?�
��

  “Don’t know. But he told us to get you when the chick wasn’t around. We been following you for hours, waiting for you to be alone. We got tired of waiting. We figured she’d have some cash on her, too, so it would be a two-fer.”

  Jasmine snarled.

  “Is there anything more you want to ask, Jasmine?”

  “What does he look like?”

  Reg stared at her blankly and then blinked a few times. Jasmine almost flew over Sean to get at his throat, but Sean blocked her and kept her away.

  “I don’t know,” he sniveled. “We never saw him.”

  Jasmine waited until after the interrogation to call the cops.

  They arrived five minutes later. By the time Jasmine and Sean had given their statements and the attackers had been arrested, it was already three.

  “Bet you didn’t think this is how we’d spend our first full night together,” Sean said in an attempt to make light of the situation, but Jasmine didn’t smile as they reached his apartment.

  “We have to find out who this Venge is. He’s coming after you now. Why?”

  “Maybe he’s jealous.” Jasmine grunted. “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “But I wish you’d come out of Buffy mode now.” Sean’s soothing voice tempted her. “The fight is over.”

  “Until we catch Venge, I have a feeling it’ll never be finished. They were watching us the whole night.”

  “Technically they were watching me.”

  She gave him a look that could wither a healthily blooming flower, but it had no effect on him.

  He shrugged. “Well, they were. You heard the guy.”

  “The question is still why? It’s obvious I’m the common denominator.”

  “We’ll figure it all out later. Right now I need my Jasmine back. Don’t you have some type of deactivation button?”

  “It doesn’t work like that. Besides, I’m afraid that if I come out, I’ll break down.”

  “Break down?”

  “It’s what happens after a fighting episode.” She couldn’t look at him. “Please take me to my parents.”

  The weight of her actions began to sink into her chest, weighing her down as the energy of the fight drain out of her. She only had to hold on a little longer and she could free herself of the burden.

  Once inside the living room of his apartment, he pulled her into his embrace. She initially resisted, but then melted into him and allowed herself, for the second time in her life, to absorb his strength as she let go and sobbed in his arms.

  ***

  The whole family, minus Grandma, had gathered the next morning at Jasmine’s parents’ house to discuss the latest attack. Jasmine looked up at Sean and her heart thudded with the force of her love for him. After the fight, he’d held her, let her break down, and then fed her, Grandma style.

  She now knew he could handle anything that came his way, including her uber-violent side and its aftermath.

  They’d been discussing the matter for a good half an hour. “Anyone have a clue on who Venge is?” Ed asked.

  Jasmine snuggled closer to Sean, who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders. “He’s trying to hurt me.”

  Dad shook his head. “But he hasn’t attacked you Jasmine.”

  “That’s what makes me think he’s after me. Why would he attack Sean?”

  “I still think it might be David.”

  “Come on, Carly. Just because you guys got on each other’s nerves doesn’t mean he tried to kill you.”

  “Doesn’t it? Connect it, Jas. Wasn’t he a ranger when he was in the army? I’m sure with the skills he learned in the military, he could make himself invisible to anyone, including me in the woods, leaving no trace of ever being there.”

  Jasmine sat upright. “How do you know he’d been a ranger?”

  “We had a conversation once. He was drunk off his ass when I came to pick something up at your apartment. I think you were hanging out with Liza or something. Anyway, when I got there, he started talking about everything as if I was his best friend.”

  Jasmine listened with interest. “What did he tell you?”

  “Other than being in the army, everything else was boring so I don’t remember, but he mentioned he’d been discharged and he sounded angry about it. When I tried to pry, he clammed up.”

  “How come you never told me?”

  “I thought you knew. You were about to marry the guy. Besides, talking about him wasn’t my favorite.”

  Jasmine’s stomach plunged. “What if Carly’s right, and he’s behind all of these horrible things?”

  Sean massaged the back of her neck, causing her to shiver, or perhaps it was the thought of narrowly escaping being married to a psycho that caused the reaction.

  “Let’s call him and see what he’s up to,” Carly suggested. “Do you still remember his number?”

  Jasmine went for her purse on the dining room table, took out her phone, and dialed the cell number that would reside in her memory forever. “It’s saying the number is no longer in use.”

  “We have to find him,” Ed said. “Do you think he works at the same place?”

  “I don’t see why he wouldn’t. He used to brag about how much he loved his job.” Carly snorted. “As if being an architect is all that interesting.”

  “This is coming from an engineer?” Ed teased.

  Dad attempted to put the conversation back on course. “I’ll track him down on Monday. He used to work on Greene Avenue at the Star Towers, right?”

  “Yeah, Dad. But it’s okay. I’ll go. You have to work on and I’m off. Sean and I don’t leave for Arizona until Thursday.”

  “Are you sure, honey? I don’t mind taking time off. This is important.”

  “I’ll be all right seeing him again.” Jasmine tried to sound convincing, but everyone in the room looked dubious. She was a little doubtful herself.

  “I’ll go with you.” Sean volunteered.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I want to.”

  “Thanks. Maybe I shouldn’t go with you to Arizona until we find the person responsible.”

  “We can’t let this guy control our lives,” Dad said.

  Jasmine remained adamant. “If he’s stalking us, then I want to be here to protect my family.”

  Ed came to sit on the arm of the couch. “You can’t protect all of us at once.”

  “It would be easier to get to you if I’m in Boston.”

  “I’m sure he won’t attack while you’re gone,” Ed said.

  “How do you know?”

  “I don’t, but look at how long he waited before attacking the others.”

  Jasmine wavered at Ed’s logic.

  “Go and have a good time,” Dad said. “We’ll be fine.”

  Mom nodded. “You can’t stop your life, sweetie. Go.”

  “But--” Her defenses were weakening.

  “You’re going to Arizona,” her dad ordered.

  “Okay I’ll go, but if any of you gets hurt I’m going to be really mad.”

  ***

  The butterflies in Jasmine’s stomach wanted out. They stood outside the fifteen-story building where the Ward and Hinderson Architectural Firm offices resided.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to go in by myself.” Sean pointed across the street. “You could sit and wait at that café.”

  The sweetness of Sean’s offer made some of her nervousness dissipate. “I’ll be all right.” She puffed out a breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

  They walked into the building and Jasmine hit the elevator button that would take them to the eighth floor. When the doors opened, she pulled her shoulders back and walked onto the floor, hoping to give off an air of confidence. Pasting a smile on her face, she approached the receptionist. “Hi, Fran.”

  The beautiful brunette looked up at Jasmine in surprise, but quickly recovered. “Hi, Jasmine. It’s been--”

  “Yes, it has. How are you?” Jasmine asked with just the merest hint of a
nnoyance at having to speak to this woman again.

  “Same ole, same ole, you know, but the job is treating me well and--”

  “Is David in?” Jasmine knew she’d been rude. If she hadn’t cut Fran short they’d be listening to her babble for the rest of the morning.

  The corners of Fran’s eyes crinkled. “I thought you knew he left, but then again how would you? I suppose you aren’t talking to him anymore, considering how--”

  “He doesn’t work here. Really?”

  “It’s been four months since he got fired.”

  “If what he told me was anywhere near to the truth, he loved this job and excelled at it. What happened?”

  Fran glanced around the room and leaned over her desk to look down the hallway that led to the offices before answering. “I’m not allowed to talk about it, and you didn’t hear it from me, but it turns out David liked--” She pretended to blocked one nostril and sniffed. “--more than he liked his job. If you know what I mean.”

  “He was doing drugs?” Jasmine asked incredulously.

  Fran waved her hands down. “Shhh. You did not hear it from me,” she repeated while nodding.

  “Do you know where he is now?” Sean asked.

  Fran shrugged. “Nope. Haven’t heard from him since he stormed out of here slurring something about getting even.”

  “Who did he want to get even with?” Jasmine asked.

  “Beats me. I was just glad he was gone. He’d been acting creepy.”

  Jasmine quirked an eyebrow. “How?”

  “He’d sit in his office talking to himself, but it looked like he was talking to someone.” She shivered. “Weird. That’s how they found out about the--” She tapped her nose.

  What could’ve happened to make David a drug addict? “Do you have his phone number?”

  Fran shook her head. “I tried to call him a couple months ago because he left some of his stuff in his desk. I still don’t understand why it was my responsibility to call him. It’s not like we were friends or anything, and I’m not the boss here.”

  “Fran,” Jasmine said in her calmest voice, which belied her need to reach over and shake the vociferous woman until she got her answers in a more concise way.