Saundra slapped the papers down on the coffee table and sighed thinking that maybe she was seeing a bigger, clearer picture of what was going on.
Miles shouldered his way into the motel room that had become his home for the last few days. The paper grocery bags crumped as he set them on the small cheap table beside the door. On the table beside the bed, his cell phone rang.
He stopped taking it with him because of all the times Saundra was trying to contact him. She was such an engrained part of his soul, that every time she called, every time the phone lit up with a text from her, it gave his heart a painful thrill. It was getting harder and harder to refuse her. He missed her so desperately it was physically painful. He walked over to the phone and looked down to see a picture of Saundra’s smiling face look up at him. There was that racing of the heart.
He turned away from it and went to put the cans of beans and premade spaghetti against the wall with the other food and cracked open a can of soda. He was trying to cut back on the drinking, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was drink himself into a stupor and never wake up. Instead of just a missed call, the phone lit up again to denote a message.
When he went over to check it again, he saw she left a voicemail. That was new. After a moment’s debate, he decided to listen to it. He’d be able to hear her voice without actually having to talk to her. That was okay, wasn’t it? It wouldn’t hurt anything. He just needed to hear her, to hear that she was okay. Even if she was angry, at least she’d be alive and unhurt.
When her voicemail started, the strength went out of his legs and he plopped onto the edge of the bed. Had her voice always been so sweet? She explained that the package arrived for him. He cringed, expecting her to chew him out but instead she said she wasn’t angry, and she wished he felt he could talk to her about this. Now that she knew, though, she didn’t see why he had to stay gone. If only it was that simple. He hung up without deleting the voicemail, just so he could hear her voice again whenever he wanted.
The phone lit up and rang in his hands. He was so emotional that the sudden action startled him and he nearly dropped the phone. It was Saundra again. He shouldn’t answer it, he knew that, but his thumb hovered over the green button anyway. He couldn’t let her believe that the kid was the only reason he left. She’d be so confused if he didn’t come back now. He couldn’t leave her like that. He sighed and closed his eyes. Lying to himself didn’t help anyone. All he wanted was to hear her voice and to talk to her again. He needed to be grounded. Without her, he waivered in the wind like silk strands.
Answering the call, he held it to his ear, but couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“Hi,” she said tentatively.
“Hi.”
“You’re there,” she said, and he could hear the relief in her voice. “Did you listen to my message?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, then you can come home.”
“No,” he said, knowing he shouldn’t have answered this.
“Why?” The pain in her voice was like a razor against his chest.
“Saundra, please, it’s not as simple as that.”
“Can we talk about it? Meet me somewhere if you won’t come home. Just talk to me.”
The word “no” formed in his mind, but he was having difficulty forcing it down to his mouth. He needed to tell her no, he needed to hang up the phone right that instant. “Please.” The tiny, pathetic plea was too much. His will crumbled.
“All right.”
Despite his better judgement, he agreed to meet her later that night in a small restaurant just outside of town. He hoped the location would be far enough away that Boss wouldn’t find out. The last thing Miles wanted to do was put Saundra in danger because of his own selfish need to see her. As he thought about being near her again, the joy in his heart was nearly too much to bear.
It was so ridiculous to be so excited about seeing someone, right? He smiled at his phone after hanging up with her, running his thumb over her picture.
He’d never love anyone again like he loved her. It was a bittersweet truth, but one he had to accept.
Saundra idly tore her straw wrapper into tiny pieces as she waited for Miles to show up. When he did, she almost squealed at the sight of him.
He came in, and though he spotted her right away, he kept looking around as though he was looking for her. Even as he walked toward her table, he was looking out the windows and around them. He searched so fervently that it got her looking around, too, as though she could see whatever it was he was looking for.
She stood up to give him a hug, but he purposely pulled out a chair and sat down without touching her. She didn’t bring attention to it. Things right now were so ridiculously delicate that she didn’t want to do anything to start an argument. That wasn’t why she was there. Something was wrong, and she was determined to find out what it was.
“How are you?” she asked him.
He gave a snort and a nervous half smile before picking up the menu and glancing at it. The waitress came by asking for their order before Saundra could say more.
“Yeah, can I get a coffee and a slice of this pie here?” Miles said, pointing at the bottom of the menu.
“Yep,” the waitress said, smiling to Saundra. “And for you?”
“Uhh, coffee, I guess.”
“You don’t want anything to eat?” Miles asked her.
“I’m not hungry, Miles.”
The waitress smiled, obviously ignoring the tension between them. “Great, I’ll get that for you.”
Miles set down the menu, drummed his fingers against it and looked out the window again.
“Who are you looking for, Miles?”
“Things are not okay,” he said. He turned and looked at her, and for the first time, she could see the fear in his eyes. “I started working for a man. A bad man. I didn’t realize how bad until I tried to stop. When I did, he threatened to…” Miles looked away, then down at the table. “He threatened you.”
“That’s why you left.”
He nodded. “That’s why I left.”
Saundra opened her mouth, but the waitress was back with the coffee and his pie. She wanted to ask him more, but didn’t know what exactly she wanted to know.
She watched him prep his coffee and stir it around. He took a bite of the pie, but the motion seemed entirely mechanical, no joy or hunger in it at all.
“Why?” Out of everything she could’ve asked, that was what she needed to know the most. “Why did you start working for him, Miles? This was after my father offered you a job, right? Why didn’t you just take the damn job!”
“Hardly matters now,” he said around a mouthful of pie.
“I think now is when it matters the most. Look at us, Miles. We’re meeting in some clandestine diner outside of town? I haven’t seen you in days. I think right now is exactly when it matters.”
He sighed and set down the fork as he chewed the bite of pie and took a sip of his coffee. Folding his arms to rest his elbows on the table, he avoided eye-contact as he said, “There’s really no point in defending anything I’ve done. I was ashamed. I was ashamed that I couldn’t hold a job, that I couldn’t do anything right. When I found out about the kid and the child support, I… I lost it. I was convinced I was going to lose you. It was the straw to break your back, as it were.”
He rubbed his face with a hand, as though he could wipe away the shame, but it was still on his face, clear as anything. It made her want to hold him and make the world fall away.
“To top it off, I knew I couldn’t get a job otherwise. Your dad’s offer was nice. I’ve had time to think about how I reacted, and I’m sorry. Tell him I’m sorry, okay? I get what he was doing, but at the time, I was just so lost in my despair. I was furious that I needed his help, which made me want to refuse it on principle. If I was going to be worthy of you, worthy to myself, I needed to get this fixed myself. So, I started working for a guy that promised me a lot of money.”
&nb
sp; Saundra reached across the table and took his hand. “Come home, Miles. Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together. I’m not mad, I just want you home. Please.”
He looked at her hand and gave it a squeeze. She could feel his fingers shaking in her grip.
“I can’t. It’s too dangerous. We can’t be together. It’s too big of a risk.”
“What are you going to do? You can’t live the rest of your life like this.”
“What else can I do?”
She looked at him, and when he raised his eyes to meet hers, she held his gaze. “We come at him sideways.”
Miles’ heart hammered in his chest more fiercely than it had ever beat before. It was a struggle to keep his breathing slow and steady, and to sit in the passenger seat of that car and pretend like nothing was going on. He was having such second thoughts about this whole thing, but he was committed. He couldn’t back out now.
“So where are we going tonight?” he asked as casually as he could manage.
“You’ll see.”
“What’s the job?”
“You seem out of sorts,” Boss said, glancing over to him. “Feeling all right?”
“Yep, I just want to know what to expect.”
“I’ve always appreciated that about you. You’re a man that likes to prepare. That’ll do well for you in the future. Keep your head on straight, and you’ll go far in this business.”
Miles gave a sardonic laugh. “The business of beating people up for money?”
“What?” Boss asked, laughing. “Of course not. I’m talking about business. Really, this kind of mentality can be applied to any business venture. Not just what we’re doing.”
Damnit! Miles needed to get him to specifically say what they were doing, but he couldn’t think of how to get Boss talking without making it obvious that’s what he wanted.
“So,” Miles tried again, “you still never answered me.”
“We have a silent partner that’s invested a substantial amount in our growing upstart. We’re going to speak with him about his investment and repay him for his trust in us. He’ll be pleased to see us.”
Miles looked out the window, and bite the meat of his thumb in frustration. They drove for what must’ve been a dozen blocks before Boss spoke again.
“Miles, you really seem out of sorts. Are you still wanting out of our little agreement?”
“Yes,” Miles said quickly. Possibly a little too quickly. If he could get Boss to threaten him or Saundra again, that would be just as good.
Boss gave a slow exhale. “Tell you what, since you don’t seem to be feeling well, how about I drop you off at home? I can handle the investment meeting alone. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, and we’ll do one last job. Do that for me, and we’ll call it even, and your debt to me will be forgiven.”
Debt? That’s what he was calling it now? Miles didn’t owe him a damn thing! Still, this could work. “All right, what’s the job?”
“I have some goods coming in from… out of town. I just need you to stand there and look pretty. It’s important for my partners to put faces to their contacts. Can you do that for me?”
It wasn’t anything terrible like Miles was hoping for, but hell, if Boss really was going to let him out of this just that easy, he’d be a fool not to take it.
After getting the info for the meetup, Boss dropped him off at the bar where his bike was parked. For the first time in a while, Miles was feeling hopeful.
The next day he arrived at the warehouse location. The police were already setup all around him. The idea was to get Boss’s confession on tape. That didn’t work, but the next best thing was to catch him in the act of buying some illegal goods, which was what they assumed this was. All Miles had to do was play it cool, and when they had him in the act, the police would rush in and take care of business.
Miles nervously walked into the space. It was cold, and empty. Water dripped somewhere, splashing into a shallow puddle and echoing in the harsh space filled with nothing but gray, sharp lines.
In the middle of the room, amidst the empty shelves and broken crates, was a chair. On that chair sat a phone. It rang. Miles gave one last cursory glance around and went to the phone and answered it. On the other end was a long, deep sigh.
“Miles, buddy, I warned you,” Boss said. In the background, Miles could hear a muffled voice, feminine and afraid.
“Please,” Miles begged. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh, we’re way past sorry. If you want to see her again, alive, and in a single piece, you better book it to the address I’m texting you. Come alone. If I see one little piggie piggie, I got off her hand one finger at a time.”
The call ended, and Miles sprinted from the warehouse. The cop in his earpiece tried to talk to him, but Miles dug the piece of technology from his ear and threw it away. As he hopped onto his bike, a few cops came out of the woodwork to try and stop him.
The motorcycle roared to life with a ferocity like what he was feeling inside, and the tire smoked as he peeled out. Like a bat out of hell, Miles weaved through traffic toward the address Boss had given him. There were no cops to pursue him.
The address was an empty office building. When Miles pulled up, two guys with guns grabbed him.
“Any cops?”
“Do you see any?”
They sneered at him, but pushed him into the office. There he found Boss, four other armed guys, and Saundra tied and gagged on a chair.
“Saundra, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks for coming,” Boss said, smiling, looking as casually satisfied as a cat with a mouse. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked you here today. You see, we’re downsizing. I appreciate your years of service, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go.”
“Let her go,” Miles said. “You have me, okay? Just let her go.”
“Oh, buddy, no. That’s not how this works. You both know far too much. I have to kill you both. But remember, this is all your fault. If you’d just done what you were told instead of trying to get clever…”
Boss came around behind Saundra and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Will you let me say goodbye, at least?” Miles asked desperately.
“Here she is,” Boss said softly beside her and held up a pistol. “You’ve got ten seconds.”
“Saundra,” Miles said, taking a step forward, but one of the men grabbed him and held him back. “I’m so sorry…”
His eyes flickered around him, making note of where everyone stood.
“… if this doesn’t work.”
Bringing his elbow up, he broke the nose of the man holding him. The others immediately turned their guns to him, but he spun and put the man between him and the shots fired.
Saundra screamed through her gag as she slammed her head into Boss’s face and then threw herself – the chair included – into the man closest to her.
Miles grabbed the gun out of the dead man’s hand, shot the man beside him, then fired at the two farthest away from Saundra, so that he didn’t risk a shot going wide and shooting her as well.
A white hot rod of metal punched through Miles’ gut, followed by another, then another. The pain was blinding. Dropping the gun, he fell to the ground. His entire world was awash in agony.
There were screams, more gunshots, and then black boots raced past him. A force not of his own rolled him over, sending electric pain through his whole body. His head rested in Saundra’s lap, and she looked down at him with blood sprayed across her face.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
“No, Miles, stay with me,” she said, stroking the side of his face.
“I loved you,” he said, blackness claiming the edges of his vision. “I’ll always love you.”
“I love you too,” she said before starting to sob. “Please don’t leave me.”
“I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say before the blackness claimed him entirely.
Saundra walked, bleary-eyed throug
h the hospital hallway. The floor was almost entirely empty that late at night. The bag in her hand crinkled as she walked, the sound echoing against the neutral white walls. The smell of cleaning chemicals blocked out nearly all others.
She was so drained, she almost couldn’t feel anything at all anymore. As she walked by an open doorway, she glanced inside to see an older gentlemen with some family sitting around him. It didn’t look good. She quirked her mouth in a slight frown, but couldn’t muster more than that. She just didn’t have anything left.
When she reached the door, she pushed against it with her hip and backed into the room. Miles looked over from his bed.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked her, and smiled.
She climbed onto the bed with him, careful of his IVs and snuggled against him. “I missed you.”
He put an arm around her, groaning softly, and nuzzled his head against her. “I missed you too. It’s so late.”
SHEIKH'S SURPRISE BABY: A Sheikh Romance Page 45