“Right…”
“Right!” her gut wrenched violently. “I think I’m going to be sick.” This wasn’t morning sickness, either. This was, 'Oh My God! What am I going to do?’ sickness. Agent Paul handed her the nearby waste basket as he sat upon the seat beside her. He carefully held her hair back and rubbed her back compassionately, as the emotion of the day manifested itself in a revolting display of stress.
“I am truly sorry you are having to deal with this, Mrs. Wilson. I truly am.” his voice was sincere, and in his heart he truly was being sincere. In matters such as these, it always seemed that it was the family that really suffered. He did like bringing down the bad guys, but never enjoyed watching the innocent suffer for their violent deeds.
Finally, Jennifer composed herself and sighed. “You really think he’ll kill us?”
“I know he will.” Agent Paul said. “I know he will as sure as we're sitting here. He’s eliminated all of our witnesses so far, so why would he stop now?”
“I thought James was a good friend and you say he turned up dead, right?”
“He did.”
“Then I have no choice, do I?”
Paul shook his head.
“It won’t be the first time my life was turned upside down.” she sighed.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Wilson, I truly am…”
“Jennifer.” she stated.
“What?”
“I won’t be Mrs. Wilson after this, will I? Jennifer is my name for now, until you people give me a new identity. Please, call me Jennifer for the time being. In other words, Agent Paul, it seems that witness protection is my only option.”
“Fair enough. And you can call me Steve, if you like.”
She nodded. “Thanks for everything you're doing for me and my family, Steve Paul...”
TWELVE
As Jennifer loaded the kids and the few possessions they had into the unmarked stretched limo, she began to sigh. Then, a chilling thought filled her mind. Everything and everyone she’d known and loved in this town would be cut off from her.
What about Kyra, Robert, and Helga? What would happen to them? She knew she would miss them, but didn’t want to risk their lives or her kids’ lives. Witness protection would keep her and the children safe, she hoped.
With the children buckled up, she crawled in beside them, followed by Agent Steven Paul. As he sat down, he placed his large black bag upon the seat and smiled with empathy. “I know you’re scared, but you’ll be fine. I promise!”
“Wait…you’re coming with us?”
“I am. I'm going to be your personal guard! Your personal protector.” he replied.
“Don’t you have a family?”
“Mom and dad know I’m going into hiding and they’ll worry, but it’s my job.”
“I see…” she was surprised. He seemed like such a solid man, ‘doesn’t he have a wife to go home to?' she wondered.
“Driver, we’re ready…”
The journey was daunting and the kids were restless. They stopped only to use the bathroom. All food was eaten in the car, out of sight of the viewing public.
“I can’t believe we can’t just get out and stretch our legs every now and then.” Jennifer groaned.
“I’m sorry, but it’s for your safety and the safety of your children.” Agent paul was stern but polite.
“But, we’re miles away now.”
“There are many miles which the Grangers cover. In fact, the price…” then he paused.
“I mean, it’s best for us to stay in the car until we get you somewhere safe.”
“Steve. Tell me the truth…”
“Truth? About what, ma'am?”
“How much danger am I in, really?” she asked. “It’s just Mason looking for me, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, no. The Grangers have put a price on your head, because bringing Mason down would cause their entire empire to crumble like a house of cards, and would ultimately cost them millions of dollars. They aren't about to let him go down without a fight. Word travels fast in their circle, and it didn't take long for them to hear about what you saw at the bar.”
“So, there's a hit out on me?”
Steven didn’t want to answer, but the children were asleep and he figured it would be safe enough to talk a little.
“There is… on you and…” he pointed to Chelsea.
“What!? Why her?”
“She’s attached to you, and that's all it takes. It may sound cliche, but these people don't like to leave any loose ends.”
“And M.J.?”
“Mason has orders for M.J. to be returned to him safely.”
“So, he doesn’t want to kill M.J. Then, maybe he won’t kill this one, either.”
she said, pointing at her bulging belly.
“M.J. is his heir and will carry on the family name. At least, that’s how he’s put it out there.”
“Over my dead body!” she scorned.
Her tone caused the children to stir, but they didn’t wake up.
“It'll be okay Jennifer, I promise. I won’t let them hurt any of you!”
Suddenly, Jennifer began to feel much safer. Steven was there to protect them for as long as it would take, and there didn't seem to be any give in his demeanor that would indicate to her that she needed to worry about things while they were under his charge.
The trip was long and finally after three car changes and an airplane ride, they’d stretched a significant amount of space between them and her now-estranged husband. She was torn. She truly loved Mason at one time, but he hadn’t been the man she really thought he was.
Instead, he’d turned out to be a vicious killer, who lacked the ability to care about anything outside of his petty, criminal world. It hurt deeply, and she wondered if she would ever find that love again. The way she loved Mason not so long ago seemed to be a once in a lifetime discovery, and now it was gone forever.
THIRTEEN
As they entered the tiny cabin, M.J. scooped peacefully in Steven’s arms, Jennifer turned on the lights. It was late and everyone was exhausted from the drive. Chelsea, who was still half asleep, didn’t notice much as Jennifer led her to one of the bedrooms down the hall. Carefully and quietly she tucked her daughter in for the night, wishing she hadn’t had to leave poor Wally-B behind.
“Mama…are we home now?” Chelsea was groggy and disoriented.
“We are for now, sweetie..” Jennifer kissed her on the forehead and tucked her in. “Night sweetie. I love you…”
“Love you too Mama…”
Jennifer left the room and shut the door quietly behind her. Then, she tip-toed down the hall to find Steven already tucking M.J. into another bed, set up just for him. She watched as he caringly placed him on the bed and covered him up.
“Looks familiar…” she whispered.
“Mason did the same.” she said, with tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe that murderer is the same man I've loved for almost five. He was so good to us.”
“He’s a master at disguising what he does and who he really is.” Steven said. “You are a sweet soul, I can see that. But, you'll come to realize that Mason Wilson is nothing more than a cold-blooded hitman, who works for some pretty unsavory people.”
“I just don’t know how M.J. will ever understand this, or what I will tell this baby.”
“You're a smart woman. When the time comes, you’ll figure it out.”
Steven was quite tall. At least six foot, four. He had an obviously African American background, but it wasn’t the only nationality he had in his makeup. His darker skin and amazing green eyes set him apart from many others; his clean cut look, his black goatee, and sturdy facial features... but she wasn’t interested in all that right now. She couldn’t be, right? She was escaping the horrors of a murderous man and this was not the time for moving on to another self-destructive relationship.
“I’m going to take a hot bath…” she said.
“Sounds fine.” he affi
rmed. “You hungry?”
“What?”
“I cook.”
“You do?”
“Of course. And, we've got a fridge full of food. I’d be happy to fix us something to munch on. I don’t know about you, but I am hungry!”
She hadn’t thought about eating all day, but the baby growing inside was in need of some nourishment and sure, she felt hungry too.
“Sounds good…” she said. “I’ll be right out.”
***
After a relaxing soak in a luxurious tub, Jennifer slipped into her pajamas and robe and wandered to the kitchen, following the delicious aroma wafting in the air. As she walked into the kitchen, she smiled brightly.
“Oh my!” She was impressed. On the table were all the delicious vittles that Steven had whipped up. He’d made them country fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy and corn on the cob. But what really caught her attention was the sugary fragrance that filled the air. “What’s the cinnamon smell?” she asked.
“Apple cobbler. Thought it would go nice with the vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”
“Damn, you read me like a book!” she said. “Reminds me of the good old cookin’ from home…”
“Alabama, right?”
“Right….” She replied curiously raising a brow. “How’d you know? Right, you're with the FBI…”
“Actually, it was the accent. It’s where my Mama’s from as well.”
“Nice.” she said. “And your father, where’s he from?”
“Mississippi originally, but he eventually landed in prison and he's now serving a life sentence, so he isn't really a part of my life.”
“Oh shoot, I’m sorry!”
“Nah, it’s alright. He went to jail when I was really young. My step-father was amazing, though. He took really good care of me and my Mama, kept me on the straight and narrow.” he winked at her knowingly.
“Most of the time, anyway.” he smiled like a school boy.
“So, you’re not just an angel?” she asked.
“Nah. I do keep the halo in storage for special occasions, though.”
Jennifer smiled.
“It sure is nice of you to do this for us.”
“Oh, no problem. Mama taught me to cook and I always loved it as a hobby. It was my other career choice, if I hadn't been called by the lure of law enforcement.”
“Really?”
“Yep, policing or cooking…silly if you think about it, huh?”
“Not too far off, really?”
“How d’ya figure that?”
“You went from 'being a cook' to 'catching the crook.' Simple letter difference, really.” Jennifer smiled wryly as she sat down and began to sip on her Tropicana O.J.
“Here’s to me and Witness Protection, an unlikely affair to be sure.”
With warm acceptance, Steve raised his glass and tinged it together with Jennifer’s. “Cheers!” As they dined together, they began to share stories of their southern upbringings; finding joy in those sweet memories, sharing some of the sorrows that made them who they were today, and fondly reviewing Jennifer’s hopes and dreams for her and children.
All in all, their odd communion quickly became a solid friendship, but life would never be free for her and her kids. Not while Mason Wilson was hunting them down, anyway.
Nestled in the romantic hills of Montana, they hunkered down for a not-so-perfect adventure. Despite what would happen with Mason in the future, Jennifer felt safe with Steve right now, and that was a great place to start.
Her mind was partially at ease as she settled in for a night of much-needed rest, knowing that there were people out there who would do her and her children harm. For now, though, she and her children were safe and sound...
To be continued...
***
For the exciting conclusion of this 2-part series, be sure to visit the author page of Victoria Peters (available September, 2012), where you will find part 2 of the series, as well as several other fiction books available to view on any Kindle device!
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Table of Contents
Copyrights
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
Contributors
The Other Side of Perfect Page 5