They continued to kiss passionately, yet reserved, for a little while longer until Ryan’s voice severed their connection.
“I see how it is; you two just wanted me to leave so you could be alone again.” Ryan sounded a little perturbed.
Eliwese laid her head down on Sean’s chest again, exhausted and breathing rapidly. Sean leaned his head back against the wall, his heart beating fast.
“That was fast Ryan.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun; but I don’t have to tell you that.”
“So, how did it go?” Sean asked Ryan trying to keep his voice level.
“I might ask you the same.”
“Did you email my father?” Eliwese asked raising her head off of Sean’s chest.
“Yep, do you want me to help you out of the tub or do you guys have this under control?”
Sean replied with, “I think we have it under control, Ryan. Don’t let the door hit your butt on the way out.” Sean hinted.
“Fine.” Ryan turned and left the room.
Eliwese laid her head back on his chest. He took in a big breath and let it out slowly.
“We should probably—” Sean started to say.
“Not yet,” she paused, and placed her hand in the center of his chest. She slowly flexed and contracted her fingers on his skin. “I just love everything about this moment, right here, right now with you and I wish it would never have to end.” She covered his mouth with hers again. They kissed passionately for a few minutes more and then Ryan knocked on the door to hurry them up.
Sean let out a loud groan of disgust and said, “We’re fine, go away.”
Ryan didn’t say a word.
Eliwese smiled and said, “We better get out.”
Sean repositioned her and then got up and wrapped a towel around his waist, securing it tightly to hold any unsightly bulges in place. Then he turned off the water and the fan and helped Eliwese out of the tub. He began to wrap her with a towel.
“Take my tank top off first.”
His heart skipped a beat and helped her sit down on the closed toilet. He grabbed the IV bag and bundled the tubing and then helped her remove her arms, one at a time, threading the bag and tubing as he went. He couldn’t help looking at her chest as he draped a towel across her. He bent forward and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“Come on. Let’s get you dressed.” He helped her to the bedroom where Ryan was waiting, tapping his foot against the table.
Sean noticed the clock right off the bat. It was only eight o’clock which meant Ryan had only been gone for two hours.
“Ryan, why are you back so soon? You should have been gone for at least three hours.”
“You would’ve liked that, huh? Get dressed, and then we’ll talk.” Ryan exited the room and shut the door.
Sean helped her over to the bed and she sat on the edge. He dug through the drawers and found the last pair of boxers. He helped her take off her wet ones. The towel she held to her chest was now the only thing hiding her from him, yet it covered just enough. He helped her put her feet into the dry boxers and she stood up so Sean could pull them the rest of the way up.
She sat down again and Sean looked for another shirt. “I’ll have to look in the other room for a better shirt for you.” He left the room still wearing the towel around his waist.
He entered the kitchen where he saw Ryan leaning up against the cabinets with his arms folded. Sean met Ryan’s eyes immediately. Ryan had a look of disgust on his face as he looked at Sean.
“I need a different shirt for Eliwese. Can you help me find a short sleeved one?”
Ryan never took his eyes off of Sean. He reached over and magically produced a pair of scissors. The expression on his face never changed.
“Cut off the sleeve, moron.”
Sean took the scissors from Ryan and glared at him.
“What’s your problem?”
“Oh, nothing much, just that I’m off doing important things to save everyone’s necks, and here you are ‘making out’ with the collateral; who, I don’t need to point out, is married.”
“Don’t talk about Eliwese like that.”
“Like what? Collateral? Or married? Get your head out of the clouds, man. Don’t go making this harder on yourself than it has to be.”
“What?”
“If you’re too attached to her, you’ll jeopardize the tradeoff. I won’t allow that.”
“Oh, listen to you now. You are all guts and glory.”
Ryan straightened up tall and stood toe to toe with Sean.
“My priorities are in the right place. How’s yours, Sean? I may be smaller than you but from where I stand, I’m the bigger person right now.”
Sean turned away from Ryan and walked back to the bedroom.
After cutting the long sleeved shirt a bit, Sean helped Eliwese put it on and buttoned it up. He cared for her wounds. He kept thinking about her and the way she kissed him. His mind turned to Ryan and his description of Eliwese; collateral.
And married.
However, Sean knew Eliwese would end her marriage in a heartbeat. It wasn’t her choice to marry Prince Vasilios. She didn’t love him. But between him and her, there was definitely something. He felt it. He saw it in her eyes.
Once he had finished bandaging her up, he pulled up the sheet and bent over to tuck it around her body. He gently pushed her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. His fingertips continued on down behind her ear and then followed her jaw line, till he reached her chin. She closed her eyes and Sean leaned forward to kiss her cheek right next to her mouth. She turned her lips toward his but he pulled away before they made contact.
“Ryan is really worked up about something.” Sean said as he got up and looked for something to wear.
“I know how he feels.” She said quietly.
Sean smiled over his shoulder.
There were no more clean boxers in the drawer so he put his pants on without any. He hung up all of the wet clothes in the bathroom and directed the fan to blow on them.
Sean opened up the bedroom door and let Ryan back in. He came in, with a purpose, and sat down in the armchair.
“We have a problem,” he announced. “In the email, I asked for four days, but he demanded the day after tomorrow. Can this plan even work in that short amount of time?”
Sean was so anxious to hear Eliwese’s answer that he didn’t pick up on the problem. Eliwese closed her eyes and took in a moderately deep breath, which seemed to pain her to do so.
“What do you mean when you say you asked for four days and he demanded sooner?”
“I got a response from the email really quickly and I answered back.”
“Where did you send the email from?” she asked Ryan.
“I didn’t go to Northtown. I went back to Slaterville and used the resources I am familiar with. I figured it would save time.” Ryan’s shoulders raised and his neck stretched tall as he explained his actions.
“That wasn’t the plan, Ryan.” Eliwese said quietly and disappointedly. She pushed her head into the pillow and closed her eyes.
“I didn’t figure it mattered where I did that stuff.” He snipped arrogantly.
Eliwese talked aloud to herself with her eyes shut. “He tracked you down through the email correspondence. He knows where you were, that is why he felt confident in bumping the date up. An email sent one way takes longer to track, but a volley of emails… it was a mistake to send Ryan.”
She opened her eyes and looked at Sean. Sean didn’t know what to think. He looked over to see Ryan fidgeting nervously.
“I just didn’t think it mattered where things were done. I figured saving time was more important.”
“Well, that just shows what you know,” she answered back harshly. “Please tell me you sent the emails last and then left town immediately?”
“Yes, that was your request.” He emphasized on the final ‘t’.
“Well, the fact that this cabin
hasn’t been blown up yet means you did something right on your little jaunt to town.”
Ryan rolled his eyes and let out a ‘humph’.
“You, no doubt, shopped at local stores. Someone who knows you probably saw you and talked to you. The cell phones you bought are no good. You can throw them away. Don’t even turn them on; they can be traced to us. You most likely went to someone’s house to email the letter. If that is the case, you will be responsible for their deaths. The IP address attached to your email will be like following breadcrumbs. There is a method to my madness, Ryan. Don’t think for a moment you can second-guess my plan. If you ever want to see your mother and sister again, don’t figure anything!”
“You know, if I had all the information up front, I could have understood the importance of it all.”
“All you had to do was follow the instructions exactly. If you don’t plan on doing that from now on, then we have no use for you.” Eliwese shut her eyes. “Did you get the other things on the list?”
“Yes.” Ryan answered.
“What kind of vehicle did you buy?”
“I couldn’t find one for sale.”
“So, you didn’t buy a vehicle?”
“No.”
“Just now, when I asked if you got everything on the list, you said ‘yes’. A different vehicle was on the list. Again, it was a mistake to send you.” She tried to pull her thoughts together. “Ok, umm, bring me everything you bought.”
Ryan got up and left the room. Sean was floored by what he had just heard between the two. He didn’t know what to say or even how to react. He just stared at Eliwese with newfound admiration until Ryan came back in toting many shopping bags. He proceeded to dump them out all over the floor as if to prove to her he could do something right.
“Ryan, help me sit up.”
He did as she asked and she scanned the items on the floor. Her gaze stopped at the cell phones. Ryan must have read her mind because he scooped them up and moved them out of the way.
“Add more to the list, Ryan: Four cell phones, two hotel rooms, adjoining if possible, two different cars,” she paused, “that’s all for now.”
She looked at Sean. “We have a new deadline, thanks to Ryan. Would you set up the camcorder so I can get the video made? Ryan, get together all of the makeup and hair supplies and help me into the bathroom.”
Sean set up the tripod and unwrapped the mini DVD’s. He watched Ryan and Eliwese through the bathroom doorway. They spoke quietly to each other but Sean couldn’t understand what they were saying. He wondered if Eliwese was ripping on Ryan about being a moron. He had wanted to say stuff like that to his brother for years. Ryan had such a conceited personality and it was finally payback time to watch Eliwese bring him to his knees.
Eliwese put on makeup and styled her hair in preparation for the DVD filming. Sean knew she must be feeling utterly terrible because of her condition, but the stakes had been raised, thanks to Ryan, and there wasn’t any time left to recover.
She entered the bedroom, with the help of Ryan, all fixed up like she was about to go out on a date, only, it wasn’t so. Sean couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she looked. She asked Ryan to help her to the armchair because she would be recording from that location.
She asked Sean to reposition the camcorder and when it was lined up with her face, she asked the boys to leave the room.
“Why is it necessary for us to leave?” Sean asked politely.
“With a little luck, the two of you should never need to view this recording. There is information I am going to put on here that neither of you know. You are safer not knowing. So, please, leave the room while I do this. We don’t have time to argue.”
The two guys left the room and closed the door. They sat down at the table, opposite of each other with nothing to say.
“I hate this.” Ryan finally broke the silence.
“I know.”
“I mean, when does this end?”
“Are you just upset that she shut you down in there?”
“What? No. I don’t know.”
“I think you hate being wrong. And you know you did wrong and she called you on it.”
“I didn’t think it would matter.”
“’Didn’t think’ being the operative words.”
“Shut-up.” Ryan finished.
“What did you and Eliwese talk about in the bathroom?” Sean asked.
“She said I am too cocky for my own good, but she apologized. She made me promise I would do exactly as she says, when she says. Believe you me, I will.”
“I’ve never seen that side of her before.” Sean had been genuinely stunned when he watched the two of them go at it.
The two of them sat at the table and stared into nothingness, waiting for her to complete the video. After a while, Ryan got up and poured some coffee in two cups and brought one to Sean.
When she finished the filming she called them back in. Sean entered the room and could see right away her condition was worsening. Her face was moist with sweat and the dark circles under her eyes were showing through her makeup. She seemed to be short on breath, also.
Sean walked straight over to her and placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up again. Ryan came forward with the thermometer. He scanned her head and showed the reading to Sean; one-hundred four point eight. Sean crouched down in front of her.
“Eliwese, you are burning, but you already know that. We need to cool you off. Is there anything Ryan can work on while I help you?”
“He can dub off three copies onto DVD.” She turned to Ryan. “Please don’t watch it. Just check it for sound and verify your copies are complete.”
Ryan agreed and started working on that project. He took the equipment out to the table in the kitchen so he wouldn’t disturb Eliwese. Sean helped her back to the bed. She was weak and shaking. He raised her shirt to look at her wound. It needed to be moistened. He retrieved the bowl of water and towels and started cooling her off, once again. He wondered if she would ever get over this fever.
Sean wanted to ask her more questions, but decided against it; he wondered what was on the DVD. What was it that she felt was so important, so damning, that they could get their mother and sister back?
Ryan busied himself with the laptop and burning DVD’s while Sean worked on Eliwese. The clock showed ten o’clock PM.
“Sean,” she said quietly, “we have to leave this place early tomorrow morning. We have to be ready. We can’t be caught off guard or he’ll get the best of us. We need to arrive in Northtown by eight in the morning. Make sure we make it there by eight.”
“Where exactly do we need to be at eight?”
“1st International Bank; you and I have some banking to do. Promise me we won’t be late.” She sounded desperate.
“I promise. You need to rest now and get strong.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She was extremely warm. Her IV bag needed changing, so he left the room to retrieve a new one.
“What are you doing?” Ryan asked.
“New IV bag. She says we need to be in Northtown by eight am tomorrow.”
“Do you think we will be coming back here?”
“Probably not. You best round up supplies for us like medical and food for a few days. I’ll stay in there with her.”
Sean took the IV bag into the room and Ryan started packing items for the morning. Eliwese was lying on her side and resting. Sean walked over to her and hooked up the new bag. Then he checked her temperature, the same as a few minutes previous.
“Sean, would you lie down beside me? I need to talk to you.”
Sean carefully lay back on the bed; her fever heat radiating into him.
“We must have a different vehicle before we go to Northtown in the morning. You need to leave here and go find us a white car. Do you know anyone from your neighborhood that has a white vehicle of any kind?”
“Actually, yes. Dr. Randall has a white SUV.”
“Perfect, and we
can trust him?”
“Yes. Why white?”
“Because it’s the least likely color they would suspect. Besides, your car is green and they know that.”
“You really think the color of the car matters?”
“Yes. I’ve heard it said many times, the guilty never drive a white car.” She coughed a weak effort.
“You should rest.” Sean wondered what she meant by guilty.
“My father and Riley really underestimate my knowledge and strategies. They will be looking for two men and one woman, but we will show up as two women and one man.”
“You mean we will be disguised when we meet your father?”
“No. We will be disguised tomorrow morning when we enter Northtown. We will need to maintain the disguise the whole time because his men will be everywhere.” She said.
“Where will we get these disguises from?”
“I’m not sure yet. You need to leave now. Go get the white SUV, but be very careful. My father’s men may be there already.”
“I need to help you; I can’t leave you like this. Maybe Ryan could do this errand?”
“It’s Ryan’s turn to do your job. Sean, go now and keep your head low. Tell him whatever it takes to secure the vehicle.” She could barely speak because she was tired and weak. He looked out the door at Ryan who had been listening to their conversation. Ryan nodded his head and Sean got up and left the room to talk to Ryan.
“Keep her cool and check her wound. Oh, and help her drink. And—”
“Go already. Everything will be fine here. You won’t be gone very long.” Ryan slapped him on the back and walked away.
Sean finished dressing and left the cabin.
Chapter 10
It was eleven o’clock by the time Sean arrived back in town. He pulled into the first open gas station and parked around back. When the coast was clear, he walked to the payphone and called Dr. Randall.
“Dr. Randall, this is Sean.”
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