Save Me If You Can

by Jones, Christina C

  She hoped that whatever he was doing, whatever his plan was… he’d stay alive long enough to realize it.

  Savi nodded at Kendall, who had posed as her driver before and was reprising that role again. He pulled up at the airfield, and following the directions of one of King’s men, parked about twenty feet away from a sleek black Escalade. She took a deep breath as Kendall climbed out of the car and got patted down for weapons. She didn’t let it out until he opened her door, to help her out.

  He met her eyes with a serious gaze and then scratched his ear, reminding her of the panic button concealed in one of her diamond earrings. She gave him a subtle nod as she climbed out, then submitted to her own pat down. It was much more “gropey” than necessary, and for all the extra touching, wasn’t even thorough. They missed the short, jagged-bladed pocket knife hidden in her jeans, and the gun strapped in her favorite hiding place – between her breasts. They never checked there.

  With one last glance at Kendall, she turned to follow the short bodyguard to the escalade, where he opened the door to the back seat.

  It was… empty.

  Hmm.

  Savi climbed in and sat down in the empty vehicle, flinching when the door slammed closed behind her. She hadn’t expected this, not at all, and this little meeting place was at least four miles from where an airplane would actually take off. Was that on purpose? Was he keeping her away from the plane? And where the hell was he, anyway?

  The role she was playing, Sarai, was a woman of very little patience. She waited two more minutes, and was just about to open the door and make a minor scene when the door on the other side of the vehicle opened. Eyes narrowed, she crossed her arms and frowned, preparing to act the part of high-maintenance brat, but then… her gaze fell on Harrison and she sucked in a breath.

  His eyes gave away nothing, not even recognition, and she quickly shuttered her own as Terry King came into view.

  “Sarai,” he said, smiling as he climbed into the car and slid next to her. “As pleased as I am to see you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel our rendezvous. Something urgent has come up, and I need to take care of it.”

  Savi rolled her eyes. “So you’re brushing me off for work?” She waved a bored hand in Harrison’s direction, and let a sneer curl her upper lip. “I told you, I’m not a woman who responds to lackluster effort, not at all. This isn’t acceptable for me.”

  “I know,” he said soothingly, placing his hand high on her thigh. Over his shoulder, Savi caught the cold fury in Harrison’s eyes as he watched King’s hand move over her leg. “And trust me, I had no intention of doing anything less than leaving a positive impression on you, but duty calls. I have um… a recent addition to my employment…” – he indicated Harrison – “so I have to do a little training before I leave. But…” – he leaned in close, brushing his lips over her ear – “when I come back, I will show you what I mean.”

  It was a battle between her mind and her body, fighting the urge to shove King back, to get the sensation of his warm breath away from her skin. Her eyes traveled over Harrison as she nodded in response to King’s words, and her gaze fell on how tightly his fists were clenched. Because he hated King, or because he hated King being so close to her?

  What had King just said, that Harrison was his new employee? So if he hated him so much, why on earth would he ever choose to work with him? Harrison was so close now – if he wanted King dead, why the hell was the man breathing heavy and pawing at her right now? He’d had ample chance!

  She forced a smile to her face as King pulled back, his eyes full of lust as they raked over her body. Again, because she couldn’t help it, her eyes flickered back to Harrison, and it was then, right then that she noticed something she hadn’t before. King was already looking away from her, motioning Harrison into the vehicle, but Savi’s gaze shot back and forth between the two men’s faces.

  Wha…how… what?

  Her eyes locked with Harrison’s as he climbed into the car, and she could have sworn something in his eyes shifted, in a subtle affirmation of her suspicion.

  “I’ll be in touch when I return stateside,” King said.

  Savi didn’t have a chance to blink, let alone think of a response before the door on her side was pulled open, and someone grabbed her arm, pulling her from the car. She was unceremoniously marched back to the vehicle she’d pulled in with Kendall and deposited inside to watch the car holding the man she loved shoot away, towards the hangar.

  “So what happened?” Kendall asked, when the door was closed, turning back to look at Savi. “Are you okay?”

  Savi shook her head, chest heaving as she finally let go of the breath she’d been holding. “No. No, they have… Harrison is in there,” she said, pointing toward where the vehicle was now just a speck in the distance.”

  “What?” Kendall’s eyes went wide. “So what now?”

  “You drive, that’s what.” Savi ran a hand through her hair as she clipped her seatbelt.

  “Follow them?!”

  “No! No,” she repeated, taking a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. “No, don’t follow them. Not… exactly. Take me around to the back.”

  &

  “I am now officially convinced that your ass is crazy,” Inez said, pulling a smile from Naomi. She shook her head, then finished the task of rolling her thick natural hair into some semblance of a bun.

  “Why do I have to be crazy?” she asked, running her hands over the kinky-curly edges of her hair in an attempt at smoothing. “Harrison is in the wind, Savi and Kendall went to go meet up with Terry King, Quentin and Renata are trying to hack a fucking airplane to keep it from taking off until Barnes gets a warrant for King, and Marcus is looking into Barnes. I… am about to go teach my ballet class. But I’m crazy?”

  Her friend lifted an eyebrow. “Yes. Yes, you are. How can you be calm?!”

  “Exactly like this. You’re watching me do it,” Naomi said with another grin as she tied on her ballet skirt. “I’ve spent enough time being worried and stressed. Lost my baby, because I was worried and stressed. Nearly killed myself, made Marcus mad at me sneaking into that house to try to see my mother, because I was worried and stressed. I’m done. I’m officially disengaging from this. Y’all can chase these people all you want, but Naomi is finished. If you want to talk me, talk to me about something else.”

  Naomi’s words held much more certainty and confidence than she actually felt, but she had, long ago, mastered the art of “faking it until you make it.” She was still very much in process of “not caring” about Wolfe, or Noelle, or King. She wasn’t sure “not caring” was even actually possible, but she was very sure that she wasn’t willing to lose anything else in the pursuit of them.

  “Okay, I can talk about something else. Did I tell you Kendall wants to get married?”

  “WHAT?!” Naomi spun around to face Inez, eyes wide. “He proposed to you?! I thought you guys were just… you know… having fun?!”

  Inez sat up. “Exactamente! Just having fun, and… I mean… I liked him. Liked him a lot. A whole lot, but… he wanted to talk about me leaving the agency, getting some boring job like what him and Renata and Marcus do at the FBI, so I could have a baby.”

  Naomi’s eyes went wider, and she shook her head as she bent to pull on her slippers. “Already, with the knocked up and barefoot thing, when he just proposed? And did you accept?” She looked up just in time to see her friend cringing, with her mouth twisted to one side. “Inez…”

  “What?”

  Naomi lifted an eyebrow.

  “Okay, okay, so it wasn’t… really a proposal. But still, it may as well have been! He wants me to change my entire life, to have a family with him!”

  Naomi gasped, clutching a hand to her chest as she rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, I can’t believe him, he has so much nerve! How dare he have feelings for you and not just your pussy, and want to think about building a life together? What an awful person.”

  “N
aomi…”

  “What?” Naomi asked, sucking her teeth. “Come on, Inez. I get it, without you even telling the whole thing. You like being able to run around and blow shit up, and live this exciting life. But guess what? That can’t last forever. You’re gonna get old, or injured, or something isn’t gonna heal right. Or something is gonna go wrong on an op, and you’re gonna die alone somewhere, wishing you’d gotten out while you had the chance.”

  Inez rolled her eyes, fixing Naomi with a scowl. “Seriously Mimi? You’re gonna go all dramatic on me?”

  “I sure am, after you said Kendall proposed to you. Listen, I’m not the person to talk to about this if you’re looking for a sympathetic ear. You and I met because I was forced into this life. All I’ve ever wanted was the normal stuff, a husband, a house, kids. I didn’t want to be a thief. I was doing what I thought I had to do, for this revenge that I thought I needed. But in the meantime, I’ve missed out on so much that I can’t get back. I don’t know if Marcus and I will ever get to just… go look for a home together. Get pregnant again. I have no idea. So… I love you, Inez, but I’m really not the one to talk to about your disappoint that you have a man that wants to love on you, and give you babies, and be able to sleep at night without worrying about where you are. I’m getting pissed off at you just thinking about it.”

  Inez pushed out a heavy sigh, then nodded. “I know. I know. And you’re right, this won’t last forever, which is why I want to get it out now.”

  “So tell him that.”

  “I can’t.” Inez dropped her gaze, staring at her hands for a moment before she looked up again. “What if he… what if he decides to wait for me?”

  Naomi narrowed her eyes. “Is that… bad?”

  “Claro que si! I don’t want him waiting for me, what if he passes up some woman that would be good for him, while I’m off assassinating somebody? I don’t want him wasting his life away like that!”

  Crossing her arms, Naomi leaned against the wall, looking at her friend. “So he doesn’t get a say? What if… what if he loves you, and just hasn’t said it yet? What if he doesn’t care, what if he’s willing to wait? You’re just going to take the choice away from him?”

  “No,” Inez said, after a deep breath. “It’s not about taking away his choice, it’s about taking the pressure off of me. I want to be able to make a decision about leaving on my own. And if I’m rushing, because I think he’s waiting on me… that might influence what I decide, and if that influences me, and I regret it later, what is… what if I blame him? Resent him for it? That’s not fair either, is it?”

  Naomi pushed out a breath through her nose, then shook her head. “No… I guess it’s not. It doesn’t sound like an easy decision to make, but you’re absolutely right – whatever you decide, it needs to be best for you, so you can feel good about it. But I do think you should talk to him. Tell him your fears, and your concerns… I think he’ll understand.”

  Inez’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know, Mimi. I—” Inez stopped speaking as her phone rang, and she fished it from her pocket to look at the screen.

  While she took her phone call, Naomi finished getting dressed and then checked the time. Ten minutes until class.

  “That was Barnes,” Inez said, stowing the phone back in her pocket. “He caught a lead on Noelle, wants me to go in as backup. You think you’re good here by yourself?”

  Naomi rolled her eyes, trying to pretend her heart hadn’t started racing at the mention of Noelle. “Is that why you’re here? To watch me?”

  Inez shrugged, then playfully smacked Naomi on the butt as she passed. “I’m gonna use your back entrance, and remember that Quentin is here in the office if you need him.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”

  Inez left the bathroom, and Naomi did as well, waving to Quentin as she exited the office. He was so engrossed in the airplane schematics that he barely looked up, but Naomi kept going, heading for her classroom.

  The door was already open for students who’d arrived a little early, and she smiled as their excited chatter reached her ears. They seemed particularly lively today, from their shouts and giggles, and Naomi’s smile grew a little bigger. That was exactly the energy she needed around her, and she walked a little faster to reach the door.

  Her smile died on her lips.

  Her sweet little baby ballerinas were gathered in the middle of the room, with many of their parents smiling from the side. They were bouncing around, excited about the woman kneeling among them, a woman with flawless dark skin and thick natural hair, resting regally around her shoulders.

  Naomi’s breath caught in her throat, making her eyes water as the woman looked up, smiling when she met Naomi’s eyes.

  “Ah, here she is,” the woman said, and a chill ran down Naomi’s spine as a voice she hadn’t heard in many years washed over her, making her feel like she’d been doused with ice. Naomi swallowed hard as her gaze flicked to the parents, then to the kids, and then finally, back to the unwelcome guest as she stood.

  “Hello, mother. What on earth are you doing here?”

  &

  Harrison was quiet as they sped toward the hangar.

  He had to be, lest he spew out the rage that currently swam in his head and heart. King was on the phone anyway, barking orders to people, and Harrison knew he should be listening, but instead, he had to stay focused on controlling that rage.

  Control

  It was all about control.

  Control had kept him calm on the drive away from the house, then Terry had put that gun to his head. Harrison had sworn up and down – on his mother’s grave – that he had no idea what had happened, because he didn’t. He had his suspicions, but nothing concrete, so it was the absolute truth when he said he had nothing to do with it. Something about that must have resonated with Terry, because he’d finally taken his knee out of Harrison’s chest, and they climbed into the seats for the rush to the airfield.

  Once there, they’d climbed out of the vehicle they were in to board another, and Harrison recognized that move. A diversionary tactic, on the off chance that the vehicle was being tracked. It was a smart move for a reactionary man like King, but Harrison wasn’t exactly surprised by the forethought. He was, however, surprised at the site of Savi.

  King had mentioned needing to take care of something, but the sight of Savi in the back of that car had thrown him completely off. Why was she there? Was she a captive? Was she being used against him? Would she be harmed? All of those questions had rushed into his mind at once, making him wonder if one of his worst fears was about to be realized. But then King had put her out of the car. He’d touched her too, which made Harrison want to rip him in half, but more importantly, he’d let her go, and he’d caught a glimpse of Kendall in the car she’d climbed into.

  So hopefully she was safe. Hopefully she’d be just fine, and her being harmed wasn’t something he would have to live with. But the anger he felt… the anger he’d felt for the last seventeen years, since his mother had died… that was still boiling, and growing hotter with every second he spent in Terry King’s presence.

  They reached the hangar and climbed out of the car, but Terry kept glancing back at Harrison, with a look that was almost suspicious as they walked toward the jet.

  “Hold up,” he said, raising a hand to stop their trek. Harrison swallowed hard, but kept his face blank as the older man came to stand in front of him. “This is as far as you go, my man.”

  A prickled of panic ran down Harrison’s spine. “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m not stupid. And something isn’t right about this. I don’t fucking trust you.”

  Harrison shrugged. “You shouldn’t. At least, if there’s ever a time the money doesn’t clear. As long as I get paid, you have nothing to worry about from me.”

  Terry chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds good, and all, but… nah, something is up here. I know you, from somewhere. Who are your people?”

  “I don’t have any peo
ple.”

  “You came from somewhere,” Terry snapped. “Your mother’s people, then. You swore on her grave. Who was she? What was her name?”

  “Yvette Cole.” Harrison caught the exact moment that his mother’s name triggered something for King, snagging on the edge of a memory. The older man’s eyes went wide in recognition, and Harrison slowly bobbed his head. “Yeah. You remember, don’t you? Or… you might remember her by another name… Yvette… Wolfe.”

  “Damien’s baby sister.” Those words left King’s lips in barely above a whisper as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re… Yvette’s son.”

  “Your son!” Harrison bellowed, closing the distance between him and Terry. “The baby you gave her and then threw us away like neither of us were shit, just like you did with Renata and her mother. But you reached out for Renata. Why? Why her, and not me?”

  “Because it’s not just alike.” Terry’s words held distinct venom as he smirked in Harrison’s face. “Whatever happened between us later, Renata was conceived in love, with my former wife. Your mother though? Yvette? I fucked her just because she was available, and because Damien thought I wouldn’t. I didn’t even know the little bitch was pregnant until Damien had already relocated her, and was crying about how she wouldn’t tell him who had done it.”

  “She was a kid. Sixteen years old. Your ass was grown!”

  Terry smirked. “You know what… you’re right. Is that where your uncle got it from, huh? Is that why he chose that age to do what he did to my daughter? Your sister, right? You’ve been working for that motherfucker all these years, I hope you’re gonna get some vengeance on Renata’s behalf too, right?”

  “Don’t you act like you care about Ren,” Harrison said, his voice low, suddenly filled with a chilling calm. “I’ve protected her, even from Wolfe, more than you ever have. But yeah… I do plan on getting some vengeance on her behalf too. Both of you motherfuckers… if it weren’t for your choices, my mother wouldn’t have been wrapped up in this. She was trying so hard to not be in this life. We struggled, she worked shitty jobs to take care of me, so she wouldn’t have to take any of Wolfe’s money. She got sick and died because of you, working with those chemicals in those old houses, breathing in God knows what. And I found the email she sent you, asking for medicine. Your company had a drug that would have helped, but she couldn’t afford it. She didn’t even mention me, didn’t ask you to be a father, didn’t ask you for money, none of that. Just the medicine, so she could help herself. And what was your reply?”