by Jaime Lewis
Just as he walked out of the bathroom, she heard the knock at the door. Taking one last look in the mirror, she mumbled to herself, “Showtime.”
◆◆◆
Alex stood at Tenley’s front door with Juliette nervously nibbling her bottom lip. They were both anxious to see Tenley. Juliette had been biting the bullet since last night to see that her daughter was indeed home and safe, like Derek had told her.
The past few months had been tough on everyone, but Alex knew that Tenley’s sudden social distancing had been especially hard on Juliette. Juliette and Tenley had that mother/daughter relationship that most girls would be envious of. They were more like best friends and never kept secrets from one another. Tenley always confided in her mom. So, whatever had her running scared was most likely serious.
Alex couldn’t wait to see her best friend, but at the same time, she felt a little guilty. Ace and Derek had asked her to do a bit of recon for them. It seemed they weren’t sold on Tenley’s story about her disappearance in Ecuador. They thought that maybe since she and Tenley were so close, she could get Tenley to open up and explain what really went down during those twenty-four hours she was missing.
Since the morning she dropped Tenley off at the airport, she had worried about her safety. Knowing she had other things occupying her mind before she left, she prayed that Tenley would stay focused and not let her guard down. Every Sunday, she had looked forward to the email Tenley would send, although most of the communications were short in length and provided just enough details to let them know she was safe and staying busy. But something had changed in the last email she got from Tenley. It was unexpected because it wasn’t on a Sunday, the agreed designated day. That email was wordier and more detailed than any of her previous ones. She wrote about how much she missed everyone and was looking forward to coming home.
Alex had high hopes that when Tenley returned home, she would open up and talk to someone about what had been occupying her for the last couple of months, including what had happened with Potter. Potter had been a mess since Tenley’s departure to Ecuador. He’d been distant, cranky, and at times just downright nasty to anyone who stood in his way. Whatever happened between the two of them that morning she and Ace found Tenley curled up crying in her bedroom had deeply affected Potter. Ace told her that he pulled Potter aside one day during a training exercise and had a talk with him. Since then, he had been a little more personable, but at the mention of Tenley’s name, Alex could see the pain Potter tried to hide.
Ace had mentioned the conversation Potter had with Tenley’s friend and co-worker, Shelia, and how she told Potter she was worried about Tenley’s safety at home. Alex had met Chaz once, and as far as first impressions went, she hadn’t been impressed. If Chaz was indeed the culprit of Tenley’s sudden change of behavior the last few months, Alex wondered what in the hell he was holding over her head. He was a controlling and heartless person who only cared about himself, but for Tenley to bow down to his commands, well, that just wasn’t like Tenley as Tenley was independent and would never let a man dictate her life.
The clicking of the two locks on the door made Alex refocus, and she drew in a deep breath. Maybe today would provide answers for everyone’s sake.
◆◆◆
Tenley sat on the couch next to her mom with her legs tucked under her. Alex, on the other hand, was kicked back in the leather recliner with her feet propped up, sipping on a mimosa. Her mom hadn’t let go of her hand since she walked through the door about fifteen minutes ago. She tried to pry her hand away when they sat down, but her mother was relentless. She had to admit she found her mom’s touch comforting.
She told them about the town she had stayed in and all the wonderful people she had met while there. From the way her mom kept glancing at the bruise on her cheek, she knew the questions about the attack were not far away.
“So how bad was the destruction from the earthquake?” Her mom asked, squeezing her hand.
Tenley closed her eyes a moment as she thought back to the day she arrived in San Lorenzo and saw the devastation first-hand. The pictures the news outlets showed on TV didn’t prepare her for the reality that had greeted her. The coastal areas closest to the epicenter were utterly obliterated. Any buildings that were left standing, which weren’t many, were condemned because they were damaged beyond repair. The thoughts made her think of Alejandra. She wasn’t ready to tell her mom or Alex about the little girl yet. At least not until she knew more about the adoption process.
She looked at her mom and shook her head. “It was awful, mom. Entire towns were wiped out. A lot of the people barely had anything to begin with, and now the ones who survived have nothing. Donations of food and clothing have been pouring in, but it isn’t enough. As soon as a drop arrives, it’s gone in the blink of an eye. I guess we can be grateful we didn’t have any fights or thefts happen around our camp.”
And there was the opening, and damn if Alex didn’t take advantage of it.
“Well, at least not until your incident.”
Juliette released Tenley’s hand and cupped the side of her face with the bruise. Tenley closed her eyes, letting the warmth from her mom’s touch travel to her heart. When she opened them, her mom was staring at her with tears in her eyes.
“God, Tenley. When I got that phone call and was told you were missing, my whole world stopped. You hear on the news of that kind of thing happening to others and all the horrible things that are done to them, but I never once believed it could happen to you. You were all alone,” Juliette sobbed. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Tenley hugged her mom tight and was now crying as well. She buried her face in Juliette’s shirt. “I was so scared, mom. I tried to fight back, but it wasn’t enough,” She glanced over at Alex, who had tears in her eyes. “Maybe you could teach me some of those military martial arts moves, you know.” Alex nodded her head.
They were saved from more crying when the doorbell rang. The food had arrived.
When Tenley answered the door, she had expected to see the restaurant’s delivery driver, not Chaz standing on her porch, holding the bag of food with that pompous expression she’d seen too often.
“Well, it looks like the rumor was right. You’re back.” He licked his lower lip as he looked her from head to toe. He was disgusting. When his eyes reached her face, she knew he had spotted the bruise on the side of her face. His eyes narrowed, and a mean expression took over his face. “What the fuck happened to your face? Better yet, where the fuck have you been?”
“I don’t owe you shit, and my business is none of your fucking business. Now get off my property.” She snarled at him before she snatched the bags out of his hands. She went to shut the door, but he was too quick and stuck his foot out.
“That seems like an awful lot of food just for you. Who’s in there with you?” He tried looking around her, but she closed the door enough so he couldn’t see in. He didn’t need to know her mom and best friend were visiting. God knows what type of scene he’d make.
“Who I have in my house isn’t any of your goddamn business.” She told him through clenched teeth before kicking him in the shin and slamming the door in his face.
“Bitch! You’re going to be sorry you did that. You hear me, Tenley?” He shouted from the other side of the door. When she heard him stomping away, she peeked through the blinds in the living room and saw him get into his car. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. So much for him forgetting about her.
“Tenley?”
Tenley squealed and jumped, putting her hand over her heart.
“Shit, Alex. You scared me.”
Alex took a step toward her. She could hear her mom in the kitchen, getting drinks for the three of them. “Tenley, was that Chaz?”
Fuck!
Tenley shook her head as if denying it, but she knew her friend wasn’t going to let her off that easy. “Now is not the time to discuss what you may have just heard.” She tried to step ar
ound her, but Alex grabbed her elbow, stopping her.
“What I just heard?” Alex raised her voice at Tenley. “What I just heard is a little hard to ignore, Tenley. He just threatened you.”
Just then, Juliette walked into the room, looking concerned. “What’s going on girls? Is everything okay? I thought I heard someone shouting.”
Alex scowled at her. Tenley knew her friend was growing impatient with her. There was only so much time before Alex was going to start demanding answers, especially now that she witnessed Chaz threatening her. If she told the guys what she overheard, hell with their interrogation techniques, they would have her singing like a canary.
“We’re good, Juliette. I don’t know about you ladies, but I’m starving.” Alex started walking toward the kitchen, and Tenley knew Alex was upset with her. Once this mess was over, she’d make it up to her. She’d make it up to everyone.
Tenley followed them into the kitchen, like a dog with its tail between its legs. Alex and her mom started setting the food out on the breakfast bar. The tension in the room suddenly became thick enough that you could slice it with a knife. She needed to give them some sort of explanation without divulging everything or anything that could put them in harm’s way.
“Look, I’m going to tell you both what I told Potter yesterday,” Her mom and Alex stopped what they were doing and gave her their full attention. “I know I haven’t acted like myself the last couple of months, and I owe everyone an apology and an explanation. But, before I can move forward, I need to settle a few things. I just ask for your patience.”
“Tenley, we didn’t mean to push. We just care about you and want to help you.” Her mom said, pulling her into a hug.
“I know, mom, and I appreciate it, but these are things that only I can handle.”
Alex walked over to where Tenley stood by the stove and placed her hand over hers. “Just promise us that if you need anything, that you’ll call.”
Tenley smiled, squeezing her friend’s hand. “That I can promise,” she said then started pulling plates from the cabinet. “Now, who’s hungry? Because I am starving and looking at all of this yummy food is making my mouth water.”
She lied through her teeth, as the food was the last thing on her mind now. She knew Chaz would make good on his threat for her earlier actions. She wondered now if she had made a huge mistake. God! She couldn’t make her mind up.
◆◆◆
As soon as Potter walked into Ace and Alex’s kitchen, the aroma of Italian spices hit his nose. “Damn, woman, it smells amazing in here,” he said, walking over to the stove where Alex stood tossing a salad. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, and she hugged him.
When Ace asked him over for dinner in the evening, he was a little hesitant until Ace mentioned that Alex was making baked ziti. His favorite dish. And he loved Alex’s baked ziti.
Yeah, the woman knew how to convince him. She bribed him with his favorite foods. He loved Alex like a sister. She was a good person and always doing something to help others in need. Whether it involved people, animals, or whatever, she was constantly doing some type of good deed. That was on top of her foundation and clinic she was forming to aid veterans in need of medical assistance. And to top it off, she was engaged to a SEAL and understood and supported his career with no questions asked. That alone gave Potter great respect for her. Alex really was a superwoman. Her heart truly showed through her acts of kindness.
Ace walked over and handed him a beer. He noticed Ace seemed a little on edge as the two of them sat down at the table, and he wondered what was up with his best friend.
“You okay, man?” He asked, looking over at Ace. Ace stared at him and then glanced over at Alex as she pulled the ziti dish out of the oven. She walked it over to the table and placed it down in front of them.
“No, he’s upset with me because I wouldn’t tell him anything about my visit with Tenley until you got here. You know, the man has to have control over everything.” She stated with an eye roll that made Potter chuckle. She wasn’t kidding; Ace was a control freak.
He had been aware that Alex and Juliette had lunch with Tenley today, and he was interested in hearing how it went. When he pulled into their driveway just a few minutes ago, it took every ounce of control not to walk next door and check on Tenley.
Alex walked over to Ace and kissed him on the cheek. “Please don’t be upset with me. I just figured that since Potter was coming over, I’d tell you both everything at the same time, so I don’t have to repeat myself.”
Potter wanted to laugh as he watched Ace’s hard expression softened at Alex’s words. His friend was so whipped he found it hilarious. But he was happy for him and in a few weeks they’d all be celebrating his and Alex’s wedding.
Potter dished out some of the ziti onto his plate as Ace spoke to Alex.
“It’s not that I’m upset with you because you wouldn’t tell me. I was upset because I could tell something had upset you.”
Alex dropped her fork and looked at Ace. “Upset isn’t the word for what I was feeling. I am furious at my best friend. I love her dearly, but damn, her stubbornness can piss me off sometimes.” She let out a low growl of frustration, and Potter couldn’t imagine what Tenley had done to make Alex this upset. She then looked at both Potter and Ace. Potter could see her eyes were glassy. “I’m scared for her, you guys. Something is definitely going on between her and her ex.”
Potter dropped his fork and washed his food down with a swig of beer. He didn’t like where this conversation was headed.
“What makes you say that? And when you say you think something is going on between them, do you mean like they are back together? Did Tenley say something?”
She shook her head and looked him in the eye. “No, he showed up at her house today while Juliette and I were there. He had intercepted the delivery driver and brought our food to the door. I only caught the tail end of the conversation before she slammed the door in his face.” Alex picked up her glass of wine and took a big gulp. Potter knew she was stalling. He was a seasoned interrogator and knew the signs of when a person didn’t want to talk. Whatever Alex heard, she was trying hard to figure out how to tell them.
“What did you hear, Alex?” He asked in a surprisingly calm tone. Just knowing the sonofabitch was at her house made him want to go hunt him down.
She took a deep breath. “I heard him threaten her. He said that she was going to be sorry.”
Goddammit, Tenley. What have you gotten yourself into?
He ran his fingers over his short hair. As good as the ziti was, his appetite was gone now.
“I’m sorry Potter, I tried to get her to talk to me, but she wouldn’t budge. She said she needed a little bit of time to take care of things, and then she would explain everything to everyone.”
Ace reached over and took Alex’s hand. Potter could tell she was shaken up. Hell, he was shaken by the news. What in the hell was this guy holding over Tenley’s head? It just didn’t make sense.
“Alex, don’t be sorry. You did what you could, and Tenley should be lucky to have a friend as caring as you are.” She smiled at his words.
“How do you want to handle this?” Ace asked Potter.
“I say we stick with our original plan and give her a little time. A few days, max. However, knowing how her ex showed up at her house when she just got home has me a little skeptical now. It makes me wonder if someone’s been staking out at her house.”
Alex’s eyes shot wide open, and she gasped. “Ace…do you think that car I kept seeing on our street the last few weeks could’ve been Chaz, or maybe someone who works for him?”
“Shit. I didn’t think of that.” Ace replied, then downed the rest of his beer. He set the empty bottle on the table and looked at Potter. Potter could sense Ace’s disappointment. “My lovely fiancé here forgot to mention to me that she’d seen a dark blue car doing drive-bys at different times of the day and night. A couple of nights it was parked across the
street.”
Potter could sense Alex was upset and knew she blamed herself for not mentioning the car sooner. But if anyone were to blame, it was Tenley. Her unwillingness to confide in the people who cared for her, allowed her to put herself in this position.
“Sweetheart, was there anything else Tenley mentioned?”
“The only other thing we talked about was her trip. I think you guys were right about her disappearance. When she told us about the attack, she stumbled a lot over her words, which is so not like her. Tenley is a fantastic speaker. I don’t think Juliette noticed, but I did. But I also sensed she was leaving out key details.”
“You sensed it?” Potter asked, hoping that maybe she knew Tenley’s so-called ‘tells’ as his commander did.
She scrunched her nose up. “You’ve got your ‘thinking’ face on. What’s going through that intelligent mind of yours?” Potter asked, giving her a boyish smile.
“I can’t explain it, Potter. She and I have been best friends since forever. We’re more like sisters. There are certain times when each of us can get a vibe from the other. I definitely got that vibe today. She’s hiding something.” She shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing, but he’d learned over the last year that Alex was a brilliant woman, and when she sensed something, it was better listen to her because nine times out of ten, she was right.
“If she doesn’t come forward by Friday, I say we have Derek sit her down and talk to her. She respects Derek. She won’t be able to lie to him in a one-on-one situation. In the meantime, we all just need to keep a vigilant watch over her.”
Agreeing, Potter finished his meal, and then they talked for a little while longer before he decided to call it a night. As he walked out, he heard Ace apologizing to Alex for being a jerk, and it made him laugh. He heard Alex tell Ace that he acted like an asshole rather than a jerk. She loved busting the team’s balls when she got the chance to do so.