Hero

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  “Hold on before you call 911, Dr. Johnston,” Mr. Graham insisted while closely monitoring Athena. “How long have you been eating the food, Miss. Clark?” It was almost absurd how much we both were invested in her response.

  “About…” Her attention darted to the clock on her computer, returning to him. “…thirty minutes.”

  His entire body exhaled. “You’re probably fine physically. If there was a fast-acting poison in the food, you’d be sick already. Just to be on the safe side, we’ll take you to the urgent care down the street and have you checked out. The bill for an ambulance is astronomical in this state. It’d take all three of us to pay it. I’ll give you both a ride for free. Before we leave, what name did the guy give for the appointment?”

  Athena and I both cited, “Chad Lowell.” That man was too narcissistic to fake anything.

  Mr. Graham’s gray irises imitated lasers as they landed on me. “So, you know who it is?“

  “As much as anyone can know a stalker they’ve only met once. That was one time too many. He’d leave a bad impression on a block of wood. He’s…” Should I be telling him this? Shouldn’t I be protecting my patient and employee from this?

  The only way Mr. Graham and Athena should be affected by Chad’s mind games was if I went missing on purpose again. Athena had a second job. Mr. Graham would only have to start over therapy with someone else. Maybe he should. Maybe I should close my practice. I was bad news for everyone at this rate.

  Mr. Graham released my finger to grasp my whole hand and step closer to me. “Dr. Johnston, don’t shut down on me now. Tell me about this bastard.”

  I took a moment to memorize Tobin’s face because I likely wasn’t ever going to see it again. Realizing I’d called him Tobin in my thoughts showed me how close I’d let him get to me already. I had to maintain some type of professionalism. “I shouldn’t draw you further into my mess, Mr. Graham. Believe me, I want to because I don’t want to go through this alone anymore. I can’t keep going through this. It isn’t healthy. Something has to give. That something is going to be me, and you already have enough problems of your own. It is my duty to not compromise your mental wellbeing with my problems. You need… you need to find another doctor.”

  It nearly broke me to say that. Alas, I had to let him go on to safer pastures. Tobin was not of the same mind, however. He went from holding my hand to cradling my shoulders. Immediately, I was calmer. His touch was giving me a type of solace and support that Malaysia couldn’t provide as my sister from another mother.

  Somehow, he managed it. His muscles and military training deserved a lot of the credit. “It’s not going to be you who gives, Cherise. I’m not going anywhere. It’s my duty to protect too, and I’m going to protect you. You’re going to let me this time. Or, I’ll continue to do it on my own. What’s it going to be?” The fierceness in his demeanor doubled down on his words.

  Hell, I wanted to hand the entire situation over to him, but I had one more try in me to save him from me. “Mr. Graham, if my career is going to tank because of Chad Lowell, dammit, let me take pride in yours being great with the FBI after you find another therapist. There are so many in this city alone who don’t come with this kind of baggage. Don’t let mine drag you down with me. Please.”

  Athena began whispering on her phone to someone. “Mom, my boss wants to be sure I wasn’t poisoned… Yes, poisoned… No, I don’t feel sick. It’s a short story, but I don’t have time to tell it… Oh, you’re nearby. I’ll tell them you’ll pick me up then. Dr. Johnston really needs to stay here to deal with this situation.”

  I barely heard her. Not when Mr. Graham’s fierce manner was transforming to sheer stubbornness right before my eyes.

  “Cherise,” emerged from him with a lot of force, “I repeat, I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you. I can help you. I’m trained to deal with men like Chad Lowell. They come in all forms. I’ll deal with him even if you don’t let me. It’ll be easier to protect you if you participate in your safety, though.”

  “I don’t want you hurt,” I muttered.

  He didn’t deserve to suffer because of my baggage, he had been hurt enough because of his own. “Chad Lowell isn’t going to do anything but get himself in some shit with me he can’t get out of. But if all you’ll take from me is letting me be a sounding board to relieve some of your stress, then tell me about Chad Lowell.” He spat the surname out as if cursing it. “What you say to me goes no further than this establishment. Your license will remain untarnished. That’s on my life.” The confidence in his tone was reassuring that using him as an outlet wouldn’t end up with me in front of a review board.

  God knew I needed someone to unload on right now more than defend me. Stress festered into bitterness when pinned inside. I was too young to be bitter. Nevertheless, bitter was my destiny as my life dwindled into chaos. If I couldn’t keep my own world turning smoothly most times, I had no hopes of doing it for anyone else. It looked like Mr. Graham was going to be my sounding board, at least.

  “Okay, Mr. Graham, you’ll get your way this time. We can talk when—”

  “You can talk now,” Athena cut in, packing up her backpack purse. “My mom is coming to get me. I’ll let you know how everything goes.”

  I couldn’t sit back and wait on results. “I want to go with you, Athena. This is my fault. I’m so sorry.” Guilt was an atrocious burden. How did my life go so wrong so fast?

  Athena placed the lid on the tray she was eating out of. “Nothing for you to be sorry about. You didn’t send the food, Dr. Johnston, and you surely didn’t feed it to me. Stop taking the credit for something you didn’t do or had no part of. I am taking the fettucine with me, though, so it can be tested too. If it’s got something extra in it, I’m suing the shit out of Chad Lowell’s ass. The only thing I need to do is allow Mr. Graham to help you in any way you can. If I’m alive tomorrow and not contagious, I’ll be at work.”

  A car pulling up outside drew everyone’s curiosity.

  That’s my mom.” Athena rounded the desk, hauling me out of Tobin’s hold into a tight embrace. “You’re a good woman. Not many take people as they are or make it their life’s work to help people cope with the world we live in. Now, fight to take control back over your world. That’s what you can do for me.”

  I smiled against the dark strands straying from her ponytail. “I plan to fight anyway, Athena.” If the most timid woman I ever met was telling me to fight, I would fight even harder.

  Tobin

  Miss Clark and I had to pressure Cherise to stay inside while I escorted Miss Clark, who requested I call her Athena, to her mother’s car. Cherise was more concerned with everyone else’s security than her own. She had abandoned Chad’s gifts on Athena’s desk and retreated to her office. I returned, locking the entrance behind me. She sat at her desk, head thrown back with her eyelids closed. Without bothering to open them as I commandeered the couch, she launched into a sordid tale.

  A consultation with a sorry excuse for a man led to him targeting her because she wouldn’t bow down to his domineering nature. Local law enforcement had botched shielding and defending her. At the end of her rope, she’d put her home on the market. Quitting her job without notice, she ran for cover here. She shouldn’t have had to do that.

  Because she did, my rage slashed and cut through me like a dull knife until I couldn’t see straight. No woman, especially this one, deserved to be going through this hell. She had so much to give to the world. Nonetheless, her confidence would weaken to nothing if Chad continued to control her world. Someone had to put a stop to it. That someone was me. I would be more effective if she worked with me.

  “One dollar,” I proposed.

  She popped one pretty brown eye open. “One dollar for what?”

  “One dollar to hire me as your bodyguard, and we have a binding business contract. Beating the hell out of something or someone evil will fix some of my issues that therapy won’t ever touch.” The things I’d do
to Chad if awarded the opportunity. It would be like Christmas in July. At least give me that if I couldn’t have her.

  Dr. Johnston revealed both eyes. “I can’t ask you to do that. You’re under my clinical care, and Chad shouldn’t be your problem.”

  I’d like to be under something else of hers, but my ‘likes’ weren’t relevant. “You’re not asking, I’m offering. I won’t let working with you interfere with my therapy. If Chad is true to form, he came to case the place for opportunities of getting to you. It’s just a matter of time, as it is with all predators.” Chad was hunting the wrong woman now. He’d regret it. That was if I could get Cherise to cooperate, and I would.

  “What if it does interfere with your therapy? What if I…” she broke off abruptly, swallowing hard.

  I waited for her to finish. When she didn’t, I decided she needed a push in the right direction. “When you figured out who sent the food and wine, I watched you lose something of yourself right then. How much of yourself have you lost since this started? What else are you willing to lose before accepting help?”

  “I don’t want to lose anything else,” she whispered, like the will to fight was already diminishing inside her.

  That only made me madder. “Then, you need protection.”

  Visibly shrinking in on herself, she stammered, “I can… I can protect myself.” She fell short in convincing me of that.

  “Do you have a gun, a knife, any weapon you’re trained in using? Taking Krav Maga, karate, some form of defense class?”

  She looked away, clutching an emerald pendant on a silver chain at her neck. “No.”

  I didn’t think so. “Okay, can you counsel yourself after you develop PTSD if this goes on any longer? You’re already in the beginning stages of it, aren’t you? Are your parents able to come to stay with you, so you’re not alone anywhere? Can Malaysia’s parents come to stay with her? Because he’ll escalate and target those close to you when he can’t get to you, but he won’t send fettucine. It could be a bullet next time. Are you willing to take that chance?”

  Her head jerked to me. “No, our parents can’t come from Alabama. We wouldn’t ask. They’re all middle-aged, most of them sickly.” With each negative response, she grew quieter, extremely worried for everyone. “I don’t want anyone hurt, Mr. Graham.”

  “I can guarantee they don’t want you hurt either. Does the police department nearest you know what’s going on, know to be on alert?” I’d have reported to them myself, but they’d have contacted her.

  She wrapped her arms around her middle as if holding herself together. If she had nothing else in the way of defense, she had some wicked-looking, pointed acrylic nails painted dark blue. “No. I didn’t bother telling the cops here about Chad after learning the hard way in California that unless—”

  “Unless he hurts you or breaks one of the anti-stalking laws, the cops can’t do anything about him harassing you with gifts,” I completed for her. “He knows that. That’s why gifts are his chosen method of intimidation. I’ll put a stop to it, I promise. Chad needs someone his equal to make him leave you alone. I’m it. Use me.” If need be, I’d kill him.

  When she didn’t say anything else, I took that as her turning me down flat. I’d have to continue going rogue behind her back to keep her safe. She reached down, lifting up a designer purse. Placing it on the desk, she took out a wallet with an identical designer logo. Getting out a five-dollar bill, she slapped it down on the hard surface separating us. I reached for the money, so relieved that she was seeing things my way it was ridiculous.

  “Wait,” she said forcibly enough to immobilize my hand in midair with just her tone. “I don’t have a dollar, but you can keep the other four if you teach me how to shoot and some defense moves. One dollar for each.” The fire was back in her, the fire that burned me years ago. The same fire that made it hard to be with others without picturing her underneath me.

  And there began my mental sliding away from the matter at hand. What were we talking about? Oh, fighting and shooting people.

  “Yes, I can teach you moves and how to shoot. When do we start?”

  She extricated her hand. “Tomorrow is good. It’s a Saturday, and I have no appointments besides yours. There’s no way in hell I’m doing a consultation with him again. It’ll take me all night to ease Malaysia into you being around.” They could bank on me being around a lot.

  I pocketed the five, silently treasuring it because she gave it to me. “Malaysia hates me, doesn’t she?”

  Cherise snorted. “With the passion of a thousand burning suns. You and Shane scarred her for life that night. She’s too hard to admit it, though.”

  “Did I scar you too?” What she said next may scar me for life.

  Several heartbeats passed. “Honestly, you confused me. I couldn’t understand why you were with Shane when you didn’t exhibit the same evilness he did. Now, I know you were doing what you had to do to live. I can’t condemn you for that.” She was giving me a pardon for my actions.

  I would never give her a reason to regret it. “I appreciate that, Cherise. Tell Malaysia I’ll start making it up to her by bringing breakfast and coffee with me in the morning when I come to check out your place.” Different times of the day provided different settings for criminals to take advantage of.

  The corners of her mouth went from up to down. “What for?”

  “To see how easy it is for Chad to get to you. You’ll need something to warn you before that happens. Something that’ll hold him off long enough for me and the cops to get to you. I can’t promise anything will scare him off for good except death. I won’t plan for that yet. Chad may be rehabilitatable. Since his mind frame determines his actions, I can’t guarantee that he’s easily scared off, though.”

  She blew out a long stream of air, swiping tiredly at her forehead. “He’s not, he’s one of too many psychopaths. Their strength and fatal flaw are being damn near impossible to scare. It’s almost like a superpower for them.”

  Despising Chad for stealing her vibrant energy every time he was mentioned, I vowed to get it all back for her. Taking my phone out, I opened up the contact list. “If Batman can take down Superman, this dude can be taken down too. Give me your personal number and street address, Dr. Johnston.”

  She snapped out of her depressive state, to grab her cellphone from her purse. “You might as well call me Cherise, Batman.”

  I laughed at the reference and how fast Cherise used it on me. She rattled off her information. After logging it in, I called her phone. She tapped the accept icon, tapping again to hang up. I sent my address in a text to her. Three bubbles blinked on my screen as she typed back. Her address came through. I already knew that we lived ten blocks apart, and I could cover that commute in minutes on foot. It took even less time in my truck if I ran the traffic lights.

  Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I stood up to go. My staying was a hazard for us both. Accepting my help had eradicated some of the distance I tried to put between us during today’s therapy. Cherise was a dream I couldn’t afford to indulge in if she didn’t want me too.

  “You and Malaysia are welcomed to make my place your refuge if either of you have to get out of your home for any reason. I need to check out your building. Don’t leave without me or come here until we have your problem solved.” Or, I annihilated the problem. Didn’t matter to me.

  Cradling her phone to her chest, her eyes glistened with gratitude. “Thank you, Tobin. It’s fine if I call you that, right?” It was cute she wanted permission to use my first name when I’d answer to anything for her. Not so cute that she may be about to cry. Tears would render me a fumbling fool before I could prove my value to her.

  “I prefer Tobin. Batman will do in a pinch, but not ‘Hey you’. Everyone will think you’re talking to them.” And they’d be glad for it. She was too damn beautiful inside and out to not want to associate with her. Hence, the stalker.

  Cherise giggled softly. “You’re a smarta
ss, too, I see.”

  My heart tripped over a beat. Her giggle was everything. I didn’t know how much the lighthearted resonance from her would affect me. Without permission, my mind added her laugh to my mental collection box of her. My unattainable dreams were about to get a lot more graphic with a soundtrack. In the meantime, there was an inspection to complete. If I didn’t leave now, I wouldn’t.

  Starting to the door, I looked back at her. “Smartass works too. Stay inside until I come back, please.” The mere thought of something happening to her dampened my mood. She’d improved it by simply breathing. I aimed to keep her breathing.

  Requesting that she lock the front entrance behind me, I went outside. Getting inside was by far too effortless. I made a cerebral note to suggest a permanently locked door with buzzer for access and cameras monitoring the area. Walking along the sidewalk, the narrow parking lot spanned the building several acres long. Several trucks and cars of all colors were parked here and there. When the lot was filled to capacity, it’d be a security nightmare for one man.

  Construction was taking place in more of the unoccupied blocks of commercial space than the other days. There were more cars in the lot to go with the influx. The noise levels were higher, would drown out a cry for help. An on-person alarm for Cherise was a necessity. At the other end of the building, I peeked around it at a short, side street. “That lane’s going to be a problem.” A short cement block wall bordered it, preventing defensive driving. The thick, tall trees and shrubbery atop it would be pitch black at night—ingredients of the perfect coverage for a prowler laying low.

  “No parking in the back,” I noted to myself while strolling cautiously down the lane to the back of the building. The wall of woodland circled the property, unfortunately.

  The backlot, narrower than the front, was for employees and employer’s parking. There was not a single pole for sufficient lighting at night. Closed in and exposed on both sides with nowhere to run for cover, the backside went beyond security nightmare. It was a night terror for the hunted. Cherise shouldn’t ever come back here. The black Mercedes Benz parked at her end of the building advocated that she already had. None of the rear entrances of the connected sections were wired for burglar alarms or cameras. The lane on the opposite side of the building didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies either.