Love & Hate Series Box Set 2 (3-4) - In Too Deep - Skimming the Surface

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  “God, you turned into such a drama queen. What the hell happened to you?”

  “What’s going on? Tahlia, are you all right?” Micah asks, walking back into the room with his tangled sex hair, still not wearing his T-shirt. Tequila looks behind me, raising both of her eyebrows.

  “My, my … so that’s why you’re in such a fucked up mess. Now I get what all the fuss is about.”

  Chapter Ten

  First outing

  Tequila is running her clever eyes over Micah’s chest and I already know what is going through her mind. It’s funny, because I never thought that she would think Micah is attractive. The type of guy that she normally goes for is rugged and hairy.

  “Who the hell is that?” Micah asks, not even bothering to notice that he has three women in the living room, and they are all staring at his incredible sculptured chest. I need to stop fantasising about his body. Tequila is here and I have to get back to business.

  “Tequila Summers, and who the hell are you?” she asks, looking back from me to Micah and then to Kiki.

  “Glad Rogers got hold of you. He explained what happened?” he asks.

  “Hold on,” I interrupt him, wondering what the hell is going on and why he didn’t choose to keep me in the loop. “Are you still in touch with your old partner? I thought he didn’t believe you.”

  “I nearly knocked him out when he showed up at my house out of the blue, but then I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Tequila says. “But I’m not here to explain myself. I’m taking this girl for coffee downstairs to talk. You, on the other hand, should put some clothes on; otherwise our teenager here might have her first ever orgasm.”

  Kiki goes bright red and then sticks her tongue out. I want to smack Tequila, yet again boosting Micah’s already over-the-top ego. She has no idea what Kiki has been through, but that’s just Tequila. She always speaks her mind.

  “Please don’t. We need to talk now,” I hiss.

  “Tahlia can’t go out. It’s not safe. Someone might recognise her,” Micah states, folding his arms over his chest.

  “In that case, we will talk in the bedroom. Just give us a minute,” I add, grabbing Tequila’s hand and taking her to my room that I’m supposed to share with Kiki. I shut the door, trying to ignore my mounting headache. Good wine always makes me feel like crap.

  “Tahlia, what the hell is going on? Why are you even in this shithole?” she asks, looking unimpressed with the house, staring back at the dirty walls and stained carpet. Tequila has a poor girl syndrome: she grew up with a very rich family and an even more twisted mother. She gave it all up for freedom, in order to escape a toxic household, to live her own way.

  “Haven’t you watched the news?” I ask.

  “No. You know that I don’t watch that crap. Half of the things that they say are fabricated nonsense to create controversy,” she says. “Besides, do you have any idea how worried I have been, not hearing from you? I was freaking out. You completely cut me off, not even a Christmas card to let me know you were alive. ”

  “It’s complicated,” I admit.

  “I bet it is, and then two days ago, that poorly dressed donut-eating cop shows up at my house and tells me that you’re back in London. I was ready to fucking stab him,” she growls, dragging her hand through her hair.

  I start from the very beginning, because there is no point hiding anything from Tequila. I tell her about Suranne’s murder, about my crash with Micah a night before, him showing up in that classroom. She starts pacing around the room, and a few minutes later she stops and looks at me in complete shock and disbelief. I don’t want to go into all the details, but I tell her that I had fallen for Micah, and for a brief moment we were together.

  “It was a blast from the past. All these years ago I wanted him to notice me, to talk to me. For some reason I trusted him. Couple of days after he came back from London he had a warrant; he showed up in my dorm with other cops. They found a bag that I have never seen in my life with Suranne’s things inside. There was a note from her. She overheard my conversation with Lee and found out about when I beat up Vera, when she was calling herself Julie. Suranne supposedly discovered that I was arrested, how I have no idea. I trusted him, and all this time he was using me to get the truth out of me. Worst of all, he made me love him.” I finish my story, wondering how I could have been so stupid. Why didn’t I notice that he was only trying to manipulate me?

  Tequila presses her lips into a hard line and looks at me with fire in her eyes. Then she marches out of the room. I follow her quickly, wondering what she’s going to do. She walks up to Micah, who is puttering around the kitchen.

  “You twisted son of a bitch,” she shouts and then she slaps him.

  “Tequila, stop it. I haven’t even finished telling you everything,” I say, pulling her away from him. She doesn’t need to protect me.

  “Okay, you need to calm the fuck down. I’ll let that one slide. Let’s just say that I deserved it,” he snarls, pouring boiling water into some cheap cups that he bought at the market. He is taking this better than I expected.

  “So what happened? How come you are here with that arsehole, and who the hell is that?” Tequila keeps bombarding me with questions.

  “Rudolf set her up. After the arrest I found out who she really was and realised that I made a mistake, so I got her out,” Micah explains, handing Tequila her coffee. She looks like she wants to pour it over his head. No one in this room knows what she is capable of, apart from me, and I’m a bit apprehensive that she only slapped him once.

  “Let me get this straight, first you arrested her and then you let her go. Are you fucking right in your head?”

  “I kind of lost it just before I was going to appear in front of the judge. The police sent a nurse and a doctor to do a psych evaluation. The bitch tried to stab me. She must have been paid by Rudolf,” I add, feeling so exhausted all of a sudden.

  “Rudolf is dead. A year ago we were celebrating his death.”

  Micah then barges in and starts telling Tequila that my sadistic ex-boyfriend faked his own death in order to get the police off his back. Then sent someone to kill me, but whoever it was screwed it up.

  Tequila starts pacing around the room, talking to herself. I feel Micah’s eyes on me and the warmth it gives me burns me up and down. This is not normal; I should have left when I had a chance. Now Tequila is involved and it’s not fair. She is scraping her own life back together and I don’t want her in any danger.

  “Tahlia, you need to come and stay with me. It’s not safe here and I don’t trust this son of a bitch,” she says pointing out at Micah.

  “She is not going anywhere. I’m here to protect her, and we all need to stick together,” he argues, looking like he is ready to throw Tequila outside on the street. Is he panicking because he is just about to lose me, or is he afraid that I’ll choose my best friend over him? Handsome, strong Micah doesn’t show any weakness, but now he looks vulnerable.

  “You can’t tell her what to do. If that monster set her up, then there is a possibility he might be already tracking her,” Tequila argues. Micah looks back at me with that pleading look. We both have no idea what we are doing. Besides, I can’t really leave him alone with Kiki.

  “Kiki will make you a nice shut-the-fuck-up tea, and then we will discuss this like three adults,” Micah states, walking away, probably to put his shirt back on. Kiki rolls her eyes at me and then starts to get on with her task.

  “That’s why I stabbed my ex; he liked to argue a lot,” Kiki admits.

  Tequila places her hands on my arms and pushes me to the side, away from Micah’s ears. “Why are you even still here? Are you fucking that arsehole? Is that what this is about?”

  “No, it’s over between us. I wanted to leave at first, but then I had no idea if you still lived at the same address. Micah has a plan. He ruined his whole career for me in order to get me out of that hospital. It’s better if I stick with him,” I say, not e
ven knowing why I’m saying this. Only a few days ago I was ready to run, get away from him at any given moment. Tequila is well and she wants to help me, and I should be running away when I have a chance.

  She places her hands on her hips, giving me her usual hard look.

  “You must be out of your mind. That guy out there screwed your life. He is no different than Rudolf and I don’t like him. There’s something about him,” she hisses, and backs away from me when Micah comes back to the room, all dressed up. My gut feeling tells me that I’m doing the right thing.

  “Kiki is another patient. Tahlia won’t just leave her, and how are you going to protect her, huh?” Micah asks, shaking his head. “You will cut out everything in your life and stay in the house with her to make sure everything is all right?”

  When Tequila doesn’t answer, Micah continues.

  “No, I didn’t think so. This situation is complicated. Rudolf is dangerous, and he wants to finish what he started. I’m renewing all my contacts in the city. It’s just a matter of time before I get something concrete.”

  “She is wanted by the police, you imbecile. You have no idea what you’re doing,” Tequila shouts, but then all four of us hear someone banging at the door. Kiki keeps repeating that she smells something is burning.

  “Who the hell is that?” I ask, fed up with arguments about who is capable of looking after me better. I want it all to go away and want to stop worrying that my best friend is going to get herself killed.

  “Stay here. I’ll check it out,” Micah says.

  I push Kiki towards the kitchen, hearing voices in the hallway. Micah is raising his voice.

  Several seconds later he comes back, looking pissed off.

  “We need to get out of here now,” Micah says. “Apparently the whole building is being evacuated. Someone started a fire on the top floor.”

  He doesn’t need to tell us twice. I grab what I can and the four of us run downstairs. There is a fireman at the door, hurrying us to move faster. I’m right behind Kiki, wondering what Tequila is expecting me to do. I inhale deeply getting rid of the staleness from the house. When we are clear of the garden I finally take notice of my surroundings; I’m overwhelmed by the crowd, the amount of people that are out on the street. It looks like it’s not only our building that’s been evacuated, but also the other buildings on this block. The crowd of people stands on the other side of the street. Some are pointing at the smoke that is blowing out of a roof, three buildings down from us.

  “We all need to stay close to each other. It’s havoc out here,” Micah says, looking around. I cover my head with my hoodie, thinking about my last day in the hospital, the last day I felt safe. Memories flood my head, quickly overwhelming my mind.

  I keep checking the clock, wondering why the time is moving so slowly. Micah is coming to see me again, and I can’t wait to talk to him, to tell him that we have known each other in the past. I’m still shaking like a leaf, not believing that I don’t have to go back to the hole. The rat won’t hurt me again. The police are after him and this time I hope they catch him and rip him apart.

  The white walls in the hospital are suffocating. The doctor says that I’ll be fine, but I need more time to adjust, talk to the psychiatrist and start taking my medication. Today I had a session with the new doctor. She was asking me a lot of questions. She seemed all right, but I couldn’t stop shaking and stuttering.

  When Micah comes, I’ll tell him everything. He will remember me then, from five years ago.

  I look at my hands, feeling as if the memories of him touching me are slowly slipping through. I shut my eyes, trying to slow down my breathing, but the gripping darkness only intensifies, pulling me back to the time when I was alone in the hole. I feel the rat’s heavy breath on my skin, him slapping me so hard my teeth rattle and then using his knife on my skin, shallow cuts that sting and deeper stabs to test my tolerance. The pain never ends and when I can’t scream anymore he drags me downstairs. The hole in the wall is the only place where I’m left alone. There is no pain, just darkness.

  My wounds are deep, but I know that I can’t make any sound, because he will come for me again, and the second time is always worse. The rat might use the kitchen roll to beat me, or if he has company, then the tortures are worse, because they all join in.

  The door to my room opens and Doctor Geller comes in. He smiles widely, checking my chart.

  “When is Detective Thomson coming?” I ask, knowing that I need to hear his voice, to deal with the overwhelming misery that disables everything. It’s like I’m experiencing the pain all over again.

  Doctor Geller sighs and then approaches me.

  “You are being moved today, love. I’m afraid that Detective Thomson won’t be able to visit you again,” Doctor Geller says with a sad voice.

  “No. He promised. You don’t understand. We’ve known each other from the past and I have to talk to him. I have to tell him who I am,” I say, almost choking on my own voice. Doctor Geller keeps saying that I need to calm down, that he is going to help me, but I block him then, placing my palms over my ears. I start to rock back and forth, feeling the darkness come back.

  He won’t leave me; I need him. But then I’m surrounded by other people. Someone is touching me, and I scream and keep screaming because I’m stuck without a way out, and invisible hands keep pushing me back to the hole in the wall.

  Chapter Eleven

  Detective Lee

  “We shouldn’t be here. What if someone recognises her?” hisses Tequila, helping me forget about these screwed up memories. I went through years of therapy to be normal again, to have the life that I always wanted, so there is no need to think about the hurtful past, but sometimes I can’t help myself. In the past two weeks I slipped back to my old ways, anxiety coursing through my veins, as I wait for the right moment to strike back.

  Firemen are running up and down the street. I hear the police sirens close by. More and more people are filling the streets.

  “Just shut up for a second. I need some time to think,” Micah snaps back at her, rubbing his face in frustration.

  “Don’t you fucking dare talk to me like that. You betrayed her, so you have no right to even make any decisions here,” Tequila bites back. Then Kiki adds her own five cent and I can’t listen to them arguing.

  I take a few steps back, trying to clear my head. The police arrive, pushing people further down the road. One of the officers is evacuating the back streets too. The air is filled with smoke, and it’s getting difficult to breathe. A group of East Asian families that are standing a few meters away are arguing in Urdu. One of them looks really pissed, pointing at the house ahead. My head still hurts, so I press my finger to my temple and start massaging it, as a knot of unease settles in my stomach. Micah and Tequila keep shouting at each other. She is in his face waving her hands and he looks like he is ready to punch her.

  A second later, I get pushed and I lose my balance, nearly landing on the concrete. Someone catches me, and a second later a strong hand covers my mouth. Panic whisks through me and I try to scream, jerking away. Suddenly everything goes dark. I’m drifting fast, not knowing what is going on.

  ***

  The voices—someone is talking. I lift my head slightly, but my muscles refuse to comply, my lids feel heavy. I feel the throbbing pain in my head that keeps mounting, escalating fast. The burning smell has finally faded away. I moan loudly, trying to remember what happened on the street earlier on.

  I hear someone talking. Finally after several long and uncomfortable moments I flutter my eyes open, realising that I recognise that voice.

  “They won’t find her … no … of course not. The plan was excellent, simple.”

  There is a pause, and then the voice speaks up again.

  “Yeah, mate … good shape. No one saw me, no. So there wasn’t any problem.”

  I open my eyes and blink, looking around. My heart skips a beat when I don’t recognise where I am. It’s not the
house where I was staying. Everything looks new and fresh. Pulsing pain shoots down my body, numbing my legs. My thoughts start racing. Someone must have hit me when my friends were busy arguing.

  “Good, you’re awake.”

  I turn abruptly facing Lee, my Lee, and a sudden wave of relief washes over me. The agent that set me up in the protection programme three years ago is standing in front of the sofa, staring back at me. A sense of unease flutters in my stomach. Something is wrong. Why is he here? Where are Micah and Tequila?

  “Where am I?” I ask, rubbing my face.

  Lee smiles, puts his phone into his pocket, and brings the chair from the corner closer.

  “In a safe place. I managed to get you out of Thomson’s sight. The moment he helped you, he screwed up everything, his career and his life,” he says, looking at me intensely, like he used to when he was working with me three years ago. He was at the station when Micah brought me in.

  “I couldn’t stay in the psych. I had to get out, before Rudolf got to me. He is alive; he set me up,” I tell him, looking around, and trying to figure out why I’m not in prison or at the police station. Something is definitely not right here. He should have arrested Micah. We both know that he broke the law by helping me. On top of that, Lee didn’t believe that Rudolf was alive. He wasn’t buying my story, so why the hell am I with him right now?

  “I haven’t got time to discuss any details with you now. I need to be somewhere soon,” he says, standing up. “It’s the apartment that belongs to the unit. You will stay here for a couple of days until I’ll figure out what to do with you.”

  “What to do with me? You’re kidding me, right? Aren’t you supposed to be calling the police in Braxton or taking me back? And what about Micah?” I ask, trying to get up, but I feel instantly dizzy. Lee or one of his people must have smacked me pretty hard, because I have a giant lump on the back of my head. Over the years I learned that Lee could be a lousy cop, but right now he seems apprehensive, reluctant to explain what the hell is going on here. Micah and Tequila are probably freaking out or maybe they are already in custody somewhere in London. I will never forgive myself if my best friend got into trouble because of me.