Page 56 of Soul

“Good,” he rumbles through the mic and she puts her skirt down. “Detective Redding is already in place. Sniper one, call out.”

“Locked on.” The first man says.

“Sniper two?”

“On point.” The second man’s voice is deep, much more so than the first.

“Sniper three.”

“Affirmative.” This guy’s voice sounds downright scary. A gravely rumble which reminds me of thunder.

Agent Brennen’s tone changes and gets low. “Eyes on, be careful, and play it the exact way we planned. We’ll get this bastard in cuffs by the end of the night.” That’s if he’s actually still tracking Dana’s phone where we planted the seed. “Alright, let’s make it good and head out.”

Those last two words gets both Detective White and me moving into action. Our bodyguard opens the car door, I get out, then hold her hand. I pull her close and she snuggles into my side, tipping her face toward my chest. Perfect. In case the fucker is watching, he won’t get a good look at her face.

We make it into the building without any problems. As if I’m really on a date with my wife, I lead Detective White through the catacomb of the tower’s floors. She takes off her glasses, and makes sure her hair is fluffed in front of her, covering as much of her face as possible. Christ I sure hope this works.

The walls throughout the Coit Tower are painted in murals. Some are sports activities, like rowing and golf, others show old-fashioned farmers picking oranges.

“So, baby, do you know much about the tower?” I ask holding her close. She shakes her head. Smart girl.

“Well, Coit Tower, also known as theLillian Coit Memorial Tower, stands approximately two-hundred and ten feet tall. It was built in 1933 usingLillie Hitchcock Coit's bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco. When she died, she left a third of her estate to the city for civic beautification. It was designed by architectsArthur Brown, Jr.andHenry Howard, withfrescomurals by twenty-seven different artists.

“Interesting,” she says, low and thoughtful, as I lead her to another mural. Her eyes are not on the paintings but the surroundings. She seems to note every subtle nuance in the air as we move through the designs. When this is all over and done with, I’ll bring Gillian here. She’ll be in awe at the artwork and the magnificent design.

“Also, the story claims that the tower was designed to resemble a fire hose nozzle because of Lillie’s affinity with the San Francisco firefighters.” I waggle my eyebrows, and she rolls her eyes. Now see, if I’d made that joke to Gillian her laughter would have filled this room and echoed off the walls. I already miss her, and it’s only been a couple hours.

Again, I lead the fake Gillian through the rooms, pointing to each painting, trying to make it look like we’re in love. I nuzzle her neck, hold her close, and she smiles. At one point, she nuzzles my neck, and I can feel her kissing along the skin. Even though it’s what I want, it still doesn’t feel right and absolutely nothing is going on down below. Looks like my cock even knows the difference between Gillian’s touch and someone else’s.

After spending a good hour going through the rooms and traveling up a multitude of winding staircases, we make it to the top floor. The entire tower is in the shape of a sphere. Large, concrete pillar type walls that have half-moon shaped arcs, lead to the end of the expanse. Open cutouts that are shaped like small doors that start waist high, give an unencumbered view of the city of San Francisco and the Bay. Every window-like shape is accessible and allows you to view the horizon without screens or panes. When you stick your head out, it is as if the horizon meets up on the other side like interlocking puzzles pieces.

The view from up here is beyond the view I have at the penthouse and that is a top notch view. I lead fake-Gillian over to the table where champagne is chilling and pour her a glass. Once she takes it, I lift mine up in a toast.

“I hope our future is as beautiful as you are today.”

She smiles, clinks glasses and leans forward for a kiss. I pull her into my arms and look down at a face I don’t recognize. I close my eyes and place my lips over hers. They are warm and tentative, nothing like the fire and passion I fell when I kiss my wife. While I am kissing her, I place my hands to her face, pull back, scan the area and see out of the corner of my eye a dark figure just peeking out.

“He’s here.” I whisper against her lips then take her mouth in a crushing kiss.

Gillian

From: Husband

To: Wife

I’m going to be later than planned. Have Jack take you to Davis Estate after hospital. I love you. Kiss our babies.

I look at the name over the text and laugh. Kat smiles, and, for the first time, I feel like everything is going to be okay.

“What is it?” she asks, her voice even more hoarse after having spent the last couple hours talking to me.

I shake my head. I want to show her that Chase has changed his name in my phone to “husband”, but then she’d know we are married, and I want to tell them all together about the wedding and the baby—shoot, I mean babies. That is the hardest secret to keep. I want to shout from the rooftops that I’m pregnant with Chase’s children. Twins. I still can’t believe it. “Nothing honey.” I say and am startled when Carson enters the room.

“Hey, our girl is doing much better today,” I stand up and give him a hug. He half-heartedly hugs me and then rushes over to Kat. Her face goes from happy to closed off instantly. I slump against the wall watching what she’s doing.

“Sweet cheeks, she’s right. You’ve got some color back.”

“Not sweet cheeks anymore since they cut off a layer from my ass to put over my arm,” she sighs and looks away. I know what she’s doing and why, but it’s the absolutely wrong way to handle this. I watch the sparkle in Carson’s eyes dim and his shoulders sag. Defeat is a tough thing to battle, especially when you’re playing against someone who thinks they have nothing left to lose. She is so wrong, but it’s going to take her figuring it out. The only thing that I, or any of the girls can do for her right now, is be here whenever she needs us. Whatever decisions she makes are hers. There’s nothing we can do if she chooses to push Carson away like she’s is. I can only hope they’ll make it past this rough patch, because I know he loves her, and she’s head over heels in love with him.

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