Page 30 of Very Special Forces

Icontemplated getting out, then decided against it. Solomon couldstill smell me. I could still smell me. "It might have something todo with me," I sighed as I closed my eyes again.

Solomonwalked across the bathroom, perched on the edge of the tub andgently flicked water at me until I opened my eyes.

"Fine,it has everything to do with me," I admitted.

"Whathappened?"

"I wasout looking for the tank and fell into a dumpster."

"Youknow a tank won't fit inside a dumpster."

"I wasaware of that. I was standing on a closed dumpster, looking througha window when I got surprised and fell into the one next toit."

"Whatsurprised you?"

"Maddoxpulling a gun on me," I said without thinking. The air around mestilled and electricity charged the atmosphere. I glanced up atSolomon and noticed the tautness of his face, the hard steel of hiseyes.

"Hethreatened you?" he said in a low, calm voice, the kind he usuallyreserved for someone he was really angry with when he didn't wantto betray his annoyance.

"I thinkit was more of a show for whomever else was watching."

"Whoelse was watching?"

I shouldhave seen that question coming. "I don't know," I said. "There wasa security camera over the door. I thought the warehouses in thatarea were all abandoned."

"Where?"

"Theindustrial park out by West Montgomery. The one that had all theland rent issues a while back."

"I knowthe one. And Maddox was there?"

"I'm notsupposed to tell anyone," I told him. "He asked me not to sayanything but he didn't say 'promise' so technically, it's okay thatI'm telling you."

"I'm notworried about the technicalities," said Solomon. "I'm glad you toldme. Why didn't you call me?"

"Ithought coming home and taking a bath was the best course ofaction. Next step is burning my car."

Solomonnodded thoughtfully but didn't disagree. "You know the tub at myhouse is bigger," he said, flicking some more water atme.

"Umm-hmm." I waited for more; Solomon would no doubt havemany compelling arguments about why we should we return to hisoversized, elegant house in Chilton. It was bigger, for one thing,with a stunningly designed eat-in kitchen and a tub that couldeasily fit two. There were more bedrooms than my little bungalow'stwo bedrooms. The yard was lushly landscaped. The exterior wasn'tyellow but instead, a beautifully hued brick. The area was nicer.Yet, despite all those things, I couldn't get past the thought thathe might have died there in the doorway of that house. No assassinstried to kill him here. Well, there was that one time when someonebroke in and tried to kill me but that wasn't the point. I managedto deal with that fairly efficiently. Did it make a difference thatI could protect myself then but I couldn't protect Solomon thatday? That was something to think about.

"Justsaying," he said, leaning over to kiss me on the lips. "Enjoy thebath. Take your time. I'll make dinner."

Ismiled, partly relieved that he hadn't tried to convince me tomove, and partly because I realized how hungry I was. "Thankyou."

Once thewater started to cool, I emptied the tub, turned on the showerattachment and washed my hair one more time. Then I got out,dressed in my current favorite elephant-printed pajamas and made myway downstairs. The dog had gone, thankfully, but then, so tooapparently had Solomon. The kitchen was empty but for a bubblingpot on the stove. I lifted the lid and inhaled deeply. Chorizo andchickpeas formed the basis of a delicious smelling stew and therewas a fresh baguette on the counter ready to slide into theoven.

"John?"I called out as I turned and walked out of the kitchen. Two minuteslater, I scoured downstairs. Solomon was nowhere to be seen. Ilooked through the living room windows and couldn't see hiscar.

My cellphone began to ring so I darted into the entryway, grabbing it fromthe console. It wasn't Solomon, it was Maddox.

"Hi," Isaid, narrowly avoiding calling him “jerk!”

"I'msorry," said Maddox. "I shouldn't have pulled a gun on you but ifI’d had any choice in the matter, I wouldn't have."

"Thatsounded like an apology but also not an apology."

"Pleasetake it as an apology. I really am sorry for scaringyou."

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