Page 12 of Desperation

“Nah, I’m gonna spend the day with my mom. She’s not getting around so good these days, and I promised to take her to church.”

“I bet them little ol’ church ladies justloveyou,” he teased.

“More than they’d like you,” I goaded. He laughed and shook his head.

“You always were the good one. I was nothing but trouble growing up,” he told Hannah. “I think you got me out of just as much trouble as I got you into,” he admitted to me.

“That sounds about right,” I agreed with a chuckle.

Drake and I reminisced over our childhood and teenage years, reliving some of our fondest memories over dinner. Hannah stayed mostly quiet, collecting our dishes when we were finished. We each had a slice of cake, and I nearly groaned as I chewed. I hadn’t been able to eat my piece the night before, but I wouldn’t let myself think about why. Drake was right about one thing. The icing was delicious, much better than anything you could find on store shelves.

Drake’s phone rang as he stood from the table, and he excused himself to take the call, disappearing down the hallway. I gathered our dessert plates and took them to the sink.

“You don’t have to do that, you know?” Hannah said, wiping the crumbs off the table and depositing them into the trash can. She returned the damp cloth to the sink, trying to keep her distance, but I wouldn’t let her. I gently cupped my hand over her arm, and her eyes drifted closed at my touch.

“I don’t mind,” I assured her. I knew I shouldn’t be touching her. I knew how risky it was, but I couldn't help it. “I would help you with anything.”

Her eyes blinked open, and she looked into mine. She was searching for something. The truth behind my words, a hidden meaning. Both were there. I wanted her to know I would help her in any way I could. I would help her get out. She just had to say the word.

“Why?” she breathed, continuing to search my face. I swallowed hard, debating how to answer. Finally, I settled on the truth.

“Because I have to,” I admitted. “I can’t leave you here with him.” She sucked in a shuddering breath. I’d just addressed the truth we’d been dancing around for days, the proverbial elephant in the room that was so big, its shadow was too oppressive to speak of.

“It’s not possible,” she insisted, shaking her head.

“Is there anywhere else you can go?” She continued to shake her head. “Anybody you can stay with?” Tears welled in her eyes as she continued to deny any possibilities for escape. She confirmed the truth I’d feared. She had no one else. That was why she was still there, why she hadn’t gotten out yet.

Well, now she had me.

“Alright, I’ll be there in twenty.” Drake’s voice drifted toward us, and I released my hold on her, stepping away to a respectable distance. He reappeared, gripping his phone in his hand, seeming none the wiser to what had transpired between Hannah and me. “I gotta run out and help Dad with something. It’ll probably take a couple hours. Sorry to cut our evening short.” He reached out his hand for a shake and pulled me into a brotherly hug.

“No worries. I need to head out anyway. Got an early morning tomorrow.”

“That’s right.” He chuckled. “Gotta take Mama Kingsley to the house of the Lord. Might wanna ask her to pray for my soul while y’all are there.” I would be praying alright. I would pray hard.

* * *

I was itching to see Hannah. It had been over twenty-four hours, and I couldn’t stop thinking about her, worrying about her. I needed to get my head on straight for my interview tomorrow. Mark Dixon and his team at Cole Security were expecting me at nine a.m. sharp. The security firm hadn’t even been on my radar until Liam Dempsey mentioned it to me during a training exercise. Turns out, they were in need of somebody with my particular skill set. Expert snipers weren’t uncommon in my line of work, but being the best in the field gave you a leg up on the competition and the enemy.

Opening up the folder I put together over the last few days, I looked over the research I’d been compiling about the company. They’d had some pretty serious setbacks over the last few years. One of their team members had gone missing and was presumed dead after an overseas mission went horribly wrong. Their boss and founder of Cole Security was shot and nearly killed after going to investigate what happened to his friend and brother in arms. The man everyone—including his pregnant, grieving wife— thought was dead was miraculously found and reunited with his widow. But she’d moved on with his best friend, the man who'd recruited me for the job. He kept tight lipped about the whole situation, but I’d heard through some mutual acquaintances that Aaron, the ex-husband of Liam’s wife, had a mental breakdown and received treatment for his PTSD after an incident involving another Cole Security employee.

To say I was nervous about this new venture was an understatement, but it couldn’t be any riskier than what I was currently doing, right? I’d been on plenty of hostage rescue missions, and from the sounds of it, Cole Security was a perfect fit for me. They needed someone with my skills and training, but not as often as the SEALs did. It was a match made in heaven.

I set my folder aside and creeped down the hallway to look in on my mother. She was already fast asleep, curled up on her side. She looked so small and frail, and I wondered how many good years she had left. She was starting to lose some of her mobility, and her eyesight was worse with each appointment with her optometrist. She was afraid to drive and had to have my aunt take her for simple things like grocery shopping. She’d moved here four years ago to be closer to them since the rest of her family had either passed or moved out of state.

Since my father had decided to start over with wife number three in Florida, I didn’t see much of him these days. The last time I saw him was my graduation from basic. He was about to be a dad—again—and was too busy beaming at his new bride to do more than shake my hand and mutter a congratulations. I tried not to resent him. He still sent my mom money even though his child support obligations ended years ago. He left her a house and vehicle when he decided he loved future wife number two more. But he’d also left me. Thirteen-years-old and already angry with the world, I developed bad habits and cultivated even worse friendships to deal with his abandonment. When I found out about his impending divorce a year and a half later, I called him just to say, “I told you so.”

I let those memories drift away as I pulled my mother’s door shut and headed back to my room. Slipping beneath the sheets, my eyes drifted closed, and I let my mind wander to the sweet blonde with sparkling green eyes two towns over. Maybe I could find a convincing enough reason to stop by for a visit after my interview tomorrow. Drake would be at work, and she’d be there alone. If I was going to convince her to leave him, I needed to do it before I went on what would hopefully be my last training exercise.

I dreamt of Hannah, her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze, her sun-kissed skin glowing against the backdrop of the Atlantic ocean. She was barefoot and holding the hand of a little snowy haired babe as he toddled toward the water. The waves crashed over his chubby feet, and he giggled, squealing and clutching at the hem of Hannah’s dress. I smiled to myself, watching them frolic in the sand, the salty water lapping at their feet. Hannah picked the little boy up, swinging him into the air, and carried him toward me. I enveloped them in a hug and nuzzled into her soft neck. Before I could tell them what they meant to me, they disintegrated, their bodies turning to ashes that blew away on the wind. Panicked, I yelled for them, screaming Hannah’s name until my throat was raw and my voice hoarse. The sky darkened, and the waves crashed violently against the shore. Black clouds thundered overhead, and lightning struck somewhere in the distance over the angry cobalt sea.

“You didn’t think I’d let you keep them, did you?” I whipped around at the menacing voice behind me. Drake stood a mere ten feet away, his stony glare settled on my face. “They belong to me,” he growled. “They will never be yours. I’ll kill them first.”

I tried to get to him. I would wrap my hands around his throat and wring the life from him to protect them, but I wasn’t fast enough. A wave rolled in, enveloping me in total darkness before I could take my first step. I tumbled head over feet in the cold, lonely blackness. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. All I could do was feel. Despair and fear consumed me until I thought I would be swallowed by it, dragged into the depths of the ocean, never to be heard from again.

I awoke with a gasp, my limbs tangled in my blanket, brow soaked with sweat. I kicked and shoved at the material until I was finally free and pulled my hands through my hair. I sat there, head in my hands, my chest heaving for several long minutes. I had to save her. If I couldn’t get her away from him, he would surely hurt her, hurtthem. God help me, but I was going to steal my cousin’s girlfriend.

The hot water from the shower did little to relax my taut muscles. My head reeled, and my stomach tightened. How would I pull this off? How would I convince her to come with me? Even worse, what would I do with her while I was gone? Hide her at my mom’s house? No, that was the first place he’d look.

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