Page 34 of Undeniable

The iPad lights back up and draws my eyes. Beverly looks down and says. "Well, this is romantic, Mr. Moore. The first available is Valentine’s Day."

I can’t control my outburst. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Her eyes are startled with my outburst.

"No, sir. That’s what the date is." She spins her iPad around so I can read it myself.

"That’s three months from now!" I’m shocked and reply incredulously.

"Yes, sir. It is." She apologizes. "That must the first available date. She is extremely busy and we do have the Holiday season coming up. I know many girls take vacations during the month of January too. I’m not sure about Seary, but perhaps that’s why." She offers to calm me.

"Ask if a shorter time is available sooner." I point to the iPad. As she spins it back around to ask, I add. "Same price."That should work. Perhaps they are only negotiating now.I lean my arms on the table, anxious for the answer. My heart is holding my body hostage.

*Offer my apologies, but that’s the first available day she doesn’t have anything booked. She’s a workaholic.*

I stand up and my chair almost tips over. I command her to "Book it!"

Walking through the casino heading outside to get some fresh air, I see only the floor directly in my path, hear nothing but my own blood pounding in my ears and my own thoughts circling inside my mind.

Seary. Three months. Fuck!My mind is reeling.How am I going to make it three months?The thought of returning to Italy to my studio to satisfy my sexual needs passes through it, but only for a fleeting moment. I know I won’t be back there until after I’ve satisfied myself with Seary and that might be a while. If ever again. Seary has changed everything for me. Incredible as that sounds, I hear the truth of it in my heart and in my soul.

I exit the door and keep going past the valet station down the drive. I hook a left and walk. My pace is fast and determined. Weaving in and out of the flow of people. I head nowhere in particular. My mind is tormenting me with the images of her red, purple, golden glow.The way she looks. The way she moves. Her body. Her dance. Three fucking months. I have to wait three fucking months! I’ve finally found the one woman who has set my heart on fire and lit a flame burning inside me like I have never experienced before. Awakening feelings that I feared I was incapable of feeling.I laugh out loud at the irony of the whole thing.Right when I acknowledge that she could be the one, she’s pushed out of my grasp.

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE! OR I’M GONNA FUCK YOU UP!"

I stop and look around. I’ve walked five blocks North without realizing it. The building I just passed is an abandoned warehouse I purchased a year ago, but haven’t renovated yet. In the low light, I can just make out two men squared off between the building and the adjacent vacant lot. There looks to be a makeshift tent to the right under some trees.

"Old man, you ain’t gonna do nothin’ but give me what I want or I’m going to take it from you."

"What do you want?" I ask as I head in.

I notice three dudes dressed in dark clothes wearing hoodies pulled up over their heads standing behind the young thug, leaning against the building. As I get closer, they push off and stand up. Alert to my approach. They are big, but young punks.

"Mind your own damn business." The old man says without looking at me.

"Yeah. Mind your own damn business." The younger man agrees.

"I am minding my own damn business. I own the damn property you’re standing on."

That revelation makes them all stop arguing and turn towards me. "What do you want from the old man?"

"They want my special forces ranger knife." He smiles at them. "But I ain’t part’n with it."

"How about you give it to me."

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"'cause they can’t take it off me."

"They can’t take if off me either."

I walk closer. Going slow to keep everyone calm. I’m guessing this is a gang initiation. The young men eye me and I stare them down. They are confident that four on one or four on two are odds they can win.

"Give me the knife, old man. I got your back." I hold my hand out for the knife, and all hell breaks loose. The old man turns it on me and lunges. I sidestep him, grab his forearm, twist it behind his back and take it from his fingers. Then I shove him to the ground, step over him and confront his assailants, with a deranged grin on my face, tossing it nimbly from hand to hand, daring them to be brave. It is equally balanced and feels like my buck knife in my hands. "You think accosting an old man, makes you a gangsta? It only makes you a coward. You think 4 on 1 is good enough odds? Bring it on." I sniff the air. "Ah! I miss the smell of sweat, fear, panic and fresh blood." They all stop as one, realizing I’m dead serious about that.Punks!I flip the knife end over end, grasp the blade, bring it by my ear, cock my arm, flip my wrist, step to my target and fling the knife with all my force. The loud thud it makes when it hits and the vibrating sound it makes as it settles down inside its new home, draws everyone’s eyes to the tree. Everyone but mine. As soon as I released the knife, I closed the distance on the ringleader and I smash my fist in his face. Before he can fall to the ground, I’ve hit him two more times. He’s out cold when he lands on the ground and it’s the second loud thud the punks hear. They turn their eyes big as moons on me and I smash my fist in the face of the next closest one. He wobbles but doesn’t go down. I shove him out of the way while I step over the unconscious body and draw my fist back to attack bully number three. He steps back, turns and runs after bully number four. "You better run, you worthless piece of shit!" I yell after them, then look down when something grazes my leg. Bully number two is dragging the leader out from under me. I stare him down and he says. "Yeah. I learned my lesson. Don’t fuck with old folks."

"I saved someone’s life tonight. It might have been yours." I tell him. "Old soldiers don’t go down without a fight. Some of us even enjoy them, but others play to win no matter the cost."

He looks past me at the old man who is walking to where his knife is in the tree. Then he squats down, puts his buddy on his shoulder then carries him to the street. I hear the rumble of a car coming down the road and hope this doesn’t turn into a drive-by shooting as I walk to the old man.

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