“How was your date?” Cara asked as Tia sat down in one of the chairs in the living room. She hadn’t meant to disturb Cara’s reading, but she also didn’t feel like going to her room alone yet.
“It was….” she hesitated as she set her crutches on the floor beside her, “good.”
“That’s not very convincing,” Cara said sticking a bookmark in her book and shutting the cover to get Tia her full attention. “What happened?”
Tia sighed. She wished she had a better answer for that question. “Brody is great. He opened the doors for me, and we had a wonderful dinner at a little Italian place. Then he kissed me, and the rest of my memory came back.”
Cara tilted her head and tiny wrinkles appeared on her forehead as she furrowed her brow. “That all sounds better than good - I mean the man kissed you. And that was good right?”
Heat crept up Tia’s face. “Yeah, that part was perfect. No complaints for sure.”
Cara grinned and pulled her feet up under her. “So, I’m guessing there’s more to it.”
Tia nodded. “There’s two more pieces. The first one is my past. I was not a nice person, and I think I went down that road because of my father, but still… How do I date this amazing man who is practically a saint while I have this checkered past?” Her gaze dropped to her hands and she picked at a rogue cuticle. “I mean I’m only here because I flew out to try and convince a man to promote my book. And I was willing to use almost any means necessary.”
Cara’s head bobbed as she let out a long breath. “Yeah, I can see why you feel that way. Does Brody know?”
“A little,” Tia said with a shrug. “I haven’t told him everything yet. I’m afraid he’ll run away.”
“He might.” Cara’s matter-of-fact tone caused Tia to raise her head. “But if he does, then he’s not the man for you.”
Tia’s mouth fell open. That was certainly not the advice she had been looking for.
“Look, that’s a hard lesson for a woman to learn at any point. I haven’t dated a lot, but I gave my heart to this guy once who said all the right things until it came time for the rubber to meet the road. Then he was nowhere to be found - wouldn’t return my texts or calls. I spent a few days wondering what I had done wrong, analyzing the relationship, agonizing over it really. But then I realized, it wasn’t me. It was him. He wasn’t ready for a real relationship with me. If Brody runs from your past, then it’s just a sign you aren’t meant to be together, and it would be better to find out now than to date for months and find out then.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Tia wished she had Cara’s confidence, but growing up feeling unloved by her father had fertilized this insecurity in her that she wasn’t good enough until it had taken root and overrun her life.
“You said there were two reasons. What is the second one that is keeping you from smiling and walking on cloud nine?”
Tia dropped her eyes back to her fingers. She pulled off the rogue cuticle, grimacing slightly at the pain that shot through her finger momentarily. “When we left the restaurant, I heard this car rev its engine, and I thought it was coming right toward us. I froze and couldn’t move until the car passed us. It reminded me so much of the accident, and I thought someone out there was still after me.” She lifted her eyes. “I don’t know how to stop being afraid.”
Sympathy and understanding flooded Cara’s eyes and she leaned forward. “That will come with time too. You’ve been through a traumatic experience. You can’t expect it’s going to be unicorns and rainbows right away. I still have nightmares about my deployments sometimes. I’ll see bombs exploding or injured civilians in my dreams.” She chuffed out a breath and ran her hand through her spiky hair. “And don’t get me started on loud noises. I still jump. Fourth of July is no longer my favorite holiday, but it gets easier. Every day will get a little…”
Her words stopped abruptly as the lights in the house went out and darkness filled the room. The mood in the room shifted and Tia could feel the fear pressing against her. She didn’t believe this was a simple case of the electricity going out. There had been no storm, no reason. No reason except her.
“Tia, do you have Jordan’s number on you?” Cara asked in a forceful whisper.
“I do, but I don’t have a phone.” Why had they forgotten to stop at the electronics store on the way home? “And I don’t know this place well enough to go stumbling around in the dark.” There was no way she could navigate her own home in the dark on crutches. She certainly couldn’t do it in this house she didn’t know.
“I’m going to hand you my cell phone. There’s a hall closet about fifteen feet to your left and nothing is blocking your way. I want you to crawl that direction as quietly and quickly as possible. Get inside, shut the door, and call Jordan.”
“What are you going to do?” Tia’s voice trembled with the fear racing through her.
“I’m going to do what I said I’d do. I’m going to protect you. Now go.”
Tia didn’t need a second urging. As soon as she felt the phone hit her palm, she lowered herself to the floor and began crawling the direction Tia had said. Her cast made a soft scratching sound as it dragged across the floor, and her breath sounded like a freight train in her head. Surely, she was giving her location away as silence filled the rest of the house.
When she had gone approximately fifteen feet, she began to feel around for the door of the closet. With every second her hand didn’t find it, her anxiety increased until she nearly screamed for joy when her fingers finally found the knob.
She opened the door and crawled inside, shutting it after her. Only then did she turn on Cara’s cell phone, grab the card Jordan had given her from her pocket, and dial the number.
“Jordan?” she asked in a hoarse whisper when he picked up.
“Tia? What’s wrong?”
“I’m at Cara’s, but someone’s here. The electricity just went off. Cara sent me to the closet to call you.” Just then the door swung open and the light from a flashlight blinded her.
“Hello, Tia, I’ve been looking for you.”
At the sound of the man’s voice, Tia screamed and dropped the phone.
“Tia? Tia?”
The sound of a scream stirred Brody. He struggled to open his eyes, but the pain in his head was severe. He reached a hand up and was not surprised to find it come away sticky with blood. What had the man hit him with? More importantly, was Tia okay?
Another scream carried out of the house. Groaning with effort, he pushed himself up. He wanted to rush into the house, but the spinning of the world around him forced him to wait. Rushing in without all his faculties wouldn’t help anyone. He pulled his phone out and dialed 911 while the world slowed down.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“My name is Dr. Brody Cavanaugh. I’m at 212 Whistler Avenue. I’ve been attacked and I think the attacker is in the house with hostages.”
“I’m sending help. Please stay on the line until they arrive.”
Brody knew that’s what he should do. He was certainly in no shape to help Tia much, but he couldn’t sit out here and do nothing. He couldn’t let another woman he cared for die. “I’m sorry; I have to see if I can help,” he said before ending the call.
He pocketed the phone and then stood testing his vision and balance. Another deep breath and he felt okay to move. The only problem was he had no weapon. Nothing but his hands and with the blow to his head, he didn’t trust their power or their efficiency.
He scanned the area for anything he could use, and then he remembered the tire iron in his car. Popping the trunk, he grabbed it and headed for the house. Brody had never wielded a weapon at anyone, but if it meant saving Tia’s life, he would.
The dark house was silent as he approached. Fear that he was too late raced through his body as he pushed open the door. He wished he had a flashlight as he didn’t know the layout of Cara’s house, but with the front door open, a little light spilled in from the outside. Enough for him to see a few feet in front of him. The immediate area was deserted. He had two choices; he could turn left toward the bedrooms or right toward the kitchen and living room area.
A scuffling sound to his right sent him that direction, and a moment later, the soft light of a flashlight illuminated the room. Tia sat on a chair, tears streaming down her face as she stared into the barrel of a gun.
“Don’t come any farther or I’ll shoot,” the man said as if sensing Brody’s approach. As he glanced Brody’s direction, Brody saw Cara out of the corner of his eye. She was trying to get the jump on the man, but she couldn’t get in the right position unless the man was facing Brody.
“Who are you and what do you want with Tia?”
The man smiled and turned his attention back to Tia. Cara ducked down in just the nick of time. “Why don’t you ask Tia that?”
Brody looked to Tia trying desperately to come up with a plan to get the man focused on him.
“This is Rico,” Tia said, her voice cracking with emotion. “It was you on the patio and in the doorway, wasn’t it? I thought it was the other man, Adrian, but it was you.”
Rico nodded and waved his hands out for a minute as if bowing. “So, it was. You could have left – should have left when I told you, and all of this could have been avoided, but you didn’t. You had to come back and become a loose end.”
“But I didn’t hear anything,” Tia said. “I had no idea what you were discussing.”
“Maybe not, but you were seen leaving and you left evidence. I couldn’t let you live after that. It would have jeopardized my authority.”
Realization dawned on Brody. “You’re the head of the drug ring, aren’t you? Not Adrian.”
Rico’s head shot his direction. “Adrian was too rash to be head of the organization. He planned better than my wife, but he still got caught. Him and his wife. Besides, he was known. I managed to keep my cover in place and lead a profitable life here in Fire Beach on the side.”
“Except they know about you now,” Brody said hoping to keep Rico’s attention on him long enough for Cara to strike. “The police know all about your connections in Chicago. Your publishing company will fold, your wife is going to jail, and the Chicago police won’t rest until they destroy your organization.”
“The only one who will be destroyed tonight is you…..” Cara was in position and Brody held his breath hoping Rico wouldn’t turn her direction. “And her.” His gun swung back toward Tia, and his face was just a moment behind, but it was long enough for Cara to spring up and ram her head directly into Rico’s chest. The gun went flying as he crashed to the floor, and the sound of the gunshot filled the air, leaving a ringing in Brody’s ears.
He glanced first toward Tia, but though shaken, she appeared uninjured, so he turned his attention to Cara who lay on the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around Rico’s neck, and her muscular legs pinning his arms to his body even though he writhed against her.
“What do you have to secure him with?” Brody asked looking around the room.
“Zip ties,” Cara grunted. “Over in the desk drawer.”
Brody followed the motion of her head and could just make out the form of a desk. He hurried over and rifled through the drawers until he found the zip ties. Grabbing them, he returned to Cara and secured the man’s hands together. Only then did she let up her grip on him.
“Thanks,” she said shaking out her arms. “He’s a strong one.”
Rico said nothing as he watched them with his icy stare. “How did you manage to secure him so quickly?” Brody asked.
She ran a hand down her thighs as if to loosen those muscles as well. “MMA training in college. It wasn’t as big for women back then, so I used to wrestle with all the guys. There’s a reason they called me Leech. Once I grab on, I don’t let go.”
Somehow Brody didn’t doubt that. “Good work,” he said before turning to Tia. “Are you okay?”
“Shaken up, but okay,” she said, but her eyes stayed focused on the man on the floor. “Will this ever stop?”
“Hey.” He placed his hands on either side of her face and tilted it up until she was looking at him. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
Her eyes widened when she saw his head. “You’re hurt!”
“Yeah, I’ll need to get checked out, but I’ll be okay too.”
A moment later, Jordan, Al, and two other men Brody vaguely recognized filed into the room. The two men grabbed Rico while Al attended to Tia and Jordan sauntered over to Cara.
“Thank you. I knew you were the right woman for the job.”
She shot him a glare as she massaged her forearms. “Next time, a little warning of what I might be facing would be nice.”
“I would have warned you except we didn’t know what to expect. We thought it was over after the attempt at the hospital, but we didn’t realize Rico was not just the front for the organization - he was the head.”
“Yeah, we know,” Cara said, “He had a hard time keeping his mouth shut.”
“Does that mean it’s really over now?” Tia asked.
“It does. Rico’s going away for a long time along with his wife and the Petrovs. You may have to testify, but we all owe you a debt of gratitude. I know it wasn’t your intent, but through your actions, you’ve managed to help us take down a pretty large drug organization.”
Brody smiled and squeezed Tia’s shoulder. “See? I told you everything happens for a reason. I think you’ve just made up for a lot of the mistakes in your past.”
“Thank you,” she said and when she smiled up at him, Brody knew she was going to be okay.