Meri

I woke up with my heart racing and there was a scream in the air. I didn’t know whose it was, but it occurred to me not long later that it was my own voice doing it. When I saw Sam busting into the small bedroom with a look on his face that something was wrong, I knew that I was the one that had made the sound. It made sense. I had woken up from a dream I couldn’t remember, but I could still remember the feeling that it gave me. Something bad had happened in the dream, even if I wasn’t sure what that was in the light of day.

“Are you okay?”

He looked worried and he had something in his hand like he was going to use it as a weapon. When I looked at the long stick thing and then back at him, he set it down with a smile. “I didn’t know what was going on. Are you okay?”

I wasn’t okay, but I couldn’t tell him that. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, why I felt this way, but there was something not right.

“It was just a dream. It was a really vivid dream that I can seem to shake. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

He waved me off and it was then that I realized that his chest was bare. All of him was clear in my sights and he was only wearing some soft shorts on his bottoms. All of Sam was out to see and the large man just looked even bigger to me than before. It was hard to ignore what I was seeing and I moved back towards the bed because I didn’t trust the curiosity running through me.

“Would you like to talk about it? Sometimes getting it out will make it better. I know that I have had some doozy. You are most likely having them because of your ordeal. You have been through a lot Meri. Your mind just can’t take it.”

It had been a lot. I would be the first to admit it, but I had been through worse. More than that, I was affected by what he was wearing or lack thereof, far more than I was worried about unremembered dream.

“It’s fine, really Sam. Sorry I woke you up.”

“I can stay with you. I don’t want you to feel like you are in this alone.”

“You really are a full service lawyer, aren’t you?”

There was a flash in his eyes and he smiled at me in a way that made my heart stop. “You have no idea how full service I can be. I was trying to show you a little yesterday, but you weren’t going for it. I can make you forget about it all.”

It was a hell of a promise and by the way he was looking at me, I had a feeling that he could do everything that he said he could and more. It made sense. The man was gorgeous, rich and was more the likely very versed in the ways of women. But I wasn’t versed at any of this and the last thing that I wanted to do was let that be known. Everyone acted differently towards me once they found out. They would act like I was a freak and something was wrong with me. I wouldn’t be able to bare it if he looked at me the same way.

“It’s okay, really. I am just going to go back to sleep.” It was the only nice way that I could tell him I wanted to be alone. He was dangerous. Men like him were dangerous because they would make me think about all of the what-ifs. I had decided that I was going to wait, but that ended up being a hard decision around men like Sam. But it was worth it. I kept telling myself that as Sam left me alone in the room to my thoughts.

I went back to sleep for a little while and by morning I was ready to get started. I was worried about Carol, still unable to think that something had happened to her like it was suggested. I just couldn’t think that way. I knew that something was going on. She would not just pick up and leave, but at the same time, I feel like if something had happened to her, I would have known it. It would be something that I could feel. I didn’t feel it. It felt like she was in danger and my mind went back to that man I had met the night that everything changed. There was something about Rico and he had done something to Carol. Why else would he go to the police and try to get it all pinned on me?

So I got up and got dressed. My mind was on one thing only. I was going to figure out what was going on. When I got to where Sam was sleeping, I found him snoring and passed out still. It didn’t look like he had gotten much sleep the night before and I didn’t want to disturb him. He had done so much for me. It would have been wrong of me not to let him sleep in a little bit. He needed it as badly as I did.

I left the room as quietly as I could. I took the extra room key card because I wasn’t going to be gone too long. I was going to go see if I could find Rico and then I was going to demand that he tell me where Carol was. It wasn’t the best plan. I would be the first to agree to it, but it was the only kind of plan that I had. He knew where she was and once I found Carol, I could rest easier as well as then I would be able to go home. I wouldn’t have to have people thinking that I had done something to my friend. It would all come out and it all came down to Rico and what he knew.

The problem was that I didn’t really know who Rico was, because all I had was a name that I didn’t even know if it was really his name or not. It sounded like it could be short for something, but for what? Ricardo? The other issue was the fact that I didn’t know where he lived. Of everything that Carol had told me about him, she hadn’t said once where he lived or where he could be found.

All I could do was start the only place that I could. I knew that he was around here somewhere, but this was a big place. So I went to where we had gone the night before I went to jail and my friend came up missing. I was sure that something was going to help me. I just had to get to the club and the restaurant and ask around. Someone had to know who Rico was and more importantly, where I could find him.

It was getting later, already noon when I found the restaurant. When I started to ask the staff about the man, no one had any answers, but I felt like one woman in particular knew who I was talking about. She was actually afraid of Rico. I left so that she wouldn’t worry about it, but I had to wonder what that meant. I was going to have to see her again, away from everyone else and find out what it was that she knew. It was something, of that I was sure, but what?

I went next to the club and I was about to go in to the darkened place when I heard my name being called behind me. It was Sam, the only other person I knew in the whole country. “Hey Sam. How did you find me here?”

He looked worried. “I thought you had taken off.”

I chuckled and asked him where it was that I was supposed to go. I was stuck here with no passport. I told him what I was doing today, so why did he look like he was so surprised?

“Sorry, I told you last night where I was going. I figured I would see you when I got back.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up Meri? You are supposed to be in my care. It isn’t safe for you to be here alone.”

“I didn’t want to bother you. You have helped me so much Sam, I thought the least I could do was let you get some sleep. You looked like you really needed it.”

“I am supposed to be vouching for you Meri. You are supposed to stay with me at all times!”

He was getting upset and I wasn’t quite sure why. Did he really think that I was going to take off, knowing that he had put himself out there for me? He should know better. I would have thought so anyways.

“You are helping me because of Ashlyn. Our mutual friend means a lot to me and I would never do anything to get her or you in trouble. I don’t know you, but if Ashlyn sent you, it’s because she trusts you. On the same note, she trusts me. I didn’t do anything to Carol. I think Rico did and I am going to find out. I can’t leave here without knowing what happened. You can understand that, can’t you?”

I was close to tears, mad at my body for betraying me in such a way. I hated all of the emotions that ran through me sometimes and I hated feeling so vulnerable around Sam. He held my life in his hands and I didn’t like the feeling of that, at all.

“I can, but wake me up. I am here to help you and find out what happened to your friend, will help us all get home. You are not the only one that is eager to get back to New York. I have a lot going on as well. I am kind of a big deal there.”

Sure that what he said was true I asked him if he wanted to come in with me. I was glad he was there. I felt safer around him than I had by myself. At least I could trust him and I knew that he was going to try his best to help me. What more could I ask for in such a situation?