Chapter 3
Jordan knew what was going on and he was slightly impressed by Lila’s ability to improvise on the fly. He could almost imagine them working together, but she didn’t seem the type that would want to get blood on her hands. He had thought that one time when they first met, but he was beginning to see that she was able to adjust to just about anything. He didn’t know that she was going to take that kind of approach with Dylan. Deep down, he thought that she would kill him, but instead she maimed him in a way that would be remembered throughout history.
He got over to where the stairs led to the balcony and the balcony door of the house. He bypassed that altogether and went to the basement door underneath the balcony. He decided to see how predictable this family could be. He searched around for anything that would indicate a secret key. He found what appeared to be a rock, but it wasn't a rock. He smiled to himself, as he opened up the hidden compartment and found the key. He was not going to have to break out his lock picking skills, although he knew that he could probably make short work of that lock within minutes or even seconds for that matter.
He heard Lila in his ear. “I don’t know what it is about you men that think that you can objectify the women in your life. I look around at these women nodding their head and I can only assume by their reaction that it’s not the first time that they have felt this way in their lives. It may have not come from you, but others think because we dress provocatively that we want that kind of attention.” He could tell that she was really getting into the role of someone that felt like she was being made into a piece of meat.
“I don’t have to stand here and take this anymore. I’ve been more than accommodating. I do what I can to make women into the equal partner that I want them to be. My wife could attest to that, but she is working. I stay home with our child, when I could easily go to some high powered profession. This is what compromise looks like. I’m through trying to explain myself. You all should go back to your homes and there’s really nothing more that you can see here.”
Lila was only trying to buy time and the best way to do that was to make sure that everybody’s attention was on her. They could sympathize, because they knew how it felt to be seen, as only a sexual object. She was banking on that. “I don’t know how long Jordan is going to need, but I think that I’ve run out of time. Most men would want to stay and fight a little longer, but this guy knows a losing battle when he sees one. Besides, I know that the horsemen are probably watching and I would rather not give them time to identify me with facial recognition or some other software that they might have in their possession.”
Jordan could read between the lines and he felt a certain respect for the woman that knew how to survive. She wasn’t about to back down and that strength made him think that there could be more here than just a one night stand. He wasn’t sure how he could say that, because he had never been involved in anything that was even remotely a long-term relationship. That was in the past and he used to be the life of the party back in his college days, but a few things in his life happened that changed his perspective dramatically. It was like there was this empty space that somehow Lila was able to fill with her smile and the way that she moved against him in the throes of passion.
He was having a hard time thinking about anything else. That was the reason why he didn’t notice that he wasn’t alone.
He walked through the house using the streaming sun through the windows, as the only way to illuminate his way. He didn’t want to take the chance of putting on any light in case a neighbor was nosy and wanted to investigate. They probably had what most people would call a neighborhood watch, but it was usually those ones that were left behind in the middle of the day. They were the ones that had their eyes and ears open for anything unusual.
She was still burning in his mind. He could remember almost everything about her down to the smallest detail. He didn’t want to feel this way, but his heart was telling him something that he didn’t want to admit to himself. He was trying to put all that on the back burner, but her face and the knowledge that she was carrying his child was very much weighing heavily on his mind.
Going into what constituted as a playroom, he went directly to the back wall. It seemed like it was made of brick, but he only had to find that special spot in between the crevices. He soon found the exact place that he wanted to find. It cracked open and there was this hiss of air that escaped from being sealed up for that long. He had to use a little bit more force than necessary to move the door further open to slip inside. As his feet touched down in the threshold, the light overhead automatically came on. He reached to extinguish it by turning the bulb and making sure that it was not revealed to anyone that might see it outside.
He could easily see everything that was inside. He was kind of shocked that it was still here after all this time. The weapons were one thing, but it was the passports and the cachet of money that was the most important to him. It would allow him and his beloved to find some tropical getaway and live out the rest of their lives with the waves crashing up against the shore.
“I have what we need, Lila. I should be out momentarily. I’m grateful for the distraction, but it might be a good idea for you to get out of dodge while the getting is good. The horsemen can only be fooled for so long. It’s not going take them very long to figure out that you’re the one that they have been looking for. Your disguise might keep them at bay for a moment, but then their suspicion is going to rise.” He waited for an answer, but there was nothing forthcoming. He wondered if maybe she was caught and that talking was not an option. He cringed to think that he could lose the only family that mattered to him.
“If you’re worried about me, then you don’t have to be. I knew that I was pushing my luck. I decided to mingle with the other girls for a moment to make it look like that I was part of the crowd. I even followed one over to her house and then I slipped around the side and out of sight of anybody that might be watching.” She had heard his voice, but she could not say anything without one of the girls becoming suspicious. She had overstayed her welcome and it was time to leave before she was found out. “I think he’s starting to realize that I can take care of myself. I’ve always known that deep down I was a fighter and that I would crawl and scratch to protect myself and those that I cared about. I have something else now that demands my protection and I plan to lay down my life for the child that I’m carrying.”
The sex was good, but the talk was cheap. She wanted to take away all those memories that made her feel that she had to leave home early on in her development. She had everything except for the one thing that she craved for most of all. She was looking for that comfort and that love that came from a family that knew that blood was thicker than water. She may have looked expensive on the outside, but she felt cheap deep down. She was broken and no good to anyone and then Jordan came around and changed how she felt about herself. There were no guarantees in life and she understood that she was taking a risk by letting herself feel something for someone.
During her time in the flesh trade, she was approached several times by older men that would promise her the world and didn’t deliver. She didn’t believe for a second that Jordan was like that, but she was still very careful to walk that minefield. One wrong step and all of this could blow up in her face and that was one thing that she wasn’t going to let happen.
Jordan smiled at hearing her voice. He grabbed for the green duffle bag and started to stuff it full of everything that he could carry. There was no way that he was going to be able to take everything, but he knew exactly what he would need to bring the fight right to Jamison’s door. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he was going up against overwhelming odds. His future was in his hands and it didn’t matter how long it took, he would make Jamison a moot point.
He had to stop suddenly when the realization of what he was doing came crashing down. The pages of his life were ripe with blood and those innocent people that didn’t deserve the kind of justice that he brought with him. The feel of her head on his chest made him forget that he was a killer. It made him forget that he was a bad man and that what he deserved was a five by five cell or to be 6 feet under. He could see that she would shatter like glass in his hands.
“I can’t believe that you were this gullible to think that we weren’t going to find you.” The voice sounded familiar. Jordan knew that he was in deep trouble.