Chapter Twenty
Emily inhaled a deep breath and opened her eyes. Light from the television reflected on the wall of the hotel room. She lay naked on her side with Andrew’s warm body snuggled against her back. His arm rested across her and close to her belly. The sheet covered them from the waist down. His breath brushed her shoulders since they shared a pillow. He slept soundly, unlike her. She felt cozy and comfortable, but her worries continued to keep her awake.
The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the events after that day had left a big impression in her mind. She’d been ten at the time terrorists brought down the Twin Towers. Troy had encouraged her more than ever to learn how to fight and defend herself in case some extremist showed up in Chicago. And so she did. Together, they had gone to classes. She learned many defense and survival techniques. As time moved on, the world became more acquainted with radical Islamists outside and inside the US. While she didn’t judge others, she couldn’t help but feel guarded, especially after she learned demons existed.
During dinner, Andrew had mentioned the men in the van had colored auras. Anyone working with a demon had to be bad. The country music singer, the fourth demon Andrew had destroyed, had associates with tinted auras helping her kidnap and sell women as sex slaves. Demons had a way of getting other sick and perverted people to help them, which made Emily suspect the Muslims at the demon’s house were in cahoots with the demon. What diabolical mischief were they up to? And were they working on something big? She hated to think they could be plotting to bring down a building, a plane, or set off a dirty bomb. The demon was pure evil, so anything was possible.
Her mind continued to fantasize horrors. Thus, she couldn’t sleep. Whatever the demon had planned, Andrew needed to stop him before the demon followed through with his scheme. But how?
They had little information about Ahmed. They’d have to spend a few days watching his movements to figure out a way for Andrew to get to him. If Ahmed left his house, Andrew could break into it and snoop around. She didn’t like the idea because of the risk of getting caught, but if he could explore Ahmed’s home, he might be able to figure out what the demon was working on. They’d waited long enough to track down the evil man. Odds were high they didn’t have much time to stop him before he created major chaos and destruction.
Andrew lifted his arm in a jolt. He rolled onto his back. Emily twisted to make sure he was okay. He rubbed his nose and opened his eyes.
“Sorry,” he said before he returned to lying next to her.
“It’s okay. I was awake.”
He glided his hand over her stomach and then cupped one of her breasts. “Something wrong?”
“Can’t seem to sleep.”
“Is it the chili we had for dinner? I know how spicy food can give you indigestion.”
She smiled. He knew her too well. “No, the food isn’t bothering me.”
“That’s good. So what is?”
She grazed her fingers along his arm. “I was thinking of a way we could try to find out more information about Ahmed.”
He groaned. “We don’t need to spend time trying to learn about this guy. All I need to do is find a way to kill him and destroy the demon.”
“What if he’s working on something big to hurt a lot of people?”
“Then I need to kill him soon. That’s my plan anyway.”
Getting rid of the demon quickly would solve their problems. And they could return to Utah quicker. She couldn’t argue with his logic.
“Okay, so how are you going to get close enough to kill him?”
“Not sure yet. We first need to know if he has a job or not.”
“Let’s say he does. If we knew when he would return home, and assuming he lives alone, you could sneak into his house, stab him, and then destroy the demon.”
“That will work.”
Her idea seemed too easy. “What if he came home with someone?”
There was a pause.
“I suppose I can hide somewhere in the house and wait to make sure he’s alone. If he’s not, I’d have to find a way out unnoticed.”
“And if he sees you, then getting to him will be more difficult. So maybe my idea isn’t such a good one.”
He squeezed her tit and kissed her shoulder. “It’s still an option.”
They needed a better one. He needed to complete his task in privacy, which was always part of the most difficult part of the job. Since they had little information about Ahmed, they’d have to stakeout his house and wait. Once they could confirm nobody was with Ahmed, then the rest should be easy for Andrew.
“If he lives alone, then all you need to do is get inside,” she said.
“Any ideas how I get him to let me in?”
“You could … say your car broke down and you don’t have a cell. You went to the neighbor’s house, but nobody answered. Ask if you can use his phone to call for a ride and a tow truck.”
“That’s good. I like it.”
“You could even add your pregnant wife is in the car so your request will seem more urgent.”
“It’s a decent idea, but I’ll be screwed if he asks to see the car. I’m not going to point out the Jeep since you’ll be in it.”
“But if you did, he would be more inclined to believe your story.”
He sighed. “I could knock on his door and say I’m selling candy. That worked for Troy.”
“Yeah, but this guy is different. He isn’t a drug addict with free money in his pockets. Since he’s very secretive, he might not let you past the front door.”
“All right, you come up with another option if candy won’t work.”
Emily wondered what would intrigue Ahmed enough to let Andrew inside his home. Selling anything might cause the demon to turn Andrew away. If Andrew couldn’t portray a salesman, then he had to act as a person seeking help or information. The imaginary light bulb flashed in her head.
“You could be a census worker,” she said. “You’re going around to each home and collecting information. You can say it’s required by law, so if he doesn’t let you in, then someone else will return with the police.”
Andrew groped her breast again. “That’s a good plan. But what if he asks for identification?”
She bit her lip while she thought of an answer. “If you have my computer case, you can say it’s in your bag. Tell him if you can go inside and set your bag down, you can show him your ID.”
“And once I’m in the house, I’m good to go.”
“It will work as long as he doesn’t demand seeing the ID before letting you in.”
He kissed the back of her head. “We have options now. Can we go to sleep?”
From the tone of his voice, she sensed he needed to rest. She hadn’t meant to keep him awake, but he’d asked what had been on her mind.
“Yeah, go back to sleep,” she said.
She slid her hand under her pillow. Lethargy pressed upon her. Perhaps discussing their options had been what she needed to ease some of her concerns, at least for a little while so she could rest.
Holding his hand to her tit, she relished the love they had. With his warmth and affection surrounding and filling her, she dozed off.