Chapter Ten
Osi
I’d been working for almost two months straight out of the office. Two days ago, I’d turned over a guy to the Feds and drove back to Indianapolis. Spring was in full swing, my lawn was green and the flowers that the landscaper had planted were blooming. I’d dropped my bag in the middle of my kitchen, locked away my tools and then slept for almost eighteen hours.
When I woke up, I started to plan for the following week. I’d marked myself out from taking any jobs. Every year for the last six, I went to Chicago. I looked at it as doing my part.
I’d just finished packing for tomorrow’s trip when my phone rang. It was Ramsay which surprised me a little since she had stopped calling and texting about three weeks ago. I guess she got tired of my one word responses. She wasn’t telling me what I needed to hear, that she needed me, that she loved me so I was giving her space. I was done chasing her. If she didn’t want to be caught then so be it.
She didn’t leave a message, but she called right back. I held my phone in my hand trying to decide what to do. She hung up and then called again. I gave in and answered. “Ramsay.”
“Thank God,” her words were rushed. “Osi, I’m scared.”
She sounded out of breath and not like her usually in control self. “What’s going on?” My training kicked in. When somebody excitable, I spoke calmly.
“He knew my name and I’ve never seen him before.”
“Ramsay, start over at the beginning. Where are you?”
“I’m in Minneapolis. I’m up here to go to an estate sale and I was to meet a new client, well there a prospective client because I don’t know her, anyway, she wanted to meet at the hotel downtown in the bar.”
“Are you staying in that hotel?”
“No, uhm, I’m not, that would have been weird.”
“So this perspective client how did you meet them?”
“She e-mailed me. She said she knew a couple of other clients and they had recommended me. I thought since I was in the same city that we could meet.”
I heard car horns in the background. “Babe where are you right now?”
I’m walking down the street. I don’t want to go back to my hotel and I don’t know what to do.” She told me plaintively.
“Okay, the next public place, like a restaurant or a hotel, you go in. If anybody gets close make a scene.” I told her.
“Okay, there’s a busy restaurant here.” I heard her mumble a “thanks” to someone.
“Now continue.”
“So I waited at the bar. I was worried because I was a minute or two late. I ordered a drink and she was a no show after twenty minutes so I was sending her a text when this man sat down beside me.”
“Go on.”
“Well I mean that’s not that rare. So I finished my text and I was putting my phone back in my purse when he said, “Ms. Kent, I have a message for your boyfriend.”
Not good.
Her breathing was more ragged. “I took a good look at the guy and I swear I’ve never seen him before so I asked, ‘Have we met?’ I mean I was caught off guard.”
“Did he say anything else?” My hand flexed on my phone.
“Yeah, he said, ‘I know all about you Ramsay, where you live and how you travel.’ I started to get off of my stool right then.”
“But there’s more right?”
“He, uh, he grabbed my arm and made it so I couldn’t move. He said, “Tell Osi that it’s time for that talk.’ I didn’t fight him, I mean his hand was so big that I felt like he could crush my arm. So I said, ‘Okay, but who should I say has gone to all of this trouble?”
Jesus, Ramsay would pick that moment to get feisty. “Did he give you a name?”
“He said it was Sly.”
Shit.
“Then he said, ‘Remember to lock your door tonight. I wouldn’t want any problems for you at the Hyatt.’ That’s where I’m staying. Osi.”
“Okay, this is what I need for you to do.”
“Osi, I’m scared. That man, he was big and he knew my name and yours.” Her voice cracked.
“Ramsay, I need you to do what I say.” I silently prayed. “Don’t argue, just follow my instructions.”
“Is this bad?” she sounded rattled.
“I’m not sure,” I told her honestly. Beau Sly Slidell was in my line of business. He might have fewer rules than me and we’d had a few run ins over the years. Sometimes working together and sometimes not. He wasn’t an enemy but I wouldn’t turn my back on him.
“What should I do? I’m scared.” She whispered.
I put my phone on speaker and pulled up a travel app. “I need you to get in a cab and head to the airport. I’m going to book you a ticket to Chicago and I’ll meet you there.”
“Chicago, why there?”
“Babe, cab.” I clicked and checked the flights.
“Trying,” she snapped.
I heard a car door opening and Ramsay giving instructions. “Okay, I’m in the cab.”
“Good, there’s a flight in two hours on Delta to Midway. I’ll send you the ticket.”
“My things are at the Hyatt, there’s not enough time to pack.” She whined.
“I don’t want you anywhere near the Hyatt or your room. It’s not safe, Do You Hear Me?”
“Yes! You don’t have to yell at me.” She groused. “Sir, I’m flying Delta.” She told the cab driver.
“Go directly to TSA. If there’s a problem tell them, that you just had a fight with your boyfriend and you’re going to show up at his place. I don’t care, just make up a story.”
“Okay, I can do that.” She mumbled.
“Now, if anybody gets too close, in your space, Ramsay, you throw the world’s biggest fit. I mean go full on drama queen. I want the cops there and everything. Get me?”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know but after I get you safe, I’ll figure it out.” I promised her.
“Osi, if they’re watching me then they might be watching you.” She sounded so scared.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“I know that you can take care of yourself,” her voice shook and I heard her clear her throat. “He really scared me.”
“You did good, babe. You kept your cool and now just get on that plane and I’ll see you in Chicago. Don’t leave the terminal. Hang out in the secure area. Call me when you land and I’ll give you my e.t.a.”
“This is going to be okay, right?”
“I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”
“Okay, Osi.” She hung up.
I opened my gun safe and loaded up. I wasn’t sure what was happening but I was going to be prepared.
Ramsay: Landed
Luckily for me there were no cops along the interstate as I headed north. I could make this drive with my eyes closed but tonight, I was hyper-aware. Checking out the cars in my rear-view mirror and counting off the miles.
Osi: eta 48 minutes. Wait for my call before you leave the terminal.
Ramsay: Stop texting while you drive
That made me chuckle. Ramsay could be emotional, a diva but underneath it all, she was a realist.
I could see the airport lights. I hit the button to call Ramsay.
“Are you all right?” were her first words.
“Yeah. You?”
“I’m freaking out.”
“Has there been a problem?” I gripped the steering wheel.
“No,” she admitted. “It’s my imagination. I sit for a few minutes and then I worry so I pace. In the bar, I didn’t even realize that he’d taken the chair right beside of me. He was so smooth.”
“Ramsay, I’m going to be at the baggage claim exit door in about three minutes. Go to the first one. I’ll be there. Just remember the rules, any problems go hysterical.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“See you soon, babe.”
I parked in the pickup lane and put on my flashers. This late at night with the spitting cold rain, I wasn’t worried about airport security. If they showed and asked me to move…well I’d handle it.
I got out to stretch my legs. I paced the curb by my SUV and watched through the glass doors. I saw her striding through the terminal. She looked like a very successful businesswoman, dressed in a navy short raincoat over camel pants with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She had a huge tote slung over her shoulder and her phone gripped in her hand.
I knew the instant that she saw me, she started to run. I met her at the revolving door and pulled her into my arms.
She threw herself at me. “Oh God, thank you.” Her arms circled my neck as she hugged me.
I couldn’t ignore how good she felt in my arms. I’d tried to forget about the difficult woman, but I couldn’t. “Come on, get in the truck.” I led her to the SUV and helped her and closed the door.
Right after I started up the engine and was checking my mirrors, she asked, “What’s the plan?’
“We’ll go to my place and tomorrow, I’ll make contact with Sly and find out what’s up.”
“Which hotel?”
“I keep a condo here.” I knew that she’d turned her head at my announcement.
“Oh.” She shifted her tote on her lap. “I guess that’s another thing that I never asked about.”
“I own some commercial property here and I help out with a couple of charities so it made sense to have a place here.”
“And Isiah is here.” She said quietly.
I liked it that she used his name. Many were uncomfortable to talk about the dead but I thought about my son often, he was a part of me. “Yeah.”
I took a route that was a little out of the way, I wanted to make sure that we weren’t being followed. My condo was owned by a corporation so it would be difficult to trace but not impossible. I pulled into the garage and parked. I pulled my bags out of the back and then opened Ramsay’s door.
“I can carry something,” she pointed toward my suitcase.
“Okay.” If that would make her feel more in control then she could roll the bag beside her.
We made our way to the elevator and I inserted the key card that gave me access to the fourteenth floor.
“Swanky,” she smirked looking around the mirrored elevator’s interior.
“Investment,” I countered as the doors opened to our floor. “To the right,” I directed her.
I unlocked the two locks and stepped in first. I checked the readout on the alarm and turned it off. Ramsay was still standing in the hallway. “I’m going to do a check so stay put.”
“Yes sir,” she gave me a saucy wink.
I did a walk-through of my space, checking the closets, and the shower stalls. I returned to the doorway. “It’s clear.”
She walked in and started to take off her scarf. I helped her off with her coat and I even hung it in the coat closet. She gave me a tiny smile because I usually dropped my coat on the nearest chair.
“Make yourself at home,” I picked up my bag of guns and moved it to the den where I kept a gun safe. She followed me down the short hallway and she turned to the right to the bedroom with my roller bag.
I started to unload my guns. I saw Ramsay standing in the doorway. “Grab a seat.” I didn’t stop my manual check of my Insert name of rifle. “This place is secure. They have twenty-four-seven onsite security. You can’t get past the lobby without a key card. Visitors can’t be buzzed through, the tenant has to go down to get them.”
“Sounds like Forde’s building part two,” She sat down of the edge of the wing chair in the corner. She was wearing a medium blue silk blouse and under the bright lights that I’d flipped on, I could see the dark circles under her eyes. She was thinner than the last time I’d seen her. Tonight the bones in her chest were apparent.
“After I get done, we’ll get some food or did you eat in the airport.”
“Are you kidding?” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “I was too upset to eat.”
“I need you to tell me one more time everything that Sly said.” I put the rifle in the safe.
She did succinctly and without dramatics. When she finished she asked, “Can I borrow a shirt?”
I locked the door to the gun safe and turned to her. “Yeah, go through the chest and take whatever you need.”
She followed me into the bedroom and started opening drawers. I shoved my nine into the specially built pocket built into the side of my bed and then I placed my Knife under the pillows.
I walked to my kitchen and checked out what was in my fridge. Four beers and six waters. I’d have to put in a grocery order tomorrow. I opened the corner drawer and pulled out the delivery fliers. I’d already narrowed our choices down to two places.
Ramsay rounded the corner in a long sleeve white thermal with a pair of my thickest wool socks on her feet. She’d washed the make-up from her face and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She looked like a teenager until she neared, then I could see a few very faint lines around her eyes.
“What do you want to eat? And don’t even try to tell me that you won’t eat.”
She took the two menus from me and started to study them.
I moved to the fridge and asked, “Beer or water?”
“Water,” she didn’t even look up.
I pulled out two waters and put one on the counter in front of her.
“This place looks good.” She showed me the flyer from a place that specialized in comfort food.
I pulled my phone from my pocket at punched in the number. “What are you going to get?”
“The grilled chicken sandwich with macaroni and cheese.”
My surprise must have shown on my face because she handed me the menu.
“What? I’ve been through a scary experience, I need cheese.”
I glanced at her legs and then up the lines of her body. “Not a problem.” I then placed our order and gave my address. I then called downstairs to alert them to the delivery.
“What am I supposed to do about my clothes in Minneapolis?” She followed me to my living room.
“We’ll work that out tomorrow. I have some contacts in that area that can recover your stuff.” To me it was a low level problem but I knew that Ramsay would worry.
She looked around the room. “This is what I expected at your house. The black leather and the sleek lines.”
“I had it decorated and I think the woman thought that I was going to use it when I came to town with my mistress.” It was impersonal and very masculine.
“Your love den,” she smiled as she said the words.
“Hardly,” I told her.
“So have you been good?” She curled her legs under her.
I stood and picked up a woven throw from the back of the loveseat. I opened it and then wrapped it around her legs.
“Been on the road a lot. The weather starts to break and it seems to make people want to run.” I returned to my seat in the huge wing chair. I saw the chair at the decorator’s showroom and told them, that I wanted it. I didn’t care what else they put in the place, I liked the oversized chair.
“So you’ve been successful…with your hunts?” She was trying to make conversation.
“Yeah. Had some big money finds.”
“I guess that’s why you didn’t return my texts…” She looked away and then back at me, “being on your intense jobs.”
I didn’t want to go into this now. The food was going to arrive any minute and this wasn’t going to be a short conversation, or it shouldn’t be. “I was in areas without cell service and I went after two different murders, so I needed to focus.”
She nodded and smoothed the blanket.
“Have you been busy?” I hated that we were reduced to these types of questions. Conversation had always flowed between us.
“Yes. Estella, well you probably remember me mentioning her.” She bit down on her bottom lip.
Of course I remembered her, it was her nephew, Trigger that Ramsay had dated. I nodded solemnly.
“Well she recommended me to a few of her friends and I have had access to their closets. You know, to buy some things.”
“I’m sure that involves travel.” I wanted her to keep talking. I hated that we were uncomfortable but I loved watching her talk about her business. When she was into a story about some find, she used her hands, and smiled and I swear her eyes turned a brighter green.
“I’ve been back and forth to Nashville, Palm Beach and Oklahoma City. Old money and women who have held on to a few choice finds.”
“You always said that it would be word of mouth that built your business.”
“Yeah, I did.” She was giving me a soft look. “I can’t believe that you remember that.”
“I liked to listen to you talk about your business.”
“Because clothes are so important to you.” She flashed me a disbelieving look.
“Because it was important to you.” The intercom buzzed. “Dinner’s here.”
I was surprised, she ate over half of her food and then settled back onto the sofa to do some work on her I-pad.
I sent a few e-mails, checked on some of the arrangements for the day after tomorrow. I glanced at her and she was sound asleep.
I carried her to my bedroom. She could take the bed and I’d crash on the sofa. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d fallen asleep on the deep cushions.
She was so light in my arms. I pulled back the comforter and sheet and gently placed her on the mattress. She stirred, “Osi?”
I said softly as I loosened my arms from under her. “Shhh, go back to sleep.”
She grabbed my forearm, “Please Osi…don’t leave me.”
“You’re safe here. You don’t need to worry.” I assured her.
She climbed onto her knees. “I know, I know that you hate me but I don’t want to sleep alone.” She looked at me beseechingly. “Please Osi.”
I ran my fingers through her hair and pulled free the band so that it was loose. “I’ll do a final check and then I’ll be in.”
“Thank you.” It sounded like a whimper.
I checked the front door and the alarm then walked back to the bedroom. I turned off the lights and then dug around in my chest of drawers, hunting for a pair of underwear by the muted light from the hall. I found a pair of boxer briefs and proceeded to strip and them pull them on.
Ramsay had not moved from her knees.
I climbed into the other side of the bed. I checked to verify that I could find the handgun by touch and then I rolled onto my side facing Ramsay and shoved my hand under the pillows so that I could adjust the hilt of the knife for easy access.
She settled under the covers facing me but not touching me.
I tried to force my body to relax. I knew that I wouldn’t sleep until I heard her deep and steady breathing.
She sobbed once and then again.
“Babe,” I pulled her closer. “Sly was trying to get my attention. You were the means.” I didn’t want her to still be so afraid.
“I don’t care,” she took in a broken breath. “I hate this. How you are with me.”
“Shhh,” I tried to calm her.
“No, I did this. It’s my fault and I hate it.” She told me in between sobs.
I didn’t know what to say. I stroked her back and let her talk.
“I tried not to. I mean, I told you but…but you’re…well you.”
I wasn’t sure that I understood everything that she said. “Ramses, I don’t know what more to do.”
“I know. When you wouldn’t talk to me, I told myself, that I wouldn’t miss you. That I was busy with work and stuff but…but.” She cried harder.
“But what?” God, I wanted to know.
“I do. It sucked without you. When I got away from that man, I was so scared that you wouldn’t care. That you’d blow me off.”
“Never.” I told her.
“I’m a fool.” She dropped her head on my chest and continued to cry.
I couldn’t say any more. I didn’t know if I should feel hopeful or like another piece of my heart had been cut out again.
She finally cried herself to sleep and I thought about what I should do.