Chapter 6 - Hudson

 

 

I lay on the floor and watched her walk down the hallway completely naked. She glanced over her shoulder with that shy little smile and I knew that I was pretty much wrapped around her little finger. I stroked my beard, not quite comprehending why she even gave me the time of day. Yes, we had a past, but I also looked like a lumberjack bum, albeit a clean one.

I wanted to know more about who she had become without raising her suspicions by asking too many questions. I heard the shower turn on and although I was tempted to join her, I found myself rummaging through her suitcase instead. Careful not to move things around too much, my intention was to leave everything in its place. I hadn’t forgotten how observant she was. She’d know if something was out of place.

It was easy to crack the code on her phone. Perusing photos from past assignments, I learned that she had become a photojournalist for no particular publication. She took on clients who gave her a reason to search the world over for the next picture that would draw the attention of the public eye. She really did have an eye for detail, not to mention a body that was built in just the right way to satisfy a man like me.

My curiosity got the best of me. I walked bare-assed over to the bathroom and peeked in at the photos she had left hanging to develop. I saw something out of the ordinary and grabbed it, pulling it out and taking it back into the main room for a closer look.

I used my phone to zoom in on the small portion of the photo that was just a bit out of focus.

“What exactly are you doing?” Her voice startled me. I didn’t hear her shut the shower off or come up behind me, that’s how engrossed I was in what I saw in this photo.

She had captured something in it that she shouldn’t have. It brought to mind the way the two men had converged on her earlier and how hard they had tried to rip the camera from around her neck. It wasn’t just a robbery. They were going for her camera and for what she possessed on it.

“I don’t quite know how to tell you this, but you’re in serious danger, Lexi.”

Her brows knit together, looking at the photo I held in my hand.

“If you had known you’d taken this shot, I’m not sure you would be so calm and willing to throw yourself into my arms. The guys who attacked you earlier are mixed up with something that I’m working on. That’s why they were so close to where I was. It wasn’t a coincidence. I’m sure by now you have your own doubts about me. That there are things that don’t make sense, but they will soon.”

I had to get this information to Julian.

“This must be your idea of rummaging through somebody’s medicine cabinet. I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but I don’t appreciate you going through my stuff behind my back. You could’ve just asked. And my phone?” She reached for it while making sure she was completely covered by her towel.

“Maybe you’re not the same guy I remember. You crossed a line, going through my phone and my things. I could say that I regret what we did, but I can’t do that and mean it. I’ve had other lovers in the past, but they don’t even hold a candle to you.”

Lexi was beautiful soaking wet. I had an impulse to pull that terry cloth towel off of her and carry her back into the shower.

“Lexi, listen to me,” I leveled my gaze on her, hoping she could see how serious I was. “You don’t understand the gravity of this. It won’t be long until they find you. I can’t believe they haven’t already. They don’t want any trace of evidence leading back to them or what they’ve done. The camera doesn’t lie. That’s something you know firsthand.”

How could I make her see how easily she had turned her world upside down.

“I guess I don’t know you anymore, Hudson, and I’m not sure what kind of game you’re playing. Is this some kind of ploy to make me scared? If it is, then you’re going to be sadly disappointed. It takes a lot more than words to make me shake in my boots.” Her half-naked body was hard to ignore. With each breath that she took, my heart skipped a few beats. My body yearned for her, again.

I had to make her listen. “I’m not somebody down on his luck, Lexi. I’m not a homeless bum. I shouldn’t even be telling you this, but you’re making it necessary, and I care about you. Trust me, the less you know the better off you will be. Damn, I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get distracted with you.”

“Distracted?” She repeated, incredulous. “You’re flapping your gums, but you’re not saying anything. Let me be clear about one thing, Hudson, I am the type of woman who needs to know all the facts. I have a background in journalism for goodness sakes, of course, I need facts. If you don’t tell me what’s going on, then you can collect your things and leave the same way that you came.”

She was attempting to throw me out not realizing that the sword of Damocles was hanging above her head.

“You don’t understand. This photo, that you took, proves that a very powerful leader of the Yakuza committed murder with his own bare hands. You caught him slitting the throat of an undercover police officer. You can tell that he’s looking right at you with the officer’s neck exposed.”

That got her attention. Eyes going wide, she grabbed it from my hand.

The arterial spray of the slice made to the police officer’s throat was not PG rated. To be completely honest, the photo was spectacular, but the only way that you could see what was happening was by blowing up that portion of it. She had gone old school and grabbed a magnifying glass from her purse. I think she thought I was crazy, but that notion soon changed when she saw what she had captured by accident.

“He’s not wearing a uniform. How do you know he’s a police officer?”

I knew that her inquiring mind was going to ask that question and I was trying to prepare myself for that eventuality. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“You may as well tell me everything, Hudson. I’m going to find out sooner than later, especially if I’m in so-called danger. If you remember correctly, I can be a bit of a pitbull. Once I get my teeth in something, I can’t let it go.” That was evident by the way she had taken control earlier when I was in a vulnerable position. Her words were distracting me again.

I could still feel the stitches digging into my side, but she had done an amazing job under adverse conditions. I don’t know why she decided to help me and not call the authorities, but I had no reason to not trust her. I had to tell her. It was the only way to even begin getting her out of this.

“I know he’s a police officer because I know him. I’ve worked with him in the past. You could say that my work is similar to yours. I freelance for employers who ask me to do some immoral jobs from time to time. This police officer was a good friend and I will miss him. I still can’t believe that he’s gone. I knew what I was getting myself into with these jobs, but you have no idea. I can hide within the dregs of society and that’s not something that you can say. They will track you down and we can’t be here when they do.”

I was trying again to send the photo to Julian, but something was blocking me.

“What are you talking about, Hudson? You knew what you were getting into? As much as I’d like to blame you for this right now, you weren’t the one who took the photo. The only person to blame is me. I wasn’t paying attention. I sometimes get the best shots when I have my camera on auto shoot. I never quite know what I have until I fully develop it in my darkroom.” She was magnificent and although she was trying to be strong, a bit of fear was finally beginning to show in her demeanor.

“We can talk about this later. Get dressed and let’s move before we have to fight our way out. I don’t know what kind of defensive skills you have, but I hope we won’t have to find out.”

“You’re scaring me,” she whispered.

“For some reason none of my messages are going through to Julien,” I muttered, moving to the window and peeking out of the small space between the wall and the curtain. “Shit, they’re here, Lexi.”

“Wh-what?” She stammered, eyes wide.

“I should’ve known it was them. They’re using some kind of device to block wifi transmission. I thought that it was just a tower problem, but it’s more than that.” I hurried to get dressed, haphazardly dancing around like some kind of monkey on one leg. I didn’t have time to be graceful, but I still had to be careful. I was in pain and the wound that I had incurred could easily open up if I were to move the wrong way.

Sensing she had better do the same, Lexi dropped the towel to grab her clothes. I couldn’t help but admire her naked body—I still couldn’t believe Lexi Lowell was here in front of me. It wasn’t until she was fully dressed that I broke from my temporary trance. She was beautiful. She felt like home and it seemed a shame that we had to cut things short. I could think of a lot more that I’d like to do with her naked body, and it didn’t involve getting dressed and fleeing from the scene. All I had time to focus on now was getting her out of here safe and hope that they wouldn’t be able to track us.