Among the Shrouded (20 page)

At some point, s
he noticed his breathing was becoming more labored, which she initially attributed to his growing excitement.  She allowed herself to refocus her attention away from his face so she could better assess her situation.

Surprisingly, w
hat she saw above her was a man who was clearly furious for some reason.  For a moment, she feared his anger would be too much for her to control.  And then, in an ironic turn of events, she saw what was happening.  She looked down to see his flaccid genitalia flopping around between his legs and realized immediately that he was mad because his body was preventing him from doing what he wanted to her. 

She couldn’
t help but smile at the solution her gift had provided.  

“Stupid whore!” he screamed at her, slapping her across the face
with the back of his hand.  “Look what you’ve done to me!  This is your fault!  You, with your defiance and your holier than thou attitude!’

Her
face stung and although she wanted to cry out, she would not give him the satisfaction.  She knew if she showed an ounce of submission it would feed his ego enough to stimulate the erection that continued to elude him.  And so, she remained stoic as the pathetic creature above her grappled with the mechanics of his own manhood.

“God-
damned, bitch!” he spat at her, slapping her again across the face and kneeing her brutally in the groin.  She held her breath, willing herself to remain steadfast in the face of her adversary.

Mercifully, he rolled
himself off of her body and threw his legs over the side of the bed.  He gathered his clothing, cursing and screaming at her all the while.  After he finished dressing himself, he stood above her, bringing his face to within inches of her own.

“After the others have broken you down, I will have my turn and you will give me what I want
, do you understand?  Some of the others will love your defiance and they will beat it out of you.  And once they have, then you will submit to me, I promise you.  And on that day, I will get my money’s worth.”

He
spat in her face and left the room, without looking back and without releasing her from her restraints.  After she watched the door close behind him and heard the lock click into place, she finally allowed herself to cry.  Tears for herself.  Tears for her friends.  Tears for her sweet sisters, who were destined to the same awful fate without the benefit of her otherworldly gift.

By the time
her captors arrived several hours later to return her to the warehouse basement, her eyes were dry and her focus was resolved.  One way or another, she would find a way out of her situation.  Either that, or she would die trying.

CHAPTER

29

THOMAS

Thomas couldn’t help but smile as he watched Mia navigate the traffic on the northwest expressway as they drove toward Owings Mills.  She had turned the radio up and was singing along at the top of her lungs, bouncing in her seat to the beat of the music.

“How do
you do it?” he asked, grinning at her from the passenger’s seat.

“Do what?”

“Compartmentalize your life.”

“Do I?”
she asked, glancing over at him.

“You must.  I mean, here we are, on the way to spy on people, people who could be dangerous, and
you’re acting like we’re on the way to the grocery store to pick up snack cakes.  I hope I don’t sound like a wimp, but I’m freaking out a little bit over here.”

“Don’t freak out
, Thomas.  I do this every day.”

“Every day?”

“Okay, not every day.  But I have before.”

“How many times?”

Mia hesitated.  “Twice.”

“Twice!”
he scoffed.  “You are this confident and you’ve participated in a total of two stakeouts?  You are not helping me feel better, Mia.”

“It’
ll be fine,” she said, reaching across the center console to take his hand.  “We’re just going to sit and watch.  There’s nothing dangerous about sitting and watching, is there?”

“I guess not
, but I might need you to take my mind off things while we are doing all this sitting and watching.”

“
What did you have in mind?” she asked, smirking at him as she took her eyes off the road for a moment.

“I don’t know.  We’ll think of something,” he
teased.

They continued driving in contemplative silence. 
He found that the more time he spent in her presence, the more he was becoming enchanted by her.  He enjoyed just being around her.  Mia carefully maneuvered the car through the upscale neighborhood and he was fascinated by the intensity on her face as she concentrated on which way the GPS was instructing her to go.

“I think we’
re almost there,” she said, squinting in the darkness to see the street sign on the corner post.  “I’m going to drive past the house first and then double back.  We’ll park a good bit away, but close enough that if we see Brookins coming or going, I’ll be able to see his aura.”

“You’re the boss, Boss.”

He counted the house numbers as they slowly made their way down the street.  As they approached the house, it was apparent that something was going on there because almost a dozen cars lined the driveway and the street beyond.

“
Do you think they’re having a party?” he mused.

“Nothing l
ike a party to mask a stake out,” she chuckled.  “I can’t believe our luck.  They certainly won’t notice an extra car on the street, that’s for sure.”

“No, bu
t what are the chances we’re going to see Brookins if he’s holed up inside with his guests?” he asked.

“
That’s a good question,” she replied, turning the car around at the end of the street and heading back in the direction of Wayne Brookins’ house.  As she put the car in park, he saw another pair of headlights coming down the street.

“Oh my God, Mia!  Get down!” he yelled, ducking down below the dashboard.

She laughed aloud.  “You really aren’t cut out for this line of work, are you?”

“No.  Mia, get down.  Whoever it is will see you.”

“They won’t.  They’ve already parked up the street in front of Brookins’ house and gotten out.  It’s three men.  I’m having trouble seeing their auras.  Maybe when they get closer to the house lights I’ll be able to see them better.”

He
sat up and watched the men walking up the steep driveway to the front of the house.  The house was unlike any he had seen before.  He estimated the row home he shared with Mildred would fit into this house ten times over. 

“Nice place,” he said.

“Really nice.”

“What kind of job affords you a house like this?”

“Who knows.  There’s a good chance whatever it is isn’t legal though.”

He
was uncomfortable.  The voice inside his head began to caution him that something bad was about to happen.  He could feel his anxiety levels rising and something deep inside his gut was screaming for him to get away.  He typically listened to his instincts whenever he felt unnerved and yet, with Mia beside him, he couldn’t.

“Can you see them yet?  The auras?”

“Not yet.  When they get in the light I should be able to.”  She paused and pressed her nose against the glass of the window.  “Dark.  All three.  Very dark.  I guarantee the men inside this house belong in prison.”

“Well, at least you got the confirmation you need
ed.  Guilt by association, right?  If those three were dark, good old Wayne’s no choir boy. I guess we can go now,” he said, pulling on his seatbelt.

She
didn’t respond.  He knew she was considering her next move.  His internal struggle continued and he was desperate to tell her about the danger he felt was coming.

“No
, Mia,” he pleaded as he saw the start of a plan in her expression.  “We did what we came for.  These are bad guys.  You saw with your own eyes.  Now let’s get out of here and go catch a movie or something.  Anything.”

She
turned to face him and he saw her eyes sparkling with anticipation.  “Do you have any idea what kind of rare opportunity we’ve stumbled on here?  We’ve got a party of baddies all in one place.  If we can get in there we might gain some insight into what’s going on.”

“Inside?”

She
opened her door and scurried into the night. 

“
Hey!  Wait!” he called as he fumbled with the door handle.  By the time he got out of the car and closed the door quietly behind him, she was already halfway across the neighbor’s yard.  She was crouched behind a large oak several feet from the property line when he eventually caught up to her.

“I’m beginning to think I might not have the stamina for a relationship with you
.  What are we doing?” he asked.

“We’re going inside.”

“Don’t we need a warrant or something?”

“You don’t,
” she replied.

“I’m not going in!  And even if I did it would be breaking and entering.”

“I won’t arrest you.”

“How considerate.”

“Look, no one is going to know we’re here.  If anyone asks, I’m just responding to a noise violation.  But no one’s going to ask.  We’re just taking a look around.  Nothing more,” she explained matter-of-factly.

He
shook his head, completely frustrated with her lack of common sense.  “I honestly didn’t believe that falling in love with a cop was going to land me in prison.”

He
looked up, his eyes locked with hers and he immediately realized his mistake.

“First of all, you are not going to end up in
jail.  Secondly, did you just say what I think you said?”

“I’m in a high-
stress situation.  I’m panicking,” he replied.

“We learned at the academy that the more stressful the situation, the more likely it is someone will tell the truth.”

“Well I guess that’s the truth then, Officer Rosetti.  I guess I
am
falling in love with you.  Are you happy?” he snapped, his anxiety with the situation rising. 

“Actually, very,” she s
ighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest, “because I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you too.”

His
heart swelled.  For a moment he was no longer hiding behind a tree, hoping to avoid imminent injury or death.  He was just standing at the exact center of the universe holding the most amazing woman in the world.  And that woman, for some unknown reason, loved him. 

The magic of
her pronouncement held his anxiety at bay for a moment but the reality of his situation quickly returned and he felt compelled to move them both to safety.

“Then let’s celebrate
our love with dessert and then head back home.  Please, don’t do this,” he begged.

“I can’t.  It
’s in my blood.  I have to know,” she said.

He
sighed and resigned himself to the situation.  She was breaking into the house and he was going with her.

“After you,” he said finally, releasing her from his embrace.

He followed her to the side of the house where they paused briefly beside the air conditioning units for her to further assess the situation.

“The first floor is lit up.  There’s a walk out basement but the lights are out down there.  That’s going to be our way in,”
she instructed.

“If you say so.”

“Stay close.”

They crept from their hidden position behind the compressors to the back of the house where
she began trying the windows, one by one, to see if any would budge.  The third one she tried slid open.  She waved him over.

“We’re in.”

“Fabulous,” he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Come on,” she
whispered as she shimmied through the open sash.  He saw her feet dangling in midair for a few seconds before she disappeared inside the house.

“Are you okay?” he
called.

“Yes.  Hurry up.”

He followed her lead, hoisting himself through the open window.  By the time he was inside, he caught only a glimpse of her as she hugged the wall around the corner of the staircase which led to the first floor.  He hurried, squatting down low across the length of the room, his sneakers squeaking against the travertine flooring.  He began to tiptoe for fear of giving them away.

From
his vantage point at the bottom of the steps, the light from the rooms above silhouetted her crouching behind the banister at the top.  She was, from his perspective, glowing.  Bathed in the light from above her, he imagined he was seeing her as she would appear to herself.  He knew without a doubt she had a good soul and he stood transfixed, in awe of both her bravery and her determination.

Quietly, he climbed the staircase and sat on the step below where
she was listening.

“Can you see them?”
he asked in a low voice.

“Yes.  There are about fifteen of them.”

“And?”

“And
their auras are dark.  Every one of them.  I need you to peek around the corner to confirm if you see the other men from Belinda’s.  Can you do that?”

He
hesitated.  “Do you need me to?”

“Yes.”

“Then I can,” he said, surprising himself.

She
carefully slid around him and he moved to the top of the stairs.

“Be careful.  Make small movements,” she instructed.

He peered around the corner into a spacious gathering room where all of the men were located.  There were several large sofas where a handful of the men were seated.  The rest were scattered around the room chatting in small groups.  He immediately recognized three of the four men he had overheard at Belinda’s that afternoon.  He crept back to the step beside her.

“I see
three of them.  Wayne Brookins of course.  Also, Frank Guthry is sitting on the sofa closest to us with the cigar and grey sweater vest.  The last guy is on the far side of the room by the window talking to two other men.  He’s wearing tan khakis and an oxford with the sleeves rolled up.”

Mia
grabbed him and kissed him forcefully on the lips.  “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.

“Good.  So can we get out of here
now?”

“I’ve only been able to hear a little of their conversations and I want to try to get some pictures
first.”