Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (17 page)

"There must be some kind of button to push and you must have pushed it." He held back a grin. He didn't want to embarrass
her
or make
her
feel stupid. It
was
an honest mistake and he knew
that
.

"My daughter did call me today, and I guess I accidentally pushed a button when
I
hung up
the phone
. I'm sorry I don't know how
that
happened.
That
makes me feel much better. I hear some beeping, does
that
mean there are messages?"
She
felt like an idiot.

"Yes you have fourteen missed calls and looks like eight texts and six voice mails. I bet all are from me. Do you mind if I look?"
She
didn't care if he looked or not,
she
had nothing to hide.

On second thought! "No! My boyfriend might have cal
led, and you could
spoil the fun."

He laughed and looked at the messages anyway. He certainly
was
n't all thumbs. He quickly pushed buttons and
with
in seconds he had all the information. "Looks like two texts from a Sharon, and four from an unknown number, looks like the rest are from me. I think you owe me an apology." He pulled
her
close.

"How can I make it up to you? I'm sorry I missed your call, but I did see you on TV today."
She
tried to change the subject. The whole time
she
tried
to apologize he
pulled
her
close
r
.
She
enjoyed
his
attention and
his
happier frame of mind.

"
Lana
, do not change the subject?" He's playing
with
her
hair which
was
about five inches past
her
shoulders. He twisted it and curled it between
his
fingers. The softness felt good as
her
hair flowed through
his
fingers. Temptation took over and he pulled
her
close and everything about
her
smelled good; hair, perfume, and
her
breath.

"No I'm not trying to change the subject at all. But I did see you on TV today and you looked handsome. You know you look so handsome I want to kiss you, I want to hug you, I want to love you, and I want to touch you."
She
performed
her
Sandra Bullock impersonation from
Ms. Congeniality
.

Laughter filled the room and they both rolled back on the bed. "You are so adorable. I could kiss you all day and all night. You have no idea how much I needed you today. My God you are gorgeous." All
her
features were dainty and small.
Her
lips were full and soft.

"How much did you miss me?"

"Bunches and I think we need to go back to the beach house and turn everything off and just listen to the waves. There's nothing more romantic than the sound of the waves and the crackling of a fire," he said while patting
her
on the butt.

"I agree,"
she
said.

"How about I check you out while you get ready?"

"
That
's a deal."

*****

They chit chatted on the way back to the beach house, while holding hands and smooching at red lights.
The darkness and eeriness of the night gave
Lana
goose
bumps.
The roads he turned on were dark
with
no moonlight to guide them.
She
told Mike. "T
his
is spooky. I'm so glad you know your way because I'm lost. Everything looks so different at night. I'm a little scared and I'm glad you're
with
me to protect me."

He squeezed
her
hand then kissed it. "Honey, I will always protect you." Then he added. "When my family first moved out here years ago I
would miss
the turn off
to our road.
When I rent out the house and the renters don't have a GPS, I try to furnish them one. They know why I do when they drive at night."

They were a
bout five blocks from the house, on a gravel driveway
to the right
Lana
saw a familiar truck.
She
couldn't miss
that
white old beat up Ford truck.
She
looked at Mike in total shock and fear. "Mike,
that
's the truck
that
delivered the wood. I just saw it on
that
gravel road. Why
would
the truck be out here in the middle of nowhere t
his
late at night?"

Mike could hear the anxiety in
her
voice. He too thought it
was
strange and not coincidental. He instinctively turned off the lights to the car and they slowly pulled over a few blocks from the house. Mike immediately got on the phone and called 911. "T
his
is federal agent Mike Ramsey badge number 442 and we need assistance at address 2612 Shadow Lane. Officers were dispatched to t
his
house earlier and they questioned a person who delivered wood named John Johnson, and we just saw
his
truck a few blocks from the house, requesting backup."

"10-4, backup in route," said the dispatcher.

He pulled out
his
gun, turned on the car lights and slowly pulled up in the arranged parking slot and said. "Get low so no one can see you." Mike lowered himself as well.

"Mike, you're not going in the house, are you?"

"I've got to go inside, honey I know what I'm doing." He had to concentrate on what he needed to do. The adrenaline pumped through
his
veins.
His
heart raced
with
excitement and he had to take deep breaths to control
his
rapid breathing.

"Oh Mike please wait for the police, what if they have guns or knives. Please, please wait, I'm terrified for you,"
she
pled as
she
grabbed
his
arm, trying to hold him in the car.

He handed
her
a gun
that
he pulled out of
his
briefcase and told
her
. "Shoot if they come towards you," but
with
a quick glance he added. "But don't shoot the cops. When the cops get here you put the gun in the glove box. I love you." Then he
left
.

She
was
terrified, and
she
didn't think
she
had ever been t
his
scared.
Her
heart felt like it
would
pound out of
her
chest. Never in
her
life has
she
faced such danger.
She
constantly looked around
for help, and no one
was
around, t
hey were on their own. Frightening images flew through
her
mind; Mike getting shot, the man sneaking up on
her
, police shooting
her
by accident, or getting raped.
Her
heart
lodged
in
her
throat.

She
watched him intently as
her
body shivered from fear.
Her
hands shook so much
she
put the gun down on the console between the front seats.
She
knew if
she
didn't put it down it might
go off
, and that would be horrible
. A little relief flooded
her
when way off in the distance
she
could see police lights. Way off, and maybe too far. They need to go faster. Please hurry,
she
was
so afraid for Mike.

Oh God,
she
could hear yelling,
she
could tell one of the voices
was
Mike.
She
could see police at least two coming fast on the road.
She
jumped out and ran
with
her
arms flaying,
she
could see it
was
David and Kevin. "Mike's inside, and could you please go help him. The truck is a couple of blocks over on a gravel driveway. It
's
the same truck you saw today."
She
said as
she
pointed towards the truck. David motioned for
her
to go back to the other police car.
She
did
with
shaking legs, partly from being scared, and partly from the cold.

Some officers ran to the back and some ran to the front of the house. They were everywhere and more cops
came down the road
.
She
could hear yelling, and t
his
time
she
heard them cussing. An officer who stood by
her
told
her
play by play everything
that
happened
inside, h
e first said. "There is someone in the house."

"I know
that
, is Mike okay?"
She
sat and waited.
She
bit hers nails down to the quick and
she
shook uncontrollably. More cops arrived and
relief flooded
her
emotions.

"Miss, they have the prowlers in custody, and they will bring them out in a minute."

She
breathed out a sigh of relieve. "Them? How is Mike? Please tell me he's okay
,"
she
asked while biting
her
nails.

"He is just fine and he's the one
that
held them until we got here, and he'll be out in a minute. If it makes you feel better I could hear him laughing."

"Laughing? Why in the
hell
would he be laughing
?"

"I don't know." The officer walked over to some of the other cops telling them they needed to process the old truck down the road.

She
didn't pay him any mind and
she
ran over to the house and stood outside and waited for Mike. When he came out
she
ran and
she
gave him a hug. "I
was
so scared."
She
shook
uncontrollably and crying
with
relief. "I can't believe you did
that
. Why were they here?"

He wrapped
his
arms around
her
and guided
her
to the car. "Honey, I'll talk to you in a little bit. Just sit in the car and some officers will come over and get a statement from you. Let it run for awhile and
that
that
will
help you get
warm. The police will have to investigate
inside then we
can go
to bed
." H
e
was
on an adrenaline high and he couldn't sit still. He gave
her
a quick kiss and he went back inside the house.

She
sat in the car to get warm, watching,
wanting a cup of tea. It
seemed Mike always
said to
her
,
I'll talk to you later
.

After thirty minutes passed and the police didn't show,
she
decided to crawl in the back seat and close
her
eyes for a few minutes.