The Executioner: A Love Story (14 page)

“It’s my money,” he admitted. “But don’t worry, I have more.”

“How much money do you have? And how did you get it?” She demanded.

“Stocks, mostly. I spent some time in Atlantic City before they banned me. Not only do I have a photographic memory, I have a unique concept of mathematics.”

“Huh,” was all Arianna could say. She returned to driving. So she had nearly half a million dollars at her disposal, and a passport. They could go anywhere.

“Get off the interstate at the next exit,” Jordan insisted after they’d driven several hours. The car came with a full tank so they hadn’t stopped for gas. She needed to rest, stretch, and other things, so she was glad they pulled up outside another motel. There were no security cameras, so she felt a sense of security. And she wasn’t at all worried about walking in and requesting a room.

They carried their bags to their room, and Jordan situated himself as Arianna ordered pizza to be delivered. She could finally relax, she told herself.

They ate and she decided to take a long hot shower. She stood under the water for several minutes and remembered only that morning she and Vince were together in the shower. He had demanded that she wash him, and she said no. So he picked her up and held her against the wall. She expected him to make love to her again in the shower, but he didn’t. He tickled her until she couldn’t take any more, and she tried to tickle him back. He wasn’t ticklish, but he did laugh at her efforts. He ended up washing her body and her hair, and gave her long, slow kisses while he did it.

Did she do the right thing by leaving him? What other choice did she have? She didn’t, she reminded herself, and began to wash her hair. That’s when she heard the door to the bathroom open, and thought possibly Vince had found them.

“Can I come in?” She heard Jordan’s hesitant voice, not Vince’s. She opened the shower curtain slightly to find him hovering just outside it. He wore only his boxers.

She nodded and grinned, and opened the curtain. She placed the stopper in the drain and turned the shower head off. She allowed warm water to fill the tub as he removed his shorts. When he was nude he sat down in the warm water, and she sat down in front of him. He pulled her against his body. Her head lay against his chest, and his arms wrapped around her waist.

“I wish I was like Vince. I wish I knew what to do,” he said with a sigh.

“You’re perfect the way you are.” She didn’t just say it to make him feel better. She meant it with all her heart.

“He’s been with lots of people, he’s experienced,” Jordan continued. “He’s not like me.”

“He’s more like you than you can imagine,” she whispered. She shouldn’t have said it. She should let Vince tell Jordan his secrets.

“He’s never been…” The words caught in his throat. “Vince is big and strong and…”

“He was abused as a teenager.” She turned to face him then.

“What?” Jordan shook his head. “No, I don’t believe you.”

“He was. It started when he was twelve.” Arianna laid her hand on his cheek. “That’s probably why he is so hyper-sexual. His abuser was a man.”

Jordan stared at the tile on the wall. He ran his fingers over the edges, up and down. “I just don’t understand how he…”

“He was young when it happened. He grew up with it. You were older.” Arianna was by no means a psychiatrist. “Maybe you should see a counselor. Maybe it would help.”

“Do you want me to?” Her hand moved from his cheek to his hair, then down over his neck. “That feels good,” he sighed.

“I want you to do what you think is right for you.” She’d never done it before, but she started massaging his neck. He closed his eyes and leaned back. She rubbed down to his shoulders. He moaned deep in his throat.

He really was handsome, with his strong jaw and his thick head of hair that fell over his forehead. His skin was perfect, except for a small mole by his right eye. He hadn’t shaved and he had a five o’clock shadow that showed he could grow a full beard if he tried.

She leaned forward and kissed his neck. His eyes popped open in shock. She jumped back, afraid she’d gone too far. But he gave her a lopsided grin and said, “No, don’t stop.”

The only real reference she had about what to do next came from Vince. So she kissed his shoulder, and then down his chest to his nipple. He breathed in sharply. She remembered how it felt to have two tongues on her body. So her hand trailed down to his nipple and pinched.

He seemed to like it, so she kept doing it. Finally he brought her hands to his manhood. She took it, held it, rubbed it. “Kiss me,” he whispered. She shoved her tongue into his mouth, and kissed him roughly.

She wanted him, like she wanted Vince. And he was right there, against her stomach, throbbing against her hand. “I’m going to…” She needed to warn him, she didn’t want him to get scared, or nervous. But she also needed to do it. She needed to have him inside her, like she’d had Vince.

“What?” His voice shook. And when she held him tighter he gasped loudly. “What are you going to do?”

She repositioned herself so that she was straddling him. “That,” she sighed as she lowered herself onto him. His entire body shook when she wiggled against his lap. “Okay?”

“Oh, God, yes,” he moaned against her ear. “Much better than okay.” She pushed herself up awkwardly, not having the experience to do much else. “Put your hands on the side of the tub, for leverage,” he suggested. She did it immediately, and easily lowered herself back onto him.

“Always the scientist?” She whispered it into his ear and then nibbled at his neck. His only response was to groan as his hips moved him farther inside. He was much longer, and found a place that made her cry out. He didn’t ask if it hurt. He couldn’t stop even if it did. She knew she would feel this connection with him. She thought about making love to him. But she had no idea it would feel this good.

The more he thrust into her, the better it felt for both of them. But he also remembered to reach out and grab her breasts and pinch her nipples and kiss her neck. She felt like she was standing on an edge and he was pushing her over, until she found her climax and she cried out again. He did too, at exactly the same time.

She fell against him. He held her hair in his hands and continued to kiss her, even after their breathing slowed. He held her against him, and said, “I love you Ari. I hope you know that.”

“I love you too,” she sighed. She only allowed him to hold her a little while longer until she climbed out and wrapped up in a towel.

Arianna ate another slice of pizza as she watched TV in her bed. Jordan pecked away at his keyboard. He’d already bought a car with the damn internet; she wondered what else he could do with it. But she didn’t ask. She wasn’t sure she’d even understand.

“Come lay down with me,” she whined, and he glanced over at her with a look of sadness and confusion for a brief moment. Then he gave her a huge smile and climbed into bed beside her.

“I love you Ari,” he said as she snuggled into his body.

“I love you too, Jordan.” And she found a blissful sleep where she dreamed of her sister.

Vince slept for several hours without moving. Not because he was tired, but because he needed rest for what was to come. He slept until his phone rang, and when he saw the number he knew who was on the other end. “Where is she, Jordan?” His voice was naturally gruff, and when he tried he could sound downright intimidating.

“You know I’m not going to tell you,” Jordan answered in his most robotic tone. The two men were total opposites in everything.

“Are you still with her?” He put his feet on the floor and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He wasn’t ready for this.

“No, I just left,” he said. “I’m headed back to DC.”

“How,” Vince wondered.

“I bought a car online. I’m driving back.” He didn’t feel the need to explain any further than that. “Listen closely, because we need to meet there at one pm tomorrow. Are you able to be back in DC by then?”

“Of course not, I’m still at the motel,” Vince scoffed. “I can’t just buy a car over the internet.”

“You don’t need to. I already did it for you. A brand new silver SUV is sitting in the parking lot. The door code is 4942.” Jordan said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Vince could barely wrap his head around it. “Drive back to your apartment if you want. The FBI has cancelled the APB on you and I, but not Ari. They’re still after her.”

“So, where do you want to meet tomorrow,” Vince wondered. He was certainly happy Jordan was on his team. He definitely didn’t want to work against him.

“There’s a diner I like, on Connecticut. They have a great Caesar salad.” Jordan paused a moment, and said. “We have to keep her safe.”

“I know,” Vince answered before he hung up. Then he stood up and made his way to the shower. When he was finished he put his suit back on and made his way out to the new car Jordan bought him.

Chapter Fourteen

Arianna woke up the next morning alone, again. She stretched and smiled, expecting Jordan to be on the other bed. But she didn’t hear the sound of his keyboard. Maybe he’s gone for food, she thought. She’d just lay there in bed and wait for him.

Then she saw an envelope on the nightstand between the beds. She read the beautifully created letters, calligraphy if she had to guess. It read,
Arianna
.

She didn’t want to open it. She knew she was alone again; this time really alone. The letter was simple.
I’m glad I met you, and I’m glad you fell in love with me too. I’ll always be with you, even when I’m not here. Take care of yourself until it’s safe to meet again. Love, Jordan.

The second page, though, held three names and addresses. She couldn’t imagine one man touching her Jordan, much less three. And they didn’t just touch him, they brutalized him. The first name on the list was Juan Martinez. He lived in Pine Oak, Kentucky. And he happened to be employed as the maintenance worker at the hotel where she stayed. She guessed nothing happened by chance with a genius.

She showered and dressed, carefully putting on the blonde wig and a pair of brown contacts. She was so glad she was still packed from her last hunt, and she had all of her gear with her.

But she couldn’t shoot or stab Juan Martinez. She had to make it look like an accident, or a suicide. She unplugged her heater, and called down to the office. “I’ve turned on my heater, but it’s not getting warm,” she pouted in her best teen-beauty-queen voice. She needed to get into the persona of Jane Brown.

“I’ll send someone up,” the girl who answered the phone stated.

“Can you tell me his name? I don’t want to open the door for just anyone,” she pouted.

“He’ll be wearing a shirt with the motel logo,” the girl assured her. “And a name tag. He’s Juan.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” she said, and hung up the phone.

Jordan sat at a table by the window, sipping chocolate milk and eating fruit. Vince took a moment to look at him before he joined him. He wore a dark grey suit with a soft blue shirt, and a blue and grey tie. His hair hung over his forehead, and his eyes constantly darted to stare outside. But he looked more mature, more at ease than he was when Vince first met him. He looked like a man.

Vince slid into the seat across from Jordan. Their eyes met for a moment, and Jordan nodded. He was okay with Vince, and that made Vince relax a little. He was afraid there would still be some lingering jealousy, but there was none.

“Your eye looks better,” Jordan observed.

“Thanks,” Vince smirked. “How’s our friend?”

“J? She’s fine,” he said with a nod. He didn’t know if the diner was bugged or not. And frankly he didn’t want to know. But he still needed to be careful what he said, and he hoped Vince recognized that. J was code for Arianna’s latest assumed identity. “She’s working.”

“Oh?”

A waitress brought Jordan a salad in a bowl as big as his head. “Extra croutons, just the way you like it, sweetheart.” She emphasized the word
sweetheart
, and Vince couldn’t help but look away and chuckle. “And I brought you a fresh soda with no ice.” She fussed as she made a show of placing the new glass in the exact place, and taking the old one that was still half full. “And what can I get for you?” When she turned to Vince she wasn’t nearly as nice.

Vince grinned and said, “A cheeseburger with fries, and a coffee.”

She nodded and turned her attention back to Jordan. “Is there anything else I can get you, sweetie?”

“No thanks,” he said politely.

Vince whistled low when the cute blonde walked away. “She has got it bad for you, bro,” he said with a big smile.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Jordan said as he took a bite of his salad. And he was so naïve, he really didn’t realize the waitress was flirting with him. “So I have all the information we need on you-know-who.”

He said it so dismissively Vince would have thought he was ordering dessert. He had to process the words and then ask, “What information?”

“Names, dates, money transactions, the names of her soldiers; I have it all.” Jordan continued to eat.

Vince was so shocked he sat open-mouthed when the waitress brought his coffee. She glanced at him, then shook her head and walked off. “What about
J
?” He had to figure out a way to keep up with the smarter, younger man. He seemed to be three steps ahead of him at all times.

“
J
isn’t
mentioned, because she doesn’t know how to use computers. Everything you-know-who sent J was in hard copy. Those were probably destroyed by both parties.”

“But can’t you destroy computer files too?” Vince wondered as he took his fork and began to pick at Jordan’s salad. Jordan gave him a dirty look, but continued to eat.

“Nothing can be hidden from me,” he said confidently. The waitress brought Vince’s food, and he stopped picking off Jordan’s plate.

“So we are going to do what? Blackmail the old woman? None of it can be used in court.” Vince ate his food quickly (he was a marine, after all) and tried to finish his train of thought.