Witness Protection
Chapter 1
Runaway
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The mirror in a lavishly decorated bathroom, reflected a young woman with long blonde hair and big blue crystalline eyes. Her hair was wet and curly from her recent shower and a pink fluffy towel covered her nude body. With a smile at her reflection she walked out of the bathroom, towel drying her hair, and sat at her vanity.
"Serena have you seen my gray shirt?" She heard her husband call from downstairs.
Serena Nichols let her lips curl into a smile. "I put it in your closet." A few minutes later, her husband appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but his satin blue boxers. His unnatural white hair was framing the side of his face as his eyes roved over his wife's naked form appreciatively. "You're not even ready?"
"Neither are you darling. Even though, I don't complain." In seconds she was in his arms and her towel was pooled around her feet.
"Honey stop. We're going to be late." Serena protested, pulling against his chest, rather weakly.
He laughed and swooped down, biting her neck softly. "Oh come on, we have a half hour to spare." He smiled wickedly at her and kissed her on the lips, causing her to melt into his arms. His hands tangled up into her hair and he pushed her on the bed. "I love you Sere."
Her face lightened up like the sun was beaming directly down upon her face. "I love you too Di." She whispered before he claimed her lips and showed her the extent of his love.
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A raven haired beauty in a red dress pulled Serena into a hug and kissed her cheek with a smile. "We missed you meatball head. You've stayed away for a whole week!"
"I'm sorry Rei, it's just Diamond's working this really big case, and I gave all the maids a vacation, so I have to clean the house." Serena made a face at the thought of her cleaning anything.
"Serena!" Called three other women, as they made their way over to her. After pleasantries and greetings, they each grabbed a glass of champagne from the waiter walking around with a tray balanced on his palm, and moved to the sidelines of the party.
"So how is everything?" Asked Lita, as she sipped her champagne.
"Everything's great. You guys, it's only been a week." Serena laughed.
"True. Amy's up for a massive surgery, and the patient ordered her services. He's paying a pretty hefty amount for her too." Mina informed with a smile, while Amy blushed and tried to hide her face behind her glass.
Serena beamed. "That's great Ams."
"And I've got a pretty big order for a Wedding coming through. Apparently the Johnsons…you remember the Johnson's' right? Well anyway, they recommended me to their friend, and told her that my food is to die for. I'm going to be so busy!" Lita squealed with excitement.
An hour had gone by of them catching up on the week they missed with each other. Mina telling about her recent sell on a 3.5 million dollar house to some Hollywood actress. And Rei told them of her designs for a new house she's designing for a newlywed couple. Serena told them of her food review for the new restaurant that had its grand opening.
"The shrimp was delicious, but the service needed help. It really is a great place, so I'm giving them a 4 star review. With a better help, I'd be glad to go back and see if I could give them the whole 5. Hopefully they'll take what I say into consideration." Serena said as she downed her 4th glass of Champagne.
"Speaking of revamping, I think Andrew is getting ready to propose." Mina smiled happily.
"That's awesome!" Lita said with a huge smile.
"I know! I can't wait."
"What makes you so sure? I mean seriously, this is the third time you've told us that you think 'he's going to make a move.' What if he doesn't?" Rei asked mater-of-factly, causing Mina to get angry. Suddenly a shouting match ensued and Serena watched them with a smile on her face.
"Serenity lets dance." Diamond said, coming up behind her.
"Don't do that!" Serena exclaimed with a jump as she turned around, a look of fright crossed her face. "You scared the shit out of me!"
Diamond laughed and took her hand. "Sorry. I'm only borrowing her for a few minutes ladies." He said to the girls, who half nodded, and continued with the argument they were still having.
The dance floor was crowded with dancing couples, who were twirling and laughing. The Governor's Ball was always fun. There were paparazzi trying to get pictures of anyone pretty and rich enough to grab their readers' attention. Serena and the girls had already posed for 10 pictures and Serena was sure they were going to snap a picture of her and Diamond dancing together.
He was, after all, a very successful Lawyer, who owned his own firm. And she was a highly accredited food critic. They were a stunning couple indeed.
"Diamond! Serena!" Their dance was cut short when Emerald and her brother Rubeus walked over to them.
"How's the prefume line doing?" Serena asked Emerald kindly. Personally she always felt uneasy around the woman who dyed her hair a weird shade of pale blue and blonde. The woman had been a model, until she set her sights on having a fragrance named after her.
"It's doing very well for the first few months out. I've sent a complimentary bottle to you the other day, you should get it soon." Emerald said with a noticeably fake smile. She hated the blonde with every fiber in her being. She had been deathly attracted to Diamond, until she found out he was engaged to a blonde twit, who did nothing but stuff her face all day. Emerald had to stop her lip from curling up in distaste at the mere sight of her being held loving in Diamonds arms. As if she was the only woman out there. Emerald scoffed. It wouldn't be long until she had Diamond. She would make sure of that.
Serena turned her head and saw Rubeus and Diamond talking in hushed voices. Quickly Diamond looked up and caught her staring. He said something really quick to Rubeus and walked back over to his wife.
"Rubeus and I need to discuss some legal matters. He got caught up in something and he needs a lawyer's point of view."
Serena smiled in understanding and accepted the kiss to her lips. "I'll be with the girls." She said as she walked off towards her friends, who were glaring at one another in complete silence.
"Oh come on you guys. You can't stay mad long." Serena joked.
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The next night found Serena in her bedroom, curled up near the window, reading a magazine. Her all black cat was asleep, using Serena's feet as a pillow. Serena was supposed to be with her friends, but they cut the outing short when Amy got paged from the hospital and had to run off. Suddenly she heard a car roll into the driveway and she looked out to see Diamond's car pull to a stop.
With a smile she dropped her magazine and went down the stairs, glad to surprise him by being home. Lately they haven't spent much time together, since his cases had gotten too much for just his workers to handle. As she reached the second landing, a huge crash caused her to fall back in fright. She heard sounds of the front door being slammed open and she peeked through the banister to see a man being pushed into the plush white sofa. Her brows knitted in confusion and she started to get up to see what was going on when three men walked in, one of them being Diamond. A pistol was held in his hand as he pointed it at the man on the sofa.
"You want to fucking betray me? After all the kindness I showed you and your whore of a sister?" Diamond yelled into the man's face.
The red-haired man put his hands up a surrender position and shook his head. "No Diamond, it aint like that man. I just panicked. The cops are coming down on me with the vice squad. They're gonna put me away if they find anything! For a long time man, like 20 years, I can't do hard time like that."
"So you offer me and my associates up for collateral? You worthless piece of shit! Why shouldn't I kill your ass right now Rubeus? Huh?! Why!?"
Serena gasped as she gripped the banister, not being able to comprehend what she was seeing. Her Husband was a crook. A crook and phony. And as the conversation went on it seemed like he was a murderer too. Her eyes were wide, and she hadn't noticed but she was crying. Small tears were forming its way down her cheeks as she watched her husband and the other men talk about things she couldn't possibly imagine him capable of.
"Let me go!" A female screamed and a cloth was shoved into her mouth as she forced into her seat and another gun was pointed at her.
Serena's eyes widened when she realized it was Emerald. She didn't exactly like the girl, but no one deserved this.
"If you shut up and don't scream, I'll take the cloth out." Diamond said as he turned sideways to look at her, gun still pointing at Rubeus.
Emerald nodded and the guy to the right, which she found out, was named Marty, and he worked for the police. "Diamond don't hurt me! I can make you feel better. I can do things your wife would never be able to."
Serena pushed the outrage she felt to the back of her heart. She had to think of something…a way to get out of here without attracting attention.
"Your wife! Holy shit, when is she getting back?" The other man, a politician named Seiya exclaimed.
"She's with her friends. She said she'll be home at midnight. We have two hours. Tell me Emerald…who did your brother tell about me. Did he squeal? Tell me the truth and you live. Cause if I found out you're lying, I'll have you strung up and bled dry."
Emerald had huge tears spilling from her eyes and she let out a sob. "Please don't kill me. Diamond, please!"
He struck her across the face with his gun, and grabbed her by the hair, while Seiya made sure Rubeus didn't try and flee. "Listen bitch! Tell me now!" He screamed in her hair, and he yanked her head back over the back of the chair.
"Ok!" She screamed as her face turned beet red. "He didn't tell anyone! He told me that he had thoughts of going to the police. But he was waiting until they closed in on him. That's the truth I swear!" She cried and Diamond let her go, while Rubeus glared at his sister.
"She's lying. I told someone, but I'll only tell you if you promise not to kill me." Rubeus said in a calm voice. As if he was certain he could talk his way out of his fate.
"You've tried to fuck up my life. I am certain your sister here, is telling the truth. Your puppy life won't be spared." Diamond raised the gun to Rubeus' head.
Serena gasped and covered her mouth, hoping she wasn't heard.
"Diamond pl-" The gun fired and Rubeus slumped over dead. Without a pause, Diamond swung the gun at emerald chest and fired 2 shots.
Serena screamed in fright, not realizing that she just exposed herself.
"What was that?" Marty exclaimed.
Diamond looked over to the steps and saw Serena's face pressed against the banister.
Serena yelped as she saw the other two men make their way towards her and she scrambled up the steps. She felt someone grab her ankle and she screamed in fright as she kicked the man in the face and hurried up the rest of the stairs. She ran into the nearest room and slammed the door close. She locked it and looked around, and screamed in frustration at her stupidity. Who in their right mind locks themselves in the bathroom?
A crash at the door made her spin around and she saw a whole as one of the men stuck their hand through the hole and opened the door. She grabbed her curling iron and smacked him in the face with it as he charged at her. Seiya grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of the bathroom before she could hit him with the iron. He took it from her and flung it down the hall. Without a moments notice he pointed the gun at her, and her heart stopped beating, it seemed.
"Put that down." Diamond ordered as he came up the stairs, wiping blood from his face.
"But she saw. Who knows what she heard, she has to be executed. The little bitch could give us away."
Diamond raised his gun and Serena breath quickened. Was he really going to shoot her like she meant nothing to him? She closed her eyes with fright and she heard the gun cock, and then it fired. She waited for the pain, but instead she heard Seiya yell. She opened her eyes and saw him holding his hand, 3 of his fingers had been blown off. "Don't ever threaten my wife." And with another shot Seiya fell to the marble floor, dead.
Serena screamed as the blood from his half blown away head, sprayed her. She felt Diamond grab hold of her and pull her to his body tightly.
"What the hell were you doing here?"
"You're a criminal! Let me go!" Serena screamed as she twisted her body to get away from him. But his grip was tight and he looked down at her with empty eyes. "You weren't supposed to ever find out."
"Are you going to kill me now? Perhaps pistol whip me like you did Emerald?" Serena asked hysterically, feeling as if she was moments from death. But Diamond just shook his head.
"I could never hurt you. But there are matters we need to discuss."
Serena's mind was whirling. He wasn't going to kill her. She had to play her cards right or she would surely be stuck in the estate. He'd never let her go if he feared she would tell. Suddenly a plan formed in her mind, and she had to swallow back the bile that rose in her throat.
"Diamond…I'm just tired. And I need to wash this blood off of me. I…I won't tell anyone if that's what you're afraid of. When I took my vows I promised to honor and love you through better or worse. I'm your wife, and you won't have to worry."
Diamond smiled at her and gave her a kiss. "Go and shower while I go downstairs and clean up." He kissed her hand and kicked Marty, who was still on the floor, holding his face and groaning. "Get up and clean up the mess downstairs. You're going to dump their bodies in the ocean. If you fuck up, you'll be the next body on the 9:00 news."
Diamond and Marty left for downstairs and Serena went into the bathroom in their bedroom and turned the shower on. Once under the sprays, she cried her heart out. Her life as she knew it was over. Nothing was the same, and it would only get worse. She was going to betray the man she thought she'd love forever. The father of her future children. She didn't know how long she stayed in the shower, but when she finally came out and got dressed, she didn't see Diamond or Marty. Seiya's body was missing and the marble floors were cleaned of its pooled blood. It was as if the whole thing didn't happen.
She went downstairs, and saw the couch and chair that had been the last place Rubeus or Emerald ever sat was missing and the walls and floors had been cleaned. Serena almost felt she dreamed the whole thing, if she hadn't been in the shower cleaning off blood a few minutes prior.
"What are you doing down here?" Diamond asked, coming in the front door and punching in the security lock code.
"I was looking for you." Serena answered as she realized she felt nervous. How should she act knowing he struck a woman and killed three people?
"It's been a long night, and it's late. Let's go to bed." He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her up the stairs and to the bedroom. They lay on the bed, Diamond wrapping her tightly and keeping her close to his body. "I love you Serenity. Don't ever forget that." Diamond said as he kissed her lips.
As she kissed him back, she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She closed them and sank back into memories of their life together. How she loved him so much it hurt. And it did hurt. It hurt so much that she was leaving him. That had to. He has done horrible things, unforgivable atrocities to society, and to her. The hole in her heart was forming. Maybe just once she could revel in what they had. The feelings were still there, it just got tangled up in what she thought of. Her heart desperately wanted to latch on to him and never let go. But her mind was pulling away, yelling at her to be reasonable.
Just once more. Her heart begged. And she conceded and let him climb on top of her. Throughout the beginning she had tears in her eyes, a lump in her throat and a hole forming in her heart. She shut her mind off and just felt, falling into the throes of ecstasy, and wishing she could stay forever in his arms.
An hour later he was asleep and she slowly disentangled herself from him. She held her breath as she picked up his arm and placed a pillow where she had been. She quickly grabbed her clothes and shoved them on. She crept over to the closet and pulled out her suitcase. She threw clothes into it without caring about wrinkles. She grabbed shoes and toiletries.
Serena chanced a glance backwards every so often, always afraid of turning around and finding him standing behind her with a gun to her head. But he lay sleeping; holding a pillow he thought was her. When her suitcase was full she quietly grabbed her keys and shoved them into her jeans pocket. She went to her wallet and pulled out money, grabbing some she had stashed in different parts of her vanity. When she was finally finished, she looked back at the bed. Their bed, and watched him sleep.
Before she could get silly notions in her head she turned and quickly, but quietly went down the stairs. She had her Kitty carrying case in her hand and she saw Luna eating food from her bowl in the kitchen. She quickly ushered the cat in and left the room.
Serena punched in the security code and left running towards her car. She opened the driver's side and threw her suitcase in. Then she hopped in and started the engine. She closed the door and looked up at their bedroom window. No light shone, signaling that he was awake and coming after her, so she slowly backed out of the driveway, her ears prickling at the gravel that crunched from under her tire. She looked up one last time, and when she still saw a darkened bedroom, she hit the gas and left. Thinking of her options, She couldn't go to the police…Marty worked their, and if Diamond could control him, he probably had the whole station under his thumb. But as she thought back to the conversation she heard that night, Marty might actually be the only one he had under his payroll at the station. Which would make sense since he didn't kill him like he killed Seiya.
Serena felt her nervousness get the better of her. Every few seconds her eyes looked up at the rearview mirror, hoping she didn't see Diamond's Lexus following her. She finally made up her mind on where to go and after 10 minutes she pulled into a driveway and she hurriedly ran to the door and rang the doorbell. A few minutes later Andrew opened the door and looked at her as if she was a mad woman. His eyes were still half closed from just waking up, and his blonde hair was muddled from sleep.
"Serena? What are you doing here at 3 in the morning?"
"Diamond killed some people…I need to speak to Mina…."
Andrew's eyes widened as she walked into the house. Serena rushed upstairs to where she knew the bedroom was and cut the light on.
Mina was lying in bed, and she turned over to her side and groaned. "Drew cut the damned light off."
"Mina wake up!" Serena said in a panic as she rushed to window to make sure no one had followed her.
"Sere?" Mina asked confused as she sat up and looked over at her cousin.
"I watched Diamond kill Emerald and her brother. He killed that politician Seiya and…I ran…he might wake up any minute and find out…just…please…I need help." Serena burst out into tears as she collapsed to the floor. Mina jumped out of bed and hugged her Cousin tightly, looking up just as a stunned Andrew walked into the room.
"Are you…sure you serious?" Mina asked.
Serena nodded her head and clutched onto Mina's night gown. "I need to get away. I fear he might kill me, I know too much!"
"I have an Uncle. He's lieutenant at the police station."
"No!" Serena screamed. "He had a cop doing his bidding. Someone named Marty…it's too risky."
Andrew shook his head. "My Uncle isn't a crook. I'll have him over here in a half hour. If Diamond is willing to kill anyone who knows anything, you'd better call the girls and get them over here too. They aren't safe either."
Serena's eyes widened at the thought and her sobs became louder as Andrew picked up the phone and Mina grabbed her cell phone.
"Don't worry Sere, we'll figure this out." Mina reassured rubbing her back.
Serena looked over at the window and hoped that Diamond was still asleep. If she wasn't out of Florida by the time he woke up, he was sure to have her back at the estate, and the girls would be gunned down like dogs. The thought made her tears stream more. It couldn't possibly get worse.
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A/N: Ok well if there are spelling errors in here that I missed when I spell checked it 5 times, I am sorry. But I just had this great idea for this story and I needed to put it out there...anyway, review and flames are welcome. And uh...I hope you liked it.