Thanks for all the great reviews! It so awesome to check you e-mail, and see review after review that are positive and see that people engage in the story! And it looks like everyone in general has the same opinion about Samuel. Oh he's a catch, don't you all agree ;-)
Hang on 'cause this is going to be a looooong one.
Let's go
Agent Machado
Nervously he twisted the button of his jacket while looking around in the big living room. Normally Victor wasn't a nervous guy, but the phone call from Mr. Martin made him nervous. He hadn't seen him for a long time, and from the very little info he had gotten from Bridget, she hadn't either. Mr. Martin was on the phone when Victor got there, and had guided him to sit on the couch, making gestures. Victor wasn't used to be the one being pointed around, and it added to his nervousness. "Get a grip" he told himself, and took a deep breath. He instantly began to relax, and sent a mental thank you note to all of those classes in crisis management. Man were those handy!
Mr. Martin finished his phone call and walked towards Victor. "Thank you for coming so fast agent Machado" he startet. "Call me Victor" Victor interrupted. Mr. Martin waved the comment away, and continued. "I call you because I need your help. It's about Bridget" he said. Victor raised an eyebrow. Maybe Bridget left out a few parts of her time since leaving the Martin house. "How can I help" he said, leaning forward to show his interest. Mr. Martin rubbed his forhead. "Oh how do I even begin" he said, turning his eyes toward the ceiling. "I think Bridget's in real danger..."
Bridget
She looked in the mirror. How was this the same woman, who a few months ago was dressed in designer clothes and expensive jewelery. The face starring back at her in the mirror were haunted. The black circles around her eyes made her look sick. No sleep will do that to you, she thought. She applied a bit more compact powder and mascara, and smiled. The smile didn't reach her eyes. It had been a week since her "break up" with Andrew. A week with Samuel. A week of... She stopped her stream of thoughts. Maybe it hadn't been that bad. Most of it were her own fault. He didn't like when she didn't answer him, or put her hair in a ponytail, or, or, or.
She went down to the bakery. She was meeting in late today. The shop was buzzing from all the customers, and somehow it made her forget about the last week. Out here she was Bridget. The blond girl behind the counter, who no one knew, and no one asked any questions. Nice change.
A couple of hours went on and a little of the heat went off. Bridget looked at the clock. Almost time for her break. She knew Jessie wouldn't let her work through her break again today. Maybe she could sit in the back at one of the tables, if one was free. She hadn't gone out into the ally for a week. She had one of the boys working in the back, taking out the trash. She hadn't been anywhere else than the bakery, and the apartment above all week. Not since the day she saw Victor in her lunch break. Without knowing it, she rubbed the spot on her back where the table hit, when Samuel punched her across the room. Big mistake seeing Victor. Big, stupid mistake.
Suddenly her break was there. Jessie pointed to the clock, smiled at her, and shook her head. Bridget smiled at her, and mimed "okay, okay" at her. She opened the small gate that led from behind the counters and into the customer area, and walked out. She looked up and froze. She dropped her sandwich (which she didn't plan on eating, since food wasn't high on her priority list) and starred into his eyes. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. And looked from one to another. Three pairs of eyes were looking at her.
Solomon
"I'm coming to take you home" Mr. Martin said in his most matter a fact voice. Bridget looked at him, with disbelief, then at Solomon, and then at agent Machado. "But I..." she started. Mr. Martin looked at Agent Machado. The agent gave a nod, and walked up to the counter, flashing his badge like crazy, and spoke to Bridget's boss. She went from smile to speechless in a nanosecond. She nodded and looked in their direction. Agent Machado came back. "Let's go" he said. Bridget held her hand up in front of her. "I can't... If he finds out, he's..." she begang. Mr. Martin looked back a Solomon. Solomon walked up to Bridget, mimed "I'm sorry", and picked her up, and marched out the bakery. Solomon placed her in the car out front, and held the door for Mr. Martin. Then he climbed in the drivers seat. Agent Machado had taken the passengers seat. And quickly Solomon pulled out, into the traffic. After a few minutes of driving, he glanced into the rear-view mirror. Mr. Martin were holding Bridget's hands in his. Comforting her, while the tear were streaming down her cheeks. As Solomon's eyes again met the road, the lips of the passengers in the backseat met, in a silent kiss.
Agent Machado
He sat silent in the passengers seat. His eyes following the traffic, while Solomon quickly drove through the early afternoon traffic. He knew he was out on a limb here. Using his badge for stuff like this. It was a fine line from being not good. It wasn't a federal case. He'd spent the last week gathering info on that Samuel guy, but without a last name, it hadn't been easy. In fact, he hadn't really found anything.
But the story of a girl caught in a bad guys web, was all to familiar to him. For a second his thoughts shifted to Shaylene. "Don't go there" he told himself. He glanced to the rear-view mirror. The two on the backseat sat still. They were holding hands. Bridget's head rested on Mr. Martin's shoulder, and she slept. Victor wondered when the last she slept. Not for weeks granting the look of her. Mr. Martin was starring out the window, with a grim look on his face. The last week had been a nightmare for him. He wanted to go get her the night Victor talked to him in the apartment. It had taken all of Victor's negotiation skills, and the help of Solomon, to talk him out of it, and making him agree to wait, until they had a solid plan. Solomon had spent the last week following Bridget, watching her from distance, making a mental note of when she was alone, when she thought she was alone, and when she was with him. The three of them had spent night after night making one plan after another, each plan falling to the ground. Until Solomon suggested that they simply walking into the bakery, and took her with them. And that's what they did.
Victor smiled at the sight of the two in the back. He was happy for both of them, but having delt with a couple of guys like Samuel, he knew, things were far from over.
Bridget
The heat of the water stung, as she sank her sore body into the bath. Somewhere in the apartment she could hear the sound of Andrew, talking to Solomon, probably giving him directions. Moments ago he had been with her in the bathroom, helping her out of her clothes. Ha had been so gentle, as he lifted the shirt over her head, his fingers gently brushing her back. It felt great until he brushed the spot the table had "caressed". She flinched beneath his hands. Andrew had starred at the mark, which was heeling as a matter a fact, and in the mirror, Bridget saw how his eyes had blackened. And his hand fell to his side, hand forming into fists. "Andrew..." she had stated, him lifting a hand to signal her not to say anymore. Then he left. And she had continued to undress by her self.
Safely in the warm water, Bridget felt better than she had in ages. She let out a sigh and sank even deeper into the water. She had missed the tub. She smiled for herself, and closed her eyes.
She sat strait up in the tub. The second she closed her eyes, Samuel had appeared before her eyes. She could still feel his hands on her body, his lips on her face, and his fists in her ribs. She buried her face in her hands. It wasn't over yet. She could feel it. Nothing that bad, could be over that easy.
15 minutes later she glided into the kitchen. She was wearing a bathrobe, and the damp hair hang loose around her shoulders.
Suddenly a pair of hands landed on her hips. She spun around an push the person with the hands a hard as she could. Andrew stumbled back, with a surprised look on his face. "I'm sorry" Bridget began. "I thought you were..." her words died out, tears began streaming down her face. Andrew looked at her. A second later his arm were around her, holding her close, caressing her hair, comforting her.
Andrew
Andrew breathed in the scent of her hair. There it was again. The sweet smell of honey. He closed his eyes, while holding Bridget close. After a few minutes, she softly pulled away. He opened his eyes, and looked into hers. The blue eyes were sparkling from the tears, and her nose was slightly red. Softly Andrew dried away a tear with his hand. He smiled, as Bridget rested her head in his hand, closing her eyes. Softly he planted a kiss on her lips, and then another, and another. Slowly his kisses became more aggressive, and as she reciprocated, his hands tangled into her hair. Slowly the kisses evolved into more, and as the robe Bridget was wearing undid itself, Andrew picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, where they lost themselves in each other.
Bridget
Andrew planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to take a shower" he said. Bridget smiled at him and nodded. As he closed the door into the bathroom, she stretched in the big bed. She felt warm, safe and sleepy. She smiled, as her eyes closed. She felt happy for the first time in over a week.
Her eyes flew open. She couldn't breath. Her throat was hurting, and her body was pinned to the bed. She starred into the eyes of him. His eyes, dead. She fought to break free, but he was to strong. Somewhere she could hear the sound of running water stopping. A voice called out her name. He turned his head in the direction of the voice. And suddenly, she could breath again. He was gone. Bridget coughed, as tears began streaming down her face. She cried. Andrew appeared in the doorway, a big smile on his face. The smile died. "Bridg' what wrong? What happened?" he asked, as he appeared by her side, holding her head in his hands, searching her face for answers.
"He was here" she said. "Here in the bedroom" Bridget cried out. "It isn't over!"
The elevator opened. Samuel nodded at the man behind the front desk. "All fixed" he said, as he passed. The man behind the desk smiled at him. "Great. Have a good evening" the man answered him. Samuel went out the building, and walked down the street. As he walked by a trashcan, he threw a card into it. While whistling, he disappeared in the crowd.
In the trashcan laid a card.
Abraham & son Plumbing
We take care of all the crab.