KATARINA:
A million thoughts flashed through my mind in a fraction of a second. I tried to kick at the attacker, years of training having firmly embedded the reflexes to fight back. But he already had me pinned. Hard. There was no way I could break his grip and he… Wait a minute…
Eyes open, I finally registered the sight. "Jesus, Raph!" I yelled at him, relief and fury flooding through me at the same time. "What the fuck are you doing! Trying to give me a heart attack?"
He smiled slyly, but said nothing. I breathed hard for a few seconds, trying to slow my frantic heartbeat. He still had me pinned against the cement wall. He stared at me, not moving. Only slightly uncomfortable, I waited for him to let me go. He just stood there, watching me, still as a statue. "So what's the plan, stud?" I finally asked. "You gonna let me go? Or do you intend to do me right here?"
His eyes raked over me. "I'm considering it."
I grinned back. Subtle, wasn't he? "A bed would be nicer," I informed him.
He growled low as he leaned into me and pressed his lips to my neck. I tilted my head, providing him easier access as he bit gently. "Who said anything about nice?" he rasped, his body pressing mine to the wall.
DONATELLO:
She coughed violently and clutched her stomach as she doubled over on the couch. I glanced at her, but she waved my concern away. Sasha sat down next to her, resting a hand on her back. "You said you know what's wrong with her," she mumbled in my direction.
"She has pneumonia," I answered.
"How long will it take for her to get better?"
"She's on antibiotics," I informed. "That should clear it up in a few days."
I heard a quiet laugh from near the entrance and turned just as Raphael appeared. His arm was around Katarina's shoulder and a broad smile was on his lips. She leaned into him, laughing about a joke I hadn't heard. I stood up. "Hey Raph, where've you been?"
Sasha looked up and turned slowly. "Had some business to take care of," he grinned. Katarina found that funny. I didn't want to know why.
I felt Sasha stand next to me, leaving Amy on the couch. Raphael's eyes flashed to her and he did a double take. A strange look somewhere between horror and fascination crossed his face as their eyes locked. He opened his mouth as if he were preparing to say something, but he was not the one who spoke first.
"Sasha?"
"Katarina!" Sasha stepped forward. "How are you girl? I thought you left New York!"
The two women embraced. I stared, shocked. Glancing around, I saw that Amy and Raph were just as surprised. "Wow, it's been a long time," Kat grinned, taking a step back. She held Sasha at arms length and glanced over her.
"It has," Sasha agreed.
"You look amazing, as usual," Kat smiled.
"So do you."
Finally, I found my voice. "Well, I see you two already know each other," I started.
Kat turned to me. "We met years ago," she answered. "When I first returned to the states from Japan."
I nodded. "Well, this is Amy," I introduced. Kat and Sasha separated and Amy smiled shyly.
"Amy Clareson?" Kat asked, inspecting her carefully.
Amy tensed. "How do you know my name?"
"I work at a TV station," Kat informed. "Your name and face has been on TV all night long. The cops are looking for you."
Sasha tensed. "Hey, Kat," she started. "We, uh, don't need any intervention from the cops right now."
Kat stared at her for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I trust you heard the rest of it?" Sasha mumbled. "What happened to her family? We don't want that happening to her, if you know what I mean."
I glanced at Raphael and my eyes lingered for a moment. He was still staring at Sasha. Her eyes raised and met his. Electric sparks flew between them, almost visible in their intensity, and he looked away quickly.
Kat and Sasha talked. Raphael's eyes fell to Amy. "Amy, this is Raphael," I prodded.
He forced a nervous smile as he shook her hand. "Hey," he choked.
Kat stared at him for a second before slipping her arm around his, locking their hands together. He tensed noticeably. "This is my best friend, Sasha," Amy told Raph quietly, making sure everyone had been introduced. Sasha and Raph looked at each other again.
Sasha offered a hand. "Hello, Raphael," she smiled. He stared at her hand for a moment before taking it. I could feel the tension in the room shoot through the roof.
"Hi."
RAPHAEL:
She pulled me into the bedroom and shut the door. "What's the matter with you, Raph?" she asked, sounding both concerned and annoyed.
I tensed and shifted nervously. "I dunno," I lied. "I just…"
I shook my head, not able to finish the sentence. Her hand raised to the side of my face, caressing gently. I melted into her touch. "Raphael…" she whispered.
I snaked my arms around her waist. "I'm okay," I sighed, taking a deep breath and trying to get my raging emotions under control. It wasn't going to happen.
Visions flashed. "So are you the lonely executive type?" God, I had never expected to see her again. Especially not now, years later. What the hell was she doing here? Her fingers roaming over my body, exploring gently…
"Wanna have some fun?"
"Maybe."
"Tell me, Raphael. How do you do it?"
"Any way you want it."
"Raphael?"
I snapped back into reality and took Kat's wrist, pulling her hand away from me. "S'alright, baby," I mumbled, putting my thoughts on hold. I smiled at her faintly. "I'm okay. Really."
"Something you need to tell me?"
I tensed as I considered that she might already know. The look in her eyes was curious, but not suspicious. She didn't know. I didn't want her to know. I didn't want to bring up things from the past. I'd done some stupid things in my life, and I wasn't about to drag them all into the present. I knew I was treading on thin ice. But I needed some time to think before I said anything.
"No," I assured her. I leaned down and kissed her briefly. "I just… I need to take care of some things, okay?"
She stared at me, shocked. "Now?"
"I just remembered," I lied. I needed to get out of here or I was going to dig myself into a hole, one way or the other.
The surprised look on her face was too much. I couldn't help but smile. "It's okay, baby," I whispered, brushing the side of her face with the backs of my fingers.
"What's wrong with you?" she questioned. Her voice echoed concern.
I wrapped my arms around her and held her to me tightly, capturing her lips. She kissed me back, and the tension slowly eased from her body. I forced all thoughts of Sasha aside and smiled at Katarina. I stepped back, pulling her with me toward the bed. "You need to rest," I informed her, unlocking my hands from behind her. "Put your arms up," I ordered gently.
She complied, and I raised her shirt over her head. She stood still, watching me as I undressed her. I could feel her eyes burn into me. Rising to face her again, I ran my hands over her sides, memorizing the soft curves of her body. I eased her onto the bed and pulled the blankets around her. She clasped her hands behind my neck, not letting me pull away. "Stay with me a while, Raphael," she whispered.
I cringed. God, I wanted to. But even as I considered it, visions of Sasha flashed across the back of my eyes. No. I needed time to get my thoughts in order. "I really need to go," I mumbled.
"It can wait, can't it?"
I pulled the blankets between us, still aching for the soft feel of her skin against mine, and kissed her neck as I backed away. "I love you, Kat."
She didn't argue with me any further. I caught her hands and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I love you too," she sighed.
I left.
LEONARDO:
"So did you live with Amy?"
Sasha glanced up at me, then over at the figure asleep on the couch. "Sometimes."
"What do you mean, sometimes?"
She shrugged, and didn't answer. She didn't like answering questions about her life. But if she was going to be here for any length of time, she was going to explain a few things. "What do you do?"
She looked up, an innocent expression on her face. "Do?"
"Job," I clarified.
She began inspecting her nails. She didn't like the question. "I have a few jobs."
She was pretty good at avoiding an answer, but I knew her game. I'd been playing it with Raphael for years. "Such as?"
She grinned at me. "Maybe I'm a drug dealer," she suggested.
It was meant to throw me off guard. But it didn't work. The truth was, I'd already thought of that. "Maybe?" I questioned, my voice monotone. "Or you are?"
"Would that scare you?"
I laughed. "There's not a lot that scares me, Sasha."
"Mmm," she acknowledged. "What does?"
"Besides," I continued, ignoring her question. "From the looks of it, you do drugs. Most dealers don't try what they sell."
Now it was her turn to be shocked. "What do you mean, from the looks of it?" she demanded.
I nodded toward her arms, and the tell-tale lines that circled them. "You shoot up."
She studied me for a moment, her eyes steady on mine. "Yeah, Leonardo. I shoot up. Does that bother you?"
"Yes," I answered honestly. "But I can deal with it. As long as you don't bring it in here. My question is, where do you get the money?"
I could see the frustration in her eyes as she realized that she hadn't managed to avoid the question, for all of her trying. I smiled inwardly. I knew my strategy to this game. "I'm a receptionist," she shot at me. "And a model. Among other things."
Damn. She was good. She was forcing me to choose which avenue I wanted to pursue. I chose the less obvious. "What kind of modeling work?"
She stared at her manicured nails. "I used to pose for Playboy." From the way she said it, I could tell she was going for shock value. Once again, it didn't work. I also knew that she may or may not be telling me the truth, for the simple fact that she was trying to throw me off course.
"Really?" I challenged.
"Yeah," she answered. "December issue, two years ago, I was the centerfold. You see it?"
I shook my head. "Not interested."
She smiled. "Yeah," she mumbled. "You don't seem like the type."
She was shifting the conversation to me again. And she still hadn't answered my question. "So what kind of modeling do you do now?" I redirected.
She studied me for a moment. "Whatever I can get."
I heard arguing in the other room, and looked over the back of the couch. Raphael. I sighed. Sasha smiled. "Duty calls, huh?" she grinned, taking great satisfaction in the fact that I still hadn't gotten a satisfactory explanation.
***
They didn't even notice me when I walked into the room.
"Look, Donny, I don't care how they got here. I want to know how long they're going to be here."
Donatello sighed. "Raphael, how do you want me to answer that? I don't know, okay? Amy still needs medical attention and…"
"That's what hospitals are for, Donatello," Raph shot.
Don crossed his arms over his chest, slightly irritated. "Well, if you had been listening to me, you'd know that I already thought of that."
Raphael stared at him for a moment, a dumbfounded look on his face. "What?"
Donny sighed. "Just cool it, Raph, okay?" he pleaded. "Regardless of how or why, it's obvious she needs help."
"Amy needs help," Raph pointed at him. "Sasha can leave."
"Why?" I asked. They both turned to me, as if I were an intruder. "Why do you want us to kick her out so bad?"
"She's Amy's support person," Donny continued, not giving Raph a chance to answer. I wished he would have. "She needs to stay. For Amy's sake."
I looked to Raph, waiting to see if he would challenge that. He didn't. He turned and walked out of the room with a growl, nearly knocking Mike over in the process. Mikey stared after him. "What's his problem?" he questioned as he stepped into the room.
"Who knows," Donny sighed.
Michaelangelo shrugged off the near-confrontation and licked at the popsicle in his hand. "Find anything, Don-san?"
Donatello turned to his computer. "Yeah, actually, I did." He sat down and typed for a few seconds. "Like Kat said, the police are looking for an Amy Clareson. It's been all over the news. Police are saying they think it was a robbery gone bad. Mother was raped and killed. Four-year-old boy is in critical at the hospital. Life support, at the moment. Police are looking for this man."
He sat back and I peered at the screen. It was a mug shot of a dark-haired man with tanned skin. A dark scar ran along his forehead. "Yep, he's definitely your average psychopath killer," Mike laughed.
"Who called the police?" I questioned.
"The apartment manager. I'm working on getting a copy of the police report."
"Kat can probably get it from work," Mike suggested. "She's been able to do that before."
Donny shrugged. "Yeah. Or I can get it from the police. Doesn't really matter. I don't think it'll tell us much, anyhow."
"Has he been arrested?" I asked.
"Multiple times, though not for this if that's what you mean. He's the prime suspect. Different last name, though. I'm not entirely sure this is her father."
"So let's find his ass and beat some info out of him," another voice shot. I spun and saw Raph in the doorway. He'd returned with a beer in hand. I sighed. "I don't think Amy'd mind if we…"
"Knock it off, Raph," I ordered, not in the mood for his impatience. "This is no time to go rushing headlong into..."
"Fuck you, Leo," he answered casually, not even bothering to look at me.
I stared at him for a moment as he walked into the room and stood next to Mike. Something was definitely wrong with him. Not that it was strange for him to snap at me, but his tone over the last few minutes made it obvious that something was bothering him. He wasn't just being his normal, obnoxious-but-sadistically-playful self. I tucked the note away in an obscure corner of my mind and turned my attention back to Donatello. "If she won't tell us anything, we have no right to get involved."
"Great," Raphael mumbled. "So why the hell is she here?"
I glared at him. He was being more of a problem than a solution and it was starting to piss me off. "Raph, will you cut it out?" I snapped. "You're not helping matters any."
I felt a presence behind me and turned to see a thin, frail figure standing at the door. She was clutching a light green robe around her, her eyes tired and sad. She's just a child. The thought hit me out of nowhere, but it was the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw her. It was hard to believe what she'd allegedly lived through in the past few days.
Her eyes hit the floor for a moment. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "Am I interrupting?"
She sounded tired and exhausted. I knew Donny had given her a mild sedative, and I wondered if that had anything to do with it. I was guessing it did.
Donny stood and pushed past us. "You should be in bed," he told her.
She shook her head. "I'm not tired." Her eyes raised again. "They're dead, aren't they?"
"Who?" Donny asked, although he already knew.
She sighed and leaned sideways against the door. "My mother and brother."
"Amy, what did you see?" I asked. "Why do you say that?"
She turned her head and didn't answer. "Amy, we want to help you," Donny assured her. "But you have to be honest with us."
She breathed deep a few times, and tears filled her eyes. "I need to sit down," she whispered.
AMY:
New York. A million miles away from home. From him. We thought we were safe. Of course, we'd though that before. But he had managed to get to me. Distance meant nothing to him when the law was on his side. His side. How had that ever happened? It's so wrong…,
But this is New York. And Mom figures he'll never find us here. I hope she's right.
I close my eyes, listening to the sounds of the city. It's all so unfamiliar. So unlike home. I hear a noise. A knock at the door. The clock reads 10:00. Fear floods through me. Mom isn't home. I pray it's not him. The door is locked. I remember locking it. He can't get in unless...
Timmy! No!
I dart out of bed, dropping the blankets on the floor. But I'm too late. He's inside the apartment, holding Timmy a few feet off the floor. The four-year-old wraps him in a loving embrace. "We've missed you, Daddy!" he cries.
Oh god, no... This isn't happening. He looks up at me and smiles warmly. Every muscle in my body tenses. "Hi, Ames, how are you, baby?"
I have no voice. I cannot scream. He sets Timmy on the floor and walks over to me, wrapping his arms around me. He kisses me. Too long and too hard. I can feel his hands run up and down my back. I want to cry out, but I can't make my voice work. "Hey, Timmy, why don't you go get Daddy something to drink?"
"Sure!"
No! Timmy! Don't leave me here!
He's gone. The man turns to me again and brushes his hand along the side of my face. "I've missed you, Ames."
His lips meet mine again, and they part. I can feel the tears sting my eyes. His hands run down my sides, his tongue probing at me, violating me. I feel lifeless as my body and soul separate. It is a natural reaction, and one I cannot control. I don't have to think about it. I step back and watch myself kiss him back, powerless against him. And I feel sick...
"My mother walked in," I told them, my voice emotionless. "Sasha was with her. She spends a lot of time with us because…" She hesitated. "Well, it doesn't really matter. My mother saw him there and started screaming. And he hit her to make her stop."
I didn't look up at the figures around me. I couldn't face them. I couldn't face myself. "My mom keeps a can of mace in her purse, and she tried to get that, but he was already on top of her. He hit her a few times and she... passed out, I guess. And I don't really know what happened after that. The next thing I knew, Sasha and I were running." I hid my face in my hands. "I left them there. I left my brother and my mom. And he killed them."
I felt tears sting my eyes. I was numb, unable to speak. A hand came to rest on my shoulder. "I think you should go to the police," Donatello's voice whispered.
"No," I answered. "They'll send me back."
"Back where?"
"To live with him."
Donny sighed and retracted his arm. "Amy, if he's a suspect in a murder..."
"He's not," I whispered. "They won't suspect him."
"With an eyewitness report, they fuckin' better suspect him," Raphael shot angrily.
I shook my head, staring down at the floor. I had no faith in the judicial system. Years of betrayal had taught me not to trust anyone. Except for my mother. I felt fluid in my lungs and doubled over as I coughed. It was getting better now. I could breathe easier. But I still coughed a lot. It hurt, but it was worse not to cough.
"They have a warrant out for his arrest," Donny informed me.
I shook my head. "That's not him."
"What's not him?"
"The picture you were looking at. On the internet. That wasn't him."
There was a moment of silence. Sasha walked into the room and looked around. Raphael tensed noticeably. "Why would you even think they'd send you to live with him?" Leonardo asked. Raphael stood and left. His brothers looked after him, but nobody said anything.
I bowed my head slowly. "My father has legal custody of me and my brother. My mother kidnapped us to bring us here."
I could feel the shock radiate through the room. "He molested you and he ended up with custody?"
I nodded, remembering the courtroom. I was eleven, and they wouldn't let me take the stand. It wasn't a criminal case. We'd already lost that one. "I used to live in Florida. My parents divorced and they got joint custody after we lost the criminal case against my dad. So my mom took us to Virginia, but he found us and had me and my brother taken away. He dragged her back to court and ended up with sole custody. He took us all over the country, but we eventually ended up back in Florida. Then my mom kidnapped us and ran to New York. It was just a few weeks ago that we came here. A little over a month."
They were dumbfounded. All of them. Except for Sasha. She already knew this story. She had helped my mother rescue me, and for that, I would be eternally grateful. She came and sat next to me, curling her arm around my shoulders. I closed my eyes and sighed, surprised at how little I felt. I was too tired to feel. "We had birth certificates and social security cards forged," Sasha continued for me. "That's why they didn't find her. If they had, they would've taken her to jail. And Amy and Timmy would've gone back to their father."
There was a long silence. Finally, I looked up. "If you want me to leave," I whispered, "I'll leave. But please don't try and make me go to the cops."
I made brief eye contact with each one of them, my glance finally coming to rest on Donny. He looked to Leonardo. Nobody said a word.
SASHA:
"If you want to stay here, there's a few things we need to get straight."
Leonardo towered over us, trying to be intimidating. For Amy's part, he was succeeding. But I did not spook easily. "First and foremost, no outside visitors. Clear? That's extremely important. And always check with somebody before you leave. It's not that we're being nosey, it's a matter of security. If you disappear, we want to know where to start looking for you. And being associated with us, disappearances aren't out of the question."
"The other option is that I can put a tracer underneath the skin on the back of your hand," Donny continued, sighing. I raised my eyebrows. These guys were serious. "Don't make it come to that."
If you ever tried to force me to have a tracing device planted in my body, your lair wouldn't remain secret for very long, I threatened silently.
"And if it ever did come to that, we would get the device implanted," Leonardo threatened, reading my thoughts. How did he do that? "And if you decided to make our presence known, we'd know exactly where to find you."
I could have it taken out.
"The device is so small that no tests could detect it was even there," Donatello informed, staring at me intently. "In fact, you wouldn't even wake up if you were asleep when we implanted it."
"You don't need to threaten," Amy whispered, her voice shaky. "We wouldn't do anything to harm you guys. Not after you're helping us like this."
Speak for yourself, Amy. Anybody touches me, they all die.
"It's also important for your safety," Mike informed Amy. "If your father is looking for you, we don't want him to know where to find you."
And for that reason alone, I intended to keep this hiding place a secret. I knew he was looking for her. And I didn't want any harm to come to her.
Leo turned to me. "No drugs," he ordered. "None, understand? And no cigarettes. I don't care if you do that outside, but I don't want to breathe it. And the first time you bring anything more than that back in your purse, you're out. Understand?"
I stared back at him, saying nothing. "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, Sasha. It's your choice. I don't expect you to stay in the lair all the time because I know that whatever wild life you have won't allow for that."
"What's so wild about my life, Leonardo?" I challenged just as Raphael walked back into the room.
"You tell me," he snapped. For a moment, I considered the possibility that he might know more than I wanted him to. "Or don't. But don't bring it in my house."
House. Interesting choice of words. I wasn't going to call him on it. It wasn't important enough at the moment. "For as long as you stay here, you abide by my rules or you get out. Clear?"
"Ah, is this the best-friend-or-worst-enemy speech?" Raphael smirked. We all turned to him and watched as he raised a beer bottle to his lips. "Word to the wise, girls," he continued, a sadistic grin on his face as his eyes met mine. "You want him to be your friend."
With a quiet laugh, he walked away.
SASHA:
Rob Zombie was playing in the background. The man, I think his name was Adam, moaned and pressed down on me, hard. I could barely breathe, but I knew not to say anything. I faked a rising orgasm, and that put him over the edge. He came hard, pounding into me. Great. I was going to have bruises. Oh well. Wouldn't be the first time.
I let him finish and he backed away, gasping. "You're great, babe."
I scowled at him. "Right."
He laughed. "What?" he smiled. "What'sa matter? That wasn't good for you?"
I'm not sure why, but Zombie never seemed to put me in the romantic mood. Not that sex always had to be romantic. But this was different. It wasn't supposed to be enjoyable.
I stood up from the bed and dressed slowly. "You want a fix before you leave?" he asked, still sprawled naked on the sheets.
I looked back at him. "What do you got?"
He grinned. "Only the best."
"Who'd you get it from?"
"Rock Stevensin."
I eyed him suspiciously. I knew Rock. I usually couldn't afford his merchandise. He'd afforded mine a few times, though. "Hey, baby, no jokin'. But if you're not interested, hey, more for me."
I placed my hands on my hips, dressed except for my shirt. "Alright," I agreed. "Show me what you got."
He stood and left the room, returning a moment later with a brown paper sack. I watched as he prepared the hit, holding the spoon over the flame from a lighter. I sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed the rubber strip from the bag. I tied it around my upper arm as he pulled the fluid through the needle on a syringe. "So you want me to do this for you?" he asked, flicking the tube to rid it of air.
"I can do it," I assured him.
He handed me the needle and I pressed it to the inside of my elbow. Almost immediately, I felt the drug's powerful surge. I moaned softly as I withdrew the syringe. Now this was so much better than sex…
