Chapter 10
"Nina, Nina, Nina," Murphy chanted my name as he shook his head and clicked the mouse, closing out the file on the screen. "The Dancing Granny story was great, well worth the missed deadline. But this... this is... insane. I can't print this!"
"But it happened, really!" I stood over his desk with my fists on the surface, biting my bottom lip. I was afraid this would happen, but I had to write the story. It had been gnawing at me for the past two months, and I needed to get it out of my system. I'd hoped it would exorcise my fantasies, but it didn't help. It did, however, act as a tool to help me with my grief.
"You have proof? Your friend Sam is gone, so he can't corroborate your story. The cops are not going to turn over their records regarding his arrest. If any of it ever happened." He sighed and leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "Maybe you need a change. It sounds to me like you need some hard news, get away from these features for awhile."
"I don't need..."
"Look," Murphy spoke in a soft voice, as if I were a jumper and he was trying to talk me off the ledge. "Everybody goes through this in their career. Let's just give it a try for awhile, and maybe you'll get your creative muse back to find those heartwarming stories that are lurking in Miami." He gave me a fragile smile as he held out a piece of paper. "There's a fire at a Chinese restaurant on seventh. Go check it out and get a good story. And then there's a press conference at noon at the convention center."
I tore the assignment list out of his grasp, defeated, and said, "Okay, we'll give it a try."
After Sam left, the life seemed to drain out of me and I couldn't find the spark that made me love my job. So this was a warning of sorts, that if I didn't straighten myself out I was going to find myself unemployed. Part of me didn't care. The practical side of me acted like a good little soldier and went out to complete my assignments.
I finished interviewing the owners of a Chinese restaurant that had gone up in flames, and from initial findings, it seemed that it was arson. Questioning the witnesses and the owners, I discovered that there had been some animosity between the Changs and a competitor who ran a roving food truck. After I finished examining the exterior at the back of the burned out establishment and took a few pictures, I glanced down the alley and a memory flashed. Even in daylight, I recognized the place.
My feet took me down the block, and by the time I reached the brick wall, I was almost running. Not sure what I expected to find or why I was there, I simply stood in the middle of the alley and stared at the wall. I reached out and touched it, pressing, searching for an opening. There was nothing. Tears flooded my eyes and I wandered back to my car.
This was sick. The wall was becoming an obsession almost as bad as my love for Burn Notice. Each week dragged until a new episode was shown, which I recorded so I could watch over and over again. I knew the dialogue by heart, especially the scenes with Sam in them. I fixed on him and took note of the shirts he wore. I almost fell off the couch when I saw he wore one I'd given him that he had on when he left. It ripped open my wound all over again and I mourned my loss after the episode was over and the credits gave way to the next show.
I should have been covering a city council meeting, but the ache inside had become so agonizing I couldn't do anything but return to the alley. I'd been leaving lipstick marks that were starting to create an odd mosaic. Somehow, not even the torrential rains could erase my tokens of love, and in fact someone sprayed artistic graffiti around them, making the lip prints look like rosebuds. It was a work of art, yet I felt violated. This was my place, and someone marred it. A sniffle turned into trails of tears, which morphed into sobs. A part of me felt ridiculous pining for something I couldn't have, but majority ruled and I collapsed at the base of the wall, my hand pressed against it as my tears wet the brick.
My grief had so overtaken me that I didn't notice a shadow fall over my form. Hands grabbed me and I looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes devoid of warmth set into a craggy face. His gray hair was chopped close to his scalp like a military cut. He wore fatigues, and I recognized the clothing. My eyes scanned the men behind him. They were the Spetsnaz guys who had tried to kidnap me, and this time the leader brought reinforcements.
"Where is he? Where is Sam Ex?"
Thank God he mispronounced Sam's name again. It brought me back to my senses and gave me the courage to stand strong on my feet. I thrust my chin up in defiance and said, "You want him, you're going to have to get through those bricks. He went through a couple months ago. Haven't seen him since."
"We are in the wrong plane." The man beside the leader exclaimed. "We must find where we came through and go back, find this alley. Surely he will not be difficult to find then."
"Get away from me, you idiot. The girl isn't telling us everything." He smirked. "Not to worry, I get it out of you, little blyad."
I didn't know Russian, but the way he spoke that word, it didn't sound complimentary. I shrugged out of his grip, straightened my skirt, and hiked my purse on my shoulder. "I'm a reporter with the Miami Herald, and I'm late for an assignment, so if you'll please let me go..."
The Russians laughed at me, and it took every bit of will in my body to keep my hands at my side. I wanted to smack their leader. Instead, I took advantage of the merriment and turned on my heel to run. More Russians stood behind me, but I put up my arms preparing to block them. My entire body jerked backwards as the leader's arm circled my neck and drew me against his sweaty uniform.
"I will let you go when I am done. You try again and I will kill you, no matter what information I get or do not get from you. Understood?"
"Yes." I was seeing shooting stars and I knew that any second I would be unconscious. I gagged at the extra pressure.
His arm loosened and let me go, and I staggered into one of the other men. He smelled no better than the leader and he held onto me while the others formed a rim that would prevent me from escaping. The creepy crawly feeling of panic rose up, but I held firm, refusing to let him see that he had me scared.
"Can we just get this over with," I asked. "I've told you all that I know. Once Sam left this plane of existence, I honestly don't know where he went. You'd get more information by watching the last episode of Burn Notice. Trust me."
He didn't like that answer. His hand flew and my face stung from the impact. If the other man hadn't been holding onto my arms, I would have hit the pavement.
"Where did you take him?"
"Here! This is the last place I saw him!"
"Take her. We will make her talk."
Suddenly I was surrounded by hands grabbing my arms. I kicked at my attackers, getting one solidly in the shin. He let go of me. I kicked again and heard something crack. The shooting pain running up my leg was solid proof that it wasn't my assailant's shin. I screamed half from pain and half from terror. I was pinned against the wall and I couldn't put any weight on my foot, so I sank to the concrete and hoped that there was still a way out of this mess. Fabric ripped and a hand squashed my breast. More tearing and hands groping and a boot came from the melee and kicked my side. All I could do was scream and wait for the end to come.
"Shut her up," someone shrieked.
My teeth rattled against each other with the blow from a fist. Still I squirmed and tried to call for help. An explosion echoed off the store backs and someone screamed in pain. A body fell on me. He was bloody, the red fluid gushing from his shoulder.
"Get off her!" More gunfire sounded.
"Go! Return to the rendezvous point!"
Another explosion rang out, followed by another. Another man went down, his leg bleeding. Someone helped him to his feet and covered their escape with his gun, firing at the shooter. The others scattered like roaches. Only the leader remained with his hand clamped around my neck cutting off my air.
"You wait. I find you and then I will kill you." He hauled back and smacked me across the face. Blood droplets flew and it sounded as if something snapped in my head. I was unconscious before I crashed to the concrete.
I was floating and Sam was kissing me. His lips were so gentle yet powerful that they brought me back to life. But it couldn't be, because he was gone. He had been for weeks, and there was only one episode of Burn Notice left. After that, I didn't know what would happen. I was afraid to think about it and die all over again inside. I almost died for real. At least, I stopped breathing.
"Sam..."
"Don't worry, Mikey. Go get those guys. Go on, Jesse. Get 'em!"
It had to be a dream hearing Sam's voice. I'd had enough of dreams. I shook my head, wishing it away. Why torture myself like this?
"Nina! Thank God you're breathing again. Come on, Baby, open your eyes." I almost stopped breathing again, afraid to follow the orders only to be looking at nothing but blue sky. A gentle hand patted my uninjured cheek and he spoke again. "Hey, sweetheart, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes. I missed those sea blue eyes. Come on darling."
I moaned at his touch. Arms lifted me, and I leaned my head into his chest. I took a deep breath and got giddy with the scent of him. I moved a hand past the open collar and my fingers wriggled over his chest hair.
"Sam. It's... it's really you?" I opened my eyes to get the final proof, his worried face looking ready to break. I tried to smile, but it hurt too much. Instead, I raised my hand and touched his cheek.
"Baby, I'm sorry. I got delayed and I almost didn't get out." His voice turned to a whisper. "I almost lost you." He hugged me closer until I groaned from the pain. Alarmed, he lay me on the concrete. "You're gonna be okay, Nina. I promise, you're gonna be okay."
Sam dug into my purse and found my phone, and he used it to call for help. He stayed with me and insisted on riding along to the hospital. He even took my purse and held onto it after they wheeled me into the emergency room. I smiled at him, hoping to assure him that I would be fine.
A couple days in the hospital and I was ready to go home. It was a miracle that the worst injuries I had consisted of a broken foot and cracked ribs. Sam came every day to see me, but I looked forward to being with him, alone. He drove me to the apartment, helped me every step of the way and when we entered my place, he wanted to put me to bed right away.
"Sam, please. I'm fine!" I looked around the living room, amazed. Since he'd been there a few days I thought he would have beer bottles laying around or plates on the coffee table, but it was all neat and clean except for a few manly touches. I was embarrassed to say that it was cleaner than I left it. "What happened? It's..."
"We straightened up for you." He smirked in self-consciousness.
"We?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Mike and Jesse were here, but they found a place a few blocks away. Fi, well, if you've been watching the episodes, you know she and Mike didn't get their happy ending. She didn't come along." Sam picked me up and carried me to the bedroom. "Come on, you need to rest for awhile. We can talk about me and my friends later."
"What happened to Elsa?"
"She, uh, she dumped me." He looked down into my face and said, "I guess she finally decided she had enough of my running off to help Mike and her bankrolling our more expensive missions." His mouth twitched.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. We'll talk about that later." Sam laid me on the bed as if I was a feather on a pile of goose down, and he stretched out my legs, careful of the brace on my broken foot. His touch sent a shiver of delight through me and a shuddering breath escaped my lips. I should have known better. He asked, "Are you okay? You need any pain meds or anything?"
I opened my eyes and smiled at him. "I'd be better if you were to lay here with me."
His smile was beautiful and loving. "I'll be right back."
I heard the lock snap and the muffled thudding of his feet as he hurried back to the bedroom. He kicked off his shoes and lay on the spread, and before he hit the mattress he was grabbing my waist and pulling me against his body.
"Let me know if anything hurts, okay?"
"Okay." I licked my lips.
"And if I get a little overzealous when we...when I love you, you'll let me know, right?"
"I don't think there's any danger in that." My body was still sore and bruised in places, but now that I was with Sam, I could easily forget my pains. With boldness, I curled my hand around the back of his head and pulled his lips down to mine. I could have feasted on his kisses forever, but his hands had other ideas and I let him drive me to the brink of desire. He was careful and reverent as he sent me into the throes of ecstasy. Tumbling was the best feeling in the world, and I basked in the sound of him following close behind.
Afterwards, as we lay in each others arms, Sam said, "I'm so glad I took the leap. I didn't know if I'd find you waiting yet. It's been awhile." He released a long sight. "I wish..."
"What?" I leaned on my elbow and turned to hover over him. "One word of warning, you better be careful about wishing for things. I mean, look at what happened to me?"
A slow smile turned into a grin. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see how this all turns out. I told Jesse about your idea for a spinoff with the two of us. Maybe we could make it a reality in this world. Of course, with Mike, we'll have quite the team."
"Well, those bad guys better start running now if they know what's good for them."
"I don't care about the bad guys right now, just you." He kissed me and I was in heaven again. No dream or wish could ever match that moment.
