Chapter 25

"Shells in the sand"

Niko's phone rang about 8 am. I was the first to awaken it seemed. Niko was passed out on the other side of the bed. He was on his belly all coccuned in another blanket. I must have stolen the blanket from him during the night. I reached over him as he slept and looked at his phone. It rang again five minutes later. The caller was Kiki. I answered for Niko and I was going to relay her message.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Is Niko awake?"

"He's not. He's knocked out."

I petted his back as he slept. Not a muscle was moving from him. Kiki continued the reason for her call. She apparently got a call from a blackmailer trying to set up Niko. I was horrified when I was told this information.

"What does this person want?" I asked still using a light whisper.

"She wants Niko to give her some cash or she'll testify against him."

"Who is it?"

"She's one of his ex girlfriends. I remember he talked about her one time, but I forgot her name."

"How do you know she was one of his ex girlfriends?"

"He talked about her once when he dated me and how she was manipulative. He only dated her for a few weeks. Apparently, he told me she accused him of raping her. She found out what he was doing by hearing the news."

"Did he actually rape her?" I asked with a hint of terror.

"He claims he didn't. They were both drunk, so who really knows what happened."

"So, what does he need to do?"

"He needs to pay her $750,000 cash."

I dropped his phone onto the bed. Kiki was calling my name when she heard me drop it. Why was this such a process for him? People are coming out of the woods to prevent him from getting what he wants. How many people were after him?

"Sorry. I dropped the phone." I said to the wrong end after I picked it up. I quickly flipped it around to catch the tail end of what she was saying.

"-you. We need to be prepared for the unpredictable in this case. He's made a lot of enemies. A lot are coming forward to get even with him."

"How many people has he screwed with?"

"Seemingly countless. You need to be careful around him."

"Powerful people?"

"Yes. Italian mobs, Russian mobs, gang members. The only people he seems to have on his side is a couple of Irish families. Old Irish families who have just as dark of a past as Niko does."

"But we have you, and the American government. That's got to count for something. Right?"

"Let's hope so. I have many years in the courts, and I have many clients who have had evidence planted on them and they came out innocent because of me."

"You're that good, eh?"

"Of course. Now, getting back to Niko. We need you to wake him up, and after the incident yesterday, you seem to have a way with him. Can you wake him? We need to talk."

"I'll see what I can do."

With that, I hung up. I reached across him to put his phone on the wireless charger. I tapped his shoulder and whispered in his ear. He gave no reaction whatsoever. He was indeed in a deep sleep.

I put my phone alarm on in the next five minutes. In those five minutes, I pleasantly called his name. Making loud noises and shaking him awake was exactly what not to do like Karen did. I mentally called her an idiot as I remembered what she did yesterday.

It must have worked because he was slowly stirring at my voice. The alarm didn't go off yet. It still had three minutes left. He still remained on his belly with his pillow over his head. I chucked a little, thinking I did the same thing when I was being woken up.

"Niko, sweetheart. It's time to wake up."

"No it's not." He murmured, and pulled the blanket over his entire body.

Atleast he was easily awakened and not having a bad dream.

"Kiki needs to talk to you. It seems very important."

"She always says that." He responded a little more awoken. "She can wait for a bit."

"I'm sure she could, but it's not in your best interest."

This time, I had his full attention. He threw the blankets off and uncovered his head. Turning his body fully around to look at me, he wondered what I meant.

"It seems you're getting blackmailed."

He shot up from the bed.

"What the fuck!" He shouted. "How do you know this?"

"Kiki called a few minutes ago, and she told me your ex girlfriend is asking money from you. If you don't give her what she wants, she's going to say you raped her when you were dating her."

"That's not going to make a bit of difference." He called her bluff.

"It will open up a whole new case for you. New allegations against you won't go in this case. It will delay your freedom."

"Fuck." He turned away from me.

"I gotta know. Did you rape any-"

"You know I wouldn't do that."

I keep striking his nerves. Shit.

"Let me guess, it was Jessica?"

"She said she didn't know the woman. You would know though. She said you talked about her once on how much of a manipulative bitch she was."

"You don't know the half of it."

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

He paused for a long while. Instead of answering my question, he stood up and paced back and forth in front of the bed. I watched him as he either was formulating a plan to not pay this woman named Jessica, or he was counting how many women he has bedded. I prefferably wanted to hear both answers.

Next came the door flinging open. Karen had that damn crowbar again. This time, I think she really damaged the door. Niko stared her down, presumably wondering why she never knocks.

"Are you two going to be lazy all day? There's work to be done."

"I know that. Sharon already informed me."

"Yeah. And it's bad news for you. They have already started searching for your DNA at her apartment. If they find anything, there will be another trial. Please tell me you didn't sleep with this girl."

"Of course I did! We were dating. I had no idea she was fucked up in the head. I have to figure out how to get around all of this."

"Why don't you kill her, Niko?" She taunted.

"Come on, Karen. Get off the rag and stop being a cunt."

I remained in bed as the two argued. Karen snapped back at him calling him a 'no good dumb fuck' for sleeping with 'every woman in the city' and not using his brain. Niko flipped his gasket and started yelling at the top of his lungs at her, calling her a 'dirty whore for the government' and she was willing to "spread her legs for the good of the country'. Both of them were at it for a good fifteen minutes.

"Why don't you just do what I told you you'd do and kill this chick? That's your solution to everything before."

"You fucking bitch! You know I don't do that anymore!"

"Oh! So, all of a sudden, you're all into the justice of others because you lost the bitch you called your girlfriend? You had a change of heart because you couldn't protect her?" Karen snapped.

I never saw the pure look of loathing on someone, and I never want to see it on Niko again. I held his arm down like he was a rabid dog going after someone. He had uncontrollable twitching in his neck as he was thinking on how to go after Karen.

"You're just as stupid thinking he can change! How you think he's totally innocent in this! He's killed people! I've read his files!"

"I don't think he's innocent! He's told me everything he's done! I'm not blinded by him. I know what I agreed to in dating him." I rubbed his back while holding his arm at my side. I tried to keep him calm. It was obvious this girlfriend she mentioned had a special place in his heart that nobody could take. And I was okay with this.

Karen scoffed and turned away from Niko, telling him to start getting dressed so he can work on his testimony more. I could tell Niko was already burned out. And it hasn't even reached noon yet.

My brother had awaken as well from the shouting match between the two. He groggily made a pot of coffee for all of us and prepared a small breakfast. This afternoon was packed with 'what if' scenarios and blindsided questions that might he asked by the judge and maybe the jury. Karen sucked me into the mock trial, saying I too needed to be ready for such questions to be thrown my way. It was a 90% chance I was to be used. Something that scared Karen because I never was in court and especially never taken that serious of an oath. Sworn on the Bible to speak nothing but the truth could hurt Niko's chance. It was because I murdered two men, I was on the run from the police, and an accessory to aiding a fugitive at large.

"Again. From the beginning!" Karen's sharp tone caught my attention.

Niko had to start over again with the whole trial. Kiki played judge because she has dealt with many in her career. Kiki's advice to Niko was to remain truthful and to try as many details as possible. The court looks into fraudulent stories and 'hiccups' in the facts. Speaking fluent and clear was the key, so the court coild stay with him and not have to backtrack. That backtrack could cost him because the judge and jury catches on quick to slight changes in his dialogue.

It was already close to 5:30, and everyone, including my brother was exhausted. I was told that he could also be used against Niko in the case. He needed to make sure he knew what to answer, how to answer, and when to answer. His past would be a negative influence. And Niko's heroic rescue only added more to his charges. The only thing that would allow him to get what he wants is extreme sucking up in the court.

I yawned and stretched out on the chair and slouched down. Karen, like a Catholic nun, yelled at me to sit straight. She was taking this mock trial way too seriously. We rehearsed this atleast four times already. Each session sprouting new questions from her. She called Niko and I fools for not knowing the answer to some of the questions, and at one point, she quit all together. It was fine with me, but Niko insisted he'd get it right the next time and begged Karen to continue. Kiki called it quits after 9pm and Karen gathered her notes together. A whole day dedicated to a fake trial. In my opinion, this really sucked.

Niko threw himself onto our bed and I followed him in. The poor guy had no energy left. I sure hoped the court would call tomorrow. My brother entered moments later and thanked Niko for all he's doing. For what reason, I wouldn't know. I was sure there was a good one though.

It was a full week later that Niko got a call that made him shoot up from bed. I watched the blood drain from his face as the caller was telling him some grim news. I overheard that the DNA tested positive at his ex girlfriends house, but there were dozens of other men she's slept with.

"So, what do you need me to do?... She's retracting her allegations?...Good...When does the trial start back up?... I'll be there." His tension melted away.

He hung up and I looked at him.

"I am safe. She doesn't have a good case against me."

"She didn't even give you a chance to get the money?"

"She's a snake. I was sure she'd rather see me in jail then get the money. She's already rich. Now she gets to go to court too. The guys she's slept with will have to go to. But I don't give a fuck about that."

"Who called you?"

"A friend."

"What did he say?"

"My trial gets back on track tomorrow at 10 am. Let's hope there is no more crap."

"I'm not sure how much you can take. It's like your past doesn't want you to move on."

"I won't let my past get in my way anymore."

He decided to get ready for the day and suggested I do the same. I'm guessing he had something planned for today. It was nice that we were able to spend some alone time out of the various places we called home. Niko came out of the bedroom, but before he did, he peeked around to see if Karen was awake. I was waved on, indicatng that the coast was clear. It was so juvenile sneaking around. It was pretty funny.

"Karen's going to be in my ass for this." He said buckling his seatbelt and tossing a duffel bag in the passenger seat. He packed it when I was in the bathroom. I had no clue what was in it.

He had no idea how true his statement was. We were atleast five blocks away when his phone rang. Her blaring voice caused him to pull the phone away from his ear while she basically raped his ear. She didn't even give him a chance to talk because he was being constantly cut off on what he was trying to say. Her threats of 'If you two don't get back here in twenty minutes, I'm going to drag us both back myself.'

I thought how the Hell would she know where we are if she can't find us. Upon hearing my rationality, Niko smiled slyly and hung up on her. The car continued on to our destination, which was almost a three hour drive with all the annoying traffic. Niko lost his temper more than once, swearing and threatening the slowpoke drivers of the city. Finally, we arrived about noon to the beach. It was a surprise to me that he has been thinking this for a while. Once he found a spot to park, his reasoning for bringing me here came.

"I remember you told me you like the beach. I never took any of my ex's here."

"Well, this is nice of you. Do you like the beach?"

"Without all the health code violations, yes."

"It's not that bad here, is it?"

Niko scoffed and tossed the bag over his shoulder. This messaged to me he was ready for relaxation. We found a spot and we threw a blanket down on the sand. I ran to the water and began frolicking. I heard him tell me to not get so wet. I used caution once he reminded me of not having a bating suit.

He came down minutes later. Ensuring the blanket was not blowing away by putting mounds of sand on the corners and putting the bag in the middle, he made his way down and watched me play like a child. I felt like I was under the caring and alert eyes of a hawk. For some reason, he never joined me in the water. I sensed he was a little on edge. Being in a public place could spark drama. And I thought this was going to be a relaxing time for him.

I waved him on to join me in the water and he shook his head. That made me walk up to him and pull him down with me. He hesitated at first, but he gave up as soon as he started.

"Why don't you want to swim with me?"

"I don't want to let my guard down."

I looked at the bag up by the blanket and looked back at him. He nodded in response to my unasked question. I wondered why he grabbed that big of a bag. He had a rifle in it along with our towels. That of course made me mad again that he never told me he was bringing a fire arm.

"I didn't want you to get upset! I'm sorry if I want to be prepared for every situation!" His arms flailed.

Just thirty minutes at the beach and already I wanted to go home. I crossed my arms and sat down on the blanket. I felt the blanket sink down when he did the same and turned my entire body away from him. He moved the bag aside to get closer to me. I moved a little away from him.

"Come on, don't be like this." He pleaded.

I remained quiet. I couldn't look at him. His paranoia was getting the best of him. He just said he wouldn't let his past get in his way. He is allowing it to control what he does. I just wanted him to relax.

"Will you please look at me?"

I still looked away far off at the dock where fishermen were waiting for their big catch. He tapped on my shoulder and I glared at him.

"What's that for? You know I can atleast protect you if things happen."

"Why don't you tell me? And don't say you don't want me to get upset. I get upset if you keep secrets from me. What was I going to say if you got caught by the police with that? 'Oh, sorry officer, I didn't know he was packing?' I don't think they'll buy that."

"Okay, listen. I'm sorry. I'll tell you from now on if I bring a gun with me." He whispered just loud enough for me to hear over the waves. "Will that make you happy?"

"If you don't say it like a dick, yes!"

He made a annoyed huff and looked away from me. I stood up and walked back down to the water where atleast I was away from him for a bit. I walked along the coast line, but not too far to where he can still see me. The slight gestures of my steps indicated to him I was still mad. I hoped it did anyway.

He still kept his eyes on me from our little spot on the beach. I saw him take a call. From far away, I couldn't read his lips as he responded to the caller. He was getting rather heated by the way he talked at the phone. Then, he put his phone in his pocket and packed up everything in the bag. I saw him move things around within the bag. I saw him running towards me. Pulling my arm, he tried to lead me away from the water.

"What the fuck are you doing!?"

"We got to go."

"No!"

"For fucks sakes, Sharon. We need to move! Now!"

I didn't hear it because of the water, but I saw the sand around his feet shoot up. He shoved me down, and covered me with his body. The gun he had in the bag made an appearance, and he shot back.

"W-what's going on!"

"I'm being attacked! Stay down!" He yelled over the rifle.

I saw two guys fall off a nearby building and pedestrians fleeing from the gun shots. Niko swore loudly at the attackers.

"Stay fucking down!"

He fired off more rounds and reached into the bag to add more ammunition. He helped me get back on my feet and lead me to find some cover. Nearby boulders sufficed as Niko ducked around them, firing off more shots to the unknown men.

"Who would be attacking you!?" I pulled on his shirt.

"Don't do that! You'll throw my shot off and make me shoot innocent people."

I could see he was an expert marksman. Being in the war paid off for him. We didn't know how many men there were, so we waited it out behind cover until the shots stopped. Niko lifted his head up just high enough to see if there were any more left. I sat against the boulder beyond terrified. He sat next to me, reloading the gun again. He had a lot of ammunition in that bag, and he fired off just as much.

"Listen to me." He turned my head to him. I was too scared to do it on my own. "We need to get out of here. Stay low and out of sight. Follow me." He nodded his head in the direction of the car.

I quickly shook my head and followed him step for step, staying crouched down. He fired off more shots in retaliation after being shot at again.

"I'll rip your fucking heart out!" He threatened.

We continued on, taking cover behind various objects. More shots were fired and Niko got a direct hit on the assassin. He fell off the building and hit the concrete below. He reloaded again and found the parking lot. It was a mad dash through all the parked cars. We were so close to more men that I was able to hear them talking to Niko in a different language. He understood them perfectly as he responded back at them.

The car was waiting for us, and we dove to the side of it as it took a barrage of bullets. Niko shot back again, killing the man. He opened the car door and helped me inside. I crawled over to the passenger side and he burned through the parking lot. Once I thought we were safe, I started to cry. It was the most terrifying experience of my life.

"We're not done yet!" He said.

I looked in the side mirror. There were two sports cars gaining speed to catch us. There was no way the luxury car we were in would outrun them. I prepared myself for Niko's defensive driving.

He was taking turns so fast that the tires squealed. I held on tight so I wouldn't be thrown around like a rag doll. His leg applied the gas and we were reaching speeds of almost 80 miles per hour. Still, the men were closing in.

"Take the wheel." He said, but my ears were ringing from my rapid heartbeat. When I didn't comply, he shouted. "Take the wheel!"

Numbly, my hands found the wheel and I did the best I could to keep the car straight. He twisted the upper half of his body backwards and fired the rifle at the cars, hoping it would get them off of us. That didn't deter them, but he still fired.

"You fucks think you're hard?!" He said, shooting at one of the cars.

It must have been enough to scare them off. I saw the car screech to a halt and the occupants get out. I took a better look in the rear view mirror, and saw the car was on fire and the men were burning to death. I held my eyes closed tight, trying to erase what I just saw. What I heard was Niko swearing at me.

"Sharon! Open your eyes!"

He slammed on the breaks but it wasn't in time. Our car rear ended into another car, and Niko was thrown from the window. My head made contact onto the dashboard, but I didn't black out. Our attackers stopped behind us and confidently strode up to the wreck. I saw Niko laying on the concrete motionless. My heart stopped. I wanted to run to him, but I was afraid I would get gunned down.

The men were talking in their language as they stood before Niko. I thought this was it as they aimed theor gun down at him execution style. Suddenly, he shot up and fired at the gunman, killing him instantly. The second attacker aimed his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, Niko shot the other. I saw him pass out from such a horrific crash. Thankfully, the car was an unoccupied, and I was able to start the car back up. It sputtered back to life. I went to check Niko out. I know as a health care professional you're not supposed to move an injured person, but we had to evacuate before the police came. I pulled hin from under his arms and laid him in the back of the car.

The car did the best it could as it rattled its way home. With an ironic ending, the car died just as I made it back to the condo. I mentally thanked the car for making it all the way back.

Karen, Kiki, and my brother heard the car grind to a stop. They all grabbed a limb and carried him inside. He was bleeding from his head, chest, arms and legs when he rolled to a stop on the pavement. I bawled my eyes out at the sight of his mangled form. I tried to remain strong because he needed my care, but Karen shoved me away, calling me an idiot and tended to his wounds.

I looked him over from head to toe. Her binding was exceptional. I thought I was the professional in health care.

"You did a good job."

She grabbed my shirt collar and threw me to the floor. "Don't flatter me. What the fuck were you two doing!? I warned him there was someone after him! He didn't fucking listen. Now I have to explain to the courts how much of a brainless fucked he is in getting himself shot!"

I cried even harder at her brutish behavior. She had nothing else to say to me, communicated through her walking away to the other room. My brother helped me back up and sat with me on the opposing couch. I watched Niko through welled up eyes as he recovered on the couch. It looked like the bleeding stopped, but there's no telling if he had any brain damage or broken bones.

"Forgive her. She was so pissed off at you two for going out. She got a call moments after you left that there was an anonymous caller threatening Niko. It was an undercover agent keeping tabs on things like that. Once he found out, he called Karen. Didn't Niko hear her talking about it?"

"He didn't hear a word she said. I convinced him she wouldn't find us." My hands shook as the events flooded back again. I felt queesy and ran into the kitchen where I threw up. My brother held back my hair. The sound of my violent heaving stirred Niko awake. He cried out in pain. Kiki was there keeping him calm. She had pain pills at the ready and prompted him to take them. I saw him holding his right arm as he sat up to swallow the pills.

"Niko, is your arm broken?"

"It feels like it's dislocated." He groaned out.

One snap of his shoulder and a pop later, and I saw him relocate it. His yelp followed and clenched his fist to require the feeling.

"Is anything broken?"

"I don't think so. I'm just fucked up. I braced myself as I was ejected through the window."

I went to him to comfort him as he hid the pain. He was forming large bruises im various places. I blamed myself for not listening to Karen. She was warning Niko, but I allowed him to disobey. This time my pigheadedness got him hurt. There was no way I was ever going to forgive myself.

He laid his head back down on the armrest of the sofa. I thought it to be a good idea to get him something softer to rest on. His pillow would give him the support he needed while he regained his health. I sat with him with his legs in my lap. I had a whole lot of apologizing to do to him when he felt better. I owed him my life.