Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (39 page)

They bought stuff for lasagna, shrimp, and chili.
She
looked at all t
his
food, both carts full. "Mike, do you realize I get on a plane in a few days? I'm not sure I can cook al
l t
his
in less than a week
."

"Nope you're not leaving, I have handcuffs."

A lady at the other end of the counter turned around and looked at them like they were crazy. Then
she
waddled away
with
her
cart while looking over
her
shoulder a
t them
.

He kissed
her
on
her
forehead and said. "Honey t
his
is only enough food for a couple of days. Remember there will be several men in and out
of the house
. We'll probably have half the Marshals office here when they find out we're cooking shrimp."

"I'm in such a good mood, I could cook all day. I feel great."

"I'm sure glad you
feel
better, and it shows in your eyes."

"My noggin hurts but I feel I have all the drugs out of my system. I'm okay as long as I don't bend over,
that
's when it hurts the most, when the blood rushes to my head."

Mike put on
his
John Wayne impersonation. He put
his
hands on
his
hips and then walked like John Wayne. "Well little lady, if you need to bend over to get stuff, just call me ….
and
I'll watch."

She
smacked
his
arm and said. "You butt."

They paid for the groceries and they acted silly going to the car. Both pushed overloaded baskets. He jokingly play
ed
bumper carts
with
her
. He rolled
his
head back
with
laughter watching
her
.
She
grunted trying to push and pull
her
cart. The entire time
her
tongue
stuck
out as if
that
would
help. He easily moved
his
with
one arm. Every few feet he
made a point to
bump
her
cart pushing it back to where
she
started.

She
whined. "Mike
that
's not fair I have heavier groceries than you. I think we should trade carts."

"Do you
really
think
that
would
help?" But he did take
her
cart and pull it.

They
loaded
the groceries in the back of the SUV, laughing, when all of a sudden
she
started sneezing. Between sneezes
she
noticed someone sitting in a car. There he
was
, the mystery man staring right at
her
, t
hree rows over
from
her
right
.
She
screamed for Mike to see. "Mike there's the man, and he's in
that
black car."
She
pointed at the car.

The man took off immediately. He drove off like a mad man and almost ran over several people and cars. Mike ran after him, but the man got away. He ran several isles over but couldn't catch him. "
That
was
totally unexpected. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine did you get a look at him and did you get a license plate?"

"I only saw him a little, and honey he didn't look like anything you described. How in the hell did he know we were here? I worked every maneuver I
was
trained to do to detect anyone following me …." He paused
and thought for a minute
. "…. He must have some kind of tracking device planted on the one of us." He made a phone call to Raymond. "
Lana
and I will be there in about fifteen minutes. I want you to call the tech department and have someone come to the beach house to run a sweep. We just saw the guy at the grocery store, and there is no way he
would
know we
'd
be there unless he tracked us. Also call Shop Rite and see if they have any roof cameras." Mike's face changed from
his
happy go lucky, to cop mode.
His
eyes hardened.

Raymond wrote down all the orders Mike asked. "I'll call them and have I'll have them come right away. One more thing, I called all the TV stations to get their coverage of the police department. They won't give it to us unless we grant them an exclusive. I checked
with
the police department and no cameras
faced the media or th
e far side of the street. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Copy
that
." The most important task for Mike is to get
Lana
back to the beach house. Mike knew
his
guys
would
know what to do to protect
her
. From t
his
point on
his
only concern
was
to take care of
Lana
.

*****

"Mike, do you mind if I s
tart breakfast?"

"Of course, and I can't wait." He reached over to kiss
her
. Then to tease
her
and blew a fart on
her
neck.

All the men held their noses
. "What's
that
smell?"
Her
face turned red and
she
didn't know why.
She
decided having these guys around
was
like having little brothers
always tormenting
her
.

She
got busy mixing
the batter for the pancakes
. The sautéing of the mushrooms, onions, peppers, and ham for the omelet got started.
She
put the bacon in the oven to cook. The coffee
and sweat tea
was
mad
e. A dozen eggs were whipped
and seasoned for scrambling. The onions were sautéed for hash browns. Then
she
poured herself some coffee
with
cream and savored those few moments.

The guys walked in the kitchen smelling the aroma
,
making excuses to be in there. Joe's excuse
was
to catch
Lana
if
she
fainted. Mike's excuse
was
to cut up the veggies. Raymond's excuse
was
to get some coffee.

Everyone got quiet when the crew came in to run the sweep. In a short five minutes,
she
heard a
beep.
She
didn't have to be told what
that
meant. To find out what all the commotion
was
about,
she
peeked in the bedroom.
They had
found a little chip
in
her
purse
. "Did you find
the tracking devise
?"
She
asked as
she
looked at the men.

"Yes." Mike's
face turned angry. He glanced at Raymond and Joe. The
y had
no doubt now. He
was
after
Lana
. Everyone's heart sank. They were trained to handle problems.
Lana
was
n't.

"He knows everyplace we've been?"
She
saw the looks the guys gave each other, and
she
saw Mike's eyes harden. Worry
was
written all over their faces.

"I'm assuming he knows everywhere we've been. Honey, I want you to think real hard and try to remember how you know t
his
guy. Think about anyone
that
might have made you feel uncomfortable in the last week or so.
Was
there anyone who got close to your purse?"

She
thought for a minute, wringing
her
hands. "Mike I don't remember. I've bumped into many people the past several days, and I don't remember where I saw
his
face, I just don't remember."

Mike motioned
for
the team
to leave and
finish their sweep in the living room. "Okay guys ke
ep sweeping and let me know if
you find anything else." Mike waited for them to leave. "Baby, I know you're upset, but it's important to remember where you know t
his
man. Do you know him from home or here?"

"I don't remember. I wish I could remember." Tears dripped down
her
cheek.

"Let's get some food in you and we'll go from there, how does
that
sound?"

"It sure won't hurt."
She
was
totally confused to why anyone
would
want to follow
her
.

*****

"T
his
food is so good Ms. Andrews, thank you so much." The guys loved breakfast.

"You're welcome,"
she
answered not concentrating.
She
knew t
his
guy from somewhere, but where. For some reason
she
felt overwhelmed and excused herself and walked into the bedroom. Tears flowed uncontrollably.
She
was
mad at herself
because
she
couldn't
remember.

After a few minutes when
Lana
didn't return, Mike left to check on
her
. Once they found the tracking device he noticed Lana's demeanor changed. He slowly opened the door and saw
her
crying. It broke
his
heart. "Babe, are you okay?"

She
gave him a hug and sobbed.

He just held
her
for a few minutes. "Just let it all out
, baby
."

Her
entire body
was
drained and
it shook
uncontrollably,
she
didn't think
she
had an ounce of anything left.

He just held
her
and rubbed
her
back trying to sooth
her
.

She
never fel
t so helpless. "Mike,
I need to tell you something
,"
she
said while looking into
his
eyes, still crying. "I never told you the reason I had to get away. Why I left Tennessee."

He didn't know what
was
coming but he didn't want to act surprised either.
His
gut told him
she
was
about to tell him about an old boyfriend who
had
st
alked
her
for five years
. "Continue honey."

"A few weeks ago my cousin died of a massive heart attack. We were very close and our entire family is close.
His
death
was
devastating to
us all
.
His
wife Sharon had
his
breathing machine turned off, and I held
his
hand while
his
heart stopped. I could feel
his
last heart beat through my fingers. All t
his
happened less than four weeks ago." The tears kept coming.

Mike sat there and listened.
Her
words cut
his
heart like a knife. He also held
his
wife's hand when
she
died.