The Protector (45 page)

“She’s not mine, Eric. And she’s not yours.” I emphasized the last part probably too much. “She belongs to herself.  It is up to her to decide what she wants and frankly if that’s not you, that is her choice.” I didn’t include myself in there strictly to infuriate him all the more. But I knew that her decisions were her own to make and her future decisions may not include me either.  “We are leaving tomorrow, she is going with us until this mess is straightened out and I am afraid there is nothing you can do about it.”  His back was now turned to me and I could not gauge the expression on his face.  “I’m going back upstairs. I will ask you this, please do not let on you know that she is being protected. It not only puts you in danger but it puts the federal authorities who are now in charge of protecting her in danger as well.”  I said this for my two comrades, whose job it was now to protect her, from anyone who would want to hurt her and that included me. 

I began to walk away, but turned back around when I heard him call my name.  He looked defeated and sad.  “Will you promise to keep her safe?”

“Yes,” I responded. That was something I could live with giving him. I would keep her safe.

“Will you promise to let her come back to me?” I saw a faint glimmer of hope as he looked from me to Joed. 

“No.”  There was no need to explain my answer to him.  I walked back into the hotel and took the elevator to our room. 

             
I heard the shower as soon as I opened the door to her room.  I was disappointed at not being able to go to her and hold her in my arms once again.  It was all I could think of when we were on the plane back from DC.  Every part of my body wanted her next to me.  I walked into the room where Noor sat on the bed, her legs crossed.  The red head looked like a kindergarten teacher sitting there. 

“She wanted to take a shower. She’s a little worried about what happened downstairs. Is the man still alive?”  I could see she was making a feeble attempt at joking, but she was completely serious all in the same breath.

“Yeah. I told him we were leaving. He’ll probably want to talk to her before then.”

Noor only nodded.

“She probably needs to talk to him doesn’t she?”  Again the red head only nodded. “He’s wrong for her,” I finished.  I waited from some sarcastic response to my comment from Noor but it didn’t come. She only sat there thinking to herself.

I had not heard the shower turn off, nor did I hear her come into the room.  She had a large towel wrapped around her body and her hair was dripping wet against her shoulder. “That’s not for you to decide Jack.”  Her voice was hoarse and strained. She turned and went back into the bathroom. She did not give me a chance to respond and even if I could have there was nothing I could say to her. She was right.

Within minutes, Joed was back in the room with Noor and I and we listened quietly as Alison dried her hair. There were no words spoken as we all sat there contemplating what needed to happen next. I knew I needed to sit down and talk to Alison alone, and I was pretty confident that I would be able to with one simple request.  Problem was, I still didn’t know what I was going to say to her. 

I heard the hair dryer turn off and I got up to walk into the attached room.  “We are going to get some lunch Jack,”  I turned and glanced at Noor who was now standing.  Joed was already by the door holding it open for the red head. He said nothing.

Alison sat on the bed now, in jeans and a t shirt.   Her hair was down sitting gently on her shoulders.  Her eyes were tired and I knew it was from more than just the events of the run. I knew she was tired of running and tired of this whole ordeal.  I wanted to let her know it would soon be over and she could get on with her life.  She could hopefully go back to work and maybe even start a new life.  I was honestly relieved that the new life would not be here in Oregon with Eric. I was pretty sure, that was over.

I stood in the doorway my shoulder leaning on the door frame and my arms crossed.  She looked amazingly beautiful as always.  The t-shirt she had chosen was green and it matched her eyes which were even more intense.  They were emerald in color now and stood out against her soft brown hair.  I could tell she had been crying in the shower.  A sudden wave of guilt washed over me as I sat waiting for her happy in the next room, she had been shedding tears. 

I wanted to walk over to her and sit next to her but I didn’t. I wanted her to say something first and I didn’t have to wait long.

“Is Eric still downstairs?”  Her hands sat on her legs in front of her and she did not look up at me as she asked her question.

“I don’t know. I doubt it.”  It was the truth. I had left him standing next to his car angry. 

“I need to go and talk to him,” she said quietly still not looking at me. “I need to set things straight.”  A ball of dismal gloom welled up in my stomach as she finished her sentence, but I did not let her see my disappointment. I knew she had to see him and talk to him, I just was hoping deep down she would let it go.  I also knew it was wishful thinking on my part.

“You could always call him,” A smile crossed my lips and I tilted my head., and I watched as her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

“Jack! You selfish son of a,” I didn’t let her finish her words before I was standing in front of her. I lifted her off the bed and stared into her eyes.

“I am selfish,” I whispered cutting her off
mid-sentence
. “I don’t want you to see him, to be in the same room with him, or any of the above.  He is not what you want, so why are you still trying to convince yourself he is.”

I could have sworn at that moment, that her eyes turned a brilliant shade of red. But as I stared intently into them, they were still the emerald color that made me want her even more.

“What do you know about what I want?” She said this through clenched teeth and it was almost a growl rather than a calm statement.

I took a deep breath and tried to think about what I was going to say to her.  But the words would not come easily. I knew she didn’t want him, but that was all I knew. I wanted her to want me, but that wasn’t realistic considering the circumstances at hand.

Suddenly all was interrupted as Noor and Joed flew through the door with horror stricken faces. 

“Let’s go,” I heard Joed yell as he walked in.  He quickly grabbed the suitcase out of the closet and threw it in my direction effortlessly. “Make it quick.”  I could hear Noor throwing things hastily in her bag.

Alison’s eyes were wide with questions.

“What the hell is going on?” I questioned the two as they frantically raced around the room throwing things into the bags.

“He’s down stairs on the phone with the cops claiming you kidnapped Alison.  Look we made it look like we left you two here. The car is in the parking lot down the street.  We’ll go out the back.”  Joed was frantically moving through the room, grabbing anything and everything personal and throwing it into a bags and suitcases.  

Alison stood there shocked and confused. “FBI, kidnapping? Didn’t anyone explain to him what was really going on?”   Joed looked at me in disbelief, Noor’s look wasn’t different and she didn’t wait for me to answer Alison. 

“It doesn’t matter Alison. We need to go.” Noor grabbed her arm and tried to gently guide her to the door. I grabbed my Yankees cap and both our backpacks.

“No.” Her voice was firm and stubborn. “NO, I will not have you all hunted down!” Noor took a step closer to her and went to grab her arm again.

“Alison, this isn’t the time. We can handle ourselves,
let’s
go!” 

“No,” she said again. This time she turned to Joed who stood the closest to the door. “I will grab my things, and go out the front door under my own power.”

“And when he tries to stop you Sonny? What then? What are you going to say?”  I could tell from Noor’s face, she was in full agreement with me. I wanted to get her the hell out of Dodge and if that meant running out the back then so be it.

But Joed watched her and he seemed to understand her reasoning. He took a step away from the door and walked toward Alison. “Wait. Maybe this way is better. Let’s be rational.  He sees her leave on her own free will and we can get out of here without bringing anyone else into the picture, especially local law enforcement.” I could tell the wheels were turning in the Israeli’s head.

“He’ll try and stop you,” I almost shouted throwing my hands up.  I was afraid he would try and stop her and
somehow
convince her once again that she belonged with him. I was not afraid of anything else, but that.

“And he won’t stop me, Jack.  Look,” She paused and looked at Noor who now stood there motionless.  “Noor can go with me so it looks like I am still under protective custody, which I am right? You and Joed head out the back and we will meet you somewhere. I can end this here and now,” she stopped and looked at me this time. “if you let me.” She finally finished.  “I leave now and he is going to get not only local and state law enforcement involved, he will alert
whoever
it is that is looking for me.” Thoughts of Mike raced through my head.  That was the last thing we needed. It would ruin everything, Seth, Joed and I had set up in DC. 

It was Joed who spoke next. “Her way will cause the least problems.  Are you ready to go Alison? Noor go with her and head South down toward California. Alison, tell him something to ease his pain. He’s a man. His ego is hurt because you have chosen Jack over him.”  It was the first time that Joed had really recognized what was going on between Alison and I.

Alison grabbed her belongs and headed to the door, a strange complex look came across her face. She stopped and turned to me. “You are right, you know. He will beg me to stay. But I have made my choice.”   She turned back to Noor, “come on let’s get this over with.”  The two women headed out the door and Joed and I grabbed the rest of our belongings. 

26
Don’t Worry, I Won’t

The door closed behind us. When I knew Jack wasn’t following us, I leaned against the wall for support.

“You are smarter than I give you credit for sometimes.” I felt Noor’s hand on my shoulder. I was fine but I needed to gather my thoughts and my senses before I headed downstairs to talk to Eric. “Do you need your inhaler?”

“I’m fine.”  I stood up and smiled at her. “Just gathering my thoughts.”  I walked past the elevator and to the stairs.  I bounded down them as fast as I could with my suitcase and my backpack in hand.  I pushed through the stairwell door into the hallway and headed toward the lobby where I was sure I would find Eric. 

“Alison!” I heard Noor call my name. I turned my head quickly to see where she was and she was running up behind me. “Slow down!” 

“I have to get this over with Noor. Now!”  I didn’t slow my pace.  I walked directly into the lobby and almost into a wall of police officers who had gathered with Eric. 

“Eric?” I acted surprised as I looked around and recognized a few of his friends. He looked around my small frame for whoever was following me.  Noor had caught up and stood behind me.

“Gentlemen.  Agent Noor Hakeem,” I watched as she quickly flashed her badge. “FBI.” 

Eric’s face grew serious.  “Where’s the rest of your entourage?” His tone was icy and sarcastic.

“She’s in my custody, not the gentlemen who were accompanying us for extra security. They are returning to DC.”

Noor was not going to give me a chance to talk. I knew her goal was to get me out of the hotel and into the car.  But my mind was set. I needed to talk to Eric.  “Noor, Can I have a minute with Eric before we leave.”  I did not take my eyes off of Eric as I asked.  It really wasn’t a question of permission, it was more of a statement of what I was going to do whether she approved or not.  A Sergeant, saw the contempt in Eric’s eyes and touched his shoulder.

“Agent Hakem, can you answer a few questions for us.  Eric here seems to think you and your friends have kidnapped this young lady.”

I didn’t look back at Noor as I knew she could handle herself easily in this crowd. The woman had power and it wasn’t the kind that came from a government entity. She had a unique power over men. She could easily convince them that this was not the case.  The crowd slowly dispersed and that left Eric and I alone.  “Shall we?”  I pointed to an empty sitting area a few feet away.  

He followed me, I could tell reluctantly.  His eyes were full of rage. I knew that the rage was covering up the hurt he was probably feeling and I was about to make it worse. I stayed standing and took a step closer to him as he stayed a few feet back.  “I have not been kidnapped. I am in protective custody for something that happened in Tel Aviv. I am not under arrest and I am not with a bunch of people posing as FBI agents.” However at this point, I wasn’t quite sure who they worked for.

He tilted his head, his face still full of anger. “Why did you come here, with them?”  

“Honestly, we needed to stay out of site and they wanted me some place where I was comfortable. I suggested here, I really did want to see you.”

“I don’t get it.” He shook his head in disbelief.  “You came all the way here to hide?”  He took a seat in the chair and buried his head in his hands.  After a few seconds he looked up at me.