CL Hart -From A Distance (30 page)

"You don't have to pay me, Kathy. I want to help."

"Maybe you should wait until you hear what I'm going to ask."

The trolley pulled into the next station as Kenzie put her request to Flora. Cori listened intently, a little surprised at how easily Kenzie invented a plausible story about their predicament. When the trolley stopped, so did their conversation. Kenzie leaned against the window looking at each departing passenger.

Cobra stepped from the fourth car back, but he did not immediately turn in their direction.

"Is he there?" Cori asked.

"Yeah, but he's not moving." Kenzie narrowed her eyes and rubbed at her forehead as she tried to figure out what he was doing.

"What do you mean, 'he's not moving'?"

"He's just standing there... Wait. There he goes. He's checking the third car. But he's taking too long, the trolley only stops for-" On cue there was a faint chime, signaling their departure. Kenzie watched as Cobra had to hustle, jumping through the closing doors of the third car.

Kenzie leaned back in her seat and breathed a sigh of relief when the trolley pulled out of the station. "He didn't make it. He's on the third car now."

"Leaving one car between us." Cori's heart was beating hard against her chest. No one had to be told that the next stop was going to be the end of the line, especially if Kenzie's plan didn't work.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Flora?" Cori asked.

"My cousin, she too found herself on the run from an abusive husband." Flora leaned forward and patted Cori's forearm in understanding. "The family was there to help, and if they were all here now... Well, I'm sure you get the picture. I want to help."

Cori returned Flora's reassuring smile. "I don't know how to thank you. It's been a long and frightening journey, but the whole time we were in Mexico, everyone was so helpful and kind. It seems as if every time we've been in real trouble, someone has come to our rescue. And if they couldn't help, they had a friend who could."

"Or a cousin," Kenzie mumbled, her eyes shut, her head resting against the window as the trolley glided down the track.

Cori stole a concerned glance at Kenzie, "Or a cousin," she echoed, and then turned back to Flora. "It's something the rest of us could take a page from. When did we all stop being courteous and helpful?"

"People are too busy these days. In Mexico things are slower, and life is more appreciated." Flora leaned over further and whispered to Cori, "Is your friend going to be okay? She doesn't look very good."

It was not something that Cori didn't already know. Kenzie's condition looked to be deteriorating by the minute.

"I'm fine," Kenzie said. "I'm just...tired. Once we get to San Diego, everything will be okay."

"She'll be okay," Cori said, more to convince herself than to reassure Flora.

"Well, the next stop is Palomar Street, my stop, and we're almost there," Flora said, looking out the window.

Kenzie slowly opened her eyes and focused hard on Flora's face. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"You don't worry about me, I can handle myself. Once I'm off the trolley, I'll be okay. It's a busy stop and there will be loads of people around, what with the end of shift and the afternoon rush and all." Flora leaned over to look out the window as she felt the trolley beginning to slow. "See what I mean?"

Cori and Kenzie turned in their seats to scan the approaching station. Flora was right. The area around the station was crowded with people.

"And look, there are some of the boys heading back to Fleet Street."

"Fleet Street?" Cori asked as she tried to look past Kenzie.

"San Diego is home to the United States Pacific Fleet" Flora said matter-of-factly. "You couldn't be safer than with all these Marines around."

Kenzie looked at Cori and a smile slowly spread across her face.

A large group of young men was gathering on the platform, waiting for the trolley to pull into the station. It was obvious from their short-cropped hair and clean-cut clothing of khakis and polo shirts, that they were Navy boys. They were loud and boisterous having a good time, laughing and joking.

The trolley slowed to a stop and Kenzie stood up. She quickly handed her windbreaker and pinata to Flora. Stepping into the aisle, Kenzie joined the rest of the passengers disembarking in the afternoon rush. Cori slid over to Kenzie's vacated seat and pressed her head against the window. Her heart was pounding and her stomach instantly did a flip-flop when she spotted Cobra stepping off the trolley. She watched as he waited, his eyes constantly moving over the passengers as they exited. When most of the people had departed, he turned and made his way to the front steps of their trolley. Cori swallowed hard as she slid back to her original seat.

The group of military personnel made their way into the trolley. There were only a few seats left, so most of them had to stand. No one paid much attention to the thick-necked man who entered the front of the trolley car.

The only thing between Cori and Cobra was the group of Navy boys.
Okay, now or never.
The moment Cobra spotted her, Cori jumped to her feet. Bumping hard into one of the young Naval recruits, she clung to his muscled arm. She turned and stared heatedly into the dark eyes of her adversary. The moment he stepped toward her, Cori cried out with fear, "Oh God, no, please don't hurt me again." She pushed herself deeper into the tightly bunched throng of sailors.

Cobra's face showed no emotion as he moved down the aisle toward Cori.

"Please don't let him hurt me again." Cori grabbed one of the sailor's biceps as she hid behind him. Two of the young sailors who were sitting rose to their feet, blocking Cobra's path. "I'm not going back with you," she cried, her tears of fear cementing her case.

The boys of honor circled around the young woman, standing up against the thick-necked man approaching her. A young seaman named David McGary, born and raised in New Orleans, was the first one to speak out. "You heard her, buddy, back off," he said as Cobra approached. Seaman McGary had a younger sister around Cori's age, and in fact, they did look a little alike - minus the bruises on Cori's face.

"This has got nothing to do with you...boy." The muscles in Cobra's neck tightened as he emphasized the last word. "I never laid a hand on her. This is just business."

"He's my ex-boyfriend. Please don't let him hurt me again, I-I don't want to go with him," Cori croaked out as she moved further away from Cobra, putting more sailors between them.

"You heard her, buddy. She isn't going anywhere with you," Seamen McGary said as he stepped closer to Cobra, followed quickly by his brothers in arms. The show of force heightened the tension in the trolley car. "I suggest you back off, and take the next trolley in another direction."

Cobra studied the man in front of him, knowing that even with the sailor's youth and strength he was no match for someone with his own experience and expertise. Then Cobra's eyes scanned the rest of the sailors. His gun was within reach, but he quickly calculated the outcome, and the damage control that would necessarily follow. He knew LeGault had outplayed him again. That realization raised another question, a more pressing question.
Where the hell is she?

The bell chimed, signaling the closing of the doors, but somebody hit the door release button and the doors slammed open.

"That's your cue to leave, buddy, and it's no longer a suggestion." Seaman McGary was not looking for trouble, but he was not going to avoid it, either. He stepped forward, moving closer to the woman's ex-boyfriend. "Get off the trolley!"

Cobra was still trying to decide what his best options were when he spotted Kenzie's dark curly hair moving swiftly outside the window of the trolley. Leaning over one of the benches, he could see the emerald green windbreaker in her hand. It was all he needed to know.

"I'll deal with you later," Cobra said, barely giving Cori a glance as he rushed for the open door.

"Oh my God." The words came out with a sigh of honest relief. Cori covered her mouth and took another deep breath. Her entire body was shaking as she watched Cobra disappear from her sight.

"Let's go, guys." Seaman McGary was on the move right behind Cobra. "Let's make sure he stays off this trolley and away from her." It was all his comrades needed to hear, and the sailors started for the doors.

One of the sailors who stood closest to Cori turned and looked her in the eye. "Are you going be okay, Miss?"

"Yes, and thank you. Thank you all so very much. You probably just saved my life."

"Not a problem. I'm glad we were here to help." The young sailor bowed and tipped an imaginary hat.

She smiled as he rushed down the aisle to catch up with his friends. Cobra was gone, and now all she and Kenzie had to do was to make it to the sailboat in San Diego.
Kenzie...

The doors to the trolley closed behind the last young sailor as he ran to catch up with his buddies, who were following behind the abusive ex-boyfriend. The man was now following a woman carrying a pinata.

When he was close enough, Cobra put his hand on his gun, then reached out and grabbed hold of the arm holding the emerald green windbreaker. He spun her around and glared into the woman's surprised face.

"Not who you were expecting?" Flora said in a condescending tone.

"What the-?" he said as she smiled and pulled her arm out of his grasp.

"What are you doing there, buddy?" Seaman McGary put himself between Cobra and the woman in the windbreaker. "You going to rough her up next?"

Cobra looked back at the trolley as it pulled out of the Palomar Street station, and he sighed loudly. She had outfoxed him again. He turned back to the young men who surrounded him and threw up his hands in surrender. There was a time not too long ago that he would have loved to take them all on, but he was a little wiser now, and a little slower. It didn't take an Einstein to know when to walk away and when to run, so he did just that. Taking off like a jackrabbit in winter, Cobra sprinted down Palomar Street with twelve angry sailors right behind him. They caught up to him after only a few hundred yards.

Chapter 13

The doors of the trolley slammed shut and the passengers on the first car began to settle down for the ride into San Diego. The moment of excitement was over and they no longer paid much attention to Cori. Moving down the aisle toward the stairwell at the front of the trolley, she was happy to see Kenzie ducked out of sight, waiting for her.

"He's gone," she said as she knelt down. "Your plan worked." Kenzie smiled slowly. "You say that like you had doubts."

"It was beyond doubt; I was scared shitless." The tone of her voice reinforced the truth of her words as she studied Kenzie's face. "You don't look very good." She stood up and offered Kenzie her hand.

"I'm just tired, that's all," Kenzie said, though she knew it was more than that. Apparently she was not fooling Cori. She studied Cori's concerned features and then took the helping hand and pulled her exhausted body off the steps.

"You keep saying that, but we both know it's not the truth," Cori said as they now stood eye-to-eye.

The intense scrutiny was more than Kenzie wanted to endure. Her head was throbbing and she felt weak with fatigue. She moved past Cori and made her way back down the aisle. She was thankful their original seats were still empty as she sat down. She didn't have to look to know that Cori was right beside her. "Do you think Flora will be okay?"

Kenzie rested her head against the window and closed her eyes. "Yeah. He's not after her, he's after us. Besides...he's going to have his hands full with those Navy boys."

"I can't believe she was so willing to help us."