FlakJacket (8 page)

Jordan looked over the seating arrangement for the dinner tonight; she would be with him. He had a thought; he ran upstairs to her room and rifled through her backpack. There was a small journal in it filled with her handwriting. It would be a gross invasion of her privacy on his behalf; it might mean the difference between her life and her death, however, and it was in his hands now. He tapped it over and over against his other hand, and then he reluctantly put it back without opening the cover. As he turned to leave the room, he found Madison watching him from the doorway, her eyes wide.

He paused before he said, “You’re home.”

“I am.” She challenged him. “Did you read it?”

“No. I found I couldn’t betray you like that, even if it meant I was putting your life in danger.” He met her eyes fearlessly, handing her the journal. She knew he wasn’t lying to her, thank God. She walked to him, reaching out to take it as she murmured softly, “Thank you.”

She tried to move away from him, but his hand caught her. “I wanted to. I told you I’m no saint,”
Witch
—
his witch
.

“I know you have questions.”

“Let’s start with the marks on your lower back and ass.” He became the interrogator. “You were whipped. Those white scars say that your skin was cut over and over.”

He must have seen them when she was in the bath. She swallowed the memory and debated how much to say. “You’re very observant. I was whipped in Jordan for being a witch, but the man who was meting out the punishment was scared to death of me. You see, I didn’t cry, not one tear even though the pain was excruciating. If I were a mere woman, he said, I would have cried. He called me the white witch from a myth of his people.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds, remembering that awful time, but opened them again in disgust. “He had thrown his daughter out on the street because she had been with a man. I championed her and offered myself for her punishment. She was only sixteen. He couldn’t complete my punishment because he was frozen in fear. He dropped the whip, and no other man in the village would pick it up. That’s how I got my name—
the white witch
.”

“I see.” Jordan knew that the punishments of his land would look barbaric to the Western world.

“No man has touched me, Jordan—until you.” She threw the gauntlet down. “You know I’m telling you the truth.

“And the three men who abducted you and drugged you?”

“I don’t really know what happened that night. I was with my friends; three men came up to me that I didn’t know, and they pulled me out of the party. I fought with them, but I could do little. I think someone had put something in my drink because everything became a blur. If they had wanted to rape me, they could have, but they didn’t. I never understood why they didn’t or what they wanted with me.” Jordan thought again that her abduction had more to do with stripping her of her aura and letting people think that she had been raped—tainting her reputation. A second thought came to him.

“They might have been taking you to someone, Madison, a person who had paid them to abduct you. They were unable to make the trade with this person, and they dumped you. That is a mystery that I will solve, but I am thankful that they were unable to complete the transaction.” He hesitated to ask his next questions. Why are all these people coming after you? Can you think of anything?”

I know the future, she thought, and I will have a child of great power.

Her brows puckered, she dropped her eyes, and Jordan knew she was hiding something from him. “I sometimes see things.”

“Sometimes?” He straightened, remembering her when he first saved her. “You knew me when I saved you in Jordan, didn’t you?” It was said with some wonder in his voice.

“I did. I could never forget your face, but my vision didn’t say you would save me, just that you would enter my life. It made me very afraid; I thought you might be my future killer. You’re very intimidating, Jordan.” She wanted to tell him she would bear his child soon, but she didn’t know how he would react, so she said nothing. Perhaps he was just to be the seed. She didn’t know.

“Have you seen other parts of my life?” he asked. She hesitated to answer, but finally nodded, and he stepped back from her.

Her chin came up. “Are you afraid of me now, Jordan, because I see things?”

He smiled his funny little smile. “No. But I will curb your recklessness and bring you to heel. You will struggle with that, so make sure that you really want my protection. If I take your body again, I won’t settle for less than all of you—and that will include your obedience. Think about that.” He had no idea from where that had come. He put his lips on her forehead, pulling away as he said, “Enough of this—we have an event for which to prepare. But then we WILL talk, about everything.” He turned her and pushed her towards his room.

“My room is upstairs.”

He glared at her. “Not after last night. Make sure I find you where you belong; you will not like me if I have to come and fetch you. Go and get a bath, and I’ll get your clothing, your backpack, and your laptop and move it.” There was shock in her gaze, but she turned obediently to do his bidding. Why couldn’t she see the future now? What was she going to be to him?

T
he two of them entered the ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel. Madison was dressed in an off the shoulder full skirted gown that skimmed her body and flared gently over her hips. The color was black, offsetting the strawberry red of her hair. She wore it pulled up on the top of her head in an elegant swirl, and dangling earrings completed her look. She chatted amiably with some of the other guests at the affair, shaking hands and smiling sweetly. Underneath that beauty, there were brains. He stood just to her right, making note of anyone who looked her way. His tux complemented him, his presence off-setting to some.

“Jordan. I didn’t know you would be here this evening.” A beautiful, dark-haired woman caught his hands and kissed his cheek. Madison took note, but said nothing.

“Myrna. It’s good to see you again. How is David?”

“He’s good; he’s here looking to speak to this young lady.” Her eyes went to Madison who was standing nearby. “She’s a true beauty, isn’t she?”

“She is lovely.”

“You’re her close protection tonight?”

“That—and other things.”

Myrna’s eyelids went up. “Are you two a couple, then?”

Madison waited breathlessly for his reply, but he didn’t address the question. “Let me introduce you.” He pulled on Madison’s arm and turned her. “Myrna, this is Madison Kelly. Madison—this is Myrna Thompson, an old family friend. Her husband and I went to graduate school together.” A tall man approached the three of them and looked Madison up and down, quite frank in his approval.

“Well done, old man. She’s beautiful. I thought everyone was kidding about her. She doesn’t look like a witch though, does she?” And he laughed.

Jordan thought of the spell she had put on him. “It depends on what one looks for in a
witch
, I would say.”  

“Gentlemen, I am standing right here.” Madison said.

“I’d love to talk with you later, if I may?” She nodded. “Any pronouncements for me? I love fortune tellers.” That was David’s question, and he was teasing.

A vision flashed before her eyes, unbidden, and she stared at him for a minute or two. Her voice was low when she spoke. “You will be a father before the year is out.” Madison’s eyes twinkled as she watched the expressions flit over his face, one chasing another. The most prominent one was fear.

He swallowed hard. “Is she often right about things, Jordan?” David looked exceptionally nervous.

“I would consider what she says if I were you.” David pulled his wife to him, his eyes asking the question he couldn’t seem to put into words. Jordan pulled Madison away with a stern grip. “That was unkind; David doesn’t want children for a long time.”

“He will be a father by Christmas—a little girl, I believe, and he will love her.”

Confusion reigned on Jordan’s face. “Madison, are you seeing this?” She nodded; he hesitated to ask but stepped boldly forth. “And what are you seeing for us?”

She looked directly at him, her eyes serious, debating what to say, finally giving in to the truth. “We will have a son in the spring.”

“A son. My son?”

“Well, there was that delivery man, so who knows!” She was amused at his discomfort as to whether he should believe her or not. He did not appear to be upset at the thought of a child of his own, and that pleased her.

“Oh, that man, right.” He needed to change the subject quickly. “I guess that means you aren’t on birth control, then.”

“No.”

“I think we should dance.” He pulled her into his arms and began to waltz with her to the music, his mind running in circles with her words. She moved as one with him, and he noted that she often seemed to be inside his head. They had danced around the floor several times when she tensed. “There is danger in this room,” she whispered in this ear. He tightened his hands on her and pulled her away from the ballroom into a side room, shielding her with his body. Her breath was uneven as Jordan drew his gun.

Seconds later, a man crept into the room, a small gun drawn, but Jordan was ready for him. “Drop the gun.” He stepped in front of him, his own gun in evidence. His low voice echoed in the room. There was some hesitation, but the man dropped the weapon. Keeping Madison behind him, Jordan kicked it away. Another man came into the room, a gun also drawn; he worked for Jordan. The caught man made a sudden lunge and pushed past him and through the open doorway; Jordan’s hand caught his man’s arm before he could fire, and he shook his head. “Too crowded. Try to follow him.”

Madison stood where he had left her, shaking. He pulled her to him and held her, pushing her head into his shoulder. “You’re fine.” But he knew she wasn’t fine; the look on her face said so.

“So much fear and hatred when people don’t understand,” she said cryptically.

Later that evening, Jordan checked the guest list to see if a man had entered alone. There were several to follow up. “Hey, man.” David walked up to him. “You don’t believe all that garbage about kids, do you?”

“No. She was just pulling your chain, and you fell for it.” Both men laughed. Jordan didn’t see her standing behind him, her face a mask of pain. She had been fooled again; he didn’t believe her. She was just his latest sexual conquest. Many men wanted her for her ability to see into the future, and the one man she wanted denied her gift. It was time to leave; she needed to get to the house and get her laptop and clothes before Jordan became aware she was gone.

“I’m going to the restroom, Jordan.” He nodded. She left quickly and hailed a cab outside the hotel. Their relationship was finished, and the cards in play. She would go to the closest town, get cash and a rental and be gone. She had a couple of days before her next speech. She needed to get away from this place before she could do that.

Jordan waited for thirty minutes, but he hadn’t seen Madison again. She had gone to the ladies room, and he figured that someone had stopped her on the way out to talk. He caught Myrna and asked her to check on Madison. She came out and told him that Madison wasn’t in the room. Damn. Had she been taken? He alerted his men and pulled out his phone, only to read a cryptic message from her.

What the hell! He called for his car and made a dash for the house, but he already knew she wouldn’t be there. He ran up the porch steps to find the front door unlocked. Racing to the bedroom, he found her things gone, except for the outfits he had gotten her. He traced his steps back to the conversation with David; she must have overheard him. He had stabbed her pretty effectively with his comments, but why would she go? Didn’t she know she wasn’t safe? A check lay on his desk in his office; she had formally ended the relationship.
Like hell she would.

Jordan spent the rest of the night trying to find her, but there were just too many directions she could take. Hell, maybe she had even had somebody pick her up. His men had found and talked with the cab driver that had brought her home. All the cars were still in the garage, so she had to have left on foot initially.
Shit
. She was out there, and it was his fault—once again, he had failed to protect.

Madison continued walking down the small rural road, hoping that a car would pick her up. Hitchhiking was not as safe as it once was, and the night was very dark. She had put hair color in her hair, shampooing it in quickly and dressed in jeans, looking more like a boy than a woman: she needed time. She had gotten one ride, and now was looking for another. A trucker coming down the road saw her huddled form and rolled to a stop; there was a fine mist in the air, and she was very wet. She walked to the door as the window came down. “Where you going, boy?”

“To the next town, sir.”

“Get in.”

Madison climbed up into the cab, and the truck rolled on. “You shouldn’t be out on this back road. It’s not safe for you.”

“I know.” She would offer him nothing.

“You running away from home?”

Madison murmured with a sad smile, “Meeting a friend.”

The trucker said little else, offering her a pack of crackers that lay on his console. “I got a kid about your age. I wouldn’t want him out on a dark night.”

Her mind showed her the scenario that the driver was considering. “Please don’t turn me over to the authorities.” She knew that’s what he intended to do.

He smiled at her. “OK,” but she knew he would. They stopped at a rest stop two hours later, and she disappeared into the night again as soon as she saw the trucker going to order something to eat; she took only a hot cup of coffee from the self-pay machine. She would bed down in the woods for the remainder of the night. She hoped she didn’t upset the driver too much.

Jordan was back home to grab a shower by early morning; he changed his clothes. He hadn’t slept, and he had consumed way too much coffee. There was no sign of her. He had tracked her cell phone only to find that it had been discarded in a waste bin on Route 75; but it did give him an indication of her direction. He would collect it to see what was on it. He drove down that road, his mind all over the place. Her next speaking engagement was in Virginia; he wondered if that’s where she was going.