Reclaiming (5 page)

“What are you doing with that?” She said as her eyes widened. “Are going to hold me hostage and force me to take you Dr. Mallory’s office?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” He replied. He raised his shoulders upward in a shrug. “Don’t you understand?”

“Understand? No. I don’t, Jett. What am I supposed to understand?”

“This…” he said as he looked at the gun.
“…ensures that you are innocent. I
took you
to her office by
force
. If I get arrested in the middle of all this, you have nothing to worry about, Daniella.”

“Jett…” she began as she exhaled.
“No. No way.”

“Why not, Daniella?” He asked. “Everything leads to me. I’m the only one that
goes to jail in this scenario.”

She shook her head and looked at him. The last thing she wanted to do was make yet another dumb choice that involved Jett. She still had trouble even believing he had the balls to show up in the first place.

And now, this?

“Ugh, I don’t know…” Daniella groaned as she turned away from him.

For several seconds, they stood in silence until she heard him place the pistol on her nightstand. After a brief pause, he moved close to her. As she sensed him draw near, her entire body tingled. It seemed like years since she’d seen him last. There was no way to ignore the emotion he stirred inside of her. His hands slipped around her waist. An unconscious moan emitted from her lips as he grasped her curves.

“Daniella,” he whispered. “You were the only person that’s helped me and believed in me throughout all of this. I promise that if you do this one thing for me, I will never trouble you again. If I don’t at least try, I will go to prison. Dr. Mallory is the only chance I’ve got.”

Daniella dropped her head a bit. As she lingered in her indecision, his scent enveloped her. Beset by weakness for him, she struggled to make a choice. If the police caught him, he would go to prison, probably forever. Deep down she wanted to avoid that any cost. Her shoulders slumped as she turned to face him. His bright emerald green eyes seemed dull from struggle, fatigue and life on the run.

She bit her lower lip. With a furrowed brow she asked,
“Will you give me a day to think it over? I just need to clear my head a little.”

A weary smile came to his face.

“Yes, of course.”

“Will you be okay until then?” she asked.

“Hey, I made it this long, didn’t I? What’s one more day? I’ll come back tomorrow night and you can let me know.”

“Okay.”

She smiled softly and for a moment, silence hung in the air between them. With his right hand, Jett reached up to her left cheek. Daniella’s eyes fluttered closed as she leaned into his gentle caress. For several seconds, he continued to hold her until at last she opened her eyes to see that he’d moved within an inch of her lips.

Daniella gasped for breath and on pure instinct she stammered,
“No Jett, don’t. Please…”

He looked at her and blinked in understanding. His hand fell away from her face and he turned back towards the nightstand to pick up the gun.

He smiled and said, “Thank you, Daniella. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay. See you then…”

Less than a minute later, he slipped out the front door and disappeared back into the night.

***

After a dreadful night’s sleep, Daniella awoke the next morning in a fog of confusion. For a brief instant, she convinced herself she’d imagined the entire thing. That is, until she got up from her bed and saw the restraints and gag strewn about the bedroom floor.

She got on with her morning routine in a robotic fashion until at last she made her way into the kitchen for breakfast. Out of habit, she glanced out the window and noticed to her horror that the police were back once again. She looked away in a hurry.

“Shit!” she exclaimed.

She pressed her back against the refrigerator and a wave of dread washed over her. Had they figured out he
’d been there? If they knew, she was big trouble and it was a matter of time before they hauled her off to jail. She swallowed hard and peaked through a slight opening in the curtains.

She strained to get a good look but from her vantage point it didn
’t appear anyone was in the vehicle. No matter how hard she tried to get a clear line of sight, it was impossible. As the seconds ticked by, it became more difficult for her to breathe. Her hands trembled as her mind concocted the worst outcome imaginable.

“Calm down, Daniella. Jesus…” she said in a firm voice. “If they were going to do anything, they would have done it. You’ll be fine.
Shhh…”

But just as the positive affirmations started to have the desired effect, there was a loud knock at the front door. The sound startled her. She let out a scream and then almost as quickly, she covered her mouth with her palm.

“Coming!” She stammered.

As Daniella made her way to the front door, her legs felt like fleshy noodles. All but convinced her last remaining moments of freedom were upon her, she walked across her apartment when a second,
much louder
knock echoed in the air. Finally, she reached the door, grasped the knob and turned it. She winced as she pulled the door open fully expecting the feel of cold, hard steel against the flesh of her wrists.

But instead of two Pine Hill sheriffs, it was Marlon who stood in her doorway. Caught completely off guard, Daniella shook her head.

“Marlon?” She said. “What are you doing here?”

Taken aback by her disheveled state, he replied,
“Well, I… I found it last night when I went by the bar to pick up my tips. I figured you’d want it. Sorry for just dropping by like this. I would have called first but you didn’t give me your number.” He raised his right hand and produced her missing earring.

Daniella struggled to process it all.

“I… uh… thanks.” She muttered as she took the jewelry from his hand.

He leaned away from her.
“Everything okay? You look… pale. Almost like you are about to pass out or something.”

“What?” She said. “Pass out? No, I… I’m fine. I just thought you were
someone else is all.”

“Oh. Well, okay.” He said.

Silence fell between them as Daniella fidgeted with the earring.

“Well I should probably get going,” he said. “I was on my way to work and I figured I’d take a chance to stop by and see if you were here.”

Daniella refocused her attention on him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything.” She said. “It’s just been a crazy morning is all.”

“No worries; I understand.”

“Thanks for bringing my earring by; it’s one of my favorites. I thought I’d never see it again.”

“Sure thing.” He replied as he backed away from her. “Glad I could do it. Maybe you could make it up to me sometime?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, my friends are having a pool party later this week. Any interest?”

“Later this week?”

Marlon nodded. “Whatdya think?”

“Well, it sounds like fun but I can’t. I’m sorry…”

“That’s okay. I’m not much of a swimmer anyway.” He said as he kicked a small stone across the hall. “What about Saturday, are you free?”

“No, this week is really bad for me.” She replied. “Give me your number. I’ll give you a call when things settle down a bit and we can talk about it then. How does that sound?”

He shrugged. “That’s all I’m gonna get right now anyway isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Sorry…”

“Ahh, that’s alright,” he said. “Tell you what, give me your number right now and I’ll call your cell. That way you’ll have mine.”

“Okay, that sounds good.” She replied as she reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone.

After they’d exchanged numbers, Marlon turned to leave. “It was nice to see you again, Daniella. I hope that things start to calm down for you soon. It sucks when life is nothing but stressful crap all the time.”

Daniella nodded.
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

She stood in the doorway as he made his way down the stairs and out to his car. After he disappeared from view, she went back into her apartment and closed the door. Now late for work
again
, she hurried back into the kitchen to grab her lunch and her purse. As she did, she took one last peek out the window towards the police car.

Both men were inside, in plain sight.

What the hell was the matter with her? Had she imagined them not being in there before when she looked? Well, whatever the case, the last thing that she needed right now was her mind playing tricks on her.

Daniella drove to work with conflicted thoughts. As prepared as she thought she was to see Jett again and give her a piece of her mind when she did, the truth was she
’d failed miserably when the opportunity arose. Intentionally or not, he’d placed her in an awful position with everyone in her life. She had every right to be angry but when it came right down to it, she didn’t have the willpower to refuse him.

Her car crept to a red light near her office.

Daniella always considered herself to be a fair person. Was it unfair of her to not at least try to help him once more? Sadly, everyone in her life hated Jett so asking for any advice was pointless.

The light changed and she finished the drive into work. Fortunately, the only sanctuary she had during this time was her new job. At least this whole sordid affair hadn
’t contaminated it.

Not yet anyway.

***

Everyone at the office was excited about the upcoming three day weekend. Luckily, Daniella hadn
’t committed herself to anything yet, or at least that she recalled.

Of course, she knew her friends
Candi and Victoria were all too aware of that fact. She was just about certain they would be by to inquire about her plans, never mind her late evening ride home with Marlon the previous night.

As a precaution, Daniella hunkered down in her office as soon as she arrived. She had plenty to keep her busy, most of all the upcoming juvenile diabetes fundraiser.

For a majority of the day, she managed to avoid Candi and and Victoria and stay focused on her work. Aside from the occasional reminder to ‘come by their office on a break’ or meet downstairs at the cafe to ‘catch up’, she’d evaded all direct lines of questioning.

And that was just as well because it seemed like the day raced by. The decision to help Jett or not weighed on her every moment. Unable to stall any longer, she decided if she couldn
’t get an appointment it wouldn’t matter anyway so she called to find out.

After a short conversation with Dr. Mallory
’s answering service she got the confirmation she needed. They scheduled the appointment for first thing Saturday morning. Satisfied she’d done what she promised, Daniella headed back inside to gather up her belongings and get an early start on the three-day weekend. Whether or not she would go through with the appointment was still undecided, but at least the option was available. She came back inside, turned the corner to her desk and stopped dead in her tracks.

“Hmm,” Victoria began. “I think a certain
someone
is avoiding a couple of very concerned and compassionate friends. Would you agree, Candi?”

Candi
crossed her arms. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Daniella cocked her head in their direction.

“Well, maybe a certain
someone
was busy doing something you two might want to consider doing when you come back to the office next week. It’s called work!” Daniella exclaimed. She turned her back towards them and began to pack her bag.

“Daniella!”
Candi whined. “What happened with Marlon?”

She chuckled as she turned back in their direction.
“The two of you are worse than middle schoolers.”

“Uh, excuse me?” Victoria said.

“You heard me.” Daniella replied.

“Well, I for one think it’s pretty rude for a girl to not give any details about the hunky guy that drove her home.” Victoria said.

“Oh yeah?” Daniella asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m all ears.” Daniella said as she raised her eyebrows. “Tell me about him.”

“What? Who?” Victoria asked. Confused, she glanced at
Candi and then back towards Daniella. “What are you talking about Daniella?”

“You just said it was rude to hold back on details.” Daniella replied. “So give me the details of your date.”

“Me!” Victoria shrieked. “I meant you!”

Daniella slung her bag over her shoulder and as the clock struck five, she bolted past her nosy coworkers.

“Not cool, Daniella!” Candi exclaimed as she exited.

“Yeah! We aren’t
gonna forget this!” Victoria shouted.

After a successful avoidance of the gossip mill, Daniella made her way across the parking lot and jumped into her car. She had no idea what time Jett might come by, so if the police were anywhere close by, she needed to know it.