Healing Inc. (25 page)

Tyler was more than pleased with this new alliance.  Tony had freed him up allowing him to spend more time with his wife, especially when those carnal urges overpowered him.  There weren’t too many men you could trust with both your wife and your business.  Tony was one of them.  He had known and protected Evy long before he had stepped into the picture.

The phone rang and they began the conference call with the new manager.  From what they gathered thus far, the woman would be an excellent replacement for Angel.  They were on the verge of concluding the call when Tyler’s assistant interrupted them.

“Mr. Moriatti… Mr. Swallow…” she said after bursting through the closed conference room door.  Her normally tan Native-American face was as white as a sheet.

“What’s wrong Doris?” Tyler asked.

“You two need to get over to
Chanelle’s!
  Something’s happened.”

***

An Hour Earlier at Chanelle’s…

Evy and Nita stepped out of the consignment shop, heading toward her Ford Escape.  Tyler kept trying to get her to ride in the limo now that she was his wife but she emphatically refused.  She did however succumb to his demand that she have a driver just to appease him and get him off her back.  What she didn’t know was he was the bodyguard Tyler’s uncle had let him borrow to keep her safe.  The two women stopped and hugged just short of her vehicle.

“Congratulations Nita.  You’ll make a great aunt.”

“I know right.  It’s about time.  You’d think with all those brothers one would have given me a nephew or a niece much sooner than this.”

 Nita released her so that she could be on her way.  She knew Evy had a lot to get done today, including taking care of that horny-ass husband of hers.  She would have been jealous if not for her own husband acting the same way.  She watched Evy amicably as she approached her Escape.

Evy reached to open the back door of her vehicle but remembered the driver’s polite reprimand for doing so earlier that day.  The intense man had been popping out of the car upon her approach to keep it from happening again.  She smiled to herself as she peeped into the driver’s side window of the SUV to see if he was sleeping.  Her smile faded.  Blood covered the side of his head, the window and the seat.  Fear grasped her and she slowly started to back away from the vehicle with a sense of dread.

“Nita!” she shouted turning to face her friend.  “Get in the shop and call 911!  Make sure you lock the …”

Her words trailed off at the sight of the large white man behind Nita.  Nita turned just in time to be grabbed by him.  He immediately covered her mouth to keep her from screaming.

Evy started to run toward her friend when another man stepped from behind him catching her full attention.  The sight of this one froze her in her tracks.  She knew him, had seen him somewhere before.  Although he’d shaven his head, the
dark eyes and broad nose were unmistakable.  Then he flashed that wicked smile.  Fear seized her as her mind unwillingly rewound to their last encounter.  Her hearing was suddenly clogged by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears, growing louder and louder with each beat as he slowly advanced toward her.  Another sound started to blend with the rhythm.

“Run Evy!  Run!” Shelly shouted.  She had stepped outside to ask her boss a question only to find Nita being held by a large man while another one stalked toward a paralyzed Evy.  At the sound of Shelly’s voice, the man released Nita’s mouth and grabbed Shelly with his now free hand.  Both women put their voices together in an effort to propel Evy into motion.

“Ruuuuun!” they both shouted in unison.

Just as he reached out to grab her, Evy turned and ran as though the hounds of hell were upon her.  She sprinted down sidewalks dodging items and dashing across streets.  The roads were empty as those businesses that were still in the area opened later.  She had no idea where she was going other than away from her pursuer. 

She looked back occasionally to see the large man struggling to keep up with her.  She knew then that those early morning runs with Tyler were paying off as she easily continued to widen the gap between them.  She thought of doubling back to Chanelle’s
,
the need to know what was happening to her friends weighing heavily on her conscious.  If only she could get back to her cell phone, which she had dropped after discovering the driver’s body, she could call for help. 

She ran down a familiar alley, putting more distance between her and the massive bald guy.  Suddenly, another menacing figure appeared at the other end of the alley, blocking her chance of escape.  Coming to a halt, she realized that she was trapped between the two men.  She looked around the alley for an alternate escape route but found none.  This prompted her to search for anything that could be used as a weapon.  To the right of the dumpster sat a broom handle, shining like a beacon.  She armed herself with it and waited for them to approach.

“You know… you ain’t much bigger… than that broom stick… little girl!” Harry panted.  His heart felt as though it would explode after chasing the little roadrunner for so long.  “I ain’t… gonna… hurt you.  Hell!  I didn’t… hurt you last time.  I just watched!”  He doubled over with laughter from the memory of Evy’s brutal attack.  His amusement at her expense made every ounce of fear in her convert to anger. 

Evy snapped.  The next thing the two men knew they were being kicked, hit and jabbed by the woman they had referred to as “little girl”.  Harry’s fatigue from chasing her and the other guy’s small size were working to her advantage.  Each of them took turns trying to jump her only to have her duck out of range and elbow them to the ground. 

She finally managed to get them both down on the same side of the alley, opening up a clear path away from them.  She ran as fast as she could back to her car only to find the first guy tying up her friends. 

Broomstick still in hand, she charged him.  Her attack was fierce as the sight of her friends’ bondage boosted her adrenaline into overdrive.  He tried ducking the stick only to be impacted by her foot.  Nita and Shelly were cheering her on through the gags over their mouths.  She was just about to deliver a final blow, knowing it would knock him out, when she heard the gunshot melded with the stifled shrieks of her friends.  She turned quickly to see a bleeding Harry standing next to Nita holding a gun to her head.  He had fired a warning shot to get Evy’s attention.

“Drop it little girl!  I won’t be so kind next time.”  Evy obeyed him.  All the fight suddenly went out of her.  The other two men walked up to her, roughly grabbing her from behind.  One of them put a cloth over her nose and mouth, assaulting her with a foul smell.  She fell into darkness to the sound of her friend’s muffled screams. 

***

Present Time at Chanelle’s…

“…and you should have seen her kick his ass!  She was all over him!” Nita recited, jabbing at the air as she told her tale.  Tony stood beside her, rubbing her back and holding her possessively to his chest.  He closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder, thanking God she hadn’t been harmed.  One of their employees had come in to pick up her check and found the two women tied up just inside the door.  She had immediately called 911. 

“Then he fired that stupid gun!  She would have saved us if he hadn’t had that stupid gun pointed at me.”  Her attention went to Tyler.  She looked at him with sad eyes.  “I’m so sorry, Tyler.”

“It’s okay, Nita.  It wasn’t your fault,” he quietly stated.

With hands in pockets, he stared out the window the whole time watching the police and FBI go over the crime scene.  They had been there for hours asking questions and gathering evidence.  No one was allowed to leave the shop which was agitating him beyond belief.  He desperately wanted to be out looking for his wife.  He was tense and afraid to turn to the room of people, knowing that only two out of the three attacked that morning were present and his Evy wasn’t one of them.  It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep his rage in check.  He needed to hit something, someone. 

Nita knew that as much as it would upset him she had to tell him something else about Evy.  “Tyler,” she called softly.  “Come closer.” 

He turned from the window and slowly walked over to her, trying hard to maintain an air of tranquility in lieu of the maelstrom brewing within him.  She took his large hands into hers before she spoke. 

“Evy wanted to tell you this at noon but since she’s not…,” her voice broke.  Everyone listening gave her the moment she needed to recover.  “I made her take a pregnancy test this morning.”  Tyler’s eyes widened.  “She’s pregnant.  She planned to tell you this afternoon when you met for lunch.  I made her take it because I noticed her energy level was down.  That’s not like her.” 

Tyler thought about this.  He had been so happy to wake up and find her still in bed with him that he hadn’t bothered to think of any possible reasons for it.  On those mornings he made slow sweet love to her, taking his time and using the light of day to go over every inch of her beautiful body.  Deep down he knew that he had wanted to impregnate her. He acknowledged the fact that he could never replace the unborn child she had lost but he was more than willing to give her the chance she deserved at motherhood. 

Today some asshole had dared to enter his realm and steal his family from him.  They had snatched the one thing he found more precious than his own life, his wife.  Nita’s enlightenment only fueled his fury more. 

“God help the son-of-a-bitch behind this.”  The words were spoken softly but the venom behind them was potent.  A chill ascended the spines of all within earshot.

Up to that moment, Nita had forgotten about his reputation.  She dropped his hands as though they were fire, knowing in her heart that he meant what he said.   “I love her too, Tyler.  She needs for you to stay calm right now.  That’s the only way we’ll be able to help her.”

“I am calm.”  His voice was.  The look in his deep blue eyes, however, was nothing short of lethal.  Nita, Tony and Shelly no longer recognized the man in front of them.  “I need to make some phone calls.  I won’t be able to function until I find her and bring her home safely.”

“Perhaps I can help with that.” 

They all turned to the voice of the handsome young African-American male standing at the door.  After suspecting something might go down in Oklahoma City, Detective Marcus Cole had boarded the first plane available from Chicago yesterday evening.  He had spent the night at a hotel in town, hoping to get a jump on the people he suspected to be involved in this.  News footage of what happened this morning brought him to Chanelle’s.

“Who the hell are you?” Tyler demanded.  He wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries.

 “Detective Marcus Cole, Chicago homicide,” he introduced stepping into the room, badge in hand.  “I actually came to ask you and your wife some questions in relation to the incident that took place in Chicago fourteen years ago, but I see it’s a bit late for that.  The case has been reopened for some time now.  I had some theories as to who was trying to find her and why.  Now, I’m pretty sure I know who has her.  We just need to figure out where they’re taking her.”   He took in the faces before him, recognizing Nita and Tony from old photos that he had.  “I’m going to need you three to help me with this.  You’re excused,” he said to Shelly.

“You mind sharing that information, detective?”  Tyler’s tolerance was reaching its end.

“Let’s just say, it’s time for a family reunion.”