One Simple Memory (14 page)

Jake reached up and scratched his head. “Yeah man, I will be back as soon as I can.” And he took off.

“What a stupid fucker.” Simon mumbled.

When he saw the girl paying for her purchase, he headed down the street and slipped into the alley. He wasn’t hiding for long. He was glad for that. He just had to wait for his moment.

He noticed her body stiffen, and she looked around. It was the time. He snuck up behind her and wrapped his gloved hand around her mouth so she wouldn’t scream and pulled her into the alley.

Jenn tried to scream, but it was muffled by the gloved hand covering her mouth. She attempted to hit and kick the person who held her. Whoever nabbed her, knew what he was doing.

She was pulled further into the alleyway. It was dark and damp smelling. She could feel the tears build in her eyes and begin to fall freely. Suddenly, she was shoved up against a dirty wall. She hit hard enough that it hurt. She hit her head in the process only making the tears fall faster.

“Oh hush, darling. No need for tears.” Simon narrowed his eyes and an evil grin rose on his face.

Jenn struggled.

“No need to struggle, it will only hurt for a little while.” He ran one of his hands up the front of her tank top.

Even with her vision blurry from the tears, she was able to make out the face of the man. It was him. The man from the beach and the casino. She tried to struggle more, to get free from his grasp, with no luck. “Let me go.” She mumbled under his hand. She tried her hardest to hold the tears at bay. She wanted to know who the man was and what he wanted. Taking slow, deep breaths which were limited by his hand and a few sniffs, she tried to settle the tears. Her hands hung freely as he held her against the wall with his body and pressure against her chest. It was as if the man held no fear of her, like he had no reason to fully subdue her.

“That’s better, darling. No more tears.” Simon removed his hand from her mouth. He leaned in and whispered. “Didn’t think you’d be caught, hmm?” He pulled back a little, but didn’t release her, and smirked.

Jenn thought for a few moments, then she clued in. “You work for Sean’s dad?” She whispered. Since she was able, she tried to catch her breath. Even the rapid breathing was enough to calm her.

“Bingo.”  He looked her up and down. “What a beautiful necklace.” He ran his fingers over it and grinned.

More parts of the puzzle began to sink in. There must be something special about the necklace, which was why Sean was told to bring it. She looked down at the piece of jewellery, trembling slightly. “Y-yes.” She stuttered. “My ex gave it to me. Seems too beautiful to part with.” She looked up at him again to see his reaction.

“Ah, yes, Joey.”

Jenn realized the man knew more than she thought. She had to get away from him and fast. She attempted to gather all the wits she could and tried to remember the moves she learned in a self-defence class she took. But when you are scared and can’t think straight, it is not an easy thing to remember. So she just went with it. The guy was a big guy, but she had to try.

She held her hands at her sides and clenched them. Closing her eyes, she quickly prayed. Now that the man was more lax with her, she may have a chance. So, she took it. “Joey was an asshole.” She spit out. She took a deep breath, lifted her foot and stomped down on Simon’s foot. “And so are you.” She yelled. She swung her hand that didn’t hold the bags and punched the guy in the jaw. Once she felt him release her, she ran. She never looked back to see if she was being followed. She just held onto her bag and ran as fast as the adrenaline in her body would take her. Back to the hotel, back to Sean. They needed to find out what the significance of the necklace was and make a run for it.

The door whipped open to the room making Sean jump up off the bed. Taking in a ruffled Jenn, he rushed over to her. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

Jenn dropped her bag, and purse and ran right into Sean’s arms. She was breathing heavily and sobbing uncontrollably. She gripped this shirt tight and tried to take slower breaths. She was shaking so much Sean knew something scared her. He knew he shouldn’t have let her go on her own. He began to rub his hands up and down her back, trying to settle her rattled nerves. “Jenn.” He kissed the top of her head, letting her know that she was safe, that she could talk to him. He could feel her body begin to relax a little as the time passed, and he lead her towards the bed to sit down. “Talk to me Jenn. What happened?”

Jenn sat on the bed as directed. Her sobbing, breathing and shaking, he noticed were starting to settle. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked up at Sean. “The man I told you I saw watching, remember?” She shivered.

He turned his body to be closer to her and took her hands in his. “You mentioned that you saw someone watching.” How could have been so stupid, letting that tidbit of information go. If he just listened and believed. He should have paid closer attention. And he shouldn’t have ignored that weird note.

She nodded her head. “Yes, twice. And when I was shopping, he grabbed me and pulled me into an alleyway.” She took a deep breath, and Sean knew that this was bad news. It had to be one of his father’s men. They had been followed. And he let them get to her.

Sean immediately stood from the bed, releasing her hands in the process. His hands raked through his hair in frustration. He began to pace the floor in front of her. “Someone fucking grabbed you?” He shouted. He instantly turned to her and looked her up and down, checking for signs of injury. “Are you hurt?” He clenched his fists at the base of his neck. “Fuck, I shouldn’t have let you out of here alone. I fucking knew it.” He stomped towards the closest wall and punched it in anger.

Jenn jumped from the bed and ran to him. “Sean, I am okay. I got away.” She pulled him into a hug. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

He grabbed onto her shirt and held her tight. He couldn’t believe the mess they had gotten themselves into. He tucked his head into the crook of her neck and stood there. He willed his anger to subside. He knew she was okay. There were no physical marks on her that he could see, so he needed to pull himself together and help her through this. He was supposed to be the strong one, her protector. He breathed in her scent, the vanilla lotion he loved, and relaxed as much as he could. The lotion would always remind him of better days.

“Jenn, if this man is one of my father’s that means he’s very dangerous.” He looked up into her damp eyes. He leaned back just enough to bring his arms up and wipe away the tears. “You were very lucky to have gotten away, he could have killed you on the spot.” The fear in Sean’s eyes pleaded with her; he wanted to make her understand the seriousness of it all. “I am sorry for getting angry, but I don’t think you really understand what we are dealing with.”

She sniffed and looked into his eyes. She must have realized the truth because her whole body began to tremble.

“It’s okay, I am sorry. I won’t go out without you anymore.” She swallowed hard. “Deem me educated in your words, and I shall stay here with you for my own safety.” She stepped back from him and walked to the bathroom. She took a quick drink from the cup on the counter and returned to the bed and sat down.

Sean paced the room once again, trying to gather his thoughts.

“Sean?”  She called to him. “Sean!”

Sean stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “Yeah, babe?”

Jenn sighed and raised her eyebrows. “If you don’t sit down soon, you will wear a hole in the floor.” She smiled at him.

He gave her a slow grin. “You are a funny girl, aren’t you?”

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. She patted the spot beside her. “Have a seat. Tell me what is on your mind.”

He sat beside her and took a deep breath. “For starters, can you describe the guy? If I have a description of him, maybe I can figure out who it is, and then I will have a better idea of what we’re in for.” He looked over at her with hope of at least that little bit of knowledge.

Jenn sat up straight and swallowed. “Yes, I can describe him.” She licked her lips and continued. “He was tall, built like a fucking bull and short dark hair.”

“That’s all?” Sean asked, raising his eyebrows in curiosity.

“No.” She took a deep breath and quirked her lips. “He had brown eyes and just below his right eye, he had this scar.”

Sean perked up, getting a feeling he knew who the man was. He just had one question to ask to confirm it. “What did the scar look like?” He held his breath anticipating her answer.

She bit her lip and scrunched her eyebrows. The look of thought settled upon her. “It was somewhat circular, it didn’t look like your normal type of scar, more of a burn scar.”

Sean fell back on the back and thumped his fists on the mattress. Puffing out breaths in anger and fear. “Simon. He sent fucking Simon.” He tipped his head to the side to look towards her. “Simon is the type to shoot first and ask questions later. Fuck me, we need to make a plan to get out of here, and fast.”

Jenn touched her throat, touched the necklace. Looking down at him she asked. “Sean?” She reached over and touched his arm to get his attention since his eyes were closed.

He opened his eyes and looked up to her. “Yeah?”

She fingered the necklace once more. “This guy, Simon, he was interested in my necklace. Why would that be?” She reached back to undo the clasp.

Sean sat up and helped take the necklace off. “He was interested in the necklace?” He repeated her question, wondering what possibly could be so interesting about the beautiful piece of jewelry.

“Yes, and he knew about my ex, Joey.” Once the necklace was off, she handed it to him

“Like I said before, you were watched, and not just by me.”  He looked down at the necklace in his hand and turned it about, looking to see if there was anything out of the ordinary.

“Well shit, that could mean that Joey works for your dad?” She tucked her legs under her and watched him intently as he assessed the jewelry.

“No, there is no Joey on his payroll that I am aware of. He may have paid him to do something on the side, but he is not an actual employee per se.” He turned his body just slightly to get the light from the windows to shine on the pendant in his hands, and then he saw it. At just the right angle he could see the dark little chip inside. “Well fuck, there is a god damn tracker in this.” He jumped up from the bed and quickly stomped on the necklace being sure to crush the sparkling blue jewel. He bent down and sifted through the tiny pieces and found the tracker and growled. He picked it up and went into the bathroom. He lifted the lid to the toilet, dropped the tracker and flushed.

Sean came out of the bathroom and noticed the regret in her eyes. She must think it was her fault. “This is not your fault, babe.” He crouched in front of her and grabbed her hands. He looked up into her eyes and smiled. “My father is an evil, vindictive man, and he sees no wrong in his doings. Right now we need to figure out if Simon is alone and see why he seems to be fucking with our heads.”

“Okay.”

He nodded and pulled her into a hug.