Chapter 11
1598 Words
Kathy watched Allie and Dean from the couch as they dragged their feet inside the apartment. They dropped their shoes on a rack mindless of the noise. The grandmother grew a giant trench on her forehead, not wanting them to disturb the children's sleep.She had been reading a mystery novel while waiting for Allie to come back, but something about their messy appearance told her they had a better story to tell.
Allie's curls had no shape and her dress was inside out. Dean wasn't wearing his belt and the buttons on his shirt were in the wrong buttonholes.
"Ya'll either went to the rodeo," Kathy sniffed the air between them, "or got jumped by a hooker."
"Mom, ew," Dean made his nose wrinkle.
Allie laughed shyly and rested her head on Dean's shoulder.
"I don't care," Kathy added. "As long as ya'll are back together, I don't care what happened."
Dean grabbed his wife by the hips with a hypnotized expression.
"We agreed Allie and the kids will move back to our house this Saturday after the competition."
Kathy gasped and grinned.
"But there's more," Allie pointed at the living room and her mother-in-law followed her. "We did get jumped by that crazy bald guy I told you about."
***
The next morning, while pouring herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, Allie had a sudden realization. She had been attacked by a stalker who knew an FBI agent who had been working on a case that could ruin her company's reputation and put it out of business. However, she was as zen as the warm bath she had taken before that. She should've been paranoid and fearful, instead the idea of getting back together with Dean filled her stomach with butterflies of emotions. If her husband was by her side, she knew she could afront any obstacle.
She heard a faint trickling to her left and placed her coffee cup down on the counter. Egg stood by the divider column with his back leg up, letting his bladder run wild.
"Hey, I thought Daddy was keeping you at the big house with him because you're not potty trained," she clenched her teeth.
But she was too happy and Egg was too cute for her to remain angry.
"Fine, you caught me in a good mood," she held the front door opened and pointed outside. "Potty outside, never inside."
Egg sniffed the floor and hopped outside. And to no one's surprise, the woman spotted another kowhai. She quickly grunted in frustration and kicked the flower onto the grass.
***
"We know everything, Mr. Bammel," Allie sat on the same love seat where she had let her husband do as he pleased with her. This time she was in control.
The gray haired man had lost all of his color. Only the dark stains of old age remained. He rubbed his hands together, trying to stop the trembling. His long beard moved with every swallow.
"You of all people, really?" Dean shook his head. "You were a respected man. You had no need to do this. Where has all that money been going?"
"I don't understand why you're accusing me of robbing the company," Mr. Bammel's voice was brittle. "I've been a loyal employee and you have no proof."
Allie raised a yellow envelope from her lap and dropped it back down.
"These documents signed by you, which we found at your desk last night. You've been tampering with everyone's wages."
"Police are on their way," added Dean.
"I...I don't...okay, okay," Mr. Bammel raised his hands. "I get these from Deborah Byrne from the technology department. She pays me to sign it and keep quiet."
"Mrs. Byrne?" Allie jumped off her seat. "She's been working here for twenty-five years."
"How long has this been going on?" Dean addressed Mr. Bammel.
"S...sixteen years, but that's all I know. Please, I'm too old to go to prison."
The lock on the office door clicked opened and detective Nielsen stepped inside with uniformed company.
"Mr. Bammel, you're under arrest," said Nielsen.
Heads began popping out of the cubicles outside.
"Did you hear everything?" asked Allie.
"Yes, ma'am," replied Nielsen. "Where are the files?"
The C.E.O. placed the yellow packet on Nielsen's hand while two officers handcuffed Mr. Bammel.
"Wait, are these the originals?" Dean raised his pitch and held one corner of the stack of documents.
The detective pressed his lips up to his nose and raised one eyebrow.
"Mr. Freeman, your wife explained the hazardous state of the evidence."
"That's cool," Dean's face reddened. His hair follicles gleamed in a layer of sweat.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll head back to my serious job in a federal building, where I'll spend the rest of my day trying to get crusty pages unstuck." The detective gave him a menacing look and left after the officers.
Allie's shoulders jerked as she couldn't hold her laughter.
"I see. It's funny to you, when you were the one that made me do that," Dean poked her belly in a playful manner.
"So now I get blamed."
He nodded at her statement and kissed her lips.
***
Wayne dropped his cigarette bud on the pavement and crushed it under his foot. That was actually the fourth cigarette he had ever smoked. The first time, his mother had died of cancer. The second time his aunt had died of cancer. The third time his cousin had died also of cancer.
As teenagers, he and Grayson were taught to be mortified of nicotine smoke because it caused cancer, but he only heard the doctors blame genetics for the misfortune of the women in his family. So any time he thought about all the orphan boys in his family — and he was doing a lot of that lately — he decided that he would resort to smoking a cigarette.
"Where've you been?" He asked Grayson as he heard his footsteps although he never looked back. His eyes were staring at the apartment building in front of it.
"f*****g Texas," Grayson smacked his own neck and rubbed a dead mosquito off his palm. "Today's two hundred degrees. Tomorrow there's a f*****g iceberg blocking your window."
"The call didn't go well, didn't it?"
"No," Grayson relaxed his shoulders. Seeing Allie's silhouette through the balcony door curtains made him focus. "There's been a change of plans. She did a crackdown in the company and a couple people got sent to jail."
"Why don't we just go get Kai?"
"Sure? Why don't we just go to Mars? I make it sound so easy." Grayson rolled his eyes and let his hands fall on his thighs. "We can't get Kai because they'll kill him and they'll kill us. And stop smoking. It reeks in the car."
"What's the new plan?" Wayne walked into the condominum's parking lot.
"First, we wait," Grayson swept the cigarette ashes toward the grass with his boot.
***
Allie clapped twice and pointed toward the bedroom on the right side of the hallway — the one where she stayed when she became Dean's roommate. The twins looked at her from the living room sofa but quickly turned to their dog. The puppy licked Daniel's ear, making him chuckle.
"Daniel Freeman, Andrew Freeman, it's ten thirty p.m. and I will not repeat myself."
"Mom, please," Andrew tilted his head as he whined.
Allie frowned and sat at the coffee table.
"Why do I feel like I'm hauling a horse just to get you to bed tonight? Come on, spill the beans," she placed her hand behind her ear, then held both of their right wrists.
The boys' hands were almost as big as hers, but it didn't change how tiny and innocent they would always be to their mother.
"Tomorrow's Friday," Andrew sighed. "It's the last day to practice before the fight."
"Are you gonna be disappointed if I lose?" Daniel was crestfallen.
The mother smiled and caressed their cheeks. "I'll be very disappointed if you don't try your best. Remember, what did Daddy say this morning during practice?"
"He told us to always put up a good fight even if the other fighter has a better chance at winning," replied Andrew.
"And that if we do good, he'll take us to Florida in July to meet Daniel Cormier," replied Daniel.
"Yes," the mother chuckled. "You've both been practicing and eating healthy. There is no reason for you to lose, unless you get insomnia for not listening to your mama."
The boys got up and gave their mother a long hug. Then, they walked into the hallway. Egg was right beside them.
"Um, mama," Daniel called from the bedroom.
"Yes, cutie."
"I'm happy we're moving back to the house with Dad."
"Me, too." Allie rested her temple on the wall and crossed her arms.
***
"Allie, you just have to say the words and I'll be yours forever," Dean moaned under Allie.
He laid on the sand, but its texture was like the clouds. Water foam from the ocean brazed against their legs.
Allie tightened her walls around Dean's rod of pleasure.
"I'm yours, Dean," she moaned. "I'm all yours."
She thrust faster on top of him. He cupped her breasts.
"Say my name," he begged.
"Dean! Dean!" she screamed.
But her arms filled with bruises and the sea caught on fire.
"It's Grayson," she was still riding him, but she was crying.
Dean hugged her shivering body.
"I'll protect you."
Then her bruised skin caught on fire until she turned into ashes, then into smoke.
Allie woke up panting from her nightmare. Her chest heaved, but she still was unable to breathe. The bedroom was pitch black, but she could feel a body on top of her and hands touching her breasts.
She knew in an instant that wasn't her husband. The strong Malboro smell consumed her nose and she coughed. Her arms fluttered. Her hands pushed the man's head.
"Help—" she muffled.
"Shh," Wayne covered her mouth with his hand and rubbed his naked erection against her inner thigh. His other hand pulled down the elastic around her hips.
- Writer
