A noise woke her. She first thought it was a television show, but when she turned it off she realized it came from the hallway. Aggravated, she rolled over and covered her head with a pillow to try to go back to sleep. Within a few minutes, the phone rang. She answered it frustrated, "Hello."
"Hi baby," said Mike.
Rubbing her eyes and trying to wake up she remembered all that transpired the last few hours. "How did you know I was here?"
"Don't forget I'm a federal agent, and all I have to do is make a couple of phone calls. Would you like some company? I'm down in the lobby."
"Sure, come on up, I'll be waiting." She ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth and make sure she looked presentable. She didn't know if she should be mad or not, she would have to think on that one. When she opened the door, he swept her off her feet and gave her a playful kiss. He was utterly out of breath. "Mike, why are you breathing so hard?"
"I ran up the stairs. I didn't want to wait for the elevator."
"You ran up five floors?"
"Two and a half, I took two stairs at a time." He raised his left eyebrow as he said, "I was worried sick about you. You could have left me a note." He couldn't stay mad because she looked too beautiful and sleepy. The oversized jersey looked adorable on her. The Dallas Cowboy jersey had the number eight on it, and he didn't like Troy Aikman. He didn't like the Cowboys at all, he happened to be a Giants fan. But he would forgive her this time, besides…
she looked better in it than Troy.
"It's a long story, and I'm sure you don't have time to listen." She gave it right back, but she knew she couldn't stay mad at him. He looked so good with his black Christian Dior sweater, turtleneck, and khaki Dockers.
He sat on the bed and pulled her down on his lap so she would be eye-to-eye with him, but she wouldn't look in his eyes. If she did she might melt, and she had to be strong right now.
"Okay squirt, I know you're safe, and that's all that matters. I sent my driver home. Do you want to stay here or go back to the beach house? I will leave that decision up to you."
"It doesn't matter either way, but I am surprised you were concerned because I did not get one call from you today. Something happened today that scared me, and that is why I came here."
"Are you talking about the two guys who delivered wood?"
Her eyes widened. "How did you know? That happened only a few hours ago." She was shocked he knew about the guys, there was no way for him to know unless the two officers told him. "What's the deal? It is scary that you can know how my life played out today."
"First of all, I did call several times today, and the calls went straight to voice mail. I left several messages, and I texted. My phone finally died. I sent officers out to check on you, and they told me about the scare you had with the wood incident. That's all that happened. I knew you were scared, so I came home, and you were gone. I called a few hotels, and they said you were registered here. When was the last time you checked your messages, little lady?"
"I had my phone on all day until I went to bed, then I turned it off so I could get some rest.
But I didn't turn it off until late tonight." She didn't think he was lying, but she didn't think he called as many times as he thought. She could prove it. She dug out her phone and turned it on.
"Let's see if there are any messages from you." After it had been turned on, nothing happened.
Mike looked bewildered. "I know I called you several times and left you several messages. I don't understand. Do you mind if I look at your phone?" She handed it to him, and he played with it. "Babe you have it on airplane mode, no wonder you didn't get my messages. Your phone must not work at all when it's on airplane mode."
"I didn't put it on…I don't know how that happened." She was totally confused. She knew she was slow at technology, but she thought she had a grip on how to use her phone.
"There must be some kind of button to push, and you must have pushed it." He tried not to grin. He didn't want to embarrass her or make her feel stupid. It was an honest mistake, and he knew that.
"My daughter did call me today, and I guess I accidentally pushed a button when I hung up the phone. I'm sorry. I don't know how that happened. That makes me feel much better. I hear some beeping, does that mean there are messages?" She felt like an idiot.
"Yes, you have fourteen missed calls, and it looks like eight texts and six voice mails. I bet all are from me. Do you mind if I look?" She didn't care if he looked or not, she had nothing to hide.
On second thought… "No! My boyfriend might have called, and you could spoil the fun."
He laughed and looked at the messages anyway. He certainly knew what to do. He quickly pushed buttons, and within seconds he had all the information. "It looks as though you have two texts from Sharon, four from an unknown number, and the rest of the texts are from me. I think you owe me an apology." He pulled her close.
"How can I make it up to you? I'm sorry I missed your call, but I did see you on TV today."
She tried to change the subject. The whole time she tried to apologize he pulled her closer. She enjoyed his attention and his happier frame of mind.
"Lana, do not change the subject." He was playing with her hair, twisting and curling it. The softness felt good as her hair freely flowed through his fingers. Temptation took over, and he pulled her close. Everything about her smelled good; hair, perfume, and her breath.
"No, I'm not trying to change the subject at all. But I did see you on TV today, and you looked handsome. You know you look so handsome I want to kiss you, I want to hug you, I want to love you, and I want to touch you." She performed her Sandra Bullock impersonation from Ms. Congeniality.
Laughter filled the room, and they both rolled back on the bed. "Honey, you are adorable. I could kiss you all day and all night. You have no idea how much I needed you today. My God you are gorgeous." All her features were dainty and small. Her lips were full and soft.
"How much did you miss me?"
"Bunches. Let's go back to the beach house and just listen to the waves. There's nothing more romantic than the sound of the waves and the crackling of a fire," he said while patting her on the butt.
"I agree."
"How about I check you out while you get ready?"
"That's a deal."
*****
They chatted on the way back to the beach house while holding hands and smooching at red lights. The dark eeriness of the night gave Lana goose-bumps. The roads he turned on were dark with no moonlight to guide them. She commented, "This is spooky. I'm so glad you know your way because I'm lost. Everything looks so different at night. I'm glad you're here to protect me."
He squeezed her hand then kissed it. "Honey, I will always protect you." Then he added,
"When my family first moved out here years ago I would miss the turn off to our road. Now, when I rent out the house and the renters don't have a GPS, I try to furnish them one. They know why I do when they drive at night."
They were about five blocks from the house when on a road to the right, Lana saw a familiar truck. She couldn't miss that white old beat up Ford truck. She looked at Mike in total shock and fear. "Mike, that's the truck that delivered the wood. I just saw it on that road. Why would the truck be out here in the middle of nowhere this late at night?"
Mike could hear the anxiety in her voice. He too thought it was strange and not coincidental.
He instinctively turned off the lights to the car, and they slowly pulled over a few blocks from the house. Immediately, he got on the phone and called 911. "This is agent Mike Ramsey, and my badge number is 442. We need assistance at 2612 Shadow Lane. Officers were dispatched to this house earlier, and they questioned a person who delivered wood named John Johnson. We just saw his truck a few blocks from the house. I'm requesting backup."
"10-4, backup in route," said the dispatcher.
He pulled out his gun, turned on the car lights and slowly pulled up in the arranged parking slot and said, "Get low so no one can see you." Mike also lowered himself.
"Mike, you're not going in the house, are you?"
"I've got to go inside, honey I know what I'm doing." He had to concentrate on what he needed to do. The adrenaline pumped through his veins. His heart raced with excitement, and he had to take deep breaths to control his rapid breathing.
"Oh Mike, please wait for the police, what if they have guns or knives. Please, please wait, I'm terrified for you," she pled as she grabbed his arm, trying to hold him in the car.
He handed her a gun that he pulled out of his briefcase and told her. "Shoot if they come towards you," but with a quick glance he added, "But don't shoot the cops. When the cops get here, I want you put the gun in the glove box. I love you." Then he left.
She was terrified; she had ever been this scared. Her heart felt as though it would pound out of her chest. Never in her life had she faced such danger. She constantly looked around for help, but no one was around, they were on their own. Frightening images flew through her mind: Mike getting shot, the man sneaking up on her, police shooting her by accident, or getting raped. It felt as though her heart was lodged in her throat.
She watched him intently as her body shivered from fear. Her hands shook so much that she put the gun down on the console between the front seats. She knew if she didn't put it down it might go off, and that would be horrible. A little relief flooded her when way off in the distance she could see police lights. Way off, and maybe too far. They need to go faster. Please hurry, she was terrified for Mike.
Oh God, she could hear yelling, she could tell one of the voices was Mike. She could see at least two police cars coming fast on the road. She jumped out and ran with her arms flaying, she could see it was David and Kevin. "Mike's inside, please go help him. The truck is a couple of blocks over on a back road. It's the same truck you saw today." She said as she pointed towards the truck. David motioned for her to go back to the other police car. She did with shaking legs, partly from being scared, and partly from the cold.
Some officers ran to the back, and some ran to the front of the house. They were
everywhere, and more cops raced down the road. She could hear yelling, and this time she heard them cursing. An officer who stood by her told her everything that had happened inside. He first said, "There is someone in the house."
"I know that, is Mike okay?" She sat and waited. She bit hers nails down to the quick, and she shook uncontrollably. More cops arrived, and relief flooded her emotions.
"Miss, they have the prowlers in custody, and they will bring them out in a minute."
She breathed a sigh of relieve. "Them? How is Mike? Please tell me that he's okay."
"He is just fine, he's held them until we got here, and he'll be out in a minute. If it makes you feel better, I could hear him laughing."
"Laughing? Why in the hell would he be laughing?"
"I don't know." The officer walked over to some of the other cops telling them that they needed to process the old truck.
She didn't pay him any mind, and she ran over to the house and stood outside and waited for Mike. When he came out she gave him a hug. "I was so scared." She shook uncontrollably, and started to cry. "I can't believe you did that. Why were they here?"
He wrapped his arms around her and guided her to the car. "Honey, I'll talk to you in a little bit. Just sit in the car and some officers will come over and get a statement from you. Let the car run for a while to help you get warm. The police will have to investigate inside, and then we can go to bed." He had an adrenaline high and couldn't sit still. He gave her a quick kiss and went back inside.
She got aggravated because it seemed as though Mike always said to her, I'll talk to you later.
After thirty minutes passed and the police didn't show, she crawled in the back seat and closed her eyes for a few minutes. That's the last she remembered.