Page 10 of Jobe

The young woman grinned her reply. She had been at the center for over two months and was ready to graduate out into the world, standing on her own. “Well, this morning the doctor’s office where I interviewed for the receptionist position called back…and they offered me the job!”

With a whoop of joy, Mackenna hugged her. “That’s fabulous! When do you start?”

“I begin next Monday and I’ve been looking into the roommate sharing program you were telling me about. I figure that I will need at least a month of working and then I can transition to a shared apartment. I’ve found one that will be available next month and it’s a three bedroom apartment that I’ll be sharing with three other women. Two are sisters and they share the large master bedroom with its own bath, so I’ll have my own bedroom that will share the hall bath with just one other person.”

The three women continued to hug as Mackenna realized what a monumental moment she was experiencing. She felt it every single time. When someone who three months ago left a gang in the middle of the night determined to change the course of their lives and was now doing just that…amazing. Absolutely, fucking amazing!

Smiling as she stepped back, she remembered the afternoon’s appointment. “Ladies, in about an hour we’ll have some visitors. There will be someone here from a security agency to assess what we need to make sure our building and its occupants are as safe as they can be.”

Carla nodded, admitting, “I’m glad. That car has been by again this morning. I’m worried that it may be here for Gabby.”

A flash of anger flew through Mackenna’s eyes. “I was afraid that because she’s pregnant, it might be a problem. Those goddamn fuckers come back, I swear I’ll kick their asses!”

“Um, I hate to bust your badass bubble, but girl? You’re not big enough to take them on and you’d be foolish to do so,” Jenita said, knowing that Mackenna had a penchant for acting on instinct at times.

“Yeah, well, I just refuse to let them hurt her,” was the only reply. “Let’s go upstairs and make sure the rooms are ready in case the visitors need access to the whole building.” With that, the three women headed out of the kitchen.

* * *

The Alvarez Security men drove down the street toward their destination in two of the company SUVs. Eyes peeled, they each expertly surveyed the area. It was in an older section of town with a mixed community of stores and brick buildings. Several old churches dotted some of the corners and while there was a hum of daily activity, it was not difficult to imagine that it would be easy pickings for someone with nefarious intent.

The New Beginning’s building was unassuming, located in the middle of the block and set back slightly from the street. A small placard was on the door, but other than that there were no other distinguishing features. Jennifer was just pulling up in her car at the same time and walked over to greet the men, moving straight into Gabe’s embrace.

Jobe’s gaze immediately took note of the problem areas.Little front lighting. No peephole in the door. Unlit walkway from the street to the front stoop. No security bars on bottom floor windows.As he stepped out of the vehicle, he saw Tony shaking his head.Yep, he sees it too. A fucking security nightmare for these women.

“We’re a little early,” Jennifer said, “so let’s go around the back and you can see the whole outside of the building.”

The men made their way around the perimeter, noting the narrow space between the center and the buildings on the sides. There, a small courtyard held a picnic table and umbrella, an old grill, and off to the back were the trash cans that were next to the fence leading to the alley. Again, Jobe’s eyes quickly assessed.

No lights on the back. A simple padlock on the fence gate leading to the alley.

Jennifer led them through the back door into the kitchen. The area was large, but seemed immediately dwarfed by the four huge men. A woman entered the room from the hall and gave a start. Jennifer jumped in, “I’m sorry. We’re here to see Mac. She’s meeting us to talk about some security.”

“Oh yes, of course. I’m Rose. I teach computer classes to the women in the classroom upfront. I think that—”

Just then, a scream coming from the front of the building startled the group. Jobe, closest to the hallway, sprinted forward as he heard a woman’s voice yell, “Call the police, Rose!” He caught a glimpse of a slender woman’s back, hair pulled up on her head, as she raced down the stairs and made it to the door ahead of him, grabbing a baseball bat next to the door.

Throwing it open, Mackenna charged out onto the stoop, wielding the bat in the air. “I’m calling the police you fuckers. Get outta here,” she screamed at the same low-riding car, this time with the passenger side windows rolled down and several guys hanging out giving her the finger.

“You can’t hide forever, bitch!” one yelled.

“Bring it, you bast—umph,” she grunted as she was grabbed around the waist from behind and lifted off of the ground, her back slammed against a tall, hard body. Her reddish-gold hair fell out of the makeshift twist and tumbled down her back.

“Are you fucking crazy?” asked the enraged voice of the man who had picked her up easily, his arm binding her tightly. “You provoke those bastards and you’re just asking for trouble,” he growled.

Realizing that the front stoop had become crowded with whom she could only assume was Tony Alvarez and more of his men than she knew were coming, she saw Jennifer, wide-eyed looking at her.

“Mac? Are you okay?” Jennifer asked, glancing at Jobe holding on to Mackenna, a strange expression on his face.

“Let go of me, you big oaf,” Mackenna said, struggling against the unforgiving vise grip of the man holding her.

She found herself immediately released but instead of freedom, she was whirled around to face her would-be rescuer. And stared into the face of the man who had haunted her memories. His face, older and harder than she remembered. His build…heavier, even more muscular. And his expression? Shock. Pure shock.

Her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, she pushed against him almost tumbling backward down the front stoop stairs. His hands automatically reached out and grabbed her upper arms, saving her from falling. Not wanting him to touch her, she pushed again.

“Settle,” he growled. “You’re gonna fucking fall if you keep this up.”

Righting herself, she straightened up trying to regain her dignity.Don’t let him see you stare. Don’t give him that.Steeling herself, she turned toward the man matching the internet picture of Tony Alvarez and held out her hand.

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