Page 36 of His Sweet Torment
Harpa wiped her eyes. “God, I feel like I did when you got shot. Hopeless. Directionless.”
Cosima nodded, her lovely face creased with concern. “I wish I could say it gets better.” She glanced at her watch. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry, but I have to get back for the kids. Want to come with me?”
Harpa smiled but shook her head. “Mikah’s coming to get me in a half-hour. Kiss the kids for me.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you too, sis.”
It was eerily quiet after Cosima left and Harpa wondered if she shouldn’t just call Mikah to come get her early. She decided to take the trash out of the back door and wedged it open with a block of wood. She dumped the bag in the dumpster and turned to go back inside.
Two men, huge, were behind her and she started in alarm. One of them grabbed her, the other twisted a rope around her neck.
“No,” she croaked as the rope tightened and he began to choke her. “Please, god no…”
“Shut the fuck up, bitch. This ain’t personal…it’s to send a message to your whore friend.”
Harpa was unable to struggle against the sheer bulk of her captors began to pass out. As she fainted, she heard a shout, a familiar voice. “Mikah,” she gasped, then everything went dark.
When she awoke, she was being cradled in Mikah’s arms in the back of Arlo’s SUV. She blinked and drew in a deep breath. “Mikah?”
His face was drawn, pale, angry. “It’s okay, sweetheart, we’re taking you to the emergency room.”
“No,” she struggled and sat up, touching her bruised throat. “I’m okay. What happened to those animals?”
“We’re going to the E.R. even it’s just to check you out,” Arlo said from the front seat. Cosima was next to him, and she turned to take her sister’s hand. Harpa saw her face was tear-stained.
“Mikah and Arlo and some guys from the street managed to grab them. We called the police, and the guys said they’d take care of it. Oh, sweetie, if only I hadn’t left you.”
Harpa felt Mikah stroke her hair. “It’s okay, really. I’m okay, just a bit sore. They said they were doing it to send a message to my ‘whore friend’. What the hell? I’m assuming they mean Pad, that they worked for Ingles but he killed her. Why is he sending goons after me to send a message?”
Mikah and Cosima shook their head, but Harpa caught Arlo’s eye in the rearview mirror. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. Harpa struggled to hide her gasp. Arlo knew something. Was Padme alive?
Harpa changed the subject. “I really don’t need the E.R. I actually don’t think they meant to kill me, just hurt me enough to send a warning.”
“E.R.” Mikah said firmly, and she acquiesced. The more she complied, the more chance she would get to ask Arlo what the hell was going on.
Despite her happiness, Enver knew Padme still felt pain. Pain at missing Severin and her friends, pain at leaving Dale behind. Enver would catch her staring out at the sea, pensive and sad. He wished he could do something to ease it for her. She had asked him about the lack of phones and laptops in their home and Enver had been honest.
“Firstly, because any internet supply can be hacked and we could be traced. Secondly…it’s to stop you brooding. I know you want to know how your family is, and it’s understandable, but it will drive you crazy. I know this for a fact because I was going crazy all the time we were separated. It was Lisa who eventually took my stuff away. She left me with the camera feed for a couple of hours each week and I would watch you. I know, that sounds so creepy but that’s why I only had the one camera in your living room. No, it still sounds creepy,” he said with a laugh and she had to join in.
“It’s okay – I was just glad it was you and not Ingles. Once I knew it was there, it was a comfort. Did you see me telling you I loved you?”
Enver nodded, smiling. “A couple of times.”
Padme thought back and laughed. “I had this plan – because we didn’t know if Ingles had bugged the place after Dale had checked – that I would ‘read’ certain books with titles that spelled out a message. I bought bagful’s, but I never got around to doing it.”
“Inventive.” Enver was grinning at her, and she threw a pillow at him.
“What about you? That whole money and lotto ticket thing? I have to say, it took me a while.”
“Not really, after you got the lotto ticket, you pretty much figured it out.”
“Why the delay between the two? I mean you transferred the money in almost the day after the shooting and then waited for six months?”
Enver rubbed his hands on his head. “The money was genuinely to help you. In fact, I almost just put a set amount money into your bank account until the idea came to me. The only person I told was Lisa and she advised me to wait to give you the other co-ordinate because you were being watched. Also, Pad, you needed to heal.” He was looking sick again, thinking about her shooting.
Padme pulled him down onto the couch with her and wrapped her arms and legs around him. “You’re trapped until you smile,” she nibbled at his ear with her teeth, and nipped his bottom lip. Enver smiled but she didn’t release him and he slid his hand down to her groin. “Sexy times.” She grinned at him then gave a sigh of pleasure as his fingers made contact with her clit.
