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At the next stoplight, I smile at Leif and Franci as they talk. I reach for my Bluetooth earbuds to put one in. I dial the number for the closest person, knowing he’ll help us.
“Yeah,” he answers, and I continue to smile and act like it’s no biggie.
“Do you see the latrine queen oxygen thief?” I use the terminology from our days in the military for a shit scooping idiot. I’m sure it’s Young. Now that we are stopped, I can almost see him. He is no good at this.
“Can’t miss him. I’ll take care of him.” Gambit’s deep voice fills my ear.
I hang up and turn to see Leif looking at me. He raises his pierced brow, and I just nod my head slightly. He’s smart enough to know I’m trying to hide something, but he’ll wait to question me when Franci isn’t in the back seat. As we pull away from the traffic light, I watch as another vehicle stalls Young, and we continue. Gambit is being true to his word and keeping an eye on Franci. I look up into the rearview mirror to her. Am I okay with her dating a man my age? No, not normally, but Gambit is different. I know he would take care of her, and if he has any of the feelings I do for Leif, I know it’s real and lifelong.
I also know that Gambit won’t stop Franci from getting what she wants in life. She wants to get her degree in science, but she’s always talked about having a family too. I want all of that for her. So I won’t interfere. I also want Gambit to have a love like I feel for Leif.
I can’t wait to tell Leif I love him. I know he loves me. I see it in his eyes every time he looks at me. Every time we make love. Especially when he calls me love. He’s been doing that since the beginning. So maybe Gambit’s right, and you can fall in love at first sight. I knew I wanted Leif, and things were different with him.
* * *
A couple of hours and lots of anxiety later, we are walking out to the car. I hate being in the crowds. I’m better about those I care about touching me, but I hate strangers touching me. Plus, I keep getting the feeling we are being watched.
“Wait here. I’ll pull the car up.” I let Leif and Franci know as I get ready to push through the doors.
“Love, I can do that.” He takes the keys from my hand and exits the mall. I watch as he walks away and admire his ass. I love that he isn’t afraid to step up to me and do things for me. I know I need to be better about letting him do things for me.
“He’s perfect for you,” Franci says with hearts in her eyes.
My phone rings, and I look at the caller ID. I see the international exchange and know in my gut who is calling.
“Hello,” I answer. My voice has a slight quiver to it. He hasn’t called me in so long that I’m not even sure it’s him. It could be one of his henchmen, but I don’t understand why.
“Don’t you leave that mall, doch’.” His voice has a roughness to it that I don’t remember. He called me daughter and didn’t use my name, letting me know a lot of things all at once. He thinks my line isn’t secure. He only spoke that last part in Russian, and he’s here.
“Chto ty imeyesh' v vidu, Otets?” I ask him in Russian what he means and address him as Father. I’ll keep up the ruse that one of us is on an unsecured line.
Franci’s phone rings, and I look at her as she’s about to ignore it again. I take it from her hand and answer it without saying anything while holding my phone to my other ear.
“Why are you answering this phone?” a voice I know asks, and I look around. He’s watching us.
Several things click into place at once. Young was a plant and a distraction. That’s why he was so obvious when he was following me. My father said don’t leave the mall. He’s got eyes on me too.
Leif.
I rush from the building, screaming Leif’s name. He turns to face me as he clicks the button on the remote to unlock the door. He’s still a couple of rows away from where I parked. The SUV explodes, and I scream as I crouch low and make my way to him. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud. Metal and glass fall around us as I race toward him. Our SUV is a ball of flames, and I can barely make out his body lying on the pavement. I slide to my knees next to him.
“Please, Leif. Please be okay. Don’t leave me,” I beg him, and hear him groan as he rolls. He pulls me into his arms, and I hear laughing. I look down and realize I still have Franci’s phone in my hand. Both of us look to it.
“Oh, Angeline,” Crank says, and I want to throw the phone instead of holding it.
“Angeline is dead,” I answer as Franci moves toward us. I see another person rushing up to us and pull my gun and aim, ready to kill.
“It’s me,” Gambit says as he drops to the ground next to Franci and takes her in his arms.
“Oh, no, Angeline isn’t,” Crank says. I can hear my father yelling from my own phone in Franci’s hand. She must have picked it up when I dropped it to run outside. “I saw her on the tele and knew you faked it. I’ve been watching this fresh piece of meat you kept me from. She looks about ready now. Watch your back, Roger, Roger.” He laughs. The hair on my neck rises as his other statement rolls through my mind. He saw me on TV, and he’s got his sights set on Franci. But it’s the “watch your back” that has me in motion.
“Up. Move,” I order, and Gambit picks up Franci and takes cover behind a cement block in front of the mall. I’m helping Leif up when the first bullet strikes right where I was kneeling before. The next round slams into my back, and I grunt as I fall into Leif.
“Fuck,” he yells as he lifts me, and another bullet whizzes past us. We make it behind the cover as cars start pulling up.
“I’m okay.” I look up at Leif and see the worry in his face. “I can’t talk right now, but I’m alive.” I slam Franci’s phone into the ground repeatedly, knowing it wasn’t my father’s phone that was compromised.
* * *
