“Then you run and hide.” I place a hand on his shoulder. “If something happens to me, do what you need to do to stay safe.”
Godfrey and Hudson look at each other and then at me. They don’t like the idea, but they understand my direction.
An engine roars in the distance, and my heart thunders. “Go!” I gesture for them to get out of sight.
I have a knife in my shoe and one in my back jeans pocket for easy access if I need it.
Headlights approach, and their brightness symbolizes the sun after days of darkness. Hope sparks in me, and I pray the driver is a civilian and not part of Victor’s crew.
I step out into the road and wave one arm in the air while the other clutches my stomach, pretending to be injured. I don’t want to look like a threat.
“Please help me!”
The car stops a few feet from me, and the driver steps out, rushing over to me.
“Are you okay?”
I drop to my knees as I study the man with brown hair and friendly brown eyes. I don’t feel threatened. No one else is in his car, so if need be, I can tackle him.
“Please call the police. My friends and I were kidnapped.”
“Oh my God.” He helps me to stand. “Let’s get you into the car. Where are your friends?”
I point to the woods, waving them out. “It’s safe, boys.”
We pile into the car as fast as we can. Harold drives us out of Sturbridge, heading to the Worcester Police Station because there are more hospitals in that city.
“Yo.” Someone pounded on the open door, startling me back to reality. “You busy?”
I glanced up to see Godfrey and Hudson. Both wore jeansand light sweaters, looking casual as if they had all the time in the world. Godfrey owned Luminosity, a renowned jewelry company, and Hudson owned several car dealerships and a restaurant franchise.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Godfrey folded himself into the leather chair in front of my desk.
The women at my gym swooned whenever the Russian-American heartthrob—as they called him—taught one of my self-defense classes.
Hudson occupied the other seat. “We’re meeting for lunch, remember?”
Shit.I’d forgotten about our lunch plans today to review the copycat murders. Timber was away on business and couldn’t join us today.
“Someone gave these to you?” Hudson furrowed his eyebrows at my plants. “They seem out of place.”
Hudson was another popular trainer at Kessler’s Studio. He didn’t do it for the money because he had plenty. Classes always filled up when this Vietnamese-Chinese-American entrepreneur traded in his tailored suit for athletic clothes. Women asked him out constantly, but he always declined. My boys knew their place. My fitness studio wasn’t a hookup lounge. They respected my space as I respected theirs.
Each of us owned a building in Etched Square, a name we’d all agreed on. We were all etched with a past that forever bonded us. The four towers that comprised the square were named after their owners: the Kessler, Markov, Gao, and Wolfe Buildings.
I’d met a few of their significant others before, but none of them had long-lasting relationships. Perhaps we were all cursed. There was probably too much dark energy around us. I couldn’t speak for them regarding women. But for me, I hadn’tconnected with any woman well enough to want her around for long. The clingy type irritated me, and I didn’t have time for that shit.
“Plants produce oxygen.” I rose from my chair. “And this office needs more of it.”
Godfrey and Hudson exchanged glances, and both burst into laughter.
“Since when do you care about oxygen?” Godfrey asked.
“Are you sick, bro?” Hudson tried to touch my forehead, but I swatted his hand away.
“It’s good feng shui, okay?”
