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My husband shakes his head slightly. “This is grappling. It’s a simple submission hold.”
“Oh my God.” The dude’s eyes are bulging. “Tom, you have to let go.” I reach for his arm.
“Right now, I have control,” he says. “But if he doesn’t apologize soon, he has approx— ”
I remove my hand from my husband’s forearm. This is all very sexy.
I hear the guy mutter something that sounds like an apology. Tom lets go.
“Say it again,” he tells the guy. “Clearly, please.”
“I’m sorry,” he stutters. I watch as he backs away, holding his neck and looking at Tom like he has lost his mind. “It was just a joke.”
“Jokes can get a person killed,” Tom warns. It isn’t a threat exactly. But now I can see my husband is smart that way.
As we stand in line to check in, Tom’s breathing finally returns to normal. “You know karate?”
“Jujitsu.”
My eyes widen. “Anything else I should know?”
He doesn’t have to think about his answer. He leans forward and kisses my cheek. “I hope we can make this marriage work.” Afterward, he pulls away and meets my eye. “I really hate liars.”
Chapter Twenty
Tom
Melanie thinks we’re here honeymooning. Someone should have told her, honeymoons aren’t supposed to be based on a bed of lies.
What we’re really doing here is not honeymooning. It’s business. If I can keep Mark happy, and Melanie away from things that might put her in immediate danger, then I can work behind the scenes to carry out my plan. Part of that plan is saving my own ass. In the process, I have to make the determination of whether or not to keep my lovely bride around. You could say there’s something about a betrayal that leaves a bad taste in a person’s mouth. On the other hand, I have to say, while there are some kinks to be worked out, so far, so good. My wife is good entertainment if you’re looking for that sort of thing, and right now I could use a bit of levity in my life. Which is why I was pleased to receive confirmation from a mile high that all is nearly in working order. They really put her into shape. Where I thought things were perfect, they made them better.
Nonetheless, I’m aware the ultimate warfare is the understanding that the moment one feels secure is the moment you have to change things up. God knows, aiming low is seductive.
Personally, I aim high. Around the throat region, generally. That’s why I paid the guy to let me prove a point to Melanie. It still amazes me how far people are willing to go in pursuit of the almighty dollar. I could have killed that guy. It’s risky, to say the least, when the only thing standing between him living and dying was a few seconds and a little control on my part. Seems like a lot to risk for fifty bucks, if you ask me. But then, it’s a proven fact that once people make a decision or a commitment to something, they are likely to follow through for no other sake than they don't want to be seen as inconsistent. If compliance is what you’re looking for, it’s best to start small and build. Works like a charm. In this case, as soon as I got him to say yes to helping me impress a girl, I knew the rest was pretty much in the bag. The devil is in the detail. Who cares that I left out the part where I’d choke him into submission when it was only meant to be a shove? He’d already agreed to the deal.
“Fancy a swim?” I ask Melanie after lunch.
“I don’t swim.”
That’s good to know. Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths. “Fine,” I say. “You can lay out. I’ll swim.”
We’ll start small and build.
“Perfect,
” she quips. “I’ll bring the agreement. I’ve been reading up on it, and this will give me a chance to ask a few questions….”
“What kind of questions?”
She yawns loudly, and after a second or two, she holds a finger up. “First a nap.”
While Melanie is sleeping I check my phone. I’d purposely left it in the room when we went to lunch, and I was pretty sure what I’d missed. Three calls from Mark. I step out of the room to call him back.
He answers on the first ring. “How’s the honeymoon going?”
“Very well.”
“Good,” he says. There’s a pause. “Listen, I have a bad connection. I’ll ring you right back.”
