ANNA'S VIEW
I could feel my pulse rate grow faster and my knees buckle. Colonel James was coming toward me. I don't know if he saw me talking to Drake. His expression was unreadable, or maybe I was in panic mode to read anything. I turned around, and Drake disappeared. I hated when he pulled that stunt. I was left alone to face the music. I still had my mask on, but he recognized me. I took out my mask and smiled at him, with my nerves all over the place.
"Hey there, I know we spoke earlier about me coming to the motel to meet you. Cancel that," he ordered. "Don't you want the evidence against Drenmore?" I questioned him. I prayed that he didn't see Drake with me, or else everything would have been in vain. "I never said that," he replied. I arched my eyebrows and met his gaze. "Perhaps we can meet at another location," he suggested. "Somewhere more public?"
"No, the latter. Somewhere more private, I was thinking. You see, I am popular here, and I don't want to be seen going to a motel. The press would have a field day," he explained. "Oh, I understand," I said. My heart sank. I was scared that he would want to meet at the woods. "Where would you like to meet?" I inquired.
"How about down town-Old Main Road," he said. My body turned to ice.
It was very isolated, and anyone could pounce upon you at any time.
"By the old train tracks?" I questioned him. I had to be sure about the location. "Yeah, somewhere there," he nodded. I had a bad feeling in my gut. It was a bad idea, but I nodded in agreement. It was very suspicious that he wanted to meet there. "I will be there on time, and if I don't see you there, the deal is off." He warned me.
"I will be there." I assured him. I had to agree. I knew that Drake wouldn't be too pleased about the location, but we needed to know if Drenmore was going to show up.
This was a definite ambush, and I was the bait. I needed to be there; otherwise, Drenmore won't show up. I am the one, he wants so it may be fitting to go there.
"What time must I show up?" I needed to know, the hours before I encounter Drenmore once more. "Meet me there at 11:30," he answered. I felt my heart race.
"You will bring the evidence, and I will hand you some cash and wait for my further instructions."
"Deal!" I said, before shaking his hands. I then turned and walked away. I found Drake standing in the corner. He waited patiently for me to come by.
"So what did he want?" Drake interrogated me, as soon as I stood in front of him.
"He said he cannot meet me at the motel. He wants to meet me at Old Main Road at 11.30." Drake clenched his jaw and cursed. "That S.OB. I think he's on to us. You get out of here right now. I will go and finish this mess permanently," Drake drawled.
"I need to go with you," I insisted. "We have been through this. You are not going anywhere. If you went away, like I asked you too, Colonel James wouldn't have made such a ridiculous request."
" Well, it is what it is, and I have to be there, whether we like it or not. He said that if he doesn't see me there, the deal is off. He isn't going to show up," I revealed.
"This is getting too dangerous. He has already alerted Drenmore. You can't show up there. His goons will kidnap you if they see you anywhere near there," Drake warned. "I know the risk, but if they don't see me there, no one will show up, and our plan may go down south," I explained.
"It won't. I don't want to see you hurt in any way."
"I won't be harmed. I am resourceful. I have been learning some self-defense tactics on line," I said. I was trying to convince him, but it failed. He rolled his eyes at me. "Seriously! You can't fight ten of Drenmore's goons or even more."
" I know that, but I trust that you will keep me safe, like you always do."
"This is different, my love. I can't put your life in danger because I want to find a connection between those two. I won't let you place your life in harm's way." He was adamant about his decision.
"What if there's a connection and you don't know about it and they plot against us. We need a way to uncover the truth. Drenmore won't show up. Maybe Colonel James wants the video to blackmail Drenmore," I speculated.
"You are on to something. I have a plan. But we have to get out of here and go back to your apartment without anyone seeing us together."
We went through the secret tunnel that took us straight to the park, then Drake and I took separate taxis to my apartment. My heart was on my sleeve the entire time.
Drake was a bit late when he came to my apartment. He came in and handed me a wire. "You will wear this the entire time,' he instructed. "No one must know that you are wearing a wire," he said. I was speechless. It felt like I was an undercover cop. He also handed me a bulletproof vest. "Put this on and strap this wire on you," he ordered. I did what he said. It felt a little uncomfortable, but it was for a good course.
"You will be under surveillance. If you happen to see Drenmore anywhere, don't panic. My men will be on standby." Drake assured me. "I need you to stay focused and calm at all times," Drake said. I nodded my head in agreement. I was ready to do this. "I will be alert. I know all too well about the threat I am in," I vowed. "You don't need to put up a brave front for me, my love," he said.
"I am not pretending Drake. I am tired of being a victim, and I don't want to run anymore. I want this to be put behind us," I answered him honestly.
"So do I; I want us to have normal lives. With those two crawling around, it's impossible. I hate placing you in this situation, but it needs to be done," he sighed.
"The sooner this is done, the better it will be for all of us," I said.
"I think it will work," I said, sounding positive. "I like your attitude so far. I must say that I am impressed." He told me with a note of admiration in his voice. "I mean it. I don't want to hide anymore. I was doing a lot of soul searching these past couple of days, and I want to overcome my fears."
Drake arched both his eyebrows. "Interesting, and where else did your soul searching lead you to?" He mocked, with a sardonic smile pasted on his face.
"It's not a joke. It is serious. I did a lot of thinking, and it led me to a path of bravery. I refuse to be that naïve girl anymore," I said, lowering my head. " You were never a naïve girl. I never saw you as one. You handled yourself great. Your life was threatened more than once, but you still held it together. That takes guts. You are alive today because of your tenacity."
"Thank you," I said. I was touched. He never spoke about me so positively before. It was a sentiment out of the blue. I couldn't believe that the mighty Drake Harding admired my strength. There's one for the books.
"You don't need to thank me for the truth. Just do what you do and stay alive. I need you more than anything."
He held me in his arms and kissed me. It felt refreshing and sexually appeasing. My nipples hardened. I pulled away. It wasn't the time to get sexually aroused, even though I wanted him. "I swear when we come back, you're going to get it good,' he promised, stroking my cheeks. "I am going to hold you to it," I winked.
"Let's get going before we get in the sack and forget about everything," he said, slapping my backside hard.
I felt nervous as we made our way to the train tracks. I took a deep breath. I was going to be there all alone, well, not really. Drake and his men were not far off. Drake dropped me off nearby. He and his team made sure that we were not followed. I walked to the train tracks. It was deserted. There was no sign of anyone, let alone Colonel James.
I looked at my watch; it was exactly 11.30. Where was Colonel James? My heart went into my mouth when I heard unfamiliar noises from the bushes near by.