13. Rory #2
“From around. A friend of mine had a run-in with him a few weeks ago. I couldn’t believe he was out of jail. We all thought that the judge threw the book at him. The charges he was facing… I didn’t expect to see him again.”
“Yeah. Me either. Danny’s getting in his car. We’ve gotta follow him.”
Aasim waited until Danny pulled out of the parking lot before we trailed him.
We stopped when he pulled onto a block with a row of townhomes. Danny parked his car then walked into what I assumed was his home.
“Before we go in there, I just want to be clear. You gotta let me handle this the way I handle things,” Aasim said.
I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but my gut was telling me Danny had something to do with the flowers. Regardless of what happened here tonight, I had to trust Aasim.
“Alright,” I said in a low tone.
Aasim opened his car door, and I did the same. We walked side by side to Danny’s front door. After ringing Danny’s doorbell, I waited impatiently for him to answer. I’d come too far to leave without the answers I needed. When Danny opened the door, his eyes bulged as we locked eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he stuttered.
I didn’t bother to answer him as Aasim pushed him inside so we could step inside his place.
“Why don’t you take a seat? I think I’d like to continue our conversation from this afternoon,” I said.
Danny’s eyes shifted from me to Aasim, who pulled his gun out at some point.
“What were you doing with Devin Thomas? Did you have something to do with him getting out of jail?” I asked Danny.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I be with him? Isn’t he still in jail?” Danny spewed out questions he already knew the answer to.
I’d been living in fear of when and where the person who followed me would pop back up. Now that I’d seen Danny talking to Devin with my own eyes, I wasn’t going to just let him tell me anything.
I let out a deep breath, “Let’s try to be honest for once. I know it’s hard. As you can see, I’m harmless, but my friend isn’t.”
Aasim stood beside him and pressed his gun to his forehead.
Danny held up his hands in protest. “Fine. I’ll tell you.
Don’t shoot me. Devin sent me messages before he got out of prison.
He wanted intel on you. I refused at first, but he threatened my mother.
I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong, but I didn’t have a choice.
The only reason I knew he was out was because he sent me a video of him having coffee with my mother. I freaked out.”
“What does he want from me?” I asked.
“He wants you dead. I just met with him to give him the weekly update.”
I let the realization of his words set in. To hear them come out of his mouth made everything I’d been in fear of feel too real. I couldn’t imagine someone hated me so much that they would want to kill me.
“What information did you give him about me? Did you know he’s been stalking me?” I asked.
“I just gave him your work schedule. When you’re at the office or courthouse. He never said what he was doing with the information. I didn’t know he was stalking you,” Danny replied.
I looked over at Aasim, unsure of my next move.
Inside, I was upset beyond words. No matter how much I disliked him, I wouldn’t do anything like this to him or anyone else.
The look on my face must have triggered Aasim because he pulled the trigger and put Danny out of his misery.
The view of Danny’s brains splattered all over the floor should have made me run away.
Instead, a feeling of relief came over me because I had finally got some answers.
Danny didn’t have to die, but he also didn’t have to put my life at risk.
Aasim snapped me out of my daze and grabbed my hand as we headed toward the car. Once we were both in the car, he grabbed a phone I had never seen before.
“Clean up on aisle four,” he said, then disconnected the call. Before he put the phone away, he sent a text of what I assumed was the address.
Aasim pulled off as we drove in silence.
My emotions were all over the place. It felt weird that I only felt numb.
I had never been a witness to a crime. I hated to say Danny got what he deserved, but he could have found a way to at least tell me Devin was out.
We all knew the risks some clients we represented posed.
Devin was the scariest one to me, even if I never showed it or told anyone.
The oath I took made me back out of dropping him as a client. It was a decision I often regretted.
When Devin threatened to make me pay for sending him to jail, he meant it.
I always knew he would return, but I felt safe because he was in prison.
It was obviously a false sense of security because he got out a lot sooner than anticipated.
The reality that Aasim had killed someone to protect me wasn’t lost on me.
He’d been telling me since we first met that I was safe with him and tonight he proved it.
Now that I knew Aasim knew Devin, I felt as if I had the upper hand on getting to him before he executed whatever plans he had for me.
Aasim pulled into the driveway of a home.
It was the first time I paid attention to my surroundings since we had left Danny’s place.
The gray, colonial-style home sat on what had to be about two acres of land.
It was stunning. The well-manicured lawn only made it more appealing.
Under different circumstances, I would have loved a tour, but at that moment, I just wanted to close my eyes and forget about today.
“Sweetheart, you good?” Aasim finally asked. His eyes pleaded with me to say yes.
“No. But I will be once we take care of Devin. Is this your place?” I asked.
“Yeah. My home away from home. Yaya is the only other person to have visited this place. It’s my secret escape. We can stay here as long as you want.”
I smiled at the offer. Aasim was great at letting me know he cared for me.
“Give me a tour in the morning, okay?” I asked as I reached for his hand.
“Anything for you. Come on. Let’s shower and get to bed.”
I followed Aasim to what I assumed was the primary bedroom. He placed my bag down, and I grabbed my toiletries. Aasim turned on the shower then undressed me. Once I was in the shower, he undressed himself.
I stood under the water and let it run over my body. As the tears fell from my eyes, Aasim lathered up my loofah and washed my body. He was gentle and took his time. After the shower, he dried me off and wrapped me in a towel. Back in the bedroom, I put lotion on my body and got dressed.
Aasim met me under the covers and held me tight. I fought to forget the look on Danny’s face before he lost his life. Aasim wrapped his arms tighter around me. A sleep I didn’t think would find consumed me under his embrace.