15. Exodus “Yin” Tan
EXODUS “YIN” TAN
I finished on the cable machine and turned to face Yang. Sam was busy with weights as Yang wiped sweat from his neck.
“I know you talked with her.” I pointed at Sam.
“Of course we talked about you behind your back.” Sam shrugged and set the weights down to peer at the screen of a treadmill. “She is my best friend. Who else is she going to talk about it with?”
“What did she say?” I wanted to know.
“You know better than that.” Yang laughed. “What’s said between best friends is like going to Vegas.”
“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” Sam laughed. “But she had nothing bad to say. She is worried though.”
“Worried?” That caught my attention.
Sam forewent the machine and picked up his towel. His face was red that glowed from his ears and down his neck.
“If I tell you this—” Sam sat on one of the benches. “You can’t tell her I told you.”
“Wǒ dāying.” I told him.
“She’s worried that night was a one-time thing.” Sam explained. “The thing is, I don’t think she feels very secure. This is the beginning of your relationship, so it’s understandable. And with everything happening.”
“She feels unsafe?” I asked.
“That’s not it. She doesn’t feel unsafe with you or that she’s in any danger when she’s around you. It’s just?—”
“About the intimacy thing.” I flicked the lid off my tumbler and drank long and deep.
“Precisely. You know what you have to do, right?” Sam asked. “You know what will make her feel better, like she’s yours.”
“She is mine.” I growled.
“Don’t get snippy at your baby brother.” Yang eased closer to us. “He’s not trying to take your girl. Just because you had sex with her doesn’t mean she knows she’s yours. She can’t read your mind.”
“And you seem allergic to words.” Sam muttered.
“I thought you were against this?” I tipped my chin in Yang’s direction.
“I was irritated with her.” He shrugged. “Big difference.”
Sam laughed until he snorted.
“Irritated? You knocked her out!” Sam chortled.
“Knocked out sounds so dangerous.” Yang frowned. “She didn’t give me a choice. It was either that or get her ass killed. You would have made the same decision.”
“I think she’s still mad.” I sighed.
“Hey, that’s your cross to bear.” Yang picked up his towel and began walking toward the change rooms. “I don’t care either way.”
Rubbing the back of my neck, I patted Sam’s shoulder and we followed Yang. We chatted about other things except the mission.
They teased me about falling for Alisha, the kind of chiding brothers do where nobody became offended and our sides hurt from laughing so much.
On the drive back, Sam took the wheel. I climbed into the back while Yang sat beside him. As we made our way back to Mama’s house, I played around on my phone trying to find a suitable place to take Alisha on our first real date.
It was understandable she didn’t know what her place was in my life. Our relationship hadn’t stared out how it should.
Boy meets girl
Boy asks girl on a date.
Boy and girl have a date…
Instead, we were all over the place.
“What do you guys think of Prodigy for a first date?” I called without looking away from my phone’s screen.
“That’s a nice place.” Yang approved.
“Prodigy is too much.” Sam disagreed. “Alisha isn’t that kind of girl. I mean, one day you might be able to take her there. But maybe find a cute mom and pop place—she loves Thai food.”
“Thai…” I’d forgotten. “Oh—let’s see here—Kin Khao looks nice.”
At a stop sign, Sam turned as much as his seatbelt would allow to reach for my phone. I handed it to him, and he scrolled through the pictures.
“This is nice.” He told me. “And it’s on the lake—she would love that. Try getting a table by the windows. She loves a view.”
He handed the phone back and I continued with my search.
By the time we arrive back at the house, it was for Mama Tan and Alisha to exit the house, heading to Mama’s SUV.
“Where are you two going in such a hurry?” I asked.
“Groceries.” Alisha hooked her arm with one of Mama’s.
I didn’t like the idea of them leaving my sight—of Alisha leaving my sight. But I swallowed that fear and forced m/y shoulders to relax. I couldn’t keep an eye on her all the time, and I knew she couldn’t be okay with me keeping an eye on her like some stalker.
“You two be careful.” I told them instead. “Don’t talk to strangers.”
Alisha smiled, leaned across to kiss my nose then walked with Mama to the SUV where she opened my mother’s door for her.
“If you stopped looking, she won’t disappear,” Sam said closed to my ear.
“Fuck.” I mumbled and followed my brother into the house.
It was as if my heart would stop beating until she walked back into the house.
My heart stopped beating until she walked in carrying an armload of bags. When she saw me, she set the bags on the counter and walked into my arms.
I held her tightly, cradling the back of her head with a palm and pressing my face into the side of her head.
It’d been too long since I’d seen her, since I’d held her and I was scared.
Mama chuckled and set her bag on the counter as well then wandered around as if we weren’t there. Kissing Alisha’s forehead, I released her so we could help Mama.
We then packed my truck for the stakeout.
“I don’t know if any of these are thick enough for overnight outside.” She was muttering to herself in the bedroom.
Leaving the room, I found Sam and pressed my credit card into his hand.
“Take Alisha shopping.” I told him, glancing over my shoulders. “She needs clothes for tonight—a few sweaters, jeans—whatever she needs. Pay for it but don’t tell her you’re using my card.”
“Yin—”
“She’s going to freeze. Remember, her house burnt down. It’s not like we can pop over and go through her closet.”
Sam sighed as if he’d forgotten then nodded.
“I have the tent for the back of the truck.” I continued. “Bam showed me a place close by where we can hide the truck and set up the tent on it where it won’t be seen from the road. But we’re going to be outside most of the night.”
Sam nodded.
I stayed in the backyard until she called my name. When she poked her head outside, I turned to look at her.
“Sam and I are heading into town to buy some stuff.” Alisha told me. “Mostly snacks. You want anything?”
I smirked, held her around the hips and drew her into my chest. Without saying a word, I kissed her until she moaned then tapped my chest.
She was breathing heavily, her body trembling even as she cuddled into me.
“I know it’s been a few days since we—” I paused, staring at her lips. “I’m not ignoring you.”
“I didn’t think you were. But I do miss your body.”
“Soon you can have it as much as you want.” I promised. “As much as you can take.”
She sighed, kissed me again then peeled from my arms.
“We’ll be back.” Alisha promised.
As she walked away, I held into her hand until we didn’t have a choice but to let go. She was barely in the house but I already missed her.
But while she was gone, I had things to do for that night, tech to test out with Bambam.
“How many trackers do you have left?” Bambam wanted to know. “I have a couple. I might not need them.”’
“They’re good to have.” Bambam spoke through the speakers. “You bringing heat?”
Pulling the Glock from where it was beneath the front seat of my truck, I checked it, ensured I had extra rounds then replaced it.
“Check.” I answered, wandering inside.
“Food?”
“Mama Tan took care of it and Kitty is out right now with Sam for snacks and warm clothing.”
“I’m surprise you let her out of your sight.”
Sighing, I sat beside the bag on my bed.
“Me too.”
Bambam sighed.
“I’ll keep an eye on you guys tonight.” She told me. “Don’t worry, I won’t wire you for sound unless it’s necessary so be as wild as you want.”
“We’re going on a stakeout, nothing more.”
“Sure.” Bambam fake coughed. “Sure. Also, the satellites will have some blind spots. I don’t like it, but this is the best we can do at the moment. Keep your eyes open and don’t talk to strangers. Tha’lab will be a phone call away, but?—”
“We’re going to try not letting things go that far.”
Bambam made a sound in her throat.
“Call me when you’re almost there,” she said.
“Sure.”
* * *
We parked my truck in a bit of a cove that was hidden from the road. Still, I ensured the truck was locked, I had flashlights and bottled water with us and a few snack bars she’d purchased while out with Sam.
Taking her hand was like second nature. I reached back without thinking and she folded her smaller paw in mine.
The comfort that brought me was serene, a kind I didn’t think I was worthy of but accepted.
We walked to the perfect spot to overlook the house we needed. It was a house that was like any other in neighbourhood that was created for families.
It sat in a the very middle of a cul-de-sac.
It wasn’t a bad neighbourhood—the after pandemic punch hit the people a little harder than other with most people giving up and just walking away.
Afterward, with the people, time and hope abandoned this place.
The houses around it were all boarded up as bouncing from a global pandemic hadn’t been easy.
Graffiti artists had gotten to them, further pushing these once bustling homes into different states of disrepair.
She tightened her fingers with mine and didn’t let go until she was trying to find a comfy position to be in while we waited—and watched.
“Where did you learn all of this?” Alisha asked, opening a bag of peanuts and taking one of my palms. “You’re not allergic, are you?”
“To peanuts? No.”
She dumped some in my hand and we went back to eyeing the house. There wasn’t any movement, no cars in the driveway—but that didn’t mean anything. They had a garage and to not draw attention, they may have just dropped people off then left.
“I sometimes do undercover work for Tha’lab.” I admitted.
“Really? Even with your status as a fighter?”
“I find that being a fighter isn’t really about celebrity.” I explained. “Most people don’t watch these fights, and I look very different when I’m in the octagon. And besides, shady bars are usually dimly lit.”
“Mm. But still?—”
“I’m still here, Kitty.”