Runaway Memories

Stillness surrounds me as I begin to awaken. Panic sets in that it's too quiet, smells of cleaning supplies, and day old laundry. Realizing my eyes are slower to open, my body is aching, and my head is pounding, I begin taking deep slow breaths striving to keep my panic at bay. Do you ever just feel that there's something wrong, that your mind's equilibrium is off, that's the exact feeling I was overcome with thirty seconds ago when my slumber began to dissipate.

"Okay Al, just take it slow, calm yourself and figure out where you are. This is what you've been training for" I calmly reprimand to myself. Taking a final deep breath, slowly opening my eyes, a voice send all the calming panic right over the edge. My eyes fly open when a raspy male drawl soothes me back to a calming state, well at least attempts to. "Hey, hey take it slow, you must have a nasty headache and that shiner on your eye can't be feeling too hot right now." The man is surprisingly handsome, no scratch that, he's gorgeous. He's the epitome of the male gender and I cannot break the trance his ice blue eyes have over me as they bore into mine. What the hell Al? His voice is low, calming, unfamiliar in every sense, but comforting. "Here, place this on your cheek so I can make sure nothing else is broken. You put up an impressive fight earlier and I want to make sure we don't need to take other precautions."

My face screws up in confusion as he begins to look me over, every inch of my body sets on fire as his gaze moves over me. "Umm.." I try, but the cotton in my throat restricts my voice to come out above a whisper. "I..who.." I try again, but my voice is still trapped in my throat. Hearing me struggle to speak, his cerulean eyes rush back to mine, concern hitting me like a mac truck. "Shh. Try not to speak just yet. Let me grab you some water." He stands from his squatting position to a well over six-foot frame. I raise my head to see where he's going, but bolts of pain shoot through my head, rattling my brain like a baby's toy. Easing my head down to the paper thin pillow, I just my eyes to reduce the urge to throw up. When the bed dips, that sultry voice pulls me out of my head. Opening my eyes to see an unopened water bottle. Reading my expression, he chuckles "It's okay, I wasn't going to give you water from somewhere I didn't trust." Relieved that one of us has a clear head I nod and reach for the bottle. Wincing, I open the cap and press it to my lips. "Not too much or you'll be sick" he whispers. Nodding again, I pull the bottle away and try my words again. "Who.. where.. how.. ahh" with my mind racing at what questions to ask first and how to get the sound unstuck from my throat. He grabs the bottle from my hands and starts answering the questions like I asked them in full sentences.

"My name is Taylor. Latham Taylor, but every one just last-names me. We're on a train that no one seems to have a clue of the destination. And how you got here, well that's what I was hoping you'd tell me." His alluring blue eyes search mine for answers, but I know by his look of defeat all he sees is emptiness. "You should get some more rest, you look exhausted." Ouch, that hits my ego square in the jaw. Looking away from him, I reach for the bottle of water to heal my parched throat.

After a few moments of silence, he stands and walks to the other bed in the room. Water sprays out of my mouth as the reality of my situation starts to sink in. Frantically, I scan my body for clothes, any signs of unwarranted behavior, I scan the room for other strange men. When I've jumped out of bed in panic and begin to sway, Latham is at my side making sure I don't faint. Correction, he's holding me upright as the room begins to darken. I feel my legs leave the ground as his big warm body crushes to mine, whispering words of calmness into my hair. He eases me back down on the bed, reminding me I'm safe and that he would never hurt me. "F-Federal A-Agent" my voice croaks out. The vibration of his chuckle sends shivers down my body and its entirety. "No, just your typical, off-duty, SWAT officer." Well that explains the hardness of his body, I can practically feel the muscles in his stomach, arms, and chest. Shaking my head, I find my voice again "No, I am a Federal Agent." The sentence sounds like I've been eating rocks or have horrid case of laryngitis, but it was my first full sentence none the less.

Tensing, Latham lets out a sound of understanding. "Are you remembering or is that what you know?" Realizing I am still in his lap, I move to straighten, but he squeezes me tighter. It's only for a millisecond, but the awareness level of my body catches the act. He shifts me to the rock of a mattress and returns to the squatting position beside the bed. His eyes bore into mine, it's like he can see straight through to my soul. Shaking the feeling I finally reply, "No, I know I am a Federal Agent. My team was working a case in New York..." my voice trails off when I realize that's the last thing I remember. "It's okay, get some rest, we'll talk more in a few hours." Reluctantly nodding, I lean down on the cardboard sheets and stare at the ceiling. My mind going into over drive of how the hell I ended up on this runaway train, in adonis's room, with zero recollection of how I got here. After working through black hole after black hole, the movement of the trail lulls me to sleep.

I wake to a loud pounding. Sitting up to soothe the sound coming from my massive headache, a large hand covers my mouth, before my instincts kick in the calming drawl hits my ear "Shh, it's me. They've been out there for about ten minutes, but only started the beating down the door." My body relaxes for a half second only to jump and go on full alert when the banging resumes. Latham removes his hand from my mouth, but grasps my wrist pulling me to a standing position. Never taking his eyes or hands off me, it's only until my body stops swaying and the stars clear my vision does his gaze move to the door. "What's happening" I whisper up at him, comprehending just how tall he is. Compared to my five-foot six stature I only come up to his pecs, I mean chest. What the hell is it about this man that makes my mind go straight to dirty, focus Al there is literally someone beating down your door...his door, whatever, now is not the time to be drooling over a stranger. Feeling my arm pull I begin to follow Latham toward the door, we stop short when I dig my heels into the carpet that's more than like been there since 1976. "Are you crazy, we can't face them" I hiss as I struggle to release myself from his hold. The jaw-dropping smirk that this man has the audacity to send my way shoots through me like a bolt of lightning. Craaaaap.

Pushing me in the nook of a small closet where the door swings open, Latham reaches for the door. "No" I growl out again, but his hand that has yet to leave my wrist tightens before moving to intertwine our hands. Looking up at him he gives me his best "trust me" glance and cracks the door open.

"What!?" he seethes to the nighttime visitors on the other side of the door.

"Sir, I deeply apologize" an out of breath man mumbles.

"No! She's here. I know she's with you." another man yells.

Latham sticks to his angry, yet collected composure, only raising an eyebrow to the men.

"Mr. Scott, your wife is not here. You cannot keep barging in on random rooms at two o'clock in the morning."

"She IS here and I WILL find her and when I do she'll pay a price for what she's caused."

Latham's grip on my hand squeezes at his threat. My mind reels at the thought of his poor wife and praying she got away from this monster for good.

"Tesoro, I'm coming for you" he sings as he walks away. My body tenses, time freezes, and I begin to shake. Latham takes one glance at me and gives me another squeeze.

"My wife and I better not be woken again. She's newly pregnant and doesn't get much sleep as it is." Latham scolds who I can only assume is the train security. My mind whirls, only to realize he's lying for me to the guard to protect me from Lorenzo.

Latham's eyes cut to mine, but the anger in them is gone making me aware I whispered Lorenzo's name out loud. He turns back to the guard, nodding once when another string of apologies ensue. Shutting the door, Latham pulls me toward the bed I've been occupying. He squats in front of me, but this time he takes both of my hands in his, forcing me to look into those mesmerizing blue eyes. “You know who that man was don’t you?” Feeling the hot sting of tears prick my eyes I nod. “God, you’re shaking. Are you his wife? Was this an undercover job?” His questions go on for another minute after he’s pulled me back into his lap.

Only after the shaking calms and the unshed tears subside do I attempt words. “I-I don’t know” I choke out first. “I just know that when he said Tesoro my body instinctively reacted and bad feelings swarmed my body.” I suck in a deep breath when Latham squeezes me for another millisecond before turning me to face him. “I need you to try and remember what was happening before I found you” he whispers, but my body tenses. Found me? What the hell. My body stiffens as I try to decipher this situation in a new light. “Do you mean kidnap me?” My voice quakes as I pull out of his embrace and stand before him. “Did you kidnap me and put me on this train to nowhere?” My voice is trying to raise an octave, but my vocal cords won’t let it.

Latham stands and tries to close the distance between us, but on instinct, I step backward causing his fists to clench and unclench at his sides. What is going on? My mind races to locate the lost memories, until I freeze.

“What’s today’s date?”

Latham searches my face to try and jump on the same train of thought.

“November seventeenth, two thousand twenty one” he drawls.

My heart hits my stomach about as fast as my knees hit the floor. Latham is there to catch me, but still giving me space. Six months. I’m missing six months of information, memories, days. How the hell is this possible? The sting of tears begs to be released until I feel a light touch under my chin, pulling my gaze to a pair of beautiful eyes. “Talk to me…” he trails off like he wanted to add more, but doesn’t.

Shrugging I lean into his embrace, just enough to be barely noticeable. I need some sort of strength and the only sign of it since I’ve woken up has been this man in front of me. Sighing I start all I can recall.

“My name is Allison Cooper. As mentioned, I work for the FBI. My team was called in on a case at the beginning of the year that involved potential undercover work. We were investigating New York City’s Italian mafia boss, but were getting nowhere in our investigation. After the Director threatened to squash the case, my team and I came up with a plan.” The words are spilling out as if my memory recalls every piece, until that day. Latham gives my chin a small squeeze, urging me on. “The plan was to study the women Lorenzo Russo carried as arm candy and gain his attention. Once we had an inside man, well woman, we could go to the Director and finally give him an official update.” I look down at my hands, sore from wringing them together. Noticing this, Latham moves his grip from my chin to give my hands a break. “Well our plan backfired, when I was out with friends on a weekend off and caught the attention of Lorenzo all by myself, no disguise, no time to hide my background, nothing. At first, I flirted, played it off as a serendipitous reaction, which was actually the case. Until..”

My voice needs a second to give my vocal cords a break. Not realizing Latham had moved me to the table and chairs and handed me my water. Sipping slowly I regain my thoughts. “Lorenzo fell hard and fast, taking me on extravagant dates, vacations, everything you dream of, except for the tiny fact he was a king of NYC’s Italian mafia and he had zero idea I knew.

He told me he’d made his money investing in stocks and startup companies. I smiled along a played dumb. After about three months he’d decided he wanted things to go to the next level. I was terrified, I knew if I began a true relationship with the suspect, undercover or not, I’d be reprimanded. Big time.” Latham’s fists clench and unclench and when I look into those mysterious blue eyes all I see is Red. Gone is the heroic and caring man, replaced by a shell of a man that wants to destroy everyone in sight. Looking down at the bottle, I continue.

“At first I played the whole ‘I’m not ready’ card and ‘let’s wait a bit longer.’ At first he took it as a tease, me stringing him along for my pleasure, but after about another month a girl can only come up with so many excuses.I knew my career was too important to throw away on a mafia king. I didn’t love him, well I think I was starting to fall and that scared me, so I decided to run. I left a message at the FBI’s headquarters using code names and words that I knew they’d be able to locate and save me.” Wringing my fingers again, I feel his hands grasp mine again. The tears that I've kept at bay are so close to falling that my vision has become blurred. Biting the inside of my cheek, fighting to the courage to finish this last piece of vital information, I breathe “Lorenzo found me first. He found out I was undercover, knocked me unconscious with one blow to the temple and kidnapped me. The last thing I remember is waking up to him standing over me, demanding I marry him and have his children. When I refused he just walked away letting his men in to beat me to a ‘Yes’”.

Somewhere in the midst of spilling my final memory, Latham has pulled me onto his lap once again and is drying the stream of tears with the pads of his thumbs. Whispering “You’re safe, you’re brave, you escaped.” I only have the strength to nod and lean my head onto his chest. “I’m going to get you off this train and out of this mess, I promise you Al.” I’m too weak and exhausted to acknowledge the nickname only my dad calls me. It’s not long that the lull of Latham’s heart beat puts me fast asleep.

I wake with a jolt, nose stuffy from crying. Sensing my confusion I feel a warm body tighten its grip around me, I panic. Lorenzo. “Relax baby, it’s just me” between the calm drawl and the nickname my heart rams against my chest. “Deep breaths, you’re safe Al.” Relaxing at the memories flooding back I sit up. “What do we do now La-” It’s all I can get out before another pounding on the door arises. I start and jump to my feet, Latham jumping to my side. “Shit” he growls before he turns to me. Looks me over once and lands on my eyes. “How are you feeling?” His voice has concern and urgency in it. Knowing I’m nowhere near the 100% I need to be to get out of this mess, I straighten my shoulders and lie “Fine, tell me the plan.” A small smirk forms at the corner of his mouth when he says “You’re a liar, but we don’t have time to wait. Go into the bathroom and jimmy the vent and see if we can’t get out of here. Meanwhile,” He shoves two bottles of water into my hands and pushes me toward the small space. “take these. I’m going to let them think they can search the room, when that happens I want you to drink some water and spit it in the toilet like you’re getting sick. It’s the only way to buy us some time for you to locate another way out.”

Nodding, I run into the confined space of the bathroom and start searching for a way out. There’s a vent above the sink that I think will be feasible enough for us to get through. I climb on to the sink and discover the latches only swing out and don’t require screws of any kind. “Thank God!” I silently chant as I open the vent to get a peek inside. The space is small, but doable. I quickly close the vent and latch it back as I hear Latham’s voice boom. “Listen, I’ve already told you I’d appreciate you not disturbing my pregnant wife..” There’s my cue. I open one of the small waters and only taking a small mouth full, crouch down, and spew it into the toilet. Adding some coughing for effect, I fill my mouth with a bit bigger gulp and repeat the process. In between “puking” fits I hear the voices apologizing to Latham and wishing me well. It isn’t until I hear Lorenzo’s song of “Tesoro, I’m coming for you..” does actual bile rise in my throat. Trying to calm the panic I feel. It’s no use when I hear his hand slam against the bathroom door on his way out. Beads of sweat coating my skin. I feel a cold washcloth dab my forehead and neck, the soothing words of Latham bringing me back to earth. Wiping and rinsing my mouth of the awful taste, I turn to look into those charismatic eyes and feel relief wash over my body.

“He won’t hurt you anymore, I swear it Al” is all Latham says as he helps me to a standing position. I gesture for the vent and he helps me climb up. Standing beside me, to help get the vent off, he has to duck just to fit. Placing the vent on the counter top, his strong hands wrap around my waist and hoist me into the duct. My arms help me the rest of the way in. Handing me the vent, Latham jumps straight into the vent without hesitation. Damn those muscles. Using a few random items he finds in our pockets he secures the vent from the inside. Not remembering which way the conductor’s car is, I let Latham tell me which way.

After crawling for what seems like hours, my arms are jello, my knees are beginning to bruise and my raging headache is causing me to lose focus. “Just a few more cars and we’ll be there Al.” His encouragement gives me just enough energy to make it the rest of the way.

As we crawl closer to the conductor’s car, the familiar voice wafts into the vents paralyzing me in place. Latham freezes too, but not before his body slams into mine, sending a different kind of tingle racing through my body. We stop and listen to Lorenzo shouting at someone to keep the train moving until he finds me, but what is puzzling me is the dead conductor’s body below the vent we’re over, so who is he spouting his nonsense to? “Lay down Al.” I hear Latham’s voice, barely a whisper over Lorenzo’s yelling. I do as I’m told, trying to tamp the arousal down as Latham crawls over my body to gain a better look into the control car. Stopping when his body is completely over mine, he gently rests his hard body over mine, faintly whispering “next time we’re like this won’t be in a cramped air duct, and you won’t be scared of what I make you feel” a tiny moan erupts from my mouth as he gently swipes a kiss on my temple “almost home free, baby.” Once he’s completely on the other side of me, I take a moment to rest my flushed cheeks to the cool metal duct praying for my beating heart to slow. Damn my traitorous body.

After what seems like half an hour, Lorenzo’s yelling stops and he informs the other man that he’s going to conduct another search of the train. Freezing my eyes to Latham he grips my shoulders and whispers, it was almost four hours between visits, we have that long to figure out what the hell is going on and get you and everyone else on this train to safety. “Tesoro, I’m coming for you..” the song drifts into the vents pausing my heart for the briefest of moments. The only thing to restart it is Latham taking my face between his hands, pressing his forehead to mine, and whispering “I swear on my life Al, he won’t ever touch you again.” Sealing his promise, his lips brush my forehead and linger longer than expected.

Twice, twice in one hour have Latham’s lips been on my skin. Twice has my heart free fallen into the most beautiful abyss. Who is this man? And why do I feel as if I know him? The thoughts shake loose in my head when a grunting sound occurs beneath me. I crawl to the open vent to find Latham’s arms around the new conductor's neck causing him to lose consciousness. Latham’s arms reach to help me down, pausing when he hears a gasp erupt from my throat. Following my stare at another man lying on the floor, dead. Oz.

“Do you know him, Al?” His voice is gruff and out of breath. I nod confirming, but not able to find my words just yet. “He’s Lorenzo’s right hand. I remember him…” I trail off as pieces of my missing six months float into my brain.

“You’re remembering something aren’t you?” His body language has a sense of urgency, but his voice never waivers from the calming drawl he’s had with me. “He sat with me in that place, made sure I was fed and had enough to drink. And when Lorenzo…” He squeezes my hand “Take a breath”. I drag in a breath and finish “when Lorenzo’s men would come down to ‘talk’ he protected me.” Latham pulls me to his chest. It’s then that his familiar scent brings more clarity to my missing memories.

“You protected me too?” The statement comes out more as a question even though I am sure Latham has been with me all this time. Only now remembering that Taylor was what they called him. Smiling when he briefly mentioned his last name to me when I first awoke, and taking a chance to jog any memories. This is why this man is so familiar, this is why I’ve felt such a calm and sense of safety. It’s why he has a pet name for me and was jealous even at the thought of Lorenzo touching me. Wait, something doesn’t add up…

“You work for him too!!” I push off his chest and point a finger at him. “What is this all a ruse to get me to go back to him?” I shiver in disgust that I let him touch me and let my body feel things about him. I wrap my arms around myself and take a step back, sheltering myself from more of Lorenzo’s cronies.

“What the hell? No, I don’t work for Lorenzo, but yes I’ve been the one protecting you the last six months.” He takes a step closer, but stops when I retreat further from him. “Baby,” he started, but my revolting look has him back tracking…all the way to the beginning. “Allison, I swear I will tell you everything that’s happened over the last six months if you can’t remember, but I need you to trust me now.” When I don’t move a muscle he continues. “I don’t work for Lorenzo. I swear. Oz was undercover, just like you, but for the DEA. When word got out that you were going undercover, the FBI decided to make it known who you were to other parties involved. Oz was sent in the same time you were as Lorenzo’s new bodyguard. Since you took to Oz so well, Lorenzo promoted him. His main job was protecting you from Lorenzo’s enemies. When your trail went dark the FBI flipped out over losing an agent. It wasn’t until two weeks later Oz made contact and let them know you were fine.” His fists are clenching at his sides again when he grits through his teeth. “You were in his hell hole for two and a half weeks before Oz got you out.” He turns his back and my face begins to soften. “Where do you come in…” I drift off as he turns on his heels to face me again. His face is murderous for Lorenzo, but only love for me.

“Once Oz made contact with the DEA, they reached out to SWAT in hopes of conducting a raid. Our commander nixed that immediately and sent me undercover. I played Oz’s annoying ex-junkie buddy that just wanted a job with Lorenzo. He never saw me because he never gave Oz the time of day about me. But, all of his bodyguards knew who I was, so when Lorenzo was out, I’d come keep Oz company with a card game or so everyone else thought. What we were actually doing was planning your escape.” He chances another step closer and the look in his eyes makes my guard fall a bit, granting him closer proximity to me. “One day, Lorenzo was out of town on business and took the majority of his guards with him. I didn’t have to sneak into his fortress, because I'd been coming and going while he was away. After all the guards were unconscious I went to where he was keeping you. Oz already had you ready to go for me, so all I had to do was leave. We’d planned for me to kidnap one of the other guards to make it look like he was the one that took you. He’s rotting in a prison cell until this whole mess is over with, he sang like a canary once I turned him over to your team, SWAT, and the DEA.”

My arms fall from my midsection. The hurt and love in his eyes makes me vulnerable, he chances a few more steps closer and I allow him to close the distance and wrap me in his arms. “I’ve been with you for six months hiding out…” my head tilts to his as he looks down at me. “The rest of the story can wait, but I swear on my life you can trust me, baby.” With that last term of endearment I relax. “What now?”

“Now, you look for any sort of contact you can find to get to our superiors of what the hell is going on. I’ll lock and barricade the doors” He checks his watch and returns my gaze “We have three and a half hours before he comes to check on this guy” he says as he points to Lorenzo’s passed out conductor.

I search the entire car when I finally locate the radio that they’ve been using for railway updates. “Here’s this, but knowing Lorenzo he’s probably hacked it and has an identical one with him.” Latham looks at me with proud, but shocked eyes that I remember him well enough. “Okay, let’s keep looking for something and use this as our last resort. Someone on this damn train has to know where we’re headed.” Sliding the radio in my pocket, I keep searching. It’s not until fifteen minutes later a light bulb moment goes off. “Cell phones!” Latham looks at me confused, knowing neither of us have one. “The old conductor, Oz, or new conductor here have to have one stashed on them somewhere. It’s the twenty-first century.” His eyes brighten to meet mine as he checks the old conductors overalls, while I move to Oz. “Got one” we announce simultaneously. “Let’s use Old Conductor’s first, just in case.” Latham opens the phone and groans when he finds a passcode locking it away. “No luck” a small smile forms on my face. “Two options, we try and get his face ID to wor-” my voice trails off when we see how swollen the poor guy’s face is. Looks like he put up quite a fight before falling to Lorenzo’s men. “Okay, option two” I quickly bypass the FaceID and press ‘use passcode’ from there I click on Emergency to pull up the phone’s keypad. Dialing 911 I pause to catch Latham grinning at me like the Cheshire cat. “What?” I said. He shakes his head as the operator answers “911 what’s your emergency?”

“This is Special Agent, Allison Cooper, 056924, please patch me through to Supervisory Special Agent, Jake Murdock, 889023 immediately”

“Yes ma’am connecting now”

After two rings, Jake picks up “Murdock.” My voice catches in my throat and I'm frozen in place.

“Hello.” he barks.

“Jake, it’s Alli-” is all I get out before the huge sigh of relief washes over the line.

“Cooper what the hell-” but I interject before he can.

“I’m on a train, I have no idea where it’s going. The conductor’s been shot and beaten. Lorenzo’s taken over the train. Jake, he knows I’m on it and he’s going from room to room until he finds me. I’m with a DEA Agent who I presume is dead.. Oz.”

“Oscar Rosales.” Latham’s voice is smooth as places his hands on my shoulders to still my shaking body.

“Agent Oscar Rosales. Agent Latham Taylor and I have located the control car, but can’t seem to do much more.”

“I’m already locating the cell you’re using, Alli. Don’t hang up until I have a pin on you.”

I feel Latham’s grip tense around me when he hears Jake call me Alli. I smirk, because a jealous Latham is still just as hot.

“Okay Cooper, we’ve got a mark on you, we’re sending chopp-” the line goes silent for a minute before Jake’s hiss comes back across. “Shit.”

“Everything okay?” I mumble.

“How many passengers are on that train Alli?” I look up to Latham, not remembering even getting on the damn thing, much less the size of it. “I overheard the guard mention there are over 600 passengers aboard.” Latham tenses when he understands Jake’s question.

“Christ.” Jake grumbles.

“What? What is going on?” I tear through the phone.

“There’s a large bridge ahead, but it’s been closed for construction since last month. That’s why the train was scheduled to stop over three hours ago. They needed to shift the tracks so it could go around the bridge. If you don’t find a way to stop the train…” Jake doesn’t have to finish for me to know what that means. “We’re dead.” Latham and I whisper in unison.

“Don’t disconnect the phone Cooper, we have choppers and local law enforcement on their way, but in the meantime you and Agent Taylor have to find a way to stop that train.” Latham curses then asks, “how many miles do we have until the bridge?” Jake mutters a curse under his breath and replies “ten.”

Panic seizes my brain for a millisecond before I put the phone on speaker and place it on the counter. Scrambling to look for the emergency break Latham and I don’t make eye contact. Jake begins counting down the miles, which going sixty-five miles per hour is more than a mile per minute. At three miles, Latham locates the emergency break, just as we hear the sirens and choppers approaching. He reaches for the phone and presses end.

“Latham!” I scream, “What the hell?” Lorenzo is probably already aware we are surrounded, we’re going to have to make a run for it, but I swear to you I’ll keep you safe. I nod with shaking hands as I grip on to a railing in the control room. Latham grips the emergency break, pulling it as the train begins to squeal on the tracks. Sparks are flying on either side of the train from the metal grinding against metal. As soon as the train slows to a stop, I feel the front of our car skim over the edge. Gasping, I grab onto Latham’s shirt as his “shushes” and “its okays” fill my ears. Relief begins to overtake my body, until the song “Tesoro…I’m coming for you” floods into the control room.

The evil sound of Lorenzo’s voice booms in the car as Latham shifts me behind him. My grip is so tight on his shirt, my knuckles begin to turn white. “Tesoro, I knew you were close, I could feel your presence.” I shutter at the thought of Lorenzo ‘feeling’ me nearby.

“It’s over Russo.” Latham seethes.

“She’s MINE. You don’t take another man’s woman.” He spits. He’s so close to us that his usual scent of malt whiskey and cigar fills my nostrils. I feel my stomach retch at the smell. “She’s not yours, she never was. She was sent to lure you out, and looky there at those flashing red and blues outside Russo. I’d say she’s done her job” I press into Latham tighter, silently warning him not to agitate Lorenzo much more. The two men stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, when out of nowhere Lorenzo’s fist clenches. I duck instantly, but Latham doesn’t. He catches the fist straight to the jaw, stumbling backward. I lose focus for a split second to check on Latham, when a thick hand wraps around my bicep and yanks. A small whimper escapes before I have time to stop it and Latham is up in a heartbeat charging for us, but he doesn’t get far when the sound of a gunshot echoes through the cab. The only relief I feel is hearing the glass before Lorenzo’s gun strikes my temple and knocks me out cold.

This time when I wake up, I’m filled with the comfort of a warm bed in a rustic cabin. The smell of breakfast lingers through the air. This must be the place Latham and I hid out in. I push the covers back and pad toward the sound of laughter. I’m stopped in my tracks by the vision I see before my eyes. Latham’s beautiful body is naked from the waist up, a pair of jeans hug his waist allowing his Tommy Hilfiger underwear to peek through the top. He’s breathtaking, but the breath that gets knocked out of me isn’t of him, it’s a woman sitting on the bar in front of him in nothing but one of his button down shirts. The love and carefree spirits radiate off them like a beacon of light at the end of a dark tunnel. He touches his lips to hers so softly, caressing her face like he did mine in the train car. I turn to leave, but halt when I hear “You’ll be the death of me Al.” The giggle that fills the room is so familiar, it makes me want to cry. Just then, a timer on the stove goes off, separating them. The girl jumps off the counter and turns my way saying “I think breakfast in bed sounds better…I’ll be waiting.” Frozen to the floor I know I should move before she sees me, before they realize they have company and I’m intervening in a sexy morning breakfast routine, but I can’t. I can’t peel my eyes off him. Off her. As she leaves the kitchen, he swats her butt causing her to gasp and run toward me. It’s only then I realize she’s me. This is us. This isn’t the present, it’s all my memories flooding back. The last six months spent with the most caring, compassionate, loving man I’ve ever met come rushing back like a waterfall in my mind. As they run past me I fall to the floor and weep. I love Latham. That’s why it was so hard for him to keep his distance, to not call me baby or Al at first. To be calm and gentle, not knowing if I’d remember our time together. The crying drowns out the beeping for just a moment when it starts again, but this time it’s different. It’s not a timer, it’s more like a monitor. The smell of antiseptic and cleanliness touch my nostrils as I slowly open my eyes.

Relief washes over me when I find I’m in the safety of a hospital room, Agents outside my door and all. I feel a heavy presence as I turn to see an exhausted Latham laying his head on my stomach, holding my right hand with our fingers intertwined and his hand resting over my IV in my left hand. He’s sporting a shiner on his left eye, cuts on his cheek and hands from the brawl he must’ve gotten in with Lorenzo. My left hand slowly moves to touch his head. The moment my fingers run through his hair, his eyes lurch open. Smiling at him I whisper, “I love you, Latham”. He sits straight up and slams his mouth against mine. Kissing my lips, my cheeks, my eyes, every inch of my face before leaning his forehead to mine “You remember, baby?” All I can do is nod as the rush of tears pour down my face. He presses the nurses button a few times before grabbing my face and kissing me again. “I love you too, Al. So much”