Las Vegas Savior

“We might be able to walk to the store from there if it’s really as close as it shows up on the map. He said this was a good place to eat.” John said and punched in the restaurant’s address on the GPS unit on the dashboard. They drove straight there and John tried to make small talk as they went but Emily seemed distracted as she kept a constant look out at the cars around them. She nearly came out of her seat when a car behind them backfired.

“Hey, calm down. No one can see us with these windows tinted so dark and besides, it would be stupid of them to try and attack you out in public like this. Too many witnesses.” John said as he reached for her hand. She was trembling and had that scared look on her face again as she seemed to gulp air.

“I’m sorry but I’m not usually such a nervous Nellie but having someone shoot at me has a tendency to put me on edge. Derrick tried to kill me this morning and I’m going against every instinct I have by not running as far and as fast as I can to get away from here. Sorry but I’m just a little on edge.” Emily tried to explain.

“I understand and if it were me in your shoes, I’m sure I would be feeling the same way but I’m not going to let him hurt you Emily. I promise.” John said.

“Please don’t make promises you might not be able to keep, John. There are two of them and killing is what they do. I’m sure they are not going to hesitate to kill you too, if they get the chance. How long do I have to wear this vest? It’s not exactly comfortable.” Emily said as she pulled on the vest that she was wearing under her jacket.

“So long as we are in public, I’m sorry to say. We’ll eat and then do our shopping and go back to the hotel and then you can take it off.” John said.

They arrived at the restaurant and as they waited to be seated, Emily said “Wow, I don’t know what smells so good but I think we made a good choice with this place.”

The host came to seat them and John asked for a table away from the windows. The host gave him a strange look but complied with his request and led them to a table almost in the center of the room. Emily felt very out of place in her ragged jeans and t-shirt and Kevlar vest but then most of the people in here were on vacation so no one was really dressed up for lunch. She also noticed that most everyone seemed to be enjoying the spaghetti with meatballs so that’s what she decided she wanted.

The waiter came and took their order and then a wine attendant came around and offered to let them sample the wine of the day which they both declined.

“So not a wine drinker?” Emily asked “Or is it because you are on duty?”

“No, I never cared much for wine. I rarely ever drink in fact. I might have a beer or two when I’m watching sports but just never really developed a taste for it, especially after spending the better part of a week hiding in the bottom of a bottle after Sharon broke up with me. What about you? You could have some if you want.” John said.

“No, I’m like you. I never developed a taste for wine and hate the taste of beer. I will have a rum and coke sometimes but prefer to keep a clear head, especially now when there is a hit man looking to try to kill me.”

In order to get her mind off of that particular subject, John decided to change the subject. “So what are your plans once this is all over?” He asked.

“Oh goodness, I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. I guess I’ll go back to Seattle and try to find a job and try to start over again.” Emily said then thought “Unless you tell me you don’t want me to go. Please tell me you want me to stay with you.”

“Do you think the company you worked for might take you back?” John asked.

“I don’t know. I doubt if my old job is still available. It has been over 3 years since I left without so much as a so-long or anything. Before I left Seattle, I did talk to some of my coworkers and told them what was happening and I hope they passed it on to my supervisor so that if I ever did get the chance to go back at least I wouldn’t be blacklisted from the company.”

“Well, if they didn’t, I think they might understand once you tell them what happened. But what if they don’t? Will you stay in Seattle?” John asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’d rather move somewhere else. I moved to Seattle for the job and while it earned me a good living, it’s always cold and raining there and now, for me at least, it’s full of bad memories.” Emily said and then thought “And you won’t be there.”

“Are you looking forward to getting back to Sacramento?” She asked.

Just then the waiter came and brought their food and the next few minutes were consumed with tasting and commenting on the food.

“Oh, this is really good!” Emily said and John nodded in agreement after he forked another bite into his mouth. He had not realized how hungry he was until they had come into the delicious smelling restaurant.

“I was actually transferred to Sacramento a couple of years ago, so I guess I’ll go back there once you are safe.” John replied when she asked him again. “But I wish you were going with me.” He thought to himself.

“Have you always wanted to be a cop or rather a federal agent?” Emily asked.

“No, not really. I didn’t start out as an agent. I was actually an instructor training new agents at first but then as I got more involved in it, well, let’s just say things kind of escalated.” John admitted.

“What were you teaching?” Emily asked innocently.

“Defensive driving.” John said, as he tried to think of a question to get her mind off of him and back on something on neutral ground but saw her eyes go wide at that admission and knew she would want to know more.

Emily saw him look around them to see if anyone might be listening in on their conversation and had a feeling that this discussion might be better left to when they were alone.

“So tell me about your family. What’s your brother like?” John asked.

“Jake is great. He’s in the Navy. Or at least he was when I went on the run. I haven’t heard from him in a long time. Once he went overseas, we didn’t hear from him much except when he’d send Christmas cards from places all over the world.

I think maybe that’s why I want to travel some. He’s been to some really awesome places. He sent me a postcard from Paris, where he had gone on leave the first year he was gone. Had the most beautiful picture of the Eiffel Tower on the front with fireworks highlighting it and Santa riding his sleigh in front. I think I still have it somewhere. I wonder what my old landlord has been doing with my mail. You know, I hadn’t even thought about that until just now.”

“Do you think your sister keeps in touch with him?”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure she does.” Emily said.

“What’s she like? Your sister.” John asked.

“Connie? She’s a teacher. Teaches grade school. Has two kids, a boy, Jerome and a girl named Tabitha. I’ve always liked that name. I was upset with her when she named her daughter that because I was hoping to name mine that if I ever have kids.” Emily said.

“We’re not really close anymore. She’s kind of a control freak, like my dad was only not abusive. She just has to feel like she’s in control all the time and when she gets on her soap box and tries to tell me how to live my life, we end up arguing.”

“When was the last time you saw your father?” John asked and hoped he was not bringing up a bad subject.

“When I was 15. The day Jake kicked his ass for beating up our mom. Look, I know you can’t understand how I felt about my father but as far as I’m concerned, he was just the man who got my mother pregnant. He beat any caring I ever felt for him out of me a long time ago.” Emily said.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. I take it you won’t be going back to Redding then.” John said.

“No, even if I don’t stay in Seattle, I’ll never go back to Redding. I couldn’t get out of that town fast enough when I graduated from school and have never been back since then. We all left as soon as we were of age. It’s not home for any of us.”

“So you said before that you would like to travel. Where would you like to go if you could visit anywhere in the world?” John asked.

“Oh, now there is a subject I could go on about all night. It would be easier to tell you where I wouldn’t like to go. Redding being at the top of that list! But if I could only go to one place, I think I would have to say the Orient but coming in a very close second would be the UK. What about you?”

“Oh definitely the Orient but I wouldn’t say no to a trip to England. From what I’ve seen in movies, it looks like a beautiful country.” John smiled at her.

“I know what you mean. I’ve always wanted to see where Julie Andrews was standing in the opening scenes in the Sound of Music but more so where the movie Miss Potter was shot! Oh, I love that movie!”

“Now, I’ve heard of the Sound of Music, who hasn’t, but who is Miss Potter?” John smiled as she became very animated about her favorite movie.

“It’s the story of Beatrix Potter. She is the woman who wrote the children’s books about Peter Rabbit and his forest friends. My dream house would be in a setting just like hers in the movie, except it would be single level instead of two story. But it’s not the house, it’s the setting! I would give my eye teeth to have a place like that.”

“I’ll have to rent the movie!” John said, not meaning to tease but he was storing information about her.

“If I only had my computer! I have a digital copy of it on there.”

“Maybe we can find it on NetFlix when we get back to the hotel.” John suggested. “Speaking of which, we had better get going and get our shopping done or it’s going to be dark before we get back to the hotel.”

He paid their tab and left a generous tip on the table before they left the restaurant. They walked down the street to the store the hotel clerk had suggested. It was only a block away and John wanted to hold her hand as they walked but wasn’t sure if he should or not when she suddenly grabbed his hand to pull him over to look into a shop window of a bookstore as they passed.

There was a copy of the book Miss Potter in the window of the book store. It had a picture of her house on the front of it and he smiled when he saw it. Funny how the longer they spent time together, the more and more things he noticed they had in common, as much as things they saw differently.

He too liked the setting displayed on the book cover but he could never see himself hating his father but then their fathers were very different people. He had never been anything but loving towards not only him and his siblings but to their mother and vice versa.

John wasn’t sure if she had noticed or not as he continued to hold her hand as they walked on down the block but he felt super happy that she didn’t pull away. They entered the department store the hotel clerk had told them about and looked around. He followed her as she found the things she wanted. He assured her that they could use the voucher for whatever she wanted. If it came to more than the voucher allowed, he would use his credit card to pay for his stuff.

Emily tried to shop smart but it wasn’t hard to go slightly crazy since she didn’t have to worry about the cost so much. She hadn’t had anything but thrift store clothes to wear in a long time. That first night she had to run, she had to leave with only the clothes on her back.

She had been too afraid to go back to her apartment or to ask anyone to go in and get her things. She had been afraid that Derrick might catch them and he would either follow them back to her or hurt them for helping her. Not to mention that there had been someone in her apartment waiting for her to come back.

She picked out a new pair of sneakers to replace the ones she had worn almost constantly for 3 years now. She also got 3 new pairs of jeans, two new bras and some new panties. She had bought t-shirts when they had gone to the strip so she didn’t need shirts.

She really wanted to buy a sexy nightie too but was so embarrassed with John there watching that she opted for an oversize t-shirt that said “Sweet dreams” on the front with a picture of a teddy bear curled up on the bed and “Z’s” coming out of the nightcap he wore on his head.

John grinned at her when she added the nightgown to her stack of stuff she wanted to purchase. He had seen her looking at the sexy nighties but had to turn around or suffer public humiliation by getting a hard on while he was wearing his suit slacks.

Given his response to imagining her wearing the skimpy little scrap of silk and lace took a few seconds of some deep breathing and heavy concentration before he was able to turn around again. He was so glad he had been standing between two hanging racks of clothes.

Emily finally said “I have everything I need. What about you?”

“I don’t shop in this department.” He grinned at her. “I think men’s wear is on the next floor.”

They gathered up her stuff and took the inner store escalator up to the second level. John quickly found the jeans and socks he needed. He also picked up a pair of men’s pajamas, remembering last nights’ dilemma.

Emily grinned back at him. She would have laid money that he normally slept in his underwear if he slept in anything at all. Imagining him naked started a warm feeling low in her belly and her nipples felt hard and she was suddenly glad for the covering the Kevlar vest gave her.