 
Women's Fiction Club Presents

SAVE ANGELINA

By

Nina Guilbeau

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

Save Angelina

Copyright © 2011 Nina Guilbeau

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase

Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Adult Reading Material

*****

Women's Fiction Club Presents

SAVE ANGELINA

*****

Chapter 1

Melanie felt a shiver go down her spine. Her normally flawless, radiant skin went ashen, as the blood drained from her face. He had been in her condo again. He had sat at her dining room table and ate her food. He had used her silverware and china. The hand sewn lace trimmed napkins that she kept in a velvet case in her china cabinet, now all lay crumbled and dirty on the floor. They had once belonged to her mother and before that, her grandmother. Those napkins were all she had left of her mother and Melanie cherished the set. She had barely even taken them out of the special box, much less used them. The fact that he had purposely dirtied a set of twenty-four napkins when he knew how much they meant to her was particularly vicious. It was clear that he just wanted to demonstrate the depth of the power he had over her. He wanted her to feel victimized and now she felt all the anger, humiliation and vulnerability of a victim. He had purposely violated her and he had invaded much more than her condo. He had invaded her soul...again.

A normal call to the police would bear no fruit and she wasn't sure if she should waste her time. She had no proof, and there was no evidence that it was him. She looked at her surroundings. There was just a bunch of dirty dishes in an untidy dining room. There wasn't even a sign of forced entry. What could she gain by accusing one of the most powerful men in the city of such a petty crime? The fact that she had accused him several times before of coming into her home to do nothing but make his presence known, made her seem a little unbalanced. He even accused her of harassing him and of course, everybody believed him. He had lots of money, friends in high places, long time family and political connections, and he lied so convincingly that he could make anyone doubt their own instincts. Who was she to go up against a US senator?

She shouldn't allow herself to be bullied, even if the bully was rich, clever and well connected. But what choice did she really have? Her public relations firm was expanding thanks to the strings he pulled for her. What he could do, he could undo and then where would she be?

Melanie knew this when she first got in bed with him, literally. He had become her business advisor, client and lover all at the same time. It was a mistake to get involved with him on any level, she knew that now, but he made her feel like she needed him. He made her doubt herself, when the truth was that she was quite capable of taking care of things on her own.

Maybe because he was used to having all the power, he always had to prove that he was better and smarter than anyone else. He always had to take more than he needed just because he could. Melanie looked down at her mother's napkins and saw the footprints. Not this time. She grabbed her cell phone and called the number on her speed dial.

"West speaking,"

The sound of his voice momentarily threw Melanie off guard. She had half expected her call to go to voicemail as usual. She mused over making the call in the first place and she was feeling a bit embarrassed that she was so nervous. It was just his voice, but it still made her heart flutter. It was strong and sexy, just like everything else about him. Melanie held her breath.

"Hello?"

"Yes, yes, hello Lieutenant West. This is Melanie McKnight."

"Who?"

"Melanie McKnight."

"Oh yeah, Miss McKnight," Lt Thomas West said with a hint of a smile.

"Ms McKnight, thank you very much."

Melanie knew why he was taking that tone with her, and she wasn't in the mood. At their first meeting she had complained to him about her treatment by some of the male officers. They described her as a "hysterical and irrational woman scorned" and Melanie demanded and apology. Lt West had her pegged for an angry feminist who blamed men for everything.

"You're not married are you? I was always taught that if a woman wasn't married she should be called "Miss". You know, to distinguish her from all the married women who could hold on to a man."

Melanie scowled, amazed that the same strong, warm voice that had made her heart flutter just moments ago was now grating on her last nerve. She had been physically attracted to him from the first moment she saw him, but then he opened his mouth. He wasn't worthy of her attention, even if only in the occasional fantasy. Why was the biggest jackass in charge of her case? They really didn't take her situation seriously.

"I'm not asking you to strain your brain trying to keep up with the plight of women in the twenty first century, but how about you just try to keep up with the progress we made through the seventies, Ok? I would appreciate it you would just respect my wishes and refer to me in the manner in which I have asked. Is that so hard Mr. "at least the size of my ego is big" West?"

"Ouch! Was that really necessary? You college educated women. Boy, we should have never let you out the kitchen. What you need, Miss McKnight, is a good man, with any size ego to relieve your stress."

West chuckled as he leaned back in his office chair and propped his feet on his desk. He was about to get hit with both barrels after that comment and he was ready for it.

"You know what," Melanie eyes narrowed as she tried to control her anger, "I have so much to say to you right now, but since I use big words, you won't understand a thing!"

"Oh, try me."

"Did you have to pass some type of "Be a Jerk" exam to become a lieutenant or just to work on my case?"

"Just your case. Because no one wants it and I can't ignore it. Listen," he said over her protest. "Just listen for a minute!" West became serious as he continued. "You claim your ex-fiancé is breaking into your home to do nothing except leave signs that he's been there. He claims, you invite him in and then for revenge deny it. He always has a working key, even though you've changed the lock several times. It's his word against yours and your word isn't worth much against Senator William Ashton Calhoun II in this beautiful city we call our nation's capital."

"Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I want all of this just to go away? Because I do!"

Melanie could feel a lump growing in her throat as tears welled up in her eyes. She willed herself to maintain control. She would not allow herself to cry over William's latest antics and certainly not on West's shoulders.

Melanie took a breath and then walked into the kitchen and let out a loud gasp. The kitchen was a mess. Broken dishes cluttered the sink and every pot and pan she owned was stacked up on the stove. The cabinet doors and drawers were open, and their contents were scattered everywhere. Garbage littered the entire kitchen floor along with smashed eggs and various cold food items. Melanie cringed seeing the empty shelves of the refrigerator and its open door hanging lopsided on broken hinges. The culprit had left both the milk and the orange juice cartons overturned on the counter and their spillage left huge puddles in the floor. Melanie felt uneasy as she stood surveying the damage. This was going too far even for William.

"What's going on?" West asked as Melanie hung up the phone and dropped it on the counter.

She looked at the clock and knew Mama Aida would be home soon. She went to St Matthews most days to volunteer, but always came home in time to cook them a nice dinner. Melanie smiled thinking of her. She wasn't really her mother or any blood relation to her at all, but she was the only parent that Melanie could remember. It was Mama Aida, her mother's best friend, who stepped in to take care of her when her parents were killed in the accident. Even though her real mother was gone, she told Melanie it felt like a betrayal if she allowed her best friend's child to call someone else her mother. So, Melanie compromised and started calling her Mama Aida when she was a little girl and the name stuck.

Melanie was very young when she lost her parents, but she remembered Mama Aida holding her tightly and rocking her as they both cried on that terrible night. Then, the next thing Melanie knew, she and Mama Aida were out of the country. They stayed in Italy for a few years and then France and later on Spain. They were always moving to new cities within the different countries. Although Melanie went to American schools abroad, she still learned the different languages and customs in each country. She felt fortunate to get such a worldly education, which made it easier for her public relations company to connect internationally. That was how she met William.

When she had insisted on permanently setting up shop in America to be near him, Mama Aida had reluctantly agreed. Melanie was an adult, but she couldn't bear the thought of separating from Mama Aida, the woman who had always loved her and protected her like she was her own daughter. Now it was Melanie's time to take care of Mama Aida. She couldn't let her walk in on this mess. It would only upset her. Mama Aida didn't even know about William's odd behavior and she wasn't going to find out today.

Melanie walked towards the storage room to get the cleaning agents and rubber gloves, stopping briefly to grab her ringing cell phone. It was West calling her back. He was probably a little pissed that she hung up on him.

Well, too bad.

She hit the "reject" button and put the phone on the kitchen table.

Looking up, Melanie froze as she stared at the door to her pantry. She could feel her heart pounding harder in her chest. Slowly inching her way towards the pantry, Melanie began blinking very quickly as the fear bubbled up inside of her. She stopped at the pantry door and realized her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. It was definitely blood seeping out from under the door. Even as she reached for the doorknob, she could hear her own voice in her head screaming run! She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. She felt hypnotized as she denied her every instinct to leave and instead, grabbed the door handle.

Melanie swung open the door and immediately covered her mouth to stifle a scream. She was still gawking at the sight in disbelief as she staggered backwards into the breakfast nook. Her cell phone vibrated noisily on the kitchen table and Melanie reached blindly for it, unable to take her eyes off of the sight. She answered the phone with a moan before words tumbled out between sobs.

"Melanie! Melanie! Slow down! I can't understand you!"

West was up from his seat and halfway to the elevator before he was able to understand a word she was saying.

"Get out of there, right now!" West screamed as he ferociously pounded the elevator button. "Wait downstairs at the front of the building, but get out of the condo right now!"

West hung up and barked orders to everyone in earshot. Melanie McKnight was now his number one priority.

Chapter 2

As the elevator doors opened, Melanie looked up and directly into West's eyes. She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. When she ran from the condo into the elevator, its four walls closely surrounding her suddenly made her feel safe. No one could get to her. After pushing the emergency stop button she had closed her eyes and leaned against the wall hoping to regain her composure. However, even with her eyes closed she could still see the horrific scene in vivid details. Before long Melanie had succumbed to the power of her emotions and sliding slowly down the wall, she sat on the floor of the stalled elevator and cried. Now she just felt drained and emotionally exhausted, but still safe. There was no blood, no smell of death, no fear, just the quiet.

Seeing West brought it all back again. William was dead. Someone had hung him upside down in her pantry like a slab of meat. His throat had been cut and there was so much blood! Melanie began to cry again just as West helped her to her feet. He held her close and she felt herself relaxing up against him. She tried to gain control of her fear as he rubbed her back gently and whispered that everything was going to be alright. She believed him. With his arm around her, she truly felt safe.

Melanie breathed in his scent. He smelled good, he felt good but he was...still West. The man that didn't believe someone had been coming in and out of her condo. She snatched herself away from him as if he were fire.

"I told you William was sneaking into my home!" she yelled shoving him hard in the chest with both hands. She had used such force that she expected him to take a step back, but he didn't budge. She, on the other hand, bounced back from off his unyielding chest and lost her footing.

"Whoa, steady," he said grabbing her at the waist to stop her from falling. She hastily pulled herself out of his grasp for the second time.

"You didn't believe me!" she screamed pushing past him and into the lobby where there was a flurry of activity. Melanie had never seen so many law enforcement officials.

"I never said I didn't believe you...Miss ... uh, Ms..."

"Melanie, just call me Melanie. And this is not the time to play silly games," she said dejectedly. Her anger had subsided and now she was feeling confused and afraid again.

"I know that," West said solemnly as he beckoned to a uniformed officer. "I need you to take her to this address." He wrote something on a card and gave it to the officer and then turned his attention back to Melanie.

"Melanie, I need you to go with Officer Todd. He's going to stay with you until I get there to take your statement. In the meantime, don't talk to anybody."

"Come with me, Ma'am," Officer Todd said as her reached for her arm.

"No!" Melanie took a step back. "I'm not going anywhere without Mama Aida."

"Mama Aida?" West asked puzzled.

"You see, that's what I mean! If you had taken me seriously, you would know who Mama Aida is. She's the women that raised me! You should have known that! This is your fault! If you had put surveillance on William to catch him in the act you would have seen who followed him into my condo! You would have been able to stop his murderer!"

Melanie was shouting and sobbing at the same time, but no one looked twice. The police had sectioned the lobby off with crime scene tape and they weren't allowing anyone to go in or out of the building. The only people who could possibly witness Melanie's reaction were police officer who were all used to seeing emotions run high at crime scenes. Even still, West took her by the arm and walked her to the front of the lobby and out of earshot of everyone.

Leaning towards her and speaking quietly he asked, "And just how do you know they followed him, huh? How do you know they weren't there when he got there?"  
West looked at Melanie and held her gaze. "How can you be so sure, they were after him?"

She felt her eyes widen and the blood drain from her face. He was just trying to scare her. Well it wasn't going to work. It was his shoddy police work that allowed this tragedy to happen in her home. It was his fault William was dead. She wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. Melanie scowled at him as she pushed her shoulders back, held her head up high and continued to match his intense gaze. Then, looking past him, her eyes brightened.

"Mama Aida!" she said, relief overcoming her anger.

West turned to see an older woman animatedly speaking with an officer who was securing the blocked off the area.

"Wait here," he said rushing out the door.

West spoke with the officer and then escorted Mama Aida into the building. Melanie rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"What is going on?" Mama Aida asked looking around frantically.

"I'll explain everything to you later," Melanie said gently patting Mama Aida's hand. She felt sick to her stomach knowing she had kept Mama Aida in the dark about William. She didn't know something so horrible would ever happen.

"This place is going to be a mad house soon. You two need to get out of here."

West called for Officer Todd who was standing nearby. "Take them out ..."

His voice trailed off as he looked through the glass doors. West swore under his breath. He didn't need this right now.

Outside he saw the first of what would be many news vans setting up for the best camera angle. The Channel 4 news reporter was none other than award winning Marcie Blade. Her last name was surely a warning as well as a running joke amongst her colleagues, who all called her Marcie "Cutthroat" behind her back. She knew about the nickname, but rather than be hurt she felt proud and powerful. Everybody knew to stay out of her way.

West looked at the crowd that was forming and then at Marcie and the cameraman, who had the lens pointed directly at the doors. He couldn't let Melanie and Aida be seen all over the news.

"Is there a back way out?" he asked looking around.

"There's a side door, but it just leads you to the front," Melanie answered.

"I want to go now," Mama Aida said nervously.

Melanie looked at Mama Aida. She had a touch of gray in her shiny, black hair which was pulled back into a lose ponytail. Her smooth olive tone skin enhanced her deep-set brown eyes. Those normally alert eyes, Melanie noticed now seemed glazed over, but still full of concern. She looked so fragile that Melanie felt a surge of guilt. She was still shaken up, but she had to be strong and take care of Mama Aida. It was her bad taste in men that got them into this mess in the first place. She needed this to be over. Melanie grabbed Mama Aida's hand and walked towards the door.

"Wait!" West said. He took his jacket off and handed it to Officer Todd. "Here, cover their faces."

Melanie had a flash of police leading criminals to police cars with jackets over their heads and she got angry again. West refused to treat her like the true victim she was when William was alive, but now that he's dead, he can treat her like she's the criminal?

"I'm not putting anything over my head. You're not going to "news at eleven" me." Melanie said with a scowl.

West let out a loud exasperated sigh.

"Fine, just walk quickly," he said walking out ahead of them and straight to Marcie.

"Who's that? She looks familiar," Marcie purred when West reached her.

"Who?"

"The one getting into the police car. You know, the one you don't want me to notice, so you've come to distract me."

"Oh, well I don't know Marcie, who do you think she is?"

"I think she's my story."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because you're answering all of my questions with a question." Marcie eyed the police car pulling off with Melanie and Mama Aida. "It's not going to work, West. No matter what happened there," she pointed to the building behind them, "I think the bigger story just left."

West smiled slyly and leaned in close to Marcie. "Can you hold the footage of them leaving the building?"

"Until when?"

"Until forever."

"Oh, well nothing last forever. Isn't that what you tell the girls, West?" Marcie said giving him her sexiest smile. "Besides, what's in it for me?"

"What do you want?"

Marcie stood back and looked West up and down. "Hmmm..., now let me see..."

"How about if I give you a jump on the story?"

Marcie looked around. Several other news vans had pulled up and were reporting on the scene. The only thing they knew was that there was a horrible murder, but no one had details. Marcie was known for doing whatever was necessary to get the story first and West watched as she contemplated her position. She would be the lead tonight with every other channel trying to catch up if he gave her exclusive insider information. The other reporters would hate her for it and now Marcie had "the look." She had to bring in this story first.

"Ok, I'll hold it. If your info is good enough. What's going on, West?"

"You know the drill, Marcie. Keep my name out of it." She nodded eagerly. "The "vic" is none other than Senator William Ashton Calhoun II and he died a particularly vicious death."

Marcie stood wide-eyed and just stared at West.

"What? That's not good enough?"

"Are you kidding me? I think I peed a little. We're going to break into programming right now!"

Marcie called the camera man and readied herself to go live.

"Don't worry," she shot over her shoulder, "I'll hold the footage." She smiled and winked at West.

West knew he only had a small window of opportunity in which to work, so he needed to make the best of it. Marcie wouldn't hold anything for long without a payback. She smoothed her jacket down and then suddenly whirled around to completely face West.

"Now I remember her!"

"Well, yeah. She was the Senator's fiancée."

"No, not her. The older one."

West gave her a puzzled look.

"Don't give me that look. You know who she is, too. I was right! The bigger story just drove away!"

"Hold the footage, Marcie. Don't screw me on this." West said and walked away.

Marcie smiled and watched him for a moment before busing herself with her appearance. She was interrupting programming to go live in just a few more seconds. She wasn't finished with Lt West, not by a long shot, but he'd have to wait. The whole world was waiting to hear this shocking news and they would hear it from her first. Marcie grinned in anticipation.

West walked back into the building and took the elevator to the third floor. He had a lot of work to do and hated Marcie knowing so much. More than that, he hated that Melanie was right. If he had been doing his job, the senator wouldn't have been killed. However, the senator wasn't his first priority, nor was he the reason West personally took on Melanie's case.

West had done his research and he already knew about Mama Aida. He also knew that the senator was a control freak who was spying on his ex-fiancée –not to mention breaking and entering. However, West didn't keep that information under wraps to protect the senator. It would serve the little pervert right to have the press call him out for his dirty little secrets. But that would put Melanie in the spotlight, too. So West kept this a "non-case" to protect Melanie, but now things had changed.

His mind was racing on what to do next. West knew he would never forgive himself if anything happened to Melanie...and neither would her father

Chapter 3

Melanie and Mama Aida walked into the coolness of the house. The curtains on the big picture window in the living room were open, bringing the grayness of the fall evening into the home. Melanie looked around the neat but nearly empty room.

"Now, that we're here, are you going to finally tell me where 'here' is?" she asked Officer Todd who had remained tight lipped for the entire ride.

"This is Lt West's place," he said locking the door.

Melanie looked around the dimly lit area with new interest. The space, with its stark white walls, had all the warmth of a hospital room. There was an overstuffed couch and armchair, a set of end tables and one lamp. There were no personal touches - no pictures, knick knacks, or even a throw pillow. The room's one saving grace was its hard wood floors. Melanie was more curious than ever about Lt Thomas West. Turning she saw Mama Aida and rushed to her side.

"You're shivering!" Melanie said alarmed. Officer Todd helped Mama Aida to the couch.

"Can we can get some tea?" Melanie asked him hopefully. He nodded and hurried off to the kitchen.

Melanie rushed down the hall in search of a blanket. She opened the door to what she thought was a closet, but it was actually a small bedroom. She went back to get Mama Aida, stopping in the kitchen to let Officer Todd know they were going to the guestroom.

Melanie gently guided Mama Aida to the bed and made her comfortable. She grabbed the blanket, which lay folded across the foot of the bed and covered Mama Aida with it. Then she pulled the curtains tightly across the window over her bed to guard against drafts. As she fussed with the blanket and the pillows, Mama Aida grabbed her hands and spoke softly.

"Sit child."

Melanie slowly sat down on the bed next to Mama Aida who smiled at her. It was a sad smile and Melanie felt a twinge of guilt again. It was her fault that they were here instead of at home, comfortable and safe.

Singing softly, Mama Aida swept her fingers across Melanie's face gently pushing her jet black hair off her forehead. Melanie recognized the song from when she was a little girl. She smiled at Mama Aida and taking both of her hands, she kissed them and then tucked them under the blanket.

"Get some rest," she said. Melanie left the room, softly closing the door behind her.

She intended to go to the kitchen, but for some reason her eyes rested on the door at the end of the hallway. It must be West's bedroom. Looking towards the kitchen she saw no signs of Officer Todd, so she quickly walked to the door and opened it. She didn't know what to expect, but his bedroom gave away no more secrets than the other rooms in the house. It was as if no one even lived here.

Melanie walked to the king sized bed and ran her fingers across the heavy brown comforter. The pillows looked as if they had been hastily thrown on the unmade bed and Melanie imagined West sleeping there. She could practically see his muscular chest rising and falling softly as he slept. Melanie shook her head to erase the image. She couldn't help but think of how many girls may have lay there beside him.

Looking on the nightstand, she saw the only picture on display in the entire house. She picked it up and saw a pretty lady with smooth pecan skin holding a little boy who looked remarkably like her. Sitting next to them was a man with sandy colored windblown hair that hung in his eyes. Melanie turned the homemade frame over and inscribed in a child's handwriting was "To Mom and Dad." She didn't have to look twice to know the child in the picture was West. She would know those brown eyes anywhere. Melanie wondered about his family and suddenly realized she didn't know very much about Lt West. She felt foolish for the feelings she had towards a man who was basically a stranger.

Melanie wandered into the bathroom and even as she chastened herself for snooping, she opened the medicine cabinet. Picking up each item, she was careful to put it back exactly as she had found it. Pushing aside the ibuprofen, she saw a bottle of prescription medicine. Slowly Melanie reached for the bottle, nervously looking behind her for Officer Todd. As she turned the bottle over to read the label, a slamming door startled her.

"Melanie!"

It was West!

Panicking Melanie threw the bottle back in the cabinet and slammed the door with such force it bounced back open spilling nearly half the contents from the cabinet onto the counter. Hurriedly she pushed everything back into the medicine cabinet, closed the door and ran down the hallway grabbing the doorknob of the guest bedroom just as West turned the corner.

"Shhh," she said pretending to close the door, "Mama Aida is sleeping."

"Are you ok?" West asked looking puzzled. "You look a little out of breath."

"I'm ok," she answered awkwardly.

"Are sure?" West asked walking up to her and putting his hand on her shoulder. He gently caressed it and Melanie nearly melted against his touch.

West put his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. On the way over he had decided to tell her everything. Now, as he looked into her eyes, he wasn't sure what to do. Her brown eyes conveyed a trust in him that he didn't deserve. How would she look at him when she found out all of the secrets? How would she look at him when she discovered he knew she picked up dry cleaning every other Thursday, took kickboxing lessons on Tuesdays and that she only bought organic vegetables? He was no better than the Senator. Watching out for her was supposed to be just a job, but over the last several months she had become so much more to him.

West softly rubbed his thumb across her chin and looked at her pensively. He wanted to kiss her now before those innocent eyes filled with contempt for him.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, abruptly taking a step back. "There's some Chinese takeout in the kitchen."

Before she could respond he was down the hall and closing the master bedroom door. Melanie walked into the kitchen and felt an overwhelming rush of anguish. The logo on the menu sticking out the bag was a familiar one. It came from one of William's favorite restaurants. Melanie sat in the chair in front of the bag and just stared at it for a long time. Then she began to cry.

Suddenly she felt strong arms lift her up and cradle her. West carried her into the living room, sat her down gently on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. Soon her sobs subsided and Melanie lay quietly against his bare chest. His long 6'4 frame made her feel tiny in contrast, but safe.

Absent mindedly, she caressed his upper body feeling his arms go taunt around her as her hand moved across his well defined stomach muscles. She wanted to fight it, but from the moment they met, what she felt for him was undeniable. Closing her eyes, she listened to his breathing.

West looked down at Melanie. In the darkness of the room, scarcely illuminated by the glow of the florescent kitchen lights, he could see that her eyes were closed. Even though he thought she needed rest, he knew they should leave as soon as possible. He couldn't stall telling her any longer.

"Melanie, we need to talk."

West got up, turned on the lamp and began pacing. He was avoiding looking at Melanie, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was standing barefoot, wearing jeans and an unbuttoned shirt. In his hast to get dressed and come to her aid, he had left the top button of his jeans unbuttoned as well. The bronze hue of his multiethnic skin was an intriguing contrast to his bright white shirt. He had turned his head in profile and Melanie could see the water glistening off of his closely cut hair. She suddenly remembered his thick, curly locks from the picture of when he was a little boy. As if on cue, he raised his hand and smoothed down his hair. Melanie noticed how his muscular arm strained against the material of his shirt sleeve. He looked like he had been chiseled out of granite, with his strong chin and perfect nose and Melanie was mesmerized.

"Just ask me whatever you need to about William," she said, forcing herself to look away.

"William? No," West shook his head, "his murder was incidental."

Melanie sat up. "Incidental? A murder happened in my home, to my ex, who happened to be a US Senator, and you don't even want to ask me one question? You can't just brush this under a rug! Unless," Melanie stood up, "unless you don't want what I have to say on the record. Are you trying to cover up your mistakes?"

"You think this is all about me?" West asked frowning.

"Well, that's the only thing that makes sense! You have me sequestered away in your private home when I'm a witness in this investigation! If you don't want to do your job this time, West, I'm going to find a cop who will! Officer Todd?"

"He's gone."

"Gone? Well, did he even make the tea for Mama Aida?" Melanie rolled her eyes, "Or are all your police officers just incompetent!"

"Listen, don't talk about my officers! And as far as making you tea, this isn't Buckingham Palace. Now if you had asked for a beer then-"

"Oh, well, why am I not surprised? I am, after all in a "man cave". Expecting civilized hospitality and maybe even a little culture would-"

"Culture? If you want culture go to a museum! This is my house and I live in it the way that I want!"

"Excellent point, Lieutenant! So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get Mama Aida and leave you to your beer and peanuts!"

"Two things, Melanie!" West bellowed raising two fingers on his right hand for emphasis. He was angry that she could make him so angry. "First, I never said I had peanuts and second, I can't let you leave!"

"Well, you can't stop me!" Melanie replied angrily. Pushing past West she walked deliberately towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

"Melanie, wait! Please. There's something you don't know."

Melanie stopped and turned abruptly to face West.

"What? You really do have peanuts?"

"No!" West snapped and then sighed deeply calming himself. "It's that you're danger. A lot of danger."

He it said so seriously that Melanie felt a chill go up her spine. West turned away from Melanie and took a breath. He looked uncomfortable and Melanie couldn't help but notice how his every word and his every movement were different.

"You're not safe," he continued, "not even here. I have to get you to a place where I know you'll be protected."

"Where would that be?" she asked quietly.

"I know a place in Virginia," he answered solemnly.

"Virginia! Why?"

"You just have to trust me on this," he responded barely above a whisper.

Melanie stared at him for a moment. She had feelings for West, but he confused her. How could he make her feel both safe and afraid? She instinctively wanted to trust him, but after William, she couldn't rely on her instincts.

"I'm not going to Virginia or any place else with you. I'm going to stay right here and tell my side of this. If the police won't listen, I'm sure the reporters will."

"No you're -"

"You're not listening West! I'm-"

"No, you're not listening Melanie! Because you are going to Virginia, even if I have to tie you up and throw you in the trunk of my car!"

Melanie was stared at West as she struggled to regain her composure.

"I'm leaving," she said as calmly as she could. Turning she stormed down the hallway to the guest bedroom where Mama Aida was resting. West was at her heels. Throwing open the door, they both stood stunned as they looked at the curtains blowing in the breeze of the open window. Mama Aida was gone.

Chapter 4

West pushed Melanie out of the way and motioned for her to stay quiet. Cautiously he stepped inside the room, his eyes expertly surveying it. Glass from the broken window was lying on the floor alongside the mangled window screen. West searched the small bedroom for an intruder and finding none, retrieved his gun and quickly ran outside. Melanie followed him and found him kneeling outside of the guest bedroom window.

"Footprints," he said standing up and looking at Melanie. "Two sets. Both too big to be Mama Aida's."

"What's going on here?" Melanie whispered, shaking more from the day's events than from the cool night air.

"Come inside," he said warily looking around, aware of how vulnerable they were out in the open. He suddenly had a feeling that someone was watching them. Grabbing her protectively, he led her back into the house.

After searching the house, West turned his attention back to Melanie. Just minutes before he had been arguing with her and as strange as it was, he preferred it. The fire in her eyes both excited and exasperated him. Now she just looked confused and it was clear that the fear she had for Mama Aida was unbearable. It was easier to be angry and deflect her questions than tell her the truth. However, now he had no choice.

He kneeled in front of the couch where she sat on the edge of her seat and reassured her that he was going to find Mama Aida. Suddenly he realized that this was his third time consoling her that day, yet it would be his first time being completely honest with her.

"There are some things you need to know, Melanie...about Mama Aida." He waited for a reaction, but she just stared at him. "The first thing you need to know is that her name...is not Aida."

Los Angeles – Twenty-five years ago

Anna's eyes shone with excitement as she rubbed her stomach. She had just announced to Gabriela, her best friend that she was pregnant again.

"It's girl, I can feel it!" She said grinning. "I think I'm going to name her Aida, you know, after the nun who helped me so much after..." Anna voice trailed off. Gabriela patted her hand sympathetically. It was still hard for her to talk about what she had endured at the hands of her ex-husband.

"Hey, does that little one know she's about to get a little sister?" Gabriela said nodding towards the three year old sitting on the couch, loving rocking her favorite doll.

Anna smiled, grateful for the change of subject. "Not yet. I want to tell Marco first."

Gabriela couldn't help but envy Anna. She had a beautiful little girl and a new husband that loved her. Gabriela knew some people in the neighborhood judged Anna for divorcing one man and marrying a new one so quickly. Divorce was frowned upon in their Catholic upbringing, but Gabriela stood by Anna. When Marco came along he seemed too perfect and Gabriela was wary of him. However, she soon realized that Anna was in good hands. She wished she could have been that vigilante on her own behalf. Scowling, she sat there thinking of her own love life.

"What's wrong," Anna asked concerned.

"Oh, nothing," Gabriela sighed. "Just thinking of "lizard shoes." I haven't heard from him in awhile."

Anna pursed her lips so as not to speak. "Lizard shoes" was the nickname she had given Gabriela's boyfriend because of the scaly green leather shoes he always wore. In spite of his odd behavior and dressing habits, Gabriela had fallen head over heels in love with him. They both had suspected he was into really bad things, but recently Anna got confirmation when the FBI discreetly contacted her. She had immediately told Gabriela, who wanted to confront her boyfriend, but was surprised to discover he had suddenly disappeared. It had been weeks now, but Anna was glad he was gone. Gabriela may not believe it, but it was the best.

"Hey," Anna said brightening, "let's go for a walk!"

"Oh, no," Gabriela groaned.

"What?" Anna laughed. "It's a beautiful day and I want to get out!" she said scooping up her daughter.

Chatting happily the two of them walked outside and were surprised to see Marco on the walkway.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked, greeting him enthusiastically. "Don't you have to work?"

"Yeah, but the boss wants me to do a special delivery, so I need the car."\

"Why didn't he tell you this morning?" Anna asked scowling.

"It just came up. Don't forget it's not our car," Marco reminder her.

"I know, I know," Anna said knowing what was coming next.

"The only reason I have it is to make deliveries to special clients on special shipments. That's what? Once a month? The rest of the time the boss gives us full use, so don't complain." Marco kissed her on the forehead and tickled the little one as she squealed happily. "How about I take my girls to lunch?"

"Ok, it's family time. I better go," Gabriela said.

"Hey, don't say that," Anna scolded. "You're family. Remember that," she said kissing Gabriela on the check.

"That's right," Marco said leading them to the car and getting into the driver's seat. "Now let's go."

Gabriela wasn't sure exactly how the toddler had managed to wiggle out of her mother's arms or why she ran into the street. She just instinctively chased her and had just grabbed her little hand when the explosion occurred. The blast threw the two of them to the other side of the street where they hit the ground with a thud. She couldn't move and as she laid there in excruciating pain she saw, just before slipping into unconsciousness, green leather shoes.

"The next day the newspaper reported four deaths in a tragic accident. Three adults and one little girl."

"Me," she said looking at West who nodded his head.

"But that's not what happened," Melanie said in a shaky voice. "I remember...it was at night...and...Mama Aida woke me up to tell me."

West wanted to tell her that was six months after the car bomb. She had woke up crying asking for her parents, as she had every night for at least a month. Only this time she seemed to recognize the lady now known as Mama Aida sitting by her bedside. The nuns who had secretly taken such good care of the two patients would also do their part to help get them out of the country. However, he couldn't tell her such intimate details without revealing how he had learned of them. So he just looked at her sorrowfully.

"No, Melanie." He shook his head compassionately.

"So Mama Aida or whoever she is, lied to me."

"She kept you safe."

"From who?"

West just shook his head again, "We gotta get out of here."

"What about Mama Aida?"

"I told you, I'll find her."

"You promise?" she asked, her brown eyes softening.

"Yes, I promise. But first I just have to take you-"

"I'm going with you." Melanie looked at him with determination. West didn't want to waste more energy on another argument when the clock was ticking, especially when he knew she was not going to back down. Making up his mind, West walked into the entryway and picked up an overnight bag.

"Here. You need to change."

Melanie instantly recognized her bag and once she opened it, she recognized her personal items inside.

"You went through my things?"

"You're welcome," he said before walking down the hall to seek the privacy of his bedroom. He'd let her be pissed off thinking it was him rather than a female officer who had packed her bag. At least then she wouldn't look at him with the kind of trust he didn't deserve. It didn't matter who Melanie thought he was because he still had a job to do. After packing his own bag, he took out his cell phone and made a call.

Melanie changed in the bedroom where Mama Aida had rested and began to pace. She was afraid to let herself think that the intruder in her condo was really after Mama Aida. Is that what West meant when he said William's murder was incidental? Melanie looked at Mama Aida's overturned purse and the contents which still lay scattered on the floor. It didn't matter who she really was, Melanie just wanted her back safe and sound. West knew more than he was saying and she had a right to know everything. Marching down the hallway and ignoring the impulse to knock, she opened his bedroom door.

"She doesn't suspect anything," West said in the phone before turning to see Melanie staring at him. West hung up the phone and walked towards her just as she turned and ran. He quickly followed her through house and with one hand grabbed her as she was opening the front door. With his other hand, he slammed the door shut.

"Let go of me!"

"Just listen!" he said pinning her up against the wall.

"I've heard enough!" she screamed struggling against him. "Who are you?!"

"You know me!"

"I know I can't trust you!"

"Maybe not, but know this!" he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I would never, ever hurt you."

Suddenly Melanie grew calm and she wasn't sure if her struggling or his nearness caused her erratic breathing. Feeling the warmth of his breath and the firmness of his chest up against her made her momentarily dizzy. All she could think of was that she wanted him. Before she could clear her head, his lips were on hers. He kissed her with an urgency and passion that made her want him even more. Melanie kissed him eagerly, wanting to give herself to him completely, but she had too many conflicting emotions about him.

"No," she whispered.

He immediately released her and took a step back, scolding himself for losing focus. He couldn't let it happen again. Without saying another word, they both retrieved their bags and left the house. West started the car while looking in his rear view mirror. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Of course, West couldn't see the eyes from the shadows of the car as the driver watched his taillights turn the corner. A copy of an archived newspaper story sat on the passenger seat. The tragedy of a bomb blast killing four, including a toddler had been sympathetically written and included pictures of the victims for added emphasis. The picture of a young Mama Aida was circled and a question mark was next to the picture of the toddler.

"So the dead walks," the driver said, starting the car. There was no need to hurry to catch up with West and take the chance of being spotted. The tracking device on his car was working just fine.

Chapter 5

Mama Aida opened her eyes to darkness. She felt groggy and disoriented, but why? Struggling to clear her head she tried to figure out exactly what happened. The last thing she remembered was talking to Melanie before drifting off to sleep. She had began to feel ill when she left the church and all she could think about was getting to bed, but then she saw the commotion. It didn't seem real - a murder in her kitchen.

Mama Aida sat up on the bed and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkened room. There was a light coming from under the door. She felt panic rise in her chest when she realized she wasn't in the same room where she fell asleep. After the events from earlier, this could only mean real trouble. Slowly she got up from the bed, steadying herself, she felt along on the mattress to the end of the bed. Walking silently to the door, she gathered her nerve, turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The light from the adjacent room temporarily blinded her. Squinting, she walked into the next room.

"Hello, Sleeping Beauty."

Mama Aida recognized the voice. "Elena?"

"Yes, it's me."

Focusing her eyes, Mama Aida saw Elena Santiago, one of the church's administrators. She and Elena had often worked side by side organizing fundraising or community outreach. As one of St Matthews's most active volunteers, Mama Aida spoke with Elena nearly every day. They had become good friend over the last few months and seeing her now did nothing but confuse Mama Aida.

"I hope I didn't over do it with the drugs", Elena said shrugging. "That was some ice tea cocktail I made for you today. I wasn't sure you would make it home before blacking out. Not to worry, though, 'cause I was right behind you all the way."

"Ah, good, she's up."

Mama Aida turned to see a face she hadn't seen in over twenty-five years. Then she looked around the room while memories came to her like a long ago forgotten dream. Time had passed, but he looked much the same. There was a little gray around his temples, just like hers. Suddenly, she felt as if time had stood still since the last time she saw him, except that she had packed away her toughness of those days so long ago. She had almost forgotten her past. Almost, but not quite.

Not much had changed in the little cabin off the interstate where they had often met, but things between them were very different. He looked at Elena who got up quickly and left the room.

"Sit down, Gina. Or is it Mama ... um Aida? Or Mama Gina?" he asked chuckling. "The name makes you sound so old, Gina. You probably think it makes you more ..., let's say, maternal." He took off his jacket drawing Gina's eyes immediately to his gun.

"We've been watching you for awhile. That's why we had Elena work so closely with you. But with everything that happened today, we had to make a move. Otherwise, you might have pulled another vanishing act."

"What do you want?" Gina asked wearily sinking into a nearby chair. She was noticeably frail. The heavy burdens of fear and guilt had taken its toll.

"I want to finish what we started over twenty-five years ago, before you disappeared."

"You mean when I escaped death?"

"Don't give me that! You knew about the danger from the beginning! You just ran away!"

"I wasn't supposed to be out there by myself!" Gina's shaky voice betrayed her façade of calm.

"You weren't alone, but you did make the decision to steal a child and run all by yourself! You knew she was the one sure way we had at getting to her father. You were a coward and abandoned everything for your own reasons!"

"So what now?" Gina lifted her head in steely resolve.

"I told you. We finish what we started."

"Getting me killed?"

He shot her a look that she met with determination.

"I wasn't going to wait around with a target on my back! Not after the bomb...and the day...I just couldn't..." Gina's voice trailed off.

"Look, we think Marco had -"

"Marco wasn't dirty."

"But his boss was and he was using Marco as a "mule" carrying the high dollar stuff he imported all over the state. Are you trying to tell me he didn't know?"

"He didn't know," Gina said dejectedly, thinking back to the day of his murder. "He was a good guy. Everybody got a little anxious after the FBI agent contacted Anna. She probably told people she shouldn't have told. People like me." Gina looked up at the man standing over her chair, suddenly feeling angry. "Don't you think that was playing it a little too fast and loose, having an agent contact her?"

"Are you kidding me? That was their test. We had nothing to do with it! They knew there was a snitch out there and they found out Anna was willing to turn your boyfriend in. If you had talked to me then, and trusted me, I would have warned you. Instead, you started thinking you really were Gabriela. You liked your friends and that low life boyfriend of yours. You chose them over us. To tell you the truth, I really can't trust you."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because I need you."

"To do what?" Gina asked alarmed. "I'm not going to hurt Melanie and I'm not going to let you use her! I raised her!"

"You kidnapped her!"

Gina nervously looked away. "You want to send me to jail now?"

"Listen, we know for a fact that her father's been keeping tabs on her. Nobody else would be bold enough to murder a well connected US Senator. He was sending a message."

"No," Gina shook her head. "He would have never done it in her home. He would have never traumatized her like that. It had to be somebody else."

"Maybe," he shrugged. "We actually traced him through the Senator's dealings and I think that since he knew the Senator had sleazy connections, he didn't like him having a relationship with his daughter. I also think he has someone looking out for her." He paused, momentarily lost in his own thoughts.

"But of course," he continued, "killing the Senator brings a big spot light and this guy likes the shadows. He's everywhere and he's nowhere. The only thing we know is that he's been watching over his daughter since she was born. He would go through great lengths, even...let's say...getting her out of the country with a new identity, if it meant keeping her away from his enemies. I think I can be counted as one of his enemies, don't you?"

Gina stiffened in her chair.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." Gina looked up in his eyes. "I swear to you, I haven't known anything about his whereabouts for over twenty years."

They stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime and then he reached in his holster and took out a gun.

"What are you going to do, shoot me?" Gina asked frowning.

"I should. It's not like you don't deserve it."

Instead he slid it across the table where it stopped in from of her. "You're reinstated. Unofficially, of course. Only me, Elena and Johnson, who's walking the grounds outside, know about you. Gina and Gabriella have to stay dead. "Mama Aida" is now our inside person.

"She's going to escape and find herself near the hotel where Melanie and Lt West are right now. She's going to tell them how she was drugged and can't really remember anything. Then, she's going to stay close to Melanie who's going to lead us directly to her father."

Gina looked at Jonathan Fields, the man she had worked with closely and had come to know as her friend, even though he was her superior. She put her hand on the gun and closed her eyes. She had been so idealistic, ready to clean up the world and that's why they recruited her. She started as an outsider with the people they wanted to put behind bars and it took a couple of years to make her way closer to the inside circles. Her relationship with "lizard shoes" was her crowning achievement, but she wasn't supposed to really fall in love with him. She thought she knew what she was doing, but she was too young to understand that she was in way over her head until it was too late.

Gina grimaced as she thought back to the day of the bomb blast. It was her information that aroused the suspicion that there was a snitch. But it was Anna, her best friend, who paid for the leak of information with her life and the life of her unborn child. Gina knew the moment the bomb went off that she wasn't going to have any more blood on her hands. She took Melanie because she knew that like Fields, there were others who wanted to use Melanie in order to get to her father. She wasn't going to let Melanie be used or put in danger. She owed that to Anna.

Gina opened her eyes with a sudden thought. "Is Lt West one of yours?"

"One of ours, you mean? No, he's not."

Fields then took something out of his pocket and dropped it in the middle of the table. It was her old badge.

"You kept it," Gina whispered.

"For a long time I thought you were dead and I thought it was my fault," Fields said quietly looking down at the badge. "It reminded me that I needed to find you and ask you why you didn't trust me."

He forcefully pushed the badge towards her and it slid across the table and landed with a thud in her lap.

"Now, I just want it to remind you of whose side you're supposed to be on, Mama Aida."

Gina looked at Fields. She was sorry for hurting him, but the Gina he knew had died that day. She was Mama Aida, at least to the only person that counted. She had loved and protected Melanie since she was toddler and that was still her first priority. Gina picked up the gun. It felt heavy and foreign in her hands. She wasn't even sure she could still use it properly. Standing up slowly she let the badge fall to the floor as she nodded to Fields. She was a little relieved to confront one of the ghosts that had been chasing her all these years. She still had so many others, but she wouldn't run away from them out of fear this time. She wasn't going to let them use Melanie as a decoy to lure "the big bad wolf" into the open. She wasn't going to let that happen, even if she had to switch sides to do it.

Chapter 6

West waited until he heard Melanie turn on the shower behind the closed bathroom door before he began pacing the hotel room. He was trying to decide his next move. He had to be smart about things. There was a lot he didn't know. For one, was the senator the intended target? He thought so, but with Mama Aida missing maybe the intruders were after her. He quickly dismissed the idea that they wanted Mama Aida dead. After all, it would have been easier to kill her and leave her body than it was to take her alive. West was sure she was alive and somehow involved. Otherwise, why take her in the first place?

The second thing that was bothering West was the manner in which the senator was killed. Even if the senator wasn't the intended target, why string him up? His death had to be a message to someone, but who? Certainly not Melanie, although killing the senator in her condo was probably significant. However, if the message wasn't meant for Melanie, then it must have been meant for someone close to her like her father. Perhaps it was meant as a threat to his daughter, which was sure to force a move from him.

West again tried to figure out the angle and why anyone would use a US Senator to make a point. Was it retribution on the senator, too? Calhoun certainly had his hands in a lot of tainted business deals, so that's entirely possible. On the other hand, why not just get back at Calhoun discreetly? Right now his vicious murder has created nothing less than a circus atmosphere, but maybe that's what the killers wanted- a lot of attention on the murder and on Calhoun in general. Maybe even attention on Melanie, his recent ex-fiancée.

West frowned and tapped his thumb against his thigh as he tried to put the pieces together. He wasn't sure how Calhoun fit into the picture, but he was sure that Melanie was still in danger. He was also sure that Melanie's father was ready to go to great lengths to protect her and that included bringing her into his inner security circle. Maybe that's what the killers wanted – Melanie running straight into Daddy's arms with them following closely behind.

This scenario seemed to make sense to West, but something was still wrong. Why take Mama Aida? Maybe they weren't taking Mama Aida. Maybe they were taking Gabriela, the woman who had a lot of connections with bad people and the woman who was almost killed in the blast that killed Melanie's real mother.

West shook his head to clear his thoughts. There was still something missing, but with the players involved he wasn't surprised. Everybody straddled the line between right and wrong: Melanie's father, Mama Aida aka Gabriela, the senator, even himself. Melanie was the only innocent party and sadly it was Melanie who stood to get hurt the most. She was losing life as she knew it. She was even losing her name.

West was contemplating his decision to go to Virginia. If his speculations were true, Melanie would lead them right to her father and then only chaos would ensue. She could be killed in the crossfire and that would defeat his personal mission which was to protect her at all cost. Unfortunately, her father would not be too happy with him if he decided to go off on his own. West weighed the pros and cons of that plan. He was dealing with a man who could, and would, make things difficult for anyone who didn't do things his way.

However, West couldn't allow her father, or the deal that they made, to control all of his actions. After all, his alliance wasn't really to her father nor was it to the police department from which he earned a weekly salary. West sometimes agonized over the fact that he held no real alliance to any one individual, no matter how innocent. He had done a lot of bad things in his life and he thought he had made peace with them. Although he knew he could never make peace with himself if he made Melanie expendable.

West walked to the window and looked out into the nearly empty parking lot. He was contemplating the best plan of action when the bathroom door opened. Melanie stood in the doorway in an oversized tee-shirt and with the light behind her, he could see right through it. He knew the gentlemanly thing to do was to look away and he did – slowly.

"You feel better?" he asked looking out the window again.

Melanie took a deep breath before answering him. She was looking at him in the softness of the moonlight as he stood on the other side of the only bed in the room.

"Yes, I feel a lot better," she said finally. West sensed that she was nervous. He felt nervous too, being alone with her like this.

"Well, don't worry," he said stealing a quick glance and noticing her noticing the biggest piece of furniture in the room. "I plan on sleeping in that nice comfy, straight back chair." He pointed to the chair positioned in front of the small desk.

"I couldn't leave you in a room by yourself. I mean, under the circumstances," he explained, feeling the need to make absolutely sure she understood his intentions.

"I didn't want to be alone anyway," Melanie said reaching behind her and turning off the bathroom light.

The two of them stood in darkness looking towards each other as their eyes adjusted to the dimness. The faint illumination coming through the window allowed West to see Melanie's movement. She was walking towards him.

"Um...I don't know why they didn't have any rooms with double beds. I asked for one and-"

"I know you told me," Melanie interrupted. "But this place used to cater to honeymooners. I guess they thought double beds wouldn't make their guests happy."

Perhaps he heard it in her voice or sensed it because of their inexplicable connection, but he knew she was feeling drawn to him again. This time he had to stop it. It was his responsibility to walk away from her, especially since she was in such a vulnerable state. He decided he would go to the same old well once again and push her buttons. It was always easier to deal with her when she was angry with him.

"Well, believe me, for us the honeymoon was over a long, long time ago," he quipped.

She moved closer to him, nearly touching him and looked up into his eyes.

"I'm so scared," she whispered. "What if something happened to her?"

"I promise you," he whispered back, "I will find Aida and bring her back."

Unexpectedly she put her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He wanted to push her away, but how could he when she was hurting so much? He embraced her and by instinct his lips found hers. Pulling away was torture, but he needed to be at his best, especially for such a dangerous situation. He couldn't afford this type of distraction, no matter how much he wanted it. Barely able to resist temptation, he allowed his cheek to rest on hers while still embracing her.

"This is wrong," he whispered in her ear.

"I don't care," she replied breathlessly and found his lips again.

Melanie wanted to focus on every touch, sigh and movement that she exchanged with West and commit it to memory, but at the same time she wanted to completely abandon all thought. His touch freed her to be uninhibited and she let everything blur together into one incredible feeling.

They had quickly undressed and in one movement he had swept her into his arms and laid her on the bed. His lips were on hers and then suddenly they were on her breasts. His moist tongue on her nipples was both rough and soft as he took them into his mouth. He alternated gently sucking and then licking one and then the other while caressing them with his giant, soft hands.

Melanie let out a soft moan and let her fingers run through his short hair. Once again, she thought momentarily about the big curls on his head in the picture of him when he was a little boy and smiled slightly. Then his tongue began to move in a circular motion around her areola, traveling to the fleshy part of her breast while he gently cupped them. Melanie moaned louder, nipples erect, toes pointing. She felt the gentleness of his lips in the little kisses that began to move lower. He caressed her inner thigh as he softly slid his tongue across her smooth flat belly. He made his way lower still and cupped her bare bottom with both of his large hands, slightly elevating her body. In the movement, she felt her wetness drip into the crevices of her sex.

Melanie wondered briefly if they were behaving inappropriately with Mama Aida gone. They didn't know if she was dead or alive and sex was not the answer. She reached her hand towards West to push him away, but it was too late. His tongue had found his target between her thighs and she released all logical thought. She felt her body climbing slowly as he skillfully brandished his tongue against her again and again. His gentle nibbling set her over the edge and stiffening, she let out a low moan as the climax washed over her. Hastily reaching between her legs, she grabbed West, pulling him upwards into an embrace.

"I want you in me," she whispered.

West eagerly responded and she took him in. His thrusts were gentle at first, but Melanie wanted more. She wanted him to consume her with the passion she knew he felt.

"I want to feel you," she whispered before gently biting his earlobe.

West let out an appreciative groan and thrust deeper and harder and faster. The pounding rhythm soon carried Melanie to a second, more intense climax. Melanie cried out with pleasure well aware that West too had reached his peak. Quivering, he squeezed her tightly and then laid his head on her chest as they both tried to catch their breath.

In the stillness that ensued, Melanie stared at the moonlight slicing through the opening in the curtains. Making patterns of tiny circles with her nails, she caressed his back and allowed her fingers to explore the hard muscles of his forearm. Then she closed her eyes, abandoning herself in the moment and to the peace that enveloped her.

Chapter 7

Standing at the window again West looked over at a sleeping Melanie. She was lying on her side facing him and her face showed no signs of the stress, fear and anger that he was so used to seeing. The sheets tangled around her naked body tantalizingly exposing her hip and the length of one leg. He really loved her and he had no idea when it happened or where they would go from here. She would certainly think him bereft of any human decency to sleep with her after misleading her for months. He watched as she stirred and then settled back into a calm rest.

She trusted him and he realized he would do anything to protect her. His priority was not Mama Aida, but he didn't know how to convince Melanie of that fact. The longer they took to get inside the circle of protection her father offered, the more vulnerable they were to the threats that surrounded them both. West made up his mind while watching her. He knew what he had to do and it pained him to his very core. He would simply trick her into thinking they were on the trail of Mama Aida, but he would instead continue traveling to her father's property. Even if it didn't end well for him, he knew it would be best for Melanie. Once there and only when he knew she was safe from unknown enemies, he would start looking for Mama Aida. They would only lose a couple of hours and he knew she would be furious, but he had no other choice. He glanced at the clock. 3a.m. He would let her sleep for maybe one more hour.

Looking back out the window he surveyed his position again. There had been no movement outside, but he still stayed vigilant. He inwardly scolded himself again for risking everything because of the earlier diversion. He should have been stronger and avoided temptation, but Melanie made it difficult to think clearly sometimes. His personal wants and needs made him sloppy and he didn't like that one bit. He would not let it happen again.

He pulled the desk chair up next to the window and sat down. Turning his head slightly, he saw the glint out of the corner of his left eye. Instinctively he ducked and kneeled down under the windowsill. Removing his gun from his holster, West carefully rose up enough to peek out of the window. Staring intently in the direction of the movement he had seen, he simultaneously felt relief and anger.

Getting up quickly, he grabbed the ice bucket and room key. West glanced at Melanie, who was still fast asleep, as he holstered his weapon again. He knew she was safe for the moment and he silently left the room for his errand. Coming out of the motel room and into the coolness of the night air, he turned left and headed down the breezeway towards the sign directing him to the ice machine. Acting casual, he shot a quick glance at the car parked discreetly in the last space in the sparse parking lot. West turned left once again onto the inside walkway where the ice and soda machines were located. Now between buildings and completely out of sight of the parked car, West put the ice bucket on top of a nearby trash container and jogged past the ice machine, down another breezeway and exited on the other side of the building. Pulling his gun out, he quickly confirmed the safety was on and making his way around a corner, he came up behind the car. In quick, stealth movements he was at the driver's side door with the gun pointing through the half open window and directly at the driver's head. The surprise on the driver's face made the entire charade worth it.

"Open up, Marcie."

"Shit, West! You scared me!"

"Open the goddamn door, Marcie."

"Ok, ok, ok. Come around to the other side!"

She hit the electronic button to unlock the car doors as West secured his weapon and looked around. Seeing no one, he quickly opened the driver's door and shoved her over to the passenger seat.

"Ow! What the hell are you doing, West?"

"That's my question to you! Why are you following me?

"What makes you think I'm following you? Besides, this is a public place. Aren't I allowed to find a place to rest my weary head?" She smiled coyly at West. "Not to mention my other body parts."

"Cut the shit, Marcie. How did you find us?"

West was irritated, but more than that, he was concerned that his skills were deteriorating. He didn't think they had been followed, in fact, he had been sure of it until now. However, if Marcie could trail them without being detected, then so could someone with more expertise in finding people.

"Oh, West," she said smiling shyly. "I think I just got lucky."

West narrowed his eyes as he studied her. She was trying too hard. Marcie didn't do modest, so she must have something up her sleeve. His eyes searched their confined space and landed on a paper barely sticking up between the seats. Marcie had partially covered it with one hand, but he could still see her thumb pushing it down further between the cushions. Moving her hand away, he snatched the paper up. It was a copy of the front page newspaper article about the bombing that happened twenty-five years ago. The photograph of Mama Aida was circled.

So, she was on to something and West wondered how much she knew. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Marcie, but her face gave away nothing. She just stared at him with a blank expression. West realized that she was waiting for his reaction. He kept a stoic exterior and haphazardly tossed the article over his shoulder. Dealing with Marcie was like playing poker. Even a twitch would make her come in for the kill.

"You didn't answer my question. How did you find us?" he asked evenly, staring into her eyes.

"I did answer your question, West. I told you, I just got lucky," she responded just as calmly while meeting his gaze. Their eyes locked.

"Stay out of it, Marcie."

"And if I don't?"

"You could get hurt."

"Well, then. I can't say that you didn't warn me, right?"

They sat motionless with eyes engaged for a moment longer and then Marcie flashed a sexy smile, indicating that she was changing tactics.

"You know, West, we used to be soooo good together. How did we end up like this? You're not still mad because of that corruption story "thingy", are you?"

"You're kidding, right? You screwed me over, Marcie. You went out of your way to imply that the department was covering for the mayor. That almost launched a full investigation in my division."

"Almost. And "almost" is the operative word, West. Besides, my producer was busting my balls on this one. I was pressured to deliver something fast."

"You never did anything you didn't want to, Marcie, so don't give me that shit."

"Well, I had a job to do, too. You would have done the same thing."

"Oh, jeez," West swore under his breath and let out an exasperated sigh. "So, it's my fault you lied."

"West, you know I do not lie-"

"You're lying right now."

"Let me finish!" Marcie chuckled.

West looked at her skeptically and motioned for her to continue.

"As I was saying, I do not lie unless I have to, same as you. Plus, in that case I didn't have to lie. Something's up in your department. I can smell it, same as you."

West scoffed, even though he knew it was true. They were more alike than he cared to admit.

"Alright, fine. Don't believe me. It's just like you to hold on to this one little thing and ignore all the favors I've done for you." Marcie gave him a demure smile. "If it's any consolation, I am sorry that I didn't warn you ahead of time."

"The only thing you're sorry about is that it didn't win you another award."

"Yeah, well, that too," Marcie said flipping her shiny brown hair over her shoulder. She gave West a wicked smile. "I am the best, award winning investigative reporter in our entire viewing area."

That was true, too. Marcie was smart, hard working and did whatever it took to get the job done. She was also sexy as hell and she knew it. For years she and West had maintained an odd personal relationship, which occasionally included sex. They shared so many of the same characteristics, that when they were in sync, whether for business or pleasure, it was electrifying and intense. But when they were in opposition, it could be equally emotional and intense. She was head strong, opinionated and determined and West found those qualities in a woman exciting and challenging. Unfortunately, it was those same qualities that could make a woman a pain in the ass. And right now, Marcie was the latter.

"Don't give me that look, West. I do regret surprising you." Marcie paused and looked contritely at West. "And I don't want you mad at me. You're the only one who understands me and I really do care for you."

If West didn't know better he would think she was sincere. But since he did know better, he knew it was her best manipulation routine. It was a routine that had worked well for her over the years. He knew that first hand. Her sensitive "I care for you" act was to try to soften him up so that she could milk information from him. Her next question proved him right.

"You know, you did promise me exclusive information, remember? So, since I held the footage for you, do you have anything more to tell me about what happened?" she asked looking at him expectantly. West went stone faced and then gave her another warning glare.

"Stay out of it, Marcie."

"That's not fair, West! I did what you asked!"

Pulling on the handle, West opened the car door, but then suddenly turned to face Marcie and gave her a pensive look.

"You know what, Marcie? It's not fair, so I'm going to give you a little tip that might help you out."

Marcie eagerly leaned towards him. "Yes?"

"Ok, it's just a hunch," West said thoughtfully, "but I think that if you start using all of your persuasive powers of bullshit for good instead of evil, you might, just barely, be able to save you soul from the devil. It's not too late, you know."

Marcie flopped back in her seat.

"Yeah, well, I'll think about it. But at least I'm consistent. Can't say the same for you. You changed into a completely different person after that accident."

"Getting shot by your partner tends to have that effect on a person."

"But it was an accident, wasn't it?" Marcie asked leaning forward again as if she was sensing a good story. "You never told me exactly what happened."

"And I never will."

Then just as quickly and quietly as he had come, he was gone. Going back along the route from which he came, West contemplated the situation. Marcie wasn't "lucky," she was sneaky. She was so busy trying to hide the newspaper article that she had forgotten to turn off the active GPS device. He saw the blip on the screen and it didn't take a genius to realize she had low jacked his car. She had probably hid it under the bumper. Using a tracker meant that she could stay out of sight and still know exactly where they were headed. Now that he had confronted her, she would probably stay back even further. West smiled. At the first rest stop he would make the chase more interesting for Marcie. She would be halfway to Florida before realizing she was following some trucker on an all-nighter.

He shook his head trying to clear the fog that had crept in since he got into Marcie's car. Talking to her was sometimes like reliving the memories of another person. She was around when he still believed that following the rules worked. Might as well have believed in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, too. West was grateful for learning his lessons the hard way because now they were engrained into every fiber of his being. First off, never trust anybody and keep your guard up. And second, don't be the naïve, good guy. West refused to be that guy again-the one where his partner shoots him and leaves him for dead.

West opened the room door as quietly as possible. Melanie was still probably asleep and he didn't want to disturb her. He was surprised to see the bed empty and completely made. However, before panic set in, Melanie came out of the bathroom fully dressed.

"You're awake. And dressed."

"Mama Aida called," she said throwing her cell phone on the bed. "She'll be here any minute."

Chapter 8

Melanie ushered Mama Aida into the room and hugged her tightly. She pushed all that West had told her about the past out of her head. The most important thing was that Mama Aida, the woman who had loved her and cared for her as far back as she could remember was safe.

"Mama Aida, are you really ok? I mean really?"

"Yes, I'm fine, child," Mama Aida cupped Melanie's face between her hands. "Everything is going to be ok."

Melanie smiled and ferociously hugged her again. Stepping back from Mama Aida, Melanie noticed the expression on West's face. He seemed to be controlling a scowl while his eyes bore into Mama Aida's back. Turning slightly, Mama Aida caught West's eye and nervously returned his look as she discreetly pulled her jacket down in the back.

"Where've you been?" West asked without preamble.

"Drugged," she responded, but this time she looked at West with more confidence.

"Drugged? Who would do such a thing?" Melanie asked, feeling the panic rising in her throat.

Mama Aida looked at West and Melanie observed the silent exchange between them with growing confusion. Watching Mama Aida, she noticed something was different. Melanie had always loved the sweetness and calm of the only mother she would know. It's what kept her stable during their life of international travel. Mama Aida was her home no matter where they were and because of her, Melanie grew up happy. She can hardly remember a time when Mama Aida ever raised her voice in anger and Melanie went out of her way to make sure she never gave her a reason to fret. With Mama Aida, it was always her unconditional love, always her steady calm and always her reliability that helped Melanie feel balanced. Now after watching Mama Aida's eyes, Melanie realized that in the span of only a few hours, something had happened to drastically change things.

"Can someone tell me what's going on now?" she asked looking between West and Mama Aida. Then she remembered the story West told her earlier. Maybe she was just seeing Mama Aida through different eyes.

"Well," Melanie said taking another step away for Mama Aids, "maybe I should start calling you Gabriela."

Mama Aida's head snapped around and looked at Melanie. Her eyes gave away her surprise.

"Who...who told..."

"West told me how my parents really died in a car bomb and that I was there. So were you." Melanie walked to Mama Aida and grabbed her hands and led her over to the bed where they both sat down. "Why did you change your name?"

"Because I was running away from the people who almost killed us and who did kill your mother. I just wanted to vanish without a trace. Gabriela could no longer exist. An especially kind nun patched us up in secret. Her name was Aida. I thought it was...appropriate."

"Is Melanie my real name?" Melanie asked in a tiny whisper. She held her breath in anticipation.

"Angelina," Mama Aida said and smiled at Melanie. "Your mother always called you her little angel from heaven."

"Where did...I mean, how did...the name Melanie...I..." Melanie stammered. She was feeling dizzy trying to take in everything that had happened in less than twenty- four hours. Mama Aida gripped her hands tighter.

"I know it's hard to take in, but-"

"Where did I get my name? My fake name," Melanie said suddenly feeling the hurt and uncertainty turn to anger. She pulled her hands out of Mama Aida's grasp. She could see the hurt in Mama Aida's eyes, but for the moment she didn't care. She had been lied to her whole life and it seemed like everybody knew about it but her. She wanted answers.

"We made it up. We put some documents together and gave you an average, American name. We wanted to keep you protected from whoever bombed the car."

"That was years ago!"

"Enemies don't forget."

"How did I get enemies? The kind that would want to...to...bomb you! Why me?"

Melanie was yelling now. She was afraid and confused, but above all she wanted answers. Mama Aida stood up from the bed and looked down at her. She had tears in her eyes, but her mouth was set in determination.

"Mama Aida....please," Melanie whispered.

"Listen, Melanie," West began gently, "We need to leave. Mama Aida's safe so we shouldn't stick around here any longer than we need to."

Melanie startled at the sound of his voice. She had nearly forgotten he was still in the room, but she recovered quickly and immediately ignored him. She concentrated on the person she loved most in the world. The person who had loved her yet still deceived her for her entire life. Melanie needed to know why.

"Please talk to me," she pleaded.

Mama Aida fidgeted and then began stroking Melanie's hair.

"My child. My little one." She smiled weakly. "You were always so full of questions."

"Ok, Melanie, we don't have time for this!" West snapped. Feeling ignored he stepped closer to the pair. "Melanie!"

"My name's not Melanie! Weren't you paying attention?"

"Weren't you paying attention?"

West bent down to get inches away from Melanie's face. She drank in the scent of him and in spite of the current circumstances, she felt her heart race as memories of what they were doing the last time they were so close returned to her.

"There are people out there who have no problem cutting the throat of a US Senator and stringing him up like pig in your condo."

Melanie knew he wanted to frighten her and she was frightened, but she refused to let him see that he had gotten to her.

"I deserve to know," she responded with steely resolve. West straightened up, but continued to look at her.

"Yeah, you do," he said sincerely, "but not here. Not now. Not from us. Now, get your things." He looked at Mama Aida and then back at Melanie. "We gotta move."

West crossed the room in just two giant steps, picked up a bag and strode purposely to the door and grabbed its handle.

"Tell me West," Melanie said to his back, "If I don't hear it from you or Mama Aida, then just who is supposed to tell me?"

West hesitated for only a moment before opening the door. Breathing in the chilly early morning air he took a step out the door, but then turned in profile as he straddled the doorjamb. He got very still as if he was contemplating the question. The lighting cast him partly in the shadow and Melanie stared at his silhouette. She was surprised he stirred so many different and intense emotions within her. She was in love with him. She had given herself to him freely, but sadly she realized that she didn't really know him. She only hoped now that the man who caressed her so lovingly a few hours ago would at least offer her a small piece of the puzzle which was now her life.

"West?"

"We gotta move," he sternly. And then he was gone.

Chapter 9

West drove just under the speed limit down the interstate. He stopped at the first rest stop, quickly removed the tracker from his car and attached it to the bumper of a SUV with Georgia license plates. West hoped the young couple currently using the facilities would be in a hurry and drive straight through the next states without stopping. This would certainly work to his advantage since he was betting Marcie would now rely solely on GPS in order to avoid detection. She knew he would be looking for her, so he hoped she would be content to lose the visual and just chase a dot on a screen. He hoped.

Now, however, West couldn't waste any more energy on Marcie. There were more pressing things he needed to think about, like why Mama Aida aka Gabriela had a gun. He saw it when she hugged Melanie. What's more, she knew that he knew. He tried to assess her threat to Melanie, but for the life of him he couldn't come up with one thing that made sense. Why would the woman who cared for Melanie like a mother all these years suddenly turn on her? Did the brutal murder of the senator trigger an unusual act of desperation? What is her connection to Melanie's real father? West was positive Mama Aida knew Melanie's father and that it was him who had provided them financial support since Melanie was a small child. That connection baffled him and that made him very uneasy. Maybe Mama Aida knew about Melanie's father, but the "who, what and where" had been kept a secret for her own protection. Then again, maybe not.

West drummed the steering wheel, increasing his speed, but still remaining acutely aware of the numbers on the odometer. He didn't want to draw attention, even if there was hardly anyone on the road. Since they got into the car to leave the motel two hours ago, not one of the three of them had uttered one word. West adjusted the mirror and looked at Melanie in the back seat. She was leaning against the car door with her eyes closed. Although she was probably exhausted, West knew she wasn't asleep. It was her way of shutting them out and West couldn't blame her. He wished he could make things easier for her, but since he couldn't, he decided to just focus on the job at hand.

West shifted his glance to Gabriela sitting beside her and in contrast, she was wide awake and alert. She didn't look anything like the fragile Mama Aida from the condo. She had officially transitioned and West hoped she wouldn't be a big problem. He understood Mama Aida, but Gabriela – not so much. Whatever her situation, Gabriela aka Mama Aida was not exactly an open book to him and that meant she could be a danger- even to Melanie.

West turned his full attention back to the road. They were almost there and dawn was breaking with the promise of a new day. West hoped it would be much better than the one they all had yesterday. He hoped everything would turn out fine. He hoped.

Slowly driving up the nearly mile long driveway, West carefully surveyed the property. The security was first rate. At the gate the hand held scanner was equipped with facial recognition software, while the mounted camera scanned their car for bombs. Now as West looked at the strategically designed landscaping off the main driveway, his sharp, expert eyes saw the armed security men, dressed in dark uniforms scattered throughout the foliage. He would bet that as many as he saw in uniform, there were at least as many camouflaged and invisible to intruders.

West didn't know if getting off the property would be a problem for him. So far, Melanie's father had been true to his word, but this would probably be their last contact. Once he delivered Melanie, her father would have no real use for him and may even view him as a threat. West understood his status would change from a person of value to one who is expendable. In addition, West had no way of knowing if her father would even live up to his end of their bargain, but he was willing to take the chance. He needed what her father promised to deliver to him and that was his only focus. It is what drove him all these many months and he just wanted to walk away peacefully.

He thought about Melanie. Walking away from her would not be easy, but it would be for the best. She deserved better than what he could give her. Marcie was right. He had changed, but he had made peace with that fact. Melanie only clouded the issue for him. He didn't want to put himself in a position of needing her because he already knew it just wouldn't work out. Not for her and not for him.

West knew once Melanie found out the truth, she would hate him for deceiving her. It hurt to even think about how she would react when she found out she had been a bargaining chip in a deal between him and her father. He had already decided to tell her that much, but no more. There were some things he never wanted her to know, like what he planned on doing next. It wasn't something he was proud of, but it was certainly something he was capable of. It was also something that was necessary in order for him to right some wrongs. He couldn't involve Melanie in any more of his dealings, especially since she would have to adjust to the intrusion of her father in her life. That man came with a lot of baggage and West didn't want to complicate Melanie's life more with his own baggage. He loved her enough to let her go -forever.

Glancing in his rearview mirror at Melanie, West was relieved to see she was sitting straight up and looking more curious than afraid. One long journey would be ending for her today, too. She would get all the answers to questions about her life, but whether she was ready for them remained to be seen.

As West continued to survey his surroundings he felt his anticipation rising. After all these months, he only had a few more minutes to go.

He pulled the car around the circular drive directly in front of the mansion and security, men dressed in black suits and ties, immediately approached the car. West could see they all had earpieces, weapons and looked to be akin to the secret service. They opened the door for the passengers and upon exiting the vehicle, West raised his arms for the obligatory pat down and his gun was quickly confiscated. However, he noticed that they didn't check Melanie and Gabriela. With the kind of tight security West had seen, he knew that could only be because of direct orders from Melanie's father.

Her father probably didn't want to alarm the two women, especially after their recent trauma from the senator's grisly murder. Treating his daughter and the woman who raised her like criminals certainly was not the best way to start the introductions. It would make sense that he would want to set a tone for his daughter, to let her know she was safe with him. She was home.

Although it was an act of trust and love, as West looked towards Gabriela with her piece still secure in her waistband, he knew that one act could have deadly consequences. At least West knew exactly where he could get a gun if there were any surprises waiting for them inside.

Security escorted the three of them into the grand foyer of the mansion, which West noticed, was nearly as big as his entire home. A pretty woman dressed in an oversized turquoise sweater and black leggings with stylish black, knee high leather boots, immediately met them.

"Welcome. We've been expecting you. I'm Lily," she said with a soft Hispanic accent. West watched Melanie closely. She looked so lost that it took all of his energy to control his urge to wrap her in his arms and whisk her right back out the door.

"I basically run the household, but I refused to wear the ugly uniform assigned to staff. I'm just lucky my boss appreciates what I do enough to give me a pass."

Lily smiled graciously, but that seemed to irritate Melanie rather than put her at ease.

"Who's your boss?" Melanie demanded. "I'd like to know exactly who it is that appreciates you enough to give you a pass, but basically kidnaps me.'

"Where's the bathroom?" Mama Aida asked weakly.

"Mama Aida, are you ok?" Melanie asked, alarmed to see her looking so pale.

"I'll take h-," Lilly began, but Melanie quickly interrupted her.

"No!" She snapped, but then softened her tone. "I'm...I'm sorry. But this whole thing has been a nightmare for us and Mama Aida hasn't been feeling well lately. Can you just point us in the direction of the nearest bathroom?"

Lilly gave Melanie quick directions and watched her and Mama Aida start down the hall together. Then turning her attention to West, she led him into another room where a well dressed man stood next to an enormous fireplace.

"Lt West is here," Lilly announced loudly, then whispering to West she added, "He wanted to see you alone first, anyway. I'll go check on the ladies."

West eyes quickly scanned the large room, taking note of every window and the additional door while confirming that they were indeed alone. Normally, he would not even notice the beauty of such a room, but the exquisite and expensive décor was hard to miss. The value of the artwork alone must have cost millions of dollars.

After careful inspection of his surroundings, West's eyes finally rested on the only other person present, Melanie's father.

"I first want to say thank you. Other than Gabriela, you are the only one I trusted to do this job."

West took a moment to size him up. He was taller than West had imagined and he clearly had the impeccable style and poise of a gentleman. Dressed in a dark suit, dark tie and pearl grey shirt, West figured the outfit probably cost more than his yearly salary. Grey peppered his jet black hair and that made him look the role the distinguished gentleman even more. Although his words sounded familiar, it was actually the first time West had heard real his voice. In the few contacts they had in the past year, it was always an electronically altered voice on the other end of a newly acquired disposable phone. They had a code so that West knew that each call was authentic. His first two words of every contact he made with West began with the letter T and W and his last two words which ended their conversation each started with the letter M. TW and MM. Thomas West and Melanie McKnight.

In their last conversation which took place before he and Melanie left his house, her father opened with 'This wrangling' and ended with 'melancholy moment'. His choice of words in their brief conversations always seemed a bit pretentious. However, after hearing his actual voice, tone and accent, West changed his mind. The language style fit him and West even thought he sounded poetic.

He offered West a seat and West suppressed a smile realizing why the voice that he had never actually heard before now was so familiar to him. He sounded exactly like Antonio Banderas. No doubt to some he was like a real life Zorro, the character Banderas once played in a movie. However, to others he was an intimidating big boss and to West he was just a plain old criminal in sheep's clothing. West had decided long ago, as he lay wounded in a hospital bed that he would not try to sort it out. The man before him had contacted him and offered him a temporary partnership. As long as West watched over his daughter, he would give him financial compensation and information. West didn't care about the money. It was the dossier which he was now accepting that had made him agree to the deal.

West opened the file and glanced through its contents. Puzzled, he looked up wondering if he had been deceived.

"I don't understand. Are you telling me he is one of your inside men?" West said watching as Melanie's father who had just sat down across from him, crossed his leg and looked pointedly back at West.

"Yes, you are correct. Although, I inherited him when I rose to power."

West grunted. "Rose to power" was one way of describing the execution of a prominent cartel member and his loyalist. In their business, power and death are like a bride and groom honeymooning. When you see one, the other is always nearby.

"So won't giving him up be bad for business?"

"He is a very valuable business asset, but everything is not always about business." There was a long, thoughtful pause and as West studied the man, he realized it was also a painful one.

"Lt. West, he is the man who killed my father. Executed him like a dog in the street. And now, I would like you to do the same to him."

"What?"

West felt his blood drain from his face when he heard the voice call out from behind him. Turning, he then saw the horrified look on Melanie's face.

Chapter 10

Melanie stared at West, turned her eyes to rest on the man across from him and then back to West again.

"Are you some sort of dirty cop, hit man?"

"It's not exactly what you think," West responded and stood up. He walked up to Melanie and touched her arm half expecting her to shrink away from him, but she just looked into his eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked forlornly. She realized she was just tired from her emotions running rampant during the last twenty four hours, more if she counted William's intrusions into her condo. She wanted to be angry with West or afraid of him, but all she felt was hurt. It was hard to accept that another man had fooled her again. She was naïve with the senator, maybe even caught up with the idea of being a senator's wife, but with West it felt different. She honestly believed that the two of them shared something special and genuine. Maybe it wasn't real. Maybe she imagined it. Maybe she just wanted him too much.

"Can we talk? Just for a minute?" West whispered to Melanie. This was the part he had been dreading. Seeing her look at him with distrust pierced his heart like an arrow.

Melanie looked past West to the other gentleman in the room.

"Did you hire him?"

"Maybe we should all sit down and-"

"Did you hire him?" Melanie repeated firmly. She didn't know anything about the man except what she heard him say. His well guarded home was an indication that his safety was at risk, someone wanted to do him harm, but she needed to know how she and West fit into this strange scenario.

"I cannot answer that question completely without an explanation. It would not be fair to you or Lt. West. Now please," her host beckoned to her, "please sit down."

Melanie backed away from West while still searching his eyes. Once she got to the door, she turned abruptly and walked out. West seemed paralyzed momentarily, but seeing her walk out ignited something in him. He couldn't lose her.

West quickly followed her out the door and caught up with her in the large foyer. Melanie headed straight for the front door. She was tired and she wasn't going to play these games anymore. Whatever everyone was trying to protect her from didn't matter to her. She was ready to face everything coming her way head on and alone.

"Melanie, wait!" West called to her desperately. "Please, wait!"

Suddenly, Melanie swung around to face West.

"Was this just a game to you? I don't understand...did you just want to get me in bed? Was this some sort of-"

"No! I didn't want to get you in bed, I mean I did, but not in the way it sounds. Listen, Melanie-"

"West I'm trying to put this all together and I can't...figure out...who you are," Melanie stammered. "I came all this way with you because in spite of everything, I still trusted you."

"Melanie, listen I-"

"My mind said 'don't believe him', but my heart said otherwise."

"Melanie, it wasn't-"

"I feel like such a fool! I never-"

"Melanie, I love you!"

Melanie stopped in midsentence and watched as West closed the gap between them. He gently placed his finger under her chin and lifted her head up, allowing his eyes to find hers.

"I thought I didn't need anyone, especially someone special like you. I didn't think I deserved anyone. And I still don't think I deserve you. But Melanie, watching you walk away, made me realize that I do need you in my life. Letting you leave without even trying to fight for you would be a mistake. A mistake that I don't think I could live with.

"So if you don't want me, I'll understand. I come...flawed. But I think you should know the whole truth. And part of that truth, a big part of it for me at least, is that I love you."

Melanie just stared at West. It was what she wanted to hear, but it still rendered her speechless. She felt overcome with relief and happiness, but at the moment that was not enough.

"I love you, too. And I don't think that's going to change, but I need to have answers and I need to be able to trust you."

"You deserve that," West said, nodding his head in agreement. "But I think you should first get some answers from Ambassador Montenegro."

"Ambassador ?" Melanie whispered as she looked around for eavesdroppers. West smiled. "I thought he was some sort of crime boss."

"Maybe he's that and...something more."

Now she was puzzled.

"Remember when I told you at the hotel about it not being the right time to explain things to you? Well, now... it's time."

West grabbed Melanie by the hand, but before he could lead her away, she pulled him towards her and kissed him passionately. She wanted to have one more pure moment with him. While she didn't know all that she would learn, she did know that it could mean an end to her relationship with West. Melanie would not allow love to blind her again. She made that mistake once and she would rather be alone than make that same mistake again. She loved West, but love shouldn't come with a need to keep secrets or make excuses. She didn't believe it would be that way with West, but she had no idea what she was up against. Walking back into that room may change things between them forever. She kissed him again, savoring it, as she knew it very well may be their last.

Chapter 11

The ambassador sat across from Melanie. Leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, he just stared at her for a moment. Sensing her discomfort, he averted his eyes to the Persian rug under his feet. The design made him feel dizzy, or maybe it was this moment of reckoning that physically assaulted him. He had felt fear very rarely in his life, but he still recognized its unsettling grip as it crept up his spine. His heart beat a little faster as he pondered the potential condemnation of the child that had been the center of his life even before she was born. He had no doubt her rejection would emotionally crush him.

He had wanted to speak to her alone, but she had insisted West stay by her side. West knew a lot, but he didn't know it all. Balancing the idea of honesty with Melanie against his vulnerability from exposure to West was an unexpected dilemma. However, looking up at her, he saw Anna so clearly and West faded from his mind. The crease in her brow, which conveyed concern, and tightness in the lips, a tell-tale sign of anxiousness, was the identical expression he had seen on her mother's face far too often. Yet, her eyes were out of place and surprising. They weren't Anna's eyes looking back at him with distrust. She probably never knew the one thing she had gotten from her father were her eyes. How could she? She had been lied to her whole life and now he had to tell her things he wished were not true.

Melanie, his Angelina, was the only one that mattered. He wished Anna could see her daughter now. She would have been so proud. Fresh tears sprung to his eyes as he thought about how little time mother and daughter had together.

"You look so much like your mother."

'You knew my mother?" Melanie asked anxiously. She looked at West and then reached for his hand. The ambassador smiled sadly and gave a nearly imperceptible nod of his head.

"Yes. She was beautiful, too." Lost in his thoughts, he looked past Melanie and West, for a moment before continuing.

"It makes me both happy and sad that we are here together. Happy because I get to meet you. That has been a dream of mine. One that I knew could not - should not, ever be fulfilled."

"Why?"

"Because, and this is what makes me sad, for you to be here speaking with me means I have failed you. Again. Like I failed your mother."

"Ambassador?"

"Call me...Roberto."

"Ok. Roberto, I am so confused right now."

"I know."

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his thighs and hung his head. He didn't know where to start to make Melanie understand. So, he started from the beginning.

Washington DC – Twenty nine years ago

Roberto squinted in the brightness as he stepped off the subway escalator into the bright sunlight on K Street. It felt good to be back for summer break. He was under constant pressure at school, but if he wanted to be surgeon, living under pressure was part of the deal. Roberto hastened his step and smiled. His father wanted him to slow down, but life didn't slow down and neither would he. It was the pressure that made everything exciting. It sharpened his senses and made him feel alive.

When his father moved him and his mother from Mexico to California, he thought his new life would be different, but little changed. Roberto was still kept under special guard and could never play freely with the other children. Most days he felt like an outcast sentenced to a life of loneliness. Sensing his unhappiness, his mother tried to make him understand that being the only child of a very important businessman made him important, too. For his mother's sake, Roberto only pretended to understand and pretended to be happy. However, once his mother died, Roberto no longer pretended and became more and more rebellious. At age fourteen, his exasperated father sent him away to boarding school. He only saw his father once or twice a year after that and even though he missed his mother, Roberto had to admit, he was mostly happy. For the first time in his life he felt free. It was good to be from under the weight of his father's life.

Now he was visiting his father for the first time in three years. He has been away at school since age fourteen and living at school felt more like home to him anyway. He only came to visit this time because his father promised not to try to "lock him up" at the family estate. Roberto was not willing to stay under his father's control. He didn't need security twenty-four hours a day. Nor did he need a staff at his beck and call. Roberto wasn't the rich businessman turned diplomat like his father and he didn't want anyone to treat him like one. His father didn't understand that he didn't want to float leisurely on a yacht somewhere while his brain slowly turned to mush. He had other plans for his life which included making his own way.

Roberto looked behind him as he continued his brisk walk up K Street. It was almost noon and the streets were crowded with the lunch hour rush of office workers clamoring to get out for some fresh air. Roberto loved the fast pace of the city. It made him happy and he added a little pep in his step.

He smiled broadly. He was also a feeling pretty good about the ease in which he had eluded the two men sent to watch over him. At the last second before the subway doors closed, he had dashed out of the subway car. The guards weren't quick enough to follow and had to watch helplessly as the train pulled out of the station. It was a small victory, but Roberto enjoyed it immensely.

Noticing a card shop, Roberto stopped and solemnly looked inside through the window. His mother's birthday was next week and he needed to buy her birthday card. Every year since she had died, he had carefully shopped for her birthday card. Then finding one that suited her, he would hold onto it for the next several days as he gathered all the special things he wished he could share with her. Finally, on her birthday, he would sit down and write his thoughts out in her birthday card, seal the card in an envelope and put it in a special box. Over the years, the box had grown heavy with birthday cards, Christmas cards, Mother's Day cards and cards for other special occasions that made him think of her.

Roberto looked back at the subway entrance again. He had wanted to get further away from the Metro station where he knew his security detail would begin their search to find him. However, he felt compelled to go inside the card shop, not realizing it would change the course of his life.

The bell on the door tinkled announcing his entrance into the store and Roberto went immediately to the display of birthday cards. Soon he was lost in thoughts of his mother and wondering if he would have been a different person if she were still alive. He knew he would have come home more often and perhaps he would not have felt as lonely and detached as he did with only his father to call family. Roberto knew he would be different from his father if he ever had a child. He knew he would never send his child away so that they could grow up without knowing his love. He was certain he would never allow his son or daughter to feel so abandoned.

Choosing his card, Roberto re-read it as he walked towards the counter to make his purchase. It was a poem about a rainbow. He had forgotten how much his mother loved rainbows. She used to say, "Rainbows are beautiful and unexpected. And wishing on a rainbow means something beautiful and unexpected will happen to you."

Walking outside Roberto stood in the sunshine and looked up to the sky. No rainbow. Suddenly he didn't feel in the mood for an adventure. Turning, he walked back in the direction of the Metro station. Just as he stepped off the escalator onto the train platform, he felt a nudge.

"You forgot this."

Roberto looked back and saw a pretty brunette holding out the card he had just purchased. In his preoccupation, he had forgotten it on the counter.

"Oh, thanks," he said taking the card, "but you didn't have to come all the way down into the subway station to give it to me. That was very nice of you."

"It seemed important to you. You looked...so...serious reading it. I thought it must be special."

"It is," Roberto said looking down at the card, "but it was still very kind of you."

The young woman looked down shyly and then back at Roberto and smiled. "I have to get back to work," she said while taking a tentative step backwards and pointing towards the escalators

"Oh yes, of course, but first let me at least get your name," Roberto said as the woman quickly retreated onto the escalator just as the next train pulled into the station.

"Anna!" she shouted over the din of hustling passengers crowding onto the escalator.

"Roberto!" he yelled back at her over the heads of the subway patrons, but she was already halfway up the escalator. His voice floated faintly over the booming voice on the intercom announcing the next subway stop. She frowned and shook her head indicating she had not understood him. Then she smiled and waved. Returning her wave, Roberto continued to watch her and even after she was out of sight, he still stood and looked in her direction. He had missed the train, but he didn't care. His thoughts were on the pretty, young woman with the soft voice and kind eyes. Roberto knew he had to see her again.

For the next month, Roberto would make the daily trip downtown to have lunch with Anna. They would meet at nearby restaurants and sometimes, she would make a picnic lunch and they would eat in a nearby park. Soon, he was hanging around downtown waiting for her work day to be over so that they could spend more time together. She was easy to talk to and Roberto had never felt closer to anyone else in his entire life, even his mother. He knew he was in love and was soon wondering how he would ever be able to leave her to go back to school after the summer was over. His father would never agree, but Roberto had made up his mind that he would never be apart from someone he loved again. If she did not go with him, then he would simply stay with her.

However, during the first week of July, Anna disappeared for three days and no one had heard from her, including Roberto. She was not at work, she was not at home and Roberto was frantic with worry. When she finally appeared she was distant and quiet. Roberto didn't understand until he saw the bruises on her arm. She walked gingerly and even though she pretended otherwise, it was obvious she was hurting. Finally, in the quiet of a rainy afternoon, they sat in his car after a late lunch and she told him her story.

Three years ago at age seventeen she was married to a man who had the power to make her family's life comfortable or intolerable. He told Anna the choice was hers to make. Although the marriage made Anna an American citizen, it did not change things for her parents. They feared deportation and what that would mean for Anna's little sister. Worse than that, Anna's grandparents in Mexico feared for their life. Her marriage helped her family members, but she paid for it in the nightmare she lived at the hands of her abusive husband.

Her only saving grace was that he didn't include her in his daily life. She felt like he kept her hidden away, showing up periodically. She often wondered if he was already married. If that was the case, then their marriage wouldn't be legal and that would put her citizenship in jeopardy. However, Anna consoled herself in the fact that the arrangement still kept her family safe. She had not seen him in many months and hoped him to be either in jail or dead. She was afraid to check on his whereabouts knowing she would incur his wrath if he ever found out that she was checking up on him. She only prayed that she would not see him ever again and it was living in this blissful hope and ignorance that allowed her to feel normal. She dared to be happy, and with Roberto, she was happy. Then her husband came back to pick up where he left off.

"You have to leave him," Roberto whispered to her. He held her tightly, caressing her back as she cried into his chest. He was finding it difficult to control his anger.

"I cannot," she responded softly between sobs, "he will hurt us all. I cannot do that to my family."

"I'll protect you. I'll protect your whole family." Anna rose up from his chest and searched his eyes.

"You would do that?"

"Come away with me now."

She shook her head sadly. "I cannot. Not until my family is safe."

"Ok," Roberto said, his mind racing, "my father has money and connections and power. He will help us."

Anna smiled and looked hopefully at him through her tear laden eyelashes. Roberto couldn't let her down. He cared for her too much. He gently kissed her tears away and finally kissed her softly on the lips.

He had never asked his father to use his influence and money for such a personal favor. Hopefully, his father would understand how important this was to him. He needed Anna in his life.

Roberto looked at his father incredulously. He couldn't believe he didn't want to help Anna and her family. Roberto would come to know in time that it was because his father was involved in the same illegal drug organization as Anna's husband. He would also realize when it was too late, that when his father finally agreed to help his son, it was a death sentence.

In the weeks that followed, Anna and Roberto tried to keep their distance from each other. Neither knew if her husband was watching or when he would come back. However, the two of them quickly realized that they couldn't stay apart from each other. So, they continued to meet in secret while Roberto's father arranged for all of Anna's family to be secretly moved to a safe location. When the last of the arrangements had been finalized, Roberto rushed to tell Anna. The move would happen in the still of that very same night and she would no longer have to live in fear of being brutalized.

When he reached her back door after walking the two blocks from where he parked his car, Roberto was surprised to find the door ajar. Carefully pushing the door further open he tentatively and quietly eased into her kitchen. There on the floor in a pool of blood, lay his precious Anna. He raced to her side, wanting to scoop her up in his arms, but afraid touching her would cause her more pain. Her beautiful face was swollen and bloody. Roberto ran to the telephone. He would call for an ambulance, but for some reason he first contacted his father. He told his father to call everything off or risk others getting hurt because of him and the "help" he had offered. Rather than agree with him, Roberto's father pushed to finish what they started.

"Roberto, my one and only child," he said sadly, "if she doesn't leave right now, she never will. No hospital. I will send a car to pick you up right away. Go straight to the plane."

"But she may not survive the flight. The air compression changes and-"

"You have medical training. You must do your best to keep her alive. Once there, the nuns will know what to do."

"No, no, I can't! I'm not a doctor yet!"

"You must get her on that plane tonight!"

"Did you hear me? She may not survive the trip!"

"At least she has a chance, mi hijo. She is already dead is she stays here."

Roberto felt panic rising from the depths of his soul and erupting from every fiber of his being. Anna had said her husband was powerful and there was something in his father's tone that scared him. If Anna was in that kind of danger, he finally realized his father might also be in danger.

"Papa, what about you?"

"Papa, huh? I haven't heard that since you were little."

"You didn't answer my question."

"A car is on the way. Vaya con Dios."

Roberto stared at the phone after hearing the click of his father disconnecting. He suddenly had the urge to run out the back door and to his car so that he could rush to his father's side, but a soft moan from Anna got his attention. Using all the medical knowledge he had gained in his years at school, he tried to access and treat her injuries. Cleaning up the blood on her face, he applied packages of frozen vegetables to help the swelling. She was taking shallow breaths and he prayed that her ribs were bruised rather than broken. She did, however, have a broken arm and deep bruising on her inner thighs. Roberto wanted to scream out of anger and frustration for Anna's and now his father's predicament. He decided he would send Anna to the air strip, but would take his car back home to check on his father. Roberto would force his father to come with them and they would all stay in hiding if necessary.

"Roberto," Anna whispered bring his full attention back to her. He gently grabbed her hand.

"Yes, Anna?"

"Please, promise me. You will save the baby." She dug her nails into his hand, her expression mixed with anguish and fear.

Baby? Roberto stared at her in shock. Could a baby survive such trauma? Roberto wasn't sure.

"Promise me," she repeated, strength ebbing from her with every passing moment. Her eyes were pleading with him and Roberto made a promise that he had no idea if he could keep. He leaned down and put his face next to hers.

"I promise, Anna," he whispered in her ear. She smiled faintly as she closed her eyes. Roberto stayed with his face pressed against hers while tears flowed from his eyes. She had been brutally beaten while carrying a new life inside her and his father was now in serious danger. Roberto knew at any moment he could lose them all.

"She was beaten while she was pregnant?" Melanie asked knowing she was the baby that Anna carried. She had become very emotional during Roberto's story. No one had ever shared so much with her about her mother, not even Mama Aida.

"She was beaten," the Ambassador began and then faltered. Even now the pain of what Anna had been through still hurt him. He took a breath and then started again.

"She was beaten because she was pregnant."

Melanie gasped and wiped fresh tears from her eyes. She understood everything now with much more clarity. Her mother was having an affair with Roberto, while married to a sadistic monster that beat her savagely and left her for dead. Roberto had protected her all these years by keeping her identity a secret. He had really loved Anna and her unborn child. Her mother had suffered so much to keep her family safe and Roberto had been there for her, for the both of them really.

"What happened when you went back for your father? Did he go into hiding, too?"

"Sadly he never had the chance," Roberto said standing up. He began to pace the floor as he spoke.

"I went back to our home and I saw him through the window of his den. The light was on and I could see he was on his knees. Someone had a gun pointed at the back of his head and he pulled the trigger right in front of my eyes. I see this scene in my dreams. But in my dreams, I don't just stand there frozen and watch. In my dreams, I am not a coward." Roberto closed his eyes and grimaced. "In my dreams," he continued with his eyes still closed, "I save him."

The room grew very still. West squeezed Melanie's hand and looked over at her. She was gazing at her heartbroken father. The story of her family seemed to be taking its toll on her. The truth hurt.

"I'm sure you did what you could," Melanie said quietly. Roberto opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"Thank you for that. I go back to that very dark place often. Every day. Because, you see, I know who killed my father. After he shot him, he looked at the window where I stood on the other side looking back at him. Then he calmly smoothed his hair and that's when I remembered that when looking out that window into the darkness, you can only see a reflection of yourself. I could see him clearly, but he didn't know I was there." He looked drained as he found his seat again. "After seeing all of that, I just ran. I ran back and got on the private jet with Anna, but I vowed to set things right."

"And...did you?" Melanie asked tentatively.

"It would not be so easy. My father had deep ties in a drug cartel. His political influence was important for U.S. trafficking and the businesses he owned were necessary for money laundering. As the only heir, I was "offered" his position in exchange for my life. I was not afraid for myself, but I had you and Anna to think of now. The man who killed my father was very important to the flow of business and with my quick political rise, I seamlessly replaced my father. For the business sake, the two of us had to make peace. I was ordered to forget about my father's killer, who was only protecting what was his."

"What was his? He didn't own her!"

"Yes, Melanie. He did. And my father and I interfered with another man's "property." We disrespected him."

"Disrespected him? Helping my mother escape torture is disrespecting him?"

"What fire! How were you able to keep up with her this whole time?"

"What whole time?" Melanie asked. She watched a silent exchange between the men and then pulled her hand away from West. Now it was time to find out the truth about the man she loved. It was time to know his secrets and if necessary find the strength to walk away.

She turned her attention completely on West. "How long have you been "keeping up with me"? Watching me?"

West shrugged his shoulders, before responding reluctantly.

"Since I got out of the hospital from the shooting."

"What shooting?"

"My partner shot me on the orders of someone else. I was getting too close to a high level drug operative. I didn't know who that was, but the Ambassador did"

"And when was that?"

"About a year ago." West answered quietly.

"A year? That's when I moved here! You've been spying on me all this time? Knowing where I was and what I doing?" Melanie gasped. "And you knew! You had to know what he was...," Melanie's voice broke as she struggled to continue, "...what William was doing to me, but you pretended I was... imagining things!"

"I will never forgive myself for what I put you through," West replied with his head down. "I know how difficult that was for you."

"Lt. West was only-"

"And you!" Melanie snapped as she turned to face Roberto. "Where do you get off playing the puppet master? You have strings attached in everyone's life – West's, mine's, Mama Aida's and even your father's killer! If you wanted revenge, why get West to do your dirty work? Why don't you just do it yourself?"

"I would have, believe me when I tell you that I would have when I was young and stupid, but I didn't know who he was! Not then! I had only seen his face in the reflection of a window! But to go against them, then or now, would be signing your death certificate, just like I signed my father's!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"No, Angelina, you cannot," Roberto said softly. "Not against these people. Before killing you, they would do bad things to you first, just to send a message. That's why I never married and had a family. I didn't want to be responsible for hurting anyone else. But I already had you and the promise that I made three times to your mother. On the night I found her, I promised to save the baby. On the night you were born, I promised her that no matter what, I would protect you. On the day we parted ways, I promised her again that I would save you from this life of evil, because we both knew it was too late for me. 'Save Angelina' she told me. That promise has given my entire existence meaning. But in order to save you, I had to leave you."

Melanie looked at Roberto with tears in her eyes as she thought about her mother. She didn't understand how she could miss someone she never knew. She felt herself softening towards Roberto again.

"But why West? Why put his life in danger?"

"We had a common enemy and Lt. West is a detective. If the police caught or killed this man, then it is the cost of doing business. One way or the other, this man's value to the cartel would cease to exist and he would be gone forever."

"Now what?" Melanie asked looking from West to Roberto. Neither man looked back. "So, I'm supposed to sit on my hands waiting, while West turns into a cold-blooded killer and exact revenge on the man who killed your father?"

"And the man who killed your mother. And the man who murdered the senator and who almost killed you –more than once. The man who did all these things is one in the same. This man doesn't want me dead. Not yet. He wants me alive so I can first feel the pain of losing another loved one, knowing I'm the reason they are dead. He wants me to suffer for taking Anna away from him."

Melanie felt her heart fluttering rapidly as she suddenly and fully understood the concerns of her father. This man had the means and power to continue to hunt her and her mother down, even after being ordered to make peace. He had succeeded in killing her mother, but still continued his twenty-five year old vendetta against her father. She now understood what her father already knew. He would never stop – not until she was dead. Her international lifestyle as a child was out of necessity. Her sudden moves to new locations kept him off her track. She felt Mama Aida's fear of an invisible enemy with every new destination.

"Is his picture in there?" she gestured towards the folder West still held in his grip. "I need to see his face."

Slowly West opened the file and handed her an eight by ten photograph. Feeling a presence behind her, she looked over her shoulder. Mama Aida had come up behind her and stood transfixed by the image she saw. Before Melanie could ask her any questions about the man, the blast from the bomb shook the room.

The last thing Mama Aida saw before passing out were the shoes.

Chapter 12

Anna was falling and Gabriella couldn't help her. She couldn't reach her best friend who was looking terrified. Anna was saying something to her, but Gabriella couldn't hear her words. Even though she could see her mouth moving, Anna's voice was silent in her ears. Gabriella realized she heard nothing, not even her own voice calling out to Anna. She wanted to clear her ears. She wanted to reach out to Anna, but she couldn't move. Something was heavy was holding her down and now Anna was fading away.

Gabriella was panicking. She could tell that her friend was screaming and she was afraid for Anna. Her face was contorting into something frightening and Gabriella wanted to scream too. She watched as her friend's long, slender fingers that were reaching out to her begin to melt like candle wax. Anna was disappearing-no dissolving right before her eyes. Gabriella started to cry. She couldn't help her friend. She couldn't hear her screams and now she couldn't even see her anymore. Gabriella sobbed. She felt the tears running down her face, but she couldn't move to wipe them. She couldn't even hear her own anguish. She was useless. She had let Anna down.

Mama Aida opened her eyes and immediately felt excruciating pain. A fallen bookcase lay across her, penning her down and something metal had pierced her legs. She was having difficulty breathing, her head hurt and the ringing in her ears was intolerable.

Clearing the murkiness from her mind, she thought hard about what had just happened. She remembered excusing herself to go to the bathroom when they first entered the home. In the privacy of the bathroom, she checked the readiness of her gun and then used her cell phone to call Special Agent Jonathan Fields. Paying strict attention during their drive meant that she could give Jonathan accurate directions to their location. He needed enough information to maneuver legally, so that he could finally get the man he thought paved the way for the cartel to flourish inside U.S. borders. Mama Aida had no idea that Anna's Roberto was now an Ambassador, but Jonathan knew and that's why he needed her. Her personal connection opened up a legal channel for Jonathan to exploit.

However, Mama Aida could not let the ambassador be arrested and then hide behind diplomatic immunity. She knew the only way to release Melanie from this nightmare was to kill Roberto. There would be no need to use Melanie to hurt a man who was already dead. The FBI and DEA would still benefit from his death, but Mama Aida knew that if she did things her way, Melanie would benefit the most.

Walking silently into the room, she had listened to the story Roberto told Melanie. Anna had loved and trusted Roberto which is why Mama Aida blindly accepted him as their benefactor all these years. Even without personal contact, she knew he was always there and in some ways that was a comfort to her. Now she was tired of running and she was prepared to do what Roberto couldn't do for her best friend. She would save Angelina. She would be the one to give her a chance for a good life without having to constantly look over her shoulders.

As much as Mama Aida knew, she was keenly aware of how much she didn't know, like who really killed Anna. He had always been a nameless, faceless threat, but in the end, it really didn't matter. Roberto was still the reason Melanie was threatened at all. Even though Mama Aida knew that deep down Roberto was a good man, she also knew that his criminal affiliation forced him to do things, unforgiveable things. Maybe his death would not only set Melanie free, but in many ways, it might set Roberto free, too.

After she killed Roberto, Mama Aida had no idea what would happen to her, but that didn't matter. If she got to walk away after an internal investigation, then so be it. After all, she was still acting under orders of a supervising law enforcement officer in a major criminal investigation. Still, if things went differently for her, she was prepared to deal with it now that Melanie had West. He loved her and would stand by her and hopefully, they could lead a normal, happy life together. That's all she has ever wanted for Melanie since the day Anna was murdered right before her very eyes.

Mama Aida remembered readying herself to ask for a private word with Roberto to use as an opportunity to pull the trigger. However, when Melanie held up the picture, Mama Aida needed to see the face of the monster that beat and murdered her best friend, slaughtered the senator in their home and hunted them both like animals. She needed to see the unknown menace that chased them all these years. She assured herself that if she saw him, it would put her fears to rest. It didn't.

Mama Aida now turned her head and looked past the bookcase that penned her down. She saw Roberto sitting on the floor, slumped against the sofa. He was bleeding from a bullet wound to the chest. West, standing next to him, was staring intensely at the person in front of him. Mama Aida could see he was moving his mouth, but she couldn't hear him. The ringing in her ears had subsided, replaced by a powerful silence that made her feel as if she was submerged underwater.

West's arm hung limp at his side and blood from a head gash ran down his face. She tried turning over to see who West was talking to, but the pain seemed to paralyze her. She desperately struggled to locate Melanie and lifting up slightly on her side, she saw why West was so concerned. Melanie was standing in front West and just behind her, Mama Aida could see an outstretched arm with a gun pointing directly at her head. Whereas West looked serious and calm, Melanie looked terrified.

Mama Aida reached for the weapon she had tucked away and hoped that it was still there. She felt it, but her fingertips could only scrape its handle. In her current position under the debris from the bomb blast, she couldn't quite grab a hold of it. However, watching the situation unfold, she knew she had to do something. She had to get to the gun. Every move she made ignited severe pain in her lower extremities, but she kept reaching.

Suddenly, West ran forward with a panicked looked on his face. Melanie was crying and the gunman was smiling. To Mama Aida it seemed as if everything was happening in slow motion. Screaming out in pain, she forcefully pushed herself up high enough to grab and then point the gun. Her damaged ears didn't hear her own scream or hear Melanie frantically calling out her name. She couldn't hear the sound of the gun blast or the crash of the door behind her being kicked down. Yet, her eyes saw everything clearly. She saw the surprised look in the gunman's eyes and the barrel of his gun. She saw blood splatter across Melanie's face and the pained looked in West's eyes. Then finally, dropping the gun, she saw nothing.

Melanie was running away from her as fast as her three-year-old feet could carry her. She was crying and scared because the woman running behind her wasn't her Mama Aida. She wasn't even her mother's good friend Gabriella. She was Gina and Gina was a stranger.

"Never talk to strangers!" she yelled in her tiny voice.

Gina chased after her through a dark hallway with lots of closed doors. Melanie seemed to have disappeared, but her voice resonated throughout the hallway. She was singing the song Gina used to sing to her at bedtime. Following the sound of her sweet little voice, Gina opened one of the doors and it led her into the living room of Anna and Marco's old apartment. Melanie was cuddled up on Anna's lap, hugging her tightly while still singing. Finally, she looked over at Gina.

"Never talk to strangers," she said quietly and buried her face into Anna's bosom. Gina's heart broke watching the person she loved most in the entire world, turn her back to her.

"Melanie, don't do this!" Gina pleaded between sobs. "Melanie, please! You know me! I'm still your Mama Aida! Melanie! Melanie!"

"I'm right her," Melanie said gently, leaning in from her bedside seat.

"Where am I?" Mama Aida's wispy croak caused Melanie to lean in closer.

"You're in a hospital. You were hurt pretty badly."

Wincing from the pain, Mama Aida tried to sit up, but Melanie stopped her.

"No, no. Just try to rest. You're still recovering from surgery."

Exhausted, Mama Aida relaxed against the pillows. Then she noticed all the flowers in the room.

"Fans." Melanie grinned and handed her the newspaper. "You made the papers."

Mama Aida scanned the article.

"You've been front page news for three days. Everybody wants to talk to you."

"So how much do you know?" Mama Aida asked quietly, putting the newspaper down.

"Everything, Agent Gina Ramirez."

"You don't hate me?"

"You saved my life. And not just the other day. I know how much you sacrificed for me. So, how could I hate you?"

"I lied to you about everything."

"You loved me – in spite of everything."

"Well, it's good to see you up," West said entering the hospital room. His arm was in a sling and he had a bandage wrapped around his head. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I've had better days."

"And you will again."

"What about you?" Mama Aida attempted a smile. "You look like you've been in a war zone."

"I guess in a way it was." West walked over to Melanie and kissed her cheek. "But it was all worth it."

Melanie grinned sheepishly.

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing much. Just wedding plans," Melanie said taking Mama Aida's hand. "As soon as you're all better, we're getting married. If it's one thing I learned through all of this is that life is too short. You have to grab happiness where you can. Plus," Melanie squeezed Mama Aida's hand and then whispered, "I love him."

"Good to know," West whispered leaning towards the two of them. "I love her too. So marriage seemed like a good idea."

"You're getting married?"

West, Melanie and Mama Aida all looked at Marcie Blade standing in the doorway. "I have to admit, I never thought that would happen."

"Geez, you have hearing like a hyena...and probably other things, too"

"Cute, West. So you finally found some unsuspecting woman to put up with your bullsh-"

"Okay, Marcie!" West interjected.

"'I'm just saying," Marcie replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, are you up to an interview now, Gina?" she asked looking at Mama Aida.

"Maybe not right now," West said walking towards Marcie.

"Ok, I'll come back, but don't forget, West, this is my exclusive. That's the only reason I'm not still mad at you for sending me on that wild goose chase. But then again, that goose chase stumbled upon the love nest of a prominent, married congressman and his housekeeper's daughter. Got pictures, too. I'll wait for my story about you guys to drop off the front page and then bam! I'll be back on top with the horny congressman scandal! Ain't life great?" Marcie said smiling. She bounded out of the door and then suddenly reappeared. "Oh, yeah, about the marriage thing– good luck!

"Thanks," West replied.

"I was talking to Melanie," Marcie said dryly and then winking at West she was gone again.

Mama Aida struggled to keep her eyes open. Seeing Melanie and West so happy eased her mind. She didn't want to finish reading Marcie's article because it painted her as a hero and unfortunately, that's not how she felt. If she was really a hero, she would have been able to save Anna.

She never thought it was unusual that Anna never called her husband by name. She always said to speak his name or even think about him too much would be like inhaling evil into her heart. Mama Aida now understood the depth of that evil. The man who had used her twenty-five years ago to get to Anna had also used her to get to Melanie. He set off a bomb in each incident to make it seem like a violent retaliation for some sinister drug related business deal. But in truth it was just a diversion to hide the murders for his personal vendetta.

Supervising Special Agent Jonathan Fields had led a double life. He had walked right through all the security at the estate because he was one of them. If his final plan had worked he would have been able to exact his vengeance by executing Melanie in front of Roberto, before personally killing Roberto. He would have stayed in the good graces of the cartel by deflecting Roberto's death on law enforcement. Just as Roberto had planned to use West, Jonathan had planned to use her. Now according to the papers, Roberto and Jonathan were both dead. Jonathan had shot Roberto as he reached for his gun and she had killed Jonathan, piercing his brain with one single shot.

"Mama A-," Melanie began and then paused looking confused. "I suppose I shouldn't call you that anymore. Um, Mama Gina?"

From behind her, West made a face causing Mama Aida to smile.

"Call me by whatever makes you feel comfortable."

"How about...Mom?"

Mama Aida smiled and squeezed Melanie's hand. "Mom is good."

"Sorry to interrupt," Lily said from the doorway. "But I have a package to deliver to Melanie."

"Package?" Melanie asked puzzled.

Lily walked into the room and handed Melanie a large document box. "It's from your father."

"Oh, no," Melanie said attempting to give the package back. "I don't want anything from his illegal activity."

"It wasn't from anything illegal. He wouldn't let something so dirty come near something so pure."

Melanie looked at her skeptically.

"You think your father was a bad man?" Lilly asked firmly, her accent thickening with the passion of her words.

"I think he was a good man who did bad things."

"He was also a good man who did good things."

Without preamble, Lily lifted her sleeves on both arms. Melanie gasped softly and quickly apologized.

"Do not apologize. I know it is disturbing to see. But I assure you, it was more disturbing to live." Lily looked down at the scars that covered both arms. "I have them all over." She pulled down her sleeves and met Melanie's eyes. "Every day while living with my father in Mexico, he and his friends, cut me, or burned me, or...did things to me much worse than that. My father even rented me for a bottle of tequila. I did not know what else to do, so I tried to kill myself. I went to a hospital and that is where your father and his group found me. He helped me escape the brutality and I owe him my life."

Lily held her head up high. "He taught me that I should not be ashamed for what they did to me."

"He did that for you?" Melanie asked quietly.

"Yes. And I am not alone. Look in the package. You will see he has set up foundations all over the world to help girls like me escape the brutality. It runs without criminal money. It is completely legal. So is the money he set aside in an account for you. You can choose to accept it or not. But if you want, you can be on the board of this foundation and help continue what he started."

Melanie looked inside the package and tears sprung to her eyes. The large folder inside had the foundation's name embossed on the front cover. It read The Save Angelina Foundation. She picked up the dossier and held it close to her chest.

"Thank you," she said, overcome with emotion. Lily reached out and gently touched Melanie's arm. Then smiling, she silently met Melanie's eyes before quietly leaving the room.

"I think I want to go look at this...alone."

Mama Aida and West both nodded their heads as Melanie put the large folder back inside the box.

"I'll be back...Mom," she said tentatively and kissed Mama Aida on the forehead. "I know you're worried about me. I can tell by the look in your eyes. But I'm ok, really. At least now I know the whole truth about where I came from."

Except you don't.

Anna and Roberto had both gone to their graves with the secret and as Melanie and West leave the room, Mama Aida vowed to do the same.

Mama Aida closed her eyes remembering a long ago conversation with Anna.

On the night Anna confessed to Roberto about her abusive husband, he knew he had to help her. Jonathan, her sadistic husband, had not only beaten her, but he had also brutally raped her. That was the night she conceived Melanie. When he found out she was leaving him, she tried to tell him she was pregnant with his child. She thought he would not brutalize her as much, but she was wrong. He didn't believe the baby was his and he cursed them both angrily. It was a miracle either had survived.

It was also a miracle that she was able to take Jonathan down with one accurate shot. As she lay there, she was unsure which one of her persona's hands was steady enough to pull the trigger. Was it Gina, the betrayed agent; Gabriella, the guilty friend or Mama Aida, the protective mother? She didn't know the answer to that question, but she did know that Jonathan could no longer hurt anyone.

As Gabriella, her heart would always be heavy because of the role she played in the death of her friend. As Gina, she was hailed as a hero for exposing a high ranking dirty agent, but all the attention made her feel like a fraud. However, as Mama Aida she had no regrets and she was proud of the job she did raising Melanie.

Drifting off to sleep she thought about the future and for the first time, in a long time, she was not afraid. The nightmares were finally gone and Mama Aida was able to sleep in complete peace.

The End

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Have you ever wanted your opinion as a reader known, before the book was published? Readers of the Women's Fiction Club were able to do just that by reading chapters and voting on the direction of the story! The first novella in a series of Women's Fiction Club Presents is Save Angelina.

For this story, here are a few of the questions readers voted on:

Chapter 1

Who or what is in the pantry?

A) Mama Aida (the reasons why could be quite creative)

B) Senator William Calhoun (it's about more than politics!)

C) Her real mother - (no, apparently she's not dead)

D) Not human - (perhaps something ritualistic?)

Chapter 2

Clearly, the father is not dead, so who is he?

a) Someone who was on the wrong side of the law. Maybe in witness protection?

b) Ex-undercover cop pretending to be dead after the accident

c) Biological father not known to Melanie, but is well known and powerful

Who is Mama Aida? She is mature now, but when she was younger was she a:

a) Bad girl who turned good, but the past has caught up with her

b) Good girl who ran from trouble a long time ago, but her past is resurfacing.

c) Bad girl, but still has ongoing connections that know she is keeping Melanie.

What does Lt West look like?

a) Fair haired Brad Pitt in Troy

b) Dark haired; George Clooney-ish

c) Latino

d) African American

e) Multiracial -Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson

Join the  Women's Fiction Club on Facebook Women's Fiction Club on Facebook to be involved in a unique opportunity to read chapters and vote on what you think should happen in upcoming novellas!

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