Second Chances(50)

Cameron paced the room for a minute, his mind running through various scenarios. He finally stopped and let out a sigh. He did not see that he had many choices. Sighing once more, he began to dial his phone again.





CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN



She was still sitting in her urine soaked pants when the phone on her desk began to vibrate. She didn't know how long she'd been there, but it was now dark outside. She shivered and finally noticed the pool of wetness she was sitting in. Realization of what she had done hit her. Shame, anger and terror all welled up within her.

The phone buzzed again, but she ignored it. In her mind she could still hear Kassar's voice. Aloha. It meant both hello and goodbye. Goodbye. With Cameron Kassar, that was not a word you wanted to hear him say to you. Certainly not when he was in an angered state. It could take on an entirely new meaning. A permanent meaning.

Aloha.

The phone buzzed again, vibrating and moved a little across her desk. She ignored the phone and stood up. She walked over to the couch and picked up her purse.

The phone buzzed again and still she ignored it. Probably her husband calling. Damn insipid fool. She took her purse and walked toward the bathroom, ignoring the phone as it again buzzed.

"Sorry, Phillip, no fun in the sun for either of us," she muttered to herself. No, she did not see Hawaii in her future. No fun in the sun. No sex, sex, or sex.

Again the phone buzzed.

"No, Phillip, not even with you," she said to her reflection in the mirror.

She was a mess, her makeup had been smeared by tears. She looked ten years older, felt twenty. She dropped her purse into the sink and then undid her belt and slipped out of her pants and wet panties, flinging them to a corner of the bathroom.

Aloha.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. She felt fresh tears threatening, but choked them back, striking a closed fist against the sink, determined not to cry. She opened her purse and pulled out her gun. She ran her left hand along the barrel of the nine millimeter.

Aloha.

Cameron's voice continued to echo in her mind. She raised the barrel of the weapon to her temple.

Aloha.

She shifted the weapon to under her chin.

Aloha.

A clattering from the other room drew her attention. She knew her phone had finally vibrated its way to the edge of the desk and fallen off. A chuckle escaped her at the thought that the phone had tried to jump to its own demise. As if on cue, she heard the buzzing of the phone again.

"Screw it," she said aloud. "Okay Phillip, let me give you something to remember." She stormed out to the living room and snatched up the phone. She intended to tell Phillip aloha and then shoot herself. Her only regret is that she would never get to see the expression on his face.

She let out a startled cry when she saw that it was not Phillip calling, but Cameron. She dropped the gun and it slammed into her right little toe. She yelped and then unleashed a flurry of curses as pain bloomed. She hopped on her left foot, lost her footing and tumbled back onto the couch.

The phone buzzed again.

Why would he be calling? He wouldn't call to gloat or threaten. That was not how he would handle her. Was she wrong about what he had said? She had been quite sure of what he'd meant when he'd said aloha. She had originally toyed with the idea of running, but completely dismissed it. If she didn't run, maybe he would make it quick. She had expected her door to have been kicked in by some faceless gunman. Hell, she had decided to do it herself and not give him the satisfaction. What she had not expected was a phone call.

Once more the phone buzzed in her hand.

Hands trembling, she raised it to her ear.

"H...hello."

"Linda, finally."

Was that relief in his voice?

"Cam...Mr. Kassar?"

"We have work to do." He now sounded more like himself. He continued talking, but the words were a jumble to her. Her mind was still trying to process the fact that she had apparently been granted a stay of execution.

"We?"

She heard Cameron sigh, but when he began to talk, his anger was held in check.

"Yes Linda, we. You and me."

"You and me?" A shiver ran down her spine. Was that fear or excitement? Mostly it was confusion, she decided.

"Yes. The man with Paige. He was her husband from a few years back. Nathan King. I am tracking them. They are headed for Rhode Island. We need to deal with them."

"What do you mean we need to deal with them?"

"Exactly how it sounds."

"But why not just..."

"I do not have time to explain everything, Linda."

She felt another chill at the sound of his voice saying her name. He was talking to her in a way she had never heard before. Perhaps not as an equal, but certainly different than he'd ever done before. There was something in his voice. Was it subtle desperation? He needed her? Another chill. She realized she was sitting on the couch, half-naked, talking with a man who both thrilled and terrified her. She found her mind drifting, a slight smile on her lips. Cameron was often the man she thought about while in bed with her husband.