Chapter 19

My eyes opened as if spring loaded and I bolted upright, the muscles in my belly tight as iron bands, my heart pounding in my chest; breathing so hard and gasping for air you might have thought I'd just run a mile at full speed. I was alone and naked, sweat running down my face and chest. I could feel the panic within but I couldn't control it. My head swiveled from side to side, seeing everything but recognizing nothing.

"IZZY!" I cried out at the top of my lungs, my heart pounding so hard and fast the pain was becoming unbearable. Tears ran down my face, mixing with the sweat on my chest.

"IZZY!"

Even to my own ears the sound was pitiful, gut wrenching and forlorn. The sound of despair and hopelessness.

From the depths of my soul emerged a terrible, remorseless, unending rage that started as a tiny ember... but grew, fanned by my panic and grief, into a hurricane blaze. I started broadcasting it all around me, the feelings too intense to stay contained within my body.

"Ike?" I heard a tiny voice call me from far away.

I climbed up off the couch and stood looking around, searching for... grasping for...

"Ike?" the voice called me again. Had I gone insane at last? Had the shrinks been right to worry about me?

I turned slowly, rage rippling from me like heat waves from the floor of the desert at midday.

She stood in the doorway, a white towel wrapped around her body, her hair dripping wet, her face worried and afraid.

"Izzy?" I croaked.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"Izzy?" I jumped over the couch and swept her up in my arms, crushing her against me.

I ran my hands over the wet towel, up over her bare shoulders to her wet hair and twisted my fingers in the damp strands.

I released her from my crushing embrace and fell to my knees in front of her, my face against her chest, sobbing like a baby.

Seeing her, smelling the fragrance of her skin and hair, the touch of her hands on my head... I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close, listening to her heart beating. Such a simple, glorious, wonderful thing, the human heartbeat, so comforting and reassuring. I felt the rage retreat, its fires banked once again and under control.

But my heart kept pounding like a fire alarm and the tears continued to fall. I couldn't stop them. The memory of what I'd seen and felt wouldn't go away.

"Baby, what's wrong." she asked. "What happened?"

"Bad dream. Very bad dream, but it was so real."

She stroked my head and hugged my face against her towel covered breasts.

"It's okay. Just a dream. It isn't real."

"Too goddamned real. I thought I'd lost you."

"I woke up and you were still sleeping, so I went upstairs to take a bath." She chuckled. "And to put some lotion on my butt."

Beginning to get some semblance of control over my emotions, I nodded and patted her gently on the ass.

"Sorry about that." I said.

"Hey, I asked you to. Besides, it was good. Really, really good. Sex has never been like that before. Well, maybe the first time you went down on me."

I got to my feet and wiped my face off with my hands. Izzy took my arm and pulled me out of the living room and towards the stairs.

"Come on. Take a bath with me. You kinda stink."

"Gee, thanks."

"Just kidding... I like the way you smell when you're sweaty. I always have. I'm just using that as an excuse to get you into the tub with me."

"That's alright then."

Upstairs in the bathroom I climbed into the tub and Izzy slid in behind me. I moved forward and leaned back and she held me between her legs, my head resting between her breasts. Dad had insisted, when he bought the house, that all the tubs be large enough so he could lay out in them, full length and fully submerged. So there was plenty of room in this one for the both of us.

While Izzy soaped my chest and shoulders, I described the dream I'd had, in all its vivid and unsettling detail.

"Jeez, no wonder you looked like you wanted to tear someone's throat out with your teeth." She hugged me closer and kissed the side of my head.

"Has he tried coming here yet?" I asked.

Izzy shuddered slightly and pressed me against her. "No, not yet. But knowing him it's just a matter of time. I got away while he was at the club one night. He never usually let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes, but he got a phone call from the club one afternoon last week and tore out of the house like a madman. I saw my chance and I ran."

We were silent, with only the sounds of the water and our shifting bodies to disturb the quiet.

"Uhm... what was that you said earlier about having sex with girls?" I asked, dragging my fingers along the inside of her wide spread thigh.

I felt her blush spreading across her chest, heating the back of my neck.

"Izzy, you can tell me anything, okay? I'm not judging you. You really like having sex with women?"

"Yes." She said after a long minute. "It's funny; with women I'm aggressive and demanding. I guess the opposite of the way I am with guys. Having a girl lick and suck me is more... I don't know, more satisfying somehow. At least it always was till this morning."

I smiled, patting and rubbing her legs. "It's okay; there's no need to boost my ego. I can tell if what I'm doing makes you feel good, and that's all I care about."

She tightened her legs momentarily around my waist, grinding her pelvis against the small of my back.

"In that case, there are a few more things I want to try..."

"Easy, woman... save some for later. If we do it all now, what will we have to look forward to?"

"Doing it all over again?" she suggested.

"Yeah, there is that."

The water was getting colder and we both had wrinkled hands and feet, so we got out and dried off. I applied lotion to her still red and sore butt cheeks, which led to a few minutes of digital manipulation, giggles and sighs.

Izzy got dressed and I put on my clothes from the day before, went out and got my duffle bag from the car and brought it back up to my old room and changed into my sweats and running shoes.

Izzy said she was going to clean up around the house and make dinner. I told her I was going for a quick run, and to lock the doors and not let anyone in but me.

As I ran my old route around the neighborhood I paid close attention to the people I saw, linking and checking everyone for hints of aggression, deception or malice. I took note of where cars were parked and if anyone was sitting inside. By my third lap I had spotted three things that were troubling. One was a man sitting in the small park across the street and half way down the block from our house. He'd changed benches twice, but he was still there and still keeping any eye on me. The other two were vehicles. One was directly across the street from the house; a grungy white VW mini-van with tinted windows and balding tires. There were at least two people in the van and they didn't look to be in any great hurry to go anywhere. The second was a brown sedan, maybe five years old with a slightly dented rear bumper and a broken rear tail light. The windows were clear and I could see only one man inside it behind the wheel.

On my fourth lap I crossed the street to the park and took a seat on the bench next to the man who was pretending to read a paperback book.

"It's a little cold out to be reading, don't you think?" I asked.

"I like the cold." He said, looking over the top of the book at me.

"How many do you think there are in the van?"

"Three or four."

"Your partner the one in the brown sedan?"

He nodded slightly. "Dr. Wills said you'd spot us."

I shrugged. "I notice things."

I got up and used the bench to do a couple of stretching exercises.

"I'm going to be making a bit of a mess tomorrow. It shouldn't attract too much official attention."

"Do you want backup?"

"Thanks, but the less you or anyone else knows about it the better." I finished stretching and stood up. "I don't suppose you have a throwaway pistol on you?"

He smiled thinly. "Mr. Jones did say you might ask." He reached into his coat and brought out a bulging manila envelope. He set it down on the bench next to him. I picked it up and tucked it into one of the pockets of my pullover top.

"Try and keep warm." I said by way of thanks and jogged off towards the mini-van.

I kept out of sight as much as possible, dodging behind and around trees. Finding a nicely secluded spot, I took out the envelope and tore it open.

Bless Mr. Jones' heart. A Glock 9mm, with all the serial numbers and identifying marks lovingly removed. I checked the clip; it was full of hollow points, and the chamber had one in the pipe. I put the Glock back into my pocket and stuffed the envelope into another.

Looking around the street I waited till no one was around then walked slowly and silently towards the side door of the van. I began broadcasting fear and panic at high levels, reached out, grabbed the door handle and pulled it open and back. I was banking on them not having locked the silly damn thing. It ground open and back. I blasted the emotions up to a higher level as I looked in on the four surprised men.

"Buenos Dias, sonsabitches."

I climbed in and slammed the door shut behind me.

Twenty five minutes later I got out of the van, from the driver's side, locked it and slammed it shut. I waved to the man in the park and walked across the street to Dad's house and rang the doorbell.

I waited patiently, hoping Izzy would take what I'd told her about not opening it for anyone but me seriously. I heard movement and saw a flash of light then darkness in the door's tiny peephole.

"Who is it?"

"It's Ike, honey. I'm alone, you can open up." I took a couple of steps back so she could get a good look at my face.

I heard the deadbolt being unlocked and the door swung open.

"You said a quick run." She accused.

"Sorry about that. Ricky had some goons watching the house. I wanted them out of the way before I came back."

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?"

I walked in and shut the door behind me. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. Is Dad back yet?"

We walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"He should be back in a few minutes. What happened with Ricky's men?"

"I'll explain everything when Dad gets here. Don't worry; I've taken care of them."

I pulled her to me and we kissed for a few seconds.

"You taste so good." I told her, when we came up for air.

"Mmmmm, so do you. All of you." She said dreamily and wiggled her eyebrows.

"You little horn-dog." I laughed.

"Well, it's your fault... I feel all warm and secure when you're next to me."

"Now that's an ego boost I can live with."

I heard a key rattling in the front door.

"Stay here." I told Izzy and moved quickly out into the hallway, my hand in my pocket gripping the Glock.

The front door swung open and Dad stepped in. I took my hand out of my pocket.

"Welcome back." I said.

"Evening, son. How's Isabeau?" he asked, closing the door and locking it behind him. He took off his coat and put it in the hall closet along with his briefcase.

"Come on into the kitchen." I suggested.

He followed me into the kitchen. Izzy was bustling about, putting dinner on the table.

She turned around and saw us standing there. My beautiful big sister, in her jeans and plaid flannel work shirt, her long hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Hi Dad." She said in a small voice.

Dad moved faster than I'd imagined he could and embraced her, holding her tight in his arms.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so glad to see you." He said gruffly, his voice choking up.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't know what to do."

"It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

I stood back and watched them. Was everything going to be okay?

I suppose that depends on what your definition of 'okay' is.

We sat down finally and ate dinner together as a family for the first time in years. The conversation was a bit stilted at first, each of us trying not to hit any of the other's sensitive buttons, but after a while we got more comfortable and things lightened up.

They talked about good times in the past, Mom and Granddad, happy memories. I talked about Carlie and told them a little about my work in the CID and the trip out of Iraq and some of the things that had happened at Walter Reed.

"That is amazing! You ran through the desert at night, wounded and bleeding?" Dad said with pride in his voice. I'd never heard that from him in my life. It was more than a little disconcerting.

"I did the only thing I could, under the circumstances. If it hadn't been for Izzy and Granddad and Mom and Carlie I would have given up and probably died or been killed."

Izzy perked up when I said that. "Dad, you should hear him. When he talks to himself, he sounds exactly like Granddad and Mom. It is so cool!" she gushed.

Dad looked at me, concern written large all over his features.

I sighed. "That's why the Army is retiring me... and why I'm on the Psych Ward. Since the desert, when I get stressed I talk to myself. Out loud, apparently, and I take all the parts. The chief Shrink doesn't believe I'm crazy. He says it's a simple coping mechanism and will probably go away in time."

Dad nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

"Speaking of coping... there has been a change of plans, regarding Ricky." I said.

Dad's eyes got hard. Izzy's got scared.

"He sent some goons to watch the house and if possible, to do a 'snatch and grab' of Izzy if she left the house."

"'Snatch and grab'?" Dad asked.