Secret Passions by Jill Sanders Page B

and landed on her hands and knees. Looking up, she watched as Mitchell plowed his fist into her cousin’s face. Anish must have learned how to fight somewhere. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been a skinny kid who couldn’t defend himself. Now however, he was holding his own against Mitchell. She stood up, holding onto the car door to steady herself. The two men circled each other. Anish held the knife out, slashing the air, holding it ready to strike. Just when she thought Mitchell was in trouble, Anish took off running down the street. People scurried to get out of his way as he yelled.
     
    Mitch didn’t follow. Instead he came to her side, running his hands over her. “Are you alright?”
     
    “Yes, shouldn’t we go after him?”
     
    “No, it’s just what they wanted. Your father was a distraction so your cousin could get to you. I should have seen it coming.” When he moved his hand to her side, it came back wet with blood. “Damn!” He pulled her jacket aside and untucked her shirt.
    “Mitchell!” He was practically undressing her in public. People still stood around, wondering what was going on after the fight they’d just witnessed.
     
    “ It’s not too bad. You won’t even need stitches.” He was bent down in front of her, looking at her side.
     
    “I could have told you that. If you’d asked.” She pulled her shirt back down and grabbed her jacket from him.
     
    Just then Rachelle came running up. “Is everyone okay?”
     
    “Yes, I think we’re both fine,” Sandi said, brushing her jacket off before putting it back on.
     
    “Okay, good. Now…” Rachelle turned on Mitchell and pointed a finger at his chest. “Talk!”
     
    “What?” He was busy wiping a small drop of blood from his mouth.
     
    “What was that all about?”
     
    “Why are you asking me and not her?” he pointed towards Sandi.
    “Because I know you better than most. We’ve been friends for almost eight years. You’re always getting into messes. Besides, I just met Sandi and she’s so sweet, no one could possibly want to hurt her.”
     
    “ Actually, Rachelle, it was my family that did all this.” Her eyes went to the ground. “It’s all my fault.”
     
    “No,” Mitchell walked over and put his fingers under her chin until she looked at him. “We’re in this together.”
     
    She nodded and smiled slightly at him.
     
    “Well, I’ve got quite the mess to clean up. I’m glad everyone is okay.”
     
    “Rachelle?” She turned and looked back at Mitch. “I’m sorry about all this. I think we’ll skip out on the dinner tonight.”
     
    Rachelle nodded and turned to walk back to the market.
     
    “What now? It’s obvious they’ve found us.”
     
    “Well, first things first. We need to get as far away from here as possible.” He took her hand and pulled his cell phone out as they walked to hail a cab.
     
    A while later they were setup at a hotel across from Central Park. Several suitcases were delivered from Mitchell’s apartment shortly after they arrived in the lobby. It was all thanks to Carter.
     
    “Do you think we were followed?” she asked as they walked into the single room.
     
    “No, I had the taxi driver take the longest route possible and we both watched for cars following us. Unless they were hovering over us in a helicopter, I think we’re safe.”
     
    He sat on the bed and removed his jacket and shoes. Then he leaned back on the bed, his arms crossed behind his head. She stood there unsure what to do with herself. She would have never thought her father and cousin would want her money, let alone be after her.
     
    Anish had talked about hard times her family had fallen on after she’d left. She had never thought about what it had cost them for her to disappear like that. She’d always assumed her father and mother had missed her, but never that they would lose everything. A huge wave of guilt hit her, causing her to lean back against the door. She tried to