thing?”
“He’s got a gun?” Will cried. “Is he crazy? You want to get us killed?”
“Aw, don’t get your panties all in a knot. It’s no big deal.”
“We’re not in Kandahar, jerk-off,” Jeff admonished him. “Put the damn thing away.”
“Shit,” Tom said, returning the gun to its previous location.
“A gun. I don’t believe it.” Will’s breath was short and labored. It stabbed at his windpipe. “Is it loaded?”
“Of course it’s loaded. You think I’m some pussy, walking around with an unloaded gun?”
“I think you’re a lunatic. That’s what I think.”
“Okay. Enough.” Jeff reached across Tom to start the ignition. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What the hell just happened?” Tom asked as he pulled away from the curb.
Will said nothing, Tom having taken the words right out of his mouth.
“ SO, SUZY, YOU want to tell me what that was all about?” her husband asked gently.
She was sitting on the sofa, Dave standing directly in front of her, looming large above her, like a spitting king cobra.
“I don’t understand.”
“Tell me about the men in the car, Suzy.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” she started to explain. “I looked outside, saw this strange car sitting there—”
“You just happened to look outside?” he interrupted.
“Yes.” She’d looked outside, thoughts of escape swirling around in her head. Could she make it out the door without his noticing? How long before he realized she was gone? How many hours before he tracked her down, came after her, made good on his threat to kill her should she ever try to leave?
“And you saw a strange car with three strange men sitting in it, and so you naturally went outside to say hello?”
She’d recognized the car immediately as the one that had tailed her the night before, the one she’d assumed belonged to a detective hired by her husband. Then she recognized the men from the bar, saw Will in the backseat. “I saw them struggling with a map,” she told Dave. “They were obviously lost. I was just trying to be helpful.” I was just trying to get away, she thought. She’d run across the street with only that in mind. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. “Take me with you,” she’d been about to cry. Instead, what emerged was, “What are you doing here? You have to leave. Now.”
Dave smiled, sat down beside her, took her hand in his. “Your hands are ice cold,” he noted.
“Are they?”
“Are you cold, sweetheart?” He put his arm around her, pulled her tight against him.
“A little.”
He started rubbing the side of her arm. She winced as he pressed down, hard, on one of her sore spots. “Oh, I’m sorry, darling. Did I hurt you?”
“No. It’s fine.”
“Because you know how much I hate hurting you. Don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“I know how much you hate hurting me.”
“Almost as much as I hate being lied to. You’re not lying to me, are you, darling?”
“No.”
“You’ve really never seen any of those men before?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Not even at the Wild Zone?”
“The Wild Zone?” Dear God, what had they told him?
“The good-looking one with the blond hair? The personal trainer,” Dave clarified. “You haven’t been hooking up with him?”
“What? No.”
“Don’t tell me it’s that stupid-looking one in the driver’s seat. Please tell me you have better taste than that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen any of those men before.”
“So, they just happened to be driving through Coral Gables and stopped in front of our house, looking for the Miracle Mile.”
“That’s what they said.”
“Which any idiot could find blindfolded.”
Suzy said nothing. It sounded lame even to her ears.
Dave’s arm snaked its way around her neck, his hand massaging the top of her spine. “You know one of the best things about being a doctor, Suzy?” he asked. “People respect you.
“He’s got a gun?” Will cried. “Is he crazy? You want to get us killed?”
“Aw, don’t get your panties all in a knot. It’s no big deal.”
“We’re not in Kandahar, jerk-off,” Jeff admonished him. “Put the damn thing away.”
“Shit,” Tom said, returning the gun to its previous location.
“A gun. I don’t believe it.” Will’s breath was short and labored. It stabbed at his windpipe. “Is it loaded?”
“Of course it’s loaded. You think I’m some pussy, walking around with an unloaded gun?”
“I think you’re a lunatic. That’s what I think.”
“Okay. Enough.” Jeff reached across Tom to start the ignition. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What the hell just happened?” Tom asked as he pulled away from the curb.
Will said nothing, Tom having taken the words right out of his mouth.
“ SO, SUZY, YOU want to tell me what that was all about?” her husband asked gently.
She was sitting on the sofa, Dave standing directly in front of her, looming large above her, like a spitting king cobra.
“I don’t understand.”
“Tell me about the men in the car, Suzy.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” she started to explain. “I looked outside, saw this strange car sitting there—”
“You just happened to look outside?” he interrupted.
“Yes.” She’d looked outside, thoughts of escape swirling around in her head. Could she make it out the door without his noticing? How long before he realized she was gone? How many hours before he tracked her down, came after her, made good on his threat to kill her should she ever try to leave?
“And you saw a strange car with three strange men sitting in it, and so you naturally went outside to say hello?”
She’d recognized the car immediately as the one that had tailed her the night before, the one she’d assumed belonged to a detective hired by her husband. Then she recognized the men from the bar, saw Will in the backseat. “I saw them struggling with a map,” she told Dave. “They were obviously lost. I was just trying to be helpful.” I was just trying to get away, she thought. She’d run across the street with only that in mind. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. “Take me with you,” she’d been about to cry. Instead, what emerged was, “What are you doing here? You have to leave. Now.”
Dave smiled, sat down beside her, took her hand in his. “Your hands are ice cold,” he noted.
“Are they?”
“Are you cold, sweetheart?” He put his arm around her, pulled her tight against him.
“A little.”
He started rubbing the side of her arm. She winced as he pressed down, hard, on one of her sore spots. “Oh, I’m sorry, darling. Did I hurt you?”
“No. It’s fine.”
“Because you know how much I hate hurting you. Don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“I know how much you hate hurting me.”
“Almost as much as I hate being lied to. You’re not lying to me, are you, darling?”
“No.”
“You’ve really never seen any of those men before?”
“No. Of course not.”
“Not even at the Wild Zone?”
“The Wild Zone?” Dear God, what had they told him?
“The good-looking one with the blond hair? The personal trainer,” Dave clarified. “You haven’t been hooking up with him?”
“What? No.”
“Don’t tell me it’s that stupid-looking one in the driver’s seat. Please tell me you have better taste than that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen any of those men before.”
“So, they just happened to be driving through Coral Gables and stopped in front of our house, looking for the Miracle Mile.”
“That’s what they said.”
“Which any idiot could find blindfolded.”
Suzy said nothing. It sounded lame even to her ears.
Dave’s arm snaked its way around her neck, his hand massaging the top of her spine. “You know one of the best things about being a doctor, Suzy?” he asked. “People respect you.
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