A few more weeks had passed and life had never more blissful for Senga. She finally had someone sturdy, someone steady to hold on to. And Tucker didn’t seem to mind. She liked the pattern that was emerging: wake up, have breakfast, learn and help Tucker practice poker, lunch, work, dinner, work, then capping it all off with sexy fun times back in their suite. Hades hadn’t even bothered them. Hades didn’t even seem to be around at all, which was fine by them.
Life was good.
For a while.
It was that time of the month, and she was restless. A shopping trip was needed. Senga headed down to the Strip, where it was nice and busy, and the clothes were amazing. They wouldn’t fit her properly, but she could still try.
After stopping at one boutique and buying a pair of stilettos she’d wear once, Senga headed down the busy sidewalk for that mid-afternoon, mid-shopping trip coffee. The street was alive, tourists stopping and taking pictures of the casinos, street vendors hawking their imitation purses and clothing, locals running their errands. Senga smiled to herself. It was wonderful, a little piece of heaven in the middle of the desert. She felt safe for the first time in years.
Then she felt it. It poured like water down her back. The feeling that someone was watching her. Not just a person casually checking her out, but someone whose eyes were locked onto her.
She didn’t turn and look, didn’t want to. She couldn’t. She kept walking, looking for a crowded café to slip into. That was the safest place to go, somewhere she could make a scene if anything happened. She found a Starbucks, that was always busy at least. While she stood in line, she pulled out her phone, calling Tucker.
It was a surprise when he answered; she figured he’d be at the tables or still sleeping. He sounded distracted, though.
“Hello?”
“Hey, babe. Just calling to check up on you.” She said brightly. “Everything okay? You sound like you just woke up.”
“I did, someone was pounding on the door, woke me up. Did you put the ‘Do not disturb’ sign up on the door when you left?”
“Yeah, I did. Did you call security?”
Tucker yawned, and made an affirmative noise. “The noise stopped when they came up. Where are you now?”
“Coffee shop, need anything?”
“Biggest, strongest coffee they have. No sugar.” He said, making grunting noises. It sounded like he was getting back into bed.
“Will do! See you in a few.” She smiled a little, and clicked her phone shut. Now it was her turn and she placed her order at the register, and stood by the bar to wait for the drinks. She felt someone brush by her, tugging at her purse. The strap of the bag snapped, and the stranger ran out the door with it.
“Oh, hell no!” Senga took off out the door, kicking her heels off so she could run faster. She spotted the man dashing down the Strip. Pushing people aside, she caught up to the man and hit him as hard as she could in the back.
“Asshole!” She shouted, wrenching the purse from the man’s hands as he fell to the ground, hitting his face on the pavement.
The man rolled over and winked at her. “Andy says hello.”
The ice cold chill was back. Senga stood up, and kicked the man square in the crotch. “That’s for him.” She staggered off, going back to her hotel.
*She slammed through the door of her hotel room, tossing her shoes aside in the closet. Tucker was laying in bed, flipping through the channels. The light from the TV reflected off the new metal rings that adorned his eyebrows. He looked up when he heard her come in, and scooted aside in bed for her, making room and pounding his hand on the space next to him. He didn’t even ask about the lack of coffee in her hands. Senga bit her lip. She just kept her head down, and started stuffing her suitcase with her things.
“I have to go… he’s found me.” She mumbled, furiously and franticly throwing things into her bag. The faster she worked, the harder she was crying. A pair of underwear slipped between the wall and the dresser, escaping her fingers by milliseconds. Tucker flew from the bed, and grabbed her shoulders before she dove for it.
“Senga, what’s wrong?” He asked, holding her fast against her hurried packing. She was struggling in his grip, and when she finally sunk to the floor, resting on her knees to cry, he let go. But only to kneel beside her and hold her tighter, just letting her cry.
“Now what?” he whispered, once her sobbing had quieted down.
“I need to go. Arizona, California, Mexico, just…. Get out of here.” She said, her words catching in her throat with every soft sob.
“I’ll come with you, just say the words. Anywhere you want.”
She just nodded.
Tucker got up and went to his open laptop “How does Key West sound? I have a house there, where we can lay low for a while. I can protect you there, and you’ll get to meet my twin sister. You’ll like her.” He was tapping away at his keyboard furiously, not looking up from the monitor. Senga nodded a little, packing up her things. Key West did sound wonderful.
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