Paradise Falls (A Romantic Suspense), page 26
“I want you to train me.”
“Oh?”
“Teach me how to fight. I don’t want to be helpless anymore. If I can’t take care of myself, I’m just in your way.”
“Okay.”
She blinked. The argument she expected was not delivered.
“That’s it? Okay?”
“Okay. Were you expecting another answer?”
“Well…”
“Because you’re a woman?” he sighed. “It’s true that, on average, men are larger and stronger than women. It’s also true that a female weightlifter is stronger than the average man, a female sprinter can run faster, and a trained woman can win a fight with an untrained man. You’re already in good shape.”
“I want to know how to do the other stuff, too. How did you get out of those handcuffs?”
He shrugged. “Handcuff locks are simple. The idea is that the prisoner won’t have a key, and even if they can get one, it’s tough to manipulate something behind your back.”
“Well, you did,” she said. “While hanging upside down, with two people beating and cutting you.”
“I practice,” he said. “I have some cutaway and practice cuffs I manipulate while I’m working on other things. I’ll show you how they work. I got out of Ellison’s cuffs with the stem on one of the buttons from my jacket. When they ripped it off, the button caught on the cuff and I got ahold of it and used it to shim the lock open while they were working on me.”
“Wow.”
“Pure luck,” he sighed. He poured some powder and and handful of frozen strawberries into a blender, follow by some oats and milk, then turned it on. When he was done blending he said, “Next time I’ll be ready. I’m working on a way to keep some simple picks and shims in my hair.”
He poured not one glass, but two. He set one in front of Jennifer and downed half of his in big gulps, wincing as if he’d taken a stiff drink. Jennifer sniffed the concoction he offered her. The fruit smell had a chalky, flat background to it. The taste was the same. The strawberries helped, but it was like drinking glue with tiny bits of uncooked oatmeal in it. She grimaced and set it down.
“Finish your breakfast.”
“Ugh.”
“You want to train? You have to eat. You won’t be able to keep up with me and live on cheese and crackers. Just drink it, don’t nurse it.”
She wrinkled her nose and gave him a sour look, but downed the rest of the… stuff in two long pulls. He was satisfied even though there was still a little down at the bottom and some gloopy, chunky remnants sliding down the sides. Jennifer covered her mouth and burped, and all she could taste was oatmeal and chalk. Jacob snickered as he filled the glasses with water and set them in the sink.
“That was breakfast. I’ll make your other five meals, too.”
“Five? You want me to eat six times a day?”
“Yes. I don’t want your metabolism slowing down when you’re awake. Let’s go downstairs.”
“It’s four thirty in the morning.”
Jacob sighed. “You have something better to do?”
Tilting her chin up, she stalked over to the basement door while he unlocked it and followed him down. For all his bravado he had to stop halfway and lean on the wall.
“Are you going to do something that makes you start bleeding again?”
“No. I’m just going to show you what to do.”
First, he had her stretch. That came naturally, and she needed no instruction. Years of stretching before her floor exercises came right back, and she stretched before and after long bike rides anyway. Feeling adventurous, she rose from the floor without using her hands, flexing her hurt ankle after she stood. Jacob led her to a big box made of steel rails. His weight bars were all Olympic style, seven feet long with big fat ends.
He adjusted the rack to bring the bar down to her height and had her duck under it and rack it up on her shoulders, empty at first. It was surprisingly heavy, but easy to move. When she set it to rest on the rack, he moved to either side and put heavy metal plates on the ends. Jennifer eyed them.
“I want to see how much you can do. I won’t let you hurt yourself.”
“Am I going to get all bulky?”
“No.”
This time, it was more difficult, but she still dipped down and pushed back up in regular rhythm. Now, though, she could feel the tension in her limbs as she brought the weight to rest and stepped back. Jacob put on yet more weight, and again she eyed him.
“I need to spot you, now. Is that okay?”
“Spot me?”
“Stand behind you in case you fall. I wont’ touch you unless it looks like you’re going to get hurt.”
Nodding, she looked away. There was no judgement in his voice, but she hated that he saw her that way, liable to crack like glass if he unexpectedly put his hands on her. Glaring at herself in the mirror behind the squat rack, she dipped under the bar. Now it was heavier, much heavier, and she could feel the metal pressing against the base of her neck as she clenched the knurled bar in a tight grip, stood up to unrack it, and drew in a deep breath before dipping down.
As she reached the bottom of the movement it felt like the weight was going to push her all the way down, but she managed to push out of it, tensing her whole body until she was shaking, her deep breath escaping as she reached the top. Clenching her teeth, she dropped down and did it again, and again, and again. Her legs were shaking.
Jacob put his hands on her sides and guided her forward to re-rack the weight, then pulled away when she leaned on the bar and panted. Sweat popped on her forehead and back.
“You’re not done.”
“I can’t do anymore.”
“I’m going to lower the weight.”
“How much was that?”
As he pulled the big plates off, he shrugged.
“One thirty-five.”
“What? You’re lying.”
“Nope.”
“That’s more than I weigh.”
“For now,” he said.
She eyed him.
“For your height and body type I’d say you want to be between one-forty and one sixty.”
“That’s too heavy.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“What-“
He put his hands on her sides. She froze, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, softening a little. He moved his fingertips up her sides.
“I know you can feel my fingers moving over those bumps.”
“So?”
“Jennifer, those are your ribs. If you keep going like this, you’re going to get sick.”
“I’m perfectly healthy. I can bike ten miles without breaking a sweat.”
“I saw you fridge when I visited your house. You have a serious nutritional imbalance. The way you exert yourself with cardio, you’re going to damage your heart. You could even have a stroke.”
Her hands balled into fists, and her lips pulled back from her teeth in a sneer. “You’re not my mother.”
“No, I’m not,” he said, calmly. “Your mother wanted to starve you. I want you to be healthy. I’m not going to help you make yourself anorexic, Jennifer. If you want to train with me you’re going to eat right and do as your told.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. That’s what training is. If you already know what you’re doing, you don’t need to be trained, do you?”
She sighed.
“If I were a drill sergeant I’d make you do push ups, but I’m not. I’m going to make you do deadlifts. Come over here.”
He led her through more exercises. Deadlifts consisted of lifting a loaded bar off the floor, one even heavier than the squats. At first she didn’t see the point, but by the time she was done she was winded again and her legs were trembling. She thought she’d collapse on the floor if he made her do more leg exercises. Thankfully, he laid her down on a bench and had her do presses instead, with a much lower weight. It was only three exercises in all, but she was sweaty and exhausted. She laid there for a while, resting her hands on her stomach as she caught her breath.
“We’re not done.”
“Now what?”
He moved over to the mats, near the punching bags. Jennifer strode over and waited.
“I want you to kick me in the face.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t argue with me. Just do it.”
Jennifer shrugged, spread her feet, and hesitated.
“Don’t be timid. You’re not going to hurt me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Do it.”
She sighed, and kicked with all her might, slashing her foot at his face. Jacob tipped back, and her foot missed his chin. His left arm swept up and his fingers just touched her ankle and she went flying, twisting in the air with a shocked scream. Before she hit the ground, he ducked and caught her, dipping her like a dancer. She laid back in his arms for a moment before he slowly raised her to her feet, and she felt heat spreading on her skin, but not from exertion this time. Her heart fluttered as he rested a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
“What the-“
“Eventually you’ll be able to hit me. Your form is all wrong, though.”
“How?”
“You’re trying to put all your muscle into it and you’re throwing yourself off balance. You can do better than that. I just have to show you how.”
“Okay, so show me.”
He shook his head. “You have to practice it. Baby steps. First we’ll work on your balance and form. Do what I do. I’m going to go slow.”
He stood next to her, spread his feet, and dropped down, bending at the knee. Jennifer did the same, carefully looking down at herself to make sure she was mimicking his movements exactly. He didn’t kick, but slowly extended his right arm from the side, and then his left, then raised his right knee to his chest, and then his left. As Jennifer copied him he went faster and faster until he stopped, clutching his chest.
“Are you-“
“I’m fine. Keep going. Faster.”
She picked up speed, faster and faster, breathing hard.
“Come on. You can do better than that.”
Finally, she almost fell down, she was so exhausted. She dropped to her knees and leaned forward on her thighs, panting. Jacob stood there with his arms folded.
“Tomorrow, you’ll do more.”
“You do this every day?”
He shrugged, and immediately winced.
“Before I came here my routine was pretty regular. Up at four in the morning for training for four hours. Two hour nap, then schoolwork. I tested out of the beginner classes and sent assistants to take notes on lectures for the others so I could do a double class load. Finished that by four in the afternoon. The meditation, investigative work and study, another nap, evening cardio, more work, sleep around eleven.”
Jennifer stared at him.
“Oh. Wow.”
He offered a hand and pulled her to her feet. Scrubbing her hands back through her hair, she had to wipe them on her shirt to dry off the sweat. He handed her a towel, and then a bottle of water. She drank slowly and caught her breath before walking over to the computer to join him as he sat down. She rolled up a chair and spun it backwards to lean on the back.
Jacob took a pair of handcuffs and dropped it in front of her. The side plates were cut to reveal the internals. He held the handcuffs and she watched how the innards worked as he used a small, curved piece of metal to undo the lock, locked them again and popped them open by shimming a sliver of metal into the mechanism.
“Practice,” he said.
It took her five minutes to get the lock open the first time, and she had no idea how she did it. The second time took ten minutes, and this time she had a feel for it.
“Keep working on it. When you can do it in a minute I’ll have you start on a real set.”
‘Then what?”
“When you’re good enough I’ll have you practice with them behind your back.”
She nodded.
“What are you doing?”
He sat back from the computer, rubbing at his chest through his shirt. Jennifer reached over, grabbed his pinky and pulled his hand away. He gave her a look and put his hands flat on the desk, smirking.
“I’m going to find out where our phones are.”
She scooted her chair over, closer to his side. Her arm bumped him as she worked on the handcuffs, and and he glanced over at her. Dropping her hands down, she leaned over to look at the screen. A transparent circle blinked over a map of the town. With every blink, the circle grew smaller, and the map zoomed in.
“What’s it doing?”
“Triangulating the position of our phones from the nearby towers.”
“What if they’re turned off?
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
The circle blinked down and down until it turned into a dot over the police annex, next to City Hall. Jacob rubbed his hands together, tabbed out of the window and opened another program.
“I have tracking software installed on all my phones. It logs any calls and text messages sent out, video files, all of that,” he grinned, “and, I can activate the cameras and microphones remotely.”
The screen went black. The speakers on the desk let out a low droning sound.
“Lights must be off,” he said. “Or there’s something over the lens. I’ll keep them recording, see if it picks anything up.”
Jennifer rested the cutaway handcuffs on the desk.
“What are we going to do now?”
He leaned back. “What do you mean?”
“Ellison must be back with his father by now. What’s going to happen? How do we explain this? The last everybody saw of us, we were being arrested.”
Jacob rocked in the seat. “I’m thinking. I’m not worried about that just yet. We have other things to worry about. In order: That strip club. The Leviathans. The trucks.”
“You want to shut that place down,” said Jennifer.
“Yes. Get the girls out and shut it down.”
“How will you do that?”
“Scout first. Devise a plan. Attack.”
“If you tell me I’m staying here…”
“No,” said Jacob.
He turned to look at her and scooted his chair closer. Very slowly, watching her for approval, he reached out and cupped her wounded cheek in his hand.
“You saved my life yesterday. We’re a team, if you still want to be a part of this after what happened to you.”
His touch made her tremble but the warmth of his hand was inviting even if his skin was rough and scratchy. Pressing her cheek to his palm, she smiled.
“Go get some sleep. We’ll move in after dark and get an idea of what’s going on out there. I want to see them in operation and gather intel. We need to know where the girls are kept, what kind of security there is and who’s involved. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to get ready.”
“What about you?”
“I need to do a little research. I’ll tell you about it before we go. Get some rest.”
Jennifer stood up, nodded. Jacob turned back to the computer, but she knew he was watching her head up the stairs.
7.
Jacob was sitting on the bed when she woke up. He had his legs tucked under himself in the lotus position and he was staring down at his feet, but he stirred when he saw her. She pulled the blankets up to her chin and looked over her shoulder. Not dark yet, but getting close. Jacob’s breathing was slow and labored, the patchwork of bandages over his chest and stomach pulling at his skin.
“I’ve been doing some work,” said Jacob. “That Cerulean Shipping company that Ellison mentioned is tied up with the petroleum interest that’s going to bring fracking to Paradise Falls. They provide all the logistics and tanker trucks. It’s a privately held company, so I can’t get any information about the owners. Right now, anyway.”
“So thats’ a connection between the drugs and the fracking operation where Hunter told his girlfriend he was going to get a job. Isn’t that a strange coincidence?”
Jacob made a motion with his hands, lacing his fingers together.
“There’s something bigger going on here. We’re seeing bits and pieces of it, but from the wrong angle. This town is the middle of something huge, and once we find out what that is, all this will make sense.”
“That’s a little paranoid.”
“It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you. Time to suit up. You ready?”
“I’m not sure we should do this.”
“Why not?”
She sat up. “You’re a mess. You’re going to rip open your stitches.”
“I’ll be fine. You ready?”
“I’m as ready as I’m going to get. Are you sure about this? Why don’t we call somebody? Report it?”
“Who? The cops?”
“Not the Paradise Falls police,” said Jennifer. “I could call Brock Edwards. He knows people in the state police. He’s a good man, he’s not beholden to the Katzenbergs. At the very least he could help us.”
Jacob considered that, his jaw working as if he were chewing on the idea.
“The police will take time. There will be paperwork, surveillance, warrants, court orders. Somebody involved will tip off Elliot or someone else and word will get to the Leviathans through them. The girls will be gone and nothing will happen. We’ve waited too long already. I don’t expect Ellison to do anything but spill his guts. They’ll know we’re coming. The faster we move, the better a chance we have of getting those girls out before they’re split up and shipped God knows where.”
“Okay,” said Jennifer. “Then let’s do it.”
He nodded.
“Yeah,” said Jennifer. “do you mind?”
“Oh. Sorry.”
He stepped out while Jennifer put up her hair and slipped into the black fatigue pants, boots, and compression shirt he’d left on the bed. He was waiting for her when she emerged from the bedroom.
“I have more gear for you down in the basement.”
Katie was in the kitchen. She looked at Jennifer and hugged herself, pulling her shoulders in.
