CHAPTER 22

     

.             The sudden blast ripped her eyes away from his as they both stared in the direction where it came from, at a distance a slender figure emerged from the array of trees, she sashayed, swaying her hips so confidently as if she owned the place, Alice couldn't make out exactly who she was, but looking again at Sunday he didn't seem bothered, the closer the mysterious lady got, the more Alice could make out her features, she had a slim but strong pose, a blue jean tightened against her hips, and a white polo top hugged her posterior, she wore dark shades that made it impossible to see her eyes, and for some reason she could already picture what her back side looked like, this was inappropriate, there were other important things, like how she had almost been raped, what happened to her abductors, if they had a lead on Fasting, or what could be done to give her her life back, she hadn't imagined that instead of all those details she would be more concerned about a complete stranger, forget concerned she felt intimidated.

               A set of perfectly polished dentition shot at her as soon as the mystery woman's mouth curved into a smile, she looked even more intimidating from up close, and that not minding the pistol that hung from her side pocket, as though she had placed it there deliberately for Alice to see, even Sunday didn't seem to mind that. She finally stopped few inches away from them and pulled her glasses away from her eyes, exposing even more attractive features, big eyes suited her perfectly with long eye lashes hanging from her eyelids.

            " Good morning " she finally uttered, her voice gentle but strong, even though it looked as if she only addressed Sunday.

            " Anything ? " Sunday questioned without a reply to her greeting, fixing his eyes on her as he waited for an answer, this was obviously a conversation that only the two of them understood, Alice on the other hand tried her best not to look too confused

            " I probbed them like you wanted, but as I expected they don't know anything about Fasting, all they do know is that he wanted your girl here, obviously he thought that'll lead you to him " she continued

            " But that doesn't make sense, if he had wanted me there, why didn't he show up ? " Sunday questioned.

            " I could ask the same thing, probably something came up ? " she suggested.

            " Or he had something else planned " Sunday concluded, fixing his eyes on her like she did him, suspicion etched on both their expressions.

            " Hmm, hmm, " Alice cleared her throat in an effort to pull their attention back to the fact that she was still present, an effort that worked like a charm.

            " Umm sorry, this is Alice, you already met, just that she had been unconscious, " he spoke looking at Alice who stared back, " Alice meet Susan, she's an ex CSS agent, " he said and looked up at Susan before continuing to say " and an old friend of mine "

              But Sus chuckled at his last sentence and replied " oh am sure we were more than just friends Sunday, " a smile relaxed on her lips, before she extended a hand to Alice. 

            " Hi, nice to meet you, " she said as Alice put a hand to her, receiving the handshake, " good to see you concious and everything, " she continued, right before both women let go of each other's hand, " you look even better in person. " she complemented.

           " Thank you " Alice managed to cough up a reply, even though she felt less than beautiful at that moment still wearing  someone else's pyjamas, pulling her eyes away from Alice susan fixed her gaze on Sunday, maintaining a concerned look, right before she questioned.

           " How is your arm ? " 

             Looking at his right shoulder and then back at her, he responded " could have been worse " 

             Alice however had failed to notice the short bandage on his shoulder, not while she had been more concerned with irrelevant things, she finally noticed the bandage that covered a wound in his upperarm, and couldn't help the confusion that washed down her face. 

           " I'll be inside when you're ready " Susan finally said and walked into the house leaving them alone.

           " This is all so confusing, what...what happened to those men ? " she questioned in the most composed tone she could afford, " and you, I was so scared, i thought you died when that car hit you " she mumbled, her voice and look told just how worried she had been, " I thought they were going to kill me, what took you so long anyway ? " She screamed at him, engaging her mind with all the questions she wanted to ask, but couldn't utter any out, he had saved her life, and from the looks of it, he was still nursing a wound himself, it wouldn't be right to behave in this way, besides she couldn't afford it considering the fact that she hadn't had anything to eat since the night of her kidnapping. 

              " Alice ? " his gentle voice pulled her out of her raging thoughts.

              " Yes " she responded.

              " Are you alright ? " he questioned again, as innocent concern radiated  off his voice, without saying anything she responded with a positive nod that made a smile appear on the side of his lips.

             " Your hand " she continued, and dropped her eyes on the wound compelling him to do same, but then looked at him again as both their eyes met " does it hurt ? " she questioned, which made him smile again, and shot her a tender smile, before he responded...

              " It's nothing you need to worry about, " but he hardly finished saying that before a growl cut in, it was Alice, she couldn't deny the fact that she was hungry, and seemed unable to hide it, looking up at him slightly embarrassed, she met his reassuring smile right before he suggested they go in to have something to eat.

                After a warm bath she felt more like herself than she had in the last days, the water brushed against her bruises which made them sting, but it was only temporary, stepping out of the shower with only a towel over her body was when she realized that there weren't any clothes available for her to wear, and even if they were, they most likely wouldn't be her size, unlike some people she didn't have volcanic hips, but still her's weren't lacking either, she pulled open the wardrobe hoping to find something that would to an extent suit her, and peering through the line of finely stretched outfits that remained in place in the wardrobe, she spotted a pair of black jeans and a red peplum designer blouse, amongst the other outfits that one caught her eye first, red was her favorite colour, without question it would suit her perfectly, she didn't think the owner, whoever it was would mind, and they did, she didn't really have a choice, going out naked wasn't an option, throwing the clothes on she neatly packed her hair into a bun, but seeing the slight redness on her face as she stared into the mirror brought back some of the horrific memories of the previous night, she placed her fingers on the spot but noticed the tag still hung from her blowse, a quick drag and it came off as she discarded it in the trash, but not before spotting her former outfit inside, the sight of it made her wonder if Sunday had been the one who undressed her while she was unconscious, she could feel her cheeks blush at the possibility, but quickly shook away the thought, right before she exited the room.

                 The meal was delicious as she helped herself to every bite, chew and swallow, while Sunday just watched from the opposite side of the table, she felt like a glutton gulping down all that food, but she was like a hungry horse too, who had finally seen a meal after days in hunger and couldn't help the urge to eat it, Sunday had a plate in front of him, but hardly ate anything, she could sense he was troubled, he had good reason to, his eyes fixed on her but his mind was elsewhere, she could tell he was only sitting there to make her feel safe, but his eyes had such doubt they were distracting. There were so many questions rushing through her mind that if she were to make a list it would probably hit sixty thousand words, and she would definitely choak if she tried asking them all at once, questions like, how they got from running to having pleasant meals in a more than luxurious house such as this, or why his shoulders were bandaged, the house couldn't possibly belong to him, and not to even mention the other agents who were after him, where were they now, and who owned the clothes she had so casually put on ? "

                   Another second of that silence was something she couldn't bear, Sunday didn't look like he was ready to tell her anything, she guessed it could be because the news would highten her fears, but she was already afraid, she had lived in fear ever since that day Mike showed up bloody on her doorstep and every day since, the only thing keeping her sane and calm was him by her side, ironic, since she had tried to run away from him before, and had even succeeded in her dreams.

 .                Pulling herself away from her thoughts, she looked at him again, but he still had that I'm looking at you but thinking about something else gaze, she cleared her throat and reached for a napkin, wipping her mouth before opening it to speak, but instead of words a hot sensation burned at the back of her throat, she blinked in disbelief and her eyes widened, but that didn't stop the heat from getting hotter, she tried to keep herself from coughing but that too wasn't working.

                " Alice ? are you alright, here have some water, " Sunday said, holding a glass of water to her, she drank quickly, and took a deep breath afterwards, before wiping her wet lips again with the napkin.

                " Are you alright ? " 

                " Yes I am " she responded, her voice still a little bit rough from choaking.

                  She looked at him again and it seemed as though he had gone back to his former state, losing himself to another haze, where one could hardly communicate with him .

                " Really ? so you're not going to tell me anything at all ? " she questioned, frustrated by his silence and pulling him out of whatever haze he had been stuck in.

                  He looked at her, surprised, but nothing she said was unusual, he had been lost in his own plans that he had even forgotten to fill her in on what their next move was.

                 " Where is this place ? what happened to the men who were trying to kill you? why are we having breakfast like this as if everything is ok ? " she questioned, holding both her hands to the meal and trying to keep a low tone.

                   But his surprise slowly faded into a guilty look.

                 " I did plan to tell you, I just wanted you to be calm first, i know it has been rough for you these past days " he finally said, " and it will get more dangerous, " he said again raising his eyes to meet her's, as she listened keenly. " The men who kidnapped you were Fasting's men, I thought he wanted to use you to lure me out, " he said and then paused for a moment before continuing to say " but it doesn't seem like that was what he wanted after all, he never came, not even an alias, not even his goons, if I know Fasting, and I do, he has something bigger planned " .

                 " So what are you going to do ? " she questioned

                 " Try to be one step ahead, and hopefully.. not..get killed in the process " he replied with a frown that intensified her fears.

                    She tried opening her mouth to say something, but again that same moment the door flung slightly open, its meowing sound putting a pause to Alice's unspoken words, as the strange face of agent Reuben leaned in, half his body still hidden in the other room, he looked at Sunday and said..

                  " It's ready, " but his eyes caught glimpse of Alice who sat on the other side of the the table, confused as ever, and he lightened his demeanor with a smile, followed by a good morning, then looked back at Sunday and motioned with his head for him to come as soon as possible.