Chapter 6: Getting Acquainted
Eleanor
It was getting cold and she covered me with a fluffy blanket. I was yet to have enough of nature, the tranquility it provided for free. In moments of silence I held my breath and shut my eyes to hear the wind whispering in the air making the trees dance to it’s tune, the birds chirping their melodies back to their nests, the crickets *under the comfort of their rocks and the frogs croaking in a nearby pond and the bees buzzing from flower to the next collecting nectar, the trees just standing tall in the ecosystem and space letting everything be. God the place might have been a fortress-judging from armed guards-but it still felt like heaven.
“Are you comfortable working for him?”
“You mean working for a criminal, being on standby to save his life giving him another chance to put drugs on the streets and finance his operations, kill, torture and extort? No. I'm not comfortable but I took an oath it doesn’t matter whose life I save”
“I’m sure you get paid handsomely” I threw in a cheeky comment careful not to make her think twice about sending me back to another coma by mixing up the IV shots unintentionally.
“The government salary is barely enough to cater for my own needs leave alone my family and medical school loans, so yeah, I made a deal with the devil”
We both chuckled lightly I knew a thing or two about that. Circumstances making you abandon the principles you held so close, realizing that life only favored those who could learn, improvise and adapt. Sometimes you get in survival mode so deep you lose yourself…still I had no option if I was to stay alive.
“I’m not judging you…hmm…your”
“You don’t even know my name…”
“Catherine. I’m extremely observant and good with names. So you were telling me about who’s who here”
She had no idea in the midst of our little banter I was taking notes. Gathering Intel about her and my host, she didn’t know much but it was still a start. I wasn’t willing to leave nothing to fate….not again.
“Let me guess, the one approaching is Jax. Doesn’t leave the Dons side to get to Knox you go through him”
“Hmm, you’re that good”
He was fairly old, maybe in his early fifties but he still looked strong despite the grey in his head and beard. Perhaps I was so pumped up on painkillers but he moved like a movie star walking away from a blast scene-exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger in terminator-his strides were powerful and his frame just like that of his boss was menacing. Dressed in all black, his signature serpent tattoo was sneaking underneath the Black leather jacket. A gold chain hanging around his neck a cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in another-if that’s how he lived how on earth had he survived that long? Was cancer intentionally skipping him?-his boots were the latest trend and his pants too tight for a man his age.
If you asked me he had borrowed Knox’s clothes. When he got close I felt a cold shiver down my spine, his eyes were burrowing through my soul as if he could see me for who I was. A liar, a black widow, a hunted fugitive running from her past and just a scared little girl who despite being the fairest in every room she walked in-other people’s words not mine- had deep insecurities about being good enough and being worth and deserving of love.
“There is no going past this area” he said and took a puff blowing the smoke away, “I’m glad you’re okay”
So there was CCTV and he was closely monitoring our movements who knew, maybe even eavesdropping to our conversations all in the name of keeping his boss safe.
“Thank you”
“You know I can’t understand why he is so kind to you? I mean you’re beautiful but..”
“Beauty is not enough this days”
Apparently, the brute faced sensitive old man didn’t like being interrupted but something he said about not understanding Knox’s extra kindness made me realize Jax was not happy about my presence there and it wouldn’t have taken long before he managed to convince his boss of the same.
“Don’t ever interrupt me again…Take her inside. Next time don’t move her around I want her where I can see her”
“That’s welcoming”
“Just zip it. If I want you talk I’ll let you know”
We were definitely not ever going to get along he was mean and I hate bullies. He would have sent the guards to warn us but he had to come himself and show his disdain in person-how kind of him too. Thanks to his massive ego in the process he might have unknowingly taught me how to handle him and shade some light on a few Blind spots in the compound.
Catherine was quiet the entire time she pushed my wheelchair back to the infirmary. I could feel the tension in every breath she took, Jax scared her to death. I needed to know why.
“I’m sorry for getting you in trouble had I not been so adamant on seeing nature you wouldn’t be in trouble”
“It’s okay you did nothing wrong really. I hope the short expedition helped”
“I feel better already. He won’t hurt you...”
“If he can’t which is not a possibility he will hurt my family, wipe them out all of them”
“But you did nothing wrong”
“I’ve seen him kill and maim for less. Even a wrong or suspicious look in his direction could get you killed. I’m just hoping he doesn’t fire me”
She was pacing up and down the infirmary, I felt bad and powerless about it. Clearly words and assurances alone from a stray like me couldn’t help her relax. She needed hard proof.
“Firing you means you’ll be free”
“Ha!” She retorted sarcastically before I realized just how dumb I sounded.
There was no way out in crime unless it was prison or death. Damon’s death should have taught me that already. Even my own situation was a better example. While nursing my broken heart I thought being divorced was a way out only to realize it was worse.
“He once shot a guy who mistakenly diagnosed Knox. We all froze and he casually called the cleaners and we saw his body being dragged away. That was enough motivation to work”
“But you didn’t cause Knox any harm”
“He fired a nurse for forgetting to give him his medication. She gladly left but never made it home and no one has ever heard from her again”
“I understand your worries but nothing bad will happen to you”
She gave me that-How do you know-look and honestly I couldn’t guarantee her safety but I could try. So, later that evening on the dinner table I explained myself and asked Knox for my first favor as if we were not even already. He assured me no harm was going to come to Catherine. Somehow I believed he would keep his word, impulsive Jax wasn’t happy but when Knox looked in his direction he nodded. That was a first strike.