Marx Girl

I hear him tell the others in the background. “He wants us to go to Thailand with them.”

“Fuck, yeah.” I hear Jed in the background, then they say something I can’t hear and laugh.

“We’re in.”

“Get on a plane to New York. Our private flight leaves at 4:00 a.m. I need you to help me get her to the airport safely.”

“Will do, we’re on our way.”

“Eeth?” I say.

“Yeah, man?”

“Bring your weapons.”

21

BEN

I sit in the darkened room and watch Bridget sleep.

I had to lie with her until she drifted. If I’m calm, she’s calm, and pretending to go to bed with her is least I can do. It’s just after 1:00 a.m. and the guys have landed. They should be here any moment. I won’t sleep tonight. I can wait until tomorrow when I know that they are watching over her. Bridget’s chest rises and falls. She’s wearing a cream satin nightdress and her dark hair is splayed across her pillow. Her full lips are slightly parted and her long dark lashes flutter occasionally.

My angel.

My love.

My wife.

I’ve got this sick feeling deep in my gut, one that’s saying she’s going to be taken from me. I’m trying to fight it, trying so hard to believe that the universe wouldn’t be that cruel… but I already know that it can be.

My childhood is a testament to that.

What would my life be like if something were to happen to her?

I close my eyes to try and block out the feeling of losing another person that I love.

I couldn’t bear it.

I stand from my seat next to the bed and lie beside her, taking her in my arms and softly kissing her forehead. The need to hold her in my arms is so strong, I just can’t deny myself.

“Ben?” she murmurs softly in her sleep.

“I’m here, angel,” I whisper.

“Are you okay?”

I tenderly kiss her lips. “Of course I am. I’m here with you.

She smiles, and moments later her breathing tells me she’s drifted off to sleep again. I softly rub my lips back and forth over her forehead as I lie deep in thought, until my phone beeps with a text.

Downstairs

I text back.

6th floor, room 349.

I’ll call reception now.

I get up and walk into the adjoining room to dial reception.

“Hello, reception,” a woman answers.

“Hello, this is Jake Martin from room 349. Can you issue an extra key so that my guests can get up in the elevator, please?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Thank you.”

I open the door and wait for them.

It seems like forever until their three ugly faces come into view, causing me to smile broadly.

Thank fuck, the cavalry has arrived.

The three of them walk down the corridor with their bags. They’re on another deployment, only this one is for me. Ethan grabs me in a bear hug with a chuckle, and Matt and Jed shake my hand with broad smiles on their faces. These guys would do anything for me, as I would them. Never have I needed them like I do now.

“Thank you so much for coming,” I whisper as I open the door behind me. I quietly close the door into our adjoining room where Bridget is sleeping, and they all walk in and throw their bags down.

“What the fuck is going on, man?” Ethan asks.

I take a seat at the table and they all fall in place around me. “I don’t know,” I reply. “But whatever it is, it’s not fucking good.”

Jed unpacks his laptop from his bag and sets it up in front of us. “So, I recorded the security tape from your apartment,” he tells me. “It’s very interesting, to say the least.”

“Is Bridget okay?” Matt asks.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” I mumble. “I don’t think she fully understands what’s going on.” I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t want her scared, so I’ve played it down.” I exhale deeply. “Play the tape.”

The four of us sit in silence as we watch our former colleagues break the lock on my apartment and then gain entry. I had security cameras fitted into the air-conditioning vents when I worked for Joshua. I was away a lot. I never thought I would need them like this, though. They walk into my apartment and look around.

“Fucking snakes,” Matt whispers. “It’s going to be fun killing these motherfuckers.”

I shake my head in disgust. “I should have done it. I had the chance in Prague. Uninterrupted, in the basement of a parking lot, nobody would have ever known. I should have just pulled the fucking trigger. I don’t know why I listened to HQ. Where the fuck are they now?” I puff up my cheeks as I feel my adrenaline surge. “If something happens to her, I fucking swear…” I shake my head in disgust.

“We got this,” Jed reassures me. “Don’t think like that.” He plays the tape and we all sit in silence, watching them rummage around in my apartment. They go from room to room as they search for the documents, trashing the place as they go. They walk into my bedroom and search it, and then place a camera in the light fitting above the bed. John walks around to Bridget’s side of the bed and picks up her bottle of perfume and smells it. He smiles darkly. The hairs on the back of my neck stand to attention as I watch. He raises an eyebrow and hands it over to Sam, who inhales deeply, too. They say something and laugh.