CHAPTER 21

David grabbed hold of the refilled beer mug and gulped down half it, still struggling to bring his fury back under control. He was sitting alone at his dark table in the corner, not wanting to answer any questions about his eye, which was still smarting, though not as much after a few shots of whiskey.

“Looks like he nailed you pretty good.”

David’s head jerked up, a scowl on his face as he saw a man standing before him. He was rather well dressed and his arms were crossed in front of his chest as his eyes remained focused on him calmly. Taking another swig from his mug, he just grunted something as means of an answer.

“Mind if I join you?”

His first impulse was to tell him no, that he was in no mood for company, but yet he was curious about what this guy wanted, so he shrugged his shoulders, “Suit yourself.”

Sitting down, he extended his hand, “The name’s Mike.”

“David,” He replied, begrudgingly shaking Mike’s hand even as he eyed him waringly, “I’ve seen you here before.”

“Yes, you have. I understand you are out of work.”

David was suddenly sitting straight up in his chair at full attention. If the man for some reason had work to offer, then he was all ears, “Yeah. It’s been a few months now.”

“Then lets talk business,” Mike was direct and to the point, almost amused with how quickly David’s attitude had turned around, “I have a job that needs to be done and I think you are the man to do it. It’s a one shot deal, but the money is good.”

“How good?” He asked suspiciously. He had been hoping for something permanent, but he would almost take what he could get.

“Fifty grand once the job is completed. Ten of that up front if you are interested,” He replied, delighting in the way the man’s eyes lit up with disbelief, “The job itself however, is not for the weak of heart.”

David looked uncertain though he almost couldn’t believe his luck with the amount of money that was being offered, “What would I have to do?”

“I have a little problem that I need dealt with and dealing with it would solve a little problem of yours as well, other than your financial situation,” Mike had witnessed from a distance Paul’s shot at the man and he had a feeling that David would be all too eager to seek revenge.

But David barely heard him as he was already planning on what to do with such a sum of money. He and Kristin would be set for a while and their baby could have the things it needed. This could be a new start for them and he was determined not to make the same mistakes, “How so?”

“The man who blackened your eye for you…he works for me and he is in the business of protecting people, or at least he was before he turned into a bad seed. I need for him to disappear,” This was the moment of truth. If David declined or looked horrified, then Mike had more than just the problem of Paul on his hands, “I think you are the man to do it.”

David played his best poker face, though inside his heart was racing. He had seen enough movies to know that to make someone disappear meant killing them and there was something about that thought that didn’t settle well in his gut. But Paul had been nothing but trouble for him and the fifty grand was enough to stop him from saying no. He had a feeling that after what had happened this morning, Kristin might be considering leaving him as things had just gotten too hard. With that kind of money in the bank, he could turn his life around, provide for his family and find something permanent in the way of work, all for the cost of a man he didn’t like anyway, “Let’s talk.”

Her eyes flew open, wide and startled as they flickered around the room. She took deep breaths, seeing that she was safe in her bedroom with a warm and comforting body beside her in the bed. Her hold on him tightened and she glanced up into his face before settling her head back on his chest.

She wasn’t at all surprised to see that he was still there. While Tess had left promptly at nine-thirty with ‘you need your rest’, and Paul had left reluctantly at eleven with ‘call me if you need anything’, Andrew had never made the slightest hint of leaving. He had settled her into the bed, serving as her pillow, and she had drowsily told him that he didn’t need to stay. Her eyes had already been drifting closed and she couldn’t remember what his reply to that had been.

Tentatively, she moved one hand to her face. The swelling had gone down somewhat, but it still ached in a throbbing beat. In the back of her mind she had expected it to fade, the way God had healed her bruise in the park. She closed her eyes against the disappointment of knowing that apparently her pain was part of the plan at the moment.

“Monica?”

She hadn’t meant to wake him, but it was hard to deny the comfort that just him say her name brought to her. “Mm-hmm.”

“How long have you been awake?” He tilted his head, trying to make out the fine details of her face in the dark.

“Not long.”

“Do you need anything? Aspirin?” He felt her shaking her head slightly. “Bad dream?” A nod. “Do you want to talk about it?” Another shake.

He absentmindedly starting running his fingers through her hair. He didn’t need to hear the words to feel the aching in her heart. It echoed in his own. Ever since Paul had told him what the little angel was feeling he had been hoping that she would talk to him about it… just so that he could assure her of how very wrong she was. She did matter. She mattered much more than she knew.

“Did I ever tell you about what happened when I first met Paul?” Andrew asked.

“No… I don’t think so.” She was a little surprised that he wasn’t pushing her for more information, but also relieved.

“He hardly spoke two words to me for the first day we were partnered… and it didn’t get much better after that.” Andrew smiled a little, remembering how stoic the agent had been. Completely focused on keeping their witness safe, to the exclusion of everything else.

“Really?” Monica asked on a yawn. She knew how serious Paul could be but during the time she had known him she could only remember a few times when he hadn’t talked and laughed with her.

“Yeah. If I hadn’t known better I’d have thought he was my assignment from the Father. He’s changed a lot over the past month, and all for the better.” Andrew paused and held Monica a fraction tighter. “He’s changed a lot since he met you.”

She was about to say that it wasn’t due to anything she had done, but Andrew didn’t give her a chance.

“You know, Kristin had no idea you were trying to help David,” he quickly switched topics. “I don’t think she even imagined someone would do something like that for her.”

“He’s my assignment… and it didn’t really work out…”

“Even if it doesn’t work out the way we think it should, you still made a difference in her life. You let her know that there is goodness out there at a time when she had just about given up.”

She sighed, but remained silent.

“And have I told you lately about how much I depend on you?”

Her eyes opened wider and she tilted her head up to look at his face. “Andrew, you’re the one who picks me up and puts me back together. I haven’t done anything for you but cause you pain and worry.”

A gentle finger against her lips stopped what had promised to be a long list of her self-perceived faults. “No, you’re the one who shows me every single day what love and patience and true strength are all about. With everything you’ve been through, you keep pushing on. You may have setbacks, but in the end you put yourself last and everyone else first… Kristin, David, Paul… me.” He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. “I take my strength from you, Angel.”

“Lately I don’t feel like I have enough strength to get myself through the day, much less anyone else.”

“I know that’s how you feel, but I’m telling you the truth when I say that your presence near me is enough to inspire me to be the best and truest version of myself.”

He felt her hugging him tighter and went back to stroking her hair. “So remember everything I’ve said tonight the next time you don’t think you’re worth anything. God made you, Monica. He made you perfect and complete, and you are worth so much more than you know.”

She didn’t answer, but a second later he felt a slight dampness through his t-shirt. He moved one hand to brush the warm tears away from her cheeks.

“Do you think you’ll be able to fall back to sleep now?” he asked.

Once again she was reduced to nodding her reply, but then a few minutes later, when he was certain she had fallen asleep again, her thin voice slid through the air to his ears. “You may depend on me for strength, but every night I thank God for sending you to me. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect friend than you, and feeling you in my heart is the most wonderful gift that the Father ever gave me.”
It was two-thirty a.m. and David fumbled for the lock, scratching the already peeling paint on the door. He shook his head to clear his vision. After his talk with Mike he had tossed back a few extremely strong drinks and they clouded his vision even after the walk home. He finally pushed the door open and reached for the light switch automatically before realizing that the light was already on.

“Kris? You up?”

There was no answer as he lumbered into the kitchen and then back to the bedroom. That was where he saw the note. He took it into his clammy hand and sat heavily on the edge of the bed.

Dearest David,

I had to leave for now. I’m staying at a hotel and I’m begging you not to try to find me. I will call you, but right now I just need time to think. I saw what you did to Monica and I wish that I hadn’t. It made me realize that it could so easily have been me. I know how much you love me, but you’ve changed, and even you must know that it wouldn’t take much for you to lash out… even at me. I can’t keep waiting for that next explosion.

I love you so much, and I want us to be together. Please, pray with me for that to happen.

All my love,
Kristin.

The note fell from his numb fingers but he kept staring at the place where it had been, an afterimage of it burned in his mind’s eye. For the first time he was feeling something that wasn’t completely alcohol induced. His sorrow and guilt filled every pore. Kristin was right… things needed to change, and now he had the means to do that. He could change everything. If they just had some stability he could stop worrying and he could stop drinking. He knew it. It had to end, and Mike was going to help end it. They had one more meeting planned, and he intended to be stone cold sober for it.

“I think I got what you asked for,” Andrew remarked, though he looked exceedingly unsure of himself as he laid the bag down on Monica’s bed the following afternoon.

“Thank you,” The little angel replied softly as she dumped the contents of the bag out on the bed and surveyed the makeup with uncertainty. It wasn’t something she had ever really had to wear and she picked up a bottle of foundation and eyed it curiously.

“Why don’t you just take tonight off, angel?” He asked, knowing he was going to be met with the same resistance as when he had suggested this earlier, but still feeling desperate enough to try. He was in no hurry for her to be face to face with David again and he was also unsure if he could manage to control himself at all from his space across the bar from her assignment.

“Hiding isn’t going to help things, Andrew, and I have this feeling that I am running out of time to help him,” Monica explained as she dabbed on some of the foundation in distaste. She knew to go into the bar tonight would run the risk of Beth asking questions about her face, and rather than to lie, she was hoping the makeup, along with the dim lighting would hide things well enough. If she told Beth the truth, she was certain her friend and temporary supervisor would see to it that David could not return and no matter how much she wanted that to happen, she also knew that it could not.

Monica was doing her best to appear brave and certain, but inside she was feeling anything but that. The very thought of seeing David again after yesterday morning was enough to send a shudder through her body and she had no idea of how she would react when the moment presented itself. She was doing her best to trust God as trusting herself or David was something she just couldn’t bring herself to do.

Sitting down on the bed, Andrew watched her, his expression pensive. He could clearly sense that her thoughts were miles away and he was sure she was worrying about what might happen tonight, as he was concerned about that as well. He wasn’t sure that her heart could take any more violence against her, “Sweetie, you’re shaking,” He observed, getting up and leading her over to the bed so she could sit down.

She sighed heavily, looking into his eyes, the pain in her own raw and causing his heart to ache, “I’m a bit nervous, I suppose.” She ventured honestly, no longer wanting to withhold anything from him. He was the one angel who knew her heart and soul and after the things he had told her last night, she had decided that trying to hide her feelings from him was not only senseless but not needed.

“Here,” He took the foundation bottle and the foam applicator from her trembling hands, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to be unable to change her mind about working tonight. He worked tenderly and with great care to not hurt her as he covered the bruises on her face as well as he could in order to still allow her to look relatively natural. The gray and blue bruises could still be seen, but he was fairly certain that given the darkness of the pub, she could avoid any questions. Her bandaged wrist was still an issue, but not as much so as Beth already knew about the first incident with David.

He surveyed his handiwork thoughtfully as a small grin played on his face, “Not bad for a first timer.”

A small laugh escaped her as she stood up to look in the mirror once more. Yes, they were still there, but not as noticeable and her hair did a pretty good job of covering the bandage on her forehead, though even the covering of her injuries caused her expression to sadden that she had anything to hide to begin with. Pushing those feelings aside, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly time for her to leave in order to make it to the pub on time, “You’re walking me there, right?”

He didn’t miss the hopefulness in her voice and he was quick to nod his head in reply, “Absolutely. You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me,” He stood up and followed her out of the apartment after waiting for her to bid good-bye to Lucy. She took longer than usual to do so, and he was sure she was stalling as though she had made this decision to work tonight, it was really something she would rather not do. He waited patiently until she was ready, before taking her hand once they had closed and locked the apartment door.

The walk was quiet and he noticed that her steps slowed the nearer they got to O’Reilly’s and a look of dread that she was trying to mask had fallen over her face. As they neared the entrance, she stopped suddenly and turned to him realizing his intention of following her inside.

“Go back to the apartment, Andrew,” She requested softly, not missing the look of surprise that came over his expression. They were connected enough that she had been able to feel the constant anger that had been just beneath the surface inside of him, and she was not about to tempt fate by his being near David, “I’ll be fine.”

“Monica-.”

“Please? I think I need to do this on my own and the chances of David talking to me at all are even slimmer with you there acting as my protector. The Father will let you know if I need you,” She wanted to state that she always needed him, but she was not about to allow him to risk who he was by not being able to control himself around her assignment.

Andrew frowned, not liking what she was asking of him, but once again, not wanting to force the issue with her. Monica felt as if she had little enough control over everything as it was, and he didn’t want to be just one more individual who took that from her, “Are you sure?”

No. “Yes, I’m sure,” She moved to hug him tightly, trying to relay how thankful she was for his presence in her existence in the gesture.

He tightened his arms around her before releasing her and watching as she disappeared behind the heavy wooden door, a part of his heart going along with her as he was resorted to simply offering up prayers for her safety.