Leap of Faith
Sumarra
Music pumped from Forty Watt while I stood in the back parking lot. The sky was clear, and stars sparkled above. The air felt clear in my lungs, too, and as I exhaled, I let go of a hundred fears and worries. Laura’s scratched and dented limo waited across the street. It was time to do what my mothers had intended for generations.
The door locks clicked as I approached. When I got in and closed the door, the locks clicked again.
“What hotel are we going to?” I asked the driver.
He didn’t answer, and the car didn’t move. I grew concerned again. I had spent my life distrusting strangers, so being in the backseat alone made me worry.
“Hello?” I couldn’t see the driver’s face, and sitting still made me uncomfortable. I dug into my purse for my phone, to call Laura, but it wasn’t there.
The driver’s voice came through a speaker. “Sumarra, that’s your name, right?” It was low and calm. “Jonah got your phone, hon.”
A tremor ran through my body. It felt like a nightmare I’d once had where I drove a car off a cliff and was falling and falling and knew I would die when I hit bottom.
The driver twisted to face me. Only glass stood between us, and I recognized him instantly by the scar across his cheek. He said, “You take my son, I get you in return.”
I grabbed for the door, but it was locked. I kicked against it. I kicked against the glass between me and the driver and the glass of the windows, but it didn’t break.
“Calm down, hon. We’ve got a long way to go tonight. Somewhere no one will find you. Might as well relax.”
“How did you do it?” I asked. But he didn’t have to answer. I recognized the metallic scent: there was blood in the air. I leaned forward to see a rag lying in the front passenger seat. It was stained scarlet and brown.
Ben Torrent smiled as he shifted into gear. “Berhanu has no idea what he’s up against.”
The End.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT:
Case notes of agent Richard Berhanu, CIA.
Case #958374: Ben Torrent, international criminal.
Date of Investigation: 2012-2013. Ongoing.
In the course of investigating Ben Torrent, a man suspected of international crimes including drug trafficking, smuggling of cultural artifacts, and human trafficking for the purposes of prostitution and enslavement, I have encountered a group of women living beneath society's radar. They claim they're descended from women in the harem of the historical figure Solomon of ancient Israel. They call themselves 'King Solomon's Wives,' and they've been hiding from society and people like Ben Torrent, who could exploit them, for millennia. They hide because they carry a terrible secret: their touch is addictive.
Below are transcripts of several interviews I conducted with Wives and others who've come in contact with them.
INTERVIEWS
1.) Olivia Berens. 5' 4", short blond hair, fair skin, 20 yrs. old. Olivia is not a Wife, but only a friend of Dilara, who is leader of the Wives' clan in Athens, Georgia. Olivia speaks with a southern drawl and seemed afraid of me.
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King Solomon's Wives: Hunted
Mystery / ThrillerThe two thousand descendants of King Solomon’s ancient harem have the ultimate power of seduction: Their very touch is as addictive as any drug. But that power comes at a price: Wives die giving birth. They can only bear daughters. They are only fer...
