In His Arms

Chapter 25

I have two choices in this situation; I either a) can let this guy come at me with whatever he has and let the people on the street be witnesses to my murder or b) I can retaliate before anyone gets hurt.

"Alastora," Vincent warns as the man gets closer, throwing down his cigarette. "Run."

Damn it. My choice has been made for me I guess.

Turning around to run ahead of him, Vince urges me further through soft nudges in my back as we push past the busy working adults as they leave for home or to get takeout. Heavy footfalls follow behind us making our pursuer's presence well known.

I am unarmed and unprepared for something like this.

The dress I'm wearing does nothing to help me speed down the streets and the heels on my feet start blistering my foot as my heels rub viciously against the back of them. My hair flies behind me as I run like a flag on a windy day, probably slapping Vince in the face.

"Fuck, he's gaining on us," Vince curses behind me, his hand nudging me to go into the space between the hotel and another building. "In there."

Gritting my teeth I give him a nod but I don't turn into the alley.

Much to my suspicion, the man is after me and not Vincent as he runs past the alleyway where Vincent had run into intending to beat the man to a pulp. My fists tighten as I continue to run down the fairly busy streets.

"Come on, just a little bit further," I pant as I give myself a chance to look back at my pursuer who happens to be just a few meters behind me. "Oh, holy Mary."

A muffled shot rings out behind me and a searing pain shoots on my bare arm, my pursuer being closer to me than I had anticipated. Biting back a scream of pain, I grasp my bicep as I turn a corner which happens to lead me to a dead end. With two large green dustbins, I decide to take my chances by climbing them to get over the barbed-wired wall.

"I suggest you stop right there, Ootori," A chilling, emotionless voice commands as I take a step in the direction of the dumpsters. "Hands up where I can see them or I'll shoot."

Caught. Raising my hand above my head as I turn to face my possible murderer, I grit my teeth in pain noticing helplessly as a dark smirk graces the unknown man's face, chilling my already cold skin.

"Who would have thought Logans would pay so much for a piece of trash like you?" The man chuckles, his light blue eyes taking in my appearance. "Must be something to do with the money you have."

Oh, this man has no idea how much I wish it was just about money.

Behind him a dark shadowy figure appears, a leather-clad hand holding a gun to the man pointing the gun at me, a somewhat familiar voice mocks, "Your brains are worse than a pig's."

The gun goes off with a low 'pew' sound telling me that the man who just put a bullet through the brain of another who was chasing me down has a silencer on his barrel. Slowly I lower my hands to my sides, eyeing the new person cautiously.

He could want to kill me as well...

"Cater Logans has put a price on your body," He states reloading his gun, and snapping the safety catch. "Daniello has given the orders to protect you. This gun is for you, Alsatora...oh, sorry, it's Janette now isn't it?"

Taking the gun from his outstretched hand, I unconsciously lift my skirt to put the gun in between my skin and the waistband of my panty. The man's chuckles catch me off guard as a car pulls up at the curb near the entrance of the dead-end and three other men come out of it, working quickly to take the body and move it into a body bag.

"Have we met before?" I ask the man who gave me the gun as the three men take the body away.

"Yes, we have," The man answers proudly, his clear brown eyes meeting mine in the dim light as he bandages my bullet-skimmed arm. "My father was an abusive alcoholic and you caught him hitting me and my mother. You caught him and killed him. Saving both my mother and I that night. I thanked you but you said it was a favour for a friend and that you didn't deserve the thanks."

Finnigan Jenkins. I realised after he told me his story. He's Finnigan Jenkins!

"You joined Cosa Nostra?" I breathe unbelievingly as we walk out onto the street, my eyes assessing the man who I remember to be a trembling little boy who was about my age. "Why?"

"To repay you," He explains calmly, taking off his leather gloves to grasp my hands in his as people move around us to avoid bumping into one of us. "You saved me whether you believe it or not and I've heard what you did for the other children in the child trafficking industry. I hope to help your cause."

Taking off his jacket, he drapes the warm material over my bare shoulders as he leaves with the car. I stand for a long while in the middle of the street even after the red taillights of the car had long disappeared from view, wondering how much of the crime world I changed such that a boy who I 'saved' is willing to risk his life for me now just so that I can keep on running from my problems.

Slowly walking back to the hotel with my eyes trained solely on the pavement under my feet, I find that my mind is a whirlwind of questions and worries about what's been going on in the last few days. Normally, I'd be unconscious right now from exhaustion but somehow I just find myself feeling hollow.

Devoid of any kind of emotion.

"Janette!" Alexander's voice makes my eyes snap up from the pavement in shock. "Janette!"

There he stands, relief flowing over his facial features as he begins to run to me from where he stands. The sight of him has tears rolling down my cheeks as I become overwhelmed with emotion.

His arms wrap around me easily, lifting me slightly off of the ground as he hugs my body to him, his frantic heartbeats slow to a rhythmic thudding pattern that rocks through my body as I weep into his shoulder.

"Don't you ever leave my side again," He whispers into my thoroughly tangled hair, his warm breath brushing over my scalp. "You scared the shit out of me when bloody Vincent White came running into the dining room saying you were being chased."

My ability to speak has lost me as I let him pick me up into his arms, snuggling me up to his chest, his body heat warming my cold sweat sweat-covered body. Sliding into the car that Mr Ford drove us to the hotel in with me lying across his lap with my arms hooked tightly around his neck, I hear him tell Mr Ford to head for the airport and the car begins to move.

Once my crying has eased somewhat, I gaze up at Alexander apologetically as I try to slide off his lap to sit on a seat properly but he keeps me in place by holding my leg in place, the gun is on my right which is a good thing because my left is completely pressed into his taut stomach and if his arm that is draped lightly over my hip feels the weapon, he doesn't comment on it.

Instead, he states softly, "I won't ask you about the man that according to Vincent was chasing you down and I won't question you about the jacket over your shoulders but I want to let you know that I'll listen to whatever you have to say when you're ready."

Nodding as I rest my head on his chest, the steady thumping of his heart lulls me slowly into a light doze which causes me to give in to my exhaustion from the anxiety of encountering the demon of my childhood, the change in Alexander, the jealousy of dinner, the meeting of my old childhood friend and of course the chase that ended with a man dead and the re-meeting of a boy who has grown into a fine man that works for a crime syndicate.

God...why does my life get more complicated with every passing moment?