Unintended Consequences (Act One) Completed

Chapter 13: She will be loved.

Rayyan pushes a thick file across the table.

"What's this?"

"All the things you don't know," he says.

I open the file and I'm instantly confronted by gruesome images of men and women slaughtered in cold blood. I've seen dead bodies before; the victims of gun violence in the street. But, this was something different. There was a maniacal element to the way the bodies were riddled with bullets as if the shooter lost control and took leave of his senses. These were murders, they were messages froma diseased mind.

"The thing about sociapaths is that they can be incredibly charming. They're often very smart and highly manipulative. They can make it seem like they care about you deeply, or even that they're jealous, but in the end its just a game."

I flip through the pages of the file as Rayyan speaks.

"So what are you saying? Smoochie is a sociopath?"

"No, I'm saying that he's got a lot of the characteristics of a sociopath, and that makes him much more dangerous than you imagined. I honestly don't know how you survived."

"I nearly didn't," I say with an involuntary smirk. Smiling when you say something painful is a coping technique. It makes the horrific truth seem less awful.

"I know," he says, pulling an envelope out of his pocket and flinging it at me. I look at it but don't make any move to pick it up. I don't know what's in it, but I don't need to know. Judging by the file he's been able to compile of all of Smoochie's crimes, dating all the way back into his teens, it isn't hard for me to guess. Who would want to get themselves involved in a mess like this? It's probably a check for an astronomical sum, a bribe to leave his life and never look back.

I exhale loudly and bite my bottom lip. It hurts, but not as much as the thought of never seeing him again. Perhaps I've already screwed myself on this deal. Maybe I already love him, but I'm not ready to admit that to myself. Instead, I keep reading the notes from field officers sent to investigate Smoochie. They talk about a brutal and deceitful man. A man I know better than anybody else.

"So now what?"

"How did you survive it?" Rayyan's voice breaks and I look up to see unshed tears in his eyes. "How did you?"

My eyes are on him but his eyes are on the envelope on the table. He stares at it like a phantom. I reach for it and open it up with trembling fingers. The photos are of a woman's battered and twisted body. My body. The image and the brutal memory that goes with it hit me like a fist. I slump back, sucking in a breath as I try to regain my equilibrium.

"What doesn't kill us, must be endured," I say.

Rayyan gets up from his seat and pulls me into his arms. He holds me tight like he hasn't seen me in years.

"Do I want to know how you got your hands on FBI files?" I ask.

"I had Enzo do some digging," his voice is choked with emotion.

"I'm sure he loved that," I sneer, rolling my eyes. Rayyan steps back, taking my face in both of his hands and kissing my forehead gently.

"You have no idea how amazing you are," he says. I don't know how to process that kind of attention so I shake him off and pretend that it didn't happen.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Today we get to know each other a little better. I'll have my secretary set up some interviews and a photo shoot for this week ." He takes my hand and doesn't let go. I don't complain, he's become my security blanket.