The Tutor

Chapter 10

Cora shook herself out of her daze, she was clinging to a leather-wrapped man who was roaring down a country road at a speed that couldn't possibly be safe, and she was wearing a towel. What the hell happened she asked herself trying to figure out the sequence of events. There was Amy, there was a fire. She smelled smoke. She remembered being scared.

"Hey" she yelled, the bike slowed to a more reasonable speed. Turned a corner onto a darkened road and then pulled to a stop. "Hey?"

"Hi Cora," The man said shutting off the engine.

"How the hell do you know my name?"

"My sister told me."

"Who the hell is your sister?"

"She's a cop, Amy and I drove back after she gave her the low down on what's really going on."

"What's really going on?"

"I'll tell you when we get to the Cabin"

"Last time."

"Yes I know all about last time, I'm one of the good guys, believe me, the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you. And if you can find a safer place to stay, I'll either take you there or have my sister take you there whatever you prefer. For now, however, I needed to get you out of harm's way and this was the fastest way."

Marcus restarted the bike and drove another twenty or thirty miles before pulling onto a gravel road and up behind some trees to a secluded little cabin. He walked up and opened the door. He turned on the light and then turned. Cora Punched him right in the face. He stumbled back. "You bastard she shouted, you had the audacity to save me from that. Look at me! I'm ugly, I have no fucking teeth. My body looks like shit. Why the fuck did you save me She punched at him again and he caught her fist pulling her into a crushing bear hug."I don't even want to be alive" she wailed.

"I know Cora, I know"

"How can you possibly know" she spit in his face. He carried her inside and through an open door and tossed her on a soft mattress. He turned and closed the door as she sobbed on the bed. Marcus built a fire in the fireplace and it was soon crackling. He made some hot water and got some cocoa packets and a couple of cups. He sat in front of the fire staring at the flames. Cora opened the door an hour later wrapped in a sheet. "Why?"

"Why what?" Marcus asked.

"Why did you save me?"

"Its was the right thing to do Cora"

"How is it the right thing to do, look at me you can't expect me to live like this."

"Well," he fixed the coco as he talked "I expect that you can get your teeth fixed, implants or bridgework or whatever it doesn't really matter. As for the scars, so what"

"How can you say so what!" she shouted.

Marcus got up and pulled off his shirt his back was swathed in scars big lumps where the flesh hadn't quite healed right. "I was in Afghanistan," he said his voice barely audible above the crackling fire "The convoy I was with was ambushed, I was in the lead truck. An IED turned it over. I was helping to get everyone to safety. When they hit the hummer with four RPG's I don't know if they thought it was a problem or they just had extra ammo. They were hammering us with mortar fire too. Anyway, my corpsman ran out and dragged me away. I took three slugs through my body armor. Doc didn't make it, he got me clear, he was already dead, he just didn't know it yet. That day I promised to god that I would never let anyone be hurt when I can stand between them and harm. Now, Cora, you are very beautiful and any man would be lucky to have you on his arm. Yes, you have scars, there are lots of people who have scars, that doesn't make us any less. If nothing else it reminds us. Reminds us that we are the lucky ones."

"How are we lucky?" Cora sobbed.

"Because we are still alive"

"But what about?"

"Those guys out there who are trying to hurt you" his face darkened and his brows lowered and his mouth cracked into a feral grin. "Let them come"