Morning dawned full of purpose for Peter Caine. Savannah had obviously come to Chinatown last night to find him when he'd been across town. Lo Si had told him the gold Honda had been parked in front of his apartment until midnight. A sharp sting of guilt bit the inside of Peter's stomach as he made the twenty minute trip across town to the her home. She needed help and he'd been elsewhere.
Wasting no time, the priest made a decision to knock some sense into the Griffins. He had no idea what had gotten into Kermit or where he would go, but he knew where the sanest member of the Griffin family could be found. Savannah's car was still in the driveway as he drove up. Relieved, he got out, ran up the walkway, and entered after a brief, announcing knock.
"Savannah?" Peter called. If he could get through the barriers of anyone, it would be her. Savannah was one of the most open individuals he had ever known. But.....she had been living with Kermit for a long, long time and had picked up a few of his more annoying deceptive habits.
"Back here, Peter," called Savannah.
Peter walked to the back of the house to see Mrs. Griffin sitting on her bed, looking at open suitcases in silence, saddened silence.
"Oh, come on!" Peter protested. "You're kidding me!"
Savannah dabbed at her red, swollen eyes and contemplated carefully the face she would put forth. Those tears hadn't been fabricated. In spite of Kermit's reassurances the night before, she was worried sick. The hours together had passed far too quickly. Once, the feel of his body touching hers had felt too strongly of good-bye. A look that held her longer than normal. A hand the lingered on her cheek. A heavy voice whispering passionately into her ear. It was glorious and disturbing.
After a quick appraisal of her guest, she decided not to waste those tears. "No, I'm not, Peter. You think I'm going to stay here with HIM? I'm going back home."
"To Memphis? You can't do that."
"And just why not?!"
"Because he needs you. You need him." Peter began to pace. "I don't understand any of this. Look - you didn't buy it when he was going insane with Truong Qui manipulating his mind. Why are you deserting him now?? There's more going on here than meets the eye. I mean, didn't you wonder why Emma would suddenly just show up? Didn't you wonder when, overnight, Kermit just went off with her?"
Savannah rose to dump some clothes from a drawer into a suitcase. "Thanks for bringing that mental picture to mind," she said, drawing on the legitimate anger she felt when she thought of Emma and Kermit together. He had confessed it all long ago, vowing to be honest with her, no matter the cost. Honesty, she appreciated....but she didn't have to like it.
Peter got up and transferred the clothing back to the drawer. She was weakening. Now was the time to press. "You came looking for me last night. Talk to me."
"You don't understand, Peter," Savannah sniffled. "I knew he'd been...around but he led me to believe that I was the only one for him. I was the one he was searching for all this time. Now, just the fact that he finds Emma....uh....appealing after all we've been through....I can't stand that. I shouldn't have to put up with it. In fact, I'm not putting up with it!" She transferred the clothes back to the suitcase. "My mind's made up. If he doesn't have more respect for me than that--"
"But what if he's under some sort of mind control?"
Savannah gave him a hardened, disgusted stare. "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."
"I mean, with drugs." Peter took her hand and made her sit. "You weren't around when we tangled with Emma and her friends last time. She tried to poison him." Peter was pleased to see that there was a flicker of concern reflected in her eyes. "Her boss, Latrodect, ordered her to kill Kermit or recruit him with those drugs. What if she succeeded this time? What if she put something in his drink at the bar?"
Savannah looked down. "We were fighting before the incident in the bar."
"But Emma was the catalyst." Peter pressed. "All couples fight, then they make up. You and Kermit would have probably made up if not for Emma suddenly appearing....Savannah, it all makes sense."
Summoning the last of her arsenal, she fired back, "So I should just open my arms and accept him back with the smell of that woman all over him? Just how much am I supposed to stand, Peter? I've taken the guns and the secrets and every lunatic situation he's thrown at me but I WILL NOT take him back into MY bed after he's lain elsewhere!" Hopefully, those loaded words would make him back off. Or....I could faint? That might work. She shook off that option. Deceiving him was one thing, being cruel was another and she selected a dramatic silence instead.
Little by little, Peter opened himself to Savannah's feelings. The invasiveness of these spiritual arts forced him to hesitate. Prying with words and intuition were quite a leap from peeling away anothers barriers to examine their emotional layers. The right and wrong of it seemed to blur. Were the ends of sufficient urgency to justify the means? He decided to err on the side of Kermit and his family.
Look beneath the surface, young Caine. Lo Si's words guiding him, Peter examined the clouds traveling through her brilliant green eyes. The anger was there. No....frustration. I expected anger....misunderstood. Frustration? At me? Then, worry. Am I getting through to her? Kermit....she is worried about him....the anger is not for him...
"I don't want to see either of you hurt. I'll help you fix it, if you'll let me." Peter caught the next shift. Guilt? Why? "We can probably repair the damage and keep Kermit in one piece.......as long as he doesn't kill me over your licking my tonsils in Delancey's." Amusement.....downright giddy... She's laughing at me......
Savannah wouldn't meet his gaze. "I...I don't want him hurt-"
"Of course you don't. Savannah, whether he realizes it or not, he needs you. Please stay. You can go to Annie's place if you don't feel comfortable staying here. When he surfaces again, maybe you can shake him out of this fog he's in. If you've ever loved him...."
"All right...."
Peter sat back and then kissed her forehead. "Good girl." He took her hand and squeezed it. "I'll call Mom while you pack a few things."
As he left the room, Peter looked within once more and smiled. Lo Si.....you were right, as usual.
*****
Savannah watched Peter bound out of the room - and swore under her breath. "Shit, shit, shit!"
Peter was making it damn difficult for her to leave Kermit. Normally, she would be on her knees thanking God for such a friend, but now....she had no choice but to give in to him. Peter knew all her buttons. Even if she was as mad at Kermit as she was supposed to be, it would have looked suspicious if she had not given in to the arguments for Kermit's safety.
Damn. Kermit gives me one assignment - to leave town - and I can't do it, she thought.
She was beginning to feel bad that she had deceived such a good friend but Kermit had warned her she might be watched. Also, he told her Latrodect knew Kermit and Peter were friends. If Peter was convinced, Latrodect would be convinced. Still, it wasn't fair to Peter.
Besides, she had a MAJOR bone to pick with her husband. Kermit had tactfully omitted any reference to Emma and poison. Just wait till I get my hands on you, Kermit. Just wait.
*****
The darkened warehouse was an appropriate place for this particular gathering. Kermit Griffin stood slightly in front of his large recruit. Both men were dressed in black and carried an air of brutality.
Latrodect clicked his way into the room slowly, surveying his private army carefully. "Welcome, gentlemen." The tall blonde villain circled the group, then stopped in front of his new hired gun. "Only one, Griffin? You couldn't do better than that?"
Kermit stepped forward and gestured to the sullen hulk behind him. "A smaller force is better for hit and run ops like this. Moves faster and there are...fewer loose ends to keep in check. You should know that." Kermit took pride in the annoyed expression his employer held. "This is Miguel Rodriguez."
Miguel's normally angry expression never shifted. He stared down from his bulky 6'4" height as if measuring everyone in the room for a noose. Kermit had called him in for a safety net. After their association last year, Miguel had decided he needed to use his skills....for good causes. Bringing down Latrodect -- after he'd murdered Tage -- would be a pleasure.
Latrodect observed the new player in silence. Miguel's only response was to snort rudely and use his knife to dig an angry hole into the table Kermit had perched on moments before.
"If you want this chemist snatched tomorrow, you'd better cough up the specifics." Kermit watched as Emma tried to slide inconspicuously into the shadows of the warehouse. "Where, who, and when."
"The where is the Royal Plaza Hotel. Dr. Rhodes arrives in a few hours to prepare for a lecture in the morning." Latrodect pulled out a blue print. "He travels with only one bodyguard, implying that the good doctor has become less wary of his Middle Eastern threat. The limo will drop him at the service entrance. You should have no trouble keeping this operation quick and painless. Draw no attention and leave no witnesses."
"Would be nice to have a photo," Miguel barked from his position in the background.
"Dr. Rhodes has been underground for quite some time. Given his... adversary, can you blame him?" Latrodect waited for a response to his poor attempt at humor, then continued. "There is no photo available."
"Or at least none you could come up with," Kermit interrupted. "Might I suggest your next staff member be a research specialist."
"A mute research specialist." Latrodect's normal congenial demeanor was giving way. Kermit was exposing his limited human resource pool. After that last cut-and-run, most of his rats had left the ship. "You'll have no trouble spotting him from the general description we have. Fifty, British accent, hearing aid, gray hair, glasses."
Kermit pulled his weapon from the waistband of his black jeans and began a thorough inspection. "And where do we house Dr. Rhodes?"
"Here's the address, lover," Emma emerged from the shadows to slide a sliver of paper into Kermit's pocket. Lingering her fingers there for a second, she whispered, "I'll meet you there and drive you to another location." Fairly licking her lips, she leaned in to whisper, "I'll be waiting when you're done. It'll be worth it."
He'd already risked antagonizing her enough in Latrodect's office. Might need you later. "We'll see." Getting almost close enough to be snared by Emma's eager mouth, he was grateful to be interrupted.
"Business before pleasure, my dear." Latrodect yanked Emma away with a firm grip on her bare arm. "Gentlemen," came the terse farewell as the pair exited.
"She wants you, Griffin." Miguel showed his rare lighter side as he began to pack their gear into a heavy black duffel.
"Go figure." Kermit checked the voltage of his stun gun with an ohm meter then slipped into the pocket of his jacket.
"Yeah, especially since I'm the good looking one." Miguel shouldered the heavy bag and stepped back to allow his boss to lead the way.
******
"If you wanted iced tea, Savannah, all you had to do was say so."
Jerking her attention away from her lukewarm cup of tea, Savannah focused on her hostess. Her thoughts had been miles away from tea and sympathy, following a man in green shades. "Sorry, I guess I'm just not fit company. Great tea...at least it was." One manicured finger pushed the delicate cup away.
Annie lowered herself gracefully into a chair across from her guest and grinned at the sounds bubbling up from her kitchen floor. Kat was sprawled across the linoleum, occupying her time by making dinner for three of Kelly's old baby dolls. Cups of dry rice and kidney beans poured back and forth from one plastic container to another, with a few escaping to the floor at each transaction.
"She's making quite a mess, Annie," Savannah smiled down at her daughter. Kat had been asking for Kermit all afternoon. The cover story that "Daddy's gonna be back soon" had quieted her....for the moment.
"Well, it won't be the first time there's been a mess here and I hope it won't be the last." Annie leisurely stirred her own cup then brought it to her lips. The tranquil kitchen scene simmered for a moment until Annie spoke again. "Peter did the right thing by bringing you here. Are you all right? I know a year has gone by but you still can't be too careful."
"Yes, I'm fine, Annie. Thank you for letting us stay here for a while." She quickly threw in a beat to reinforce her role as a scorned woman. "I didn't want to leave but I couldn't stay there after what Kermit's done."
"Is he undercover for the department or one of those other three-lettered nightmares?" Annie sat back and slurped in another sly drink of her tea. She could feel the blush practically radiating from the other side of the table.
Savannah gasped, then realized how that reaction exposed her position. "Damn.... how did you know?"
"Well, unlike my son, I'm not so easily baffled by beautiful bullshit," Annie replied, taking much glee in her one-upmanship.
"Buuuuullsheet, buuuuullsheet," came the sing-song voice from the floor. Kat cursed to her dolls in her lilting toddler voice.
"Oops. Sorry about that." Annie apologized, barely stifling her laughter as the small sliver of Kermit Griffin continued to murmur the new mantra.
"Don't feel bad," Savannah said, also trying not to laugh. Leaning across the table, she whispered, "Kermit accidentally taught her 'fuckin' bureaucrats'." Kermit. She didn't look forward to letting him know she couldn't even pull the wool over a blind woman's eyes. "I thought I'd played the part so well, Annie. I'd never put him at risk."
"Oh, you did fine." Annie patted her hand and took away the wasted tea. Pouring it into the sink, she said, "I was never good at the spy gig either. My covert skills were always lacking. Gave too much away, just breathing in and out. You weren't ranting and raving like a normal woman who'd just caught her husband tongue-kissing another broad. If it were me.....I'd be tracking Paul and the girlie and sizing them both for a box. You're just too quiet. Not your style."
"Hey! I beg to differ. You should have seen my performance at Delancy's." Savannah suddenly turned serious. "You won't tell anyone? Especially not Peter. I--"
Annie crossed the room quickly and wrapped her arms around a pair of tense shoulders. "Of course not." The vow was probably pointless. Annie knew her son. He may have been off track momentarily but not for long. Probably knows already and he's keeping quiet, too. There was no need to made Savannah any more uncomfortable. "You forget, I *know* this life of yours. You two just stay here until this is over."
Savannah patted the comforting hand on her shoulder as Annie whispered, "Hopefully, that won't be too long."
"I hope so, too, Annie." Savannah leaned forward and pulled Kat up into her lap.
"What buuulllsheet, Mama?" Kat looked up at two faces fighting between shock and amusement.
"Ask your Auntie Annie, sugar. She knows all sorts of things." Savannah let herself smile, in spite of her worry.
******
The shadows were long across the hotel service entrance. Kermit and Miguel leaned against the wall, encased in one of those darkened pockets. Both were silent, focused. The mode had shifted from the real world to mercenary beat. That life had lost its appeal to Kermit long ago, but the rush was still invigorating.
"How is your wife?" Miguel spoke in a low tone, gravel rattling his deep voice. His eyes remained focused on the narrow drive which would lead their prey into their hands.
"She's fine. Fully recovered." Kermit smiled internally at the 'warm fuzzies' implied by that inquiry from Miguel.
"Good."
"When this is over you should come to dinner. She'd be glad to see you." The offer was geniune, even though Kermit knew it was unlikely Miguel would accept. Social interaction wasn't something he cared for or participated in freely.
Miguel cut his eyes at his partner and nodded slilently. A sound from the street drew his attention. "Here comes the car." The burly Latin unzipped his jacket, making his weapon more readily available. A thick, angry blade held by a black leather scabbard was Miguel's weapon of choice.
Kermit knew him to carry a blade all the way back to his days in 'Nam. Not that he wasn't expert in many forms of weaponry, but when given a choice, Miguel simply preferred less moving parts. "Still carrying that kitchen knife? Good to know if I need something chopped," Kermit said, checking his own weapon.
"Quiet all the time. No reload. No aim to fuck up," Miguel shot back, a taste of superiority in his voice. "Maybe I teach you sometime."
Before Kermit could answer, the gleaming black limo coasted to a stop. They waited, scanning the area as the driver jumped out and briskly trotted to open the door for his passenger. The passenger, a smaller man with nearly white hair and similar mustache, made his way clumsily from the back seat. Arms overflowing with papers, small round eye glasses askew, the man gave the first class illusion of Albert Einstein. A paisley bow-tie and faded blue cardigan completed the rumpled look of a man focused solely on science, not on fashion.
"Let me help you with that, Dr. Rhodes," came the cheerful voice of the driver as he reached in to take a few of the books and papers.
Another man, with a decidedly more lethal build than the wrinkled doctor, had exited the other side. The bodyguard gazed over the shadows without alarm and was rounding the back of the vehicle when Dr.Rhodes gasped in shock.
Miguel's battering ram of a forearm closed around the driver's neck, cutting off the man's air. A shining silver blade rested against the man's cheek. "Shhhhhh....." hissed the kidnapper, effectively silencing his victim with a sleeper hold. The man fell to the ground in a twisted heap.
Before the surprised bodyguard could close the distance between him and his charge, Kermit had slammed him to the pavement with a jolt from his tazer. After a few nauseating twitches, the man fell still.
The doctor made no sound, simply scanned the area shakily for witnesses who were not in evidence. Kermit placed one hand on the befuddled man's head and shoved him into the back seat. Miguel was already behind the wheel. The entire operation had lasted thirty seconds.
Pulling slowly into the normal flow of traffic, they drew only the attention normally focused on a limousine. As Kermit made himself comfortable by propping his feet on the opposite seat, his victim spoke. "Remind me never to tell you where I'm going on vacation. I could be wearing a lei and basking in the glow of Hawaiian hula dancers."
"Blake, you haven't been laid in years," Kermit rubbed his eyes beneath his shades. "I just saved you the humiliation of being shot down." Kermit dug a crumpled bag from his jacket pocket and dumped it into Detective Blake's lap. "Stop grumbling, I brought you a donut."
"Risk my life and get a donut?" Blake took a generous bite. "Thanks."
"Nice disguise," Kermit said, sarcasm quite evident. "Over done as it is, should be enough to scam Emma and her boss."
"Gee, thanks."
"Blake." Miguel uttered a one word greeting through the dividing window.
"Rodriguez. Good to see you, old friend. Just like old times." Blake took bite from his squashed donut. Turning to Kermit, he mumbled and chewed at the same time. "What do you have so far?"
"Not much," Kermit answered. "I don't know what the chemist was working on but we'll probably get access soon so that 'Dr. Rhodes' can finish whatever project Latrodect has going. I'm guessing all the evidence we need will be in the computer data. Did you bring the equipment we need?"
"Got it." Blake opened up the bar in front of them and grabbed a drink. "What are we up against?"
"Limited personnel. Ten, tops." Kermit pulled out a couple of drinks and slid one over the seat to Miguel. "We're on our own, no net, but I don't think we'll have any trouble once you get into the data. We transmit the data and location and get the hell out of there."
Blake stopped eating. "Location? You mean, you don't know where we're going?"
"No. Someone's meeting us."
"Great. I'm filled with confidence, Kermit." Blake carried on in his usual pessimistic tirade. "I trade my vacation for a dream date with a spider and you don't have enough intell to even know where we're going? We got no backup?"
"I know that whatever caldron of poison he's brewing up is bad. Bad enough for him to resort to hiring mercenaries and snatchin' chemists. I won't let that go." Kermit took another long drink.
"And you have unfinished business from the last time, right?" Blake knew Kermit had swallowed a great deal of anger when Latrodect had escaped prosecution during their last encounter. Kermit Griffin hated loose ends tickling his nose.
No reply was required. Blake leaned back in the seat and said, "I'm in. Let's go swat a bug."
Peter Caine had the answers he wanted. His posture had relaxed substantially after his little subversive encounter with Savannah. Making his way back into his apartment after depositing her into Annie's care, he let the relief soak through. Kermit and Savannah weren't in trouble. This was all a smoke screen thrown up by the ex-merc and his bride to cover some covert operation.
That, he could live with quite comfortably.
Kermit could take care of himself and was evidently in charge instead of under control. Savannah and Kat were out of the way. Peter could shift his attention to other matters. The young priest walked quickly to his answering machine and let the messages buzz past. Peter smiled as he jotted down a few numbers before he began returning calls. His father would have never employed such a device as part of his priestly tool kit. Phones were not the elder Caine's style, but the younger Caine was developing his own style.
If Lo Si can have a CD player, I'm hanging on to my electronics, too. After all, nothing in the Tao seemed to deny him the luxury of electricity. Finding his way meant making this life his own with his own mode of operations. Feeling his way through the community was easier if the foreign environment held familiar tools.
Sinking into the sofa he'd moved from his old apartment, from his old life, Peter scanned the list of people who had conversed with his telephone in his absence. Jody and Mary Margaret wanted him to check in with Savannah and "figure out what bug was up Kermit's ass." That call he would let simmer for a time. If Kermit needed them to know, they would already.
Mrs. Po had called to invite him to dinner. "Yeah," he said to the notepad, "wine me, dine me, make me a son-in-law. Right Mrs. Po?" Mrs. Po's daughter had just turned thirty-five and was in a heated search for a husband to quiet her biological clock. There were a couple of other invitations to dinner bearing similar vibrations from neighborhood matrons with single daughters, granddaughters, and assorted other female relatives.
Peter Caine had become the most eligible bachelor in Chinatown.
"It seems Shaolin Priest has replaced doctor as the preferable occupation for a son-in-law." Lo Si emerged from the balcony, making himself at home on the other end of the sofa. "Perhaps we can....double date?"
Peter allowed himself to be pleased. He had known the old man was inside from the moment he had entered the building. Letting go was the key. "Sure Lo Si. Dinner and a drive-in. We'll flip for the back seat." Peter tossed his pad to the wooden trunk he used for a coffee table and propped his feet up.
"You do not plan to respond to your many invitations?" Lo Si's small body made a deceptively frail appearance among the heavily stuffed cushions. "A young man should not spend all of his time grinding herbs, honing his body, and meditating with an old man.....no matter how fascinating that old man may be."
"Don't start, Lo Si. I'm on overload here and the last thing I can think about is a social life." Peter let a decidedly annoyed edge slice out the words.
Under Lo Si's patient gaze, Peter softened his tone. "Given my past love life, maybe swearing off for a while is the smartest course." Jordan had lasted all of a week as his companion after he'd left the force. Not that he blamed her for not signing on to his lifestyle change, but it was still an open wound. They had both moved on, tried to remain friends, but failed at that, also.
The old man's eyes were laced with amusement and a fatherly rebuke. "We have had this discussion but a few short hours ago. The fulfillment of what you seek is in the letting go, young priest."
The nagging hit Peter's back as he tried to evacuate to the kitchen area. "Is that all you have for me? No way to get the priest part under control so I can MAYBE think about a personal life if I decide I want one?" He said it, wondering exactly when he would have the opportunity for a so called personal life in the midst of figuring out his place in this new world of emotion, mysticism, and branded arms. True, he had worked out his Kermit mystery but that was as much by Savannah's lack of skill at lying as Peter's newly acquired mental sensitivities.
"All work and no play make a Shaolin a dull boy." Lo Si rose slowly and reached for the phone.
"Who are you calling?" Peter sang out from his point of retreat in front of a sink of dirty dishes.
"Mrs. Po," the old man said, winking. "There are single women in need of Shaolin. Who am I to refuse them?" The Ancient's thin, delicate fingers began to dial as Peter looked on from across the room.
******
Blake had slipped into the role of shivering victim as Miguel escorted him roughly through the door of Latrodect's latest base of operations. Before connecting with Emma, Kermit had pinned the arms of the fake Dr. Rhodes with a quick plastic twist. The ruse complete, the group went in search of their employer.
"Hi, honey, we're home," Kermit entered behind an artfully terrified Blake. Flopping down into a heavy leather chair, Kermit made himself comfortable and sat back to watch Blake in action. When it came to feigning terror, Blake was the best, bar none.
"Look....p-p-please don't kill me....I'll do w-w-whatever you want," Blake whined, voice affecting an excellent fearful British tone. The trembling voice rattled clearly throughout the room as Blake shook his way to the floor.
Jesus, Blake. Make room for that Oscar why don't you, Kermit thought, laughing inside his head. Emma suddenly draped herself across Kermit's lap to watch the show. Encouraged when she wasn't rebuffed, she settled in and wrapped one arm around his shoulder, brazenly shoving her chest into his face. The contact was nauseating, infuriating. Emma Thorn was everything that was tainted and faithless, everything that wanted him to be the same. He thought about his wife, swallowed the thought and slipped a hand around the woman's Spandex draped waist.
"Just d-d-don't kill me..please....I'll do what you want..." He buried his face in his hands and sobbed as Latrodect eased from the shadows, a cool smile on his lips.
"Of course you will, Dr. Rhodes. It's so kind of you to spare me any pointless resistance." Latrodect grabbed Blake's shoulders in a friendly supportive gesture and lifted him to his feet. "No need for such a display. We're all friends here. A man of your caliber should never be on his knees." Carefully, Latrodect straightened Blake's sweater and then patted down his handiwork.
"You're not going to kill me? He...uh..didn't send you?" Blake readjusted his glasses and sucked in several relieved breaths.
"No, Doctor, Mr. Hussein has never been a cohort of mine," Latrodect said, walking over to perch on a hard metal desk. "Well...not yet, anyway. No, my business is quite original. I believe you'll find the work effortless for a man of your skills. All you must do is complete another scientist's......project."
"What project? What happened to the other scientist?" Blake had dropped his panic back a notch.
Latrodect walked back to his new colleague and wrapped an arm around his shoulders and began to move him toward the exit. "Oh, our last guest has gone on to that great laboratory in the sky. I'm sure you won't be leaving us in the lurch, will you Doctor?"
"No...n-no, Mister...?"
"Latrodect, Dr. Rhodes. That's what all my friends call me." Opening the door and shoving Blake through, he added, "And I know we're going to be great friends."
The door snapped shut behind the pair, leaving Blake on his own. Kermit had faith in Blake's ability to fake his way through...temporarily.
"Oh, Mr. Rodriguez," Emma called to Miguel, who was lounging in the corner, "would you please plant your manly self over by the lab doorway and keep watch?" Command given, she gave Kermit a warm kiss on the cheek. "Mr. Griffin and I have some business to take care of during our down time."
Miguel stomped his way to the door and became a muscular barrier. Arms folded, he stared sternly as Emma took Kermit by the hand and the pair made their exit.
*****
Shadows were beginning to lengthen in the late afternoon at the Blaisdell home. Annie and Kat were outside on the deck, leaving an increasingly anxious woman to pace through her thoughts. Savannah prowled the living room with doubts and angry memories snapping at her every step.
It's in the past. You know that.
The pleasant, cooperative face she had donned for her husband's comfort had long since melted away. She snatched a heavy book from the oak shelves against the wall. Distraction. Still stalking over the carpeting, she tried to bury herself in the words. Over and over she read the same line until the words began to blur into another hated name.
Emma. Emma. Emma.
She hated her. It was a pure and unadulterated hatred. Hatred not spoiled with guilt or caution. She hated her without reservation, without shame. She hated her with a hair-pulling frenzy that was at once satisfying and horrifying.
Slinky trashy whore.
Seeing the woman had inflamed what was once a passing uncomfortable knowledge into a living, breathing, growling beast now residing in Savannah Griffin's insides. That beast continued to repeat the name over and over.
Emma. Emma. Emma.
The book landed on the floor and echoed rage through the room. The details were part of ancient history for Kermit and for Savannah.
Water under the bridge. Dirty water.
The facts had been laid out long ago in Kermit's unending search of clear air between them. Kermit wanted her to have the truth.
The whole truth. Nothin' but the stinkin' truth.
Yes, Kermit had known Emma was up to something from the start.
At least, that's what he said. He hadn't been seduced. He said that.
Yes, he had been grieving over losing Savannah, over sending her away.
Grief stricken. Yeah, but still able to...
Yes, he'd gone undercover to uncover her motives and that was it.
And...yes...he slept with her.
Her pacing resumed. Savannah walked an agitated trail around the room, hands idly pounding the furniture as she passed. Seeing the woman in the flesh had brought out a fury unmatched. Before, she was only a name--that "Emma," from ancient history who could never take her place or be anything more to Kermit Griffin than a case or a means to an enemy. Now, she was a woman. Flesh and blood. Beautiful. Taunting. Hateful and hated. He'd touched her, done intimate things with her. The same things that he did with...
Stop it!
Barring the door on those vile imaginings, Savannah planted herself on a padded window seat and pulled back the drapes. Outside, all was calm and peaceful. Annie's front lawn lay smooth and trimmed with roses beginning to open in her flower beds. She forced herself to breathe slowly, calmly.
Focus, dammit.
Concentrating all her energy on the flowers, she eased away from the anger pounding dents into her heart. The soft pinks and yellows drew her toward calm. All those hours with Caine had proven useful. She was beginning to feel better. The day was winding down. Kermit would do his work, then they would pick up where they left off. She could put this away, would put this away.
She closed her eyes, remembered the last time she had touched him. The hotel hadn't mattered, the circumstances hadn't mattered. Kermit was there for her, with her. The heat was still there if she shifted her senses to flesh. The two hours with him had moved to quickly. Sex and love couldn't slow down the clock.
Duty calls.
Doubt began to purr deep inside Savannah's chest. In her haste to be super-wife, she had sailed past the serious burden of Kermit's commitment to bringing down Latrodect. How far would he go?
If it's life or death? How far?
That smug siren's face inserted itself once again. She knew what Emma wanted.
What she had before, dammit.
Rage banished any hope of serenity as Savannah's stomach began to twist into a wrangled knot.
A ringing telephone broke the individual tension. Savannah turned toward the hall as Annie made a quick dash for the phone.
"Blaisdell residence," Annie said smoothly as she quickly pulled off her earring before snuggling the receiver up to her ear.
Savannah looked away...then abruptly back as Annie addressed the caller.
"Hello, Karen. How are you?"
Karen Simms. Oh shit. Tears don't work no kryptonite magic on her.
If she had to face Karen Simms, she wouldn't be able to keep it up. Peter had probably figured it out already. He had a different look in his eyes when he dropped her at Annie's place than when he'd given her the third degree. No, she couldn't keep it up. Lying was simply too hard.
"No, Karen, she's not here. I think she may have gone home to Memphis with the baby." Annie Blaisdell lied with the cool ease of a professional. "She doesn't know a thing and she's very upset." She twisted the curly telephone cord with one hand. "I'm sorry but I don't have the number. If she calls, would you like for me to have her call you? Sure, be glad to, Karen. Good-bye."
Savannah watched in stunned silence as Annie hung up the phone and entered the room.
"Karen went to your place looking for you or Kermit."
"OH my God. Thank you for handling that. I would have been busted for sure." Going limp, she stretched out across the sofa and tried to quiet her heart. "She's a good friend to be so worried. I feel like a complete jerk, Annie."
"Don't. Lie if you have to. Hide if you have to." Annie sat down on the heavy carpeting beside her young friend. Her voice hardened, chiseling out her words. "You do whatever you have to do to protect your husband and your family. Everyone else will get over it when the job's done."
"Will they?" She asked the question to the ceiling, and heard Emma Thorn's disgusting voice giggling.
"You mean, will YOU get over it, right?" Annie reached upward to pat Savannah's hand. "And the answer is--if you want to, you will. You'll get over it and forget it and not ask things you don't want answers to, girlie."
"So I keep my mouth shut when he comes home?"
"Don't ask. Don't tell, sweetie. It's the rule."
"Well, nobody gave me a copy of the damn rule book." Eyes closed, Savannah reached out to grasp her hand and squeeze the support from Annie's long fingers. "Thank you. You're the only one who could understand."
"That's right. I do. I wish I didn't, but I do."
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