Categories > TV > WWE > Flames In The Wind
She’d been dead asleep when she heard another tapping at the window in the living room. She lay still, listening as her window opened, and two more sets of footsteps entered.
“Where’s the girl?”
That voice had to belong to Tyler. He had a kind voice, but one that said he smoked way too much for his own good. It reminded Rena of the woman who played Fran Drescher’s “Yetta” on “The Nanny”.
“Rena’s sleeping, she finally got calmed down enough to sleep. How’s the perimeter?”
She had to strain to hear Jon—he was being deliberately quiet to keep from waking her, she realized—as he asked continued to pepper his partners with questions.
“We’re good for now, sun’s coming up. She got another place to stay?”
Leaki—Rome, as Tyler had called him—of the deep voice and quiet strength. He seemed the type who didn’t need to brag about how good he was in a fight, not when his actions could do the talking for him.
“No. Just her and Duke—who would appreciate it, I think, if you moved more towards the kitchen than the hall—so I’m going to be stopping by in the evenings to keep an eye on them.”
“Jon, is it a good idea for you to get attached to her?”
“I’ve been attached to her since the day she knocked me down at the door of the library. She’s a sweet girl, focused and guarded, and nobody to look after her. I can’t step away from this, not when I know what’s going to happen if they get a shot.”
“And it’s going to destroy you if it happens anyway. Do you remember what you were like when we found you in Cincinnati? Years after Leila’s death, you were a mess.”
“Roman, I’ll be fine.”
“I really think Rome and I should take a more active role in this, you’re getting too close for your own good.”
“Why are you both coming at me like this? Goddamn it, I can handle it!”
At this, Rena emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes and pretending to be groggy.
“What’s going on?”
“They’ve backed off, for tonight. For how long, though, we don’t know. Jon, remember what we said, and we’ll see you later tonight. Rena, please stay safe,” Tyler replied, as he ducked expertly out the window.
“At the very least, Jon, you owe her the truth. About everything,” Leaki stated, giving his partner a pointed glare. “You should go back to sleep if you can, Rena. You’re safe now, we’ll make sure of that.”
“Roman, you fucking prick—Goddamn it!”
Leaki had ducked out the window, disappearing almost immediately after doing so.
“Why do you call him Roman if his name is Leaki?”
“That was his wife’s nickname for him, she compared him to a roman god, because of the muscles.”
“And what did he want you to tell me about?”
“They think I’m getting too close to you. They’re worried I’m gonna go off the rails again, if something happens to you.”
Jon was pacing angrily now, his foot twitching as he resisted the urge to kick something, as he realized that none of the property here was his.
“May I ask who Leila is?”
Jon paused, his shoulders stiffening; seconds later, he sighed, almost deflating as he sat down on her sofa.
“Who Leila was, you mean. Leila was my little cousin, she was murdered by the same people we’re after right now. They’re the same people who murdered Leaki’s wife, and Tyler’s mother—and don’t tell them I told you about that—not my story to tell.”
“So that’s how you know they’ll be back,” Rena stated, careful to keep her tone calm as she slowly took a seat next to her hero.
“Yeah, they do this, it’s their thing. I’m surprised they haven’t been here sooner, to be honest with you. We’ve been tracking them since they left Chicago. Rome hooked up with Tyler after he tracked them to Davenport—they didn’t stay there long, too small a town for their liking—and they found me strung out and hungover in Cincy, after they killed Leila,” Jon explained. “We ran them out together, after they got my ass straightened out. We’ve thinned out their numbers, but they’ll start recruiting the local scum here, now that they know the police department couldn’t give a flying fuck about the people.”
“Be honest with me. Did we meet before last night?”
“Yes.”
Jon looked sheepish as he admitted this, his cheeks turning slightly pink.
“You were on your way into the library, you were in a hurry. You had a cup of coffee in your hand, and that same overfilled backpack slung over your shoulder, and a thicker sweater. You were so overwhelmed with midterms—I think that’s what you told me after—that you bumped into me, and I dropped the stack of papers I’d been looking through for signs of the handiwork of these assholes. You were so cute when you apologized, too. Not surprised you don’t remember though, like I said, you were in a hurry and you were talking about midterms.”
“Yeah, my grades weren’t that great, I needed to do stellar on the midterms to pass. I’m graduating in three weeks, that’s why I was hitting the books so hard tonight,” Rena explained, yawning her way through the last half of her sentence.
“Alright, darlin’, time for you to go back to bed, you had one hell of a night last night. You should take today off, if you can. Make some of that French pressed coffee you like and study at home, where the big man can keep an eye on you. I’ll drop by later to check on you, okay?”
“That’s a pretty cross.”
Rena was easily distracted by shiny things when sleepy; especially when said shiny things were on the bare chest of a good looking guy who’d saved her life. Jon’s fingers brushed across the jeweled pendant, and he smiled sadly.
“Thanks. It was Leila’s, I gave it to her when she was six. I had to save up to buy it, but she loved sparkly things. I got it back after, since I was her legal guardian at the time. It’s all I have left of her that wasn’t tainted.”
“Aren’t you afraid of losing it?”
“Terrified, you have no idea. Hey, would you mind keeping it safe for me?”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t—”
“It’s not like I’m never gonna see you again, I’ll be back in a few hours. Plus, it’ll look better on you than it does on me, and I won’t be in danger of losing it while I’m protecting the fine, upstanding citizens of Detroit; what few there are, that is. Please?”
Jon looked at her pitifully as he asked this, and Rena found herself unable to deny him.
“Alright, I’ll take care of it for you, but only because you twisted my arm about it,” she agreed, as the necklace was draped over her head.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Slide the deadbolt after I leave, and keep the window locked with the curtains closed. Promise me you won’t let anyone else in but me.”
“I promise, Dad. You could stand to get some sleep yourself.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Couple shots of espresso, and some crossfit, and I’ll be good as new,” Jon retorted, as he exited the apartment, using her front door for once.
Rena slid the deadbolt, as she’d promised, before leaning back against the door and glancing down at the pendant he’d given her. Duke took a seat next to her bare feet, licking her right ankle as he did so.
“Is that your way of saying you approve, grouchass?”
The shepherd stood, pressing his cold nose to her thigh in response, sending his mother a smug look as she shrieked.
“Alright already, Duke, yeesh! Let Momma get dressed and we’ll take a walk so you can poo. And flirt with that pretty lady shep we met a few days ago at Starbucks.”
“Where’s the girl?”
That voice had to belong to Tyler. He had a kind voice, but one that said he smoked way too much for his own good. It reminded Rena of the woman who played Fran Drescher’s “Yetta” on “The Nanny”.
“Rena’s sleeping, she finally got calmed down enough to sleep. How’s the perimeter?”
She had to strain to hear Jon—he was being deliberately quiet to keep from waking her, she realized—as he asked continued to pepper his partners with questions.
“We’re good for now, sun’s coming up. She got another place to stay?”
Leaki—Rome, as Tyler had called him—of the deep voice and quiet strength. He seemed the type who didn’t need to brag about how good he was in a fight, not when his actions could do the talking for him.
“No. Just her and Duke—who would appreciate it, I think, if you moved more towards the kitchen than the hall—so I’m going to be stopping by in the evenings to keep an eye on them.”
“Jon, is it a good idea for you to get attached to her?”
“I’ve been attached to her since the day she knocked me down at the door of the library. She’s a sweet girl, focused and guarded, and nobody to look after her. I can’t step away from this, not when I know what’s going to happen if they get a shot.”
“And it’s going to destroy you if it happens anyway. Do you remember what you were like when we found you in Cincinnati? Years after Leila’s death, you were a mess.”
“Roman, I’ll be fine.”
“I really think Rome and I should take a more active role in this, you’re getting too close for your own good.”
“Why are you both coming at me like this? Goddamn it, I can handle it!”
At this, Rena emerged from her bedroom, rubbing her eyes and pretending to be groggy.
“What’s going on?”
“They’ve backed off, for tonight. For how long, though, we don’t know. Jon, remember what we said, and we’ll see you later tonight. Rena, please stay safe,” Tyler replied, as he ducked expertly out the window.
“At the very least, Jon, you owe her the truth. About everything,” Leaki stated, giving his partner a pointed glare. “You should go back to sleep if you can, Rena. You’re safe now, we’ll make sure of that.”
“Roman, you fucking prick—Goddamn it!”
Leaki had ducked out the window, disappearing almost immediately after doing so.
“Why do you call him Roman if his name is Leaki?”
“That was his wife’s nickname for him, she compared him to a roman god, because of the muscles.”
“And what did he want you to tell me about?”
“They think I’m getting too close to you. They’re worried I’m gonna go off the rails again, if something happens to you.”
Jon was pacing angrily now, his foot twitching as he resisted the urge to kick something, as he realized that none of the property here was his.
“May I ask who Leila is?”
Jon paused, his shoulders stiffening; seconds later, he sighed, almost deflating as he sat down on her sofa.
“Who Leila was, you mean. Leila was my little cousin, she was murdered by the same people we’re after right now. They’re the same people who murdered Leaki’s wife, and Tyler’s mother—and don’t tell them I told you about that—not my story to tell.”
“So that’s how you know they’ll be back,” Rena stated, careful to keep her tone calm as she slowly took a seat next to her hero.
“Yeah, they do this, it’s their thing. I’m surprised they haven’t been here sooner, to be honest with you. We’ve been tracking them since they left Chicago. Rome hooked up with Tyler after he tracked them to Davenport—they didn’t stay there long, too small a town for their liking—and they found me strung out and hungover in Cincy, after they killed Leila,” Jon explained. “We ran them out together, after they got my ass straightened out. We’ve thinned out their numbers, but they’ll start recruiting the local scum here, now that they know the police department couldn’t give a flying fuck about the people.”
“Be honest with me. Did we meet before last night?”
“Yes.”
Jon looked sheepish as he admitted this, his cheeks turning slightly pink.
“You were on your way into the library, you were in a hurry. You had a cup of coffee in your hand, and that same overfilled backpack slung over your shoulder, and a thicker sweater. You were so overwhelmed with midterms—I think that’s what you told me after—that you bumped into me, and I dropped the stack of papers I’d been looking through for signs of the handiwork of these assholes. You were so cute when you apologized, too. Not surprised you don’t remember though, like I said, you were in a hurry and you were talking about midterms.”
“Yeah, my grades weren’t that great, I needed to do stellar on the midterms to pass. I’m graduating in three weeks, that’s why I was hitting the books so hard tonight,” Rena explained, yawning her way through the last half of her sentence.
“Alright, darlin’, time for you to go back to bed, you had one hell of a night last night. You should take today off, if you can. Make some of that French pressed coffee you like and study at home, where the big man can keep an eye on you. I’ll drop by later to check on you, okay?”
“That’s a pretty cross.”
Rena was easily distracted by shiny things when sleepy; especially when said shiny things were on the bare chest of a good looking guy who’d saved her life. Jon’s fingers brushed across the jeweled pendant, and he smiled sadly.
“Thanks. It was Leila’s, I gave it to her when she was six. I had to save up to buy it, but she loved sparkly things. I got it back after, since I was her legal guardian at the time. It’s all I have left of her that wasn’t tainted.”
“Aren’t you afraid of losing it?”
“Terrified, you have no idea. Hey, would you mind keeping it safe for me?”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t—”
“It’s not like I’m never gonna see you again, I’ll be back in a few hours. Plus, it’ll look better on you than it does on me, and I won’t be in danger of losing it while I’m protecting the fine, upstanding citizens of Detroit; what few there are, that is. Please?”
Jon looked at her pitifully as he asked this, and Rena found herself unable to deny him.
“Alright, I’ll take care of it for you, but only because you twisted my arm about it,” she agreed, as the necklace was draped over her head.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Slide the deadbolt after I leave, and keep the window locked with the curtains closed. Promise me you won’t let anyone else in but me.”
“I promise, Dad. You could stand to get some sleep yourself.”
“Nah, I’ll be fine. Couple shots of espresso, and some crossfit, and I’ll be good as new,” Jon retorted, as he exited the apartment, using her front door for once.
Rena slid the deadbolt, as she’d promised, before leaning back against the door and glancing down at the pendant he’d given her. Duke took a seat next to her bare feet, licking her right ankle as he did so.
“Is that your way of saying you approve, grouchass?”
The shepherd stood, pressing his cold nose to her thigh in response, sending his mother a smug look as she shrieked.
“Alright already, Duke, yeesh! Let Momma get dressed and we’ll take a walk so you can poo. And flirt with that pretty lady shep we met a few days ago at Starbucks.”
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