Knight In Black Leather by Gail Dayton (ebook reader ink .txt) 📕

"My mom laughs," she said quietly. "Thanks."

"Sure." Eli nodded, not sure how to react.

"I'm still not sure I like you." Julie opened the car door. "But Mom does, so..." She shrugged.

Marilyn managed to hug her one more time before she retreated inside the car and drove away.

"One down, three to go." Eli came up behind Marilyn and slid his hands onto her waist.

"She doesn't like you."

"She doesn't have to. As long as she doesn't hate me and doesn't hate you for liking me..." He paused and craned his neck trying to see her face. "You do like me, right? Julie said so."

"Yes." Marilyn squirmed out of his grasp. "I like you fine. Now, didn't you say something about taking a look at that light switch in Pete's bedroom?"

"Oh, now I know the truth. You just keep me around for the handyman stuff. Not that I'm complaining, mind. I don't care why you keep me around as long as you keep me. And kiss me every so often."

She dragged him down with a hand on the back of his neck and kissed him. Too quickly. "There. Does that meet your quota?"

"I don't have quotas. Just affirmative actions, and I'm always ready for more action."

Marilyn thumped the back of his head. "Go take care of the switch. We can discuss action later, and you can show me just how handy a man you are..."

Life went on, so smoothly that there were days Eli almost forgot Flash was still out there. He never forgot to take precautions, never let Pete go anywhere on his own. On occasion this led to some shouting matches with most of the shouting on Pete's side, though Eli slipped a time or two. But overall, he had relaxed his state of alert.

Marilyn didn't worry much about Flash either. They lived a long way out from where those awful things had happened, and besides, he was hiding from the police. He couldn't have the resources to track Eli down. It was smart to be careful anyway, and she didn't at all mind taking Pete to school or picking him up. She felt better when she knew exactly where he was and what he was doing, and not because of Flash.

They were becoming a family, she and Eli and Pete, and it scared her half to death. She kept watching for signs that Eli was tiring of her, that he wanted to move on. She tried not to, tried to live each day as it came, but with each day that passed, they wound themselves deeper into her heart and life. And, oh, it would hurt when it ended.

She could tell Eli was watching her too. He did more than his share of household chores, on top of repairing things around the house that had been sliding since well before Bill died. He picked up after Pete and drilled the boy in manners that Marilyn's kids had never followed. Marilyn felt as if he was trying to make sure he paid his way, trying to avoid another accusation that he only wanted free rent and child care.

She wished she'd never said those stupid words, but she couldn't take them back now. She could only do her best to make Eli and his son feel they were home.

On a Friday two weeks after Julie went back to school, snow had fallen, heavy and wet, only to melt as soon as it hit the ground. It didn't faze the daffodils and crocuses poking through the wet soil around buildings all over town, including Marilyn's house. She left the shop early to run by the supermarket before picking Pete up at school. Joey was coming to dinner and she was out of carrots for the pot roast she had planned.

She was half listening to Pete talk about the latest recess war and half thinking about how many potatoes she ought to put in with the roast as she pulled up to the light just before the railroad viaduct. Traffic was a little lighter than usual today. They'd only had to wait through two red lights to reach the intersection, and she was first in line to get under the tracks. After that, they had the light at the Y-intersection at the top of the hill, and the light to turn into the neighborhood and they'd be home.

Just as the light turned green, the door behind Pete was snatched open. Before Marilyn could react, a big man jumped in the car. He grabbed a fistful of Pete's hair, pulling his head back to expose the boy's pale neck more fully to the ugly, very sharp-looking knife he set against it.

"You don't do what I tell you, I cut the kid's throat," the man growled. "Drive."

Hands shaking so badly she could barely hold onto the steering wheel, Marilyn did what he said. "Wh-where?"

"Go straight, across the river."

Oh God, what was he going to do to them? "What do you want?"

"The kid. I always only wanted the kid."

Oh God, oh God. It was Flash. It had to be. How had he found them? Marilyn wrung her mind for something she could do, something to say that might make a difference. "I thought you wanted Eli."

"I want payback." The grin in her rearview mirror, flashing a gold tooth, made Marilyn shake. "And with Court, that means the kid." The slitted eyes in the heavy face studied her in the mirror. "And maybe you too. I ain't decided that yet."

"So the big brave man goes after women and children instead of standing up face to face with the man you want." Marilyn spoke before she thought. Stupid.

Flash's face darkened and he tightened his grip on Pete, who squeaked as the knife pricked the skin of his throat. A single bead of red trickled slowly down into the neck of Pete's white T-shirt.

Oh God, oh God. Marilyn repeated it over and over in a desperate, half-conscious prayer.

"Shut up." Flash snarled. "Shut your fucking