The Last 24 Hours Ch. 12

Beths' back bowed and her head and shoulders were all that touched the bed. I held onto her to keep her from throwing herself off the bed and hurting herself. I made sure the vibrator stayed in her ass and enjoyed the shared sensations Beth and I were having. She began to buck on and off my cock. As she did, I sawed the vibrator in and out of her tight ass, sending her back to the land of orgasmic bliss.

I don't know how long I could have kept her there, for as the biggest wave yet, hit her, it spilled me over into coital bliss with her. I had never felt ecstasy like that before and sincerely hoped I could find it again with Beth. This was the most intense experience of my, admittedly limited, sexual life. I braced my hands and gently rolled us onto our sides and looked at Beth. I gently removed the vibrator and shut it off.

She had collapsed and was struggling to control her breathing. I looked into her eyes and stroked her face. I loved looking at her. The flush suffusing her body was exquisite. She was exquisite. She was my love and my sense of accomplishment was truly amazing. She smiled at me and said in a mock serious tone, "If you EVER do that to me again, I'll fuck your brains out!" She burst into laughter. "Oh that felt so good. What gave you the idea to use my vibrator on me like that?"

"You like to have your ass played with. You loved it when I fucked your ass. I thought that you would like this. If you had said stop I would have." A thought suddenly occurred to me and fear swept my soul, "I didn't hurt you did I? Oh My God, Beth I'm sor..." I tried to sit up and pull away from her. I thought I was going to be ill at the thought I had hurt her.

She grabbed me by the hair, pulled me to her face, and kissed me. She kissed me and all was right with the world. "You did not hurt me, silly man. I loved every minute of what you did to me. Although if you had teased me much longer I might have raped you, I was so turned on! In case you're wondering you have my permission to make me feel that good anytime you would like to." With that, she wrapped me in her arms and kissed me again.

We did a quick clean up and then went to bed. (Yes to sleep this time!) We curled up and she pushed me over onto my back. She pulled the covers over us and I turned out the lights. She looked into my eyes and said, "I love you Alex. Tomorrow we plan our vacation and then we get to plan our wedding." With that, she lay her head on my chest hugging me tight as if I would leave her (FAT CHANCE!) and after a few minutes she was asleep. I stroked her glorious hair and marveled again at the mystery that was Beth. That my life would end with her loss, and that I would do anything to protect that life, with her, were my last thoughts before sleep claimed me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun streaming through the windows woke me. Beth was still asleep as the ray of light hitting my face had not yet found hers. I brought my hand up and stroked her face. I wondered at how beautiful she looked in slumber. I looked over at the clock and got a surprise. It was nearly ten o'clock. I knew I had set the alarm for eight. Something was wrong. I heard a noise and looked towards the bathroom to see Josh coming into the room carrying our bags. He sat mine on the edge of the bed and put his finger to his lips. He nodded at the bedroom door and lay a polo shirt and cargo shorts on the bed for me. He tapped his watch and then exited the room.

I slid out from under Beth carefully so as not to wake her. Josh had left her bag and a note sitting next to it on the bed. I took the clothes into the bath and took a quick shower. I did my grooming, teeth, shave, and combed my hair, that sort of thing. I went back into the bedroom to see Beth frowning at me. "You didn't wake me up! I wanted to play before we left and you've already showered!" Her lower lip stuck out in a delicious pout.

I thought and said, "My God you look cute when you pout."

I leaned over and said, "I had planned to play too, but your brother is waiting in the outer room for me. Something must be up because he has already packed us up and got us ready to go. He left a note for you on your bag." I indicated the offending article. "Get dressed and I'll go see what's got his knickers in a twist." I left the room as Beth threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed.

~~~~~~~~

Josh stood at the bar and asked, "Is she awake yet."

I nodded and said, "Ok Josh what's going on? Why the hell are you here and packing us out like unwanted in-laws? I'll pay for the extra day if we miss check out for Pete's sake." I hoped my smile gave the lie to my words.

He looked haggard when I actually looked at him. "There was an attempt on Lisa's life last night." The statement caught me flat.

"Is she OK? What about the girls? Are they alright?" I was quickly building up to a panic attack.

"You're joking! This isn't funny Josh!" Beth had come into the room without us noticing. She had changed into a paisley summer dress that looked spectacular on her.

Josh looked at her and said, "It's no joke. Lisa took a deal to give evidence about Jacquie, Heather, and the rest. The police put her into protective custody. At around four-thirty, this morning someone fire bombed the safe house where they were holding her. As they exited the burning building two detectives were shot and a third wounded. One perp got away and two died at the scene. It was a paid hit, no question."

"They also firebombed your apartment, Alex, but no one was there. Harvey called the police and the fire department and gave a plate number and description to the cops. They have two men in custody for that one."

I had a thought and it left me cold, "Josh, where are the girls? Are they Ok? If they missed us they'll go after the girls..."

Josh smiled, "The girls are ok. I have moved them and Lisa's parents, and only Granger at the DA's office knows where, I told her that if anyone else but her was given their location I'd move them again and she'd never find them." He would too, the arrogant prick! "Lisa is in federal hands as we speak. The U.S Marshall's are going to guard her until the trial."

Beth said, "What about Alex? Is he still in danger?" Speaking those words let me hear the strain in her voice. I took her in my arms.

I looked at him and said, "Well, what about it?"

Josh came back with a question out of left field, "First things first Alex, when did you get your car low jacked?"

"Low j...? What the hell are you talking about? I don't have a low jack on my car!" I was as confused as possible.

Josh said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, you do. They found it while doing the repair on the fender. The unit was hidden in the fender well. In fact, according to the company that monitors it, you've been a client for more than a year. They allow online tracking by the customer. You can sit at home and access their system from any PC and know to within three meters of where that car is located." Someone had been tracking me for more than a year. The thought left me cold. At that moment I knew, I needed help.

I knew just who to call too. Rudy Dantzinger ran Dantzinger Protective Services, also known as the Dantzinger Agency. They were one of the worlds top personal security companies. They also took a pro-active approach to protecting the client. If the threat is real, eliminate the source of the threat. Their fees were high but in the twelve year's I had known of them, they had never lost a client. I met them when working on a building in Jordan. My firm had been hired to design and oversee its construction. They also were my protective detail in Japan when I was there last year. We were under threat by an extremist group that opposed our building a new temple on land given for the purpose.

Beth gasped. I just stared at him for a moment. I walked over to my cell phone and looked in the directory. I found the name I wanted and hit the send key. A woman with a whiney voice answered the phone "Dantzinger Agency can I help you?"

I replied, "Rudy Dantzinger please, this is Alex Palmer and it's urgent."

The woman replied, "He's in a meeting. I'll have him call you at HIS first available opportunity." The level of condescension in her voice left no doubt that she thought that I needed to suck up to HER in order to get my call put through.

"I'm sorry, I said urgent not carefree, now tell him I'm on the line, please!" I decided that I too could be rude and obnoxious.

She gasped and said "I'll not be spoken to like that!" and she hung up.

I opened my text browser and entered the words "Applecart" and "inferno" and the address to the hotel and the suite number. I hit the send key.

Josh looked at me and asked, "What are you doing Alex? Who are you calling?"

Before I could answer, my cell rang with a number I recognized. I held up a hand for him to wait, "Hi Rudy. Long time no see."

Rudy's gravely voice came across the phone as I hit the speaker option so Josh and Beth could hear, "Cut the chit-chat and explain that message Alex. You know it's only for deep shit situations not social calls."

"As near as I can tell I'm in the deepest shit possible Rudy. I've just had my apartment firebombed, I just found out somebody has had my car low jacked for the last year and somebody killed two detectives and wounded a third trying to kill Lisa! Is that shit deep enough for you, or should I wait another hour? Or maybe I should go back to trying to kiss your secretary's ass some more so she'll tell you I'm on the fucking line instead of hanging up on me!"

"Shit! Where are you right now?" He asked all business.

"In the suite at the Hyatt Tower Two just like the text said."

"I have two men on the way to the tower lobby as we speak, I'll have another three there within the next half hour. You remember Bill Moss?"

"I remember him from Japan. He's the lanky black fellow right?" I asked

"That's him. He'll be there in about two minutes with his partner Paulee. They are two of my best." Rudy heaved a sigh. "Are the twins ok?"

"Yeah, look I've got Beth and Josh here with me and I'll let them explain what's going on. I'm going down to get Bill." As I finished speaking the room phone rang, "Speak of the devil." I said.

I picked up the phone and confirmed that it was indeed Bill and his partner. I left the suite and rode down to the lobby to meet them.

Bill Moss was about six feet tall and had a very wiry build. His expertly tailored suit hid his weapon very well. He favored medium frame automatics like the ten-millimeter Glock twenty-nine, or Browning Hi-Power nine-millimeter from what I could recall. His partner, Paulee, looked like a block of concrete. Very tough concrete. His shoulder width and his height were just about the same.

His suit was better tailored than Bill's because if he had a weapon on him I couldn't tell it. Bill put a hand on my chest and pushed me back. They stepped into the elevator instead of letting me out of it. "Sorry, but until we have a better picture of what's going on you don't show your face without our say so." At my nod, he relaxed a little. "Paulee, this is the best client you'll ever work for. He actually listens to us and pays attention to us when we give instructions. He's also damned fine back up if you need it." Paulee looked skeptical; I shook his hand.

"It's good to see you again Alex. How's the wife?"

"I don't have one at the moment, but I'm looking to change that soon. The ex, on the other hand, is responsible for this mess I'm in." I shook my head "I'll get into it with you later Ok. Let's get upstairs and I can get it done all at once." He nodded, and we rode in silence the rest of the way.

As the elevator, doors opened we heard Rudy's voice over the speakerphone, "I'll fucking kill the bitch! I'll strangle her with her own god-damned intestines!" Rudy was, in a word, pissed.

"If you are referring to Lisa I'd rather you didn't, Rudy. She is in enough trouble and I'd just as soon forget about her. Beth, Josh, and I on the other hand are another matter. What can we do to keep us safe?" I was adamant about keeping Beth and Josh safe.

"You've taken the first step Alex. I'll do this for free if you can't afford my fee or the company won..." I cut in.

"Your standard fee is a cool million right? That covers us until the threat is gone?" I asked.

Rudy confirmed, "That's right. But like I said..."

"I can afford it Rudy. Just because I don't live the lifestyle, doesn't mean I can't afford it. Give me the account numbers and I'll have the transfer taken care of while we chat. This is to cover me, the girls, Beth, and Josh you know?"

Rudy replied, "I had assumed as much when she told me you proposed to her. Is she the one you got the pretty blue robe for in Japan?"

I smiled and looked at Beth, "She's the one."

"Lady you have yourself a very fine man. You hold on to him like nobody's business, you hear? Did he tell you that while he was in Japan he held off a kidnapping attempt while protecting a wounded Kyoto policeman and Bill who had been hit in the stomach. He saved their lives and then denied he did anything special. I told him if he needed anything to call me. We WILL keep you safe. And Alex the fee is expenses only. You send any money before this is over and I'll kick your ass. You're family and we protect our own!"

His focus shifted from me to Josh, "Mr. Taylor, how badly damaged was Alex's apartment?"

"It's a total loss I'm afraid. The structure is sound but his apartment was gutted. What the fire didn't destroy, the fire department and their water hoses did. I'm sorry Alex, very little survived." His sorrow was apparent. "And the name's Josh, not Mr. Taylor." He looked around the room to ensure the others knew they were included in that statement.

I smiled at him, "Josh, it was a furnished rental. Anything I cared about is still in storage. Except for a few picture albums, which I have copies of in storage; everything that means anything to me is in a Self Store-It over on Third Avenue. The property management team provided all the furnishings. I lost my PC and clothes and that's about it."

Josh looked at me and said to Rudy, "Rudy, If Alex and Beth up and..." Bill took the phone from Josh's hand and pulled a little gizmo out of his pocket. He passed it over the phone and it gave a shill trilling sound each time. He said "Line four Bossman." And hung up my phone. He walked over to the lobby and pitched it into the foyer. After closing the door, he asked for Beth and Josh's cell phones. The device remained silent and he handed them back their phones.

He pulled out his own phone, placed a call, and put it on speakerphone. "Sorry Boss man, Alex's phone had a bug problem. The lady and Josh were clear and the sweeper is active so this phone is the only one working at the moment. Go ahead with your question Josh."

"Okay. If Alex and Beth disappeared tonight, like right now, how likely is it for them to be found quickly. If at all."

Rudy thought about it and said, "If they don't leave in their own cars and if they didn't go back to her place and IF they could do all of this without using a credit card. Then they stand a pretty good chance. Why?"

"I lined up a friends RV when I found out that they would not be able to make their plans for a European tour happen. Alex has always wanted to tour the U.S. and I thought this would give him the chance. You only plan to charge expenses, so get a company card to Alex. Only you know he's the one using it. They can buy as they go and when the job's done, then you can bill for the charges. They are mobile and nothing is in their names. Charges for fuel and things won't be looked at from your end and they can have their trip. I'll get Granger at the DA's office to go along and you can have one or two of your guys chaperone them until this mess is over."

Rudy was quiet for a few moments and finally said, "That's actually not a bad idea. Can you get the RV today?"

Josh smiled and pulled the keys from his pocket and jingled them for Rudy to hear. "It's parked at the mall down the block. I put it there last night planning to surprise you this morning. This room is in my name and once they leave here they are anonymous."

Rudy asked, "Bill? Are you and Paulee free for this? Nothing else in the works?"

Paulee shook his head no and Bill said, "Nope we're clear boss. Say the word and we are ghosts."

"Josh you show Bill the RV. Bill sweep it to be sure and then get them on the road. You have a company card on you right? Give me the numbers and I'll have it switched to Alex while you check the RV. Leave town and go to drop seven and get the emergency package there. There should be another company card for you, also there should be two new secure phones in it to give Alex and Beth, I'll get the numbers to you later, Josh."

"How about you two are you up for this?" Rudy sounded concerned.

"As long as Beth and the girls are safe I'll survive." I said.

Beth gave my hand a squeeze and said, "I always follow my heart. If he wants an RV trip we go on an RV trip."

"One last piece of advice, take nothing electronic with you. Stop at the store and buy what you need in transit. They can't plant anything on you if you take nothing with you. Paulee stay with Alex and Beth, Bill the second team is downstairs now; take one of them with you to watch the RV after you sweep it."

Everybody began to move and in less than an hour Beth and I were on our vacation, lost in America.