Charmaine

Graceona

I watched as the events unfolded around me; I watched as it threw Nicolae against in building from the impact of the head-on collision; The car drove away as I sped after it. I heard Charmaine on my radio, I retrieved it, "Charmaine, go to Sunrise Ave, tend to Nicolae I've got someone to deal with."

"Grace, what are you planning?"

"Don't worry about it, get to Sunrise, Nicolae needs you. Go to him."

I heard as Charmaine sighed, "Fine, you be careful, okay?"

"Copy that."

I set the mouthpiece back on the radio, getting the revolver from my passenger seat, driving faster, catching up with the retreating convertible, I aimed for the driver, firing as the car swerved off the road, the bullet lodged in the driver's skull. I slowed down as the convertible crashed into an abandoned business. The horn blared as I stopped and looked at the driver, a young female, with brown hair, her skin tan. The emblem on her car gave me the information I was seeking, the initials JM Enterprises, found its spot on the pink convertible. I took a quick picture, leaving the scene.

I made my way back to the location where I had left Nicolae; I got from the car running to him. Once I arrived, I knelt down to him, turning him to face me, feeling for a pulse with a sigh of relief, "Grace!" I heard Charmaine amongst the retreating crowds. She got to us as she bent down, "Is he?" tears came to the young girl's eyes.

"He's alive, barely. Help me load him into the car, Jay is behind this. We have to leave the city."

Charmaine held Nicolae's hand, tears coming from her eyes, "When is this going to stop? I'm going to lose him, I just know it," The young girl said between sobs.

I wrapped my arms around the sobbing girl, stroking her head, "Charmaine, listen to me, you will not lose him, when this mess is over you two will have that honeymoon you dreamed of. You will lose no one," I lifted her face to mine, " You know when I promise you something I come through on that promise." she looked at me tears coming from her eyes, " This madness will end, when Leonard gets here, you will see the tides turn."

"Leonard will be next, Grace."

I laughed, "Leonard and I are partners, Charmaine. We're lethal together. Let me worry about Leonard's safety, you already have your hands full with this one, now come on let's go." I let go of Charmaine standing up, helping her to her feet, as we got Nicolae helping him to the car. Once we got to the car, we put Nicolae in the back as Charmaine got in the back with him laying his head on her lap. I got into the front seat. Driving away,

"Grace, why don't you Leonard get married?"

I was silent, turning the CB radio off with a sigh, "It's complicated."

" You don't love him?"

" I do, very much. It's just complicated."

" It must bother you, he's in a relationship with someone else."

I sighed, "How is Nicolae holding up?"

I asked after hearing a faint moan, "You're changing the subject, Grace."

"Nicolae help me out, would you?"

"Nice try, Grace."

Charmaine

" You could just tell me it's none of my business, ya know."

I stroked Nicolae's jaw, "Fine, it's none of your business, Charmaine. Leonard and I have a complicated relationship, is that better?"

I sighed as I felt Nicolae stir, I looked down at him, his eyes barely open, his breathing rough, "Forget about it Charmaine, you're fighting a losing battle." The statement was weak, but I heard it, "they complicate their relationship, making it seem non-existent." I placed my finger to Nicolae's lips gently. He closed his eyes as I stroked his head.

"It is existent, dude. A simmer, but it's there." Graceona sighed, handing me cold water, I took it looking at Nicolae,

"Why does this Jay guy want you out of the picture that he would try to go as far as trying to kill you? What did you do?"

Nicolae sighed.

"Nicolae knows things on Jay McGee that, if it reaches the light, it could expose him as the lie, and snake that he is. Affair wise and business-wise, not even the mil he claims he has would get him out of the doghouse, truth is McGee is broke, his money invested in gambling debts, his only card he has to play is the McGee name, if not for that he would be just like anyone else."

"That liar, there's nothing wrong with being broke, jerk."

I heard Nicolae chuckle as he held my hand, wincing in pain. I sighed, "Being broke isn't a curse, it's fun, right Nicolae?"

Graceona laughed, "You ask Nicolae that, he wouldn't know. His business is probably why McGee wants to shut him up, Nicolae doesn't have to play the name game, his family plus his achievements he's a billionaire."

I looked at Nicolae, "So the Gucci bags were real?"

"I told you." he sighed, closing his eyes.

"Dang, dude. Please tell me my diamond in the ring is fake."

Nicolae said nothing as I sighed. "We need to get Nicolae to the hospital, Grace."

"I know, Charmaine. Where do you think I'm going?"

"The hospital was back there."

"Not this hospital, Charmaine. We need to leave the city. If we took him to any of these hospitals, we would give them the permission to put him down, McGee owns this city. If we took Nicolae here, we would sign his death certificate."

I looked at Nicolae seeing blood coming from Nicolae's mouth as I wiped it away. He opened his eyes looking at me, "I'm sorry." He breathed before unconsciousness took him from me again.

I sighed feeling the tears come back as I wiped them away placing a kiss on Nicolae's forehead.

"Grace, I want you to teach me how to fight so I can defend myself and help Nicolae with whatever he's fighting, I don't enjoy seeing him like this, I don't want to lose him and feel like I didn't help him."

Graceona was silent for a moment before she sighed, "You want to help him? You learning to fight won't be the way to help him, you would only cause him to worry about you more than the task at hand, if that happened you would lose him."

I sighed, "How can I help you guys, all I know is how to play nurse, that's nothing important."

"Your job is important, Charmaine. What are fighters without the doctors and nurses on their side, Nicolae has often bragged about your nursing towards him, he seems content with you being the healer. Maybe you should be too, no one is good at everything."

I looked at Nicolae, "He brags about my medical degree?"

She laughed, "He never stops, he says that New York was crazy for letting you go, he fell in love with you because you're so sweet to him. He can get into some crazy situations, but he always tells us, I got a wonderful nurse at home who can fix it up. He refers to you as his Mrs.Fix it upper."

I smiled, "Do you have anything in here I could use to clean him up and bandage him up with."

"It took you long enough," she laughed pulling over on the side of the road getting from the driver's seat opening the trunk, "It's too big to move, you must do it here, we're far enough away from the city. There is a spring across that gate, I can get the water."

I looked at her getting from the car as she handed me a stack of white towels as I lay Nicolae's head on the towels and started the task at hand.