Tomorrow, Dante Comes In Clutch
"Hi, is this a good time to talk?" Tomorrow asked, just waking from her nap. She needed a friendly voice to fill her broken heart.
Dante was the first person she thought of. Those beautiful blue eyes called to her. Hearing Teletubbies in the background made her smile. It is good to know some things don't change. Hearing him take a deep breath, she thought he was going to hang up. She wouldn't blame him; their last conversation was rather cruel on her part. She told him to forget about her and get on with his life.
"Sure, Mandy is about to crash for a nap. What's up, did you and your fiancée break up?" Dante asked, feeling like the fallback guy.
A scream whelmed up in her throat, but she held it back. "No," she squeaked out. "We got married, but he was shot before I could even get my kiss."
"What! That damn Chicago. I have been so worried about you there. Is he OK?"
"No... he died," she couldn't believe she was able to say it out loud. She actually said the words she didn't want to believe.
"OH! Tomorrow I'm so sorry," he said and listened to her fall apart. As her tears eventually subsided, he asked, "what happened."
He hated she was getting married but would have never done anything to hurt her. He hadn't even wished the man ill will for stealing away his woman.
"We were standing in front of the preacher, and he pronounced us man and wife and told him to kiss his bride as he leaned in to kiss me. I saw fear in his eyes, and he twisted me around and I heard a bang and felt him pull me to him. The bullet went through him into me, but it just barely went into me. He died right there," she said and fell back into tears.
Dante didn't know what to do, she was a thousand miles away. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. Do you need me to do something for you?"
"No, I just wanted to talk to you. I miss you and almost didn't go through with the wedding, but he won me over. I should have walked away, and he would still be alive. Now what do I do?" She asked, trying to control the pain trying to crawl out of her mouth.
"Come back and live with me," Dante asked with pleading in his voice.
"I can't, people still want to kill me. I can't even open my curtains in my room. The FBI is all over the place and they are there in Angleton trying to figure out what is going on. How did you know I was getting married?" She whined.
"I called after they found Billy dead and your man answered your phone. He wouldn't tell me much, but he did say you were engaged. You know, staking his claim on you."
"Yeah, he was good at that. He was crazy about me. I can't believe this happened. Now I'm waiting to find out where they are going to take me. Whomever hired that man to shoot me has to know he missed me. It was in the papers."
"The scuttlebutt here is that they were a group funding ISIS and had been sending drug money through LeMoine to a training camp just south of the border, near Reynosa," Dante told her.
"Where did you hear that?" She asked because this sounds crazy.
"The local Mc Donalds. I go there on Saturday mornings. Groups of weekend fathers meet up there and we talk about the world, our kids, and our 'damn exes'. Our kids play on the indoor playground. The kids have a ball, and I don't have to worry about Mandy, the older girls fawn all over my little cutie. One guy seems to know an awful lot about this case. Of course, I didn't tell him I knew you, he would have probably shut up. I just complained about rich people, and they all agreed. However, he claims the drug money got them in trouble.
"He said the cartel leader told LeMoine he would guarantee him a win in the Senate if he would help move the money. Some Congressman from Houston a black woman, something Johnson is involved, that is how she is reelected every time. Drug money helps her even when she is basically useless. At least that is what he was told. The old lady LeMoine has a big mouth and confides in him as he makes his pickups. She hated what they were doing and spent every penny on crap according to him."
"I've seen that Johnson woman at the fundraisers, she is a bitch," Tomorrow offered. "Why would she want to help a terrorist group? Sure, the money sounds good, but if you get caught, you are done."
"Yes, that is true, but the money is the draw. That's what Paul said. He claims this goes all the way to the top of the government."
"Why did he indicate he worked for them?" She asked.
"He says he drives to the valley all the time and I assumed he did it for the money. He has too much intimate knowledge of the group to not. It seems to me he feels stuck dealing with these people." Dante offered. "You know, take a job offer and now you're screwed."
"How did you start going to the Mc Donalds meetup?" Tomorrow asked to keep him talking she needed to find David as she got up and went to the living area of the suite. Not finding him, she broadened her search.
"Boredom, my social security check came in, so we had plenty of money and the Mc Donalds is only up the block. So, I sat Mandy on my lap, we rolled up there, and to my surprise the place was full of fathers, so I joined them. They are all talkers, complainers and braggarts, so I got along just fine. I can complain with the best of them," he offered, and she could hear his smile.
"Dante, I need you to talk to this FBI guy that is here and tell him what you told me." She said, signaling David to come to her as he stepped off the elevator. "Until this is solved, I have to hide from the people that are trying to kill me." Tomorrow told him and she hoped his information could help.
"Sure, if I can help. You know I just want you happy. How are you feeling?" Dante asked sweetly.
"Overwhelmed right now, I'm in a little pain, hopefully nothing a few Advil won't fix, but it is the reality that he is gone that hurts the most."
"I'm sure it does. I'm so sorry for your loss. So, once you're free of all this what happens to you?"
"I'm not sure. I actually lied to you." She waited for that to soak in as David sat beside her. "I'm in the Virgin Islands. I came here to help Lucas, the man I married, launch a hotel he owned. I made the brochures for the travel agencies and helped make the web site. We had a great start during the Christmas break. It is a singles hotel, and we were packed with businesspeople looking to relax for the holidays."
"Sounds good to me. My Christmas was good but keeping Mandy out of the presents was a battle, but we made it."
"Ah, I wished I could have been there."
"Me too, but it sounds like it was right for you to run from here."
"It was, it could have been you or Mandy to be killed. Seven women were killed in Chicago, women who looked just like me died. So, someone told the wrong person I went to Chicago. I was right to keep my location quiet. Our marriage license is what gave away my location. So, someone in the government had to have been looking everywhere for me."
"Well, Paul, the man I told you about won't be back until next weekend. It is a different crew each weekend; but it gives us something to do. I'm doing better with my walking. I told my therapist I was looking for a house with Handi-cap fittings and he told me not to do that. He says I will be up and walking on my own just fine in three months at the rate I'm going."
"I'm so proud of you. I knew you could work past your injury. I can only work for about five hours and I'm going down soon after. Lucas had to pick me up a few times when I couldn't make it to my apartment in time."
"So, you're on a Caribbean island, what is it like?"
"Beautiful it is raining right now, but it is beautiful anyways. The hotel is on the beach on the ocean side. The water is cooler in the winters, but we also get a good cool wind off the ocean during the summer. When you look out the balcony the white beach and light blue water draws your eye and then the dark blue ocean beyond is the deep part. You can see dolphins' jumping often, it is quite beautiful. We have room for six to eight hundred people at a time here."
"Wow, that's a good size hotel," Dante said impressed at the size, "you must be making a ton of money,"
"Yes, we aren't doing badly. Let me get Agent Comorian and have him talk to you before my phone goes dead," Tomorrow suggested because this conversation was over.
"Yeah sure, but I want to talk to you later."
"Good call me this evening after the munchkin goes to bed." Tomorrow said and he looked over and Mandy was sleeping half on the couch, feet dangling on the floor. Rolling over, he put her on the couch. She handed the phone to David.
"Agent Comorian with the FBI here. Tomorrow tells me you may have a connection to our case." David said with such authority Tomorrow was concerned Dante may feel intimidated.
She sat on the couch and listened as David wrote the information.
"And could you give me the location of the Mac Donald's?
Ok, Velasco and the side street Cannon good and his name is Paul, could you give me a description. Six-two, two-thirty Brown hair, brown eyes white man," David said and looked at Tomorrow wondering where she stumbled on this information and who this man was.
"He just gave up all this information.
I know all kinds of people.
Get himself killed kind of guy.
So next week he will be back.
And you do know how to keep your mouth shut right?" David asked not too pleasantly.
"Ok good I will let the other Agents know this information. You're the only one in a wheelchair.
Ok, that should be easy.
No, sir any and all help is appreciated, and we will protect your identity.
We appreciate the help."
He passed the phone back to Tomorrow pulling his phone out of his pocket. They had a week to put out surveillance together on this guy.
When he came back from passing on the information he asked, "OK, Tomorrow how do you know this guy?" David asked, amazed how she could find out all this information with one phone call.
Tomorrow told him about the rehab and their friendship, leaving out the incredible sex and his pretty eyes. To the world, he was her friend.
"I wanted to speak to a friendly voice," she told him as he looked at her.
"Can I have a hug," she sadly asked.
Scooping her up in his arms, he sat on the couch and held her as she cried. "I can't believe he is gone. We had our lives all planned out and now what do I do."
"I still have a basement if you want it?" David offered.
Feeling her elbow nudge his ribs, he hugged her tighter. "I'm sorry Tomorrow I came for you as fast as I could."
"Oh David, I don't blame you. This is all one crazy mess," Tomorrow felt uneasy sitting in his lap. No, he was not getting aroused, but she didn't feel anything for him besides appreciation for his diligence in making sure she was Ok. She just hoped he was not attaching himself to her for a romantic connection. Feeling nothing as he held her, she knew he was not the man for her. So far, she has felt it twice she wondered if she would ever find another man who could shoot desire to her core as Lucas did.
Dante, she could have him back in her life, but what could he bring to her life besides sex. Compared to Lucas he had nothing on him. She had a hotel to run, at some point he would need to bring something to the party. He had no education and a quick temper. She had already noticed that he had a jealous streak that wouldn't work in a singles hotel atmosphere. That had been her job to a point to be friendly, flirtatious and make sure the guests were happy. Lucas knew it would go no further. Dante would be looking for a fight at every turn. Even at Wal-Mart, he glared at men who looked at her too long. Nope, she was alone again.