Her first real test came about three days after she joined the crew. Every morning, Meredith held a staff meeting before the guys woke up so that she could cover that day’s schedule. The six of them sat around and discussed the logistics of each event and talked about possible scenarios and how they would handle certain events if the situation arose.
That afternoon, each of the men would be sent to a different interview. Meredith motioned for Lumien to wait a moment after everyone else left.
“You gonna be okay with this?” She looked at her newest employee.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” Her voice was steady and calm, never betraying the nervousness she felt.
“Extra guards will be there, too. So don’t hesitate to shout if you need help.” The older woman smiled as she picked up her planner.
“No problem, boss.” Lumien smiled and headed for Howie’s room to get him up for his morning workout.
***Backstreet Boys***
Lumien stood in the control room, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Howie chat with the DJ and with fans on the phone. When he finished, he shook hands with the DJ and the producer then walked over to her.
“Ready?” He smiled.
“Let’s rock.” She opened the door and accompanied him down the hall to the back entrance.
They were making their escape before too many fans could swarm the station. A small group of five fans was waiting outside the back door, and Howie smiled and signed autographs and posed for pictures as Lumien kept a wary eye on their surroundings.
He eventually escaped from the group, and the pair headed for the car with the extra security trailing behind them. They climbed in and settled back for the ride. As they headed for the hotel, she kept noticing a black van beside them slow down and speed up, getting a little too close for comfort. The two guards up front kept driving in circles to lose the van, but they were eventually blocked into an alley.
Three large men climbed out of the van, heading for the car. The guards up front climbed out the door closest to the van. Lumien dragged Howie out of the other side.
“Run.” She pushed him in front of her, looking over her shoulder as Tony and Mike kept the three men busy.
They ran down the alley, climbing up and over a fence and disappearing into a maze of side streets that dotted the area. Finding an open door, they slipped into the building and made their way to the front. She looked around the entrance to the street, not seeing their pursuers.
Lumien reached into her pocket and pulled out a cell phone, quickly dialing a number.
[Meredith.]
“We’re compromised.” Looking down the street, she caught sight of street signs. “We’re in a building near the corner of 101st and Oak. I don’t know if the hostiles got by Mike and Tony or not.”
[Copy that. Hold for instructions.]
Lumien heard voices in the background as Meredith mobilized her available guards. She kept an eye on Howie, while keeping her ears open for anything that might indicate they had been tracked down.
[Lumien, I’m sending Jake and Waldo to your location. Hole up and wait for them.]
“Roger. If there’s resistance, I will advise of new location.”
[Copy.]
She hung up the phone and looked at the man beside her. “You doing okay?”
He shrugged. “Well, considering the circumstances, I’m great. What’s the plan?”
“We hole up here until Waldo and Jake arrive. If we have to leave, I’ll let Meredith know where we’ve gone.”
The rumble of voices told them they were going to have company soon. They crept over to an alcove and flattened themselves against the wall. Right before she moved to strike, Lumien recognized Tony.
“Glad you guys made it.”
They smiled at her, dusting themselves off. Tony pressed a part of his t-shirt to his mouth. “Reinforcements coming soon?”
“Shortly.” She looked them over to make sure a trip to the hospital wasn’t required.
The two men weren’t badly hurt, and they hustled Howie out to the car when it arrived. They slipped up through the service entrance at the hotel. Once in the main living room of the suite, Leary took a look at Mike and Tony, pronouncing them okay with just a few cuts and bruises.
“What happened?” Meredith flew into the room.
“Black van, three hostiles. They boxed us into an alley. Tony and Mike went out one door to hold them off. Howie and I headed out the other to find a safe place and contact you.” Lumien recited the facts calmly.
“We called the cops and waited for them to get there before we went to look for Lumien and D.” Mike handed Meredith a card from one of the cops who had shown up.
Meredith looked at her people and smiled before sitting down next to Howie. ‘You okay, D?”
He nodded. “Yeah, thanks to Lu and the others.”
She patted his arm as she stood. Grabbing her phone, she dialed the number on the card and asked to speak to the person in charge of the investigation. Moving to the table in the corner of the room, she carried on a low conversation, jotting down notes in her planner.
Lumien sat down next to Howie. He looked at her and smiled.
“Thank you.”
She looked at him in surprise before grinning shyly. “You’re welcome.”
***Backstreet Boys***
“Shit, what are they doing here?” Lumien rubbed her temples after she saw Howie, Kevin, Nick, and Brian walk into the bar.
She, Leary, Ramos, and Sullivan had all decided to find some quiet, smoky bar and grab a few drinks when Meredith gave them the night off. The older woman had come to trust the secondary team and decided the guys’ primary bodyguards needed a night to unwind. Marcus wanted to catch up with family, staying in his room to make phone calls. The other four, being former military, decided to get together and toss out war stories to get to know each other better. The men were surprised when Lumien said she knew a place they could go. When they arrived, they smiled at her, realizing she had been right on the money picking the bar. The small group commandeered a table in the back and were slowly making their way through a bottle of tequila and a bottle of Jack Daniels, shot glasses littering the battered surface of the table.
Now, the appearance of their charges shifted the dynamic a bit. The men standing at the entrance saw their bodyguards and slowly made their way over to the table.
“Fancy meeting y’all here.” Brian smiled at the group in front of him.
“Why did you follow us?” She just looked at him, never breaking her gaze.
“We’re not following you.” Howie’s eyes darted around the room. “We’re just here to play some pool.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right. Try again, Howie.”
Leary looked at Tony, who just shrugged.
“It was either tell them where you were, or let them wander all over the city.” The young man was apologetic as he explained the circumstances.
Nick turned around and glared at his two bodyguards, who just laughed.
Lumien sighed. “Better pull up a chair. What do you want to drink?”
Beers were ordered and distributed, and Kevin and Nick eventually wandered over to a pool table with both sets of their bodyguards in tow. A couple of women came over to see if they could get lucky with new men, but were firmly, yet gently, turned away. Howie and Brian worked on their beers and looked around at the people in the darkened room. When he thought she wasn’t watching, Howie kept an eye on Lumien and felt the tension in her body, even though she was across the table.
%I wonder what’s wrong with her?%
“Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is not happening.”
Five heads abruptly looked at her before their attention was diverted by the three men who appeared in front of their table.
“Well, well. Lumien.” The man in front smiled, the grin creasing a somewhat handsome face.
She just looked at him. “Bruce. What rock did you crawl out from under?”
“Still got that sharp tongue, I see. Guess no one’s taught you to curb it since you left.”
Although her voice remained calm, Howie could see her hands tremble slightly as they gripped the table edge. “Anyone tries it, and I don’t need a gun to take care of it. I do it right the first time.”
Her words drove the color from his face, and he clenched his fists. “You fucking bitch.”
Lumien rose, fire in her eyes. “You fucking coward. You don’t have the balls.”
He moved forward, but stopped when the other five men rose to stand with her. Kevin, Nick, and the other bodyguards saw the commotion at the table and joined the group.
Howie stared at the man in front of him. “I think you owe the lady an apology.”
“Lady? What lady? You talking about this whore?” He nodded towards Lumien, and the men surrounding her took a step forward.
Bruce laughed, the sound grating on everyone’s nerves as he looked around the table. “You fucking them all, Lumien?”
“Go fuck yourself, Bruce.” She spat the words at him, wanting nothing more than to take the bottle of tequila and smash it over his head.
He retreated, taking his friends with him. With a mocking grin, he blew a kiss at her before they left. Lumien sat back down and poured three shots of tequila, throwing them back in quick succession. Howie brushed her arm with his fingertips, and she swung around with her arm cocked and ready to punch.
“Whoa. I just wanted to see if you were okay.”
“I’m fine.” She bit the words out, and everyone recognized the warning signals although they hadn’t really known her all that long.
A somber group made its way back to the hotel.
***Backstreet Boys***
Bruce flicked the remote control and watched the channels race by. He guzzled his beer then almost dropped it when he saw pictures of some of the men who had been with his ex-wife at the bar. Cranking up the volume, he listened as the reporter talked to the group about their plans for the next day. He paid special attention to the one they called “D”.
“Little man, I’m gonna fuck you up good.”
***Backstreet Boys***
The next morning, Meredith noticed the way everyone eased around Lumien. After the security team meeting, she asked Lumien to hang around for a moment.
“Anything wrong?”
Lumien fell back against the sofa cushions. “No.”
“Then perhaps you can explain to me why everyone’s giving you a wide berth this morning.” The older woman looked down at the newest member of her team. “If there’s a problem, I need to know.”
The young woman covered her face with her hands and sighed. “Last night, while we were out, we ran into my ex.”
“Ex…”
“Husband. The prick showed up, started spouting off. There were a lot of angry words exchanged, and I may have surprised them with my anger.”
“Hmm. Do we need to worry about this ex-husband of yours?”
Lumien looked up at her boss. “I don’t think so. Years of booze and one too many knocks on the head during football games have probably killed a lot of brain cells.”
Meredith nodded and gestured towards the door. “If you find you need anything, let me know. Okay?”
“Thanks, boss.” The young woman offered her first smile of the day as she preceded Meredith out the door.
***Backstreet Boys***
The van swung by the radio station, and Howie, Lumien, and Jack climbed in.
“Hey, D. How’d it go?” Brian smiled at his friend.
“Good. No weird questions, lots of screaming fans on the phone.” The older man chuckled as he relaxed into his seat.
The van pulled up into a back alley one side street over from the hotel. A number of fans had found the service entrance, but Meredith discovered she could get everyone in and out through a hidden entrance near the pool. Howie, Brian, Lumien, and Sullivan climbed out and headed for the hotel. Jack and Mike went to park the van in the parking lot.
Sullivan heard the footsteps and swung around a couple of seconds before Lumien did the same. They both stood in front of the two men they were hired to protect.
“Hello, Lumien.” Bruce smiled as he stepped away from the building, four friends moving to stand behind him.
She rolled her eyes. “Bruce, you really are stupid, aren’t you? If you do this, you’re going to jail for a long, long time.”
“Why? ‘Cause I’m gonna fuck up some Backdoor Boys?” He laughed.
Lumien looked at her ex-husband and decided he really was crazy after all. The next few minutes happened in a blur. The other four men suddenly rushed them. Lumien and Sullivan took on the first two, while the others went after Howie and Brian. The training the two Backstreet Boys had received from the Seal team was suddenly put into use.
Brian watched the man in front of him, weaving slowly. He tracked the man’s body movements, and when the large man came towards him, he kicked him in the knee. The man went down in a howl of pain, and Brian threw a right cross to his jaw that knocked him out.
Howie watched as the other man came running at him, building a good momentum. As he approached, Howie grabbed an outstretched arm and used that speed to drive the man into a brick wall. A groan was the only sound heard before the man collapsed onto the ground.
Howie turned around to see Bruce heading towards Lumien. “Lumien, look out!”
She ducked just as Bruce swung at her with the pipe. Ducking back out of his reach, they circled each other.
“You know, I’ve waited a long time for this day.” He grinned at her as he continued to swing the pipe.
“You are *such* a loser. Why I married you I have no clue.” She kept watching him, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before he did whatever it was he was going to do.
Suddenly, he tossed the pipe away and charged at her. Lumien bent down and put her shoulder into his stomach, tossing him into the air over her head. He sprawled on the concrete, stunned breathless. She walked over to him and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him up towards her.
She punched him in the nose. “That’s for hitting me when you screwed up and forgot to pay the utility bill.”
She punched him in the jaw. “That’s for slapping me when I got home late from work because I had to pull a double shift to make your truck payment.”
Bruce was moaning as blood dripped from his nose and mouth. She dropped him to the ground, and kicked him in the ribs. “That’s for giving me a concussion when I didn’t move fast enough to get you a beer.”
Stepping back, she looked down at him. Narrowing her eyes, she kicked him in the balls. “That’s for putting me in the hospital when I told you I didn’t want to have sex and you forced me anyway.”
Sullivan, Brian, and Howie watched in stunned amazement as Lumien beat the hell out of her ex-husband. They could hear sirens in the distance, and Jack and Mike appeared behind them to let the trio know the cops had been called.
Lumien tightened her fists and stepped closer to him. “You are a miserable excuse for a human being, Bruce.”
Part of her was glad to see him cowering in fear, much as she had done in the three years they were married. A bigger part of her wanted to inflict more pain. Just as she moved towards the downed man, arms wrapped around her and pulled her back.
“Let me go, damnit.” She struggled to get free.
Howie swung her away and hustled her towards the pool door as Brian and Mike followed behind. They got her inside the building and into an elevator before she could get free. When Howie released her, she moved to the corner of the car and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she took deep breaths.
The elevator dinged, and they got out on their floor, finding Meredith, Ramos, and Leary waiting.
“What happened?”
“Lumien’s ex showed up with some friends. Sullivan and Jack are down there with the cops.” Brian looked at Meredith before sliding his eyes toward Lumien.
She turned to look at the young woman, who was still trying to calm herself. “Lumien, are you okay?”
The young woman opened her eyes, and Meredith was not very surprised to see the tears spill over. “I…I…” She ran towards her room, fumbling with the key and closing the door firmly behind her when she got inside.
“Maybe one of us should check on her.” Howie started down the hall, but Meredith stopped him.
“I’ll go see her in a few minutes. Is everyone else okay?”
The three men nodded. The elevator dinged again, and Jack and Sullivan stepped out with a couple of uniformed cops. “Meredith, these officers need to talk to everyone involved.”
Meredith smiled at the young men, then at Ramos. “Ramos, please take everyone down to the lounge. I’ll get Lumien.”
The men went one way, and Meredith went the other.
Meredith knocked on the door. “Lumien? I need to talk to you.”
She waited for several seconds, and the door finally opened. Pushing through, she found Lumien sitting on the bed, her arms wrapped around a pillow. Squeezing the pillow tighter, she didn’t look up when Meredith sat down beside her.
“I’ll stick around until you can find a replacement, then I’ll go.” Lumien mumbled the words.
“I don’t think so.”
The young woman’s head flew up to look into her boss’ eyes. “But it’s my fault this happened. If Bruce hadn’t shown up, Brian and Howie wouldn’t have been put in danger. Obviously, I’m not the person you need for this job. I’ll just get someone hurt.” More tears poured from her eyes.
“Lumien, we all have demons that rear up to bite us in the ass. Yours just happened to take a physical form. You are doing a great job, and I know Howie trusts you. He wouldn’t want you to leave. *I* don’t want you to leave. You are an asset to this organization, and I don’t think I could find someone who’s more dedicated to making sure the guys, and D in particular, stay safe.”
“But…”
Meredith pointed a finger at her. “You don’t have any more ex-husbands lying in wait, do you?”
Lumien shook her head.
“Well, then, I think we can put an end to this now. The police would like to take your statement.” The two women stood up and headed for the door.
Lumien stopped abruptly. “Oh, shit.”
“What?” Meredith looked at her quickly.
“I kept hitting him after he was down.” She looked up, her fingers pressed to her lips.
“Let’s see what the guys have said, and we’ll go from there, okay?”
They walked back down to the lounge to find the police officers shaking hands and smiling at the group. They turned to face the women, stepping forward to shake hands with them.
“Ms. Washington, I understand the assailant was your ex-husband?”
“Yes, he was.” She looked at the policeman, slightly wary of his casual attitude.
“If you’ll sign here, we’ll add your name to the complaint filed by Mr. Dorough and Mr. Littrell,”
Her eyes flew to the two men as she scrawled her signature at the bottom of the form. The officers shook hands with everyone again and left the suite. Lumien sank onto a couch and just looked at the people in front of her.
“Why didn’t they say anything about what I did to Bruce?”
Howie sat down beside, not close enough to scare her, but close enough for her to feel his concern. “We told them that you punched him twice to subdue him after he attacked you with the pipe.”
“What about the kicks?”
“What kicks? I didn’t see any kicks, did you, Bri?” Howie smiled at her before looking at his friend.
“Nope, didn’t see any kicks. Did you, Sully?” Brian looked at the other bodyguard.
“Not a one.” He smiled at his fellow bodyguard.
Lumien released a shaky breath and leaned against the sofa. She pressed a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes.
“Are you okay, Lu?” Howie’s voice sounded very close, and she looked up to find him leaning close so that everyone couldn’t hear him.
“I will be. I think I’m going back to my room.” She stood, wavering slightly at the loss of adrenaline running through her body.
Howie immediately stood and grabbed her elbow. “I’ll walk you back.”
She smiled shyly at him. “Thank you, Howie.”
He returned the smile then caught Meredith’s attention with a nod of his head. “I’m taking Lumien back to her room.”
The older woman nodded, resting her hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”
Lumien nodded, squeezing her boss’ hand before the couple walked out of the suite and down to her room.
AJ moved behind Meredith and wrapped his arms around her waist, settling his chin on her shoulder. “Think they’ll figure it out?”
“I think so.” She twisted her head and kissed his cheek before he released her and they walked back to cuddle on a sofa.
***Backstreet Boys***
Lumien fumbled with the keycard, freezing when Howie’s hand brushed hers to take it and open the door. She slipped inside, knowing he would follow. She thought he might have questions about the things she said earlier, and she preferred to deal with it once and for all.
Sitting on the bed, she gripped her knees, closed her eyes, and waited for the questions. Howie gingerly sat down beside her and looked at the way she tightly held her body in place. He was careful not to move too quickly.
“I’m sorry this happened.”
She opened her eyes at his statement and quickly turned to look at him. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry Bruce tried to hurt you because of me.”
Howie smiled gently. “I don’t blame you. It was his decision and his actions. It’s his fault, not yours.”
Lumien returned the smile, tucking her head into her shoulder in shyness. “thank you.” She whispered the words.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
“Are you going to ask?”
He was startled out of his thoughts by her question. “Ask what?”
“About what I said when I was wailing on Bruce. I know you must have questions.”
He noticed her body language and wondered if she really wanted to talk about it. “We don’t have to do this right now.”
“I’d rather do it now and get it over with, if you don’t mind.” She looked at him, and he nodded.
“How old were you when you got married?”
Lumien sighed. “I was 18. Got married right out of high school. I thought I was getting away from a crappy life. Instead, I bought a one-way ticket to hell. For a while, it wasn’t too bad. I mean, it wasn’t great or anything, but he didn’t hit me. The first time it happened, he apologized and bought me flowers and took me out to dinner. Then, as the drinking increased, so did the beatings. I kinda grew up watching my mom get slapped around by various boyfriends, so I thought maybe that’s the way it sometimes happened.”
She took a deep breath. “The last time, he almost beat me to death. I had a broken arm, broken ribs, and a concussion. Some lady stopped by my hospital room with some pamphlets about abuse and a place to go to get away from it. I signed a form so that Bruce couldn’t visit me, then when I was released, I went to the shelter. I thought I could stay for a while, just until I figured out what to do.”
Stopping abruptly, Lumien looked out the window as she remembered those lonely, pain-filled days. “I called my mom, and she told me that I should be grateful I had a husband and to just get over myself and get back to him. I had just told her what he’d done, and she was telling me that I wasn’t ever going to have anything better. You know, I think that helped me make my decision more than anything Bruce ever did to me. When I got better, I filed for divorce, and he didn’t fight it because he was afraid I’d press charges. The lady who ran the shelter knew some lawyers, and that scared him into signing. I stayed on for a while, doing some counseling and working at this bookstore. One day, I was walking by a recruitment office and looked inside. The Master Sergeant talked to me for a while then gave me stuff to read. I took it back to my room and left it on my nightstand for weeks.”
Standing up, she walked into the bathroom to get a glass of water. “We had an angry husband show up one night, and it took several of us to get him down so we could tie him up and call the cops. Before I went to bed, I looked at the enlistment brochures, looked at those people who were strong and confident, and decided right then I was going down to enlist. Next morning, I walked into that office and signed on the dotted line.”
“And you lived happily ever after?” He looked at her, fascinated by her story.
“Hell, no. Cried every night for the twelve weeks I was in boot. I did find my niche, though.”
“What did you do?” Howie tilted his head and studied her, trying to figure out she had chosen.
“Infantry, 2nd Division. My MOS…”
“MOS?” He was confused by the acronym.
“My Military Occupation Specialty was Rifleman.”
“Rifleman?” He swallowed.
Lumien continued, not paying attention to Howie’s facial expression. “Yeah. Pretty damn good, too. Give me a Remington 720, and I can take care of business.”
She finally looked over at him and saw the paleness of his face. “What’s wrong, Howie?”
“Did Meredith know about your MOS?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, she talked to my CO and got my records, so I’m sure she did. Why?”
This time, Howie stood up and went to get a glass of water. He drank it, looking at himself in the mirror then set the glass on the counter. Returning to the bedroom, he slumped down on the bed.
“What’s going on, Howie?”
“During that training we did with Meredith, I discovered I was very good with a rifle. And I hated it.”
She watched him as he spoke, seeing the tension fill his body as he thought about his time on the range. “When we ended up in Sierra Ramon, I…”
He stopped, covering his eyes with his hand. Lumien leaned close to him and laid her hand over the one he had gripping the bedspread.
“It’s okay, Howie. You don’t have to say anymore.”
“No. No.” He lowered his hand and opened his eyes, looking at her. “When we were captured, we had to defend that camp from the rebels approaching us. Two rebels came up behind my position. One of the guys with me alerted me to that, and I killed them.”
He took a deep breath. “I killed them.”
Torn by the anguish in his eyes, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Every rifleman’s worst nightmare.”
“Yeah.” He wrapped his arms around her, taking comfort in the fact she understood.
They continued to sit there on the bed, offering comfort to each other to ease the pain of the memories that still held them hostage.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Two