Rescue My Love

Rescue My Love
Lynn Story
Newport News, VA


Copyright © 2020 by Lynn Story
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.
Lynn Story
PO Box 469
Newport News, VA 23607
www.stitchesandstories.com
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Rescue My Love/ Lynn Story -- 1st ed.


To Larry, with love.


Acknowledgements
Thank you to my wonderful husband, Larry for his willingness to discuss endless ideas and plot twists. My editor, Heather August without whom none of this would be possible. And William Heavey at Bold Fox Designs for his wonderful artwork.


Chapter One
Ethan
We had just wrapped up a fugitive warrant case, it had been one of those inter-agency cooperation things that always gave me a headache. Now, I just wanted to relax, listen to some good music, and maybe have a bourbon or two before going home to an empty house. The Ironclad promised me the comfort I was searching for tonight. The Ironclad sat close to the banks of the southernmost point of the James River where it met the Chesapeake Bay. The area was recently revived attracting of lot of micro-breweries, trendy restaurants and shops. The Ironclad was a bar and grill known for its bourbon and featuring local and nationally known blues artist.  And while I avoided the trendier establishments in the area, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Ironclad, lately it was becoming my home away from home.
My wife, Diane, had called earlier to say she would be out late with friends at a book club meeting or something, honestly it didn’t matter we hadn’t been spending much time together lately. It seemed that after sixteen years of marriage we had drifted too far apart to drift back together again. The end was inevitable.
The sign out front announced Charlie Pickens was playing tonight at nine o’clock. Charlie had gotten his music career started here in Gates Point before he was discovered and found national fame with his unique style of blues. I found a seat at the bar, ordered a drink and scanned the room, an occupational hazard; my eyes stopped at a table in the far corner. It was so deep in the shadows that most people probably wouldn’t even know it was there. I wouldn’t have paid any attention to it myself if it weren’t for the woman sitting there alone. She looked oddly familiar; I couldn’t place her. Over the years I have traveled to one conference or other, been part of too many task forces to count, and even taught a few classes at Quantico. Hell, maybe I had just seen her in here before.  As, the warm-up band ended their set the music was replaced by the din of the bar. There were snippets of conversation, glassware clinking together, cheers, and laughter all blending together as the setup on stage was rearranged.
As soon Charlie Pickens took the stage, the crowd cheered and I cheered right along with them. I remembered the woman in the corner and glanced in her direction. She sat motionless focused on the stage; she wasn’t cheering. Something about her tugged at my brain, I pushed it away. I had come here to relax, and I didn’t need to be creating more headaches than I already had.
The music made me forget about the woman in the corner hidden in the shadows, and instead I thought about my failing marriage. The woman I had loved with all my heart was someone I didn’t know anymore.  Charlie’s songs had a way of making you think about such things and tonight it was hitting too close to home. We didn’t fight like so many couples do these days, we were more like roommates than soulmates. The kicker was my daughter. I didn’t want to turn her life inside out. I still loved my wife, just not in the same way, I harbored no ill feelings. I had very few feelings at all. I felt sad for the loss of the relationship it felt like a tragedy in one of Charlie’s songs.
Charlie played for an hour and a half before calling it quits. I turned my attention back to the woman in the corner. She was still there quietly sipping her drink. A local band was taking the stage now and would carry the crowd until closing time. I decided I had to know who she was, it was really annoying that I couldn’t place her.
Before I could get off my barstool a young man approached her table. I had no idea what was being said, one minute the man was standing there with his back to me blocking my view of my mystery woman and the next minute his back was on the floor. The woman was settling herself back into her chair, her attention was no longer on her drink. Sensing there might be trouble I rushed over.
“Anything I can do to help?” I asked the woman.
“Not unless you’re in charge of waste disposal.” She never took her eyes off the man who was now getting to his feet.
He looked like he wanted to say something to her as she cocked an eyebrow at him, and he stood there as if he was trying to make a decision. I had to admit I was pretty impressed. Even more curious now than I had been before.
“It might be best just to walk away.” I said in a low tone to the young man. He nodded and left. Then turning my attention back to her I asked, “How do you like that self-service?” She