***
Tanesha nearly jumped out of her skin when the door burst open about thirty minutes later. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Skull enter the room with a pair of orange and white tennis shoes in his hand.
“Wear these. We’re going for a walk.” Ty said as he threw the tennis shoes at Tanesha’s feet.
“Wh-what?” Tanesha stammered in surprise. She was sure her ears were deceiving her.
“What are you? Deaf?” Ty muttered. “We’re going for a…”
“You’re actually allowing me outside?” Tanesha sounded incredulous.
“Hurry up before I change my mind, woman,” Ty growled. What was it with girls and unnecessary questions? “Chop, chop.”
Ty needed to get out of the house before he went bonkers, especially after warning those criminals off Tanesha. Oh, the look on their faces… After all, it wasn’t every day a legendary psychopathic killer threatened to cut off their hairy, stinky balls and stuff them inside their mouths if they so much as looked at a girl…who was actually their prisoner. Thank God for shitty reputations, Ty thought smugly.
“Oh my God, you’re the best.” Tanesha’s squeal startled Ty, who turned to watch as she slipped her feet into the comfortable tennis shoes. “Do I get to swim too?”
“Don’t push it,” Ty growled, wanting to laugh despite his feeling of impatience. It had once come up in their conversation that he went for swims most nights. Tanesha had groaned with longing, saying how much she loved to swim and how good she was at that. Ty didn’t have any intention of letting the girl into the ocean. If she was as good as she claimed she was, only God knew what she would do when given that opportunity.
In the hall, the men didn’t even spare them a glance as they passed. Mickey was sitting on the porch when they went outside. He looked down at Tanesha’s feet and gave a brilliant smile.
“Yes! I knew they’d fit.” He grinned and looked up at Tanesha’s smiling face. “Have fun. And don’t do anything stupid.”
“Fuck off.” She muttered as she turned to follow Skull.
They walked for about an hour in silence, Tanesha somehow sensing Ty’s need for tranquility. She also noticed that Ty was taking it slow to enable her keep up with him. “What did Rambo say when he came to the room?” Ty finally broke the silence.
“Nothing much.” Tanesha shrugged. “It was pretty obvious what he wanted.”
“I know what he wanted, Tanesha. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know he wanted to fuck you.” Ty rasped. “What I need to know is what he said.” He needed to know whether in his drunken state, Rambo had revealed anything worth noting especially in the wake of Gustav’s death.
Tanesha felt the blood rush to her face and thanked her stars for her dark skin. “He said that he needed help…you know.”
“And…”
She sighed. “And that he’s heard I wasn’t getting any from you.”
“He’s heard?” Ty frowned.
“Well, I’m sure Mickey might have…”
“What has Mickey got to do with all this?” Ty growled.
Tanesha groaned. “We were just…he was just teasing me.” She sighed. “He thought we were… I told him it was nothing like that. I’m sure they were probably talking and he told them we were not doing that.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Ty muttered.
“I know a good person when I see one, Skull. Mickey would never deliberately do anything to hurt me.”
“I see. You two must be very close. Maybe I should ask… Is he giving you some?”
“Fuck you, Skull.” Tanesha hissed and abruptly turned around to go back.
“Hey, it was just a question.” Ty grabbed Tanesha’s hand and turned her back onto their route. “No need to get your panties in a twist. That was a simple yes or no question.” Ty couldn’t help the relief that flashed through him. “How about a run?” He asked after a while.
Tanesha gave a snort. “I never got running. An awful lot of effort just to get back to where you started.” Tanesha looked up at her companion when he made a sound of shock. “What?”
Ty shook his head in incredulity. “That’s the first time I’m hearing something like that. How the hell do you keep in shape? ‘Cause that body…”
“I walk, swim, go to the gym…anything but run.” Tanesha tried not to smile like a simpleton at Skull’s comment about her body.
“You’re something else,” Ty muttered and then looked up when thunder rumbled in a distance. “I hear there’s a storm brewing.” He said. “I was told it would surely hit two days ago but nothing so far.”
“Well, it had better not start now because I’m loving this weather.” Tanesha gasped when a bolt of lightning split the sky. “Skull I think…” But before she could complete her sentence, the storm actually hit. Rains started pouring down in torrents.
“Oh fuck!” Ty breathed. “We have to make a run for it, Tanesha.” Ty bellowed over the sound of thunder even as he grabbed Tanesha’s hand a broke into a run. “I guess you have to forget about your running rule.” He shouted as they run. They were soaked within seconds.
“I feel tired already.” Tanesha panted harshly as they ran.
“We can’t stop or slow down,” Ty shouted. “Staying out in this kind of weather could make you sick.” And that was the last thing both of them needed at that point, Ty thought desperately.
His main aim was to get them out of the storm to safety, even if it wasn’t the house. He didn’t want to alarm Tanesha but staying out in that kind of storm was dangerous as the heavy rains were accompanied by very strong winds, thunder, and lightning. They could get hit by anything. The sky had gone pitch black, the only occasional light being the blinding flashes of lightning. It was very difficult to run in that kind of downpour.
After running for about twenty minutes, they saw the headlights of a car, coming towards them. Ty pulled Tanesha to the side cautiously when the jeep came to a stop beside them. The window rolled down to reveal Mickey’s face.