Lured Into A Secretive Squad (continued 7)

Aileen Schachter turned her back on the furious Clark McCracken and strolled back to my car with a casual sway to her hips. I thought she must be either the bravest or the craziest woman I’d ever known. I walked backward to the car, never taking my eyes or the Glock off the jerk. The knowledge that McCracken gives group blowjobs made me realize just how foolish it is to judge a book by its cover. If a muscled skinhead like Clark McCracken could be gay or bisexual than anyone can be anything.

“Get me out of here NOW,” Aileen hissed through clenched teeth when I slid behind the wheel. I looked over at her. I could see that her jaw was pulsing and her eyes were open wide, staring straight ahead. I started the car, put the Glock on the center console and drove away. We drove in silence for several blocks until Aileen told me to turn up a residential street lined with huge maple trees and pretty homes with neat lawns. “Stop in front of that house with the van in the driveway,” she said.

I parked and shut the engine off. With my arm slung across the seat-back, I watched as she pushed the Glock off the console and onto the floor in the back. She slid across the console and snuggled her tiny frame up against my chest.

“Cuddle me, please,” she pleaded. I dropped my arm around her and held her gently against me. Her body felt hot against me, but she was quivering almost invisibly. I put my other hand on her forehead, it was hot. “Just hold me,” she said, her voice trembling.

“What’s going on?” I said. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared. I’m so scared,” she whispered.

“What? I just watched you abuse a violent brute,” I said.

“I do what I have to do,” she said. “It doesn’t mean I’m not scared shitless.

I sat silently, simply being nurtured by the delightful contact between me and this very interesting woman. After a while she stopped trembling.

“Take me home now, okay?” she said.

“I don’t know where your home is.”

“I meant your home,” she said, and looked into my eyes.