For Her Honor

Chapter 18

As the SUV rolled to a stop, I excitedly looked out the window, ready to see where Marco had taken me. But to my utter disappointment, all I saw was more trees. We were in the middle of what looked like a forest, a beautiful forest but a forest nonetheless. Where the hell were we?

"Ah yes, we're here. But our other ride isn't." Marco leaned forward as he looked out the front window, his eyes looking for something that wasn't there.

The driver cleared his throat, "Well I'm sorry sir but I have to be back in time for my next scheduled delivery. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to exit the vehicle."

Marco sighed but nodded, "Of course."

Then both him and the driver spent the next five to ten minutes relieving the SUV of all our luggage before Marco tipped the driver. Marco then lifted me from the car and sat me down on top of my suitcase so I wouldn't have to sit in the dirt. I watched helplessly as the SUV backed up and drove away, leaving a trail of dust in it's wake. And the further away the black vehicle got, the more I felt like I had stepped out of society and into the caveman era.

"Where the hell are we?" I asked as I looked around, the sound of cicadas reaching my ears as their calls echoed throughout the forest. I felt like I was in an old western movie, I half expected to see a horse-drawn carriage come riding down the road any moment.

But Marco wasn't listening to me. He kept checking the time on his phone, "I told him to be here right at two. Where the hell is he?"

"Who?" I asked, swatting at a group of gnats that had taken residence near my head. Why did God invent insects? I'm sure there was a reason but bugs annoyed the hell out of me.

Marco was still mumbling to himself though and nearly tripped over my outstretched legs as I sat there trying to rid myself of the swarm that was currently trying to carrying my body away. After another ten minutes I had given up on trying to sit bug free and I pulled my own phone out of my pocket, hoping that playing a game might distract me.

Then my ears picked up on something coming down the road. My eyes shifted towards where the road curved out of sight and I saw that Marco was doing the same. We waited patiently as the noise grew louder, then suddenly a black jeep came into sight. It had huge tires and tinted windows just as our SUV had. The sides of the jeep were dusted, as if it had spent many hours traveling down this road on many different occasions.

Marco took a step closer to me and I thought it was because he was preparing to fight. But when I looked up at my bodyguard to ask what I should do, whether it be to hide or to run, I saw that Marco was actually smiling. Not his cocky or smug smirk, it was his genuine dimpled smile that I rarely ever saw.

What was going on?

The jeep came to a stop just in front of us, a dust cloud rising around the now halted vehicle. After a few moments, the door opened and I saw a pair of feet hit the ground. They were clad in dark work boots that looked worn, and above them were legs dressed in faded jeans. When the door to the jeep slammed shut, it revealed the man standing just beyond it and I felt a whole new wave of confusion sweep through me when Marco practically ran towards the man and wrapped him in a tight hug.

The man laughed loudly as he patted Marco on the back, embracing him just as tightly. My heart actually warmed as I watched Marco and the man hug, it was nice to see someone Marco didn't hate completely besides Luke, Toni, and I.

Then Marco pulled away from the hug and I saw the man place his hands on Marco's cheeks as he inspected my bodyguard, almost as if he were worried about him. The two men had a quiet conversation that resulted in the man embracing Marco again.