Unlikely Allies

Chapter 7

Nadia was pulled from her meditative state by a loud thud at her front door. Like clockwork, she sprang up from her seat, gun in hand. Gripping the gun and aiming it, she approached the door slowly. She unlocked it quietly. With one hand on the knob, she swung the door ajar. She then stepped back gripping the gun with both hands. With her side arm raised, she was prepared to put a bullet in whatever stood on the other side of the door. Nadia wasn't ready for what stood before her.

There was a man, tall, muscular, bald and dressed in all black. He was bleeding profusely from his face and abdomen. Nadia didn't know what to make of the man and began to close the door. She knew he couldn't be a threat to her or anyone for that matter.

He weakly whispered, "Help Me.”

Nadia stepped out into the night. She looked both ways and only saw darkness.

I can't leave him here, she thought.

Nadia knew how it felt to be wounded and left for dead. Johns saved her and now she had her chance to return the favor.

Stepping back inside, she grabbed the man by both arms, dragged him in and onto the hardwood floor. Blood gushed from the wound in his abdomen. She pushed the door closed and ran down the hallway.

Making a mess of her linen closet, she grabbed sheets and towels and ran back into the foyer. Looking down at the massive man, she didn't know where to start. Dropping down to her knees, she began to apply pressure to his wound.

"Harder!" He said.

So, she practically sat on him. Nadia shifted him a little, to get a sheet around him, then she tied it tight.

I don't know who this guy is but I will be damned if he's going to die on my floor, she thought to herself as she tried to figure out how much he weighed.

Nadia went back to the closet for her first aid kit. She had some Morphine for when she was really banged up but she didn't want to overdose him. To be safe, she gave him the same amount that she gave herself and wished for the best.

Back down on her knees, she began to clean the wounds on his face and as she washed away the blood. Afterwards, she saw that he was very handsome. But just a little swollen. He was extremely tempting and vulnerable. Although he was a complete stranger, something about him seemed vaguely familiar.

Nadia was as much as intrigued, as she was smitten with this stranger from that point on. As she fantasized about kissing him, she was taken from the task at hand, until she felt his hand on hers.

"They're coming." He said the words barely audible.

"Who's coming?" Nadia asked.

"You have to hide me...no I have to go." He said attempting to move.

"Wait I'll hide you." She volunteered.

"If they find me, they will kill you." Riddick replied. His thoughts were a blur.

"Help me get you up. They won't find you." Nadia pleaded.

He grunted and moaned as she pulled him up from the floor. Nadia had a safe room in her house. Just in case some target of Johns came after her before she could get them. They had passed the bedrooms, through the den and down some stairs that led into the garage. She propped the stranger up against the wall.

It was when she began to shift the freezer in the garage that the banging began.

"Open up!" She heard a man shouting.

Behind the freezer was a dial pad. Nadia entered her numbers and the wall opened. She couldn't wait; she shoved him in and hit the release latch. She ran back up the stairs. She was covered in blood and there was no way that she could answer the door like that.

Riddick was down stairs hurt while Nadia was changing her soiled clothes. She put her dirty, nasty, and bloodied clothes into the trash compactor. She tried to find a clean pair of pajamas to put on. The knock at the door continued. She quickly put them on and rushed to the door. Nadia fumbled around to grab her keys from the desk. She then put the key into the lock and opened her door. Her eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Agent Jim Frost and Special Agent Simmone Reeves had graced her doorstep.

“Sorry to disturb you Nadia, but have you seen anyone suspicious around here lately? We got a lead on a case, which brought us in this area. We wanted to check with you, since you live here,” Agent Reeves informed.

“Uh…no, I haven’t Simmone. I’m just chilling on this peaceful night with my glass of Cognac,” Nadia said.

“Okay, we’ll let you get back to your evening. See you later down at the station,” Agent Frost said as they walked away.

“Aight, I’ll see ya’ll later,” Nadia replied with a sigh of relief.

"What the hell has this man done?" She wondered as she went back out to the garage. She punched in her code and the wall opened up once more. She stepped carefully in the darkness, fumbling around to find the light. She kicked something solid with her foot and in an instant she stumbled to the floor.

She landed on top of him.

While she laid there a top him, gathering her composer, she thought, I didn't think my job could get any harder.

"That's not the switch." She said.

Five seconds later, "I know." Floated out of the darkness and sent a chill through her.

"Oh, I am sorry. I was trying to turn on the light." Nadia said stuttering.

She hopped to her feet and pulled the string for the overhead light. "I didn't know you were there."

Riddick moaned, pulled his goggles out of his pocket and put them on. "Can you help me up." He asked.

"I guess the morphine is kicking in?" She asked jumping to his aid.

Riddick nodded, laid back on the make shift bed and closed his eyes.

"The light hurts my eyes." He said breathlessly.

Nadia grabbed a few blankets off the shelf and covered him. She hit the release latch to lock the door. She went to a seat in a chair across the room. She then covered herself and watched over him until she fell asleep.

She slouched down in the chair and tried to catch some zzzz’s. Not ten minutes after, Nadia woke up from a dream that left a trail of evidence behind. Shocked by her naughty thoughts, she sat straight up in her chair.

What were once nightmares were now images of a chocolate and caramel abyss of passion. There were intimate visions of the stranger she was watching over through the night. She saw glimpses of full luscious lips savoring the sweet taste of lust. She saw glimpses of mahogany and bronze swirling into ecstasy. These fiery and exotic ideas sent surges through her zone.