"How'd you figure?" Khalil inquires cooly. Philk cusses under his breath. Khalil notices a slight tingling on the inside of the wrist Angie is touching. Instead of looking there, he straightens and peers down at her. She watches him with eyes filled with want as though she's a cheetah closing in on her prey. Khalil shifts slowly shaking off the involuntary urge to move away from her.
"Something about your aura gave me the inkling." She moves in closer and Khalil feels the hairs all over his body stand on end. Anglie smiles a sickly sweet smile.
"Ey yo, what is she doin'? Pk questions in an annoyed tone. Khalil ignores him and slyly adjusts the glasses, tapping the side.
"I'm here," Philk says in a hushed tone. "Watching."
"I'll bite," Khalil says. "You're right. I am." The prickling intensifies causing his body to increase in temperature.
"So," she says. "What can you do?"
"You won't have to see that as long as you and I are on good terms, right?" Khalil says in an intentional husky tone. She laughs under her breath. And tilts her head further to one side still watching him. He smirks at her then stands and straightens his vest. He puts his suit jacket back on but doesn't bother to button it.
"I've got to head out," Khalil says turning toward the door. He gestures ahead and Angie stands and heads toward it. As he reaches the door, she steps aside, he opens it and waits for her to exit before he does.
"It was very nice to meet you."
"Same to you," Angie replies. "I hope I see you again." She heads down the stairs without another word and Khalil follows, she heads back into the room she and all the other women came out of earlier. Destinee enters from the room on the opposite side of the hall, dressed differently from the way she was before but with the same, dark, but welcoming presence. Khalil adjusts the sleeves of his jack and carefully runs his finger across the inside of his right wrist.
"I hope you enjoyed your time." She walks toward him and crosses her arms beneath her chest. "Remember, no more freebies." Khalil nods.
"I'll keep that in mind," Khalil replies. "You ladies have a good night." He turns and heads out of the mansion the way he came. Walks the dirt path to the parking lot and gets in the rental. He takes his time backing up, reversing, and pulling out onto the road and doesn't pull his phone from his pocket until he's out of sight of the house. He puts his phone on the mount on the dash, removes the glasses and dials Philk's number; he answers immediately via video call.
"How did she know?" he asks.
"I don't know. Maybe she could feel it or something. She was holding on to my wrist for a while."
"Felt it?" Philk's browns knit.
"When she touched me I got goosebumps like all my hair was standing on end and I had full body tingles. Her grip was firm too. She wasn't grabbing me but, if I tried to pull away from her, I think she would have held on."
Upon reaching the more suburban outskirts of Freeland, Khalil pulls over and taps the overhead light. He turns the hand Angie was holding over. On the inside of his wrist barely a centimeter beneath his hand is an oval-shaped scar; it's reminiscent of a burn that's already begun to heal. It's dark around the edge and fair in the middle and the damaged skin there is shiny and ready to flake off. Khalil snaps a few pictures and sends it to Philk.
"Check that out," he says as he places his phone back on the mount. "I got that from her."
Khalil pulls back onto the road and resumes his drive. The roads quickly turn from old cracked asphalt to well-maintained paved streets and soon, there are no more dirt roads in sight.
YOU ARE READING
Too Strange and Too Strong
Fanfiction"I can't love a weapon pointed at my family," Jen said. For the first time, she didn't offer her presence, sympathy, or her help. "Everybody gave up on me except you," Khalil said. She was the last good thing in his life. The last person who beli...
