Help me, help him

AUTHOR
~•~
Elina Washington looked at her phone again for the umpteenth time. She had been expecting a call from a certain stranger, but nothing was coming forth. It had been impossible to get any sleep last night, not without thinking of the hundred possibilities, hundred different things that could have happened; one of them being that he had been caught!
Elina shook her head as she rose from the stool in front of her grand piano. She covered her chest with the silk robe of her night dress and paced about the piano room.
She had told the man not to call on one condition; that he had failed.
But she knew his type of man. Whether he was successful or not, he would have asked for something, even if it was half of the original price.
Yet, here she was, confused and scared because she had not heard a word from him.
Ding dong.
The sound of her doorbell echoed around her house. She turned in the direction of the metal door of her piano room. She had not been expecting anyone. The man did not know where she lived, she made sure of that.
Perhaps it was Ivan! Yes! She was the closest thing to a friend that he had. It is only normal that he came to give her the good…sorry, bad news, of the death of whoever had escorted him to the party.
With that thought, she rushed out of the piano room and stood in front of the circular mirror in her hallway. The mirror was always more of an ornament, a decoration for the wall, than a mirror for use. But this was a special occasion.
She slipped the rogue strands of her hair down and pushed her breasts out of her night dress a bit more.
Ivan was going to be sad, for sure. So he was going to need a chest to rest his head on. Who knows? He might also appreciate her tongue around his dick.
She had once read that blowjobs helped to ease a man's stress. She was certain it would work for grief as well.
Elina smiled to herself and hurried off to the front door. With happiness sparkling in her eyes, she turned the doorknob and pulled the door open. She was prepared to jump on him, watch him fall on her shoulders hopelessly, maybe with tears in his eyes as well.
Her eyes dropped to the ground and her soldiers fell in disappointment when she stared at the uniformed men at her door. Elina's eyes narrowed on them, but she could not understand the look on their faces.
A lot of emotions washed through her at once; fear, confusion, anger, irritation, but she managed to chuckle, hiding all the powerful emotions in the shrill sound.
"Why, good morning officers. I'm sorry, it's not everyday uniformed men stand at my doorstep." She let out a nervous laugh, but the men did not join in her laughter.
"Miss Elina Washington, we have a warrant to bring you over to the station…"
Elina's heart began to race at an insane pace. Her knees seemed to fail her as she leaned onto her metal door frame.
She tried to keep a solid expression of confusion, but the shock and fear in her eyes gave her away.
"I do not understand. What…what for?"
"For your link to the attempted murder of miss Camilla Theodore." The second officer responded.
Elina turned sharply to him.
Miss, who now?
She did not know who that was! Neither did she care! She had sent the assassin to Napa Valley for Sarah Holloway because there was no way she was losing Ivan to her for a second time!
Who the hell was Camilla Theodore?!
She let out a bitter chuckle before she found the stance to stand straight.
"Officers, I do not think you understand. I do not know anyone by that name and…"
"The man who assaulted doctor Camilla…"
Elina tilted her neck at the man's statement, the rest of his words vanished into thin air without registering in her ears.
Doctor Camilla Theodore…
She had known that Ivan lived with his psychotherapist, so…
Fuck!
Here she was thinking she had only one competition, Sarah Holloway! Meanwhile, the sneaky brunette bitch had found her way into Ivan's bed as well! How could she have not seen that the brown-eyed woman was her main competition? She had never known that Ivan would even look at the scrawny woman twice. Yet, he had taken her to an event as big and lavish as Vladimir's birthday?!
The dark-haired policeman began to walk toward her. He caught her hands at her back and cuffed both her wrists. Her jaw hardened at the sound of humiliation. She was being stared at by all her neighbors, she could feel it.
"You have a right to remain silent, miss Elina. Anything you say or do here would be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to a lawyer and if you cannot provide one, the state would…"
"I can provide my bloody lawyer." She snapped in anger, while she was being pushed into the white and blue police car.
This was not going to end like this. One way or the other. She would find her way out of this and come back for Ivan.
He was the only man she had ever loved and she would die if she did not get to hear him say those words back.
So, when the door of the police car closed beside her, Elina leaned into the leather seat of the car with a smug smile on her face.
Oh! This was going to be a ride she would enjoy.
~•~
CAMILLA
~•~
FIRE, all around him. Scorching flames that would not let me reach out to him. He was seated in the middle of it all, in an abandoned warehouse, sweating profusely.
I could see him from the door where I stood. His blonde hair disheveled, his shirt clung to his sweaty skin while blood oozed from the bruises all over his face.
"Mister Ivan!" I tried to scream at the top of my voice. Tears welled up in my eyes while I felt my heart tear into two. I wanted to reach out and save him, but I could not go into the bloody fire!
Mister Ivan was going to burn, I was going to lose him and there was nothing I could do about it. The realization caused me to fall on my knees to the ground.
"Camilla! Help me!" I heard him cry from a distance. But there was nothing I could do.
I was helpless, just the way I was when my mother died when Frankie died. No matter how hard I tried, I could never save anyone.
I was never good, quick, or smart enough to save anyone.
Who did I try to fool? I could not save a small boy, I could not save my mother! What could have made me believe mister Ivan Holloway would be any different?
Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead as I wept bitterly.
"I'm sorry," I muttered.
"Camilla!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Camilla!"
"I'm sorry!" I screamed at the top of my voice.
The next thing I felt was a cold water splash on my face.
I drew in a deep breath and sat up immediately.
When I opened my eyes, there was no fire around me. I was not in a warehouse and mister Ivan was not about to burn to death.
Yet, the fear still clawed at my chest.
Something bad, something terrible was happening to him, or about to happen to him.
I looked up to find Freddie standing above me. His dark eyes held concern and care, but I did not have time for that.
"Mister Ivan." I blurted out, still breathless. I felt my chest rise and fall heavily. Freddie's face contorted into a frown.
"What? You're seeing him in your dreams now?"
"He is in danger, Freddie. I have to help him." I turned around and placed my feet on the ground. But Freddie was quick to plant himself in front of me, blocking my view.
I looked up at him and threw him a stony glare. He returned one with equal intensity.
I heaved a loud sigh.
"Freddie…"
"You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you return to that man again."
"You don't understand, he's in danger!"
His left brow arched at me.
"Says who? The dream you had."
God!
I hissed and shut my eyes tightly.
I saw the image flash in front of my eyes again.
Someone was pointing a gun at his head, and he was strapped to a chair.
I never had dreams like this. I never dreamt at all! At least, it often felt that way. But this was different! I felt like I could smell the smoke from the fire, I could taste the blood that flowed from his lips and the corner of his head.
"You have to let me go, Freddie. And you have to come with me." I spoke calmly, but I meant every word that I said.
He snorted.
"It's official, you're crazy."
I frowned, I didn't mean to, but tears gathered in my eyes almost immediately.
Freddie narrowed his eyes on me.
"Mister Ivan is in danger, Freddie. You have to help me help him because I have a feeling…" I sniffed in.
"I have a feeling this is something I can't do on my own."