Free Love Lost by Maria DeSouza Page B

toward the stairs.
    “I am going to show her to her room.  She needs to rest before dinner.”
    Before they could say another word in protest, Jason shot up the stairs with Selene in tow.  He walked into one of the rooms, and closed the door behind him.  He set down his bags, and sat on the bed.
    She put her bag down, but stood close to it.  He needed her to trust him, but he quickly realized that it needed to be at her pace.  He got up and walked toward the closet.  He opened the door and showed her a safe on the floor.  The keys were hanging from the lock on the safe.
    “Whatever you have in that bag means something to you, so you should put it in the safe.  Those are the only keys to the safe, so you can trust that no one will go in there.” 
    Selene looked at her bag and flicked nervously on a loose string. 
    “Jason, I know you mean well, but I just can’t afford to risk losing this case.”
    He leaned against the door frame.
    “Sel, I can’t tell you what to do, and I never plan to either.  You need to trust someone, but it will be when you are ready.  Whatever you went through has taken a toll on you, but I can’t help you unless you talk to me.”
    When Selene remained silent, Jason nodded and started to leave the room.
    “Dinner is around 7, so you have a few hours to relax.”
     
    Jason picked up his bags and left the room.  He walked down the hall and settled into his old room.  He reached into the closet and pulled out some basketball shorts and a jersey.  He threw them on and walked out of the room.  As he was about to go out to the backyard to jog by the lake, his mother stopped him.
    “Jason Alexander.”
    Crap!  
    “Mom.” 
    He smiled at her with the hope she wouldn’t ask.  His smile usually worked like a get out of jail free card, but the look on his mother’s face told him he was SOL.
    “Your father will be home soon, so do you want to tell me what is going on ?  You called to tell me you were coming home with Vincent, and that you were also bringing a friend.”
    “Mom, I just met her.  Her friend was killed at a shooting in her building and it might have been meant for her.  I needed to bring her to a safe place, and I thought of home.”
    “You don’t look at her like you’re just friends.”
    Jason smiled again, unable to argue with his mother.
    “Mom, you are the only woman who has my heart. For now.”
    She swatted him with a towel, and he ran out to start his run.  His brothers were outside, hanging out with Vin on the deck. Jason signaled to Vin to keep an eye on Selene, and took off in a quick jog.  He found his path and kept in a steady speed.  He was torn about Selene.  They just met and she was obviously caught in a case that involved more than what she was saying.
    He was getting a bad feeling and it was only going to get worse.
     

     
      Lucio sat on the couch for what seemed like hours.  She finally walked in and screamed when she saw him.  Eddie stood at the doorway when she tried to run away. 
    “Where do you think you are going, Mimi?”
    Mimi turned around to face him. 
    “No-Nowhere.”
    The smack came quick and hard, and her head hit the wall with the impact of it.
    “I have had enough of your lies.  Get over here.  We need to have a chat.”
    He grabbed her by the hair and half dragged her to the couch.  She whimpered at the grip he had on her hair. Blood was coming down the side of her mouth. 
    “I met your barista.”
    She met his eyes and clasped her hands together. 
    “Barista?”  She was seriously playing dumb now.
    He punched her hard, and lifted his fist again when she yelled out.
    “Ok, I knew him.”  She leaned against the couch in defeat.  He squatted down to meet her gaze and possibly hit her again if she didn’t answer.
    “How did you know him?”
    “He started coming to the club, asking for me.”
    Lucio leaned in closer.
    “And, then?”
    Mimi remained silent.  Lucio turned to Eddie, and motioned