”“I didn’t know you had to go to school to model.”“Oh I’ve never modeled before…”On it went. Until dinner was done and papers were sig...ed.I stood to go, she cleaned the dishes and I apologized for keeping her so late.“Oh not a problem!” she chimed, “I’m just going to take a bath and head to bed.”Imagining her taking a bath was almost too much to bear. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Well then, I’ll let myself out. Thanks again Naomi.”“See you next week!” She called from the kitchen as. Then in a whooshing gust of breath, he said, “I swear by my sister.”That left only Carlo. He stared out at the others, but he wasn’t seeing them. Instead, he was seeing the face of his little sister, Felicia. He had kept her safe all of these years and even kept her out of the gang life. She was almost eighteen... almost a woman. Could he risk her? Could he put her forth to be punished if one of the Knights broke the truce? She was smiling at him, her dark hair framing her olive-hued face. He. "Of course," Andre said as he told one of the other co-workers to take over. Andre walked behind the counter to the back room and came out the side door. Helen took her usual seat in the back. She watched Andre ask some of the customers if everything was to their liking. She loved that about him. He was always making sure others were happy. He had opened this Caribbean Island restaurant and made it a big hit. "What is it today?" he smiled "What can I help my most valuable customer with?" Helen. The Jeep Patriot he’d wildly shot at when he hit the road came into town slowly, as if checking every alley for him, and then came to a complete stop. After a minute the driver backed into a short tight passage between two buildings. Nothing moved and Yousef used the opportunity to scan the surrounding countryside. From his vantage point he could look over a shallow depression between two ridges that rose toward the mountain. There was movement high above the valley. Yousef could not be sure,.