Harmony's Discord Part Three

"Hey, you two," Walker called when they returned.  "Thought I lost you somewhere in this gargantuan house." Harmony watched him looking at her tangled hair, her raw lips; her tentative steps betraying the brutality of his thrusting. She despised herself.

         John finger-combed his hair and tightened his belt. "Let's eat." The dinner passed in silence, a few murmurs of appreciation for John's culinary skills.

         "You two relax in the living room. I have a quick call to return and then I'll clean the kitchen." He crossed the foyer into his private study and waited for the eye-scanner to verify identity. Harmony watched until the door closed.

         "Do you think it's safe, you're sure he can't hear us?" Walker murmured, stroking the back of his hand along the fading red mark left by John's "gentle" slap. Harmony leaned into him, pressing her head against his shoulder, tracing the fullness of his mouth before slipping in a finger. The warm moistness titillated her.

         "No, his office and the kitchen are on the opposite side of the house. He won't hear anything. No moaning, though," she giggled. She longed to rip his clothes off, to swallow him, be swallowed, and to love openly; if only. They played back and forth, nipping, tasting, stroking, as much as they dared in John's mansion.

         Walker licked tear drops from her face. "Leave him. Divorce him before he really hurts you. We'll leave the country, change our names, he'll never find us. All you've known is abuse; let me show you love."

         John's footsteps sounded on the wooden floor, cutting off her reply. She scooted over to the sofa opposite Walker, folding her hands in her lap, eyes downcast, studying her fingers. She remembered her mom's, so like hers, but with more wrinkles, stroking the back of her hand, and giving out her crystal-ball advice. He'll destroy you if you marry him.

         "So, you two have fun while I was working? My wife looks delightful, rosy and happy. I never see that face, Harmony. Why is that?"

         Harmony's hands rose to her flushed cheeks. "Oh, I started a fire; it's chilly in here," she gestured to the fireplace, silently thanking Walker for his forethought.

         "Well, isn't that special." John set the coffee tray down on the sofa table. "Dessert, anyone?" He flourished a dish of delicate cakes and cookies under their noses.

         Harmony and Walker shook their heads.

         "No dessert. Well, then," he extracted a thumb drive from his back pocket. The motion revealed a bulge under his arm. "Let's see what's on this drive."

         Thoughts chased through Harmony's mind. I know my way around all his security devices.

         "Thought you knew everything about me, right Harm?"

         He can read my mind.

         John stalked across the living room, pushing past Harmony and Walker, both standing stock-still. John buried an elbow in Walker's abdomen, and Walker doubled over, breathless. Harmony sucked in her breath. She longed to rush to Walker, hold him, bury his head in her breasts and stroke his hair. She dared not move a muscle. John palmed a section of the wall, revealing a vid screen. He brandished the thumb drive in their faces.

         "Harmony, you dumb bitch. Shoulda' known I'd keep tabs on you, always. Thought you were safe in the living shell. That's what you call it, Harm, huh?"

         Show no fear in the presence of a prowling lion. Harmony lowered her eyes. "Oh, dear God," she prayed, but stopped. She let go of a god years ago; no one ever answered her prayers for succor in the face of violence. No inner voice soothed her in her hours of need. She decided God had cast her aside and she walked away from her belief.

         The vid screen brightened, and a recording came to life. Harmony shoved a fist in her mouth. Walker raised his eyes to look, still unable to stand up. John clicked "play" and the video streamed.

         "Harmony." Walker's recorded voice rang the death knell.

         They all watched Walker gathering John's wife in his arms, kissing her neck, her shoulders, and the palms of her hands, pushing her back into the sofa, and lowering his face to kiss her.

         Harmony clenched her teeth, determined not to panic, or cry. Seeing Walker embracing her devastated her. Now she saw what she experienced—the protective and provocative pocket of love formed by Walker's arms. She'd felt safe for the first time since she married John.

         John retrieved the thumb drive and threw it like a missile at Walker's face. "No one betrays me, or they die. That's what we agreed on in The Ruby Begonia, right?"

         "Yeah, buddy. I messed up, big time. I swear I never meant to fall in love with her, or hurt you."

         "Too late for that." John pulled a pistol from a shoulder holster.

         If Harmony believed in a god, she would ask that Walker's life be spared.

         "I bought it for protection, to keep my gorgeous wife secure from other men . . . like you." John brought the pistol up, expertly balanced between two rock-steady hands, and lined up with Walker's head.

         "Wait, John, stop. Why are you doing this?" Harmony rushed toward him. He kicked the back of her knee. She crumpled. He kicked her stomach, and when she grunted, he kicked harder.

         "Get up, you cheating bitch," he swore as she gasped for breath. She pulled herself to a crouching position, holding her stomach.

         Harmony begged. "John, whatever you're thinking, it's not true. There's nothing between us, no reason to be angry. Please, put down the gun."

         He allowed her to scramble up onto the couch. She rested her elbows on her knees in a familiar way. Her stomach hurt less in that position. "John, listen to me. Why would I cheat on you? I love you. It's just that sometimes—"

         John paused, lowered the gun and studied the carpet. "Sometimes I hurt you."

         Silence held its breath. Three hearts, three minds, three souls, touched, two in harmony, one out of sync.

         "Yes, sometimes you hurt me, but I still love you."

         "Oh, God, Harmony, forgive me, please. I'll never hurt you again, I swear. I love you."

         "Put the gun down. Walker will leave, and I'll stay in the mansion forever. You can keep me here until I die; I belong to you." She stood up and walked toward her husband.

         "Harmony," Walker reached for her hand. "You can't mean that; you know what he'll do to you."

         "Sorry, Walker, it's the only way to save you." She shook his hand free and moved toward John, but he shoved her back, and she landed on the couch again.

         "You two," John shook his head, and motioned with the pistol. "What a pair. Walker, join my wife on the couch." His eyes stabbed Harmony's, but she was sure he blinked away a tear. "I never want to see your face again." His face reddened and he narrowed his eyes. "Or yours," he yelled at Walker, losing his cool facade for the first time since Harmony met him six years ago. He shifted the barrel toward Harmony, then back to Walker. "Eenie, meeny, miney, mo."

         "Stop." Harmony held up a defensive hand. "I told you I would stay."

         "You know what I saw on that vid screen?" He looked down at his feet, rolled his shoulders, and then turned his head away, rubbing his hand across his face.

         Nothing passed unnoticed by Harmony. Life on the edge honed all instincts and gave her an animal-like alertness. "John, you're crying." Harmony's voice held the wonder of a child seeing her first rainbow after a thunderstorm.

         "What I saw on that vid screen was who I might have been, who you should have been, without me." John lifted his face; his eyes dove into Harmony's soul. "You're an angel, Harmony, a glorious creation. I hate my reflection in your eyes. I'm a monster."

         Walker sneezed into the crook of his arm, allowing him to turn toward Harmony. He whispered instructions.

          "John, nothing's happened yet. So what, you pulled a gun, scared us. Let it go." She hugged her body, slowing her trembling frame, stilling her chattering teeth.

         "No, it ends here. When you die the time we spent together dies; we never existed. I'll forget I ever knew you."

         Harmony lowered her eyes and whispered.

         "What, what did you say? John stepped closer, the gun at his side.

         "She said 'game over,' asshole." Walker spoke from behind John. "Good job distracting him, Harmony."

         Harmony squeezed her eyes shut, blocking the image of Walker pressing a pistol against her husband's neck. I never meant for this to happen. What was I thinking, sneaking around with Walker?

         "Harmony, you've changed. Walker's changed you." John reached for her, allowing more tears to fall. The pistol dangled from his fingers. "You said you loved me, but you're letting Walker kill me? Is that what you want? You want me dead? I love you."

         "I love you too," she whispered. Harmony reached for him, willing to believe he found his inner self, killed his demon.

         "Harmony, no," Walker yelled, one heartbeat too late.



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"Harmony's Discord - Conclusion"