He scoffed. “If I leave. Where are you in this equation?”
She hadn’t figured that part out yet. But she would. Because she was a fucking survivor. Because she always did whatever it took to land on her feet.
She felt like the minutes were ticking down to something awful, like the timer on a bomb, and though she scrambled to try to stop it, she couldn’t.
“You can protect our girls.” She hated admitting this, even to herself, but Mike was bigger, stronger, and more equipped to take on two dangerous men than she was. If she stayed behind, she could create a diversion. They might not even know Chloe and Paisley were gone.
His gaze clouded for a moment, and he fixed on some point behind her. Then he blinked, and refocused, and when his stare trapped hers she could barely breathe. Strong hands gripped her shoulders, holding her in place.
“Do not ask me to choose between them and you.”
The quake began in her heels. How could he not understand this? She was furious with him all over again.
“There’s no choice,” she said. “I can take care of my...”
“No.” His voice was too loud, his eyes too wild. She jumped back, glancing automatically to the door of the girls’ room.
“Why?” She pleaded for an answer, knowing even then that her head must not have been screwed on all the way. Her thoughts were crashing into each other, frantic and unclear. The only truth she knew was that her girls weren’t safe and that Mike could protect them, but was choosing not to.
“Amy, I...”
His hesitation hung between them, as weighted as her accusations. She could almost hear him say what she’d felt last night in his arms, and if he’d said it, it might have changed everything.
“I feel very protective of you,” he said.
It wasn’t what she’d needed to hear.
She released him, and backed away toward the bedroom. Her heart felt like it was being trampled by a stampede of horses.
If he was going to say something else, she didn’t stick around to listen. She retreated into the bedroom to change clothes, scrub her face, and think.
Chapter Twenty-Six
By three am she hadn’t developed any semblance of a plan. By four, her head had started to feel muddy, and by five, she’d drank a full pot of coffee and was so wired she’d started to twitch. Iris was asleep in the guest bedroom. Mike was making regular perimeter sweeps, keeping an eye on the street as if waiting for someone to come up and knock at the door. Amy sat on the stairs, holding the only weapon she felt confident enough to use in a box on her lap. Her $500 pair of styling sheers. She’d just had them sharpened last week.
Mike had asked her five times what the men who’d attacked her had looked like, and anything she remembered that they might have said. She told him the truth: that one had curly hair and a New York accent, and the other was clean cut and hadn’t spoken much. They said Danny owed them money, and since he was gone, they expected her to pay.
She’d left the rest out. He hadn’t told her everything about Danny, after all. It wasn’t that she was trying to be spiteful, but the truth was, she was sure that telling him would somehow put him in more danger. That he’d try to protect her again, the way he had with her ex.
She clung to the details that seemed important. These men knew things about her and the people she cared about. Danny owed them $37,000. They reported to someone they called the Fox.
She thought maybe if she knew someone stronger, more powerful than this Fox person, she might be able to get some kind of protection for the people she cared about, but that wasn’t realistic. Not only did she not know any gangsters, getting in bed with the wrong people would mean more trouble down the line—if she’d learned nothing else from Alec Flynn, it was that. Only one option came to mind, and it wasn’t a good one: pay their way out of this. She didn’t have all the money, but maybe loan sharks took payments. She’d have to find the Fox first. And to find the Fox, she either had to find the men who’d cornered her, or find Danny.
The number he’d had when they were together was disconnected. There was no real trace of him online. She even tried looking up his parents in Ohio, but they were unlisted. He’d popped up when she didn’t want him to, but now that she needed him, she had no idea how to find him.
Mike had finally drifted off on the couch, long legs splayed out, head resting back on the cushion. He hadn’t changed since last night, though he’d untucked his shirt. It was a little twisted now, and had hiked up on his stomach, revealing a thin line of dark skin below his belly button that brought a hard pang to her belly. For long moments she stared at it, remembering the feel of it under her fingers, and the way his abs flexed when he was over her. She wished she could travel back to those moments in his bed, when she could think of nothing else but the way he felt.
He would never tell her where Danny was. It wasn’t even worth asking him again. And now, with the clarity of time, she could say that even if it pissed her off, even if what it meant scared her, she could understand why he wouldn’t. It was the same reason why she was about to walk out his door.
She would do whatever she had to in order to protect her family.
Before she left, she moved closer, staying back a few feet for fear of waking him up.
“Keep them safe,” she whispered, knowing that without a doubt he would. He might hate her for putting him in this position, but she couldn’t think of that. If she wasn’t there, he wouldn’t let them out of his sight.
It was hard to walk away. Her feet seemed to stick to the soft carpet. Her bones felt like they were made of lead. She glanced up the stairs, whispered, “I love you,” and then placed her styling shears and her cell phone in her purse. By the time she reached the door to the garage she had momentum on her side, and even though it went against everything inside of her, she jogged down the steps and got in her car.
She couldn’t stop moving now. Once Mike heard the garage open, he would wake up and try to stop her from leaving. She thought of Paisley, waking up and asking where she was. Chloe, scrambling to finish her homework. The only thing that brought her comfort was knowing that Mike had probably already planned on finding Danny himself. She was just beating him to it.
If it kept him out of this, it was worth it.
She searched the neighborhood for anyone loitering, any unfamiliar cars, but found nothing out of the norm. It wasn’t until she hit the freeway that she picked up her cell. The phone rang twice before it went to voicemail, as if the receiver had seen the caller ID and hung up.
“Mom, it’s me,” said Amy. “I just wanted to...” She inhaled through her nostrils. “Make sure your hotel’s all right. Call and let me know where you’re staying.” She figured it was one of the bigger, expensive ones in the city. “Be careful. There’s a festival going on downtown so you might want to stay inside. I saw a story on the news last night that thieves are targeting single women in their early fifties more and more.” Her mother would surely see through the bullshit, but regardless, would probably heed Amy’s advice. Candace was already paranoid that people were targeting her.
Amy ignored the wave of guilt over her mother’s involvement in her ex-husband’s problems, and drove on to the apartment she’d left just hours before.
Fixing her ponytail and wishing she’d thought to bring at least a little makeup, Amy checked herself in the mirror, put on a smile, and climbed the steps to Anna’s home. She knocked, but no one answered. And then she knocked again. And again. Five minutes later, she heard a male voice from inside.
“Hold the fuck on already.”
“Hi,” Amy said brightly as Alec opened the door. She was immediately grateful it was him. If Anna had answered, she was going to fake some story about needing to talk to Alec about wedding plans, but not lying to her best friend was so much better.
He scratched the stubble on the side of his face, his hair a tousled mess. She had to force her eyes to stay on his, rather than drift lower to his very bare chest
that seemed to be chiseled straight from a hunk of marble.
“Hey. I’ll get Anna.” He stepped back to make room for her to come in, but she waved him off, and stayed on the front step.
He blinked, then rubbed his eyes.
“Actually I wanted to talk to you,” she said.
She motioned him forward, and then closed the door behind him when he stepped onto the mat. He was barefoot, in a pair of pajama pants that were slung low on his hips.
He squinted up at the sky. “Jesus, what time is it?”
“Six-ish?”
“Fuck me,” he muttered. “I need coffee.”
She gave him a half smile, and he took a deep breath. He seemed to remember something then, and rested a warm hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on? Remember something from last night?”
She made herself stand tall.
“I know Mike went to see my ex-husband.”
Alec’s hand slipped off her shoulder.
“Oh yeah?”
“Did you go with him?”
Alec glanced to the side. “Did he say I went with him?”
It was either her raw nerves or the lack of sleep, but she was suddenly livid.
“Don’t pull that brother shit with me, Alec. I’m not in the mood.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said. “Just trying to get a feel for the game. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
No doubt because he’d been rolling around in bed with Anna.
“No games,” she said. “I need to know where Danny is.”
His eyes, flashing with sudden clarity, locked on hers. “Why are you asking me?”
“Because Mike’s sleeping.”
“Uh huh.”
“And he wouldn’t tell me.”
“Uh huh.”
His answers annoyed her. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really need to know, believe me.”
“Why do you need to know?”
“Not your business.”
“It is, actually,” Alec said, leaning back against the railing, arms crossed. “If I send you somewhere you might get hurt, I have to pay for it from both sides. Mike’s got a hot button when it comes to you, and Anna would rip my fucking balls off.”
“So don’t tell them.”
“Can’t do that either.” Alec clicked his tongue inside his cheek. “Mike and I have too much history, and Anna and I have too much future.”
Now Amy crossed her arms. She stared daggers at him. “You’re awfully noble for an ex-con.”
He grinned. “I’m reformed. See? The system works.”
“I need to see him,” she said. “I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“Talking to a man that hit you isn’t exactly smart.”
Her cheeks heated.
“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?” she said.
“I’ve heard.” He stretched his arms overhead, showcasing every muscled inch of him. “Look, Amy, you want me to be straight? Here you go. I wouldn’t tell you where that son of a bitch is because he’s a son of a bitch, and even if there were no Anna, and no Mike, I still wouldn’t tell you, because I like you, and as far as I’m concerned he doesn’t even deserve to look at you.”
For a moment she said nothing, shocked. He’d always been nice to her, especially after the bridge incident, but she thought that was because he felt guilty over what had happened, or because he was trying to make things right with Anna. She’d never considered that he wanted to be her friend.
“He’s got some information I need,” Amy said. “For Paisley.”
Alec hummed. “Then ask Mike to handle it. And if you don’t feel good about that, ask me. I’ll take care of it.”
The truth was absolutely clear in his stormy blue eyes.
“God dammit,” said Amy under her breath. “Quit being such a good person.”
“What’s this really about, Amy?”
She felt like she was going to burst. “It’s about me not needing a couple Neanderthals blocking my way for what they think is my own good.”
She spun away, but before she descended the steps, she asked one more question over her shoulder.
“Do you know who the Fox is?”
Anna had told her that Alec knew some questionable people when he’d worked for Maxim Stein, but all that was behind him.
She could hear the railing creak as Alec pushed away from it.
“Why do you ask?”
She turned, seeing that he looked less smug, and considerably more concerned than thirty seconds prior. “Same reason I need to know where Danny is.”
“Your ex is mixed up with him?”
Amy didn’t answer. She hadn’t told Mike this. It felt like a betrayal telling Alec.
“He’s bad news,” Alec said. “We never ran in the same circles when I worked for Max, but I’ve heard things.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Bad things,” Alec said. “Things where people disappear then reappear in pieces. He’s a loan shark. People go to him for money, he jacks up the interest, and when they can’t pay...Well.”
Amy felt her knees turn to water. She forced herself to grip the handrail and flatten her expression.
“Is this about last night?” Alec asked. “Did someone say something about...”
She didn’t wait for him to finish. She took the steps at a jog, and didn’t let the shakes take her over until she got to the car. The breaths rushed through her ears as she ripped out of the parking lot.
She needed to find Danny.
“Think!” she shouted, her voice slapping off the windshield. “Danny, where are you?” She thought of his old music hangouts. A few clubs where he’d played. Some corners where he’d collected tips. People they used to know. She’d avoided those things for two years at least, but now sped back toward them.
He could be anywhere in the country. Her mom had seen him in Cincinnati; he might be crashing there. She picked up her cell phone and found she’d missed four calls from Mike. She ignored them with a pang.
She was on the freeway when her cell rang again. Half convinced it was Anna—that Alec had told her she’d come by—she snatched it up, but the ID said Marcos.
No cops. Curly’s warning rang through her head. She tried to think of why Marcos might be calling. To check in? To convince her to make a report? She almost turned her phone off, but answered on the last ring.
“Marcos?” her voice wavered.
“Amy, hey. I know it’s early, but I wanted to let you know I did get a print off that cigarette you gave me last night.”
She felt all her insides go suddenly buoyant, like she was falling and her body hadn’t yet caught on.
“And?”
He chuckled dryly. “You got lucky. This guy isn’t just any asshole. He’s got a rap sheet as long as Maxim Stein’s. He just got out from a five-year stint up north for sexual assault, but he’s got half a dozen drug charges on here dating back to his juvy days.”
“What’s his name?” Amy asked.
“Aiden Farrell,” said Marcos. “I can put out a APB on him, but I need your statement first.”
She couldn’t make a report. Her mind was already flying through the options of what to do with this information, and if Aiden’s unidentified friend was just as bad as he was. “Marcos, I have to go. I’ll call you back.”
She hung up and pulled off at the nearest exit. At the bottom, she opened the internet on her phone, and typed in the name Aiden Farrell.
His picture popped up on a website for Florida Corrections. He looked exactly as she’d remembered him, apart from a little less gel in his curly hair. He sneered at the camera like he wasn’t afraid of anything.
She scanned through more mentions of his name. A few news stories. A one-line description saying he was on parole. Finally she found a website dedicated to registered sex offenders, and there, along with his picture and a charge of statutory rape, female victim under sixteen, was an address.
Typin
g it into her GPS, she found the first ATM she could, and then headed toward his house.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was a stupid idea and she knew it. Paying a man who’d threatened her and her family was like giving treats to a dog that had just bitten you in the leg. Mike was right, it would only hold him off for a little while, but maybe that would be enough for her to develop a new plan.
She could live minute by minute. Danny had taught her that.
With a wallet filled with her remaining $3,000 cash, she pulled up to the curb four houses down from a single-story duplex with dirty white shutters and green mold spreading down from beneath the roof’s lip. There was a beat-up white sedan in single-car driveway, and the building’s windows were all covered by black bars.
For a while, she didn’t move. Alec’s words filled her mind: I’ll take care of it. And then Mike saying Danny was his problem now. She had people who could help her, she just needed to ask them.
But Alec was marrying her best friend in less than a week. And Mike was the only one she truly trusted to take care of her daughter if something happened to her.
She hated Danny more than she ever had when they were married. He’d put her in an impossible position, and now she was preparing to do something incredibly stupid because her other options had all been crossed off the list. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t hide. She couldn’t go to the cops. It was either be proactive, or wait for the wolf to come blow her house down.
No one came in or out of the front door.
“One,” she whispered. “Two. Three.” She took a deep breath, and opened the driver’s side door. Quietly, as if she didn’t want to wake someone, she padded across the broken asphalt to the fence. Her mace was tight in one fist, and in the other, she gripped the strap of her purse holding the cash. She wished she’d thought to wear something less revealing than the capri-length tights and off-the-shoulder T-shirt she’d put last night. Maybe a bulletproof vest and a Kevlar helmet.
Inside the house, she could hear a television—some kind of talk show where the audience clapped every few seconds. Outside was quiet, but for the distant whir from the freeway and a dog barking somewhere down the street.
More: A Body Work Novel (The Body Work Trilogy Book 4) Page 25