“Sorry, Ruby-D,” he muttered and slowed.
“Where is this place?”
“I’ll show you where to turn off once we get down by the harbor.” Downey pointed out the windshield.
Tiny’s phone buzzed in my hand.
“Probably that cop.”
I flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Ruby, its Ben, I need to know which construction place you mean.” His voice sounded agitated.
“There’s more than one?”
“Ruby, there’s construction everywhere down there. Can you narrow it down?”
“Uh, hold on.” I covered the phone with my hand and hissed at Downey. “There’s more than one construction site!”
“How was I supposed to know that?”
“Well which one is it? Is there some kind of landmark?”
“Uh, there’s boats near it.”
I raked my fingers through my hair, frustrated. “Ben, she says there are boats near it.”
Silent for a beat, his voice came back with a doubtful edge. “Ruby, who gave you this tip?”
“How does that matter?” I hedged. “It’s a good tip. They saw two guys, a doctor from my ER and a gang guy…how many times you see that? It doesn’t matter—”
“Is it kids?” Ben interrupted.
“So what if it is, Ben,” I snapped, anger flowing and amping up my heart rate.
“I can’t believe you, Ruby. I grabbed cops off the street to chase down a tip by some street kids wanting to make a buck? How do you know they aren’t lying?”
“They wouldn’t lie, not about this!” My voice shook. “Now are you helping us, or not?”
I looked at the screen. No signal bars. Gritting teeth, I slapped it shut. “I lost him.”
Downy leaned forward with an angry gaze. “He thinks we’re lyin’ don’t he? Like we’re just cold like that.”
“I don’t think that.”
She slumped back in the seat, arms crossed.
I looked out the window and caught sight of the red light Tiny ran. We raced past houses and corner stores, onto the freeway. Weaving in and out of traffic, Tiny went towards the harbor. He flicked a silver lighter opened and closed against the leg of his jeans.
“How do you know this guy?” Darnell asked. “I mean, you knew him from before, right? ‘Cause I haven’t seen him around long enough for you to be so caught up with him.”
“I knew him when I was in a…facility during my teens.”
Downey looked up at me, shocked. “No way, Ruby-D, you were in Juvie?”
“No, it wasn’t juvenile hall, Downey. Tom took care of me, you know, watched out for me there, and we got close.”
“How close,” Tiny asked.
“He’s the only guy I ever loved. The only one.”
“Wow,” Downey said. “That’s pretty close.”
Darnell chuckled. “All this time, you had me thinking you’re some uptown Doc just doing her good deeds before taking off for Beverly Hills. But you were a street kid, and you’re still hung up on a kid from juvie…Doc, you’re not crazy, you’re one of us.”
“Who thinks I’m crazy?”
“All the adults,” Tiny said. “Nobody who counts.”
Downey’s gaze settled on the bruises on my face. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to us? That’s something I woulda wanted to know…that you understood.”
“I knew Tom during a time that ended very badly, Downey. A kid died. That’s not something I want to get around.”
Darnell pulled forward, staring through wide eyes. “Did you shoot him?”
“No, it was an accident, actually. The kid, he was after Tom and came at him with a knife. They’d been fighting for days…”
Telling these kids seemed easier than talking to Ben.
We swerved around a station wagon, the driver honking at us.
“What happened?” Tiny asked.
“They were out in the rain, and when I jumped in…during the struggle…” My voice caught in my throat. “The guy slipped in a puddle and hit his head on the curb. He died. But he’d stabbed Tom right before he went down. It was an accident, a stupid accident. Tom disappeared after that.”
“He just split?” Tiny asked, confused. “Just left you holding the blame for the dead guy?”
“No…uh, no one ever charged me. Tom must have—”
“Get off here!” Downey shouted suddenly and pointed. “Right here.”
Tiny tossed the lighter in his breast pocket and yanked the car to the right. We soared down the off-ramp and skidded onto the street.
“That’s it, that’s it!” Downey shouted.
Up on our right, a construction zone, long abandoned from the look of the weathered wood and muddy cones, butted up against a warehouse. Another building, almost two hundred yards away, was the only other structure. Not quite industrial, the area had the unfinished look of an abandoned city project.
“Hold up,” Tiny said and grimaced.
I braced myself on the dashboard, teeth snapping together as we sailed over the rutted dirt road.
“Slow down, Tiny.” I tasted blood in my mouth. “We don’t want him to know we’re here.”
He slowed the car down to a crawl.
I peered at the building.
Downey leaned in, pointing to a wood structure. “You see that? It’s like a…boathouse. It goes out over the water, like a pier, but covered.”
I flipped Tiny’s phone open and checked for bars, still none. Turning to Darnell and Downey I fixed them with a hard look. “You guys stay here. Do NOT get out and follow me, do you understand?” I tried to quell the quiver in my voice.
“Sure Ruby-D,” Darnell promised.
I handed them the phone. “You keep calling 911. Keep bugging them with the location; we got off on Sassafras Road, we’re near the industrial and storage sector, OK?”
Downey grasped my sleeve, her lip quivering. “I hope this isn’t like the last time, Doc. I hope this ain’t a full-circle type of thing.”
Startled by her words, I nodded dumbly. “Me too, Downey.”
Tiny pulled to a stop and we got out. I wrinkled my brows at Darnell and Downey as I walked around the back of the car, pointed to my eyes and then at them.
I’m watching you.
“Good luck,” Downey mouthed silently.
Tiny and I crept along the perimeter of the construction cones fanned away from a dirt road leading into the property. Overhead, the clouds rumbled. I peered up at the sky wondering how much of what Downey said was true. Were Tom and I coming full circle? I looked at Tiny and then back at the car. Downey had the phone to her ear.
No, this time is different. This time I’m not alone.
We made our way over the mounds of excavated dirt and trash to the edge of the building. Tiny and I crept towards the back of the boat house. Facing away from the street, the structure’s doors opened onto an unfinished dock leading into the ocean.
The gray light of dawn made picking our way through the construction debris difficult. His gun out, Tiny slipped and went down on one knee, his face tight. We waited for a few seconds. Nothing. I motioned for us to move.
My stomach jumped when I heard a voice. Breathing ragged, I peered around the corner. A man stood leaning against the warped wood, smoking. His arm rested lazily on an automatic rifle dangling from a strap. He was talking into a two-way radio phone.
“Nah, there’s nothing going on out here,” he said with a thick Chicago accent.
Blaine’s partners from the east coast…he’d said something about Chicago, another dealer to supply.
Gulping, I crept back to Tiny. He wasn’t there. My mouth went dry, and I scanned the debris and overturned equipment, frantically searching. The unmistakable sound of a round being chambered made my skin crawl. I turned slowly, my hands up in surrender. The guard sneered, his rifle pointed at my chest.
“I can explain,” I whispered.
He spit and glared with cold, dark eyes. Pulli
ng a phone out, he flipped it open.
I gulped.
Tiny stepped behind the guard, slamming the butt of his gun down on the back of the guard’s head. The guard crumpled to the dirt, landing on his rifle with a thud.
“Tiny,” I whispered with shock. I put my fingers to the guard’s neck, feeling for a pulse. “You can’t go creeping around here, you’ll get hurt.”
Tiny pointed his gun at the guard, his face bemused. “Did you and I just see the same thing?”
The guard’s pulse steady, I got up and wiped my hands on my pants. “I’m just saying…this isn’t the movies.”
Tiny helped me pull the guard to the side of the boat house. “Nah, if this was the movies, I’d have a silencer, and you wouldn’t be checking for a pulse, Doc.”
“You—”
I heard a crash inside the building and froze. I pointed to the window a few feet behind us.
Tiny nodded and we backed up until we were under the window. I gestured with my hands, lacing the fingers together to form a foot hold. Tiny nodded and copied me. He lifted me up. I licked my hand, wiped the grime off the window, and squinted through the glass. I could make out a form, a man on a chair. Tom. Blaine, pointed a gun at Tom, his voice distorted even as it floated out in a muffled shout.
How much…Chicago…network…
Tom didn’t answer and my stomach toppled. Blaine wouldn’t waste time interrogating Tom much longer. I looked around for more men, but didn’t see anyone. Blaine shouted. Tom shouted back and then a gunshot rocketed through the old building. I gasped, flinching back and toppling over, taking Tiny with me.
“No!” I wheezed, unable to breathe. Heart racing, I clawed at the dirt, trying to make it to the door, but Tiny held me down. His huge arms wrapped around my legs, slamming me into the dirt again. I fought against him, sobbing silently.
“Listen,” he whispered intensely. “Listen.”
Tom yelled again. His anguished cry bored through my bones, but he was alive. I fought back the bile and Tiny lifted me up to peer into the window again. Tom writhed in the chair, his leg bleeding from the thigh. He wasn’t dead. He was hurt, but not dead.
Blaine shouted at Tom, half laughing like he’d lost his mind.
“Down,” I hissed. “Get me down.”
I pulled away from Tiny and ran along the building towards the back. Panic surged and I panted, trying to think. Tom was bleeding; he could die from that wound, if Blaine didn’t shoot him in the head next time. A crazy man with a gun, against me and a teenager. Tears streamed down my face.
Something, I need to do something! Please, help me.
I rounded the corner and stopped. A white SUV sat butted up against the building.
Tiny pounded over to me, eyes wide. “What’re you doin’, Doc?” He panted.
I turned to him, my breath coming in hitches. “I have an idea.”
44
I pulled Tiny towards the SUV, searching for any other guards.
“What’re we doin’, Doc?” he panted, stumbling after me.
“I need some tubing, anything long.” I took the gun from Tiny and walked to the driver’s side of the SUV. I peered inside. No one. “Go Tiny, hurry!”
He ran off. I stood on my tip-toes and looked into the front seat, under the dash. The alarm light wasn’t blinking. I tried the handle. The door opened. A surge of hope rushed through me, and I climbed inside.
Sheila, my foster mom, had taken me camping in an older one of these. I reached a hand down along the side of the driver’s seat, found the lever and pulled. Through the rear view mirror, I saw the little gas cover swing open. I smiled. Hopping out, I caught sight of Tiny cresting the dirt mounds, running back from the car.
He held up loops of clear surgical tubing. “In the trunk, from when you were in there,” he panted. “Downey says she’s still trying to get through to someone. Don’t worry, I told them to stay in the car.”
“Thanks, Tiny.” I grabbed the tubing I’d used for Darnell’s IV, and ran over to the gas cap. Twisting it off, I fed the tubing into the tank. Turning to Tiny, I pointed to the back of the SUV. “See if you can get that open.”
He lifted the back hatch of the SUV. I felt the tube hit the bottom of the tank. Finding the other end of the tubing, I sucked on it. I saw the pale liquid rise, snaking through the tube like juice in a crazy straw. I gagged and then spit as the gas started to pour into the dirt.
“Tiny, what’s taking so long?”
I looked over my shoulder at Tiny’s shocked face.
“Uh, Doc,” he stammered.
“What?” I pulled off my shirt, leaving only my tank top. I soaked the wadded shirt with gas, then turning it in the dirt. I willed my mind to quiet down, to stop showing me Tom’s pain-filled face.
Tiny pointed into the SUV. “There’s something you should see.”
I grabbed the soaked shirt and walked over to Tiny, stopping short.
Wires snaked along the inside roof of the SUV. I took in the pipes with caps, and the black electrical tape.
Jason wired the other SUV to blow, taking out the cops…he’d done the same with this one. Blaine must have known he’d hide it here.
In the hatch, brick-sized bundles sat stacked. Wrapped with green duct tape and labeled with numbers, I was staring at thousands of dollars.
“I don’t care, Tiny,” I said and held out my hand. “Give me your lighter.”
Groaning, he reached into this pocket and brought out the silver-capped lighter. I squeezed the gas all over the inside carpet of the SUV’s trunk, and then dangled the shirt over the tailgate.
“I don’t think this’ll just burn, Doc, the powder in the—”
“I know, Tiny. I know,” I interrupted. “Start running.”
I flicked the flame alight and held it to the end of the shirt, my hand trembling. The cloth went up with a whoosh. The Molotov cocktail bottles flying through my clinic windows flashed behind my eyes. I stepped back, mesmerized by the flames licking higher into the trunk.
“Doc!” Tiny yelled.
I turned and ran, sprinting away from the hissing fire. The hair on my arms stood on end. A terrible blast threw me forward in a dirt belly-flop, the wind whooshing out of me. I struggled to my feet, bleary eyed. Ears ringing, I turned to the SUV, still strangely intact.
Tiny peered out from behind an overturned wheel-barrel. “Maybe the pipe bombs—”
The concussive wave tore over us, slamming me backwards and blinding me. The pipe bombs went off in a series of explosions. I rolled into a ball, screaming. Shards of glass and metal splayed ripping scratches along my back and legs. Ear drums blown, I could only hear the blasts as muffled booms. They stopped, and I peered over my forearms, panting.
“Tiny, Tiny, are you all right?” I yelled, but my ears wouldn’t work. Stifled sounds surrounded me, but I couldn’t tell the direction. I found Tiny with his hand to his leg. Blood seeped between his fingers. I read his lips as he spoke to me, his voice a faraway din.
“I’m OK, Doc.”
I wiggled fingers in my ears, trying to clear them.
Eyes wide, Tiny raised a shaking hand and grasped at the paper floating down from the sky. I stared, open mouthed at a singed twenty-dollar bill, still smoldering. A storm cloud of money fluttered to the ground like a ticker tape parade. I stared, speechless.
Tiny shoved a gun in my hands, pulling me out of a stupor. “Go!”
I took the gun and turned towards the boathouse, staring shocked at the flaming cavern the bomb blast tore into the side. My heart stuttered, terrified that Tom was under all of that debris.
Walk with me, Lord.
Steeling myself, I pointed the gun, sucked in a breath, and ran into the fire.
45
Tom
The bullet tore through Tom’s femur, blasting out the underside of his leg with a sickening crack. The discharge echoes drowned out his anguished scream.
“How deep?” Blaine screamed. “Tell me how deep this goe
s. You know about Chicago?”
Tom gritted his teeth, panting to keep from blacking out. “No, Blaine. Chicago is safe, just disappear.”
“I can’t do that!” Blaine screamed. “I have a wife and kids. T-they need me to provide.”
Tom grimaced, fighting to stay conscious. A wave of pain crushed the wind out of him. “You’re saying you did this for your kids?”
Blaine’s face wrinkled with anger. “Do you have any idea what private school costs? I was doing fine…a nice, quiet business, until you two ruined it!”
“You did this to your family,” Tom growled. “Not me.”
“Shut up!” Blaine spat and backhanded Tom across the face. “You ruined everything!”
Tom tasted blood in his mouth and spit bloody saliva towards Blaine. “I told you, the only way is to run…right now.”
“I’ll lose my whole life, my wife, my kids.” A strangled howl escaped Blaine’s contorted lips and he lunged, shoving his gun under Tom’s chin, his eyes filled with fury. “You take what I love; I’ll take what you love. I’m going to find Ruby and kill her in front of you!”
Tom gritted his teeth, gaze never leaving Blaine. “You’ll never get her.”
“Oh yeah?”
Tom nodded, panting through the pain. “Yeah, you know why?”
“Why?” Blaine snarled.
Tom saw Ruby light up the SUV and start running. “Cause she’s gonna kill you first.”
A blast rumbled outside, sending Blaine staggering away. Tom’s chair rocked back on its hind legs, toppling him onto his side. White pain seared, making his vision gray, and he cried out. Still taped to the chair, he clenched his eyes as dirt and splintered wood fell down from the roof of the boat house.
Blaine recovered his balance. Glancing down at Tom, he laughed. “Looks like your rescue was a dud,” he sneered and the gun arced up. “She’s just a—”
A second blast tore through the wall and windows, ripping them apart mid-flight and slamming Blaine with a wave of heat and wood.
Tom buried his face in the dirt, holding his breath as the world exploded in a blast of fire and glass.
Blaine landed next to him. “What’s happening?” Blaine screamed, face red with sweat and fright.
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