Parker Security Complete Series

by Camilla Blake

  “Fine,” I said. Don’t act like you’re doing me any favors, I wanted to add, but I didn’t.

  Chapter 25

  Jason

  I walked around town for a bit and then ended up getting in the car and taking a little drive, which turned into a longer drive when I got lost. Luckily my phone still had half a bar of service, so I was able to find my way back, thanks to Google Maps.

  This was a nice area; I liked getting to see a mountain so close. I’d been to Colorado a few times, once down in Arizona, and getting to see a huge mountain like that, simply by glancing out your car window, was something I didn’t think I would ever get tired of.

  I typed Emmy a quick text when I got back: Decided to come back to the place; let me know when you’re ready and I’ll come get you. I paused, about to send. Hope it’s going OK. Love you.

  I hit the arrow before I had a chance to think about it. Only after the text bubble appeared did I feel a surge of anxiety at seeing the words there. Stop it, I thought. You’re just being honest.

  We’d said I love you already, after all—though, admittedly, it had been while we’d been on drugs. So did that even count? But I’d meant it, and I believed she did, too.

  If you really believed that, then you wouldn’t be feeling like you’re about to hurl—

  My phone beeped. Incoming text.

  It’s... going. Tell you about it when I get back. Love you too.

  The smile that spread across my face stretched into a laugh; partially at myself for feeling as anxious as I did (foolish) and partially because... well, seeing that made me really damn happy.

  I brought the phone with me out to the side yard and lay down in the hammock. It was hot, but the hammock was underneath the shade of some towering red maples. I stretched one leg over the side of the hammock and gave it a little push. I closed my eyes and listened to the birds, to the rustling leaves as a warm breeze blew through. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city, from all the concrete and asphalt, the towering buildings, the throngs of people, hordes of cars and buses.

  I dozed for a little while, not quite awake, not quite asleep. I could still hear everything going on around me, but I drifted between the levels of consciousness. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard a car coming down the driveway. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. The hammock rocked. It was a silver Toyota pickup truck, and the sun hit the window just right so I couldn’t see who was inside. The truck stopped at the end of the driveway and Emmy hopped out. As I was getting up, the truck backed up, did a three-point turn, and drove away before I made it over.

  Emmy watched it go, and then turned and looked at me.

  “How’d it go?” I asked. Had that been Isa driving the truck? If so, I was a little surprised that she hadn’t stayed; I’d figured the three of us would probably go somewhere, spend the rest of the day together. But Emmy had the strangest look on her face, a cross between anger and utter confusion.

  “How did it go?” she repeated. “Can we go for a walk? I’ll tell you all about it.”

  We tromped off through the backyard, to the footpath that wound through the forest, sunlight dappling the ground where it could make it through the canopy. It was probably ten degrees cooler and everything smelled fresh, vibrant. It was hard not to feel exhilarated out here, hard not to feel like you were somewhere completely new. I’d never been to Canada before, and I liked it—a lot. I took Emmy’s hand as we walked, and she told me how their conversation had been.

  When she was done talking, I remained quiet for a few moments, at first because I was unsure of what to say, but then because it seemed like Emmy needed the quiet in order to continue processing everything that had just transpired. When Emmy had first wanted to come up here because she’d had that hunch that Isa was up here, I’d been skeptical. More than skeptical—I’d figured that we’d come up here for a few days, Emmy would do her best to try to track down her sister, yet her sister wouldn’t be here so it wouldn’t matter. But Emmy had been right, and we now knew that Isa hadn’t been abducted; rather, she’d chosen, of her own volition, to abandon her previous life and start over anew somewhere.

  It wasn’t an entirely foreign concept to me.

  During the whole fiasco with the cooking show, and for a good period of time after it was finally over, I had thought—more than once—of how it might be possible to pull off something similar. I’d imagined getting in my car, driving away, not once looking back. Not telling a soul where I was going. Not even necessarily knowing where I was going, until I got there. I would be anonymous. I could start over. The possibilities seemed endless, and that desire beckoned. But I couldn’t do it. I’d think of my father, and of Drew, and all my co-workers, of my apartment, of everything I was used to. Maybe it’s because I was a pathetic creature of habit, limited in my world view, as Isa had apparently put it. Whatever the reason, I knew that no matter how bad things got, I couldn’t just walk away from my life.

  ***

  Emmy decided to take a walk by herself, and I could tell that she needed the time alone to try to process everything that had happened. I didn’t blame her; it was still a little unbelievable to me that she’d actually found Isa. I sat on the front porch with my phone and replied to a text from Drew, then thought about maybe driving back into town to get some stuff to make dinner for Emmy later.

  I was inside looking for my wallet when I heard a car coming down the driveway, and when it came into view I saw that it was the same pickup truck that had dropped Emmy off. The driver’s side door opened and Isa stepped out.

  “Is Emmy home?” she said when I went to the front door.

  “She went out for a walk,” I said. “She’ll be back in a little while. Do you... do you want to come in?”

  “Sure.”

  Isa strode right in like she owned the place. She and Emmy might have shared physical features, but their mannerisms were so different, the energy they projected so opposite, that they might have been strangers who had never encountered each other before.

  “Cute place.”

  Isa stood there, arms folded across her chest, checking me out. Doing so in such a way that clearly communicated she didn’t give a crap if I took notice. “Funny the way things work out, isn’t it?” she said. “I remember you. You were standing at the door to the VIP lounge at Heathens.”

  “Good memory.”

  “And I remember wondering if you were going to give me any trouble.”

  “You thought I was going to give you trouble?”

  “Well, I wasn’t sure. You looked like you might be the sort to take your job very seriously—” she said this last part in a deep, comical voice, “and do something stupid, like follow me outside or something. Which totally would have ruined things. I would’ve had to lose you so I could’ve made my escape.”

  “What exactly did you do that night?”

  She shrugged. “I went outside. Had my smoke. Then I pulled this folded baseball cap out of my back pocket, put it on my head, and made my way down to the BART station, took it all the way to the airport, and that was that.”

  “But you didn’t bring your purse with you. Your phone.”

  “Why would I? I was done being that person. Why would I want her stuff?”

  “You have to admit, it’s a little odd. You’re wealthy enough. You could have retired and come up here without causing everyone you know all this stress.”

  She nodded. “I could have.”

  “But you didn’t. Because you’re just not able to do things the way people would want you to do them, are you?”

  A slow smile stretched across her face. “Sounds like you’ve been talking with my sister.”

  “She was worried about you. Everyone was very worried.”

  “I hate when people worry about me.”

  “Then I guess taking off without telling anyone wasn’t the brightest idea.”

  She stepped right up to me—if Emmy had walked in the door then, our positi
oning could easily have been misconstrued for something else—and tilted her head back. Her mouth was slightly open and I could see the tip of her tongue. Was she for real? Did she really think that I would hook up with her right here in the very house that her sister and I were staying in?

  She put one hand on my chest, her gaze locked on mine. “My sister will never understand why I did what I did,” she said. “And you might not, either. That’s fine. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I’m not someone who gives a shit either way if people approve of what I’m doing or not. But if you hurt my sister, I will be coming for you.” She gave me a sweet smile. “Got it?”

  I held her gaze as I plucked her hand from my chest and let it fall. “I’m not the one who bailed on her,” I said. “I don’t do that.”

  But instead of looking cowed or ashamed, Isa seemed pleased. “Good,” she said.

  Chapter 26

  Emmy

  Back in California. Life was now supposed to get back to normal.

  But something didn’t feel quite right. The first day back, I stayed at Jason’s. We hadn’t crossed any time zones, yet I still felt exhausted. It was more of a mental exhaustion; my brain simply couldn’t seem to quite accept that everything I had been through since Isa vanished, all the worry, all the stress, had been because of something she’d chosen to do.

  Would you rather have gone up there and found her tied up in someone’s basement? Would it have been better if she’d been some prisoner someone was torturing? Or if you heard on the six o’clock news that the remains of a woman had been found? Wasn’t this the best possible outcome? You found your sister!

  And when put that way, yes, of course. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Isa, and knowing that she was safe, knowing that she was still the same impulsive, headstrong person she’d always been, should have put my mind at ease. Crisis averted; my old boring life was waiting for me to step right back into it.

  Maybe that was the problem. I thought of this the next day when I was driving back up to my place. In the time that I’d spent looking for Isa, I’d stepped way outside of my comfort zone, not because I’d wanted to, but because I’d felt that was the only choice I had. And though there were certainly things that I would never want to experience again, there were also things that I had enjoyed. Just putting myself out there and interacting with people I normally wouldn’t have. Even taking whatever drug it was that Laurel had put into that tea.

  I wasn’t exactly sure how to broach the subject with my parents, except to tell them outright. I drove up there after Jason went into work and was surprised to see that both of them were home.

  “How was your trip?” Mom asked.

  “It was good. I found Isa.”

  There was silence, the two of them looking at me as if I were telling a joke—albeit one that wasn’t very funny. I told them that I had gone up there because I thought she might be there, and how I’d found her at that café.

  “But... why would she do that?” Mom asked. “Everything is fine.”

  Dad clapped his hands together once, shook his head. “See, Miriam? I told you. I just had a feeling in my gut this whole time that nothing was truly amiss.”

  “Well, the fact that Isa thinks it’s okay to just disappear like that is pretty amiss,” I said. “That’s not right.”

  “She’s fine, though, isn’t she?” Dad said. “Wherever she is? Canada?”

  “Yes, Canada. British Columbia.”

  “How did you know?” Mom said. “How did you know to go up there?”

  “It just kind of came to me.”

  “And she was never going to get in touch with us?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t think she even knows. She just got sick of that life and decided she wanted to do something else.”

  “Sounds like Isa,” Dad said with a chuckle.

  I stared at him. “So this is funny?”

  “I’m not saying I condone what your sister did. But she’s always been like this. And I had a feeling, right from the get-go, that she was never in any danger. I know you and your mother thought I was being too lax about things and not taking it seriously, but... Isa’s always been her own person.”

  “And I’ve just been the person living in her shadow.”

  “Oh, Emmy,” Mom said. “I hope you don’t really feel like that.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Of course it does. It matters to me.”

  “It’s just upsetting to me that Isa would cause all this stress for everyone and not even care.”

  “You’ve always been more considerate than your sister. Even when you two were little. That’s a trait to be proud of. You’re a good person, Emmy. And Jason, he seems like a really good person, too. I know you two haven’t known each other for that long, but I have a good feeling about it. Speaking of Jason, do you two have any plans tomorrow night?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  She got up and went into the kitchen, then came back with an envelope. “Why don’t you guys use these, then.”

  I took the envelope from her. Inside were two tickets to the Palace of Fine Arts for the following night. It was a drag-queen variety show.

  “Um... thanks,” I said. “Where did you get these?”

  “I won them.”

  “You won them? Where? How?”

  “On the radio. Obviously I’m not going to use them, but I heard on the radio today that the show has sold out, so that must mean it’s good.”

  “I didn’t realize you called in to radio shows.”

  “I usually never get through. You had to be the seventh caller, and I was. It was quite exciting, actually.”

  I wasn’t sure how much interest Jason would have in going to a drag show, but then again, maybe he wouldn’t mind. It would probably be really fun, and I could definitely use some of that right now.

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said. “I’ll be sure to take a couple of pictures to show you.”

  ***

  After I left my parents’, I went over to my house. I opened the windows, then put on a load of laundry. I was rummaging through the fridge when I got a text.

  I looked at my phone. It was a message from Les.

  UM DID YOU SEE ISA’S MOST RECENT INSTA POST???

  He’d attached a screenshot, which was a close-up photo of half of Isa’s face, though only the lower part of her nose and her smirking mouth were visible; the rest of her face was obscured by the bill of a plain, black baseball cap, pulled down low. Behind her was the setting sun, an orange orb that shot out beams of golden light, making it appear as if she were wearing a halo.

  The caption read: It’s all good, my loves. See you on the southside.

  She had posted it the day we left Revelstoke. I didn’t know what the southside was, but at least she had done something so everyone else out there would know that she was okay.

  The next night was the drag show, which we decided to drive Jason’s car to, since we weren’t sure what time the show got over and didn’t want to have to deal with getting a taxi. He found a parking spot on the second level of the parking garage, and I checked to make sure I had the tickets before we got out of the car. There was a small pile of broken concrete a few spaces over, as if part of the ceiling had broken off. I looked up, but the ceiling was smooth, no gaping holes.

  “Is this ceiling going to give out?” I asked, nodding to the pile as we walked past.

  Jason slipped his arm around my shoulders, giving them a squeeze. “I would never let anything bad happen to you,” he said. He looked at me closely. “Everything okay? You’ve seemed a little... I don’t know. A little down, I guess.”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “Just still processing how it all went down with Isa. It’s just... it just seems so weird to be back and know that she’s okay, that she was okay this entire time. And now what? We’re just supposed to go back to regular life?”

  “Something like that.”

  We stepped out of the parking garage
, the sky to the west a brilliant shade of pink as the sun began to set. A heavyset guy was standing by the door, smoking a cigarette. He watched us as we walked past, something of a leer on his face.

  “It’s not like I was secretly hoping this wouldn’t be the outcome,” I said. “I know that it probably sounds like I wanted something different. I am glad she’s okay.”

  “It’s entirely reasonable for you to be a little upset about how she went about doing it,” Jason said. “You’re allowed to feel that way. But you shouldn’t let it ruin your night. Everything that happened with your sister... it’s behind us now. You’ve been through a lot in a short period of time, and I think it’s only natural to feel a little off about things. But since we do know that your sister’s okay, we can now just focus on enjoying each other and our time together—which sounds pretty damn good to me.”

  I leaned into him as we walked, a smile on my face. When he put it like that, it did make sense. Everything with Isa was behind us, and now we could move on, the two of us, a couple.

  ***

  If you’re ever looking for something to help brighten your mood or get your mind off things, attending a drag show should be mandatory. Our seats were excellent, a few rows from the stage, right in the center, and we spent the next several hours laughing and cheering and clapping in awe. There were pageant queens and camp queens and horror-glam queens, gorgeous men dressed in the most incredible costumes and outfits, performing songs, acrobatics, dances. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much, and being there with Jason just made it all the better. By the time the show was over and we were heading back to the car, my whole face hurt from smiling, my stomach muscles sore from laughing.

  “That was awesome,” Jason said. “You’ll have to tell your mom thanks for giving us those tickets.”

  “I’m still a little confused about how she won them. Apparently she can’t leave the house, but calling into radio shows isn’t a problem?”

  “Maybe that’s what helps her feel connected to the rest of the world.”