Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1)

by J. M. Cataffo

Jake didn’t want to be alone. Being by himself brought urges he’d rather not face. He felt the lure of his addictions and took one of the pills Lani had given him. He was ready to be free of that life, to be back in control, to make something of the waste he’d become, and as well as he’d been doing, the last thing he wanted was to give in.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  YASIF BOLTED UPRIGHT, his body shaking, his shirt covered with sweat. He glanced around the small dark room in fear, trying to remember where he was. It took him a moment to realize the prison where he was being tortured had been a dream.

  His wrists hurt. He’d wrapped them with bandages they’d gotten from the store, but they still ached from the rope burns. He put his face in his hands, trying his best to hold back tears. Jake slept beside him, and Yasif didn’t want the guy to wake up.

  The nightmare lingered, the fear he’d experienced clinging on. His encounter with the Division 51 agents had shaken him, affected him in ways he was only beginning to understand. He tried to shake off the visions of hanging upside down, men in masks beating him, Thompson’s evil smile as the man watched him from the corner of a grimy cell. He couldn’t get the dream out of his head. He decided to take a walk to clear his mind.

  He made his way out onto the platform that ran along the upper floor, trying his best not to make too much noise. He listened to the soft whirring sounds from the computers downstairs, leaning on the rail and stretching his back.

  Sally emerged and saw him before he could duck back into his room. Not now! He didn’t want to face her, knowing what she probably thought of him now. If she didn’t want to be with him before, now she certainly would never even consider it.

  “Morning, Yaz.” She smiled.

  “Morning.”

  “You okay?”

  He stared into her green eyes, wishing he could wipe the previous day from her mind. “I’m… I… I don’t know, Sal… I’m just a bit shook up is all.”

  She hesitated. He didn’t blame her. After the spectacle he’d made of himself, he was surprised she was even speaking to him.

  “I’m here if you want to talk,” she said gently.

  Tears threatened to emerge, but he forced them back; he needed to be strong, needed to be a man, even though deep down inside he wanted nothing more than for her to hold him and make him feel as if he wasn’t a complete fool.

  Dudes don’t act that way. She’d never respect him if he let himself give in to those emotions. His father would probably disown him if he knew what had happened. Yasif took a deep breath. “Thanks. I’d better try to get some sleep.” He pointed back toward the room with his thumb.

  Sally nodded and drifted into the bathroom.

  He put his hand to his forehead, watching the door close behind her. Was it possible for him to screw things up anymore than he had? He imagined all the thoughts she must be thinking. She was probably ashamed of him, embarrassed to be seen with him. How could she ever respect him again after what he’d done?

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  IT WAS A TEN-HOUR DRIVE to Mt. Holly, Arkansas, where the company Mr. Van der Haak worked for was located. Jake’s car wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but it certainly had improved under Sally’s care.

  As they drove, she found herself thinking about Yasif. The memory of him hitting Agent Thompson haunted her. She couldn’t imagine how bad Yasif must’ve felt to be able to do something so violent. He’d always been timid, the one who never got upset about anything. Seeing him like that frightened her.

  But there was something else as well, something that had been there for a long time, but she hadn’t recognized it for what it was. She’d always assumed what she felt for Yasif was that of a close friendship, but that wasn’t it. It was more than that. Their closeness seemed more important now. Seeing him deal with his pain made her confront her own emotions toward him. It wasn’t just a sisterly instinct; she genuinely felt protective of him. Did she have the same feelings for him that he’d expressed to her? Perhaps. All this time she’d been trying to tell him how she couldn’t be with him, how it wasn’t right for them since they’d both be going off to college and he’d likely be returning home to Jordan. She’d always confronted her feelings logically rather than accepting them for what they were. Instead of talking herself out of the possibility of a relationship, she now realized she should have been dealing with the truth. The more she tried to justify pushing him away, the more conflicted she felt.

  Yasif wasn’t the type of guy she’d normally be attracted to. She’d always fantasized about slightly older men with rugged unshaven looks and leather jackets—maybe even the Harley type, but was that what she really wanted? Yasif certainly didn’t fit that mold with his baby face and cute smile, but he did have endearing qualities most guys lacked. He was warm, kind, and caring; he’d never let her down when she’d needed him. He’d always been her most devoted friend. Perhaps that’s why they’d grown so close.

  But a relationship? It seemed silly to be thinking about it at this point in their lives, especially with all the strange stuff going on. The thought of Mrs. Padilla being dead made the idea seem trivial. Sally threw a sidelong glance at Yasif in the back seat. He still looked devastated by what had happened. As soon as they could, she promised herself she’d give him the dignity of a real conversation about their feelings.

  Sally turned her attention to her phone. She needed to get her head on straight and focus on the investigation. She’d managed to get it working again. She wasn’t sure what the agents had done to it, but with a new battery and a little help from Yasif, she’d gotten it restored.

  For Yasif, they had to stop and pick up a new phone—one of those pay-as-you-go type deals until they could get him a real one. It was good enough for him to make calls, but it wasn’t a smartphone so he couldn’t use it to interact with TESSA. They’d have to rely on Sally’s phone for that.

  She tried to preoccupy herself with maintaining TESSA, spending time browsing through the news feeds, getting used to the new information she now had access to. It was coming in from all over the world, and TESSA had already begun linking the new sources directly to the articles she’d already written. The accuracy was amazing. She could now cross-reference her old articles with whatever the AI found on the web in real-time just by hitting the links. It was far more powerful than what the site could do before.

  “This is really incredible, Yaz,” she said.

  He acknowledged her comment with a nod.

  “You really did amazing work.” She tried to make him feel better.

  He shrugged, and she didn’t want to press.

  “I gotta pee!” Idric called out.

  “Didn’t you go like five minutes ago?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah, but I gotta go again.”

  They pulled into a station to let the boy use the restroom. The rest of them purchased a few snacks and drinks.

  Sally approached Yasif in the snack isle, glad to talk to him alone. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay.” But he wouldn’t look at her.

  “I can’t imagine what it was like for you…” She trailed off.

  “I know. I’m a complete wuss.”

  “Of course you’re not! Why would you think that?”

  “I pissed my pants!” He glanced around after making the comment, his face reddening, then picked up and fiddled with a bag of peanut M&Ms.

  “Yaz, they put you through a lot. Those men were trying to scare the hell out of you so you’d talk.”

  “It worked. I was pretty scared.” He looked up at her. “You weren’t, though. You told them off like a champ.”

  “You don’t think I was scared?” Sally asked. “I was terrified. But I deal with my fear differently.”

  Yasif looked away. “So you don’t think I’m a wuss?”

  “Of course not!” She wanted to tell him how she felt, but somehow this didn’t seem the right moment. “I understand why you did what you did. I was pretty freaked out, too.” She held
his gaze. As she did, something opened up inside her, like a door that had always been there but one she’d been too afraid to touch. A wave of new sensations rushed through her, and before she’d realized how long she’d gone without speaking, Yasif opened his mouth to speak.

  “What? Do I have something on my face?”

  “No silly.” She pulled him toward her, no longer able to resist the urge building inside.

  The kiss lasted only a moment, but it was sweet and filled with apprehension, fear, and determination. It felt right, different than any other boy she’d kissed.

  Yasif stared at her wide-eyed, as though horrified by what she’d done.

  “I’m…” she stammered. “I’m sorry!”

  “I’m not.” His expression melted into a smile bigger than she’d ever seen before from him.

  Guilt set in, driving away the good feelings. What had she done? Hadn’t she decided they’d talk this out before doing anything rash? She turned from him, grabbing a few random items from the shelf, mad at herself for acting so rashly. She’d planned this out. She was going to sit down with him, tell him how she felt, but explain to him how things just wouldn’t work out with them both heading in two different directions after high school. None of her plans involved kissing him.

  Yasif was making his own selections, but kept glancing at her, smiling. Anger and regret battled within her as she tried to figure out a way back to the rational situation she’d planed.

  Jake turned to her as she approached the register. “You guys seem to be doing better.”

  She shrugged, an involuntary smile appeared on her face. She quickly forced it away, pushing her hair behind her ear with her free hand, glancing at Jake to see if he’d noticed. “Oh, well…you know. Yaz and I are really good friends.”

  “Just friends, huh?” he replied, grabbing a pack of gum and setting it on the counter with the rest of his purchase.

  “Will that be all?” the female clerk asked impatiently.

  Jake raised an eyebrow before grabbing a candy bar and placing it with the rest.

  “Yeah, you know…good friends.” Sally grinned stupidly.

  Yasif appeared beside her, laying several candy bars and two energy drinks on the counter. “I’ll get that.” He shoved both purchases toward the cashier. The woman glanced over her glasses with an annoyed look.

  “No, Yaz.” Sally put her hand between her items and his. “You don’t need to pay for my stuff.”

  “I thought it’d be a nice thing to do.”

  Sally felt stupid. This wasn’t her. She didn’t act like some stupid tween with a crush! But she couldn’t refuse his offer. He’d just think she was playing around with him. Though if she was honest, that’s what it felt like. Usually, everything was so clear. She merely analyzed the situation and made a decision. With Yasif it was as if she were a completely different person.

  Reluctantly, she let Yasif pay for her things and then they resumed their journey toward Mt. Holly. Once they arrived, it was getting dark once again.

  “We should have left sooner.” Yasif seemed in a better mood.

  “We left at nine. How much sooner could we have gotten up?” Idric asked, a red Twizzler hanging from his mouth.

  “This seems like an odd place for a large corporation. There’s not much around here.” Jake turned onto a rural highway. “We’re going to have to go back to El Dorado to find a place to stay for the night.”

  “What, you didn’t like that place we passed?” Idric pointed back with his thumb.

  “I’m pretty sure that place was pay-by-the-hour.” Jake laughed.

  They all chuckled.

  “Let’s just get a glimpse of this place first. I want to know what we’re dealing with.” The others agreed, and Sally checked her phone’s map program for the address. “Turn here!”

  Jake followed her direction and made a right turn onto a small road.

  “Are you sure this is right?”

  As they progressed down the lane, the trees on either side of the road became denser, forming a canopy overhead.

  “This is where the map says it is.” She held up her phone. “Five miles up this road and we’re there.” It certainly did seem like an odd place for a corporation. There were no other buildings or even houses. Just overgrown brush running along the side of the road so thick nothing could be seen beyond.

  “I think I hear banjos,” Jake joked.

  “Huh?” Idric was confused.

  “Just a movie reference,” Sally told him.

  They traveled along the small road into the middle of nowhere, glancing at each other with looks that became more worried the farther out they went.

  “We must have made a wrong turn,” Yasif said.

  Sally checked the map again. “Not according to this.”

  “Ugh, I wish I had my phone,” Yasif said.

  “What, you don’t trust me to use a map?”

  “It’s just that…oh never mind.” Yasif turned to stare back out the window. The woods were getting dark now.

  Jake turned on the headlights. “Good thing I filled up back there.”

  They reached the end of the road where an unpaved driveway led off to the left.

  “This really doesn’t look right.” Jake stared down the driveway.

  “Only one way to find out,” Sally said.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  IT DIDN’T MATTER to Yasif that the trees closed in on them as they drove farther down the narrowing path. To the others, it might have seemed as though they were driving into a trap. To Yasif, they could have been driving into the mouth of the giant bear. The only thing on his mind was the kiss he’d shared with Sally.

  “This doesn’t seem like a place that a company would operate,” Idric commented.

  Jake had pulled the car into a roped-off dirt lot. Thick trees loomed over them. Together with the falling darkness, it normally would have created a feeling of claustrophobia for Yasif, but despite the intense level of fear from the others, he got out of the car with a smile.

  “Dude, are you okay?” Idric asked.

  Yasif nodded dreamily.

  Idric shook his head. “I think Yasif is losing it.”

  “He’ll be all right,” Jake replied.

  The lot looked new, the ropes neatly tied around freshly cut stumps.

  “This is really weird.” Sally’s voice got his attention.

  “I guess we go this way.” Sally pointed toward a paved footpath leading from the lot.

  Yasif thought it looked more like a tunnel given that the trees grew so densely around it. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  The path truly did feel like a tunnel, the trees growing so tightly overhead it cut out any remaining outside light. Sally used the light from her phone to light the path so they could see. After walking for several minutes, they reached the end and stood before a small building, a sign on the side marked it as Genome Synergistics. There were no windows and only a single door.

  “This can’t be the place,” Yasif said.

  They all exchanged glances.

  “Yeah, I agree with Yasif. Something isn’t right,” Jake said. “It was weird enough driving out here, but this looks like it should be used for storing brooms or something.”

  Yasif pulled out his lockset and opened the small door. Once inside, his bad feeling became utter dread. “I think we should go.”

  The building was completely empty. An uneasy feeling crept up inside Yasif. His mind puzzled what he saw when he heard Jake’s voice behind him.

  “Uh, guys!”

  Yasif turned to find a man standing directly in front of the path leading back to the car. He recognized the man at once.

  “Oh, my god! This is a trap!” Yasif panicked. This had all been set up. They were meant to find the invoice. They’d been led there on purpose. He didn’t know how that could be, but it had happened nonetheless. There before them was the man they’d seen in pictures, James Van der Haak.

  “Le
t’s not get terribly dramatic.” The man spoke with a pretentious British accent, the kind Yasif always associated with bad guys in movies. He was clothed in a crisp business suit complete with a top hat and cane. When the man shifted his grip, Yasif saw that the ivory tip was carved into the head of a lion.

  “Why are we here?” As always, Sally was the strong one. Yasif merely stared at the man, his jaw hanging open.

  He pointed his cane at them. “You’ve been interfering in our affairs.”

  “Interfering?” Sally’s jaw fell open. “You’re killing people, and we’re just supposed to stand by and watch?”

  “It would have been preferable, yes.” He batted at a rock with the end of his cane. “Because now I have to eliminate all of you.”

  “You lured us here?” Jake asked.

  “A bit ingenious, don’t you think?” He stared at his fingernails as if admiring their perfection.

  “Not really,” Idric said.

  “Not impressed? I’m terribly disappointed.” He put his hand to his chest to emphasize his sarcasm.

  “What do you want with us?” Sally asked.

  He leaned against his cane. “I would have thought you’d have figured that out by now. And here I thought you were a bright girl.” He paused a moment, as if reconsidering his decision, then stood taller and tipped his hat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.” He turned toward the path and began to walk away.

  “Now wait just a damned—” Sally started, but was interrupted by a screech from above. At the same moment, a ball of fire erupted between the group and the departing businessman.

  Yasif looked up and saw the same creature that had attacked them at Sally’s mother’s apartment.

  “Run!” Sally grabbed Yasif’s arm.

  They took off behind the small building, hoping to locate another escape, only to find themselves knee deep in tall dry grass. It was a small field surrounded by impossibly dense trees and underbrush as though they were planted purposely to block their escape. The only viable path led back toward the building.