by Kira Adams
“You’re telling me that they got to her?” Although he’s already confirmed it, the question still comes out.
Mikhaela begins pacing back and forth. Her hands cover her mouth in anticipation.
“Mr. Drake, we are going to need to get your crew to safety, as soon as possible,” the male agent urges, ignoring my question altogether.
“Then what are you waiting for? You’ve been tracking Mikhaela, right? Come and get us!”
The voice on the other line hesitates. “It’s not that simple. Eduardo is still out there and highly dangerous. We can’t risk any more of our agents without being properly prepared.”
“What about all the backup Laura mentioned the other day? She made it seem like we were protected. What is the damn holdup then?”
For the first time since he initiated the call, there is silence.
“Mr. Drake, we need you to meet us tomorrow afternoon, one o’clock…” the line cuts off in the middle of his instructions, leaving only a dial tone. My eyes dart to meet Mikhaela’s. “We need to go.”
She senses the urgency in my voice and stare, and quickly races about grabbing our belongings and shoving them into the duffel bag we brought in. I dash to the window, peering through the small opening in the large plastic feeling curtains. It was too risky to stay in a large hotel where we might be cornered, so we chose a motel that felt unsuspecting.
Looking out, there are multiple police cars with their lights and sirens on. My stomach plummets. The officers are on foot, going door to door, knocking on every single one and then having the motel manager open them. They are still on the first floor, and we are on the second. Dropping the curtain, I turn around and run toward the bathroom. There is a small window above the toilet, but it doesn’t look big enough to fit me through. Examining it for a few more seconds, my attention turns to Mikhaela. “Come here.”
She does exactly as I say, dropping the duffel to the floor. She looks anxious. Me too, babe.
“Do you think you might be able to fit through there?” Motioning with my head toward the glass, my eyes turn to hers. She looks at it and then back at me as if I have two heads.
“Are you trying to be funny?” She looks hurt.
“No?” I’m close to 6’4, there is no way in hell my body would fit through there, but Mikhaela is much shorter than I am. While she might not be the thinnest girl on the block, it was a possibility. But we are running out of time.
“Fuck!” I curse, loudly. Running out of the bathroom and through the tight space, my eyes assess every possible hiding spot. Under the bed, the closet, in the shower. We are screwed. My eyes lock with her frightened ones.
“What is happening?” she asks, her voice squeaky and scared.
“They’re here. Going room by room. It’s only a matter of time.” My eyes dart toward the locked door and then back to her.
“Eduardo? Carlos?” she asks, her expression white as a ghost.
My heart feels for her. “Hey, look at me.” Taking a few steps toward her, my fingers reach underneath her chin and lift it up so we can lock eyes. “I’m going to do anything and everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you. I promise.”
There is a look of relief, but it quickly passes, and her expression is back to looking anxious. “How?” she asks. “There is only one of you and so many of them. This is it.”
The commotion outside grows louder and finally audible, meaning that they are getting closer. Looking again at the bed, my knees buckle, and it gives me a chance to assess underneath. It looks just barely big enough to fit either one of us, much less both, but it’s our best bet. Climbing underneath, I motion for her to follow and then we both curl up in fetal positions to fit everything. Talking is no longer an option, so we just exchange tension-filled glances. Time moves much slower while we wait for them to find us. In a perfect world, they won’t, and we will once again be able to live another day, but our world isn’t ideal or problem-free.
The minutes tick by so slowly, it’s agonizing. Waiting for them to come, waiting to be found. Eventually, the officers make it to the motel room and the door opens from the outside.
“Why don’t you move on to the next room? I got this one,” a deep male voice says.
It sounds like a stampede of footsteps as the officers continue through the motel. Footsteps are audible as the officer makes his way from the bed to the shower. He pushes back the shower curtain and silent suspenseful music plays in my eardrums. The sound of the closet doors being pried open is next. Mikhaela looks terrified, but I motion for her to remain still and quiet.
It feels like an eternity as he walks about the room, looking for any sign of us. Even breathing is questionable. Finally, though, he sighs loudly, and we hear the motel door open. It closes behind him after a few moments and the breath I’ve been holding finally releases from my chest. That was close.
Rolling out from underneath the bed, a pistol is pointed straight in my face. “I told them to check under the beds, but they didn’t believe me. And look what the fucking cat dragged in.” My heart begins pounding like a jackhammer inside my chest and ears.
“Get up slowly, and put your hands behind your head,” he keeps the gun trained on me as I follow his instructions.
“How much is he paying you? I’ll double it, just let us go.” It’s not too crazy of a thought that the corrupt police officer can be bought.
He kicks me in the groin, making me fall to my knees in pain. My crotch area throbs from the hit. “Come on out, Kail.”
Something about the way he says the nickname makes me feel like he knows her personally. She crawls out from underneath the bed, a defeated look on her face. When her eyes land on the police officer, her expression changes to disgust.
“Oh, come on, that’s not a warm welcome, now, is it?” he asks in a snarky tone, his attention shifting to her.
She stares him down with hatred in her eyes. “What do you want, Tony?”
He circles her, his eyes taking her in. “You look good. You’ve lost some weight.”
From their interaction, it’s obvious they have history. With each moment that passes, her disdain for him seems to grow. “What do you want?”
He looks taken aback by her harsh tone. “I want to collect my prize.”
Somehow, the way ‘prize’ rolls off his tongue makes me think it holds a dual meaning for him.
Mikhaela looks disturbed as her eyes dart to mine. It’s a silent plea for help. Unfortunately, he’s the one with the gun.
“Come on, Kail, it’s time to go home.” The pistol is still on me, but he’s motioning for her with his other hand. “Let’s go.”
Positioning herself behind me, she peeks out from the right side. “You know, it’s sad. I always thought there might be hope for you…but it’s obvious you’re brainwashed just like the rest of them.”
His jaw twitches with agitation as the focus of his gun slowly shifts to her. “Enough.”
It all happens so fast, quicker than either of us can react. There is a red dot that appears on the side of Tony’s neck and within seconds, he’s down. The sound of an automatic weapon pierces the silence. Both Mikhaela and I fall to the floor, avoiding the spray of bullets. “We need to go now, stay low.”
Leading the way out of the motel room, there is now an exchange of bullets happening directly next to us as we run as fast as we can manage toward the staircase that leads to the first floor. There is so much commotion happening with the gunfight for anyone to realize we are making a run for it. As soon as we are in the car and the key in the ignition, we start it and take off.
“Is anyone following us?” I ask, too pumped with adrenaline to glance in the rearview mirror.
Mikhaela spins in her seat, her long hair whipping around with the wind. “No. We’re good.”
Finally, I can breathe.
Mikhaela
We’ve been driving for close to three hours now and after strategically mapping out an unusual route, we are positi
ve we aren’t being followed.
“How do you think they found us?” I ask, my mind reliving the crazy scene from earlier.
Even though my entire childhood was rooted in violence, most of it was sheltered from me. This is the most danger and dead bodies I’ve ever seen or dealt with.
Bo shrugs. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say don’t trust anyone.”
Glancing at him, my heart beats in my chest. “We’re a little too late for that.”
He chuckles, lightening the mood. “I don’t count, nerd.”
Something about the way nerd rolls off his tongue makes me blush. He’s always been friendly enough with me, but never overly. In the last couple of days, we have grown closer due to our sleeping arrangements. I enjoy the nickname.
“Hey, did Laura tell you where she put the tracker? I think that’s how they found us. I think Eduardo was able to flip a few agents from the FBI.” It isn’t too far of a stretch.
Bo shifts his eyes from the road to me. “She said she placed it on your person.”
Glancing down at my clothes, my mind races. “Where?”
Again, he looks amused, but continues with his attention on the road ahead. “Check your pockets.”
Sure enough, a small foreign object is retrieved from my sweatshirt pocket, which was conveniently tied around my waist when Laura snatched me up. It’s small, black, and resembles a flash drive. “What should we do with it?”
He holds out his hand for me to place it in and then begins examining it closer. “I think we need to get rid of it. If the FBI wants to find us, they’ll figure out a way. They are the most powerful agency in the world.”
So far, Bo and his crew are the only people I trust. If he says to ditch it, then so be it. He gives me a wink before tossing it out the window somewhere along the freeway.
“What’s the first thing you are going to do when all of this is over?”
His question puts me at ease. “I’m not sure, but I’d like to find somewhere to call home.” Even back at the mansion, nothing was really mine. I was cooped up in one room nearly my entire time there. It would be such an odd feeling to decorate something of my own. Even the bed from that room had a mattress that was over 20 years old. It was lumpy and musty, and everything was always hand me downs.
“Where do you want to live?”
I don’t know what he gets by asking these questions, but they are a nice escape from our current predicament. They allow me to daydream for even just a moment.
“I haven’t really thought about it, but I’ve never been to the ocean so I think it might be cool to try to find somewhere near the beach.”
Bo glances at me with his mouth hanging open.
“What?”
“You’ve never seen the ocean before?”
Shaking my head, embarrassment comes over me in waves. Eduardo sheltered me from everything, keeping me cooped up and locked away from the outside world. In the beginning, he blamed it on the fact that he had so many enemies, but over time, it felt more like his resentment for me. He was upset that his wife Maria loved me. It made him jealous.
“That’s it,” Bo says, making a sharp unexpected turn. “If there is one thing you are doing before we get to Canada…that’s it.”
“Bo, are you sure?” It’s the biggest impulse move, especially knowing we aren’t safe.
He stares back at me with wild eyes. “Your whole life has changed drastically in the last month. I’ll be damned if I can’t help you find some sort of serenity.”
His words are comforting and sweet. Although he is part of the reason my life has been different, he also gave me my freedom. “I know we had a rough start, but I do want to say thank you.”
“You’re thanking me…? For what?”
He’s so thrown off guard it’s adorable. “For helping me get out of there. If it wasn’t for you, I’m not sure I would have had the chance to have any sort of freedom and evade my father for this long.”
“Your father? I’ve never heard you use that term for him…don’t start now. He’s nothing more than a landlord.” He’s right. It’s few and far in between that father has actually slipped from my lips. “And thank me? You’re crazy. Ever since I took you, you’ve been knee deep in violence and danger. It’s definitely not my proudest moment.”
He’s beating himself up because he doesn’t fully grasp what he’s done. He doesn’t understand how grateful I am to be free. Even the past few nights, I’ve grown accustomed to sleeping next to someone. It was such a foreign feeling the first time, but after, it was something that my body yearned. My father never showed me affection growing up and once Maria disappeared, things only went downhill. I’ve never felt the closeness of anything like that before. It’s like a drug.
He hasn’t spooned me since the first couple of nights we slept outside, but his smell is intoxicating. Manly and fresh, it soothes me after a long day. Lately, my mind has been considering what it might be like to be with someone fully. Mind, body, and soul. I’ve had crushes over the years, mainly guys who worked for Eduardo, but nothing ever went past the imagination stage, until Tony.
He started coming around with Carlos, originally, back when I was around thirteen. He was eighteen then, but still had an eye for the younger girls. He would make up excuses just to be able to use the bathroom near my room so he could make a pit stop and then eventually it grew into him stopping by my room nightly on his way out. That was back when Maria was still around, so my freedom wasn’t as restricted. Instead of being cooped up in one room my entire life, it was more like the entire house minus the few times Maria was able to take me out.
Tony stole a kiss from me years ago and at the time, it was the only thing on my mind. Thinking back on it now, it kind of creeps me out that he was so interested in younger females. I was so juvenile and naïve at the time. If he had asked me to do anything, I would have just to be accepted.
But the more he hung around the house, the more he changed. His personality hardened, shifted. Eduardo was shaping him into the soldier he needed.
“What are you thinking about?” Bo asks, bringing me back to the present.
“Do you want the truth or a lie?” Somehow, it seems only fair to ask this question.
He chuckles. “The truth, always.”
Sighing, my eyes can’t even look his way. “I’ve gotten used to sleeping next to you and it makes me feel safe. I’m beginning to actually prefer it. I’m kind of dreading the part where you drop me off somewhere and we go our separate ways.”
I’m unsure what his reaction is to my honesty, I’m too chicken shit to peek. A few moments of silence pass before he finally speaks.
“I know what you mean.”
It’s merely five words, but they hold a lot of meaning to me. A smile pulls at the edges of my lips. “What does that mean?”
He shrugs. “It means you trust me, and I trust you. Simple as that.”
It’s silly to be caught up in feelings of intrigue or lust with everything going on around us, but the idea that someday we might be able to focus on such things is beautiful.
“I can see you, Kail,” Eduardo drones from the far corner of the basement.
It’s not as if I was trying to hide or anything, just not be super obvious about it. Being cooped up in my room all the time can get boring, so sometimes I will sneak into the basement and just sit at the top of the stairs. All of the loud commotion and hustle and bustle make me feel like I’m a part of something.
“Come here,” he orders.
Wasting no time at all, my feet carry me down the stairs and past the drug operation he has hidden down on the ground level. I’m old enough to know what is actually going on down here.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” he scolds me.
Looking down, I nod slightly. Of course, he’s forbidden me down here, but what does he expect of me? There is nothing to do other than waste away in my small room. When is he going to allow me to hang out with friends
or enjoy a night out? I’m almost fourteen years old for God’s sake.
“Why are you disobeying me?” he asks, his tone sharp like a whip.
“Dad,” I begin, but he interrupts me.
“Don’t you ‘Dad’ me. You know better. Now get upstairs before I have to make an example of you.” It’s seconds before I’m back upstairs and out of his operation. He doesn’t play around. If I were to push the subject, he would have beaten me in front of all his staff, without blinking. He’s ruthless. The stuff nightmares are made of.
“What are you doing, mi hija?” My mother’s voice carries from the kitchen. It always amazes me how she knows where I am without even looking up. It smells like apple cinnamon heaven upon entering and Maria is bent over the stove, a tasting spoon in her mouth.
“Nothing.”
She spins around; her eyes weary upon seeing my face. “You went down to the basement again, didn’t you?”
One thing we don’t do is lie to each other, so when she asks, I’m honest with her. Nodding, my eyes shift away from her gaze.
“You know you aren’t allowed down there, so why do you keep pushing your limits?” my mother asks, with a calm and soothing tone.
I shrug. “He doesn’t let me go anywhere. He doesn’t let me do anything. What do you expect from me? It’s not like I’ve even left the house.”
“That’s not the point, Kail. You know it’s not safe for you to be downstairs.” She is stirring spaghetti sauce and the fresh apple pie she makes for my father every week is sitting on the counter. The smells mesh together giving off conflicting savory and sweet nodes.
He emerges out of nowhere, kind of like his life MO. He’s a phantom of the night. His nose is raised in the air as he heads straight for the pie.
“Careful, it’s still hot,” Maria warns him.
He looks back at her with a bored look. “Like mother, like daughter.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, wondering what he is getting at.
“You forget that this is my house. I’m thinking you both have gotten just a little too comfortable.”