by Harley Wylde
“What do we do?” I asked.
“I don’t know. When you don’t show at that park, she’s going to contact you again. Or she may try to come here and get you herself.”
“Do we want that to happen?” I asked.
“I think we do,” Tank said. “I don’t like the thought of you being bait, but if Lupita shows her face here, I’m going to make myself scarce. I’ll be lurking, and you’ll be perfectly safe, but I don’t want her to know I’m here. I want to see what she says and does. You’re right. The Lupita who showed up here isn’t the same one who was here two years ago.”
“So now we just sit and wait? See what she does?” I asked.
“Exactly. Just know that you’ll be protected, Emmie. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He placed a hand on my belly. “Either of you.”
“What do we do while we wait?”
“How about I feed you?” he asked with a smile. “It’s my experience that pregnant women need to eat more, and have strange cravings. Anything in particular you want?”
“Um, I think it’s too soon for cravings, but I am hungry.”
“Let’s go see what I can throw together in the kitchen. Once all this is over, you can go shopping with me. I know being stuck inside the compound can’t be easy.”
I followed him through the house and sat the table while he pulled ingredients from the cabinets and fridge. I saw some pasta, shelled shrimp, walnuts, garlic cloves, olive oil, and a few seasonings, but I didn’t know what the heck he was making. I was sure I’d love it. He had yet to cook anything I didn’t like. For that matter, he had yet to set me loose in the kitchen. I wondered if he thought I couldn’t cook. I didn’t really have any experience with it, but surely I could read a recipe and figure things out.
Tank added some oil to a pan and started boiling water for the pasta. While the noodles cooked, he added the shrimp and other ingredients to the pan. Whatever he was making smelled incredible, but I didn’t see any sauce. I’d never had pasta without it before, but I was willing to give it a try.
When he was finished and had plated our food, I took a hesitant bite. The subtle flavor was really good. It didn’t take me long to clear my plate, and Tank filled it a second time. He gave me a wink as he sat back down and my cheeks flushed. I’d never had a problem eating more than my share, but he seemed to enjoy the fact I could eat more than one helping.
“Good?” he asked.
“Nope. I hated it. That’s why I’m on serving number two.”
“Smart ass,” he said.
“I thought you liked my ass.”
“Among other things.”
I could hear my phone ringing again in the guest room, but I ignored it. It had to be Lupita. No one else had the number. The ringing stopped, then started up again a moment later. My hand tightened on my fork, and Tank leaned over and brushed a kiss against my cheek. I took a deep breath, then let it out. The phone went off several more times before going silent again.
“I’m going to clean up the kitchen and leave the house,” Tank said. “I’ll be watching, and so will my brothers. Lupita will be allowed inside the compound, but none of us are going to trust her until we know what’s going on.”
I went into the living room and picked up my book again. Not that I really saw the words on the page. I was nervous, and a bit scared. My sister wasn’t acting right, and I didn’t know who the new version of Lupita was or what she wanted. Would she hurt me? Had my entire life been one huge lie? I obviously wasn’t really a Montoya, for which I was grateful. But I’d never thought my sister would turn her back on me.
I clicked on the TV and tried to watch the movie that played. Every noise made me jump. The front door opened and shut, and my body tensed. My gaze jerked to the living room door and I saw Lupita, or I thought it was my sister, stumble into the room. Her hair was stringy and lank, her healthy glow was long gone, and there was a wildness to her eyes. She glanced around, looking like a cornered animal, before advancing farther into the room.
“We have to go, Emmie. We can’t wait,” she said, her words just as rapid fire as before. The way her hands trembled, the pallor of her skin, and her overall strung out appearance told me I had been correct. Lupita was on drugs, but I didn’t know if they were voluntary.
“What happened?” I asked. “Lupita, you’re scaring me.”
“The Dixie Reapers aren’t who we thought they were,” she said. “You’re in danger, Emmie. Have to save you. Can’t let them get you.”
“Save me? Lupita, I’m fine! I’m happy here.”
Her head jerked around as her gaze scanned the room, but she twitched and jerked like she needed another fix of whatever she was on. I had never known my sister to do drugs. Even when she’d been sick, it had been a battle to get her to take a prescribed medication.
“Lupita, look at me. Please,” I said.
Her gaze swung toward me, and I could tell that my sister wasn’t really there. I didn’t know what had happened to my sister, but I wanted to find out. It didn’t matter that she may have hidden the truth from me, that I wasn’t really a Montoya. Lupita had protected me when she could, and now I needed to do the same for her.
“Lupita, I want you to listen carefully. The Dixie Reapers are good men. Tank is everything you said he was, and so much more. I’m safe here, and so are you. Stay with me. We can wait for Tank together. He’ll help you, just like he’s helped me,” I said.
A motorcycle backfired somewhere nearby and Lupita gasped, spinning toward the window. While she was distracted, I skirted around her and made my way to the front door. I pulled it open and whisper-yelled for my husband.
“Tank! I need you,” I said.
My big biker materialized from the darkness, along with Flicker and the giant I’d recently met called Rocky. The guy was so massive, he was even bigger than Tank. I had no doubt my husband could take him down, if the need ever arose.
“Something’s wrong with Lupita. I think someone drugged her,” I said in a whisper. “She looks about ready to crawl out of her skin, and she keeps saying I’m in danger and can’t trust you.”
“I’ll call the doc,” Flicker said, pulling out his cell phone.
Tank and Rocky moved past me into the house, and I heard Lupita start to scream. My heart pounded as I stepped up to the living room doorway. Rocky had his arms around Lupita as she kicked and snapped her teeth at Tank.
“You can’t kill me!” she yelled. “I won’t let you hurt my sister!”
“Agent Lupita Montoya,” Tank said, his voice deep and commanding. “Cease and desist. We aren’t going to hurt you sister. Or you.”
The laugh that came out of Lupita sounded like the craziness that came out of patients in psych wards in the movies. She looked completely unhinged and sweat was starting to coat her skin. The drugs were probably working their way out of her system, and I had a feeling that she was going to crash hard. I looked at Tank, knowing that he would do whatever he could for Lupita.
Lupita let out a string of Spanish that made me wince.
“What the fuck did she say?” Rocky asked.
“Um, you don’t want to know,” I assured him. “Maybe we should restrain her with something other than you?”
Rocky snickered.
“Take her to the guest room,” Tank said. “I have some rope. We’ll tie her to the bed until the doc can get here.”
I hurried out of the way as Rocky half-carried and half-dragged my sister down the hall. He lay across her once he had her on the bed, and I closed my eyes as Lupita did her best to attack the huge man. Tank came into the room carrying a few lengths of rope. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what he’d used them for, since he hadn’t used them on me. Once he had secured Lupita’s hands to the headboard and had run a rope under the mattress to tie her feet, he stepped back and so did Rocky.
Lupita cursed and screamed, twisting and trying to break free. A tear slipped down my cheek as I watched her. Who had done this to my sister?
And why? My heart broke as my once strong sister thrashed and cried out, trying to break free. She’d grown thinner over the past two weeks, and I was worried she wouldn’t survive whatever had been done to her.
I wanted to calm her, but when I approached the bed, Tank pulled me back. His arm banded around my waist and I turned to bury my face against him. I let the tears fall and clutched at him. Whoever had hurt Lupita, I wanted them to pay! It killed me to see her this way.
“Doc will be here in a few minutes,” Flicker said as he stood in the doorway. “She may need to go to the hospital. Who knows what she’s on.”
“She was drugged,” I said, pulling my face away from Tank. “Lupita didn’t even like taking aspirin. There’s no way she did drugs of her own accord. Someone did this to her.”
“And we’ll find out who,” Tank said, running his hand up and down my back. “Your sister is safe now, Emmie. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of and treated by the doc. It would be better not to involve the hospital, but we will if we need to.”
“Maybe you should take Emmie back to the living room?” Flicker suggested. “Rocky and I will watch over Lupita. Nothing will happen to her, but your wife seems distraught.”
Tank lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the room. I gave Lupita one last look before the wall blocked my view. When Tank entered the living room, he went to his favorite chair and sat down, settling me across his lap. He tangled his fingers in my hair and kissed me softly.
I snuggled against him and breathed in his scent. I knew that Tank would do whatever he could to help Lupita, but it didn’t keep me from worrying about her. What if the damage done by the drugs was permanent? What if she didn’t survive?
The front door opened and the doctor I’d met before walked in. There was an old-fashioned bag clutched in his hand, and he didn’t even stop to spare us a glance. He made his way down the hall, then I heard Flicker talking to him.
“You remember Doctor Myron? He’s helped out the club a few times, and he’s the one we called for Lupita before. All the Reaper ladies see him for their medical needs, so your sister is in good hands,” Tank said.
“Why would someone do this to her?” I asked. “I thought it was me they were after.”
“Maybe they believed you’d run to Lupita when she called. Whoever hurt her had to have done it as a way to get to you. I’m betting they wanted to lure you away from the compound. If you’d have gone to the park, someone would have possibly snatched you. I don’t think any of this was about Lupita. I think she was just a tool for them. And something tells me that she was released from prison not because of her cunning but because someone pretty powerful thought they could use her.”
“Why do men like my father and Ernesto have to exist? How does someone become so evil?” I asked.
“I don’t know, sweet girl. I guess in order for there to be a balance in the world, there needs to be a bit of evil. Someone smarter than me could probably give you a good reason. I think some people are just born bad, and others become evil through abuse or other trauma.”
It felt like we waited forever before the doctor came back from checking on Lupita. The expression on his face wasn’t overly worried so that eased some of my fears.
“I think she’s going to be fine, but it will take a while. She’s going to have a rough detox with the symptoms she’s showing, but the worst should be over in a few days. I can’t say for certain what she’s on without doing some lab work, but my best guess is heroin. Even then, there are several different types. They could have mixed it with any number of things, including fingernail polish remover or over-the-counter meds.”
“Can you take a blood sample and run the tests so we’ll know for sure?” Tank asked.
“I can. I do my lab work in-house, but I’m not set up to house her while she detoxes. I can understand why you don’t want to take her to the hospital. I have a friend who was a medic in the Army. He has a nursing degree and I’m sure he’d be happy to watch over Lupita,” the doctor said.
“You know anything like that would have to be cleared by Torch. We’d have to find a place to set him up. I only have the one guest room,” Tank said.
“I was thinking more that she would stay with Jeb while she’s recovering. He lives down on the coast, and has plenty of room for Lupita. The Gulf Coast might be good for her right now,” the doctor said. “Even though the crucial part of her detox will only last a few days, her recovery could take a bit longer. Without knowing what mixture she was given, if this is even heroin, it’s hard to say what effects it will have on her body and mind. Some types can leave lasting psychological harm.”
“Let him help her,” I said. “I want my sister back. Whatever it takes.”
Tank sighed and nodded. “All right. How are you going to get her there?”
“I can give her some Narcan. It’s not a permanent fix, and it won’t last long. It might be just enough time to get her strapped down for transport. Jeb has some connections and can get her safely to his place. I just need the okay for an ambulance to come through the gates. Privately owned and operated,” the doctor said. “Anyone who handles the transport won’t breathe a word of this to the authorities or the hospital, but there will be a certified EMT to sit with Lupita in case she needs medical attention.”
“Please, Tank,” I said. “If this Jeb person can help Lupita, let him. Give him whatever he wants. She’s my sister.”
“Fine. I’ll call Torch and make sure the Prospect manning the gate knows to let in an ambulance when it arrives. I wish we had more time. There are plans in place to take care of Ernesto and Luis, but they could still be roaming free right now,” Tank said. “I’ll need the name of the driver so the Prospect can ask for ID before letting them through.”
“I’ll call Jeb now and get the ball rolling,” the doctor said.
Tank brushed a kiss against my cheek. “Why don’t you go to the kitchen and make some coffee? I have a feeling we might need it. As much as I know you want to see Lupita, I think it’s best if you stay out of that room right now.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with that assessment, but I went to the kitchen anyway. I gazed down the hall at the open bedroom door and heard Lupita yelling and cussing at poor Flicker. I hated seeing her like this and wished I knew what had happened. She never would have taken drugs voluntarily. Had they tricked her into taking something?
I set up the coffeemaker and sat at the kitchen table while it brewed. My hands fisted on the wooden surface as I heard Lupita get more and more out of control. She sounded completely irrational and paranoid. Lupita had always been the one to watch out for me, and now it was my turn to return the favor. I only hoped we were doing the right thing. I knew why Tank didn’t want to involve the hospital or police, but it didn’t mean I liked the thought of Lupita suffering more than she had to. Hopefully, this Jeb person would be able to take care of her properly.
I hadn’t met a lot of male nurses, but I hadn’t been to the hospital very often. I wondered why he’d chosen that instead of becoming a doctor. Maybe I’d get a chance to meet him at some point. It would be nice to know who was taking care of my sister. But Tank seemed to trust Doctor Myron, and I trusted Tank. So if the doc said this Jeb guy was the one for the job, then I had to believe him. It wasn’t like I had a lot of options. I could tell that Dixie Reapers didn’t trust my sister very much right now, and I could see why, but deep down I didn’t think she would ever do something to hurt me.
I wondered if she’d already been on the drugs the day she’d arrived here, all banged up and saying mean things. That hadn’t been at all like the sister I’d known and loved all my life. How long did it take for drugs to start changing a person? I’d never researched it before, and without knowing what Lupita was taking it was hard to know which drug to study.
The coffeemaker beeped and stopped gurgling. I poured a cup for Tank and another for the doc. I carefully carried both mugs into the living room, then handed them off and ret
urned to the kitchen for more. I didn’t know how Flicker liked his coffee, or Rocky, so I just poured it the way Tank liked it and carried two mugs down the hall. When I reached the bedroom, I hesitated. Was I ready to see Lupita tied down? Flicker stuck his head out of the room and gave me a slight smile.
“You okay, Emmie?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just…” I thrust the mugs toward him. “Thought you and Rocky might want coffee.”
“Thanks.” He took one of the cups and sipped it. “Perfect.”
I scurried back down the hall, too chicken to peek in on my sister. She was quieter, but I wasn’t entirely sure that was a good thing. In the living room, Tank was pacing with the phone against his ear and the doc was sitting down enjoying his coffee.
“Both sisters are here,” Tank said. “What the fuck do you mean you lost Ernesto and Luis?”
I tensed. Whoever he was talking to must have been keeping tabs on my father and would-be-fiancé. The fact this person didn’t seem to know where they were wasn’t a good thing. I didn’t think they could get inside the compound, but what if I was wrong? I’d believed I’d been safe all this time because they couldn’t reach me behind the gate. If I was wrong, then they could be lurking nearby right now, just waiting to make their move.
“Find them and do your fucking job, Casper. If they get inside the gates, it’s not just Emmie in danger. They could go after your daughter and grandkids. These sick fucks don’t care who they hurt,” Tank said, then ended the call. He stared at his phone a moment. “It was much more satisfying to hang up on someone when you could slam the phone down onto the cradle. Pushing a button is anticlimactic.”
The doc snickered. “I think you’re showing your age. Emmie over there probably never used a landline in a house. Only offices have those these days.”
No, I hadn’t, but I wasn’t about to volunteer that information.