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“Did you just use a bad word?” Sara asked.
“Hey!” Future said, brightening. “She can spell.”
I wanted to be happy that Fred taught his girl how to spell at four but I didn’t have time. “Will you just get out here?” I cried. “Please?”
Future dashed forward, and I started running down the hallway, thinking she’d finally come to her senses.
When I was near the end, she stopped, looked around and then dashed back.
“What—?”
“Shh,” she said.
I started heading back but before I could get there, Future was back, Sara was tucked under her arm.
“Come on, Sara-Bera,” she said. “You want to go see Grandma?”
Sara gasped. “Nana?” she asked. “Did she make a pie?”
I groaned. I was going to be arrested for kidnapping. Couldn’t blame Future, though. Leaving Sara with her mother was the last thing I wanted. I waited for them to catch up, and then nudged them both toward the door.
With my heart in my throat, I dashed out, closing the door, they followed me down the stairs.
Corey was still on the bench. I started waving at him as we got closer.
Corey smiled at me, and opened his mouth but then spotted Future with Sara. He tilted his head, looking at the little girl’s face. “Is that?”
“We found her,” I said.
“I found her,” Future said. She hefted up Sara even higher. “I saw her first. And she can spell bitch. She’s so smart. And doesn’t she look fabulous? Aunt Future really knows how to dress girls. I need to start a boutique. Boutique F. U.”
Sara’s head picked up. “F? U? What’s that spell? Fuh-u?”
Corey’s mouth fell open. “Can’t believe it.”
“We have to go,” I said. “Now.”
“What happened?” Corey said, hurrying to where we left the SUV. He pulled his keys out.
“Fred’s in trouble,” I said. “Henry stashed him in a storage unit somewhere. He’s heading there now to pick him up.”
Corey slowed, for a moment, his head tilting as he stared, putting the pieces together. “They kidnapped him to get the money?”
“Yeah, and lied about Sara being missing. Luanne is an escort who hooked up with Henry.” I did my best to give him the speedy version of what I had figured out. “But we have to go get Fred now before they get a chance to take him to the police.”
Corey stopped, his eyes shifting, calculating.
“What?” I asked. “He…”
“We need to get there fast. We need to get there without Sara. We can’t take her with us.”
“It’ll take longer if we don’t…”
“We need to get there before they take off in the car,” Future said. “I know the storage unit. Henry owns a small one just outside town.” She relayed the address to Corey, giving a few directions.
“If one of us can get there first,” he said, “we can take Fred and straighten this out. We don’t know what shape he is in and we might end up confronting Henry. We shouldn’t take Sara with us.”
I looked at Future, at Sara, at Corey, wanting an answer. We didn’t have time to drop Sara off. Corey was right though. One look at those bright eyes of the little girl, and if she saw her daddy tied up in some place like that, what kind of thing would that do to her psyche? I didn’t want to bring her back to her mom to hold on to, either.
And then I had an answer, I just didn’t want to do it.
I yanked out my cell phone. I didn’t have a choice. Sara needed her dad.
“Corey,” I said as I typed out a message. “Give the keys to Future. Let her take Sara to her grandmother.”
“But…”
“Please,” I said. I sent my message and then stepped forward and grasped his arm. I looked right at his face and pleaded. “Please, please. If you ever needed to trust me, do it now. And please don’t hate me.”
Corey stared at me for a long minute, considering. His eyes drifted back and forth across my face, like he was trying to figure out what I was up to.
Slowly, he relinquished his keys to Future, who took them. “You think I could hate you?” Corey asked.
Future clapped her hands. “Yay! I get the SUV. Come on Sara.”
Future hit the button to unlock the SUV doors and climbed in, after putting Sara in the front passenger seat like a good, illegally-seated little four year old should be. Future started the car, gunned it back and took off in a shot.
“I can’t believe I just gave my keys to her,” Corey said.
I was going to reply, when the black Mercedes rolled up.
Corey turned to check it out, cocking his head in curiosity.
I cringed. This wasn’t going to be pretty.
The window rolled down and Blake poked his head out. “Someone need a ride?” he asked. He smiled brilliantly, examining me and then Corey. “Want to drop the baggage first?”
“You!” Corey said, his voice loud now. He stepped forward, blocking me from Blake. Suddenly his shoulders rolled back and he appeared bigger, like I’d seen Raven do when he got defensive. He clenched his fists and stepped forward. “Get out of here.”
“No, Corey,” I said, tugging at his elbow, and his angry face faltered. “I called him.”
“What?” Corey asked. “Him? The drug guy? That guy sent his goons to beat up Marc and Raven on the boat.”
“They were stowaways,” Blake said. “I should have tossed them overboard.”
Corey snarled. “You shouldn’t have been—“
“Not now!” I yelled at him. “We need to go. I’ll explain on the way.”
“You’re taking him?” Blake asked. His head shook, and his blond locks fell across his forehead. “Nope. This car doesn’t go anywhere with—”
“Boys!” I cried at them, using the older sister voice I employed when I had to put my foot down against Wil back in the day. “Stop it. We have to go. Fred’s about to go to jail and Sara’s going to be without her dad. We need to get there right this second. If anyone has a problem with this, get out of the damn car. I’ll drive there myself. You two can stay here and yell at each other, or brawl, or measure out your dicks for size, I don’t care. Just either help me or get out of the way.”
Their heads turned toward me at the same time, mouths open, eyes wide.
“Get out of my way,” I said, jumping toward the driver’s door.”
“Hang on,” Blake said. “I’ll drive.”
“Come on,” Corey said. His shoved me around the car, opening the passenger door. He pulled the seat to open the back up and I crawled in. Corey moved the seat into position and got in, closing the door.
“Let’s go!” I said.
Blake backed the Mercedes up and then took off. “Where am I going?”
“Take a left,” Corey said. He pulled out his cell phone, typing something into it.
“Oh no,” Blake said, “You’re not calling your buddies for reinforcement.”
“I’m logging into the GPS,” he said. “I’m checking for traffic issues so we can avoid delays.”
“Oh,” Blake said. “Well, you can do that.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
“Guys!” I planted a hand on both of their shoulders. “Please.”
“What’s he doing here anyway?” Corey asked. “What—” He made noises, like he was trying to formulate too many questions at once.
I swallowed, sharing a look with Blake. I wasn’t sure how much to reveal, or if I wanted to say anything at all. “Corey, I didn’t… I don’t…”
“I found her,” Blake said. He turned into traffic. He put his aviator sunglasses on. “Ran into her at the party. Told her to walk away.”
“What?” Corey said. “You mean that cop party?”
“Your boys were about to get her arrested,” Blake said. “She was about to walk into the middle of them getting their asses kicked. She would have been in jail, and not here now. You’re lucky I showed up at all.”
Corey pursed his lips, shaking his head. He glared out the window. He tapped his fingers against the door arm while twisting the phone in his hands.
I’d never seen him angry. He got quiet. Steamed. It was the opposite of his brother, who yelled.
I sat back, my arms crossing over my chest. “I asked him for help,” I said quietly. “I had him trying to follow Future after the party. He helped her find Luanne.”
“You didn’t tell me,” Corey said in an even tone.
“You wouldn’t have understood.”
“I’m not stupid.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Corey shook his head, closing his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about this now.”
That killed me. My heart cracked and a piece of it crumbled down into my stomach. The pain was overwhelming.
Corey hated me. Lovable, beautiful Corey who did so much for me, and I’d betrayed him.
I stiffened, glaring out another window and forced myself to try and not care that I was losing one of the most wonderful guys I’d ever met.
