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The bus dropped us off at the fieldhouse, and I went straight to our apartment. My nerves raced since Josie hadn’t texted me back. The apartment was dark and silent when I walked inside. Chills crawled up my spine. “Josie?” I yelled, kicking off my shoes and slinging my bag onto my bed.
“Frankie?”
Nothing. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I called her. Her voicemail answered a few rings later. Biting my lip, I shoved my fingers into my hair and tried to calm my breathing. “Where are they?”
I checked the parking lot and my blood ran cold. Josie’s vehicle sat in its usual spot. Where had they gone without her vehicle? Vomit climbed my throat. I curled my hands around the bed of my pickup and let my head hang, breathing deeply.
They’re fine. I’m sure.
I ran back upstairs to check for any signs of a break-in. Josie’s purse was gone, and her cell phone. “Okay,” I whispered. “She went somewhere with someone.”
I ran toward the living room when the front door opened. Frankie walked in holding two pizzas and Josie behind him with a two liter of Coke. The evidence of my fear must have shown on my face. Frankie stopped. “When did you get home? What’s the matter?”
He put down the pizzas and stared at me. Josie walked around to meet me. “What’s the matter?” she asked. "We walked down the street to that new pizza place."
“I—I,” a sob broke from me. I hated myself for it because it made me feel weak. It brought me back to those years of abuse. To those years of constant wanting to be stronger. I sat down on the arm of the recliner and braced my palms against my face.
Josie ran her palm against my shoulder and hugged me to her chest. “What happened? What’s the matter?”
“I thought he took you. You didn’t answer my text or phone calls, and then you were both gone—,”
“Who took us?” Frankie asked.
Josie waited for me to answer; obviously, it wasn’t her story to tell. Sitting up, I glanced at Frankie’s dark eyes and disheveled hair. “There is a lot you don’t know, Frank. Sit down. I’ll tell you while we eat.”
Twenty minutes later, no one had touched their food. Frankie sat on the floor, his back against the couch, elbows rested against his knees. “Now this guy works here at LSU?” Frankie asked.
“Yeah, he’s the guy Josie is interning for.”
Frankie’s dark eyes met Josie’s. “You have to quit. You can’t be around that monster.”
“I sent in a letter of resignation to his email. He emailed me back asking if we could meet to talk about it, but I didn’t respond. Now he’s texting and calling me.”
I clutched my fingers into fists against my knees. “Does he know where you live?”
Josie sighed. “Yeah, when I filled out my application it asked for my address.”
God.I wanted to rip his head off and show him no mercy. “We need to watch our backs,” I said softly.
“We could always try and find out some stuff on him—,”
I cut my eyes at Josie. “I said no. We’re not risking either one of you to get this guy. I think he’s responsible for the drugs going around campus, he’ll get himself into trouble—,”
“We don’t know that,” Josie said irritated. “How do we know that drugs aren’t always filtered around campus, Maverick? Now we just have to walk on eggshells for the next four years?”
Sliding my palm down my face, I stood up and stared down at her. “We are not going after him, Josie. You swear to me right now that you won’t go after him.”
Red tinted her cheeks. Her dark hazel eyes lowered to her worn Converse and her interlaced fingers. “Maverick—,”
“Both of you,” I spat. “Both of you leave it alone. There is no way to prove he did that to me and proving it is not going to keep us safe.”
Josie nodded reluctantly. “I won’t pursue it.”
I glanced at Frankie.
“Me either,” he said, twiddling his fingers together.
“Good,” I said, taking a seat. “Let’s eat before this gets too cold.” I grabbed a slice, hoping they would follow behind me. I wanted the bastard to go down, but not at the expense of my family.
