AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, are you sure?” Kevin asked. “I gave her almost seven thousand dollars. She should be fine.”
“JUST DO IT!” I screamed. “And tell her you’re holding her until I arrive.”
I slammed the phone down on the table and grabbed my helmet. I’d take my bike, the Ducati. It was faster than every other vehicle I had.
I sped the entire way to the motel. I knew that going the speed I was traveling was a risk, but it was one I had to take. I had to find her and talk to her before she did something stupid. That baby was ours, and whether we could be together or not, we’d made it in love.
I arrived at the motel looking dusty and bedraggled. I immediately spotted Kevin and parked beside his car.
“She’s gone out,” Kevin said. “I came back, and she was gone.” He popped open the motel room door. “The front desk recognized me and, since I paid. They gave me a card to get in when I told them I lost mine. I thought maybe she was being cautious and not answering, but when I asked the front desk if they had seen her, they said she left on foot fifteen minutes before I came back.”
I glanced around the empty room and pounded my fist on the dresser. “Shit!”
“What do we do now, boss?” Kevin asked quietly. His eyes reflected the concern I was feeling. Kevin may not have understood why I was so upset, but he was a great enough friend that he knew it was serious.
“I guess we wait.” I sank onto the edge of the bed. “Any news on Pauly?”
Kevin nodded. “It was all over the news yesterday. He was apprehended as we anticipated and is being charged. No one else from the team has been arrested except his right hand—my friend—and it looks like he’ll be offered a deal to roll over on Pauly. No news from Alex or anyone else. They were conveniently not present.”
“Do you think your guy will take the deal?” I asked.
Kevin shrugged and then nodded slowly. “I think so, but you know how this goes. If Alex decides to retaliate, it’ll be a death sentence to take it.”
I nodded. I truly hoped that Alex was telling me the truth when he said he wanted to go legal and was fed up with his father and aggressive antics. That might be the only factor that saved us all in this brouhaha.
“I know I don’t have to say this to you, but no word of this to Sarah, okay? As far as she is concerned, nothing has happened,” I said.
“I know. She’ll likely see the news story, though,” Kevin said.
“Yeah, but no further information about it comes from either of us,” I demanded.
Kevin nodded and raised his hand in a Scout's honor symbol. I laughed despite myself. Trust Kevin to do his best to lighten the mood.
Kevin and I waited for what felt like an eternity for Sarah to return. Kevin sat, his back erect against the chair, and glanced out the window. He was hidden from view, his semi-automatic resting in his lap. I paced the room, full of nervous energy. What would I say to Sarah when she returned?Wouldshe return? Her backpack was in the corner of the room, unopened, so I had to believe she’d just gone out for some food or a walk, but what if I was wrong? What if she was gone for good or had been apprehended by someone already? An even worse thought crossed my mind—what if she was already seeking ways to handle or terminate the pregnancy? Would she even do that? I had no idea, but I knew that these were extenuating circumstances. She might feel pushed to make a decision she would not usually make. I sighed loudly. The longer I was here, the more doubts I had about what I was doing.
My mind drifted back to Sarah’s note. It sounded so sad and miserable and something else… terminal. My mind snapped onto the word and analyzed it. Surely, Sarah wasn’t planning something drastic for herself. I was not one to be an alarmist, but I wondered how I would feel in her shoes, alienated from her family and alone, pregnant and rejected by the person who got her there. Would I have the courage to carry on if I was in her shoes? I didn’t know. I knew we’d have some challenges being together, which would never happen unless we left the US for good, but I could be there for her and the unborn child. I had to be.
My phone rang, and I jumped and stared at it, startled. It wasn’t the call I was hoping for from Sarah. Instead, it was Alex, no doubt calling about the arrest yesterday.
“Hello,” I said wearily.
“I guess you heard?” Alex said. His voice sounded dull and tired.
“Yeah. What now?”
“It’s all on me. Either I retaliate and keep going his route, or I don’t. Either way, he’s going to prison for a long time,” Alex said. “You don’t happen to know anything about his arrest, do you?”
“No,” I said firmly. “My time in that life is long gone.”
“I want the family to go legal,” Alex said with certainty. “I have no idea how, but we can’t keep living like this. The days of the rugged gangster are ancient. We’re not protected like we were, and with a bunch of the other families going legit, we’re becoming a greater target for law enforcement. I don’t want to spend the rest of my days in prison, nor do I want to wind up in a body bag.”
“I hear that,” I said. I waved my hand impatiently into the air. I wished he’d get to the point. Sarah could come back at any moment.
“Can you help me?” he asked. His voice was soft, an echo of the sweet boy he was when he was a child, long before Pauly had jaded him against the world.
“If you’re serious, then yeah,” I said. I hoped I wasn’t setting myself up for an attack.
“I am. Can we meet this week?”
