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“You’re strong. I lost my self-respect the moment I agreed to become a member of the Sanchez family. That’s why I couldn’t care less about what happens to me.”
A jagged stabbing sensation permeated my heart. I had no words of wisdom, no method of reacting properly, but I longed to rip the demons from their sadistic hold on his will. Looking up, I groaned. He’d already walked away.
CHAPTER12
Crystal
I don’t know how long I’d been standing at the water’s edge, my shoes in my hand, doing nothing more than watching Zorro race back and forth.
And thinking.
And worrying.
With every seagull’s cry and every slap of wind in the adjacent trees, I winced. Blade had put the fear of God into me. Again. All the nightmares and all the concerns had resurfaced, driving me to the point of being unable to think clearly. A single tear formed in my eye, the worry deepening. Against my better judgment, I eased the phone from my pocket. I hadn’t programmed in any numbers, but I knew Jessie’s by heart. By now, she would have heard about the bomb and was no doubt scared out of her mind. I knew I was taking a chance, but I’d never felt so utterly alone in my life. I needed grounding. I needed a friendly voice.
After punching in the number, I hesitated before hitting send. One call wasn’t going to identify our location, not by a long shot.
“Hello?” Jessie’s voice was tentative.
“It’s me.”
“Oh, my God! Where are you? What happened? I’ve been so terrified. The news is so bad. The pictures of the bar just… horrific.”
“I’m fine,” I tried to say with some sort of lilt in my voice. I knew I’d failed miserably. “I’m safe.”
“But where are you?” Jessie demanded.
I glanced around, darting a quick look back at the house. There was no sign of Blade, or anyone else for that matter. I also hadn’t been to this section of beach before. “I have no idea. Somewhere outside of Charleston, at least I think anyway.”
“Okay, you’re scaring me. I don’t understand. What happened?”
“Blade. He was able to get me out.” I cringed after saying the words. The less said the better. I knew the drill. Why was I acting like a stupid child?
Blip!
What the hell? A call was coming in. No one knew this number. My hand shaking, I glanced at the screen. While I didn’t recognize the number, the call was local.
“Blade. You really…”
“What?” Jessie’s words were lost. “What did you say?” I turned in a full circle, half expecting to see men running in my direction, guns in the air.
“I said, you must really trust Blade to go away with him. I don’t like this at all.”
There was more than surprise in her voice, the catch making me second-guess my decision to call her. “Yes, I do. He’s not working with the Desperados.”
“If you say so, but Jesus, you don’t know him.”
“Does that mean you talked to your brother again?” Sweat beaded along my forehead.
“No, he’s been on assignment. I’m just worried. The bombing has been all over the news. So has that regular customer of yours I’ve seen sitting at the end of the bar. What’s his name? Pappy or something?” Jessie said, almost in passing.
“Yes. He was very… helpful.” I knew she was saying something else, but I was almost frozen, as if knowing the incident had been on the news made it seem more real. I had difficulty swallowing, words stuck in my mouth. “I can’t stay on the phone, but I wanted you to know that I was all right.” I could only hope that Pappy would be okay. Ex-cop or not, his help could mean he was in danger as well.
“When are you coming home?”
Wasn’t that the question of the day? “I honestly don’t know.”
“I think the police are looking for you too.”
