Текст книги "Drift Away"

Автор книги: Jeff Shelby

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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

FORTY-TWO

Blood leaked from the corner of Alex’s mouth. He lay sprawled on his back on the sofa, his left eye swollen shut. Bella sat on the floor, squeezing a handful of Legos, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn’t look up when I burst through the door.

“Tell me,” I said.

“I was asleep,” Alex said, his voice groggy. “But I heard something. Thought maybe he’d gotten up for a drink of water or to go to the bathroom. I went back to look and got jumped. Saw at least two before I went out. Hit me with a gun, I think.”

“Did you see anything?” I asked Bella.

She didn’t respond, just sat there clutching the tiny bricks, as if the handful of Legos would somehow morph into her son.

“Bella.” My voice was harsher than I intended. “We need your help. What did you see?”

“I was already in the shower,” Bella said, her voice hollow. “I didn’t hear anything. I got out, put on my clothes and found him in the hallway.”  She motioned to Alex. “I ran to Jax’s room and it was…empty.”

A sob tore from her chest and I looked away. I knew what it was like to lose someone.

“David.”  There was no question in my mind.

“He took him,” she said, her voice breaking. “It was him.”

I nodded and felt the same rush of guilt I’d felt walking into Liz’s condo. I should’ve stayed with them. I shouldn’t have left them. I shouldn’t have been so stupid.

“I’m so sorry, Bella,” Alex said, trying to sit up. “It’s my fault.”

She bit her lip and folded her arms across her chest, her fingers still wrapped around the Legos. “No. It’s not. It’s mine. For letting this go on so long.”

“Noah left me here,” he said. “I should’ve gotten up when you got in the shower.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. David was going to make his point one way or another. And he decided to do it.”

I bent down next to her. “Bella. Listen to me. He did this because he’s pissed at me. Because I showed him up.”

“He took my kid.” Her voice broke and I put my hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll get him back.”

She looked at me with a ferocity I’d never seen. “Promise?”

The guilt sat on my shoulders like dead weight. My decision to get her out had hurt Jackson. It was on me to fix it and I hadn’t been good at fixing anything in a really long time.

“Promise.”

She dropped the bricks she was holding and stood. “Tell me what to do.”

I fingered the Legos on the floor, thinking. “He wants his money, Bella. And he wants me. Because I did this to him. Put him in this position.”

“No,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “He’s doing it because he can.”

I waited, watching her. The sadness and helplessness were battling with some other emotion inside of her. Anger.

She paced the floor. “Control. I told you. He needs control. Just like Evan. When you told him I wouldn’t run for him anymore, he lost control of me. Now he’s got it back.”  She paused. “Only way he’s gonna give that up is if he’s dead. I promise.”

Alex finally managed to push himself into a sitting position. He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped at his mouth. “Not if we get you to San Diego. He won’t go that far.”

She sat down next to him. “It doesn’t feel like I can get far enough away.”  She hesitated. The anger died out and the tears resurfaced. “And now he has Jax.”

The sobs came out in short bursts. Alex put his arm around her and she collapsed into him, her body shaking as she cried against him.

I watched her, helpless.

Liz’s voiced whispered in my head again.

Be you.

“Gimme your phone, Alex,” I said.

He looked at me, confused, but dug into his pocket. He fished it out and handed it to me.

I opened the contacts and found what I was looking for. “I gotta go outside and make a call.”

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Bella pushed tighter into him, her crying muffled as she pressed into his chest.

I headed for the door. “Being me.”

FORTY-THREE

Fifteen minutes later, I walked back into the house and handed the phone to Alex. He still had his arm around Bella. She’d stopped crying, but looked lifeless against him.

I sat down on the coffee table and touched her knee. “We need to get you packed.”

She didn’t move, but her eyes shifted in my direction. “I’m not going anywhere without Jax.”

“I know,” I said. “You have my word. We’re going to go get him and then we’ll get you to San Diego. But we need to be ready to go and that means getting you packed. Whatever you need to take with you. We’ll figure out furniture and things like that later on. But anything you and Jackson need for the short term?  We need to get it packed now.”

“Why?” she asked, sitting up from Alex. “I don’t understand.”

“The only thing you need to understand is that we’re going to get Jax back and then get you both to San Diego,” I said. “But I don’t wanna waste time. As soon as it’s time to go, you need to be ready. So that means packing.”

Alex’s arm tightened around her. “And it’ll give you something to focus on. This is something you can do.”  He looked at me and I nodded. “Best thing you can do is be ready to go when we bring him back.”

I hadn’t known Alex well back in San Diego, but in that moment, his willingness to just go along with me without asking questions and to suggest exactly what I’d been about to suggest, made me very glad that he’d come to Florida.

“I don’t know if I can,” she said.

“Start with your stuff,” he said. “Let me talk to Noah for a minute and then I’ll come help you with Jax’s stuff. Alright?”

She looked at me. “You swear we won’t go until he’s back?”

“I swear, Bella,” I said. “We aren’t going anywhere without Jax.”

She looked at Alex and he smiled at her and there was something in the smile that made me feel left out. Not in a bad way, but there was something intimate there that I wasn’t a part of. She stood and walked slowly back toward the bedrooms.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Alex said “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I should’ve been awake,” he said, the features in his face tight with anger. “So stupid.”

“Why were in you Bella’s room?” I asked.

He sat up straighter, surprised. “How’d you know?”

“Whoever came in here, if you were on the couch, pretty sure you would’ve heard them sooner,” I said. “And pretty sure you would’ve scared the shit out of them and they would’ve done worse to you than they did.”

His shoulders fell and he exhaled. He rubbed his hands together. “Yeah. Right. I was in her room. She didn’t wanna be alone. Nothing happened. We just talked. She couldn’t sleep.”  He shook his head. “We talked most of the night. About Jackson. His dad. Liz.”

I don’t think I winced outwardly at the mention of her name, but everything inside me did.

“We fell asleep on her bed together,” he said. “But nothing happened.”

“I’m not asking,” I said. “None of my business.”

“I know,” he said. “But I don’t want you thinking I’d do that. Take advantage of her or whatever.”

“I didn’t think that. I’m glad you were here to be with her. I think she likes you. That’s good.”

He shrugged. “For all the good I did.”

“Over and done,” I said. “And you’ll get a chance to fix it.”

He raised the eyebrow over the eye that wasn’t swollen shut. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I need to go do a few things, but we’re going to go get him tonight.”

“You’re sure it’s David?”

“I’m gonna find out for certain,” I said. “But, yeah, I feel sure.”

“So what are we gonna do?”

I stood. “I’ll tell you tonight. But we’re getting him back.”

He started to say something, then stopped. “Okay. Whatever you say. I’ll be ready.”

“No one comes in the front door but me,” I said. “Anyone else tries, shoot them.”

“Done,” he said.

“I’ll be back in a few hours,” I said. I nodded toward the back of the house. “Stay close to her. Just reassure her. And let her know she’ll be safe in San Diego.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Be okay if she stays with you for awhile when you get there?” I said. “In San Diego?”

He smiled. “Yeah. That’d be okay.”

I smiled back. “Thought it would be.”

FORTY-FOUR

An hour later, I had confirmation that David had Jackson.

I took Alex’s car and drove back to David’s house, parking two blocks away. I got out and walked up the street and was a block away when I saw Red at the end of David’s driveway. I was three McMansions away when he headed toward me, the bulge of a gun on him visible even from that distance.

“Can’t let you go in, man,” he said, meeting me half way.

“That right?”

He nodded. “Yup. I ain’t got no issue with you, dude, but I ain’t working for you.”

“You like working for an asshole like Hanson?”

He shrugged. “It’s a job. If not him—I work for some other asshole. Know what I’m sayin’?”

I nodded. “Got it. You okay with him taking the kid?”

He glanced away from me and didn’t say anything.

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s what I thought. Takes a different kinda asshole to take a little kid, doesn’t it?”

His eyes shifted back to me and held mine.

“I mean, taking a kid’s a bit different then shaking down some junkie who owes or some mule that’s skimmed,” I said. “Special kinda asshole right there.”

Red’s mouth twitched.

“That’s the kinda asshole that’s gonna end up dead,” I said. “Soon. Be a shame for someone just pulling a job to go down with him.”

Red stared past me down the street before looking at me again. “Kid’s fine. Got chips and ice cream up there. I bought it myself. Played video games with him. He’s alright.”

“Oh, yeah, sounds way fucking better than, you know, being with his mom.”

“He ain’t gonna get hurt,” he said.

“Fucking A right he’s not,” I said. “He does, everybody in that house is dead. That’s a promise. Last thing you’ll see is me feeding you a gun. So you better pick a side. Fast.”

Red raised an eyebrow. “That right?”

I stared at him and nodded.

He tried to hold my gaze, but finally blinked. “Look, man. I work for Hanson. He wants his money. That’s it. He’s just trying to scare the girl, but he wants the money. Give him the money back and he’ll let the kid go.”

“And he’ll still be all over the girl’s ass,” I said, shaking my head. “This is going to end. All of it.”

“You sure you know who you’re messin’ with?”

“Hanson?” I asked.

He nodded.

“I’m not afraid of Hanson,” I said, smiling. “If he knew anything about me, he’d be afraid of me. Begging me to keep the money and tripping over himself to give the kid back.”  The smile died. “He has no idea about me. And neither do you.”

Red’s gaze wavered and he looked unsure of himself.

“All I wanna know is the kid’s gonna stay safe,” I said.

Red nodded. “He’ll be safe.”

“Okay,” I said. “And when I come calling, you can either get the fuck out of the way and we part friends. Or you can go down with the ship. Because I’m taking it down.”

“How you know I’m not gonna go back and tell him all this?” he asked.

“I really don’t give a shit if you do,” I said. “Either way, I’m coming. What you do is your choice. You were cool with me the other day so I’m returning the favor. Only thing I’m asking is that you keep the kid safe.”  I paused. “Because you don’t seem like that special kinda asshole.”

I turned and walked away before he could respond.

FORTY-FIVE

I drove back to Fort Walton and found Ike on the beach, soaking up the sun and guzzling water from a gallon jug.

“Thought I told you to take the day off,” he said, perched on a short beach chair that hovered just above the sand.

“I am,” I said. “But I need a couple things.”

“Alright.”

I glanced around to make sure no one was close by. “Couple of guns. Two at least, three would be better. At least one auto. Don’t care what it is. And I need them today.”

Ike shifted in his chair. “Don’t suppose I should ask why.”

“No. You shouldn’t.”

“Good rather than evil?”

“In the larger sense, absolutely.”

He nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

“The other thing. I may be gone tomorrow.”

“Gone?” he asked. “As in gone gone?”

I nodded. “I told you this morning I wouldn’t just up and bail on you. You’ve absolutely saved my ass, Ike. In more ways than you know. I owe you. So it’s the least I can do. Good chance I won’t be around tomorrow.”

“I shouldn’t ask where you’re going, right?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I said.

“And I’ll assume this is tied to your need for guns?”

“Good assumption.”

He nodded and stared at the water. “You need anything?  To go, I mean?  You good with money?”

“I’m good,” I said. “You’ve overpaid me the entire time I’ve been here and I’ve barely spent a penny. I’m good. And, obviously, I’m paying for my order.”

He waved me off. “Kid, this is Florida. Guns aren’t exactly like buried treasure. Look in any trashcan and you’re likely to come out with one. Don’t worry about it.”

“If I owe you, I wanna know,” I said. “I’ll cover the cost.”

“And you need them today?”

“Yeah, as soon as you can get them to me. If I’m not home, just leave them there.”

He nodded. “I’ll make a couple calls. Gimme a couple hours.”

“That’s fine.”

He stared again at the water. “People were talking today. About some guy on the water this morning. Surfing like nobody’s business, doing things the tourists can’t do on a rental. Then he apparently passed out in the sand for awhile.”

My mouth curved into a small smile before I could stop it. “That right?”

“Yeah, but when they said he was good looking, figured it couldn’t have been you.”

I chuckled and nodded my head. “Right.”

He adjusted the sunglasses and pushed himself out of the chair. “First time I’ve ever heard you laugh.”

“I haven’t had much reason to lately.”

“Been there,” Ike said. “Whatever the reason is, I’m glad for you.”

I wasn’t sure there was a reason yet, but I appreciated his words. “Thanks.”

“I’m gonna make a couple calls and I’ll get you what you need,” he said, checking his watch. “And if you need anything else—today, tomorrow or whenever—you let me know.”

I held out my hand. “Thanks, Ike. For everything. You probably saved my life.”

We shook hands and his mouth twisted into a frown. “Don’t be so dramatic, kid. I ain’t capable of that kinda shit.”

“Yeah,” I said. “You are. You did. Thank you. I’ll find a way to repay you some day.”

“Get going before I start crying or something, alright?” he said. “You’ll have what you need soon.”

I walked up the dunes, hoping Ike was right. Not just about the guns, but about everything else, too.

FORTY-SIX

“I’ll go,” Bella said.

I was back at her house and she and Alex were at the dining room table, their chairs pulled close together. Her eyes were red and her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, but she spoke clearly.

“With Jackson,” she corrected. “I’ll go with Jackson.”

I looked at Alex and he nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “So you’re packed?  Ready?”

She shook her head. “He tried to get me to.”

“Took me awhile to convince her,” Alex said. “One battle at a time.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “Two hours enough time?”

“Two hours?” she asked, her eyes widening. “Are you serious?”

“I wanna get you moved before we go get Jax,” I said. “Anything goes wrong, we need to make sure you’re safe.”

Her shoulders rose up, panic in her face. “What could go wrong?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m being cautious. So we need to make sure you’re safe and protected. I don’t want anyone to be able to find you but us.”

She glanced at Alex.

“It’ll be fine,” he assured her. “We’ll move you somewhere for just a bit while we go get him and bring him back. Then we’re outta here.”

“A hotel would be good,” I said. “Someplace that needs keycards to access elevators. And it wouldn’t draw any attention bringing in whatever you’re taking with you.”

“Are we staying here another night?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “As soon as we have him, we’re gone. Hotel is simply to keep you safe and make you tough to find.”

“We can put you there, go get him, come back and get you and be on our way,” Alex said. “Out of here.”

She sighed and folded her arms across her chest, digesting all of our words. She glanced between me and Alex several times.

“We’ll drive to San Diego?” she said.

“No,” I said. “You, Alex and Jax will fly. I’ll drive with your stuff.”

“Really?” Alex asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” I said. “We need to get them out of here and on their way. I don’t want them going alone, so you need to go with them. Don’t worry about tickets. I’ve got it covered.”

“But you won’t fly with us,” Bella said.

I shook my head.

“Because you can’t,” she said.

I shrugged. “It’ll take me a couple days, but I’ll get there.”

“You’re gonna go back?” Alex asked. “For sure?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m going back.”

It was the first time I’d said it out loud and it sounded strange coming out of my mouth. I wasn’t saying it just to say it, though. I was going back. To face everything.

I didn’t know what would happen. But I was going back.

“So we need to get moving,” I said. “You need to figure out what you need to take and what you can leave. I’ll have a decent amount of space to take your things, but if there’s stuff you can leave, then leave it.”

“We don’t need much,” she said. “Clothes. Toys. Some pictures and stuff.”  She glanced around the room. “The rest can stay.”

“Furniture’s yours?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll get it sold and we’ll get you the money,” I said, thinking of another task for Ike. “What about rent? You on a lease?”

She shook her head. “No. Month to month.”

“Good.” I added that to Ike's list. “We'll get your deposit back.”

“I don’t care,” she said. “I just want Jackson back. Then we can go. I just wanna be gone and done with all of this.”

“Soon,” I said. “We’ll be gone soon.”

FORTY-SEVEN

Alex left to go find a hotel room. We figured his name was the smartest to get the room under in case anyone went looking. I didn’t expect anything like that to happen, but I felt like I’d already let Bella down once by being a bit careless. I wasn’t going to overlook anything this time, no matter how unnecessary it seemed.

She found a couple of small roller bags and several old duffle bags. She was slow at first, moving around her room without any idea of what she was doing. I didn’t push and let her figure it out for herself. After awhile, she started pulling clothes out of her dresser and closet, stacking them in organized piles. She filled one of the rollers and two of the duffels, including things from the bathroom and several framed pictures of her and Jackson.

We moved to Jackson’s room and she was quicker in there, tossing his stuffed animals into one of the duffels, along with two blankets and his pillow. She emptied his dresser, filling the roller with all of his small clothing.

“We have to take the Legos,” she said, her voice firm.

I reached under his bed and pulled out the long plastic bins, stacking them on his bed. “No problem. I’ll make sure I’ve got enough room to take whatever he needs.”

She glanced around the room. “I’m tempted to take all of this, but then I think maybe just starting out new would be good. Give him a whole new room with all new stuff.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“Just not sure how I’m gonna afford it.”

“Don’t worry about money,” I said. “You’ll have money.”

“How do you know?”

“You’ll have money, Bella,” I said. “I’m not gonna get you out there and leave you high and dry. Trust me.”

She sat down on the edge of his bed and ran her hand along one of the Lego bins, her fingers playing with the rectangular latch.

“We’ll get him back, right?” She didn’t look at me.

“Yes.”

“And…” she hesitated. “I can trust Alex, right?”

“Yeah. You can trust him.”

“With Jackson, too?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“He told me who he used to be,” she said.

I didn’t say anything.

“He didn’t have to,” she said. “But I think he wanted to. Like he didn’t want me wondering about him or finding out from someone else.”

“That’s good,” I said.

“I’m not used to honest people,” Bella said, fiddling with the latch. “First you, then Alex. I’m used to liars and fakes and frauds. I’m not sure I know what to do with you guys. I’m not sure I fit in.”

“You fit in just fine.”

“My entire life I’ve attracted liars,” she said, shaking her head. “People who just sucked. People who hurt me. And others. I’ve always thought I was a magnet, like I couldn’t escape them no matter what I did. I just accepted it, thought that was who I was supposed to be with, to surround myself with.”  She un-clicked the latch on the container, then clicked it back shut. “And now you guys are here and I’m not sure I deserve any of this.”

“Bella,” I said.

She stared at the container.

“Bella,” I said. “Look at me.”

She finally moved her head toward me, her eyes shining with tears.

“You are going to be fine,” I said. “This isn’t about deserving. This is about pulling you out of a situation that you couldn’t get out of by yourself. This is about giving Jackson the life I think you want to give him.”

She nodded and wiped at her eyes. “I know. You’re right. I’m just not used to it. I don’t want to screw up. I feel like I already have, you know?”

“You won’t screw up,” I said. “We’ll help you.”

“I’m pretty good at screwing up,” she said, shaking her head. “Like, really good.”

“I don’t see that,” I said. “All I’ve seen is a mom who’s trying pretty hard to take care of her little boy. By herself. And doing a pretty damn good job.”

“I put him in danger,” she said. “This is my fault.”

“It isn’t anyone’s fault,” I said. “David Hanson took your son. And he’s going to be sorry he did.”

She nodded, her eyes damp and fierce. “Yes. He will be.”

“And when we get him back, you’re going to have a chance to leave all of this behind and start new. Close this chapter and start a new one.”

She stood from the bed and wiped her eyes. “I know. Sorry. Just having a woe-is-me moment.”  She stared at me. “I won’t screw up. I won’t waste the opportunity you’re giving me. I promise.”

“Good,” I said. “I’m glad.”

She hugged me then, squeezing me around the neck. It was different than the previous time she’d tried to hug me. She didn’t fit herself to me, she didn’t caress me. She just gripped me tight. She was grateful and she wanted me to know.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

She pulled back and stared into my eyes. “And I hope David Hanson dies today.”