Page 47 of Betting on Lizzie

“Damn. I forgot about that. Maya hasn’t said anything about it. Hopefully, she’s too busy to give it any attention. Eight ball, corner pocket,” he said before sinking it, beating her soundly.

“Fine. You win. Next dinner’s on me.”

“Double or nothing?” he asked.

She glanced around the bar. “It’s slow enough, I think I’ll bail early. My place in ten?”

He sputtered on the last sip of his drink but collected himself quickly. She was a woman who knew what she wanted all right. And wasn’t afraid to say so.

“Uh, yeah,” he said. “Maya’s gone for the night. You wanna come to my place?”

“See you in a bit.”

On his way out, he overheard her telling the other bartender that she and Charlie were heading home.

It was all he could do not to run any red lights on the way home. He took the stairs two at a time and rushed to his door. When he tried to put his key in, he realized it was already unlocked. He was sure he’d locked it when he left. Crap. Was Maya home?

He pushed open the door and immediately felt something was off. “Maya?” he called. No answer.

A light flipped on, and the woman he hadn’t seen in almost two decades stared at him.

“You look good, Ben,” Jenna said. Dull, lifeless eyes peeked out from a sunken face that looked much older than he knew her to be.

“Wish I could say the same,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m in some trouble.” She picked nervously at her arm. “I need money.”

“Okay.” He approached cautiously. “How’d you get in here? Is Maya here?”

“No, but she’s fine. Well, she will be if you do what I say. She’s with a friend of mine.”

He tamped down the terror and spoke calmly. “What are you talking about?”

She ignored him and started dialing on a phone she’d pulled from her back pocket. “He’s here.” After listening for a second, she held the phone out to him.

“Hello?” Ben said.

“Dad?” Her voice sounded faint. And scared. No, petrified. “I’m sorry.”

“Maya? Where are you?”

“If you want Maya back,” an unfamiliar male voice growled, “you’ll get two thousand dollars in cash and bring it to the Simmons Street Motel on Trent Boulevard. Next to the freeway.”

“Who is this?”

“A friend of Jenna’s.” Ben stared at the mother of his daughter. Dirty, straggly hair covered her face as she hung her head. “Put her back on.”

He was handing the phone to Jenna when Lizzie entered. Charlie was by her side, and Ben heard the low rumble of a protective growl. She inched in slowly, glancing between him and Jenna. Ben met her eyes and could tell she’d immediately sensed the tension.

“Some woman and a huge dog walked in,” Jenna said in a panic, eyes wide in surprise and confusion. “What do I do now?”

She listened for a minute, hung up, and approached Ben and Lizzie. “Give me your phones.”

“What’s going on?” Lizzie whispered.

“They have Maya. And want money.”

Without another word, Lizzie pulled out her phone and handed it to Jenna. Ben did the same, and Jenna laid them on the kitchen counter.

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