Page 41 of Stealing Iris

The quick glare speaks volumes. Her fingers are slamming down on the keyboard with every stroke. Yeah, she’s pissed about me holding out on her. “There’s no payroll for him—anywhere.” She keeps typing.

“He was working there.” My leg is bouncing on par with my anxiety.

“Give me a second.” She mumbles a bit in Mandarin. “Only one computer,” she announces, after an eternity. “Let me see what I can find.”

“Okay. I’ll head to town.” I leave her to dig while I tell the pilot to change our destination and find a way to land—now. The plane banks as the pilot heads back to the city, instead of the West Coast.

Next, Tino. The phone rings once then three beeps and aCall Failmessage. I try again.Beep-beep-beep.Again.Beep-beep.I slam my finger down to end the call. Damn this storm we’re flying into. I have to get to Iris.

My hands sting—that’s how I figure out I’m digging my nails into my palms. Normally it’s twenty-thirty minutes or so, but the sky is pitch-black. According to the weather app, Laredo’s under a thunderstorm.

I hit Tino’s number again. A single ring. “Come on.” But the line drops again, and I toss the cell on the seat. I’ll have to wait until we get there then grab the car and head to Iris.

The phone rings, breaking into my thoughts. I lunge toward the edge of the seat. Kassy. I press the button to answer. “H—”

“Where have you been?” She rushes through, cutting me off.

“Bad weath—”

“I was about to call Tino,” she says, barrels through. “You’ve got to…” The line cuts out. “Piece of shit.” The passion in her voice freezes me in place. “I want Tino to track him down and annihilate him,” she finishes in a shaky voice. “And I don’t give a f—” A second later the screen goes to video. Conrado’s hand goes up, and Iris flinches then the line starts to buffer.

“No! You fucking…” Helpless, I sit in the chair, unable to go anywhere, and with no way to make the damn plane go faster. Desperation is clawing at me, and I want to smash my fist into the screen. The scene cuts to Iris hitting the desk, headfirst then cuts off. Rage explodes inside me, burning into every limb and every cell.

The phone chimes. I’m still glaring at the screen when Kassy’s message dips down from the top of the screen.They’re going to get her tonight.

*****

IRIS

Something brought me awake, sitting up to check the dark corners of my room. Nothing. The alarm clock shows one o’clock, so I finally dozed off for an hour or so. I slump back, letting myself plop down on the pillow. Would I manage any sleep tonight?

Heavy pounding on the back door comes through over the rain pelting the roof. Eyes wide open, I bolt out of bed and grab Dad’s old baseball bat, squeezing the handle.It’ll be all right. If I go down, I go down swinging.

Unlocking my bedroom door, I take cautious steps down the hallway to the back. Whoever managed to jump the fence during a storm came up the driveway and through the carport without riling up the neighbor’s dog.Right hand over left. My pulse echoes against my clammy palms as I tighten my grip on the bat.

“Who’s there?” Thunder rolls, and I strain to catch any sound that might give me a clue. Could someone be trying to figure out if the house is empty? What if he, or they, push their way inside. Without a phone line, what can I do? Would the neighbors even hear me over the storm?

“Iris, it’s Dante.”

Dante’s here? Every muscle relaxes. My shoulders sag, not just because he identified himself, buthecame. Hope and dismay fight to be heard.

“Open the door.” Releasing a pent-up breath, I wobble through the last few steps to the doorway.

Flipping the dead bolt, I stop, my fingers hovering over the knob. Tino said he hadn’t asked about me. So why is he at the door all of a sudden? Dante didn’t just drop me, he all but shoved me in the car when he sent me away. Pain slices across my chest as I picture his furious expression. Thunder cracks overhead, jolting me.

“What do you want?” With my heart thundering, I bite my lip, waiting for an answer I may not like.

“I need to talk to you. Open the door,” he insists.

“About?”

“Just open the door, Iris,” he demands.

Doubt creeps into me. Should I take the chance? Because believing in him had left me heartbroken. “Iris, I swear, if you don’t open this door, I’m going to drag Conrado here to answer my questions.”

Gasping, I drop the bat to clatter on the kitchen floor.

“Iris, is he there?” The metal screen protests as he yanks on the knob. “Get your hands off her, you goddamn son of a bitch,” he yells over the rain.

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