Page 77 of Crude Heir

“You have no memory at all?” Miss Josie asks.

I shake my head, sitting up carefully. “I’ve had snippets of dreams that might actually be a memory, but they’ve left me terrified of the dark.”

“I’m sorry,” she says quietly, sharing a look with Elena. Are they thinking I was abused?

“No.” I shake my head. “It’s not that.” I inhale slowly. “All I can tell you is that it’s dark, maybe a cave.” The words spill out. “There’s thunder. Men are angry and yelling. People are crying. It’s so loud I have my hands over my ears as my mother holds me.”

“Was it a boat?” Ezequiel asks.

His question throws me momentarily. “I don’t understand.”

“Do you remember if you were rocking from side to side?” he asks, trying to piece things together.

I shake my head, feeling a bit lost. “I don’t think so, but I’ve never been on a boat so I can’t be sure.”

“Screeching?” He shifts to another possibility.

I assume he expects a train. “I don’t remember that, either.” This guessing game could go on forever.

“How about a steady rumble, or a deep hum?” he continues, his tone gentle yet persistent as Addler looks on thoughtfully.

“It’s okay, baby,” Derrick says reassuringly. He comes to sit beside me, holding me against him. “If you can’t do it, it’s okay.”

I cling to him, seeking comfort as I struggle to recall what happened. But the piece of my brain that has that childhood memory can’t get past the darkness.

“Remember how it sounded when Sage was on the radio?”

I close my eyes, letting the sound of her voice fill my mind. The background noise from when she was in the truck…

“When we were on the highway on the way over…the sound of the tires,” he coaxes.

The sound echoes in my head sparking a memory. The darkness. Crying. The safety of my mother’s arms. My eyes flyopen. “Oh my God,” I breathe out, turning to Ezequiel, my eyes wide.

Ezequiel nods solemnly. “There’s a good chance the coyotes left you in a trailer,” he concludes.

Miss Josie, who has been sitting quietly, gasps as the revelation.

“A trailer?” I echo the word. The pieces of my past are slowly starting to fall in place, recreating the moment in time.

“Bastards should be strung up.” He folds his arms over his chest. “Think about it.” He turns to Derrick. “Dark trailer, men yelling in hopes someone will hear them, maybe pounding on the walls. Women and children scared and crying.”

Tears spring to my eyes as it all comes rushing back. My mother, holding me to her, telling me it’s going to be alright. Men ramming the wall, kicking. There’s crying…I’m crying. Then light shines in, blinding me…

My stomach revolts. I put my hand to my mouth. Someone shoves a wastebasket into my hands. What little was left in my stomach comes up. I wretch, my eyes too filled with tears to make much sense of it all.

“I’ve got you,” Derrick murmurs, pulling me onto his lap.

Weak, I fall against him. It’s that moment after the storm when all the pressure’s dissipated and the leaves have wilted. I’m grateful for his strength.

Chapter 30

Derrick

I glance hopelessly toward Addler, feeling utterly powerless to do anything other than cradle Nicole. My heart’s battered over seeing her so vulnerable. I just want to hold her and never let her go.

“What can I do?” I ask Addler, with an edge of desperation in my voice, as if he’ll have a ready answer. I don’t think this scenario would ever cross most people’s minds much less to be part of the experience.

Elena, standing nearby with a concerned look on her face, chimes in. “There has to be something in the law that will help people in a situation like this.”

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