Page 14 of Dangerous Rhythm

Curtis swallowed bile that threatened to spill at the reminder.

“I need to touch base with Marcus. Can I trust you to brief your parents and get them packed up as fast as possible?” she asked.

He gave a curt nod.

With one last look, Lina put the scotch bottle away, then walked out, phone at her ear.

Thrumming his fidgety fingers against his thighs, Curtis itched to do something. After sitting in the car for over two hours, his muscles were tight, like a coil ready to spring. The adrenaline from shaking their follower and worrying about his parents wasn’t helping, either. The alcohol didn’t seem to dull any of it.

What I need is an hour on the mat.

Curtis imagined how satisfying it would feel at that moment to actually fight someone at his dojo. If not facing one of his sparring partners, at least a bag to punch and kick would be helpful to get out all this pent-up energy. But before he could find an alternative way to release his frustration, his parents walked in.

“Curtis,” his mother greeted evenly. Even if her still-porcelain-smooth skin was tinged pink, her shoulders were as square and steady as always, and she was now dressed in her usual attire of slacks, shirt, and cardigan.

“Mother. You covered up pretty well.”

“Don’t be fresh with me. You embarrassed both your father and me enough,” Susan Bisset reprimanded him. Her stern, high voice could still shrivel up his balls without fail.

“You owe your mother an apology,” his father agreed with a huff.

Dr. Henry Bisset was a professor of mathematics at the university. He had a still-waters-run-deep demeanor and let his type-A wife run his life. Growing up, Curtis had rarely seen the professor worked up. He often wondered how he could have spawned from these parents. His sister, Callie, was as gifted scholarly as their father and had the same tenacity as their mother—even if she wouldn’t admit it. Curtis had always been the oddball in the family. But the present situation was an anomaly and gave him a whole new perspective on his parents.

“What am I apologizing for? I’m the one who’ll have to be in therapy for the rest of my life,” Curtis retorted.

“Did I not teach you not to barge into someone’s space, especially if their door was closed?” Mom demanded.

“The door was ajar,” Curtis replied lamely. “Fine. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I had to see my parents going at it like a couple of rabbits in the middle of the afternoon.”

“For crying out loud!” Dad almost roared.

It was his mom who marched to him, caught him by the ear, and pulled him to her level. “You may be thirty-four, but I won’t hesitate to put you in your place.”

“Ow! Alright, alright,” Curtis yelped as he pulled away and rubbed his ear. “I apologize for barging in. I thought you were in danger.”

Now both of his parents frowned at him. “Why would you think we were in danger?”

“Look, it’s a long story that I’ll tell you on the way, but we need you to pack a bag. We need to get away for a few days, maybe a week. Maybe longer.”

“Why? Where?” Dad asked.

“Who’s we?” Mom added.

“Lina—she’s my bodyguard. She’s outside arranging things. But long story short, the mob is after me. Lina is taking us somewhere safe—”

“What do you mean, the mob is after you?” Mom asked, her eyes widening behind her glasses.

“I can’t go into details right now. You just need to understand that you might be in danger, too.” Curtis turned his parents back around toward the stairs. “I need you to pack light and fast. Just the essentials.”

“I can’t go. I have classes to teach,” Dad protested.

“Your TA can cover for you.” Curtis knew his dad barely taught his classes anymore. He really should retire.

“But I—” Mom protested, too.

“What part of ‘in danger’ don’t you understand?” Curtis cut her off in frustration. “I got threatened with a package with a dead rat stabbed with a stiletto this morning. We had to lose a car tailing us just before we got here. Please, just pack!”

His parents stared at him with slacken jaws, but his mom recovered first. “Okay, we’ll be right back.”

---