Page 88 of Play With Me

“Oh, no, sweetheart. It’s not. I promise. This is my fault.”

Brook took her in his arms, smoothing his hand over her back, whispering what I thought were soothing words because she seemed to calm down. She rested her head on his shoulder and gripped his shirt in her tiny fists. I didn’t want to leave them; in fact, I wanted to run to them, cry with them, and then hug them both. But I was a nobody. I was just an outsider here. After all, he didn’t even want me to know that he had a daughter.

Feeling my heart snap again, I stepped back and went to see the man Kate was speaking with. Blood-soaked towels covered the floor, and Kate walked back and forth beside the couch, biting her nails.

“Is that Xavier?” I nodded toward the covered man.

“Yes. He’s been shot in the abdomen, but he’s barely bleeding there. I don’t know if that’s because he’s already lost so much blood or because he can somehow control his bleeding. But he’s still conscious and talking to my mother, which is good. I can’t believe she’s here. I can’t believe he’s alive. He’s going to make it, isn’t he?”

“He’s survived ten years on his own; it’d be a shame if he didn’t.”

“Thank you, Lola. Thank you for finding him.” Kate finally removed her raw thumb from between her lips and hugged me.

“Oh, I didn’t really do anything. Xavier saved Sophie.”

“She’s wonderful, isn’t she?”

“You knew she was Brook’s?”

“Of course I did. I thought you did as well.”

“Nope. Just learned.”

“Ouch. For what it’s worth, I love her.”

“I’m pretty sure loving that girl is not a problem for me either. How are you doing? I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Please tell me you guys can stay.”

“I can’t. I have to go back to close the case, but I do miss you. Maybe I can help search for Cortez, find the son of a bitch, and then visit.”

“You need to visit sooner than that. Please promise me. Christmas time, at the latest.”

“All right.” I made a note to investigate Cortez on my own. Maybe if I closed that case, no matter how small the chance was, Kate could finally move on with her life. If I found Cortez, I wouldn’t have to keep looking over my shoulder either. The new job would keep me occupied until at least New Years. A couple of weeks after that, I could finally close the eight-year-long emptiness I’d felt in my heart because I’d get all the answers I’d been waiting for. Except since I met Brook and Sophie, my heart felt fuller than it had in a long time. They both filled that void with ease; letting them go for a few weeks would be difficult, but it was the right thing to do.

Kate strolled across the room, then back, and bit the inside of her cheek.

“Why are you so nervous, Kate? And you’re being overly nice. I mean you’re nice and all, but something is off, and I don’t know what it is.”

“I need a favor.” Kate squared her shoulders, determined. “I selfishly need your help moving the moonshiner’s bodies into the shed. And from the sound of the sirens, we have about two minutes to do it before they get here. I don’t want those men waking up or the police asking too many questions.”

“Waking up?”

“I sedated them.”

“Way to go, Kate. You’re finally taking your life into your own hands.”

“Trying to. It’s about time, too. It doesn’t always work, but if you try enough times, eventually it’s gotta give, right?”

And now she was talking like me as well. When I’d made the snap decision that we’d be friends over a year and a half ago, I knew it was a good one.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling a little better. Now let’s go move some bodies.”

We secured the two moonshiners in the shed with a chain and attached that to a steel work table, which we both tried to lift. It wouldn’t budge from the floor.

The ambulance arrived moments later and took Xavier along with Anna. If he were to survive the two bullets he’d taken when he saved Sophie and Kate, then he needed urgent care. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Kate’s and took Cameron’s car to drive back to New York. After our adventure, I didn’t want any more excitement, and I definitely wasn’t ready to step on a plane again.

As I sat in the back seat of Cameron’s jeep while Brook drove, I listened to the stream of eighties music on the radio. It drowned out the need to speak. The minutes blurred together, the words and tunes became more identical, and I felt my eyes get heavy. They’d snap open when Brook drove over a rail crossing or a pothole, and then they’d close again. Sometime during our ride, I passed out for longer than five minutes. It must have lasted a while. A nightmare brought me back to that day when I couldn’t escape. It brought me back to the time when life took my baby girl and the love of my life away from me. Why did it feel like I was losing them both all over again?

---