Page 38 of Bait and Switch
“I learned from the best.” I grinned before turning to Silas. “You got this? I need to run.”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Silas called back.
“Where you running off to?” Dad asked.
“I wanna go hang with the pups.”
“I told Reef you boys ought to leave them here. Seems crazy carting them back and forth when you’re barely living at your house.”
“I know,” I said, wondering how he knew where I’d been sleeping, “but they like their yard.”
“At least here they’d have company.” And so would he, which might be good for him. But the dogs were a lot.
“Alright, we’ll leave them with you tomorrow if you want. But you know they’re rambunctious and defiant.”
“Much like their owners,” he chuckled. “Labradors are a cake walk compared to you boys. And I managed to keep you in line.”
“You were a lot younger then,” I grinned.
“I’m not too old to kick your behind,” he bristled, but mainly for show.
“Don’t get your blood pressure up.”
Dad rustled my hair. “You’re lucky you found a pretty girl to put up with you.”
“I am,” I said, laughing to myself that she’d probably argue it was unlucky for her to end up stuck with me, threatened by drug smugglers.
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her. Seems serious.”
It was awkward for us both that he was asking the questions Mom would have, if she were still around. But I appreciated his effort. Not that I could tell him why I’d spent every night with Jasmine since we’d met, or that our relationship wasn’t the only serious situation we found ourselves in. “Yeah, it’s going good. We’ll see.”
Softly smacking the back of my head, he said, “Don’t screw it up.”
“Appreciate your confidence, Pops,” I laughed. “I’m doing my best.”
On my way to my Jeep, I pondered the paradox of the worst thing that ever happened to me also bringing me the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Jasmine had become the center of my universe, and keeping her safe my primary goal. We were thrust into this “relationship” out of necessity. But the need to protect her had morphed into needing her. It was hard to distinguish my intense protective response from my feelings for her. When someone else’s wellbeing is the thing you care most about in the world, isn’t that love?
I tried to keep the worst of my worries from Jasmine, but just being with her calmed me. It helped that I hadn’t seen the car I thought was following me since the night of the barbecue. After a tense couple of days, my nerves had settled and my paranoia had dissipated, at least a little. Jasmine and I fell back into our easy routine, ignoring the elephant in the room for the most part. With no sign of the smugglers, it was easier to pretend they weren’t out there. I started to doubt what I thought I’d seen, wondering if it had been paranoid delusions. It’s easier to believe what you want to be true.
Squinting into the harsh afternoon sun, I turned down my street and into the reprieve of the royal ponciana trees along the sides, their branches ablaze in blood-orange blooms. Those trees were the reason I wanted to live on this street. Somehow they’d gone from bare to full bloom without me noticing.
My house didn’t really feel like home anymore. The air was stale and musty. I felt like an intruder, creeping through theeerie silence. Fisher and King mauled me when I opened the back door. I laid in the grass, snuggling both of their necks. “Did you guys get any squirrels?” I asked, staring up into the branches of the gumbo limbo tree. King licked my cheek. “Is that a yes?” I laughed. “Where is it? Where’s the squirrel?” I asked in the taunting voice he loved. King popped to his feet and bolted for the base of the tree. He sat, looking upward intently, his wagging tail fanning over the grass. Fisher jumped up and followed, barking as he scanned the tree alongside King. They whined and barked in turn, neither of them spotting a squirrel. “You guys would starve if you had to hunt for your food. Have we taught you nothing?” The dogs cocked their heads in unison, ears perked. “Maybe you do need more company. Want to hang with Gramps tomorrow?” I watched them, waiting as though I thought they might actually respond for a second. Maybe I was losing it.
“Come on,” I said, clambering to my feet. “Who wants to play ball?” I walked over to pick up one of the dozen tennis balls scattered around the yard. After about a thousand throws, my arm gave out.
“Reef will be back to get you soon. You guys better get a squirrel before he gets here. Go on, get a squirrel.” I waved toward the tree. They both just stared at me, each with a ball at their feet. “Fine, one more.”
I chucked the balls as far as I could, one after the other. The dogs scrambled after them. I opened the back door, yelling their way, “Fetching tennis balls is a useless skill, but you guys are killin’ it!”
I turned south onto US-1, singing along to Chris Stapleton, the wind blowing through my hair. A black sedan two cars back caught my eye in the rearview. A cold chill ran through me. It was a Chrysler 300. No doubt about it. I passed Jasmine’s street without slowing down and kept going for another mile. I decided to turn into the post office to see what they’d do. I flipped the blinker and got in the center lane, slowing to a stop. I turned to get a better look at the 300. The same thug who’d accosted me in the Trading Post stared back at me, head turning as he passed. It felt like slow motion and I was so locked in his gaze that I didn’t think to look at the license plate until it was almost out of sight. SDP or SOP, nine-something-something.
My sweaty palms gripped the wheel, turning into the post office lot. I pulled around back and stopped the Jeep, heart pounding. They’d continued on down the road, but he wanted me to know they were following me. I took out my frustration on the steering wheel with the side of my fist.
The smart thing to do would be to call Waylan and ask for help. He’d put out an APB and run them out of the Keys. But Waylan would tell Dad, and he’d worry himself sick. He’d have to tell Ava. It’d be a full-blown family crisis within an hour. And then every one of them would be at risk. I tried to call Spence but it went straight to voicemail. He and Reef were both fishing way offshore today.
Looking around for any sign of the 300, I debated calling Jasmine to meet me elsewhere. But then what? We’d have to go back eventually. My strong hesitation to go to Jasmine’s house for fear of leading them there was preposterous. If they’d beenfollowing me, surely they already knew where she lived since I’d spent every night there since they’d terrorized us.
Fuck.I looked back at the highway. What if they were on the way there?
