Page 19 of Master of Lies

She looked shocky and faint. Her gaze followed me around, but whenever I looked in her direction, it darted away. I ignored her while I mixed up two mugs of powdered cocoa. I opened some evaporated milk, dosed it, and offered it to her.

“Drink this,” I said. “It’s hot. Quick sugar.”

No response, just that blank stare, which worried me. I seized her upper arm, and she flinched. Good sign, I guess. She knew who I was, and she wasn’t happy about it.

I pushed her toward a chair. “Sit down, Sandee.” I had to keep at it to make her knees bend. She was as brittle as a china doll, but she finally collapsed into the chair.

This time she took the cup, but still didn’t drink. Just stared at me with those big, startled eyes.

I sipped at my own cup, wishing there was a shot of bourbon in it.

Her face still had splatters of blood. I went into the bathroom, found a washrag, and ran water in the sink until the water heater kicked into action and warmed it. I came back and dabbed at her face. She flinched away.

“Stay still,” I said, trying not to bark. “I’m just trying to see if you’re cut.”

“I’m okay,” she quavered. “I think…the blood was from the guy on top of me.”

I kept at it, wiping off the splatter. Also where it was gumming up her hair. She was right. She wasn’t injured. That was a relief.

“Sandee,” I said. “Listen closely, okay? I won’t hurt you, and I won’t touch you. All I wanted was to keep those guys from dragging you away with them. That would not have ended well for you.”

She licked her trembling lips and tried several times to speak before the wobbly thread of sound came out. “H-h-how did you know that was going to happen?”

“They taunted me about it in the prison,” I told her. “They told me that someone would be coming for you.”

“B-b-but why?”

“To punish me,” I said flatly.

“So…so those guys were, um…mad at you?”

“I’m in prison for murder, Sandee. You’re surprised I have enemies?”

“But…but what do they have against me?” she faltered.

“Nothing, probably,” I said. “You just got noticed by the wrong person. You came in flaunting your legs and your tits.” I couldn’t help my disapproving tone. “You drew attention to yourself. I tried to warn you off.”

She didn’t respond to that. Just looked clouded and confused.

“Just drink the fucking chocolate, Sandee,” I said curtly. “You’ll make my life harder if you faint, or go into shock.”

There it was, that flash of anger I was angling for. “I won’t faint,” she said haughtily, and then took a careful sip of the chocolate drink.

I crouched in front of her, edging back when she cringed away.

“Listen up,” I said. “If you’re worried about what you said to me at the prison, don’t be. You came on real strong during our talk, but that was just a fantasy for you, and I won’t hold you to it. Understand? Tell me you understand.”

Her lips were trembling. She nodded.

“We’ll just hole up here until I can get us out safely,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “When I figure out someplace where you’ll be safe.”

“Just get me to my car,” she said swiftly. “I’ll go straight home. I’ll never say a word, to anyone, ever. You can forget you ever met me.”

“Too late for that, Sandee. Your car is full of bullet holes, and it has frozen cadavers all around it,” I told her, and then the thought hit me, like a splash of ice water. Jesus, I was getting sloppy. “Shit. Have you got a phone on you?”

She just blinked at me. Anxious, confused, innocent. She had to be stalling, because of course she had a phone. “Give me your fucking phone, Sandee.Now.”

She moved stiffly as she unzipped her coat, holding it closed over herself as if she were afraid of giving me a glimpse of her chest She fumbled at an inside pocket, and pulled out a smartphone with a hot pink Hello Kitty phone case.

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