Page 21 of Black Wave

I pull out of her and discard the condom in the trash. I pat her ass twice, letting her know the fun ride is over and please use the quickest exit line out the closest door. She stands still, looking over at me, and I move my head, tilting it toward the door. She gets the hint, tugs her panties upward, and pulls her skirt down. She goes to speak, but I cut her off, shaking my head. I point my finger at the door.

“Out, Cherry. Now.” She nods and quickly exits. I hear my brother chuckle on the other line.

“You didn’t have to pick up the phone, you know.” He laughs into the receiver.

“Well, I knew you would just call back, so I was avoiding the hassle of having to hear the phone ring repeatedly.”

“True, true,” he quickly admits. “Cherry, huh?” His laugh intensifies.

I snort. “I know, right.” He doesn't even have to comment further about the name. I’ve already heard it. “So, tell me, brother, what has you interrupting my nighttime club activities this late evening?”

He waits for a minute and clears his voice. His pause before speaking concerns me because my brother has no filter. The fact that he wants to choose his words has me quickly perking up with increasing paranoia.

“Ram, is everything okay? You sound serious.” I worry because my brother is the biggest asshole to mostly everyone, except twin girls we both adored. Once upon a time, a long time ago. And, of course, our mother. “Is it Mom? Is Mom okay?” My voice rises as I try to calm the sound of panic rising in my throat. “Who do I have to kill?” I say in a low growl. It sounds like a joke, but I am far from joking.

He clears his throat. “I came upon some news today and reached out as soon as possible. I had to gather more details before I called you.” His voice sounds different, sad even.

“Just spit it out already,” I say, becoming more pissed off by the second. My anxiety skyrockets.

And he does. I just can’t believe what he tells me. “Can you repeat that, Ram?”

“I talked to Dad today, and he informed me that the Ortiz family is mourning.”

My stomach twists in knots. “Who died, Ram?”

“The Taylor Family,” he says quickly, “but there was one survivor.”

I wait for him to tell me what I pray is the one person I need to be okay. Please, God, I say in a silent prayer.

“Emma.”

I let out a breath. “Emma is alive?” I ask quickly for confirmation. I grip the desk, hanging my head down. “Thank fuck. Thank fuck,” I pant out in a whispered prayer to anyone who will listen. It is all I manage to get out before I can process the severity of the situation. “Tell me what you know.”

We go back and forth on the phone, and Ram tells me that Emma’s parents and sister, Evie, died in a house fire that destroyed everything. The house burned to the ground, with only one survivor. Emma was apparently out to dinner. She was spotted at a restaurant in town when the fire occurred. Talk about luck.

“What caused the fire, Ram?” I can hear his fingers drumming on the desk as he builds momentum—anticipation awaits his following words.

“That’s just it, Eduardo. The fire chief reported it to be faulty wiring. It was an electrical fire, and it just spread too quickly. They were trapped inside and could not get out. They died of smoke inhalation before being rescued and passed out before being burned to ashes.”

I cringe at the details of the accident. “They just couldn’t get out? That seems all kinds of suspect if you ask me.”

I can see Ram sitting at his desk thinking the same thing I am right now. Going through the scenario, it just doesn’t add up. “The math isn’t mathing.”

“It was investigated though?” I need to know more details.

“Yep,” he replies unconvincingly. “That’s what they reported, but then the weird thing is that Emma just disappeared.”

I sit up quickly upon hearing this. “What do you mean disappeared?” I try not to become upset because my brother is the messenger. Don’t kill the messenger, right? But if I could reach into the phone and wring his fucking neck... He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t, but someone did.

“People are talking and saying that she is back in Mexico under the protection of her family, but no one has seen her.

I stand abruptly. “We have to find her!” I scream, slamming my fist against the desk. ”We have to find Emma. We have to do something.”

“Eduardo,” he says, attempting to soothe me, “she doesn’t want to be found. Her family doesn’t want her to be found. Don’t you get that?”

I run my hand down my face. “Emma’s family is dead, Ram. How am I not supposed to worry about her.” I feel my voice cracking.

“If you care about her, you will let her go, Eduardo.”I can hear her mom speaking to me with determination.“You will always be a part of this life. I want my daughter to have a normal life. One with school activities, prom, college, and a normal marriage with someone who helps her raise their kids. Someone who doesn’t put a target on her back and put their family in danger. Risking their lives because of the life they were born into.”

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