Back To Me (30 page)

              “Lauren, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I’m so frustrated with him for not telling me the truth, but I shouldn’t take it out on you. Billy put you and Luke in an unfair position.”

              She didn’t utter a syllable, but I noticed her shoulders shaking. She was crying as I continued my pathetic attempt at an apology. Lauren stopped me mid-sentence.

              “It’s not that I can’t tell you because I feel obligation to Billy. I feel guilty telling you because it will hurt you. I don’t want to be the one to do that. You’ve grown on me,” she shrugged.

              “What will hurt me? Has something happened to Billy?” I panicked.

              “No,” she assured. “It’s nothing like that. Luke heard from Billy late last night. He’s fine. Stressed, but fine.”

              “Then what? I know I said you don’t have to break your promise to Billy, but
please!”
I begged.

              “Tom is your father!” she screamed. “Are you happy now?”

              “Stop the car!” I ordered.

              “Heather, what …..”

              “Stop the damn car,” I yelled again. I was gonna be sick.

42

Billy

              It was nearly ten and the sun had been up for a while. I had an hour to shower and meet up with Blake to get the day started.

              My run helped ease my stress, but not completely. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was either gonna happen, or had already happened, and I just didn’t know about it yet. I couldn’t explain it because I didn’t fully understand it myself, but my gut said something was definitely amiss.

              I climbed the stairs to the third floor where my room was located. I tossed my key card and phone on the bed, readying to undress. I was just about to head to the shower when I
noticed my phone flashing, signaling I had a message. I walked cautiously toward it, creeping closer and closer as if it were a bomb that would explode if I made one wrong move. I picked it up hesitantly, afraid that the call I had missed might be bad news.

              I sat on the edge of the bed and dropped my head in my hands. I steadied my breathing as I pushed the button, waiting for the message to play.

              Message one said, “Billy, it’s Luke. Call me.”

              At 9:06 there was a second message. “Billy, where the hell are you? I need you to call me, man. Now!”

              Another at 9:12. “Dude, I’m not playing! I wouldn’t be calling repeatedly for no reason! Call me the hell back!”

              Shit! I didn’t hesitate to dial his number. He answered immediately.

              “Bout time,” Luke grumbled.

              “What’s going on, man?” There was no time for pleasantries.

              “She knows,” he blurted.

              “Knows what?” I gritted my teeth and tightened my grip on my phone, fearing it was seconds away from shattering.

              “About Tom,” Luke admitted. “The girls were on their way home from the new property Lauren owns and they were talking, and I guess one thing led to another….”

              “
Dammit
!” I screamed, slamming my fist into the headboard. “Where is she?
How
is she?”

              “Well,” Luke stalled. Either he didn’t want me to know, or
he
didn’t know.

              “Out with it!” I demanded. I didn’t have time for games.

              “She had Lauren stop the car, and she got sick. We’re here at the hospital now. Heather passed out.”

              “What the hell! You guys are supposed to be watching her.
Protecting her
!” I reminded him, through my gritted teeth.

              “Calm the hell down, Billy.
We are
! She’s here and she’ll be fine. The doctor said she passed out from shock.”

              “Is she hurt?” I managed to whimper out. I couldn’t stand the thought.

              Luke huffed, and once again stalled. “She hit her head on the pavement when she fell. Got a pretty good lick. She’s got a few stitches and a concussion.
 
They’re gonna keep her overnight for observation, but she’ll be good as new in a few days.”

              Now it was my turn to huff and puff. The thought of Heather,
my angel
, lying in a hospital bed with stitches tore me up. And I was too far away to go to her. To be with her and tell her it was all gonna be alright.

              I’d been a fool for lying to her. I’d tripped and stumbled over my past so many times that I’d lost count, but this was different.  Even my heart knew what my mind had been too stupid to figure out. There hadn’t been anything to keep me from telling her the truth about Tom except that I’d been too afraid.  I’d chosen to run from the truth and from her.
I’d failed her again
. I had to fix this.

              “Want me to tell her anything?” Luke asked.

              “Yeah, I do. Tell her I’m coming for her. That I’m coming home and I’m never gonna let her go again. I’m gonna wrap this up and come home to my angel.”

              I could hear Luke smiling on the other end of the line. “Well, damn! Glad to hear it. It’s about time you figured this out,” he joked.

              “Keep an eye on her, will ya?”

              “You don’t even gotta ask, brother. You got it.” Luke disconnected the call, and I dropped my phone to the floor and hit my knees.

              I was so mad at Lauren right now, but I didn’t blame her. Heather was very persuasive when she needed to be. Either way, what’s done was done and there was no point in hanging on to the anger coursing through me. It wasn’t gonna get me home any faster. I bolted from the floor and ran to the shower. I was more anxious than ever to get to Blake and end this bullshit once and for all. I was ready to move on with my life…
with my angel
.

              Twenty minutes later I was dressed and ready. I made another call to Luke just to make sure there was no change in Heather. Thankfully there wasn’t, but I’d have worried about her all day if I hadn’t at least checked before I went out on assignment. When I started work for the day I wouldn’t be able to call.

              I hit the road with no time to spare. Blake and I had a specific meeting place behind the warehouse. Eleven o’clock sharp every day. Raul wasn’t an early riser and neither were his men, which worked in our favor. We had plenty of time to get into position before anyone arrived.

              “I’m here,” I whispered, announcing my approach as I came up behind Blake. Sneaking up on an armed man was never a good idea.

              “Just in time,” he mumbled.

              “Why? What’s up?”

              “This,” he pointed and handed me the binoculars.

              I held them to my face and peered through, adjusting the lens accordingly.
What the hell?
Raul and Tom were in what appeared to be a heated discussion, and low and behold little Miss Tiffany was there, too. She snaked her scrawny arm around Tom’s neck and leaned in, whispering something in his ear.
This didn’t look good at all.
Matter of fact, it looked like a set up. Tiffany was good at that, as long as it benefited her. As someone who’d been trained to study body language, I knew something bad was about to go down.

              “What do ya think?” Blake inquired.

              I lowered the binoculars, careful not to make any sudden moves.

              “I think some serious shit is about to hit the fan,” I answered truthfully.

              I repositioned the binoculars and waited. Within seconds Tom bolted, trying to make a run for it, but Sergio grabbed him around the neck as he tried to get by. There appeared to be a heated conversation between the men before Raul drew back and pistol whipped Tom across the face, leaving an open gash on his cheekbone.

              “What’s he saying?” I asked Blake as I handed the binoculars back. He was better than me when it came to reading lips.

              Blake grabbed the binoculars and studied the situation. “Not sure,” he surmised, “but best I can tell, looks like Tom got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”

              “Which one?” I scoffed. Seems ol’ Tom had become a jack of all trades. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the bastard!

              “Well, again, not a hundred percent sure, but looks like he was messin’ with the girls. That’s a no-no.”

              “Why does Raul care?”

              “Because he wants the girls pristine when they hit the auction block.”

              “Yeah, but with all the drugs he forces in them it’s not exactly like they’re prime real estate.”

              I quickly realized what I’d said, but it was too late. Blake hadn’t miss it.

              “Got somethin’ to say?” he grumbled. “Cause if you do, now’d be a good time.”

              “Nope,” I said. “I’m good.”

              “That’s what I thought.” Blake turned his back to me and continued watching the scene as it unfolded.

              I felt like such an ass and I needed to apologize. “Look, man. I didn’t mean any disrespect to Hope. I know how you feel about her.”

              “Yeah? So what?” he bellowed.

              “Nothing, just that I know how you feel about her, man. It’s gotta be hard to watch her go through this. That’s all.”

              Blake gaffed. “Yeah, something like that.”

              I questioned him. “Have you told her?”

              “Not in so many words. She doesn’t think I can help her. Wants me to leave her alone. Raul’s got them all so brainwashed she actually detests me. Can you believe that?”

              “I’m sorry, man. She’ll come around,” I cheered. “We’ll get her and the others outta this mess and home to their families, then you and Hope…”

              “Me and Hope what? Live happily ever after? Tell me, Billy, how’s that working out for you and Heather?”

             
What the hell? Okay now he’d just crossed the line.

              “What’s that supposed to mean? For your information, Heather’s laid up in the hospital right now because I kept the truth from her. You think it’s not killing me to be here dealing with this shit instead of being at home where I belong!? You think I wouldn’t give my life right here and now to hold her one last time?”

              Blake relented. “I know ya would, man, I just don’t see how you do it. This job….it takes
everything
from us, ya know? You can’t have any real friends. You have to lie to your family all the time. It’s exhausting.”

              “Hey,” I said, acting offended at his friend remark.

              “You know what I mean,” he adjusted. “Outside of this life. You can’t tell your family where you are. You can’t tell anybody
anything.
It gets lonely. You can’t get close to anyone because it’s too dangerous. How did you manage with Heather?” he asked sincerely.

              I sat on the ground next to him and crossed my arms over my knees, making sure to stay behind the large boulder that was our cover.

              “I don’t know. I guess I was honest on the front end ‘cause I made it clear there were things I couldn’t tell her. Things that I would have to keep a secret,” I shrugged. “But she assured me that she trusted me, and I trusted her in return so it was never really an issue. Not until I started lying to her anyhow. That’s why she’s where she’s at now. She may never forgive me.”

              “Tom?” he sighed.

              “Yeah, Lauren told her.”

              “Ouch, man. That sucks!”

              “Yeah, apparently she got sick and passed out. Busted her head on the pavement and had to get a few stiches. She’s got a concussion.”

              “Shit, dude! I’m sorry.”

              I looked away, ashamed that my actions had caused her pain yet again. “Yeah, me, too,” I admitted. “But I’ll be damned if I won’t do everything I can to make it up to her.”

              “Think she’ll forgive you?”

              I shrugged my shoulders and dropped my head. “I don’t know. I
do
know that what we have is real, ya know? A once in a lifetime kinda deal. Hopefully she’ll realize that, too.”

              “Yeah, hope so, man.”

              “What are you two pansies talking about?” George asked in his usual gruff voice, surprising us both. I had my weapon drawn and pointed directly at his chest before I realized it was him.

              “Shit, George! You scared me!”

              He chuckled, not fazed in the least that I had the barrel of my gun three inches away from his heart.

              “Heather’s in the hospital. She knows about Tom.” Blake answered without even looking in his direction. His eyes were still glued to Raul. Smart move.

              “She’ll be fine,” George said as he meandered closer to our position.

              “What’s the scoop?” I asked, knowing he wasn’t here just to chit-chat.

              “Raul caught Tom dipping into his pocket. Not only that, but apparently he made a pass at Tiffany, and she’s now using that to her advantage.”

              “How do you know?” I asked.

              Blake turned his head, and his wicked smile told me all I needed to know.

              “Finally got the place wired up properly,” he boasted.

              “Then why the hell are we sitting in the dirt playing cops and robbers? Where does the feed run to?”

              George pointed to an old school bus that had been altered, and was parked just across the road from the warehouse. “That beauty right there.”

              “A bus?” I chuckled.

              “Yeah, smart ass. A bus. Looks less conspicuous than a van.”

              “Totally!” I screeched like a teenage girl.