Dirty South Drug Wars (34 page)

A tall man wearing a lab coat paused near the doorway, his eyebrows drawn in concern. He grasped a clipboard in his hands and gestured down the corridor. “Y’all need to get out,” he hollered. “There’s a fire on the second floor. Take the stairwell and exit the building as quickly as possible.”

“What about my sister?” I asked, grabbing Josie’s arm for support. “What about the other patients?”

“We’ll take care of her,” he replied. “We’re well prepared. Now do as I say and get out of the building.”

Josie and Olivia nodded, but I remained in place.

Tanner placed his hands on the small of my back, attempting to guide me down the hallway. “We need to leave,” he yelled.

“No, I’m not leaving Lucy.” Panicked, I grabbed the handrail on the wall and held on tight, refusing to budge.

Tanner wrapped his arms around my waist. He dragged me away, ignoring my protests. “I’m not leaving you in a burning building, Rue. I don’t give a damn who else is left behind, as long as it’s not you.”

I fought against him, but he held firm, pulling me, kicking and screaming, to the fire exit. I caught a glimpse of Chance’s troubled face where he stood in Lucy’s doorway, torn.

A burly security guard appeared, yelling and demanding Chance exit the building. Chance remained unmoved until the guard wrapped his meaty hands around Chance’s arms and hauled him away from the door, shoving him in our direction. Chance started to protest, raising his voice high above the blast of the alarms. The guard hollered back, his hand hovering over the Taser clasped to his belt. Chance begrudgingly fell behind us with a solemn, apologetic expression.

The parking lot and luscious grassy area in front of Birchwood Medical Center were flooded with murmuring, worried individuals. We joined them, staring at the large gray building in front of us. Smoke trailed from the lower floor of the hospital not far from where Lucy lay blissfully unaware. Doctors and nurses pushed hospital beds from inside the building, but most of the patients were mobile, walking in their hospital gowns or being propelled in wheelchairs.

“Where’s Lucy? I don’t see Lucy,” I said.

“They’ll evacuate the patients who have a greater chance of recovery first,” Tanner said. “And the others last.”

He never looked up from his phone, his thumb flying over the screen. Graham’s name and photo popped up. Tanner pressed the phone to his ear, murmuring into the cell, fingers in his hair. After a couple seconds, he ended the call and shoved the phone into his back pocket.

Christine appeared nearby, frantic and crying. I heard her yelling my name, pulling at the sleeve of my shirt, but I paid her little attention. My skin crawled as a strange yet familiar feeling washed over me. I could feel it, whispering in my ear, scratching at my brain, creeping through my bones.

The fire inside the hospital, so very near where my sister lay, was a planned, carefully hatched-out scheme.

I sank to my knees, the grass scratchy on my skin. Tanner stooped down, his lips moving, lines of concern wrinkling his forehead, but I heard nothing. I stared at his moving mouth, the words refusing to sink in.

“This fire, this is no coincidence,” I whispered.

Moving unresponsive people from one location to the next is his specialty.

A smile quirked on my mouth. Tanner continued to speak, his hands cupped on my face, but my ears still weren’t working. I covered his hands with my own and turned my head, kissing each of his palms.

“This is the distraction,” I said. “This is
Graham’s
distraction. I knew you’d save Lucy. I knew you’d take care of me. You always take care of me. The only one. You’re the only one who takes care of me.”

Tanner’s mouth no longer moved. Lips parted, he stared at me for so long I wondered how it was he didn’t blink. I cupped my hand behind his neck, bringing his face to mine, kissing his unresponsive mouth. Muscle flexed beneath my hand as he tried to back away, but I held firm, kissing and kissing until his lips moved with mine and everything felt right again. Life felt right again.

*

The day after the fire in the hospital, Tanner escorted me back to my house to gather my belongings. We strolled up the driveway, but I froze near the front door, my feet planted firmly on the ground. Had the house been cleaned after Lucy’s overdose? It terrified me to see the inside in the same state of disarray. The image of Lucy’s long hair hacked off in uneven strands, trailing up the stairs, sent icy shivers down my spine.

Tanner cupped my face, tilting my head back. “Stay in my car and wait for me. I’ll go in and pack your stuff. Okay? You don’t have to be brave every second of every day, Rue. Even the strongest person has moments of weakness. Let me take care of you. It’s my job now. I want nothing more than to take care of you for the rest of our lives.”

With a numb nod, I stumbled back to the car. I slipped inside, and he disappeared into the house with a stack of boxes. He returned several minutes later with the first large cardboard box. I helped him load my meager belongings into his car, disheartened that all the things I owned in the world fit into a single vehicle in four wrinkled, fraying boxes.

Melissa met us in the foyer and helped us carry the boxes upstairs. I halted near Tanner’s bedroom door as Melissa slipped inside. Her head popped out moments later.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Come on in.”

“You want me to stay in Tanner’s bedroom?” I asked. “This isn’t some sort of secret mother-type test you’re pulling on me?”

Melissa snickered. “I’m old, but I’m not stupid. You’re honestly telling me you and Tanner won’t be sneaking into each other’s rooms? Can the two of you stay away from each other every night?”

Tanner spoke up before I had a chance to even process her words. “Hell no.” He grabbed my hand and guided me into his bedroom.

Melissa laughed. “Just as I suspected. Put your things in Tanner’s room and wash up. Supper will be ready in an hour.”

Shaking her head with amusement, Melissa dumped the box onto Tanner’s bed and exited the room.

Melissa was right of course. We spent that first night doing nothing but kissing, touching and exploring—learning from one another and teaching each other what we each so desperately desired. It was a distraction from the previous days, a way to escape the emotions we refused to face by drowning ourselves in one another.

*

Three days had passed since the fire, three days of living with Tanner. Still I awoke groggy and disoriented. My eyes fluttered open, confused by the very different surroundings from what I typically awoke to.

The sheet and comforter on the bed were cozier and an entirely different color. The soft morning light wafted through a window on the wrong side of the room, warming my left leg instead of my right. The ceiling I stared up at was stark white, bare, without even a hint of cheap plastic stars with their dim, early-morning glow.

My heart sped up when the bed shifted. A muffled groan came from under the billowing sheets beside me. It was a very familiar, very sexy groan, and it sent my heart into overdrive. I reached beside me, pulled the cottony sheet from the top of the long, disheveled mass, and peered at Tanner.

His face brightened and he grinned, a lazy, lopsided grin. Butterflies flitted around in the pit of my stomach as his fingers crept beneath the sheet. The pads of his slightly roughened hands drifted over the bare flesh of my belly.

“Morning,” he whispered, his voice laced with sleep. “Mmm … I could get used to this.”

I teased him with an innocent smile. “Used to what?”

“I could get used to waking up beside you every day,” he replied. “Forever.”

“Forever sounds so serious. Like a lifetime commitment.”

Tanner’s fingers stilled over my belly. He turned on his side and propped his elbow on the bed. “Something wrong with a lifetime commitment?”

“What? No, I just …” I sighed. “I was just kidding around.”

“I’m not kidding around.” He touched my bottom lip, brushing the pad of his thumb across the swell. “I’m gonna marry you one day.”

“So I’ve heard. Since you were twelve.” I laughed, and it sounded forced. Truthfully, my chest felt as if it were wound tight, bunched and ready to burst at the seams. “Forever is a long time to put up with someone.”

“Is that what you think marriage is like? Putting up with someone?”

I nudged him in the ribs, attempting to dissipate the weird tension in the room. “Nah, I’m just …”

“Deflecting?”

“Yeah, but only because marriage talk is weird. We’re kids.”

“We’re adults.” Tanner kissed me, morning breath be damned. “Does this mean you won’t marry me?”

“Are you asking? Because if so, this is a shitty way to propose,” I said against his lips. “Where’s my ring?”

“When did my girl become so vain?”

With a quirk of my eyebrow, I struggled to hide my grin. “When her
boy
didn’t produce an engagement ring.”

Tanner smiled, his breath warm on my face. He peppered kisses along my jaw, finding the tender place behind my ear. Tongue hot on my neck, he tasted my skin, those fingers of his pressing on my belly once again. I closed my eyes, surrendering to a dark place he evoked, the only dark place I sought out.

“You sure you don’t wanna marry me?” he asked.

“Are you asking?” Eyelids fluttering, my hips rose against my will, his fingers traveling their same decadent path.

“Nah, just want to be prepared for the potential crash and burn when I do.”

Three loud knocks on the door startled us apart.

Tanner grumbled and tossed the covers aside. Sleep pants riding low, exposing the deep contours of his abdomen, he stalked across the bedroom and threw open the door. Melissa stood in the hallway, shooting me a look of concern.

“Just checking on you kids. Rue, are you okay?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m fine.”

She blew out a heavy breath. “I’m always here for you, sweetie. If you need someone to talk to—”

“Melissa,” Tanner said. “She’s fine. We’ll be downstairs in a few.”

Melissa nodded, still standing in the hallway chewing on her bottom lip when Tanner closed the door. He climbed back on the bed, slow, deliberate movements, like a panther stalking his prey. I hit him with a pillow and he smirked, unscathed. He settled between my legs, his mouth returning to the crook of my neck.

“Let’s stay like this for the rest of the day,” he said.

“Melissa will send a search party if we don’t come downstairs soon.” I bit my lip, a sense of discomfort clouding my brain. “Why is she acting so strange? Asking if I’m okay?”

Tanner’s body went rigid, only relaxing under the idle scratch of my nails on his back. “You don’t remember.”

“Remember what?”

Tanner sighed, his expelled breath warming my bones, warming me in other places. My nails dug deeper into his flesh, but instead of sating my aching need, he rolled to the side. He toyed with a tendril of my hair, twisting the ringlet around the tip of his finger, releasing it, and twisting again.

I elbowed his ribs. “Remember
what
?”

“Nothing.” He avoided my probing gaze. “Just, Melissa’s a worrier. She’s making sure you’re comfortable here. That’s all.”

I chuckled. “Anywhere would be more comfortable than my house.”

“That’s an understatement.” Tanner yawned and stretched. “Want first dibs on the shower? I gotta take the trash out before breakfast or Graham’ll kick my ass. I’ve been slacking on my chores the past couple of days. Been kinda distracted.” The sheet shifted with the tug of his hand, exposing my nearly naked body.

I batted his hand away, snickering. “Drug dealers have chores?”

Tanner rolled his eyes, grumbling below his breath. Bare feet padding across the floor, he left the room. The bed felt cold without him, so I jumped in the shower.

When I returned to the room, I found Shelby sitting on the bed waiting for me with a pair of black heels on her lap. A black dress lay by her side.

“Bad time to talk, I guess?” she asked.

Sighing, I wrapped the towel tighter around my body. “What’s there to talk about?”

Sadness infiltrated her face, slumping her shoulders, lingering in her solemn stare. “What’s wrong with you, Rue?”

I threw up my hands, only to return them to the loosening edge of the towel tucked between my breasts. “What’s wrong with me? What is wrong with
y’all
? Why is everyone acting so freaking weird?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “Get dressed and I’ll come back and fix your face, okay?”

Without another word, she left the room long enough for me to slip on the dress and mull over the oddities of the day. Shelby knocked on the door a few minutes later and I murmured for her to come in. She regarded me with a soft, understanding expression on her face.

I sat on the edge of Tanner’s bed while she pulled up a chair, silently painting my face with makeup from a large, bulging bag. She took her time, combing and curling my hair, making me pretty for my sister.

The bedroom door opened. Tanner gave me a small smile as he entered the room, pulling me into his arms. My lips trembled. I was terrified to drop the mask that I hoped, that I prayed, would stay intact that day, and for the rest of the days to follow.