Reclaim: A Recovered Innocence Novel (19 page)

Fung gives a what-can-I-do gesture. “It’s out of my hands. Neither one of them is a material witness. I won’t be able to use the majority of the information they provided when this case goes to trial. I don’t have the budget to assign an agent to them or put them up in a safe house.” He turns to Lila and me. “I’m sorry, but you’re on your own.”

Fung’s words run on a loop in my head.
You’re on your own.

I’ve been on my own for a long time, but it never felt like this. There’ve been times when it felt like my fears were devouring me from the inside out or like I was drowning in them. I’ve felt helpless and inconsequential. I’ve been overwhelmed, overburdened, and overpowered. During all of those times I was utterly and completely alone. I think it was that loneliness, of being isolated in my experiences, that did the most damage.

Glancing at Nolan as he concentrates on the road, driving the car Mr. Nash loaned us, I realize I’m not alone anymore. For whatever reason I now have him. What I did to deserve him I don’t know. I’m surprised at how he somehow managed to slip past all of my defenses and offensives. We’re something more than we were before, more than I thought I deserved. I’m ashamed of that. I habitually held people away—lovers, friends, and family. I thought distance was protection. I see now that it didn’t make me stronger. It made me weaker.

I think of Carla and how very, very similar we are in that way. She had no one then. She has us now. I want to go to her and tell her she’s no longer alone. We’ve worked hard on her behalf, harder than I’ve ever worked on anything, including myself. I don’t know what I’ll do if she doesn’t pull through. She deserves the life she should’ve had. I really hope she gets it.

After checking the car for trackers, Nolan drove a circuitous route back to Fred’s house. He said he was watching for anyone tailing us. We finally pull up the driveway of Fred’s house, pretty sure we’re in the clear. Nolan gets out to open the gate, then closes it after us. He turns the engine off, but we don’t get out right away. The tick of the engine is the only sound as we sit there waiting for what, I don’t know. We’ve come to a point where there’s nothing more for us to do for Carla. We can’t go home and we can’t go to work. We’re in a sort of holding pattern with no end in sight.

Oh, and we’re
on our own.

“What’s going to happen if Carla doesn’t pull through?” The question pops out before I can think to ask it.

“I don’t know, but I imagine they’ll get Billits…eventually.”

“That’s not very reassuring.”

“No. It’s not.”

“So in the meantime we’re
on our own
for an unknown amount of time.”

“Pretty much.” There’s something about his tone that says he’s not going to just sit by and wait it out.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that although I really like the idea of having nothing to do but make love to you day and night, we need to be proactive here. We’re missing something…”

“What?”

“I don’t know, but it feels like there’s a thread dangling that isn’t going to get snipped unless we do it.”

“I have the same feeling. It’s incomplete, unfinished.” I turn to him. “What do you usually do when you hit a wall in a case?”

“Go back to the beginning. Start from scratch and go through it all over again, trying to look at it from different angles. See if I missed anything or if something didn’t fit in with the rest of the case. Sometimes there’s a clue that seemed inconsequential at the time but can break a case open and take it in a new direction.”

“That’s what we’ll do then. Go back over everything. Do we have everything we need to do that?”

He looks out the windshield, his wrist hanging over the steering wheel. “Most of it.” He taps the dashboard with the blunt end of his fingers, then reaches under his seat with both hands and pulls out a small box. He turns to me. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”

“What?”

“Like you said, we’re on our own, which means we’re left to defend ourselves.”

I stare at the box as though it holds a cobra prepared to strike. I’ve never seen a gun in person, let alone touched one. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. I tell him this.

He opens the box. Inside are two small guns. He takes one out and holds it in his palm. “It’s easy. Point and shoot.” He tucks it into his sock, then hands me the other one.

“Where do I put it?”

“Wherever you can easily access it.”

I open the neck of my shirt and tuck it in my bra between my arm and my breast. “This isn’t going to accidentally go off and shoot my boob off, is it?”

He laughs. “No, but be careful. That’s my favorite of your boobs. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

We climb out of the car. I wait while Nolan unlocks the RV. He pulls the door open, steps up, then stops.

“What?” I ask.

“Come on in,” a male voice I don’t recognize says. “And bring the lovely Miss Garcia with you.”

Nolan turns to me and mouths
Run.

“You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to your lover, would you, Miss Garcia?”

Nolan silently pleads with me to do what he said. He glances toward the gate and his gaze freezes. I turn to see what he’s looking at. One of the men from the Lucky Inn motel—Billits’s man—leans against Nolan’s car, his arms crossed over his chest, a gun in one hand. My attention snaps back to Nolan. His lips are pressed into a grim line. He takes my hand and leads me up into the RV.

Billits sits at the dining table. His other man leans against the door to the bathroom, blocking the way to the bedroom, in the same pose as the man outside complete with a nasty-looking gun.

Billits extends his hand to the empty bench across from him in invitation. “Have a seat.”

Nolan slides into the bench across from Billits. I sit next to Nolan, unable to keep my eyes off Billits.
How did he find us? What does he want?

“You’re good,” Billits says to Nolan. “You covered your tracks very well.”

“Not well enough, apparently.”

Billits inclines his head, then turns his attention to me. “Miss Garcia. How nice to finally meet you. You’re even prettier in person.”

“What do you want?” Nolan interjects.

Billits ignores him, keeping his focus on me. “So noble too, helping those who can’t help themselves. But you’re wasting your time.”

“What’s this about?” Nolan interrupts again. “What do you want?”

Billits lazily flicks his hand toward Nolan like he’s an annoying insect buzzing around him. The big man behind us moves so fast I don’t see him coming until his fist connects with Nolan’s face. Nolan’s head snaps back, then he slumps in his seat, out cold. I scream. I’m suddenly cut off by the big man slapping a meaty hand on the tabletop in front of me. The threat is clear. I’m next if I don’t shut up. I turn to Nolan. Blood seeps out of his nose. It doesn’t look right. It’s swollen and off center. I shake him, but he doesn’t respond.

“Forget him,” Billits commands, his voice agitated and annoyed.

“He’s hurt.”

“He’ll live. I said
forget him.
”

I clasp Nolan’s limp hand under the table and turn my attention to Billits. “What do you want?” My voice comes out a lot stronger than I feel. I grip Nolan’s hand tighter.

“Drop the case. It’s not going anywhere anyway.”

“Thanks to you. How did you get to Carla?”

“
I
didn’t do anything.”

“You got someone to do your dirty work for you. Martin, corrupt cops, these goons here, and Carla’s new cellmate. How could you? What did she ever do to you?”

“She got what she had coming.”

“She’s the mother of your child.”

The minute widening of his eyes betrays him. “She was a meth whore who opened her legs to anyone for a hit.”

“What do you mean
was
?”

“Whores don’t last long. Whores who use have the life span of a fruit fly.”

Everything in me goes cold. “What did you do to her?”

“You shouldn’t have gone to the FBI.” He shakes his head sadly. “I’m very disappointed in you.” He reaches out to touch my face, but I move out of reach. “It’ll be a shame to see you go.”

His meaning sinks in and the bottom drops out of my world. He’s going to kill us. Our bodies will never be found. Our families will never know what happened to us. I grip Nolan’s hand tighter. His twitches in response, then squeezes mine right back just as hard. He breaks my hold and taps something out on my palm that I don’t understand. I resist the urge to look at him, keeping my focus on Billits, and wait for Nolan to give me more. He folds down all of my fingers except my index finger and thumb. I finally get what he’s telling me. Gun.

I lick my suddenly dry lips, trying to come up with something that will buy Nolan some time to recover and me a chance to figure out how to pull the gun from my bra. “That was a nice headstone you had made for your son, Diego,” I say to Billits. “You must’ve loved him a great deal.”

“His whore mother took the money I gave her for him and shot it into her veins. He died while she fucked her landlord because she blew the money I gave her for rent.”

“But you made her a whore.
Your
whore.”

His laugh is thick and sick. “Is that what she told you? My guys picked her up trying to turn her first trick in my territory and brought her to me. I liked the looks of her. She was happy to take my money for her time. Happier still after she developed a meth habit. I cut her loose then. I don’t do junkies. That’s when she turned whore.” His greasy gaze slides over me, lingering on my breasts. “I like the looks of you. You remind me of her, only older and not all tweaked out.”

“When she wakes up she’s going to tell the FBI what you did.”

“She’s not going to wake up. Even if she did, I’ve got something that will ensure her silence.”

“What could you possibly have that would keep her from telling the world what you are?”

“I’ve got you.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and taps the screen, then turns it in my direction. “And I’ve got her little brother.” He shows me the image of a young man—maybe sixteen, seventeen—tied to a chair, gagged and blindfolded. “Not my thing, but boys his age are very sought after.”

“You’re disgusting. You’re never going to get away with it.”

“I already did.”

Under the table Nolan taps my hand three times. I still don’t know what he wants me to do.
How do I get to the gun? What is
he
going to do?

“The FBI is onto you,” I tell Billits. “Your arrogance will be your downfall.”

His laugh sends chills through me. “Ah, sweet girl, my arrogance is what got me where I am. Enough of this.”

He makes a gesture with his hand and his goon grips me by the arm, yanking me out of the bench in one swift motion. My hand slips from Nolan’s and he collapses onto the bench where I was just sitting. I yelp and turn toward the big man, pretending to try to wriggle free. My body blocks my movement for the gun. I don’t quite get it free of my shirt before it goes off, hitting the henchman in the shoulder. My finger spasms on the trigger and it fires again. The bullet grazes the bad guy’s chin, but it’s enough that he lets go of me. I squeeze the trigger a third time. A shot to the gut. The guy goes down.

Behind me a gun goes off and I spin around, gun raised, to find Billits slumped over the table with blood oozing from his head and Nolan gun in hand.

“Get down,” Nolan shouts at me. “The door.”

I hit the floor just as the second goon comes through the door. Both Nolan and I get shots off, but I’m pretty sure his is the only one that hits the guy. The force of the shot knocks the bad guy off the step. Nolan is up and after him before I can get my feet under me. The door slams shut after him. There’s another shot. I burst through the door not thinking about anything except getting to Nolan. He’s standing over the man, chest heaving.

He turns to me, blood from his nose running down his face onto his shirt. “I told you to be careful with my favorite boob.”

I look down at myself. My bra strap snapped, peeling back the cup. Through the hole in my blouse my breast hangs out. A thick crimson gash is gouged out of the top of it and blood runs down the front of me. My whole breast is red. The world suddenly spins too fast and I fall. Somewhere in the darkness I hear Nolan’s muffled curse and then nothing.

I managed to catch Lila before she hit the ground. Just barely. She lies on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance still out cold. They tell me she’s in shock. They want to put me in a different ambulance, but I won’t let them. I won’t leave her. I can’t believe what she did. She nearly killed herself saving us. Thankfully the wound isn’t deep enough to be life threatening, but she’ll have a nasty-looking scar and a messed-up story about how she got it.

I blame myself. I should’ve told her to put the gun somewhere else. Somewhere safer. She was nervous about it. I shouldn’t have given her the gun until she was familiar with it. They tell me that man she shot will likely live. He was rushed to the hospital for surgery. Billits is dead, and it doesn’t look good for the other bad guy I shot. When I came up off the bench after pretending to slump over so I could get the gun out of my sock, Billits had his gun out and aimed at Lila. I pulled the trigger knowing that if I didn’t Billits would’ve killed her.

My whole face throbs like a son of a bitch. They packed my face with ice so I can’t see anything. I can barely breathe. But Lila’s hand is warm in mine and I can hear the steady, reassuring bleep of her heart monitor. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost her.

“Are you two all right?” It sounds like Mr. Nash’s voice, but I can’t see him.

“Nolan.” Cora’s voice sounds panicked. “Oh my God.”

I lower the ice pack. “We’re okay.” My voice comes out thick and stuffed-up sounding due to my broken nose. “Mostly.” Through my swollen, blurry eyes I see Cora recoil. I can only imagine what I look like. That asshole packed one hell of a punch.

“Your face,” Cora whispers.

“I may never be pretty again.” I try to laugh, but it hurts too damn much.

SAC Fung comes up behind Mr. Nash. “Thought you should know that Carla Ruiz is awake and talking.”

“We really need to get her to the hospital,” the paramedic tells me.

“Let’s go then. I’m sure I’ll see you all later.” I put a hand up to wave as the ambulance doors slam shut.

I turn my attention back to Lila. She looks so pale. I wish she’d wake up. She’d hate that they cut her shirt off to bandage her even though she’s covered up now. Other than the nasty gash on her chest there doesn’t seem to be anything else wrong with her. They keep telling me she’ll be okay, but the only way I’ll believe it is if she tells me that herself. I kiss the back of her hand.

“You should really keep ice on that,” the paramedic says. “It’s swelling right before my eyes. Next time duck, huh?”

“Hahaha,” I answer sarcastically. “Thanks for the advice. A little late, though.”

I’m just about to cover my face again when Lila stirs.

She blinks up at me and frowns. “What happened to your face?” We hit a bump and she looks around, her eyes growing wider and wider. She tries to sit up even though she’s strapped down.

The paramedic and I put hands on her shoulders. “Be still,” I tell her. “Or you’ll start bleeding again.”

“Blee—” She looks down at the bandage across her chest. “Oh.” Then as she remembers what happened.
“Ooohhh.”

“You’re going to be okay,” I reassure her. “Probably need some stitches and antibiotics. You’re better off than me.” I point to my nose. “I’ll probably need surgery to set this. Will you still like me if I don’t look the same?”

“Will you still like me now that I’ve damaged your favorite boob?”

I kiss the back of her hand. “I’ll kiss it and make it better.”

We both ended up staying the night at the hospital in separate rooms. I hated that. Cora reassured me that Lila was fine and said that she had to give Lila the same reassurance about me. That was the only thing that kept me from climbing out of my hospital bed and going to find her. That and the pain.

I didn’t end up needing surgery. The doctor reset my nose under local anesthetic. Hurt like a son of a bitch. It throbbed for days afterward. The FBI interrogated Lila and me for hours. They don’t like it when you kill their lead suspect in a major case, but I don’t much care. Seeing Billits point a gun at Lila’s back broke open a rage in me that I didn’t know I was capable of. I’d shoot him again if given the chance. I’d do anything to save her.

We realized after being released from the hospital that we’d gone about having a relationship all backward. It was actually Lila’s new therapist who pointed it out. So we’re dating and learning about each other in the usual way. I thought I knew almost everything about her. I was wrong. First of all, she’s funny. She can cook and she likes horror movies. Twice a week we have movie night and I’ve been sharing my horror B-movie collection with her.

She’s working on getting better. There’s been some forward progress. I think Lila is more frustrated than I am that there hasn’t been more. She doesn’t know it, but I’ve talked to her therapist to help me find the patience I sometimes lack and to see if there are any ways that I can help. Mostly I’ve learned about all the ways that I’m
not
helping. But I’m learning and that has to count, right? I don’t know where we’ll end up, but I have no doubt we’ll get there together.

The FBI was instrumental in getting a court date just a few weeks after Carla was released from the hospital. Carla is cooperating with their investigation and in return they’ve assisted in Lila’s and The Freedom Project’s efforts to free her. Lila sits at a table at the front of the courtroom with Carla and a man whom she introduced as her boss and the director of The Freedom Project.

I sit at the back with Cora, Leo, and Mr. Nash. It’s crowded. There’s a lot of press. Billits’s death and the scandal that followed was big news. Members of several different activist groups have also crowded in. Carla’s story struck a nerve in the community and highlighted the plight of undocumented immigrants. The FBI hasn’t allowed her to be interviewed by the media because she’s a material witness so they turned their attention to Lila, who’s become a fine representative of the immigrant community and has been asked to speak for groups and schools.

It’s all over Lila’s face how badly she wants this hearing to go well for Carla. All three of us—Lila, Carla, and I—have the scars both physical and mental as proof of how hard and tirelessly we worked to get to this day. I hope it goes the way it should.

The judge finishes reading the paperwork she’s been studying for what seems like hours and sets it aside. Her focus goes to Carla who sits quietly with her hands in her lap, her head slightly bent. Lila whispers to her and Carla’s head comes up.

The judge addresses Carla. “It’s clear to this court that a grave injustice was done to you, Ms. Ruiz. Our justice system was perverted and misused for individual gain and revenge. For that the court sincerely apologizes. I cannot give you the years of your life back, but I hope you find meaning in the years ahead and have a life filled with all of the things that bring you happiness and contentment. It is my honor to reverse the verdict set down by this court. You are a free woman, Ms. Ruiz. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.” She bangs the gavel. “Court dismissed.”

Cheers and applause break out. Carla turns to Lila, her eyes wide, and says something. Lila responds with a lot of nodding and a huge smile. Carla’s face blooms with disbelief, then joy. She throws her arms around Lila and gives her a big hug. They both dissolve into tears. Eventually Carla is taken away, back to the prison, where she’ll wait for the paperwork to come through for her release. Lila watches her go, a bittersweet smile on her face. I know she wishes Carla could walk out of the courtroom with us, but that’s not how things work.

During their celebration I managed to fight my way to the front of the courtroom. I wait as Lila shakes her boss’s hand and gathers her things.

The first thing I do is give her a big hug. “You did it,” I tell her. “You did it.”

“
We
did it. I couldn’t have done it without you and Nash Security and Investigation. Especially you.” She kisses me. “Thank you for everything. Carla thanks you too.”

“Please tell her it was my pleasure. I was glad to help.”

“I will.”

“Hey, you two,” Cora says. “Congratulations. We’re having a little celebration back at the office. You
have
to come. Mr. Nash won’t take no for an answer.”

“We’ll be there,” Lila tells her.

I glance down at Cora’s hand. “Something else we’re celebrating?”

“Oh.” She looks down at the sapphire ring on her left hand with what can only be described as a
dreamy
expression. “Leo asked me to marry him.”

Leo steps up behind her and puts an arm around her. “And lucky for me she said yes.”

“That’s wonderful,” Lila says, beaming. “Congratulations.”

As we exchange hugs and handshakes I whisper to Cora, “I guess now you know why things were a little off with Leo.”

“I’m so embarrassed that I dragged you into that.”

“Don’t be.” I wink at her. “I knew everything would work out.”

Lila and I follow them out of the courtroom. Reporters try to get Lila’s attention, but she tells them that today is about Carla not her and refers them to The Freedom Project. As we make our way through the doors into the sunlight I can’t help but feel like the luckiest man in the world. I might fuck up now and then, but as long as I have Lila I know everything will be okay.