Unfold Me (16 page)

“Fuck.” Isaac runs both hands through his hair. “He went after him. Fuck.” He looks up at Lilith. “What about Jade?”

“She’s fine. She’s with the cops,” Lilith says. “The others, too. The cops found the places where he held his victims, but he wasn’t there, so...”

“He has friends. He could be anywhere,” I say, hugging myself. “If your video is still up, someone will recognize him and contact the cops.”

“Yeah, and that might take days!” There’s a hint of desperation in her voice. “Look, he’s out there somewhere, and while we wait, he can take Caleb God knows where.”

“He won’t.” I shake my head. “Everyone will be looking for him.” My eyes meet Isaac’s, and I know that someone will always find Raphael no matter where he goes. His secret is out in the open, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who want to put him down before he drags any of them with him.

“I’m sorry. Not knowing anything drives me crazy,” Lilith says.

“I know.” I place my hand on her shoulder, giving her a compassionate look. “I wish we could help you. We want to find Caleb, too, but we’d need to make contacts and that takes time. And I’m sure everyone’s heard about this so they’re keeping a low profile.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Her phone starts to ring and she digs it out of her pocket. “Yeah?”

I watch her face carefully as someone on the other end of the line speaks, but I can’t hear anything.

“Why wasn’t anyone guarding it?” she says, and after a few moments, she ends the call, thanking whoever called her. Then she slips the phone back into her pocket. “It looks like Caleb didn’t go after Raphael to stop him from escaping. Raphael used the others as his shield and forced Caleb to come with him. Why would he do that?”

“Maybe he wanted to use him as a shield in case the cops were in the tunnels,” I say. Archer has told me once that every building of Raphael’s has an easy escape in case the cops crash the party, and it almost always involves some underground tunnels.

“But he could’ve taken anyone else! From what Lloyd told me, Caleb wasn’t the closest one. Raphael specifically risked a guard and sent him to fetch Caleb. Why him?” She chews on her fingernails.

“Raphael’s always liked Caleb more than anyone else,” Isaac says. “Maybe he didn’t want to lose him.”

Lilith lets out a nervous laugh. “So you’re saying Raphael took him because he cares?”

Isaac’s lips twist into a grimace. “Yeah, he cares about himself.”

“You think he’s going to try to restart his business using Caleb?” I ask.

“What?” Lilith says. “No! That would mean he’ll go into hiding and get as far as possible from here.”

“I doubt he was thinking that far ahead when he was running for his life,” Isaac says, rubbing his face. “He had something else in mind. I just don’t know what.”

We don’t know what he’s up to, so let’s not drive ourselves insane with assumptions, okay?” I say. “It’s not going to help.”

“You’re right,” she says. “But we at least know Caleb’s alive, right? Raphael needs him alive.”

“Yeah,” Isaac says. “Otherwise why take him? It doesn’t make sense.”

Lilith nods. “I have to go. I have to...” She rushes down the hallway.

“Just let us know when you find him,” I yell after her before the door closes behind her.

“Shit.” Isaac rocks back and forth, his neck corded. “I have to do something... I can’t just... Oh God, if something happens to Caleb, I... He’s like a brother to me.”

“Isaac.” I take hold of his arm. “There’s nothing we can do. If we try anything, Archer will find out.”

“I don’t care!” he yells, ripping himself out of my grasp. “I want to put a bullet into that fucking bastard before he does something to Caleb!”

“The cops are after Raphael, and I’m sure some other people too. They’ll find him. You’ll see.” I pick up my phone. “I should call Archer.”

“Why?” Isaac’s head snaps up. “So he can warn Raphael?”

“No, of course not. I bet he already knows about Raphael. Everyone does. That’s exactly why I want to call him, to warn him about it. My friend is involved with this and when that news reaches Archer, he’ll begin to wonder, and I can’t let that happen. Not when we’re this close.”

Isaac nods, raking a hand through his hair. “Fine, you call him, and I... I’ll be in the living room.”

I dial Archer’s number and wait while it rings.

“Kitten?” he says, and I fight the urge to hang up.

“Listen, there’s something I need to tell you. I heard something... about someone you might know. The cops are looking for him. You should be careful.” I can’t say much over the phone, and I’m sure Archer doesn’t expect me to.

“Yeah, I heard, but don’t worry about it. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.” His voice is perfectly calm. I was right about him knowing everything already.

“Oh, good, then.”

“I’ll contact you about our next meeting,” he says. “It might take a while, though. Just take care of yourself.”

“Sure. Bye.” I end the call. As expected, Archer won’t be throwing his parties in the middle of a hunt for one of his friends. When I get to the living room to tell Isaac about it, I find him restlessly pacing back and forth.

“Do you still have those pills?” he asks when he sees me. “I need them. I just... My mind is a mess and I...”

“No, I gave them all to you already,” I lie. I can’t have him relapse now.

“Can you get more? Please?” He comes toward me, his eyes begging me to agree.

“I can’t. Archer just told me everyone’s going to lay low for a while.” I place my hand on his cheek. “And you can’t go back to that.”

“I keep thinking of what Raphael could do to Caleb, and I’m stuck here and can’t do anything, just like I couldn’t when Raphael...” Isaac closes his eyes. “It was supposed to be me. Caleb and Jade were supposed to be safe, and I...”

“Look at me.” I tip his chin up until his eyes meet mine. “Caleb, Lilith, you... You all took a risk to free everyone from Raphael, no matter the consequences. If you had all stayed with Raphael instead, he would’ve gotten tired of you or you would no longer be desirable to his clients... and then what? You’d be gone and someone else would take your place. And what you all did... it’s already proven to be worth it. Jade is free, just like many others. They’ll get to have a life, far from Raphael and people like him.”

“I know. I just don’t want anything to happen to Caleb. He’s... he’s always protected everyone whenever he could.”

“Raphael didn’t drag him away with him just to kill him, okay? Lilith will find him. She won’t stop until she does.”

He nods, and I give him a reassuring smile. Everything’s going to be fine. It has to be.

It takes days for Caleb to be found, but when Lilith finally calls us and tells us that it’s all over, that Caleb is safe and sound, and that Raphael is dead, Isaac and I throw ourselves into each other’s arms, tears welling up in our eyes.

“I told you everything would be fine,” I say.

“Yeah.” He smiles at me, his eyes warm. My lips part as he bends his head. We’re only a breath away, and I’m about to close the distance between us when the intercom rings, and we jump apart.

“Shit,” I mumble as I look at the video screen. “My parents are here.”

“What?” Isaac gapes at me. “Can’t you just pretend you’re not home?”

I rub my eyes. “If I do that, they’ll think something’s wrong. My car’s out there.”

“Couldn’t you have gone off for a jog? They can call you and you can tell them you’re at a friend’s or something.” Isaac’s eyes are wide.

“I don’t want them to think something’s wrong again. Ever since I was... you know, they get worried a lot easier. I’m just going to let them in and assure them everything’s fine.”

“I’ll be in your room.” Isaac starts to walk away and I grab him by the collar of his shirt to stop him.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I say as I press the button to unlock the main entrance. I’m glad my parents don’t just show up right in front of my door, even though they have a key to the building.

“But...” Isaac’s whole body is tense. “What if they ask me something? What am I going to say? I don’t remember the last time I’ve been around regular people...”

“Relax. You’ll be fine.” I give him an encouraging pat on the back. The doorbell rings, and Isaac swallows. “They’re just my parents. They’re not going to eat you,” I whisper, but that doesn’t seem to do much to make him stop looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Mom, Dad.” I offer them a broad smile as I open the door. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” My parents live across the city, and it’s usually me who visits them, although I haven’t done that in a while. I still remember the fit my father threw when I told him I was moving out and that I didn’t want a huge apartment in an elite neighborhood.

“Oh, we were just in the neighborhood, so I thought, why not come and see you,” my mom says, her blue eyes filled with concern as she pulls me into a tight hug. “Is something going on with you? You sounded absentminded during our calls, and your neighbors said you weren’t going out as much as usual.”

My parents called me a few times while the drama with Raphael and Caleb was going on, so I didn’t exactly have time to talk them because I expected Lilith to call any moment with the news. “Damn the nosy neighbors. Those people can never mind their own business. How would they know?” They probably noticed my car hasn’t moved much. I should have parked it in the garage, but it’s way easier to just leave it in the parking lot.

“I told your mother everything was fine, but she didn’t listen,” my dad says, a smile quirking his lips, as he gives me a hug too.

“Oh, stop it. You wanted to come too.” My mom laughs, nudging my father in the ribs, but then she focuses on something behind me and her face goes serious. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”

“Yeah, this is Isaac,” I say, and Isaac slowly comes forward, his shoulders tense, and extends his hand toward my father.

“Good to meet you, Isaac.” My father shakes Isaac’s hand and glances at me, his forehead wrinkling. But when Isaac offers his hand to my mom, she just pulls him into a hug instead.

“I was thinking we could have lunch together,” my mom says when she lets go of Isaac, whose face is slightly pale. “But if you’re busy...” She gives me an expectant look.

“No, actually, that would be great,” I say. Lilith and Caleb are safe, one bad guy is down... we have plenty of reasons to celebrate.

“Should we order Chinese?” my dad asks.

“Nonsense. I’ll see what Kat has in the fridge and I’ll fix something.” My mom tosses her long black hair over her shoulder and heads for the kitchen.

“Is your TV on? I want to check the news,” my dad says.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll get us all some drinks.” I smile.

“Honey, can you please come here?” my mom yells from the kitchen. Isaac follows me as I go check to see what she needs.

“Do you have any paprika?” She opens and closes the drawers. Some of the supplies are already on the counter.

“I think so. It should be somewhere...” I frown. “Up there?”

My mom scowls at me. “You don’t know your own kitchen, do you? You’re only ordering takeout, aren’t you?”

“I’ve no interest in cooking, Mom. You know that.” I chuckle. When I was little, my dad suggested we hire professional cooks and my mom had a major freakout. She’d never give up her biggest passion.

“Unfortunately.” She sighs. “My secret recipes will all go to nothing.”

I find a bottle of whiskey and pour some in a glass, then turn to Isaac, who is hovering at the door. “Take this to my father.”

“Me?” he hisses. “Why?”

“If you don’t want to, I’ll take it, and you can stay here and help my mom cook.” I grin at him, and he grabs the glass from me.

“I’ll do it,” he mutters and turns on his heel.

“He’s good-looking,” my mom says when Isaac is out of hearing range. “I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about him.”

“Why should I?” I arch an eyebrow at her. “He’s just a...”

“Honey, you can’t fool me. I know you two are more than friends, and before you say anything, I approve.”

“Mom...” I don’t know what to say, because she’s right. But if she knew the full story, I doubt she would still think the same. The truth is, I’ve never introduced her to a boyfriend... not after Archer took me. I know she sees this as a positive thing.

“Go check on your boyfriend before your father starts going on and on about some football game that’s on tonight.” She puts on an apron, which I didn’t even know that I had. “He’s been talking about it in the car the whole way.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” I open the fridge and grab sodas for Isaac and me. But when I get to the living room, I stop dead in my tracks because my father and Isaac are actually laughing about something. A smile spreads across my lips. I needed a break and a bit of normalcy in my life, and this feels perfect.