20. Blue
20
BLUE
I can be friend or foe. Your choice. Give me what I want, and I guarantee her safety. Don t, and, well, I guarantee the opposite.
I shudder at Antoine Girard s words. I believe them. Blue, Isabelle whispers and I wave to her that it s fine. They can t see me as I watch from my hiding place on the second floor.
Two soldiers walk ahead and two behind Girard, who is not a small man, but, given his missing hand, any opponent would always have the advantage. My heart beats furiously as I watch them go. I can hear Angelique sniffling. I m only able to breathe once they leave the house and close the door behind them.
They re gone, I say, turning to Isabelle who is hugging Angelique and the two boys to her. Adan is somehow still asleep in his crib.
I thought it was Maddy s mom ringing the bell, Angelique says to her. I m sorry I opened it. I m sorry.
Shh, sweetheart, it s not your fault. Isabelle hugs the little girl to herself.
I hear Jericho and Zeke hurry up the stairs and into Adan s bedroom.
Daddy, I m sorry! Angelique runs to Jericho who crouches down to hug her tight, closing his eyes as he holds her. What must he be feeling to know how scared his little girl was? How easily those men just walked into a house that should be protected by a gate, a locked door.
It s not your fault, Angelique. It s not your fault.
She clings to him. I know not to come into your office when the door is closed. I know.
Shh. It s fine, sweetheart. I m not angry with you. Not even a little.
I was scared.
You re safe now. He draws back, wipes her tears with his thumbs and holds her face so she s looking straight at him. I will never let anyone hurt you. Ever.
She nods, her breath catching.
No school today, he says, rising to his full height, lifting her with him. Everyone s staying home.
Sweet! Matty, who doesn t understand why everyone is upset, says with a fist pump. It would be funny if the circumstances weren t so dire.
Adan now stirs and Jericho sets Angelique down and goes to pick him up. I look at them, this growing family. They were safe before I walked into their lives. I brought Antoine Girard and his soldiers to their door. I am the reason Zeke killed two men. I am the reason Councilor Augustus is watching them. He can bring The Tribunal down on their heads. Based on what Zeke told me, he s done it before to many others guilty or not. With what is on that flash drive, his life is at stake. He ll need no more motivation to destroy them.
I can t let that happen. I can t let these people bear the consequences of my actions. I couldn t live with myself if any of them got hurt.
You okay? Zeke asks and I force the thoughts away because I need to find some way to fix this. To make it right. I need to be the one to do it. Not him.
I think we should go to the other house.
Zeke looks at me thoughtfully then nods. I agree. Go get dressed.
I realize I m still wearing Zeke s T-shirt and only his T-shirt. It s big enough that it comes to mid-thigh at least. I nod and slip out of the room to get changed, thinking all the while. I put on the same things I d had on yesterday and when I step out into the hallway, I find Zeke talking to Jericho. Jericho looks at me and I clear my throat and walk down the stairs.
Dex comes in from the front door carrying the bags I recognize from yesterday.
These came for you, Dex says, seeming surprised. I guess it s because they weren t sent to Zeke but to me. Just delivered to the gate, he says, holding them up.
Thanks. I take them from him as Zeke and Jericho descend the stairs.
I m sorry, I say to Jericho.
He nods, his expression grave.
Isabelle and the kids come down too. The kids are all wearing swimsuits and although the boys look excited about swimming, Angelique is still upset, and her eyes are red rimmed.
Want to come to the pool with us, Blue? Isabelle asks.
I think Zeke and I are going to head out, actually.
Oh? Isabelle asks, looking first at Zeke then Jericho. I get the feeling she thinks it s Jericho who is sending us packing.
I turn to them too and I see how Jericho s jaw is locked. Not my idea, he tells her, then shifts his attention to Zeke. There s two of us if you stay, Brother.
Zeke shakes his head. I don t think that s a good idea. He turns to me. Ready?
I nod and we say goodbye, Jericho barely muttering two more words. He stops when we reach his study. I think he s going to leave us there but he turns back to us. I notice my dad s laptop on the corner of his desk.
Stay here. It s safer, he says.
For us, maybe, but not for you, Zeke says.
He just shakes his head and Zeke nudges me to the front door. We drive to the Bishop house, Zeke clearly occupied because he barely says two words.
I heard what he said, I tell him once we re at the gate.
He punches in the code to open it then turns to me, so lost in thought it s like he forgot I was there.
I think we should give him what he wants, I continue.
Maybe. Maybe not, he says. I don t like that he walked into Jericho s house. It was a show of power. Of how far he s willing to go.
It also shows how capable he is. If any of them got hurt because of me, I couldn t live with myself. If you got hurt because of me, I couldn t— my voice breaks.
That s not going to happen. He wraps a hand around the back of my neck and turns me to face him. From inside his pocket, he takes out the flash drive.
You took it?
He nods.
Does Jericho know?
Not yet.
He punches in the combination of numbers to open the front door of the house. He doesn t hide the code from me, and I mentally catalog it. It s one digit off from the one that opens the gate.
We walk into the house. I leave the bags of clothes in the hallway and follow Zeke into the study where he sets the flash drive and a business card on the desk then turns to me.
I think we should give it to Girard, Zeke. I ll do it. You can t. If Councilor Augustus finds out you gave Girard the flash drive, he will go after you and your brother.
I haven t yet decided what to do with it but if we hand it over at all, it ll be me to do it.
You could say I stole it and ran off. Blame it all on me.
You re not listening, Blue. I wouldn t have him come after you.
I ll be long gone, Zeke.
He stops at that. He looks surprised and that surprise catches me off guard.
I clear my throat thinking about being long gone. What was my plan for when this ended? It was loose at best and anyway, so much has changed. But I may not have a choice apart from disappearing. These are dangerous men and not only dangerous to me. This may be the only way to keep Zeke safe.
You and Jericho, you have a life here. You have family here. I can take Wren and we can go to Canada, like I d planned, I say, making it up as I go.
You think he wouldn t track you down in Canada? he says with a snort.
I—"
Anyway, we just moved her, he says, and I hear the we .
I step closer to him, touch his face with both hands. Stubble prickles my palms. He hasn t shaved in a few days.
I know you keep warning me, but I care about you?—
I told you not to?—
Well, I do. You re helping me when you don t have to, and I won t let anything happen to you because of me, Zeke. I won t.
No, Blue.
I can do it, I just?—
We re not discussing this.
I get a say in what we do with that information.
I said no and that s final.
You re not being reasonable. I bet Jericho would agree with me.
Well, it s not up to Jericho, is it? He walks around the desk to put the flash drive in a drawer. Go upstairs. I need to think.
No.
Upstairs. Now.
Zeke s phone buzzes with a message and he pulls away. Taking it out of his pocket, he checks it and mutters a curse.
Fuck.
What?
My brother is on his way over.
I can help. I can?—
He grips my arm harshly. Do I need to lock you in a room? Put your leash back on?
I—
Do I? he asks with a shake and the look on his face tells me he will do it.
Fuck you, I say, shrugging out of his grasp as the front door opens and we both turn to find a fuming Jericho enter.
What the fuck are you thinking? he demands, stalking toward us.
Zeke gestures for me to go upstairs with a nod of his head.
Fine, I hiss, taking one more look at a furious Jericho who looks a little terrifying. I pick up the bags of clothes and head up to my room. The two start arguing before I even close my door.
Nothing to do now but wait. Sitting on the bed, I begin to sort through the things, absently ripping out tags and folding them. This isn t just about Zeke saving me. If Zeke gives the flash drive to Girard, he puts his brother and his whole family in danger. He s not thinking it through, and I get Jericho s anger, but I don t know how to get through to him.
I m almost through all the bags when, at the bottom of the final one, I find a fancy envelope that contains the receipt. I am afraid to look but I reach in and take it, flipping the tab and pulling the contents out. It s not just the receipt, though. There s something else, something heavier. I assume it s a business card.
The ringing in my ears starts as soon as I get a glimpse of the corner of it. A pale yellow I recognize. The edges of my vision blur and I need to take a minute, to close my eyes and force myself to breathe. When I open them, the blurring is gone and I drop the receipt on the floor and sit there, holding another Run Rabbit Run card. Little Blue is scribbled where it usually is. I turn it over.
Got yourself a sugar daddy. That s my girl.
Gates can t keep me out. I was at the front door today. Saw all those kids. Mommy s a looker, isn t she? Poor thing broke her arm it looks like. Maybe I can kiss it and make it better.
Family first, though. I m on my way to see Wren. I hear I need to bring my swim trunks.
I can get to you, Blue. And if you don t get to me with that fucking laptop, everyone you care about will pay the price.
A date and place are scrawled at the bottom with a note of I hear they serve apple pie all day . I know he s not bluffing about Wren because the address where he wants to meet is a diner two blocks from the Margaret Stone Center.
The date is today. Does he mean he ll wait there all day with that apple pie comment? I can t just walk out of here with his laptop and get into my non-existent car and drive to meet him. He must know it won t be that easy for me.
I get to my feet, push a hand into my hair.
Shit. What am I going to do? I need to think. I pace the room, but then I have an idea. The laptop. He thinks the files he needs are still on the laptop. Okay. That s a start. The laptop is sitting on top of Jericho s desk. His study door doesn t have a lock on it, at least, I don t think it does. Jericho s here, with Zeke. They re downstairs discussing the flash drive. Well, more like arguing over the flash drive. I know the code to get in and out of the house. I also know the code to the front gate, but I may not need that. If I take Zeke s car, he ll know right away I m gone, but the properties are connected. I can walk to the other house, get the laptop while everyone is at the pool. I ll just take one of the cars there.
I m already out of the bedroom as my plan takes form, but at each step, I think of the obstacles that will block me, the time it will take to get to Jericho s house on foot. What if the front door is locked? What if I get inside but I m wrong and the study is locked? And what if I get the laptop and can t get a key to one of the cars or can t open the gate?
And what if my dad isn t alone? Or he is? What am I going to do, hand over the laptop and what? Is he going to let me walk away? What about Wren? What s to stop him from hurting her if he lets me go. And that is a very big if .
No.
My plan has too many holes. Too many trapdoors I can fall through and if I fail, Wren, Jericho s family and Jericho and Zeke will pay the price.
I can t do that. I can t see one more person hurt because of me.
I hear Jericho s raised voice and I decide in that moment because I don t have time. I walk toward the study door and open it without knocking. The brothers are standing nose to nose looking like they re coming to fists. It would be something to see.
Blue. What s wrong? Zeke says, stepping away from Jericho. He must see the worry etched on my face.
I hold out the postcard unable to speak feeling so utterly helpless.
He takes it, scans the text. Where was this?
In the bag of clothes. Tucked in with the receipt.
Jericho takes it from him and curses, grabbing his jacket which he d taken off and heading to the door.
Dex said he d picked it up at the gate. He could be lying. Saying he was at the house just to scare me.
How does he know about Isabelle s cast? That I can t answer. Jericho is on his phone in the next instant. Dex? My family, you re with them? There s a pause. Good. I want the house on lockdown. Everyone inside. You do not let any of them out of your sight.
I m right behind you, Zeke says. You still have the laptop?
He nods. What are you going to do?
I m going to give that asshole what he wants.
We all head toward the door. Jericho walks out but Zeke turns to me. No, not you. You ll stay here. I ll send two men over.
What? No.
Stay, Blue. Call your sister, call Rudy. I ll get in touch with the men stationed at the center, and I ll take care of this.
I m going with you!
Over my dead body.
Zeke, please?—
His fingers squeeze my arms. We are wasting time your sister may not have.
I can t just sit here.
You have no choice.
Zeke.
Look, this will be easier if I know you re safe. I open my mouth to protest but he holds up a finger. I don t want to lock you in your room.
I look away, nod because he s made up his mind.
Good. He kisses me once, hard, which surprises me and when he pulls away and walks out of the door, I watch him climb into his SUV and hear the engine roar to life. A chill runs up my spine and I hug my arms to myself as I stand there and watch him go, uneasy, afraid. Afraid to lose him. Because my father has nothing to lose and he wouldn t think twice about hurting Zeke, or worse.