Chapter 44
Chapter
Forty-Four
Alana
I’m having a rare lazy morning, relaxing by the pool with a good book. It’s Hugo’s day off, and I’m not needed at the shelter. I can make the calls I need to make later from here. My phone vibrates on the table beside me, and panic grips me. Lucy has never called me before.
Quickly, I answer.
She sobs my name, and my heart lurches into my throat.
Things have been so chaotic with moving to the new center and getting everything up and running that Lucy’s situation has been put on the back burner.
While I still check in with her a few times a week, I haven’t managed to come up with a solution to her problem yet.
I should have made her a priority though, and now I’m struck by an immense feeling of guilt.
“What is it, sweetheart? Where are you?”
She sobs again. “I’m not sure. Somewhere close by the shelter. It’s Blake. He’s found me.”
I run into the house, keeping my phone pressed to my ear. “How far from the shelter are you? Can you get back there? You’ll be safe there until I can get to you.”
“No,” she sniffs. “He’ll be watching for me to come back. He’ll take me away, Alana. I can’t put anyone else in danger. Please. Can you bring Hugo and come get me?”
“It’s Hugo’s day off, sweetheart. He’s visiting his mom in the hospital. I won’t even be able to get hold of him.” I’m thinking out loud more than talking to her as I try to figure out the quickest way to get to her.
“Alana, what am I going to do?”
I don’t know, but I do know what I’m going to do. “I’m coming for you. Stay where you are and stay out of sight. Does Blake have you your new phone details?”
“What?”
“Your cell. Does he have this number?”
“No.”
“Good girl. Then drop a pin and I’ll come find you. Be there as soon as I can, sweetheart. Just stay out of sight and stay safe. Okay?”
“Okay. Please hurry.”
I end the call and run upstairs to get dressed. Jacob has taken one of the cars for a maintenance check. Alejandro has a garage full of others, but he doesn’t keep the keys in there with them.
Damn! I have no idea where he keeps the keys. How can I not know that? Hank would probably drive me, but then I’d have to explain what’s going on, and I don’t have time for that.
I could get an Uber, but I’d have to tell the guards, and I’d get the third degree about where I’m going.
I have to get to her now. My heart slamming against my ribcage, I order an Uber and request pickup down the street.
As soon as I’m dressed, I run through the back door and around to the front of the house before sneaking out of the side gate.
The guards are more concerned checking for people getting in than getting out, and fortunately nobody sees me.
A few minutes later, I’m in the back of the Uber, my palms sweaty and my blood thundering in my ears.
When we come to a stop, I ask the driver to wait for me while I go grab my friend, but he shakes his head. “Can’t do that, ma’am. Against regulations.”
“What if I book another trip back to my house?”
He shrugs, nonchalant. “Depends who gets the job. Might not be me.”
I resist the urge to slap him upside the head. “Look, my friend is really close by, and I just need to get to her. Will you please just wait? I’ll pay whatever you want as soon as we get back to my house. You know I’m good for it. You saw my house.”
“Lady, just because I picked you up outside some fancy Bel Air mansion, that don’t mean you live there.” He rolls his eyes.
Dammit. I scramble in my purse for some cash and find seventy dollars. I hold it out. “Please take this and wait. I swear I’ll be a few minutes.”
He takes the cash, eyeing me suspiciously. “Can’t wait longer than five minutes,” he grumbles.
Aware I’m running out of time, I take what I can get and grab my purse. Then I jump out of the car and scour the street for any sign of Lucy.
I dial her cell, but it goes to voicemail. The neighborhood isn’t a great one. The street is full of boarded-up storefronts, but there’s an alley that looks like a good place to hide.
I hear a scream and run in the direction of the sound until I find her pressed up against the wall by a huge man with his hand around her throat. Her phone lies in pieces on the ground beside her.
“Hey!” I shout. “Get your goddamn hands off her!”
The brute turns and glares at me, and without another thought, I run toward him, adrenaline propelling me forward. He slaps Lucy across the face with the back of his hand and throws her to the ground. “Stay out of this bitch,” he says as he advances on me. “This is between me and her.”
“The hell it is,” I snap. “Leave her alone and get out of here before I call the cops.” I hold up my phone, but he moves faster than I expected and snatches it from my hand. He throws it against the wall, and it smashes into pieces.
Crap! What the hell am I going to do now?
I took a self-defense class in college, but all I remember is what to do if you’re attacked from behind.
This guy is coming at me head-on, and he’s huge.
His hands reach for my throat, and I scream at Lucy to run and duck out of Blake’s way.
He stumbles forward, giving me time to shout to Lucy.
“There’s an Uber in the street. Run to it. Tell him to call the cops.”
Blake regains his footing and grabs me by the throat. He’s squeezing the air from me as Lucy runs past us with tears streaming down her face.
She’ll find the Uber. She’ll get me help.
Blake yells at her to stay where the fuck she is, but she’s reached the end of the alley. “Alana! There’s no car here!”
I try to wrench away from Blake, but he holds me tightly.
“The street is empty,” she cries.
Suddenly, I remember the first rule of self-defense—always go for the nut sack. I bring my foot up and kick Blake in the balls as hard as I can.
He lets go of me and doubles over, clutching his groin and cursing.
“Run!” I scream at Lucy, and she stares at me for a few seconds, her eyes wide. But then she starts running.
I do too, heading in the opposite direction to give her a chance, and thankfully, Blake comes after me.
He grabs me by the hair and pulls me backward.
Pain lances my scalp. Then he spins me around and slaps my face hard enough to make me see stars.
But the pain has adrenaline lighting up my insides, and I focus on that.
Blake’s face is purple with rage, and his anger makes him clumsy. Heart pumping, I duck away again, and he lunges at me, but all he can grab is my purse. I shrug it loose and run into the street, screaming for help at the top of my lungs.
There’s no one around, but Blake doesn’t know that for sure.
A quick glance back at him finds him standing in the alley. If he comes after me, I’m not sure I can outrun him. He obviously comes to the conclusion that I’m not worth getting arrested for because he takes off in the other direction, which is fortunately also away from Lucy.