Chapter 6
Parker
My father accused me once of having a hero complex and warned that it would get me into trouble one day.
I doubt he thought that trouble would involve an attractive woman.
My decision to become a firefighter and forgo college threw my parents for a loop.
I’m sure my father wishes that I had fulfilled his dreams of joining the family business back in our hometown of Oakland Ridge, Georgia.
But I needed time and space to figure out who I wanted to be—away from their influence, and the strings that came with it.
I never once felt like my parents didn’t love me, but my father didn’t support my choices.
In fact, every time we spoke, he found a way to vehemently express how much he disagreed with my career choice.
It had created a wedge between us, and that wedge took me to New York.
He couldn’t get in my head if we barely spoke.
I had hoped the distance between us would make my father see reason, or at least tolerate my lifestyle.
But it only made things worse. I spoke to my mother at least once a week, and my twin sisters, Aja and Janae, had our own group chat where we caught up with each other throughout the week.
I was thankful to still have them in my corner.
I could hear the scolding now that the two of them would give me, as I followed Evelyn into the elevator with Danny.
I was probably in over my head. I didn’t know Evelyn from Adam, and I was already making promises to her.
I was definitely crossing a professional boundary, but whenever I looked over at Evelyn and saw the pain reflected in her eyes, I felt like I had to help her.
I could only hope that this trip to see Eric would be beneficial to her.
The apartment complex was old but well-kept.
The elevator was tighter than a matchbox, but the three of us managed to pile in, leaving little space between our shoulders and the next person.
We rode to the seventh floor, then Danny led the way to an apartment at the end of the hall.
No sooner than we darkened the doorway, the door swung open to reveal Eric Morales.
Eric had on a flannel shirt, black slacks, and Crocs.
I heard the sound of last night’s Yankees game replaying somewhere in the house.
The smell of food wafted out of the door as Eric stood in the doorway.
Danny greeted his uncle with a hello, but Eric was frozen in place, staring at Evelyn.
Evelyn peered at him right back with a slight shade of crimson on her cheeks.
“You know, I’ve been trying to get in contact with you, Evelyn. If you’re here at this hour, then something must be wrong.”
Something was very wrong.
“Yeah, Tio, about that. Do you think you can let us in? I don’t think this conversation is suited for the hallway.” Danny said, looking around, nodding at the young woman who was leaving her apartment with a trash bag.
Eric muttered a curse and made room for us to enter his apartment. He led us into the living room, muting the baseball game as he padded towards the recliner in the corner, where he took a seat. Eric indicated that we should do the same on the sofa opposite him.
We each took a seat and sat in silence. Danny and I looked at each other, not really knowing where to start.
After all, Danny was more confused than I was.
He knew very little information. There was a fire, and Evelyn's house had burned down. Tonight’s plan had been to take her to a shelter, but now we were sitting in Eric’s living room waiting for Evelyn to explain why we were here.
After another beat of silence, Evelyn cleared her throat and spoke.
“He’s back, Eric, and he burned down our house.”
“Mija, I thought I told you to leave this place. I was so sure that you had when I couldn’t reach you. I just thought you decided to cut all ties to this life.”
She looked away, choosing to look at the wall instead of meeting Eric’s eyes. Evelyn’s voice shook as she held back tears.
“He took her. What more could he possibly want with me?”
Eric got up from the recliner and kneeled before her on the sofa.
“I’ve been calling you because an old friend of mine said he saw Charles in your old neighborhood a little over two weeks ago. They said he was asking a lot of questions about the Howard girls, walking around as if he was innocent as a newborn baby.”
“I’m sorry, but what is going on, Tio?” Danny interrupted. “Why isn’t this dude behind bars?”
My eyes darted towards Evelyn’s, but she refused to meet my gaze. Instead, she picked at the frayed edge of her sleeve.
“Evelyn wasn’t in the right frame of mind. She suffered significant injuries and mentally...” His voice trailed off.
“I was checked out. The only thing I could see and hear was those last moments with her. I still don’t remember it all.” Evelyn continued just above a whisper. Her mouth opened again, almost like she wanted to reveal more, but no words came.
“Then he was gone. No one had seen him. Until a few weeks ago,” Eric finished.
“He was in our house.” Turning toward me, she continued, “That photo was in my bedroom between the pages of a book.”
“Are you sure?” Danny questioned, skepticism clear in his raised brow.
She closed her eyes, “I’m sure,” she said, releasing a shaky breath. “He gave me an ultimatum. Leave New York, or he starts hurting people. Charles hurt my friend Romero because I gave his name to the cops.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. Glancing at Evelyn, I could see her already withdrawing herself from the conversation. She had her arms wrapped around her body like she’s holding herself together. “What can she do? She can’t stay here, and, respectfully, we can’t trust PD to protect her if she does.”
“Hold on,” Danny interrupted.
“No,” Eric interjected. “When I was on the force, they should’ve taken this threat more seriously.
Who gives a damn that Evelyn couldn’t give a proper statement right away?
They saw the state of her. I told them what she was able to tell me, and nothing.
” He shook his head. “They could’ve at least offered her protective custody.
Something wasn’t right about the way they handled this case.
That’s part of the reason I decided to retire.
The uniform I wore meant nothing if we couldn’t do the bare minimum to protect the community we were supposed to be serving. ”
“So again, what can we do?” I asked, knowing I couldn’t go back home tonight, with the understanding that this woman would have to fend for herself with a sadistic fuck on the loose.
Silence descended on the room as we all got lost in our thoughts, searching for a solution.
Danny and Eric held each other's gaze in a silent standoff.
Eric lost faith in the force. He believed they couldn’t be trusted to do what needed to be done, and I had to agree with him.
If they couldn’t protect her, then how could we trust them to protect her now? Someone at the precinct was passing information to Charles. There had to be another way to help her.
“Mija, what if you stayed—” Eric began.
“Forget about it,” Danny interrupted.
Eric shot him a scathing look. Danny wasted no time returning the same look to his uncle.
“You cannot protect her, Tio. You seem to be forgetting the other reason why you retired. Your heart.”
“Dios mio—for the hundredth time, I’m fine, and I would appreciate it if you and your father stop turning my health condition into bochinche for the barrio.”
The two of them bickered in Spanglish as I wracked my brain for a way to make sure Evelyn came out safe in this situation.
“She lost everything in that house. We can’t expect her to pick up and run away, Sobrino. A hundred dollars won’t get her past Jersey.”
Danny was pacing the apartment. I could tell that he was becoming more frustrated by the minute.
This was a difficult situation for him. For as long as I’ve known him, he has always put his uncle and his career on a pedestal.
Hearing that the man who inspired your life and career no longer believed in its purpose was rough.
To make matters worse, Danny couldn’t use the one power that he had.
The police were already acting as if this were an open-and-shut case.
“You have to take her away,” Danny said abruptly, turning to me and looking as if he’s just had an epiphany.
Take her away? I can’t just pick up and leave. I have a responsibility to my firehouse, my team. Where would I even go? Would she go with me?
Evelyn hasn’t moved or said a word in acknowledgement of what he’s just said.
My face must’ve broadcasted all my rapid thoughts, because Danny spoke again.
“Why don’t you take her back home? Your family is well-known and has security in place.
Charles doesn’t know you. He wouldn’t think to look there.
You just need to hide out there until we can figure out a way for charges to stick. ”
I wanted to scream no. The last place I wanted to be was under my family's scrutiny. But I couldn’t.
Evelyn finally looked up from her hands, and it’s like she was staring right through my soul.
She looked tired, like she’s ready to give up.
For a split moment, her eyes were blue instead of hazel, and I wanted to beg her to just hold on a little longer. Everything would be fine.
I’ve been on dozens of calls that ended in families being torn apart or resulted in a loss of life.
Sleep didn’t always come easy for me—in the quiet hours, the names and the faces haunted me.
So I worked, so the guilt didn’t consume me, so that I could try to rewrite the past. I did my best to live my life and move on.
But this situation was different. Evelyn survived.
If I hadn’t given Evelyn my card, we wouldn’t be here, but she’d still be in danger. I would have been at home preparing for another shift. Instead, I was here moments away from agreeing to uproot my life here for a stranger.
I could do more. I could make sure she was safe.
Maybe my father was right. Maybe I did have a hero complex after all, because even though just thinking about home made my heart race, I couldn’t walk away and wash my hands of the situation.
There was a problem, and I had the power to solve it. As irrational and crazy as it sounded, I knew that I was the only one who could protect her.
I stood and moved toward her, kneeling where Eric once was. “Evelyn, will you go with me? To Georgia, I mean. I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I think I can help you by getting you out of here.”
Her eyes met mine, and she stared like she’s searching, like she’s wondering if she could really trust me. I didn’t know what she found in them, but she nodded her head. “Okay, I’ll go.”
Letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, my shoulders sagged as relief flooded through me. I didn't have a clue how I was going to convince her to put her trust in me, let alone run away with me if she refused.
I stood, turning to look at Danny and Eric.
“We should make a plan.”