Chapter 17 #2
I push against Dale’s chest, his muscles hardening as his arms flex to stay around me. I realize how weak I’ve become when it takes more effort than it should. He goes to push the hair out of my face so he can see me, but I turn my head away allowing my hair to conceal me.
“Red?” His low voice cracks a little. The way he says it holds so many questions. The main one, did I hear what they were just saying?
“I…I need to go to the bathroom.”
I refuse to look at him. I know what will happen if I do.
I just need to get the fuck out of this room.
His hands keep a tight hold on me as I attempt to stand on my shaky legs.
My head spins a bit making me lightheaded as I steady myself with Dale’s help, and my eyes lock with Cash’s.
His invasive stare chills me to the core.
I allow it to harden me and put up a wall so he can’t see more than he already has.
I can feel their gaze on me as I make my way to the bathroom and shut the door.
I lay my forehead against it and take a deep breath.
“Fuck!” Dale’s voice booms.
I put my ear to the door with the hope I can catch what else they say, but all I can hear is mumbling before the front door slams shut, vibrating the walls around me. I crack the door open to see what’s going on, but the living room is empty.
I didn’t use to put much thought into believing people or trusting them.
I just did it. The majority of people are relatively good.
The worst thing we had to worry about in our small town was if someone would steal from us, or spread rumors to damage our reputations, or cheat on us with one of our friends.
I want to go back to that point when trust was about not hurting someone’s feelings or breaking their heart.
Not worrying about if I was going to die tomorrow.
I’m not sure what Cash plans to do now, or if he’s even considering Erick’s murder at all, but what little trust I had in him is gone. The death count is rising. It’s now taking people I love, and no one is doing anything about it.
Thumps on the wall remind me of someone else trapped in this hell.
As angry as I am with that man, he didn’t know Hazel would be at RCC when Phil broke in.
If he knew that Phil planned to kidnap people, I don’t think he would’ve helped him.
His regret seems sincere, and he’s done nothing since he’s been here to indicate that he is a threat, yet Cash keeps him tied up in Hazel’s room.
For what? What is the purpose of keeping him now?
Cash got what he wanted from him. I don’t want anyone else to die.
If he were to die, it would just add to the toll of pointless deaths, and too many have died already. I can’t let that happen to him.
The door is silent as I pull it open and peek around the apartment.
Cash and Dale are still outside, so I step out and close the door behind me to make it seem like I’m still in bathroom.
I sneak to the bedroom and open the door.
Samuel is leaning up against the wall, his dirty hair falling over his face.
His head turns toward me as I shut the door as quietly as I can.
He squints through his swollen lids as I go to him and squat down.
His lips move around the fabric gag trapped between his teeth, and I raise a finger to my lips to silence him.
“I don’t know you, and I have no reason to trust anything you say to me. But after watching you these last couple of days, I believe you aren’t a bad man. Just one who made stupid decisions.” His confused gaze wanders over my face before meeting mine again. “Are you a bad man?”
Samuel’s eyes drop to my hands clasped together on my knees, and he shakes his head.
“You have a family?”
He raises his head up and nods.
I lean forward, and he watches me like a hawk as I tug the gag out of his mouth. It drops around his neck as he moves his lips around and closes his mouth to swallow.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
“I don’t know how much time we have, so we need to make it quick.”
His brow furrows as I move to kneel by his side. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting you the fuck out of here,” I tell him as I push him forward to get to his tied wrists.
“Why? Aren’t you worried he’ll hurt you?”
I stop long enough to look him in the face. “I’m not sure what will happen to you if I don’t. I don’t want you to die.” I go back to working the knots. “That’s a good enough reason for me.”
He doesn’t respond, only helps the best he can to pull at the rope as I loosen it.
Once he’s able to pull a hand free, he reaches down and frantically starts pulling at the one around his ankles.
I run across the room to Hazel’s dresser and grab the envelope I’ve been stashing my extra tip money in.
He needs it more than I do at this point.
Flipping through the bills, I count almost two hundred dollars.
Hopefully, it’s enough to get him fed and all the way home.
When I turn to him, he’s standing and pulling the rope free from his other wrist. I go to the window and pull the curtain to the side, but it’s hard to see out in the darkness.
Trying not to make noise, I ease it open and stick my head out.
I can hear Cash and Dale talking from the porch, but other than that there is no sound or anyone else around.
Turning, I hand the envelope to Samuel. “Take this. I hope it helps you get back to your family quickly.”
Samuel stares at the envelope for a moment before slipping it from my fingers. His lips pull up sadly as he shoves it in his back pocket. “I’m not sure I deserve your help or charity, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He climbs out the window, and I point for him to go around the back to the alley.
“Follow that to the left and take a right on the next street. There will be a gas station about half a mile down. Good luck.”
Samuel looks around before jogging around the back of the building and entering the alley. As I watch his shadow disappear under the streetlight and into the darkness, I hope I made the right choice.
CASH
The same dude who told me to back off, that playing the hero during this game for some pussy was a bad idea, is now eating his words.
The moment Cady passed out on the couch, Dale sat next to her and watched her like a hawk.
It is imperative that we close this deal and get the money together for Phil.
I needed Dale to focus and make phone calls, not sit and stare at Cady like a heartbroken boy.
When she started crying in her sleep, I knew we weren’t getting jack shit done.
He slid over to her and pulled her into his lap, rocking her like a goddamn baby.
I don’t begrudge him consoling her. If I’m being honest with myself, I’m angry because he’s doing something for Cady I can’t do for Hazel.
I’m so fucking ate up, imagining one bad scenario after another.
Until Bobby can get wherever Phil is hiding and see Hazel and Joseph with his own eyes, I won’t be able to rest my worried mind.
Throwing Bobby in the mix just makes it worse, especially after Erick being killed.
I’m ready for all this to be over so we can all breathe easy and start healing.
The only thing I can tell myself is to remain as calm as possible, and to take one day at a time.
It won’t be much longer before I’m face to face with that bastard.
When that day comes, I’ll bring it all to an end.
Cady heard what I said. I didn’t want her to, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
I should have told Dale I’d tell him later, but I wasn’t sure if he was going to leave her side anytime soon.
The accusation in her glare before she left the room was all I needed to know where I stand with her.
Dale was furious, but I was able to get him out the door, so he didn’t scare her more.
Once he calmed down, he moved to go back into the apartment, but I stopped him.
It took a little talking, reminding him of what all is at stake, but I got his head on straight, and he made the phone calls needed for us to move forward with the sale.
His guy agreed to meet with him in three days to finalize the details.
Dale was even able to ensure a million dollars in cash up front as part of the deal.
I almost dropped to my knees in relief when I heard those words.
While he finished up his conversation, I sent Carl and Brad a message to get a move on, boxing it all up and loading it into one of the delivery trucks.
“I let the guys know the sale will be soon. They are taking care of everything,” I tell him as he tucks his phone back into his pocket. “You’ll need to stay down there for a few days. Check on the plant, make sure everything is fine, and see if there is anything important that needs taken care of.”
“I can’t leave for that long. Being gone for an entire day is too long as it is.” Dale runs his hands through his hair and tucks it behind his ears, but it’s just short enough it doesn’t stay put.
“Why is that? I’ll be fine without you for a couple of days.”
I know he’s not concerned with me, but I have to give him a hard time. I want to hear him say it. He peers at me out of the corner of his eye and snorts. Shaking his head, he stands and turns toward the door.
“I can keep her safe while you’re gone.”
“It’s not her safety I’m worried about, Cash.”
I know exactly where he’s coming from. Been there twice with Hazel already.
The feeling of helplessness that consumes you leaves you raw, and almost as broken as the person you’re trying to help.
There’s nothing I can do or say to make him feel any better.
He’s already a lost cause. He was the second he walked through that door.
Never thought I’d see the day when Dale cared about a chick’s feelings, only how she feels.
I follow him into the house, and he immediately scans the room for her.
The sound of the shower running comes from behind the bathroom door.
Dale glares at it like he wants to tear it from the hinges.
Yeah, it’s going to be difficult keeping him away for three days if he doesn’t even want a door between them.
“Why don’t you check on our friend?” I say, in the hopes of distracting him.
He walks into the hall and pauses at the bathroom door, putting his ear to it.
He must not hear anything, because he steps away and disappears toward the bedroom.
I’m glad he didn’t hear anything. The night that I walked into my bathroom and heard Hazel crying in the shower tore me up.
As much as I wanted to climb in there and hold her, I knew she needed her space and to pick up some of the pieces on her own.
Cady and Hazel are a lot alike. They are strong women who don’t like to be viewed as weak.
When Cady’s ready to reach out, she will.
Until then, Dale needs to back off and let her come to him, or he’s going to scare her off.
“Cash!” Dale’s voice booms from the other room, raising the hairs on my neck.
I rush in to find him holding a rope in his hand and looking around the room confused. Samuel is nowhere in sight. My heart kicks up, and whooshing is all I can hear. Where the fuck did he go? How long has he been gone?
“Fuck,” I yell and punch the wall. “We gotta find him. If he goes to the cops, we are fucked.”
Dale drops the ropes and grabs Hazel’s keys off her dresser. “Agreed.”