“Don’t talk back to me, little girl.”
I bit back another smart retort and fixed my gaze on the road. After we had left the city behind, I threw caution to the wind and broke the silence.
“Where are you taking me?”
“It’s more like where you’re going to take me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My daughter, girlie. You’re going to take me to her.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t,” she answered matter-of-factly. I didn’t react. Maybe I was too used to having my life threatened to be scared.
“Your daughter is twenty-five years old. Why now?”
“The last memory I have of my daughter was Mario taking her from me after she was born, saying it was too dangerous to keep her.”
“But wouldn’t Arthur have questioned why you were no longer pregnant and there was no baby?”
“My husband was away on business when I had her. When he returned, I told him I miscarried and had her cremated.” She shrugged and lit a cigarette then turned to blow the fresh smoke in my face.
“Seems farfetched.”
“Men are stupid and gullible, sweetie. Haven’t you ever had to lie to your man?” I didn’t answer her. I turned to look out the window, reflecting on all the lies presently standing between Keiran and me. “No, of course you haven’t,” she laughed. “You have meek written all over you. It’s why he picked you.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“I don’t have to. You look just like her, you know.”
“Who?”
“The pitiful, blonde girl he threw everything away for. I remember her well. Keiran was top stock before she ruined him. He was the best we had, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were her all grown up.” Using my peripheral vision, I watched her take another pull on her cigarette and then glance at me with an evil smile curling her red painted lips. “Kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”
“Wonder about what?”
“If he’s really in love with you or a dead girl.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it? You’re going to kill me as soon as you have what you want anyway.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” I ignored her question because there was no way I was letting her get anywhere near Di. All I needed was one opportunity.
That opportunity came when we were halfway to California when my hip pinged, and I realized I still had my phone. I cast a nervous glance at Esmerelda whose gaze remained fixed on the road. Maybe she hadn’t heard.
“What does it say?” she smirked.
I slowly pulled my phone from my pocket. It was a text from Keiran—Waiting for you.
I frowned at his cryptic message. Why would he be waiting for me? I hadn’t heard from him since I left that night. I had expected him to hunt me down and drag me back and demand my submission, but he did none of that. He simply left me alone like I thought I wanted. When one day stretched into one month, I became hurt and angry. He was the one to fuck up this time, and I was still the one left with regrets.
“So what does it say?” she repeated.
I quickly deleted the message. “It was just an email from my school,” I lied.
After missing the exam and classes for two weeks, I had to pull out of the summer term, delaying my graduation. I was lucky they weren’t kicking me out altogether considering the circumstances. My arrest on campus had made the local news.
That was a joy.
I hated even the thought of showing my face on campus.
“You’re not lying to me are you?”
“Why would I do that? You have a gun.”
“That’s right, I do, so don’t try anything. Your boyfriend isn’t waiting around the corner to save you, damsel.”
Waiting for you.
But maybe he was… because that’s what the text meant.
He was waiting for me.
I knew Keiran wouldn’t have gone back to California without me. He couldn’t stand the distance. That much was proven so I had no idea how he could have made it to California so quickly, but I began to breathe a lot easier and my heart didn’t pound so hard.
A few hours later, we entered Los Angeles just as the sun was setting. I gave her directions and prayed I had deciphered the message correctly. Esmerelda had taken and thrown my phone from the car after she warned me not to try anything, which left me completely alone.
Maybe Di wouldn’t be home, and it would buy me some time to figure out how to stop Esmerelda.
“What do you want from your daughter?”
“What makes you think I want anything from her?
“You’re after something. What is it?”
She glanced at me with a grin and shrugged. “All right, I’ll tell you. After Mario was sent to prison, he got a message to me—told me he had some money stashed for me to get away and start a new life… and wait for him.” She snorted and said, “Can you believe that?”
“So if he told you where it is, why do you need her?”
“Because it’s in a safe that only she has the combination to.”