Rock Chick 02 Rescue (41 page)

It was Mace, he was running, half dragging me along with him. I remembered his orders and didn’t try to go back even though I real y,
really
wanted to.

We cleared the bar, running flat out, Mace’s hand in mine, to an SUV. The locks and lights were bleeping as we ran toward it (I found, in a desperate situation I
could
run in stiletto heels).

He directed me straight to the driver’s side. He picked me up and shoved me through to the passenger side, got in, started the truck and took off without either of us wearing seatbelts.

He drove down Colfax, then swung into an empty parking lot and round the back of some building. He braked, kil ed the lights and turned to me.

Before I knew what he was doing, his fingers closed on my chin and he gently pul ed my face around. It was the dead of night and there were no lights where we were.

There was no way he could see but I could tel he was looking.

“Graze,” he said, though I didn’t know how he could determine that in the dark.

Then he muttered, “Fuck.”

He let me go, looked forward, and I got the weird feeling he slipped somewhere else for a moment.

Then he shouted, “
Fuck!
” And that one word was like a control ed, muted, explosion that I was surprised didn’t shake the windows.

I put my hand to my head, tentatively exploring the wetness there but I could feel it wasn’t that bad. I’d skinned my knees worse.

“I’ve skinned my knees worse,” I told him.

At my words, he turned, his arm went around my waist, he yanked me across the seat and then he kissed me.

Eek!

It was a ful -on kiss, tongues and everything. I shouldn’t have responded but I did. Maybe it was the life or death situation, the thril of being alive, desperate gratitude or maybe it was because it was a great kiss. It was likely al of that and more. I wasn’t going to analyze it, I was going to go with it, then bury it. Deep.

His head came up but he didn’t let me go and stayed firmly in my space.

For my part, I had both hands curled on his neck, just below his ears, and I found I
couldn’t
let go.

We both sat there, silent, staring at each other in the dark and breathing heavy.

There was something important about that moment for Mace, I felt it, I didn’t entirely get it but I was honored by it.

The only thing I knew was that, for me, it was about him saving my life and me being alive.

Then Mace broke the moment.

“You tel Chavez I kissed you, we’re disappearin’ in Mexico where no one can find us.”

Sweet Jesus.

He said “us”.

I couldn’t blame
that
on the Smithie’s uniform.

“What was that about?” I whispered.

He was quiet for a beat.

“I’m just glad you got a face left to kiss.” Hmm.

Guess, for Mace, it was the thril of me being alive.

Yeesh, men were so weird.

He let me go and I dropped my hands. He yanked his tshirt out of his jeans, pul ed a penknife out of his pocket, cut away the hem and pressed it against my temple. This must have meant he didn’t have tissues in the glove box.

I took over with the pressing, he turned away and buckled up.

I put on my seatbelt too and off we went.

He drove to the parking lot at the Kmart strip mal off Alameda and Broadway by Indy’s house. There was a clutch of vehicles parked haphazardly, close to the entrance off Alameda, al SUVs except for the red Dodge Ram.

I scanned the huddle of people, counting. Lottie was there, her arms wrapped around her middle, standing next to Vance. Indy was being held by Lee. Tod had hold of Daisy. Matt was leaning against one of the SUVs.

No Dad.

Everyone was alive and breathing and I appeared to be the only member of the walking wounded.

Eddie was close to Indy and Lee, pul ing a hand through his hair, but when our lights flashed into the lot, his head jerked around. He started walking toward us before Mace had a chance to get close.

Mace swung the truck around, positioning my door close to Eddie and stopped. I didn’t even get a chance to put a hand out when the door swung open, the interior lights went on and Eddie saw me.

“
Dios mio
,” he said, soft and quiet.

“It’s nothing, just a—”

He didn’t let me finish. He reached around, released the belt, pul ed me out of the cab and into his arms which went around me so tight, I could barely breathe.

“Graze,” I finished on a poof of expel ed breath.

He leaned back, took my hand away from my temple and looked at my wound.

“We’re going to the hospital,” he said.

“Eddie, it’s nothing, I just need to clean it and…” His eyes cut to mine and I quit talking.

“We’re going to the fucking hospital,” he repeated in a voice you just did not argue with, even me, and I seemed to be able to argue with Eddie al the time.

“Okay,” I replied.

He moved away, his arm around me and everyone crowded in.

Tears started fal ing from Lottie’s eyes, Indy’s face went so pale, it shone in the dark and Tod cursed.

Daisy snapped, “That just cuts it. I’m done fuckin’ around with this business. Sugar, you had it your way now I’m cal in’

Marcus. This means
war
.”

Eddie didn’t break stride, even with the threat of Marcus entering the mix. He ignored her comment and kept on going, straight toward the truck. He bleeped the locks, opened my door and helped me in. Before he closed it, Lee was there.

Eddie looked at him.

“I’l wanna know how you let this get out of hand,” Eddie said to him and I could tel he was angry and placing blame square on Lee’s shoulders.

A muscle jumped in Lee’s cheek, he gave one nod, accepting blame.

“No,” I said. Eddie started to close the door but I put my foot out to stop it.

“No,” I said again.

“Move your leg,
Chiquita
.” There was no anger when he addressed me, he was back to using his soft voice.

“You aren’t blaming Lee and you aren’t blaming Mace, you aren’t blaming anyone. Mace told me shit would go down, I told everyone else and we decided to stay. It’s my shit that brought everyone out in the first place. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me.”

Eddie wasn’t listening to me. Eddie was focused.

“Move your leg,” he repeated.

Then I thought about what I said.

“Actual y, if there’s anyone to blame, it’s my Dad,” I amended.

Eddie’s eyes cut to me.

“
Mi amor
, I’m askin’ you, move your leg.” I scanned the crowd and saw Lottie was standing behind Lee, next to Indy.

“Our Dad is a fucking shithead,” I told her.

Seriously, if there was an f-word moment in my life, this was it.

“Jet, let Eddie take you to the hospital,” Lottie said.

It was al hitting me, delayed reaction.

“He thought he could gamble himself into the big time and we’d al ‘live large’. What kind of stupid, fucking moron is he?” I asked her.

“Jet, get to the hospital,” Lottie repeated.

“I’ve been working since I was fourteen fucking years old and he gambled away every fucking dol ar I ever gave him.

What a fucking
dick
!”

To punctuate my point, I brought my hand down on the window ledge and then shouted, “Ow!” mainly because it hurt.

I looked at Eddie. “I hurt my hand,” I informed him unnecessarily.

His dimple appeared first, then his lips formed a grin.

“Maybe we’l get the doctors to look at it after they check the bul et wound to your head.”

I blinked at him, then nodded, “That’s a good idea.”

“You gonna move your leg now?” he asked.

“Sure,” I answered, the soul of amenity and then I moved my leg.

He slammed the door and walked around the front of the truck.

Everyone was gathered at the side. Mostly they looked shel -shocked. Except Daisy, she looked pissed, right the hel , off. And not Lee and his boys, I noticed they were al trying to hide grins.

Eddie got in and started the truck.

To let them know everything was al right, I flashed a To let them know everything was al right, I flashed a smile and gave a jaunty wave as Eddie pul ed away.

* * * * *

It wasn’t until a lot later that I saw (regardless of the fact that it
was
just a graze) the amount of blood that had leaked down my face. I was sitting on the end of a bed in the emergency room at Denver Health and the nurse was cleaning me up.

“That’s a lot of blood,” I remarked, staring clinical y at the towel she was using as if it was someone else’s blood.

“Head wounds bleed,” she said in battle weary tones; the voice of experience.

That’s al I heard because it was then that I fainted.

Eddie was sitting by the bed when I woke up.

“Hey there,
Cariña
,” he whispered.

“Don’t tel anyone I fainted,” I whispered back.

His eyes smiled even though his lips didn’t.

“They must have thought I was a lunatic, ranting about Dad with blood running down my face.”

“I don’t expect they thought much of anything except bein’

glad you were alive to rant.”

I figured he was right.

He helped me sit up and then took off to go to the waiting room to tel everyone I was okay while I fil ed out forms (I was praying, since I was on an unplanned, unscheduled vacation, that Smithie stil had me insured…

told you he took care of his girls, probably no other strip joint had good insurance).

Then Eddie came back.

“You should know, someone told Duke and Tex and they were both out there. Your Mom too. I told ‘em you were fine, I’d take care of you and sent them home. You can talk to them tomorrow.”

I pushed back the alarm of Mom knowing I’d been grazed by a bul et and focused on feeling grateful. Grateful I had friends who would sit around in the waiting room of a hospital to hear news of a graze and grateful that Eddie took care of them so I didn’t have to. Because I was grateful, I found his hand and I gave it a squeeze. He one-upped my squeeze by bringing my fingers up and brushing his lips against my knuckles.

The gesture was so intimate, my bel y curled and the oxygen burned in my lungs.

It was then, Detective Marker arrived.

Eddie stood with me while Detective Marker talked to me,
again
.

The only good news Jimmy Marker gave me was that Shirleen was okay. She sustained a blow to the head. She was taken to Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital and admitted for observation only, a minor concussion.

“Do you know where Dad is?” I asked Detective Marker.

He looked at me.

“Usual y that’s my line,” he returned, trying to joke.

I stared at him.

He sighed, looked at Eddie, then back at me.

“We got witnesses who say he was taken by Slick, he was alive but looked injured. No word, no sign. We’re lookin’ and we’l keep lookin’,” he promised me.

I felt his words slice through me like a knife.

Eddie’s hand went into my hair and, very gently, he pressed the uninjured side of my head against him.

“I’m okay,” I lied, looking up at him.

He looked down.

“You’re so ful of shit.”

That got him a grin.

* * * * *

He took me to his place, helped me undress and stepped into the shower with me. He turned me away from the spray and used the showerhead on me, and, careful to avoid the dressing at my temple, he shampooed the blood out of my hair. We patted ourselves dry, I combed out my hair and Eddie put me to bed naked and held me tight.

After awhile, his warmth seeped into me and I started to feel safe again.

“I’m worried about Dad,” I whispered as if I was admitting to a grave sin. “I know I shouldn’t be but I am.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” he replied, his voice gentle and, I swear, maybe even a little bit affectionate (or maybe even a lot).

I lay there awhile, suddenly feeling even warmer.

“Eddie?”

“
Sí, mi amor
?”

“I’ve got to tel you something and you have to promise me you won’t get mad.”

He was silent.

“Promise?”

He sighed. “You’re kil in’ me,” he muttered.

I pressed into him. “You have to promise.”

“I promise.”

He may have promised but he clearly wasn’t happy about it.

I told him what happened, in detail, with Vince and Mace.

He listened without making a single noise but his body got more and more tense.

Then I told him about the kiss and he went total y stil .

“It was just… not what you think… it was, I don’t even know what it was. Mace told me not to say anything but—” Eddie interrupted me.

“Mace’s sister was murdered while Mace was forced to watch. Got her head blown off. Shot to the temple.” It was my turn to go total y stil while I felt my blood run cold.

Eddie went on, “Probably not fun to relive and probably worth a kiss from you when the ending was different.” I couldn’t help it, it was the flashbacks that kept entering my head, it was the ugly knowledge of why Mace was pissed off al the time, I burst into tears.

Eddie stroked my back and spoke softly to me in Spanish until, final y, I stopped crying and the adrenalin subsided. I started to get drowsy and snuggled deeper into him.

Right before I fel asleep, he said quietly, “Tomorrow, we need to have a chat.”

“I thought we were chatting,” I mumbled, half-asleep.

“This isn’t a lyin’-in-bed-naked-after-getting-a-gunshot-wound-to-the-head kind of chat. This is a wide-awake-and-listen-to-Eddie kind of chat.”