Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley
My body stilled.
“Oh shit,” Jonas muttered and I looked down at him then automatically my arm darted out, fingers curling around his shoulder. I yanked him to me, my arm going around his chest and holding him close.
Neeta parked in the open area by the pool and barely stopped her car before she was flying out of it. She didn’t even close the door before she was marching quickly toward us on high-heeled, strappy sandals, her legs bared almost to indecent levels due to her ultra-short mini-skirt.
“Get in the car, Jonas!” she shouted.
I held on tighter.
“Car!” she shrieked, bearing down on us. “Now!”
I noticed both Ned and Betty heading our way. Betty had been deadheading her now abundantly filled window boxes at her house. Ned had been inside at reception.
I also noticed Shambles’s VW van round its way into the lot.
“What’d I say?” Neeta demanded sharply, coming to a halt in front of us. She was talking to Jonas but her narrowed eyes were glued to me.
Jonas didn’t move, I heard a rush of water and I knew Tate was there but I didn’t tear my eyes from Neeta.
“Let him go, bitch,” she ordered.
“That’s enough, Neeta,” Tate’s deep voice came from close behind me.
“I said, let him go!” she screamed at me.
Ned and Betty both joined our group, not close but not far away.
“Jonas, get our stuff,” Tate instructed. “Help Laurie get packed up and get to the truck.”
“He’s not going anywhere with you!” Neeta shouted at Tate.
“He’ll be home tomorrow at five,” Tate stated.
“He’s comin’ with me and he ain’t comin’ back ‘til that bitch is outta your house!” she returned on a yell.
“Petal!” Shambles cried and my eyes went to him to see his van parked behind the Chrysler and he was rushing toward us, his long hair flying behind him.
I took two steps back from Neeta, dragging Jonas with me. She took a step forward, Betty going with her but both Neeta and Betty stopped when Tate stepped between us.
“Petal!” Shambles repeated.
“Shambles, honey, now is not –” I stopped speaking when he skidded to a halt in front of us and I caught a look at his face.
Ignoring Neeta, he looked from me to Tate, face pale, obviously panicked and asked, “You find people?”
I watched the line of Tate’s body go alert, every inch of it and I did this while my own body tensed.
“You got a problem, Shambles?” Tate asked.
“Get in the fuckin’ car, Jonas, now!” Neeta ordered.
“They say you find people,” Shambles stated.
“Yeah, I find people,” Tate replied.
“Sunny’s missing,” Shambles told him, my body went solid and I saw Shambles was shaking.
“Jonas –” Neeta started but Tate’s hand came up, palm in her face and her mouth clamped shut.
“Bitch, shut your mouth right fuckin’ now,” Tate growled then without hesitation, he dropped his arm, looked at Shambles and ordered, “Talk to me.”
“She didn’t come home last night,” Shambles explained without delay. “We’ve been together for six years, we’ve never slept apart. Not once. Not even once and she didn’t come home. Last night, when it was getting late and she hadn’t come home, hadn’t answered her phone, I went out to find her. She told me where she was going to draw down the sun. I went there and she wasn’t there, her bike wasn’t there, nothing. I thought maybe she might have gone to one of our other places but I went to those too and she wasn’t at any of those either. I called her friends, the hospital, the police, nothing. So I went home and waited for her. It’s not like her. It just isn’t like her. She says where she’s going to be and she’s there. I waited all night. Called her phone, called the hospital again. I went to the police this morning, first thing. They said she had to be gone for forty-eight hours before they could do anything even though I told them this was not like her. I went around town, asking anyone if they’d seen her and I went to Bubba’s. Lady there said you find people. Do you find people?”
“I find people,” Tate replied.
“We need to find her,” Shambles whispered.
“Jonas, I’m not gonna say it again,” Neeta broke in to warn her son and I belatedly felt his body was trembling against mine.
Betty stepped forward and got between Tate and Neeta.
“Neeta, get in your car and go,” she demanded.
Neeta turned squinty eyes to Betty. “What’s this got to do with you?”
Betty didn’t answer. She turned her back on Neeta and she looked at Tate, Jonas and me. “Use the house to get changed. Go on, Ned’ll let you in.” When none of us moved, she urged softly, “Get now, this boy here needs Tate.”
I came unstuck and started to shuffle Jonas to the lounges that had our stuff scattered around and it happened.
Neeta lunged for Jonas, grasping his arm and tugging him violently out of mine. So violently, I watched his shoulder wrench in an unnatural way and he let out a surprised but agonized cry of pain.
When this happened, everyone flew into motion.
Ned jumped in front of Tate. I bent and grabbed Jonas’s hand, my head filled with visions of Neeta and me playing tug of war with poor Jonas as the rope. I was about to let go and go after Neeta when Betty’s hand came up sharply and then down sharper, smacking Neeta’s forearm so hard the crack of it filled the air and she let Jonas go, emitting her own surprised, pained cry. I carefully pulled him to me and once I had him, I wrapped my arm around him again and stepped out of reach, twisting my body to shield Jonas as Neeta made another lunge but Betty got in her way.
“Step back, bitch!” Neeta shrieked at Betty.
“Honestly, Neeta? Is this how you want your son to remember you? Behavin’ like this?” Betty shook her head and continued, “Your mother must be rollin’ in her grave,” she said softly, Neeta’s face went slack and she stepped back as if she’d been struck. “Thank the good Lord, praise thank him, she never lived to see what you’ve become.”
“I can’t believe you’d say that to me,” Neeta whispered.
“And I can’t believe I just watched you handle your boy like that,” Betty returned. “Brenda was a good girl. She loved her babies. She’d do anything for them. She’d do anything for you. One thing I know sure as certain, she’d never touch you like that and she’d fight to the death if she knew anyone had done that to you. Right now, I just know, she’s rollin’ in her grave.”
Betty didn’t wait for Neeta to reply. She turned to me.
“Get him inside, hon,” she prompted.
Far faster than before, I scuttled Jonas and me around Neeta and Betty, placing my body in a way that I was using it to shield Jonas from Neeta. Once clear, I rushed the both of us to our loungers. Jonas and I shoved our stuff in the bags I’d packed as I heard Tate talking to both Shambles and Ned. I was hefting a bag over my shoulder when the bag was caught at the handles. I whirled, ready to do battle if it was Neeta, only to see Tate had taken it from me. He grabbed my hand but his eyes were on Jonas. He jerked his head toward Ned and Betty’s, Jonas took off on a dash and Tate dragged me with him as we followed.
Ned was there before us and he let us in. We took turns in their bathroom, me first. I peeled off my suit and tugged on my underwear, jeans shorts and t-shirt even though my body was still clammy with wet. I yanked out my flip flops, shoved my feet in them and exited the bathroom only to have Tate, a hand gentle in his back, shove Jonas in.
“Quick, Bub,” he muttered, his hand on the doorknob.
Jonas nodded and Tate shut the door.
I looked up at him. “You okay?”
“Forget me,” he said, his hand coming to curl around the side of my neck. “Get out to Shambles.”
I nodded, he gave me a squeeze and let me go.
I rushed to Shambles.
* * * * *
Tate, Jonas and I in the Expl
orer, Shambles following in his VW van, Neeta following Shambles in her Chrysler, pulled into the forecourt of the garage.
Tate stopped close to the office door, Shambles pulled in beside Tate on the driver’s side and Neeta pulled in beside Jonas and me.
Jonas and I hopped down just as Wood and Pop exited one of the bays and Stella walked out of the office.
I quickly moved Jonas to the hood of Tate’s SUV as Tate rounded it, his eyes on Stella.
“Need you to look after Jonas,” he stated and Stella must have read the mood for she asked not one question. She simply nodded, her eyes on Neeta.
“That won’t be necessary since I’m takin’ him home with me,” Neeta announced.
“What’s up, Buck?” Pop asked, ignoring Neeta, as Wood and Pop made it to our group and Shambles hit Tate’s side. Shambles looked impatient. Pop had his eyes glued to Tate. Wood had his gaze on Neeta.
“Man here’s woman is missin’,” Tate told Pop, jerking a thumb at Shambles. “She’s been gone since yesterday. I need to get out and see if I can help.”
“Did you call the cops, bud?” Stella asked Shambles, walking down the steps that led to the office.
“They say forty-eight hours,” Shambles answered her and turned directly to Tate. “Can we go?”
“Yeah,” Tate murmured and said to Stella, “Stell?”
“Don’t worry, Tate,” she answered his unasked question.
“Shee-it,” Pop muttered. “What’s happenin’ ‘round here and they say forty-eight hours? Got their heads in their asses.”
“I’ll come with you,” Wood offered and Tate looked at him, his eyes slicing to Neeta, then back to Wood.
“Maybe you can see to that situation,” he suggested and I held my breath because suddenly all around were tense and I suspected this was because Tate hadn’t asked Wood for anything, not for a long time and not something as important as dealing with Neeta.
“Jonas is safe with me,” Stella stated. “Many eyes…” she trailed off.
“My kid’s goin’ home with me,” Neeta put in, a dog with a bone.
“Girl,” Pop turned to her, “it’s Buck’s weekend.”
“He’s comin’ home with me,” Neeta repeated.
“He’s not,” Tate declared in a way that everyone’s eyes went to him. “And he ain’t comin’ home tomorrow.” He looked at Jonas and ordered, “Go, Bub, into the office.”
“What do you mean he ain’t comin’ home tomorrow?” Neeta snapped.
“Go into the office, Bub, now,” Tate reiterated, Jonas nodded and moved quickly toward the office.
“Tate, goddamn it, what in the fuck do you –?” Neeta started but she stopped and I figured this was because Tate speared her with a look that was so hostile it took her breath away. I figured this because it took mine.
We all waited, the door closed behind Jonas and finally Tate spoke and he did this with his eyes still locked on Neeta.
“I gotta do this with Shambles so I don’t got a lot of time but I’ll tell you this. You think for one fuckin’ second after you handled my boy that way that he’s goin’ anywhere near you, you’re a bigger fuckin’ lunatic than I thought.”
“What’s this?” Pop whispered.
“You wanna tell your Dad what you did?” Tate dared.
Neeta raised a hand and jabbed a finger at me. “She wouldn’t let him go.”
“Which was good, since you were actin’ like the whacked out bitch everyone here knows you to be, he was shakin’ so hard, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his feet,” Tate shot back. “And nothin’, and you know it Neet, there is not one damn thing in this fuckin’ world that excuses you handlin’ my boy so rough he cries out in pain.”
“Good God,” Stella whispered, her toned filled with horror.
“Neet,” Pop whispered, his tone filled with pain.
Neeta turned and whined to her father, “She wouldn’t let him go, Pop.”
Pop didn’t even look at me when he asked, “That’s your excuse?”
“She –” Neeta began.
Pop cut her off. “Lauren’s got not one thing to do with this. It’s all you, Neeta. It’s always you. “
“Pop –” Neeta started but he lifted a hand.
“Get outta my sight, girl. I don’t wanna see you,” he whispered words that seemed dragged out of him, I heard Neeta draw in breath in a way I knew she’d never heard them before, not after anything she’d done and there clearly had been a lot. “I don’t think I ever wanna see you again,” he went on and then he stared at her as if he’d never seen her in his life and wished he still hadn’t. Finally his eyes moved to Tate. “Do me a favor, just one, Buck, take Wood. Find this man’s woman. He can help.” He waited for Tate’s nod, Tate gave it to him and he concluded, “I’m gonna go be with my grandson.” Then he moved to and up the steps, disappearing behind the office door.
“I can take you, Neet, you know it so don’t even try,” Stella warned and my eyes moved from the office door to her to see she was giving a hard look to Neeta.
Neeta gave up on her family and looked at Tate.
“We’ll see what the judge says about this,” she threatened.
“Yeah, we will, with Ned, Betty and Lauren all there to witness what you did, Neet, and Jonas wantin’ to live with me anyway, we’ll fuckin’ see,” Tate returned, his eyes shifted to Wood and he clipped, “You’re in the Explorer with me.” He looked at me. “You’re ridin’ with Shambles, babe.” His eyes sliced to Shambles. “You lead. Take us to where she told you she would be,” he ordered, Shambles nodded and Tate finished, “Let’s roll.”
* * * * *
We hit the clearing in the woods, Shambles was leading and speaking, “There,” he pointed to the clearing, “that’s where we –”
We were at the edge of a glade and he stopped speaking and walking because Wood reached up and grasped his shoulder, pulling him to a halt.
“Hang there, pal,” he said softly, his eyes coming to me. “Hang with him, yeah, Laurie?” I nodded and he looked at Tate.
Then Wood moved forward, Tate rounded me, they separated and skirted the clearing, both of their eyes pointed inward, to the dirt floor. They only did this for five, six steps before they stopped and looked across the glade to each other. When they did, I saw both men’s faces were set and both of their mouths were tight.
I reached out, grabbed Shambles’s hand and squeezed.
Something must have been communicated nonverbally because Wood nodded once, turned and kept moving but this time he did it into the trees. Tate came back to Shambles and me.
“Do me a favor, Shambles, I left my cell in my truck. Can you get it for me?” Tate asked.
“Is something –?” Shambles started.
“My cell, Shambles,” Tate said firmly.
Shambles stared at him, swallowed and then turned and rushed through the woods to the cars parked a short distance away.
I looked up at Tate. “What –?”
Tate interrupted me. “See that ground?” He pointed to the floor of the glade and my eyes followed his hand.
“Yes,” I said.
“All those marks,” Tate whispered and I saw a lot of marks in the dirt but Tate didn’t wait for me to say anything. His hand came to wrap around the back of my neck, my gaze went to his face and he finished, “Struggle, Ace.”
I felt tears fill my eyes as I breathed, “Oh God, no.”
“I need you to get him home. Get Jonas. Get Stell. Get Pop. Go out to dinner. Keep Shambles occupied. I’m callin’ the cops. We gotta sweep this whole area.”
I moved closer to him and put my hands on his stomach.
“Do you think –?”
“I don’t ever think. I just go where the trail leads me. But in this case, I’ll hope.”
“Tate, Sunny’s not his style,” I told him.
“Get him home. Keep him occupied.”
“She doesn’t… she’s not like Tonia,” I pressed.
His
fingers gave my neck a squeeze. “Baby, I’ve given you a job. It’s an important one. Focus. Yeah?”
I stared into his eyes. Then my head turned and I looked at the glade then passed it to where I could see Wood, no longer close, walking through the trees, eyes to the ground.
I looked back at Tate and whispered, “Okay.”
He reached to his back pocket. “My cell’s not in my truck,” he stated, his arm came around and he showed me his cell. Then he urged, “Go.”
I understood what he was saying and told him so by nodding, he put pressure on my neck, I got up on my toes and his head came down. We touched lips briefly. He let me go and turned instantly toward the wood, flipping his phone open.
I didn’t delay further. I turned and ran through the woods to the cars.
Chapter Twenty-One
Safe
Shambles, Jonas, Stella, Pop and I were sitting in the diner. Everyone had ordered food but no one had eaten much of it. We’d been there ages but the waitress hadn’t cleared our table. Our vibe was not conducive to approach. We were given a wide berth but that didn’t mean employees and customers alike weren’t giving us curious glances.
I was busy trying to take the mental temperature of both Jonas and Shambles, though it wasn’t tough. Shambles was a wreck, jumping visibly at every noise, his eyes flying to the door whenever it was opened. Jonas seemed focused on Shambles and, probably due to his age and what Shambles had seen his mother do to him, he was the only one who could break through. Jonas wasn’t being playful and funny, he was just trying to keep Shambles’s mind occupied by chattering about smoothies, school, his friends, video games and locking onto any conversational gambit that seemed to draw Shambles out, even minutely.
I was sucking back my third refill of diet through a straw in my mammoth, red, hard plastic cup when the door opened, Shambles’s eyes flew to it and his body locked.
I looked over my shoulder to see Tate, Wood and Frank, the uniformed officer who came to tell Tate about Tonia, entering the diner. They stopped just inside the door and, one look at their faces and the fact they didn’t walk to our table, my heart stopped with them.
I heard chair legs scraping the floor and twisted back to see Shambles was up. I rose with him.
“Oh shit,” Jonas muttered and I looked down at him then automatically my arm darted out, fingers curling around his shoulder. I yanked him to me, my arm going around his chest and holding him close.
Neeta parked in the open area by the pool and barely stopped her car before she was flying out of it. She didn’t even close the door before she was marching quickly toward us on high-heeled, strappy sandals, her legs bared almost to indecent levels due to her ultra-short mini-skirt.
“Get in the car, Jonas!” she shouted.
I held on tighter.
“Car!” she shrieked, bearing down on us. “Now!”
I noticed both Ned and Betty heading our way. Betty had been deadheading her now abundantly filled window boxes at her house. Ned had been inside at reception.
I also noticed Shambles’s VW van round its way into the lot.
“What’d I say?” Neeta demanded sharply, coming to a halt in front of us. She was talking to Jonas but her narrowed eyes were glued to me.
Jonas didn’t move, I heard a rush of water and I knew Tate was there but I didn’t tear my eyes from Neeta.
“Let him go, bitch,” she ordered.
“That’s enough, Neeta,” Tate’s deep voice came from close behind me.
“I said, let him go!” she screamed at me.
Ned and Betty both joined our group, not close but not far away.
“Jonas, get our stuff,” Tate instructed. “Help Laurie get packed up and get to the truck.”
“He’s not going anywhere with you!” Neeta shouted at Tate.
“He’ll be home tomorrow at five,” Tate stated.
“He’s comin’ with me and he ain’t comin’ back ‘til that bitch is outta your house!” she returned on a yell.
“Petal!” Shambles cried and my eyes went to him to see his van parked behind the Chrysler and he was rushing toward us, his long hair flying behind him.
I took two steps back from Neeta, dragging Jonas with me. She took a step forward, Betty going with her but both Neeta and Betty stopped when Tate stepped between us.
“Petal!” Shambles repeated.
“Shambles, honey, now is not –” I stopped speaking when he skidded to a halt in front of us and I caught a look at his face.
Ignoring Neeta, he looked from me to Tate, face pale, obviously panicked and asked, “You find people?”
I watched the line of Tate’s body go alert, every inch of it and I did this while my own body tensed.
“You got a problem, Shambles?” Tate asked.
“Get in the fuckin’ car, Jonas, now!” Neeta ordered.
“They say you find people,” Shambles stated.
“Yeah, I find people,” Tate replied.
“Sunny’s missing,” Shambles told him, my body went solid and I saw Shambles was shaking.
“Jonas –” Neeta started but Tate’s hand came up, palm in her face and her mouth clamped shut.
“Bitch, shut your mouth right fuckin’ now,” Tate growled then without hesitation, he dropped his arm, looked at Shambles and ordered, “Talk to me.”
“She didn’t come home last night,” Shambles explained without delay. “We’ve been together for six years, we’ve never slept apart. Not once. Not even once and she didn’t come home. Last night, when it was getting late and she hadn’t come home, hadn’t answered her phone, I went out to find her. She told me where she was going to draw down the sun. I went there and she wasn’t there, her bike wasn’t there, nothing. I thought maybe she might have gone to one of our other places but I went to those too and she wasn’t at any of those either. I called her friends, the hospital, the police, nothing. So I went home and waited for her. It’s not like her. It just isn’t like her. She says where she’s going to be and she’s there. I waited all night. Called her phone, called the hospital again. I went to the police this morning, first thing. They said she had to be gone for forty-eight hours before they could do anything even though I told them this was not like her. I went around town, asking anyone if they’d seen her and I went to Bubba’s. Lady there said you find people. Do you find people?”
“I find people,” Tate replied.
“We need to find her,” Shambles whispered.
“Jonas, I’m not gonna say it again,” Neeta broke in to warn her son and I belatedly felt his body was trembling against mine.
Betty stepped forward and got between Tate and Neeta.
“Neeta, get in your car and go,” she demanded.
Neeta turned squinty eyes to Betty. “What’s this got to do with you?”
Betty didn’t answer. She turned her back on Neeta and she looked at Tate, Jonas and me. “Use the house to get changed. Go on, Ned’ll let you in.” When none of us moved, she urged softly, “Get now, this boy here needs Tate.”
I came unstuck and started to shuffle Jonas to the lounges that had our stuff scattered around and it happened.
Neeta lunged for Jonas, grasping his arm and tugging him violently out of mine. So violently, I watched his shoulder wrench in an unnatural way and he let out a surprised but agonized cry of pain.
When this happened, everyone flew into motion.
Ned jumped in front of Tate. I bent and grabbed Jonas’s hand, my head filled with visions of Neeta and me playing tug of war with poor Jonas as the rope. I was about to let go and go after Neeta when Betty’s hand came up sharply and then down sharper, smacking Neeta’s forearm so hard the crack of it filled the air and she let Jonas go, emitting her own surprised, pained cry. I carefully pulled him to me and once I had him, I wrapped my arm around him again and stepped out of reach, twisting my body to shield Jonas as Neeta made another lunge but Betty got in her way.
“Step back, bitch!” Neeta shrieked at Betty.
“Honestly, Neeta? Is this how you want your son to remember you? Behavin’ like this?” Betty shook her head and continued, “Your mother must be rollin’ in her grave,” she said softly, Neeta’s face went slack and she stepped back as if she’d been struck. “Thank the good Lord, praise thank him, she never lived to see what you’ve become.”
“I can’t believe you’d say that to me,” Neeta whispered.
“And I can’t believe I just watched you handle your boy like that,” Betty returned. “Brenda was a good girl. She loved her babies. She’d do anything for them. She’d do anything for you. One thing I know sure as certain, she’d never touch you like that and she’d fight to the death if she knew anyone had done that to you. Right now, I just know, she’s rollin’ in her grave.”
Betty didn’t wait for Neeta to reply. She turned to me.
“Get him inside, hon,” she prompted.
Far faster than before, I scuttled Jonas and me around Neeta and Betty, placing my body in a way that I was using it to shield Jonas from Neeta. Once clear, I rushed the both of us to our loungers. Jonas and I shoved our stuff in the bags I’d packed as I heard Tate talking to both Shambles and Ned. I was hefting a bag over my shoulder when the bag was caught at the handles. I whirled, ready to do battle if it was Neeta, only to see Tate had taken it from me. He grabbed my hand but his eyes were on Jonas. He jerked his head toward Ned and Betty’s, Jonas took off on a dash and Tate dragged me with him as we followed.
Ned was there before us and he let us in. We took turns in their bathroom, me first. I peeled off my suit and tugged on my underwear, jeans shorts and t-shirt even though my body was still clammy with wet. I yanked out my flip flops, shoved my feet in them and exited the bathroom only to have Tate, a hand gentle in his back, shove Jonas in.
“Quick, Bub,” he muttered, his hand on the doorknob.
Jonas nodded and Tate shut the door.
I looked up at him. “You okay?”
“Forget me,” he said, his hand coming to curl around the side of my neck. “Get out to Shambles.”
I nodded, he gave me a squeeze and let me go.
I rushed to Shambles.
* * * * *
Tate, Jonas and I in the Expl
Tate stopped close to the office door, Shambles pulled in beside Tate on the driver’s side and Neeta pulled in beside Jonas and me.
Jonas and I hopped down just as Wood and Pop exited one of the bays and Stella walked out of the office.
I quickly moved Jonas to the hood of Tate’s SUV as Tate rounded it, his eyes on Stella.
“Need you to look after Jonas,” he stated and Stella must have read the mood for she asked not one question. She simply nodded, her eyes on Neeta.
“That won’t be necessary since I’m takin’ him home with me,” Neeta announced.
“What’s up, Buck?” Pop asked, ignoring Neeta, as Wood and Pop made it to our group and Shambles hit Tate’s side. Shambles looked impatient. Pop had his eyes glued to Tate. Wood had his gaze on Neeta.
“Man here’s woman is missin’,” Tate told Pop, jerking a thumb at Shambles. “She’s been gone since yesterday. I need to get out and see if I can help.”
“Did you call the cops, bud?” Stella asked Shambles, walking down the steps that led to the office.
“They say forty-eight hours,” Shambles answered her and turned directly to Tate. “Can we go?”
“Yeah,” Tate murmured and said to Stella, “Stell?”
“Don’t worry, Tate,” she answered his unasked question.
“Shee-it,” Pop muttered. “What’s happenin’ ‘round here and they say forty-eight hours? Got their heads in their asses.”
“I’ll come with you,” Wood offered and Tate looked at him, his eyes slicing to Neeta, then back to Wood.
“Maybe you can see to that situation,” he suggested and I held my breath because suddenly all around were tense and I suspected this was because Tate hadn’t asked Wood for anything, not for a long time and not something as important as dealing with Neeta.
“Jonas is safe with me,” Stella stated. “Many eyes…” she trailed off.
“My kid’s goin’ home with me,” Neeta put in, a dog with a bone.
“Girl,” Pop turned to her, “it’s Buck’s weekend.”
“He’s comin’ home with me,” Neeta repeated.
“He’s not,” Tate declared in a way that everyone’s eyes went to him. “And he ain’t comin’ home tomorrow.” He looked at Jonas and ordered, “Go, Bub, into the office.”
“What do you mean he ain’t comin’ home tomorrow?” Neeta snapped.
“Go into the office, Bub, now,” Tate reiterated, Jonas nodded and moved quickly toward the office.
“Tate, goddamn it, what in the fuck do you –?” Neeta started but she stopped and I figured this was because Tate speared her with a look that was so hostile it took her breath away. I figured this because it took mine.
We all waited, the door closed behind Jonas and finally Tate spoke and he did this with his eyes still locked on Neeta.
“I gotta do this with Shambles so I don’t got a lot of time but I’ll tell you this. You think for one fuckin’ second after you handled my boy that way that he’s goin’ anywhere near you, you’re a bigger fuckin’ lunatic than I thought.”
“What’s this?” Pop whispered.
“You wanna tell your Dad what you did?” Tate dared.
Neeta raised a hand and jabbed a finger at me. “She wouldn’t let him go.”
“Which was good, since you were actin’ like the whacked out bitch everyone here knows you to be, he was shakin’ so hard, he wouldn’t have been able to keep his feet,” Tate shot back. “And nothin’, and you know it Neet, there is not one damn thing in this fuckin’ world that excuses you handlin’ my boy so rough he cries out in pain.”
“Good God,” Stella whispered, her toned filled with horror.
“Neet,” Pop whispered, his tone filled with pain.
Neeta turned and whined to her father, “She wouldn’t let him go, Pop.”
Pop didn’t even look at me when he asked, “That’s your excuse?”
“She –” Neeta began.
Pop cut her off. “Lauren’s got not one thing to do with this. It’s all you, Neeta. It’s always you. “
“Pop –” Neeta started but he lifted a hand.
“Get outta my sight, girl. I don’t wanna see you,” he whispered words that seemed dragged out of him, I heard Neeta draw in breath in a way I knew she’d never heard them before, not after anything she’d done and there clearly had been a lot. “I don’t think I ever wanna see you again,” he went on and then he stared at her as if he’d never seen her in his life and wished he still hadn’t. Finally his eyes moved to Tate. “Do me a favor, just one, Buck, take Wood. Find this man’s woman. He can help.” He waited for Tate’s nod, Tate gave it to him and he concluded, “I’m gonna go be with my grandson.” Then he moved to and up the steps, disappearing behind the office door.
“I can take you, Neet, you know it so don’t even try,” Stella warned and my eyes moved from the office door to her to see she was giving a hard look to Neeta.
Neeta gave up on her family and looked at Tate.
“We’ll see what the judge says about this,” she threatened.
“Yeah, we will, with Ned, Betty and Lauren all there to witness what you did, Neet, and Jonas wantin’ to live with me anyway, we’ll fuckin’ see,” Tate returned, his eyes shifted to Wood and he clipped, “You’re in the Explorer with me.” He looked at me. “You’re ridin’ with Shambles, babe.” His eyes sliced to Shambles. “You lead. Take us to where she told you she would be,” he ordered, Shambles nodded and Tate finished, “Let’s roll.”
* * * * *
We hit the clearing in the woods, Shambles was leading and speaking, “There,” he pointed to the clearing, “that’s where we –”
We were at the edge of a glade and he stopped speaking and walking because Wood reached up and grasped his shoulder, pulling him to a halt.
“Hang there, pal,” he said softly, his eyes coming to me. “Hang with him, yeah, Laurie?” I nodded and he looked at Tate.
Then Wood moved forward, Tate rounded me, they separated and skirted the clearing, both of their eyes pointed inward, to the dirt floor. They only did this for five, six steps before they stopped and looked across the glade to each other. When they did, I saw both men’s faces were set and both of their mouths were tight.
I reached out, grabbed Shambles’s hand and squeezed.
Something must have been communicated nonverbally because Wood nodded once, turned and kept moving but this time he did it into the trees. Tate came back to Shambles and me.
“Do me a favor, Shambles, I left my cell in my truck. Can you get it for me?” Tate asked.
“Is something –?” Shambles started.
“My cell, Shambles,” Tate said firmly.
Shambles stared at him, swallowed and then turned and rushed through the woods to the cars parked a short distance away.
I looked up at Tate. “What –?”
Tate interrupted me. “See that ground?” He pointed to the floor of the glade and my eyes followed his hand.
“Yes,” I said.
“All those marks,” Tate whispered and I saw a lot of marks in the dirt but Tate didn’t wait for me to say anything. His hand came to wrap around the back of my neck, my gaze went to his face and he finished, “Struggle, Ace.”
I felt tears fill my eyes as I breathed, “Oh God, no.”
“I need you to get him home. Get Jonas. Get Stell. Get Pop. Go out to dinner. Keep Shambles occupied. I’m callin’ the cops. We gotta sweep this whole area.”
I moved closer to him and put my hands on his stomach.
“Do you think –?”
“I don’t ever think. I just go where the trail leads me. But in this case, I’ll hope.”
“Tate, Sunny’s not his style,” I told him.
“Get him home. Keep him occupied.”
“She doesn’t… she’s not like Tonia,” I pressed.
His
I stared into his eyes. Then my head turned and I looked at the glade then passed it to where I could see Wood, no longer close, walking through the trees, eyes to the ground.
I looked back at Tate and whispered, “Okay.”
He reached to his back pocket. “My cell’s not in my truck,” he stated, his arm came around and he showed me his cell. Then he urged, “Go.”
I understood what he was saying and told him so by nodding, he put pressure on my neck, I got up on my toes and his head came down. We touched lips briefly. He let me go and turned instantly toward the wood, flipping his phone open.
I didn’t delay further. I turned and ran through the woods to the cars.
Chapter Twenty-One
Safe
Shambles, Jonas, Stella, Pop and I were sitting in the diner. Everyone had ordered food but no one had eaten much of it. We’d been there ages but the waitress hadn’t cleared our table. Our vibe was not conducive to approach. We were given a wide berth but that didn’t mean employees and customers alike weren’t giving us curious glances.
I was busy trying to take the mental temperature of both Jonas and Shambles, though it wasn’t tough. Shambles was a wreck, jumping visibly at every noise, his eyes flying to the door whenever it was opened. Jonas seemed focused on Shambles and, probably due to his age and what Shambles had seen his mother do to him, he was the only one who could break through. Jonas wasn’t being playful and funny, he was just trying to keep Shambles’s mind occupied by chattering about smoothies, school, his friends, video games and locking onto any conversational gambit that seemed to draw Shambles out, even minutely.
I was sucking back my third refill of diet through a straw in my mammoth, red, hard plastic cup when the door opened, Shambles’s eyes flew to it and his body locked.
I looked over my shoulder to see Tate, Wood and Frank, the uniformed officer who came to tell Tate about Tonia, entering the diner. They stopped just inside the door and, one look at their faces and the fact they didn’t walk to our table, my heart stopped with them.
I heard chair legs scraping the floor and twisted back to see Shambles was up. I rose with him.