“Yeah,” I say and let him lead me through the track, and the whole time, I think Manny was wrong, because I don’t feel so hurt as much as I feel destroyed.
But I don’t have much time to think on it, because suddenly the world splinters apart and everything goes black.
• • •
“Adrienne!” someone shouts. My body rocks back and forth as they shake me. “Addie, Addie, Addie…”
I blink my eyes opened. I’m lying on my back on the tarmac at the side of the track. Memories flit around behind my eyes like someone is flipping through channels on a TV remote. Quickly, one after another:
Manny and I were walking to the down room so I could run tapes of competitors.
Bobby kissed me.
Eric threw me under the bus.
Manny was pissed but apologized.
He said he wanted me for King.
They tossed around the idea of Bobby being a suspect.
And then there was an explosion.
I try to turn my head, but it hurts.
“Don’t move,” Manny barks.
“I’m okay. My head just aches,” I say. My voice is hoarse and scratchy.
“That’s normal after an explosion,” he tells me.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Banged up but fine,” he answers. “Can you sit up? If not, that’s okay too.”
“I think so.”
“Go slowly and see first,” he says gently. “We’ll go from there.”
“Okay,” I say and slowly sit up. My head is pounding, but I think I’m all right. I’m actually wondering what the hell happened, because I feel like I was just hit by a bus, and Manny looks no worse for the wear. And then it dawns on me. Someone is missing. “Eric!”
“It’s okay,” Manny says. “Let’s just worry about you right now.”
“No!” I scream. My voice is rusty and feels unused. “We have to find him.”
“No,” Manny says gently. “This is the job. He knew the risks. I need to call King.”
Hot tears burn the back of my eyes. No matter what he says, this is my fault. Maybe something would have happened to him on another job, but this job was protecting me. This is my fault.
Manny pulls his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans and slides his finger across the screen to unlock it. He moves his fingers quickly and then puts it to his ear.
“We’ve got a problem, boss,” he says. “Goodnite is out of contact. The asset is injured.”
He says more, but I don’t stick around to listen. Eric is out there somewhere. Manny said he had a girlfriend. She deserves more, and frankly, so does he. I quietly push up to stand and then, while his back is turned and he’s still on the phone with King, I slip away.
I retrace our steps back to where we were and then head off into the direction I last saw Eric go. I stick to the shadows as best as I can. Someone out here is dangerous and clearly wants to do harm. I need to be careful, but still, I have to find Eric.
I round the building and see Bobby’s garage is nothing but ash and flames. I feel a modicum of relief. If his garage was targeted, he can’t be the one threatening to do me harm, right? I hated the idea that my childhood friend would want to see me hurt like that. I know he wants control of DHR, but murder? That’s a bit much.
