No, messaging them can wait until I’m far enough away from the area that my trail will be cold and slow them down.
Then I pull out of the truck stop and head toward Mesa. Where I’ll go from there…
I don’t know yet.
I wish there was a way to track down my father, if he really is alive. Maybe he has answers to my questions.
All I know is that, right now, I need to put as much distance as I can between me and Tucson before dark, so that thing hopefully leaves Dex and everyone else alone.
Pleaselet it leave them alone.
* * *
Dexter
I am vaguelyaware of Eilidh moving around the room when she says she needs to retrieve her things from upstairs. I guess I’m far more exhausted than I thought, because I crash hard and sleep far longer than I usually do anymore.
Except when I awaken a little after six that evening, I stupidly realize I forgot to put my phone on its charger, and it’s dead.
I also realize I am alone in the suite.
Hmm.
Oh, wait, it’s Saturday. Of course.And Eilidh did warn me she might have to get up before me to go to work. The club opens at seven, and she’s management. Obviously, she’s already working.
I use the restroom and then put my phone on its charger. It didn’t receive a full charge yesterday, and I drained it nearly dead while in the closet.
No worries about that today, at least.
At some point this evening, I’ll need to return to my hotel for fresh clothes. Meanwhile, I’ll grab a quick shower and freshen up. I opt for the same jeans I wore, but I don the Henley. I can’t wait to wrap my arms around my girl and hold her, give her a kiss.
I will take her away from having to work like this for a living. If she wants to work, I can help her do whatever it is she wishes to achieve. She can go to school, if she wants. She can learn my business and help me manage the new Tucson casino. She can open her own business. Anything.
The possibilities areliterallyendless.
A borderline giddiness I haven’t felt in centuries fills me. I feel…alive.
I know, I know.
I’m nearly ready to emerge from the suite when there’s a knock on the door. Looking through the viewfinder shows Lucius standing there, looking grim.
I open the door. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
He rushes in. “You’re not answering your phone.”
“Sorry, it went dead during the day. I’ve got it on the charger now.” Dread fills me. “What’s going on? What happened?”
He swipes into a message and hands me his phone, so I can read it. “I’ve tried calling her several times,” he says as I read, “and left voicemails, sent her texts. She’s not responding. I believe she’s turned her phone off.”
I read it several times, just to make sure. “That…that can’t be right.” I return his phone and check mine, but it still won’t power up.
I resist the urge to crush it in my hand, because that won’t help a damn thing.
Then I see her wig.
It’s still on the dresser, where it ended up earlier.
She never goes to work without a wig.
