The ceremony comes to an end; everybody gives each other a proper goodbye and leaves the premises.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any family.”
“I don’t. I’ve never seen any of those people before.” She sounds resentful. That’s totally understandable. The fact that she just saw her mother’s coffin surrounded by strangers who were close enough to give the last goodbye while she had to stay away in a fucking disguise to avoid drawing attention of any kind finally got to her.
My pocket vibrates— my cell’s getting a call. I reach for it, pull it out, check the screen. The name ‘Carter’ is being displayed.
“I gotta take this, it could be important. Stay here, don’t go anywhere,” I excuse myself to her and let go of her hand. I turn my back and take a few steps away from her. She’s all by herself now, watching a plot of land with a hole in it.
“This isn’t a good time, cuz.”
“Would you rather have me show up at your doorstep again? Plus, if you think about it, it’s never a good time lately. Did you realize that? I’m kinda jealous over here.” That’s Carter for you. He’s the only one who can break the ice in a tense situation like this, like nothing.
“Come one, man. What do you got?”
“My sources are getting richer thanks to our friend Leon. Apparently, he has been giving money away and also buying friends whose connections might help him find you and Sarah.”
“So… you’re telling me that there’s no safe place in the entire state?” I answer and lower my voice while checking on Sarah with the corner of my eye. She’s still there looking at the scenery.
“Seems that way, cuz. I’d keep Sarah off the streets for good. You know, lay low for a while until we can take him out.”
“If what you told me is true, chances are that the police are involved. That would make him twice as hard to find, let alone neutralize him. How long do you think I will be able to keep her quiet doing nothing?”
“That’s my whole point— if the police are involved, you can bet your ass that every punk in town is, too. Which means there will be a ton more of eyeballs looking for both of you. We don’t know who we can trust right now, but us.” I look back at Sarah and I don’t see her.
“I’ll call you back.”Where is she!?
I scan the area for Sarah and find her kneeling beside her mother’s grave.
What is she doing there?
I walk towards her, stomping on the tall grass. She disobeyed me and that makes me mad. I should probably take a few deep breaths and try to understand that her mother just went to the ground, but it’s not safe here at all.
I crouch next to her.
“Sarah, we need to move.” I look around, trying to see if anyone noticed us.
“Okay, I just wanted to say goodbye one last time,” she says with the sweetest voice.
She stands up and dusts off some dirt from her dress. She smiles but I can see the sadness she’s trying to conceal; her eyes are filled with pain. She’s killing me. That smile disarms me, leaves me vulnerable like a two-year-old. I’ve got nothing against that smile. I want to kiss her so bad and her eyes…Oh, God, her eyes are so beautiful… But this is not the time or the place to let myself go and give in to my desires.
While we go up the slope towards the car, I say, “I understand how you feel, Sarah, but by going down there, you increased the risk of being noticed. It’s not safe. You promised to play by the rules.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was walking down the hill until I was already there.”
“Alright. Let’s just get out of here. Get in the car.” She circles around the front of the car. I open the driver’s door and hear a twig snap behind me.
Someone’s here.
I turn around and see a guy walking towards me with a gun in his hand. He’s not blinking, meaning he’s focused and the arm holding the gun looks relaxed at waist level, giving me the idea that this is not the first time he points a gun at someone. The trigger is not pulled back and the safety is also on.
This guy is not gonna shoot me.
I have to let him get close to me before I try to disarm him.
“Don’t you fucking move,” he says to me. I say nothing back.
“Bruno, what’s going on?” Sarah asks nervously.
