“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s too late. He came back.” She’s whispering, glancing nervously at her kids and away.
“Baldie?”
She nods. The first time the loan shark’s thug came around, we called him Baldie and laughed behind his back. He was looking for Trey. The next time, he’d told us Trey was gone and that his debt had fallen to us. If we didn’t pay, he would break our legs. We gave him our rent money as a stop gap and quit making Baldie jokes.
“When?”
“Last night. Pounded on the door so hard, I thought he’d wake the kids.” She runs a hand through her hair. It’s a gorgeous auburn that usually falls in a silky wave. But right now, it’s dank and flat, like she’s been running her sweaty hands though it nonstop. “He said now we owe double.”
“Double? How can that be?” Trey had been stupid enough to run up a gambling debt with a loan shark named “Umberto theExecutioner.” Skipping town was the smartest thing he’s ever done.
Too bad he left a destitute family behind.
Margot shrugs. “Interest. They can do what they want, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The full horror descends. The ten thousand I’ve earned won’t touch the new amount. Not even close. And I have no idea how to earn more.
“He’s coming back,” Margot says. “He said he’ll take the kids until we pay him.”
Over my dead body. “That’s not going to happen.”
“I don’t know what to do.” She’s clutching the collar of her shirt and pulling it up like she wants to disappear. Like a child pulling a blanket over her head because if she can’t see the monster, it isn’t real.
“Here’s what we’re going to do.” I have a new plan. It’s not great, but it’s something. “You’re going to pack what you can for you and the kids. Not everything, just what you need. And I’m going to drive you to the train station. He can’t take the kids if he can’t find them.”
“Where am I going to go?”
“West Virginia. Aunt Carol. Remember her?”
Margot straightens, a little color returning to her cheeks. “Mom’s half-sister? Is she still alive?”
“She is. I send her a card every New Year.” The summer I spent with her, weeding the garden and learning to can green beans and tomatoes, was the best season of my life. “She’ll be surprised but glad to see you. And she loves kids.” Best of all, she owns a trailer and a remote patch of land on a mountain. The loan shark won’t be able to find Margot there.
“Get your suitcase,” I say, and Margot jumps up as if she were waiting for the command. She hasn’t thought to ask me what I’ll do while she’s on the run. Which is fine because I don’t know.I could go with her and the kids, but it might attract too much attention and slow them down. Better that someone stays here and keeps the lights on, a decoy to draw the predators in.
I just have to figure out what to do when the thugs come for me. It’s not like I’ll be able to run.
I sag back on the couch. The pain meds are wearing off, and my ankle is throbbing again. I need to ice it.
A hurt ankle is the least of my worries.
For a blissful second, I recall last night and running through the forest. The cool air on my skin and nothing but the threat of the hunter behind me.
Everything in life comes down to a simple calculation of survival. You escape; you live. You get caught, and it’s lights out.
Except for last night, when it was just a game. Running was a thrill, and capture meant orgasms. I never thought I’d enjoy surrendering. Jaeger had made sure I did.
But he’s gone now, and all I have left are my real-life problems.
Margot’s piling up bags outside her bedroom door.
“Don’t forget your medication,” I remind her. I hope she has enough. Just another thing added to the list of things to worry about.
For a crazy moment, I wish Jaeger were here. It makes no sense, but I imagine standing in his arms, leaning on his strength.It’s going to be okay, bunny. We’ll figure it out.It’s a stupid fantasy because a man like Jaeger means more problems. But it’s never going to happen, so it’s safe to dream of his beautiful face and perfect, woodsy scent.
Then I open my eyes, and reality punches me in the face.
