Oz’s gaze narrowed on me.“Calvin is our family.Mom’s family.”
“He’s not my fucking family,” I shot back.
“Yeah, he is.What is your problem?”Oz asked angrily.
I shot up from the chair, needing to get out of this room.I felt caged all of a sudden.That had been happening a lot lately.As if I couldn’t breathe.Like the walls were closing in.
“You’ve not even gone to Linc or Bane about this, and you’re promising shit,” I pointed out as I walked over to the window.“Last I checked, you can’t do something like this without approval.”
Oz didn’t say anything, so I spun back around and glared at him, not real sure why I was so fucking angry.The ball of fury had seemed to be showing up randomly and often.Burning inside me until I had to find an outlet before I exploded.
“I planned on going to speak to Linc,” he finally said, studying me.“But first I want to know why this has you so goddamn pissed off.”
I didn’t know.
“Where the fuck is she gonna stay?”I shot back at him.
Again, he didn’t respond, but his brows were drawn together in another frown.
“If they want her dead, then wherever she is has to be high security.”As if he didn’t know this.I just hated the silence.I also hated him staring at me like that.As if he could read my thoughts.Get in my head.Hell, if he could, then good fucking luck understanding it.
“This isn’t about helping Calvin or the girl,” Oz said.“This is about Mom.Was she not okay this morning?”The concern in his tone had an edge.
“No, she wasn’t okay,” I snapped.“She’s fucking dying!”
Staying in here was no longer possible.I needed more space.I had the urge to run, break into a sprint, and go until my legs couldn’t go anymore.Get the hell away from all of it.
I didn’t wait for him to respond, and if he did, I didn’t hear it as I bolted for the door.
Two
Elsie
Was there a description for this feeling?Numb yet not.Pain, horror, fear … and then a humming that drowned it out.Told me this wasn’t real.It was all just one awful nightmare.A cycle that kept repeating itself since I’d been woken up by a phone call, warning me to stay where I was.Not to show my face.That a security escort would be there to get me soon.
One that I hadn’t waited on.Instead, I’d listened to Calvin over the DEA my father had worked for.Had worked.Past tense.
I winced as the sharp pain hit my chest again, reminding me how I wasn’t numb.
“We land in the next ten minutes,” Calvin said, breaking into my thoughts.
I blinked and lifted my gaze from my hands clasped together tightly in my lap to see him watching me.I knew all his facial expressions.I could read him like a book.I’d spent most of my life memorizing every detail about my best friend.And right now, he was hurting for me, concerned, and determined.I believed he would keep me safe.
I trusted him over anyone else in the world … but then he was all I had left.The other two people I trusted …
I sucked in a breath as images I didn’t want to think about plagued me.I’d not seen any photos, but the officer who had called me—my father’s friend—he’d said they were murdered in their beds.I’d gone into shock at that moment and not asked more questions.
The “how” was taunting me, causing horrific scenes to play out in my head.
“My cousins and uncle can keep you safe.I swear it.They can protect you far better than the fucking DEA.They didn’t protect their own and now …” He trailed off, his eyes flickering regret at mentioning it.
He was so sure of these cousins and uncle of his.People I’d never met or known existed, and I’d thought I knew everything about Calvin until today.I’d been to his family get-togethers, parties, and met other relatives, but they had always been from his father’s side of the family.His mother rarely came around to see him.I’d not realized he had any contact with her family.
“I trust you,” I replied, my voice sounding raspy from not speaking the past two hours.“But I’m worried that they don’t realize the complete situation.If we get there and they—”
“I told them everything.Oz—that’s the oldest of my three cousins—he knows all the details.And …” He paused and sighed heavily.“The media has the story now.I told him more than the media knows.”
I still didn’t understand why he felt these men were safer than the DEA.I’d never even heard of Madison, Mississippi.Perhaps their location was one of the reasons that Calvin decided I’d be safer there.
