“That’s very true. I learned a long time ago that if people can’t accept you at your worst, they don’t deserve you at your best.”
I frowned a little, not really knowing if her statement was an insult or a compliment.
“Oh dear, don’t look like that. I sort of just say what’s on my mind. I don’t mean anything by it. I just respect your honesty.”
I smiled at her confession. “He gets his bluntness from you. Your son has quite a way with words and doesn’t really hold back.”
She laughed and nodded. “That he does. Divorced, huh? What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I don’t. I just married the wrong man for all the right reasons. I loved him and he cheated on me. Classic tale of love gone wrong, you can say.”
“I can sympathize with that. Carlos’s father was not always the best husband. He never understood the whole monogamy thing. That’s one of the reasons I raised Carlos the way that I did.I wanted him to be a better man than his father ever was. He eventually figured it out.”
“So you guys are happy now?”
“Oh heavens no, not even close. Well, we’re both happy, just not with each other. He’s married to a woman half my age. When I said he figured it out, I didn’t mean with me.” She winked at me and I laughed.
After both of our calls to Carlos went unanswered, she and I spent the next few hours getting to know each other.
I learned a little more about the man I was involved with and she learned as much as she could about me. We shared a simple lunch I whipped up for us. We exchanged numbers and she made me promise to call to schedule lunch. One with Carlos and one without. I agreed and she left.
I was alone again and annoyed I hadn’t heard from him, but she assured me he was fine and not to worry. I had no clue if I was more worried or pissed, but either way, he would catch hell from me the moment he surfaced.
I tried to have her attitude about the matter, but half the day was gone with no word from him. So I turned on the TV and tried to distract myself from thinking ’bout him. Hopefully, he would surface soon.
Chapter 41
Sophie
Iwaited and called Trooper all night and he never showed up or answered. I didn’t know if it had something to do with the situation with Oscar, so I stayed at his place.
I waited up as long as I could and eventually fell asleep. When I woke the next morning, he still hadn’t shown up, so I called and waited. My nerves were all over the place because I had no idea what was going on.
What if something had gone wrong and the cops somehow got involved? Maybe someone had seen Oscar take the elevator up to my apartment and never come down. There was only one way in, so he would have had to come down.
Trooper not answering my calls or texts made me panic. I even called Maddie and didn’t get a response from her. I didn’t know how to get in touch with Carlos, so for now, all I could do was sit here and let my mind work overtime, coming up with every negative thing that could have possibly happened to him.
The day was gone, and there was still no sign of Trooper, so I decided to head out to grab something to eat. I hadn’t eaten all day, and that wasn’t good, but I was stressed about the situation with Oscar and Trooper missing.
It just wasn’t like him, but then again, less than twenty-four hours ago I’d witnessed him nearly beat a man to death and react like it was nothing. Did I really know what was like him and what wasn’t?
“How did this become my life?” I muttered to myself as I left Trooper’s apartment, heading to the parking garage to get my truck. Something didn’t feel right. I kept looking around because it felt like someone was watching me, but I couldn’t see anyone. I picked up my pace, hitting the remote to unlock the doors before I reached it, and that’s when I saw them.
Two guys exited a car a few spaces from mine and rushed me. I moved as fast as I could, but it was no use. One of them grabbed me and threw me against my truck. He leaned over me as I swung at him, trying to free myself, but his partner yanked my hair and pulled my head back.
“Stop fighting or die. Right now, we’re just here to send a message, but if you keep fighting us, it’s going to end badly for you.” They were both wearing masks and the only thing exposed were their eyes, cold and uncaring.
I knew enough to stop fighting just from the looks I received.
“Tell Trooper we see him, and if we see him, we see you.”Trooper, this was about Trooper.
I knew who he was, but not once had I ever considered his past would somehow affect me this way. Now I was attacked by two men who wanted me to send a message to him.
That was the last thought I had before I felt his fist in my gut and blows all over my body. I held my hands across my stomach to shield my child, which left my face uncovered. I was hit hard before I buckled and landed on the ground. They didn’t stop, both of them kicking me for what felt like an eternity, then it all stopped.
“Make sure you tell him what I said,” one of them whispered near the side of my head before I saw their feet move as they took off running to the car and left.
I lay there crying in pain, unable to move until I could grab my phone, on the ground a few feet away. After I had it in my hand, I made a call and barely got the words out.
