“I’m sorry, but what is going on, Tio?” Danny interrupted. “Why isn’t this dude behind bars?”
My eyes darted towards Evelyn’s, but she refused to meet my gaze. Instead, she picked at the frayed edge of her sleeve.
“Evelyn wasn’t in the right frame of mind. She suffered significant injuries and mentally...” His voice trailed off.
“I was checked out. The only thing I could see and hear was those last moments with her. I still don’t remember it all.” Evelyn continued just above a whisper. Her mouth opened again, almost like she wanted to reveal more, but no words came.
“Then he was gone. No one had seen him. Until a few weeks ago,” Eric finished.
“He was in our house.” Turning toward me, she continued, “That photo was in my bedroom between the pages of a book.”
“Are you sure?” Danny questioned, skepticism clear in his raised brow.
She closed her eyes, “I’m sure,” she said, releasing a shaky breath. “He gave me an ultimatum. Leave New York, or he starts hurting people. Charles hurt my friend Romero because I gave his name to the cops.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. Glancing at Evelyn, I could see her already withdrawing herself from the conversation. She had her arms wrapped around her body like she’s holding herself together. “What can she do? She can’t stay here, and, respectfully, we can’t trust PD to protect her if she does.”
“Hold on,” Danny interrupted.
“No,” Eric interjected. “When I was on the force, they should’ve taken this threat more seriously. Who gives a damn that Evelyn couldn’t give a proper statement right away? They saw the state of her. I told them what she was able to tell me,and nothing.” He shook his head. “They could’ve at least offered her protective custody. Something wasn’t right about the way they handled this case. That’s part of the reason I decided to retire. The uniform I wore meant nothing if we couldn’t do the bare minimum to protect the community we were supposed to be serving.”
“So again, what can we do?” I asked, knowing I couldn’t go back home tonight, with the understanding that this woman would have to fend for herself with a sadistic fuck on the loose.
Silence descended on the room as we all got lost in our thoughts, searching for a solution.
Danny and Eric held each other's gaze in a silent standoff.
Eric lost faith in the force. He believed they couldn’t be trusted to do what needed to be done, and I had to agree with him.
If they couldn’t protect her, then how could we trust them to protect her now? Someone at the precinct was passing information to Charles. There had to be another way to help her.
“Mija, what if you stayed—” Eric began.
“Forget about it,” Danny interrupted.
Eric shot him a scathing look. Danny wasted no time returning the same look to his uncle.
“You cannot protect her, Tio. You seem to be forgetting the other reason why you retired. Your heart.”
“Dios mio—for the hundredth time, I’m fine, and I would appreciate it if you and your father stop turning my health condition into bochinche for the barrio.”
The two of them bickered in Spanglish as I wracked my brain for a way to make sure Evelyn came out safe in this situation.
“She lost everything in that house. We can’t expect her to pick up and run away, Sobrino. A hundred dollars won’t get her past Jersey.”
Danny was pacing the apartment. I could tell that he was becoming more frustrated by the minute. This was a difficult situation for him. For as long as I’ve known him, he has always put his uncle and his career on a pedestal. Hearing that the man who inspired your life and career no longer believed in its purpose was rough. To make matters worse, Danny couldn’t use the one power that he had. The police were already acting as if this were an open-and-shut case.
“You have to take her away,” Danny said abruptly, turning to me and looking as if he’s just had an epiphany.
Take her away? I can’t just pick up and leave. I have a responsibility to my firehouse, my team. Where would I even go? Would she go with me?
Evelyn hasn’t moved or said a word in acknowledgement of what he’s just said.
My face must’ve broadcasted all my rapid thoughts, because Danny spoke again. “Why don’t you take her back home? Your family is well-known and has security in place. Charles doesn’t know you. He wouldn’t think to look there. You just need to hide out there until we can figure out a way for charges to stick.”
I wanted to scream no. The last place I wanted to be was under my family's scrutiny. But I couldn’t. Evelyn finally looked up from her hands, and it’s like she was staring right through my soul. She looked tired, like she’s ready to give up. For a split moment, her eyes were blue instead of hazel, and I wanted to beg her to just hold on a little longer. Everything would be fine.
I’ve been on dozens of calls that ended in families being torn apart or resulted in a loss of life. Sleep didn’t always come easy for me—in the quiet hours, the names and the faces haunted me. So I worked, so the guilt didn’t consume me, so that I could try to rewrite the past. I did my best to live my life and move on.
