Flee (20 page)

Mateo sighed, and I could tell he was frustrated too. “I better take you home. It's late.”

I wanted to tell him that I could take myself home, but of course I couldn't. My car wasn't here, and besides, I knew that would be childish. It seemed I wanted to be childish tonight. And argumentative. It was probably best if I just kept my mouth closed, and with the exception of telling Hector and Meg thanks and goodnight, I did.

We arrived at Joe and Mary's after a short, silent drive. Mateo seemed to be giving me space, and I was too caught between irritation with him and irritation with myself to trust myself to speak. I opened the truck door to slip out, and I felt his hand on my shoulder, gently restraining me.

“Hey,” he said, mostly to my back as I stubbornly refused to turn around. “I know I'm frustrating you. I'm sorry. It's frustrating for me too.”

I turned then to look into his beautiful blue eyes. “Then why? I understand your point, but I don't think it's valid for us. We love each other. We won't hurt each other, especially with just a kiss. I don't know about you,” I looked down then, too embarrassed to keep looking into his eyes, “but this is a forever thing for me. I don't want anyone else ever. But I guess I do understand if you aren't sure…”

Mateo grabbed my arm more forcefully then, sliding me back into the truck and close enough for him to take me into his arms. “Of course I'm sure, Blake. I don't ever want anyone else either. That isn't what this is about, it's just that there's right and there's wrong, and I think taking advantage of you is wrong.”

“Says who? And why do you think you would be taking advantage of me by kissing me?”

“Blake, I just have to be really careful. You would do anything I asked, especially in that arena, and I don't trust myself to not ask for it all. You're too beautiful to me, and I love you too much to not want it all. And I just believe that outside of the strong commitment of marriage it's wrong.” His voice was soft and earnest, touching.

I teared up and moved to wipe my eyes. “I don't know if I believe in old social mores,” I whispered. “And I don't know if I want to follow a bunch of rules set by someone a long time ago.”

Mateo chuckled. “I guess I'm an old-fashioned guy, then. And I want to protect what I love. Please help me with that. I'm only human.”

“Fine,” I replied, resentment in my tone. I slid out of the truck, and Mateo chuckled again. It was infuriating. I slammed the truck door closed and tromped up the sidewalk to the door without looking back, feeling his eyes on me the whole time. Or maybe it was the eyes of one of the guards from the house across the street. Or maybe the guard hiding in the bushes around the house was enjoying the little scene. Who wasn't watching me right now? I unlocked the door and let myself in, fighting the urge to slam it behind me, shocked at my own lack of control, and convinced that sometimes it really sucked to be female.

Mateo

The punching bag hanging in the exercise room hadn't seen it coming. I almost felt sorry for it as I worked it over, hitting it again and again but feeling no release of my inner tension. A sparring partner would be better. I wanted to make something bleed. But Hector had gone to bed, and there was no one else. I longed for my brothers and then laughed. I was used to missing Thomas, but missing Juan Carlos was a first. It was just that he would make such a good sparring partner. I wouldn't mind making him bleed, if only a little.

It was past 2:00 a.m. and tomorrow was a school day, but I knew better than to try to sleep. I was pent-up, frustrated with not knowing where the threat to Blake was, if there was any. Frustrated with not knowing if Danny was legit, and feeling in my gut he wasn't, but having no proof. And frustrated with frustrating Blake. Why was she making this so hard, as if it already wasn't hard enough? I could still taste her soft lips on mine, see the triumphant look in her eyes as she had moved close. I threw a right hook at the bag and it swung gently, as if to mock my effort. Stupid bag. I stepped in closer and threw a series of right and left jabs at it with as much intensity as I could muster.

“Hey, take it easy, dude. What did it ever do to you?”

There was only one voice like that in the world. I turned and launched myself at it without pausing to think.

“Thomas!” I slammed into him, knocking him into the wall and then picking him up in a bear hug.

“Yeah, I missed you too, little bro.” He laughed and stepped back, rubbing his right elbow.

“How'd you get in? How'd you get out?” Words were tumbling out of me. I couldn't believe he was here.

“The guard at the gate summoned Hector, and he let me in. As for getting out, it's weird. I'm not sure I can explain it. Something's going on, Mateo, I'm not sure what. But Dad and Juan Carlos are up to something. They told me to come here, to check on you guys. I'm not sure if they're trying to get me out of the way or what. They're acting suspicious but also nervous. It's weird. I don't know what to think. But I'm glad I'm here, dude. You don't know how I've missed you.”

“Sure I do. I've missed you too. Wait until Mom sees you.” I was overwhelmed with joy, not just at seeing him but also anticipating what this would mean to Mom. “Let's go wake her.”

“Um, can I surprise her in the morning? You know she'll want to talk for hours, and frankly I'm exhausted. I could use a few hours' sleep.”

He did look exhausted, with dark circles under bloodshot eyes. On closer inspection, he looked awful all over. His jeans were torn and dirty, his shirt was sweat-stained, and he stank. Worse than me right now, and that was saying something.

“Did you walk here? What happened to you?”

“Long story. Mind if I tell you in the morning? I don't think I'm up for it right now.” He moved to leave the room and I peeled off my boxing gloves and followed.

We passed the entryway, and I picked up his duffle bag where he had dropped it. “Come on, I'll show you to your room.”

“I think I remember where my room is, Mattie.”

“Well, uh, your room sort of became Blake's. It has that alcove in it that Mom thought was perfect for a window seat, so you got kicked to the room down the hall. Sorry, man.” I grinned at him and he grinned back.

“No worries. I can't wait to meet her. I'm going to give Mom a hard time about this though, just for old times' sake.” He found his new room and entered, giving me one last slap on the back before shutting the door.

It was good to have him here. I felt a little weight being lifted off of my shoulders, bringing with it some relief from the tension plaguing me. Maybe now I could sleep. I headed for my room, my step a lot lighter than it had been.

****

“Mateo? Are you awake? Mateo?”

I tried to open my eyes, but they seemed to be glued closed. Man, what time was it? I felt as if I had just crawled into bed. And why was Blake here? Hadn't I taken her home hours ago? What was she doing whispering in my ear, and couldn't she tell I really just wanted to sleep?

“Mateo?”

Was there no rest for the weary? Of course, she didn't know I had been up until almost three, taking out my frustrations on an innocent punching bag. What time was it? I rubbed my hand across my eyes, willing them to open. My room came slowly into focus, the beginnings of the day trying to creep past my blinds, bringing soft light. Everything was gray. So, it was still early. I glanced at my clock. 6:30. Where was Blake? Had I been dreaming that I heard her?

“Hey, sleepy head. I love you. Are you there?”

Oh, the direct connect phone. I grabbed it from my bedside table and pushed talk.

“I'm here.” My voice was gruff and hoarse from lack of sleep.

“Whoa. You sound awful. I'm sorry I woke you. It is, however, a school day. You gonna make it?”

“Uh, yeah, I'll be there. You may have to help hold my eyes open for me though. I didn't get much sleep last night.” My head was beginning to clear. I had to admit that as much as I still wanted to be asleep, it was pleasant to hear her voice first thing in the morning. I just hoped she was in a better mood today. I was too tired to dodge rapidly changing emotions. Maybe I should just sleep in. Probably half of the senior class would be late today after last night's party. I pictured myself lying back down on my pillow and then caught a vision of Blake at school with Danny and knew that was not a possibility.

“Not much sleep, huh? I'm guessing that was my fault. I'm sorry I was such a witch last night. I'm really ashamed of myself this morning. I should just crawl in a hole and wait it out when I get like that. And I'm really sorry I violated your boundaries. Forgive me?”

“Always,” I replied. “I understand. And you're not the only reason I didn't get much sleep last night. Thomas is here.” Even as I said it I couldn't believe it. I knew I had missed him, but until he showed up last night I hadn't realized how much I had depended on him. His wise counsel and patience had guided me my whole life.

“Wow. That's huge. What's up?”

“I don't know yet. He was dirty and exhausted. I'm guessing his trip up was eventful. I won't know more until we talk later. Crap, I wish we didn't have school today.” I looked at my pillow again. It seemed to be beckoning me.

“Skip. It would be your first missed day and seeing as how you're brilliant, it's not as if your grades will suffer.”

“I don't think that's a good idea.” I was reluctant to tell her why. She seemed like she was back to her normal self today, but I didn't want to rock the boat.

“Look, if you're worried about Danny, I'll stay away from him. Cross my heart and hope to die and all of that.”

It was tempting. Still, I lay back down and closed my eyes.

“Oh, and by the way, thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful.”

My eyes snapped open and I sat back up. “What flowers?”

“Um, the ones you left on my car window while I went jogging. Hey, how did you do that if you just woke up? Did you give them to Big Brother?”

Big Brother was how she referred to the guards surrounding Joe and Mary's house. She hated to be watched. I processed what she was saying.

“You went what?” I practically yelled, jumping out of bed and grabbing my jeans off of the floor.

“I woke up early and went jogging. Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Big Brother were hot on my trail. I'm not sure they appreciated the early morning exercise though. Alex tripped three times. Did you know he curses like a sailor? And then when I got back, there were flowers on my car window. I assumed they were from you, although I thought you were more of a rose guy.”

“They are not from me.” I realized my voice was clipped and strained, and I took a deep breath. I didn't want to scare her. A thought occurred to me as I quickly struggled into my clothes.
Please no
. “What kind of flowers are they?”

“Marigolds, I think. A little bouquet of them.”

“Crap!” This time I did yell. This was bad. “Blake, I'm coming to get you. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Stay inside until I arrive. Have the flowers with you.”

“O-o-okay. I take it we're both skipping, then. What do I tell Joe and Mary?”

I appreciated her reaction. She wasn't freaking out, at least not yet, nor was she arguing with me as I barked orders at her. She was just filling in the details I didn't have the time to consider.

“Tell them Meg is sick or hurt or something and needs your help.” It wasn't a complete lie. Mom would be sick when she heard about the marigolds. And Joe loved Meg. The newly remodeled locker room was fabulous and had been overseen and mostly funded by mom. Joe was her biggest fan.

“Alright. I'll be ready. Mateo, do me a favor? Take a deep breath and calm down. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad.”

If only she knew.

“I'll try.” Dressed by now, I grabbed the phone and shoved it in my pocket and then snagged my other cell phone off my desk and hit speed dial as I threw open my door. I didn't see Thomas until it was too late and barreled into him, knocking him into the hallway wall.

“Crap, Mateo. Are you trying to kill me?” This time he was rubbing his left elbow.

“Sorry, Thomas. I didn't know you were there.” He was like a badly needed tonic. I felt my racing heart begin to slow down.

Thomas studied my expression. He was just opening his mouth to speak when Hector's voice sounded from the cell phone still in my hand.

“Mateo?” Hector was all business, sounding alert and on duty, even though I knew I must have awakened him.

“There's a situation. Meet me at the garage, and I'll brief you. I'm on my way to pick up Blake.” I hung up and looked back at Thomas. “Someone left marigolds on Blake's car this morning.” Thomas's face went white.

“Give me two minutes to get dressed. I'm coming with.”

I spent the whole drive to Joe and Mary's on my cell phone, trying to get information. Protocol at the rental property was for the Williamses' house to be watched at all times, even when Blake wasn't present. Her early morning jog had caught them by surprise. She was supposed to alert them when she was leaving the house. They had reacted quickly to dress appropriately and join her, but it had left about a five minute gap while the off-duty guards were awakened to take over surveillance, during which time, no one had watched the house. Since no one had seen anything, we could only surmise that the flowers had been placed then. The timing of it scared me. How had they known when to make their move? Hector was contacting the guard we had assigned to watch Danny. He would let me know if Danny had left his house this morning.

Crap, Blake, why couldn't you stick to the plan
? I wasn't really mad at her, though. I was frightened and frustrated. One thing was for sure. She wasn't leaving my sight until this whole situation was resolved. I should have told her to pack what she needed for the duration.

The Williamses' front door opened as soon as I parked along the curb in front of the house. Mary emerged, Grace in her arms and Benji clinging to her leg until he saw me.

“Mateo!” Benji's little body ran at me and launched into my arms. It seemed to be his favorite thing to do. I swung him into the air before settling him on my shoulders.

“Mateo, how's Meg? Is there anything I can do?” Mary's voice was warm, concerned.

“She, uh, is okay.” I tried to come up with a story quickly. I had been so focused on keeping Blake safe, I hadn't thought this through. Thomas, who had followed me out of the car, spoke up then.

“The doctor said she'll be fine. It's not a bad break. She'll just have to be extra careful not be put any weight on her ankle or foot until the swelling goes down, and it can be cast.” Thomas chuckled then, a convincing and calming sound. “I told her sitting on that balance ball was dangerous.”

Blake was emerging from the house then, still dressed in her running clothes, her backpack hanging off one shoulder.

“We appreciate you letting Blake skip school today to help her. Until her ankle is cast, she needs assistance in the bathroom, and that's something my brother and I do not want to have to do.” I spoke quickly so Blake could catch the story.

“You got that right,” Thomas replied, his voice still soothing and in control. “Years of therapy to get that image out of our heads. Right, Mattie?”

Mary laughed and looked relieved, glancing at Thomas curiously.

“Oh, I didn't introduce you. I'm sorry. Mary, this is my brother Thomas. He just arrived for a visit last night. Thomas, this is Mary, and this is Blake.”

“Don't fahget about me! I'm Benji and that's Gwace.”

I felt Benji leaning over to extend his hand out to shake Thomas' and tightened my grip on him so he wouldn't fall.

“Nice to meet you, little dude.” Thomas was using what we called his Southern Cal charm, picked up from hanging out on the beach in Baja catching the waves with tourists. Benji laughed and then moved to get down. I set him on his feet, and he took off, hollering, “I'll be wight back!” He shouted as he ran into the house.

“Blake, call me if you need anything. Maybe I could get a sitter and come help also, especially if she still needs help tomorrow. I don't want you to miss too much school.”

“Thanks, Mary. We'll let you know. I'm sure we'll be fine.” Blake's voice was also calm and convincing.

Why was I the only one struggling for control here? Images of Juan Carlos' engagement party were swimming around in my head. I had to get Blake out of here. She was so vulnerable and exposed out here on the lawn. Might as well draw a huge target on her back. I reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the truck. She turned to me and started to say something, but the expression in my eyes stopped her.

“I'll call you later, Mare. Tell Joe where I am so he won't worry when I don't show at school.” She followed me to my car.

Mary stood holding Grace, watching us go.

“Blake, do you mind if I drive your car?” Thomas asked, walking with us. “I need to go pick up Mom's pain prescription while Mateo gets you back to the house.”

Good work, Tommy, I thought. We needed to go over her car, dust for prints. We also needed to lock it up so no one could tamper with it. How had I survived all of these months without him?

“See, not everyone is afraid of my car,” Blake said smiling, digging her keys from her pack and tossing them to Thomas, who caught them effortlessly. Benji came running out of the house then, a piece of paper wadded in his little hand.

“Give this to Señora Weyna,” he said with great solemnity. “I dwew it to make her feel bettah.”

“Thanks, Benj,” I took the picture and mussed his hair. He really was a cute kid. I hoped to have a son like that one day, all boy, but sweet-hearted. Only I pictured him with Blake's green eyes and soft curls.

As I climbed in the truck, I felt Blake's eyes on me.

“Thanks for cooperating. I'm sorry to take you hostage, but there's no other way right now. Can I explain at the house? I'm hoping to get a little more information after I talk with Hector.” Adrenaline was still coursing through me, but it seemed to have slowed. She was safe, she was beside me, and I would soon have her behind a locked gate, surrounded by guards. “And no more stupid stunts, okay? You could have gotten yourself killed.”

“Since when is jogging a stupid stunt? Is it possible you're overreacting just a little?”

“No, I'm underreacting for your benefit. What I want to do is lock you up in my house and have you drop out of school altogether until this is over. It may come to that yet.”

“It most certainly will not come to that. And until what is over? For months you've been acting like I'm being stalked, and yet there hasn't been one iota of evidence to support that fact.”

“Your iota of evidence just showed up on your car window this morning.” I slammed my fist on the steering wheel, both angry and thankful that at least we had been given warning. Maybe someone was trying to mentally torture me, but at least they warned before acting.

“So, uh, your brother is not what I expected.”

Blake's voice was hesitant as she changed the subject. I guess my outburst had caught her attention. I didn't usually lose my cool around her, but I couldn't keep her safe if she didn't cooperate.

“What did you expect?” I asked, playing along.

“He looks more like your mom than I expected. He's a lot smaller than you, and he talks like a…”

“Surfer dude?” I filled in for her, my eyebrows raised.

“Yeah. I didn't know they made Mexican surfer dudes. I totally didn't expect that.”

“Totally,” I echoed, trying to imitate Thomas. Blake laughed.

“Yeah, you really can't pull off surfer dude. Although I gotta admit, the image of you on a surf board is amusing. I've never pictured that.”

“Hey, I'm not bad, especially when the waves aren't too big, but you're right. It's not my thing. Thomas is phenomenal, though. You should see him. It's his thing like soccer is mine. He would compete, but Dad deemed it too dangerous. He still tries to get to Hawaii several times a year for amateur events, although that hasn't happened in the past couple of years.”

We were at the house now. I clicked open the gate and waved to the guard beside it before parking in the garage. We entered through the side door and found Mom in the kitchen.

“Mateo, I was wondering if you had left for school al… Oh, hi, Blake. You guys aren't in uniforms. What's up?”