Framing Felipe (20 page)

Felipe
startled.
He
hadn’t
expected
to
hear
such
a
proposition.
If
anything,
he
expected

Eric
to
chew
him
out
about
his
association
with
Sarah.
Then
again,
the
night
was
young,
so

perhaps
that
was
still
forthcoming.

“Come
with
me?”

“You
know
you
were
thinking
it.
You’re
going
to
run
off
to
deal
with
it,
and
if
I’ve

learned
anything
at
all
from
the
Shrews,
I’ve
learned
you
should
never
go
anywhere

without
having
someone
at
your
back
if
you
can
help
it.”

“And
you
want
to
watch
my
back?”

Eric
rolled
his
eyes.
“Are
you
kidding
me?
I’m
itching
for
some
action.
I’m
holed
up
in

this
lodge
day
in
and
day
out.
I
could
do
with
a
bit
of
danger
in
my
life.”

Felipe
shook
his
head
and
crossed
his
arms
over
his
chest.
“I
refuse
to
take

responsibility
for
any
harm
you
come
to.”

“That’s
what
you’re
worried
about?
Don’t.
I’m
a
grown-‐ass
man.
I
was
all-‐state

wrestling
champion
in
my
weight
class
back
in
high
school.”

Is
this
guy
kidding
me
?
Felipe
eyed
him
from
head
to
foot.
Eric
wasn’t
a
big
guy
by
any

stretch
of
the
imagination,
but
he
wasn’t
scrawny,
either.
“How
are
your
reflexes?”

“I
could
catch
a
fly
in
the
palm
of
my
hand.”

“I
am
sure
that’s
a
very
useful
trick
in
the
real
world.”
He
sighed.
“But
get
your
keys

anyway.”

Eric
pumped
his
fist
and
jogged
past
Felipe.
He
froze
in
the
doorway
and
pointed
at
his

guest,
his
eyes
narrowed.
“Do
me
a
favor
and
don’t
tell
Astrid
about
this.
She’ll
kick
my
ass.”

Felipe
closed
his
eyes,
rubbed
them,
and
groaned.

Sarah
awoke
in
the
dark
with
a
start
and
reached
for
her
gun.
With
her
fingers

wrapped
around
the
handle,
she
stilled.
Listening.
The
room
was
too
quiet.
The
only
sounds

were
the
loud
cranks
of
the
ice
machine
down
the
hall
and
the
dogwood
braches
scraping

against
the
window
in
the
wind.
She
blew
out
a
breath
and
sat
up,
squinting
at
the
alarm

clock.
Three
a.m.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
77
–
Holley Trent

She
stretched
her
arms
over
her
head,
letting
her
tight
muscles
unclench
as
she

scanned
the
room.
Instinct
told
her
that
bold
Felipe
should
have
been
on
the
bed
beside

her,
but
he
wasn’t.
That
side
of
the
bed
was
still
made
with
the
sheets
tightly
tucked
and
the

pillows
unmolested.

“Damn
him.”

She
tossed
the
sheets
back
and
crawled
to
the
other
edge,
thinking
perhaps
he’d
slept

on
the
floor
near
the
window.

Nothing
there
but
carpet.

“Fuck.”

Now
on
her
feet,
she
hurried
to
her
pile
of
clothes
near
the
bureau,
but
tripped
over

Felipe’s
backpack.
She
stopped
her
fall
by
slamming
her
arm
against
the
dresser
top.

If
his
backpack
was
still
there,
he
couldn’t
have
gone
far.
He
wouldn’t
have
left
behind

everything
he
owned
that
had
value.
Maybe
he’d
gone
out
to
get
a
drink?

At
three
a.m.?
No
way.

She
slipped
her
jeans
on
and
reached
for
her
phone.

Dana
answered
on
the
second
ring.

“What
are
you
doing
up?”
Sarah
asked.

“We’re
on
shifts.
Not
trying
to
agitate
you
or
anything,
but
we’re
on
code
orange
here.

Gut
feel
says
someone’s
trying
to
get
the
drop
on
us.
I
don’t
know
if
it’s
the
bears
or

someone
else.
What’s
up?
You
should
be
resting.”

“I
should
be,
but
I
had
a
natural
wake-‐up
and
found
Felipe
missing.
His
bag’s
here,

though.
I’m
putting
on
my
shoes
now
and
I’m
going
to
go
check
the
building.
Maybe
he’s

just
watching
television
or
something.”

“If
you
really
believed
that,
you
wouldn’t
have
called
me.”

“Honestly,
I
have
no
idea
why
I
called
you.
Must
be
psychic
Shrew
shit.”

Sarah
padded
out
into
the
hallway,
shut
the
door
quietly,
and
headed
down
the

staircase
into
the
great
room.
Save
for
a
couple
of
lamps,
the
room
was
dim.
Vacant.
There

was
no
one
on
the
sofas.
No
one
in
the
nooks.

“I
wonder
if
it
has
anything
to
do
with
that
news
report
from
earlier,”
Dana
said.

Sarah
paused
with
her
hand
on
the
kitchen
door.
“What
news
report?”

“I
think
it
was
the
seven
o’clock
broadcast.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
78
–
Holley Trent

“I
must
have
fallen
asleep
around
seven.
Felipe
went
out
to
get
rid
of
our
dishes.”

“Oh.
Jacques
was
on
the
news
with
Fabian.”

The
kitchen
was
dark.
Sarah
swore
an
oath
under
her
breath
and
tracked
to
the
rear

door.
She
looked
out
the
window
and
confirmed
that
Eric’s
big
beast
of
a
truck
was
missing.

“Shit.”
She
pounded
the
security
code
into
the
keypad
and
shouldered
the
door
open.
“Eric’s

truck
is
gone.
I’m
going
to
run
up
to
the
house
and
see
if
he’s
there.”

“Honey,
don’t
bother.”

Sarah
stopped
mid-‐stride.
“Why
not?”

“Astrid
just
radioed
up
from
the
gate.
Felipe
and
Eric
are
here
with
our
missing
cats.”

The
ramifications
flicked
through
Sarah’s
mind
like
frames
from
an
old
movie
reel.
“Are

they,
now?”
she
said,
voice
dry
as
she
stepped
back
into
the
kitchen
and
shut
the
door,

resetting
the
intruder
alarm.

“Yeah,
they’re
coming
up
the
drive.
I
need
to
go
wake
Patrick
and
call
Billy.
You
stay

put.”

“What?
I
will
not
just
sit
here
and
twiddle
my
thumbs
while—”

“I
mean
it,
Sarah.
You
stay
there.
We’ll
deal.
You
go
back
to
bed
and
I’ll
send
Felipe
to

you.”

“Well,
don’t
do
me
any
favors.”

Dana
had
already
hung
up.

“Fuck!”

When
Felipe
returned
to
the
lodge,
he
hoped
to
find
Sarah
still
asleep.
He
padded
into

the
room
at
five
a.m.
and
heeled
off
his
shoes
near
the
bathroom.
He
hardly
made
a
sound

as
he
tracked
across
the
foyer
carpet
toward
the
dresser.

Something
rustled
on
the
bed,
and
he
figured
it
was
Sarah
rolling
over
or
pulling
the

sheets.
No
such
luck.

Sarah
sat
with
her
back
against
the
headboard,
arms
crossed
over
her
chest,
eyes
wide

open,
and
casting
him
a
withering
glower.
She
drummed
her
fingertips
along
the
sides
of

her
biceps
and
ground
her
teeth.
That
was
evident
even
in
the
dim
light.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
79
–
Holley Trent

“
Hola
,”
he
said
lamely.

She
scoffed.
“Why
don’t
you
go
hola
yourself,
and
far
away
from
me,
while
you’re
at
it?”

Her
legs
were
crossed
at
the
ankles,
and
the
top
foot
bobbed
angrily.

He
couldn’t
know
for
certain
why
she
was
angry,
but
he
was
smart
enough
to
know
it

didn’t
matter.
“I
didn’t
want
to
wake
you,”
he
said,
and
tried
not
to
let
the
sight
of
her

smooth,
brown
legs
in
the
dark
distract
him
from
the
apology
she
apparently
sought.

“Where
were
you?”

He
suspected
she
already
knew,
but
if
that
was
the
game
they
were
playing,
he’d
join

the
fun.
At
the
bedside,
he
watched
her
angry
expression
shift
to
a
milder
one
of
annoyance

as
he
unbuttoned
his
pants
and
let
them
fall
to
the
floor.
Five
a.m.
or
not,
he
hadn’t
gotten

any
sleep.
He
planned
to
catch
a
few
winks
before
breakfast,
which
Eric
promised
would
be

far
better
than
cold
cereal.

He
slipped
beneath
the
sheets
and
fluffed
the
pillows
before
responding.

Judging
by
the
hard
set
of
her
jaw,
Sarah’s
patience
was
wearing
thin.
“Why
don’t
you

get
under
the
covers?
You
look
cold
in
my
shirt.”

Her
response
was
a
long
blink,
which
may
have
actually
been
an
eye-‐roll.

He
settled
on
his
right
side
and
propped
his
head
up
on
his
fist,
locking
his
gaze
on
her

face.
“When
I
took
the
dishes
into
the
kitchen,
there
was
a
news
report—”

“I
already
know
that
part.”

“Okay.
Spare
me
some
words,
then.
How
far
forward
shall
I
jump?”

“How
about
you
fast-‐forward
to
the
part
where
you
thought
it
would
be
okay
to
go

swash-‐buckling
without
me?”

Swash-buckling?
The
confusion
must
have
been
marked
on
his
face,
because
she
said,

“Astrid
is
going
to
kick
your
ass
from
here
to
Kentucky
for
taking
her
brother
out.”

“Ah.”
Felipe
suppressed
a
laugh
and
shook
his
head.
“No,
no,
no.
He
took
me
out.
He

volunteered.
And,
yes,
Astrid
was
angry.
When
we
left,
she
was
still
yelling
at
him.
I
am

certain
when
she
gets
it
out
of
her
system,
she’ll
turn
her
angst
next
to
me.
No
worries,

though,
Eric
can
hold
his
own
in
a
scuffle.”