That wakes me up. I planned on having her home, but she needs to be looked at first. She could have some serious injuries.
“What about the hospital? Look at her. She’s a fuckin’ mess.” My arm is a wild blur of color as I gesture angrily at the sofa where Molly’s still unconscious. “What about X-rays or MRIs or other tests? She’s been gone for years, Richard. I’m takin’ her in.”
“You can’t,” he replies. He cracks his knuckles together and crosses his arms over his chest. “This operation is big scale. You know this. They have people inside places like that. How often you see a prostitute swing by a hospital for a checkup, eh? Never. She’d be picked up and beaten again as soon as she got out. Or worse, dead. It’s not worth risking. Let’s get her home, get Doc over. If anything’s more serious than cuts and bruises, we’ll figure it out.”
I study the swirls of mud on my boots as if they contain the answers. Getting nowhere fast, I look at Elias.
“Take her home,” he says carefully yet firm. “I’ll pull the SUV around. Richard, can you carry her?”
“I got her,” I nearly snarl, but for fuck’s sake, she’s my flesh and blood. I failed to protect her years ago, but I’m not about to fail again.
“That half bottle of scotch might say differently,” Elias replies, raising an eyebrow in challenge.
“Go get the car, fucker. I got her.”
He snorts at my remark, and I have the urge to throw what’s left of the scotch at his retreating back. If he wasn’t such a damn good friend, I might have more than considered it.
Nerves electrify as I near Molly. The thought of touching her after so long nearly brings me to my knees again. If I believed in a God, I’d be thanking him. I don’t know why those bastards let her go, but I’d sell my soul to ensure her safety from here on out.
I believed her to be dead. The statistics were there. Forty-eight hours after being taken by Gutierrez, she was sold, or she was dead.
When we couldn’t find her, I prayed she was dead.
But something didn’t feel right. She didn’t feel departed from this world. My heart wouldn’t accept the fact that my baby sister was gone. I’d know if she was. I always believed I’d feel it. And I knew I wouldn’t rest until I found her and took down those responsible for stealing her from me.
Remembering the hours of pain, bloodshed, and tears, I tentatively slide my hand beneath her frail knees, hooking them over my forearm and repeat the action with her upper back. I hoist her into my arms as though she weighs nothing more than a feather pillow. The ridged bumps of her spine dig into my supporting hand, causing a wave of goose bumps to rise over my flesh. Using my chin, I push the hair away from her face as carefully as I can and nuzzle her there, wishing I could see her features for what they’re supposed to be. The swelling is too much; she doesn’t even look like Molly. Somehow I know it’s her, though. I just know.
Have her features softened to look more like our mother? Does she still have eyes exactly like mine? Does the dimple in her right cheek still peek out, an obvious tell when she’s trying to hold back her smile?
“Let’s go. He’ll have the car ready by now,” Richard says, pulling me from the moment.
I carefully begin navigating the stairs with him following behind when he speaks again.
“You didn’t have to lay into Genna like that.”
“Don’t.”
“She was a mess when I got here—ˮ
“Man, I said don’t. I told her to back off. I told her to wait for you. I was half drunk and a quarter dead. She deserved it for opening her goddamn mouth.”
He’s silent for a beat. We round the corner toward the back door and enter the alley where Elias is waiting with the black SUV. “Well, I don’t think you’ll be seeing her again. She was pissed when I confirmed your pop left everything to you. Gold digger through and through.”
“Good. Bitch don’t need to be hangin’ around. ’Specially now that Molly’s back.”
Elias rounds the back of the vehicle and opens the rear door for me. Sliding in with Molly still in my grasp, I am unable to release her even in the tight confines of the back seat. It’s as if I’m afraid she’ll disappear again right before my eyes. As if she’s an apparition, and I’m about to lose her all over again. My biceps convulse at the thought.
***
My pop’s house is lavish and outfitted in top-of-the-line fixtures and appliances. The bitch decorated the house with showy styles meant to brag about her newly acquired wealth. Under normal circumstances, I would have cleared this place out before bringing Molly back here, but my apartment is a shithole. I have my housewarming gift in my arms, so I might as well move in and have the welcome home party all at once.
“I’m taking her upstairs to Dad’s room. Follow me.” My arms tighten around her frail body as I jog up the stairs as quickly as I can. She’s still unconscious, and it’s starting to make me nervous. “How long until this doc gets here, Richard?”
“Five minutes, maybe ten. I told him it was an emergency, so he left immediately.”
“Get him on the phone. Tell him to make it five or less,” I demand, turning left down the hall and another left into the master bedroom.
“Hold up. Let me grab some towels to lay beneath her,” Elias says, passing me to enter the master bath.
“Fuck that. I don’t care about the sheets.” I set her down gently on the expensive silk, and it worries me that she doesn’t stir. My heart pounds. I’m desperate enough to grab her by the shoulders and shake her awake. She’s here, alive, but it’s not enough until I can see her open those beautiful brown eyes. I need to see more than just her body to know she’s going to be okay.
Elias steps up beside me, but he’s smart enough not to touch me right now. I’m about ready to explode. “Hey, why don’t you take a walk? Wait for Doc to get here and give them some privacy.”
I roll my shoulders to alleviate the tension gathering there. He’s right. I gesture toward the door with my head. “Let’s go wait.”
We walk down the stairs to the first floor in silence. A knock on the door greets us when we reach the landing. I cross the threshold in three strides and yank the door open without checking who’s outside. Blame the alcohol or the events of this afternoon, but personal safety has gone out the damn window, not that I had much of it to begin with. I may or may not have forgotten my pop got his head blown off today, and now I’m standing in his foyer. Not the place to be if bad company comes to check him out.
“Took you long enough. Upstairs to the left.”
Doc shoves past me. “Nice to see you too, asshole.”
“Thanks for coming,” I belatedly apologize. “A problem just occurred, so let’s make it quick.”
The silver-haired Vietnam vet gives me a nod before hauling up the stairs with his medical bag in tow. Having served with my father and Richard, he’s a trusted friend, but one who I do not know personally. That doesn’t mean I haven’t seen him enough to know he’ll do the job he’s paid to do and do it well.
“What problems do we have now?” Elias asks, pulling me from my thoughts.