Her crying stops abruptly.
“Phil and Carter? Wa- Wait for them? Where are they?” She’s panicking again.
“They’re on a business trip but they’ll be able to get to Dallas no later than tomorrow morning.”
“There’s no time. He’s had her for two days.” She starts to weep, the hysteria creeps back into her voice and my head starts to hurt.
“Fiona, if we go without them, there is no way, even if we do what they say, to guarantee we’ll get her back. It’s one day. But it’s worth the wait to make sure we’ll leave there with Cam and ourselves safe, too. Just don’t do anything until I get there.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I’m just so scared,” she cries.
“Me, too. But it’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll call you when I have my flight details.”
I hang up and start dialing a new number. I stop in the middle of dialing and put my phone down. Because the number I’m dialing is James’. He was the first person I wanted to talk to just now. He would know what to do. A wall of grief, one hundred feet high, slams into me. I sit in the booth and sob. I let it take what it wants. I need to get this out of my system so I can focus. I want to make sure I have nothing left but rage and vengeance when I face my grandmother. Any weakness she perceives will make her less inclined to play fair. I don’t want to do anything to risk getting Cam back. Once I have her safe, I’m going rip those black hearts out of their chests and shove them down their throats.
Three hours later, I’m on my flight from LaGuardia to DFW. I check my phone, and grimace. I’ve been calling Carter and Phil since I got in the cab, but their phones are both going to voicemail. I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach them once they go to the jail. But I hoped I’d catch them before they went in.
“Ma’am your phone needs to be on airplane mode or off,” the flight attendant says and I smile apologetically and wait until she’s moved on before I send them a quick text.
“Just boarded a flight to Dallas. Cam is at Anges’ house and I’m going to help Fiona get her back. Need you to meet me in Dallas. I’ll text you hotel address when I get there. Going to see Duke first, but I’ll call you when I’m done kicking his ass and taking back the money they stole.” I press send.
I turn my phone off to conserve the battery because in my rush to get on this flight, I left my phone charger at home and didn’t notice until I’d boarded. I’ll buy one as soon as I get to the Dallas.
With any luck, by the time I land, they’ll be done with their visit.
I know Carter won’t like the last part of my message. But I’m not letting that devil steal one more thing from me or anyone I love.
It’s time for him to pay.
I Never Got Over Losing You
CARTER
“You ready?” Phil whispers and clasps a hand on my shoulder. I nod, but don’t look away from the metal door that she’s going to walk through any minute now. “It’ll be okay.”
“What if we’re wrong?” I ask him, voicing my greatest fear and wishing I could take it back.
“Then we’ll know. Either way, we’ll leave here with answers that we need to decide how to move on with Drew.
“Yeah, I know. I just can’t wait for that. I’m sick of living in the shadow of this.”
“If we’re right, then this is just the beginning. And it could get ugly. Are prepared for that?” he says.
I turn to look him so he can see how strongly I feel about this, because it contradicts what I just said.
“If we’re right, I gladly spend the rest of my life and every penny I earn to see her free and to see him pay.”
The clank of the metal key turning in the lock makes my heart trip, and then thud. We both stand as the creak of rusty hinges echoing the whining drone of dread that makes my ears ring as we wait for our first glimpse of the woman who gave birth to us.
She walks in, her head bowed, her hands restrained by cufflinks that are attached to chain around her waist and connected to a chain that leads to restraints around her ankles.
She’s nothing like I imagined. The first things that strike me are how small she is. She’s only a few inches taller than five feet and if she weighs a hundred pounds, it’s only when wet. She’s about the same age as Penn. But where Penn’s hair is still a vibrant blonde, Susan’s hair is completely white, and pulled away from her face in a long, stringy ponytail. It’s so thin on the top of her head that you can see her scalp through it.
None of us speak as the guard leads her to the table, pushes her into the chair with more force than necessary, and attaches one of her wrist cuffs to a metal loop on the table.
She clasps her small hands together in front of her and stares steadfastly down as the guard tugs to make sure she’s secure. The restraints dig into her skin when he does this. I wince. She doesn’t react at all.
I know she’s here because she confessed to a violent crime, but seeing her restrained in such a dehumanizing way makes me angry.
I glance at Phil and see the muscle in his jaw working as he watches, too.
I can’t imagine what her life in here has been. The air is rife with oppression and hopelessness. The process of entering the jail was a clinical stripping away of our privacy. We filled in documents, handed over all the forms of ID they required and were subjected a very thorough full body pat down. Shoes, belts, everything that we might take off in the days before I started paying for Global Access at the airport, came off before we walked through a metal detector. We had to leave our phones, smart watches,
We’ve been here for four hours and I’m itching to leave. I can’t imagine facing a lifetime in here.
The guard turns to address us. “You’ve got two hours. If you want to leave sooner than that, you can use the phone over there to call for a guard. If you want more time, you’ll have fill out more paperwork. It is our prerogative to end your visit sooner and you must comply with all of our directives. You may use the coins in the bag to purchase items from the vending machine for you and the inmate, but you are not allowed to leave any money with her. If we perceive you to be in violation of any of these rules, your visit will be terminated and you will be banned from the facility for three months. Do you understand everything I have told you?”
He says all of this by rote, watching us with a look that is meant to intimidate, and does. We are completely at the mercy of these people.
“Yes.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“No,” we say in unison.
“Have a safe visit.”
He turns and leaves us alone with her.
The door shuts with a clanging thud and the room is completely silent, save for the tick of the wall clock and the hum of the vending machines. Her head remains bowed, her hands clenching and unclenching on 4th table in front of us.
“Do you want anything to eat?” Phil speaks first, picking up the bag of quarters, opens it and pours a stack of change into his hands.
She shakes her head.
“Are you sure?”
She looks up then and my breath catches in my throat. She’s beautiful. Her face is lined, but smooth and clear. Her eyes are the same green as mine. They’re clear and direct as she takes us both in.