Page 29 of Undertow

I know rooms like this.

Perfect place to hide a prisoner.

Or a body.

My blood curdles with clots of old panic as he punches in a code.

Memories rush in.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

My small fists beating frantic rhythms. Hot liquid dripping from eyes clenched-shut.

Forgotten and ignored until the infection of night,

Became fear of the light.

Rooms that hide resistant screams and forbidden dreams...

I allow some of my real fear to escape as we wait for the lock to click. Everett Shaw The Poetwouldbe afraid. This is new for him, secret doors and clandestine meetings.

Julia runs her hand over my arm in a gesture of reassurance, and somewhere deep in my frigid soul, a terrified boy pleads for an ounce of compassion he never received until it was too late.

When the door finally opens, Mama H waits inside like a queen on her rocking-chair throne. Another man is rooted behind her with a stony, blank expression. If I had to guess, it’s Robert Hartford, her younger brother.

Mama H’s cold gaze fastens on me as she motions for us to approach. Julia and Adrian shrink into submission beside me.

“We’re alone now,” Mama H says. “No one can hear us.” She pauses to emphasize the double meaning.You’re safe to speak openly. You’re also fucked if you don’t.

“What did you see, son?”

I relay an anxious look from Julia to Mama H so everyone thinks I’m terrified. Maybe I am.

The ice running through my veins is a perilous dance between steeling power and a traitorous shiver.

“They…” I swallow and study my feet.

“It’s okay, son. We can protect you. We just need you to tell us what you know so we can help you.”

I force my gaze up again and search the woman’s face. With a sigh, I close my eyes and pull in a deep breath. “They operate an illegal gambling business at their resorts.”

Mama H deflates into her chair. “Is that so? How did you discover this?”

Her frosty, bored tone indicates she already knew that. I’ll need to give her more, but how much? My heart rate picks up at the dangerous equation. It will have to be enough to satisfy her without upsetting McArthur. This is why I needed more time.

Think, Shaw. Ride the line.

“I went down to the wine cellar to find one of the special reserves for a VIP guest. That’s when I saw it behind the rack. They must have forgotten to cover it up.”

“Saw what?”

I look down and shove my hands in my back pockets like the scared poet I’m supposed to be. “A huge safe,” I say quietly.

The energy in the room shifts with excitement, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Really. What kind of safe?”

I shrug. “Bigger than anything I’ve ever seen in person. The kind they’d have in a bank or something. At least, that’s what it looks like in the movies.”

---