Page 26 of Pitbull
The interior was just like he remembered, ancient, grand, colourfull—and it still made him feel small in the grand scheme of things. Slowly, he inched forward. Looking along one pew after another, his heart dropped when he found the sanctuary completely empty. Weak, he slumped into one of the seats and rested his arm against the back of the one in front of him.
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder and he glanced over to see Anke sitting beside him. “Why did you think here?”
“My parents. We were christened here. They left money in their wills to this church. I thought if Claudia needed help—she’d come here.”
“Maybe she just hasn’t gotten here yet.”
“I don’t know about that.” Pitbull turned his vision up to the large painted class portrait of Jesus over the altar and exhaled long and hard. “This is too—did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Shh… stay here.”
Pitbull rose and made his way toward the alter. One step after another brought him closer to the place he swore he heard a shuffling around. He glanced back at Anke quickly before refocusing on where he was heading. He went wide, as he was taught when going around a corner. When he stepped out, he saw someone, curled up in the corner. He pulled he badge out and let it fall to his chest.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Pitbull said as softly as he could muster without his voice cracking. “My name is Daniel Hunt—I’m a police officer. Can you look at me?”
As the persons shifted, he noticed she was a woman but as she moved her face toward him fully, Pitbull almost fainted. He slipped to his knees. “Slim…” His voice did break then. “It’s okay.”
“Danny?”
“Yeah.”
“Danny!”
She shot from where she’d been curled and fell into his chest. The force of her hug almost toppled him backward. But, for the first time in over ten years, he held his sister against his chest. She sobbed into his neck while bunching his shirt into her fist.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble,” Claudia cried. “I stayed away. I did good, right? I left you alone.”
“Slim, come on.” Pitbull whispered. Even if he was pissed off as hell at her, he still couldn’t watch his sister cry. Ever since he was a kid, it broke his very soul seeing those tears. “Don’t cry.”
But she only sobbed harder. Anke joined them then and Claudia shoved her face deeper into his neck. He could only imagine what she was feeling then. Not only was he there but her best friend had to see her in such a state. Still, he held her until her cries subsided some before lifting back to see her face.
“What’s going on, Slim?” He asked. “Why are these men after you?”
“I took the girl,” Claudia said. “She was heading down the same road I was. She asked me for help so I helped. It wasn’t fair. I lost everything, Danny—everything because of the decisions I made. I couldn’t stand back and watch someone else do that.”
“What girl?” Anke asked.
Claudia glanced around then shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Damn it, Claudia!” Anke snapped. “Look around you! Do you know how worried Ruby and I have been? I went out and found your brother, who was on vacation, by the way, and got him to come back here to help you. And you can’t tell us what in the hell is going on?”
“Anke.” Pitbull warned.
“No!” Anke snapped. “Enough is enough. If you can’t trust us, then we might as well leave you there to do this on your own.”
He knew why she was frustrated and Pitbull understood. But yelling at Claudia right now wouldn’t help the situation. With a sigh, he reached over and dragged a large palm up and down Anke’s arm. “Let me do this, please?”
Anke frowned and jerked away. She descended the steps and headed back to the pews. Pitbull turned his attention back to his sister.
“You do get why Anke is upset? You’re hiding someone on your own—how long do you think you’ll be able to?. And you will be charged, if that person’s family reports them missing. Let me help you.”
“Why?”’
“Do you see this badge around my neck? It means nothing to you?”
“Look, the cops looked the other way when I went to them! They got me in this mess in the first damn place.”
