Page 10 of Embedded
His hand covered his mouth as he smiled. “You would fit in.”
“Fit in?” I hated how cryptic he was. “Care to elaborate?” He kept his eyes on the road. “Okay, so, we’re going back to the silence again.” I rolled my eyes. “Got it.”
He chuckled but didn’t elaborate.
I had so many questions about the girls and why they’d been taken then ended up going back over the border. I wondered who the masked men were who had come for them once we got back into the US. Why had they ignored me so completely? Was Chili really in the human trafficking business? Was he really a monster?
“I’m not.” Chili’s voice found me, and I rewound my thoughts and wondered what I had said out loud.
“What?”
“I’m not what you think I am. I’m not a monster.”
I stared out the windshield and thought about my words. “No offense, Chili, but so far, things are not leaning in your favor. I mean, those girls, are they really okay? They told me about what they’d been through. They were so terrified by the whole ordeal.”
“That’s the idea.” He didn’t miss a beat as he rubbed his face. I could see he wanted to say more but maybe couldn’t. “They’re fine, though.”
“Oh, well, if you say so,” I scoffed, and he shook his head in amusement, and it pissed me off further.
“They are.”
“You sure about that? Because those men, whoever they are, wouldn’t give me a second glance, and I had a baby strapped to me.”
“They were under orders not to engage with you.”
I tossed my hands in the air with an exasperated sigh. “Orders from who?” Once again, he gave me nothing. “You obviously want to tell me what you know, so why don’t you?”
“I will,” he nodded, “but not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because,” he huffed. “If we get stopped, I need you to still be scared of me.”
“Just so it’s said, none of this is comforting in any way.” I shook my head.
His cell phone rang, and he hit the button that pushed the call through to his earpiece. I thought about what he’d said and tuned out his one-word answers he gave to someone else.
“Fuck, all right. Yeah, I got it.” He nearly slammed his fist into the phone to hang it up. I felt the anger that poured off him. Shit, I hoped I’d never get Chili mad. Not that he’d been easygoing, but I didn’t plan to let my guard down. He squeezed the steering wheel, and he cleared his throat several times. I couldn’t take the angry silence anymore.
“Anyone ever tell you that you look exactly like Rip from Yellowstone in that outfit?” I tried to lighten his mood. To my surprise, the stress seemed to fade from his face, and I watched his mouth morph into a small smile. My guess would be yes, he had.
“My buddy Eric used to say that all the time.”
My stomach plummeted as icy sweat broke out on the back of my neck. “You don’t mean Eric Noah?”
He removed his glasses and stared straight into my eyes, and I felt like I was under some kind of hold. “Eric was a good man.”
Great, this is the cherry on top of the shit cake I’ve been served.
“No, Eric was a monster,” I shot back, and he pushed his sunglasses back on. “No worries, though, Chili. Your concern about me not acting scared if we run into anyone shouldn’t be a concern. Sharing that you and Eric Noah were friends is enough to keep the fear at a level ten.” I hugged Chase a little tighter.
“Funny you’re scared of a monster, but you love his child like he’s your own.”
I felt anger replace my fear. “How could you make such a comparison? He’s just a baby.”
“So, you believe in nature versus nurture?”
He was really trying to push my buttons. “Of course, I don’t. When I look at him, I see a scared, sick baby who only wants to be loved. You don’t come out of the womb corrupt. That’s something you’re taught. He might carry the blood of a monster, but this little guy is as innocent as they come.” I kissed his head. “And I’m determined to make sure he gets into the right hands so he’s nurtured to be a sweet boy so he can get the life he deserves.”
