“You stupid bitch,” he said, and grabbed her arm. “You honestly thought that dyke was going to ride in here and save you.” He yanked her, making her lose her balance and stumble. “Know how I’m going to pay you back for going against me? We’re going to call Johnny together and tell him where to find you so the sheriff can finally press charges for what you did. I can even give the sheriff the rock you used. What, you didn’t think I noticed it sitting on your coffee table like some kind of trophy? Then you can tell dear old Dad where he can find your little sister.”
“What are you talking about?” Dallas asked in a panic. Kristen was someone she’d been careful to hide.
“You’re a riot.” He laughed. “She was as easy to find as you were to figure out. From the beginning I made a point of getting to know the one person in this world who knows you, Katie Lynn. I called that sick fuck you call a father.” He ran his finger down her cheek and across her lips. “You’ve made enough money for me, and it’ll serve you right to start warming Johnny’s bed at night again.”
“Dallas, I’m sorry I took so long,” Emil said. Bob didn’t let go of Dallas. “Why don’t you go inside and wait for me?”
“Dallas doesn’t want you here. Tell him.” Bob squeezed her arm harder and pressed up behind her. “Go back to wherever you came from.”
“Dallas,” Emil said gently as he wrapped his fingers around Bob’s wrist. It didn’t take much to break his hold, but when Dallas took a couple of steps back, Emil still didn’t let go. “Go on inside,” he repeated. “Bob and I need to have some time alone.”
“Don’t tell me you forgot what we were just talking about?” Bob said. His tight mouth showed Dallas he was trying to break Emil’s hold. “There’s only one way to keep me quiet, so think before you throw everything away. And that’s what it’ll be, Dallas, you throwing it away. When Johnny gets back what you stole from him, it’ll be your fault, but I’m sure he’ll take his time with Kristen.”
Every word was like a nail pinning Dallas’s feet to the ground. She couldn’t move but she wasn’t completely still. Bob’s threats were making her shake like she did as a child and saw her father in the doorway of her room. Back then she didn’t make a sound either, not wanting to wake Kristen in case her father turned his attention her way.
“It’s going to be all right.” Emil cocked his head toward the door.
Dallas took a deep breath and let her head fall back. Taking the step Emil was asking of her would free her of Bob, but he would savor taking her freedom away again.
“No, it’s not going to be all right, and you know that,” Bob said, his voice close to a hiss.
“Let me make it easy for both of you then,” Emil said. He smashed his fist into the side of Bob’s head. He fell like pins being hit by a bowling ball. “Sorry you had to see that.”
“I would’ve been more sorry not to see it,” Dallas said, her attention on the rise and fall of Bob’s chest. He appeared to be in a deep, peaceful sleep.
Emil laughed at her observation. “Go ahead and join Remi, and I’ll take care of this.”
Upstairs, Remi pressed her hand to her chest and sat up, pausing when the pain made her light-headed. The phone Dallas had just used was next to the bed and she figured it wasn’t tapped, but she’d keep the call brief on the off chance it was.
“I need something.”
“Name it,” Cain said.
“I’ve got a package I need delivered, and I’ve got a chance to go shopping.”
“I’ll send my best delivery guy. Wrap it up the best you can.”
It took Cain an hour but she got Lou’s nephew, Nick, to the alley behind Dallas’s place. He sat for half an hour after that to make sure Lou didn’t spot anyone watching. Emil brought out the rug from the guest bedroom rolled up on his shoulder and dumped it in the back of the van. Nick then left to follow Emil’s directions, confident that unless he was caught speeding no one would stop the produce van from one of the local markets.
The way Bob was taken out of her house didn’t worry Dallas as much as watching Remi try to make it down the stairs. From the way she moved, Dallas could tell she was in pain, but what had happened had to be finished. She knew that without any explanation from Remi or Emil.
“Do you have to leave right now?” Dallas asked. She took a seat on the sofa, so Remi would have plenty of room if she needed to join her. “Before you go through all this trouble, I want to tell you a few things about myself.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to be honest with you.”
“Katie Lynn, we’ve all made mistakes. They’re what make us smarter and stronger in the end. If you want my help, all you have to do is ask, but if you want me to condemn you, I can’t.”
“You know?” Dallas started crying again.
“Probably not everything.”
“If you know, I’ll understand why you can’t stay. I’m so ashamed.” Dallas couldn’t help but let out all her insecurities.
“I’d be willing to bet your sins don’t come close to mine. Your past is exactly that—your past. You had to invent Dallas Montgomery for a reason, and as soon as I get back we can start on that story.”
“Why go through all this trouble for me?”
Remi couldn’t lift her arms very high so she placed her hand on Dallas’s knee. “If you don’t know, then I want plenty of time to explain it to you. For now I’ll give you the short version. I feel strongly about you. Last night wasn’t about filling some base need, but more like filling one in my heart.”
“Will you come back when you’re done?”
