“I always thought I could.” She bit off the rest of her statement: “Until now.”
“You always cleaned up my messes and made me look good for the folks. I’ve been a mixed-up kid for far too long. This time, I need to take the lead. I owe you that much. Let me look after this one.”
“You are my little brother – why wouldn’t I look out for you?”
“Well, now it’s my turn, big sister.” He held out his arms, and she walked into his embrace. Not that she was resigning to his plea – she felt equally confident of her inability to slay the giants – but because they both needed a hug.
Melanie broke away first. “You mentioned a woman?”
“There’s always a woman, right?”
Melanie wouldn’t be sidetracked. “Your woman or someone else’s?”
“Mine, I think. Maybe she just used me. I don’t know anymore.”
“So why come after Chrissy and me? Who is your woman?”
“Mel, I told you to trust me. Take a vacation and go soak up some sun in the Caribbean. I’ll fix this.”
“But…” she started. A scowl covered his face, so she backed off. Drew did not function well when backed into a corner.
“No buts. I’m tired, and so are you. We need to get some sleep so we can think straight. I’ll sleep over here. You take that bed. We’ll figure this out in the morning.”
Melanie went into the bathroom and took out her frustration on the dirt and blood ingrained in her clothes. While scrubbing with hand soap, she muttered her confusion, rinsing, squeezing and ringing until her hands ached. Melanie traced a finger along the fading lines of the duct-tape she’d ripped from her wrists. She felt detached from her inner core, and the option to step back and allow Drew the lead tormented her mind. Justice for Chrissy triumphed, and in that moment, she swore to avenge her death, with or without the help of her brother.
God’s grace is new every morning and sufficient to cover our greatest needs.
Chapter 5
It was three in the afternoon when Melanie awoke. She felt surprisingly refreshed as she drifted forward into reality from the valley of dreams. She’d almost forgotten yesterday’s nightmare until she opened her eyes and glanced at the other double bed. It was empty. The sheets remained tucked tightly against the headboard, and no hollow marked the spot where Drew’s head should have lain.
Melanie sprung from the bed. She staggered across the room, hopping mad at the repeated stupidity of her trustful nature. A complete repertoire of the angry names she’d ever called her brother entered her mind.
She took a deep breath and rushed for the window, telling herself to breathe. Perhaps he had gone for food. She was famished, and it was likely he’d woken up that way, too. Twenty minutes later, she had lost all hope. Drew wasn’t coming back. He’d taken off to play the hero and expected her to bury her head in the sand at some island beach. He didn’t know her at all! She hated to be coerced, especially by a man. And Melanie had her condescending father to thank for that character trait. And now her brother had joined the ranks of men she’d like to trample into the earth.
To the horror of the Braxton men, she’d gone against their wishes and trained at the Police Academy. They’d never taken her seriously. This was the perfect opportunity to prove them wrong. Drew was a pampered play-boy, and way out of his league with this band of murderers. Melanie seriously doubted his ability to save her without getting himself killed in the effort. That left the onus on her to bail him out – again. The woman he’d referred to did not sound like the type to let anyone stand in her way.
Melanie’s thoughts turned to Chrissy. Her hand instinctively reached into her pocket for the cell phone but came up empty. She muttered aloud and headed for the motel land-line to dial her home number. One last ray of hope surfaced. You could always find Chrissy home at this hour, watching her favorite soap on TV. Even though they could record it for another time, the romance-addict never willingly chose to miss the show in real-time.
Her hand shook as she lifted the receiver and proceeded to punch in the numbers. The ringing began – one…two…three – and then the click of someone on the line. No one said hello. All she heard was the faint sound of ragged breathing. She remembered Drew’s warning and remained silent, even though her heart leapt through the wires to embrace the possibility it was Chrissy on the other end. The second click disconnected them, and Melanie dropped heavily into the chair.
What could she do? She felt certain that Drew didn’t want her to go to the police, even though he never voiced it. He had wanted her to trust him. Melanie’s conscience warned her to stick with her training and report the incident. Drew had the potential for greatness, but for now, he still expected his success to fall into his lap with little or no effort on his part. So far, lady-luck had not dealt him a winning hand. Melanie feared that this time Drew had found his party crowd on the wrong side of the law. The thought sickened her, and the sisterly connection kicked in to defend him.
It appeared to be her lot in life. She’d rescued him far too many times and had tried to direct him down a more straightforward path, but before long, he’d wander back to the easy road.
Convinced that moving four hours away was the answer to
