Satisfied no danger was near, Tom woke Sam. He saw her glancing in all directions, and she had her pistol in her hand. “Sam, if you’re going to hold that pistol, please take your finger off the trigger. Place your finger alongside the trigger guard so you can shoot quickly, but not on the trigger. You might shoot yourself.”
“Okay. I just wanted to be ready if someone approached.”
Tom chuckled and poked himself in the chest. “I might be the one approaching you and would like you to take the time to verify who the person is before going all John Wayne on him.”
Sam felt more at ease with Tom close by her side. “Thanks, I guess I haven’t had much training. My boyfriend gave me the pistol one day and said there might be some bad guys trying to hurt Lucy and me. I never saw any, but I still have the gun.”
“Was your boyfriend a cop?”
Sam snickered below her breath. “No. He’s in the import-export business. He’s wealthy, and we have homes in Columbia, Mexico, and Seattle. Oh, we do have a beach house in Malibu.”
“Not to be nosey, but why didn’t you try to get to Malibu.
“I … uh … wanted to visit my parents in Seattle.”
Tom didn’t like the answers and thought he knew what was wrong. “What’s your boyfriend's name, and where is he when you need him most?”
“His name is Carlos Mendoza, and he was called away from our vacation to go handle some business the other day.”
Tom pushed further. “I’ve heard that name a couple of times. One was an older baseball player and coach. The other is the son of the Mendoza cartel out of Columbia. He’s a real piece of work and following his dad into the drug business.”
“Carlos isn’t a baseball player, and he can be nice.”
“Holy shit! Your boyfriend is an international drug lord. The father is into human trafficking, drugs, hits for hire, and about any illegal thing you can find in the dictionary.”
Tears flowed again, and Tom wondered if she could turn the faucet on and off at will. “I loved him at first when I didn’t know who he was. He showered Lucy and me with gifts and made me feel alive again. Lucy’s father left us broke and homeless.”
Tom caught the part about ‘I loved him at first.’ “So, you were using this disaster to escape from the thug.”
She looked up at Tom with her big green eyes. “Yes, he got tired of me and started being mean to Lucy and me. He kept us around because we were his property. He only came to me when his many sluts weren’t available. He …. He ….”
The tears flowed again, and Tom was confused and conflicted about Sam. He couldn’t tell if she had used Carlos or Carlos used her. He figured he’d wait and decide on that later. Now, she needed protection until they could get her to Ashland, and then she’d be someone else’s problem.
Sam saw Tom get up to go catch a nap. “Could you sleep out here so I’ll feel safer?”
Tom thought, Is she going to try to use me now her little drug lord isn’t around? Nevertheless, he said, “Of course. Let me get my Tyvek, and I’ll be right back.”
Jackie woke up thinking something was wrong. She’d set her watch to wake her up a few minutes before her turn at guard duty to give her time to freshen up. Jackie took care of business and noticed Betty was nowhere to be seen. She went down the hallway and saw Betty asleep on the kitchen floor. Something must be wrong since Sam was to have awakened Betty for guard duty. She cautiously went outside and immediately saw the problem.
Tom was asleep on the front porch lying on a folded-up painter’s tarp, with Sam’s head on his thigh and an arm across his stomach. They were both sound asleep. Jackie didn’t like what she saw but guessed Tom had stayed to keep her company, and she’d fallen asleep on guard duty. Jackie thought, Thank god, Granny B didn’t see this.
Jackie had started walking around the area when Granny B came around the corner. She whispered, “Granny B, you still have a couple of hours to sleep. What are you doing up?”
“Someone has to pull guard duty. Those two didn’t do a very good job at it, did they?”
“I wish I could take a picture of them. I could have some fun with big brother. He doesn’t like her.”
“Hon, your phone camera will still work. Remember, we were a thousand miles from the EMP blasts. We also have small solar chargers to keep them and our tablets charged. Take a few blackmail pictures before I wake them up, but I ain’t so sure he hates her all that much. I do believe he won’t trust another woman for a long time.”
Jackie took several pictures and then lifted Sam’s head and moved it off Tom before waking him. She shook his shoulder until he stirred and whispered to him. “Did you sleep well last night?”
“Huh, hey, where’s Sam? She was here when I fell asleep.”
Jackie tried hard not to giggle. “Shush, she’s asleep beside you. She fell asleep on guard duty. Granny B pulled most of her guard duty. Oh, I have pictures with her head on your leg and your hand on her boob.”
Tom’s face flushed. “I wouldn’t do that. Stop making up stuff.”
“Big brother, I have pictures on my phone of you copping a feel while the poor lady was asleep.”
Granny B couldn’t
