My attempts to contact Allison weren’t as successful. My calls went to voice mail.
“Do you know any of her friends or neighbors we can reach out to?” I asked Miriam.
She shook her head, and that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach intensified.
Chapter Fifteen: Allison
“Where the hell is she?” Caleb growled. He stood to the side of the window, able to see out but not be seen.
“I told you, I don’t know.”
I was glad I’d been able to slip my phone into the crack between the couch cushions without Caleb noticing. Sure, my lack of cell had made him very, very mad, but it also made it impossible for him to use it to reach out to Miriam, using my number. Unfortunately, it also meant that I couldn’t use it to call for help. I’d stashed a prepaid burner phone in the closet of Miriam’s bedroom, but I had no chance of getting to that.
I hoped the fact that Miriam hadn’t returned meant she’d noticed the lights were out and known something was amiss. I also hoped that she’d gone to the police, but I doubted she would. Being married to Caleb had destroyed her faith in the system.
He walked over to the couch and kicked my shin again. “This is all your fault. If you had just kept your big, fat nose out of our business, none of this would have happened.”
His steel-toed boot hurt, just like it had the last three times he’d done it. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a grunt. It was just another pain. My head was pounding, my bottom lip was split, and one of my eyes was nearly swollen shut. On top of that, a few of my fingers had gone numb from the zip ties he’d put around my wrists.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
He snarled at me. “Hold it.”
“I have been holding it. I can’t hold it any longer. Pretty soon, this couch is going to be saturated with DNA evidence, if you know what I mean.”
He snarled again but relented. He snagged the zip ties in his large fingers and yanked me to my feet. I stumbled but managed to keep my balance.
I held my hands out in a silent request, surprised when he pulled out a jackknife from his pocket and cut the ties.
Then, he waved the blade in my face. “No funny business.”
I said nothing. He followed me to the bathroom and took a stance in the doorway.
“Do you mind?”
“The door stays open.”
“At least have the decency to turn around.”
“You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before.”
I gave him the answer I’d given every nurse, physician, and X-ray tech who’d said that to me since I started getting exams. “Maybe, but you haven’t seen mine.”
He snorted derisively. “You’re not special.”
But again, he surprised me. Caleb was smart enough not to give me his back but did step to the side, so he wasn’t looking right at me.
It was all I needed.
I lowered my pants and took a seat, letting nature take its course. Normally, I had a hard time going if I knew someone could hear me, but I really did have to pee something fierce. I hoped the sound would cover what I was about to do next, but I let out a big sigh of relief, too, for extra measure.
I slowly reached one hand back and slid it down the side of the tank to get to the pepper spray I’d taped there. I had cans strategically hidden throughout the apartment.
When I was finished doing my thing, I pulled up my pants and flushed. Just that quickly, he was back in the doorway, waving a new set of zip ties.
I turned away before he saw what I had. “Jeez, let me wash my hands before you bind them again, will you?”
“Hurry up.”
In the mirror, I could see him put his arms down, and that was when I made my move. I let him have it, a full concentrated blast in the face. He shouted several profanities and stumbled back, bringing both hands to his face. I rushed past him and went for the door.
I managed to get the two dead bolts undone and had my hand on the knob before he body-slammed me from behind. My face took the brunt of it, hitting the reinforced steel door head-on. I felt my nose give way a second before the gush of blood, and the lights went out.
Chapter Sixteen: Paulie
I stood the moment my sister Sofia stepped out from behind the curtain.
“Paulie, you shouldn’t be back here.”
She gave me a disapproving glance to go along with her admonishment, which I ignored. She might be halfway through her residency and a big deal around the ER, but she was going to have to call security and have me physically removed if she wanted me gone.
“Is she awake?”
She narrowed her eyes. “She’s in and out.”
“How is she?”
“Paulie, you know I can’t discuss—”
“How. Is. She?” I towered over my sister, hands on hips, and gave her my best cut the BS glower.
Yeah, I was pulling the big-brother card.
She sighed in resignation and threw me a tiny bone. “We’ll know more after we get a complete head series, but I’m admitting her as a precaution.”
I translated that to mean Allison was going to be okay. After Vinnie’s call, I wasn’t so sure. “Can I see her?”
“She’s pretty out of it.”
“Please, Sofe.”
She tilted her head and studied me with a critical eye. “She’s the woman Nonno has been talking about, isn’t she?”
I nodded.
“I can’t wait to hear this story,” she murmured. “All right. It’s not a bad idea to have someone sitting with her until they come to take her upstairs.”
“Thanks.”
I stepped into the small area and winced. Parts of Allison’s beautiful face were swollen and bruised. I resisted the urge to lean over and gently kiss every one.
“That bad, huh?” Allison rasped.
I pulled a chair up to her bedside
