I put the Hummer in gear and back out of the garage, then head up the alley so I can catch Beach Boulevard up to Fullerton.
My blackouts are a problem. I’ve pushed them off as short-term and transient, but I can’t be certain.
Too many things are missing.
I could be missing so many details.
I could have made more deals.
There’s a Wal-Mart near the 22 freeway, so I park the truck and check on the girls. Sasha is wide awake, her eyeballs huge saucers as she waits for me to explain myself.
Harper is asleep.
“Stay here and this time, kid, if someone comes to hurt you or Harper, you shoot those f**kers.”
She swallows and nods.
I go inside the store and buy a disposable phone, a book about vampires, and couple of celebrity magazines, and some junk food and soda. We are camping out in the parking lot until this phone is charged and I can make a call.
I take it all back out to the Hummer, turn the engine on so I can plug in the phone and run the AC… and we wait.
Sasha reads the vampire book out loud as Harper drifts in and out of her post-narcotic slumber, and when the battery light on the phone finally turns green, I step outside and make my call.
“Harrison,” I say with relief when he picks up on the second ring. “Did you get it?”
“Shit, dude, you are f**king crazy! Sending me all the way down to Colombia for this!”
“So you got it?”
He laughs. “I got it. And you got a huge bill, both from me and Roberto.”
I smile, then look back at the Hummer where Sasha is watching me. “Good,” I say, turning my back on her, “because here’s what I need.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine - Harper
“Where are we?”
“The harbor, Harp. You hungry?”
“What time is it?”
“Seven thirty.”
“Where are we?” I’m so confused. “We’re at the beach?”
“Yeah, the beach. To eat. I know you’re hungry.” He unbuckles my seatbelt and grabs me by the arm. Not roughly, but securely.
“I do not feel good.”
“I know, baby. But it’s OK. You’re gonna be OK.”
“Where’s Sasha?”
“I’m here,” she says. I look over and there she is. Her face is nothing but a frown. I smile at her but she does not shoot one back for me.
“Why are you wearing a life vest?”
Something is wrong.
“We’re going on a boat, Harper. Kids have to have vests.”
“I’m so confused. We’re eating on a boat?” And sure enough, when I look around, we’re in a marina. Have we always been in this marina?
“It’s the drugs, Harp. They’re still wearing off. I had to give you two more doses of antagonist.”
He helps me down from the Hummer and I’ve never noticed how high up it was before. My legs are not working right, my head is all fuzzy, and my whole body is hot. I look around. “There’s a lot of boats on the water.”
“There’s a boat race going on in the harbor.”
“Which harbor?”
“Newport. You ready?” James smiles at me. I smile back. “We’re gonna walk this way, OK?”
But Newport rings a bell for me for some reason. I’ve never been here, but I’ve heard of it. Where? Why? Why have I heard of it? I rack my brain as James leads me along a dock and stops at a charter. He helps me get in and I have to admit, I like this trip. “Are we gonna watch the sunset tonight?”
“You bet, babe.”
I’m irritated with his answers and now that I’m coming out of my drugged-up stupor, none of this is making sense. James is not manning the boat. He’s facing me and Sasha is sitting up near the bow, in front of the captain. It’s a little boat, only seats four, so we’ve filled it all up.
We are going very slow because of the boat races. There must be a hundred sailboats in the harbor, all following their pattern. We weave in and out between them and the salty air refreshes me and starts to lift the confusion.
God, I’ve missed being on a boat. I smile and then laugh a little when we pick up speed and I get splashed with saltwater. I am hungry. I open my eyes and spot a nice-sized yacht anchored off to the side. “Where are we going again?”
But just as the words are out of my mouth I remember why I know of this harbor.
Megayachts.
Megayachts can anchor here if they get permission.
I look at James and he’s staring at me intently. He’s got hold of my wrists and he reads the understanding on my face and squeezes them tightly. “Don’t fight me, Harper. I won’t put up with it.” His face is deathly serious.
I stand up and he stands with me. My head turns, looking. And there she is. It’s pretty hard to miss a two-hundred-twenty-foot sailing yacht. “You sold me out.” I don’t scream it or get hysterical. It sorta comes out matter-of-factly. Like it was inevitable. Like I’ve always known I was nothing to him but a mission.
We slow down again as the boat captain tries to weave his way through the sailboats to get to the open garage of the yacht. It’s the High Summer. My favorite. The one I left last summer. The one where I committed all my crimes. My father is waiting. He actually smiles, and then he frowns. I follow his gaze and it lands on Sasha. She’s ignoring everyone. Me, James, the looks my father is shooting at her. The seat she’s sitting on is way in the tip of the bow, and she’s leaning over. I look back to my father and catch him nodding in my direction.
But it’s not me he’s nodding at, it’s James.
When I look back to James he’s got a gun out. It’s a big gun with a silencer thing on the end of it. He points it at Sasha, just as she stands up on her cushion and turns to smile and wave at me.
James shoots her in the chest, the fluff from her life vest flies up in the air, and then her body falls overboard.
All I hear is my scream and then I’m being hauled out of the boat and into the garage. Four men are holding me by my limbs. I’m not even allowed to walk, I’m carried. I squirm, elbowing one in the neck as he loses his hold, my feet get free, and then James is in front of me. I lift both legs and give him a two-footed kick to the chest. He stumbles backwards, the breath knocked out of him. But he never stops looking at me.
His eyes are saying something, but it’s not anything I want to hear.
My blackouts are a problem. I’ve pushed them off as short-term and transient, but I can’t be certain.
Too many things are missing.
I could be missing so many details.
I could have made more deals.
There’s a Wal-Mart near the 22 freeway, so I park the truck and check on the girls. Sasha is wide awake, her eyeballs huge saucers as she waits for me to explain myself.
Harper is asleep.
“Stay here and this time, kid, if someone comes to hurt you or Harper, you shoot those f**kers.”
She swallows and nods.
I go inside the store and buy a disposable phone, a book about vampires, and couple of celebrity magazines, and some junk food and soda. We are camping out in the parking lot until this phone is charged and I can make a call.
I take it all back out to the Hummer, turn the engine on so I can plug in the phone and run the AC… and we wait.
Sasha reads the vampire book out loud as Harper drifts in and out of her post-narcotic slumber, and when the battery light on the phone finally turns green, I step outside and make my call.
“Harrison,” I say with relief when he picks up on the second ring. “Did you get it?”
“Shit, dude, you are f**king crazy! Sending me all the way down to Colombia for this!”
“So you got it?”
He laughs. “I got it. And you got a huge bill, both from me and Roberto.”
I smile, then look back at the Hummer where Sasha is watching me. “Good,” I say, turning my back on her, “because here’s what I need.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine - Harper
“Where are we?”
“The harbor, Harp. You hungry?”
“What time is it?”
“Seven thirty.”
“Where are we?” I’m so confused. “We’re at the beach?”
“Yeah, the beach. To eat. I know you’re hungry.” He unbuckles my seatbelt and grabs me by the arm. Not roughly, but securely.
“I do not feel good.”
“I know, baby. But it’s OK. You’re gonna be OK.”
“Where’s Sasha?”
“I’m here,” she says. I look over and there she is. Her face is nothing but a frown. I smile at her but she does not shoot one back for me.
“Why are you wearing a life vest?”
Something is wrong.
“We’re going on a boat, Harper. Kids have to have vests.”
“I’m so confused. We’re eating on a boat?” And sure enough, when I look around, we’re in a marina. Have we always been in this marina?
“It’s the drugs, Harp. They’re still wearing off. I had to give you two more doses of antagonist.”
He helps me down from the Hummer and I’ve never noticed how high up it was before. My legs are not working right, my head is all fuzzy, and my whole body is hot. I look around. “There’s a lot of boats on the water.”
“There’s a boat race going on in the harbor.”
“Which harbor?”
“Newport. You ready?” James smiles at me. I smile back. “We’re gonna walk this way, OK?”
But Newport rings a bell for me for some reason. I’ve never been here, but I’ve heard of it. Where? Why? Why have I heard of it? I rack my brain as James leads me along a dock and stops at a charter. He helps me get in and I have to admit, I like this trip. “Are we gonna watch the sunset tonight?”
“You bet, babe.”
I’m irritated with his answers and now that I’m coming out of my drugged-up stupor, none of this is making sense. James is not manning the boat. He’s facing me and Sasha is sitting up near the bow, in front of the captain. It’s a little boat, only seats four, so we’ve filled it all up.
We are going very slow because of the boat races. There must be a hundred sailboats in the harbor, all following their pattern. We weave in and out between them and the salty air refreshes me and starts to lift the confusion.
God, I’ve missed being on a boat. I smile and then laugh a little when we pick up speed and I get splashed with saltwater. I am hungry. I open my eyes and spot a nice-sized yacht anchored off to the side. “Where are we going again?”
But just as the words are out of my mouth I remember why I know of this harbor.
Megayachts.
Megayachts can anchor here if they get permission.
I look at James and he’s staring at me intently. He’s got hold of my wrists and he reads the understanding on my face and squeezes them tightly. “Don’t fight me, Harper. I won’t put up with it.” His face is deathly serious.
I stand up and he stands with me. My head turns, looking. And there she is. It’s pretty hard to miss a two-hundred-twenty-foot sailing yacht. “You sold me out.” I don’t scream it or get hysterical. It sorta comes out matter-of-factly. Like it was inevitable. Like I’ve always known I was nothing to him but a mission.
We slow down again as the boat captain tries to weave his way through the sailboats to get to the open garage of the yacht. It’s the High Summer. My favorite. The one I left last summer. The one where I committed all my crimes. My father is waiting. He actually smiles, and then he frowns. I follow his gaze and it lands on Sasha. She’s ignoring everyone. Me, James, the looks my father is shooting at her. The seat she’s sitting on is way in the tip of the bow, and she’s leaning over. I look back to my father and catch him nodding in my direction.
But it’s not me he’s nodding at, it’s James.
When I look back to James he’s got a gun out. It’s a big gun with a silencer thing on the end of it. He points it at Sasha, just as she stands up on her cushion and turns to smile and wave at me.
James shoots her in the chest, the fluff from her life vest flies up in the air, and then her body falls overboard.
All I hear is my scream and then I’m being hauled out of the boat and into the garage. Four men are holding me by my limbs. I’m not even allowed to walk, I’m carried. I squirm, elbowing one in the neck as he loses his hold, my feet get free, and then James is in front of me. I lift both legs and give him a two-footed kick to the chest. He stumbles backwards, the breath knocked out of him. But he never stops looking at me.
His eyes are saying something, but it’s not anything I want to hear.
