He grunted but didn’t say anything more. It was like his mind had drifted off, too. We sat there in silence for a bit, thinking our own thoughts, lost in hazes of memories and mazes of questions.
Dom brought us back to point. “So what else do you know about it? Who else was there? Did Ronn ever say anythin’ to you about it?”
My breath shot out a single ha. “I know it was a porno that she was filming. I don’t know what it was about, but I do know that there was some big secret about it, that Tania wasn’t telling me. She said she was gonna make extra big bank for doing it, not like a typical porno. That he wanted her, special, for it.
“I was the one who dropped her off at the warehouse where they were gonna film it. It was out of town, almost an hour away, by all these industrial parks and warehouses. She was going to get a ride back to Hardcore when she was done, so I didn’t expect to see her till that night. But then she never showed up.
“When I didn’t see her at Hardcore that night, I asked him where she was, and his eyes went all squinty, and then he laughed like some little evil gremlin, and he said, ‘Yeah, Sienna, your little sister, she’s something. I don’t think you’re gonna see her tonight. She’s kind of gone out. Took off. Yeah, she’s took off. The, uh, MC guy took care of that. Found her a nice little hole to lay low in. She won’t be rising up anytime soon. You put her outta your mind, now. No more questions, you hear? Let her go, be all the better for you.’
“It was the way he laughed, and the way he worded it, like not that she took off, but that she had been taken off, and then put in a hole. You hear the difference, Dominic? You see what I mean? It’s like she’s in a grave.”
“I hear it, baby. I’m not gonna argue it with you. It doesn’t sound good. Did you go to the cops? If you think… Just, what did you do?”
“No. No. No cops. I—we—we can’t go to the cops, Dom. That’s not—that’s—we never—no cops, Dom. No cops.” I was hyperventilating and clutching at his chest. I was nearly panicked at the thought that he might now insist on dragging the police into this, which was the very last thing I needed. The police were not an option in my life, in Tania’s life. That was a complete no-go zone, and Dom needed to get that. ASAP.
“Whoa. Okay, baby, relax. Calm down. Breathe, all right? No cops. I hear you. I promise.”
I held his eyes, looking for truth, and finding it. My breathing started to deepen again, though it was still jagged and rough. I just kept trying to calm myself, to get control again.
“Okay. You’re doin’ good, Sienna. Just keep breathin’. You feel like you can keep talkin’ right now, baby? Tell me how you’re feelin’.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m okay.” I took a sip of water, which turned into several gulps.
He gave me a few minutes more to settle, then asked again, “Who did you see when you dropped her off at the warehouse? Do you know which MC guy he was talkin’ about?” It was a little weird, because his voice was tight, guarded. I looked into his face, reading his tension, but not knowing where it came from.
“I’m not sure. There were a couple of guys by the door, at the lot when I dropped her off that morning. One was a Latino guy, I think. I don’t know his name. Tall, good-looking, maybe your age? Late twenties? Um, he had black hair, coffee-creamy skin. Athletic. I remember he smiled at us. He had a really nice smile, big, you know? I haven’t seen him around either, since that day, so maybe… I don’t know. Maybe he had something to do with it? But I never met him, don’t know his name, and I can’t be sure.
“The other guy was older, with the salt-and-pepper hair tied back, goes by Clad or Clab? Something like that. He always seems real important around here. I think he’s, like, important in your MC? And he scowls a lot. You gotta know who I mean. He’s not approachable, and every time I catch his eye he looks like he wants to kill me. So I never asked him. I stay away from him. I don’t know, maybe he’s the one Ronn was talking about.”
Dom’s eyes hardened. Again, he was processing all this, and he didn’t respond or do anything more for a few minutes.
Finally, he said, “Shit,” under his breath. I looked at him more sharply, wondering if maybe he knew something, like what I had just told him answered some questions he had knocking around in his head.
But he shook it a little, left and right, tightened his lips around a sigh through his nose, and hooked my eyes with his own. “Babe, you gotta promise me somethin’. You gotta promise me you won’t do anythin’ about this, and you won’t say anythin’ about this to anybody else, at least for a few more days. There is more goin’ on, and I gotta figure this shit out, and it is not safe. Promise you’ll keep your cool, and you’ll tell me if you hear anythin’ more. And you don’t plan anythin’ without me. You gotta let me take this on for you. Okay?”