Sins & Needles(63)
“They’re green,” I said absently. “A very light, yellow green.”
He exhaled and sat back. “So then you know. It was Javier.”
“What did he want?” My voice sounded so far away. Javier. Javier Bernal was in my town. Right down the street from where I was. It was a miracle I wasn’t dead. Every second I sat there talking to Camden about him, I was pushing my luck. Javier was like my personal Candyman. There was a chance every time we said his name he would appear.
“He asked me the same questions and I gave him the same answers. Raul, I think, brought up the fact that I knew you in high school. So he started asking a lot of questions about your parents.”
“And?”
“And that was it. I told him what I knew, that they were cons that went on the run and never came back. I told him you came from Mississippi, originally.”
“I bet that blew his mind,” I muttered.
“No.” I looked at him sharply but he shrugged. “No, he didn’t seem surprised at all. He just nodded like he already knew everything. Everything in the world. He’s a…how on earth did you go out with that guy, Ellie? I would have gone insane.”
“It was long ago.”
“We were long ago.”
I nodded. “We were. And here we are. And there he is. And we have to go.”
I could tell he wanted to argue. That he wanted to talk about the drop and the dream and the plans. But acceptance was coming into his eyes. I knew because it looked like disappointment and defeat.
“He’s bad news, huh?” he asked, leaning forward, elbows on knees. The dolphin he had tattooed there look like it was winking at me.
“Remember when you asked me who was chasing me? Now you know. I stole his car, I stole his money. I had my reasons. They still want it back. They haven’t forgotten. Drug lords don’t forget. Ever.”
He looked a little pale. I said, “We can’t wait for the drop. They will come back here, they will come into your house, and they will find me. I have nowhere to go or hide in this town. It’ll be a miracle if they haven’t gotten to my uncle already. You didn’t mention him, did you?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t. I said in high school you stayed with your Godparents. Your uncle isn’t a Watt, is he?”
“No, Bespo. Jim Bespo.” I breathed out a sigh of relief. “We have no choice, Camden. Either you let me go right now and you stay here. Or you come with me. Or I go with you. Either way, I have to go or I’ll be dead.”
I said all of this so matter-of-factly that I barely recognized myself. I wanted to give myself a high-five for seeming so put together. I wasn’t. I was screaming on the inside.
“We can take the money in the safe,” he said.
“And we have your ID. That’s a start. We can get Gus to send us the rest of your documents somewhere else. But we have to leave now.”
He nodded and got to his feet. I joined him, putting my hand on his arm, forcing him to look at me. “Camden, we’re leaving and we’re not coming back. Ever.”
He rubbed his lips together, his eyes scoping out the room, taking it all in, everything he loved. We didn’t have any time to pack with thought. We had to throw everything together and go.
“We’ll take Jose,” I said.
“His car? Isn’t that a little obvious?”
“They’re watching your car at the moment, not mine. They don’t know where mine is.”
“They could have seen it at the park.”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Maybe. But probably not and probably not is better than a definite yes. If your car is gone, they’ll know.”
“If I’m gone, they’ll know.”
“But it’ll take longer for them to figure that out. I’m giving us five minutes. We’ve already wasted enough time already. Grab one bag, pack only what you need. I’ll take care of everything else. We’ll head out the garage door and through the backyard, through the neighbors. Just in case they’re watching the house already.”
He stiffened with paranoia. “Should I go to the windows and look?”
I shook my head. “Don’t even think about it.”
Camden stood in the middle of the living room, looking overwhelmed and stunned, not ready to let go of this life and let in another. He thought he had more time. We barely had any.
“Four and half minutes until we’re dead, Camden McQueen,” I whispered.
It finally sunk in. We got moving. He insisted on taking his vintage acoustic guitar, but other than that, we made sure he took only what he needed. Documents, money, some clothes, some of his tattoo gear. My bag was small to begin with; everything else was already in the car.