Please keep me safe, God. Amen.
She hoped God was listening.
29
We’ve been here before. I know it.
Pacing the bedroom floor, periodically flexing her fingers to keep them from growing numb, Simone ransacked her memory, struggling to recall when she had visited this place and exactly where it was located. The railroad tracks curving around the perimeter of the subdivision and the master bedroom suite appointments had triggered her sense of deja vu. Hadn’t her family come there several months ago to tour the model homes? Hadn’t something awful happened to Jada while they were there?
Although ritzy new subdivisions sprang up every day in metro Atlanta, some of which had nearly identical floor plans and features, she doubted that many of them bumped up against a freight train network. She knew she was right on this; her intuition was buzzing.
Was it coincidence that Leon had brought them here? Or did it mean something? What could it mean?
She didn’t know. But somehow, she needed to get a message to Corey.
Footsteps approached the doorway. She swung toward the door, fingers bunched into fists.
She heard the barricade removed, and then Leon entered. “Bonjour, senorita bonita.”
He grinned mischievously, one hand hidden behind his back. Fear fluttered through her, and she thought about the concealed pipe.
Wait and see what he does. Wait for the right time.
He approached the mattress and showed his hand. He was carrying only a small plastic Subway bag. With a chuckle, as if he’d relished her fear, he tossed it onto the bed.
“Time to graze,” he said.
A spasm wrenched her stomach. She had not realized how hungry she was.
But she shook her head. She didn’t want to be in debt to this man. “I’m not hungry.”
He smiled derisively. “Don’t lie to me. I scooped you and the munchkin from the Webb McMansion before you had a chance to eat your Special K and sip your cafe au lait. It’s past lunchtime now, and with those child-bearing hips you’ve got on you, I know you don’t miss one too many meals. Stop trying to be au contraire and dig your pretty little manicured fingers into this grub, ’cause I sure as hell ain’t feeding your ass again. This is it, now or never.”
Her mouth had begun to water, and he had raised a good point. She didn’t know how much longer she would be trapped there. It could be several days before this ended, and how could she have the strength to fight back or escape if she were weakened from starvation?
Kneeling onto the mattress, she pulled the bag open. It contained a foot-long sandwich, potato chips, and a cold bottle of water.
“Thanks,” she said.
He lit a cigarette with a brushed chrome lighter and exhaled a wisp of smoke. “Guess what? Your hubby came through for you.”
“What?” She stared at him. “Corey’s going to pay you five hundred thousand dollars?”
He scowled. “Why do you sound surprised? Don’t you think you and the little munchkin are worth that much and then some, a king’s ransom? You’ve got pitifully low self-esteem, sounds like, yet you call yourself a therapist, huh? But then I’ve read that all shrinks are prime rubber-room candidates themselves, so I figure you fall into that category, too, fits you like a wet T-shirt.”
She was shaking her head. “It’s not that, it’s just. .” She let the sentence trail off. She couldn’t believe it, but what did it matter how Corey had raised the money? All that mattered was that this nightmare would be ending soon.
“When?” she asked. “When can we go home?”
He glanced at his watch. “If all goes well, mademoiselle, by this evening. I’m meeting him at four to collect the currency.”
Hope swelled in her breast. They could be home by that evening. This could all be over. Praise God.
“Where are you meeting him?” she asked.
“Lenox Square Mall, sure you know it well, that’s where you no doubt use the gold card to purchase the haute couture I peeped in the closet at su casa. You aren’t the only one who’s got love for the plush, you know.”
In actuality, she rarely shopped at Lenox and bought most of her clothes from outlet stores and mail catalogs that specialized in inexpensive but stylish and quality wear, but she saw no point in sharing that information with Leon. She was only relieved to know that Corey would be meeting him in a public place, where things would be less likely to go wrong.
She glanced at the food, hesitated. “Does my daughter have food and water, too?”
“ ’Course she does, I gave it to her myself a minute ago, Billy Boy was eyeballing her too hard after she munched his candy bar.” He snickered. “Whoa, talk about a double entendre, huh?”
“He gave my daughter candy?” She tried to keep her voice level, but she wanted to scream.
Leon puffed out smoke. “She ate that sucker up, too. Probably made Billy Boy want to cream his pants as he ogled her. Poor guy, he only wants to be loved like we all do, you dig, there isn’t enough love in the world, and I guess if he thinks he can only get love from a sweet little munchkin, who am I to say that’s wrong?”
Her hunger, so sharp a moment ago, faded. Hungry, scared, and alone, Jada had no idea of the mistake she had made by accepting the candy, could not fathom the signal that she had unknowingly sent that sick man. She was in greater danger than ever.
Somehow, she had to get Jada out of here.
Smirking, Leon bent to his knees. “Aw, shucks, don’t be sad, little lady. I told Billy Boy to make like a tree and leave. The munchkin’s alone now eating her chow.”
“Can I see her? Please?”
“Nope.”
She glared at him. “For God’s sake, what harm is there in letting me see my daughter? Corey’s giving you what you want, isn’t he? Let me see her, damn it!”
“No can do, senorita bonita.”
He flashed a shark’s grin at her through the cloud of smoke. He was enjoying his power over her, taking pleasure from her anguished pleading.
She wanted to grab the pipe and smash his damned teeth out.
If you try that, you’ll be doing exactly what he wants you to do. Don’t play his game. You’re the psychologist, girl. You make the rules.
Without uttering another word, she turned away from him. She dug the water out of the bag, carefully unscrewed the cap, and sipped. It was cold and delicious. She tore open the potato chips and popped one into her mouth. Gourmet cuisine had never tasted better.
“That’s all?” he said. “No more begging to see your crumb snatcher, no more pleading, no casting yourself at my feet and beseeching me for goodness and mercy?”
Shrugging, she peeled the paper away from the sandwich. “Turkey and pepperjack on wheat. Yummy. Good choice.”
She took a sloppy bite and chewed with gusto. Hunched in front of her, Leon watched her eat, deep-set eyes smoking like stoked coals.
“My mama used to do that shit,” he said softly.
“What’s that?” She kept chewing.
“Ignore me, tune me out, change the subject, give me the cold shoulder, like you did. I don’t like that shit, baby girl, not one iota. Don’t fuckin’ play with me, bitch.”
Bracing herself for anything, she swallowed, and regarded him with a purposely bland expression.
He slapped her across the face, hand as quick and sharp as a bullwhip. Her head slewed sideways, and the sandwich dropped out of her fingers. Pain rose in her cheek like a heat blister.
She clenched her teeth against a cry, and though tears hung in her eyes, she blinked them back. No more weeping. She would not give him the satisfaction.
He got to his feet, blew out smoke. “You better hope that Corey comes through for you and the munchkin, you hear me, bitch, you better hope you don’t ever see me again.”
She looked up at him and gave him a kiss-my-ass smile.