Dying to Run

by Cami Checketts

  The doctor’s eyes dissected me again. “Aha. That makes sense.”

  I turned back to Sham and lowered my ear next to his mouth. After a few seconds I could hear him mumbling, “Cassidy, Cassidy,” over and over again. I wished I could wake him up and tell him I was okay, put poor Sham at ease. I stood to tell Nana what he was saying, but my heart started hammering in my chest as the significance of what had happened tonight hit me. Sham had been sent here to protect me and almost died. Damon was out of jail and had promised he wouldn’t leave without me. We’d heard nothing from Jesse or my dad. I was suddenly paralyzed with fear. I didn’t want to leave Sham’s side. I wished he was healthy and could protect me. I really wished Jesse was here, but I needed to stop being so selfish. He must be busy protecting innocent children from traffickers like Damon.

  “Satisfied?” the doctor asked.

  I couldn’t force my lips to move.

  “Yes,” Nana said. “We’ll be back later.” She latched onto my arm and dragged me away.

  The night was inky black, crisp with cold and fear as we exited the hospital and picked our way to our car. Rubbing my hands on my arms to warm them, I stared at every possible ambush spot and jumped when a car door slammed. Would Damon have followed me here? A police car signaled us with their lights. It was a bit of comfort as they idled behind us through the parking lot, but I was still relieved when we sank into my Altima. I locked the doors and sped towards Smithfield.

  Nana muttered the whole way home about punk doctors and Damon. I was so distracted I just drove and mumbled uh-huh once in a while to satisfy her. The guilty truth was I wasn’t thinking about Sham and his injuries. I was wondering where Damon was. He must’ve been released on bail and come straight for me. He’d escaped Shine and Fine tonight. And I could hear him saying over and over again in my mind, “I’ll be back.”

  I shuddered, then had to hide my distress when Nana started questioning me. “Why didn’t someone inform us Damon was out? Why is he after you again? You’d think you were some supermodel the way these boys can’t leave you alone.”

  I gripped the wheel tighter and arched an eyebrow, wondering how Damon coming after me in the middle of the night with a handful of hired guns counted as boys not leaving me alone. I wished every man but Jesse would leave me alone. As soon as we got home and Nana wasn’t inches away, I would call him. Maybe he’d come home to protect me, even if he couldn’t it would be wonderful to hear his voice.

  We waved to the police stationed out front of our house. There was some security in having them there, but Jesse was the only person I trusted to keep my safe from Damon.

  The first thing I saw when I opened the back door and ushered Nana inside was the mess Damon and his men had made. The debris was taped off as part of the crime scene. The house stunk of plaster dust and gunpowder, I could taste it floating in the air.

  “Can we clean in the morning?” I asked, praying she wouldn’t make me pick up shards of wood and scrub Sham’s blood right now. I was so tired and I had personal training appointments starting at six a.m. I couldn’t afford to miss them as I worked to build up a clientele. I’d also promised Raquel I would watch Tate so she could nap with baby Nathan tomorrow afternoon. Tate was understandably excited to have his new brother home and was driving his mom nuts. I needed some sleep so I had the energy to wear him out.

  Nana eyed the mess like it was as evil as Damon. “Probably shouldn’t touch anything until the police get their evidence and such out of here.” She muttered a few cuss words I shouldn’t have been able to recognize.

  In all the craziness I’d left my phone sitting on Nana’s bed. I ducked under the yellow tape and grabbed it.

  “What do you need that for in the middle of the night?”

  “Going to charge it,” I mumbled.

  I climbed the stairs to my room, so exhausted I scuffed my heel along each stair. My brain was fuzzy, but as I entered my room and fell onto my bed without taking my shoes off, something felt wrong. I wanted to curl up on my comfy bed and sleep without even brushing my teeth, but fear crept back into my throat, clogging it. I could hardly breathe. I glanced around and realized it wasn’t something I could see that scared me—it was a smell that was different.

  “Maybe I need to take out the garbage,” I muttered to myself, but the smell wasn’t rotted apple cores; it smelled nice, like a man who wore some decent quality cologne. A man. I snapped fully awake, eyes darting around the room. I listened hard. Was it my imagination or could I hear breathing?

  Damon couldn’t be here. He couldn’t. But if he was, he’d have to be hiding in the closet or under the bed. I should be brave and check, but bravery just wasn’t in the script for me right now. My heart was beating so high in my chest I felt like I was hyperventilating. I stood and started edging towards the door, fingers fumbling with my phone as I slid the touchscreen to unlock it. Detectives Shine and Fine might hate me for raising a false alarm, but I wasn’t searching this room by myself.

  A hand closed around my ankle. I screamed and thumped to the floor, my forearms barely breaking my fall. My phone flew across the room. The hand jerked me back towards the bed. The carpet yanked skin off my elbows. A man scrambled out from underneath the bed and jumped on top of my back. He clamped his hand over my mouth to cut off the screams squeaking out.

  “You knew I wouldn’t leave without you,” Damon whispered into my ear.

  With his hand covering my mouth and screams still trying to escape his hand, I couldn’t find enough oxygen. The room started to turn black. Damon’s entire body rested on top of mine, pinning my arms and chest into the floor and making it even harder to breathe.

  I heard footsteps from downstairs. Nana! Maybe she would think to go outside and get the cops before she came to investigate.

  “Cassidy Christensen,” she squeaked. “I’m exhausted. Stop making so much noise.”

  Honestly Nana. Did she think I was up here having a party? The exasperation calmed me enough to think how I could survive. First, I needed air. I sucked through my nose and felt my head clear.

  Damon eased off of me, careful to keep his hand over my mouth. He stood, jerking me with him. “Tell Nana you’re sorry and you’re going to bed now.”

  I glared at him. He was a bigger idiot than I had previously realized. Like I was just going to let him kidnap me.

  “Cassie?” Nana called, tromping slowly up the stairs.

  “You’d better get her to turn around or I’ll kill her.” He smiled at my obvious terror. “I’d love to shut Nana up.”

  The hatred in his eyes was no act. My entire body shuddered. I couldn’t let him kill my Nana. I nodded under the pressure of his hand. He removed it, holding me close to his side with one arm and removing a pistol from his belt with the other. How kind of him to reassure me that the threats weren’t facetious.

  “Sorry, Nana,” I called out, unable to keep the tremor from my voice. “I saw a spider and screamed, then tripped over the side of my bed.” I paused then yelled, “Don’t tell Fine.”

  Nana’s upward progression halted. I took a full breath, praying she’d turn around. The real hope was she’d understand the hint about Detective Fine, turn around and run outside to the police, but I’d settle for her turning around and not getting herself killed.

  “Only you, Cassie.” Nana heaved a huge sigh. “I’m going to bed.” Her loud thumps down the stairs reassured me that she wouldn’t get a bullet from Damon. My heartbeat ramped up again when I realized I probably would.

  “Who’s Fine?” Damon asked into my ear, tucking the gun into his belt again.

  “New boyfriend,” I muttered.

  “Already bored with Jesse?” Before I could rebuttal, Damon whipped out a cloth and gagged me with it. I’d never known why it was called a gag until I experienced this. He jammed the rag so deep in my mouth I was literally gagging. Bits of cotton drifted down my throat. I swallowed some of them and coughed violently a second later.

  “Don’
t need to hear the funny thoughts hiding in that beautiful head,” Damon said.

  He jerked me out of my room and towards the spare bedroom that overlooked the backyard. Nana was my only hope at this point. Had she gone out front to the police, or was I destined to endure Damon’s brainless comments until he decided to kill me? He rushed me towards the open window where a ladder was propped up. “Climb down,” he said, his hand touching his gun.

  I looked out the open window. A few men circled the bottom of the ladder. I shook my head, refusing to take one more step away from the hope of rescue.

  Damon put all his frustration into his grip on my bicep. A yelp started up my throat, transforming into a whimper between my gagged teeth.

  “Don’t give me a reason, Cassie,” his voice was low and menacing, “Ramirez wants you dead, but the timing of that is up to you.”

  Staring into his eyes for half a second convinced me I would live longer if I climbed down that ladder. Damon was obviously not planning to forgive me for getting him arrested anytime soon. That was fine with me. I would never forgive him for pretending to like me and then betraying me.

  I swung my leg out the window and started climbing. My tennis shoe slipped off the rung halfway down. I clung to the icy metal with equally cold fingers. Glancing up, I stared into the short barrel of Damon’s pistol. “Keep moving,” he snarled.

  I regained my footing and slowly descended. I was a few feet from the ground when strong arms grabbed me and hauled me down. It was too dark to make out the faces of the three men waiting for us. Damon was almost to the ground when we heard a shout from the window. “Stop! Smithfield City Police.”

  A young detective pointed his pistol at us. Nana had understood! But what was the idiot going to do? Start shooting the men around me and somehow miss me? Hopefully his partner was smarter and stealthier.

  Damon grabbed my hand, pulling me through the backyard. I jerked my hand free and fell to my knees. Damon yanked so hard on my arm I was amazed my shoulder didn’t pop out of socket. He dragged me on my knees as I twisted and tried to free myself.

  Somebody cried out as they plowed through the cornstalks we hadn’t cleaned out of the garden. It was so dark I couldn’t see a thing. Damon literally ran into the back fence, cussing and yanking me off the ground. One of the men climbed up and over the short wooden fence. Damon shoved me into the air. The man grabbed my hands and pulled me over, ripping more skin off my already raw elbows. I howled into the rag, smacking the man and straining to break his hold on me.

  Damon scaled the fence, threw me over his shoulder and ran north. A distant streetlight gave a bit of light. We weaved through a neighbor’s yard, my head bouncing off Damon’s back with each step. The other two men ran the opposite direction, within seconds car doors slammed and they revved the engine. Headlights pointed south as the tires squealed into motion.

  Nana and some officers were yelling. Shots fired. For half a second I thought help was coming, but then I realized they were chasing the car that had just left. How to get their attention focused my way? I pounded at Damon’s back with my hands, kicked with my feet at his abdomen, and squirmed to be free. I fell off of his shoulder, screaming into the rag as I almost hit the ground. Cursing, Damon caught me around the waist. The other man rushed to his aid, securing my lower body while Damon pinned my arms to my chest. They shuffled halfway down the block, stopping next to a black Tahoe.

  Damon jumped in the driver’s side and let the other guy shove me into the backseat. I tried to scramble to the other door. The man hauled me back and wrapped his arms around me. His breath reeked like Santa had never put a toothbrush in his stocking. The streetlight illuminated his swarthy skin and greasy black hair. He didn’t say anything, but judging from the wide grin on his face, he really liked his current assignment.

  Sirens blared through the darkness. I thought I was going to pass out with joy until I realized they were heading the wrong direction, probably following the car Nana had been chasing. Damon drove slowly out of the neighborhood, not flipping on his lights until we were almost to Main Street. Within minutes it was apparent nobody was following us. No matter how I fought, Foul Breath kept his arms tight around me. His halitosis made me lightheaded.

  Damon happily explained Ramirez’s plan to kill me, Jesse, and my dad. I couldn’t even act brave and mouth off to him. My jaw ached from being pried slightly opened and my mouth felt sticky against the dry rag. I fought it, but two big tears leaked down my face. Damon caught my eye in the rear-view window. His smile grew. It was perhaps the first time since I met him six months ago that he was actually telling me the truth: I was going to die.

  Chapter Three

  Nana watched the monitors next to Sham’s bed, tired of hospital duty, but with everything that had happened tonight someone needed to watch over Sham. Nana had promised to stay here while Cassie’s brother, Jared, worked with the police to find Cassie and hopefully Nathan as well.

  Nana felt guilty for wanting to leave Sham when the gentle giant had come here to protect her girl. Oh, Cassie. Nana groaned. Her empty stomach churned. The worry over her granddaughter made it impossible to eat her usual late-night snack. She almost smiled as she looked at her thick body and thought of what Cassie would say about her Nana skipping any kind of meal. Even the thought of smiling left quickly. The only other time in her life she’d been too sick to eat was when she thought her son, Nathan, and his wife had been murdered. Nathan had survived, but the heartache over her daughter-in-law’s death still lingered and now she had no clue where her son or granddaughter were.

  Sham shifted on the bed, his huge brown hands clutched the tan blanket as his eyes shot open. Nana leapt to her feet. “Sham?”

  He focused on her, those black eyes frightening with intensity. “Where’s Cassidy?”

  Nana swallowed and whispered, “Damon took her.”

  “No!” Sham strained to sit up, but fell back onto the mattress. “I’ve got to . . . find her.”

  “Oh, Sham, we don’t even know where she is.” Nana wrung her hands. “If there was somebody’s butt I could kick, believe me, I’d be doing it.”

  “The police know nothing?”

  Nana shook her head. “They have three men in custody now, but nobody’s talking yet.”

  “Nathan?”

  “He doesn’t respond to my calls. When I find him I will kick his butt.”

  Sham tried to sit up again. “I will help you.” He slid back onto the pillows, his dark skin drenched in sweat, but his eyes determined.

  “How did you know to come?” Nana asked.

  Sham sighed, looking at the monitors next to his bed. “We heard Damon posted bail and disappeared. Nathan sent me here to protect Cassidy.” He coughed several times as if to clear his throat.

  Nana had neglected her nursing duties. She grabbed a cup of crushed ice and spoon-fed him a few bits.

  “Thank you.” Sham sucked on the ice and shook his head. “Nathan promised he wouldn’t leave without me, but he must have had no choice.”

  “Leave where?”

  “We flew into Salt Lake together. Supposedly most of the traffickers, including Ramirez and Panetti, are meeting at a ranch in southeastern Idaho. Panetti wanted Jesse there. Nathan was following Jesse to the ranch. He stayed on the freeway while I came through the canyon to your valley. He probably had to keep moving so he wouldn’t lose Jesse. I was supposed to meet up with them after I got you and Cassidy to a secure location.”

  “Jesse is finally turning against his dad?”

  Sham shook his head, his breathing labored. “Jesse’s never been on Panetti’s side, but he doesn’t know Nathan’s tracking him. One of Ramirez’s men was picking Jesse up west of Pocatello.” He took a long breath before continuing, “Jesse thinks he can take out Ramirez alone and he doesn’t want Nathan anywhere near Ramirez or Panetti. Panetti is still protecting Jesse. Nathan they would kill on the spot.”

  “So you think Nathan has gone to Ramirez’s ranch wi
thout you?” Nana shook her head. “Doesn’t work for me. He wouldn’t leave without knowing if Cassidy was all right.”

  Sham grimaced. “You’re right, unless he was in danger of losing his range on the tracking device. That could mean Jesse’s death. He probably assumed I could protect Cassidy.” He was almost gasping for air as he talked now. “And I’m stuck in this bed.”

  Nana straightened so quickly she popped a couple of buttons on her blouse. “Where is the ranch? If we find it, we’ll find Cassidy.”

  Sham studied the blanket. “I don’t know. The last I heard from Nathan, Jesse was west of Pocatello, a little town called Burley.”

  Nana felt a glimmer of hope after the initial shot of despair. “I can at least get that information to the police and Jared, maybe it will help in the search.” She pulled the cell phone from her purse and started dialing.

  Sham nodded. “I wish there was more I could do.”

  “Pray.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, I’m not as good at that as I should be. You could help.”

  Sham gave her a grim smile. “I’m more of an action man.”

  Jared said hello. Nana relayed the little information she’d received from Sham, wishing the action man had been able to protect her Cassie. Sham fell back asleep a few minutes later.

  Nana spent an impatient half hour watching him sleep and wanting to chase after Cassie. The door creaked open. Nana spun around. Cassie’s best friend, Tasha, floated into the room. Her gaze lingered on Sham. “That is one tall drink of Coke.”

  Nana tried to smile but failed. “He is a good-looking man.”

  “I’ll say.” Tasha hovered over Sham’s bed, staring without blinking. “Jared said I should come watch over Sham so you could get some sleep.” Her long fingers rubbed back and forth on the bedrail. “I thought it would be a miserable job, but now I can see he was doing me a favor.”

  Nana slowly stood, looking over the skinny blonde. “What did Jared think you could do if somebody came to hurt Sham?”

  Tasha smiled. “They’ve got two policemen stationed outside. I’m just staying in case he wakes up and thinks of more helpful information. “