Pink Neon

by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

  By the time he walked into the small kitchen, his mother poured her first cup of coffee and startled when she saw him. “Mi hijo, I didn’t know you were up so early. It’s just now six o’clock.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been awake awhile.” He hoped she still brewed coffee strong. From the looks of the same silver percolator on the counter, he thought she must. “Cecily’s still asleep, though.”

  “Come drink coffee with your brother and me,” Luz said. “C’mon, we’ll sit at the table.”

  Michael slouched over his mug and grinned. “Don’t tell me the tequila was too much for you.”

  “Huh?”

  Luz frowned. “I wondered, too. Yesterday, you looked like a man on vacation but now you look more like you’re on death row. Did something happen?”

  Daniel sighed. Damn, he couldn’t fool his near and dear after all. “There may be a situation developing in Branson,” he said. “Cicely’s cousin called her in the middle of the night.”

  His mother’s blue eyes clouded. “It’s dangerous.” It wasn’t a question and he cringed when he noticed she had a faraway distant expression. Catholic to the core, she sometimes claimed to have visions, a gift handed down through the bloodline by her Comanche grandmother. “Daniel, you have to be careful.”

  Pressure and maternal concern were exactly what he didn’t need. Before he could unscramble his brains to reply, he heard the unmistakable sound of Cecily screaming.

  Damn it to hell, this day, no matter what happen, was destined to suck but he said nothing as he pushed back his chair and went to check on his querida.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The scream clawed out of her belly and up her throat, raw and unstoppable. Cecily didn’t wake until after she started shrieking and although she knew where she was, she couldn’t stop. Disjointed images haunted her, terrible scenes from her nightmare but they jumbled together. Terror lingered and so did the crimson blood from the dream. Daniel burst into the room with such speed he almost tripped. “Querida, what’s wrong?” he cried.

  “I dreamed something bad,” she said, aware she sounded like a little girl. Then she burst into tears, fast and furious. She lunged forward and he scooped her into his arms, dragging the covers into a tangle.

  “It’s all right,” he said. He cradled her against his chest and she heard the rapid rate of his heartbeat. She guessed she’d just scared the shit out of him. Didn’t do a whole lot of good for me, either. “You just had a dream, that’s all.”

  Cecily tossed her head back and forth. “No,” she said with force. “It’s more than that. Nia’s in trouble or something. And you’re in danger too.”

  Daniel’s dark eyes burned as he gazed into her face. “First Mama, now you,” he muttered.

  “I don’t understand.”

  He sighed. “I doubt I do either. So, you get these psychic feelings, huh?”

  “I don’t like it but yeah, sometimes, I do,” Cecily said. It wasn’t something she liked to admit. “Always have. My mom said it must be gypsy blood or something.”

  “So does Mama,” Daniel told her. “Just before you started screaming, she must’ve had one. She said there’s danger. In her case, it’s a genetic gift from her Comanche grandma.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  This time he shut his eyes before he exhaled hard. “I do,” he said in a harsh voice. “That’s the trouble. I do believe both of you and it scares the piss out of me. I think things are about to get ugly.”

  On cue her cell phone rang, the tune shrill and insistent. Foreboding sucked the air out of her lungs as she fumbled to grab it from the bedside table. “Hello?”

  Nia’s voice sounded fainter than stone washed denim. “Cecily, it’s me. I got to tell you something...”

  Daniel bent closer to listen as she replied, “What’s the matter?”

  “He’s here.”

  “Who?”

  “Johnson fucking Hamilton!” Nia said just before Cecily heard the sound of a slap and her cousin’s screeched, “Ouch, asshole!”

  “What’s going on?” Cecily cried. “Nia?”

  “It’s me,” a dark voice, bass and harsh said into her ear. “I need to see you, bitch eyes. I got to settle up with you so you need to come home.”

  “Fuck you,” Cecily said. “You leave Nia alone and come find me.”

  “If you want to see this cunt alive, you’d better come running,” Johnson said. “We’ll be at your little shop. You’ve got twelve hours so hurry or I kill her just like I did Willard. Show up by six thirty this evening or it’s over.”

  Her body trembled against her will and she couldn’t make it quit. Her lips opened and closed twice before she could shove words out. “I’ll be there,” she said. “Don’t hurt her.”

  “Just get here, bitch.”

  The snarled words echoed and then nothing. Daniel plucked the phone from her hand. She stared at him. “Did you hear all of it?”

  “Yeah, I did.”

  Cecily rocketed out of his arms and groped for her discarded clothing. He watched her, his face blank and bland. “Querida, what are you doing?”

  “We need to go back to Branson,” she said. “Nia needs help and that bastard wants to see me so get ready. We’ll have to fly. There isn’t time to drive back. C’mon, sugar, get dressed.”

  Low-pitched, his voice sounded more dangerous than she’d ever heard it. “He doesn’t want to see you, Cecily. He needs to kill you.”

  Right now, it didn’t matter but Nia did. “You can stop him.”

  He caught her wrist in his grasp and held it. “I can and I will but you’re not going anywhere. I brought you here to keep you safe.”

  Hysteria swirled within. She wanted to cry or scream or kick her feet against the floor like a two year old in a tantrum. Cecily’s stomach churned and a wave of nausea slowed her rapid actions. “Oh, shit,” she said.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think I’m going to puke,” she moaned and did as her tummy turned inside out. No way would she make it down the hall to Luz’s bathroom so she aimed for the wastebasket by the door. She heaved with force and each time she did, her body wanted to rip in two. Wretched noises accompanied each round and she figured everyone else heard her upchucking. Cecily dropped to her knees and hugged the trash can so she wouldn’t miss and make a worse mess. Daniel knelt behind her. His warm hand on her back steadied her. When she quit spewing, he helped her to her feet. “C’mon, I’ll take you to the bathroom now so you can rinse your mouth and clean up,” he said. “Then I’ll see if mom has something to settle your stomach.”

  “I’m fine,” she said with a bravado she didn’t feel. Her legs wobbled and the round of puking left her spent. “It’s like before, just a gut reaction, sugar. I’m not sick or anything.”

  Daniel mumbled something in Spanish and it was probably a good thing she couldn’t understand. In the restroom, he ran cold water and wet a cloth. With gentle hands, he wiped her face and hands. Then he offered her a cup so she could wash the bitter taste away. Someone tapped on the closed door and Luz asked something in rapid Spanish. Daniel replied in the same language and then added, “She says she isn’t sick.”

  “I’m not,” Cecily said. “And I need to go to Branson.”

  “You’re not going anywhere but to bed,” Daniel told her. “I’ll go as soon as I can catch a flight. I’ll be back with your cousin, safe, before you hardly have time to miss me.”

  “No fucking way,” she replied. “It’s my cousin, it’s my mess. I’m going.”

  His hands brushed her long braids away from her face, gentle as his eyes became dark steel. “No, querida, you’re not. I want you safe so you’ll stay here. He has to kill you or he’s aware you’ll prove he did the crime, not you. He’s got to get rid of you to get away with what he’s done. And I’ll be damned if I let that happen.”

  Stomach still rolling, nerves on high alert, somewhere down deep Cecily realized he talked sense. The last thing she want
ed to do would be to fly but she believed she should. And she needed to be at Daniel’s side. Intuition screamed warnings faster than she could process them. Flickers of her nightmare returned. Danger lurked in the shadows and waited to pounce. She might be in trouble but Nia’s life was at stake along with Daniel’s. Some of the blood-spattered scenes she recalled in gory bits involved him. The one disturbing her most had been his unmoving hand sprawled out into a puddle of blood.

  “I have to go with you,” she told him. “Your mama’s right – there’s danger for you. I can’t stand not knowing what’s happening. I need to be there.”

  His stern expression relaxed a fraction. “You can’t change whatever happens,” he said in a quiet voice. “No matter how much you might want to do it.”

  “But I want to come.” Aware of losing ground in her battle to go along, Cecily began to cave. She loved him too much to fight and his compassionate caring eroded her will to argue.

  “You can’t, not this time,” he promised. “I’ll go and be back here tonight, tomorrow at the latest with your cousin. Then it will be over and we can get on with life. I’ve got you, querida, and I don’t intend to give you over to the grave. We’ve got a future, Cecily, and I’m not compromising it. Besides, you’re in no shape to go anywhere. You’ve lost all color in your face and you’re shaking worse than a wet dog. Whether its nerves or you’ve got a virus, you’re sick to your stomach. Please let me take you back to bed, clean up the mess, and go. We’re wasting time fighting about it when I need to be getting a plane ticket and heading up there.”

  Her tummy threatened to rebel again and her legs considered collapse. Her skin alternated from searing hot to cold. Dizziness made the room spin, the result of her intense spell of puking but she felt icky enough not to argue anymore. “All right,” she said with a major sigh. “You win. I’ll stay, you go but you promise to be damn careful. And call me a lot. And bring Nia back in one piece, you hear?”

  Daniel held her in his arms and nuzzled her forehead with his lips. “I promise all of it, mi corazon. Now, come back to bed while I clean up after you.”

  Cecily nodded. “Okay but I want to get dressed, not lie back down.”

  The sour stench of her vomit almost undid her resolve. She thought she’d be sick again but she held her nose as he removed the offending mess. “At least you managed to get it all in the trash can,” he commented as he carried it away. “I’ll be right back.”

  Although the smell lingered, she managed to put on clean jeans and a fresh blouse in his absence. Cecily touched some lavender perfume to both wrists and the hollow of her throat to further banish the bitter odor. Fresh air from the window helped too. By the time Daniel returned, she’d put on a little lipstick too and made the bed. His grim expression lightened a little when he saw her. “I thought you were going to lie down.”

  “I can’t,” she said. “I’m too worried and nervous. And I want to go to the airport when you leave to say good-bye.”

  He gathered her into his embrace and held her tight. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not.”

  Some things she’d concede and others she wouldn’t. “I’m going.”

  An hour later, around eight o’clock, Daniel had a seat on a plane leaving El Paso International at nine. Cecily sipped a tepid soft drink while he booked it online through one of the travel sites. He’d have a layover at Dallas-Fort Worth airport but could catch the connecting flight into Springfield-Branson Airport and arrive around four thirty or five. “I’ll rent a car from there,” he told Cecily. “And I’ll get to Branson, take care of the situation and come back.”

  “You’d better,” she told him. Dark foreboding gnawed around the edges of her heart. I don’t like this, not at all. “Want me to pack for you?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m traveling light. There’s nothing I really need but thanks.”

  “What if you need to change clothes?”

  “I left a few things at your place,” he told her. “Or I can buy a pair of jeans if I need them.”

  Michael cleared his throat. “Are you ready? We need to go if you want to make your flight.”

  “Yeah,” Daniel said. “Let’s go.”

  Luz stood straight as a soldier at attention near the front door. Her lips pressed together in a tight line, her demeanor somber. Michael patted her shoulder as he headed out to his vehicle but when Daniel approached, Luz opened wide her arms. He kissed her cheek and hugged her. Cecily heard their whispered exchange in Spanish but couldn’t grasp more than a few simple words. But she understood the pain and worry clouding Luz’s eyes. Daniel followed his brother and Cecily paused. “We’ll be back in a little while,” she said to the older woman.

  “When you do, we talk,” Luz said. “By then you’ll know what you must do, chica.”

  With no idea what she meant, Cecily nodded. She’d thought Daniel’s mom liked her but maybe not. “Okay, sure.”

  At the airport the red brown hills loomed tall beyond the runways and dwarfed the large terminal. Michael dropped them both off near the arrivals entrance because there weren’t any parking slots near and time grew short. “Watch your ass,” he said to Daniel as they climbed out onto the pavement.

  “I will.” Daniel leaned back into the truck to clasp his younger brother’s hand and then slung his arm across Cecily’s shoulders. “Let’s get this over with, querida.”

  I don’t want to let him go. I can’t. But she walked into the terminal with him, aware she must. Cecily remained at his side as he picked up his ticket and hustled to the boarding gate with a short time to spare. She clung to his hand, unwilling to break physical connection. Over all the din of the busy airport, they heard the last boarding call announced for his flight. “Don’t you have to go through security?” Cecily asked.

  “No,” he said. “I took care of it when I picked up my ticket. I’m exempt because I’m a federal agent. So it’s time, querida.”

  “Oh, god, sugar,” she said. Tears stood in her eyes although she willed them not to flow. “I want to say so much and can’t think of anything to say except I love you.”

  “Te amo,” he said. He stood facing her. “I’ll be back tomorrow if not tonight.”

  “Take care,” she whispered. “Call me, all the time or I’ll go crazy.”

  “You won’t but I’ll call when I can” he told her. “Kiss me and I’ll go.”

  Willing, she took a step closer and their mouths fused together with furious need. They matched and fit together, she thought, two halves of one whole. Until Daniel, she’d never known love could be both joy and sorrow, a sharp-edged knife. As they kissed, Cecily touched his hair, her fingers combing through it as if she could commit each strand to memory. She caressed his cheeks, stroked his arms, and then just held him. The kiss became communion and a blessing.

  Daniel stoked her inner desire with his lips but deeper, he drank from her and she gave all she had. Before he released her, his arms tightened around her and she drew strength from his love. “Go,” he said. “Michael will pick you up and take you back to Mama’s house. I’ll call you and I love you. Adiós!”

  “Bye,” Cecily whispered. “I love you.”

  He squared his shoulders and walked down the long hallway to his plane without glancing back. Cecily’s heart ached as she watched, eyes blinded with tears she didn’t try to stop any longer. It isn’t good-bye forever, it’s not. He’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll run to meet him. He’ll wrap me up in his arms and I won’t let him stop. It’s going to be fine. Her bravado provided courage to take the first few steps back through the terminal but she stopped, stricken with a sudden image in her head. Daniel, face down on the floor, blood puddled beneath him and Nia screaming, mouth open wide, eyes staring.

  Panic built up, pressure within her chest until Cecily thought she’d burst open. She paused and leaned against the wall, dizzy and sick to her stomach with the impact of what she’d seen. It’s not real. It’s just because I’m so scared. It won�
��t happen. Her wild thoughts rushed through her mind with the force of hurricane winds but she knew although it hadn’t happened yet, it might. She never saw visions or whatever the hell you called this shit often and when she did, sometimes things came true, sometimes they didn’t. But when they didn’t, she caused change. I’ve gotta change it now. I have to – I can’t lose him. I won’t.

  Luz wanted to talk, she remembered. And recalled too that Daniel had said something about Luz’s having psychic gifts. Maybe she’ll have answers. Together we can figure it out unless she wants to chew me out for bringing danger to her son. She doubted the last – Luz appeared to like her. Spurred with a combination of determination and hope, Cecily found her stride and strolled outside where Michael, as promised, picked her up.

  She didn’t say much on the ride back to Luz’s as her thoughts wandered. She missed Daniel already. Part of her mind winged across the wide open skies with him and she imagined the view from the jet’s windows, the blue punctuated with puffy clouds. Although she’d never tired before, Cecily attempted to cut loose her thoughts to see if they could find him, like a homing pigeon. Maybe she imagined it but she swore she sensed him, believed she tuned into his mind. Something of his personality touched her and lingered the way a favorite aroma might. He’s tense and afraid but he won’t show it, he’s wound tight and he’s becoming lethal, something I’ve not seen in him before now. And he loves me, he’s thinking about me.

  After blowing mental kisses his way, hoping he might somehow be aware, she stared out the truck window. Michael made an effort to talk and although she answered each question he used as a conversation starter, Cecily didn’t elaborate and they fell silent. She hoped he didn’t mind – she liked him but he brought out long latent bashful qualities she thought she’d shed with adolescence. Queasiness still made her stomach uneasy and her concerns preoccupied her mind.