Closing Books (16 page)

This wasn't a neighborhood where a woman should be walking alone, even if she had a gun with her.

He slowed his car further and pulled to a stop at the end of the street. Parking his car, Dan watched as car after car drove past him.

Running his hand through his hair, Dan closed his eyes and forced his over-anxious mind to calm down. He didn't know what else to do. If Evelyn wasn't here, he had no idea where she’d be.

He took his phone and sent another text.

Eve, I don’t know when you’ll see this text, but I need you to know that you don’t have to do this alone. I’m really worried. Please call me. Please let me help.

The ringing of his phone suddenly broke the silence in his car. He picked it up immediately when he saw that it was Kate calling. "Tell me you found her."
 

The awkward silence and the same tension resonated on the other end of the phone. "She isn't here. Maybe we should move on, drive by some playgrounds nearby, instead of circling around here. Maybe that Amy woman lives somewhere nearby."

He sighed. That was the only solution left. He nodded, completely forgetting that Kate wouldn't be able to see him.

“Dan, she’s extremely street wise and…”

He was glad that Kate let her words trail off. He knew she wanted to tell him that Evelyn had a gun, that she could protect herself, and that she’d be safe. But with how things had unfolded, Amy didn't seem like someone who would back off without a fight. "Go ahead. I'll drive another round, just to make sure.”

After another fruitless round, he decided that if she weren’t already there, she probably wouldn’t turn up regardless of the number of rounds he made.
 

When he was turning out of the neighborhood, he got a call from Tyler. The moment he picked up the call, Kate said, “The GPS notification came back. I’m texting you the address now. I’m going to log into the app and I’ll let you know if she moves. We’re already on the way. Look for our car.”

Thank God for best friends.
He knew they were invading Evelyn’s privacy, but right now he couldn’t love Kate more.
 

As he drove into the familiar neighborhood, he was slightly relieved that Evelyn had sense to choose a safer neighborhood than the one they had been at.

It was the park they were at when she first picked up the call and walked away from him.

He parked his car right beside Tyler’s silver beamer and checked his phone again. If Evelyn had switched on her phone, she should have seen his messages.
 

Then why hasn’t she replied?

Pushing the door open, Dan stepped out and immediately noticed Joseph’s car parked behind Tyler’s. He twirled the phone in his hand, refusing to put it back into his pocket; he didn’t want to miss her call or text.
 

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked, getting into the back seat.

“We were just heading out to help in the search for your sorta-girlfriend when Kate called us to meet them here,” Ryan said, then he jerked his chin forward and continued. “She’s right there; at least Kate insists it’s her.”

“I’m sure. I have perfect eyesight, remember?” she said without taking her eyes off the target.

Dan looked ahead and narrowed his eyes, squinting at the silhouette standing by the playground that wasn’t far from them. Kate seemed to be right; the way the woman paced, the way she hitched her bag up on her shoulders, and above all else, the way she kept glancing over her shoulders.
 

Whenever they were out in the open, Evelyn would often turn her head periodically, and systematically, in all directions, as though she was scanning the area for potential danger. She never did that when they were in a place or a room filled with people. It didn’t matter if she knew the people, or if they were strangers she’d never met; crowds just seemed to ease her nerves.
 

Still, he had to ask, “How can you be sure? She isn’t
that
near to us.”

“It’s her. I can just tell. Plus, I’d recognize that bag anywhere.”

“Kate, I don’t mean to question you, but it’s just a bag,” Joseph said when he noticed Dan hesitating. “You didn’t piss her off again, did you?” Joseph shook his head when he saw Dan giving him a quick brow raise.

“I’m going to make him pay for whatever he said later. As for the bag, it’s
not
just a bag. I remember it because it’s a limited edition bag and I searched all over the place for it.”

“Then why are we still sitting here?” Dan asked, his hand already reaching toward the door.

Taking a quick glance over at him, Kate answered, “Ty says she looks like she’s waiting for someone.”

“Probably crazy Amy,” Ryan added.

Dan pulled the door closed again. “So you all know?”

“Kate filled us in.”

“I still think it’s better for us to wait with her, rather than stalk her like this,” Joseph said, turning to Dan for his opinion.

He sighed and nodded. “I know that’s the right thing to do, but if we all storm the playground, she’s just going to freak and it won’t be a nice scene. We should just wait it out.”

“We don’t have to storm in. We can wait for her while you and Kate go ahead. And probably Ty, since he’s never going to let Kate out of his sight ever again,” Ryan said, giving Kate his teasing smile.

Everyone laughed while Kate grinned and ran her hand down Tyler’s arm.
 

“Maybe, but I’d rather not risk it. If we screw up, she’s really going to disappear. I mean, right now, she probably doesn’t know that her best friend has hacked her account and tracked her phone. If she sees us, I’m pretty sure she’ll suspect something.”
 

He continued staring at the figure walking up and down the edge of the playground, constantly glancing over her shoulders and hitching her bag up her shoulders.
 

“It’ll be all right. We’re all here. No one can hurt her,” Joseph said with a pat on his back.

He smiled and nodded. “Thanks, for helping.”

“I was wrong to judge.”

He nodded again and looked out at the pacing figure. “We all were.”

Evelyn twirled her phone in her hands, and hitched the bag higher up her shoulders as she continued pacing up and down along the edge of the playground. Pausing for a moment, she forced herself to take a deep breath.
 

There was no need to be nervous. This would be the last time she’d ever see Amy—exactly what she wanted right from the start, closing the books on her past, once and for all.

She was done getting hauled back into her past, living in fear of her ugly secret being exposed, and having to hide and lie to people who cared about her.
 

Checking the time on her phone, she glanced around at the empty park and sat on the bench that had been waiting, for the past forty-five minutes, to serve its purpose. It wasn’t a sensible idea to be alone in the park at such late hours, but she didn’t know where else to go. She wasn’t sure how things would go down, and she didn’t want to be in public scrutiny when that happened.

With her back against the bench, she looked over her shoulder again, making sure no one else was in the vicinity. Unconsciously, she pulled the bag higher up on her shoulder, slightly comforted that her gun was right within her bag.
 

After another scan of the surroundings, she slipped the bag off her shoulders, placing it on her lap. She looped the handle of her bag over one of her arms and watched idly as the breeze rocked the swing back and forth.
 

Her mind wandered to how a childhood involving swings, picnics, and amusement parks would be like.
 

How would it feel to be a child, playing, laughing, and running wild across the park? How would it feel to look over at a bench and see an encouraging smile from someone who loved her more than anything in the world? How would it feel to walk over and have someone’s hand held out, ready to take her home?

Unconsciously, a teardrop slipped down the corner of her eye. She quickly brushed the tear away and lifted her chin to stop the rest of the tears from brimming over.
 

She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, regaining her composure.

She rummaged about her bag and took out her cell phone. Again, she read the texts that Dan had sent. She’d already read the texts several times had been meaning to reply; she just didn’t know what to say.

Looking into the distance, her mind spaced out for a moment before she returned to her phone, her fingers skimming across the screen of the phone as if she could touch Dan through the messages.

She’d thought Dan wouldn’t want to be associated with her once he’d heard her story, and seeing his texts was giving her second thoughts about leaving.

But even if he didn’t mind her past, he wouldn’t be able to accept the future she couldn’t give him.

Her hand wrapped over her abdomen, and she clutched onto her dress.
 

“I was expecting you to bring reinforcements.”

She dropped her phone into her bag and wiped all expressions from her face. She stood and turned. “You shouldn’t have done that today. You just solved my problem, the cat is out of the bag. This is over.”

“This is over for Evelyn. As for you, Amy, it depends.”

Evelyn recognized that voice anywhere, but instinctively, her hand was already reaching for her gun. “What are you doing here?” she asked, releasing her grip on the gun and casting a quick glance over her shoulder to keep an eye on Amy.
 

“To help you put a stop to her nonsense and bring you home,” Dan answered, stepping closer.

“I—”

“You don’t need to do everything by yourself,” Kate interrupted, stepping out from behind Dan.

Evelyn took her eyes off Dan and peered behind him to see the rest of the guys.

Before she could get her throat working again, Dan stepped forward and pulled her to his side in time for her to see the smirk on Amy’s face.

“If you think that the few of you are going to scare me, you think wrong. You,” Amy said, pointing her index finger at Evelyn. “You’re going to keep paying me as long as I want, or I’ll haunt you, telling all your colleagues and clients about your past.”

“Tell them what? That she’s a survivor? She’s a successful business owner? Her only colleague is standing right here, with a very angry husband.”

“Oh, the prince is upset that the princess got hurt? That’s what happens to people who get in
my
way. That slash is my warning. The next time, it’ll be on your pretty little face.”

Evelyn couldn’t stop the corners of her lips from turning up. She shook her head as Amy took an audacious step forward, clearly intending to continue her threats in Kate’s face.

Tyler stepped forward calmly—way too calmly.

She watched Tyler reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. She frowned, her brows deepening as Tyler tapped something on his phone looking up at Amy.

“I highly suggest that you watch your tone.” Then with another tap on his phone, Tyler turned the phone toward Amy.

Though soft, Evelyn could hear the conversation they had with Amy over the past few minutes.

Amy stepped forward and tried to grab the phone away from Tyler, but compared to him, Amy was a dwarf.
 

Tyler merely raised his arm above him while the other hand pushed into Amy’s face, forcing her to stagger back.

“That’s my first warning to you. I don’t want you near my wife, so if you step forward again, I’ll break you.”

When Evelyn saw the disorientation in Amy’s eyes, she gave up trying to conceal her smile and broke into a wide grin.

“On top of this recording, a veteran lawyer is now getting an official statement from the cab driver who saw everything you did, and he’s more than willing to appear as a witness,” Dan added.

Scorning at Dan’s words, the smirk returned to Amy’s face. “I’ve been to jail before. It’s nothing.”

Evelyn shifted uncomfortably. The problem with dealing with people like Amy was that they had nothing to lose. Dan must have felt her anxiety; he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You stay in a neighborhood with quite a lot of gang influence, and Tyler won’t have a problem getting detectives to arrest certain gang leaders and give them the impression that you’re the cause of the harassment. What kind of problem do you think that will have for you?” Dan paused for a moment before continuing. “We can start with your drug supplier,” Dan said, staring at the bruises right below her elbow.

Amy’s face blanched, but she quickly composed herself. “All your reputations will be ruined when people know that you associate with a woman like her.” Amy’s index finger jabbed forward again and she took a step nearer.

Evelyn wanted to reach out and break Amy’s finger, but Dan tightened his grip and pulled Evelyn a step back before grabbing Amy’s finger and twisting her arm backward in an awkward position. “Don’t struggle. Your arm will pop out of your socket.”

“I think we forgot to mention that we’re all judo black belt. You should stop stepping within our reach,” Ryan said while Joseph pulled Evelyn back farther from Amy.
 

Before she knew it, she was half a step behind the group, the guys all standing protectively in front of her.
 

She stared blankly, looking at the backs of the guys. For the first time in her life, she didn’t have to fight her own battle. Ironically, it was also when she had the epiphany on why Kate got irritated whenever the guys jumped in front of her for every problem she had.

It was slightly demeaning; it was as if they all thought she wasn’t capable of solving her problems, and the feminist in her was tempted to shove her way back to the frontline and take Amy on herself.
 

Then again, she’d never felt so protected in her life.

Evelyn glanced to her side and saw the small smile Kate had on her face.
 

“I’m so sorry for getting you hurt,” she said, forgetting about Amy.