Fat Louise (11 page)

Chapter 11
 

“Stop!” The sharp order came from the man coming to a halt in a Jeep.
 

“Raul!” Bailey screamed as she stepped over the body of the man Cade had just killed.
 

Jane jumped for the small child, picking him up from the ground.
 

“Drop your weapon!” Raul ordered Cade.
 

Left with no choice, he dropped his rifle onto the ground as Jane handed the crying toddler to his father who had come running from their house.
 

“Raul!” As Bailey attempted to throw herself into his arms, the back of his hand sent her flying backward. Shocked, she held her hand to her face.
 

“You stupid whore.” Raul took a step toward his wife, who backed away fearfully.
 

“Don’t you dare!” Jane started to move toward her sister yet was held back by one of the soldiers.
 

Raul’s cold eyes glared at her. “You’re just as useless as your sister,” he snarled. “If not for your father’s money, I would never have touched her.”
 

“Raul…” Bailey pleaded.
 

“Shut up with your whining. I’ve heard enough over the last few weeks.” Raul turned from her and strode toward Cade, ordering, “Tie them up and put them in the cars”
 

As one of the soldiers struck Cade with the butt of his rifle, Jane winced, crying out. The soldier didn’t hesitate as he threw her to the ground. One tried to take her backpack, and Jane attempted to jerk it away. She kept his attention focused on trying to tug the backpack away while she reached behind her back for the knife she had slipped into her jeans. Jerking hard on the strap, the soldier was slightly off balance, and Jane used his forward momentum to stab him,
stepping to the side, before she tossed his gun to Cade.
 

Mayhem erupted.
 

“Run, Bailey!” Jane took off running toward an outcropping of rocks that weren’t too far away. Bailey took one look at Raul’s face and started fleeing.
 

“Don’t shoot!” Raul’s order shocked Jane, but she figured that, as hostages, they would be useless dead. Her father would demand proof of life before he would pay any ransom. Jane heard gunfire behind her yet didn’t turn back to see how Cade was doing.
 

They managed to make it to the rock where they dropped down behind one to catch their breath.
 

“I hate you! This is all your fault!”
 

“Will … you … please … be quiet before they find us?” Jane said.
 

“I had a happy marriage before you showed up! You can fucking die for all I care.” Bailey lowered her head to the rock and cried.
 

Jane belatedly realized her mistake. She should never have tried to save her ungrateful sister. She was with the sick son of a bitch she wanted. They deserved each other.
 

Jane crawled into the confined space. Peering over the rocks, she saw the soldiers looking for them; however, Cade was nowhere to be seen.
 

Jane heard a sound to her left, tensing, and then gave a sigh of relief.
 

“Cade.” He had blood dripping from a cut above his eye. “Are you all right?” she asked, afraid the soldiers would see her movements.
 

“No,” he replied, grimacing as he hunkered down. His face was becoming a bloody mess.
 

“I’m sorry,” Jane apologized.
 

“It’s not your fault they found us,” Cade reassured her. “You managed to save our asses.”
 

“What are they going to do?”
 

“Search for us until they find us again,” he answered truthfully, which Jane respected.
 

Bailey began wailing.
 

“Jesus, don’t you ever shut up?” he snapped. “They’ll kill me right away, but they’re going to try to blackmail your father for money, so it will be awhile before they kill you two. Maybe he can secure your release. I don’t know. It depends on if he can get the money to them.”
 

“Maybe he won’t have to,” Jane uttered, scooting her body closer to his.
 

“What do you mean?” Cade asked her.
 

“We can walk out of Mexico. It’s done all the time.”
 

“I’m not walking.” Bailey stuck her feet out, showing her shoes. The flat sandals would be no barrier to rocks and dirt.
 

Jane pulled off her tennis shoes, placing them next to Bailey. “Give me your sandals. I’ll wear them.” Bailey took off the sandals, putting on Jane’s tennis shoes. Cade had hoped they wouldn’t fit, but they did. Used to giving up her things to her spoiled sister, Jane had known they would.
 

“What now?” Bailey asked, tying the shoes.
 

“We’ll wait and give the guards time to give up and search another area. Thank fuck it’s so hot they won’t search long.”
 

“Come on.” Cade told them as soon as the last of the Raul’s men drove away and it became dark.
 

Jane and Bailey stood, beginning the long trek toward the border. Following Cade, they moved silently through the inky darkness. While they ran from the town through a wooded area, all Jane could hear was Bailey’s complaining.
 

It didn’t take long before Bailey bent over, crying out from a pain in her side.
 

“I can’t run anymore!”
 

“If you don’t be quiet, I’m going to strangle you,” Cade threatened.
 

Bending over, he tossed her over his shoulder and kept running. Jane ignored her own exhaustion, trying to keep up as best she could.
 

She didn’t know how long they ran before they stopped to rest. Jane was relieved, uncertain how much farther she could have gone.
 

“We’ll rest here for a few minutes then leave. We need to get as far as we can while it’s dark.
 

Jane took a drink from the bottled water she had in her backpack. Thank God she had been smart enough to pick it up before running away from the soldier she had stabbed. She then passed it to Bailey who took deep gulps of the precious liquid.
 

“Don’t drink it all,” Cade said, taking the water away.
 

“I’m still thirsty,” she complained.
 

“This water may have to last us awhile.” He took a small sip for himself before closing it.
 

“That’s not enough,” Jane protested.
 

“It’s enough for now.” He got back to his feet. “Let’s get going.”
 

This time, Bailey walked. She was slower, but at least she was carrying her own weight.
 

It was still dark when they found an abandoned RV riddled with bullet holes next to a small pond.
 

“Am I dreaming?” Jane asked as Cade cautiously scouted out the deserted area.
 

“No. It must have belonged to someone transporting illegals or drugs. They used it because of the water”—he pointed to the pond—“and it’s secluded. We should be able to hide out here for the day. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a while.”
 

Jane investigated the RV. It had been ransacked, with nothing left behind. There was a thin mattress lying on the floor. Jane was forgetting what it was like to sleep in a normal bed.
 

She turned the mattress over, seeing it looked somewhat cleaner on that side.
 

“Go ahead and lie down, Bailey.”
 

Her sister lay down without offering her thanks. She didn’t even move over so Jane could lie down, even though there was room. Jane’s shoulders sank as she turned away, laying down her backpack on the floor and using it as a pillow.
 

When Cade returned, he paused in the doorway, taking in the difference in the girls’ positions. Jane saw his lips tighten.
 

“Come lie next to me,” Bailey offered Cade the spot next to her.
 

“Jane, go lie down with your sister. I’ll take the floor.”
 

 As Jane got off the floor and went to lie uncomfortably next to her sister while Cade lay on the floor, she felt Bailey’s anger through the darkness. Jane didn’t have time to wonder at her sister’s behavior, though. She was too tired. She fell asleep, clinging to the side of the mattress to give Bailey more room.
 

*  *  *
 

Bright sunlight woke her. Jane’s aching fingers released her grip on the mattress. As she looked around the small trailer, she saw she was alone. Jane was frightened until she heard her sister’s voice from outside. Stiffly, she climbed off the mattress and went to the door of the trailer.
 

Cade and Bailey were sitting next to each other by the pond talking. Jane had seen that look on women’s faces too many times not to know what it meant. Her sister was attracted to Cade. She was looking up at him beneath lowered lashes, smiling at him flirtatiously.
 

Jane felt her stomach sink. Her sister always managed to snare any man she wanted, and now she had definitely picked Cade as her replacement for Raul now that she realized the chances of them getting back together were nil.
 

Jane walked forward, hearing them talk about Bailey’s visit to Europe.
 

“You’ll have to visit when we get out of here,” she was saying.
 

“I’ll think about it,” Cade answered noncommittally.
 

“I thought we would have left by now,” Jane interrupted.
 

Cade shrugged. “If we move out in the open, they’ll see us for sure. If we wait here, we can leave when it gets dark. We’re close enough to the boarder to make a run for it if we hear any vehicles approaching.”
 

Bailey jumped to her feet. “Do you think it would be possible to take a quick dip if I hurry? I feel filthy in these clothes.”
 

“Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye out. Just don’t take long.” Cade stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants.
 

Jane was shocked at her sister’s behavior when she didn’t wait for Cade to turn his back before she started stripping off her clothes. She wanted to smack her sister as she waded in naked, taking her time before lowering her body into the water.
 

Cade made no pretense of not watching, and Jane couldn’t blame him. Her sister had large breasts and a small waist that flared out to curvy hips. She had shaved her pussy, which highlighted her long, golden legs. Bailey had not had anything to do for the last few weeks except sunbathe while her family worried about her.
 

Cade’s amused expression caught hers. “Don’t you want to clean up?”
 

Jane’s hand went to her dirt smeared face. “No, thanks.” She sat down on the bank of the
pond, averting her eyes as her sister made the most of the male attention she was receiving.
 

Jane’s eyes widened when her sister came out of the water, taking her time to get redressed.
 

“Do you have a comb, Jane?”
 

“No.”
 

Bailey gave a fake laugh. “You have grenades but no comb?”
 

“No, I don’t,” Jane repeated. “Maybe you can find something inside. I didn’t look in the overhead cabinets.”
 

Bailey went in the trailer to look.
 

“You and your sister don’t get along, do you?” Cade asked, not taking his attention from the area surrounding them.
 

“No. We didn’t grow up together, but I hear a lot of sisters don’t get along.” Jane tried to make light of the situation. She had tried to be close to Bailey, yet Bailey had rebuffed all of Jane’s attempts.
 

“She try to steal all your boyfriends?” Cade teased.
 

“There weren’t any to steal,” Jane confessed. “She doesn’t care for any of my friends.”
 

“You haven’t had any boyfriends, but you have male friends?”
 

“I have a lot of those. I belong to a motorcycle club. At least, I think I belong. My friend Sex Piston does. Her father was the former president and her husband is now. Since I’m her friend, it means I’m a member, too, doesn’t it?”
 

Cade just stared at her. “You don’t know?”
 

Jane bit her lip. “Of course I know. I am a member.” She nodded her head, trying to convince herself. “Stud lets all of us hang out at the clubhouse.”
 

“Who’s Stud?”
 

“Sex Piston’s husband. He’s a nice guy. Me and my friends really like him.”
 

“They all have nicknames like Stud and Sex Piston?”
 

“Of course,” Jane stated. “There’s also Killyama, Crazy Bitch, and T.A. We’ve all been friends since grade school, except Sex Piston. She didn’t join our group until middle school.”
 

“What’s your nickname?”
 

“Fat Louise.”
 

He stopped looking around, turning to study her, instead. “Fat Louise?”
 

“I was a little chunky when I was younger,” Jane admitted.
 

Cade stared at her doubtfully.
 

“It’s true.” She nodded. “I have to work hard to keep the weight off. I like to eat a lot.”
 

“You look like you need to gain ten pounds.”
 

Jane shook her head. “No, I’m exactly the weight I’m supposed to be, according to my height and age.”
 

“How do you know that?”
 

“Because I work to stay in that range.”
 

“Does it really matter if you’re a few pounds above?”
 

“Yes,” Jane said grimly. She had worked hard to lose the weight.