“Worse than that, I confirmed it,” Porter adds.
I hear the front door open and three sets of footsteps as they march out of the house. Tiptoeing over to my bedroom window, I peer into the darkness to see if I can catch a glimpse of them. After a minute, they are standing in a circle a good twenty or thirty feet from the house, and by the way Lee’s arms are flailing, I’m guessing he’s not happy I know about their lifestyle. Which is too bad because I still have a million and two questions.
A phone rings downstairs. Then again. When none of them make a move to come back to the house, I realize the guys can’t hear it. Wondering if it is my sister, I rush down the stairs and grab what looks like two cell phones glued together to make a thick one.
“Hello?”
Silence on the other end.
“Hello. Leti?”
“Identify yourself,” a gruff voice barks on the other end.
“This is…” I pause as the door swings opens and Lee stares down at me with a murderous glare. He puts his finger against his lip and shakes his head, his other hand out, palm up.
I put the phone in his hand, pressing my lips together.
He lifts it to his ear as Case and Porter enter behind him. “This is Lee.”
I can hear the raised voices coming through the other end of the line. Lee’s teeth clench and the muscles in his jaw flex, but he says nothing as the caller rants on.
After a full minute or more, he says, “Are you done?”
Porter looks at me and shakes his head as if he’s disappointed, running his hand over his closely cropped hair. Then I glance at Case, who looks almost as angry as Lee, his cheeks flushed red. I slump down and perch on the second from the bottom stair.
“Repeat that part,” Lee says calmly. Thirty seconds later, he says, “Fuck.”
I can’t take it. If he’s getting information about Leti, and his only response is to say fuck and not look at me… well, that can’t be good. My body shakes uncontrollably, and before I know it, tears are streaming down my cheeks and a sob rips from my throat. I haven’t cried in so long; I forgot how to do it.
I cover my face with my hands to shut everything out.
“Hold on a second,” Lee says, but he sounds like he’s in another world.
Seconds later, someone is pulling me into their lap and wrapping their arms around me. It’s Porter, and Case is sitting next to him, pulling my legs up onto his lap. Lee is kneeling in front of us, pulling my hands from my face. His features are much softer now as he searches my face. “Leti’s okay. They got her out without firing a gun.”
“She’s okay?” I squeak.
“Yes.”
Sobs rack my body, and I turn my face into Porter’s chest. I haven’t cried like this since my mother died, and I certainly haven’t cried like this in front of other people since before her funeral. My face burns, and I sob until I have hiccups and dry tear ducts. When I finally pull my face from Porter’s chest, it’s soaked between my tears and snot.
Lovely.
“I’m sorry.” I drag my eyes up to meet his.
He gives me a gentle smile, using his thumb to wipe at my cheek. “It’s okay. You needed that.”
A tissue appears between us, and I take it, trying to smile despite the tears. “I made a mess of your shirt.”
“I have more.”
I glance at my legs and then at Case, who also gives me a warm half-smile. His hands are large against my calves, which he rubs almost absentmindedly. Then I turn to look for Lee, who is standing in the kitchen with his hands on his hips. When I notice he’s no longer on the phone, I panic. “Can’t I talk to Leti?”
He nods. “They’re getting her settled, but they’ll call back in ten minutes.”
I let out a deep breath, taking inventory of my body. I need to pull myself together before talking to Leti and make sure I resemble the sister she’s known for the last ten years. If I fall apart on her, that will only freak her out.
Patting Porter on the chest, I attempt to pull my legs out of Case’s hands. When he flashes me a confused look, I smile. “I need to wash my face before talking to Leti. It’ll freak her out if I’m not me. I have to be strong for her.”
He sighs and releases me, standing and helping me to my feet. “I’ll be right back.”
I run up the stairs and turn on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face repeatedly until the phone rings downstairs.
I hear heavy footsteps as they climb the stairs, saving me from going back down. Lee stands in the doorway, the lights from the living room causing his shadow to glow even though he engulfs the opening. He hands me the phone and says softly, “She’s okay.”
Taking the phone from him, I turn my back and walk to the bed, sitting on the edge. “Leti?”