She sighs, then announces dinner is ready.
“Please don’t skip meals, Savi.” Cole still has me by my arms.
I look up and see he seems genuinely worried.
“Cole, I need to talk to you about somethi—”
“Whoa, two times in one day, guys. People might talk.” York snickers, coming up next to us and cocking one eyebrow inquisitively.
“Perfect timing, as always, York,” Cole mutters, watching me. “Let’s go eat, shall we?”
I sip my lemonade and manage to eat half of my dinner. I don’t engage in the conversation. I am lost in thought about the girl with the bracelet. Who is she? Why is she following me? How does she know my father? Wow, everything tilts. I feel dizzy all of a sudden, and my hand flies out, gripping the edge of the table.
“You don’t look so hot, Savi,” Mark says from beside me.
“Could you excuse me?” The room spins slightly, but I manage to head outside.
I wrap my sweater around me as I lean over the deck railing. Yes, outside is a good choice. The smell of the storm is thick in the air. It is only a matter of time before the rain will start. The sky looks angry as the dark clouds roll around the mountains. I drop my head, feeling dizzy again.
Maria’s face flashes in front of me. She smiled, making me want to cry. She was supposed to be my friend. She used to sneak into my room at night and sit on the floor against the wall, and we’d talk about our families. It only lasted for a few days, but it was something I clung to. I confided in her one night about finding a hunting knife that one of the men dropped while dragging the tub inside my room. I was planning to use it to escape. She asked to see it, and when I showed her, she grabbed it, shoving it in my face and calling out for Jose. She was just using me to find out information, and it crushed my heart. I truly liked Maria, and I thought she liked me. I was badly beaten with a wooden paddle, and my ears rang for two days straight, but I learned an important lesson that night.
Trust no one.
“Gonna be a big one.” I jump but don’t turn around. My stomach twists like it is battling with my dinner. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m sure,” I shoot back. York stands by my side, peering down at me through his gray, wolf-like eyes.
“I’m going to give it to you straight, Savannah, now that I finally got you alone.” I let out some short breaths, trying to fight the dizzy feeling. “I hear The American was involved in your kidnapping.”
“The American?” That’s what I called him. “Does he not have a name?”
“We’ve been watching him for six years, and no one has been able to identify him yet. He’s good and runs thick with the Cartels. He’s heavily protected. No one has been able to get near him. You need to try to remember every single detail of your encounters with this man. It’s crucial.”
“I’ve been try—”
“Not hard enough!” he bites. I turn my head and stare up at him for a moment. I’m seeing double.
“Not hard enough! I’m sorry, but were you held captive for seven months and treated like a dog? No—you weren’t. My memories come and go. Sometimes things trigger them, sometimes they don’t. I can’t force them.” I step closer to him. “I’m still trying to process all this. Things are so fucked up, York! So, don’t tell me that I’m not trying hard enough.” I stagger, feeling ill.
He grips my elbow hard and angrily pulls me out of view of the doors. “I get that you’re trying, Savannah, but now that we know The American is involved, it’s a game changer. He doesn’t lose his prisoners—ever.” He lowers his voice. “His name is now linked with you and your disappearance, and now that you’re out of theLos Sirvientes Del Diablos’hold, you’re going to be his number one priority. Do you understand why I’m telling you to use your head and remember everything? This is why. You could fuck this whole place up.” He waves his hand over the property. “Fuck, I wish we knew more about you and the situation before we came and got you out. Fucking Cole.”
Okay, now everything is spinning. I reach out my hand to a chair for support. “You—you’re saying you wouldn’t have come for me?”
He makes a pissy face. “What I’m saying is we should have and still should hand you over to the Witness Protection Program. All you’re going to do is cause us trouble and potentially expose all that we’ve worked so hard for.”
“I didn’t ask for this, York,” I spit out defensively. “Shit, what am I supposed to do with this information besides try to crack open memories locked inside my brain with a fucking deadbolt?”
“You should think about leaving,” he says without missing a beat.
That sucks the wind right out of me. I turn on my heel and make my way down the stairs to the grass. I don’t want to go back inside and face everyone. If this is what’s going on, maybe he isn’t the only one who feels I’m jeopardizing this place. I head for the boathouse with heavy feet. I feel off balance. I collapse on a chair, trying to fight off the nausea. Jesus, what did I eat? I open and close my eyes. Everything is shifting to the right. I move my hand in front of me, and it blurs in its path like a rainbow. I flop forward on all fours, heaving, my stomach wrenching. I lay my cheek to the cool wood, staring out at the water, and watch the curtain of rain traveling toward me. The raindrops bounce off my face, freeing me of my sweaty forehead and feeling very cool.
They don’t know who The American is? Just that he’ll be looking under every rock in the U.S. until he finds me? Wow, I’m royally fucked. How, or rather why, is this happening to me? Oh, God, what if I ruin all this for the Logans? Three generations, and they’ve saved countless lives. I lean forward, emptying my stomach again. I feel miserable. I flop back down on the deck; I don’t have the strength to do anything else. My clothes are drenched, but I don’t notice anything but the violent pain in my stomach. Oh, no! I roll and continue the horrible act of emptying my stomach, though there can’t be anything left in there. I close my eyes and promise myself I’ll speak with Cole about leaving.
“Savannah?” I hear Keith call through the rain. “What are you doing?”
I don’t move. I barely find my voice.
“Need a minute.”
“Can I get you out of the rain—” He drops in front of me, the brim of his hat streaming with water. “Jesus, Savi, you look horrible.” He reaches out to take my wrist and checks my pulse. I hear his rain jacket squeak as he mutters something into his radio. I can’t make it out; things are going gray. “I need to get you inside.”
I push away his hand, letting mine fall in front of him with a smack. I feel like I’m heavy as lead. There is no way he is going to move me. If he did, I think I might black out from the motion.
“No,” I whisper, concentrating on a rock. I need something to focus on that isn’t moving. He watches me for a moment, then stands.Oh, good. Please leave me be.