“You need to listen to me,” Alex tells me seriously as she makes me a cup of coffee. “I really do only have your best interests at heart, you can’t go near that man again. I mean, his father wouldn’t have been killed had it not been for his criminal life. I can’t lose you.”
I nod sadly, knowing that she’s right. None of this would have happened without that history. Now it’s only Ted and his mom. And who knows how long they will be safe for. I mean, if someone killed his father, they have to be going after them too. I’m already in enough danger as it is, having even been around Ted. Someone may have seen me with him, so the last thing that I should do is go anywhere near him again.
“I know you’re right, Alex,” I do my best to reassure her. “I get it. It just sucks, that’s all.”
“Of course it does. Heart break always does. But you have to be smart now.”
I can’t help worrying about Ted’s family. How will his mother cope? And Ted … this must be a huge shock to him. If everything he told me is the truth, it can’t be that much of a shock to lose Stix and his uncle, but his dad… The guilt that he shouldn’t have walked away that day to save his father’s life…
But I can’t help. Even if I want to. It isn’t like me to put myself first, but this time I need to.
Chapter 18 – Ted
Ever since we got the news that there wasn’t anything they could do to save my father, my mother has been a mess. I think I’m numb. My guilt consuming me.
Mom is sobbing. I really don’t know how she is going to move on. In a short time, she has lost her brother, her nephew, her husband, and will probably lose her son as well. She knows me being at the hotel with them caused this, the gang found me there, and Dad was shot because he came to find me. I had been gone too long, and when my dad rounded the corner, he dove to step in front of the bullet that was intended for me. I wish it had been me.
The worst part is that fucker got away. He escaped because I was in shock and I was trying to save my dad. I’m lucky that he got scared enough to run after he shot the wrong guy, anyone else would have shot me to ensure the job was done. I wonder if he is going to tell his boss that he killed me.
The worst part of all of this, the cops won’t even do anything about it. No one will look into my father’s murderer because they are scared of the same fate. And, let’s face it, they are probably in the gangs back pocket.
“Mom,” I whisper to her. “What do you want to do? Should we get out of here?”
She howls even louder. I guess that wasn’t the right thing to say, but I don’t know if there is a right thing to say right now. We can’t go back in time.
I glance around searching for something, although I don’t know what. I’m definitely not expecting to find myself looking directly into Chloe’s eyes for sure … she isn’t supposed to be here.
“Chloe,” I call out her name, hoping to gain some comfort from her, because despite everything I need her right now, but she widens her eyes in horror and turns away from me. I guess she already knows. My father is dead because of me. The danger is suddenly more real.
“Mom, we need to go.” The fact that Chloe won’t even speak to me is too much. I can’t sit in this hospital another minute longer. My mother can grieve anywhere, but here isn’t safe. “Come on.”
She must sense the firmness in my voice because this time she does exactly what I ask of her. She rises to her feet and comes with me out of the hospital and into the nearest cab. No words are spoken as we are driven back to the hotel, all that I can really focus on is the intense need to protect the people that I have left in my life. That means getting my mom the hell away from here.
Once at the hotel, my mother springs into action. It seems like she thinking the same thing as me because she starts throwing her things in to her suitcase right away. She stares at me when I’m not moving.
“Come on, Ted, I’m not having anyone else die. We need to get out of here. You are coming with me.”
“No, Mom, I can’t do that. I can’t put you in danger.” I shake my head.