“Oh, Blake, don’t you know how much I do trust you? I would never have let you touch me if I didn’t. I’m just afraid for you, your family, and your friends. It is better if I just disappear and move on. Santiago and his men will show up here soon and kill everyone.”
He snorted. “I’m not scared of Santiago. He is just a man, Anna.”
“I know that he is just a man who bleeds like anyone else but he has power and money. He has many people on his payroll and that makes him dangerous,” she explained.
“Who is he, Anna?” Blake asked, tilting her face toward him so he could see her expressive eyes. “I hear the fear in your voice. Tell me.”
“Santiago Martinez is a business man from Reno. He owns two large casinos and is wealthy from that but he also deals in drugs. I don’t know a lot of details. I do my best to stay out of that part of his business but I know it exists. Killing comes so easy for him. All he has to do is snap his fingers and someone is there ready to do the deed. He is evil, Blake.” She felt the fear overtake her all over again and her chest was tight with so many emotions. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. “I have to leave now. I’m sure someone reported me by now and I’m sure Santiago now knows where I am. Will my truck run? Can I make it to Phoenix or further?”
“Let me help you, Anna.”
“Why?” she yelled, not in anger but in fear. She couldn’t handle Blake’s death on her conscious. He meant more to her than a casual fling. She cared for him even if he didn’t feel the same for her. “Santiago will come here and kill you, Blake! What if Victor or Sam or Melody is here?” She couldn’t handle another death on her conscience.
Before he could answer, a knock came from the door. Anna froze, looking around in a panic for a place to run and hide.
Chapter 8
“Blake? It’s me. Victor.”
Blake walked toward the door as Anna looked out the window nervously. So many things became clear to him now. She had good reason to be suspicious and now he saw why she was driving a piece of shit truck that she bought off of some stranger. He said a silent prayer that she had made it as far as his town. What if she had broken down in the middle of the desert? Anna was sweet even though she tried to portray herself as tough, but she probably had to act that way around this Santiago character. His heart ached for her. He could see the real fear in her eyes when she spoke of her ex. Well, no way was he letting her wander the roads alone and running in fear. At that moment he admitted to himself that Anna had unknowingly worked her way into his heart. Blake slowly opened the door a crack. “You alone?” Victor nodded grimly and Blake let him in and locked the door behind him.
“You saw the news?”
Victor nodded his head yes and looked worriedly at Anna who stood peeking out the window from behind the curtain. “What is going on?”
“Anna is running from her ex,” Blake stated simply, not sure if he wanted his brothers involved or not. It was his job to protect his brothers. They would argue with him about that but he felt responsible for them as the oldest. Santiago Martinez sounded dangerous. He had met many of those types of men during his many missions over the ongoing drug war. They had no care for people other than what they could do for them. How did someone as sweet as Anna get involved with a man like that?
“Yes, but don’t worry, Vic. I’m leaving town,” she stated firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Right now.”
Victor looked at Blake and ignored her statement. “So you have a plan, bro?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Anna answered in a firm voice, not letting Blake answer. “He is keeping his nosy butt out of this.”
Blake arched his brow at her snappy attitude and tried to get a smile out of her. “I thought you said my butt was perfect?”
Anna blushed and huffed. “Blake, this is serious. You can get hurt. I can’t let that happen. I have to protect you.”
Blake enveloped her in a big hug and picked her up off her feet. He was so touched by her simple statement. As the oldest Murphy brother, he was used to doing the protecting and fixing his brother’s problems. “Thank you for caring, honey, but I can take care of myself. And yes, I know you can, too, but it will be better if we try to get you out of this legally first. If that doesn’t work, we’ll come up with something else.”
* * * *
Anna straightened her blouse. She was so tempted to lean on Blake and let him come up with a plan. She was physically drained but she couldn’t let harm come to him and his family. She was just a stranger passing through and being a burden was the last thing she wanted. She went and sat on the couch and Blake sat close to her. Victor sat in the recliner as they waited for her to explain her side.
“I went to the police recently in Reno, Blake. Santiago threw me down some stairs and put me in the hospital. I filed charges and he told them I purposely fell down the stairs because I was mad that I had caught him with another woman and they believed him. They refused to do anything and he took me home with him. He has a lot of power. I am sure the sergeant I spoke to was one of Santiago’s men. Who knows how many he has on his payroll. I do they can’t be trusted.”
Anna was caught up in the memory of catching him with one of the waitresses from his casino, but she had been so passed caring at that point. She just wanted out of the relationship and her old normal life back.
She took a deep calming breath and let it out again slowly. She shook the old memories off and continued with her story. “I tried the legal way. It doesn’t work, Blake. It’s so unfair but that’s the way it is. Those with the money and power set the rules of the game.”
Victor and Blake sat on the couch quietly, waiting for Anna to continue with her story.
“Santiago took me home from the hospital. I had a few cracked ribs and I was bruised up pretty bad but Santiago said he would hire a private nurse and the doctor released me. When he went downstairs to take care of a problem, I packed a bag and called Ben. I went outside to wait and one of his guards, Kyle, tried dragging me back inside. Ben came and fought with him and Kyle shot Ben. I fainted and woke up back inside our bedroom. Santiago was waiting for me to wake up. He said he was glad that Ben was finally out of the way, that Ben deserved to die because he was coming between us.” Anna started to cry again and Blake’s arm immediately went around her.
She sniffed and leaned on him, It felt good to lean on someone even for a moment. “One of his guards always followed me if Santiago wasn’t with me. Ben had been trying to convince me to leave him for more than a year and I tried a few times but he always found me and dragged me home. Santiago knew Ben would always be there to help me and he was jealous. He said I was his property. Even though he slept around I wasn’t allowed even one friend.”
“How did you get away?” Victor asked, sympathy shining out of his eyes instead of the judgment she had expected to see there.
“Andrew knew Santiago hit me on a regular basis. Santiago sent me to work out because he said I was too fat,” Anna explained, looking down and still feeling the humiliation she had felt when he had told her that.