Safe

By Carmi Cason

Piper Hayes has made it through three years of college at the University of Rhode Island basically unscathed - until the day her best friend, Molly, disappears from a job meant for Piper. Distraught, Piper lets herself fall into the company of a basically-unknown acquaintance, the impressive and charming Bash Rivera. Turns out, Molly's situation is the least of Piper's worries, and Bash doesn't quite manage to keep up his suave and sophisticated façade when events turn difficult. Mostly because, while he is trying to save her life, she spends all of her time afraid of him. Once Piper realizes her real enemy, she might find herself alone in her fight. If she manages to survive, just maybe she can graduate on time; more importantly, maybe she won't have driven away the one person who cares for her the way she cares for everyone else.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carmi Cason
• Release date: Nov 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005894412

Carmi Cason

Carmi Cason is a mother and grandmother with an undergraduate degree in music and a graduate degree in English. She dabbles in science and multiple foreign languages. From her earliest memories, she has loved stories.She sat in rapt attention at the feet of her maternal grandmother and grandfather, both of whom regaled her with tales of their families and the real-life histories that brought character to her home. Her father passed on his Hardy Boys collection, introducing her to the world of fiction. With a lot of direction from her mother, a gifted storyteller, Carmi has developed a deep passion for writing and conveying meaning through the stories she writes. She also believes that life has a purpose, that though we live in a broken world we are valuable and valued, and that no matter how dark life seems there is hope. She prays you will find that hope in her work.Her mascot is her cat, Oscar, a black tabby who fights against pestal incursions and loves to have his ears scratched.​{If you enjoy my work, please consider offering monthly support at Patreon or a one-time donation at either Patreon or PayPal. I am also available for biographical/autobiographical work or personalized children's books.)​

Book preview

Prologue

Through the velvet-thick mist, Dr. Vivian Prado could barely make out the figure of her husband where he stood in the waning light, holding her hand under the canopy of the Peruvian rainforest. Still, she could easily perceive the dark stains that pooled like four small ponds and trickled away toward the nearby river like tributaries of damnation. Even after her many years of study, her medical training, and her acclimation to the sometimes-vicious ways of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, her stomach heaved at the realization of what now lay before her. Like a naïve child, she turned and pressed her face into her husband's shoulder.

It wasn't the tribes, Dr. Bernardo Prado insisted. This is civilized killing.

Civilized killing? Vivian peered up at her husband with incredulity.

Ironic. We call ourselves civilization, yet when it comes down to it, their spears and knives are no less civilized than ours. Maybe we have to hide our murder more deeply, which I guess is a virtue, but murder still occurs.

Vivian turned her back completely on the horrific scene. Why do you say it is not the tribes? I'm sorry – I can't look. Were there gunshots?

No gunshots, Bernardo replied, his accent thickening with emotion. It's just that the tribes would not leave the bodies here. Every killing by a tribe is for a purpose, and they tend to parade their victims. The killing here - Bernardo stepped forward, gently nudging the neck of one of the victims with a long branch that he picked up from nearby. It mimics a tribal method, so whoever did this wanted to throw any investigation off of his trail.

With a heavy sigh, Vivian moved further back down the path, and she heard Bernardo stand to his feet and follow. We have to tell the authorities, she acceded.

Even though they will shut down the project for months...

Would you prefer, Vivian glanced over at him, that we continue until someone does this to us? She saw him shake his head from the corner of her eye.

We need to call Arthur. The company will want to report it to the authorities.

But who would do this? she wondered, hoping Bernardo could offer some logic from his highly reasonable mind.

Well, he began, adopting his analytical tone, most of the ideas I can construct involve a large measure of conjecture – nigh unto conspiratorial conjecture.

So, hypothesize. I'm the only one here.

He paused to gather his bearings as he broke through into the clearing of their camp. Before he continued, he led Vivian to the tent, opening the flap for her before starting to gather his things into his pack. Peruvian government, cartels, gangs, business opposition – not local hoodlums. They would not bother mimicking the tribes.

When Vivian whistled incredulously, Bernardo turned back to her. You and Elsa take Lily and head back to Iquitos. I'll finish cleaning up here, and you can send Aaron back with the Jeep.

Even before he could finish, Vivian had begun shaking her head. I'm not leaving you here alone.

I won't be alone. Several of the natives have offered to help; I'll pay them for their aid using the leftover rations from our camp. You have to get Lily out of here. It's five hours until sunset. Aaron can get me out before dark.

Moving back to the door of her tent, Vivian glanced first out at the sun, gauging its distance from the horizon, then at the native women who milled busily around the courtyard. If you tell the women, will they bring their men or will they run away and leave you alone?

I won't tell them; I'll make up an excuse to get the men here. Whoever killed those men back there want to cover their tracks. The only way they would be able to attack me with all the villagers around would have to make use of heavy artillery, and whoever went to such lengths to mask the other deaths won't risk that. So, you see? He lifted her heavy pack followed by Elsa's and then Lily's into the back of the Jeep. I will be fine, and you will get Lily out.

Vivian sighed but nodded, finally conceding his point. And you have the sat phone? she queried. In response, Bernardo reached into his own pack which he had set down on the ground near the tire of the vehicle. Good, Vivian pursed her lips. Please be careful, she begged.

Somehow suppressing his usual sense of cool rationality, Bernardo reached his hand up to caress his wife's face. I love you, querida, he whispered, kissing her gently before helping her into the car. Please, do not worry over me.

I will, she countered, but I trust you, so I will see you tonight.

Hasta la noche, Bernardo agreed, and Vivian shifted the car into drive, soon losing sight of her husband through the mists of the Amazon.

+++++++++++

Isaac smiled at the chaos around him. For two years, he had played at analysis, a reprimand for not toeing the line with his superiors on his last case. At least it was better than what they had intended before his father, a military intelligence commander, had threatened enough people into silence with the secrets he held on the higher ups. Before his desk job, Isaac had scraped through five years of CIA fieldwork, and he had thought he hated it. In reality, he hated the restrictions of living stateside even more. He just wished he could figure out how to utilize all the skills he had found at his disposal when he had to worry less about the law.

Standing in the middle of a throng of partiers, Isaac remembered how he missed humanity, and he wondered if he should push to get out from behind the desk before he aged out of the possibility. A beach full of imbibing college students brought back pleasant memories from before his time in the field. The men would have proven easily manipulable if he had wished it for some reason. And the women? Scantily clad, chemically altered. He could convince them of pretty much whatever he wanted, and they probably wouldn’t remember in the morning.

No time for distractions on this night, though, no matter how they tugged at him He had a mission – both an immediate mission and the larger mission it fed into. If he took care of the immediate mission – the girl – he could gain some temporary relief for the tension from all the bodies pressing around him at the moment. Then, he could use the girl – as a captive or a convert, he didn’t really care – to lure in his larger prey.

Normally, he wouldn’t waste so much energy on recruiting someone as a favor, but the man Isaac was after had been a particular request by a veterano, a key contact too important to ignore. The cousins. Famous for getting out, for outsmarting the screeners. The older cousin had somehow hidden the younger until the opportunity was missed. Why a cartel cared so much about something that had happened five years before, Isaac didn’t know – he didn’t really care. Curiosity killed the kickbacks.

What he did know was that the younger cousin had moved off to one of the most prestigious schools in the country, well out of the reach of his neighborhood. Then the older cousin had disappeared, only recently to reappear within the Company. Isaac would bring in the younger cousin, too, then conscript the pair to the proper location. After that, Isaac wouldn’t let himself worry overmuch. Even if the higher-ups at the Company claimed to frown upon blurred ethical lines, the guys in the field knew the impossibility of maintaining all the highest principles. This contact was worth some ethical compromises for a variety of reasons.

The fact that Isaac’s current effort involved his favorite form of espionage created a double benefit to himself, and his very sexy target now pressed into the throng before him. He could spot her easily among the crowd, an inch or two taller than most of the girls, but significantly shorter than the guys. Her brown curls framed her face, cascading down and over her arms and chest. A light smattering of freckles brushed across her cheeks, barely visible in the shadow from the afternoon sun at her back, and her pristine alabaster skin stood out among all the fake tans. Of course, her unusually large, lash-framed eyes and the stunning smile she flashed at several fellow partiers as she pressed toward him added to her good looks, but what really gripped him was the curves. She bore an hourglass figure worthy of Marilyn Monroe, and even though she had donned a relatively modest tank top and walking shorts, she couldn’t hide those. The animal in Isaac stirred, and he had to remind himself that he was back in the U.S. If he stepped out of line, he would probably end up out of a job – or in jail. I’ve got to get overseas again. He certainly hadn’t had to deal with so many restrictions. People could complain, but authorities bowed to the CIA badge.

By the time Piper made it to the Bay campus and onto the beaches, the sun streamed from directly overhead. In the south, direct sunlight would have wreaked havoc on comfort, but in Rhode Island, the bright rays proved rather favorable for an outdoor event. She tried not to rejoice that her ex’s professor had changed a test to coincide exactly with the Sci-Fry, but for at least two reasons, she celebrated the fact. First of all, it meant that she got to attend the event without worrying whether he would try to pretend he was still her boyfriend. In the same vein, because he wasn’t there claiming to be her boyfriend, she could seek out the person she really wanted to meet.

As she had the thought, she glanced up at the sound of her name. Butterflies danced in her stomach when she encountered one of the more handsome men she had met in recent months. The sun had lit his copper hair to flame where he stood, and she had to grin – he was adorable in too many ways. Of course, she held the ability to think most people adorable, and she could appreciate all variations of attractiveness. It helped that the man who watched her with a fixed smile stood over six feet tall and wore the broad shoulders of someone who had fully passed boyhood. He must exercise religiously, too, with the clearly defined ridges that showed along his arms and through the chest of his T-shirt.

She, though, was not so shallow as to make her decisions based on superficial good looks. If she were, the chestnut-toned muscles of her ex would have sent her swooning. Certainly, the effect worked on other girls, but she just could not consider going back. For one, Ben came from so much money that the discrepancy between him and herself showed in the very clothes they wore, much less the vehicles they drove and the houses they lived in. He played the playboy at every opportunity – though she would have trusted him for a lot of important responsibilities, her heart was not one of those.

Something about the man she was meeting rang down-to-earth, like he knew the difficulties of life and looked them in the eye. She respected that. Possibly, it was just the difference in the five or so years that this man had grown beyond the frat-boy years.

Got us some ice cream, if that’s okay, the man offered, handing over a newly served waffle cone and taking her arm as he led her back toward the water.

Chocolate chip is my favorite, she smiled, aware of his fingers on her skin. Great guess.

Isaac smiled his acknowledgement. You mean great research…

Did my friend ever contact you about tutoring? she pressed, adding some space between them at the first opportunity.

No word from him. Which turned out okay because my schedule really filled up this week, what with the last test before finals about to happen. So, she didn’t like to be touched by someone she didn’t know. Smart, if inconvenient for Isaac. He would have to work harder for this one. Perhaps some physical abuse in her past? Or just a suspicious, overprotective mother? Likely just a shell, though he couldn’t tell yet how delicate it was. He would have to test to see just how strongly he needed to press to get to the fragile – vulnerable – insides. A little purposeful transgression would tell him what he needed to know.

Good for you, I imagine, she offered.

Good for me.

For the next two hours, Isaac led the girl through the booths at the events, doing his best to seem interested in the subject material. Besides scientific displays put on by the various departments, they encountered a veritable buffet of sci-fi pop culture, and Isaac made use of more research he had undertaken to discuss the fantasy literature she preferred, Not to seem too coincidental, he peppered some sci-fi interest into his personality, and she seemed interested if not pleased with his company. Most importantly, he pressed her physical boundaries, brushing sand off of her cheek near her mouth after a game of beach ball, letting a minor bump from behind him propel him into her so that their bodies pressed together in the crowd, a chivalric rescue instigated by a near collision that let him wrap his arm around her waist and tug her to his chest.

The techniques always worked. Always. If a woman was interested in men, especially if she didn’t have a boyfriend or husband – though that often didn’t matter – Isaac could lure a woman into his trap. Certainly, he noted Piper’s attraction to him. She didn’t complain about the contact, and she bore all the signs: dilated pupils, rapid breath, flushed cheeks and reddening lips. For some reason, though, she kept bringing the activities back to conversation. If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that he hadn’t expected her to hold so much intelligence. Not only that, but she bore a healthier-than-normal skepticism and sense of self-preservation that rendered her difficult to fluster.

She at least needs to give me her number, he complained. He already had her number, of course, but he couldn’t call it or text her until she willingly gave it to him.

When they finally wound up literally falling all over each other after a game of beach volleyball, Isaac saw his first hint of connection with her, the fluttering eyelashes with the shy smile. Thank God, he sighed. He needed to get the ball rolling soon. When he helped her to her feet, their game over, he slid his arm behind her waist and escorted her back to the booth closest to the shore, one that conveniently served mixed drinks.

The soft skin where his fingers brushed the back of her arms had raise bumps against the deepening chill. She felt so nice, and he used the proximity to the booth to shield them from public eyes as he pulled her body against him, preparing to go in for a kiss. Just a few minutes earlier, he had considered the evening a bust, but he just might end up getting everything he wanted out of the night – professionally and personally. His hands clinched against her waist, and he managed to lift the hem of her shirt enough that his fingers brushed the silken skin just above her jeans.

Was she the kind of girl who would try to drive herself to his place? Surely he had managed enough success that he could convince her to leave her car behind. It made a night’s activities much lest subject to frustration. As long as he could find a way to keep the girl off his C.O.’s radar, avoid oversight. He knew they had hesitated to let him out from behind a desk, so he would have to be even more clandestine than usual.

This has been fun. Her words interrupted his ever-growing expectations, and when she twisted out of his grasp, he realized that he may have overestimated his prospects. She was about to call it a night…What the hell? What was wrong with this girl? I should have found a way to trick her into drinking.

He was not only going to lose his night; he was going to lose his opportunity to use her against the cousin. If he could have isolated her, gotten her to a remote location, he could have used some more questionable tactics that would have almost guaranteed results. Unfortunately, he couldn’t really justify taking his persuasion to the next level – not home in the states, anyway. He would have to use self-control and let her go. Since he didn’t actually need her beyond her connection to the cousins, he wouldn’t be able to justify any coercive tactics to his supervisor. Shit!

Sliding his hands in his pockets, he leaned back against the side of the booth, determined not to reveal the tension that coiled inside him, ready to spring. Finally, she did offer him one very small boon. I have to run – I’m taking care of my friends’ kid tonight, she offered apologetically, but I just realized that I never sent you my number. She pulled up her phone, and a couple of seconds later, Isaac’s burner phone vibrated. He raised it to eye level. Got it, he grinned. He made a show of saving the number, and she flashed her teeth at him in return. Since she had given him her number, he would eventually figure out how to redeem the night. It certainly made it a lot easier to track her.

So, next time you come to campus, she continued, hopefully when you’re not there to see your ex – we can grab coffee.

Sounds like a date, Isaac agreed, and with a wave of her hand, the girl swung her curves away from him and sauntered off the beach and out of Isaac’s reach. If he could find any way to justify it, Isaac would figure out how to get her into bed. Even with his more personal ambitions thwarted, the night hadn’t proven entirely useless. She had offered him a few interesting tidbits of information that, by unlikely coincidence, might prove relevant to more than one of his current projects. Blowing out a breath, he lowered her into her car and watched her drive away.

++++++++++

The first thing State Senator Rick Connors became aware of was the wooden arm of the chair poking into his back. As the sensation aroused him from sleep, his sweat stuck the cheap fake leather to every inch of exposed skin, and his left leg had cramped under the weight of his body where it had pressed into the seat.

How hard is it to buy a comfortable recliner, he complained silently. Then the steady beep made its way into his brain, and he turned to take in the recumbent form of his daughter where it lay, frail, upon the hospital bed. How long had he lain in that chair, wedged in like a cat in a bottle? Maybe six hours? Little Charlie had floated in and out of hospitals for the past three of her five years on earth, and no hospital bed could offer much comfort. Add to that the medications and the needles and the cancer itself – Rick only had to make it through the next hour or so until his campaign manager showed up with the reporter for the special interest piece. He could manage.

Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.

It didn't really matter that Charlie wasn't supposed to get the disease until she was at least twelve or thirteen. It didn't really matter that chemotherapy didn't seem to work well on the tumor. It didn't matter that she had endured twelve surgeries to remove portions of the tumor that had metastasized from her liver into other portions of her abdomen. It only mattered that he needed to find a way to work it into his campaign. What would all the pain accomplish if he lost his daughter and the election?

Though the last bout had proven particularly rough, Charlie had spent most of her childhood in some form of treatment or another. This time, she had lain in her hospital bed for over three weeks, most of the time unable to feed herself or sit up for more than a few minutes. The sparkle had slowly left her eyes, her hair had gradually fallen out, her frame had grown thinner and thinner until the bones stuck out at exaggerated angles. Not too good for Christmas card photos, but not bad for public image – helped make up for the affair and divorce.

Eventually, though, the image of the sick daughter would lose its persuasive power. She needed to get back to the dimpled smile and sparkling eyes; her stunted growth would keep her in the cute category for several extra years once her hair grew back. A small mewling conscience scratched at his mind and told him that he ought to care more about whether she lived or died. Rick gripped the thread of the thought and lashed it around his motivations, tying it as a bow to endow his ambition with a more palatable façade.

Picking up his phone, he punched in the number of Darren Bakir, his contact at the DoD.

Chapter 1

Two weeks earlier

Get over here, Molly commanded, her bleach-blond ponytail whipping around her face as she motioned to her friend. Ben just got the sail up. You have about forty-five seconds before he makes his next sweep by the dock.

Piper did not rush, used as she was to her friend's dramatic tendencies. In five more minutes, the boat would come skimming back by the shoreline, and she and her best friend could scuttle on board without a worry. With a strong, steady breeze, Ben did not need to worry that his sail would drop, so he didn't actually have any compelling reason to need them at once. Most likely, he just wanted Piper on the boat - probably more than she did herself.

In her earlier years, Piper would have jumped up directly, fearful that she would miss some fun if she let the opportunity pass. Her mother had taught her that few things are as urgent as they seem, and though Piper still felt the urge to respond at the slightest incentive, she had matured enough to take a minute to discern the true need for speed.

Your loss, Molly shrugged before rushing to the sand along the shore.

When Piper finished tying her shoe, she stood to her feet and peered delightedly out at the shimmering water of Narragansett Bay. Even after more than three years, she had not grown tired of the beauty of the bay. She had lived her entire life landlocked in Atlanta. Ever since her father had let her tag along on a business trip to Boston when she was twelve, though, she had longed to live along the New England coast. Not that Boston offered too much to entice – she didn't get excited about historical sites or educational elitism. Still, when Daniel Hayes had rented a convertible and driven down to Cape Cod, his daughter had fallen in love.

She had visited the islands off Georgia's coast a few times, but mosquitoes and heat turned the beauty into an exercise in tolerance. With the waters of Cape Cod came a cool breeze and vibrant society – at least, when Piper had visited in July. After living in Providence for a while, she realized that January did not hold quite as much charm. A few days into a 10-inch snow, she did not find the area as pleasant as she had before.

Once she graduated, she would have to decide whether to move back home or transplant permanently to New England or New York. She missed just enough about the South that she seriously considered returning to her roots as soon as possible. In a town as dynamic as Atlanta, Piper would find all the human interaction she could want. Her friends insisted that she stay up north, decided as they stood in the superiority of the northeast compared to the south. Base prejudice, Piper knew. When she had first arrived in Rhode Island, her slight Georgian drawl just squinting over the top of her well-spoken English, everyone she had met had expected her to act like a hick. Atlanta hardly qualified as the back woods, though, and on the poor edge of Buckhead, where she had grown up, the culture had bordered on snobbery. When middle class was poor, the neighborhood was privileged.

In truth, Piper met with as much ignorance in her enlightened society of New England friends as she had in the supposedly backwards south. The prejudices and biases shifted their targets slightly, but they existed in just as voluminous a number.

Molly, take the sail, Piper heard from the bow of the boat as it headed back to the shore a few minutes later. Ben waited for Molly to latch on to the rope and then stepped to the very edge of the catamaran. Before Piper could greet him, he had jumped off the boat and wrapped an arm around her waist. Though she laughed, she did not welcome his affection.

Hi, Ben, she leveled. You can let go now. She reached for his hand and unhooked his fingers from her middle, twisting to remove herself from his grasp. Are y'all going to the party in Gansett tonight?

One of these days, Piper, you're gonna want me back, Ben persisted, leaning in with seductive teasing.

Rather than take offense, Piper punched him in the arm. Maybe when you grow some manners, she retorted.

I meant to tell you, Molly yelled her reply to the earlier question. I got an amazing invitation for us.

Us? Ben begged.

For Piper and me, Molly sassed.

What is it? Piper queried, stepping up to the edge of the bank.

Piper accepted Molly's hand up onto the boat, and as soon as Piper had settled herself on the deck, Molly whipped the sail around and took off with the wind.

Hey! Ben yelled.

Hey, yourself! Molly mocked.

That's my boat!

And you'll get it back in a minute. Piper and I need to talk.

Once they had reached the middle of the lake, Molly slackened the rope and the boat settled into a gentle rocking that made Piper want to take a nap. She still hadn't acclimated herself completely to the world of boats.

Okay, Molly began, so I was at a fundraiser for a scholarship fund that my economics professor likes...

Professor Davis?

Yes, and all of these people showed up from over in Jamestown. You know, it's Brown, so everyone wants to give us money. We don't have enough already.

Tell me about it, Piper rolled her eyes. You could send some of that our way.

Or…you could take my dad up on his offer and come to Brown with me, Molly shrugged.

So, I could flunk out of school for my master’s degree?

Molly glared at her friend. You know you don't give yourself enough credit. You're really smart, and a lot of people at Brown aren't even that smart. They just work really hard or are well-connected.

Well, I'll just finish up at URI and go home. No more Rhode Island winters for me.

At Piper's words, Molly sighed. Piper knew her friend wanted her to stay in New England more than anything, but Piper would rather set Molly up for disappointment than get her hopes up just to dash them. Piper still didn't know what she wanted to do, and she wanted to make the decision without pressure from her friends. Tell me about Jamestown, she changed the subject.

Fortunately for Piper, nothing held Molly's attention for long, and the pale hazel eyes soon sparkled with renewed excitement.

So, there were mostly old people there, right? I mean, the only people who go to these things are the ones too old to use their money to do fun stuff, but of course, I went for Professor Davis. I mean, I basically owe him my entire degree. Anyway, so there was this group of younger people, mostly guys, and they were obviously there together, though I don't know why. A couple were interns from D.C., and a couple were grad students from Brown and Yale. Apparently, they saw me there and felt sorry for me because I was the only young person there alone, so this total hotty came over and invited me to their table. Of course, I said yes. I was bored out of my mind. Then I just listened because I didn't know them at all, and apparently, they had been undergrads together at Brown and were only a couple of years older than I am. When they mentioned a party they are going to over in Jamestown on Friday, I guess one of them thought it was rude to mention it in front of me because they all looked at each other for a minute. Then this adorable little girl – I mean, she was maybe five feet and a hundred pounds wet – sparkled a little laugh and said, 'Of course she can come. You guys are too conscientious. It's just a party.' To which I said that I had promised to go out with a friend – you, of course – and to which they said that I should bring you along. I know, right? Awesome.

Once Piper registered what her friend had said, she lost some of her practiced cool. The middle school girl in her wanted to jump up and down and scream with Molly. With witnesses, though, Piper would do no such thing. She smiled to herself. Since Molly had taken so long to draw a breath, Piper had used the time to formulate her answer. If you promise to stay with me the whole night, I'll go. If you leave me, I'll kidnap Platz and hold him for ransom until you promise not to do it again.

You leave my cat out of this, Molly retorted. But of course, I won't leave you, silly. Though you don't have to be afraid of these people. They're real live grown-ups who are having a real live grown-up party. No frat boys there.

As if they had called his name, Ben jumped up from the shore and waved both arms at them. Bring me back my boat! he hollered, and Piper recognized true frustration in his face.

You'd better take him back his boat, she commanded Molly.

I know, and I'm about to, but you have to admit this is the best place we could have found for some privacy.

It was great, Piper agreed.

Grinning, Molly looked back at the shore, an obvious sense of admiration painted across her face when she looked at Ben. Keep your shirt on, she screeched at him.

You don't really mean that, Piper insisted.

Of course not, Molly agreed. In fact, I'm hoping that he'll take it off just to irritate me.

Piper grinned. You’re the worst.

Well, you didn’t want him…

You don’t either.

I want them all, in my way, Molly sighed dramatically. But you’re the one who always conquers them.

What is that supposed to mean? Piper scoffed. You’re the man magnet.

Molly leveled a cynical glare at Piper. Men are interested in me for the fun, but the ones who know you all fall in love with you. At which point you panic and run the opposite direction.

In sync with her words, Molly turned the boat back to shore.

I’m not the casual type, Piper grumbled.

And yet, if I guy is actually serious, you run home hyperventilating.

Piper knew it was true, and she pressed her lips, throwing Molly an acquiescent shrug.

It’s okay, friend, Molly allowed, wrapping her arm around Piper’s waist and pulling her in for a hug. I don’t mind trailing along behind you and scooping up all the broken hearts.

Molly laughed, and Piper managed a full grin as she watched the shore, and the waiting Ben, grow closer.

Though he kept his shirt on while they sailed back to him, he stripped it off as soon as he hopped aboard. Molly smirked her approval to Piper.

Sorry I can't stay, Piper apologized. I have an appointment in an hour, and I need to shower and change.

No comments, Benjamin! Molly commanded. You're staying here with me.

Ben shrugged and grinned, but merely offered Piper a hand off the little boat.

I'll see you guys tonight, Piper smiled her farewell. Her week would no doubt drag on, with so much to finish before graduation, but she would definitely make the party on Friday. Even Brown's frat parties were just frat parties. Maybe a party with civilized adults would prove more enjoyable than the melees she had experienced so far.

+++++++++++

You don’t understand, Isaac. He’s not just family. I know I said he is my cousin, but we are much more like…I don’t know. Somewhere between father-son or older and younger brother."

Luke, the older man insisted, you are exaggerating the significance of this. I need you to get invited to a party. I’m not asking you to sell him into slavery. We are going to work this from a couple of angles, and I need an ‘in’ to the Brown grad program anyway. Get invited to the party, then introduce me to your cousin. After that, it will just be a matter of the follow up – way easier than the introduction, in my opinion.

Luciano Lopez stared out across the expansive lawn that led up to his townhome. The sun had just set, but the sky glowed aqua blue. If not for the unwelcome guest, he might have enjoyed sitting on his patio as the night fell. Instead, he wanted to throw up.

If you’re going to manipulate him into this, I’m done, Luke insisted. I don’t have many limits, but Sebastian is one. We convince him, or we leave him alone.

For now I’m just asking you to get me access to him. Just get the invite.

Without another word, Isaac rose and crossed the grass to where his car sat on the street. Luciano would do as asked, but he would reserve the right to interfere if he didn’t like the direction of the process.

+++++++++++

Groaning, Mitch Parkington fumbled on his nightstand for the phone that buzzed, seemingly inside his head.

Hello? he murmured, his mouth barely clearing the pillow.

I need some of your supply. Mitch recognized the voice of his friend, Declan, and groaned to himself. Rolling on his back, he held the phone above his head and read the time.

Declan, it’s two a.m.

Yeah, his friend hedged, but I’m on my way to a club, and it’s not going to be the same if I don’t have it. I can drive by there and get it if you don’t want to get out. As long as you have some of your samples.

Irritated, Mitch rubbed his free hand over his forehead. His dad had decided to be stingy that month, and after Mitch had paid the rent, there was barely enough money left for food and gas. As much as he didn’t want to get out of bed, he wanted the money.

I’ll head out in five minutes. Give me the location.

When the phone buzzed again, Mitch slowly raised himself to a sitting position and slipped on his house shoes.

Do you have anything from your non-pharma supply? Declan pressed. How hard would it be for you to pick something up for me on the way? You know I’m good for the money.

Declan was good for the money. Very good, since he loved to spend his mom’s cash, and Mitch could stick a cool hundred on the tab for delivery. All I can do is text him. Mitch shrugged himself to his feet. If he’s close, I’ll stop by. Give me your list.

After taking down the order, Mitch shuffled to his closet and threw on some appropriate clothes. He grabbed the sample packets Declan had requested, scribbling an illegible entry into his record book, and started to the door. Hopefully, he could get a good discount from Tarin, his non-pharma supplier. If he played his cards right, he would make up the deficit of his dad’s stinginess in one sale.

Chapter 2

When the red sun reflected equally in the ocean and the sky, Sebastian Rivera stood to his feet. He had risen early, hit the water of the bay as soon as he could manage, and cast his line out into the quiet waters, hauling in as many fish as he could catch. When he analyzed the reason, he had to laugh at himself. Somehow, he still felt like his current life was a dream; like he would wake up one day and find his cousins sleeping on mats beside him, his Tia Alma snoring up at the ceiling above them all. His mom would be in the next room with whatever amante she had fallen for lately. For Sebastian, the men varied from nice guys who would kick the soccer ball around with him to criminals who would beat Sebastian if his mother wasn't around to intercept the blows. Every day now felt like heaven - and Sebastian had spent too long in hell to expect heaven to be real.

Still, his aunt had done her best to take care of him, and her oldest son, Luciano, had watched out for the gangs. At one point, Sebastian had fallen in for a time with some gangbangers, mostly because they had challenged him to sprint across the railroad tracks only seconds before a train barreled past. His success had spurred such an adrenaline rush that he preferred it to the drugs the guys offered him a few days later. When Luciano had found out about the train, the older cousin had dragged Sebastian back to Tia by the hair.

"Tia," Sebastian had pleaded. I'm sorry! I won't do it again!

It was the only time Tia Alma had raised a hand against him, and he never forgot it. If I ever catch you hanging with those boys again, I'll lock you in the room, and you won't leave until the police come take you away!

Sebastian believed the crazy look in her eye, and he stayed away from every gang that came after him for years. Turned out, Sebastian had sprinted across the tracks so quickly that he had gained a reputation. El veloz, they had called him, and he had used the fame for his fortune. His cousin spread the stories of how many times Sebastian had evaded capture, so everyone believed he couldn't be caught. If anyone tried to catch him up in a gang initiation, then, Sebastian would hide and listen as his pursuers would discuss how quickly he had run away, sometimes attributing superhuman speed to the young kid to cover their own failure.

When you are out, then I will get out, too, Luciano would claim, and the elder cousin paid a high price for protecting his little primo. Beat-ins stopped the gangs from seeking revenge on the family, and Luciano suffered through many. Somehow, he also managed to portray himself as the most incompetent gangster on the planet, failing to hook kids on the drugs he gave them, missing every shot on the drive-by, somehow letting every girl escape whom he was supposed to punish. He did manage to score a lot of booze, though, so the hierarchy kept him around rather than just kill him.

Ever since Sebastian had finished high school, he had wondered about his cousin. Luciano had disappeared the day before graduation, and Sebastian couldn't know for sure whether Luciano had finally fled the territory or had run out of luck with the original gangsters. He would have liked this, Sebastian sighed as he watched the rainbow sunrise shimmer through the rippling waves. Though Sebastian threw most of the fish back, knowing that he could live on his own brought him a measure of visceral peace.

Of course, his classmates would have felt appalled at the idea of subsistence fishing. Most of the students at Brown had arrived with their designer satchels stuffed full of high-dollar luxuries. For Sebastian, though he fully expected to compete well against his classmates during job recruitment, he couldn't quite leave behind that desperation that woke him every morning at 4 a.m. to fish for his life. Someday he would feel secure enough to sleep in, but five years had not yet settled his past and left it where it belonged. Everything but Luciano, who too often haunted Bash’s thoughts. Until he knew what had happened to his cousin, Bash would say