Chapter One
“He’s ours. You interfere one more time, and I will gut you, bitch.”
Sweat trickled down Aliana’s back, as blood trickled down her neck. Her arms ached from being held from behind. Whoever had her, must’ve wanted to dislocate her shoulders.
“Tell me you understand.”
“Yes,” she said in Spanish. “I understand.”
The knife dug in deeper. More blood gushed. She knew Mateo, he wasn’t going to kill her. She’d known him for six years. She’d taught him how to write an essay. Okay, maybe she had only gotten through how to write a strong opening sentence, but still, she’d gotten through. He wouldn’t kill her. Hurt her, yes, kill her no.
“Stop filling his head with worthless dreams.”
“They’re not worthless. Your brother has potential. He can get a scholarship and go to college.”
“Goddamn right, he has potential. He has potential right where he is, with Los Demonios. That’s where he needs to stay.”
The knife was sharp and hurt as it slid downward along the skin of her throat. She needed to be quiet. Maybe he would kill her.
“Let us play with her first. Please, Mattie. She’s got great tits,” a weasel-faced teenager said from beside Mateo.
The man behind her jerked her arms harder, thrusting her breasts into prominence.
“I want to fuck her before you kill her,” weasel boy continued.
Her sweat turned to icicles.
“Back off, Berto.” She recognized the voice, but she couldn’t see the face of the gang member. At least he wasn’t suggesting she be raped.
Please God, say someone was monitoring the security cameras for once and had called the police. But then Aliana shut her eyes, remembering that her townhome’s parking lot cameras had all been vandalized two days ago, and they hadn’t had time to repair them. Was it possible Mateo had planned it?
“Both of you shut up, this is between me and the bitch,” Mateo said.
She looked at the three males who surrounded her and thought about the male behind her who was intent on breaking her arms. They were still teenagers, okay, maybe Mateo was twenty or twenty-one now, but she needed to think of him as a teenager. The only way she could cope mentally was to think of them as boys. She couldn’t think of them as men, she had to pretend they were her students.
“Mateo,” she said crisply, using her Vice Principal voice. “This doesn’t have to go any further. I know you’re doing this for your family. I won’t tell anybody about this incident if you’ll leave now.”
“You listen to me, whore. You convince my little brother he’s better off with his posse.”
Never. Never. Never.
The words were on the tip of her tongue.
“Be smart.” She zeroed in on the voice and finally made out the face. Rafael Lopez. He’d hardly said a word in her class, but when he did, it was on point. Like now. She kept her mouth shut.
“You gonna do what I tell you? You gonna stop giving my baby brother ideas?” How could these two be related? They didn’t look alike, and they had nothing in common, it was like they were two different species.
“Answer me. You gonna do what I say?” Mateo asked again, his voice soft and deadly, his foul breath blowing in her face.
Now that the knife was gone, she could nod.
“Goddamn right, you won’t, not unless you want your Mama carved up into itty bitty little pieces.”
Aliana’s head jerked, the knife dug in deep, before Mateo pulled the blade away from her neck.
“You stupid bitch, I’m not ready to kill you, yet. What are you doing?”
Her whole body started to tremble. “What do you know about my mother?” she demanded. She tried to keep her voice firm, but it came out weak.
“We’ve been following you. Your Mama is in that fancy old folk’s home up in Glendale. Pretty stupid getting her a room on the first floor. I guess it’s because it has that tree she can look at, huh? You know, anybody could sneak in. Who knows what could happen to her.”
“You leave my mother alone.” She was scared, her Czech accent thick. Aliana wondered if they would understand her. Nicolas was one thing, but her mother? Her mother was totally defenseless.
“I’m not sure you’re going to remember this lesson.” He brought the knife back up to the top of her blouse.
Snip. She watched as the second bounced onto the asphalt.
Snip. The third button bared her pink lacy bra and gold medallion.
“Pretty. I like lace.”
She said nothing.
Mateo slid the knife underneath the delicate material of her bra. Aliana showed no emotion. She felt herself slipping away. She tried to stay in the moment. It was her only chance. She needed to defend herself, not slip away into nothingness. She struggled again, kicking out like she had when they’d first jumped her. The guy behind her just tightened his hold.
“Is that a siren?” That was Rafael’s voice.
She cried out in pain when Mateo yanked the knife away. It ended up slicing into her chest while cutting her bra and chain.
“We’re outta here.” He waved the bloody knife in front of her face. “You remember what I said, bitch. You stop filling my brother’s head with stupid fucking dreams. If you mention anything to the cops, your mother will get the full treatment before we kill her, it doesn’t matter how old she is, a slut is a slut, you get my meaning? Then we start cutting her.”
Aliana thought of her invalid mother suffering the worst fate imagineable and started to moan.
The guy behind her shoved her, and she slammed into her little hybrid. She caught a glimpse of his bald head as he and the others ran to their late model, silver muscle car and sped out of the parking lot. She scrambled for her purse and keys she had dropped when Mateo had spun her around. She took precious extra seconds to find the St. Rita medal and put it in her purse, not caring if the chain was lost. As soon as she found everything, she hit the release button and practically fell into her car.
On instinct, she started the engine. For a second, she thought about the groceries that littered the pavement, then she let out a harsh laugh. She considered getting out of her car to go inside her townhome, but that didn’t feel safe. Neither did staying in her car and calling the police. She needed to leave.
She had trouble getting the car in reverse. She could barely see when she looked into the rearview mirror, it was like it was raining outside because of her tears. She swiped at her eyes. Better. Get it together Novak. She felt the air conditioning blast on her bare breasts and screeched to a halt in the townhome parking lot. Reaching into the backseat of her car hurt her arm, and she groaned as she grabbed her trench coat.
“Sakra!” She swore in Czech. She realized she hadn’t put on her seatbelt as she struggled to put her coat on. Finally, she just put the coat on backward. It was the best she could do without getting out of the car. Aliana jammed on her seatbelt, wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket, and pulled out of her complex.
She had to get away. She didn’t know where. She couldn’t go to the police. Where was she going to go? Where? Finally she figured it out. She had to get to her mother.
“Bastard,” she yelled. He almost hit her. It was then she realized she had just run a red light. “Sakra!” she swore again in Czech. Tears started to fall in earnest. She could barely see out the window. She had to pull over. Then she saw red and blue lights behind her. She pulled into a gas station and parked near the air pump. Nobody was there. She shuddered when she saw a big shadow outside her window. She jumped when the loud knock sounded beside her.
“Ma’am?”
She couldn’t stop crying. She tried. But she couldn’t.
“Ma’am, are you all right?”
A bright light shined into the car, she couldn’t see anything. Aliana rested her head against her steering wheel. Why did she hurt? Why were her hands slippery?
“Ma’am, open the door.”
Aliana jerked her head to the door, taking solace the door was locked.
“Ma’am, I’m a police officer. Look at my uniform.” The light was gone, and she saw it was now shining on the man who was talking. He was older than Mateo and his friends, and he was wearing a police uniform. He looked worried.
“Can you roll down your window?”
It took a moment for Aliana to understand what he was asking. Police. He was a policeman. Oh God, not the police. He knocked on the window again. She had to respond. She pressed the button that rolled down the window.
“Why are you bleeding?” he asked quietly. “Did someone hurt you?”
She gulped. She tried to say something, but the words stuck. She put her hands to her throat. They came away wet. She extended her blood-soaked hand out the window, showing the officer as the blood slowly dripped off the tips of her fingers. It took a moment for her to stop staring at the beautiful red of the blood and see that he was talking into his shoulder. He said something about an ambulance.
“You’re going to be okay.” He reached into the car through the window and unlocked the door. Aliana heard a whimper. Oh God, it had actually come from her. Her tears burned the cut on her throat, and she tried to stop them from dripping off her chin.
“I’m going to open the door, okay?”
What was he saying? She felt more of the hot night air hit her as it rushed in the door. Bewildered, she looked up into warm brown eyes. For a moment, she thought she was seeing a ghost from the past. She shook her head to clear it, and the features of the policeman became clear.
“Are you cut anywhere else besides your throat?”
She had to think. Eventually, she nodded.
“May I see?”
She shook her head wildly. “It’s not bad.” Her teeth chattered. She didn’t want to take off her coat and show her breasts.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
She opened her mouth to tell him about Mateo. “Ahhh.” Was all that came out. She thought about her mother in her first floor room at the nursing home. How had he known she had a small little place in Glendale? He even knew about the Jacaranda tree. More tears spilled.
“Miss? Can you tell me what happened?”
She heard a siren. Not some figment of her imagination.
“Who did this to you?”
She shook her head.
He sighed. “Can you tell me your name?”
She coughed and covered her throat. “Aliana Novak,” she whispered.
A woman in a blue shirt was suddenly beside the police officer. “I need to see my patient,” she said. The policeman moved. She crouched down in front of Aliana. “Can you get out of the car?” she asked gently.
Aliana considered her question, then nodded. She shouldn’t have, it hurt. More tears fell. Why couldn’t she stop crying? She needed to suck it up. She wasn’t a crier. She hadn’t cried in years. This wasn’t who she was. The tears stopped. There. She was back to being Aliana Mila Novak. She saw the woman give her an odd look, but then she smiled.
“Are you injured under your coat?”
“He cut off my blouse,” Aliana said. The woman assisted her out of her car. “I’m bleeding on my chest. It hurts too.”
“Can you walk?” she asked.
It was a stupid question. “Of course, I can walk.” Aliana legs went out from under her as she got out of the car. When the officer and EMT grabbed an arm on either side to keep her from falling, she yelped in pain.
“What’s wrong?” the woman asked.
“My arms hurt. One of them shoved them behind my back.”
“Okay, we’ll get you checked out.”
They helped her over to the ambulance and got her inside.
“I’m going to shut the door so we can take off the coat and see your injury, is that okay?”
This time Aliana knew better than to nod. “Yes.” Then she saw the other technician in the ambulance who was crouched down, getting something from a kit. “No,” Aliana said as the woman started to help her out of her coat.
She looked over her shoulder. “Jerry, why don’t you go outside and wait with the cop. I’ve got this.”
“Sure thing.”
After he left, Aliana cringed. “That was stupid. I’m sorry,” Aliana said quietly, looking at the grimy floor of the ambulance.
“No, it wasn’t,” the technician assured her. “I wouldn’t want to take off my shoes in front of Jerry,” she said with a laugh. Aliana looked up into her sparkling green eyes. “How about we take you out of this? You must be sweltering.”
She was. Aliana took a quick glance at the woman’s name tag, it said Ritter. “Thank you for your help, Ms. Ritter.”
“Call me Mary,” the woman said as she tugged on the right sleeve of Aliana’s coat. Aliana let out a cry, the lining of the coat had stuck to the wound. Mary immediately realized what was going on. “I’m going to cut this off.” She turned to the same kit Jerry had been rooting around in. Aliana swiftly pulled off her coat, not letting out a sound now that she knew what to expect. When Mary turned around holding the scissors, she found her sitting on the gurney with her blouse open and the ugly cut seeping blood.
“You really shouldn’t have done that,” she said quietly.
“It was expedient.”
“Okay. Let’s take a look, shall we?”
Aliana wondered why she was saying we. Mary made a tsking sound. “I think there are a couple of spots here that are going to need stitches. We’re going to take you to the hospital. When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?”
“I don’t know.” Aliana coughed and it hurt.
“Let’s get you covered up.” Mary gently helped Aliana into her coat, the right way. “I’m just going to tie the sash loosely, is that okay?”
Aliana nodded.
“Jerry’s going to drive us. Ernie will follow us, he’s going to want to get a statement.”
At the mention of the policeman, Aliana’s thoughts flew to her mom and how she’d looked last weekend. She’d tried to tidy up her thin hair, but even using the soft brush, her mother had cried and said it had hurt. For the last two months, Danica Novak had spent a lot of time whimpering like a small child. When Aliana had talked to the staff at the nursing home, they had assured her this was just a phase and there was no medical reason she would be in pain. Still, it broke her heart to hear her mother’s soft sobs. It even happened when she rubbed the soothing vanilla lotion on her feet and hands.
Aliana would have insisted they bring in specialists if it weren’t for the fact her mother would suddenly stop crying and start smiling and then thank her for the wonderful foot rub. It made Aliana’s heartache, she never knew what she was going to encounter when she visited. The idea that Mateo was threatening her helpless mother both enraged and scared the hell out of her. There was no way she was going to tell the police even if that had been her original intention.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Hmmmm?” It was the same way she responded to students when she was multitasking and hadn’t been listening to what they’d been saying.
“I said we’re leaving for the hospital now. Ernie, the cop, is getting your belongings and locking up your car. He’ll follow us to the hospital. He’ll take your statement there.”
“I ran a red light. He must be upset with me.”
“It’s okay.” Mary patted her hand. “You’re entitled. I want you to lie down. I need to get you strapped in, okay?”
Mary indicated the pillow, and Aliana shook her head. That was a mistake, she grabbed at her gauze covered neck. “Isn’t there a place for me to sit? I don’t want to lie down.”
“Honey, I took your blood pressure. You’re light headed. This is for the best.”
“Please?”
“It’s policy. You’d really be helping me out if you would just rest. It isn’t far.” Mary’s eyes were soft and coaxing. Aliana stretched out on the gurney, and Mary did up the straps. “Thank you.”
Aliana shut her eyes. Mateo’s face swam in front of her closed lids. She slammed them back open and stared at the ceiling of the ambulance. She felt nauseous. She swallowed and bit back a groan of pain. Seriously, she needed to quit being a drama queen, this was nothing. Eventually, she felt the vehicle come to a stop. The rear doors opened, and the steamy heat of the night billowed into the back of the ambulance. It felt suffocating.
The straps wouldn’t come off. She tried to get them off. The more she struggled and moved the more pain shot through her chest.
“Calm down, Miss, let me help.” Jerry jumped into the back of the ambulance and loomed over her. Aliana shrieked.
“Jerry, move your ass. Let me,” Mary said sharply.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry,” Aliana repeated over and over again.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Jerry is a dumbass. Let me get you unstrapped, and you can walk out, will that be okay with you?”
Aliana was free, she pushed up with Mary’s help.
“Take it slow.” She looked around. Jerry was standing outside looking contrite. She gave him a tentative smile, and he saluted. Mary put her arm around her waist. “Watch your step, it’s a big one. Will you let Jerry help you?”
“Of course. I’m sorry for being out of control, I don’t know what came over me.” She held her hand out to him like a lady be handed out of a carriage. He took it like a courtier with a slight bow. Aliana gave a small grin in return.
There was an orderly waiting with a wheelchair. “Your chariot awaits,” Jerry said.
“Now you’ve got it,” Mary laughed.
“Thank you, both,” Aliana said.
“It’s our job,” Jerry said. “Good luck.”
The big orderly whisked her in through the double doors.
***
“Officer Robinson, it was dark. I can’t describe them.”
Aliana willed herself to treat this like she was in control, that she was having a conversation with the principal at her school. She could do this. She refused to give up her power again tonight. When she felt her hands begin to clench, she forced them to spread out and rest on her thighs.
“Can you walk me through it again? I still don’t understand how you got away from them.” She looked into his intelligent face. It was obvious he didn’t believe her, and who could blame him. Her story sounded as flimsy as a piece of paper. From dealing with so many students, the one thing she knew is the kids who stayed closest to the truth, they were the ones who tended to get away with their crimes.
“I told you, one of the teenagers said he heard a siren.”
“If you can’t describe them, how do you know they are teenagers?”
That was a great question. How could she? “I deal with teenagers all the time at my school, there was just something about them that seemed like my students. I can’t exactly explain it, but it was a sense I got it.”
“Fifteen? Sixteen? Nineteen? What age did you sense them to be?” She looked down at the bed she was sitting on. At least she wasn’t hurting, it was a good thing she hadn’t allowed them to give her anything stronger than the local anesthesia, otherwise she wouldn’t be sharp enough to navigate this interview.
“I’m not sure.”
“Surely if you work with teenagers day in and day out, you can take a pretty accurate guess,” he insisted.
Aliana tried to think of an excuse. “It was dark, and I was scared for my life, I’m sorry I wasn’t paying better attention.”
“Usually victims remember something,” he said mildly.
She had to stick to her story. Her mother’s life depended on it. They stared at one another. She knew his game. She played it often enough herself. She waited. And waited. And waited.
He blew out a breath. “If you can’t tell me their ages. Can you tell me what they sounded like? Did you have an idea if they were African American? Hispanic? White?”
“Hispanic. They spoke Spanish. They drove away in a late model, hyped-up car.”
“Well, at least that’s something. Would you recognize the car if I showed you some pictures?”
She nodded. That shouldn’t be giving too much away. The bandage scratched. When would she remember to stop doing that? How was she going to explain her injury when she got to school? A nasty kitchen accident wouldn’t be believed, she thought wryly. Good, at least she found a little bit of humor. She was coping.
“Is something funny?” Officer Robinson asked sharply.
“I was thinking of excuses to explain my injury to the people at school,” Aliana admitted. “Some of the stories were somewhat unbelievable.”
“Imagine that.” He sounded amused.
“Are we done?” she asked.
“I’m going to ask that you come to our station to look at pictures of cars. Can you make it tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She needed to get to her mother. She looked down at the slim watch on her wrist and was thankful to see it was still only seven o’clock. Visiting hours lasted until nine o’clock, so she could still make it to Glendale if she could get a lift to her car.
“Yes?” The officer prompted.
“Can you take me to my car?”
“I intended to.”
“Oh.”
“You didn’t think I was just going to leave you stranded, did you?”
“Well, yes.”
He gave her an odd look. “They probably won’t let you out of here for another hour.”
“I can’t afford to wait that long. I have somewhere to be.” She started to hop off the bed, and Officer Robinson was immediately at her side helping her.
“You’re an independent thing, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Aliana spied her purse on a chair in the corner of the room and grabbed it. “Do you know who I need to talk to get released? I already provided my insurance card.”
“I would assume the doctor who treated you.”
Aliana pulled the curtain open and glanced into the room for her doctor. “Hello,” she called out when she spotted the man. “I need to leave. Can I go now?” He looked up from a chart he was reading. He looked harried. A nurse came up to talk to him at the same time somebody else yelled his name. He started to walk away without answering Aliana’s question.
“Doctor. May I leave?” Aliana repeated more loudly.
He looked over his shoulder. “Yes. Go talk to the nurse at the front desk.” Thank God for overcrowded hospitals.
She winced when she tied the sash tighter on her coat.
“Let me help.” Officer Robinson knotted her coat so that it didn’t bind as much. “I hope you’re planning on going home.”
“I told you, I have somewhere to be.”
“Don’t you need to change your clothes?”
Aliana dipped her chin to check the front of her coat, she saw the blood that stained the front. Sakra. Maybe they wouldn’t notice at the nursing home. She had to get there.
“This is not really your concern.”
She watched as he pulled out his phone. “Hi, this is Ernie. I’m taking a long lunch. I’ll call you when I’m back on duty.”
Why did he do that? “Does this mean you can’t take me to my car?”
“This means I’m going to take you to your appointment, then I’m taking you to your car, then I’m following to your house and making sure you get in safely.”
“Townhome.”
“What?”
“I live in a townhome,” she explained.
“Whatever. You need a keeper, and right now, I’m it.”
He was mistaken. Very mistaken. The last thing she needed was someone to take care of her. She’d learned a long time ago there was nobody she could trust, and this man wasn’t going to change her mind.