Breaking The Rules_ A Novel Part 8

"Did Ivette call this number?" Eden asked.

"She hasn't been home in a week. She's pulling double s.h.i.+fts and..." Ben laughed his scorn. But Eden could see beneath it to his terrible upset. "Greg let the phone get shut off again. I kind of-"

"You should sit down," the girl interrupted. "You need to tell your sister-"

"I'm fine," Ben spoke over her. "Eed, I thought you were getting a phone installed."

"I got a cell instead," she told her brother as she dug for it in her purse. "It was cheaper." She opened it and began punching in the phone number on the letter.

"Ben gave himself a shot," the little girl announced, "that he said might make him puke, and it did."

Eden looked up sharply at that. "Glucagon?" she asked. "Ben, your levels were that low...?"

"I'm fine," he said again. "Now. But I was light-headed and I was trying to have some orange juice, and then Greg hit me, and Eed, G.o.d, I hit him back. And then I didn't have a snack, and I didn't have any money because my wallet was gone and I made it to the mall, but you weren't at work, like you told me you'd be. But Neesha was there, and she helped me get home..."

Ben was trying not to cry, and Eden put her phone down and her arms around him. "Okay," she said. "Okay. It's going to be okay, Boo-Boo, even if Danny's dead. It's going to suck and we're going to be sad, but we'll get through it. We'll be okay."

Ben kept fighting his tears as Eden pulled him over to the junky, stuffing-leaking sofa-bed that she'd covered with a sheet, and sat down beside him. "I don't want him to be dead," he said.

"I don't either," Eden said, as fighting her own tears made the back of her throat ache. "But if he is, we'll be okay. Whatever happens, we're going to be fine."

"I can't go back there," Ben told her. "I kind of kicked Greg's a.s.s." He laughed, but it was more of a burst of emotion than true amus.e.m.e.nt, because it sounded quite a bit like a sob. "He's already planning to open a restaurant with the insurance money."

Oh, Lord. "Define kicked his a.s.s, kicked his a.s.s," Eden said.

"I didn't kill him," Ben said, with a roll of his eyes. "I didn't even really kick his a.s.s. I just wanted to. I kneed him in the nuts and he started screaming. I got away and...I left."

That was good. All they needed was Greg in the hospital-and a police warrant for Ben's arrest. Although, truth be told, he'd be safer in the juvie system than in that terrible ex-gay camp.

"He hit me first," Ben said, clearly thinking along the same lines.

"Did your friend witness it?" Eden asked, just as she realized that the girl was gone. She'd slipped out the door while both Eden and Ben were distracted.

Ben shook his head. "She was at the mall. And great. Neesha left. I was going to ask you if she could stay here, at least for a little while." He must've seen the great big no on her face because he quickly added, "She's in trouble, Eed. She's living in the streets and...She made me promise not to tell anyone, and to be honest, she didn't actually say say what happened. It was kind of more implied, but some really, what happened. It was kind of more implied, but some really, really really bad things have happened to her, starting when she was little and..." bad things have happened to her, starting when she was little and..."

Eden closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Her mother died and it was awful," Ben continued. "And now she has no place to go."

"Ben," Eden said. Neesha may have had no place to go, but she was right up there on the top of the list labeled Problems Eden Didn't Need Problems Eden Didn't Need. "I know how much you still miss Deshawndra-"

"This has nothing nothing to do with her." to do with her."

Didn't it? Ben's best friend, Deshawndra, and her grandmother had died as a result of the flood after Hurricane Katrina. And this was the first time since her death-at least as far as Eden knew-that her brother had even made an attempt to reach out to another person even remotely close to his own age. But it was clear he didn't want to talk about that.

"Okay," she said. "Let's rewind a bit. Have you tested your blood sugar levels again, after injecting the glucagon?"

Ben nodded, relaxing, if only slightly, at the change of subject. "It's good."

"Show me. I want to see it," Eden said, standing up. Ben's last reading-and the time it was taken-appeared on the meter's tiny screen.

"Wow," Ben said. "Trust me, much?"

"You are are my brother, right?" my brother, right?"

"Half brother."

"Half," she said, "is close enough. Come on. Where's your meter? After I'm convinced I don't have to take you to the hospital, I'm going to make that call, find out what I can about Danny." Please, heavenly Father, let him be okay..."And you've got to call Ivette at work-let her know you're safe, you've got a place to stay, but you're not coming home."

"It's in the kitchen," he called after her. "And I don't have Ivette's phone number at this new place she's working. I only have her cell."

"Then call her cell," Eden said.

"So when were you going to tell me that you got fired from the coffee shop?"

Eden looked back at Ben. "I didn't," she said, then lied effortlessly, like the full Gillman that she was. "But I did get a second job. A cleaning job. I clean offices and clubs, after hours-with a whole team of, you know, other women. It's kinda nasty, but the pay's good. And I'm safe."

Ben bought it, hook, line and sinker-which was a ridiculous expression to use in the desert.

She checked the meter-he was was being honest with her-and then she got her cell phone, and, bracing herself for tragic news because it had been that kind of a decade, she dialed the number on the letter. being honest with her-and then she got her cell phone, and, bracing herself for tragic news because it had been that kind of a decade, she dialed the number on the letter.

LAS V VEGAS.

MONDAY, MAY 4, 2009.

Neesha didn't need to take the bus back to the mall.

It was easy enough to walk, since this time she wasn't supporting a boy who was nearly half again her weight.

She didn't know a lot about diabetes, and Ben's explanations as he stuck himself with a needle didn't help educate her all that much further. But still, it was clear that he was ill. That couldn't have been an act, nor was his puking into the bathtub.

Still, going into that apartment with him, even though her heart was pounding...? And then, actually telling telling him even the little that she'd told him...? him even the little that she'd told him...?

It was a huge step for her. And a necessary one, ever since she'd determined that she would not be able to get the help she needed on her own.

She'd decided, weeks ago, that she needed to find a friend. Someone she could trust-and would trust-with her very life. She'd been cautiously increasing her contact with one of the ladies who worked at the library before Ben dropped into her life.

But Ben's sister, who bore the name Eden, was an entirely different matter. She was younger than Neesha had expected, and was far more beautiful than Neesha had expected. And that, plus all of the glittery, exotic costumes Neesha had found in the lower drawers of Eden's bedroom dresser, convinced her that Ben's sister worked in the s.e.x trade.

And it was possible that, not only would she have no sympathy for Neesha, but she could well know Mr. Nelson and Todd, and would be more than willing to earn a bonus by turning Neesha in.

So Neesha had run, taking the bag with the clothes that Ben had given her.

She was hungry when she finally got back to the mall-it had been a while since that McFlurry, and she'd refused Ben's offer of a snack. Still, she went to the bathroom first, to change her s.h.i.+rt in one of the stalls.

There were five different tops in the bag Ben had given her. They were in a variety of colors and prints, each more beautiful than the last. She picked the blue-the plainest one-since her goal was merely to be clean and not draw attention to herself. Besides, she would probably forevermore a.s.sociate fancy clothes with the vast myriad of clients who'd pa.s.sed through her tiny room, with its pink-trimmed furniture and collection of dolls and picture books that were locked behind gla.s.s.

Right up until the end, she'd refused to dress herself unless it was part of the services rendered-part of the show. This meant that every time a "visitor" came to call, the stern-faced women with their rough hands and pinching fingers would enter Neesha's room without knocking, and dress her in whatever outfit was required. Only rarely was it the kind of s.h.i.+ny, flashy, s.e.xy items-thongs and bra tops-that she'd found in Eden's drawer. Instead she often wore a gymnast's leotard-that was a big favorite-or a schoolgirl's uniform, or a pink shapeless baby-doll dress with ankle socks and s.h.i.+ny black shoes.

The women had learned to wait to dress her and do her hair until the client was in the building. And even then, one of them would sit with her until the door opened.

But that was over now.

There were elastic hair fasteners at the bottom of the bag-large enough to hold her heavy ma.s.s of hair up in a ponytail or even a bun. Neesha unfastened her braid and combed her long hair out with her fingers, wis.h.i.+ng yet one more time that she had a pair of scissors so she could cut it all off.

She'd tried using a plastic knife from the food court.

It hadn't worked.

She put her old s.h.i.+rt into the bag and exited the stall, giving herself only the briefest glance in the mirror. Yes, her new s.h.i.+rt covered her. Yes, she'd scooped all of her hair up off her neck and twisted it into that severe-looking bun. It made her look only slightly older, and she found herself longing for a hat and sungla.s.ses.

Because Mr. Nelson and Todd were still out there, looking for her.

And Neesha knew that neither would rest until they found her.

CHAPTER SIX.

LANDSTUHL, GERMANY.

TUESDAY, 5 M MAY 2009.

Markie-Mark Jenkins wanted to visit Dan Gillman one last time before he and Izzy went wheels up and headed back to San Diego.

And because Izzy didn't want to get into the gnarly details of why he didn't want to go with, he found himself walking through the halls of the one place where he least wanted to be this morning-the one place he could actually come face-to-face again with Cynthia, since she worked here.

Still, he walked quickly and kept his head down and made it without mishap into the relative safety of Gillman's room.

Dan was stuck here in the hospital for at least another few days-maybe less if he could convince the doctors that he wasn't going to overexert himself. The nursing staff was also monitoring the fishboy for signs of infection, still calling him a "medical miracle," because he'd survived quite a few touch-and-go days in the ICU after having first been brought in But apparently Dan hadn't gotten that particular memo, because he was looking remarkably average as he slept with his mouth open, his hair going every which way, and his face smashed against a pillow that bore a dark spot of his allegedly miraculous drool.

He'd kicked off part of his blanket, and sure enough, there was the leg in question-the one that everyone had dourly expected would need amputation. But Dan's little piggy toes looked pink and healthy, and Izzy felt a hot rush of gladness that he usually didn't a.s.sociate with anything having to do with his arch-nemesis.

As Izzy and Jenk came farther into the room, Jennilyn LeMay, Danny's first-rate, top-notch, high-cla.s.s, too-good-for-him girlfriend stood up from where she was sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair next to the fishboy's bed, and put her finger to her lips.

"He's been sleeping so badly at night," she told them almost in-audibly. "He didn't want to nap, but...When he finally does fall asleep, I just don't have the heart to wake him."

Danny wasn't the only one sleeping badly. Jenn looked exhausted, and had clearly given up all attempts at looking professional, which was actually an improvement, in Izzy's book. She was one of those women whose coif surrendered to a bad hair day with the slightest change in the weather, and who invariably snagged her stockings if she walked or moved. She was the one who'd lose a b.u.t.ton on her strait-laced suit jacket thirty seconds before the Big Important Meeting, and she, alone, would get splashed when a car went through a puddle going round a corner. It was her shoulder the baby would throw up on while his diaper leaked on her sleeve, and while riding the subway, she was guaranteed to get jostled and spill her coffee down the front of her blouse.

She also had what Izzy thought of as a milk-maid complexion and physique. She was a tall, strapping, healthy young woman with gorgeous, fresh-looking skin. And she looked far more natural in the jeans, sneakers, and curve-hugging T-s.h.i.+rt she currently had on, with her baby-fine hair pulled back into a ponytail, all makeup scrubbed from her ordinary yet extremely not-unpleasant face.

"You look like you could use a break," Jenkie told her. "We'll sit with Danny for a while, if you want."

Jenn looked uncertain until Izzy added, "We'll stay until you get back. Go on, I can hear the coffee from the mess hall singing your name in three-part harmony. Jenny, I've got your number, I need to make you mine..." Jenny, I've got your number, I need to make you mine..."

She smiled when he sang and dimples appeared, and as Izzy gazed through her gla.s.ses and into her eyes-a nondescript light brown until combined with that smile-he felt a flash of understanding as to why Dan was so into her. She was was pretty d.a.m.n cute. pretty d.a.m.n cute.

"I've never heard that that song before," she said dryly. "Oh, wait, except for every single day in sixth grade." song before," she said dryly. "Oh, wait, except for every single day in sixth grade."

As she turned and slipped out from behind the curtained part.i.tion, Izzy also made note of the way her generously curvaceous behind filled her jeans. Some people might have thought of her a.s.s as being too too generous, but the bottom line-pun intended-was that without the business suit and the sensible flat pumps, she generous, but the bottom line-pun intended-was that without the business suit and the sensible flat pumps, she was was a seriously nice-looking woman. a seriously nice-looking woman.

And yet, she was completely against Dan's usual type for a fly-to-Germany-because-you're-in-the-hospital girlfriend. She was quite the standard, however, when it came to a meaningless vacation fling-a no-real-strings opportunity for the movie-star-handsome SEAL to get some.

In fact, Dan himself had concisely described his usual MO to Izzy, a mere few months earlier: Everyone wants to get laid. That's just a fact of life. But there are ways to do it. Strategies. You don't just automatically follow your d.i.c.k. You use your head with the brain. You find the chunky girl with the really pretty friends. She's low maintenance and low drama, plus she's wired to believe that you're too good to be true. She expects to be dumped, so when you do it, she lets go immediately Everyone wants to get laid. That's just a fact of life. But there are ways to do it. Strategies. You don't just automatically follow your d.i.c.k. You use your head with the brain. You find the chunky girl with the really pretty friends. She's low maintenance and low drama, plus she's wired to believe that you're too good to be true. She expects to be dumped, so when you do it, she lets go immediately.

Problem was, Jenn had overheard Dan as he'd spouted that elegant monologue to Izzy. She'd reacted as strongly as one might expect.

And she'd been so intent on putting distance between herself and Dan "Yes, I Really Did Just Call the Woman I'm Sleeping with Chunky" Gillman, she'd fallen into the clutches of a very nasty, crazy-a.s.s son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h who sliced and diced woman as part of a lifelong hobby.

Danny had literally helped their team leaders blast through a wall to find her, at which point she'd fallen into his arms. But Izzy had seen the remains of some of the crazy serial killer's victims, and he he would have fallen, sobbing no less, into Danny's strong arms, too, had he been the one tied up and at the top of the nasty-a.s.s dude's "to-do" list. would have fallen, sobbing no less, into Danny's strong arms, too, had he been the one tied up and at the top of the nasty-a.s.s dude's "to-do" list.

Still, the arm-falling-into had been temporary. Several hours after Jenn's release from the hospital, Danny had shown up back at the hotel room the SEALs were sharing, looking a little sh.e.l.l-shocked at the fact that she'd sent him away. She'd apparently also told him that if he truly were serious about her, he should come back to visit her-after his next trip overseas.

She'd wait, she'd told him, but she wouldn't wait forever.

It was a variation on the if you love someone, set them free if you love someone, set them free theme, and good thinking on Jenn's part. theme, and good thinking on Jenn's part.

It had, however, driven Dan completely crazy.

He'd spent most of their time overseas in the computer tent, sending Jenni e-mail. And apparently whatever he'd sent her had worked. Because here Jenn was, playing the role of the d.i.c.kweed's girlfriend, sitting patiently by the side of his hospital bed as he snored his days away and kept her up all night in a bad and entirely unromantic way.

Izzy leaned against the bed and shook it.

"What!" Dan said as he jerked awake. Or nearly awake. As SEALs, they'd all learned it was best to snap into high alert before their eyes even opened. But Danny had gotten soft these past few weeks in the hospital. Or maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe he was still heavily medicated.

Either way, the man was in a serious fog. He wiped the drool from the side of his face with his non-IV-attached arm as he looked around for Jenn and didn't find her.

"She went for coffee," Izzy reported cheerfully as he sat down in the chair she'd recently vacated.

"How are you doing?" Jenk asked Danny, who shook his head.

"f.u.c.king low-grade infection," he complained. "I keep telling them I'm fine, but they're afraid to release me. Guess it's really broken, huh?"

Jenk shook his head as he looked down at the cast on his arm. "Yeah, what a pain in the a.s.s. But they're finally s.h.i.+pping me stateside. I'm going to desk-it in Commander Koehl's office for a few more weeks." He smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not really really complaining. The timing's actually pretty good. I'll get to watch Lindsey expand." complaining. The timing's actually pretty good. I'll get to watch Lindsey expand."

"And puke her guts out every morning, noon, and night," Izzy said.

"No, so far she's good," Jenk said.

"Famous last words," Dan said.

They were in agreement. "Yeah. Cut to a close-up of Lindsey as she lunges for the porcelain G.o.d," Izzy said, and look at that. He and Dan actually exchanged a we know something Jenk doesn't know we know something Jenk doesn't know glance. He resisted the urge to check his cell phone, see if he'd gotten any tweets about h.e.l.l finally freezing over. glance. He resisted the urge to check his cell phone, see if he'd gotten any tweets about h.e.l.l finally freezing over.

"Hey, there you are."