Something soft was brushing my face when I woke up.
I pushed my eyes open and the room was dim. I was still on the sofa and the ceiling was still above me. I twisted my head to the side, a flash of pain burning through my face. I winced, then opened my eyes to see what was tickling me.
It was Ernie. The stuffed cat. Leaning against the side of my face that hadn’t been bashed in. He’d somehow moved from just inside my elbow to taking a nap on my face.
I reached up and pulled him down, setting him next to Bert. Stiffness permeated my limbs and every movement felt slow, like I was just learning how to do it again. The side of my head pulsated with heat and pain. I took a deep breath and brought my legs over the side of the couch, pushing myself up to a sitting position.
The room wobbled in front of me and the pain in my head seemed to seep from one side to the other. A soft ringing in my ears got louder for a moment, then died off. I set my hands to the side of me, steadying myself against the cushions.
“You’re awake,” Bella said. “Again.”
I turned slowly to the side. She was standing at the edge of the room, just off the hallway, her arms folded, her eyes tired.
“I am,” I said.
She came over and sat down on the edge of the sofa next to me. “How do you feel?”
“Pretty crappy.”
“You look worse.”
“Thanks.”
“I took the ice off of you awhile ago,” she said. “It just kept falling to the floor because you kept shaking your head in your sleep.”
I nodded and a thin thread of pain rippled through my neck.
“I can help you get to my bed,” she said. “It’ll be more comfortable than the couch.”
“No, I’m fine,” I said. “I should go.”
“Go? Where? How?”
“Home.”
I pushed myself up. The floor slid out from underneath me and I toppled back into the couch.
Bella hurried over and helped me sit back upright.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” she said. “You’re a mess. You need to rest. And this couch isn’t big enough to hold you. I’m worried you’ll fall off. So I’ll help you get to my bed. I’m going to sleep in Jackson’s room.”
I wanted to argue because I just wanted to go, but the fact that I couldn’t even get to my feet made that a pointless wish. My head pounded, my face felt like it had been driven over and my legs couldn’t hold my weight. Even my stubbornness wasn’t going to get me out the door.
“Okay,” I said.
“I’m going to get under your arm and help you stand up,” she said, pressing up next to me.
“You can’t hold me up.”
“How the hell do you think you got here?” she asked, taking my arm and putting it around her shoulders. “In my car and into the living room?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, it wasn’t Jackson,” she said. “On three, push up. Lean against me if you need to.”
She counted to three and we stood. My legs were rubbery and I did lean against her. She held me up, far stronger than I expected and we moved slowly out of the living room, down the hallway and into her bedroom.
The sheets and comforter were pulled back on the queen bed and we sat down together on the edge. She got out from under my arm and helped lift my legs onto the bed. She scooted me away from the edge.
“You alright?” She pulled the covers over me.
“I’m thirsty.”
“I’ll be right back,” she said and left.
I lay there, exhausted from the short walk down the hall. I looked around me, trying not to think about the pain still throbbing in my temples. Bella’s bedroom was small, with light blue walls and white furnishings. Small photos of Jackson in silver frames lined the top of the dresser. A short pile of books was stacked neatly on the nightstand. The faint aroma of lavender permeated the bedding and I breathed it in.
Bella returned with a plastic bottle of water. She unscrewed the cap and handed it to me. The frigid water hurt my teeth, but tasted as good as any water I’d ever had.
I handed it back to her, half-empty. “Thanks.”
She set it down on the night stand, next to the books. “Welcome. You should sleep some more.”
“I think I’ve slept all day.”
“You have. But you got the crap beat out of you.”
I wondered what happened with the chairs and umbrellas on the beach. It was the first time since I’d arrived in Florida that I hadn’t finished the day. I needed to apologize to Ike as soon as I could get up and move.
“Tell me,” I said.
“Tell you what?”
“Who they are.”
Anxiety settled on her face. “We don’t need to do that now.”
“I’ve slept all day,” I said. “I need to stay awake so I can get my bearings. And you said you’d tell me.”
She sighed, clearly torn between whether or not she was going to tell me. I was prepared to leverage my injury, if necessary. I was now in this far. I needed to know exactly what I was into.
She sat down on the foot of the bed, her legs folded up Indian-style. She played with her fingers for a moment, studying them, avoiding my eyes.
“They’re friends of Evan’s,” she said. “David’s last name is Hanson. I don’t know Colin’s.”
It took me a moment to remember that Evan was Jackson’s father. “Friends?”
She shrugged, rolled her eyes. “Friends. Colleagues. Assholes. Whatever. They all worked together.”
“Together? Or they worked for Evan?”
An irritated smile turned into a smirk. “Truthfully, I have no idea. Evan was great at keeping secrets and those two are no different. When he was killed, David took over. I don’t know if that’s because he was next in line, or they were partners, or what. Colin, he’s just a dickhead who thinks he’s the enforcer. Wants to be bigger than he is.”
“But that was in Tampa, right?”
She shifted on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest. “David decided to expand the business.”
“To here.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. To here.”
I had yet to meet a dealer who wasn’t ambitious. It was inherent in their business. Once they got a taste of the money involved, they wanted more. But the problem with expansion was that they were always infringing on someone else’s territory. And that usually led to bloody problems.
“So what?” I asked. “Did Evan die owing them money? They want it from you?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. At least not that I know of.”
“So why are they bothering you?”
She ran a hand through her hair and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Because I’m stupid.”