Page 5 of Crossfire
Bob: Street cameras nearby might pick us up.
I wanted to replay every conversation I’d had with him to look for clues about his true motivations through this new lens, but right now, I needed to focus on not getting myself lobotomized.
Me: Seems we’re at a stalemate then, Bob.
Bob: I’m sorry. This location was the best idea I had, but I’m open to others. How about you choose the location?
My guard went down a couple of inches, but I reread his text, looking for the trick. I glanced around, searching for a screwdriver-wielding lunatic, but there was nothing but pothole-infested asphalt. There was, however, the distant hum of an engine, so maybe this place wasn’t as abandoned as I thought?
If Bob was willing to change the location to somewhere that would make me more comfortable, was there still a chance he was legit? Idiotic, to think I’d meet him here, but perhaps legit?
He knew things. Intimate things that only Dad and I had talked about.
He had been paranoid in all of his correspondence, so maybe a dark parking garage tracked. In fairness, men didn’t always see things through the lens of a woman. When we walked through the jungle of life, we were much more aware of dangerous predators that might lurk around any corner, so locations often took on sinister settings.
Bob: You pick the place. My schedule opens up again next week.
Next week?
My stomach dropped. Bob didn’t know how urgent this was for me. I had left that part out because:
A) It was none of his business.
B) I was uninterested in giving a man who held the most important thing in my life, the thing I needed the most, more power than he already had.
The screen on my phone had multiple apps that were one click away from answering almost any question in the world, except this one: Should I walk away?
Leaving might mean abandoning my last chance to save Grams from a dire fate. I mean, what if Bob didn’t follow through again to meet? What if his paranoia would make him change his mind?
Or should I stay and pray that Bob was, in fact, legit?
I chewed on my lip.
Leave, I decided.
Definitely leave.
As I turned to step away, though, fate popped an email alert onto my screen with a subject line that made me stop in my tracks.
Subject: Final notice.
My heart crashed against my ribs as I opened the letter and skimmed the words.
Final notice…
Settle the outstanding balance by…
…force us to consider the discontinuation of services and the removal from our facility…
…as per the terms outlined in our agreement.
Oh god.
I was officially out of time. My mind raced as I weighed my options. If I didn’t go through with this, Grams would lose her spot at the medical facility, and she couldn’t afford to be without 24/7 care after her stroke.
Still. Was I willing to risk my safety to save her?
I bit my nail, replaying all my failed attempts to solve this problem. My 401(k) proved too small to pay off the balance. I had been denied a personal loan from all eight banks where I’d applied—thank you, student loan and credit card debt. And my credit card companies denied my requests for a credit limit increase.