After dropping X and a jug of gasoline at Christy's abandoned car, Anthony headed back toward Florida’s west coast.
"You're sure you’re okay?" he asked as he cast a tentative glance at Christy. She was pressed up against the passenger door. She was hugging her knees to her chest, and staring out the side window. She looked over at him and watched him stiffen as the sight of her bruised and swollen face incited him. Or was it something else? she wondered.
"You're mad at me," she said, and observed the not so subtle clench of his jaw.
He looked over at her and his face immediately hardened. "Yes, Christy. I'm mad. Running off was stupid. I can't even let myself think about what would've happened to you if Grizz hadn't been at the motel."
Her eyes widened and she gulped. "I heard what you said to Alexander on the phone. About killing people," she said softly. "After not being able to contact Valerie for help in locating Van, my imagination started getting the best of me. I'm so sorry for not trusting you, Anthony."
His face softened in reaction to her words, and she added, "I was in the bathroom at the motel. I heard what happened out back."
"And?" he asked, glancing at the road and then back at her.
"And it doesn't matter." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"You didn't answer me before," he said. "Are you okay? Physically?"
"I'd be lying if I didn't say everything hurts and I feel like I could sleep for a year." She gave him a small smile.
He reached out his arm. "Come here, Princess."
She unbuckled her seat belt and slowly scooted toward him. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She buried her face in his side and broke out in heavy, gut-wrenching sobs. He let her cry as he stroked her hair softly. She'd been through a lot the last two days. She had to be physically as well as mentally spent. He'd never felt so protective of anyone since bonding with Nisha all those years ago. And like Nisha, Christy was strong and feisty and would most likely protect herself or die trying. It was a quality he admired and respected. It was also a responsibility he wanted to own.
After she collected herself, she looked up at the side of his face and asked him a question. “Can you do me a favor?” Before he could answer she added, “Can you stop calling me Princess?”
“Why?”
“Because you used to say it with so much contempt your lip curled. I know you don’t say it like that now, but I guess it still bothers me a little,” she admitted.
He didn’t reply right away. “Alright then,” he said softly. “From now on, I’ll try not to call you that, but I can’t promise that I won’t slip from time to time. Fair enough?”
She nodded her head. A sharp crack of lightning lit up the sky and Christy gave a cry and burrowed deeper into his side.
"Another weird fact," she said, her voice sounding muffled against his shirt. "I'm deathly afraid of storms." And apparently not at all shaken by knowing the man I think I'm falling in love with just murdered a man right under my nose.
With his left hand on the wheel he awkwardly disengaged from the embrace and brought her chin up to his face. "You'll never have to be afraid of anything, Christy. Ever."
She gazed into his eyes and before returning them to the road he saw her subtle nod. "Sleep, baby," he told her. "We have another hour."
She laid her head warily on his right thigh and moments later he recognized the breathing of someone who'd fallen into a deep and instantaneous slumber.
"Another weird fact," he whispered to no one. He glanced down at her silky white blonde hair, the gentle rise of her breasts as she steadily inhaled and exhaled, and the soft curve of her neck where it rose to meet her perfect jaw. "I've never been in love." Until now. He turned on the radio and after fiddling with the stations, he settled on “Already Gone” by the Eagles. After all, he told himself, I’m beginning to think it’s true.
Anthony saw Lourdes locking his front door as he pulled into his driveway. X had caught up with him by the time he exited the Alley. Anthony pressed on his garage door remote and one of the three bay doors quietly rolled up. After parking Christy's car inside, X made his way toward the truck. Anthony roused Christy from sleep and marched her past Lourdes, aiming at leaving her to sleep in the bedroom. "I'll be in soon," he told an exhausted and weary Christy.
"Did I have any visitors?" Anthony asked the woman who stood there and watched as he shut the door behind Christy. X had walked up to them and stood now with his arms crossed.
"Yes, Mr. Anthony. Several."
His brows knitted.
"The police came with a paper but I told them they didn't need one. They could look all they wanted. They showed me the pretty girl's picture. I told them she must be the friend you said was missing and that you were out looking for her."
Anthony nodded approvingly.
"The other men, they did not bring a paper. They insisted on speaking with you and did not believe me when I said you weren't here. They said they worked for the girl's father and he thought you might have his daughter or know where she was. Again, they show a picture and again I tell them you were out trying to find her," she managed in her broken English.
Anthony and X exchanged glances. "You're sure they said they worked for her father?" Anthony asked Lourdes.
She nodded.
"Yes, and they look around too, but like I told the others, no one is here and I never seen the pretty girl before."
She gave Anthony a look that said she understood that should someone happen to ask her again, she would deny having seen Christy.
"And, I brought some things you like to eat. They are in your refrigerator and freezer."
After Anthony thanked and paid her, Lourdes started to walk away when she turned around. "Mr. Anthony, I know it is not my business, but the pretty girl's face..." She paused and looked away.
"I'm taking care of her, Lourdes. No one will ever hurt her again," he told her.
"I knew you would do the right thing, Mr. Anthony. I knew you would. It is time for you to settle down. She would be a good one, yes?"
"You're a romantic, Lourdes," Anthony replied.
"Ah, but so are you, Mr. Anthony. So are you. You just don't know it."