Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 03 - Insatiable (20 page)

We passed through customs like it was nothing. Like I was Melanie Franks and Blane was Peter Franks and Blue was Fluffy and Ana Maria didn’t even know us. I thought for a second, just a millisecond really, of pleading for help. Of dropping to the ground and begging for the authorities to take care of me. But I didn’t have the right. When you break your contract with society you can’t go running back to the authorities for help once trouble finds you. I was on my own.

A limo was waiting and the three of us climbed into it. “Welcome back to Mexico City,” the driver said as we pulled away from the curb. I sat by the door staring through the tinted windows wondering if at the next red light I could jump out. As we merged onto the highway I turned into the interior of the car. Ana Maria and Blane were sitting very close to each other on the long bench running along the side.

Blane reached across the car to the bar. He poured a vodka and soda for Ana Maria then a Scotch for himself. Blue sat next to me and I had to lean across him to reach for a drink. I ended up having to stand up and hunch awkwardly as I poured a long shot of tequila. I added ice and cranberry juice. As I sat back down, I laid my arm across Blue’s neck. I lifted my glass toward the happy couple and said, “mazel tov.” Ana Maria looked at me like I was a useless piece of shit and Blane ignored me.

I sipped my drink and returned my stare to the outside world. But I wasn’t looking at the buildings passing under the highway or the bright blue sky or the other cars on the road. I was wondering why I was sitting there; why Blane and Ana Maria were taking me back to Mexico City.

If they wanted the ransom money for themselves then fine, kill me and keep it. It just didn’t make sense bringing me and Blue back. Unless they were trying to set me up for more than just the murder of Alejandro and the kidnapping of Ana Maria. But what else did they want? What else could they need? Why were they dragging me along?

Before long we were pulling up in front of the same hotel Blane and I stayed at on our first trip to Mexico City. “Welcome to Casa Vieja,” the doorman said. I looked up at him and smiled. He offered me his hand and I took it. The day was sunny and crisp. The hotel was as beautiful as ever. Blane kept his hand in the small of my back as we walked into the lobby.

I started to laugh when the woman asked about our reservations. She looked at me with a furrowed brow. “Deja vu is all,” I said. Blane threw me a look that just made me laugh harder. He had to move his hand to fill out the paperwork and I decided it was time to leave. I backed away from him. He looked up at me, his eyes fierce and his lips pursed.

“I’m just going out for some fresh air, dear,” I said.

“I think you should stay with me.”

I kept backing away. Ana Maria put her hand on my arm. “Come on now, you’re not well enough to go outside.”

I laughed again, the doorman and the woman checking us in both stared at me. “I’m going outside now.” Ana Maria tightened her grip on my arm and tried to pull me back toward her but I wrenched my arm free. She looked at Blane and he looked at me. I turned around and sprinted out the door. I heard Ana Maria right behind me.

Blue was by my side and I thought that if I made it to the main street I’d be OK. No one was going to shoot me or Blue in front of Dolce and Gabbana. Besides, clearly they needed me alive. The block was short and I reached the corner with Ana Maria right behind me. I could have kept running but the combination of high heels and a still-drugged brain tripped me up over a cobblestone and sent me flying onto the ground in a classic splayed position.

Ana Maria grabbed my arm and started to haul me up. I turned and sunk my teeth into her wrist. She dropped me back on the ground, holding the wrist to her chest. Blane was right behind her. He stopped next to her, panting. I looked up at them from the ground and smiled.

“Come on, Melanie, let’s get you back inside.”

“If you touch me, I’ll scream bloody murder.” I looked around and saw women wearing clothing worth the down payment on a small home talking on their cell phones and watching us. If they hadn’t been wearing sunglasses that made them look like giant bugs, I bet I could have seen the glee in their eyes.

“Come on, Melanie, you’re not well, let’s get you inside.”

I sat up and rested my hands on my knees. “What exactly is wrong with me?” I asked.

Blane saw the crowd of women watching and started to reach for me again. Blue growled through his muzzle. I slapped his hand away.

“Unless you plan on shooting me right here in front of all these ladies, I suggest you answer some questions.”

Blane’s fingers were fidgeting at his sides and his eyebrows were holding quite the little conference above his nose. Ana Maria was looking at him to do something. I smiled. “So, what is wrong with me?”

“Your nerves, Melanie,” Ana Maria answered. “Your anxiety,” she raised her eyebrows. “Why you fly with the dog. I hope it hasn’t become paranoia.”

“Like, for example, if I thought that you two were actually lovers and you’d kidnapped me for some unknown reason.” I said ‘lovers’ and ‘kidnap’ really loud. A murmur ran through the crowd and I could sense them all leaning forward, desperate for the next line.

“Don’t be silly, honey,” Blane said. “We both love you.”

A small dog in a fat woman’s arms started barking at Blue. I turned to look at her and mouthed the words ‘help me.’ I couldn’t tell if she understood me or not. I started to stand up. I heard Blane let out a breath of air. I thought about continuing to run, to just taking off again but was feeling a little light-headed. I’m not going to blame the tequila but it might have been a factor.

“Do something,” Ana Maria said to Blane quietly so the crowd would not hear.

Ana Maria reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe, cupping it in her hand so the crowd couldn’t see. She started toward me slowly. Blue growled but she didn’t stop. Blue raised his hackles and braced himself to leap on her. “If he attacks me in front of all these people he will be put down.” Ana Maria said. “We’ll call the cops and have him taken away. So how about you just call him off and we’ll all go back inside.”

“We will be long gone before they get here.” Blane launched himself at me and Blue blocked him. Even without teeth the dog is still a giant. Ana Maria jumped on me, I pushed her off but she was on me again. I punched her hard in the stomach. She stumbled away gasping for breath. I felt woozy and looking down saw the syringe hanging out of my leg. “Blue, come.” He was instantly by my side. Blane pulled me toward the open hotel door. Blue followed, keeping his eyes on me. I was asleep before we got to the room.

DRUGS, BOOZE, AND ROCK AND ROLL

I woke in a dark room. The only light was a shaft of yellow that came from a door standing slightly ajar.
 
I heard voices in the other room. My brain fought through a thick fog trying to catch up to my surroundings.

“It will all be over soon,” a man said.

“Can you believe she was in Juarez, campaigning for a friend? It wasn’t even about her. She was helping a friend. That’s how much she cares about me,” a female voice responded. Ana Maria crossed in front of the door and blocked the light for a second. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

“Don’t worry,” the man said, and I recognized it as Blane. “They will both be there.”

“Shouldn’t she be waking up soon?” Ana Maria asked.

“I’ll check,” Blane answered. I heard footsteps approaching and laid still. His breathing even, Blane unzipped a case near me. A sharp prick made me wince and I felt myself floating away again.

A fire burned in the corner of the room sending black smoke up the wall and billowing at the ceiling. A lanky figure rocked gently in a chair to my left. “Joy,” said the figure without turning to look at me. In the flickering light of the fire I could see that it was a man with a large beard and wild hair. He tapped his fingers against the arm of the rocking chair and soon his foot joined. Gentle humming followed, a song he used to sing to me when I was a child.

The fire sparked and shot out an ember that landed at my feet. It glowed deep orange and bright yellow. “We’ve all got a switch. It goes on when we need to survive.” He hummed a moment more and then the fire spat again, the flames leaping towards the ceiling suddenly angry. They engulfed the wall filling the room with light but also deep black smoke. “Some people’s switches get stuck.”

Despite the raging fire I felt cold. “Watch out,” he said. “Don’t get stuck.” I heard whining and turned to see Blue standing in the doorway. I could hardly see him through the smoke. He whined again, his high pitch whine that means he wants my attention, that he wants me to wake up. I felt his nails against my forearm and his wet nose press at my neck. I blinked and the smoke was so thick now that all I could see was the matte black of it.

“That dog is in there again!” I blinked again seeing the outline of Blue’s head inches from me. His fur shone in the moonlight. I felt a bed of leaves beneath me and smelled the mossy scent of fall and decay. Then the smoke came back and filled my brain, blocked my vision, and put me down.

“She has to have some strength.” I smelled bacon and blinked my eyes open. Sunlight poured in the windows and I closed them again quickly. Behind my lids I watched a green and yellow display of color. “Sydney!” I blinked again and Ana Maria was standing over me. “Sit up.”

I tried to swallow but my throat was dry and painful. Rolling onto my side I pushed into a sitting position. I saw that my wrists were duct-taped together. Ana Maria handed me a glass of water and I took it with shaking hands. The water sloshed in the glass as I brought it to my parched lips. It was cold and I could only take a little in, feeling it travel down my throat into my empty stomach.

“You need to eat something,” Ana Maria said.

“What are you giving me?” I asked.

“Eat it,” she said, pointing to a table by the window set for breakfast.

“Where is Blue?”

“He’s safe.”

“Bring him to me and I’ll eat. Don’t bring him to me and I’ll kill you.”

She laughed. I had neither strength, depth perception, or precision but raw emotion powered me off the bed on to her. She squirmed under me but I leaned my forearm against her throat, using the dead weight of my atrophied body to crush the life out of her. She stared up at me, her eyes huge and wild with rage. Ana Maria scratched at my arm then turned her nails on my face. But I didn’t feel anything except how heavy every part of me felt.

A kick to my stomach rolled me off of her. I laid still, staring at the ceiling above me. A crack in the white plaster snaked from the corner toward the light fixture in the center. Another kick rolled me onto my side and I brought my bound wrists up to protect my face. That old familiar prick brought the smoke rushing over me.

“In about a half hour.”

“Good. I want her to be a little drowsy when it happens. I don’t want her trying to save anyone.”

“I think you’re right,” Blane said. “She’s still out.” Blane said. Footsteps approached and I felt a person standing right above me. Blue growled.

“We should just kill that dog now,” Ana Maria said.

“No,” Blane answered. “He’s muzzled and safe. If we kill him now it won’t make sense. Why would she kill her dog?”

“I guess you’re right.” Blane walked away. I heard his foot falls on the thick carpeting.

“I love you,” he said and then I heard kissing followed by a low groan. The door clicked shut. I heard the TV turn on. Blue hopped onto the bed with me and I unclasped his muzzle. He pushed his face against my ribcage and curled up into a ball. I softly rubbed behind his ears and breathed in his musky dog smell.

As I lay with my face pressed into Blue’s fur, my eyelids closed and the world dark, I tried to wrangle my floating thoughts into some kind of order. The TV in the other room roamed from channel to channel. It was loud and kept interrupting my brain. There was something pulling at the back of my mind. Some detail I knew I’d missed. How could I have let this happen? When did it turn around and I became the prisoner, the kidnap victim? Exactly how stupid was I?

They landed on a TV show that sounded like it was some sort of contest with very excited contestants. The high-pitched scream of a winner brought my head up off the pillow. It felt as though its gravitational pull increased. I let my head fall back down again. I’ve had a lot of hangovers. This was one of the ones where you feel like there has been an explosion in your brain and some of the tunnels that allow information to pass from one part to another have caved in. At least I knew I hadn’t embarrassed myself by dancing on the bar or telling somebody, at the top of my lungs, I thought they were totally gay.

Blue pawed at his muzzle but I pulled it tight again. Even though it was unclasped we didn’t want them to know he wasn’t muzzled. I heard footsteps and propped myself up on my left elbow. The door opened letting in bright light from the living room. I squinted at the dark figure approaching me. Ana Maria clicked on the light next to my bed and looked down at me. A confident smile was on her face, despite the blossom of color around her nose and eye where I’d, as Jimmy would say, walloped her. I checked her neck but didn’t see any bruising. Was it a dream?

“Morning,” she said.

“I thought it was evening.” I turned to double check and the windows were indeed dark.