Run To You

she dialed.
    “Hi Malika,” she said when her friend from work picked up.
    “Stella! Where are you?”
    Maybe her life didn’t totally suck. Maybe Ricky had moved on. “About an hour or so north of Tampa.”
    “What happened Thursday night? Ricky is looking for you.”
    She guessed not and glanced around as if her former boss might jump out at her. “Why?” she asked, eyeing a family of tourists in matching Disney T-shirts. “What did he say?”
    “It’s kind of hard to understand him because his jaw is wired shut and his face is black and blue.”
    Stella gasped. “Oh no.” That’s why he’d sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. He had been.
    “Yeah, and that creeper friend of his has his hand all bandaged up. Not the short fat one; the creeper without a thumb. Yuck!”
    “Crap.”
    “They’re asking everyone at the bar if we’ve seen you. Last night, they locked themselves up in Ricky’s office, and when Tina took them a bottle of Patron, she said they were watching security tapes from Thursday night.”
    Oh no.
    “They also want to know about some big dude in a black Escalade that you might have met at the bar on Back Door Betty Night. Did you get kidnapped by a drag queen? Should I call the cops?”
    “No!” She raised a palm and covered her eyes. “I haven’t been kidnapped.” Her hand dropped to her lap and she watched Beau walk toward her. Definitely not a drag queen. Without question a big dude. “Ricky is a maniac. Stay away from him.”
    “What happened?”
    “The less you know, the better. I’m going on vacation for a while. I’ll call you when I get back. Don’t tell anyone you talked to me. Promise.”
    “Okay.”
    “I’m serious.”
    “Promise, geez.”
    She pressed disconnect and dropped her cell into her backpack. She gave Malika half a second before she was speed dialing everyone she knew. Not that Stella blamed her. She’d totally do the same thing. “You broke Ricky’s jaw.”
    “Right.” Beau scoffed as he squinted into the bright morning sun. “I didn’t hit him that hard.”
    She stood and hung her backpack over one shoulder. “I just talked to Malika. She said Ricky’s jaw is wired shut and he’s asking questions about me and you. They’re looking at the security tapes from the other night.” Her pulse sped up and she swallowed hard. “What are we going to do?”
    Fine lines creased the corners of his gray eyes. “The guy must have a glass jaw. I barely tapped him.”
    That’s what occupied his brain? Not danger? Not foreboding? But how hard he hit Ricky? “It was more than a tap.”
    “Are you sorry I knocked that putz out?”
    She had a bruise on her arm from where Ricky had grabbed her. “No, but I obviously can’t go back to my apartment for a long time.” She saw spots in front of her eyes and sank to the bench. “My stuff is there. My whole life .” Her backpack slid down her arm and landed by her foot. “I just bought new bagels.”
    “Are you okay?”
    She didn’t have the energy to lie. “Of course not. My life sucks.”
    “Are you going to pass out?”
    Like he cared. “I hope so.” She covered her booming heart with one hand. “I hope I pass out and when I wake up, I discover this has all been a hideous dream.”
    “Nah.” He sat next to her, and his big body crowded her space and warmed her skin. “When you wake up, your life will still suck.”
    She turned her head and looked at him. “That’s not funny.”
    “I know. You’ve pissed off three mob associates.”
    Her mouth dropped. “Me? You broke Ricky’s jaw and now they’re looking for your black Escalade.”
    “It’s a rental. I’m not worried about me.” He hit her with his elbow. “You’re screwed, though.”
    The backs of her eyes stung and her vision blurred with tears. She didn’t want to cry in front of Sergeant Junger, and turned her face away. He was big and tough and not afraid of anyone.
    “Are you crying?”
    She shook her head. Maybe he was too stupid to be afraid, but he didn’t really strike her as stupid.
    “Don’t go squishy on me now, Boots. The worst part is over.”
    “What?” Her voice came out kind of thin. “How can you say that?” From where she sat, at a rest stop north of Tampa, next to a Marine she’d known for only two days, mobsters looking for them, this felt like “worst” to her. Tomorrow didn’t look any better than today.
    “Yesterday morning had the potential to go sideways, and I