Chapter 12 - The Door She Could Open
Dante called Evan while Clara retrieved her phone.
He was still near campus.
He had not noticed anyone following him.
Clara tried to sound normal.
“Go back inside. Stay with the security desk.”
“What happened?”
“Someone sent me a picture.”
A pause.
“Of me?”
“Yes.”
His voice sharpened.
“Clara.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do that. Tell me what to do.”
Dante arranged to meet him with police nearby.
Ortiz preserved the photograph and requested footage from the street.
Rico stood across the kitchen, silent.
That frightened Clara more than shouting.
“I’m leaving,” she said.
He nodded.
No argument.
No command.
“I’ll cover a hotel,” he said. “You choose it. The police coordinate security.”
“I can’t keep doing this.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to look hurt.”
His face tightened.
Then he said, “I know that too.”
Clara packed the few things she kept in the guest bathroom.
At Leo’s door, she stopped.
He was asleep with one arm around his wooden truck.
She wanted to explain.
She wanted to stay.
Both feelings were real.
Teresa found her in the hallway.
“I owe you an apology.”
“Not tonight.”
“All right.”
Clara started past her.
Teresa touched the wall instead of reaching for her.
“I thought if he loved someone new, there would be less left for Elena.”
Clara shut her eyes.
“He loves his mother. Nobody takes that away.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Teresa’s chin trembled.
“I’m trying.”
At the hotel, Evan arrived carrying a bag of vending-machine snacks.
“You look awful,” he said.
“So do you.”
“Family resemblance.”
She laughed, then cried so suddenly it hurt.
He sat beside her until she could breathe.
“You taught me something when I was seven,” he said.
“What?”
“That being scared doesn’t mean I have to hand somebody my whole life.”
Her phone rang.
Rico.
She almost let it go.
Then she answered.
“I’m not calling to ask you back,” he said.
“Okay.”
“I told Ortiz to bring a financial crimes team. Full access. My records too.”
Clara sat straighter.
“What does that mean for you?”
“I don’t know yet.”
In the background, Leo called for him.
May you like
Rico answered the child before returning to the phone.
Then he said, “It means he gets a chance at something better than this.”
