Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Tex pushed Chelsea behind him as he heard the footstep.

He fully expected to see Gilbert there with desperation in his gaze.

Instead, Anna stepped out. “Is everything okay?”

Tex tried to soften his shoulders as to not alarm her. “It’s fine. Like we said, Chelsea’s just not feeling very well.”

Anna stepped closer. “I was worried.”

“We’ll be fine,” Tex told her. “I’ll be back over in a few minutes.”

She didn’t move away. Instead, she took another step closer.

“I actually wanted to catch you alone a moment,” she started. “I’m worried about Gilbert.”

Tex remained tense. “Why’s that?”

“These boys on the football team who’ve been getting sick . . . the one connection they all have is him.”

“You think Gilbert is the reason they’re getting sick?” Chelsea asked.

“It makes sense to me. Do you think I should be concerned?”

“I don’t know,” Tex said. “I have found that situation strange.”

Tex remained on guard, unsure what was going to play out.

“Where does Gilbert think you are right now?” Tex glanced back at the house, worried that Gilbert might become concerned and come looking for her.

“He ran to the bathroom,” she said.

“If you think he’s doing something illegal, then maybe you should feign an excuse to leave,” Chelsea said. “You seem like a nice woman. And I would hate to see you get hurt by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“But we’ve been so happy together.”

Tex glanced at the house again, feeling uneasy. “There’ll be plenty of other chances for you to be happy.”

Anna withdrew her hand from her pocket. She gripped a gun and pointed it at them.

“You’re right, I will have another chance for happiness. Away from here.”

“Anna . . .” Tex said, making sure Chelsea was behind him again. “What do you want from us?”

“You’re going to help me get out of the country where I can start my new life. And if you don’t, I will shoot your girlfriend first. Then I’ll shoot you. Don’t test me.”

Chelsea’s heart pounded in her ears. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

Anna was behind this? How was that even possible?

“Why did you do all of this?” Tex asked. “Was the only reason you started dating Gilbert so you could pin all this on him?”

“No, don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “But I found that the more comfortable he got with me—and the more he drank, the more secrets he told me. And I knew they were too juicy to sit on. I have worked hard my entire life, and I have so little to show for it. It’s not fair.”

“You knew when you became a guidance counselor that it wasn’t going to make you rich,” Chelsea said.

“But it doesn’t mean it’s right! I saw the opportunity for a better life for myself, and I seized it. Is there anything wrong with that?”

“It is when you put other people’s lives at stake,” Tex said.

Chelsea kept her eye on the woman’s gun. She expected her hand to be shakier. Instead, she looked at ease with it.

“So you’ve been blackmailing my former foster brothers,” Tex said. “You’ve gotten money out of some of them, drugs out of others. I guess you wanted my protection and resources?”

“It only made sense.”

“I have a feeling you’ve been extorting some of the members of the football team as well,” Chelsea said. “And you’ve been using them to do your dirty work for you. You had someone break into my house just to scare me. Was it the same person who cornered me on a dark street and tried to cut off the air from my windpipe? Or the same person who tried to run me off the road?”

“Don’t be silly. I used Steve Strober for that.” She grinned. “It’s really easy to find out dirt on people when you’re the school’s guidance counselor.”

“You used your position to your advantage,” Chelsea said. “That’s a disgrace to the profession.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s enough talking. I have everything ready to go now, and I just need to get out of here.”

“I’m not sure why you need my help with that,” Tex said.

“Because I need to go somewhere where there will be no paper trail leading back to me. I want to live in the Caribbean, like I said. But if I buy a plane ticket, authorities will be able to find me if things go south. That’s why I need you to use your resources to get me a private jet.”

Tex laughed and shook his head. “I think you’re overestimating the kind of resources I have.”

Anna pointed her gun at Tex. “If you don’t already have those resources, then I suggest you find them.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because I’m getting out of here. And I’m taking my daughter with me.”