Love or Money - Elizabeth Roderick Page 0,47
for several months,” Chris said. “Hopefully this mission won’t take longer than a few days, but if things go haywire and it ends up taking longer, we’ll work something out to get you replacements.”
Riel pulled the earrings from their case, turning them over in her hands. The bases were very thick, and they were heavier than she expected. Her spine seared with adrenaline when she thought of what was to come. Would she have the courage to pull this off? She didn’t know.
And what if it really did drag on for months? Could she stand it?
She felt a hand on her knee, and looked up into Evan’s green eyes.
Riel squared her shoulders and smiled at him, and he smiled back hesitantly. I can do this. I’ll do it for him, so we can be together happily ever after.
She picked up the phone again. “I’m going to call Isaias now. Is that okay?”
Officer Norton and Chris exchanged a glance, and Evan’s hand tightened on her knee.
“Now?” Evan said. “Not now, Riel. You have to give this more thought.”
Riel shook her head. “No, I don’t. I know what I’m going to say, and if I put it off, I’m just going to have time to over-think it and get scared.”
Evan winced with pain as he leaned towards her. “Riel—”
“I’ve got to do this, Evan. It’s the only way. And it’s better to just get it over with than sit around worrying about it.”
They exchanged a long look. Finally, he nodded, and she thought she saw him blinking away tears.
Riel took a deep breath and picked up the phone. She glanced up at Chris, who was looking at her proudly. “It has a San Diego area code?” she asked. “This phone?”
“Yes. It’ll come up on caller ID just like any other phone from this area. It won’t say ‘FBI Informant,’ we promise,” he said dryly, grinning.
She stared down at the screen. Luckily, she had Isaias’ number memorized from all that time in prison, when his was the only number he’d wanted her to call. Her fingers trembled as she dialed it, and she had to backspace a couple of times.
She gulped air as it rang. Would he answer if he didn’t recognize the number? Maybe, or maybe not. Should she leave a message?
After the fourth ring, when she was beginning to lose hope, there was a click, then a pause. “Hello?”
Riel felt sweat pop out on her forehead, her stomach lurching dangerously. She hadn’t realized how much she hated hearing his voice. “Isaias?”
The line rumbled as he snorted into the receiver. “Is this Riel?”
“Y-yes.”
“I can’t fucking believe it. How do you have the guts to call me?”
She clutched the phone in her sweaty palm. “Isaias, I—”
“You really think you can come crawling back after you fucked up so bad, ditched me for that dipshit joto you’re all wet for? No way, Riel. Vete a la chingada.”
She half expected him to hang up, but he didn’t; she could still hear him breathing on the other end. For all his bluster, he wanted to hear what she had to say, and she gathered courage from that.
“Isaias, it’s not like you think,” she said. Her voice shook, and she let it. “I was pissed off at you, I’ll admit it, but I didn’t actually want to leave. I didn’t want it to turn out like this.”
“What bullshit is this? Que soy menso? You really think I’ll believe you?”
“Please, just listen.”
“I’m listening, Riel. Go ahead and say your lies.”
She squeezed Evan’s hand, trying to bring her heartbeat under control. “After you and I got in that fight, I ran out of there. I was pissed off. I wasn’t really thinking. I found some guy on the street, borrowed his phone, and called Evan.”
“You weren’t thinking, all right,” Isaias said.
“What was I supposed to do? You think I wanted to go back there? You hit me, Isaias! You were being a total puto.”
Her heart pounded in her ears at the silence on the other end. Evan and the two cops were looking at her wide-eyed. This was a gamble, maybe, but this act wouldn’t be believable if she weren’t pissed off.
“Maybe I overreacted a little,” Isaias finally said. “But after the bitchy things you said…”
“I shouldn’t have said them. But I didn’t want to work there. I didn’t want to be a whore. And you’re my sister’s husband, Isaias. I love Lizette more than anything in the world, and how do you think it makes me feel that