I stand up and walk to him. “Are you all right?”
He shakes his head. “I found out what Nelson was up to, and it isn’t good. The warehouse has been destroyed, and people are saying I ordered the hit.”
I frown. “The hit?”
Duke squeezes his eyes shut. “Delaney, I know you know more about this family, so please don’t act all innocent now.”
I cross my arms. “I found out the hard way Dad dealt drugs. But the hit? Are you saying you kill people, Duke?”
He glares at me. “Sometimes I don’t know what is going on in your head. But right now, we need to leave.”
“Leave?”
Duke goes into the back office, and I follow. He opens the safe, and I’m shocked at how much cash is in there.
Duke shoves the money into a grocery bag he got from somewhere. “Yes, leave. Nelson wasn’t fixing some problem he had. He was creating one for us. Two of Ruiz’s men died in that explosion. One survived, and apparently, he’s told anyone who will listen that I set them up. We need to get out of town now.” He grabs my hand. “Let’s go.”
We walk out of the office, not bothering to lock it. I get into his car, and before I even have time to put on my seat belt, he’s tearing out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
Duke stares in the rearview mirror, then back at the road. “I’m not sure. There isn’t time to grab our passports. I have to think where they won’t find us.”
“Go east,” I say.
He glances at me. “Why?”
“Well, if someone were running from San Diego, my first thought would be they would go south to Tijuana. If not there, then north along the coast toward Los Angeles. Both provide crowded places we could hide in.”
He shakes his head. “Crowded places sound like a good idea. Why would we go east and try to lose them in the desert?”
“Duke, do you look like someone who would go to the desert over a city?”
He glances down at himself in his designer suit and shoes. The man is always polished. He grins. “You’re right. I hate the fucking desert. East it is.”
As we drive, Duke brings up memories from our childhood back when we were innocent and had no idea what the hell we would be left with. A few hours later, we enter Yuma.
“Duke, who is Ruiz?”
He clenches his jaw, then glances at me. “Someone you don’t fuck with. Nelson knows that. He did this on purpose.”
“Why would he do that?”
Duke barks out a laugh. “Well, with one move, he destroyed our main revenue source and now there is a hit out on both of us.”
I sit up taller. “Why me?”
“Because you’re my sister. That’s the only reason they need.”
Someone wants to kill both of us.
“We need to stop for gas and a bathroom,” he says. “We should grab some lunch and snacks, too.”
I offer to gas up the car while he goes into the store for supplies. Once he is out of sight, I call Brian. When his assistant offers to take a message, I make it clear this is an emergency.
“Delaney? What’s going on?” Brian asks once he gets on the phone.
I tell him all about what Nelson did and how someone is coming after Duke and me, but I have no idea who other than the name Ruiz.
