Burlap

26 - Shoot To Thrill

White hot tears sprang to the backs of my eyes as the blood in my body all rushed around, panicked, before settling at the tips of my ears and limbs. I couldn’t breathe. Oh, God, I couldn’t breathe!

A string of the vilest, most vulgar curse words I’d ever heard in my life filled my head as Power’s rage bubbled up and boiled over into my own psyche. She paced behind the wall, fingers dug into the roots of her shiny hair, gripping and yanking the silky strands as her chest heaved up and down.

Out! We need out! Not tomorrow! Not next week! Now! We need out! She shrieked as her long legs made jarring, shaky strides back and forth. Her hysteria added fuel mine and before I knew it, black spots were dancing in my vision and my tongue felt made of cotton. The cuffs around my wrists clanged and jiggled together against the table as what felt like ice water filled my body, producing such violent shaking and trembling that Robbie grabbed my shoulders and held me still. 

“Kate! Kate, come on! Don’t do this! Calm down, breathe. Breathe, dang it,” Robbie said, his fingers digging into my shoulders. The pressure and pain of that simple motion grounded me, somewhat. Enough for the world to stop spinning out of control around me. I looked up at him, feeling like the blood vessels in my eyes would burst at any moment as tears trailed down my cheeks and jaw, leaving dark, wet spots on the table separating us.

“Hey! What’s going on over there?” the burly orderly in the corner snapped, making his way toward us with an awkward, lumbering gait.

A fierce emotion I hadn’t seen in Robbie’s eyes before flickered up like a flame and he glared at the balding man. Just like his ability to attract and entrance thousands within a five mile radius, he seemed able to put off a threatening vibe that made him seem like a terrible nightmare for anyone who crossed him. The orderly’s eyes widened, and he took a hesitant step back, crossing his arms defensively, as if he expected Robbie to attack him.

“Nothing of your concern, dip stick. Go sit in your corner and leave my sister alone,” he answered, standing and squaring his shoulders as he stared down the chrome dome three times his size.

“Robbie, no!” I cried, trying to stand. My hands, still locked to the cuffs on the table, jerked me back down and I fell back onto my seat. “He probably just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurting me!”

Fat chance of that.

I didn’t even try to hurl an insult back at Power for stating the obvious. I just needed to reason with Robbie enough to not get him arrested or kicked out. I still needed him. Especially after what he’d just told me. I had to have more information, and I had to have his help in finding a way out of here.

“That true?” Robbie asked the nervous orderly, who shifted from one foot to the other, breaking eye contact.

“Yeah,” he replied. “She just seemed upset. I’ll leave you to your visit.”

He didn’t even verify Robbie wasn’t hurting you, Power noted, rolling her eyes as she sank to her knees in the dust, calming down from her hysteria. 

Within seconds, the orderly had returned to his post in the corner of the room, and Robbie sat back down in front of me, his face lacking any of his mischievous mirth from our previous meetings. He shook his head, then ran his hand through his hair again and left it there, resting his elbow on the table. 

“Your cousin survived, right?” I whispered, twisting my fingers inside my hands. 

“Yeah. Our cousin survived, but only because his mom felt guilty about leaving him here. She got a lawyer and brought him back home, under the stipulation that he not leave the property, ever again. I… I’ve already tried finding a lawyer who will do the same for you, but none will come within a ten mile radius of your case.” He looked down as he said the last part, fists clenched under the table.