Page 29 of Burke (The Haven #2)

“That’s what they say,” she murmured. “Besides, I wasn’t trying to friend-zone you. I was just trying to acknowledge how much you’ve done for me.”

“Which is not an issue,” he pointed out.

She smiled. “You keep saying that.”

“And I mean it,” he said. “I really do. I’m not here to cause you trouble.”

“No,… maybe not, yet a lot of these issues are troublesome. I don’t know how she’ll react when she sees you.”

“If we get there early enough,” he pointed out, “she won’t see me.”

“Do you promise to stay out of sight and out of the way?”

“Only as long as things are going well,” he clarified.

“As soon as anything is not going well, then, no, all bets are off.” She groaned, and he laughed.

“Did you really think I would agree to that?” he asked.

“You’re with a bunch of men who have sworn to protect you, and, just because we’re no longer active duty military, that doesn’t mean we’re different people. ”

“Right,” she conceded, “but it seems as if the world doesn’t appreciate that anymore.”

“Maybe not, but, if you had moved to another state, would you be doing this right now?”

“No, of course not.” And then she frowned.

And he nodded. “So, why are you doing it in such a panic now?”

“I think she’s contacting me in a panic because I’m close by.”

“Then she could have gone to a hotel, and she could have asked you to meet her, or even better she could have asked for money to be wired to her.”

“She’s already asked for money.”

“Did she come out and say so in her most recent voice mails?”

She thought about the messages. “No, she did not.”

“So, if you were rather desperate for money, what would you ask for?”

“I would ask for money,” she replied.

Burke smiled at her. “I hear what you’re saying, and I hope you are registering that too. She didn’t ask for that, so that seems a little odd for Silvia, doesn’t it?”

Shirley groaned. “You’re making it all sound so suspicious now.”

“I’m trying to keep you safe,” he declared, “and, for that, I just need you to be aware.”

“It doesn’t feel like being aware,” she grumbled, with a dry laugh. “It’s looking at my sister in horrible ways.”

“Sure,” he agreed, “but you already know what she’s like. The fact that even you’re struggling with what I’m saying is a sure sign that she’s already got you hooked.”

“She always was good at that,” she said suddenly. And she realized just how much her emotions had been causing her to react. “Crap,” she muttered, as she stared out the window.

“Crap what?”

“Oh, just memories, memories of her pulling things, you know,… crying wolf on me.”

“Has she got a history of that?” he asked, turning to look at her in the dim light.

“Yes and no,” she replied, with a headshake. “She’s done it a few times, and I always responded to help her out.”

“Which is why she’s doing it now.”

“Sure, but how do you tell if this time isn’t a real scenario?”

He shrugged. “We can’t, which is why we’re going to meet her.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Thank you.”

“As much as I appreciate doing a good job, I don’t know what you’re thanking me for right now.”

“For giving me a chance to remember who she is on the inside and to not go in there blinded by emotions.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m doing this,” he confirmed. “We’re trying to help you. We’re willing to help, but we aren’t willing to get taken.”

“Yes.”

Just then they pulled up close to the location she had been given, and he asked, “Why did she choose this location?” He stared out at the park.

“I don’t know, but she wanted a public place.”

“It’s not even six in the morning.”

“I know, but don’t forget she called me at like four in the afternoon,” she reminded him. “What I don’t want and what’s really been scaring me the whole way in is,… I’m afraid that when I get here, she’s…”

He turned to face her and asked, “You’re afraid she might be dead?”

Tears were in her eyes, as she turned to him. “I guess that’s the biggest fear, isn’t it?”

“She’s definitely triggering fear,… yes,” he agreed. “And, if we thought that were the case, it would be a good thing we are here. No way in hell Frankie will let you go if Sivia is dead,” he stated calmly.

“How can you be so calm when she could be…?” she asked, staring at him.

“Don’t think about that now. We don’t know that for sure. I’ll get out now. You have your phone, and I’ll be watching. I’ll be close enough to see you,” he shared, “but you need to go meet Silvia.”

And, with that, he pointed out a vehicle approaching from the far side. He quickly shut off the interior light so it wouldn’t go on when he opened the door and stepped out. And, with a last look over at her, he added, “Now you be safe.” And, with that, he disappeared.

She got out slowly and walked over to the bench and just sat down, feeling a nervousness she hadn’t expected. Even if it was her sister, how much did she really know about her sister these days? Particularly at this stage, when she had pulled such shit on Burke?

Was that just a joke in Silvia’s mind?

Or was it something much more serious?

And what the hell could that be?

It was so hard to know who her sister had become.

Shirley watched the vehicle park and saw Silvia get out alone, and, with the light going on inside the car, revealing that her sister was truly alone, Shirley felt some of the tension inside her ease.

She knew that Burke would see that her sister was alone as well. Shirley sat here and waited.

When Silvia got close enough, Shirley called out in a bitter tone, “What the hell are you playing at?”

Silvia stared at her in surprise.

“You’re the one who called me because you were supposedly in trouble.”

“I am in trouble,” Silvia said, “and it’s all your fault.”

“I’m not responsible for anything in your world,” Shirley declared, “and I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“That’s only because you’re playing at something,” Silvia snapped. “Why did you go close that account?”

“What do you mean, why did I close it ? It was my account, so that’s none of your business.”

Silvia stared at her. “You don’t mean that.”

“Of course I do. What are you even talking about? That’s my account. It’s my money, money that I earned from my job, a paycheck I no longer get because of you, so thank you very much for that.”

Silvia stared at her, scrunching up her nose. “What are you talking about?”

“I got fired because of you.”

She sat down and looked at her. “Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you can say?” Shirley asked, anger bubbling in her. “Shit like that is why I closed that account because I didn’t want you turning things around and trying to tell me how I somehow owed you money.”

“You do owe me money,” she claimed. “I’ve helped you out tons of times.”

She turned and stared at her sister. “What did you just say?”

Even in the dim light, Silvia looked slightly ashamed, and then she rallied quickly. “You know.… I’ve helped you. Lots of times…”

“No, you haven’t. I don’t know what the hell is going on here or why you even called me out at this godforsaken hour,” she snapped, “but I can tell you this.… It’s not about you getting access to my money. Just so we are clear, that’s not happening.”

Her sister glared at her. “You shouldn’t be such a bitch.”

“I’m a bitch?” she asked in astonishment.

“Yeah, you are being a basic bitch,” Silvia declared, gritting her teeth. “You should share. You should be helping me out.”

“Helping you out?” Shirley asked, with a mirthless laugh. “Are you kidding me? All you’re doing is running fraud campaigns, and it’s only a matter of time before you get picked up by the cops. I am not having anything to do with you and the cons that you’re running.”

“The cons are a good deal,” she stated, and then she stopped. “They’re a good deal, until they’re not.”

“Yeah, they’re a good deal, until they’re not, and until they’re not is a pretty big not .”

Silvia glared at her. “It’s not my fault if people leave all their information lying around for people to steal.”

“Seriously? Is that how you got hold of my bank account and my credit cards?”

“Sure, you just left them lying around.”

“I left them lying around because it was in my own damn home and I thought I could trust you.”

“More the fool,” she muttered, followed by a hard laugh.

“Apparently I am a fool. Now… why did you call me here? Because I don’t need to be here, and I’m more than ready to head home already.”

“Home? Where the hell is home anyway? I went by your place, and it’s been completely cleaned out.”

“Let’s be honest. You tried to get into my bank account. Then you got me kicked out of my apartment, for which you have a key, and you got me fired. Now you’ve got me out here at six in the morning for something you haven’t even explained. You told me that you were in trouble.”

“I am in trouble,” she snapped, and then she calmed a bit. “And I mean it. I am seriously in trouble.”

“Yeah, you really don’t look it,” Shirley said, realizing that whatever it was that Silvia needed, it had absolutely nothing to do with what she’d said on the phone. “Now I can see that all you wanted to do was cause some drama,” Shirley said, “and I really don’t need that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Silvia snapped. “I’m not trying to cause any drama. I need help. I need to get free of Frankie.”

Shirley shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m supposed to help you. He’s your boyfriend, and you told me yourself that you have a good thing going with him. That has zero to do with me.”

“I know you don’t like him.”

“Like him? I don’t even know him, but you made a good choice keeping him away from me, although I don’t know what it was you were so worried about.”

“I always knew that you wanted Burke.”

“I always liked Burke,” Shirley replied in exasperation. “And what you did to him sucked.”

“Whatever. That’s so over.”

“Is it? You were talking about all the credit cards you had of his.”

“Yeah, and they’ve all been declined now,” she grumbled. “I hate it when I have to pay for things.”