Leaving the 99

19~Lord forgive us

"Still no service."

Annie couldn't take her eyes off Ty. His attention was fastened on the road, his jaw tight as he drove with purpose. She felt the energy rolling off of him like giant ocean waves crashing in the sea.

Something was wrong.

"At least the 911 call went through. Those guys are probably in jail," Tommy said from the backseat.

Ty made no comment. His hand shook when he raked fingers through his hair, and his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel. Seeing evidence of his pain, Annie's heart fell heavy.

"Captain Jones must have connections if he's using your house to hide drug money from prison." Annie wasn't sure if her brother was trying to make conversation or if he truly wanted to know about Jones.

The vein at Ty's temple throbbed. "It wasn't just drug money. I heard them talking. They scammed elderly people into donating their life savings."

Annie couldn't imagine someone doing that. "That's awful."

"Jones was always greedy and looking for an easy way to make a buck. I never meant for anyone to get hurt." He sounded broken, defeated in a way that brought tears to her eyes.

She blinked them away, determined to stay strong. "Ty, we heard it on the radio. The men are in custody. No one was hurt."

"They have my phone, Annie. They know where we're going, and we have no way to warn anyone." His tone held an edge she'd never heard before.

"We'll get service soon." Tommy leaned forward holding his phone. "We're just in a dead spot."

Annie focused on the bunch of muscles in Ty's arm as he rubbed his temples. He was strong, physically and spiritually, but Ty was struggling. He turned and their gaze collided. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I'm with my sister on this one. Being chased down at gunpoint erases all need for apology."

Ty's lips twitched like he was trying to smile but failed. "I should have left the money. Half a mil will paint a target on our backs."

She put her hand on his shoulder and felt him tense. "It was the right thing to do. Those people deserve their money back."

A contradicting mixture of hope and doubt swam in his eyes. "I put you and Tommy in danger."

"Dad is friends with a detective who works in a town close to where we're headed. We can stop and talk to him."

"That's right." Annie brightened. "They went to high school together. He'll help us."

"It's worth a try." Ty's smile was forced.

Annie was desperate to take the tortured look from his face. There was only one thing to do.

Taking the Bible from her backpack she began to read. "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of troubled waters. Psalm 18:19."

When Ty looked at her again a shimmer of tears he would never shed filled his eyes.

***

"Missy's not coming."

Josh kept driving the rental car, ignoring the urge to pull over and find a liquor store. "Not surprising. She and Parker just broke up."

Dani's dropped her head, frowning at her phone. "I was counting on her for support. Now I'll be alone."

He changed the station to country. "Your friends will be there Dani."

A sharp beat of humorless laughter was her response. "You mean your friends. There is no way they'll take my side against yours."

Sadness swept over him. "I didn't know we were choosing sides."

"Like you haven't trash-talked me to the others." Bitterness laced the accusation.

"I've screwed up a lot, but I've never said a word against you, Dani." He sucked in a deep breath. God, he needed something to take the edge off. He could not do this alone. "I accept responsibility for my actions."

"I gave you the pills."

Something in her voice made him look at her. Was that regret in her eyes? "You didn't shove them down my throat. Stop blaming yourself. I don't."

"What about the baby?" She whispered the words so softly he barely heard them.

Josh wanted to fall to his knees and howl. The baby. His baby. He wanted to hate her, but he didn't. If he'd been the man she needed, their child would still be alive.

Tears stung his eyes, but he wiped them away with his hand. "I've made a lot of mistakes."

"I knew you'd think the baby was a mistake." Her tone was flat. She folded her arms over her belly and released a heavy sigh.

"What? No! I meant me being a loser who got you pregnant and wasn't sober enough to see you were hurting." He wiped the tears with the palm of his hand. "The baby wasn't a mistake."

He felt her staring at him, strangely silent.

"Where did all go wrong?" he wondered aloud.

"I think it started with the movie." Her voice sounded thick with emotion. "At first I thought Ty was insane to turn down the part, but he knew what we had to learn the hard way."

"Wise man, Ty. The others tried to talk us out of it too. We should have listened."

"I-I liked the attention, Josh. I still sort of do."

Josh glanced at her and saw the shame on her face. "I liked it too."

"When the producer told us about the scene changes, I pretended I didn't care, but I think that's when things started to go sideways for me."

The last few words wobbled as if she was fighting to keep from falling apart. He was shocked. He had no idea she felt that way.

"Josh, I hated doing those things in front of everyone. It kills me to think of my family and friends seeing that." A fat tear slipped down her cheek. "I party to forget."

"I know the feeling. I want to fill the need that nothing ever satisfies." He pulled in a deep breath, preparing to have his next words thrown back in his face. "Ty would say only Jesus can fill that need."

Dani said nothing.

She was quiet for so long he didn't think she was going to respond, and then Dani surprised him.

"All this time, Josh, I've been searching. For Jesus. I just didn't know it."

"Neither did I, Dani." The pieces of his broken heart seemed to suddenly melt back together. "Lord, forgive us."