Free Caught in the Act by Jill Sorenson

free right now. I can leave anytime I want.”
    Kari stared at Sasha. “Do you really believe that?”
    “Of course.”
    “Then why don’t you? Come with me, tonight. We’ll check you into rehab, somewhere far away. Maybe we can use a false name.”
    Sasha laughed harshly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    Kari grabbed her by both arms, refusing to let her off easy. “Carlos is going to kill you. You’re going to kill yourself . I saw the needle marks, Sasha. You look like a skeleton. If you don’t get help, you’ll die.”
    Sasha jerked out of her grasp. “Don’t be so melodramatic. I only started shooting because it’s cheaper. Carlos has me on an allowance.”
    “Do you want to live like this? Do you want to die ?”
    She looked over Kari’s shoulder, into dark space. “Sometimes.”
    Tears flooded Kari’s eyes. She wrapped her arms around her sister, hugging her thin body. Guilt overwhelmedher, because she knew why Sasha didn’t value herself. Kari took some responsibility for that. “I’m so scared for you. Please.”
    Sasha accepted the hug for a moment before disentangling herself. “Carlos isn’t going to kill me. He loves me.”
    “I love you.”
    Her sister’s face crumpled. She shook her head, sniffing back the tears. Deep down, Sasha was still that little girl who’d sucked her thumb, the towheaded toddler who’d followed Kari everywhere. “I love you, too.”
    “What am I supposed to do? They expect me to smuggle drugs for you.”
    “Tell them to get fucked. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
    “I’ll go to the police, then.”
    Sasha’s eyes widened. “You can’t do that.”
    “Why not?”
    “Carlos pays them, you idiot. He won’t kill you, but they will.”
    “We can enter the witness protection program—”
    “Are you insane?” She glanced around the terrace, lowering her voice. “Threatening to testify is a sure way to die. Promise me you won’t do that.”
    “You care about me, but not yourself?”
    “I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Carlos doesn’t hurt innocent women.”
    Kari thought she saw movement in the parking lot, a shifting shadow. “What about that reporter in Tijuana a few years ago? Penelope Mendes.”
    “She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
    “So are you, Sasha. So am I.”
    Her sister crossed her arms over her chest, closingherself off. She had only one concern: getting high. Everything else in her life, including Kari, was peripheral. “Don’t worry.” Sasha gave her a dismissive peck on the cheek. “I’ll talk to Carlos.” She left in a hurry, anxious to get back to her boyfriend, her drugs, her slow suicide.
    Kari stared after her for a long time, feeling hollow. “Goodbye,” she whispered finally, wiping the tears from her face.

6
    Kari overslept the next morning.
    The night before, Maria had been waiting up for her when she came home from the mall. Kari was too upset to discuss the details, only saying that Sasha refused to leave Moreno. Maria seemed sympathetic but not surprised.
    She’d tossed and turned until late and was unable to drag herself out of bed on time. Missing her run made her cranky. Tears hovered behind her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment. She picked at her breakfast and took a quick shower, applying minimal makeup. After throwing on a soft gray tank dress, she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail and shoved her feet into black rubber flip-flops. She didn’t feel like cute shoes or colorful accessories today. If she’d owned a housedress, she’d have worn it.
    “Maybe you won’t get caught,” Maria said on the way to work. “Maybe everything will work out for best.”
    Somehow Kari doubted it. “Officer Cortez came to the store again yesterday.”
    “Oh sí ? What happened?”
    “He asked me out.”
    Her eyes sparkled with interest. “De veras?”
    Kari nodded.
    “What did you say?”
    “I said no.”
    “Too bad,” she murmured. “He is very