Reckless

Chapter 27

…the metallic clink of a liquor bottle hitting the rim of a glass woke Toni even before her brother Benny darted into her room, closing the door soundlessly behind him. The intense pang of fear caused by that particular sound was something that would follow Toni into adulthood. If their mother was using glasses instead of drinking straight from the bottle, that meant she had company. Company meant there was a drunk man in the house.

"Wake up," Benny hissed as he reached for her shoulder. Toni caught his hand with hers, as she whispered back.

"I'm awake." Toni rolled onto her back and sat up, her body already tense with fear before her brother warned her which of their mother's paramours was currently pouring himself a glass of cheap whiskey in the kitchen.

"It's that shaved head guy with the boots," Benny said.

"Did you call Miguel?," Toni asked. There was still a little hope in her shaking voice. Her eldest brother Miguel was the constant in her life. He'd been protecting and caring for her since he was barely more than a child himself. When Miguel turned eighteen, he started working midnights at a manufacturing job. He promised them that soon he'd have enough to rent his own apartment. It would be a tight squeeze for all five siblings in a two bedroom, but at least the place would be free of cockroaches and their mother's questionable houseguests.

"He's not answering," Benny replied. "And Carlos is still out with his girlfriend." Benny didn't mention Matias. They both knew he was away for a basketball tournament. Even if he was home, he was only a few years older than them and no match for shaved head with the boots. "We're gonna have to hide," Benny urged as he reached for Toni's hand.

Toni climbed out of bed, wrapping her arms around her brother's skinny frame. He was slightly less than a year older than her, but at least half a foot taller. A few of Toni's siblings knew who their fathers were, but Benny's parentage was a mystery. Miguel liked to joke that whoever their mother laid down with, he must have been tall.

Toni glanced around her bedroom, which was severely lacking in hiding places. It was scarcely large enough to fit her small twin sized bed, let alone offer anywhere for her and Benny to conceal themselves. The closet was tiny. Even if they could manage to squeeze themselves inside amongst all the sporting equipment, that wasn't a possibility since Miguel padlocked that closet shut after another one of their mother's guests stole and pawned all of their football and baseball gear. Their only other option was to climb out the window, which also wasn't an option since the landlord painted it shut. Creeping back out into the hall and hiding elsewhere was too risky. He might see them if they left the room.

"Under the bed," Benny suggested, shifting his body in that direction. Toni wrinkled up her nose. Whoever lived in their cheap rental house before them had a cat, or more likely several cats. The carpet still stunk of ammonia and stale piss. It would make her hair stink if she laid down on it, and she was almost out of shampoo. But smelly hair was still better than what was waiting for them in the common living area of the house.

Toni lowered herself onto her belly and crawled under the bed, flattening herself against the wall to make room for Benny's lanky frame. They held each other, cringing against the foul odor of the stained carpet and Benny's extreme fear of mice. It wasn't a comfortable spot. But with her brother's skinny arms locked around her, Toni's heavy eyes eventually blinked shut.

Toni wasn't sure if she'd been asleep for only a few seconds or much longer before Benny's howl of pain jerked her back into consciousness. Her body stiffened and she reached for him, trying to determine the cause of his suffering. The answer came quickly, as a man's boot slung under the bed and connected with her brother's lower back for the second time.

"I can do this all night," the man threatened.

Toni's heart was pounding in her chest as she pulled Benny closer to her and away from the edge of the bed. But it only moved him a few inches in the tiny space. He was still within easy range of the man's boot, and they both knew it.

"Don't come out," Benny whispered, pinning her smaller body against his for a brief moment before he turned and began to wriggle out from under the bed. The upper half of his body disappeared first. His feet followed, moving with enough speed that Toni knew he was being drug the rest of the way out. She curled up, pressing her back against the wall and tucking her knees into her chest as she listened to the sound of her brother being slapped by her mother's date.

"Where's your sister?," the man demanded.

Toni held her breath as her brother lied to the man. "She's away at a basketball tournament," Benny insisted. The man slapped Benny again. All Toni could see from her vantage point was their feet, silhouetted by the light that was streaming in from the hallway. Benny's were bare, and he was up on his tiptoes. She guessed boots was gripping him by the front of his pajama shirt.

"You're lying," the man breathed. "Your whore of a mother said she was home."

"She don't remember shit," Benny countered, "...she drinks too much."

Toni's body jerked as she heard the man's hand connect with Benny's flesh. It was almost as if she could feel the pain right along with him. Toni couldn't hear exactly what the man said to her brother next, he was whispering into his ear. Later, Benny would insist the man didn't say anything. But Toni was sure she heard the man call him a little faggot. Benny's feet moved as the man spun him around so he was behind Benny with Benny facing away from him. Toni heard a scuffle, and then the sound of her brother crying out in pain and protest. The next sound she heard was much more satisfying, the loud thunk of Benny's head connecting with the man's face. The crunch of the man's nose was followed by Benny's thundering footsteps as he ran from the room.

"Run!," Toni whispered. "Call the police." They were too far past calling Miguel for help. The police would call a social worker. They might have to go to foster care again. But at this point, even being separated and made to live with strangers was preferable to what was happening.

Toni's bed dipped in above her as the man sat on it. She heard him groan in pain and hiss a few expletives. Toni hoped he was badly hurt. Maybe then he would have to leave and go to the hospital. But there was no such luck. His voice was thick and gurgly when he spoke to her.
"I know you're under there," the man said, laughing through the blood that was trickling from his nose. "If you come out, this will go easier for you," he suggested. Toni held her breath and flattened herself a fraction closer to the wall.

The man waited a moment before he lowered himself down onto the floor. His face was streaked with blood from his broken nose, making him look more devil than man. She cringed away from him, but she knew there was nowhere for her to go. She was trapped. Toni screamed when the man's hand closed down around her ankle. She kicked her other leg, trying to make contact with his face. But even with her karate training, an eight year old girl was no match for a grown man fueled on perversion and cheap whiskey. He caught a hold of both her ankles. Her shirt rucked up, her skin scraping against the carpet as he drug her out from under the bed.

Toni was kicking and screaming as the man lifted her off the ground. He sat back down on the bed with her on his lap and grabbed her by the throat, cutting off her air supply.

"If you don't stop fighting, I'll kill you," he threatened.

Toni clawed at his hand and arm with her fingers, trying to pry it off her neck. Her vision was starting to go black when he finally released his grip and allowed her to take a much needed breath of air. She sucked in a hard breath, coughing and sputtering. Toni was dizzy, and she wasn't sure what had happened next until a few moments later. One second the man's hand was creeping under her shirt and the next her bedroom window exploded.

There was a bang so loud it shook the whole house. Outside her window, Toni could see and feel the heat of a large fire. The man left her, forgotten on the floor as he ran to the window.

"My car!," he screeched. His boots knocked into her shin on his way out. Toni heard him thundering through the house, the front porch door slapping against the frame as he exited. She climbed to her feet and followed after him, looking for Benny. Her brother was easily found, standing on the front porch, watching the man's car burn. The night filled with the sounds of emergency sirens and the crackle of fire. One look at her brother and Toni knew that Benny was the one that lit the man's car on fire. But she never spoke about it again. And neither did he…

"Where is he?," Toni asked, falling in line next to Alvez as he led her towards the holding room. She knew that's where her brother's impersonator was waiting. Toni was too concerned with the situation to wonder or ask why Luke was in the office on a Sunday morning.

"He wouldn't let us take his prints," Alvez explained. But while you were driving in, I gave him a glass of coffee. We're running prints and DNA off that now, but it's Sunday. You know it'll be a minute."

Toni nodded. She knew it was Sunday. It was shaping up to be a relaxing day off too, until some moron barged into the lobby at Quantico and claimed he was related to her. Sunday was also the reason that none of her brothers answered her calls. Given the time difference, it was still a little earlier in Texas than it was in DC, and Sunday was the one day of the week that their family owned bail bonds business opened late.

"Do you want me to come in with you?," Luke asked. Toni shrugged her one good shoulder, passively giving him permission to follow behind her into the room. Like most holding rooms, the small space was void of any extra furniture or decoration. There was a table in the center of the room with a few chairs on either side. In one of them, there was a surprisingly average looking man sitting and twiddling his thumbs. When Toni entered the room, the man rose from his seat.

"Big T!," he exclaimed, taking a step in Toni's direction. She immediately put her hand up, warning him not to come any closer. She took a step back, bumping into Luke in her rush to keep as much distance between her and the strange man as possible. It wasn't his quick movement towards her or the unexpected use of her family nickname that startled her, though both were unsettling. It was the look of excitement and recognition on his face when he saw her that gave Toni a sick feeling in her gut. If he was faking, he deserved an academy award.

"Don't call me that," Toni barked.

The look on the man's face turned from excitement into instant hurt. "But that's what I always call you," he replied.

"You don't call me anything," Toni said. "I've never seen you before in my life."

As she lowered herself down into the seat across from her brother's impersonator, Toni took a moment to study the man. He was of latino descent and around her age, or maybe a little younger. Other than the fact that he was insisting he was related to her, there was nothing unusual about him. His clothes were nondescript and looked inexpensive, the sort you could pick up at a local big box store. He was around her height, much shorter than her actual brother. Also unlike the real Benny, what Toni could see of his skin was free from tattoos or any other markings. Benny had two full sleeves and was working on a back piece. Both the small tattoos Toni had, she got done with him.

"Why are you being like this?," the man asked. "Come on T, I came all the way from Texas just to see you and Romeo."

The casual familiarity with which this total stranger mentioned her son's name sent a chill up Toni's spine. Her cheeks flushed with anger. She didn't have to glance at the seat next to her to know that Luke's body had gone tense as well. Toni took a slow breath. She did her best to keep her family life private. But finding out her son's name would be easy for anyone with basic computer knowledge. Explanations for the man's unhinged behavior were flashing in her mind. The possibility that he'd been stalking her and her son was the most unsettling.

"That's enough," Luke ordered. "Tell us your real name and what you're doing here."

Toni watched the man's expressions. He seemed confused by what Luke said, turning to her for help. "Toni, tell him who I am," he begged. There was a sharp desperation to his tone, like her continued denial of his fantasy might cause him to break down. "I'm Benjamin Ramirez," the man insisted. He voice raised into near panic as he spoke "Toni, I'm your brother. Why are you acting like you don't know me?"

"Okay," Toni agreed, crossing her arms as she regarded the man across from her with a scowl. "If you're my brother, tell me something only he would know."

The man leaned forward, rubbing the stubble on his chin as he considered her request. He glanced at Luke as he parted his lips to speak. "Could you excuse us?," he asked, ticking his head towards the door.

Luke chuckled under his breath. "Not on your life," he replied. He didn't move from his chair, but his body shifted protectively closer to Toni. The man across from them tossed his hands up, his shoulders moving in a slight shrug before he spoke.

"When we were kids, mom had that one really terrible boyfriend. The one that always had combat boots on…" The man paused for a moment, watching Toni to gauge her reaction. "...I set his car on fire, to keep him from hurting you."

Toni rose from her chair so quickly that her legs hit the edge of the seat, knocking the chair over backwards. It clattered against the floor, the noise echoing in the small empty room. She didn't realize she'd fled to the hallway until she saw Luke snapping the door to the interview room shut behind him. He was asking her if she was okay, but she could barely hear his voice over the pounding of her own heartbeat.

"How the fuck could he know about that?," she gasped. "Not even my other brothers knew Benny did that…" Before Luke could respond, Toni felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She jerked it out, glancing at the name of the caller before she desperately scrambled to answer the phone as quickly as possible.

"What's wrong, you called me twice."

Toni's eldest brother was never one for pleasantries. But hearing his voice still calmed the pounding in her chest almost immediately. "It's Benny," Toni said. "Have you seen him, he's not answering his phone."

There was a moment's pause before Miguel answered. "What do you mean, have I seen him? He's with you. Your coworker picked him up three days ago. That agent, he said he worked with you at the bureau…" Miguel paused again, but this time Toni could hear him shuffling around on the other end of the line. "He gave me his card. Here it is… Dr. Spencer Reid."

"What?," Toni gasped. Her lips parted in shock. There was no way Spencer was in Texas picking up her brother three days ago. He was with her the whole time, working on that missing prostitute case. And even if he wasn't with her, there's no way Spencer would go to Texas and pick up her brother without telling her anything about it. That didn't make any sense at all.

"What the hell is going on?," Miguel demanded. "Benny's been texting me. He said he was with you, helping you with a case."

Toni asked Miguel to hold on while she scrolled quickly through her phone. She texted her brother the first photo she found of Spencer before she asked, "Is that the guy that picked up Benny?" But before Miguel answered, she already knew what he was going to say. Spencer was not the man that showed up in Texas three days ago, he'd never seen the real Spencer Reid before in his life.

"This guy was older," Miguel said. "...with a receding hairline and a pointy nose."

Toni's phone was shaking in her hand as she sent her brother another photograph. This one took her slightly longer to locate. She had to upload it from her work email.

"That's the guy," Miguel confirmed. Toni could hear her brother talking, but the world was already starting to spin around her. "Is that a mugshot? Who the fuck did Benny leave with?"

Toni hurled the phone into the wall, shattering it into pieces before she turned with the intention of charging back into the interrogation room. She needed to know where her brother was, and she was ready to get that information from his imposter by any means necessary. Luke caught her by the waist, spinning her so that he was between her and the door.
"What's happening?," he asked. He heard the conversation, but he didn't see the photos Toni sent to her brother, so he couldn't have known that the second picture was of Peter Lewis.

"Scratch," Toni hissed. "He's got my fucking brother."