Part Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
John Halsey stood up from the chair in his office and looked at the three men. “You understand me, don’t you? No heroics, no going off on vigilante missions. Let us handle this, or you risk everything.”
The three men stared back at him. Atlas Tigri, Blue Allende – and their unlikely comrade in this, Cormac Duggan – all wore the same expression: Skepticism. John Halsey sighed.
“Look, I realize men in your position believe that money can solve all woes – it can’t. You give Franks an inch, and you’ll never see Fino or Ebony again.”
“All we care about is getting Ebony and Fino back safely,” Atlas said, but even to his ear, he knew it was more than that. All of them in this room wanted nothing more than to rip Carson Franks limb-from-limb with their bare hands, and Halsey could see he wasn’t getting through to them.
“Alright, just promise me this…you won’t impede our investigation, you tell me everything.” He fixed them with a hard stare. “Regardless of circumstances, if you get in our way, I will arrest you for obstruction. No taking justice into your own hands.”
“Detective, we are men of the world,” Blue said, a little testily, “and we have the resources to search every inch of it…which is what we are doing.”
“And that’s fine. Just don’t take unnecessary risks, is all I ask.”
“None of us are amateurs, Detective.” Cormac Duggan was the most arrogant of the three, Halsey decided, and the most irritating. He could feel for Tigri and Allende; they’d been through hell. But this man…
“Mr. Duggan, I understand why Mr. Tigri and Dr. Allende are here – why are you?”
There was a long silence, Duggan glancing at Atlas, then Atlas sighed. “Because he’s the father of Ebony’s baby, and he’s also suing me for custody of Fino.” He recited all of this in a dead voice, and Cormac had the grace to look slightly ashamed.
“All I care about right now,” he said softly, speaking directly to Atlas, “is that we get them back safe and well. Anything else…can wait. We can resume our usual feud when they’re back safe and sound.”
Atlas studied him for a long moment, then nodded curtly.
John Halsey sighed and nodded at the door, indicating the meeting was at an end. “I’ll keep you informed, gentlemen. Remember what I said.”
Outside the office, Cormac turned to them. “I’ll be in touch as soon as my men find anything. Can I ask you do the same?”
“Sure.”
Atlas nodded. “Come by the house later if you can. We should all be together.” Atlas couldn’t quite believe he was saying it, but there it was. He wanted his brother desperately right now, wanted to feel that comfort, and in Mateo’s absence, he would take even Cormac.
And he had to be fair – it was Cormac’s child Ebony was carrying. After Atlas had lost it in the courtroom, he’d calmed down enough to hear Cormac’s lawyer explain the circumstances of the conception and the dates, and facts, matched up. Stanley had talked to him when he’d gotten home after hours of searching Seattle’s streets for his wife.
And now she’s gone, and the last words I spoke to her were angry and insulting. God, Ebony, I’m so sorry. I’ll make it up to you somehow, baby. I swear. Just be okay.
Atlas drove home now, to an empty house. He went to Bella’s room but found no one. He sighed. Bella had fucked up for sure, but he couldn’t believe she had done it out of malice.
His cell phone rang, and when he answered it, it was Carson Franks, telling him exactly what he would have to do to save the lives of the two people he loved most in the world.
Ebony, realizing that Carson was keeping them drugged to prevent them from escaping, figured it must mean they were still near civilization. Drugging them would keep them from screaming or figuring out an escape route. She began hiding her food, instructing Fino to only eat the sides of the sandwiches and take tiny sips of water.
“We have to pretend we’re asleep, darling, so they think they’re safe to talk about stuff we’re not supposed to hear. Maybe they’ll say something we can use to escape.”
She couldn’t think of any other way to explain what was happening to them. Luckily, the small bites they took didn’t seem to be adulterated.
When Rex came in next, late at night, Ebony had her body curled around Fino’s, protectively, as she always did, and pretended to be unconscious. She became aware that someone else was in the room with Rex when he said:
“We keep them warm and fed, don’t worry.”
“Are they hurt?”
A shock ran through Ebony, and she clamped her hand discreetly over Fino’s mouth as she felt him jerk in surprise.
Bella. It was Bella’s voice. She wanted to scream, to go for the girl, to beg her to tell her why she had betrayed them so utterly. A tear rolled down her cheek and Ebony struggled to keep up her façade of unconsciousness.
“They look cold.” Bella’s voice shook, and Rex sighed.
“I’ll get them blankets, but look, come on, if Cormac knew you were back here, he’d kill me.”
There was a silence and Ebony risked opening her eyes a crack. She saw Bella staring down at them, tears pouring down her face. “Look, Rex, let them go. I should never have agreed to do this. Take me instead.”
“Ha.” Rex gave a snort. “You did it to protect your own skin so they’d never find out it was you who let that shooter in.”
“I didn’t know what he was going to do! He killed Mateo…” Bella began to sob. “Please let them go. I’ll get you money, enough to get away, live a life of luxury. Please, just, let’s get them away from Carson.”
“No. Come on, get out of here before I kill you myself. You did this. Bella, remember that.”
“Wait. Just let me hug them one last time.”
Before Rex could stop her, Bella dropped to her knees and put her arms around Ebony and Fino. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Ebony, shielded from Rex’s view, opened her eyes and met Bella’s gaze. “Run,” she whispered, “get help, Bella. If you want to make up for this, save us. Save Fino at least.”
Bella squeezed her eyes shut, disguising her nod as a sob, then let them go. She stood, wiping her tears away, and Ebony watched as she and Rex left the room.
She let out a long breath and was about to tell Fino it was okay when she heard the gunshots. Oh god, no…
A second later, her worst fears were confirmed when Carson burst into the room, his face red and angry. “Fucking bitch!”
Ebony somehow knew he wasn’t talking about her, but it didn’t stop Carson from handling her roughly, cutting her ties and pulling her and Fino to their feet. The gun in his hand meant Ebony wasn’t going to risk fighting him. If he had just killed Rex and, oh god no, Bella, then he would have no reluctance in killing both of them.
Carson pressed the gun against Ebony’s neck and stared at Fino. “One false move, kid, and I kill her, understood?”
Fino, terrified, could only nod. Carson dragged Ebony out of the small cell and along a musty corridor. At the end, Ebony saw Rex’s body, half of his head missing, and pulled Fino against her belly so he couldn’t see. As Carson yanked her arm, she glanced to her left and saw Bella, laying on her back, her hands clamped over her stomach, coughing up blood. For a brief second, their eyes met, and Bella mouthed “I’m sorry” then went still, her eyes staring blankly. Ebony fought back a wave of nausea mixed with grief and terror.
As Carson pulled them out into the daylight, both Ebony and Fino cringed, their eyes stinging. “Get in the car. You, beautiful, in the front with me. The kid rides in the trunk.”
“No, please, don’t put him in the…please, he’ll be scared.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” Carson picked Fino up with one arm and popped the trunk, shoving the terrified boy and shutting him in. Ebony heard Fino screaming.
“Fino, baby, don’t be scared,” she shouted. “ I’ll be right here, right here…”
Carson smirked. “He won’t be scared long.”
He forced Ebony into the passenger seat and got in, not bothering to help buckle her in. Now that she was getting used to the light, she could see they were outside the city, a deserted farmhouse down a long dirt track. As Carson sped along the roadway, he was driving with one hand, the other aiming the gun at Ebony, she saw something out of the corner of her eye, and as the car hit the main highway, a dark sedan sideswiped them.
The last thing Ebony remembered was the car rolling, smashing into a tree, and then in the seconds before she passed out, she heard Fino screaming once more, this time in what sounded like agony…