“He’s got her. He’s got Pecca.”
TWENTY-NINE
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE. The plan was in place. All Alicia had to do was let Victor drive her and Diego to the airport. His wife and son should have phoned to say they’d arrived at the villa in Côte d’Azur this morning, but their call never came.
Juan’s heart writhed inside his chest as he pulled up the security camera images from his home, only to find an empty, ransacked house. His calls to Alicia went unanswered, as did his calls to Victor.
Where are they?
He glanced down at his phone again, the trembling in his fingers growing uncontrollable with every passing minute. What had Señor done? How had he gotten to her and Diego so fast? Juan should’ve known better. After Javier was killed, he should’ve reacted quicker. He turned and looked at Pecca. This was not what he wanted. He had tried to avoid it, but his delay—his temporary compassion for her—may have cost him his family.
A small groan escaped her lips. Pecca would be waking up soon. Juan paced, grinding his teeth. It shouldn’t have come to this. Before his plane landed at the Savannah airport, he had already created David Turner. It wasn’t hard. Identity theft wasn’t nearly as hard anymore. And since Juan wasn’t actually stealing anything but the Army sergeant’s name, military record, and injury, there was no crime to make anyone suspicious enough to look into him.
Arriving early enough to build up David’s life in Savannah and Walton had been vital. He’d been worried that the local residents would question his sudden presence, but they were so wrapped up with the Watcher case and the death of some newspaper owner that they barely noticed him.
Fitting into the community wasn’t hard. Everyone loves a volunteer, and most people only look for the boxes marked for a criminal record when they run a background check. Sergeant David Turner was an exemplary citizen. Not even a parking ticket.
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Pecca’s head hung forward against her chest but was slowly moving side to side. Juan had been prepared for a lot of scenarios, but not for the way Pecca Gallegos and her son, Maceo, had reminded him of Alicia and Diego.
Señor’s wrath did not discriminate against mothers or children. Juan’s breath caught in his throat, emotion burning. He looked at his phone and tried calling Alicia’s number again. He cursed when she did not answer. He tried Victor’s, vowing to kill him first if something happened to his wife and son.
The phone came to life in his hand, and Juan almost dropped it. He answered.
“Alicia?”
“No.”
Juan shoved his fist between his teeth and bit down, fighting the scream he wanted to release. His heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. “Wh-where is she? Diego?”
“They are safe for now.”
“I want to speak to them.”
“You do not give me orders!”
Removing the phone from his ear, Juan took a breath. He needed to stay calm. Alicia and Diego were alive. He needed to keep them that way.
“Why have you involved them?”
“You involved them the second you told them to run. You think I wouldn’t find out that my niece was going on a trip?” Señor gave a short, derisive laugh. “I know everything that happens in my family. That is my job now that Hector is gone.”
Juan balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against his thigh. The physical pain was not even worth recognizing compared to what lay ahead emotionally if something happened to Alicia and Diego. Señor took it upon himself to lead the Perez family, but shared bloodlines did not guarantee their safety.
“Please let me talk to them. I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Por favor.”
“You will do what I ask, because I have found the proper incentive. Their lives rest in your hands, Juan. Now, I assume my little acquisition has spurred you into action, yes?”
“I have her sister.” Juan turned to Pecca, who was stirring more. “Claudia will be here soon.”
“How do you know this?”
Anger boiled beneath his skin. Because I have a plan, he wanted to scream. Bringing Manuel Lopez to Walton had been his ace. A disposable decoy he knew Claudia wouldn’t be able to resist. All he had to do was wait for her to show up, and he would deliver the precious asset to Señor.
But when he couldn’t get hold of Alicia—time had run out.
“Unlike you, Claudia is loyal to only two things in this world—her government and her family. She will come to save her sister.”
“You better pray she values one of those things more than the other.” Juan could hear Señor’s lips smacking over a cigar. “For your sake and for the sake of your family, Juan. I hope you are right.”
The line went dead and Juan screamed his curses into the air, the angry vulgarities echoing against the walls. He went to Pecca. For her sake, Claudia had better not fail to show up.
THIRTY
PECCA’S HEAD felt as heavy as a bowling ball, the weight of it tugging at her neck muscles. It took a great deal of effort to lift it up. What happened? She was at the elementary school. Maceo was marked absent but was there. She was upset. David was there—David!
Her eyes flashed open, and she immediately squeezed them shut to block out the bright light. The throbbing in her head was awful.
“Nice and slow, Pecca. I didn’t use much but enough that you’re going to feel dizzy and maybe a little sick. Your head is going to hurt.”
David’s voice echoed around her, sending a painful vibration through her brain and a shiver racing down her skin. He didn’t use much? David was talking about the cloth he pressed over her nose and mouth. Was it chloroform? In nursing school, she studied the compound’s effects and was shocked to learn how dangerous it was. The movies made it look like some simple solution bad guys could use, but the number of cases where people didn’t wake up and died from the inhalation . . .
Dizziness swept over her, and she began to sway. Something was keeping her upright, squeezing her chest and arms. Pecca opened her eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the light surrounding her. Where was she?
Squinting, she looked around the vast space. Cement floors. Huge yellowed windows reached high into the ceiling over corrugated walls of metal. Steel beams crisscrossed overhead—it looked like an old warehouse.
Her head rolled downward and she saw the reason why she couldn’t move. Ropes wrapped around her body, arms, and legs, strapping her to the chair she was sitting in. Bile rose up her throat. I’m going to die.
“This isn’t my fault, you know.”
Pecca lifted her eyes and found David pacing in front of her. “What?”
“There was a plan. All he had to do was give me a few more days, and I could’ve delivered. I know she’s out there. All she has to do is show up.” He snapped his gaze to her, and Pecca flinched. “And when she does”—he gritted his teeth—“I may kill her myself.”
Kill? Her breaths came in short intakes, barely enough to fill her lungs. If she didn’t slow down, she was going to hyperventilate and pass out—and she couldn’t do that. She had to get away. Wiggling her arms against the constraints sent tears to her eyes. They were tight. Too tight to slip free.
“Now, don’t think you’re going to be getting out of those anytime soon.” He shook his head as he walked over, then he stopped and stared at her. “I’m afraid there’s only one way you’re going to get out of them—well, two, if you count dying.”
She swallowed. Who was this man? He wasn’t the David she knew. The one who volunteered at the Mansion and the school, the one who had a tender heart for kids. Her eyes flickered to his legs. He was . . . walking. Without a cane. Her brain fought for purchase of what she was seeing. David walking. Standing. Drugging her. Threatening her. Panic surged through her with a rush of adrenaline, and her body immediately began to shake.
“Promise me you’re going to do what I say, Pecca.” David produced a gun from his back pocket and pressed the muzzle against h
er forehead. She whimpered and nodded her head quickly. “Good girl.”
David, curses slipping from his lips, stalked to a table and picked up a phone. He pressed a button and lifted the phone to his ear. A few seconds later, he ended the unanswered call. “If he has touched them. A single hair on their heads—” David fisted the phone in his hand, his knuckles turning white. He cursed before twisting to look at Pecca. Pointing the gun at her, he said, “You better hope she shows up.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
With beads of sweat covering his forehead, David grabbed a metal chair and dragged it over the concrete, the legs causing a screeching noise that hurt Pecca’s ears. He spun it around in front of her and then straddled it backward. His eyes were bloodshot and a vein throbbed in his neck.
“You must have a lot of questions.” He used the tip of the gun to scratch at his temple. “First, I can walk.” He did a little stomping dance. “A miracle, yes?”
Pecca detected a Spanish accent, and her pulse accelerated. South Side Barrio. It wasn’t over. They’d found her. But why? “Javier’s dead,” she said, the words bittersweet on her tongue. “What else do you want?”
“Oh.” David stilled. “You think—” He narrowed his eyes. “That was him.” David shot out of the chair and kicked it across the room.
Her body shuddered against the restraints. “Who?”
David ignored her and pressed a button on his cell phone. Pecca took advantage of the distraction and began twisting her wrists, careful not to draw any attention. The ropes burned into her skin, but she kept moving them. She searched around for anything she could use as a weapon if she could free herself.
“Arghhh!”
Pecca froze.
“Where are they?”
Her lips trembled. “Who?”
David’s light brown eyes grew dark. It was like he was transforming in front of her eyes, and she had no idea who this man was—except that he was a liar. Whatever was the goal of his elaborate hoax, Pecca needed to figure out how to stop it.
“Tell me why you’re doing this. Maybe I can help.”
“The same reason you ran from El Paso, mi amiga—protege a mi familia.”
Protect his family? A flicker of something passed over his face. Regret? Was he being forced to do this? A burst of hope blossomed in her chest. She may not know the whole truth about David, but it couldn’t have all been an act—right?
“You have kids, don’t you?”
David narrowed his eyes. “How do you know?”
Pecca licked her lips. “Because there’s nothing a parent won’t do to protect their children.” She glanced down at her restraints. “Even the unimaginable.”
“Entonces entiendes.”
No. She didn’t understand, but she kept quiet. If she could keep David talking, then he wasn’t hurting her—and that would hopefully give someone enough time to figure out she was missing.
“I understand.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “Who are you protecting them from? SSB?”
David gave a wry laugh. “Ha. That would be as simple as running away, wouldn’t it?” He looked at the cell phone gripped in his hand. His knuckles turned white. “Do you know what he will do to them?” He ran a hand down his face. “All they had to do was leave. I set everything up. It was ready because I knew he . . . I knew he was a monster.”
He glared at her. “You couldn’t make this easy, could you? Señor found the picture, and there you were. It wasn’t hard to track you down. The internet makes everything easy these days, and you’re in the system. Did you know that?” He walked over and brushed the tip of the gun over her face, causing her body to tremble. “Because you’re a nurse. Your name and information are all right there. An easy hack, but I had to set the stage.”
David began pacing again. “I was worried when Colton showed up, but he was too concerned with his own weakness to pay attention to the details.”
“He’s not weak,” Pecca snapped.
“There’s something about you, Pecca, that makes people want to be better.”
“Except you. You’ve drugged and kidnapped me. For what?”
“To protect Maceo!” David roared, his voice echoing loudly around her. “Don’t you get it? They are going to keep coming after you and Maceo until they get to her. Maceo would be dead if it weren’t for me. Last night after the fall festival, it was because I stayed behind that Maceo made it to Lane’s home safely. I traded in my family’s safety for you!”
Cold dread washed over her. David was the shooter.
David stormed to the table and picked up another phone. Her phone. He returned and thrust it into her face. “Call her.”
“Who?”
“CALL HER!” Spittle landed on her face and she recoiled. “Tell her your life and the life of her nephew depend on it.”
She was afraid to ask who he was talking about when her mind latched onto the words. Her nephew. Her—did he mean Claudia? Why would he want to talk to Claudia? Frowning, she opened her mouth, but the strike came quickly and snapped her head backward.
“Ahora,” he whispered in her ear. “Aprenderás la verdad.”
Feeling the blood drip down her chin, Pecca began to cry, afraid to learn the truth.
THIRTY-ONE
IT FELT LIKE A BOMB had detonated inside Colton’s chest, and he was still reeling from the effects. His mind was numb as he, Charlie, and Claudia rushed from the school office to the parking lot.
“You’re tracking her?”
Charlie’s question snapped Colton out of his daze. “How?”
“I bought Pecca her Apple Watch for a reason.” Claudia looked at her phone and then frowned. “They’re somewhere outside of Savannah, but”—she used her fingers to adjust the screen—“I can’t see what street they’re on. It looks industrial.”
Colton looked at Charlie. “Where does David live?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure the school keeps a record of all their volunteers. They may have it.”
“Good. Get that and get over to his house. Claudia and I will go to the location—”
“Wait a minute.” Charlie held his hands up. “I know you’re freaking out, Colton, but I can’t allow a civilian to go running into trouble.”
Colton lifted his chin. “You going to stop me?”
“I will.”
“Listen, guys, we don’t have much time. If Juan Pablo has her, it’s because the game has shifted. We have to go now.”
Charlie looked around like he was trying to come up with a solution, but with a final sigh, he said, “Fine. If you get to her before I do, don’t engage.” His eyes flashed to Claudia. “I don’t know what kind of authority you have on this case, but it’ll be my butt on the line if something happens to either of you.”
“Call us when you get the address.” Colton was already hurrying to the parking lot, Claudia at his side. They walked to a black Charger. He turned to her. “Tell me we have time.”
She flattened her lips. “I have to make a call.”
Colton’s nerves thrummed along with the Charger’s engine as Claudia raced down I-95 like a Formula 1 driver. She was steering with one hand while holding a cell phone to her ear with the other. His body lurched forward, straining against the seatbelt, and Claudia cursed the semitruck that had pulled in front of them. Swerving into the left lane, she narrowly missed a BMW, whose driver offered a choice hand signal.
His arm twitched and jerked, but he didn’t care. He kept his eyes glued to the pulsating dot on the GPS screen on the dashboard—the lifeline to Pecca. The dot hadn’t moved, which filled him with a mixture of gratitude and concern. If David and Pecca remained where they were, according to the GPS tracker—and Claudia’s lead foot—the two of them would be arriving at Pecca’s location in six minutes. But if the reason Pecca wasn’t moving . . .
“Thanks, Nate, I appreciate it.”
Claudia dropped the phone next to her. Her free hand went to the steering wheel, and wit
h a burst of acceleration, she zipped across all three lanes on I-95, barely making it to the exit before Colton ate guardrail for lunch.
Colton’s hand gripped the dashboard, his shoulder slamming into the door. “I’m pretty sure we need to be alive to save Pecca.”
“One of us does.”
He scoffed. “That’s an agency joke, right?”
“You hurt her, you know.”
This? This was what they were going to talk about right now? Colton shifted in the passenger seat, unsure if what she had said earlier was a joke. He studied the blur of Georgia marshland they were racing past. She’s gonna knock me off in the middle of the swamp and let the gators get me. He pushed the ridiculous, he hoped, morbid thought from his mind and answered honestly. “I was stupid.”
Claudia nodded. “You’d be lucky to have Pecca.”
“I agree.” Claudia took a hard right, and the Charger hit a berm, sending them bouncing hard along a side road. He checked the GPS to make sure they were headed to Pecca. “And I intend to make it up to her for the rest of my life.”
“That’s fast. Are you sure? Wouldn’t want you to make any mistakes.”
Her sarcastic dig wasn’t lost on him. Had Pecca told her about their last conversation? Colton pushed out a breath. He deserved it. His mind went back to his conversations with Vince and Chaplain Kelly. “I was reminded today of something I had forgotten. I had the chance to play for the NFL. Dreamt about the opportunity my whole life. When it didn’t happen, I was lost. Felt like I’d spent my whole life preparing for that and then—poof—it was gone.
“It was hard to imagine my life outside of football, but my mom reminded me that things happen for a reason—she said divine reasons—and that God needed me for something else. I joined the military, and a new dream was born. I thought she was right. And then this happened.” He looked down at his arm. “It felt like dreams kept getting snatched away from me, but today I finally realized that if those things had never happened, I wouldn’t be here. I never would have met Pecca and Maceo. Or the guys at D-Wing. I wouldn’t be dreaming of opening up a ranch for military veterans and their families.” The Charger hit a bump, and Colton’s knees knocked into the glove compartment. “Or on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride with you.” Claudia smirked. “I can imagine a dozen new futures for my life, but none of them will be complete without Pecca and Maceo in it. More than anything, that’s what I want her to know.”
Silent Shadows Page 25
