Say No More

by Rose, Karen

  ‘I know.’ Pastor sighed. ‘I’m frustrated. I’m sure you understand that.’

  ‘Of course,’ Ephraim said, forcing sympathy into his voice, but the words left a sour taste. Pastor wouldn’t have called if he didn’t think Ephraim could be responsible.

  Mercy would change everything. No longer would Pastor suspect him for everything that went wrong. DJ would be the odd man out, and then DJ would be dead.

  And as long as Mercy still had that damn key to the safe-deposit box, Pastor would never know how close they’d come to their location being outed to the whole world.

  ‘I need to go, Pastor. My mother needs me.’

  Ephraim ended the call, mentally promising his mother that he’d visit as soon as he could, but with his face on the news and without Burkett to bring her from the nursing home on day breaks, that visit wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

  For now, he’d focus on his immediate goal. Getting Mercy back. He opened the door to the camper. ‘Wake up, Dr Romero. I need you.’

  Sacramento, California

  Wednesday, 19 April, 12.00 P.M.

  Six missed calls. Mercy dialed Mama Romero and put the call on speaker, her heart pounding so hard that she barely heard the line ringing.

  ‘Mercy? Oh my dear Lord, Mercy. Is Farrah with you?’

  ‘No,’ Mercy whispered. ‘I saw her off to the airport at about four this morning. She was with André and Damien Sokolov, Rafe’s cop brother. Why?’

  ‘She didn’t get off the plane.’ Mama Romero’s voice was pitched high and bordered on hysteria. ‘They said she never boarded, Mercy. Where is my daughter?’

  Mercy’s blood ran cold. ‘I don’t know. But we’ll find her. I promise. I need to go so I can find out what’s going on. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.’

  She ended the call and stared at Rafe helplessly. He was dialing his mother, the remaining color in his face draining away.

  ‘Mom?’ he asked hoarsely as he put his phone on speaker.

  ‘Rafe. Oh my God.’ Irina was crying. ‘They found your brother’s car. The police. They found his car. He never came home. Never called Jemma. He’s missing, Rafe. My son is missing.’

  ‘Who found his car, Mom?’ Rafe said, closing his eyes, his struggle for control visible.

  ‘One of the patrolmen near the airport. Damien’s car was crashed into a tree. They think he was run off the road.’ Irina choked on a sob. ‘There was blood, Raphael. So much blood.’ She broke into harsh sobs. ‘We need to find him. Oh God, what if he’s dead?’

  There was a shushing behind her, followed by Karl’s voice, murmuring soft words in Russian. He must have pulled Irina into his arms, because her sobs became muffled. Heartbreaking.

  Mercy closed her eyes. This has to stop. I have to make this stop.

  ‘We’ll find him, Mom,’ Rafe promised, his words desperate and filled with pain. ‘Farrah and André are missing, too.’

  The silence on the other end was abrupt. ‘Oh God,’ Irina whispered. ‘He got them all. What are we going to do?’

  Mercy stood up and went to the closet for her coat. We’re not going to do anything. I’m going to give Ephraim whatever the hell he wants.

  ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ Rafe demanded.

  Mercy was spun around, Rafe’s hand gripping her arm. His expression was both panicked and full of rage.

  ‘Raphael?’ Irina asked sharply from the phone, clutched in Rafe’s other hand. He’d propelled himself from the sofa without his cane and now leaned against the wall for balance. ‘What is wrong?’

  Rafe stared down at Mercy, eyes flashing. ‘What is wrong is that Mercy is putting on her coat. Like she thinks she’s going somewhere.’

  Even in his anger, his grip was gentle. Mercy had no problem prying his fingers from her arm. ‘Let me go,’ she whispered. ‘Please. I have to make this stop.’

  Shocked gasps came from the speaker. ‘Mercy, no,’ Irina cried. ‘You will not sacrifice yourself. Don’t even think it.’

  Mercy’s lips trembled. ‘He’s hurting everyone. And he just wants me.’

  ‘Mercy,’ Karl said, his voice breaking. ‘You will solve nothing this way. Even if you knew how or where to give yourself up, that doesn’t mean he’ll let Damien and the others go.’

  If they’re still alive. The words were on her tongue, but she bit them back.

  And then her phone began to buzz in her hand. The caller ID read Ro.

  ‘I think we’re about to find out how and where I give myself up,’ Mercy said quietly.

  ‘On speaker,’ Rafe demanded. ‘Everyone hush. It’s Farrah’s phone.’

  Farrah’s phone. Not Farrah. Mercy hit ACCEPT and the speaker button. ‘Ro?’

  ‘No.’

  Mercy stiffened, the sly voice making her knees buckle. Ephraim Burton. Gripping the closet door, she locked her legs and drew a breath. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Only what I’ve always wanted. You, my dear wife.’

  Rafe swallowed hard, his jaw bulging from clenching his teeth. But he remained quiet, staring at the phone as if he could make it give up Ephraim’s location.

  ‘Where?’ was all Mercy could reply. Think. Think, goddammit. Keep him talking. The longer she kept him talking, the better chance they had of tracing this call. Right? Please let that be right.

  Ephraim laughed. ‘No arguments? You must think I’m a fool.’

  Rafe was busily texting. A glance at his screen showed he was communicating with Gideon. Good. The Feds might be able to track Farrah’s phone quickly.

  ‘No, I know you’re a sadistic brute who doesn’t mind killing to get his own way,’ Mercy said quietly. ‘I don’t want you to hurt my friends. I don’t want you to hurt anyone else. You want me? Fine. But you don’t touch my friends.’

  ‘And if I already have?’

  Rafe silenced the volume on his own phone before Ephraim’s words could draw more gasps from his parents. The Sokolovs could still hear Ephraim, but he wouldn’t know they were listening.

  Mercy shivered, suddenly cold. ‘Then we’re done. I’m not trading myself for dead bodies.’ Rafe glared at her, but she ignored him, focusing all of her attention on the snake on the other end of the line. ‘I want proof of life. Let me talk to Farrah Romero.’

  ‘You don’t get to make demands,’ Ephraim snarled.

  ‘Shut up, Ephraim,’ Mercy snapped. ‘You want me. I’m not sure why, but you’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get me. So, because of that, I do get to make demands. Let me talk to Farrah, or this conversation ends right now and whatever you’re trying to accomplish by getting me ends with it.’

  She held her breath, counting her own heartbeats in the silence that followed, even checking that the call was still active. It was.

  The silence was abruptly shattered by Farrah’s voice. ‘Mercy, don’t you dare. Don’t you dare trade yourself.’

  There was the sound of a slap and a low, furious growl from farther away. André. André was still alive, too.

  ‘Are you hurt, Ro?’ Mercy asked.

  ‘Not too bad. We’re all still breathing.’ Then Farrah sneezed three times in quick succession. ‘I’m not breathing well, but that’s not Burton’s fault. I just need my allergy meds, that’s all.’

  Mercy found herself smiling a little. Her best friend was smart. ‘Damien? He’s okay, too?’

  ‘He’s lost some blood. He’s—’

  ‘That’s enough,’ Ephraim said roughly, taking back the phone. ‘You have your proof of life. If you want them to continue breathing, you’ll come alone. No cops. No Feds. No weapons.’

  ‘And I’m supposed to just believe you’ll hand my friends over? No way. You’re a bastard and you lie easier than you breathe.’ And suddenly she knew what to say. ‘I met your mother, you know.’

  A bea
t of silence. ‘Yes. I know. You stole from her,’ he said bitterly.

  Mercy laughed, surprised to hear the sound. ‘Well, that’s open for interpretation, I suppose. You say stole, I say I got a present from her. I have her key, the one she kept in the little treasure chest that Amos made. She gave the key to me willingly. I let her keep the chest.’

  Another beat of silence. ‘She wouldn’t have given it to you. She’s not in her right mind.’

  ‘I don’t know. She seemed pretty lucid to me. We chatted. She said such nice things about Aubrey. Not so much you. You apparently don’t visit her often enough. We got along brilliantly. We even sang your song together. I was close enough to kill her myself and I know exactly where she lives.’

  ‘You bitch,’ Ephraim snarled. ‘You don’t talk about her. You don’t even say her name.’

  ‘Belinda,’ Mercy said flatly. ‘Belinda, Belinda, Belinda. You want to play games, Ephraim? I’ll play. I can have your mother in FBI custody before you can end this call. She harbored a fugitive. They can arrest her for that.’

  ‘They won’t. She’s old.’

  ‘So? They’ll put her in prison nursing care. They have those, you know. For the lifers who can’t take care of themselves. I can’t imagine it would be nearly as nice as the place you’ve been paying for all this time.’

  ‘I’m not trading your friends for my mother and if you think I am, you’re the fool.’

  Mercy could picture his snarl perfectly and she had to lock her knees once more. ‘I never thought you would. But if my friends aren’t breathing when we make our little trade, your mother will suffer, and I’ll make sure that she knows she’s hurting because of you. Am I clear?’

  He said nothing, just breathed hard. She remembered that, too.

  ‘Am I clear, Ephraim?’ she asked again.

  ‘Yeah. You come alone. No cops. And bring the key with you.’

  But . . . I don’t have it anymore. He doesn’t know that. ‘What’s it worth to you?’

  He snarled again. ‘Let me put it to you this way. When I get my hands on you, if I find that you haven’t brought that key, I’ll show your friend Farrah what I do to women who cross me.’

  Mercy’s stomach rolled. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

  He laughed at her silence. ‘I see you remember what that means. Oh, and if I see any cops, your friends die and my mother’s just gonna have to deal. Am I clear?’

  She swallowed hard. ‘Crystal clear,’ she whispered.

  ‘Then wait for my instructions.’

  The call ended and Mercy’s knees gave out. She sank to the floor, her back against the closet door. ‘Oh my God,’ she whispered, rocking herself. ‘Oh my God.’

  Sacramento, California

  Wednesday, 19 April, 12.15 P.M.

  Rafe blew out a breath, then, balancing on one foot, lowered himself to the floor beside her. Stretching his bad leg in front of him, he turned the volume on his phone back up and pulled Mercy close to him. She was shaking like a leaf, goddammit. ‘You get all that, Dad?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Karl said. ‘Mercy . . . thank you. We’re not letting you trade yourself, just so you know, but thank you for being willing. And for making sure Damien was still alive, too.’

  ‘Yes, lubimaya,’ Irina said, no longer crying, but her voice was still thick and unsteady. ‘Thank you. But what did Farrah mean about her allergy medication?’

  ‘She’s allergic to trees,’ Mercy said weakly. ‘It was her way of telling us that she’s outside.’

  ‘He might still have that camper,’ Rafe said. ‘If so, he’s mobile, which sucks. But if he’s actually using Farrah’s phone – versus spoofing her number – we can track it.’

  ‘How long will that take, Raphael?’ Irina asked, hope in her voice for the first time.

  Mercy shook her had. ‘No cops for now, please? He means what he says and I don’t trust that Molina won’t ride in with a platoon of black SUVs. Let me try something else first.’

  Rafe didn’t want to upset her, but he was bringing in the police. At least those in SacPD who he trusted.

  ‘Please,’ she begged, and Rafe sighed.

  ‘What are you going to try?’ he asked, without making any promises.

  ‘Finding Farrah’s phone.’

  Rafe felt a spurt of hope. ‘You have a Find My Friends app or something?’

  She shook her head and his hope fizzled. ‘I don’t. The very thought of anyone tracking me makes my skin itch. Farrah and I just text each other. Was Gideon able to start a trace when I was talking to Ephraim?’

  ‘Not sure. He hasn’t gotten back to me yet. He’s working on it now. I’m going to call my lieutenant. He can add our tech resources.’

  ‘Gideon has brought in the FBI?’ Irina asked, fear in her voice. ‘I trust Gideon, but I don’t know who he’s working with, nor do I know your lieutenant. Burton might kill them, Raphael. Can’t we just use Find My Phone?’

  ‘Farrah has an Android phone, plus you need to enable those location apps, Irina. It’s not something you can use without turning it on in your settings first. Just give me two minutes. I need to call Mama Romero back. She might be able to see Farrah’s phone.’ Mercy dialed Mrs Romero, blurting out, ‘She’s alive,’ as soon as Farrah’s mother answered. ‘I talked to her.’

  ‘She’s alive?’ Mrs Romero asked through her tears. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m sure. I heard her voice. But she’s being held hostage. And you’re on speaker,’ Mercy added. ‘I’m with Rafe and his parents. Their son Damien is with Farrah and André. Farrah’s the smartest woman I know and André and Damien are good cops. They’ll figure out how to hold on until I can get to them.’

  ‘We,’ Rafe muttered.

  Mrs Romero whispered a thankful prayer. ‘But . . . this is the man who killed our Quill, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mercy said. ‘And we don’t know what he’s going to ask me to do, but he has her phone. He called me from it.’

  ‘Us to do,’ Rafe said. ‘Us. Not you. Dammit, Mercy.’

  Mercy huffed impatiently. ‘Fine. Us, not me. Now let me talk. Mama, do you still have that tracking app on your phone? The one you made us download when we went on that cruise last year?’

  Rafe’s eyes widened. ‘Really?’

  Mercy nodded. ‘There were over twenty of us who went and we had a mix of iPhones, Androids, and even a few Google phones. Mama Romero didn’t want to lose anyone, so she found an app that would work with everyone’s phone.’

  ‘I do!’ Mrs Romero’s voice was trembling. ‘I’m looking now. Don’t you have it?’

  Mercy winced. ‘No, I took it off because I’m too paranoid. But can you see if Farrah still has it?’

  Mrs Romero exhaled on a soft cry. ‘She’s here. I can see her phone. It’s blinking. She’s somewhere called . . . Dunsmuir?’

  ‘That’s up near Mt. Shasta,’ Rafe said, excitedly, then sighed. ‘That’s a lot of area to search. Mrs Romero, can you make a screenshot? Maybe zoom out so that we can get a better—’

  Mrs Romero gasped, interrupting him. ‘Oh no. It’s gone. The blinking dot is gone. I started to take a screenshot for you, but the dot is gone!’

  ‘It’s okay, Mama.’ Mercy was trying to soothe, but her voice was thin and thready. ‘He’s probably just turned her phone off. But we know about where he is. I’m leaving right now.’

  ‘No, ma’am.’ Rafe put his hand on Mercy’s thigh when she started to stand up. ‘We need a plan. I’m not letting Mercy trade herself, and she will have backup.’

  ‘What can I do?’ Mrs Romero whispered.

  ‘Stay where you are,’ Rafe said, ‘and answer if you get a call from Farrah’s phone. Let André’s family know that he’s alive and ask them if they can track his phone as well. But do not go to the press. I don’t know who we’ll notify here, and I d
on’t know if you should notify your area police or not, but I don’t think they can do anything that we can’t do here. The more people who know, the more likely it is to leak out. We don’t want that.’

  Mercy was glaring at him, but when she spoke to Farrah’s mother, her voice was soft and kind. ‘Keep watching that app, Mama Ro. If the blinking dot comes back, call me immediately. Text me if I don’t answer. Cell coverage up there can be spotty. And do not lose hope. Farrah is smart and so are André and Damien.’

  ‘And pray,’ Irina added. ‘As will we.’

  ‘That I can do,’ Mrs Romero said. ‘We love you, Mercy. This is not your doing, child. I want you to listen to that man you got there. Do not give yourself up to the man who killed our Quill. She will haunt you, baby. Hand to God, she will haunt you.’

  Mercy’s laugh was shaky. ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  They ended the call with Mrs Romero, and Mercy let her head fall back against the closet door. ‘What do we do, Rafe?’

  Rafe kissed the side of her head. ‘We get Gideon and then we all get in the car and drive to Dunsmuir. I already asked him to track Farrah’s, André’s, and Damien’s phones. He’s probably contacting the cell phone carriers as we speak. Okay?’

  She nodded. ‘Okay.’

  ‘Mom, Dad. We’ll call you back. Check with Jemma to see if she and Damien have anything similar to the Romeros’ tracking app. Love you both.’

  Rafe took a moment to breathe after ending the call, then pulled Mercy to his lap. ‘Let me hold you for a minute. Just a minute.’

  She nodded, winding her arms around his neck. ‘I thought that would be it,’ she whispered. ‘The thing that made your parents tell me to go.’

  ‘Oh, baby. That’s not going to happen. Haven’t you figured that out by now?’

  She buried her face in his neck. ‘I guess I’m starting to.’

  ‘I need you to promise me again,’ he said, his voice like gravel in his throat. ‘You will not sacrifice yourself. Even to save Farrah. You promised, Mercy.’

  ‘I know,’ she whispered. ‘But if he hurts her . . . how do I forgive myself for that?’