Fervent

by Claudia Burgoa

  “Mexico City. There’s been a kidnapping, and we have to rescue the kid before they kill him.”

  “Don’t they usually ask for money?” I ask, huffing.

  “They did, but the family is afraid that these guys might claim the money and still kill the child. It happened to their neighbors a couple of months ago.”

  I close my eyes for a few seconds. “What’s the plan?”

  “The plane is waiting for you. Call me when you’re in the air so we can strategize.”

  “Who else is joining us?” Tiago asks.

  “Hawk and I,” Bradley responds. “See you soon.”

  Luna bites her lip, she looks at her brother and then at me. “I can help,” she murmurs.

  Scratching my chin, I try to find a way to tell her that she’s not coming with us. I want to hire her, but I can’t just bring her with me. Thankfully, it’s her brother who breaks the news to her.

  “You’re staying.”

  “That’s it, ‘you’re staying’?” She mocks her brother’s voice. “Should I sit by the door and wait for you while you come back, or get dinner ready by five?”

  She squares her frame, lifts her chin, and gives me a defiant look. “What happened to being partners? You wanted me on your team, to work for you. How can I trust you when you say one thing but do a different one?”

  She turns around, tossing her hands. “Carajo! Men, they are all the same.”

  I lower my head, pressing my lips tight. I hated that stony expression she had as she left the library. What do I do? She’s right, I want her as my teammate. My partner. If I break my promises, she’s never going to trust me.

  “What does she mean by working for you, Everhart?” Tiago growls. “Dad told me what you did with her mother’s file.” He shakes his head. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m being her person. She needed the truth. You could’ve given that to her.”

  He laughs. “My father doesn’t like me. I don’t want to give him more reasons to hate me.”

  “How good is Luna?”

  “She’s not coming with us.” Tiago’s warning voice is useless.

  “Big guy, think what our mission involves. A family wanting their child back. Bad guys asking for money. If we don’t find the kid soon, he could lose a finger, an arm, or his life.” I paint the scenario I’m picturing.

  We’ve dealt with kidnappings before. One time, the family received a finger as proof of life, and as a warning that next time it’d be his head.

  “She’s good, and they are wasting her talent. We can make a difference today, and give her a chance to move to a better place, meaning our company.”

  And I can’t leave her. I have to be with her.

  I text Bradley.

  Harrison: Agent Santillan is coming with.

  Bradley: Give me one good reason why I should agree to that.

  Harrison: Other than the file you stole from the FBI? I’d say she’s capable of holding her ground, and she focuses on rescuing missing people.

  Bradley: Fine, you babysit.

  I send a message to Jensen, Scott’s assistant, requesting he pack my usual bag. He can meet us at Hazel’s where we can pick up a few things for Luna before we leave.

  “This is a bad idea,” Tiago calls after me.

  It doesn’t take me long to find her. She’s leaning against the doorframe on the patio, watching the few guests eating.

  “Where is everyone?”

  She shrugs. “Hunter and Willow left for the airport. They said that Jensen is unavailable. That you’ll know what that means.”

  Fuck, I run a hand through my hair.

  “Hazel and Scott decided to leave. Fitz left with one of the musicians.”

  “Do you have your passport at home?” I kiss the side of her long neck.

  Her eyes brighten, but her mouth tightens.

  “I need an answer, we are leaving, now.”

  “I’m always prepared,” she responds, staring down at her phone then back at me.

  “That’s my girl.” I brush her lips with mine. “We have to take you home so you can pack some clothing. I have a case for you that I think you’re going to love.”

  ✰ ✰ ✰

  Tiago pulls me to the side while Luna is getting her bag.

  “We can’t just take her with us.” His entire body tightens his jaw clenches. “This ain’t a field trip to the zoo. She’s all my father has. If something happens to either one of my siblings, I think he would die.”

  He doesn’t say it out loud, but his world would collapse as well. They aren’t as close as my siblings and me, but he loves her. I understand. If something were to happen to my brothers, it’d destroy me. They’re all I have.

  “You have to believe in Luna,” I suggest, treading my case with him. Not because he can convince me, but I have to make sure that his head will be in the game once we are rescuing this kid. “She can help us find him faster. I get it, you see her as your baby sister. But man, if she wants, she could take us down just by snapping her fingers.”

  “That’s an exaggeration, Everhart.” Luna walks into the hallway dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black jeans. She stretches her arms, wrapping them around my neck and kissing me hard. “But I appreciate your confidence in my skills.”

  “Luna, what the fuck are you doing?” Tiago scares the fuck out of me with his screams.

  “Kissing, it’s called kissing, Tiago.” She gives me a quick peck and releases me.

  “I like the way you say my last name, Agent Santillan.” I wink at her, taking her bag and her hand. “I’m looking forward to working with you during this mission.”

  “She has a job,” Tiago insists, poking the elevator button.

  “They are wasting her talent at the Bureau,” I counter with the same stuff I told him before. “We need her. Wouldn’t you rather know that she’s doing what she loves and have her working with you?”

  “This is the last time you talk about me as if I’m not in the room,” she warns us, her eyes firing up. “I haven’t said that I’m quitting the Bureau,” Luna intercedes. “This is a one-time mission. Why would I want to leave all my benefits, for you? I believe in bringing justice, not . . . what is it that you do?”

  “Defend the innocent and help those who can’t help themselves,” I inform her. “While also doing some side protection for rich people for money. We do a lot, Luna.”

  I stare at her arms and shake my head. “No, you have to leave all that shit behind. The last time we traveled with them, it took you hours to take them off and put them on.”

  “He doesn’t know, does he?” Tiago and Luna share a smile while she shakes her head.

  Then, he changes his side. “You should join us. Lucas should too.”

  “Dude, now you’re adding more people?” I complain, trying to remember who the fuck Lucas is. “Luc, his name is Luc.” I snap my fingers when I remember they are talking about their brother.

  Tiago shakes his head in exasperation. “You offered her a job, right?” His voice is loud. “I think we should offer one to our brother too. Luna and Lucas could be a good addition to our company.”

  Tiago’s somber face makes my back straighten and my attitude change.

  “I can vouch for Luna. I’ve witnessed her kick-ass movements.” My hand covers my neck at the memory of that sharp thing pointed to my head that is now holding Luna’s hair up.

  “We can use someone like her.” I look at both of them before stepping into the elevator. “How about Lucas, is he as good as you two?”

  “He’s like Dad,” Luna offers. She chews her lip looking at Tiago who shrugs. “But I doubt he’d accept the job.”

  “Lucas will, if you do it first,” Tiago utters, then he flashes me an angry glare. “Stop kissing her hand. Do not touch my sister.”

  “I will only stop if she protests.” I smirk at her, waiting for a comeback.

  The doors open on the third floor. I pull Luna closer to my body, snaking
my arm around her waist. An old couple steps into the elevator. They eye us briefly, nodding curtly and turn back around to stare at the closing doors.

  “Have a good day,” Luna calls after them once we arrive in the lobby and they step away without acknowledging us. “Rude.”

  “Not many people are as friendly as you are, Luna. Actually, only a few are friendly in this city.” I bend my neck, kissing her lips lightly. “But don’t let this place change you. I like the way you brighten everything around you.”

  “You’re a sweet talker, Everhart.”

  “Just to you.” I kiss her again, this time I don’t rush it. I savor her sweet lips but stop myself before I have to push her back into the elevator and to her room.

  Thirty-Two

  Luna

  I settle back in my seat as I process the information Harrison provided me. The forensic information is easy to digest. Five-year-old male, brown eyes, blond hair, forty-three inches tall, fifty-two pounds, with a scar on the corner of his left eyebrow. He was last seen wearing his school uniform.

  The last time his nanny saw him was at the playground. Witnesses say that he was in the park playing with his friends. A couple of large dogs that could’ve been German Shepherds or Dobermans charged toward the children. Everyone began to scramble, adults and kids. The owner appeared right behind them, and though it took him time, he was able to control them and take them with him. Once everyone settled, little Esteban wasn’t around.

  An hour later, the father received a call from an untraceable phone. The voice on the other end demanded a million dollars in exchange for their son. According to the father, the voice sounded like it was coming from a machine. Three hours later, a box with the shoes the little boy was wearing and a note appeared on their doorstep. The note said they shouldn’t call the police, and they had seventy-two hours to respond to their demand if they wanted to see him alive.

  “Unmarked bills. They didn’t ask for an untraceable transfer,” I repeat, leaning my head against the window and watching the fluffy clouds under us. “You said that something similar happened with the kid next door too. Do we have more on that case?”

  “There’s no such thing as an untraceable transfer,” Harrison clarifies.

  “There are a few similarities between one and the other,” Tiago responds.

  The sound of typing makes me turn in his direction. Harrison’s the one at the computer. My brother’s eyes are focused on his iPad, and he continues giving me what I need, but without giving me the slightest glance.

  “The kid next door disappeared during a school field trip,” Tiago says. “His parents blamed the teacher and the principal for their negligence. There’s a lawsuit pending.”

  “Were they the same age?”

  “No, the child next door was eight, and they requested less money. Only two hundred thousand,” he says.

  “The two houses share something. And it’s more than the neighborhood. Nannies, housekeepers, they share an activity; like soccer. What is it? We have to interview everyone.”

  “We don’t have much time to do that. They gave them seventy-two hours. We only have fifty left to find this kid,” Harrison says evenly, still typing. “And if we start interviewing people, we might be alerting the kidnappers that we are onto them. Is there something else you can use in the meantime?”

  The tightness of my chest increases as my heartbeat accelerates.

  “Wait!” My voice comes out harsh. “No one should know we are on our way. Whoever is doing this might be an insider. The point of not calling the police is that they want their money without losing the kid to rescuers.”

  Neither one turns to look at me. I bite back a snarl at their lack of attention. They want me to help them, but they are both focused on their screens.

  “Can you pull any footage of the CCTV around the park?” I ask as I contemplate other ways to find out more without interviewing witnesses.

  “Mason is pulling the video as we speak. He’s letting the people who hired us know that it might take us a couple of days to reach them,” Harrison responds.

  I take the folder on top of the table, looking at the picture of the little boy. There’s a glow in those eyes and sweetness in that smile. We have to reach him soon before it’s all lost.

  “I love that you included me, but I’m not crazy about a child being abducted.” I put the picture down and close the folder again. “If Mason can do some research on the other kid. How did they return his body?”

  “The file says that the parents delivered the money four hours after the deadline. A day later they received the body inside of a black bag.” Harrison glances at me, his eyebrows drawing together. He takes a deep breath. “The note read, ‘You were too late.’”

  My heart thunders, I clasp my hands together. “Was there an autopsy that could confirm the TOD?”

  “TOD?” Harrison frowns.

  “Time of death,” I clarify. “They could’ve killed the kid right after kidnapping him. It’s happened.”

  The autopsy was waived because the reason of death was obvious. They slit his throat. There’s no further information about it. It’d be helpful to learn whose idea it was to waive it. Better yet, who thought about not having the autopsy? Was it the parents, a cop, someone in the family? I hate to think that a dirty cop could be involved, but Dad has met many during his career. In some countries, they paid them so little that they accept money from criminals to protect them.

  “Are these the first kidnappings around the area?” I study the plane’s cabin and sigh because there’s nowhere to set a board with pictures and links to the abductee.

  “Unfortunately, no. These are the first cases in the past couple of months, though.”

  That is good news but still awful. I open the folder again. My chest aches at seeing the picture of Esteban one more time. A rock settles into the pit of my stomach. I need more data to find the pattern. Criminals who make a living out of extortion tend to duplicate their behavior with only slight changes.

  “Did someone interview the dog owner?”

  “They called off the investigation right after they received the call,” Harrison informs me.

  I press my forehead to the table, nodding a few times. Of course, they called it off.

  “If I needed the report on each of the kidnappings that have happened for the past months, how long would it take?” I throw the question up in the air but hope that maybe Harrison can give me an answer.

  My other option is to map the area and go on a manhunt. Which is pulled out of a suspense novel I’ve been reading for the past couple of weeks. However, I am aware that it wouldn’t work as well as it does in fiction.

  “What else do you need?” Harrison never turns his attention to me.

  “Places where they happened, footage, pictures. I have to find the pattern. There’s a pattern somewhere.” Inhaling, I recall their request of not calling the police. They’ll know what’s going on around the parents’ house. Either they are insiders, or they are connected with the law-enforcement of the city. “Police involvement. As in I want to know their response to each case, if they help to investigate, took it lightly or what. Do they assume these are different criminals? And how many kids have come home too?”

  He checks his watch, then the screen and finally turns to look at me. “We land in three hours. Mason and Anderson will be landing in about twenty minutes. He hopes to have most of the information you requested ready in about one, maybe two.”

  My shoulders relax, but my head snaps. “That’s a week’s worth of work and you’re telling me you’re going to have it in a couple of hours?”

  “Most of it.” He closes his laptop and sets it to the side. “We can’t interview people or investigate the places because we’re not there. However, if there’s data in the computers, we can hack it.”

  “Do you think everything is connected, Luna?” Tiago puts down his tablet.

  I nod, tapping the folder. “At least a few of them, if no
t all of them. I just don’t understand why no one has done something to stop this.”

  Harrison reaches out for my hand as he rises from his seat. “We’ll try to bring him home.”

  Thirty-Three

  Harrison

  “The dog owner, huh?” Tiago points at the multiple pictures of the guy.

  I look at the board that Mason and Luna created. I’ve seen him work millions of times. He’s fast and good at what he does. But adding Luna to his process was mind-blowing. Or maybe it was adding him to Luna’s process that made this case one of the best I’ve worked on in the past few years. Everything happened fast enough, and they were thorough about it. Once Mason landed, he sent Luna some of the information he had gathered. She took my computer, and they began chatting. A few minutes later, they connected through our company’s video system. Luna suggested the board he started on the wall of our hotel suite. Since then, the two of them have been working on putting the pieces together to find the kid.

  We all suggested motives and found similarities between one case or the other. Each crime had been different, but they all have a few similarities. They sent Hawk, Tiago, and me to different parts of the city to gather information to give them some live footage without them having to move from the room.

  Around midnight, Tiago, Hawk, and I went out to scout the park, the kid’s house, and the neighborhood. Luna insisted that the perpetrator lived around the ritzy vicinity. She was right. A couple of hours after we left, I called them letting them know what we’d seen. Each house in the neighborhood is armed with a system connected to the same security company. The company is from New Jersey, and it belongs to another company. After tracking four pseudonyms, we found Oliver Wilson.

  As we put all the names, companies, and photographs together, we gathered that he was at least our number one suspect, if not the guy. Then, they matched the dog owner with his picture. Hawk and I surveyed the house. We tried to break into the house, but according to the infrared report, they have a lot of guests inside the five-bedroom home. Thank God for small miracles. The residence across the street from Mr. Wilson is empty and for sale. We were able to break in and start setting up some of our equipment.