Dangerous Testimony

by Dana Mentink

  “Cops are on their way,” Dan said over the radio. “Coming out?”

  Candace was being guided to the door by JeanBeth and Angela. JeanBeth shot a worried look over Candace’s shoulder, a look that said There’s got to be a way out of this.

  There was, and he was going to find it.

  They drove back to the beach house and Dan threw down a sleeping bag on the floor to bunk with Marco and Lon. The house gradually subsided into silence. Marco couldn’t sleep. Instead he paced in maddening circles around the family room. Finally, he sank into a chair and looked at the mess from every angle. He was putting together yet another possible scenario for how he would capture Rico when he heard the sound of someone easing slowly down the stairs.

  Candace tiptoed toward the front door, fully clothed, wearing a jacket and his black baseball cap pulled low over her hair. She didn’t see him in the shadows and for a moment he was too startled to speak.

  She slowly turned the handle and opened the door, stepping outside.

  At one o’clock in the morning?

  The cool night air embraced him as he followed her onto the porch. “Where are you going?”

  She yelped and turned. Her face was stark white in the moonlight. “Nowhere. Go back to sleep.”

  “I wasn’t asleep, and you’re not out for a moonlit stroll, so what’s going on?”

  He wished he could read the expression on her face. All he could see was the frown and her eyes glimmering like the deepest ocean water.

  She exhaled, her breath slow and shaky. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m leaving for a couple of hours and I’m not going to tell you where I’m going.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “Okay. Then I’ll come with you until I find out for myself.”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t want you to.”

  “Under the present circumstances, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does,” she snapped.

  He shook his head. “I go with you or I follow behind. Your choice.”

  She pushed back the hair spilling from under the cap. “I don’t want you with me, Marco. Can’t you understand? I don’t want you here, or in my life or Tracy’s.” The last syllable came out as a sob.

  He swallowed. “I know that. I... I will leave after this is sorted out, like I said.”

  Misery shone in her eyes even in the darkness. “I’m sorry, but it’s got to be now. I can’t have you around, not for one more minute.”

  The words cleaved a trail of pain in his heart. Don’t want you here. Can’t have you around. “When Rico’s caught—”

  “No,” she snapped. “We’ve been tiptoeing around things long enough. I can’t love another man. I won’t.” Tears sparkled on her lashes. “I’m sorry, I really am.”

  He gazed at her and the pain of what she’d said was nearly unbearable, because he knew it was the truth. She didn’t want him, not in the way he desperately desired. So be it. Through the hurt that throbbed inside him, he couldn’t silence the suspicion that something was wrong, very, very wrong. He waited for her next move.

  “I’m going and I don’t want you to follow me.”

  “I see.”

  “Promise.”

  “I will promise,” he said slowly, “and I’ll get in my truck and drive away right now and never come back, if you tell me one thing.”

  She paused. “What?”

  “What did Rico really say in that phone call?”

  Silence. One second, two, five.

  “I...” she whispered.

  “You have to tell me.”

  She began to tremble all over, and then she slid to her knees. He caught her before she made it fully to the ground. Sobs wrenched out of her, the sound of sorrow so profound it stripped his breath away.

  “What it is, Candace?”

  “Rico has Tracy,” she gasped, before she slumped into his arms.

  * * *

  She felt herself being carried back inside and placed on the sofa. Her body betrayed her, lungs panting wildly, but unable to supply enough oxygen. Her head spun and her vision began to narrow. Marco knelt at her knees, forcing her to look at him.

  “I want you to breathe with me for a minute. Breathe in and hold it, then out. We’re gonna do that a couple of times, okay?” He held her chilled hands and she did as he told her until gradually, her lungs seemed to come back to working order.

  She squeezed out the words. “Tracy was at her grandparents’ in San Diego, but he sent his people there to get her. He told me...he said he would kill her if I didn’t come to him tomorrow at the gym.”

  “Another bluff?”

  “No,” she said, fighting against a sob. “Rico put Tracy on the phone...she said ‘Mommy.’” Agony seared through her, a pain she hadn’t felt since the moment the marines knocked on her door to tell her about Rick. The fierce clasp of Marco’s hand was the only thing keeping her from falling to the floor.

  “Take another breath and tell me the rest.”

  She pulled in a shuddering gulp of air and tried to expel it slowly. “I called her grandparents. They said last night two men ran them off the road and took her. They were told if they contacted the police...” Hysteria nearly took her down again. “...Tracy would be killed. They were going to call the police, anyway, but they wanted to contact me first. They’d been texting, but I didn’t have my phone on.”

  “So you were going to deliver yourself to Rico? Just like that? Without telling me?”

  “He said to come alone, with no cops, or he would kill her.” She felt her breathing begin to accelerate again until he tightened his grip on her hands.

  “This is a setup to make it easier for him to kill you.”

  “What choice do I have, Marco?” Tears splashed down onto the front of her jacket. “He’s got my baby, and if he sees cops or you or anyone, he’ll kill her.” Her voice broke. “That monster has my child.”

  Marco looked at the bag. “What were you planning to do?”

  “I don’t know. I... I took Lon’s gun. Daddy taught me how to shoot.” That was the extent of her plan, the only thing her desperate mind could put together. “I have to go, Marco, alone.”

  He cupped her chin in his hand and the copper fire in his eyes stilled her for a moment. “No. We’re going to get her back together.”

  Together. How she wanted to hold on to that word. Together...she almost believed they could succeed.

  “I’m so scared, Marco. I’ve never been so afraid in my life.”

  “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear,” Marco began.

  “But of power, and of love, and of a sound mind,” JeanBeth finished. She was standing in the doorway with Angela’s arm tight around her. They both looked as scared as Candace felt, but in their faces she saw courage. And that’s what courage is, she thought suddenly. It wasn’t denying the fear or refusing to acknowledge the thing that made your soul quake with fright, it was hanging on to God and trusting Him to walk you through.

  She looked at Marco. If he believed they would rescue Tracy, then she could too.

  “Power, love and a sound mind,” he repeated. “We’re going to get her back safe and the good guys are going to win.”

  “What did I miss?” asked Lon, yawning from the doorway.

  She expected Marco to get to his feet and begin making battle plans. Instead, he gestured for JeanBeth and Angela and Lon to come closer. Holding a hand to Candace and reaching for each other, the four of them circled her in prayer.

  Mommy’s coming, baby.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Rico’s meeting place was the same gym near where Candace had arranged to talk to him at the deli. At 4:00 a.m. the sun had not yet begun to rise, which worked well for Marco. God had paved the way for
him to recruit some help and they were as ready as they were going to get.

  In the alley two buildings over, where they’d staged themselves, he checked Candace’s body armor one more time.

  Lon jogged up. “Tracy’s in the back room, upper west corner.”

  Candace gulped. “How do you know? Is she all right?”

  “Thermal scope,” Marco said, keeping his eyes on Lon. “Where’s Rico?”

  “There are two people in front near the boxing ring, one upstairs. Might be more.”

  “Okay. We’ve got twenty minutes from my mark before Dan and the others call the cops.” He looked at Candace one more time and put his hands on her shoulders, felt her trembling. “We’ll get her out, and you wait here for the cops.”

  “If Rico kills you...” she started, tears rolling down her face.

  He sighed and quirked a comic expression. “Then I guess you’ll never know my nickname.”

  She threw her arms around him and the emotion rolled through in a tidal wave that made his skin prickle. “I don’t want you to do this,” she cried into his shoulder. “You shouldn’t be taking this risk. Rico wants me.”

  “He’s not going to get what he wants. You have to stay safe. Tracy is going to need her mama.”

  “She needs her uncle, too,” Candace said.

  Sweet words, born out of fear and a desperate need, but they didn’t echo as loudly as the ones she’d said before. I don’t want you here, or in my life or Tracy’s.

  She put her hands on his vest, tracing the front pockets with her palms. “You’re too skinny. Where’s your body armor?”

  The vest he was wearing had pockets for the ballistic plates, but there was no time for him to get them from the Semper Fortis. He wanted her to wear Lon’s extra set, so he was “going slick,” which would enhance his speed, unless, of course, he got shot. He gently moved her away. “Gotta go. Get into the car, stay put and listen in on the radio.”

  Candace looked at him for what seemed like an eternity and he tried to memorize every detail, her graceful silhouette, the way the breeze caught her hair, her arms wrapped tight around herself as if she was already holding Tracy.

  Remember this moment, Marco. How honored he was to be the one to finish the mission, the most important one of his life. He hoped Rick would have trusted him to do the job of saving his family.

  Dan, Angela and JeanBeth waited by the car. JeanBeth looked at him and put her hands on her heart, a gesture he understood.

  Love you, too, Gallaghers.

  Then he detached himself from the emotion, focused on the goal and started to climb up the fire escape ladder. The buildings were close together, so it would be only a three-foot crossing from one to the other using the ropes he had already put in place, and then he’d be on the roof of the gym. Lon had used bolt cutters to gain entry via the padlocked door. They were set and ready to engage the enemy. He allowed a quick look down.

  Below him, the Gallaghers and Dan grew smaller and smaller, but he could feel their prayers, their love, the weight of their desperate hopes resting on his shoulders. “I will not fail,” he silently promised them.

  “Going to bring your girls home safe, Rick,” he said silently.

  It was go time.

  * * *

  Candace clutched the radio, sandwiched in the backseat between her mother and Angela. Her feet rested on Dan’s baseball bat and glove.

  “Sorry for the gear,” he said. “I didn’t take the time to clear out the car after Marco called.”

  Dan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel until it nearly drove her mad. They listened to the radio check. Candace was startled when she heard a third voice chime in.

  “Gumdrop and company still secure, Chief.”

  “Was that Dev?” she said, incredulous.

  Dan smiled. “Yeah. Marco told me his team had returned to the Coronado base due to some technical difficulties with their chopper. Somehow Dev managed to make it back here.”

  Candace felt a surge of gratitude that these men would put their lives on the line for her daughter. How could anyone repay that debt? she wondered. By living the life God gave you was the answer that materialized without warning in her heart.

  Living the life God gave her. Did that mean allowing herself to love the man God had placed in her life after her husband? She wasn’t sure. What would Rick think about Marco? There was only one answer to that question. He would have deep respect for him, a sense of gratitude and—she shocked herself with the thought—he would find such a man was worthy. Worthy to be a friend, uncle, perhaps even a partner to Candace?

  The radio crackled, disturbing her thoughts.

  “One hostile down,” Lon said, his voice barely audible.

  Her throat clogged. “Does that mean they found her?” Her fingers dug into the upholstery. Tracy, her heart screamed. What if Rico had hurt her? Or worse? Was this all a ruse and they would be too late to rescue her daughter? It would be like Rico to torture her by taking her child, like he believed she’d done to him.

  Her ears buzzed and her vision began to grow fuzzy as she struggled to keep her breathing in rhythm. I will not give in to the spirit of fear. Her mother nearly crushed her hand in a ferocious grasp.

  “Do they have Tracy?” Candace whispered. “Please let them have her.”

  No one answered and the minutes marched on with agonizing slowness. If they really had found Tracy, Lon would be bringing her down the back staircase. Marco would provide cover for the escape and then the cops would be summoned. But there were so many variables that could result in disaster, dozens of ways the mission could go disastrously wrong.

  The relentless silence continued. Candace’s body was bathed in cold sweat. Try as she might, her lungs wouldn’t take in enough air. Her cell phone rang and she answered.

  “Two rings, baby,” Rico said. “Better be on your way before the last ring.”

  He clicked off and she clutched the phone, sucking in breath to keep from screaming.

  “Two rings,” she whispered. JeanBeth murmured prayer after prayer, still clutching her hands, and Angela held her from the other side.

  Why would no one speak over the radio? It was a trap. Rico had killed Marco and Tracy. He was a madman and he’d won. Panic overwhelmed Candace’s senses. She pushed at her sister. “I have to get out.”

  Angela held her in place against her struggles. “You can’t.

  “Let me go,” she sobbed. “I have to get to her. He’s going to kill Marco and my baby.”

  “Candace!” Angela said, fighting to keep her in place.

  Candace felt a scream working its way up her throat when a figure appeared at the end of the alley. She froze.

  Who was it? One of Rico’s guys?

  She feared she was going to faint. Faster and faster the black blur approached, as Dan started the car and put it in Reverse, ready to escape.

  The runner grew close enough for Candace to recognize. She screamed and threw herself from the car after Angela as Lon put Tracy down.

  “Mommy?” she said tentatively, one hand over her eyes to shield them from the headlights.

  Candace couldn’t get any words out through her clogged throat and the tears that blinded her. She stumbled toward her daughter, falling to one knee and catching her up in a wild embrace. Her daughter, her child, back in her arms. Her heart cried out to God for His bottomless mercy.

  Angela and JeanBeth drew close, Dan a pace behind.

  “L-Lon...” Angela stammered.

  “I think she’s okay,” he said.

  “I’ll take a look as soon as...” Dan paused. “Well, in a minute.”

  JeanBeth threw her arms around Lon, and Dan smacked him on the back. Candace couldn’t get out one single audible word.

  “Thank Yo
u, God,” her soul shouted in silent jubilation. “Thank You.”

  * * *

  Marco waited until Lon signaled that he’d gotten Tracy clear before he contacted Dev.

  “In position?”

  Dev clicked the radio to show that he was on the lower floor, working his way toward the boxing ring. They should be exiting and waiting patiently for the police to arrive, but Marco couldn’t chance it. That was the second part of the plan, the part he hadn’t divulged to Candace. If Rico escaped again, Candace and Tracy would never be safe. They would live constantly looking over their shoulders, their world darkened by the shadow of fear.

  Rico must not be allowed to get away this time.

  Gun in hand, Marco stepped into the gym, the smell of sweat and musty towels thick in the air. The light was dim, but sufficient for him to see that Rico was standing at the window, binoculars trained through the blinds, his back to the room.

  Marco smiled and raised his weapon. “Watching for me? I’m flattered.”

  Rico whirled, hand going for his belt.

  “Uh-uh,” Marco said, his gun aimed at the gang leader’s chest. “You know the drill. Keep your hands where I can see them.”

  Rico composed himself, jerking his chin. “Well, lookie here. Popeye is back.”

  “Face down, on the floor. Slowly.”

  “So you’re a cop, too, Popeye? Navy SEAL, private eye and now officer of the law?”

  “No, just gonna hold you here, tied up like a Thanksgiving turkey, until the cops arrive. It’s good practice for you, since you’re going to be locked up for the rest of your life.”

  Rico’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “I’m not going to jail.”

  “It’s not your choice to make.”

  He laughed. “’Cuz you’re the big bad hero come to take me in? I don’t think so.” His manner was cocky, sly. Marco scanned quickly but saw no signs of any other hostiles, and Lon or Dev would have alerted him if there were. Sneakers squeaked against the tile. Rico heard it, too, his eyes darting toward the noise.

  “What was that, you’re probably wondering?” Marco said, a smile creeping across his face. “I’m pretty sure that’s your hired gun getting a lesson on close-quarters combat from a friend of mine.”