by Linda Warren
His gun was quickly jerked out of his hand. “Señor Marco,” one of the men shouted, and a dark-haired man came in with a weapon in his hand. “We caught intruders.”
Marco stared at Myra in disbelief. “You stupid bitch. You think you can come into my house and take my son?”
“Let me have him, Marco. Natalie needs him.”
Myra had guts. Levi thought she’d be shaking in her sneakers, but she was confronting the bastard instead. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next and he had to be prepared. But it was the first time he wasn’t prepared for the next move.
“That bitch will never have him.”
“You won’t, either, Marco. Your wife hates him, so why deprive him of a life with his mother?”
Marco pointed the gun at Myra’s face, inches from his son’s. Daniel’s bottom lip trembled and Levi knew tears weren’t far away. “You do not tell me what to do. No woman does.”
Daniel let out a loud wail.
“Take him,” Marco ordered one of the men.
“No.” Myra backed away with the boy and there was nothing Levi could do.
“You defy me,” Marco shouted. “I will kill you.”
Levi stepped in front of him as he moved toward Myra and the gun was pointed in his face. “Who are you? Are you a cop?”
Levi shook his head. “Come on, man. Do the right thing for your son.”
Marco jammed the butt of the rifle into Levi’s gut and pain shot through him, but he refused to bend to this man.
Marco motioned to one of his lackeys, who then jerked the baby from Myra. She held on for dear life and Daniel’s cries grew louder, but to no avail. The baby was whisked away.
“Now, fiery Myra, you and I will have some fun. You’ve always had the hots for me.”
Myra burst out laughing, which wasn’t the wisest thing she could have done.
Marco backhanded her. She flew backward into the cabinet and fell to the floor. Levi immediately jumped Marco and three men were on him in an instant, holding him down on the cold tile floor.
“Search them,” Marco ordered.
“Get your hands off me,” Myra screeched, kicking the heavyset man, who had his hands on her, in the shin.
Oh, God. She was going to get them killed sooner rather than later. A man with bad breath had a knee in Levi’s back and another had the barrel of a gun pointed at his head. They took everything he had on him. He’d never felt so helpless in his life.
“Señor Marco.” Another man entered the room. “Your father wants to see you immediately.”
“Take them to the basement. I will deal with them later.”
The man holding Levi let him up and he helped Myra to her feet. A red splotch the size of a man’s hand marred Myra’s face. He wanted to hurt Marco in the worst way. The Mexicans pushed them toward a door and they went down a set of long winding stairs.
They were shoved inside a dimly lit room. One of the men leered at Myra. “When Señor Marco is through with you, he will give you to us and we will enjoy your pleasure.” His sickening cackle echoed long after the slam of the steel door.
“Are you okay?” Levi wrapped his arms around her and felt her tremble.
“I’m fine.” She rubbed his chest and, even though sex was the last thing on his mind, her touch evoked a weakness in him. “How about you?”
He drew a deep breath. “Other than my stomach being slammed up against my back, I’m fine, too.”
“I’d really be afraid if I didn’t know you had a backup plan.”
He stilled, and wasn’t sure how to tell her.
“What?” She looked up at him.
“I don’t have a backup plan. This basement or whatever this is wasn’t on Steve’s computer. I’m not prepared for this.”
Her eyes grew big. “So...this is it?”
He looked around at the inky darkness, the only illumination coming from the single bulb at the head of the stairs. It was hard for him to admit defeat, but if this was a basement, the only way out was up the stairs and through the steel doors and past high-powered weapons. He’d failed to protect her and his stomach roiled at the reality of their situation. All he could do now was be honest and not sugarcoat their situation.
“We knew the risks when we started. There’s a saying about fools rushing in where angels fear to tread. Well, that’s us. Now we wait for our fate.”
CHAPTER NINE
MYRA SANK TO the floor and buried her face in her hands. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this, Levi.” A sense of doom settled over her and she wanted to cry, but she’d save all her tears for later—and later weighed heavily on her mind.
“Well, we can second-guess this to death, but instead of waiting for them to put a bullet in us, let’s see what the hell is in this place.”
She shivered. He disappeared into the shadowy darkness. “It looks like a lot of boxes and they’re stacked to the ceiling. I haven’t found the end yet. This place is huge.”
To ease the horrible thoughts in her mind, she stood to join him and that’s when she felt it.
“Levi,” she shouted, and sat on the floor again to pull up her jeans.
“What?” He came running.
She ripped the phone off her ankle and winced. “Damn. I did that too fast.”
“You still have the phone?” he asked, his voice excited. “I thought they took it.”
“I kicked him when his hand went down my leg and he didn’t try again. Oh, this is good, right?”
Levi sat beside her and yanked the tape from the phone. “Yes, if we can get a signal.” He fiddled with it for a moment and then stood up and walked into the darkness. “Damn. Nothing. We’re too far underground.”
Myra sagged with disappointment. “That’s it, then?”
“Looks like it.” He slipped the phone into his pocket. “I’ll keep checking from different areas.” He tapped one of the boxes with his knuckles. “These boxes aren’t cardboard. They’re wood. That means something valuable like weapons are inside, and there are a hell of a lot of boxes in here.”
“Marco and his father probably sell them to drug lords.”
“My guess is they sell these weapons all over the world, including the Middle East.” Levi looked up the stairs. “It doesn’t make sense they’d haul these crates down those stairs and then up again. There has to be an easier way in here. I’ll look around.”
“I’m coming with you.” She wasn’t leaving Levi’s side.
As Levi had said, the place was huge. They finally reached the end of the crates and went around them to find the other side. That’s when they saw another set of stairs. A tiny bulb glowed at the top, revealing a pair of double doors.
Levi bounded up the stairs and tried the doors. “They’re steel and locked tight. Damn!” He pulled out the phone. “I might get reception here, though.
“No. Nothing.” Slowly, he came down and they sat on the bottom step.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“There’s not much we can do but wait.” He took a deep breath in a defeated sort of way and she just wanted to reach out and touch him, but she’d gotten them into this mess and touching him wasn’t going to make it right. She felt defeated, too.
“Did you learn anything while you were in the house?” he asked.
“I overheard a few snippets of conversation,” she replied, willing to help any way she could. “Marco’s father is upset with him for bringing Daniel into the family. If Bonita’s father finds out, César is afraid of what he might do. At least, that’s what César was telling Marco. He added if Marco didn’t get his act together, he’d take him back to Texas and he’d have to sort out his dirty mess with the cops himself.”
She tried to think of everything she’d heard. “The young
girl who came with me was attacked when she took food to the men in the barracks. Evidently, Ava saw this from her window and became upset. She ordered Gloria to send the girl back to town because she didn’t want a repeat of what happened two months ago. I’m guessing someone was raped or murdered and she didn’t want to bring that attention to the compound again. The young girl couldn’t be more than sixteen.”
“It seems to be a pattern here. If we get out, we’ll have to let Steve know, but I’m not sure what he can do about it.”
“I’m just glad she’s safe.”
“Still trying to take care of everyone, Myra?” There was a note of censure in his voice.
“Maybe,” she answered, trying not to get her feelings hurt. Because it really wasn’t a time for hurt feelings. “Anyway, César and Ava are concerned about Bonita, Marco’s wife. She came into the nursery and was ranting and raving about the baby being in the house and I could tell Ava was walking on eggshells around her. It seems Bonita is trying to get pregnant and can’t, and she feels like the baby is taunting her. She seems a little unhinged. I got the impression Ava and César are trying to please Bonita’s father more than Bonita. I’m sure it’s drug-related or something. César did mention that a big shipment had come in and he needed Marco to take care of it.”
“So Marco might be busy soothing his wife and his family and it might give us time to figure a way out of here. But this place looks secure.”
“It’s going to be a long night.”
“Yeah.” He stood up. “Let’s find a place to get comfortable.”
There weren’t many places to get comfortable. They wound up sitting on the floor, leaning against the crates. Nothing was said for some time.
“Try to get some sleep,” he suggested.
“That’s not going to happen. My eyes are wide open and my nerves feel like Brillo pads, rough and caustic.” She was restless and got to her feet, needing to move, needing to do something to bridge this emotional gap between them. “You must really hate me now.”
He raised his knees and rested his forearms on them. “I’ve tried hating you for years and thought I had accomplished that, but seeing you again, I realize it had nothing to do with hate and everything to do with hurt pride.”
She sank down by him again, the darkness enclosing them in their own private cocoon. “I’m sorry I hurt you and I’ve tried so many times to explain my feelings, but...”
“I’m listening now.”
Her heart raced. She hadn’t expected this. She struggled to find the right words and realized there weren’t any. Only the complete truth would suffice. He deserved that.
“Remember the night of the shooting?” He started the conversation and she relaxed.
“Of course.” He’d been very upset because it was the first time he’d killed a man. She’d held him all night and assured him over and over he’d done what he had to do to save lives.
“I couldn’t have gotten through that without you.”
“It was a very difficult time.”
“I knew you were on my side. Others would point fingers in judgment, but you understood I did what I had to. Whatever I had to face in the days ahead, I knew you would be with me all the way. So when I read the petition and your name wasn’t on it, I wondered if I’d ever known you at all.”
She swallowed with difficulty. “Did you ever think I might have had a reason for not signing it?”
“No. It all seemed clear to me. You were afraid you might lose your job if you signed it.”
“You would never listen to my side of the story.”
“As I said, I’m listening.”
She’d waited years to tell him this and she wondered if it would even make a difference now. It would to her—and he needed to know. “Do you remember how sick I was before the shooting?”
She felt his eyes on her in the darkness. “Yes. We thought you had the flu.”
“I didn’t have the flu. That morning I bought a pregnancy test.”
“What?” He sat up straight and she could almost see his mind whirling.
She started this and she had to finish. “Right before the shooting, I took the test and it was positive.”
“And?” His body went rigid.
“I didn’t have time to think about it. I was worried about you and just wanted to get to you to make sure you were okay. You were so distraught I couldn’t tell you then. I thought I’d wait until everything cooled down.”
“But you didn’t.”
“After you were suspended, I thought about the baby and how we were going to make it with only me working. The petition came out of nowhere and I couldn’t sign it because it might jeopardize my job. I needed that job for us, our future. But above all that, I needed to be there for you. I never dreamed you wouldn’t give me a chance to explain. I never dreamed...” The tears she’d been denying herself suddenly filled her eyes and she couldn’t go on.
He gathered her into his arms. “Oh, God, I’m sorry, Myra.”
She wiped her face on his shirt. “When you moved your things out of the apartment, I lost it and cried like a baby.”
“Tough as nails, the cops called you.”
“Yeah, but you knew differently.”
He brushed strands of hair from her face. “What happened to our baby?”
She took a deep breath. “I lost it two weeks later in the doctor’s office. I went to have the pregnancy confirmed and started having cramps while I was there. It was over very quickly and at times I’ve wondered even if I was pregnant.”
“Were...were you happy about the baby?”
“With everything that was going on I never really had time to think about it. All I could think about was you.”
“You always said you never wanted children.”
“I don’t know anymore. All I know is this is a hell of a time for a confession.”
“I...I don’t know what to say. I’ve been a total jackass.”
“Yeah, but we’re both to blame.”
“All these years I thought you let me down, but in truth I’m the one who let you down.”
“We’re two very stubborn people.”
“Mmm. I can’t go back and change a thing, but now I’m at peace about what happened. Whatever happens here, I know your love at the time was as strong as I thought it was.”
She bit her lip and had to say the words. “But that time has passed.”
“Yes. We can’t go back and recapture what we had.”
She forced herself to keep talking, despite the thickness of her throat. “No. A part of me is always going to love you, though.”
They sat in silence as they said goodbye to a past that had haunted both of them. Now they were free—free to...die.
* * *
MYRA SLEPT RESTLESSLY against him. He must have dozed off, as well, because he woke up with a start. His mind was in such turmoil he was surprised he’d slept at all.
All these years he’d blamed her for betraying him, but he was the one who’d betrayed her. She’d been pregnant. It was hard to wrap his head around that. They were always careful, of course, but it had happened, anyway, and he hadn’t been there to help her through the miscarriage. He’d been sulking like a teenage boy who couldn’t handle real emotions.
He’d said he was sorry, but it somehow didn’t seem enough. But at this late date it was all he had. The rattle of a key in the steel door alerted him. Levi immediately got to his feet, as did Myra. He pushed her behind him. “Let me do the talking.”
One of the big doors at the top of the stairs opened and a woman stood there, silhouetted against the night in a black hoodie and a long negligee.
“Bonita,” Myra gasped.
“Is that Marco’s wife?” he whispered.
“Yes.”
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Bonita came down the stairs with the hood over her hair. “Come quick. We don’t have much time.” She spoke English.
“What are you doing, Bonita?” Myra asked.
“If you want to live, señorita, do not ask questions.”
Without another word, Levi and Myra followed her up the stairs. The warm night air embraced them. A woman stepped out of the shadows; she was holding a baby.
“You brought Daniel,” Myra said, and tried to rush toward the boy.
Bonita stepped between them. “Take the baby and leave. I cannot stand it in the house any longer. My maid—” she motioned to the Mexican woman standing there “—will take you to the gate. I’ll turn the security system off and you’ll have thirty seconds to get out. That’s all the time I can give you.”
“May I have the baby, please?” Myra asked.
“Take the bastardo and leave. Marco will not flaunt his puta’s child in my face.”
“Thank you, Bonita.” Myra lifted the boy from the maid. “Why is he so limp?”
“My maid gave him something to stop him from crying. I cannot tolerate the crying.”
Bonita turned to Levi and pulled something out of her pocket. “Here are your passports. That’s all I could get out before Marco returned. It will be enough to get you across the border. That is, if you can outsmart Marco. From your ID, Marco and his cronies gathered information on you. If you’re caught, Marco will not hesitate to kill you. As a private investigator, you will need every skill you have.”
He looked at the passports. “I need the baby’s passport.”
“I didn’t have time to get it. Take what you are given, Mr. Coyote.”
“Thanks.” He shoved them into his pocket, knowing that getting across the border wasn’t going to be so easy without Daniel’s passport. “How will I know when you’ve turned off the security system?”
“My maid will know. And, Mr. Coyote, make no mistake, if that child is brought back here, I will kill it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get everyone out. I could use a weapon, though.”
