Deadly Rumors

by Cheris Hodges

  Tick-tock.

  Zoe walked into the house and stealthily grabbed the key to Zach’s rental car while the Shadows and Zach huddled around Raymond’s computer. Backing out of the house and into the garage, Zoe got into the car and peeled out of the driveway. She didn’t have time to waste.

  * * *

  Zach looked up at Carver as Kenneth set up the phone call to the number on the ransom note.

  “Where’s Zoe?”

  “She was on the patio.”

  Raymond shook his head. “She’s not out there.”

  Carver headed for the garage and swore when he saw that Zach’s car was missing. “Zoe’s gone.”

  Zach leapt from his seat and ran out to the garage. “How did you let her walk out of here without being noticed?”

  Carver pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Zoe’s number. His call went unanswered. “Shit,” he muttered. Carver shoved his phone into his pocket and returned inside.

  “Zach, is there GPS on your car?”

  “It’s a rental. I don’t know.”

  Raymond snapped his fingers. “It has GPS. Where did you rent it from?”

  Zach told him the name of the rental car company and Raymond quickly hacked into the company’s database.

  “Looks like she’s heading down Harris Boulevard,” he said.

  Carver grabbed his keys and told Ray to text him the directions. “I’m going with you,” Zach said.

  “No.” Carver threw his hand out. “You need to stay here and make that phone call. I’m not going to let anything happen to Zoe.” He dashed out of the house before Zach could reply. Speeding down the street, Carver prayed that he would reach her and could stop her from doing whatever she was about to do.

  * * *

  Lewis stroked Chante’s forehead as she slept. She’d been crying and screaming so much that Lewis spiked her water to calm her down. He hated to see a pretty woman cry. She kept saying she was pregnant, but Lewis found that hard to believe. Her body was svelte and toned. When his wife was pregnant, she’d gained ten pounds a month. He’d still loved her and thought she looked beautiful with the extra weight. Lewis placed a hand on Chante’s stomach. He felt her flinch.

  “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Not going to hurt you, yet.”

  Chante’s eyes fluttered open. “Where am I?” Her voice was thick and groggy.

  “You’re here, where you need to be.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  Lewis pushed her hair back and smiled sardonically at her. “This isn’t even about you, babe. You just married into the wrong family.”

  “Please let me go. I’m pregnant and my baby didn’t hurt you. I don’t even know you.”

  “You’ll get to know me very well if your husband doesn’t pay.”

  Chante sighed and tried to sit up, but she couldn’t move. “Can I sit up?”

  “Are you going to be a good girl and be quiet?”

  She nodded and Lewis helped her sit up. Chante wished she had the strength to fight this man and run out of the warehouse. She glanced around to see if she could get an idea as to where she was.

  “Did Robert Montgomery have you do this to me?”

  “Who?”

  “What happened, you two shared a cell and he told you to ruin my life?”

  “I’ve never been to prison, sweetheart.”

  “Then why me?” Chante coughed and felt as if she was about to vomit.

  “Because your sister-in-law ruined my life.”

  “Zoe?”

  Lewis nodded and handed Chante an untainted bottle of water. She opened it and took a swig.

  “She made me lose my wife, my child, my career, and my pension. Did she really think she was going to get away scot-free?” Lewis laughed. “Not going down like that.”

  “Please let me go. I’m sure Zoe didn’t mean to—”

  “Fuck that.” Lewis slammed his hand on the wooden slab underneath Chante. She winced and inched away from him.

  Lewis rose to his feet and paced back and forth like a madman. “She ruined me. Stole what was important to me.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “You’re all she has. Sorry that you have to pay the price, beautiful.”

  Tears welled up in Chante’s eyes. She could read between the lines. Even if Zoe brought him the ransom money, she was going to die.

  Chapter 30

  Zoe realized that she hadn’t heard from Joe. Pounding the steering wheel as she parked in the hotel parking lot, she bowed her head and said a prayer.

  “God, please let me save Chante. Zach can’t take this heartache.” She got out of the car and walked toward the lake. The area was crowded with couples holding hands, families walking dogs and eating ice cream cones. She couldn’t understand why Singletary chose this spot. Especially if his plan was to kill her and get away scot-free.

  “Zoe Harrington. Glad to see you can follow instructions.” Turning around, she looked into the face of evil. Seeing Joe Singletary in person didn’t leave a great impression.

  Bearded and portly, he looked like any geek off the street trying to be trendy. Zoe narrowed her eyes at him. “Where’s Chante?” She slowly moved her hand to the waistband of her jeans, where she’d hidden her. 22 caliber pistol.

  “You think I’m just going to hand her over to you because you asked?” He laughed, then inched closer to Zoe until he stood in her face. “You’re going to have to suffer first. I suffered because of you and as they say, turnabout is fair play.”

  “What do you want from me? You want me to apologize for helping little girls avoid you?”

  He gripped Zoe’s cheeks. “You talk too damned much, and that mouth has cost me millions.”

  She kneed him in his nuts and then pushed him on the ground. With lightning-fast reflexes, Zoe pulled her gun out and pointed it at Singletary.

  “And I’m not sorry, you bastard. Where is my sister-in-law?”

  “Kill me and you’ll never find her. You have a lot of enemies, and I have your biggest holding her hostage.” He spit at her and Zoe kicked him in his privates.

  “Where is she?”

  “People are watching you. The cops will be here soon and you’re going to jail. You’re the one with the gun.”

  “I’m about to use it.” She cocked the revolver. “Where is Chante?”

  “Shoot me and you will never know where she is. Can you live with that? Knowing that you’re the reason both of your brother’s wives died?”

  Zoe’s hand trembled as his words weighed on her. “I should kill you right now and let the FBI find Chante.”

  “Should? Bitch, if you’re going to do it, then pull the trigger.” Zoe’s finger hovered around the trigger and Joe kicked her ankle, knocking her down. Zoe gripped the gun as she fell and fired off a shot. The crowd near them started screaming and running. In the chaos, Joe was able to gain the upper hand on Zoe and kick the gun away from her.

  “Ooh, you should’ve used it when you had the chance. Now, you have these people running for their lives.” He stomped on her wrist and Zoe howled in pain. Joe leaned down and grabbed her hair, then slammed her head into the ground. “You’re a worthless bitch!”

  Everything went black.

  * * *

  Swirling blue lights and police sirens greeted Carver as he pulled up to the lake. Raymond had sent him the coordinates of where the car was parked. Fear trickled down his spine like ice water. Had something happened to Zoe? Was he too late to save her? Hopping out of the car, he pulled out his FBI badge and showed it to the uniformed officers pulling out the yellow crime scene tape.

  “What happened here?”

  “Reports of a shooting. Why would the FBI care?”

  “We’ve been tracking a suspect who was in this area, and if he’s involved, then we have serious problems.”

  The other officer pressed his radio and called for his supervisor. “We got the Feds out here asking about the shooting. Said
a suspect they were tracking might be involved. Ten-four.” The man turned to Carver. “My sergeant is on her way.”

  “I need to get to the crime scene, I don’t have time to wait.” Carver took a step forward and the officer tried to stop him.

  “FBI or not, we can’t let you on our crime scene until our supervisor says so.”

  “Listen, this is linked to a kidnapping, and time is of the essence. I need to get past.”

  “Why haven’t we been called in to help?”

  “So, you want to have a fucking pissing contest now?” Carver pushed his way through and bounded to the spot near the lake where the crime scene markers were. A woman in uniform approached him. “You can’t be here.”

  Carver pulled out his FBI badge. “This shooting is related to a kidnapping we’re investigating, and I need to know what happened out here.”

  “This is the first I’m hearing about a kidnapping. We’re investigating a shooting.”

  “And who’s your suspect?” Carver narrowed his eyes and fought back the urge to tell this woman where she could go and how she could get there.

  “We’re investigating that.”

  Carver pulled out his cell phone and showed her a picture of Joseph Singletary. “This is who you need to look for. Joseph Singletary. He’s probably trafficking women out of your city right now and you know nothing about it.”

  “Then why haven’t we heard about this man from the FBI?”

  “I’m not going to sit here and explain things to you when we have two women who are in danger!”

  She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Carver. “What do you need?”

  “Do you have a description of the suspect from the shooting?”

  “From what the witnesses said, the shooter was a woman. She seemed to know the man who wrested the gun away from her.”

  “What did they look like?” Carver tried to keep his voice even. The officer pulled out her cell phone.

  “A witness sent me this picture.”

  Carver winced when he saw Zoe on the ground and Singletary on top of her.

  “So,” the officer began, “looks like this was a domestic—”

  “That is Joseph Singletary and that woman is in danger. You need to put out an APB right now.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes!” Carver nearly shouted. “Where did they go? Are there cameras out here?”

  The woman nodded and pointed Carver in the direction of her lieutenant. “He’s getting the video from the surveillance cameras. Lieutenant Williams! This is . . .”

  “FBI Agent Carver Banks,” Carver said as he flashed his badge again. “We need an all-points bulletin on Joe Singletary and Zoe Harrington. She’s the woman he assaulted.”

  “Done,” Williams said. “Why is the FBI involved in this?”

  “We’ve been tracking this suspect for a while and he’s kidnapped Chante Harrington.”

  “What do we need to do?”

  Carver gritted his teeth. “Stay out of my way.” He pulled out his phone and called Sarah. “Joe has Zoe.”

  * * *

  Zoe opened her eyes and found her arms and legs bound together. She’d been stripped down to her underwear and left in a dark room. She tried to find something that could identify where she was as she glanced around. All she saw was emptiness. She regretted underestimating how brutal Singletary was. She should’ve shot his ass. But he did have the upper hand because he knew where Chante was. Killing him would’ve meant that Chante was lost and possibly dead. The door opened and Zoe locked eyes with Lewis Martinez, her former partner.

  “Look at you.” He smiled and Zoe’s blood ran cold.

  “Bastard,” she muttered.

  Lewis spat in her face. “I can’t wait to watch you die.”

  “Where is Chante? You and Singletary have what you want, now let her go.”

  “Your sister-in-law is a sweet piece of ass. I hope she has a nice, healthy baby.” Zoe wiggled in her constraints. Had she been free, she would’ve punched him in the face with all her might. “If you laid a hand on her . . .”

  “What are you going to do?” Lewis snorted. “You think you can do something? I should kill you right now. But it will be better to make you suffer first.” Lewis kicked Zoe in her stomach. She closed her eyes as the pain vibrated through her body.

  “You’re not even worth this. Joe should’ve just tossed you in the lake.”

  “Why don’t you man up and do it yourself?”

  Lewis spat on her again. “Don’t worry, I’m going to make you suffer; just like you ruined my life.”

  “You ruined your own worthless life!”

  Lewis grabbed a chunk of Zoe’s hair and slammed her head against the floor. “I’m going to show you worthless.”

  “Leave her alone,” Joe said from the darkened doorway. “I didn’t bring her here to be your punching bag. Whatever happens to her happens because of me.”

  “Where is Chante and why haven’t you let her go? You wanted me and you got me. She has nothing to do with this!”

  Joe shrugged as he walked over to Zoe and kneeled over her. “You keep thinking that you can make demands, sweetheart. Maybe I’m going to send you and your sister-in-law back to your brother in pieces.” He pulled out a knife and ran the blade down Zoe’s cheek. Blood trickled from the small cut, and Zoe closed her eyes. As he moved the blade lower, her body tensed.

  “I’m going to untie you for now. You’re going to be a good girl and stay put, right? The next cut is going to be deeper.”

  Zoe lay still as he unbound her, but her mind was working overtime. She had to find a way out of this hellhole. If Singletary untied her, he did it for a reason. She was going to be sure that he regretted it.

  * * *

  Carver tried to keep his poker face as he walked into Zach’s house. How was he going to tell this man that his sister was now missing? Not only missing, but in the clutches of two men who wanted to kill her. He walked into the kitchen and Sarah motioned for him to join her at the table and be quiet.

  “And my wife is unharmed,” Carver heard Zach say. “Fine, I will bring the money alone. It will be in a box as you requested.” Zach sighed but continued talking. “I want to speak to my wife.”

  Kenneth nodded at Zach and held up two fingers. Sarah grabbed a notepad and wrote: We know where Chante is now. Got a signal from the phone. Sending an extraction team with Zach. Where is Zoe?

  He wrote back: Missing. Singletary has her. Shooting at the lake and the police issued an APB.

  “Fuck,” she mouthed.

  Raymond walked out of the kitchen as he whispered into his cell phone.

  Carver wondered if Zoe and Chante were in the same place. He sprinted toward Ray and grabbed his shoulder. “Joe grabbed Zoe.”

  “What? I told you to keep an eye on that girl. Where is she?”

  “Don’t know. The car is at the lake. Her cell phone is off and I have no idea what Singletary is driving.”

  “Locals out there looking?”

  Carver nodded.

  “This is a cluster. You know that, right?”

  “I know, but I’m not going to lose her.”

  “Lose who?” Zach asked from behind them. “Is there something y’all not telling me?”

  Carver started to shake his head and keep the truth from Zach, but Ray spoke up.

  “Your hotheaded sister is missing.”

  “What?”

  “The police are looking for her, and I think she may be with Chante.”

  Zach palmed his face and started pacing. “How did you let this happen?” He grabbed Carver by the throat. “You keep putting the women in my life in danger. I swear to God, if you—”

  Ray pushed Zach off Carver. “Listen! We’re all on the same team.”

  “That’s my family out there! My wife and my sister. This isn’t about some goddamn team.” Zach gave Ray a shove and stormed outside.

  “Hotheadedness runs in the famil
y, huh?” Ray said.

  “Don’t do that. His wife and his sister are out there with that maniac.”

  “The team is ready to go. How are we going forward with this?”

  “I’m going with you. If Zoe is there, we have to save her and Chante.”

  * * *

  Zoe found a sharp stick and placed it underneath the pallet where she’d been tied up. She couldn’t wait for Joe or Lewis to come inside and try to touch her again. She had to play the role of being afraid. Walking to the door, she heard a phone ring. Then Lewis started talking.

  “No cops, or I will kill your wife. I want the money in a box and the bills had better not be marked.”

  So this is about money? she thought as she placed her hand on the doorknob. It was locked. When she heard Lewis end the call, she walked over to the pallet where she’d hidden the stick.

  Gripping the stick, she hoped he would come inside. When he didn’t, she took the stick and walked over to the door to listen for any activity on the other side. She heard Chante’s muffled voice and said a silent prayer of thanks, because Chante was still alive. But was she safe? Zoe shook the handle, hoping the lock on the door would wiggle loose. If that slimy bastard hurts Chante!

  Just as she was about to beat the knob until it fell off, the door opened.

  “Thought you agreed to be a good girl and stay put.” Joe took a step toward Zoe and she cracked him over the head with the stick. Then she jabbed the sharp end in his eye. He fell to his knees, howling in pain. Zoe took another swing at his head and the blow knocked him backward.

  She kicked him in the groin, then stomped on his belly. “You sick bastard!” Zoe took the stick and crashed it across his forehead. She didn’t stop until she felt his blood splash on her face. Looking at his motionless body, she gave him a shot to his rib cage to see if he would move. He didn’t, and she searched his pockets for his cell phone. Finding it, she was about to call Carver when she heard a gun cock behind her head.

  “I told him he should’ve put you out of your misery,” Lewis hissed. “Get up, slowly.”

  Zoe lifted her hands above her head as she rose to her feet slowly. “Lewis, you don’t have to do this. Just take the money and run.”

  “The money is not enough, bitch. I’m taking the money and your life. Look at me. When I shoot you, I want to see how scared you are.”