Reddest Black_In the Shadows

by P. T. Michelle

  “Okay, no…that’s weird, he turned onto Second Avenue going to the Lower East Side,” Elijah says.

  “Go left at that light,” Calder says. “Okay, Elijah, I’m getting your text updates. We’re a minute away.”

  “Yes, Simone’s behind it,” Den says, cutting in. “Elijah just matched Simone’s eyes with the brief glimpse of the eyes we saw in the video of the person who attacked Vanessa. Since both she and Nathan have brown eyes, we wanted to be sure. She’s also most likely the person in the video from the limo bombing. Based on the height of the person to the top of the limo, that person had to be under five-ten, which rules out Nathan who’s a bit taller.”

  “I don’t believe Nathan’s a murderer,” Talia agrees. “But he did put me at risk on my last Tribune assignment just to try to one-up you in my eyes, Sebastian. So he’s not above sociopathic behavior to achieve an ultimate goal.”

  “Which apparently includes joining forces with a psychopath willing to commit murder, acts of violence, and kidnap an innocent child!” I grate.

  “There! Do you see the taillights?” Calder says, tensing beside me. I cut a calculating gaze Calder’s way. “Based on the direction we’re going, I wonder if he’s heading for the bridge. I have an idea how we can corral him, but we’ll need some help. I don’t want to risk the baby getting hurt. Banks is two minutes away.”

  Calder’s eyebrows hike. “Do you seriously trust him?”

  “Not for a fucking minute.” I snort and punch the gas harder to get closer to Nathan. The lack of good streetlights make it too damn dark to see past his tinted back windshield. “But as much as Banks dislikes me for past bullshit, he hates Nathan more for making his home the target of a police investigation. Call him.”

  As Calder makes the call to Banks, Elijah says, “Sebastian, I checked a traffic cam Nathan just passed and I didn’t see anyone in the car with him as he drove under it.”

  A heavy weight slams into my chest at the same time Calder hangs up. “Banks is in, Bash. It’s going to cost you, but his guys are already heading for their cars, ready to box him—”

  “What the hell, Elijah?” I cut Calder off. “Is there any way to confirm that Simone and the baby aren’t in the car with Nathan? Maybe they’re in the back seat?”

  “With one-hundred percent certainty?” Elijah asks. “Not without a thermal imaging camera pointed at them.”

  “Which you have,” Den says calmly.

  “No, they don’t,” Elijah argues. “It’s not something they carry around in their back pocket for a rainy day.”

  “I said, you.” Den’s accent grows stronger as he continues, “Ever since the recent Ebola scare, cameras throughout New York have been quietly replaced with more advanced technology. The airport cameras were done first, but later, all cameras throughout the city were slowly being changed out with thermal imaging technology able to detect heat signature, which could indicate if a person has a fever and potentially carrying a lethal disease. If we’re lucky, all you need to do is hack into a camera and turn that scan capability on.”

  “How does he know this shit about our own city and we don’t?” Calder grumbles under his breath.

  I shake my head, countering in a low tone, “Should we be surprised?” then answer Elijah, “Find out if it’s possible. I need to know if he’s being a decoy right fucking now! And if so, I’m going to go after him with all I’ve got.”

  “Not too hard,” Talia jumps in, panic in her shaky voice. “If Simone’s not with him, Nathan may be our only way to find out where she might’ve taken Jocelyn.”

  “Okay, Elijah,” Calder says. “I got the text with Nathan’s number.”

  “I’m going to call him. Elijah, keep updating Calder via text, especially if you get that thermal camera feature working.” Hanging up, I steel myself, then nod for Calder to dial Nathan’s number, hoping like hell I don’t explode the moment I hear the sick shithead’s voice.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Talia

  My heart drops once Sebastian hangs up. Something tells me that Elijah’s right and Simone and my baby aren’t with Nathan. How did they pull that off? And why would he willingly be a decoy for her?

  I can’t begin to understand either of their crazy, but I need to do what I can to figure out where she might go.

  “You know her apartment is too obvious, right?” Cass sits down beside me on the bed and taps on the notepad in my hands. “I can tell you’re trying to figure out where she went by staring at those texts she sent.”

  I lift the notepad. “She sent them for a reason. Who does that in a getaway car?”

  Cass pushes her hair over her shoulder, then arches her back. “You’re attributing rational behavior to two people who are obviously unhinged from reality.”

  “That’s not helping me.”

  “Sorry,” she says, biting her lip. “What about your other notes? Is there anything in there that might help now that you know Simone is the person behind all of this?”

  “Thermal scan is live!” Elijah says, his excitement drawing my attention. “Now to just hit the car with it once it passes and…got ‘em!” He shakes his head, his voice dropping. “There’s only a driver in the car. No one else.” He looks at Den. “Text Sebastian and let him know.”

  I put my hands over my face to block out everything. Squeezing my eyes shut, I cling to the image of my baby’s face, her soft body and her smell. I soak them in, so I don’t completely freak out over the fact we have no idea where Simone is with our child. In the darkness, I can picture her tiny button nose and blue eyes. And all that sweet red hair. My heart aches and a sob rises up in my throat. Elijah’s voice intrudes with things I can’t control, ruining my peaceful moment. I move my hands to my ears, trying to shut him out. To shut it all the hell out.

  Cass is trying. I feel her hands on mine, trying to pull me back. I don’t want reality to intrude. I don’t want to hear any of them. I want my baby back. Safe in my arms like she was before. I wish I could keep them all out, soundproof the hell out of my consciousness.

  Soundproof.

  My back suddenly goes ramrod straight and I jump up, rushing over to Elijah’s laptop. “Move, Elijah.”

  He gives me a surprised look, then lifts his hands from the keyboard and takes a step back.

  I type in one sentence in an Internet search: Can you use recycled cotton textiles for soundproofing?

  The first five items that pop up are different companies that offer acoustic paneling to soundproof rooms. Examples given for uses of their panels: school classrooms, sound booths and music recording studios. I click on a few products, appreciating the laptop’s bigger screen as I scroll through the images.

  I look at Den. “Cass is right. Simone won’t go to her apartment. She knows we’ll look for her there. If she hasn’t left town, I think I know where she might have taken our baby.”

  Den starts to pull his phone out, but I hold my hand up. “Don’t call Sebastian. He’s in the opposite direction. We’re going right now. Let Sebastian stop Nathan. At least then if I’m wrong, Sebastian can get him to tell us what her plans were or where she might’ve gone.”

  He puts his phone away. “Trevor and I will go. Elijah can stay here with you.”

  I fold my arms and frown. “You work for me, Den. No one else is going but you and me. Extra men mean more chances to alert her that we’re there. Or worse, spook her.”

  “You just had a baby,” Cass says, her expression filled with worry as she steps between the door and me. “You can’t go running around right now.”

  “My child was taken.” I flick a determined look between the three of them. I can tell by their expressions they’re worried. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. Move out of my way!”

  As Cass steps aside and I start toward the doorway, Elijah says, “At least tell me where you’re going so I can inform Sebastian.”

  I turn back and shake my head. “No, because once Sebastian knows, he’ll abandon Na
than. I’m not taking a chance with my child’s life. I’m doubling the odds one of us can get to her. The moment Sebastian catches Nathan, text us and we’ll send you the address.”

  “Sebastian needs to know—”

  “If you say anything to Sebastian before I say you can, you’re done at BLACK Security. I don’t give a damn how good you are. Is that clear?”

  Elijah’s eyebrows shoot up. “Understood.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Cass says.

  “Fine, but don’t try to block me again,” I say, retrieving my coat from the closet near the door.

  Swallowing, she nods, then jerks her own jacket from the back of a chair and follows Den and me out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Sebastian

  “Hello, Sebastian,” Nathan drawls like he’s out on a Sunday drive and not running from the beams of my car’s headlights. “Oh, how the mighty big bad SEAL has fallen. And all it took was one tiny girl.”

  The need to smear the fucking smugness in his voice all over his face makes my palms itch. “Pull over right now and give me my child, or I swear to you, the last breath you take will be you begging me to end your suffering.”

  “Talia should never have trusted that you could keep her or her family safe. Now her eyes will be opened to how spectacularly you’ve failed.”

  “Pull the hell over, Nathan!” I growl through gritted teeth, my hands cinching tight on the steering wheel.

  “Tsk, tsk. You really need to control your temper.” Nathan laughs as he turns left at another street. “You’re not coming anywhere near me. What would Talia say if her baby got hurt in a car accident?”

  Grinding my teeth at his taunting comment, I feel a bit less tense knowing that the path he’s taking means he’s heading for the bridge. “The only chance you’ll have of earning Talia’s forgiveness is if you stop your car and hand over our child.”

  Calder points ahead and in different directions, silently telling me that Banks and his guys are in position. Nathan won’t make it to the bridge.

  “You’re wrong, Sebastian. I’m going to be the one to save the day. I’ll bring Talia’s child to her safely.”

  As Calder spins a finger near his temple indicating Nathan has jumped to a new level of crazy, a text comes through on his phone from Elijah. Calder narrows his gaze and shows me the text.

  Nathan’s the only one in the car. One-hundred percent confirmed.

  I stomp my foot on the gas pedal, sending Calder back against his seat.

  When I slam hard into the back of Nathan’s car and let out a snarl of satisfaction, Calder braces himself and yells, “What the hell, Bash!”

  “No one fucks with my family!” I snap and ram Nathan’s car once more, metal crushing, headlight and taillight glass flying.

  “Are you insane?” Nathan’s voice cracks with fear, his car swerving as he tries to accelerate away from my vehicle. “Do you not care about your child at all?”

  “I know you’re alone, you sick fucker!” I look up and the second I see that Banks and his boys have blocked the road ahead of Nathan, I push on my brakes, rolling to a stop.

  Banks is leaning against the hood of his car in a leather jacket and jeans, his distinctive bald head and goatee on full display. With his arms folded and a Cheshire smile on his face, he waits for Nathan to deliver himself right to him.

  Within seconds, his guys have pulled their cars into place, blocking every side street between Banks and me. Nathan must finally see Banks, because he suddenly hits his breaks. Stopping halfway between us, his car sits idling. He glances all around him and figures out quickly that his avenues of escape have been cut off. Facing forward once more, he sneers through the speakerphone, “Your child is gone. You’ll never find her.”

  My hands clamp tight around the steering wheel. “This SEAL has you surrounded. Cut off your engine.”

  As Nathan suddenly hits the gas and spins his car around to face me, I push the End button and hang up on him, then look at Calder. “Get out.”

  “What? No way am I getting out! What are you doing?”

  Nathan’s wheels squeal in our direction and I quickly unclick Calder’s belt. “I’m trusting my gut. Get the fuck out!”

  The moment Calder stumbles out of the car, I smirk that I upgraded my car to a sedan with great crash stats and hit the gas. Gunning my car straight for Nathan, I mumble, “You want to test mettle? My balls will eat yours for lunch, you little prick!”

  Once we’re within fifty feet of each other, Nathan must realize that I’m not going to stop or let him past. His tires squeal as he brakes, smoke and the smell of burned rubber filling the air. Once he comes to a screeching halt, I swerve to the right of his car at the last second. Missing him by less than a foot, I lay on my own brakes and cut the wheel.

  With my car idling next to Nathan’s, I turn my head at the distinct sound of Nathan trying to re-start his car. The motherfucker’s car is stalled. I slide a cold, deadly glare his way and unhook my seatbelt, stepping out of my car.

  Nathan’s gaze fills with fear and he hits the lock button on his car several times, but that doesn’t stop my fist from plowing straight through his driver’s side window.

  Shattered glass goes everywhere, but I barely register the pain and cuts on my hand. My veins pumping with vengeful bloodlust, I drag him out of the car and ignore his yell of fury and his sorry excuse for a punch on my shoulder. Yanking him to his toes by his jacket, I hammer the bastard in the nose, mouth, and eye before Banks hauls me off him.

  “Daaaaym, Blackie! Remind me not to play chicken with your crazy ass. You don’t want to kill him, right?”

  “Who says I don’t?” Growling, I pull free of his meaty hold and swing for Nathan’s bloody face once more, but Calder grabs my other shoulder with a crushing grip, his voice cutting into my blind rage. “We have to go, Bash. Talia went after Simone!”

  “What?” I jerk a worried gaze his way. “When?”

  “No!” Nathan spits blood on the ground, his expression hateful and weak.

  Calder’s mouth is grim. “A few minutes ago. I have the address.”

  Shaking Cald’s tight hold off, I say, “Okay, let’s go.”

  Just as I start to step away, Nathan says,” “Talia’s mine. She’ll always be mine.”

  Whirling back, I slam the heel of my hand into Nathan’s chest, shoving him out of the two guys’ arms who’d grabbed onto him. As he rams back against his car, then falls to the ground, gasping for breath, I grate, “If Talia were here, she’d be the one kicking your ass, you psycho fuck!”

  Looking at Banks, I lift my chin, acknowledging his help. “Don’t kill him. We might need him.”

  Banks snorts. “Nah, this little shit is going to be my ticket back into the police’s good graces.” Rubbing his jaw, his gaze slides over Nathan. “Yep, I think a citizen’s arrest will be my honorable duty for the night.”

  “That works for me. I’ll contact the police later with the details.”

  As I head for my car, he calls out, “I was going to ask you to pay for a new deck on the back of our house in exchange for my help tonight, but I like the idea of you owing me one so much more.”

  “A deck would be cheaper,” I grumble, my hand on the car door.

  Banks strokes his beard, his expression beyond pleased. “By far, Blackie. By far.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Talia

  “What makes you think that Simone is here?” Cass asks as Den cuts his lights and parallel parks his car far enough away from my father’s bookstore that Simone won’t see us.

  “Soundproofing panels,” I say, craning to see if any lights are on in the upstairs apartment above my father’s store.

  “Huh? Do you know what she’s talking about?” Cass asks.

  “No.” Den taps my shoulder to get my attention. “What is your plan, Talia?”

  “Both the bombing and my aunt’s cases had the same brand of tape with an unusual material stuck to it: recycled c
otton textile,” I say, shifting my gaze to him. “Which is used for insulation. At first I wondered if the stalker worked in a textile factory or for a builder. After discovering Simone is the culprit, I remembered my father telling me about the musician who used to live above his store. He mentioned that the guy recorded his music in his apartment.”

  “And he would’ve needed soundproofing material to keep the noise down.” Cass shakes her head, her expression amazed. “You remember the craziest stuff from all those reports you read. I never would’ve put that together.”

  I glance back toward the building once more as a light briefly turns on, then flicks off. I look at Den. “Someone’s there. Have you heard from Elijah yet?”

  “No, but I agree with him,” he says, his expression unhappy. “We should alert Sebastian where we are.”

  “Hand Cass your phone. The moment she hears from Elijah that Nathan has been caught, she’ll text Sebastian this address.”

  Den frowns, but does as I ask. Cass takes it, then jerks her gaze to me. “Wait, you don’t think I’m staying in the car, do you?”

  “That’s exactly what you’re going to do. Keep your head low so you’re not seen, but we need someone down here to make sure Simone doesn’t try to sneak away. If you see anything, text me. Otherwise, keep an eye on Den’s phone and do as I ask. Please, Cass. Don’t argue.”

  Even in the darkness her eyes reflect her worry. “How are you feeling?”

  Tired as hell, but I force an alert look on my face. “I’m fine.” Sliding my gaze to Den, I say, “The plan is to knock on the door. I honestly think she wants me to find her.”

  “Okay, I’m no expert on hidden messages, but nowhere in those texts from Simone did it say, ‘Come find me at your father’s store,’ Talia.”

  “True, Cass. But they alluded to something more. Maybe it has to do with Nathan. I don’t know, but I think she wants to tell me.”