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Vanessa still hadn't told Carlos her news.
She'd planned to tell him the day before, but he'd been focused on Kelsey and her child, and Vanessa didn't want her news to be overshadowed. And even if she'd wanted to, Carlos might as well have forgotten she existed. He and Mateo had spent hours going over the little information she'd given them, trying to formulate a plan.
Carlos didn't fly commercial. He had a charter company he liked and a couple of pilots he trusted. This plane was smaller than the one they'd taken from Europe. It had twelve seats, but a couple of them converted to tables. Carlos and Vanessa sat across from each other, him by the aisle, her by the window, so they wouldn't have to share legroom. They converted the seats beside them to tables.
She hadn't asked about Mateo, and Carlos hadn't mentioned bringing his closest friend and confidant on the trip. She willed the door to close and hoped Mateo wouldn't be joining them.
"Grab me a water, would you?" Carlos said.
She stood, made her way along the narrow aisle to the back, and dug around in the tiny compartment the copilot had pointed out, looking for the cooler. Finally, she found it and wrenched it open. She was reaching into the icy water when she heard a voice at the front. Sounded like, "Welcome aboard."
The answering "Thank you" told her she'd been foolish to hope. Of course Mateo was joining them.
She pulled a third bottle out, pasted on a smile, and turned. "Water, Mateo?"
"Sure." He sat in the place she'd chosen for herself. Carlos either didn't notice or didn't care the man was taking her seat.
Vanessa returned with the waters, handed them out, and set hers on the table beside Mateo's seat. "Convert that to a chair for me, would you?" She addressed Mateo, who gave her a tight smile.
Did he have the nerve to refuse, with Carlos right there?
He nodded once. Battle won, she said, "Does either of you want a snack, as long as I'm up? They have bagels and pastries."
Carlos didn't look up from his phone when he answered. "Bagel with cream cheese."
"What kind of pastries?" Mateo asked.
She checked, listed his options. He chose an apple danish.
She got the bagel, spread the cream cheese on it, and delivered it to Carlos, then retrieved her pastry and Mateo's before she returned to her seat. Normally, she would never eat such a high-calorie breakfast, but she was very hungry lately. Must be the little one needed more calories.
She sat beside Mateo, across from Carlos, and nibbled her breakfast until they took off.
Vanessa'd always imagined private jets to be wide and luxurious, but the two she'd been on were cramped. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if all the seats were occupied. Of course, with the animosity between her and Mateo, the three of them all mashed together seemed to fill the plane. Mateo never tired of reminding Carlos what had happened the last time he'd trusted a woman. Kelsey had put a lot of Carlos's men in prison, Mateo included, though his stint had been short. Mateo didn't trust Vanessa, and Vanessa didn't trust him. Neither would voice their fears about the other to Carlos. He'd chosen them both, and neither was willing to test his loyalty.
When they were airborne, Carlos looked up from his phone. She'd never forget the first time she'd seen him. She'd been standing behind Abbas—always a few feet behind, like a well-trained pet. Carlos had walked into the private room in the large casino as if he owned the place. Dark hair, dark eyes, and that deep voice with his Spanish accent. Vanessa had never developed a true desire for men—that had been pounded out of her long before she'd been old enough to understand what desire event meant—but Carlos had been impressive. She'd never forgotten how he'd met the eyes of every man in the room, then turned specifically to her and nodded.
His attention had earned a painful pinch from one of Abbas's guards, as if she'd caused Carlos to notice her.
Well, maybe she had. She didn't know how to be invisible. Nobody'd ever asked that of her before.
And then, when Carlos ran the table and took all of Abbas's money, it was Carlos who suggested he throw Vanessa into the pot.
Abbas had been furious. Oh, his words had been respectful, laughing, even, but she knew his posture, the way he held his back, the way his neck turned red when he was angry. Backed into a corner, Abbas hadn't known how to offer something else instead. That would mean that she mattered to him, and a man like Abbas wouldn't let on that he believed a woman worth anything.
He'd flicked his hand as if she were no more valuable than one of his chips.
When Carlos won the hand, he stood, filled his pockets with the kitty, and had one of his guards grab her.
She'd felt Abbas's glare as they'd walked out of the room. And she'd been devoted to Carlos ever since.
"I got three of our most trusted men on a commercial flight," Mateo said.
More men. Vanessa would be pushed aside by the sheer numbers.
"Sí," Carlos said. "Good, good."
When the pilot announced they were at cruising altitude, Carlos grabbed his phone, put it on speaker, and dialed his man in New Hampshire. Vanessa took notes about the conversation while Carlos and Mateo questioned him.
He had no new information except that Nolan had taken a kid to get pizza that afternoon.
Carlos's eyes got wide. "How old? What did he look like?"
"He looked about eight. I heard it was a foster kid," Durant said. "Nolan hangs out with local kids a lot, even volunteers at his church. He's a freaking Boy Scout."
"You're sure it's a foster kid?" Carlos said. "How can you be sure?"
"I'm not sure. I just said, I heard it. It's not like I got the kid's fingerprints. I can tell you, they weren't making any attempt to stay hidden. They went to the park to skateboard, then got pizza, then went to the arcade. Probably a hundred people saw them. If it was your kid, don't you think he'd have been more careful?"
The man made a good point. Probably, that kid had nothing to do with anything. "Did you see where he picked the child up?"
"Nope. Just saw them get into town."
"You're supposed to be watching—"
"Nolan knows my car. I have to be careful."
"Rent another one," Carlos said.
"This is a small town, Carlos. And Eric's a cop. He'd notice a tail, no matter what kind of car it was."
Vanessa wasn't sure if she should be frustrated or relieved they didn't know where the kid was. She didn't want her child to have to compete with anybody, certainly not a boy ten years his senior.
Carlos sat back in his seat and spoke to the phone. "What else?"
"Nothing right now. No sign of Kelsey's kid."
"My kid."
"Right. That's what I meant. Anyway, no sign of him. Or her."
Carlos hung up and spoke to Mateo. "Not much."
Mateo glanced at her, then focused on Carlos. "You should just let this go, my friend."
"He's my kid. And she put you in prison. I'd think if anyone wanted revenge, it should be you."
Mateo shrugged. "It is water under the bridge now. No good can come of you finding her."
"You don't think it would be good to find my own kid?"
Mateo's gray head bobbed up and down, slowly, as if he were thinking carefully, choosing his next words carefully. "He is your child, I know. But he doesn't know you, and you don't know him. She has probably turned him against you. Taking the child will not be good for him."
Carlos flicked away his argument like a fly. "He's my son."
"Or daughter," Mateo said gently.
"All the more reason for me to know. A daughter will need my protection."
"And the woman?" Mateo asked.
"Kelsey will be sorry for the way she crossed me."
Mateo bowed his head, almost a nod that stayed low too long. No wonder Carlos liked this guy—Mateo treated him like royalty. And that he was, but she and Mateo knew Carlos's kindness would not last if either of them crossed him.
Mateo turned to Vanessa. "What did you tell the PI you hired?"
She addressed Carlos. "I told him that your girlfriend was pregnant, and that she took off years ago, and that you want to meet your child."
Carlos nodded. "Good. Good."
She glanced at Mateo, who'd already started dialing. He put the phone on speaker, and Vanessa took notes as the man spoke. He had a deep and businesslike tone, very different from Barry Durant's. He gave them names, addresses, and phone numbers of people Nolan had had contact with the previous day.
Nolan had been at the home of Brady and Reagan Thomas. Brady was the Nutfield Chief of Police.
The only other car in the driveway that day had belonged to Garrison Kopp, a former FBI agent. A woman had been with Kopp, but her name was unknown.
Great, a police chief and a fed. Even Vanessa knew enough not to mess with either of those. Bad enough Nolan was a cop.
The investigator continued. "This morning, he did pick up a child from a home in Nutfield. They went to the park, then he took the boy to eat pizza. There was some kind of scuffle, and Nolan ended up in an ambulance."
Mateo leaned forward. "What kind of scuffle? What happened?"
"Impossible to know for sure," the PI said, "but I heard a teenager stole something and ran, and Nolan followed. He was knocked out in the alley."
"The kid?"
"He was picked up by the people who live in the house where Nolan had picked him up. He isn't their child, though. That house is owned by a Nathan and Marisa Boyle. They have one child, a five-year-old girl. I'm not sure who this kid was."
"Our other source says it's a foster kid," Carlos said. "Can you look into that?"
"Tough to get information like that, but I'll see what I can do."
"What about the other people?" Carlos snatched her notebook, read the names. "Brady Thomas or Garrison Kopp. Either of them have a kid they didn't have a few days ago?"
"Don't know yet," the man said, "but I'll keep my eyes open."
They ended the call, and Carlos tossed his phone on the table beside him. "If anything happened to my child, Kelsey is going to pay."
Vanessa knew better than to respond to that. She slipped her notebook off of Carlos's table and read what she'd written. Not a lot to go on.
"When we find her," Carlos said, "I'll make her tell me everything. I'll know where my son is by the end of the day."
His son. Vanessa knew Carlos assumed it was a boy. Like she assumed the child growing in her womb was a boy. Because a boy would be better. A boy could grow up to be strong and powerful. A girl... The way Carlos treated girls, it didn't surprise her that he didn't want one. She didn't want one, either.
She knew what it meant to be a girl. She wouldn't wish that pain on anybody.
The problem was, Carlos's plan was flawed. She waited for Mateo to point it out. As the miles slid below them like waves, her anxiety rose to an altitude even higher than the chartered plane's. Did she have the nerve to point out the flaw in his plan?
She glanced at Mateo, but he was typing something into his phone.
Carlos was staring out the window, hands clenching into fists, then unclenching.
If she wanted to prove herself invaluable to him, she had to speak up. "When you had her before"—she kept her voice soft, gentle, weak—"did it work to hurt her? Did that break her?"
Mateo slowly lowered his phone. They both watched Carlos's reaction.
The vein on Carlos's forehead pulsed, a sure sign he was angry. He addressed her. "This time, I will not be kind. I was a fool. I thought she cared for me." He regarded Vanessa through narrowed eyes, and she knew what he was thinking.
"It's different with us, Carlos."
The vein stopped pulsing. The man's moods shifted faster than the sand beneath the surf. His lips tipped up slightly. "How so?"
She shrugged, backed away the tiniest bit, and smiled. All subtle moves designed to show her self-confidence, her independence. All lies, of course, but ones she needed him to believe that she believed.
It was a very dangerous game.
"I chose you," she said. "Do you have any idea how many men have desired my devotion."
His eyebrow quirked. "Abbas?"
She knew her reaction showed before she could school her expression. She and Carlos had never talked about the man Carlos had won her from, and she'd prefer not to talk about him now. Certainly not with Mateo's curious gaze on her. "Abbas was a monster. He couldn't earn the loyalty of a golden retriever."
Carlos's laugh settled her fear. "I rescued you, then."
Rescued her? He had no idea what he'd rescued her from. She leaned forward, across the tiny space, and took one of his hands in hers. "You rescued me. You earned my loyalty in that moment, and you've earned it every moment since."
He stared into her eyes, seeking what, she didn't know. Duplicity? Fear? She knew better than to show either. Finally, he sat back, and she did too.
He glanced at Mateo, and for the first time, she was thankful the man was with them. Otherwise, what would Carlos do? She'd let him do whatever he wished to her—she'd learned that lesson years ago. It was easier to comply than to fight, and either way, it always ended up the same.
Carlos looked back at her, leered at her. "You're much sexier than a golden retriever."
She laughed and picked up her notebook.
A few moments passed before she finally had the nerve to ask, "How did you keep her in line before?"
"I had her sister," Carlos said. "It's amazing the things that woman did, the ways she lied to me..." He shook his head, and Vanessa didn't press him. Obviously, reminding Carlos that he'd been a fool wasn't a wise move.
"She is a skilled manipulator," Mateo said. "She was willing to endure many things to save her sister."
"You think being with me is something one needs to endure?"
Mateo shrugged. "Under the circumstances..."
Carlos regarded the man. That vein had started throbbing again by the time he said, "Perhaps I was a fool to believe she could get over that."
Perhaps? Vanessa decided not to voice her sarcasm. Instead, she said, "How much more willing will she be to protect her child?"
Carlos opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. The moment stretched, Vanessa waited, and Carlos's vein pulsed.
Mateo said nothing. For the first time since she'd met him, she and Mateo seemed to be on the same side in an argument. Unfortunate, because that meant one of them was unnecessary to the conversation.
She prayed it wouldn't be her.
Finally, Carlos addressed her. "What do you suggest?"
She stifled the smug look. "We could wait, of course, until she reunites with her child. Then we could snatch them both."
"I have waited long enough."
"I agree."
He nodded.
Vanessa continued before Mateo would offer a suggestion. "We could make her choose. Her husband or her child."
"You're suggesting we threaten a cop?" Mateo asked.
She barely glanced his way before looking at Carlos. "I'm suggesting we take the cop. For all we know, he knows where your child is. Maybe he will be more easily persuaded. It's not his child, after all. It's a child she had with another man. He should feel no loyalty to him."
"We could hurt him," Mateo said.
"Or," Vanessa said, "we could convince him we'll kill her, if we don't get the child. Maybe her loyalty is to the child, but his will be to her."
Carlos nodded slowly and addressed Mateo. "If I were her husband, I would want that kid gone. Of course, if a woman of mine did what Kelsey did with another man"—he shifted, met Vanessa's eyes and smiled, though this one didn't crinkle his eyes—"I would kill her."
She didn't cringe under his gaze. He hadn't needed to make the threat. Carlos was a passionate man, and she'd seen him unleash his anger often enough. She'd seen him murder the man who'd held out for more money in exchange for information on Kelsey's whereabouts a couple of months prior. She'd seen his anger grow and morph into something terrifying, something with a mind of its own. She'd hardly been surprised at the bullets that followed the look in his eyes.
The informant had crumpled in a pool of blood.
Vanessa had no intention of ever being on the receiving end of Carlos's anger. She would work with him. She would help him, and he would be devoted to her all the more for it.