Ninety-One

As soon as Church and Strickland disappeared upstairs, Michael moved. At the end of the hall was Reyes’s suite of rooms. With any luck, he’d find him waiting there and he could end this quickly. The door would be unlocked. It was the only door in the house that didn’t lock at nine p.m.

“I hate it when I can’t fucking see. Somebody talk to me,” Ben’s voice crackled in his ear. “Tell me what’s happening.”

Michael stopped for a moment, resisting the urge to turn his comm off all together. The last thing he needed was a distraction.

“We’ve located the Reyes girl’s bedroom. Church is picking the lock … We’re in,” Strickland said, just above a whisper, and then, “Pink pony.”

They had Christina.

He allowed himself a moment of relief before he pressed his empty ear to the closed door of Reyes’s room and listened before turning the knob. Even without the dim glow of the bedside lamp he could see that the room was empty. “Reyes isn’t in his room. I’m heading downstairs.”

“Christina has agreed to lead us to the Maddox boy,” Church said, sounding slightly disgruntled. “As soon as we have him, we’ll head for the boats.”

“Keep me posted,” Ben said before signing off.

Michael stood there for a moment, trying to remember the layout of the house. He’d take the stair to the first floor—

Something flashed in the corner of his eye. Movement, fast and small, running past him and down the hall. He turned, his arm shooting out to snag the boy, trying to keep it quiet, but Leo had other plans. He dodged fast, spun right out of his grip before knocking into a hallway table, sending a vase crashing to the ground.

“Leo—stop,” he said, his hushed tone sounding as loud as shout. “I’m here to help you.”

The kid stopped and turned. “What’s your name?” he whispered, fists clenched, eyes wide.

“Michael. My name is Michael. Your grandfather—”

That was as far as he got before he was interrupted by the sound of gunshots erupting downstairs, followed by a scream.