Chapter Thirty

“Good morning,” Laia’s friend, Li-Mei, said to Kade when he and Jamie walked up to her desk. “What can I do for you, gentlemen?”

“We’re federal agents,” he replied, holding up his ID, then the warrant. “This is a search warrant for safe deposit box number two thirty-nine. I have the renter key,” he added, wanting to get the box open ASAP.

The AUSA had made good on her promise to get the warrant signed that morning, but it had taken significantly longer than expected. Now it was pushing eleven, and the stolen ledger was burning a hole in the backpack slung over his shoulder. Laia would already have received the call from the kidnappers. She could be anywhere by now.

Li-Mei’s dark brown eyes widened as she took the warrant but barely gave it a passing glance. The skin on her forehead creased. “I don’t understand. Laia never said you were a federal agent.”

“That doesn’t matter. We need to get into that box immediately. Call your manager if you have to.” In his experience, when an agent slapped a search warrant on a business, the first person on the receiving end usually scurried away to find the boss and let them take the hit for whatever came next.

Li-Mei didn’t do that.

“I’m sorry, but you’re too late.” She handed him back the warrant. “Laia was here over an hour ago. She said she lost the key and would pay for the drilling charges to get into the box. The box is empty.”

Kade stepped closer, narrowing his eyes as he towered over the woman’s desk. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yes. I put the box back into the vault myself. Laia told me to close out the account and said that she wouldn’t be needing the box anymore.”

“Show me.” Not that he didn’t believe the woman, but he had to see with his own eyes.

He and Jamie followed her into the vault. Box #239’s silver door was open. The key casing had a gaping hole in the center from where a locksmith had drilled. He pulled out the large green metal box and undid the clasp. Sure enough, empty.

Kade snapped the lid shut and shoved the box back into its slot. He should have seen this coming. Laia had worked in banks her whole life, and she was smart. Too smart. Even though she didn’t have the customer key, he should have figured she’d find a way into the box. “Did you see what was in there before she emptied it out?”

Li-Mei took a step back and placed a hand to her chest. “Of course not. That’s a violation of client privacy. I put Laia in that room over there.” She pointed to a door just outside the vault. “She took the box inside with her, and when she came out, that’s when she said she wouldn’t need it anymore.”

“Was the box heavy?” Kade prodded. The box was large, at least two cubic feet. If the box had been completely packed with cash, it could weigh forty or fifty pounds.

“I think so, but I didn’t carry it into the viewing room. Laia did.”

“How did she get the contents out of here?” Jamie asked.

“She had a suitcase.” Li-Mei’s frown deepened. “Is Laia in some kind of trouble?”

Seriously? Kade wanted to shout but didn’t.

When federal agents served a warrant, someone was always in trouble. At least now he knew why she’d grabbed a suitcase from the duplex.

“Did Laia say where she was going?” Kade asked, ignoring her question.

“No.” Li-Mei shook her head. “But she seemed like she was in a hurry.”

“Thank you,” he said, then gave Jamie a look that said they were outta there.

They left Li-Mei standing in the middle of the vault, a bewildered expression on her face.

Back at their SUVs, Smoke’s furry face appeared in the kennel window, his thick curled tail whipping back and forth as he caught sight of them. Kade opened the passenger door and threw the backpack on the seat.

“What next?” Jamie asked.

“I don’t know.” He had the ledger but not the money. Laia had the money but not the ledger. But the kidnappers didn’t know that.

He planted his hands on his hips and stared at the asphalt. “What does she think she’s going to do all alone? Storm in there like Rambo and demand they give Rosa back to her?”

Jamie gave a subtle shake of his head. “Don’t know. But she’s one smart cookie and has one heck of a motivation.”

“That’s exactly what worries me.” Love was like that. He ought to know.

For nearly six years, he’d loved Laia Velez. He realized that now as clearly as he’d known anything in his life. Hell, his friends had known it before he did. That love had morphed into something so powerful and all-consuming that he’d done things he never would have imagined doing.

Like stealing evidence. Like thinking about her and Rosa every minute of the last twenty-four hours.

Unable to sleep last night, he and Smoke had driven to the duplex, hoping she might have snuck back in and spent the night there, but she hadn’t. She’d probably assumed he’d look for her there. He’d tried calling her several more times, also with no success.

Wherever she was now, she had over an hour head start.

Kade’s phone buzzed, and he looked at the screen. Dayne. “What’ve you got?” he answered.

“Laia turned her phone back on. By the time we picked up on it, she was on I-80 heading west near Paterson. She turned it off again, but I put out a special alert on the minivan. If she’s spotted, she’ll be pulled over and detained until you get there.”

“Thanks, man.” With luck, a patrol car would spot her. If not, he had no idea where she was going. Only she did.

“We found a few properties we thought Colon might have been holed up at,” Dayne said. “All negative.”

Kade pressed two fingers to his temple, trying to massage away the pounding that had taken up residence inside his skull. Much as he’d been hoping otherwise, he hadn’t really expected that lead to pan out.

“I called all the guys,” Dayne added. “Eric’s on his way. Matt would be here, but Trista’s in the hospital about to give birth any second. Markus just left for his honeymoon, and Nick’s out of the country with Andi. The rest of us are on standby. Me, Deck, Brett, Evan. Just let us know the place and the time.”

Jamie was in deep enough with him as it was. Involving the rest of his friends was selfish. But a child’s life was at stake, and they all knew it.

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll let you know.” His friends were all the best a guy could ask for, but he had to keep a healthy distance between them and the crimes he’d likely be charged with when this was all over.

Over. How would this all end? He couldn’t bear the thought of living the rest of his life without Laia and Rosa in it. What he needed most right now was an ace in the hole. Something, anything to give him a lead. Not knowing what was coming next made him feel helpless. One thing a military officer never did was leave things to chance. Every operation had a goal, and it was every officer’s duty to find the most strategically sound path to obtain that goal. Every officer needed intel to work with. Right now, he had squat.

Again, his phone buzzed, and he tugged it from his pocket.

No caller ID.

“Sampson,” he said, then stiffened as the caller identified themselves. “What can I do for you?”

Picking up on Kade’s agitation, Jamie stepped closer.

For the next thirty seconds, Kade listened, his blood pumping faster. “No, that’s not possible. Just tell me where they are.” He frowned at what the caller said next. “Fine,” he replied reluctantly. “I’ll be there in forty minutes.” He ended the call and rounded the hood. “Follow me,” he said to Jamie.

“Who was that?” Jamie asked.

“Maybe my ace in the hole.”

On the way to his destination, Kade made several calls.

Now that he was nearly 100 percent certain that he knew where Laia had gone, the plan had gelled in his head within seconds. Most of it anyway. The rest of it he’d have to wing. Not the most strategic approach, but it was the only one available to him. At least he and Jamie wouldn’t walk into this alone.

He hit the exit for Route 195, then punched it, flipping on the strobes. Cars ahead of him moved over as he and Jamie whizzed past at over ninety miles an hour. There was no time to put together a formal ops plan or go through official channels within his own agency, but the FBI took point on kidnappings, so Dayne and his colleagues were totally on board.

Good thing, that. Because there was no way he was about to let protocol or procedure or any other obligation get in the way this time. This time, he’d go with his gut.

Dayne, Eric, and the Colorado boys were already on their way north to meet up with him and Jamie at a rest stop off I-80. Taking this detour to pick up his passenger was a risk, but one he’d begun to think was well worth it.

Laia might have had a head start, but she wouldn’t want to attract attention and would probably be doing the speed limit. The FBI hadn’t received any notifications from the state police that she’d been spotted. Unfortunately, it looked as if she’d slipped through their fingers.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, he made the next critical call in his plan. Figuring out Josh’s code was one thing. Knowing what to do with that information hadn’t become apparent until he’d received that unexpected call.

“Manny, it’s Kade,” he said without preamble because there wasn’t time. “I have something to tell you, and you’re not gonna like it. How do you feel about a quick trip to Atlantic City?”