Two weeks later…
Caleb just came in to tell us that Cameron’s lawyer has advised him to plead guilty and the judge may take that into consideration when considering his sentencing. This will make Sabrina happy. The last thing she wanted to do was to have to get on the stand and face Cameron again.
Since we caught her ex, Sabrina’s returned to work, but has decided to move from her apartment. Chloe’s been helping her look for a new place and keeps circling places near our house. I don’t mind. I think it’s good that the women have grown close, like sisters.
With Cameron out of the way, we’re back to tracking down Luis Hernandez. We’re interviewing the people Marty mentioned when we last spoke to him. Alex is running down the list, and we’ll start on it tomorrow.
As I drive home, Chloe calls.
“Hey, honey bear, just a reminder that I’m going to see that apartment with Sabrina,” she says happily.
“Yeah, I remember, sweet pea. I’ll order in tonight. Chinese okay?”
“Sure. I won’t be too long.”
“Love you, babe.”
“Me too.” She blows kisses into the phone before hanging up.
A few hours later, I haven’t heard from Chloe and I’m starting to worry. I’m about to call her when my phone goes off. The caller ID says Sabrina. A horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach forms, and I grab the phone.
I don’t get to say a word before a sobbing Sabrina begins yelling hysterically into the phone. “Th-they took her!” she cries out. “I—I tried to go after them, but they were too fast.”
My body goes cold. Someone’s got Chloe. I know it’s Hernandez. My heart’s beating out of my chest, and I want to scream, but I know it won’t help.
“Where are you?” I manage to ask, bile rising to my throat.
“Ninth and Wellington. At the new apartment. We just signed the lease, and she forgot her phone in the car to call you. As soon as we stepped outside, they took her.” She’s crying and talking at the same time, making it almost impossible to understand her.
My head’s pounding and I’m trying to keep it together. I keep Sabrina on the phone and dial Caleb from the house phone. “They took Chloe.” My voice cracks. I’m holding on by a thread.
I tell them where Sabrina is, and I hear Caleb calling out to Alex. “I’m coming, brother. Hold it together. We’re coming. We’ll find her.”
“I can’t lose her.” I break down, dropping into the armchair, taking deep breaths to get a grip.
“We’ll find her.”
Several hours later…
Zeke’s already been working on tracking down the van based on Sabrina’s description. Sabrina’s twisted her wrist and has scratched her legs from the fall she took while trying to wrestle Chloe away from one of the men who took her.
We know for a fact it’s Los Asesinos, which means that Luis Hernandez is back in town and close by. Based on a bunch of traffic cameras, we’ve determined that they’ve headed to the east side of the city, back to their old haunts.
“I tried to hold on to her. I really did,” Sabrina says as I pace the room, trying to decide my next move.
“I don’t doubt that you did, Bri. You did good.” I look her way. “This is my fault. I knew the fucker would be back, and I let down my guard. I should have insisted she wait until I was with her,” I say, hating myself for getting too comfortable. The memory of how Luis kept calling her mi dulce makes me want to vomit. He wanted her then and came back for her. Luis risked getting caught to get Chloe. He’s not stupid, and now that he has her, he’s going to be quick to disappear, taking her with him.
“We need a plan,” Alex states, but he’s interrupted by Zeke coming into the room and throwing down pictures, close-ups of the men in the van.
“Do you recognize them?” Zeke asks as we huddle around Caleb’s desk.
“Ramirez.” He points to the guy behind the wheel.
“Isn’t that the guy who had it in for you?” I ask, remembering our conversation.
“Yeah, and that’s his cousin, Manny.”
Caleb turns to Alex and says, “Dig deep, man. You know these guys. Slept, ate, worked with them. Ramirez has a system. They have their routine. Where would he take Chloe?”
“It’s not about him. It’s where Luis wants her taken.” He rakes his hand through his hair. “There are too many hideouts, secret underground holes. We don’t have time to go through all of them.”
“I’m getting her back. I don’t care if I have to walk through fire, he’s got my woman.” I pound my chest. “My woman, my future. He’s already had her for three hours. I’m done waiting.” I begin to storm out of the room, ready to tear Zeke away from the door he’s blocking, when Caleb speaks up.
“What does your gut say?” Caleb pushes Alex further, jabbing a finger into his abdomen. “Trust yourself. What does it say?”
“The storage warehouse where he was caught…basement of his favorite restaurant…” He hesitates, blows out a breath and says, “I heard about a secret room he had in an abandoned warehouse. He was the only one allowed to access it. No one else ever entered. Not even Ricco.” Alex looks me in the eye. “It’s a fortress, and he’s probably got men posted everywhere.”
“I don’t care.” I walk out.
Caleb makes a call out as we move past the rest of the men. “Listen up! We got three main possible locations.” He splits up the men into three teams. Each one will go to a different location. We head out the front where Alex is waiting in his SUV.
“Get in,” he says. I jump in the front. Zeke and Caleb get in the car behind us. “We’re stopping a block away. We’re going through the back. There’s a way in through the fence, and we’ll have the scrap cars as cover.”
I relay the information to Caleb who splits up our team to secure all points of entry and exit.
Chloe
My head feels heavy and fuzzy. There’s a banging in my ears, the worst headache ever. I try to open my eyes, but it hurts. The lights are too bright. I give my eyes time to adjust and look around. I’m on a soft bed, but when I move to touch my head with my right hand, I find that I’m tied to the bedframe. Around me is heavy wooden mahogany furniture, a dresser on one side, and a desk on the far side of the room.
A flood of memories comes to the forefront. I was going to get my phone when two men grabbed me right off the street. I remember screaming as loud as I could and Sabrina rushing out the door while I tried to wrestle away from them. I remember clawing and biting at one of them. Sabrina kept attempting to grab hold of me, but one man struck her to the ground. I called out to her, and that was when the other guy pricked me with a needle and I lost consciousness.
And here I am, but where the hell is here? The room has concrete walls and a concrete floor. Even though the furniture is decent, it seems like it’s a warehouse or something. My legs are free, so I move so that I can see the ropes binding my hands. I try to use my teeth to loosen them.
I’m at it for a short time when the door opens, and I stop to see Luis Hernandez standing in the doorframe. Wearing a dark suit, he appears pristine, down to his thousand-dollar loafers. His dark hair is slicked back; his eyes focus on me, but it’s his smirk that scares me to death. The crooked mouth tipped in a sly smile that, without speaking a word, says that he has plans for me that I’m not going to like.
“Mi dulce, stop. You’re going to hurt yourself,” he tells me, coming closer. I move back, but I have nowhere to go. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Like hell, I think. I bite my lower lip, deciding that staying quiet is prudent at the moment. When he takes out a Swiss army knife, flicking the blade open, I can’t help but gasp as he nears me.
“Relax, gatita. I’m only going to untie you,” he says, the smile becoming more menacing. “You’ll be a good girl for me, won’t you?”
Again, I feel it’s wise to say nothing and nod once. He cuts me free and sits on the edge of the bed. Instinctively, I pull my hands together, rubbing my wrists. “I’m sorry that I had to tie you up, but I didn’t want you to wake up and do something silly. Wandering around out there could be dangerous,” he says, pointing in the direction of the door.
I remain silent.
“Are you hungry? You must be. I’ll have Ramirez bring in some food.” He gets up and walks to the door. As he leaves, he says, “It’s dangerous out here, mi dulce. This is the only safe place for you.”
My heart’s beating so fast that I’m having trouble catching my breath. I contemplate my choices. If I walk out of here and get caught, I’ll face Luis’s wrath, of that I’m certain. Staying here could be a hell of a lot worse. Damian must be going crazy. I know he’s on the hunt for me. Do I wait it out to see if he finds me or attempt to run?
Before I have time to decide, his man comes in and sets down a plate and a bottle of water on the table by the door.
“He wants you to eat,” he grunts out with a sneer. No point in asking this guy for help. The way he’s looking at me with disgust says it all. When I say nothing, he asks, “You hear me?”
“Yes,” I croak, suddenly finding that I’m very thirsty. Once he leaves, I get up and grab the bottle of water. I listen for the snap of the cap to make sure it hasn’t been tampered with. The water feels good sliding down my throat.
Now that I’m up, I take a look around, searching for a window. I see one on the far side of the room and try to open it. It’s either stuck or sealed shut. I think about smashing it out, but Luis and his men will come running before I can make it out safely.
I rush to the dresser and scrounge for something to pry open the window. It’s filled with men’s clothes that I figure belong to Luis. I’m about to give up when I find a very fancy letter opener. It must be expensive. It looks like it’s gold plated, with an ornate handle.
I rush back over to the window and work on prying it loose. I can see movement, but approaching footsteps make me stop. I hide the letter opener under the mattress and grab the sandwich. Sitting at the edge of the bed, I take a bite. My hands are shaking so badly. I concentrate on taking a deep breath and trying to appear calm despite the rush of adrenaline I’m feeling.
“Oh good, you’re eating. Here I was thinking I needed to coerce you to eat,” Luis says.
I avoid looking at him, afraid that I’m going to give myself away. I’m thinking of how I can get him out of this room to finish what I started and make a break for it. Suddenly, he grabs my wrist and holds my hand out.
Luis stares at my hand, or rather at the ring on my finger, my engagement ring. In a low, menacing tone, he growls, “Take it off.”
I jerk my hand away, putting it behind my back.
“Take. It. Off,” he repeats, this time being deliberately intimidating. He’s succeeding. I’m trembling on the inside.
I whisper, “No.”
“What did you say?”
I’m not taking off the ring. The ring is from Damian, and I won’t take it off. I don’t care what he says. “I said no. I’m not taking off my engagement ring. This is a symbol of Damian’s love for me, and it stays on my finger so that he knows how much I love him.” I lift my chin in defiance, expecting him to hit me.
Luis gets in my face, so close that he’s nearly touching me. I hold my breath, waiting for the worst. “You will take it off, or I’ll cut it off,” he says, baring his teeth, a tic in his jaw.
“Then you’ll have to cut off my finger, my hand, kill me, because I am not taking it off. The only way you can take it from me is over my cold dead body.”
Luis laughs an evil laugh, but when he sees my face turn white, he stops. “I can see that you are not yet accepting your fate, mi dulce. I suggest you think carefully before you say another word. I can either leave you behind, or your dead body, that is, after I let my men have a little fun with you, or you can take off the ring and become mine, where you will always be treated with respect.” Before slamming the door, he says with psychopathic calm, “I’d think hard on your choices. My men are not exactly gentlemen.”
Tears rise to the surface, but I swallow them down. I have to get out of this place. When I head back to the window, I see men crawling in from the fence. At first, I think my eyes are playing tricks on me, but as they come closer, I can see it’s Damian and Alex.
I want to call out to them, but I hear yelling and screaming, then an explosion of gunfire. I jump away from the window, still holding the letter opener, then tuck it into the back of my scrubs, just in the nick of time. Luis barrels through the door. Lunging toward me, he grabs me by the arm and drags me out of the room behind him.
“Where are you taking me? You’re hurting me,” I shout. He doesn’t pay any attention and keeps moving. If he takes me away from here, Damian may never find me. I finally recognize where I am when I see the bays and tools. We’re at the mechanic shop. A truck is waiting for us by the open bay. I pull my arm free, just to be taken hold of once again.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Luis shouts.
Caleb appears on the hood side of the truck. “Police! Put down your weapons,” he instructs, his focus on the two men getting into it. One pulls out a gun and aims at Caleb.
“Caleb,” I scream, and at the same time, the man goes down. Zeke comes around the back of the truck and yanks open the passenger-side door and drags out the other man, forcing him facedown on the pavement and cuffing him.
Seeing that his escape route is cut off, Luis wraps an arm around my middle, forcing me in front of him like a human shield. When Caleb steps forward, Luis holds a gun at my temple.
Caleb nears cautiously. “Put the gun down. You got nowhere to go,” he tells Luis.
“You’re going to step aside and let me get into that truck,” Luis orders.
“Not with Chloe.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Damian inching closer. He puts his finger to his lips, gesturing for me to keep quiet. The bay is filling with cops, and this is making Luis angrier than ever.
“If you don’t get out of my way right now, I’ll put a bullet in her head,” he threatens.
Damian doesn’t have a clear shot while Luis is using me to shield him. I consider reaching behind and trying to push him off when I remember the letter opener I have tucked away. While Luis is busy negotiating with Caleb, I carefully pull it out.
Damian watches me closely and silently signals for me to stab Luis with it in his leg. He holds up three fingers. Okay, I got it. On the count of three. I keep my eyes locked with Damian’s. I’m so scared. I bite my lower lip and nod back.
He holds up one finger. I take a breath in. Two. Three. I exhale and jab the letter opener into Luis’s leg. He screams out in pain, and I wrench away, running as fast as I can toward Damian. Luis sees Damian. His gun comes up. Damian pulls me in behind him, but before Luis can pull the trigger, a loud bang goes off, and Luis drops to the ground, leaving Alex still holding out his gun.
“We found her,” Alex says, and drops his weapon.