6

 

Guilt stabbed Maria.

Emily might not be missing right now if she’d walked her to the corner. It had been a mistake to dismiss her own feelings as paranoia.

The stranger across the street.

Layla seeing her dead father.

Emily missing.

Maria had decided the lurking man was her imagination. Layla seeing her father had been Layla’s imagination, but Emily going missing was nobody’s imagination. It was reality.

Could they somehow be connected? It didn’t seem plausible, but Raymond being a terrorist hadn’t been plausible, either. So she wasn’t exactly the best judge of character.

She and Layla had searched the section assigned to them. In each alley, they would get out of the car, looking behind dumpsters and trash cans, calling for Emily. Within hours, Layla was drooping and Maria had to reluctantly give up. She’d gone back to the volunteers’ table to let them know, and then left for home.

Now Layla was safely sleeping in her bed.

Maria’s mind raced, a jumble of questions that had no answers. Her heart broke for Emily’s parents. The terror, panic, and helplessness of having a child missing was not lost on her. Nothing could compare to the agony—except, of course, not finding them alive.

God had blessed her. Layla was still alive.

Repeatedly Maria mentally ran through the day, always ended up at the same moment. The moment when she and Layla were walking back into the flower shop. She’d caught a flash of movement in her peripheral vision, but when she’d turned the street was empty.

Was that the moment someone grabbed Emily?

Her heart told her it was.

She hadn’t mentioned the lurking man to the officers, since he wasn’t there when Layla and Emily came home from school. Maybe she—

The phone rang. Maybe, they’d found Emily. But phone calls this late always meant bad news.

She bit her lip, not wanting to answer it. She picked up the phone and looked at the screen.

The call was forwarded from the flower shop and not her personal number.

Her muscles relaxed. Probably a customer. A husband panicked because he’d forgotten his wife’s birthday or their anniversary. Or someone eloping and wanting a bouquet.

She always did what she could to help them out. Her success came from one satisfied customer at a time.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Maria.” The deep accented voice reached out from the grave.

The room spun as she fought to breathe. She wasn’t hallucinating. This was real.

“You must have the wrong number.” Her voice sounded steady, despite the chaos in her heart.

The caller laughed. “I don’t think so, Maria, but I’ll give you an A for effort.”

It was futile, but she continued the game. “Like I said, wrong number.” She hit the disconnect button and was already moving towards Layla’s room when the phone rang again. Her hand gripped the phone. This was crazy—impossible—and yet it was ringing.

She let it ring.

Her feet moved on their own accord to the kitchen. She pulled up a chair to the refrigerator and climbed atop it. Her hands fumbled until she found what she wanted. The gun safe.

The phone continued to ring.

Her hands shook as she hit the buttons on the electronic gun safe. Layla’s birthdate—her real birthdate. The light flashed green. Maria lifted the lid and stared.

The phone stopped. The house returned to a deadly silence.

Her ragged breathing was the only sound.

Maria closed her eyes for a moment, but then opened them. One thing she’d learn through dealing with Raymond—stay in the real world. It was the only way to keep her daughter safe. Her heart trembled more than her hands as she lifted the gun out of the box.

For Layla, Maria would and could do what she had to.

The phone rang once again. This time she answered.

“Hello.” She had to know if she and Layla needed to run again.

“Don’t hang up again, Maria. Or you will regret it. Understand?” Anger tinged his words.

She nodded as she walked back into the living room.

“I said, do you understand?”

“I understand.” Her voice was a whisper.

“Good. Don’t make me angry. You remember how I get when I’m angry, don’t you?”

“I remember.” Her eyes filled with tears. Only too well.

“Good. Let’s act like civilized people and talk this through.”

Except he wasn’t civilized.

“You know what I want, right?”

She didn’t think she could breathe, let alone answer. Her voice was a whisper. “No.”

A cruel chuckle. “Of course, you know. Don’t play games with me. Say her name, Maria. I want to hear you say it.”

Closing her eyes, she hoped she wouldn’t pass out. In spite of the dryness of her mouth, she managed to mutter her daughter’s name. “Layla.”

“See how easy that was. Now, you give me what I want and I’ll release Emily”

Her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. She stumbled back to the sofa. “Emily?” She’d known he was evil, but this was craziness. Why would he take Emily?

“That’s right. Layla’s little friend who’s missing. You do know about that, don’t you? She’ll be released unharmed as long as you bring me what I want. My daughter. And then you can get on with your own little life.”

Trade Emily for Layla?

“I won’t have a life without Layla.”

“Not my problem.” He laughed.

She heard the familiar cruelty in it. This couldn’t be happening.

“And don’t even think about calling the authorities. As long as you do what I tell you, everybody gets to live. Layla, Emily, and you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Oh, I thought about killing you, believe me. But then your suffering would be over. I want you to live a long, long life...without Layla. That will be punishment enough for what you did to me, don’t you think?”

“I won’t do it.”

“Why not? It’s a win-win situation. Layla will have a wonderful life. A righteous life. A life of privilege. You will be doing her a favor to let her live the life she was born to live.” A pause. “And Emily will get to go home to her own family.”

“I won’t do it.”

“Of course, you will. You don’t want Emily to die, do you? Can you live with that? Charge up your phone. I’d hate for it to go dead, just when you need it the most. I’ll be in touch.” Another pause. “If you don’t answer I will kill the little girl. Make no mistake about that. I want Layla and I get what I want. You wouldn’t want me to hurt Emily, would you?”

The phone went quiet.

She stood there holding the phone in one hand and her gun in the other.

Raymond. It wasn’t possible. He was dead.

But her ex-husband was alive and ready for revenge.

She wouldn’t let him have Layla. But how could she save Emily?

If she thought going to him would keep Emily safe, she would consider it—to keep Emily alive. But she knew he would kill her and Emily, and then disappear forever with Layla. The man was a monster, a liar, and a terrorist. And according to the FBI−dead.

They’d lied, too.

No one could help her.