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“Well then, I’ll stay until she returns.” The teacher smiled. “Mai likes you and trusts you, but she misses her family.”
There’s no future for her here either. Avril nodded. “I know she does, it’s difficult losing your family.” Trying hard to keep it together, she glanced at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. I have to go and get ready for the dinner tonight. Head down to the kitchen and ask the cook for some pie. I’ll drop by the nursery in an hour. Mai should be back by then.”
Avril hurried to her room and collapsed on the bed. Tears came and sobs shook her as she cried in silent agony for Steve. His battered face filled her head. He’d suffered incredible torture and yet kept silent to save her life. She gave herself a little shake. If she fell to bits now, he’d have died for nothing. Whatever happened next, she’d bring the cartel to justice if she died trying. Rolling off the bed, she stared at her red eyes. Oh, Lord, Michael would be watching her for any sign of concern and acting normal now would mean he wouldn’t be watching her too closely later. If Steve had gotten her message through, she’d have a very slim chance to escape the cartel tonight. She’d confirm her evac with the nurse at the clinic and checked the time. Sighing with relief, she made the call. “Good afternoon. Sorry to call so late. It’s Avril Carlos. I’d like to confirm my appointment time, please.”
“Midnight, out back of the general store, blue truck with taubman’s hardware on the side.”
Avril heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
Not knowing if Michael had bugged her room, she couldn’t risk mentioning anything about Steve. She’d deploy her exit plan. After disconnecting, she pushed a few essentials into a backpack for Mai and herself. After counting the cash in her wallet, she hurried downstairs on the pretense of checking the hall again. On the way back, she slipped inside the garage. The sedan Michael had given her as a wedding present but rarely allowed her to drive, was gassed up and ready to go. She dropped the backpack inside and grabbed the keys from the board. Pushing the keys into her pocket, she went back to the house. As soon as the Carloses were fully involved with their guests, she’d take Mai and make a run for it.
It was an hour or so later. Avril had used eyedrops to take the red out of her eyes and applied makeup before heading to the nursery in her bathrobe to find Mai chatting to her teacher. The little girl seemed animated and Avril sat down beside her. She looked at the teacher. “Where has she been?”
“She
tells me your husband took her to meet some other children like her. He told her to tell them about her life here with you and how they are safe now.” The teacher looked at her with a quizzical expression. “The phrases Mr. Carlos insisted she understand came in useful it seems.” She frowned. “From this I assume you have plans for these children?”
Avril nodded and pulled another lie from her hat. She had no choice. “Yes, like our family there are many wealthy people willing to adopt an orphan. My husband contacted the authorities asking permission for a few families to foster these kids. These children Mai mentioned must be who he was referring to. I haven’t seen them because I’ve been busy organizing the dinner for tonight’s auction, but I’ll ask Michael when he comes home.” She held out her hand to Mai. “Come on. I’ll take you down for your dinner and then it’s a bath, an hour of TV, and off to bed.” She led the little girl out of the room and down to the kitchen.
“Oh, there she is.” The housekeeper greeted her. “Hello, Mai.” She looked up at Avril. “Mr. Carlos asked me to care for her tonight. I have her dinner ready and I’m very happy to look after her and put her to bed. I know what shows she likes to watch.”
Avril smiled. “Thank you. She likes you.” She kissed Mai on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
The housekeeper often cared for Mai when Avril was working and they had gotten along just fine. She went back upstairs to dress and, after making sure everything was running on time, headed for Michael’s room to find him wearing a tux and a wide smile. “It’s almost seven, I need to go and greet our guests. You look happy. Have you had a few bids already?”
“You could say that.” Michael held out his arm and escorted her out of the room and down the stairs. “You don’t have to hang around after the dinner. It’s a men-only auction—you know, cigars and fine wine. They can get a bit raucous, so my father and I will take it from there. Don’t wait up.”
The dismissal stung and suspicion crawled over Avril like a poison ivy rash. The gnawing apprehension that something wasn’t what it seemed just wouldn’t go away. She’d known Michael too long not to recognize he had more on his mind than a wine auction. His eyes had almost lit up with dollar signs. The situation was escalating fast and she couldn’t stop him alone. Michael was like an out-of-control freight train. If she got in his way, he’d crush her under his wheels.
Eight
Acting like a doting wife and greeting the twelve men as they stepped out of their chauffeur-driven limos had become almost second nature to Avril, but inside she wanted to scream. Her mind conjured all sorts of scenarios. After an hour or so of wine talk, the men moved into the hall. It had been tastefully decorated and the tables were set with white linen tablecloths and the finest silverware. When the men had taken their seats and the help moved around serving the dinner, she took a deep breath and leaned toward Michael. “Mai enjoyed her time with you. She mentioned seeing other children. Are these the ones you’ve found homes for?”
“How could she have told you?” Michael raised both eyebrows. “She hardly speaks a word of English.”
Avril forced her lips into a smile. “Oh, we have a way of communicating and she understands the words you insisted she learn. Did you want her to inform the children they were going to good homes?”
“Something like that.” Michael waved a waiter to the table and asked for another bottle of wine. He turned his dark gaze on her. “The children aren’t your concern. You’re sticking your nose into my father’s business and he won’t be pleased.” His mouth turned down. “And don’t get too attached to Mai. It would be a mistake. I’ve already made plans for her.”
Stomach clenching, Avril stared at him. “I thought you’d planned to adopt her.”
“No.” He barked a laugh. “Only children of my blood will inherit the estate. You’ll have one more chance to produce me an heir. I’ve made arrangements with a fertility clinic to see if they can fix you.” His expression went serious. “Let’s hope they can for your sake.”
Trying not to gag, Avril met his gaze. “Nothing would make me happier than to give you a child, Michael.”
They finished their meal. The man seated beside her was sweating profusely and seemed agitated. She ignored him, stood, and leaned to kiss Michael on the cheek. “I’ll leave you to your auction.”
“I’ll have someone drive you back to the house.” Michael went to stand.
“No, don’t leave your guests. I’ll walk.” Avril smiled at him. “Nothing can possibly happen to me, and I like to walk in the moonlight.”
“Don’t wait up. It’s going to be a long night.” Michael turned back to his guests.
Moving through the hall as swiftly as possible, Avril headed for the back entrance. She pulled open the door and positioned a broom handle to prevent it from closing. She hightailed it back to the main entrance and headed toward the house. The pathways wound between rose gardens and the heady scent would be the only thing she’d miss when she left this place. She hurried inside the house and dashed to her room. Inside, Mai was sound asleep. Avril dressed quickly in black jeans, shirt, and a hoodie. She woke Mai as gently as possible, helped her dress, and tried to explain she needed her to be quiet and that they were off on an adventure. Carrying a pillow and blanket, they left through the mudroom and made their way to the garage. They climbed into the red sports car. She placed the pillow and blanket on the back seat and clicked Mai into the seat belt. She waited for the little girl to settle down. It didn’t take long for her to fall to sleep.
Avril checked her watch. The auction should have started by now. Easing out of the car door, she took off at a run, keeping to the shadows around the back of the wine cellar building. After waiting a few seconds to regain her breath, she slipped inside the service door and crept through the passageways, taking the back stairs down to the cellar. The gate had a keypad lock and she used a memorized combination of numbers to gain entrance. She could hear men’s voices, laughter, and bidding. The figures were extremely high even for one of the Carlos vintages. She moved through the dusty racks to peer at the group of people in the area set up with chairs, but not one of the men was seated. They were passing young girls around between them as if they were buying kittens. Each girl had a number and Viktor was taking bids. Horrified, Avril swallowed the overwhelming need to spew.
What could she possibly do to stop this happening? She had no weapons, no backup, nothing. Gritting her teeth, she considered her options. Breaking her cover and getting help for these girls was paramount. Michael was not getting away with selling children—not on her watch. She’d have to call it in and then run for her life. She headed back through the passageways and into a utility room to call her handler. After explaining the urgency of the situation, but not wanting to jeopardize the mission, she offered a solution. “The limos will be leaving with the girls. You’ll have to pull them over in a routine traffic stop when they leave and take the bidders and their drivers into custody. The auction has just begun, so you’ll have time to cover all roads leading from here. Just make sure they don’t call Michael and give him a heads-up. You’ll need to keep them silent until the raid. You can’t delay. You must hit them before they discover I’m missing. I’m leaving for the evac point now.” She disconnected and deleted the call log. It had become a habit.
