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She’d thought long into the night about what she’d say to Cal when she talked to him. She still wasn’t quite sure of everything she wanted to cover, but she knew that she’d apologize for leaving abruptly and not staying to talk the issue out.
Now she had to decide exactly what to say. But being still unsure, she’d go buy some more clothing first before she made that call. She took a long swallow of her coffee. She had a plan.
Thirty minutes later, she walked outside to wait for her ride. A woman approached the hotel entrance, and Vic smiled at her.
Suddenly, she saw two heavily tattooed men rushing toward her, guns drawn.
She went for her gun, but one of the men grabbed the other woman and held his gun to her head, yelling, “Drop it!”
She had no choice. She bent and put her gun on the ground.
The other man yanked her arms behind her and kicked her gun away. After zip-tying her hands, the two men hustled her to the SUV that had pulled up to the front of the building. All the while she was wondering how they knew where she was staying. She’d only sent Cal and Alex the information. Someone had to be monitoring her texts.
She was shoved into the back seat, and one of her abductors got in beside her. The car squealed out of the parking lot and headed back toward the airport. While the guy next to her was chattering in Spanish to the two men up front, she carefully moved her phone from her back pocket into her waistband. Her baggy shirt should hide it. It was turned to silent and shouldn’t be a problem.
But who would come looking for her now? Would Cal? He knew where she was staying. If she didn’t answer him, would he come to the hotel and find her missing?Oh God, Cal. I’m sorry. I should have called you when I had the chance, honey.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of an old, run-down house, and her heart started hammering. This was it. This was where the pain began.
The man beside her got out and then went around to drag her out of the SUV. She stumbled as she got down, and he slapped her. Ears ringing, she got her feet under her again, and he shoved her toward the house. Shit, that slap had hurt. All her recent pain resurfaced. At least he’d missed where her lip was stitched. This time, anyway.
Another heavily tattooed man waited inside, and he was prepared for her. A kitchen chair sat in the middle of the living room. The man sliced her bonds, then shoved her into the chair. This time, he pulled her arms behind the chair back and bound them. Her shoulders screamed in pain. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Oh, you ain’t felt nothin’ yet,” the tattooed man said and flipped his long, greasy black hair behind his shoulders. “What did Hector tell you? We know he talked.”
She took a deep breath. “You took him at the safe house. Surely he told you that he didn’t tell us much? We were quite disappointed in him.”
The guy slapped her so fast she didn’t see it coming, this time hitting her split lip. The pain was so intense tears spurted from her eyes.
“That puto was a liar. Tell me what he said.” The man glared at her, and his face swam before her eyes. She couldn’t give away the intel they’d gleaned from Escareno. It was too valuable.
She licked her bottom lip and tasted blood. “Like I said, he didn’t know much. He told us who his boss was. We were glad to get that out of him.” She gave the man the name and nothing else. She and Cal figured the cartel already knew that Hector had told them about the lieutenant.
“You had Hector for a long time. I know he told you more than that.”
She met the man’s gaze. “Hector was a tough guy. He wouldn’t talk. And we don’t get to use the methods you guys do.”
The man slapped her again, and she felt blood running down her chin. The pain in her face was overwhelming now.
The guy said, “That’s right. We do things different, and you’d better remember that. What else did Hector tell you?”
She closed her eyes.Cal, are you looking for me? This will go on and on. Please, honey, come get me.
The man slapped her again. “Talk, puta!”
***
Cal woke from a soundsleep to the ringing of his phone. He glanced at the time as he answered his captain’s call. It was late morning. “Yes, sir?”
“Cal, I just got a call from Vic’s ASAC. He can’t get hold of her. Can you knock on her door and tell her to call him?”
Cal’s heart pounded against his chest wall. “Sir, she’s not here. She’s staying at the Marriott. I’ll try her phone while I drive over there. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
God, I should have stayed. If everything was all right, Vic would have answered her boss. If she’s hurt, I’ll never forgive myself.
He threw on his clothes, grabbed his gun, and headed out the door, his pulse racing so fast he felt light-headed.
He sped through traffic, taking dangerous chances as he weaved from lane to lane. Less than ten minutes later, he pulled up in front of the hotel. After finding out that nothing unusual had been noticed by hotel staff, the manager escorted him up to her room.
