Deadly Games - Cate Noble [9]
If Vi were really listening, she’d know Gena wasn’t talking about the shelter anymore. Helping to build this made up for a lot of old mistakes. Most of them anyway. Some remained unforgivable.
“Guilt is my cue to get busy,” Gena murmured.
The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed in the empty building. Alert, Gena called out, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me,” Lupe said just as Gena recognized the uneven footsteps. “Where are you?”
“I’m still in the kitchen.” Gena looked around for her purse, spotted it hanging on one of the hooks near the back door. Lupe had probably missed her ride to the factory and needed a lift. Don’t ask. “Let me grab my bag.”
Lupe rushed through the doorway, her limp more pronounced than usual. Her face drawn, her breathing rapid. “Do you have your phone?”
“Yes, of course. What’s wrong?”
“I think those vandals came back.” Lupe wrung her hands. “I saw two men around your car. I … I ran back here, but they might have seen me. I must go!”
Poor Lupe was terrified of being caught, of being deported.
“It’s okay. Let me call the police, and then we’ll hide you upstairs.” Gena moved to retrieve her cell phone from her purse. She hovered in the open back porch doorway where the signal was strongest and punched in numbers.
“Did you lock the front door?” Gena asked.
“Uh … I think. I will check.”
“Lupe, wait.” But the other woman had already disappeared. The operator came on the line just then, drawing Gena’s attention.
“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”
“This is Gena Armstrong at the new women’s shelter on Rio Street. We-—”
The rest of Gena’s response was cut off as an explosion ripped through the building.
Chapter Three
Arlington, VA
October 4, 12:25 A.M.
Rocco knew the man would call back. Proof of life always preceded a demand. This forced wait was a ploy to make Rocco sweat.
Mission accomplished, asshole.
But when Rocco’s phone finally rang again, Maddy was still screaming. Or screaming anew. These men would die for harming an innocent woman.
“Whatever you’re doing, stop!” Rocco ordered with a deadly calm. “If she continues to scream, all deals are off.”
It was an empty threat, but voicing a promise to kill them, as he wanted to do, would only kick off a pissing contest, making Maddy’s situation worse.
Still Minh Tran’s crony laughed—laughed—before barking another command in that same Thai dialect. Maddy’s screams ceased with a suddenness that stopped Rocco’s pulse midbeat. He didn’t want to think about what they’d done to silence her. That they’d gone after her to begin with meant they believed they had Rocco on an emotional leash. He couldn’t let his reactions confirm that. I’m sorry, Maddy.
“If she’s dead—” Rocco began.
“It does not take much for a woman to faint. Now listen closely,” the man continued. “You have ten hours to get our mutual friend to San Francisco. Bring that cell phone with you. You will need it to receive new instructions.”
Oh. Shit.
Rocco did not want it to go down this way. “That’s impossible. I haven’t even confirmed our friend’s location. That will take a day or two in itself. And the moment he disappears, my usual channels of travel will close. I have to get out of the country on my own, which will take longer.”
“We have sources who have confirmed our friend is indeed close to your current location. You need only use your resourcefulness to get to San Francisco. Ten hours. You do not want to see what we do next.” The line went dead.
Rocco hit REDIAL, but got nothing. Not even a ring-tone. He knew the drill: if he traced the number, it would come back stolen or hijacked. The electronic jammer they’d employed would have scrambled GPS tracking coordinates as well.
“Goddamn it!” Rocco gave in to his frustration and kicked over the coffee table, sending a stack of magazines and newspapers across the carpet.
Minh Tran’s ten-hour deadline was calculated to be nearly impossible. It was roughly six hours’ flight time from coast to coast. Commercial flights were out, which left Rocco four hours to find Rufin and secure a private jet. Either