Текст книги "Wild Cards"
Автор книги: R.C. Stephens
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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 23 страниц)
“Jamie, thank you for explaining to me what was going through your mind that day. It makes me feel a little better about things, but you and I have been over for a long time. I think you are a great guy, and you treated me well. I don’t want you to think you weren’t good enough for me, because I think you are kind and loving and have a lot to offer. I just don’t think we are a good match anymore. I’ve been through a lot and I’ve changed.” I didn’t want to give him the 'it’s not you line it’s me,' but I had no choice. “I’m not the same person I was even two years ago. I appreciate your honesty, but I don’t know what I want these days. There may be a good chance I will go back to New York.”
Jamie’s lips tugged up at the corners but his eyes were sad, “I never pegged you for a small town girl, Vick. You should go and conquer the world.”
“Thanks, Jamie, I think you also have so much potential. You shouldn’t think less of yourself. I could have never built that roller coaster without you. You have real talent,” I said, reminding him of the hardship we took upon us when we built the roller coaster in my parent’s backyard, our senior year of high school. If it weren’t for Jamie, we would have never got the motor running.
“Thanks, Vick, I appreciate that,” he said standing up. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on my head. “Do you want to come back to the house?” he asked.
“Nah, I still think I need some air. I will hang out here a while longer,” I responded with a light smile. It was good to have this closure with him. I didn’t want to tell him that I already met the love of my life, and that I gave him my heart; only he took it and stomped on it, and now I didn’t think the damage was repairable. I watched as Jamie walked down the street toward his car with his head bowed. When he started up the Mustang, I heard its loud growl and then he drove off.
Memories began to flood my mind, I remembered all the times I rode my bike up and down the street. All the times I had fallen off my bike and scraped up my knees. As a teenager I remembered hanging out in the end of our court with my friends. I had a lot of good childhood memories and that’s when it hit me. I’d come full circle. When Mama died I felt abandoned. I didn’t know how to handle the abandonment, and after she died I went running off like the scared little girl I was. The drinking, the parties, it was me lashing out at the loneliness that gripped my heart. I didn’t only lose hope, I felt completely lost to myself and to the person I had become.
I stood up and began to walk around the court touching my stomach lightly. A part of me was almost afraid to acknowledge the baby inside me, and a part of me felt overwhelmed with love that I had the baby inside me.
Of course everything I think came back to my mama. I wondered how she felt coming home and realizing that she was pregnant. She was only eighteen. I was twenty-two, even though I felt like a child. She must have felt just as confused and alone as I did now. Yet she was the best mama ever. A vivid picture of her warm green eyes and dark hair entered my mind and warmed my heart. I felt like she was looking down on me smiling. How proud would she be to know that my baby doesn’t have a father? Of course my thoughts drifted to Papa, as angry as I was at him, I can’t be angry anymore knowing that he was gone. He loved her so much he couldn’t live without her. Who knew that coming home for a funeral would involve so much drama? Joe was a father and I was about to become a mother. The reality seemed fabricated. We were only children ourselves not long ago. We were forced to grow up too quickly. I can’t help but feel that this is what I needed.
Going to New York and meeting Luc brought me back to life. He made me hope again, and now he blessed me with the life growing inside me. I felt overcome by loss that he wouldn’t share in my joy. No, no, I couldn’t do that to him. I couldn’t keep the knowledge of this child from him. He would want to know. I needed to tell him. I suddenly wanted to send him a text message and tell him that we needed to talk. Since I had no pockets in my skirt, so I had left my cell phone in the cup holder of the Tracker. As I turned the corner of the court to head back home, a black Mustang came speeding down the road. Of course I knew it was a Mustang because Jamie taught me everything about cars. The engine was loud and I wondered if it could be Jamie coming back, only I knew he wouldn’t be driving down the street like a bat out of hell. The car slowed in front of my house. I watched the two men in the front seat looking at the house without cutting the engine. Then one of the men looked straight ahead. He made eye contact with me and my stomach dropped. The Mustang came full speed ahead, straight for me. I thought they were going to run me over, and I jumped from the pavement onto one of the neighbor's lawns. I picked up speed, needing to get away, while a sinking feeling told me that these men were after me. The Mustang skidded to a stop scraping the side of the curb. I gasped and began to run toward the neighbor’s house, but the two men quickly got out of the car. One man grabbed me from behind, covering my mouth.
“Don’t fight this. sweetheart, you will only make matters worse,” he snarled. He had the same accent as Luc. He had a French accent. Shit, this is why Luc was drinking. This is why Luc pushed me away. His family must have contacted him. His family knew about me. I was their leverage, or I was going to be used to hurt Luc. As panic surged through my body, I thrashed about needing to flee. One of the men pushed my head down and shoved me in the backseat of the car. I knew these men were too strong for me, so I stopped thrashing while trying to use my head to figure things out, but I was consumed by fear. My heart beat so fast that I could hear each thump in my ears. I didn’t even have a cell phone to secretly send a message. I had nothing. The Mustang rounded the corner of the court briskly, squealing its tires and sped past my house. As I looked at my home with wide lost eyes I noticed Joe whipping the door open and running out to the front lawn.
Chapter 25
Joe
As I flung the door open, I saw a black Mustang speeding down the street like a bat out of hell. The first thing that came to mind was, ‘stupid motherfucker, there are kids walking down this street all the time,’ but then I thought I saw Vicky in the backseat and I didn’t understand. She seemed okay to be walking with Jamie and I had thought I heard him take off in his car a few minutes ago. Then I remembered that Jamie’s car is a midnight blue and that Mustang was black. Who the hell would she have to pick her up? Why would she ditch our houseguests now and leave me to face this on my own? Something about her behavior didn’t add up.
I was DEA, Vicky didn’t know that yet, I returned to university to finish my kinesiology degree, but then I had no interest working in the field. I had gone to university because it was important to Mama. I had always wanted to get into law enforcement. I always spoke about the Secret Service but that always made Mama nervous. She was scared of me dying, so I put my dreams on the back burner permanently until she got sick and passed away. Then I realized that none of us have control over our destiny, so we might as well make the most of our lives while we have the time. If Mama’s death taught me something, it was that life could change or end in the blink of an eye.
After wandering around South America for six months, I came home and signed up for the police academy. Only I didn’t want to stay in Canada, let alone Thunder Bay. It was a small town, and it was hard to escape the ghosts that haunted me there. I graduated from the police academy at the top of my class. I applied for a green card and sent my application to the FBI. The FBI wasn’t known to recruit internationally, but I was fluent in Spanish and Italian and I had skills. They recruited me and did my papers faster than I could have imagined. Only I didn’t realize I would be sent to the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration. I didn’t protest though. I was good undercover and grateful to get away from Canada. I didn’t care about getting killed, and I got results. My little sister may not have known where I was, but I knew where she was. I had sources everywhere. I was going to come to New York and reunite with her when Marie called to say that my father was going downhill. I thought I would come home and take care of it myself; only I was a coward and spent a few extra days in Toronto wallowing in self-pity. There are details of my relationship with Eva that I left out when I told Vicky where I had been, but I didn’t want to freak my little sister out. Especially since she just found out she was pregnant. I also couldn’t let on that I knew everything about her life for the past six months. I knew she was working in New York, and I knew she was dating a guy linked to the Blanchard family. The fact that she took off that way was sending all kinds of alarm bells in my mind.
I stalked back into the house headed straight for Marie. She was in the kitchen talking to one of my parents' old friends. “Ah, Marie, sorry to interrupt but can I speak to you for a second?”
She looked at me warily but followed me out of the kitchen into the main hallway. “Marie, what do you know about Vicky’s trip to New York?” I asked calmly.
Marie became tense and fidgety. “Hon, I think it’s better she tells you,” she said placing a consoling hand on my shoulder.
“Well, that’s it, Marie, I think she is in trouble so I need to know now, I don’t have time to explain, just talk, Vicky told me about Bryce Andrews. What else is there?” I was a little too demanding and Marie was a sweet woman, but if something has happened to my sister I needed to know.
“We know the same thing then, Joe. Your sister hasn’t been in touch with me. She just said that things have been good with her father. Oh, I’m sorry, honey,” she said patting my shoulder. “You know that Tony will always be considered her father, but this was a missing piece to her own puzzle.”
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. I knew Vicky loved my father like her own and he loved her but the knowledge still hurt. “How does her boyfriend fit in the picture?” I asked.
“I don’t know, hon, Vick only spoke to me briefly, but she said he was smart and handsome and worked for her father. She was so happy in New York, Joe. Things started to look up for her and now with your papa’s death…well, I’m worried for her. Will she be okay? Where is she?” she asked, turning her head around looking for her.
“I’m not sure, Marie, but I need to leave, can you take care of the guests?” I asked. She nodded and I gave her a peck on the cheek. She had been my Mama’s best friend since high school, and she was the closest thing we had to a caring guardian.
I made my way out to the Tracker to make a phone call. I didn’t want the other guests to hear me because no one here knew what I did. As I began to dial a number, I saw Vicky’s cell phone in the cup holder and my stomach sank. I continued to dial the number knowing time was of the essence. “Yeah, Angel, I need you to track a Luc Blanchard…” I bit out.
“I thought you were on vacay, Joe…” Angel laughed into the phone.
“Angel, please, I need to track him, look for credit cards, airports, anything please… this is about my sister,” I explained, as my voice filled with panic. Angel was our in-house computer hacker. If there was someone we needed to find she was the go-to person. “Can you also find out his cell number, I will call him myself.”
“Give me a few, Joe, I’ve located his name, it’s been changed to Lebaum…” she said, as if she’s speaking to herself. I already had that info.
“What else?”
“He’s in New York City, Manhattan to be exact.” Shit, that doesn’t help much.
“Angel, can you check license plate # DREK 530 for me?”
“Damn, Joe, give me a second here, I know I am a genius, but you’re too demanding today…okay… yes…. this is a rental car. It was rented from Budget Rent-A-Car this morning in Thunder Bay….it was rented by a Justice Davies….let me guess, you want me to check who Justice Davies is?” she giggled.
“You got it babe.”
The phone was silent as I waited to hear what she had to say, hoping that this was a good lead. “Shit Joe, Justice Davies was an eighty-four year old man that died in St. Catherine’s last year,” she said regretfully.
“Shit, dead end…did you get Blanchard’s cell?” I asked, clenching the steering wheel too hard. There’s no doubt that someone took Vicky, the question was, do I contact the authorities?
“Here’s Blanchard’s cell, 212-698-7569.”
“Thanks, Angel, you are one helpful girl,” I said then I clicked the phone shut.
I began to dial Blanchard’s number but then I hung up, he probably wouldn’t accept a call from an unknown number. I picked up Vicky’s phone and his number was already in her contacts. Clearly I am slow today. I pressed the number and the phone began to ring…. “Hello,” he answered with a thick French accent.
“Blanchard,” I bit out.
“Who is this?” he asked cautiously.
“My name is Joe Molino, I am Vicky Molino’s brother,” I responded with a deep voice, showing him I meant business and he better not hang up.
“Why are you calling from Vicky’s phone? Is everything okay?” he asked with a concerned tone. He hadn’t been shown on record to have any connections with the Blanchard family for the past two years, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t groomed and raised by them.
“Yeah, Blanchard, someone just upped and took her right off the street using a rental car with a fake name,” I explained. He began muttering in French, I was assuming it was expletives of some sort.
“My fucking father….he’s here in New York. He has come to bring me back to France. My brother was recently shot and killed…” he explained. I knew all this already. “My father wants me to come back into the family business. He knows I was dating your sister, he must have taken her to ensure I follow through on his orders.”
“Look, Blanchard, my sister doesn’t know this but I work for the DEA. I know exactly who you and your family are…I don’t plan on losing her, so start talking….”
Luc went on to tell me about the current threat and how his family summoned him back to France.
“Listen, Joe, I am coming to Thunder Bay. Whoever took her won’t be able to cross the border with her too easily. You should scan the area motels,” he suggested. I could tell that he was furious and trying to rein in his anger. I wasn’t sure if he was one of the good ones, but I knew he’d been close with my sister.
I called the Canadian police and we put out a search for a stolen black Mustang, hopefully it wouldn’t get too far. It was still too early to file a missing person report, but we could at least get a location on the car. I also anticipated that whoever took her would keep her within the Canadian border since it would be hard to get her across. I was completely out of my jurisdiction and I was on vacation leave, this was just bad.
Luc said he was getting on the first plane to Thunder Bay, and that he would call his father and find out what’s going on. I began to drive around the city looking for the Mustang, but I knew they had probably gotten far enough by now.
Vicky’s cell phone rang and Luc’s name came up on the screen. “Yeah, Joe, I spoke with my father…” he drawled and I could tell by his defeated tone that this wasn’t good. Dammit. I hit the steering wheel, I needed to bury my father in two days, and I couldn’t let anything happen to her.
“What is it, Luc, spit it out.”
“She’s their collateral, Joe, they won’t return her. My father has set up an attack on the Dubois family. He wants me back in Paris by next week. Honestly. Joe, I think he is trying to kill me to get back at me for leaving the family. I am supposed to be meeting my father at the pier tonight. If I don’t show there will be trouble. The question is, can we get to Vicky before tonight? Please don’t take chances, Joe,” he pled. “My father’s threats are real. I will tell my father I will meet him, but I may be followed. I am going to try and cover my tracks. I will ask Vicky’s father for his jet. In the meantime, scan every motel in the area.” I heard the despair in his voice; he cared for her.
“Dammit, Luc, she’s pregnant,” I blurted out, feeling enraged with the situation. I should have made it to New York sooner, I should have watched over her more carefully, she was a mess. I couldn’t imagine how she was taking the abduction.
Luc was silent, even though I knew he heard my revelation. “Luc?” I called out. I knew he was still with me because I can hear his breath on the phone.
“Please go look for her and don’t let anything happen to her, I know what I need to do. Joe, if I don’t make it there by tonight, you need to get her back, you need to pool all your resources together and get her back,” he begged while his voice cracked. On file, it had looked like he had walked away from the family business, but like I’d seen before; it is not so easy to walk away from families involved in organized crime. They would rather see you dead than free.
“Luc, I’m getting her back either way, she’s my little sister and that’s my niece or nephew she’s carrying,” I assured him. “I will also alert the airport and borders as well,” I added on.
“Just make sure she’s okay, I will take care of things on my end,” he said and then the line cut out. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
In our small town, stuff like this didn’t happen. There had always been petty robberies, nothing like a person being taken. I Googled every hotel in a ten mile radius then I headed back to the house. It was still filled with guests, and I plastered on a smile while I headed up the stairs and into my parents' old room. They had a safe in their closet, and I stashed my guns there. Placing one gun in the holster on my hip, I put the other smaller revolver in my boot. Whoever had taken her may be armed. I whispered in Marie’s ear again that I would be gone for a while and asked if she could close up after the guests leave. A few of the guests eyed me warily and some looked at me understanding that I may have lost my shit after everything I’d been through. I continued to smile and nod my way out the front door.
I began to circle the city in the Tracker, going from motel to motel. I knew the police had cruisers and I provided a picture, but I needed to do this my way. The first two motels were closer to town and they came up empty, no black Mustang had stopped there. The sky had turned dark as I followed the GPS on my phone. The next motel was ten miles out.
Chapter 26
Luc
This whole situation was completely messed up. Whenever I pictured being sucked back into my father’s dark world, it never went down like this. I wasn’t sure if I could trust the person on the other side of the phone calling himself Joe Molino, so I had no choice. I called Bryce. A man like him was connected to all the major political people in Washington DC, and he was also connected to the authorities as well. It would only take a phone call. I knew he was going to take the news of Vicky’s abduction hard, but I felt like I had my back up against a wall.
I dialed his number and a few rings later he picked up, “Luc…what’s going on?” he asked with a worried tone.
“Things have become complicated, Bryce. My father is here in New York City, but I just got a phone call from a man claiming to be Joe Molino…he said that a car with two thugs just drove off with Vicky. I need you to verify that this Joe Molino is her brother. He claims to be DEA.”
I heard him gasp through the phone. He probably wanted to kill me right now for getting his daughter mixed up with my life. “Let me make a quick phone call, Luc. The director of the FBI should have some answers.”
“I don’t think we should alert the authorities, I don’t want my father ordering her death sentence. Right now, he thinks I will comply. I don’t want him to think otherwise. I don’t want to set off any alarms where he is concerned. I think we should keep the abduction quiet. If the abduction hits the media and people know she is your daughter, it will cause a frenzy, and we will lose our chances of getting her back.”
“You’re right, Luc, I will call just to inquire. I won’t tell him the reason. Vicky did mention her brother. He had taken off on her and hadn’t been in touch for over a year. She was quite upset when she spoke of him,” Bryce explained.
“I know Bryce, she told me about him too. Listen, can I take your jet? I need to get to Thunder Bay,” I asked. I hated asking for things, especially something so big but I knew I was on a time constraint. It’s 1:30 in the afternoon and my father was expecting me at the pier at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
“Yes, Luc, but what are you going to do?”
“Please have the jet ready and then send two black SUV’s to my apartment in twenty minutes. I need both drivers wearing driver’s caps, and I need a passenger with dark hair in a black suit in one of the cars,” I explained.
“Your father is following you…you're hoping to divert him.”
“Yes, have the other SUV follow my SUV halfway and then have them drive to the front door of Tyson. We should also probably have a third unmarked car following from behind, so we can track my father’s movements. He will be following us closely and I can’t take any chances.”
“I’m on it, Luc, calling the director right now,” Bryce answered with a clipped tone. I wanted to apologize for this mess, but there was no time for pleasantries right now. We had to get Vicky back. I closed the phone and head to the safe in my room. I had a few registered guns that I packed into a black bag. It was good that I didn’t have to clear regular customs with the jet; they should be easy to hide. I also packed a few unmarked guns. I’m not stupid; I was expecting my father to follow me to Thunder Bay. I just hoped that Vicky wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire. The mere thought destroyed me, but I knew I needed to keep my head clear right now to save her.
A moment later, my cell phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Luc, it’s Bryce, it isn’t a lie, Joe Molino is DEA. He’s been on vacation due to his father’s death. He checks out. You better call him if he’s in Thunder Bay. I’m packing a bag and heading over to the jet. I will meet you there.”
“Bryce, I don’t think you should come.”
“Luc, she’s my daughter. I’ve let her and her mother down too many times. I need to help her now,” he said and the phone clicked dead.
I packed my things and left through the front doors of the apartment building. It was raining, which meant there would be more traffic. As I requested, there were two SUV's lined up waiting for me. I opened the door to the second one and nodded to the man, who was a passenger in the backseat. Then I closed the door and walked over to car one and got inside.
