by Leroux, Lucy
“Don’t worry.”
Ethan entered the room with a glower that would make a dockworker flinch. Alvaro was cuffed, sitting at the table. Jimenez was holding up the wall next to the table.
A laptop had been placed on the surface across from the perp, frozen at the moment where Alvaro pointed his gun at his victim.
Ethan gestured at the screen. “Admiring your handiwork?”
Alvaro narrowed his eyes. He relaxed abruptly, leaning back when he recognized Ethan.
Ethan turned the chair around, then sat.
“You know, Juliet had a hard time trusting me at first. After dealing with one corrupt piece-of-shit cop, she was reluctant to put herself on the line for another member of law enforcement. But I’m actually everything you pretended to be…and Juliet’s a very smart girl. Smarter than you gave her credit for. She realized what you were, and she left you eating your dust.”
He trailed off, pretending to philosophically look into the distance. “I, on the other hand, have benefitted from your fuck-up—Juliet and I are getting married soon.”
The minute they got Luna back, Ethan was going to make it official.
Alvaro smirked, placing his hands on the table before shifting his weight forward. “You can have that bitch. I don’t care anymore. But Delilah is mine—my blood. And you’re never going to see her again.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes at the man. His gut clenched. Alvaro had implied he wouldn’t see Luna again, but Ethan’s instincts told him that wasn’t what the bastard meant.
The smug flint in Alvaro’s eyes confirmed it. He was going after Juliet.
Chapter Forty-One
Juliet stared at the ceiling as the ER doctor at Union Memorial examined the wound on her arm. “I think your EMT was right. You don’t need surgery—although you might start wishing we put you under when I’m cleaning this thing.”
Juliet took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything other than the throbbing pain. Her other hand flexed reflexively. She cursed herself for forgetting her phone at the scene.
Juliet asked to use the hospital phone, but she had been told by Jason that Ethan was in the interrogation room questioning Alvaro. He promised to call the hospital as soon as they had news about her baby, but that had been nearly an hour ago.
If they haven’t found Luna yet, they may never.
Tears streamed from her eyes, prodding the doctor to ask if she needed something for the pain. “I’m fine. And I don’t want to be put under, thank you.”
Juliet needed to stay awake and alert. Once she was patched up, she was going back out to the docks.
The minutes crawled with excruciating slowness. The doctor hadn’t exaggerated about the pain she would feel when they flushed the wound and began to stitch it up. Even the topical numbing agent they gave her didn’t relieve the agony she felt.
When it was over, she was woozy, but she fought to get to her feet. “I have to leave,” she told the nurse, her words slurring.
The woman threw her a skeptical look. “Honey, you’re not going anywhere. Not only can you barely walk, but the FBI have also been on the horn making demands.”
The nurse pointed to the security guard hovering in the background. “This one is going to watch over you in a recovery room until they send one of their men to do it.”
Juliet frowned. “Did Alvaro escape?”
“Sugar, I don’t know who that is. Just go with the nice man and get out of the way. There was a rollover on the highway, and we have patients incoming.”
The reminder that she wasn’t the only one in pain got her moving. Juliet allowed herself to be helped into a wheelchair so the harried ER staff could treat the others.
She was wheeled to a different floor, to a tiny room with a single hospital bed surrounded by a curtain. “Wait here,” the guard told her. “I’m going to pull up a chair outside.”
“All right,” she agreed, wishing she wasn’t so thirsty.
It almost felt as if her cells were crying out for water, but she needed fuel, too. “Do you think I could have a drink?” she asked hesitantly. “Something with sugar?”
They had passed a vending machine down the hall. “Maybe I can have a Gatorade or something?” she asked, digging into her pockets for spare change.
Naturally, she didn’t have any.
The security guard grinned. “It’s okay. I have cash. What color do you want?”
“Green.”
“A fan of the classics, I see.” He left the room, pulling the curtain closed on his way out.
It’s so no one can see me through the window. Juliet repressed a shudder. Something must have gone wrong. Was Alvaro sending someone after her?
It made sense. He controlled a small army back home. The idea he would come here with only the two men arrested at the docks had been stupid, but she believed there weren’t many people he trusted enough.
What does trust have to do with anything? Alvaro paid people for their loyalty—one of the many reasons he wanted her family’s money.
The guard returned a few minutes later, slipping through the small gap in the curtain. He held out a bottle of bright neon liquid. “You’re in luck. They had your flavor.”
She took it from him with a murmured thanks. He leaned against the nearby counter. “So maybe after this FBI thing is over, I could buy you a drink?”
Juliet frowned, her lips parting. “Uh…”
The curtain suddenly jerked open. “I don’t think—”
Gasping, Juliet reacted, throwing the bottle in her hand. It flew through the air, hitting the man who entered a split second before she recognized him.
“Ow,” Donovan Carter staggered backward as the full Gatorade bottle bounced off his cheek. A medical chart fell from his hand.
“Oh, my God!” Juliet sprang up from the bed, but she was too weak. Too dizzy to stop herself, she staggered and swayed.
Donovan and the security guard rushed forward, grabbing her before she slid to the floor. Donovan wore a white coat, and he had a stethoscope around his neck.
He eased her back on the bed with a grimace. “Sorry to surprise you like that. Ethan called me. He knows I still have privileges here. He asked me to come watch over you.”
Donovan turned to the security guard. “That’s the name of her very muscular FBI agent fiancé by the way. I was going to say he wouldn’t approve of anyone buying his girl anything when I got hit with a flying energy drink.”
“I am so sorry about that,” she said, her shoulders rising to her ears.
“It’s okay,” Donovan assured her before turning back to the guard. “Why don’t you take a break? I can watch over her for a while.”
Abashed, the other man excused himself. When he was gone, Donovan reached down to get the fallen drink and medical chart. Setting the chart aside, he twisted the bottle open and handed it to her. “Drink it all. From the look of the blood on your shirt, you need the fluids.”
“Did Ethan say anything about Luna?”
Donovan took a deep breath. A flicker of something came and went too quickly in his expression for her to decipher. Then she saw his ‘unemotional physician face’ settling over him like a mask.
He took her hand. “No, I’m sorry. They haven’t found her yet. But they’ve got the best interrogators in the FBI leaning on Alvaro. I’m sure he will give up her location soon.”
The tone was TV doctor perfect, with the right blend of sympathy and surety—a voice designed to calm and soothe. It made her want to scream and smack him in the face.
Juliet tried to tell herself Donovan wasn’t doing it on purpose. This must be the way he handled stress.
“Luna is probably halfway to Mexico,” she whispered, breaking down. A sob escaped her dry throat. “We’re never going to get her back.”
Donovan’s professional shield cracked. He put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her close. “Yes, you will. Ethan is not going to give up on her, and neither should you. Honestly, I don’t know which
one of you he loves more.”
Juliet blinked.
He drew back, shrugging. “Sorry, was that a weird thing to say?”
She wiped her tears on her bloody sleeve. “No. It wasn’t. You’re right. We’re going to get her back. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”
Donovan patted her back. “Good. I had an idea that might help. I thought I might call my family’s K & R specialist for you. He’s local, or at least he used to be.”
“K & R?” she echoed.
He sucked in a breath. “It—it stands for kidnap and retrieval. I thought it might help.”
“Oh, okay. I guess.” At this point, she was willing to try anything.
I need to speak to my father’s banker. She knew Alvaro had no intention of ransoming Luna, but without him in charge, whoever was holding her might be open to a bribe.
“I need to get something from the old apartment building,” she said. “I have something hidden in the air vent of the studio apartment I used to live in. It’s my old address book. I brought it with me in case I was ever in a position to reclaim my old life.”
She picked up the Gatorade bottle, then took a long drink. “I need to start making arrangements in case there is a ransom demand.”
“Oh.” Donovan’s face cleared. “It’s a good idea regardless, but I also think that might take too long.”
Juliet hung her head. Her heart was aching so bad she could hardly breathe. “You might be right, but what else can I do?”
Donovan touched her shoulder. “Let me handle it. I can get my hands on some cash a lot faster than you can.”
Startled, she looked up. “What?”
The doctor shuffled his feet. “I have a lot of money,” he confessed as if he were sharing a great sin.
“It’s far more than I need—than anyone does,” he continued. “I didn’t earn it. I was born with it. For the most part, I try using it for good. And, well, I can’t think of anything better than making sure my best friend and his future wife don’t lose their baby girl.”
He broke off to place a reassuring hand on her uninjured arm. “Let me make a few calls. I’ll call Rainer, the K & R guy, and my bank.”
“All the banks are closed.”
“I think you know when your account is of a certain size, you get the direct after-hours line.”
That was true. She took a shaky breath. “Thank you.”
He walked to the door. “I’ll try to get an update from FBI headquarters, too. Let me get the security guard back here.”
Donovan disappeared out the door. A minute or two later, she heard the guard hail her from the door and the scraping of a chair as it was dragged into place. This time, he didn’t come inside, but she was grateful. Her pain was too raw. Exposing it to strangers simply made her more aware of it.
Juliet drew her knees up, wrapping her usable arm around them tight. Eventually, her depleted reserves got the better of her and she lay back on the bed, too drowsy to keep her eyes open.
But she couldn’t sleep, which was why the sound of the curtain opening roused her.
She glanced up to see a dark-skinned man in bright pink scrubs smiling down at her. “I’m here to take your blood pressure.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied, wondering why he had spoken in Spanish.
Maybe Donovan had told him she was from Mexico? He moved toward her, and she saw a boot peeking out from under the curtain.
“Wait, what’s that?”
The nurse’s hand shot out, grabbing her arm in a painful grip. He raised a syringe up to eye level. “Don’t worry, I have another one for you, puta.”
Juliet screamed, twisting and kicking at the same time. She landed a lucky kick to his face. Grunting, he fell backward. Pushing off too fast, she fell on the other side of the bed.
Holding up her hands, she yelled in Spanish, “Stop.”
He ignored her, shifting his weight as he prepared to lunge.
Enough. “I can pay you,” she hissed, pointing.
The man hesitated, then his lip curled. He bounced his body weight from foot to foot, transmitting the intention to jump her.
Juliet drew herself up, arrogantly holding up a hand the way her mother had in Venganza de Amor. Like everyone on that set—including the crew—he froze.
“I know you,” she continued, schooling her voice to sound like her mother’s. “Your name is Gonzalo, and you work with Alvaro.”
She hadn’t met him, but he’d always been there in the background of Alvaro’s life.
The man hesitated. He lifted the syringe. “So what if you know my name? You’re not going to tell your new cop boyfriend. You’ll be in Mexico.”
She shook her head. “No, I won’t, and neither will you.”
Scoffing, she drew herself up, refusing to retreat.
“Alvaro wants me to go home so he can marry me, then kill me because of my family money. Remember that? The money.” She emphasized the word, drawing it out.
The man shrugged as if to say, ‘so what’.
She rolled her eyes. “Well then, why settle for a small cut when you can have it all?”
“All?”
“Well, a big chunk—enough to live like a king. All you have to do is call whoever has Luna and have her brought here to me.”
Gonzalo appeared to think about it, but then he shook his head. “Alvaro will kill me. He says the girl is his, too.”
Juliet briefly closed her eyes. “Well, it’s not true. Daniela told me the truth the day she died. She said she couldn’t jeopardize her marriage for Alvaro. If her husband suspected the baby wasn’t his, he’d divorce her. She would never risk that, but she told Alvaro the baby was his so he would end things with me.”
The lies flowed freely now.
Something like vindication flitted across Gonzalo’s face. “I knew it,” he said smugly. “Daniela…she was always a bitch.”
“Alvaro is in FBI custody,” Juliet reminded him, lowering her voice and leaning forward.
It was another little trick she’d learned from her mother. Her parent had used it frequently on reporters during interviews, manipulating them into believing they were sharing a confidence.
“The FBI is going to bury him for what he did. He’s not going to be able to help you. If you want to get anything out of this, you should take my offer. Forget about him and bring me Luna.”
Gonzalo finally put the syringe down. “Alvaro is my cousin,” he told her quietly.
Shit! Juliet hadn’t known that. “Forgive me for being crass, but isn’t a fat pile of cash thicker than blood?”
She held her breath. Gonzalo’s head pulled back. He brought his phone to his ear, then pressed a button. “Carla,” he said.
When the curtain blew aside and Gonzalo went down hard in a blur of white, Juliet raised shaky hands to her mouth.
She ran around the bed to find Donovan on top of a prone Gonzalo. The doctor had a wild look in his eye, and his face was red and flushed with victory.
“I did it! I saved you.” He scrambled to his feet. The man underneath him didn’t move.
Donovan turned to face her. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she cried, throwing her hands up. “He was going to tell me where Luna was!”
The doctor shook himself. “What?”
“I was talking him into a bribe. He was going to call the woman who has Luna—Carla something.”
Donovan’s face fell. “Oh, shit.” He glanced down at the man at his feet, kneeling to check him. “Uh, he hit his head on the bed frame when I tackled him.”
“Can’t you make him regain consciousness?”
He winced, moving Gonzalo’s head around as he examined the wound he’d inflicted. “I can’t give him something without a full examination.”
“We don’t have time for that!”
Donovan’s chest heaved. His eyes darted back and forth. He swept his arm out, fishing a cell phone out from under the bed.
“Then we’ll call her,” he said, “
She’s not on the line now, but maybe we can return the last call and make her the same offer.”
Juliet hopped over Gonzalo’s legs, glancing over his shoulder as he scrolled through the phone. “There isn’t a recent call—no calls at all today.”
She gasped when he opened the messages. “Why aren’t there any texts?”
Donovan groaned. “I’ve seen this with militia soldiers and insurgents I had to treat. They communicate via apps that destroy their messages after a few minutes. We just need to find the right one.”
His finger swiped over the screen.
She frowned. “But he was talking. He said ‘Carla’ into the phone.”
“Umm, well then, maybe it was a walkie-talkie app.”
“Those exist?”
“Yes, and certain groups use them for the same reason they use apps that destroy texts—to avoid having a record of what was said.”
Her lips parted. “Do they have a limited range, like real walkie-talkies?”
If they did, could Luna be close to her now?
He scratched his head. “Uh, I don’t know. They could have the same limit as a cell phone.”
Disappointed, she stared at Gonzalo. Why wouldn’t he wake up?
“Would he know that?” Perhaps he was an underling for a reason. Most people assumed walkie-talkies were short range. Even if the app wasn’t, he and whoever Carla was might not know that.
Donovan understood. “I’m going to get security. We’ll start sweeping the floors.” He headed for the door, hesitating at the threshold. “Do you have a picture of Luna?”
She shook her head. Ethan hadn’t let her carry her bulky wallet to the meeting with Alvaro on the small chance she needed to run and it would impede her movement.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get one from Jason.” He disappeared through the door, but he reappeared a split second later. “Stay here. There might be more.”
She waited until he was gone to spin around toward Gonzalo.
“Like hell I am,” she muttered. Juliet wasn’t going to sit her on her hands doing nothing. Her baby could be in this hospital.
Juliet knelt beside the fallen man. “Tell me you have a weapon.”