Trapped

by Duncan, Lillian;

  Nate kept dialing Angelina, but she wasn’t answering. His memory kept going to the night he’d rescued her. She’d come back for him, saved him from being killed. Had she overcome her fear of the dark to try to help Bonnie and Charlie? Something told him it was possible, but it was also possible the bad guys had all of them—even Angelina. Please God, keep them safe.

  Once at the station, Leslie took over as if she were still the chief.

  Nate said nothing as she processed the prints and began running them through databases.

  His mind was on Angelina. Where was she and why wasn’t she answering her phone?

  Two night officers milled around, obviously not sure what to make of what was happening. Mt. Pleasant was usually a quiet town, the odd drunk, teenaged shenanigans and other petty crimes.

  “This is as good a time to ask if any of them know or have been in contact with Bonnie Perez.”

  “Go for it.”

  Eugene walked to the middle of the room. “Listen up. I’m wondering if either of you know Bonnie and Charles Wright.”

  One officer stepped forward. “They come to our church once in a while, but I can’t say I know them very well.”

  “Do you have a number we can call? She has no idea what kind of danger she’s in. We need to make contact with her as soon as possible.”

  “I only know them to say hello.”

  A female officer stepped forward. “Her son is in my daughter’s class at school, but I don’t have a number for her either. I could probably call Miss Dawkins, their teacher. She might have a number.”

  “Do that, please.”

  She nodded and walked to a desk.

  “You won’t believe this, Nate.” Leslie stormed out of his office. “The fingerprints belong to—”

  “Angelina Matthews.” He finished the sentence for Leslie. “That’s good. That means Angelina might have found them before the bad guys. So they could all be safe.”

  “Or they could all be in trouble. Serious trouble.” Leslie glared at him. “You’ve been holding out on us. What does Angelina have to do with any of this? How’d she get involved? And why didn’t you tell us about her before?”

  “She’s the reason I checked Charlie’s prints in the first place. Which is how I found out they were listed as missing. But the last I saw of Angelina she was at her house. I’ve been trying to get in contact with her, but she’s not answering her phone.”

  “So I guess you and the famous Ange are an item now?”

  “We’re friends, Les—”

  Eugene gave Leslie a warning look. “I don’t really care what any of you are. I want her found so we can find out what’s going on.”

  The door opened.

  Angelina walked in.

  “Well, if it isn’t Ange Matthews,” Leslie said, her tone still irritated.

  “I go by Angelina now.”

  “Where are they?” Eugene Jackson walked up to Angelina. “Do you have them? The Perezes?”

  Meeting his gaze, Angelina smiled. “In a safe place.”

  “I hope you’re right about that,” Leslie muttered.

  “But there are two men after them. We heard them say they wanted Charlie.” She looked at Nate. “They’re the same men I saw earlier at their house.”

  “What kind of car?” Leslie asked,

  “A black SUV.”

  “I don’t suppose you got a license number?” Leslie jeered.

  Angelina gave her a look then answered, “I was a little busy trying to get away from them. So, no, I didn’t.”

  Leslie turned away from Angelina, obviously frustrated.

  Jackson looked at Nate. “Can your people go look for the SUV?”

  Nate nodded and walked over to his waiting officers.

  “This is a mess,” Angelina said as she came up to Nate. “And it’s all my fault. I should have minded my own business. According to Bonnie, the grandparents can be quite ruthless. She indicated they’re involved in drugs.”

  Nate touched her arm. “It’s not your fault. Let’s all go in my office. See if we can figure something out.”

  Leslie walked in and sat behind the desk—his desk.

  “You’re in my seat, Leslie.”

  Her face flushed red, but she stood and moved to an empty seat beside Angelina. After he sat, Nate looked at Eugene Jackson. “What’s your plan?”

  “First we need to make sure they’re safe.” Eugene nodded then looked at Angelina. “Are you sure they’re safe?”

  “I think so. I mean why wouldn’t they be safe at my house? Certainly, those men have no reason to go to my house looking for them.” She looked at Nate. “Right?”

  He nodded. “Tell us what happened tonight at the law offices.”

  Angelina explained it all in short, concise sentences.

  “Well those men are probably out there right now,” Leslie said. “I doubt very much they just gave up and drove away. Are you sure they didn’t follow you back to your house?”

  “As sure as I can be.”

  “I hope you’re right. But they could have gotten your license number and had someone get your address so maybe they aren’t as safe as you thought.”

  “Not true. The car I used was my father’s. It hasn’t even been registered in years.”

  “Oh so you admit you committed a crime?” Leslie arched a brow.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Leslie.” Eugene’s tone said he wasn’t in the mood for joking.”

  “Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.” Leslie gave an insincere smile. She turned to Eugene. “What are we going to do to keep them safe?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that.” Angelina looked at Nate. “I have an idea. What if we call the sheriff’s office in California and tell them it wasn’t Carlos and Bonita Perez at all, but a case of wrong identity. Not the people they were looking for. Maybe they’d just go away and leave them alone.”

  Leslie fluffed her hair. “That’s awfully simplistic. I don’t think it would work.”

  Eugene spoke up. “I’m not so sure about that, Leslie. It could be enough to call off the Perez family’s dogs.”

  Leslie’s face turned red. “I don’t think it will work.”

  “And they wouldn’t have to go on the run again. They could stay here.” Nate smiled at Angelina. “I think it’s a brilliant idea, Angelina.”

  “It sounds way too easy.” Leslie glared at Angelina.

  Leslie always wanted to be the one to come up with the idea. Apparently, she hadn’t changed. And it was obvious that she didn’t like Angelina.

  “Sometimes easy is the best way.” Nate reached for his phone. “Let me give them a call and see what happens.”

  The others listened as he talked to a deputy.

  Nate hung up. “I think that’s all we can do for now. Everyone might as well call it a night. I’ll go to Angelina’s to keep everyone safe. Hopefully, my officers will find the black SUV before long. And we can get them behind bars so they can’t hurt anyone.”

  “I think it would be better if they didn’t get arrested here in Mt. Pleasant. We don’t want to give them a reason to hang around.”

  The phone rang.

  “What are the chances this is the Perez family or one of their minions?” Nate asked.

  “Probably pretty good.” Eugene said. “Want me to handle this?”

  “Sure.” Nate motioned at the phone.

  Eugene picked up the phone and identified himself. “I’m very sorry to have gotten your hopes up, Senor Perez, but it was a definite wrong identification. You know how small-town cops can be.” He grinned at Nate. “They jumped the gun on this thing.”

  He listened, and then responded. “Yep. I came down right away to check out the situation for myself. I can tell you unequivocally, the people in question are not the ones you’re looking for. It was all just a big mix-up. Again, I’m so sorry for getting your hopes up, but there was an incident tonight. I was wondering if you or your employees had anything to do with a br
eak-in at the building where this Bonnie woman worked.”

  Nate gave a thumbs-up to Eugene.

  “Because we would take a very dim view if you were involved in the break-in.” Eugene listened for a moment. “Of course, I’m sure you’re right. It probably was just a coincidence. Again, my apologies for the mix-up.”

  He hung up and looked at the group. “Well, they sounded convinced. I think we’ve got the situation under control. I suggest the Wrights stay away from their house for a few days. Or even better, they find a new home. As far as we know, the goons never saw them. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “I can take care of that,” Angelina said.

  “Of course you can,” Leslie replied.

  Eugene nodded. “And about the two goons. I think we should let them get on their way without an arrest. The less they have to do with this town, the safer Bonita and Carlos will be.”

  “Good idea, Agent Jackson,” Nate said.

  Leslie, are you ready to go?”

  “I’ll be there in a second. I need to−”

  Nate’s cell phone rang. “Nate here.”

  “Chief, we just drove past the Wright house. The SUV’s in the drive. Want us to talk to them?”

  Nate thought for a moment. “No, just watch them. If they leave, follow them to see where they’re going.” After he hung up, he looked at the others. “If I’m right, they’ll be leaving in a few minutes, and we can put this all to bed. And bed sounds like a good idea. I’m going home. It’s been a long day.”

  “Nate, we need to talk.” Leslie put a hand on his arm.

  “Leslie, I’m exhausted, and I’m going home. Angelina, do you need a ride?”

  “Not too tired to drive her home though, huh?” Leslie sniped.

  Nate smiled at Leslie. “You can call me tomorrow if you want to talk about this situation. Just not too early. I’ll be sleeping in. How about it, Angelina? Need that ride?”

  “No, thanks. I have my car. I’m so sorry about this whole mess, Nate. Really.”

  “There’s nothing to apologize for. If I don’t see you before, I’ll see you at the next meeting. Right?”

  Leslie didn’t move. “I want to talk to you, Nate. And I’m not leaving until I do.”

  “I’ll let the two of you talk in private.” Angelina turned to leave.

  “That’s not necessary.” His phone rang. He punched a button. “Nate here.” He listened, and then hung up. “The SUV pulled out of the drive. My officers followed them to the county line. Guess they’re leaving so…all’s well that ends well.”

  “Are you going to talk to me, Nate?”

  Some things couldn’t be avoided and apparently Leslie was one of those things. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

  “About us.”

  “There is no us. But there’s no hard feelings. I think you were right to break off the engagement.”

  Leslie bit her lips. “I’m not so sure. I think we can work it out.”

  Something he had no interest in doing, but he didn’t want to be mean about it. “That’s sweet. But both of us know we’re just too different to make that happen. I wish you the best. I really do.”

  “I guess this has to do with Angelina.”

  “God bless you, Leslie. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” He knew he had, but he wasn’t going to get into that with her. Instead, he moved forward and hugged her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angelina watching. She turned and walked out of the station.

  23

  Twenty minutes until the meeting started.

  Angelina stared at the clock. She had no intention of going to that meeting. She’d promised Dr. Markley to give it a try and she had. Much to her surprise the meetings had been helpful, but after the last one, she was done…finished. The humiliation of the anxiety attack was one she could live without.

  Besides they all knew who she was now, and they’d treat her differently anyway so what was the point of even going. Not to mention, she didn’t need to complicate Nate’s life. Leslie still seemed quite interested in Nate. And after the hug she’d seen last night, it looked as if Nate might fell the same way. Nope, the best thing she could do was to stay out of the way. She’d miss him, but…

  Her gaze strayed back to the clock.

  Eighteen minutes.

  A part of her wanted to go. Maybe Rosie went on another date. Perhaps Fred liked his new job. And it might be that Max finished his book—if there actually was a book. Another glance at the clock.

  Sixtee—

  A knock on the door made her jump. Must be Keren. Worried that she wasn’t capable of fixing something to eat when she got hungry. Which reminded Angelina that she needed to buy some cookbooks or maybe watch how-to videos. She walked over and opened the door.

  “Evening, Angelina.” Nate grinned.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought we could drive to the meeting together.”

  “I’m not going.”

  “I was afraid you’d feel like that. That’s why I stopped. You really have nothing to be embarrassed about. It was a small anxiety attack. I’ve seen worse. Actually, I’ve had worse ones myself.”

  “I just…after what happened, I can’t.”

  “It’s really important for you to come tonight.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s all about the getting back on the horse thing. If you don’t want to come back after tonight, fine with me. But you’ve gotta come back tonight, or you’re giving in to the PTSD. And if you do that, Luther wins. You don’t want that, do you?” He grinned again.

  “I know, but still…”

  The seconds ticked by.

  “So, are you ready to go?”

  She shook her head. “I...I can’t.”

  “Of course, you can. You’re not the only one with anxiety attacks. You can’t let one little panic attack stop you from going to the meeting.”

  “Why not?”

  “Now don’t go reading more into this than you should. The truth is that I’d hate to be the reason you quit. In fact, if you quit, I’ll have to assume it was my fault. And that could cause me to have my own setback. Do you want to be the reason I have a setback?”

  “You won’t have a setback, and you know it.”

  “It could happen, and I know you wouldn’t want to be the cause. Would you?”

  “You’re impossible to say no to, but you already know that, right?”

  He shrugged.

  “Yoo-hoo.” Keren walked up the steps. “Oh, I didn’t know you had company.”

  Nate smiled. “Just thought I’d see if Angelina wanted a ride to the meeting tonight.”

  “If she needs a ride to the meeting, I’ll be glad to take her.”

  Why did everyone think she was so incompetent that she couldn’t even get herself to a meeting? She took a deep breath, fought off the floating sensation that threatened, and fanned the tiny spark of outrage that they were treating her like a child.

  Both of them were looking at her.

  “Are you all right?” Keren asked. ”You look a little pale.”

  She nodded. “I’m fine. Nate, that was very nice of you to stop, but I can drive myself.” She walked into her apartment and picked up her purse and keys. She smiled at the two of them. “See you later, Keren. Nate, I’ll be right behind you.”

  Nate winked. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need me to drive you?” Keren asked.

  “I’m quite capable of driving myself to the meeting.”

  “I know that.” Keren smiled. “Have a good meeting.”

  Nate walked down the steps ahead of them, whistling.

  Keren followed behind as Angelina made her way to her car.

  He was already in his car and driving away.

  “Angelina.”

  She turned to her cousin. “What?”

  “I’m a little worried about you.”

  “Why?”

  “I think
you’re doing too much too soon. Dr. Markley said to take baby steps. But you’re running here and there. Trying to do everything at once. And after all that happened with that little boy and his mother, I worry that it’s been too much stress for you. I don’t want you to get sick again.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “And I know something’s going on between you and that policeman. He keeps coming here all the time. Why don’t you just tell him to leave you alone?”

  “He’s not bothering me. We’re friends.”

  “Fine. If you say so.” Keren hugged her. “All I’m saying is don’t do too much too soon. You’re not as strong as you think you are.”

  Angelina got in her car and drove away.

  You’re not as strong as you think you are. You’re not as strong as you think you are. You’re not…

  “Shut up.” She screamed to the empty car. But that was the truth. She wasn’t strong enough. Certainly not good enough for Nate. He deserved a healthy person. Not someone like her. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. That was her truth.

  Luther had told her that over and over.

  Keren, who loved her, was even telling her that.

  “It’s not true. You’re wrong. You’re wrong. I am…” She stopped, unable to say the words. “Get hold of yourself, Angelina.” She didn’t need to have another anxiety attack at the meeting.

  She pulled into the church parking lot.

  Nate’s car was there, but he must have gone in without her.

  Oh, well…she was strong enough to walk into that room alone. There she’d said the word. Alone. That was a start. Nate was right. They wouldn’t judge her. They’d all been through their own bad times. Jumping out of her car, she hurried into the church.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  She jumped. “Where did you come from?”

  “I was waiting for you.”

  “Well, stop it. You scared me.” She was pleased that he’d waited.

  “Sorry. So are you mad at me? Because you seemed sort of irritated at me when I left. Not to mention you left the station last night without saying good-bye.”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation with Leslie.”

  “That’s all done with, Angelina.”