Paradox Lost

by Libby Drew

  Another scream split the air, this one human. More loose limbs followed in the trunk’s wake, hitting the ground all around them. Brown leaves, still clinging stubbornly to the branches, rained down, as though the evening had become a windy fall day.

  The night went silent.

  “Am I dead?” Reegan shifted under him, restless under Saul’s weight. “‘Cause I can’t breathe.”

  “Sorry.” Saul coughed, squinting into the dark. The tree must have either uprooted the power line or hit one when it came down. Not a single light still shone in the entire park. Behind them, in the street, people appeared on the other side of the wrought-iron gate.

  “Holy shit! Look at that!”

  Saul shielded his eyes as cell phone cameras began to go off.

  One of the bystanders ran past, flashlight bobbing and weaving as he dodged the larger limbs and broken park furniture. “Oh, my God. There’s someone under it.” His flashlight spun back toward the swelling crowd. “Call an ambulance.”

  Saul helped Reegan to his feet. “We need to go.”

  “It got one of them.”

  “Looks like it.”

  They stumbled through the gate to the street, getting lost in the crowd of gawkers. Saul had no idea which of D’arco’s men had been injured or killed, but sticking around to find out wasn’t on his agenda. They needed to get to Silvia.

  Reegan started to lag a block from where they’d parked the Rover. Saul urged him faster. “Move it, Reegan.”

  “Screw you.” But he picked up the pace despite his labored breathing, holding one arm across his ribs.

  “Your endurance is shit.”

  “Hey, I’m an academic, not an athlete.”

  Somewhere in Saul’s exhausted brain a pithy answer waited. He had little luck drawing it forward. “Get in the car.”

  He squealed out of the parking space, then slammed on his brakes as a squad car and ambulance cut across his lane. The two vehicles double parked, forcing traffic on both sides of the street to a crawl. Cursing, Saul rolled down his window and gulped the cool night air that rolled in.

  “How far is the safe house?” Reegan asked.

  “Ten minutes, this time of night.” His gaze tracked over the curious crowd gathering outside the park gates. Most were mere shadows. “That tree took down electricity to the whole damn street. I can’t see anything. Damn it!”

  “Do you think they’re following us?”

  “If they weren’t before, they’re getting the chance now.”

  He laid on his horn. The car in front moved a few inches. Not enough to make a difference. He shot another nervous glance at the shadowed figures moving in and out of the rotating red and blue lights of the cruiser. “Come on. Come on.” A narrow lane opened and Saul gunned the engine, steering the Rover through the traffic snarl and up the street.

  “There.” Reegan threw a glance behind them. “We’re safe.”

  “Hardly.” Hands twisting on the wheel, Saul’s gaze drifted to the rearview mirror. “They didn’t find us in that park by accident. They followed us there. Which means they knew where we were before that.” He cursed again under his breath. “And who we talked to.”

  Looking green in the dim glow of the dashboard lights, Reegan drew a sharp breath. “Marty. Do you think he’ll tell them anything?”

  “Not willingly. But eventually, yes. We need to get to Silvia before your mob lackey wannabes do. Or anything else insane happens.”

  “Right.” Reegan rolled down the window and spit blood into the street. “’Cause we’ve been so lucky with that up ’til now.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “You’re going to have to wait out here. This card will get me in the door, but it won’t help you. These people don’t know you and that means you’re the enemy.”

  Saul had chosen to park one block over, approaching the safe house on foot, which would, hopefully, look less threatening to anyone watching. Reegan didn’t appreciate being left behind, Saul could see that, but with their prize so close he’d have to make the concession.

  Reegan scowled and slouched against the side of the building. “Fine. I’ll be waiting right here.”

  “Out of sight.” He waited to make sure Reegan acknowledged the command. “D’arco’s men are bound to show up sooner or later.”

  “But they won’t get in, right? You said this was a safe place for her to be.”

  “It’s safe because it’s a secret. There’s no army guarding it. I don’t think the women inside could hold their own in a firefight.” He held Reegan’s gaze until he was sure the other man understood. “Stay here. Out of sight. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Reegan surged forward to capture his hand. “Saul, she doesn’t know you. And you can’t explain to her why she isn’t safe. Make sure I have a chance to talk to her before she bolts.”

  “I hear you.”

  They were mostly alone. A few people walked the street, but only the barest hint of light reached where they stood in the shadow of a closed storefront. It could be the last time they were alone. The thought stopped Saul in his tracks when he would have stalked across the street without looking back. He spun, bracketing Reegan against the wall with his arms and legs. “We’re going to get her back safe.”

  “I believe you.” Reegan skimmed his hands over Saul’s ribs and around his back, and Saul went with the gentle tug, meeting Reegan lips in a surprisingly gentle, lingering kiss. They parted breathless, but the ache in Saul’s chest wasn’t for lack of oxygen, and when he walked across the street, his silence wasn’t because he didn’t know what to say.

  The woman’s shelter in Saul’s memory was nondescript. Plain. Completely forgettable. Exactly what the directors strived for. Any man approaching the house set off alarms. Not the electronic kind. The alert systems here were more personal.

  He sensed eyes on him before he finished crossing the street. A curtain fluttered in the window, and a pale face disappeared behind the heavy material as he climbed the front steps. He slipped the business card out of his wallet and held it loosely in his fist, name and address pointed outward toward the peephole in the door. A tiny porch light buzzed overhead.

  “Hello,” he said to the closed door. “My name is Saul Kildare. If Nancy is here, I’d like to talk to her, please.”

  “Why do you need to talk to Nancy?” asked a muffled voice.

  “I’m sorry. That’s private. I’m sure you understand that.”

  Several more seconds passed before he heard the deadbolt slide open. The door itself remained closed. Saul didn’t presume to let himself in, and after several more seconds, a second lock disengaged.

  A subtle test. One he’d passed.

  The door opened on a waiflike creature, barely five feet tall, with long brown hair swept up into a ponytail. Dubious brown eyes looked him up and down. “What do you want?”

  “To talk to Nancy.” He kept his posture relaxed and hands loose at his sides. “Is she in?”

  “Can I see your card?”

  Saul held it out. She snatched it as though he might catch her on fire, taking her time examining the few lines of text. Clearly unable to find fault with him or his invitation, she gave a diffident sniff. “Okay.” She turned, and only then did Saul allow a smile to grace his face. This one still had some fight in her. He followed her through a tiled foyer packed with backpacks and grocery bags. Shoes, toddler-sized to adult, lined the wall leading back into the house. Somewhere on the floor above, a baby began to cry. At the closed door to Nancy’s office sat a small boy, barefoot and muddy to the ankle. He held up a pie tin filled with brown gunk. “I made you a cake, Mommy.”

  The girl’s face transformed, fear and suspicion sliding away to make room for adoration. “Ooh! Yummy. But aren’t you supposed to be in bed? You know the rules about being in the backyard after dark.”

  The boy’s mouth formed a horrified O. “I forgot.” Tears filled his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  She scooped him up, cooin
g in his ear. “Don’t cry. It’s fine.” She caught Saul watching and hugged the child closer. “He’s still learning the rules.”

  The rule about being outside the house after dark was a big one. Saul remembered that much. He smiled at the child. “No harm done. Everyone forgets.”

  Shifting the child in her arms, the girl sidled past. “I’ve got to get him cleaned up. Just knock. She does paperwork this time of night, usually.”

  “Thank you.” He tapped on the door, watching from the corner of his eye while the girl started up the staircase. Hopefully she wouldn’t pass the word around that a strange man was downstairs. Silvia wouldn’t be the only one alarmed by the news.

  “Come in.”

  Nancy’s office hadn’t changed, and neither had the woman herself. Not that much time had passed, no matter how many lifetimes it had felt like to him. Tall and prim, bobbed hair held back by a headband, Nancy stayed bent over her desk as she scribbled in a notebook. “Who took your clothes this time, Marie?”

  Saul smiled. She could come off as harsh, but nobody cared more about the women and children that came here than she did. She’d been a friend to Lisa and to Saul. A kind voice on a cold, lonely night. “Hello, Nancy.”

  Her head snapped up, heart-shaped face losing its annoyed distraction. “Saul!” She beamed at him. “You’ve stayed away too long.”

  Coming back had held too many painful reminders. In his grief, he’d promised to visit, and then hadn’t had the courage to do so. “I’m sorry. How are you?”

  “Same as ever.” Sharp eyes took in the dirt smudges on his shirt and pants. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I’m looking for someone. A man named Marty gave her a card yesterday. Her name is—”

  “Silvia,” Nancy finished quietly, gaze shifting to the doorway.

  A sharp gasp interrupted Saul’s answer. He spun in time to see a flash of red hair as a woman bolted from the doorway. Nancy rose, calling out to her, but Saul couldn’t wait for a diplomatic solution. He vaulted over the back of his chair to give chase, crossing the threshold in time to see her sprint down the hallway toward the front door.

  “Silvia, wait!”

  She reached the door and tried to wrench it open, but it held fast, secured by the deadbolt that was permanently engaged. They took no chances here. It was all the delay he needed, and he slowed his pace, holding out a beseeching hand. “Please, wait. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  She ignored him, fumbling with the lock.

  “Silvia.”

  “Stay back,” she snarled over her shoulder.

  “Would you just—” An object flew across the floor in front of him, and his foot landed in something wet and squishy. Arms flailing, he slid across the floor and bounced off the opposite wall just as Silvia turned the lock and escaped into the night. Saul lost his balance, turning his ankle as he went down, foot wet and covered in mud to his ankle. “Son of a bitch!”

  “Serves you right, you creep.” The young woman who’d let him in stood on the bottom step of the staircase, baseball bat in hand. “Leave her alone.”

  Ankle screaming in pain, Saul pushed to his feet and limped toward the door. “I’m here to help her.”

  “Bullshit.” She raised the bat, looking more than prepared to use it when Nancy’s voice rang out.

  “Carlie, no! He’s telling the truth.”

  Carlie hesitated, but didn’t back down until Nancy stepped in front of her. “Go, Saul. Bring her back, if you can.”

  As far as Saul knew, that wasn’t part of the plan, but he nodded anyway, giving Carlie a wide berth as he limped onto the porch and scanned the street.

  It was empty.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Reegan reached into his pocket, fingering Silvia’s abandoned bio bracelet. Instinct told him sending Saul in alone had been a bad idea. His runaway tourist was surely feeling jittery and scared. Being approached by a stranger wasn’t going to help matters.

  He obeyed Saul’s instructions, panning his gaze over the street every couple of minutes for signs of Emilio, Bluto or Pigtail. Nothing so far. Maybe they’d all been crushed under the tree. The way his luck had been going, that seemed unlikely.

  He laid his aching head against the bricks, then bit his tongue hard when his eyes tried to close. No time for sleep. Not yet.

  When the front door to the safe house flew open, he was sluggish to react, watching in surprised dismay at the petite redhead dashing down the front steps to the sidewalk. She paused for a brief moment, then ran left, disappearing into the night.

  Reegan came to life, breaking cover to follow before they lost her again. She wasn’t taking any pains to hide or be stealthy. Her hair flew out behind her as she ran on sneaker-clad feet. More of Reegan’s rotten luck—she’d traded in her party shoes for a more sensible pair.

  He wasn’t as fit as Saul, but he was able to pace her for a few blocks before she started to lag. When he’d closed the gap to about ten yards, he called out. “Silvia, it’s Dr. McNamara from Blast in the Past. Please wait. I’m not here with your husband.”

  If anything, her pace broadened. Arms pumping hard, she would likely have outlasted him, but as she reached the corner, Pigtail intercepted her, stepping out from behind a hedge. He slung his arms around her waist. She screamed, arms and legs beating the air, and her captor stumbled backward, but didn’t let go.

  Arms clamped tight around her torso, he gave her a hard shake. “I am so sick of coming after you, you little bitch.”

  Reegan put on a burst of speed, and Silvia helped him out by driving one of her elbows up into Pigtail’s chin. He howled and dropped her just as Reegan launched himself, tackling him to the ground. There wasn’t time for anything fancy. He lifted the guy by the collar and punched him on the jaw. Eyes rolling back in his head, Pigtail went slack and Reegan dropped him to the pavement.

  He stumbled to his feet, breaking into harsh laughter. “You haven’t changed. You always could take care of yourself.” He straightened, having a split second to take in her wild red hair, green eyes, and freckles standing starkly out against a pale, enraged expression before she pirouetted, snapped her leg out and kicked him in the stomach. He dropped into a fetal position, hugging his aching ribs.

  She stood over him, an avenging angel. “That’s right, I can,” she said, then leaped over him, intending to run again.

  Reegan strained upward, catching the hem of her jeans as she sailed past, and brought her down onto the adjacent patch of lawn. “Not so fast, sweetheart,” he wheezed. Growling, moving on pure adrenaline, he clawed her closer, dodging her frenzied kicks until he could grab her in a clumsy half nelson. “Calm the fuck down. I’m sick of chasing you too.”

  She beat at him with tiny fists. “Then let me go.”

  “Yeah, let her go.”

  Pinned under him as she was, there was no way to miss the way Silvia’s eyes widened just before a thick strap came around Reegan’s throat and pulled taut. He released Silvia, digging at the cord cutting off his air, and she scrambled away.

  He expected her to run without looking back. Instead, she froze, hypnotized by the sight of her bodyguard asphyxiating him. The edges of his vision started to darken. The tips of his fingers tingled, went numb.

  Before the curtain came down completely, he waved her weakly away. “Run,” he choked. “Go.”

  She came forward instead, hand outstretched. “Emilio, no! Stop. You’re going to kill him!”

  “Go.” Another few seconds and he’d lose consciousness. She’d be on her own, and he had no idea if her other goons were nearby. He lost the battle to keep his eyes open, but the slap of sneakers on concrete comforted him. She’d listened and got away.

  Then why were the footsteps getting closer? The seconds stretched out, the way they often did during a stressful ordeal. He focused his remaining energy on staying awake, but stemming the tide of blackness felt impossible.

  Until he heard Saul’s voice. “Hey, asshole.” />
  The pressure on his throat eased. The crack of fist on flesh followed, and suddenly Reegan was free. He could breathe. He fell onto the grass, gasping for air.

  “Reegan.” Saul appeared at his side, gaze concerned, but expression tight with anger. “Are you okay?”

  “At this point, I think that question’s relative.” Silvia’s kick still echoed through his mid-section, and his throat had nearly swelled shut. Drawing all the air he wanted became a serious chore. Saul held him for a moment before coaxing him to his feet. Reegan blinked at the two unconscious figures on the ground. “Guess the tree only got one.”

  “Looks that way.” Saul scooped up Reegan’s battered hat and handed it over. “Let’s get out of here before they wake up.”

  They took off at a brisk walk, the fastest pace Reegan could manage. Saul glanced behind them several times, but the two bodyguards never budged. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice sounding like shattering glass. “I let her get away.”

  “No worries.” Reegan held up his wrist. His bio bracelet jangled, and on the small display sat two fat blinking dots, one yellow and one red, moving steadily away from each other.

  Saul did a double-take. “Is that…?”

  “Yep.” Reegan grinned at the dangling bracelet. “Stuffed it in her pocket when I had her pinned.”

  “Can you really track her with that thing?”

  “I can.”

  Saul peered at the bio bracelet. “How fast is she moving?”

  Reegan squinted at the display, doing his best to judge her speed by how quickly the distance grew between the two dots. “Fast run, but she won’t be able to keep that up for long.” He tapped the display. “She’s slowing down already.”

  “Okay. We’ll follow her in the car.”

  It meant backtracking two blocks, and Reegan’s instincts didn’t appreciate the idea of moving away from their target. “I think we should stay on foot. I’m sure we can catch her this way.”

  “Maybe we can. But what if she makes it far enough ahead to grab a cab or a bus. We’ll be hopelessly behind. The second she finds that thing in her pocket, we’re done. We need to have her in our sights before we lose the signal.”