“Get all the way down on the floor!” I ordered, frightened.
Jake huddled behind my seat.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking in the rearview mirror. It didn’t look like John was attempting to follow us. I knew that shooting him in the face again with the pepper-spray had probably saved our lives. He wasn’t catching up to us anytime soon.
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Are we going to see my dad now?” asked Jake.
“Yes,” I replied and then noticed the gas gauge. It was almost completely on “E.”
33
Damian
We’d reached port and I was being interviewed by the FBI when my cell phone rang.
“It’s Marissa,” I told the two men who were questioning me.
They nodded for me to answer it.
“Hello?” I said into the phone, my hands shaking. They’d told me that if she called, to stay calm and pretend that I knew nothing of her involvement.
“Damian? Thank God you answered. It’s Mia.”
Her voice shocked the hell out of me. I stood up. “Mia, you’re alive?”
“Yes. So is Jake. I have him. I have your son.”
I sat back down, wondering if I’d actually heard her right. “You have Jake?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re alive.”
“As far as I know,” she said and then laughed nervously.
The relief was overwhelming. “What? How?”
“It’s a long story. He’s safe now, so don’t you dare pay those assholes any money.”
“I definitely won’t,” I replied. “We made it off of the ship, Mia.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Is everyone okay?”
“Yes.”
She sounded as if she was crying. “I can’t believe it. It’s a miracle. I thought –“
“I know. Everyone is fine. Well, not Simon.”
She sucked in a breath. “Ransom’s drummer? What happened?”
“He was killed. That was the only innocent casualty at least.”
“Put her on speakerphone,” said one of the agents, Garrison.
“Mia, I’m going to put you on speakerphone,” I said. “I’m with the FBI.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Hello, Miss James. My name is Detective Richard Garrison. Are you safe right now?”
“I believe so,” she answered.
“What’s your location?” he asked.
She explained that they were about two-and-a-half hours away from Naples. “We’re at this truck stop called Rooster’s Diner,” she replied. “I believe the name of the town is called Williamsburg.”
“Do you know if John is around?” I asked her.
“No. I mean, I doubt he could find us. I’m parked behind the diner. We aren’t far from where we left him, though.”
“We’re going to contact the local authorities and have them meet you there,” said Garrison, motioning for the other agent to take care of it.
“Okay,” she replied.
I stood up. “I want to drive out there, too.”
“Certainly. I’ll drive you,” said Garrison. “Meanwhile, Ms. James, can you give us your account of what happened? Just so that we have an idea of what’s going on. We’ll take your full statement later.”
“Sure.”
Mia gave us a rundown of everything, beginning with when she’d been forced to leave my yacht. She told us that John had killed Tracy, along with three others who’d been involved with the kidnapping. Lowering her voice, she also mentioned that Marissa had been one of the victims.
“Marissa Stryker?” asked the agent, looking at me.
“Yes,” she replied. “I mean, I didn’t see her face, but there were three bodies. One of them had to be her. Damian, I’m sorry.”
“She put herself in that situation,” I said, feeling sad for Jake. “Unfortunately, she paid with her life. The only one I’m sorry for is Jake.”
“Yes. Me, too,” said Mia. “He’s a good little boy.”
Despite the kind of person Marissa had become, I once loved her. The news didn’t give me any satisfaction. “Did he witness it?”
“I don’t think so but he knows she’s gone,” Mia said softly.
“Do you have an address for either of the houses that John took you to?” asked Garrison.
“No, but I could lead someone there,” she replied.
“Okay. Good.” Garrison looked at me. “We should get going.”
I agreed.
“Stay put and wait for the local police,” he told her.
“I will,” she said.
“Let’s go,” said Garrison.
I took her off of speakerphone and followed him.
“Can I talk to Jake” I asked her.
“Yes. Of course.”
She handed Jake the phone.
“Dad, is that you?”
“Yes,” I said huskily, my eyes filling with tears. It was so good to hear his voice and to know that he was safe.
“Jake, I love you, son.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
“Did they hurt you at all?”
“No. I fell down and twisted my ankle though,” he replied and then went on to tell me how he’d tried escaping not once, but twice. “Mia saved me, Dad. I think John was going to kill me and still take your money.”
I smiled at his seriousness. He was still young but so damn intelligent. “She’s a nice woman. I owe her my life for saving you.”
He told the story of how she sprayed John with some pepper spray and then stole his car.
“You were both very brave,” I said. “I’m proud of you guys.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“I’ll be seeing you soon,” I said. “Just hold tight, okay?”
“I will.”
“Put Mia back on the phone,” I said, following the agent to the main deck.
“Okay.”
“Hi,” she said.
“We’re leaving shortly.”
“Okay. By the way, this phone is about to die and I don’t have the charger,” she said.
“Okay. We’d better hang up then.”
“Yeah.”
“One more thing… I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
“You don’t owe me anything. If anyone deserves to be ‘thanked’, it’s Michael. If it wasn’t for the pepper-spray, I don’t know if we’d have gotten away.”
“Smart guy,” I said and then noticed Ridley sitting down on one of the lawn chairs, staring off into space. “Wait a second. Ridley doesn’t know you’re alive.”
She sucked in her breath. “Let me talk to her.”
“Hold up,” I told Garrison.
He stopped.
“Ridley, I have someone who wants to talk to you,” I said, stopping next to her.
She looked up at me.
Smiling, I handed her the phone.
34
Mia
“Hello?” murmured Ridley.
“Ridley. It’s me.”
There was a long stretch of silence and then she gasped. “Mia?!”
“Yes.”
“We were told that you’d died!” she said, her voice breaking.
“Really? As far as I know, I’m still here.”
She was crying and laughing at the same time. “I thought I’d lost you,” she said through her tears. “Those assholes lied.”
“John lied because he wanted to take me away with him,” I said dryly. “How romantic, huh?”
She called him a bunch of names. “How did you get away?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I see you. By the way, Jake is also here with me.”
“Thank God,” she said. “Where are you?”
“In Williamsburg. The phone is about to die so I have to let you go. I’ll see you soon, though, okay?”
She sniffed. “Yes. I love you, Mia. I’m so happy you’re alive.”
�
��I love you, too, and ditto.”
Ridley was about to say something else when the phone died.
“Crap,” I said, staring at it.
“Can I go home now?” asked Jake, who was still sitting in the backseat.
“No, but your dad is coming out to get us,” I replied, staring at him through the rearview mirror. “Along with the FBI.”
His eyes lit up. “The FBI? Cool!”
I smiled at him. He was such a little cutie. He looked like his father, but with dimples. “We just have to be patient and wait for them to arrive. The police should be arriving first.”
He yawned. “Can we get something to eat? I’m hungry.”
I had no money. No identification. Nothing. “I’m sorry, Jake. We’re going to have to wait until your dad gets here. Maybe the police will have some water for you, though.”
“Okay. Can I go to the bathroom then?” he asked.
“Can’t you hold it?”
“No. I have to go really, really bad.”
I looked at the diner. There was an employee door that we could go through, next to the dumpster.
“Okay, I’ll take you,” I said and then got out. I opened up the back door and helped him stand up on one foot.
“Can you put any weight on your other ankle?” I asked as he held on to me.
“I’ll try.” Jake put his foot down and tried standing on it. “Ow. No. I can’t. It hurts too much.”
The swelling had gone down a little but it still looked very tender.
“Okay. Just hold on to me,” I said, leaning down so that he could put his arm over my shoulder.
We hobbled over to the back door and I tried the knob. It was open, so we went inside. Two men were bustling around in the kitchen, one was flipping burgers, the other was dropping French fries into the fryer.
“Sorry,” I said, when they noticed us. I smiled. “He sprained his ankle and needs to use the bathroom.”
“It’s by the entrance in the front,” mumbled the guy making burgers. He was the older of the two and looked a little grumpy. “It probably would have been a lot easier if you would have parked in front.”
“Someone is trying to kill us,” said Jake, matter-of-factly. “So, we had to park in the back.”
The man’s eyes widened. “What?”
“Someone’s really trying to kill you?” said the other cook, wiping his hands on his apron.
“Unfortunately, it’s true,” I replied, smiling nervously. “The police are on their way here to help us.”
“Who is it”?” asked the older man, scratching his chin. “Your husband?”
“No,” I answered, although we’d have been married by now if I hadn’t caught him cheating. I almost felt indebted to Tracy for the affair. Unfortunately, she’d been the one who’d paid dearly in the end. “You said the bathroom is in the front?”
A waitress walked into the kitchen carrying a plate. “Table four said his chicken is still clucking,” she said, and then looked at me. “Who are you?”
Before I could answer, the younger fry-cook started talking excitedly. “She said someone’s trying to kill her and the kid. Is he in the diner?”
“No. I mean, I hope not,” I replied, stopping in my tracks. What if he was? We were only a couple of miles away from the house. I hadn’t wanted to risk going too far with a car that was almost out of gas.
“She sprayed him in the eyes with pepper-spray,” said Jake. “He can’t see. He tried firing his gun but missed the car.”
“Lord have mercy,” said the waitress, her eyes wide. “Someone was really firing at y’all?”
I nodded. “We need to use your bathroom,” I told her.
“Come with me. I’ll show you where it is,” she said. “My name is Ruth, by the way.”
“I’m Mia and this is Jake,” I told her.
“You just tell me if you see that guy in the diner and I’ll have Rooster get his gun,” she murmured.
Rooster was the owner. “Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s the man who was frying up hamburgers back there,” she replied. “My husband.”
I helped Jake to the front of the diner, to the men’s restroom.
“Do you need help getting in there?” I asked him.
“No. I think I’ll be fine,” he said, letting go of me. He limped toward the bathroom door.
“I’ll be right here,” I told him when he turned around to look at me, an anxious expression on his face.
He nodded and then went inside.
I let out a ragged sigh and turned around. When I did, I noticed that everyone in the diner seemed to be gawking at me.
“Honey, you’ve got blood on your shirt and some on your neck,” said Ruth, pointing.
I looked down and grimaced. It had to have been from carrying the bodies. I’d been so caught up everything that I hadn’t even noticed.
“You might want to go and clean that up,” she added.
“Okay. Let him know that I’m in the other bathroom,” I said to her. “I’ll be right out.”
“No worries. I’ll let him know,” she said, grabbing a coffee pot.
I stepped into the ladies’ room, cleaned the blood from my neck, and splashed some water on my face.
When I walked out of the restroom, I stopped dead in my tracks. Parked outside was the white Mercedes.
35
Mia
“You okay?” asked Ruth, walking back over to me. “You don’t look so good.”
“Where’s Jake?” I asked, my head spinning. We had to get out of the diner. It was obvious that he knew we were inside. How? I had no idea.
“He’s still in the bathroom. I think.”
I turned around and knocked on the men’s room door rapidly.
“Jake! Are you almost done in there?”
“Yes,” he said loudly. “I’m just drying my hands.
“Okay. Hurry up,” I said and then turned back to Ruth. “You see that white car right out there?” I said in a low voice. I didn’t want to start a panic. “That’s the man who’s searching for us. He’s armed and I’ve seen him kill people.”
“Oh hell,” she said loudly. “Rooster! Get out here!”
Her husband walked out of the kitchen. “What’s up?” he asked, wiping his hands on his apron.
“Come over here,” she said, waving her hand.
He stepped closer. “What is it?”
“The man trying to kill her and the boy is parked out in our lot,” she replied.
His eyes turned stormy. “Where is he?”
I pointed to the Mercedes. “He kidnapped Jake and then me,” I whispered. “And killed at least five people that I know of.”
“I thought the police were on their way,” he said, frowning.
“So did I,” I answered, looking up the street. Nobody was on the road, let alone a cop.
The men’s room door opened and Jake hobbled out.
“Oh, my God,” said Ruth, staring outside. “He’s getting out of the car. That’s him, you say?”
I turned back around. “Yes,” I replied, watching John approach the diner. I didn’t think he could see us but the expression on his face was of frustrated anger.
“Bring the boy into the back,” said Rooster, walking behind the counter. He reached below and pulled out a shotgun. “Folks! We might have ourselves a situation. I need for you to get down underneath your tables now!”
I put my arm around Jake. “Come on. We have to hurry.”
“What’s wrong?” asked one of the male customers, standing up.
“This guy coming in. He’s armed and dangerous, Hal,” said Rooster. “Get your wife under the table in case I have to start shooting.”
The room erupted with gasps and frightened cries.
We’d just gotten to the kitchen when the door jingled.
“Stop right there,” I heard Rooster say.
“Whoa, what’s this about?” replied John.
“Keep your hands where I can
see them,” said Rooster. “Up in the air.”
“I’m scared,” squeaked Jake.
“It’s going to be fine,” I whispered, trying to look through the partition without John seeing me.
“Ruth, call the police,” said Rooster.
“There’s no need for that,” said John. “I’m leaving.”
“Stay where you are,” said Rooster. “Or I’ll put a bullet in you.”
“You can’t shoot me. You’d go to prison,” said John. “There’s no probable cause for you to fire that gun. Believe me, I know. I’m a lawyer.”
Rooster didn’t say anything.
“Maybe I should sue you for threatening my life. There are a lot of witnesses here. They haven’t seen me do anything. You shoot me, though… you’ll be behind bars for a very long time. Is that what you want?”
Rooster remained silent.
“That’s what I thought. I’m leaving. Have a nice day,” he said dryly.
The door jingled again and I let out a sigh of relief. I turned back to look at Jake. “He’s gone.”
The boy relaxed.
The next thing we heard was a loud explosion of glass, followed by frantic screams.
I looked into the dining room and saw that John had driven the Mercedes through the glass, slamming into Rooster in the process. I stared in shock as the poor man was dragged under the vehicle.
“Rooster!” screamed Ruth, trying to get to him after the car stopped. “Oh, my God!”
Horror and guilt rushed through me, knowing that her husband may have died because of us.
Where in the hell were the cops?
“Where is she?!” hollered John, getting out of the vehicle and waving a gun around. “I saw the car parked in back! I know you’re here, Mia!”
“Oh, no,” whispered Jake, looking like a frightened rabbit.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, putting my arm around him.
“If you don’t get your ass out here in ten seconds, I’m going to start shooting people!” John yelled.
I froze.
“Don’t go out there. Please, Mia,” begged Jake.
“Take him out of this place,” I said to the cook. “Hide him somewhere. Whatever you do, please don’t let John find him.”
“I won’t,” he said, putting his arm around the boy protectively. “My car’s in back. Let’s go.”
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