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“N-nothing.”
“Liar!” he yelled again and spat at me, and I cringed at the spray. Then, without warning, we were both blown off our feet when an explosion went off close by. I hit the ground with a cry and felt debris cut into my side. I couldn’t waste a second to feel what damage had been done. I forced my eyes open in the massive dust cloud that surrounded me and tried to see what was going on. I locked eyes with Paul, who stood across the way with a stunned expression on his face. My guess was it had been him who threw the grenade.
With a mouth full of sand, I coughed to catch my breath, picked up my purse, and stood on shaky legs. Instinctively, I looked down at the camera on my chest and saw the little red light was still on. Thank God. People would never understand how far the Cartel would go to get what they wanted unless you had physical proof. Laws meant nothing to them.
I looked around for Nando, but he was gone. I hoped his body parts were spread in the street. Although I didn’t think I would be so lucky.
I dashed across the street, the bottom of my shirt up to my mouth to act as a filter. Everything burned, my eyes, my lungs, my muscles.
“Stop!” Paul grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the ground. “Grenade!” he growled into my ear, and a second later we were both rocked by another explosion. His heavy body shielded me from the worst of the blast. “You good?” he asked. His voice seemed far away, but I could still feel him on top of me. I nodded, and he jumped to his feet and kept low as he scanned the area.
I managed to sit up as my ears and vision fought to clear. He began to gather my belongings that were strewn about and shoved them back in my purse. I made it to my feet, and as he handed me my purse, he gave me a strange look, but before I could ask, he seemed to shake it off. “Come on. Stay low.” He took my hand and pulled me to follow.
Bullets flew over my shoulder, and I cringed when one hit the wall above me. As we arrived at the main road, I pointed to the open door of the taxi. “I need my stuff from the cab.” Before he could stop me, I pulled my hand from his and veered toward the taxi.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to the dead driver as I pulled my duffle off the seat.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed!” Paul grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the road. Then, with a screech of tires, the church van stopped in front of us. The door was tossed open, and Paul pushed me roughly inside.
“Go!” he screamed, and the van groaned and wheezed as it did its best to speed away from the mayhem.
Paul’s hands were all over me as I lay on the floor. He pulled up my shirt and checked my bloody side. I’d been through many battlefield situations, but never without a team of soldiers having my back. If I was honest with myself, I’d admit it had been a reckless move to show up without backup or a plan, and I knew better. I tried to rationalize it with my excitement of meeting Blackstone and the high of maybe discovering more about the child, but I knew I could have gotten myself killed.
Paul broke my thoughts. “She’s good. Nothing that can’t heal.” His hands left my body.
“Copy that,” Cole said.
“Nicole,” Paul made me look at him, “give it to me.”
I shook my head, confused. “Give you what?” My voice outed my nerves.
His expression had changed from concern to anger. “The birth certificate.”
ELEVEN
PAUL
Nicole didn’t answer and didn’t move, so I grabbed her purse from her and dumped the contents on the seat. I had to steady myself as Cole swerved by a car and the engine struggled to regain speed.
“Hey!” She tried to reach for it, but I slapped her arm away and held up the redacted paper.
“Where did you get this?”
Mark leaned over in his seat and reached out to her to help her sit up. “You all right?” She gave a small nod then glared at me.
“I’m not going to ask again,” I warned.
“Cole,” she called, “please pull over. I want to get out.”
“I will as soon as it’s safe,” he shouted and continued to fight the wheel. She braced herself as Cole passed another car then managed to get on her knees and gather the rest of her things. She refused to look at me as she put her stuff back in her purse.
Cole slowed and took a big turn then pulled up behind a building. It didn’t surprise me that he did as Nicole asked. He would never hold anyone against their will. None of us would, unless we had a good reason, as it went against everything we believed in and worked for. After Cole rescued Savannah all those years ago, he was particularly careful to make sure women felt at ease around us. In that moment, however, I didn’t care how she felt. I needed answers, and she apparently had them.
I reached over and locked the sliding door, but she slipped through to the front seat and slid over and out the passenger side like water.
I ripped open the door and went after her. “Hey! I’m not done with you.”
“Yeah, you are.” She picked up the pace.