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I glanced around and couldn’t spot Nicole or Sully. Time was ticking, and I had to reach Chili before he was caught. I told him what was going on and had sent him to check out a few places my son might be. I spotted a lady’s purse hanging on the back of a chair, the top open. Her phone was visible, so I put my plate on a table and walked toward her table and bumped it with my hip.
“Oh!” The lady jumped, and I dropped to my knee, snatched her phone, and tucked it up my sleeve.
“My apologies. Are you all right? Did I hurt you?” I asked in Spanish while I held her hand.
Her face immediately warmed, and she smiled and patted my shoulder.
“Good.” I didn’t wait for a response. I headed for the stairs and slipped out of view. I checked a few doors until I found one that wasn’t locked and carefully let myself in. It was some sort of guest room, and once I cleared it, I locked the door behind me. I went to the window and peeped out through the curtains then held up the phone and prayed the reception would be good. I couldn’t hear any crackling. I breathed a sigh of relief as I silenced the ringer.
It had been a while since I texted Chili in code, but it came to me easily.
Unknown Number: 5579
A moment later, the phone buzzed and once it connected, I spoke.
“Your order has been cancelled.”
Silence. “Understood.”
I took a deep breath as I crushed the phone against the sill then tossed the remains into a planter.
“I said enough!”
The voice was familiar, and I peeked through the curtains again to try to spot her. I couldn’t see anything.
“Let go,” I heard her snap.
I wasted no time and eased the double patio doors open and crossed the balcony. I saw Nicole struggling with a man, and I made a beeline to where they were.
“Bruno, please, I told you everything. You’re hurting me.” I heard fear in her voice.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.” He lifted his hand as if to hit her, but I grabbed it and twisted it backward. Nicole’s eyes widened and she immediately backed away.
Bruno yelped and swung around to face me. If he only knew who it was who stared right back at him.
“You touch my girlfriend again and you’ll deal with me,” I threatened then ducked when I saw his fist coming. I shoved him back, and he flew into the same pillar he had just pushed Nicole into. He whirled around and touched his lip then casually wiped the drop of blood from his finger with a tissue. He removed his jacket, laid it over a chair, and put his hands up to fight. I would have loved to indulge myself, but I didn’t have time for it, so when he lunged at me, I wrapped my arm around his neck and pressed into his kidney, slowly putting him to sleep. I lowered him to the ground, waited for a beat, and looked up at Nicole.
“You okay?”
“Your judgement calls are way out of whack.” She rubbed her arm where he’d held her. “You took your sweet time,” she spat. “What the hell happened? Where did you go?”
“Not now.” I stood and shook my head then took her hand and whisked her down the stairs. “Where are you?” I asked Keith through my radio.
“East gate.”
“Copy that.” I changed direction, and we circled the property using the shadow of the fence as cover. I pushed her ahead of me and helped her slip through the tiny garden gate. Once outside, I cautioned her to keep low, and we made it to the road where Keith waited with the car.
“You good?” he asked as we crawled inside.
“Define good.” Nicole snickered, but I signaled we were, and Keith took off. I tossed my head back and took a deep breath.
“So?” she asked.
“So?” I pulled out my phone.
“What the hell happened back there?”
“I had to follow up on something.”