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“It’s okay.” I soothed Chase’s whimpers and pulled out a cookie, and he sucked on it and stopped his cries. I bounced him gently as my body trembled. It took me two tries to recall his number from memory. I was so rattled.
“Where the hell have you been? Tell me you have something for me,” he snapped.
“I need your help.”
“Tell me what’s going on first.”
“I’m at the El Paso border. I’ve got the child, the one I’ve been helping Blackstone retrieve. We got separated, and now I’m surrounded by multiple Cartel families. I need a way to get us over the border.”
Silence.
“You did what?” he yelled in my ear, and I had to hold the phone away. “Are you fucking crazy? That’s not your fucking job!”
I closed my eyes and knew I was about to lose it myself. “I don’t need you to remind me what my job is. I need you to remember how long I’ve worked for you and how good I am at my damn job. So, work your magic and get me some help!”
“You want some help?” he growled. “Ditch the fucking kid, head back to your own area, and find me the next lead.”
“They’ll kill him.” He was heartless.
“And? Think about what you’re doing! Think about what this means. If you do this, we’re finished.”
“If I don’t do this, the child is finished. Glen, please—” I cringed when I realized I used his name. I’d never slipped up before.
“Strike two.” He hung up.
“Oh, my God!” I slapped a hand over my mouth as things went from bad to horrible. He really is an asshole! We were as good as dead. I covered my face and took a few deep breaths, and when I opened them again, I saw a wide purse hook on the wall.
“Screw it.” I used the last ace I had up my sleeve.
“Jack, Washington Post.”
I could cry, I was so unbelievably happy to hear his voice. “Jack, it’s Nicole. I’m in trouble. I’m going to go live, right now, and I need you to blast it everywhere.”
“Oh, shit,” he started typing, “how bad is it?”
“Take the credit, get the promotion, and if I make it out alive, I’ll treat you and your wife to a steak dinner at Finnegan’s.”
He puffed out a breath. “Sending the link to the number you’re on now.”
“Thanks.” I sniffed and tried to prepare my head for what I was about to do. “Jack, I’m at the El Paso border. Set up a line, and if anything credible comes in, text me on this number.”
“El Paso and this number,” he repeated. “Nicole?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re scaring me. You sure about this?”
I squeezed my eyes shut as tears leaked out, and I fought the ringing in my ears as panic tried to take over. Chase coughed, and his little hand reached out for my necklace, and suddenly everything inside me said to do it. I needed to do it.
“I am.”
“Then go for it.”
“Thanks, Jack.” I hung up, clicked the live camera link, propped the phone on the double hook and stood back a little to get in focus. I pulled Chase out of the sling and angled his lethargic little red face away from the camera. I used part of Paul’s hoodie to conceal his face in case he moved during the live. I wouldn’t risk that one of the Cartel had someone with enough computer skills to create some crazy AI footage of the child. God knew how it could be used later. I’d seen it happen before, and the possibilities were scary.
I waited for the light to turn red at the top of the screen and hoped to God this was a good idea.
“My name is Nicole Winter, reporting live from near the El Paso, Texas border, and I need your help,” I started and allowed the tears to stream down my cheeks. “This poor, innocent child is the target of an ongoing manhunt by the Cartel.” I kissed the top of his head through the fabric.