Page 103 of Desperate Justice

Rafe blew out a breath and muttered in Spanish as he paced, glancing at his cell phone. “The evidence is there, Ally. Diana is an accomplice. Agents tailed the van picking up bears stuffed with drugs to North Carolina. At least two of the bears contain fentanyl that we know of.”

“Where?”

He shook his head. “They lost the van a short distance from the border.” Jaw tensing, he studied his phone. “Ally, do you think Paul owns an iPhone?”

“Not sure, but probably. Di bragged he could get her a discount on a new one, so he probably is an Apple guy, not an Android. Why?”

“Apple phones make it easier to track AirTags.” He looked distracted. “I have to go.”

He kissed her swiftly and gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry it came down to this. I’ll do what I can, find out where she is, and exactly her involvement. We’ll talk when I get back. Stay here.”

And then he was gone, roaring off in the night on his Harley, leaving her behind with her misery.

Allison went inside and tried to think. Should she call her parents? Di would need a good lawyer. But where could they find one here? Maybe a lawyer in Miami could refer them to one...

She sank into the sofa and buried her head into her hands. Already assuming the worst: that Di was guilty. It made no sense. Yet, as Rafe pointed out, the evidence was against her.

Allison went to brew some coffee and tried to assemble her fractured thoughts. All this time she’d been thinking the best of her sister, shielding her as much as she could, and Diana had been fooling her all along.

Maybe the glitz and glamor of the drug lifestyle, and the luxury Hector Hernandez could give her, had gotten to her sister.

“But she’s not that shallow,” she said aloud to the dripping coffee maker.

Then there was Paul, who adored Diana and would do anything for her... Allison sighed and poured a cup of coffee, added sugar and cream and went outside. Insects hummed in the trees and brush. It seemed so calming, when all she wanted to do was scream.

Her cell phone rang. Allison glanced at the number and frowned. Didn’t recognize it. “Hello?”

“Ally?”

Oh dear heavens. “Di! Where are you? You okay? What the hell is going on? Please tell me you’re okay!”

The line crackled. She cursed the lousy reception and ran outside to get a better signal. Her sister’s terrified voice crackled over the phone.

“I’m scared, Ally. Hector...warehouse...a gun...forced me.”

“Where are you? Di!”

“Randall...” Diana rattled off the address. “Hurry please.”

The line clicked off. “No, no, no,” she screamed.

Allison called Rafe. No answer.

Coffee spilled over the deck, the mug crashing downward as she raced inside to grab her keys. Warehouse. Was Randall a man? A last name. Randall.

Randall. The name was familiar. Suddenly it clicked.

Paul’s furniture factory was in Randall. She checked on her phone. The town was an hour north of here.

Diana had to be there.

Allison dialed Paul’s phone. He finally picked up. “Allison, I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“The signal here sucks. Listen, there’s no time. Where are you?”

“Just landed in Raleigh an hour ago and I’m trying to get a car. Damn rental agency line is a mile long.”

Her stomach clenched. By the time Paul drove to his factory, it would be too late. “Listen, Paul...”