Page 21

ELEVEN

PAUL

N icole 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.

I broke into a jog and grabbed her arm and spun her around to face me dead on. I held the paper inches from her face. “Why do you have this? Why are you following me? Do you know?”

“Know what?” She tried to step back, but I increased my grip. “Let me go!”

“Answer me!” I shouted, and her eyes went glossy with tears. Shit, I hardly recognized who I was in that moment, but every second that passed was a second they were getting closer to my son.

“Whoa.” John appeared and placed his hand on my arm. He gave it a gentle squeeze. “Brother, I know,” he gave me an understanding look, “but she’s not the enemy.”

I dropped my head and released my hold on her. John turned to Nicole.

“Are you okay?” She nodded and cleared her throat like she was trying to hold it together.

“Look, you two, I know you have stuff to talk about, but we can’t be here right now.

There are bad people only moments behind us.

” He smiled at Nicole. “We’re all on edge right now.

This mission has been trickier than most, and whatever else is going on, you being here just tripped us up. ”

“This is my job.”

“I know that, and I respect that. We’ve never worked with the press before, so you’ll have to forgive us if we don’t know the protocols. We have our way of doing things, and you threw us for a loop back there. C’mon, let’s get back to the van and we can talk this out.”

We all looked up as we heard a vehicle.

“Okay,” Nicole threw another glare at me, “I need my things, anyway.” She pulled away from us and began to stomp toward the van. “You can take the front seat, Paul,” she called over her shoulder, “and no more manhandling.”

I never agreed to that.

“John.”

“I know.” He slapped my shoulder as we followed her. “We’ll find out what she knows.”

“We need to find a new place to stay. Mark, check the maps.” Cole was all business as he pulled carefully back onto the road.

No one spoke a word after that. Cole drove like the wind, and we all remained alert for any unwanted visitors. I kept my sunglasses on and watched Nicole through the side mirror. Her eyes were huge, and she turned away and looked out the window more than once to hide her tears.

I felt like shit for how I’d treated her, but she knew stuff I needed to know.

We decided to stay at a larger hotel to blend in a little better. Cole parked behind some shrubs to help hide the van and turned off the engine. He turned around in his seat and looked back at us.

“Nicole, we need to have a conversation about what’s going on. It seems to me that whatever it is you’re into, it’s got you into a lot of hot water.”

“It’s my job, Cole. I can take care of myself. Thanks for your help, but I can take it from here.” She reached for her stuff and made a move for the door handle.

Cole tilted his head at me and threw me a look as I went to grab her. I quickly dropped my hand.

“Look, let’s help each other out here. How about you stay here tonight, get something to eat, some sleep, and give us a few minutes to talk in the morning. I think you owe us that much.”

She pursed her lips as she considered his words. “All right.”

Cole nodded then held out a card. “In the meantime, if you need anything, call me.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “I need a laptop.”

“On it.” Mark pulled one of our extras from a pack. It was secure, and I knew we could retrace her movements on it later. Good one, Mark.

“Thanks.” She slid it into her duffle bag. “But I want to make something clear.” Her voice was low and emotionless. “I’m here to do a job. I never asked for your team’s protection, though I am thankful for your help back there, and I don’t have to play by your rules.”

“I know,” Cole nodded and wiggled his hand for her to take his card, “but remember we’re not your enemy.”

“Maybe you should remind him of that.” She chin pointed at me and snatched the card and hopped out.

Cole turned to look at me. “Maybe John or Mark should talk to her later. You need to work on your approach.”

“No. This is my fight. She’s got a copy of my son’s birth certificate, Cole. I need to know how she got it.”

“This is our fight,” he corrected me. “If you want to get the answers yourself, fine, but you’ll need to figure out a softer way to approach the subject.”

I nodded and huffed out a deep breath. I knew Cole was right. We were a team, but I still struggled to get my head back on right, especially here in the field. I had been on my own for so long. I handled situations very differently when I was Eric Noah.

“Old habits die hard,” John mumbled behind me as if he could hear my thoughts. “Don’t forget who you are and that you always have been Blackstone. Don’t forget your roots, brother.”

“Look at your pants.” Mark scowled at Keith. “They’re ripped. I can’t take you anywhere.”

I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath again, and headed inside. I needed a shower and time to think.

As a team, we mingled with the locals during the evening, carefully showing Talya’s photo to people.

We asked if anyone had seen her or the child, but we came up empty.

Mike had stayed behind to follow up on some leads with friends of his wife.

Catalina knew the area well and had given him some numbers to call.

He also kept an eye on Nicole, who apparently never left the hotel.

I checked in with Chili and Frank, but still nothing.

It was maddening. I paced the room so much I swore I wore out the carpet.

When I couldn’t take it anymore, I headed down to the restaurant.

I was desperate for something to do. I was going out of mind without answers.

The morning couldn’t come soon enough. It felt as though the Cartel were closing in, and I prayed they were no closer to finding my son than we seemed to be.

“Table for one?” the waitress asked, and I nodded. Her sympathetic glance made me aware I was showing my exhaustion and lack of hope. I mentally kicked myself and smiled. I ordered a beer and glanced at the menu. I had to eat something.

“I know, Jack,” Nicole’s voice came from the booth in front of me, “but if he wants the

footage, he’ll have to be fine with some of the faces being blurred.

” I strained to hear her better. “I can’t tell you who they are.

” She paused. “It’s confidential. Look, I was almost killed today, my body hurts like hell, I’ve pissed off one scary-ass man, Bruno wants me…

” Her voice cracked, and I heard her sniff.

“Look, if he wants this footage, then he gets blurred faces.” I heard the phone hit the table with a thud. “Shit,” she huffed.

“You look like you could use a drink.” A man with a heavy French accent stood from the table next to her booth. Clearly, he didn’t pick up on her social cues, because even I could hear she was way past the point of being friendly.

“Thanks, but I still have some wine.”

He didn’t seem to be fazed by her rejection. “Maybe you’d like some company.”

I heard the clicking of a keypad. “My boyfriend will be here any moment, but thanks anyway.”

“Here’s how I see it.” The man eased into the seat across from her, and I lost sight of him. “You’re a beautiful woman, and you’ve clearly had a bad day on your vacation, so I will do you the favor and wait with you until your boyfriend arrives.”

“Wow,” I mouthed as I sipped my beer. I had to hand it to him; he was ballsy. My waitress started to come over, but I caught her eye and held up the menu then shook my head with a smile to let her know I wasn’t ready yet.

“Tell me, ahh…” He fished for her name but continued when she didn’t offer it. “Why are you here tonight? I hope it is for pleasure and not for business.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “I’m really not interested in company.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I know, but this is me declining your flirting. Like I said, I’m waiting for?—”

“Your boyfriend. Yes, I heard you the first time. I’m simply asking what you’re here for.”

“There’s a difference between being confident and being cocky when one approaches the opposite sex. One is intriguing, and the other is a turn-off. Can you guess which one you are?”

“Answer my question, and maybe I’ll leave.” His tone made my hand tighten around my glass. I spotted two men watching them. Everything clicked then. He probably didn’t want them to see he was being rejected.