Altercation (21 page)

S
omething was going on.

The voices upstairs grew louder. Jaci pressed her ear against the wooden door, trying to make out the words. Sounded like several people. Her hand trembled slightly. The scent of the strawberry shampoo lingered in her short, yellow hair.

“It’s time, isn’t it,” Amanda whispered.

Jaci looked at the girl, at the tiny black skirt she wore and the corset-style tube-top. “It hasn’t been seventy-two hours yet. Has it?”

Amanda shrugged.

Jaci glanced at the black leggings and silky red top she had on. “I look like a whore.”

Amanda tossed her brown hair behind her shoulder. “I think that’s the point. You even have the shiner to go with it.”

Jaci forced herself to breathe.
Please, please, don’t let this happen to us.

But things like this did happen. It was the way the world was. How many girls her age had uttered similar prayers, right before being sold into trafficking?

She heard the footsteps on the stairs, and Jaci shoved away from the door, huddling closer to Amanda. The door opened, revealing the familiar outline of The Hand. Behind him stood another man, tall with golden skin. His long black hair was slicked back with oil, and his lustful brown eyes burned over their bodies. His lips parted into a smile, revealing ivory white teeth.

“What happened to this one?” He ran a hand over the welt on Jaci’s neck.

Anger flashed across The Hand’s features. “One of my men got handy.”

The tall man raised an eyebrow. “Did he succeed?”

“No.”

“Perfect,” he purred. He snapped his fingers and two more men appeared behind him. “I’ve got the money in the car. Let me examine them and we’ll make the transaction.”

“Out,” The Hand instructed, his eyes cold and empty.

Jaci stepped out first. She glanced to her right, at the doors leading to freedom through the walk-out basement. She could run for it. Would they shoot her?

The buyer grabbed her arm and ran his hand down her neckline. “Are they both virgins?”

“Yes,” The Hand said.

“Well, one can never know for sure. But that’ll fetch a higher price.” The man turned his greedy eyes on Amanda. “I’ll give you five hundred for each.”

The Hand shook his head. “They know where the necklace is. It’s worth a million by itself.”

Jaci’s eyes darted toward Amanda. That necklace was safely hidden in the air duct, and chances were they’d never find it.

As if reading her thoughts, Sid grunted. “If I don’t have to kill them to get the information.”

The Hand’s eyes pierced Jaci’s. Any gentleness or compassion she might have imagined a few hours ago had vanished. “I’m sure you have ways.” He took Jaci’s shoulder, pulled her forward. “This one’s father is the Carnicero. He’s promised me four million for her. If you take her, I want that money too.”

The buyer’s eyes narrowed and he scowled. “I can’t pay you for money that he hasn’t paid yet.”

The Hand’s fingers bit into Jaci’s shoulder. “Then I’ll keep her. Four million just for her is more than two million for both of them. Give me one and a half for the other girl and we’ll call it good.”

Jaci looked at Amanda, saw the panic in her eyes.

The other man hesitated. “Four million?”

The Hand nodded. “That’s on top of my fee. But you might get lucky. The Carnicero might buy back her friend, too.”

“Fine.” He gave a short nod, his greasy hair jiggling. “One for the girls, one for the necklace, and four for the ransom. Six million.”

Finally there was a hint of excitement in The Hand’s eyes. “Done.”

The man snapped his fingers, and his two men bounded up the stairs.

The Hand kept his eyes on him. “Don’t leave until I count the money.”

“I won’t,” he answered mildly. He took Jaci’s wrist and pulled her away from The Hand. “Easy, girls,” he cooed, sidling his arms over their shoulders. “You belong to me now.”

Jaci’s eyes were still on the door. He must’ve seen, because he chuckled.

“You wanna run, girl? Go ahead. I’ll even give you a five-second head start.”

She focused on him, on his sinister brown eyes. Was he serious? All she needed was five seconds. She was a runner.

The Hand growled deep in his throat. “Don’t play with them.”

“Ah, but the disappointment on their faces is priceless. Every time the escape slips through their fingers.” He grabbed Jaci’s chin.

She jerked away, her face growing hot.

A sound like multiple firecrackers came from the garage. The man let go of Jaci, eyes darkening. “What’s that?”

Screams came next, and then a loud crash. Jaci found herself shoved to the ground. The rapid explosions were in the house now, the basement walls shaking under the pressure, and she realized what they were: gunshots. From a machine gun.

Jaci had only heard that sound in movies. It terrified her.

Footsteps charged down the stairs. A man in a tight black uniform and a black mask jumped to the basement floor. He took a quick survey of the room and fired off a round.

Jaci pressed her face to the carpet and covered her head with her hands, expecting at any second to feel dozens of bullets pulverizing her body. Even when the sound stopped, she didn’t move. She heard a rasping sound and looked around. Amanda was huddled in a ball next to her, crying.

The man in black knelt down next to them. His gun touched Jaci’s arm, and she flinched.

“Jaci,” he whispered.

She pulled her head up, trying to see behind the mask. “Daddy?” A sob built in her throat, choked her up, and she covered her mouth to soften the gasps that shook her body.

He pulled the mask off, lines etched around his mouth and eyes that hadn’t been there the last time she had seen him. “
Mi querida.
” He gathered her up in his arms, and then pulled her to her feet. “You need to leave here.” He gripped Amanda’s forearm and helped her up also.

Only then did Jaci take a look around. The Hand lay on his back by the open office, his blue eyes frozen in a stare to the heavens. Blood stained the plush blue carpet under him. She swallowed hard and looked for the other man.

“He got away.” Amanda pointed a finger at the open door, leading into the yard.

Jaci’s father turned to her. “There was another one?”

Jaci nodded numbly.

“Come on.” He took both of them by the elbows and hauled them up the stairs. “I’ve called the police. They’ll be here soon. I’ll wait till they get here.”

“Daddy.” Jaci stopped walking, her mind starting to catch up with her. She switched into Spanish, hoping the language would help pry out his secrets. “What’s going on? Where’ve you been?” She looked up at him, searching his face, desperate for answers. “Why did you leave us?” Her eyes dropped to the machine gun strapped across his body. She didn’t even know how to ask about that.

He answered her in English, as if unwilling to enter into an intimate conversation with her. “Keep walking. I can’t stay when the police arrive, and I must find that other man.”

They reached the top of the stairs and Amanda halted. Jaci saw why. Dead bodies were strewn about the room, riddled with bullet holes. Blood splattered the walls, the table, the carpet. Jaci’s stomach turned over. She hadn’t even known there were that many men here. She clutched her father’s arm for support.

“In here.” He led them to the sitting room, which was thankfully devoid of bodies. “What did the other man look like?”

Jaci took several careful breaths before describing him. “Tall. Kind of Italian-looking, or Greek. Brown hair, brown eyes.”

“Sid.”

She stared at him. “How do you know these men? How did you find us?”

He stared at a large painting of fruit hanging over the mantel. “The owner of the house called me. He said he knew where you were. I offered him a generous tip and safe passage to anywhere in the world. We arranged a time for him to leave on an errand. I knew I was cutting it close. I didn’t know it was that close.”

Sirens sounded in the distance. He stood up and kissed Jaci’s cheek. “
Mi amor, te amo.
”

She grasped his hand. “You must tell me! Are you a criminal?”

He hesitated, eyes flicking toward the street. “What I do is illegal, yes. But I fight for civility and freedom.” He slipped his hand from hers. “I must go. Please tell your mother.” He swallowed, his eyes moist. “I love her. I am sorry.”

“Will you never come home?” Jaci cried, running after him as he strode to the door.

“I don’t know. My secret is out.” He gave her a long look and then hurried outside.

Ignoring the dead bodies visible in the kitchen, Jaci ran to the window and tried to see where he went. He disappeared into the neighbor’s garage.

She felt an arm around her shoulders and started. She’d forgotten Amanda was there. Amanda pulled Jaci into her shoulder, and Jaci sobbed. She looked out the window at the sound of sirens and watched several police cars pull into the cul-de-sac.

The police burst into the house, guns out. They lowered them immediately at the sight of Jaci and Amanda. The first officer hit a radio on his vest and said, “We’ve got the girls.”

“Come with us.” Another stepped over and guided them out of the house.

“We’ll check for survivors,” the first man said, motioning the other men into the house.

Jaci knew there wouldn’t be any.

S
omewhere in her mind, Jaci was aware of the swirling blue lights, the officers talking to her, the ambulance that carted her and Amanda away from the scene. But she couldn’t focus her thoughts. She stared numbly at the people around her, not quite able to make sense of anything.

Amanda took her hand. “Jaci?”

The lights and faces and noises coalesced into logical sounds and her mind began working again. Jaci stifled a sob. “Amanda?”

Someone was asking her questions. How did she feel, what did she see, who saved them?

“Leave her alone,” Amanda said. “Are you guys idiots? We need some time.”

Her tirade worked. The ambulance took them to the hospital, where they were escorted to a room and poked and prodded in silence. Through it all, Jaci felt nothing.

“Jaci? Amanda?”

The man in the dark suit with light brown hair was just familiar enough to catch Jaci’s attention. She blinked, trying to place him.

“Detective Hamilton!” Amanda all but launched herself at the man. “Is it over now? Can we go home?”

“How did you get here?” Jaci stared at him. “Were you on your way to find us?”

He shook his head. “No. Your father called me. I flew here as quickly as I could.”

“My father.” She mouthed the words. Emotion burst in her heart like a fanned coal igniting into flame. Her hand flew out and gripped the detective’s. “What did he say? Did he tell you anything?”

He studied her. “Did you see him?”

Jaci hesitated. Would she incriminate him more?

“It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“Yes. He saved us.” She didn’t mention that he single-handedly massacred all of the men in the house.

“Did he tell you anything?”

Jaci tried to remember her father’s words. “That he couldn’t come home. That he was fighting on our side. That he was sorry.”

“Okay.” Hamilton patted her hand. “That’s enough.”

She looked up at him. “Have you figured anything out?”

“He takes out the criminals. He’s a good guy, Jaci.”

But a criminal too. Jaci’s eyes turned downward again. How could she have lived with her father so many years and never known him? Played games with him, talked on the phone with him, prayed with him?

“Well?” Amanda demanded. “The Hand is dead. We’re safe now. When can we go home?”

He cleared his throat. “I don’t know. That depends on the FBI. But the fact that you are in a public hospital without a ton of security says a lot. I imagine your parents have already been contacted.” His expression grew serious. “There’s something else you should know.”

Jaci stiffened. Sara. Something had happened to her.

“We found Sara.”

“Is she okay?” Jaci whispered.

“Not sure yet. She’s in the hospital too. Jaci, your brother helped track her down.”

Jaci frowned, a ripple of surprise washing over her. “Wait. Seth? Seth found Sara?”

“He helped. I’ll call the hospital soon to see if she’s awake yet. Her brothers are with her.”

Amanda leaned forward. “Neal and Ricky? They’re not in the group home?”

“No. Excuse me a moment.”

Jaci leaned back on her hospital bed. The rush of emotion faded, and exhaustion overwhelmed her. She widened her eyes, forcing herself to stay alert. She couldn’t believe the danger had passed. “Wow. What are the chances?”

“No kidding.” Amanda shook her head. “I’m so glad they found Sara! I was so worried about her. And Ricky and Neal.”

Hamilton came back in. He looked more relaxed. “All right. Your families have been contacted. The hospital wants to keep you overnight, but just for observation. The FBI is flying a private jet to pick up Sara and the boys tomorrow, and then it’ll come here for you girls. You’ll be home tomorrow.”

Home. Jaci clutched Amanda’s hand and squeezed it. “Are you sure it’s the FBI flying that plane?”

He gave her a smile. “You girls are safe now. Your bounty hunter and his men are dead. But just in case, you’ll be heavily guarded.”

Jaci stared out the glass windows of the small airport, waiting for the private jet to land. She clung to Amanda, fearing that at any moment someone would try to separate them.

A technician outside waved his orange cones, guiding the jet in. It lowered onto the runway, gradually slowing until it came to a stop several hundred feet from the gate. The tech turned around and gave a signal.

The flight attendant in a navy blue uniform smiled at them. “You can board now.”

“Don’t run,” Detective Hamilton said. “We don’t need either of you getting hurt.”

Jaci was glad for the presence of the detective, as well as the four armed FBI agents that stood around her and Amanda.

They walked across the boarding pad and up the stairs to the jet. Jaci’s heart pounded as she stepped on board, her eyes immediately seeking out her friends.

“Sara.” She took one look at the pale, emaciated girl and burst into tears.

Sara started to cry, too. “Do I look that bad?”

“At least she’s talking.” Neal hovered behind her, one hand on her shoulder. Ricky sat next to her.

Someone grabbed Jaci up and smothered her in an embrace. “Jaci. Jaci.” He still pronounced her name in Spanish. Ha-Cee. Ha-Cee.

“Seth!” She pulled back, eyes wide. “Seth! It’s really you!”

“What do you mean, it’s really me? Of course it is!” He pulled her into a seat next to him and ran a hand over her hair. “I can’t believe it’s you. You’re finally coming home.” He hugged her again, his strong arms enfolding her slender frame. “Jaci,” he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Jaci wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. “For what? For our argument? It was stupid!” She shook her head.

The pilot’s voice came over the speaker. “Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff.”

“What, no stewardess demonstration?” Amanda joked. She sat across the aisle from them, next to Neal.

“Private jet,” Neal said. “Guess we’re expected to know the rules.”

Jaci latched the two ends of her seatbelt together and looked around. Headphones hung over the net attached to the seat in front of her. Each seat had a small television screen wired to the back. “How long was your flight?” she asked Seth.

“Three hours. Guess we have four more till we’re home.”

Home. With no father. Jaci squeezed Seth’s hand, lowering her voice and switching into Spanish. “I saw Dad.”

Seth followed her lead, also speaking in Spanish. His arm stiffened. “You did?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She spoke quietly, not wanting any of the FBI agents to overhear. They were probably bilingual. “He tracked us down and killed the men. Then he had to go.”

“He—he killed them?”

“Yeah.” She had nothing further to comment on that. Her eyes wandered across the aisle, landing on the twins. “So you met Ricky.”

“Yeah. I met him.”

“What did you think of him?” She hoped her voice sounded casual and that it wasn’t painfully obvious how much his opinion meant to her.

“Well, he’s nice enough. But he’s one of those guys—the kind Mom always warned you about.”

Jaci bridled at his opinion. “I think I’m old enough to be a good judge of character, thank you very much.”

“Seriously? Jaci, I’m a guy. I know them better than you do. Be careful.”

As if knowing that they were talking about him, Ricky got up from his seat and sat down in front of them.

“Hey,” he said, turning to face them.

Jaci’s face burned. She kept her eyes down.

“I didn’t hear them say you could unfasten your seatbelt,” Seth said.

“Oh, okay.” Ricky buckled his belt again. “Is that you, Jaci?”

She looked up, smiling in spite of herself. “Yeah. Like my new hair?” She pushed on the ends of her jagged bob.

“Looks awesome.”

“Maybe I’ll dye it blue when I get home. I always wanted to try a different color.”

Ricky gave a small smile, but a furrow creased his brow. “Could start a new fad.”

Seth was watching her. Meeting Ricky’s eyes, she decided to ignore her brother. “How’s Sara?” Detective Hamilton had filled them in on Sara’s mental breakdown.

“Better. She should be fine. I mean, she only woke up a few hours ago. But she recognized us. She started to have a panic attack when we left her alone in the room. We have to stay with her.”

Jaci totally understood Sara’s feelings. “It’s so scary,” she whispered. “Not knowing who to trust.” Would she ever be able to get in the car with someone again? She shook her head, chasing away the paranoia. “So you guys are coming to Idaho, huh?”

“Yep. Sara’s parents appealed to have custody of us while they are getting licensed as foster parents.”

Jaci couldn’t even express to him how glad she was that they would be close by. “Are they going to adopt you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably not necessary. Neal and I aren’t looking for parents. We just want to be close to Sara.” He turned his attention to Seth. “Has Megan called you?”

He shook his head. “No. I never gave her my number.”

“That’s right,” Jaci murmured. She remembered the story Detective Hamilton had told them. “Megan Reynolds. The girl you eloped with.” She eyed her brother, wondering what parts of the story she hadn’t been told.

Seth pulled on his ear, looking uncomfortable. “We had to get her dad off our back. So we lied.”

“I like Megan,” Jaci said. “Do you like her?”

“I have a girlfriend,” Seth replied.

Jaci raised an eyebrow. “Who? Cindy? Where was she during all of this?”

Seth shrugged. “No, not Cindy. Someone else. But, uh—I think she might not be my girlfriend anymore. I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks.”

Jaci’s eyes tracked across the aisle. She wanted to know everything about what Seth had been doing for the past few weeks, and everything about Megan, but the need to speak to Sara grew too big to ignore. “I’m going to see Sara.”

“You okay?” Seth asked her.

She nodded, undoing her seatbelt and standing.

“Hey,” Ricky said.

She looked at him.

“I want to talk to you. When things settle down. Okay?”

She bit her lip and nodded, then hurried to where Sara sat alone.

“Jaci,” Sara whispered.

Jaci threw her arms around her, starting to cry again. “Oh Sara! Are you okay?”

Sara’s shoulders shook with her own tears. “What about you, Jaci? What happened to you guys?”

Jaci pulled away, wiping tears from her face. “We’re fine, Sara. Nobody touched us, thank heavens.”

“Oh?” Sara arched a brow and brushed her fingers against the bruise on Jaci’s face. “Amanda do this to you?”

“
Almost
nobody touched us,” Jaci amended.

Sara swallowed. “Was he there?”

She didn’t have to clarify. Jaci knew she referred to The Hand. “Yes. He was there.”

Sara nodded, her lower lip trembling. “He didn’t hurt you?”

“Hurt” was such an arbitrary word. Jaci could think of a dozen ways he had hurt them. But not the way Sara meant. “No. And he’s dead now, Sara.”

“I know.” Sara pulled on her fingers, averting her eyes.

Jaci didn’t want to think about him anymore. Ever again. “But what about you? What happened to you?”

Sara gave a small shrug. “I was just trying to stay alive.”

Jaci chose her questions carefully, not wanting to upset Sara with anything unpleasant. “Yes, but . . . how? Where did you go after you jumped out of the car?”

The younger girl looked out the window, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. “I ran.”

Jaci nodded. They had run track together in school, and she knew Sara could sprint faster than anyone else her age.

“When I stopped, I was alone. I curled up in an alley and lay there until I got too cold. Then I started sneaking into places, looking for food, staying warm.”

“You could have called for help,” Jaci whispered.

Sara didn’t respond, but Jaci saw the way she hunched her shoulders.
Time for a subject change,
Jaci decided. She cleared her throat. “Did you know?”

Sara turned from the window and frowned, wariness in her eyes. “Know what?”

“What happened to the guys in the woods.”

“Guys in the woods?”

Jaci swallowed back her impatience. “Yes. The ones who tracked us down and attacked us in New York. Do you know what happened to them?”

Sara pondered for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes. I was there.”

Jaci felt a flash of anger. “So was I.”

Sara’s hand closed over Jaci’s. “Do you remember?”

The anger dissipated, replaced by weariness. “I do now, after the survivor tried to take me out for killing his brother. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were there, too, Jaci. You saw him. If you really wanted to know, you would’ve remembered.”

Jaci closed her eyes, trying to picture the scene. The man finding Sara. Jaci grabbing the branch and hitting him. She could see the branch, swinging again and again and again. But she couldn’t see what it was hitting. She couldn’t see the man. Jaci fought back a burst of nausea. “What about you? Do you remember everything that happened?”

Sara looked out the window again. “I’m not pregnant anymore, Jaci.”

The words gutted Jaci like a knife. She sucked in a breath. “What?”

Sara nodded, tears shining on her lashes. She kept her eyes on the horizon.

“What happened?”

“I started bleeding really bad. It hurt really awful.” She choked up and shook her head. “Then the bleeding slowed down and I got sick.”

“Are you sure, Sara?”

She nodded. “The hospital confirmed it.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I feel so awful. I never wanted the baby. I feel bad for losing it. But a part of me is so glad, Jaci. And I feel rotten for that. I’m a horrible person.”

“Oh, Sara.” Sara stiffened when Jaci put her arms around her. “Sara, you’re not a horrible person.”

“Of course you say that.” Sara shrugged her off. “But I am. I’m all black inside.” Sara swallowed a sob and began to rock back and forth.

“Jaci.” Neal came over. “Let me sit by her.”

Jaci nodded and returned to her brother, feeling numb. She gratefully accepted Seth’s hug. Sara was in bad shape. Jaci wondered if she would ever recover.