Chapter Sixteen

Her father? Abby stared at Tommy. “My father died before I was born.”

He shook his head. “Dell found out that Frank Jordan sent checks monthly to a woman named Ana Fuentes in Galveston, Texas.”

The ground beneath her no longer felt solid. “No. That can’t be. He’d have told me.”

Tommy lifted a brow. “He ran out on your mother when she was pregnant with you. Why would he tell you that? Especially after your mother killed herself.”

Her head spun. No. She wanted to argue. Dell had gotten it wrong. But she couldn’t find the words. She remembered the way Jake had hesitated when she’d asked about her mother. She closed her eyes, unable to will it away. Frank. Her father. On some level, she knew it was true. The way her grandmother had never told her how her father and mother had died. Why they’d died so young.

And later, the way she’d gotten into the FBI and quickly become part of Frank Jordan’s team. The special treatment Frank had always given her. The odd argument they’d had the day of the explosion. The conversation they’d had in Study Butte. She had been his favorite and she’d known it. She just hadn’t known why. Until now.

She let her gaze fall on Tommy’s face. Oh, God. Now she understood. She understood it all. An eye for an eye. Take from Frank the one thing he valued most. Or in this case, the two things. His daughter and granddaughter.

She felt such a sudden sense of loss, not just for a father she hadn’t known, but for the wasted years. Like Elena, she’d yearned for a father. There had been a time when she’d have given anything for one. Why had Frank walked out on her mother? Why had he never told her who he really was?

“I had hoped Frank would be here to see this,” Tommy said. “But it will just have to be enough that he knew I’d taken his granddaughter before he died.”

So much lost and for what? “Is Frank—”

“Dead?” Tommy shrugged. “One way or the other.” He pulled a pistol from his jacket pocket and glanced out of the dugout. “The game is over. We’d better go get Elena.” He motioned with the gun for her to lead the way.

She struggled to her feet, fighting back the grief, the loss, the fear. She had to think of Elena now. Elena had found her father and she’d be damned if she’d let anyone take that away from her. Jake would be on his way. She’d told him she was in Houston. And she knew Jake. He’d find her. Somehow. Even as she thought it, she knew it was inconceivable that he’d find her and Elena in a city this size. Even if he could get here in time.

But she wanted to see him, to look into his handsome face, to touch him again. After all these years they’d been apart, she couldn’t bear the thought that she might not see him one more time.

“Don’t plan on Jake,” Tommy said as if he’d read her mind.

She looked back at him in surprise.

He smiled. “I figured you were thinking he’d be coming to your rescue soon.” He shook his head. “Not this time.”

 

JAKE FLEW into Houston in the dark, desperately trying to put all the pieces together quickly. Reese met him at the airport.

“You were right,” Reese said as they hurried to the car. “The Texas Red Devils are playing at Bay-view Field. It’s about twenty minutes from here. You wanna drive?”

“No, you drive,” Jake said getting into the passenger side. “You know Houston much better than I do.”

Jake watched the city pass in a blur through his window. On the flight, he’d had a long time to think. Too long. Someone at the FBI had falsified the fingerprint and autopsy reports. Frank. But if he didn’t have Elena, then why had he tried to make everyone think Abby was dead?

“Why would Frank lie about Abby’s real identity?” he asked Reese.

Reese shrugged. “Maybe he got the wrong information. Or had some reason to not want anyone to know the truth.”

Jake shook his head, remembering that moment of doubt when he’d heard the news. “You personally had the reports done, right?”

“Yeah, but Frank got wind of them,” Reese said. “I didn’t see the results until they’d gone through him.”

Jake nodded. “What else did you find out about this Tommy Barnett?”

“Other than the fact that he’s a drug dealer? Not much.”

“Abby said he was a friend of Dell Harper’s.”

“Tommy Barnett is from Houston, Dell’s old neighborhood.”

“The same neighborhood we’re headed for, right?”

Reese nodded. “You think he took Abby and Elena to the ball game?”

“Just a feeling,” he said, praying his instincts were right. Dell had loved to play baseball. Jake recalled a photograph of Abby and Dell after a game, Dell’s arm around Abby’s shoulder, their heads close together, both smiling broadly. The memory clutched at his stomach.

Jake could kick himself now for not digging into Dell’s background, for not being more suspicious of the man. But he’d thought it was just jealousy that had made him suspect Dell, and hadn’t listened to his instincts.

Reese turned into the baseball field parking lot and could see the ballpark ahead. It was deserted. His heart lunged in his chest. His instincts had been wrong. Or he hadn’t gotten here in time.

“The game got out early,” he said.

“No.” Reese pointed to an adjacent ballpark where the lights still glowed on the field but only a couple of cars remained in the lot. “Looks like you’re right on target.”

 

AS ABBY walked across the field, she saw that they were in an older field. The lights of another park shone down on the deep green of the diamond in the distance. Earlier she’d heard cars leaving, the sounds diminishing. Now the lights blinked off, pitching the park into darkness except for a shaft of light spilling out from beneath the concession area below the stands.

Under a moon cloaked in clouds, she walked ahead of Tommy across the dew-damp field, her eyes on the light, her heart pounding. Elena. Oh God, let her be all right. At that moment, she had just one wish. To hold her daughter in her arms. Even for one last time.

The stands stood empty and dark. Quiet settled over the ballpark and the humid spring night, as they crossed the deserted diamond.

Suddenly she spotted Elena in the dark bleachers. A man sat next to her. Elena waved excitedly when she saw her. The man rose and took Elena’s hand. They started down the steps toward the field.

Her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of her daughter. All her FBI training hadn’t prepared her for this. She knew better than to try to talk Tommy out of the finale he’d planned. His loyalty to Dell was unconditional. And she’d heard enough that night at the warehouse to know that it had been Tommy who had forced Dell to go through with his plot against Frank Jordan and Buster McNorton.

Nothing she could say would change Tommy’s mind. She understood his commitment. While misplaced, it reminded her of the commitment she felt for her daughter. The same one she’d made years ago to Jake Cantrell. She would kill for Elena and Jake.

But she also knew that the odds of getting herself and Elena out of this weren’t good. While she might be able to get the better of Tommy, she didn’t stand much of a chance against two men.

And all the training in the world couldn’t make her forget that this was her little girl running toward her. Her daughter who trusted and loved her without question.

She felt paralyzed at the thought of risking Elena’s life. Because anything she did would be risky at best.

She glanced back at Tommy. He’d put the gun into his pocket again along with his hand. His look warned her to be very careful of what she did or said.

“Mommy!” Elena cried as she ran to her. “I flew in a helicopter all over and I got sick and threw up and I slept funny and I cried and I saw a baseball game and I ate hot dogs and popcorn and cotton candy and I so wanted my Sweet Ana and you, Mommy, and Daddy. They said you’d come. Where’s Daddy? Why didn’t he come with you?”

Abby fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her baby, hugging her desperately. “Oh, Elena.” What a resilient child, always finding that silver lining.

“I missed you, Mommy,” Elena whispered.

“I missed you, too, chica suena.” She felt Tommy behind her.

“Let’s go down to the concession stand,” he said. She heard him take a deep breath. “Dell did love the game of baseball. He would have loved a night like this.”

She heard the break in Tommy’s voice, the anguish. As she pulled Elena up into her arms, she thought of Dell, the little brother she’d always wanted. “I loved Dell, too,” she whispered and looked over at Tommy.

For an instant, their eyes met in the dim light. She saw his terrible pain, his remorse, his regret, his need for revenge at any price. It was a debt that had to be paid.

“Karl,” he said to the man who’d been sitting with Elena. “Let’s go check out the cotton candy.” She felt his hand on her arm. He pushed her toward the concession stand.

 

JAKE JUMPED out of the car and ran toward the ballpark, his heart thundering in his chest. He could hear Reese behind him, his limp slowing him down.

He drew his weapon as he neared the stands. From inside, he heard the tinkle of laughter. Elena’s sweet laughter. And the sound of voices.

As he neared, he spotted something white lying on the ground. He bent down to pick up the baseball and stuffed it into his pocket without thinking. Slowly, he made his way toward the voices.

The air smelled of popcorn and fresh-mown grass. He slipped onto the field, moving along the edge of the stands. The voices grew more distinct as he neared the concession area. He stopped, glancing around for Reese, but he didn’t see him. The ball field lay empty. Nothing moved on the breeze. No sounds other than the ones coming from beneath the stands.

He moved closer, weapon drawn.

 

“KARL, MAKE SURE we’re not interrupted,” Tommy said to the other man after he’d checked to make sure they were alone in the cool concrete concession area.

Karl nodded and moved to the bottom of the stairs leading up to the stands, his tread heavy and slow. The two men stood a few feet away, both facing her and Elena.

Abby hugged her daughter and looked around, hoping to see something she could use for a weapon, some way she could protect Elena. The room was large. Its cold concrete walls were painted with bright colors. A long line of metal counters ran the length of the room on the right. Nearer stood a cotton-candy machine. But not close enough that she could reach it.

Tommy stood for a moment, just looking around as if the room held a plethora of memories. Or he was waiting for something. But she knew he was watching her closely.

She lowered Elena to the floor, her hands on the child’s small shoulders, half listening to her daughter recount the baseball game and the food she’d eaten. Half listening to Tommy’s breathing.

His gaze finally settled on her and Elena.

Abby swallowed, praying for a miracle. It was the only thing that could save her and Elena now.

Tommy drew the pistol from his jacket. Elena’s body stiffened beneath Abby’s fingers.

Behind him and Karl, in the shadows, Abby thought she caught movement. She froze. Jake. He moved toward her, carefully sneaking up behind Tommy and Karl. If either of them turned, they would see him.

She met Jake’s gaze, that old feeling arcing between them, strong as their passion for each other, strong as their need to save their daughter. Together. Just like old times.

“Stall,” he mouthed.

“You realize that Dell was like a little brother to me,” she said as she looked down the dark barrel of the pistol in Tommy’s hand. “Dell—” The catch in her throat was real. “He was my best friend. I had no idea how much pain he was in. I just wish he’d told me. Maybe I could have helped.”

Tommy shook his head. “There wasn’t anything anyone could have done. Not from the moment Frank Jordan fired the shot that killed Amy.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jake pull a baseball from his pocket. He motioned to her.

“Anything you want me to tell Dell when I see him?” she asked quickly.

Tommy seemed taken back by her question.

The instant Jake threw the ball, she cried, “Under the counter!” in Spanish to Elena and hurled the child toward the metal concessions. Abby dove after her.

The ball hit Tommy in the back. He let out a loud “Ufft!” and got off a wild shot as he stumbled and fell to his knees from the blow.

Abby rolled as gunfire ricocheted through the concession area. She came up behind the cotton-candy machine. Karl had turned and fired at Jake. She drove the cotton-candy machine into the thug’s side as she scrambled to her feet, driving Karl back. Jake fired. Karl dropped like a rock, his pistol rattling to the floor.

She grabbed his gun and swung around.

Tommy was gone.

Behind her, she caught a glimpse of Elena scrambling toward a large cooler. Tommy came around the end of the counter and grabbed Elena before Abby could get off a shot.

“Jake!” she cried as Tommy came up too quickly with Elena in his arms, the barrel of his pistol to the back of the child’s head.

“Drop the gun,” he ordered. “Now!”

She let the pistol fall to the floor.

“You too, Jake,” Tommy said as he moved from behind the counter, using Elena as a shield. The child’s eyes were wide but lit up when she spied her father.

“Daddy!” she cried.

“Hi, baby,” he said. “Everything’s going to be fine.” He lowered his gun to the floor and stepped away from it as Tommy instructed. The room grew impossibly quiet.

“Dell wouldn’t have wanted this,” she said, knowing she was wasting her breath.

With a shudder of relief she saw Reese appear behind Tommy. He limped toward them, his weapon drawn.

“Reese?” Tommy said at the limping sound behind him. “What kept you? I could have used some help.”

“Looks like you’re doing just fine,” Reese said.

She heard Jake swear under his breath behind her as Elena squirmed in Tommy’s hold.

She stared at Reese. Hadn’t he been the one who’d given Jake the cell phone with the tracking device in it? The one who’d told Jake she wasn’t Abby Diaz? He’d made them believe Frank was behind it. Frank, her father. Could what Crystal have told her be true?

“I should have known,” Jake said. “If I hadn’t figured out that Abby was here, you would have helped me out, huh, Reese? You’ve been so helpful. Like the cell phone with the tracking device. Nice touch.”

Reese shrugged and gave a slight bow. “I do try to please.”

“And telling me that Abby really wasn’t Abby,” Jake said as he moved up behind her and put a hand on her back. “That was good!” She realized it wasn’t just his hand. He pressed the cold steel of a knife flat to her back. She reached back, as if to cover his hand with her own, and took the knife and slipped it down into the waistband of her jeans. “You have a flare for the dramatic!”

“Please, you’re making me blush,” Reese said. “Now, kindly step away from Abby.” He motioned with his gun.

Jake stepped a few feet away from her in Tommy’s direction. A clear signal. She’d recognized the knife as well. It was the one she’d pulled from Julio’s body, the one she’d had in her bag. She knew, the same way she knew Reese didn’t know Jake had had the knife.

“But you did figure it out,” the agent said. “You just thought Frank was behind it. Him putting the tracking device in the cell phone made it so easy for me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re doing this for Dell Harper, too,” Jake said conversationally.

Reese shook his head. “Naw, I’m just in it for the money. Crass, huh?” He shrugged. “The thing about being on a drug task force, you see so much money and after a while you realize if you put one drug dealer away, another one just comes along to take his place. What’s the point?”

“That’s bull, Reese, and you know it,” Jake said congenially enough. “It’s greed, plain and simple.”

Reese’s look darkened. “The FBI owes me something for this bum leg.”

“The FBI didn’t blow up that warehouse,” Abby interjected.

“Enough already,” Tommy snapped. “Let’s get this over with.”

She had to get Elena away from Tommy. “Please, just let me hold my baby one last time. Then you can—do what it is you have to do.”

“Don’t do it,” Reese warned. “You don’t know her like I do. She might try something.”

Tommy shot Reese a disgusted look. “Like what? She isn’t armed and she can’t do much with a child in her arms.”

He slowly let Elena down, turning the pistol on Jake. “And I’ll be forced to kill her lover and the father of her baby if she does.” Elena ran to her.

She scooped her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly, aware of the knife wedged against her spine.

“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Reese warned Jake.

She waited for a sign from Jake.

“You’re getting awfully paranoid, Ramsey,” he said.

Now! With one swift desperate move, she held Elena with one arm and reached back with her free hand, pulled the knife and threw it in a once expert, long-practiced movement. It appeared knife throwing was right up there with bike riding. You never quite forgot how.

The blade glittered in the concession lights for an instant, then hit home, burying itself to the hilt in Reese’s chest.

Reese gasped in surprise and stumbled back, getting off a wild shot that ricocheted through the room.

Abby whirled around, trying to shield Elena, as she dove for the stairs.

At that same instant, Jake went for Tommy’s weapon.

A shot echoed through the building. Then another. She waited for the pain as she clutched her daughter to her breast and launched herself and Elena under the stairs.

For a moment, she thought she might have been hit. She stared down at Elena, seeing the wide eyes, but feeling the child’s sweet breath against her cheek as she pulled her back under the open stairwell.

Silence filled the concession area. She waited with her heart lodged in her throat. She had no weapon. And she and Elena were trapped.

“It’s all right, Abby.”

She felt tears rush her eyes at the sound of Jake’s voice. It was over.

Slowly she climbed out with Elena. Tommy lay on the floor at an odd angle. Blood leaked out like motor oil onto the concrete. Reese was sprawled not far away, his weapon still in his hand, his eyes open and sightless, the same knife that had killed Julio stuck in his chest. There was something symbolic about that, she thought.

She turned away, shielding Elena, and felt Jake’s arm come around her shoulders.

“Daddy!” Elena cried as she encircled his neck with her arms. “I knew you’d come. I wasn’t even scared.”

Jake hugged them both to him, then led them up the stairs and out into the night.

“The thing is,” Jake said as they walked across the ballfield. “I have this place north of here on the Smoking Barrel Ranch where I work. Right now the cabin isn’t much but I was thinking, we could always add on to it.”

Abby looked up. The first star of the night glittered brightly in a sky warm and rich with the promise of summer. She stumbled to a stop, realization rushing over her in a drowning wave of relief. Tears blurred the night and great sobs rose in her chest. They were alive. They were together. At last.

Jake pulled her and Elena into his arms. The three of them stood in the middle of the baseball diamond, cloaked in the darkness as the rest of the stars came out, one after another.