A flash of movement coming in their direction caught his eye, and he eased the door almost completely closed. He could hear the sound of footsteps, waited until the group passed, then cracked the door enough to see three figures disappearing down the hall.
An older woman with silver-streaked black hair, a guy in a suit and a young girl in a nightgown. The man had a solid grip on the girl’s arm as he tugged her along.
No way, Jase thought as recognition struck. But Detective Castillo had sent photos of Callie Spencer, the teenage girl who had disappeared in Houston. With her long, fiery auburn hair and fine features, there could be no mistake.
“What’s going on?” Kate whispered, coming up beside him.
“You remember the missing girl in Houston, Callie Spencer?”
“Of course.”
“She’s here. Looks like they’ve got her drugged up pretty good. She was having trouble walking.”
“Oh, my God. Where did they take her?”
He checked the door again, saw the group disappear around a corner out of sight. “Let’s find out.”
Stepping into the passage, he waited for Kate and quietly closed the door. Kate took off her high heels and carried them as they made their way along the hall. When they reached the corner, Jase stopped and they flattened themselves against the wall.
He waited several seconds, then glanced around the corner, saw a door swing open to what appeared to be a library lined with shelves of books. Denny Reyburg lounged in an overstuffed chair, Callie Spencer standing right beside him. Another man was there, the man with the black, slicked-back hair who’d been talking to De Santos.
The older woman and the man who had brought the girl turned and started to leave the library, and Jase urged Kate back the way they had come. Disappearing behind the first door, they waited in another of the guest rooms as the man and woman retreated down the hall.
“That was close,” Kate breathed.
“Too close,” Jase agreed.
“What about Callie? We can’t just leave her.”
Jase pulled out his cell phone and hit the contact number he’d plugged in for FBI Special Agent in Charge Quinn Taggart.
The agent, sounding half asleep, finally answered the phone. “Taggart.”
“Taggart, it’s Jason Maddox. Kingsley gave me your number.”
“Yeah, Mark said you’d managed to get yourself involved in FBI business. It’s late. What’s going on?”
“I’m with Kate Gallagher at the Blue Bayou. Callie Spencer, the girl who recently went missing in Houston, she’s here—in De Santo’s private apartment. She’s in trouble.”
Taggart took a moment to refresh his memory. “I remember the case. You sure it’s her?”
“It’s her.”
“Kingsley brought me up to speed on De Santos’s connection to Los Besos. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to show our hand so soon, but I guess this leaves us no choice. I’ll call in local resources. Stand down and we’ll take it from here.”
“I’ll do my best,” Jase said, and ended the call. But he wasn’t letting that little girl disappear into the hands of Los Besos or Rafael De Santos or anyone else.
He heard movement in the hallway, cracked the door and saw Denny Reyburg coming out of the library, tugging Callie along in his wake. She was barely able to put one foot in front of the other. Both Reyburg’s bodyguards were with him, one in front, one behind, guiding him and the girl toward an elevator at the far end of the hall.
“He’s taking her downstairs,” Kate said. “That elevator must open into the alley.”
“He’ll have a car waiting. They’ll be gone before the FBI can get here.”
Kate started forward, but Jase caught her arm. “Let me handle this, Kate, please.”
“I can help. We don’t have time to argue. Let’s go.”
Since she was right, he bit back a curse and both of them ran for the exit stairs next to the elevator.
