A whoosh of breath sounded through her speaker. “I don’t know. Eric’s meeting me later at the office. I want to take you back to my place, where it’s safe, and then we’ll come up with another plan.”
Opening her eyes, she nodded her agreement. Not like he could see her. His apartment was a much better option than hers. Who the hell knew where Connie was? Disappointment crushed her, making her limbs heavy. With Pete in custody, the threat that had hung over her head the last few days had disappeared. But not anymore. “Okay. I’ll meet you outside. I need some fresh air. I thought this was coming to an end.”
“I did too. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Mickey disconnected the call and put her phone back in her pocket. As soon as she got to Graham’s, she needed to call Suzi. She had a right to know what was going on. Graham might not like it, but she didn’t care. Suzi was Becca’s mother, and she had a right to know where things stood. And maybe…just maybe…it could help bridge the gap between them.
Glass doors whooshed open in front of her and she stepped into the warm night air. The warm temperature wasn’t as bad without the life-sucking humidity that had been in Mexico.
Shit! Paula.
Her conversation with Graham had distracted her and she’d forgotten to keep her eyes on Paula. She walked over to the curb. Cars lined up, waiting to pick up passengers. Her pulse kicked into high gear and she turned in a circle, her bag tipping to the side beside her. She bent down to pick it up and the squealing of tires caught her attention. She turned toward the road, and her heart stopped. A black SUV screeched to a halt beside her just as the back door swung open. Her feet stood rooted to the spot, and fear turned her bones to cement. She opened her mouth toscream, but a large hand bit into her bicep, yanking her into the back of the SUV. The wind whooshed out of her lungs and pain shot through her chest.
The man from the plane pressed a rough hand holding a sweet-smelling rag down on her mouth before she could make a sound. The door slammed shut behind her. She flailed her arms and legs, trying to connect with the man who’d grabbed her. Her head thrashed from side to side until she faced the wide blue eyes of Paula. She lifted her hand and reached toward her, but her arm fell to her side. Lead weighed down her limbs and her eyelids fluttered closed.
In the darkness, the cackle of a woman rang in her ears. “It’s about time someone took this bitch down.”
24
Hysteric voices and crowds of people clumped in small groups greeted Graham when he stepped out of the airport. Phones were pressed to ears and mothers clutched their children to their side, their eyes wide with fear.
Great. What now? I don’t have time for this.
Biting back a sigh, Graham walked over to the chaos. A black carry-on bag lay on the sidewalk in the middle of the mess. “Is everything okay?”
A brown-haired woman with a small child on her hip turned to him. “No. A car just pulled up, grabbed a woman, and took off. It happened so fast. No one had time to help her.”
The hairs on his arms stood on ends. “What kind of car?”
The woman shook her head. “I don’t know the specific make. But it was one of those big SUVs. Black.”
Graham muscled his way to the middle of the group and crouched to the ground beside the abandoned bag. He held his breath and turned over the luggage tag tied on the handle. Mickey’s name and address stared up at him. His stomach dropped.
Panic squeezed the air from his lungs and he stood, turning to stare at the busy lanes of traffic leading out of the airport. “How long ago? Did she have red hair?” He turned back around to face the woman who had spoken to him.
The woman hesitated and took a step back. “It happened less than five minutes ago. And I didn’t get a good look at her hair.”
“I saw her,” a man next to him said. “She had long red hair, very pretty. I called the police, but it looks like airport security is coming now.” He nodded past Graham’s shoulder.
Airport security? Graham snorted. What the hell could they do? And he didn’t have time to wait for the police to show up and go after them. He had to act now. “I’m Agent Graham Grassi with the FBI. The woman who was taken is in grave danger and I need to go after her now. Does anyone have a car I can take?”
The crowd stared at him with concern etched on their faces…and their mouths closed. Fear clouded his mind and his blood thundered through him. “Please,” his voice cracked. “I have to find her. I can’t lose her.”
Screw it. He pushed past the crowd and ran toward the taxi line. Cutting to the front, he rounded the corner of the cab, grabbed the startled driver from his seat, and tossed him to the ground.
“Hey! What the hell, dude?” The man yelled as he stood and brushed dirt from his jeans.
Graham held up his badge. “FBI. I need your car. Now get the hell out of my way.”
He jumped into the idling car, slammed the door shut, and peeled away from the curb. He glanced in the rearview mirror and the cabbie stood on the sidewalk, his fist hoisted in the air. He refocused on the road in front of him. Worrying about the cabbie was pretty low on his list of priorities right now. Scanning the cars in front of him, he blasted on the horn to get the slow-moving traffic out of his way.
It didn’t help.
Brake lights flashed in front of him and angry drivers blocked his path as he tried to snake between them to get out of the congested traffic. His eyes darted in every direction, willing the black SUV to come into view.
Come on, dammit. Where are you?
He slammed the heel of his hand against the steering wheel and hopelessness oozed into him. He’d never find the car, not like this. He needed to figure out where the car had taken Mickey, but how the hell could he do that? He didn’t even know who he was looking for anymore.
