Oscar
R eina sat stock-still with fear. Truthfully, she was stiff and sore too from the collision. She’d never experienced airbags deploying. How did she not know that between the airbag hitting her in the face and the seatbelt snapping tight across her shoulder and chest that she’d feel like she’d been hit by a truck? Well, in actuality, she had been, or rather an SUV plowing into her at full speed.
She kept her gaze forward on the rearview mirror where every few seconds the eyes belonging to Ashley Carona, or as she now knew her first name was really Stella, would flicker to make eye contact with her before she re-affixed them on the road. She tried to gauge the expression on Ashley’s face or look to see if her eyes conveyed pity, fear, or malice.
After she’d stumbled from the car, Reina had been utterly shocked when the man grabbed her, spun her to face him, and then he roughly pulled her to the back of the SUV even though she struggled against him. He said nothing, but the glare on his face was frightening. He pushed her in and slid in beside her, still holding her arm in a vise grip. She was sure he’d bruised her arm terribly, but was also sure a bruise was the least of her worries. He fastened the seatbelt over her, pinning her hands beneath it. No matter how she turned her hand and wrestled against the belt, she couldn’t pull an arm loose, nor could she reach the button to unlock it.
He’d yelled at Ashley Carona, calling her Stella, and ordered her to drive. She didn’t argue. She said nothing. Just slid behind the wheel and shifted to drive immediately. Only after the car was moving did she adjust her seat and the mirrors. She pulled back onto the expressway, resuming their drive south.
“Why did you hit me? Why have you forced me into this car?” Reina asked again. She’d asked the man these questions several times already. This time, with her eyes boring into Ashley Carona, she was asking her.
“Be quiet,” the man next to her said. He hit her in the chest, pressing her back. “And stop moving around. You’re going nowhere.”
Reina glanced at him. He may be cleaned up and dressed nicely, but he was as dangerous as many of the men she knew in her past motorcycle gang life who looked as dangerous as they were. Of course, she included Razor in that group, and he turned out to be a Fed. Could this man really be a U.S. Marshal?
“Ashley, or is it, Stella? Are you with this guy, or are you in trouble?”
“I said shut up!” the man yelled.
“Why were you following us?” Ashley, Stella asked.
“I wasn’t,” Reina lied. “Why would I be?”
“Shut the fuck up,” the man growled.
“I guess it doesn’t matter now,” Ashley, Stella said.
“Where’s Lilly? Is she okay?” Reina asked.
The man pulled a gun from his jacket. He jammed the barrel under Reina’s chin. “One more word and I fucking pull the trigger. Now shut the pie hole.” His voice was low and menacing.
Reina nodded. Ashley’s eyes again flickered to the rearview mirror. Reina saw fear in them.
“Don’t say anything. Lilly’s fine.”
With this statement, Reina knew that Ashley believed the man would shoot her. The blood in her veins ran cold, and she began to shiver. She closed her eyes and Jimmy’s face materialized in the darkness. They’d been on the phone. Had he heard the accident? Had her phone survived it? Would he look for her? She realized that he was her only hope.
Reina focused on soothing, calming thoughts. She reopened her eyes to watch the street signs, so she’d know where they were taking her after she felt the gun no longer pressing beneath her chin. She dared a glance at the man beside her. His gaze was trained out the window.
Without being able to see the time, Reina had no clue how long they drove. Her best guess was just over a half hour, maybe forty-five minutes. Ashley, Stella pulled off the interstate and took several turns off on rural roads with little to no traffic. It seemed to Reina that she knew where she was going.
Finally, after driving down a long, winding dirt and gravel drive, the car pulled up in front of an old white farmhouse. After she’d put the car in park and turned the engine off, Ashley, Stella, turned in her seat. “A word, Blake?” Then she got out of the car, slamming the door.
“Stay here,” the man, who Reina had just learned was named Blake, said. He got out of the car, closing the door as well.
Reina strained to hear their conversation. Through the tinted window, Reina saw Ashley, Stella’s animated gestures and could make out a few of the words she said. “Unnecessary…crazy…can’t,” she said. “Warning you Blake!”
Blake grabbed her flailing arms. “Too deep…little girl…Fuck! Stella!”
Ashley, Stella pulled her arms away. She pointed her index finger at him. The expression on her face was pure hate. She said something through gritted teeth and then Reina heard her say, “Kill you!”
The car door opened and the man, Blake, leaned in and unfastened the seat belt. He again grabbed her by the upper arm. “Get out.”
Reina leaned against him, opposing his efforts to remove her from the car.
“Jesus fucking Christ, get out of the damn car!” He tugged harder on her arm, sliding her across the seat and out of the car.
“Reina, just fucking stop resisting,” Ashley, Stella pled. “He’ll kill you. He’ll fucking kill you.”
“So, it’s Stella, huh?” Reina asked once she stood in front of her.
“Yeah, though I really wanted to be Ashley. Unfortunately, the past always catches up with you,” she lamented. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”
Reina wanted to laugh. Yeah, she knew all about that. She wondered for a second if disclosing her past would grant her any goodwill with these two. If they knew she had a past, would they not worry about her being a threat to them? The honor amongst thieves’ theory? She’d think about it more. “I think a person can leave their past behind if they truly stop making the choices they made in that life.”
Stella’s gaze went to Blake, who still held Reina’s arm in a vise grip. “Yeah, sometimes people won’t let you do that.”
“Inside, both of you,” Blake snapped.
They entered the house. In the front room, a man sat. He was of the same ilk as Blake, dressed nicely, clean shaven, same age range, fit, wearing a pistol in a shoulder holster, throwing off a dangerous vibe, and wearing a scowl on his face when he saw Reina. “Who’s this?”
“The kid’s new babysitter. You’re welcome,” Blake said.
“Has Lilly called for me?” Stella asked.
“No, haven’t heard a peep from her,” the man said.
“If you’ve hurt her in any way,” Stella warned, “I’ll kill you.”
The man raised his hands shoulder level in surrender. “Kiddy fiddlin’ isn’t my thing.” He nodded to Reina. “But I’d tap her in a heartbeat.”
Reina’s body stiffened. This was all too familiar territory. There was a reason she always had an old man in her past life. Protection. Protection from predators like this guy. She was considering if she’d speak out with a threat and project a false bravado.
Stella spoke before she had the chance to. “Don’t even think about it. She’s off limits too. And if you try to touch me again, I’ll cut your fucking dick off and feed it to you and don’t think I won’t.”
“Down, girl,” Blake said, almost amused. He nodded to the staircase.
Stella mounted it as Blake pulled Reina over. “Take care of Lilly,” Stella said to her. “I hate that she’s afraid, but keeping her in the room upstairs is the safest place for her right now. She’ll be thrilled to see you.”
At the top of the stairs, Stella slid a lock open on a door. She opened it and went in. Blake pulled Reina in behind her. Reina watched Stella go over to the large queen-sized bed. She saw Lilly’s face on the pillow, her small body covered by blankets. Stella sat on the edge and stroked the hair back from Lilly’s face, who appeared to be asleep.
“Hey angel,” Stella said when Lilly opened her eyes.
“Mommy.” Lilly sat up and hugged her.
Reina watched a hesitant, sad smile play across Stella’s face. “I missed you.”
“Can we go home now?” Lilly pleaded. “I don’t like it here.”
Reina saw tears fill Stella’s eyes. “I’m sorry baby, not yet. Mommy still has some work she has to do, and this is the safest place for you while I do that. But I brought you company. Miss Reina from school is going to be here with you, so you’re not alone.”
Upon seeing Reina, Lilly’s face lit up. Reina pulled her arm from Blake, and she rushed over to Lilly. She gave her a hug. “Hi sweetie. I missed you at school.” She noticed Lilly’s Lovie was clutched in her arms. It was either a duplicate or Stella had gone back to her house for it.
***
While on the Lear en route to Cedar Rapids, the team was notified that Shepherd had reached out to St. Vincent and notified him of the events that had just occurred. He pressed hard and got the information the team needed. A voice call was enabled on Lambchop’s tablet and the team huddled around it, listening.
“St. Vincent released info on Ashley Carona. Her real name is Stella Adams. Five years ago, she was swept up by the FBI for being a part of a sophisticated identity theft and money laundering scheme being perpetrated by an extensive network. She provided info, even wore a wire and helped them get evidence on other members of the network. She also agreed to testify. She gave the FBI intel that led them to just about everyone in the network. Only a couple gave them the slip. The FBI always suspected she’d squirreled some of the cash away someplace, but they couldn’t find it. They appreciate any assistance we can give in finding Stella Adams now that she’s gone dark on the Marshals.”
“What about the little girl?” Wilson asked.
“She was pregnant while helping the FBI. She’d told the Marshals assigned to her after she was taken into protective custody that the baby’s father didn’t believe her that it was his. She never gave them his name.”
“They think it was someone associated with the network?” Wilson asked.
“They did, maybe one of the people who got away,” Shepherd said.
“As far as the money goes, are there any indications she was living above her means?” Lambchop asked.
“I have the Digital Team poring over her finances. It doesn’t appear she is, but they’ll let you know,” Shepherd replied.
“According to Rae, she appeared to be a single mom with tight finances,” Wilson offered.
“We’ll find out soon,” Shepherd said. “The black SUV was a rental from Des Moines airport. The Digital Team is also getting info on whoever rented it. I’ll push through what I have on Stella Adams and her case from the Marshals and the Digital Team will get you their reports as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Shepherd. How long are we authorized to look into this?” Wilson asked.
“Angel has arranged a couple of rental vehicles for you, as well as hotel accommodations. Proceed to the accident site when you arrive and then touch bases with the Iowa State Patrol. We’ll talk again after that to set the approved scope of this operation,” Shepherd said. “I want to talk with the FBI before I commit us to anything past recovering Reina Ellis.”
“Roger that, Shep,” Lambchop replied.