20. Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Marcus Hernandez was sitting in the visitor’s room across from his lawyer in Greene Prison. It was maximum security, so this was the only time he could speak to his lawyers without ears on him. He knew all his phone calls were being recorded.
“You better have news I want to hear,” he barked as his lawyer was escorted into the room and the door closed behind him.
Thomas Pacillo placed his briefcase on the table in front of him and sat across from his boss. “Good morning, Mr. Hernandez. How are you?”
“I’ll be a hell of a lot better when I hear what you have to say!”
“It’s not good, sir. Mendez, Rodriguez, and four other men were arrested and charged with attempted murder. One person was shot but is expected to survive.”
“I’m glad he survived,” said Hernandez, curling his lip, “so I can kill him, and everyone on that mission, myself.”
“The informant you had planted at the Bureau decided to confess. The Bureau was able to intercept your men before they even got through the front door. They were in there waiting the whole time.”
“And does anyone know of my involvement?”
“Yes, they do, sir. One of your men laid it all out for them. You’re being charged with the attempted murder of Isla Pierce along with a slew of other charges.”
“Charges I’m sure you’ll make disappear,” said Hernandez menacingly. “I don’t pay you an absurd salary for nothing,” he said as he glared at his attorney.
“I’m not going to lie to you, sir,” said Pacillo.
“This case is getting more complex as we go along. You really have to stop searching for Isla Pierce. It’s too late for that.
You will be serving a lengthy sentence if you are proven guilty.
If you succeed in offing Pierce, they’ll put the death sentence on the table.
Is this about your freedom or your pride?
I can promise you that killing her won’t give you your freedom. ”
“I don’t give a damn,” said Hernandez, feeling hot under his prison-issued jumpsuit collar. “Have Rodriguez take care of it.”
“He’s in jail, sir—”
“Tell him if he wants to see another day, he better find a way to take her out. This has gotten personal. Now do the job I pay you to do and get me the hell out of here—or you’ll be next on my list.”
“Sir, I can only do so much. You’re digging the hole deeper with this personal vendetta.
All I can do for you at this point is try to get your jail time reduced to years instead of decades and even that won’t be easy.
I’m not a miracle worker. You’re going to have to take someone down if you want to make a deal with the DA.
You’ll have to give them something. I’ll give you a few days to think about it.
I’ll come back on Friday and we can talk some more. ”
“You better have news by Friday,” said Hernandez. “And I mean news from Rodriguez, or you’re fired. Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir, I’ll pass along the information.”
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do just that.”
Back on Hilton Head, Mitch and Isla were walking on the beach enjoying the sunshine on a mid-December morning.
The breeze ruffled Isla’s hair as she drew her jacket closer around her.
Walking the beach in the morning before making breakfast had become their routine, as had their workout after breakfast every day.
One day was merging seamlessly into the other.
Isla turned to Mitch. “It’s been well over a week now.
When are we going back to the compound?”
“Maybe after the weekend. There have been strangers in town asking questions. We just want to be careful. We still believe that the compound hasn’t been compromised, but we want to err on the side of caution.”
“Christmas is coming,” said Isla, wistfully.
She’d been remembering the Christmases she’d spent with her adoptive parents.
The traditions they had. After years in foster care, those times felt like magic.
Her mom’s old Advent calendar. Her dad’s dusty box of decorations from the attic.
The town tree lighting with doughnuts and cocoa.
She ached for it all. “Will you go home and spend time with your family?”
“Not this year,” said Mitch. “I’ll be staying with you. Colt and Dirk are going home for two days. Hopefully we’ll be back at the compound by then.”
“If we go back to the compound before Christmas, could we get a tree?”
“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll have Jax pick one up for us. He squeezed her hands. “We’ll have a nice Christmas, I promise.”
“I can’t even go shopping for gifts for everyone,” Isla said. “After everything you’ve all done.”
“We don’t need presents. We’ll be fine. I know you’ll make some sort of Christmas feast for everyone.” He nudged her and she laughed.
“You know I will,” she said, suddenly starving. They walked on, fingers entwined.
Mitch went to talk to Lara as Isla started breakfast. Lara sat behind her laptop, her brow furrowed. He walked behind her and looked at the screen. “What’s so interesting that you didn’t hear me come in?”
“Hi Mitch. I’m reading a report that just came in from headquarters. Mendez and Rodriquez have posted bail. They are no longer guests of the government as of two days ago.”
“Son of a bitch!” Mitch exclaimed. “I can’t believe the judge let them out on bail. It was an attempted murder charge. They must have connections somewhere.”
“Or really good lawyers,” said Lara. “Maybe the judge is in Hernandez’s pocket. I wouldn’t be surprised. Seems like everyone is.”
“This means that they’ll be back on our trail again.
If those two don’t get the job done, they’re as good as dead.
Just great. We’ll need to call a meeting.
Do we stay here or go back to the compound?
I don’t think they’d suspect anything if we went back to Virginia.
They’d probably think we’d be on the road getting as far away from them as possible.
I need to talk to the boss. I don’t want Molly to know anything until we know what our next move is. ”
After all her talk of a normal Christmas, Mitch knew this would break her heart.
After breakfast, Mitch told Isla he couldn’t work out with her.
Something was up—she could feel it. Maybe they were headed back to Virginia.
Hilton Head Island was a beautiful place and the compound was great.
But to her, it felt like a prison with a view.
The only time she left the house was when Mitch took her for a walk on the beach in the morning or to the gym.
Two hours out of twenty-four didn’t give her the freedom she craved.
At least when they were in Virginia there were hundreds of acres to her prison.
And besides, the house was a lot bigger.
More people came and went throughout the day.
At least they got to leave—she never did.
Her sanity was being tested and her mind was more fragile now than it had ever been.
You don’t even know what’s going on, she told herself. It could be nothing.
Isla went into her room and curled up in a ball in the middle of the huge bed.
The tears came soon after. Before she knew it, her body was heaving with sobs.
She couldn’t do this for much longer. She wasn’t strong enough.
Her emotions were all over the place right now.
This isn’t who you are, her brain said. But her heart was flooded.
The tears continued to flow. She couldn’t stop herself.
Isla didn’t hear the door open or feel the weight of Mitch’s body sitting on the edge of the bed.
She didn’t know anyone was there until she felt herself being lifted onto Mitch’s lap with his arms holding her tight and his chin resting on the top of her head as he tucked her tightly against his chest. His scent and warmth enveloped her as her tears continued to flow, dampening the front of his shirt.
He whispered words of comfort and support into her ear.
She couldn’t make sense of what he was saying.
She just wanted to stay where she was forever.
Eventually her sobs subsided and she fell into a deep sleep, clinging to Mitch as if her life depended on it.
Mitch gazed down into Isla’s tearstained face.
She’d fallen asleep with her hair stuck to her cheeks, her nose.
He pushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes were red and puffy.
Her lips trembled as her body continued to quiver in his arms. He gently pried her arms from around his neck and went into the bathroom for a warm washcloth to wipe away the tears.
Mitch watched her until her breath steadied. Her arms lifted in her sleep and she pulled him down to her as she once again sought his comfort. He lay there next to her and pulled her tighter into his body. He wanted her to feel safe.
He lay there holding her for close to an hour when there was a tap on the door. His heart started racing. He couldn’t be caught in this room, in this bed, with their witness. He could lose his job—then who would take care of her? But he couldn’t leave her or she’d wake up alone and scared.
Max opened the door, and Mitch felt frozen in place.
From the doorway, Max said, “Is she okay?”
Mitch shook his head. “She was just lying here sobbing. I don’t know how much more of this isolation and stress she can take. Should I call headquarters and see if we can get a doctor out here for her? Maybe he could give her something to help her cope. I’m at a loss.”
“It couldn’t hurt,” said Max.
Mitch slowly unwound his arms from her body and stood up.
“She tries to hide how she feels. She doesn’t feel like she has anyone to talk to.
She’s been so strong and brave about everything.
But she feels like we’re keeping her in the dark.
Maybe trying to protect her from the truth isn’t the way to go. ”