Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
"I think we need to discuss this in chambers before we proceed. There are too many irregularities here, and I want to hear from both parties without the theatrics." Judge Preston stood. "We'll start with the defense. Ms. Taylor, Ms. Vasquez, please join me."
Shane watched April and Gabriela disappear into the judge’s chambers as a pit formed in his stomach.
They knew there was a possibility that April’s false identity would come back and bite her on the ass and they hadn’t been wrong.
He could only guess what the judge wanted to know. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Vince Romano was back to texting on his phone.
Was he gloating to someone? Placing a bet?
God knew and Shane didn’t care. His own phone had buzzed not long after the bastard had come into the courtroom, then twice again, and Shane smiled.
He hadn’t bothered looking because he knew the texts were just meaningless memes from Charlie.
What mattered was the pattern in which they’d come in.
One text, a pause, then two sent quickly meant that she had seen Romano arrive and had successfully put a tracker on his vehicle.
He owed her big time. Then again, if Ben actually went through with asking her out after Shane’s pep talk, that would make them even.
If Ben didn’t, well, Shane knew what Charlie liked. He grinned.
His grin disappeared when Vince looked back at him. He wasn’t looking so cocky now. Maybe he had placed a bet on his phone and lost. Or, maybe he thought the judge would side with April.
This might have worked in our favor after all.
Shane patted April’s lucky purse beside him.
Minutes ticked by. Vince stood and stretched, said something to his lawyer, and turned. He got three steps away from the plaintiff’s table when a siren tore through the courtroom, followed by an automated announcement telling people to make their way to the nearest exits.
Shane shot up out of his seat. “The fuck?” People started filing out of the courtroom, herded by the bailiff.
“Don’t worry, folks. System’s been acting up. Please do not push or shove. Please do not open umbrellas until you’re outside.”
Shane looked at the door leading to the judge’s chambers. It stayed closed. He started walking toward it when the bailiff stopped him.
“Wrong way, sir.” He pointed toward the back of the courtroom.
“My fiancée’s in there with the judge,” he shouted over the damn siren.
“They’ve got their own exit. She’s probably already outside.” He pointed again. “Now please exit the courtroom.”
“Fuck.” Shane grabbed April’s purse and tried to make his way through the crowd to his brothers and friends way ahead of him.
His head was on a swivel looking for Vince.
He spotted him briefly, then the crowd swallowed him back up.
Shane caught up to Ben who gently but effectively cut a path through the crowd like a cruise ship through the ocean.
The siren blared in the halls outside the courtrooms where more people spilled out.
Dammit, he didn’t want April outside without him.
He pulled out his phone and sent off a quick text to Charlie.
You outside?
She texted back almost immediately.
No, I went in and sat at the back.
Shit. He’d hoped to send King looking for April before the crowd outside got too big. He didn’t want Vince or his lawyer fucking with her.
Gabriela’s with her though. She won’t let that shit fly.
The gray clouds from the morning had let loose with a steady downpour, which only made it that much harder to find anyone in the sea of people and umbrellas.
Thank God for Ben, who had started a group text.
He directed everyone to a spot under a cluster of maple trees across the street from the courthouse.
The trees offered them some shelter from the rain, which was slowing at least.
April was on the text thread, but her phone was currently in her purse hanging off Shane’s arm.
When Shane regrouped with his friends, he told them, “Everybody keep an eye out for April and Gabriela. April left her purse behind so she’s not getting texts.
They took the exit out the judge’s chambers.
Find Romano, too. I don’t want him fucking with them.
” At least if he decided to leave, they could track his car.
Shane listened as rumors spread through the crowd that it was a false alarm.
That it was a bomb threat. That the entire basement was on fire.
Aliens from DIA, someone joked. Shane was in no mood to laugh.
Fifteen minutes had gone by and no April.
Fire rigs and paramedics had shown up about the time he’d gotten out the door.
Elias was texting, seeing if he knew any of the crew, and Waylon had gone to his truck to check the scanner.
Bear stood like a mighty redwood, Star sheltered from the weather in a baby harness on his massive chest and Ellie pressed up against his side.
He had one arm around his wife and the other cradling his daughter.
The sight made Shane’s chest go tight. He should have been home with April and Kevin, not fucking around in this bullshit.
“Shane!”
Finally. Shane turned at the sound of Gabriela’s voice.
Except Gabriela was alone. And she looked worried.
“Where’s April?” Shane demanded.
“I don’t know. We got separated in the smoke—”
“Smoke?” His heart lurched.
“In the hall behind the judge’s chambers. I tried texting but she’s not answering.”
Shane held up April’s purse. “Her phone’s in here.”
“Shit. She fell and twisted her ankle but there was a firefighter with her. I thought maybe he’d taken her to an ambulance to get checked out, but she wasn’t there. I asked all the firefighters if they’d seen her but no joy, so I thought maybe she wasn’t hurt and was just in the crowd with you.”
“No.” Shane fought back panic that threatened to blot out his senses. April didn’t need that. He took a deep breath and fell back on his training and got himself under control. “Have you seen Romano? I don’t want—”
“Vasquez!” Romano’s lawyer was wading through the crowd toward them. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen my client, have you?”
“No,” Gabriela answered. “But if he’s off harassing mine right now, he’s going to have problems.”
That started an argument whose ending Shane would never know because he was already heading for Charlie.
“Where’s Romano’s car?”
She didn’t say a word, just turned and led him down the street.
“Still there.” She pointed to an older Honda Accord sitting in front of a meter. Shane had expected a flashier car, but if Romano wanted to stay unnoticed, Accords blended into traffic better.
“Shit. Is he still here, or did he take off with her in a different car?”
“No idea.” Charlie looked lost.
“Shane! Charlie!” Gina came running toward them.
Oh fuck. Gina running was never a good sign.
“I got Elissa to hack into the cameras around here. It took a minute but she got in. There was too much smoke in the hall behind the chambers, but she caught footage from a gas station across the street of a firefighter carrying April over his shoulder. She looked unconscious.”
Shane’s world collapsed. “Where?”
Gina held up her hand. “I’m sorry. They disappeared after that. But.” Gina closed her eyes. “We have a positive ID on the guy’s face.”
“Romano?”
“No. Worse. Much, much worse.”
The rain picked up. Shane's jaw clenched. "Who?"
"Not here." Gina's eyes swept the crowd—reporters, lawyers, civilians with phones out recording everything. "This is delicate. We can't involve the authorities."
"Gina—"
"We may even have to bribe Romano's lawyer later to keep him quiet, but first things first. We need to get back to Watchdog. ASAP. I need to absolutely make sure I'm correct about this. I texted everyone. I’ll see you there." Then she was gone.
Shane wanted to grab her, shake the answer out of her. But he'd worked with Gina long enough to know when she was operating on instinct versus certainty. And right now, he needed her to be certain.
The rain picked up again—steady, cold, the kind that soaked through clothes in minutes. Shane barely felt it. He clutched April's purse against his chest as he ran for his truck, Charlie keeping pace beside him.
“Are you all right to drive?” she asked when he got to his truck.
“Yeah, King, just go.”
Charlie didn’t hesitate. She dashed toward her black Watchdog SUV.
A line of SUVs caravanned back to Watchdog. Shane’s windshield wipers beat a frantic rhythm that matched his heartbeat. April was gone. Taken. By professionals who knew exactly what they were doing.
His phone rang. It was a call from a private number.
Shane answered on speaker. "Vince," he guessed.
"Hello, Shane." Vince's tone held all the smug confidence Shane expected.
Shane's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Where is she?"
"Safe. For now. That all depends on you."
"If you hurt her—"
"I don't want to hurt her, Shane. I just want what's mine."
"Kevin's not yours. You never had that right—"
"Not the kid." Vince laughed. Shane noted a slight edge of hysteria in it. "Jesus, you really think I give a shit about some little bastard?”
“Then what do you—”
“I want her lucky purse."
Shane's brain stuttered. "What?"
"The Louis Vuitton Speedy Thirty. I know you’ve got it. Saw you pick it up in the courtroom before I could fucking get to it." Vince's voice dropped. "Do not damage it. Do not go through it. Just bring it to me unharmed, and you get the bitch back unharmed, do you understand?"
"What the fuck, man?" Shane's voice rose. "Her purse? What kind of sick, twisted game are you playing?"
"No game. No purse, no April. Simple as that. You don't want Kevin to lose his mother, do you?"
White-hot fury burned through Shane's chest. "Is this some sort of fucked-up revenge against a kid you never met? What the fuck?"