Page 94 of Everything We Found
Their gazes held, and though she nodded, they both knew he couldn’t guarantee that promise. They might find him, but in what condition?
“Let’s roll,” Dan barked, already retreating to his car with Simone.
“Grab what you need and get in,” James told Nadia, heading back to his rental. “I’ll fill you in while we drive.”
Nadia retrieved the bag Cammy had given her for her change of clothes, and minutes later, they were on the freeway headed south, with the feds following at a three-car distance.
She and James had a complicated history. He’d once been her friend, then he was supposedly dead, which she pretended she hadn’t known. Then when he reappeared, she’d kept her distance. Not just in a show of support for Aimee, who’d severed contact because their past had been too painful and she’d needed to move on, build a life with Ian. But Nadia’s guilt that she’d colluded with Thomas, chosen him over Aimee, had consumed her.
She had so many questions about his life since he’d resurfaced, about his relationship with Thomas, and where he’d been since the cartel had raided his house in Hanalei. But she asked him the one thing that had nagged her since Thomas had left.
“Are you certain they have your mom? How do you know you and Thomas aren’t walking into a trap?”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “It’s a trap, no doubt there. But they have her.”
“How do you know?”
His jaw flexed, the muscles working beneath his beard. “Aside from a very convincing photo of her, they sent me her severed finger with the wedding ring my father had given her still on it.”
Nadia stared at him, mouth agape in horror. “They didwhat?”
“SRT found the digit in a small box with a note on my kitchen table after the Hidalgos raided my house. SRT is the SpecialResponse Team with the police,” he clarified at Nadia’s confused look. “Kauai doesn’t have a SWAT.”
“We saw your house on the news,” she said, recalling the footage of the bullet-ridden beachfront property being swarmed by local authorities. “Thomas said you weren’t there.”
“No, thank god. I was with Marcus at a soccer game and Julian had been surfing at another beach with a friend. Natalya luckily had been shopping with Zelie, or they would have been home.” His voice caught slightly.
“Who’s Zelie?”
James gave her a quick glance. “My daughter. She’s six months old.”
“You have a daughter? Does Tom know?” She tried to keep the hurt from her voice that he hadn’t told her he was an uncle again.
James shook his head, eyes fixed on the road. “Other than several days ago, he and I haven’t spoken.”
And that conversation clearly hadn’t gone well from what she’d overheard.
Anger flared unexpectedly. “Why didn’t you answer his calls? He was going out of his mind trying to reach you.”
He released a long sigh. “Easier to ignore him.”
“With all that’s going on?” Her voice hardened. “You guys should be collaborating, checking in on each other, not fighting. Not when your lives have been threatened. They killed Phil. They’re going to kill your mom if we can’t stop this, and there’s a very good chance they’ll get to you and Thomas too.”
“You don’t think I know that?” James fired back. “You don’t think I’ve lain awake at night terrified they’ll come after my family after they get to me?” He was nearly shouting. “Nat and I had the worst fight we’ve ever had when I agreed to their demands.”
“Why did you?”
“I am so over them interfering with my life,” he growled. “This ends now.”
“It could end with yours and Tom’s deaths,” she shot back, fear heating her temper to boiling.
“I’m very well aware of that.” He firmly spoke. “But unlike my brother who’s notorious for flying solo, I got help.”
“Then why not loop Tom in?” she demanded. “You left him no choice but to fly solo when you didn’t pick up the phone.”
His neck visibly tensed, the cords of muscle tightening as he struggled to keep his composure. “The feds advised me not to.”
“I don’t believe you,” she challenged.
