Page 62 of Riptide

“Can you get out?” Kaimana asked.

“I can get out. I’ve got a way to open the lock. He doesn’t know. It’s just…I don’t ever try to. He’d find out. He’s got cameras. He’d beat me. So I never try to leave…no, I can’t.”

“You’re going to leave tonight, Joli. And when do, I swear it’ll be the last time,” Kaimana promised.

“What kind of cameras are we talking?” Seth asked.

“It’s in the doorbell. So yeah, he’ll see me go.”

“Once he leaves, the FBI will trail him,” Kaimana assured her.

“I’m with Kaimana. I don’t like the idea of you going back in. Be as fast as you can. Get the numbers and get out. We’ll be outside.” Seth nodded at a woman passing by their booth and held his glass to his lips, continuing the charade.

“I live at 789—”

“We’ve got your address,” Kaimana told her. “The FBI knows.”

“Okay. I can do this.” She nodded again and gulped her champagne.

“Tonight is the last night. You’re going to be free, do you hear me?” Kaimana promised.

“I hope you’re right. Let me out of this booth before I change my mind. Meet me in an hour.”

“We’ll leave ten minutes after you’re out. Just in case someone is suspicious,” Seth told her. “The FBI will have eyes on you the whole time. If anything happens before you get to the apartment, they’ll be there.”

As Kaimana shimmied out of the booth and stood, she reached for Joli’s hand and pulled her into an embrace. With a brief hug, she whispered in her ear. “We’ll be there. You’re going to be free.”

* * *

“This is a bad idea.” Kaimana tugged off her wig and released her thick locks.

“We need to get the numbers.” Seth stripped off his shirt and slid on a fresh one. “They could be anything. We’re so close.”

“Phone numbers maybe? An address? I don’t know but at least we know Evan’s alive.” He banged his palm onto the dash. “I can’t believe he’s actually alive.”

“I told you he was alive.” Kaimana shot Seth a look and rolled her eyes.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s overwhelming. I mean, his death kicked off a cycle of doom. We were all shocked when he died that day. And now, there’s a whole new level of guilt. To think he’s been kidnapped, tortured….fuck, I hate these bastards.”

“People who are set on doing bad things will go to extremes. You can’t blame yourself.” Kaimana’s thoughts drifted to Joli. “Besides there’s enough blame to go around. I should have tried harder to get Joli out the first time I found her. But I didn’t. I had blinders on. All I could think of was Evan.”

“Marretta might have killed both of you had you tried to get her out. I can’t say what I would have done in your shoes but there is no way you could have taken on Joli while trying to figure out what had happened to Evan. Even if she is a good person, she’s been programmed. It’s going to take a long time for her to heal.” Seth tapped his phone again, checking the time.

Kaimana startled, nearly jumping out of her seat as his phone began ringing. “Jesus.”

“It’s Marcus. I’ll put him on speaker.”

“We’re gonna go in,” he told them. “Adam left out the back ten minutes ago. We don’t have a good feeling about things. It’s taking too long. We’re going in.”

“I told her she had an hour. She’s got at least fifteen to go,” Kaimana insisted, a sickening nausea churning in her stomach.

“Stay in the car. It’s already done—” Static and garbled speech blared into their car. “Call dispatch. Jesus Christ, no.”

“What’s going on?” Kaimana yelled at Seth’s phone.

“Seth. Kaimana. Stay outside. Wait for my call.”

As the phone went dead, Kaimana’s heart pounded in her chest. “Joli!”