Devil in Disguise (22 page)

Rick glanced back at Rachel in the mirror. “Or that.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Rick took a deep breath before plunging ahead, speaking clearly
and matter-of-factly. “Veronica is going to split off from you and Conrad at the airport. If you don’t even acknowledge her when you get off the plane, anybody watching won’t think twice about her.
They
have no idea who she is. She’ll park out of sight somewhere near
Neena’s place so she can monitor for Internet or radio activity. If we’re in range, our equipment can pick up the stuff we miss online.”

“Will that tell us if someone really is watching?”

“It’ll give us a better idea, but I think we should move your families to be safe. It’s better to pull them for nothing than leave
them and it turn out there really is a threat.”

“Move them where?” Rachel asked.

“I thought maybe the cabin we visited?”

“Yeah, that’s probably where Neena, Charlie, and the kids will head,” Rachel confirmed. “It’ll be a tight fit, but at least they’ll be safe. What about Mom and Julia?”

Rick set his jaw to the side, hesitating for a moment for
continuing. “Veronica thinks she’s found a place for your sister, but it’s a hidden location, so no family.”

Rachel’s first instinct was to revolt against the prospect. “How will I know she’s safe?”

“It’s a shelter for battered women. They were full last time we
checked, but they just had a resident move out. Veronica trusts Carly, the woman who runs the place, implicitly. Its location is
hidden to protect its residents from angry, abusive exes. That makes it an ideal place to hide trafficking victims, until they have more shelters of their own, anyway.”

“Can I even know what part of the country it’s in?” Rachel’s voice sounded small even to her own ears. She wasn’t sure she had much choice at this point.

“She’ll be close. It’s in Atlanta.”

Rachel nodded, frowning as she was lost in thought.

“Veronica has an idea for your mom, but she wants your
thoughts. She was hoping the two of you could talk on the plane.” Rick’s voice was gentle.

Rachel nodded again. What could she say? Keeping her family safe was all that mattered at the moment, though she had no idea how she was supposed to do that with them scattered all over the country. “How are we getting everyone out of the house? Is Veronica going to wave her magic wand?”

A grin tugged the corner of Rick’s mouth. “No, sorry. Ron left her magic wand at home. If you and Conrad act naturally enough when you get there, then the hope is the traffickers won’t think too
much of
your arrival. They probably suspect you’ve been coming and going all along. Give Veronica some time to assess the situation. If she thinks it’s safe, then I see no reason why the Russells can’t load up their kids and get the hell out of there. It’ll be Julia and Conrad they really want.”

Rachel’s heart hammered at the thought of something
happening to her dearest friend. “Has someone called Sheriff Taylor? Should he make sure Neena and her family get out of town okay?”

“He’ll be watching from a distance. If he moves in too close, it would be a definite signal to anyone watching that something’s up, though.”

“If anyone is watching,” Rachel said, more to remind herself than anything. “So how do we get Julia and Mom out?”

“I don’t think they’ll make a move before dark, assuming they don’t realize the jig is up. If that’s the case, and if Veronica does another sweep and it comes up clean, then load them in the car and drive away. She’ll intercept you when she thinks it’s safe and
coordinate getting everyone to their new landing spots.” Rick picked up a small GPS device that Rachel hadn’t noticed on the seat next to him. “If it’s not safe or if they make a play for you, then melt into the woods behind the Russell farm. Follow this. One of our contacts in the area will be sure a car is there for you. There will be another GPS in the car that will lead you to your next stop.”

Rachel leaned forward to accept the small black device. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“When this is all over, I’ll spend a month lounging on the sugar-white beaches of Peter Island, staring at the bright blue Caribbean and pretending things like human trafficking don’t exist,” he
promised.

Rachel smiled at the thought. “That sounds heavenly.”

“It’s the only way Ron and I stay sane sometimes,” he admitted. “We’re just about to passenger drop-off. Be careful, and good luck.”

“You too. Take good care of Harmony and Vance.”

“I’ll do my best. They aren’t an easy pair to keep tabs on.”

Rick put the car in park long enough to open the door for Rachel and get her bags from the trunk. He handed her things to the porter at the curb and turned to go. She placed a hand on his arm to stop
him.

There were many things she wanted to say, but few that she could. Rachel had to hope there was enough gratitude packed into
her “thank you” to be sufficient.

Rick gave her his signature grin and tipped his hat. “Glad to be of service.”

Rachel’s nerves were a mess as she hopped on the short flight to Arkansas, hoping to get to her sister before human traffickers did. She
felt like she was watching the events unfold rather than living them, and she wondered if this was what an out-of-body experience was like.

Conrad’s solid presence anchored her to reality, even as Veronica
explained to Rachel that she felt a voluntary treatment facility might be
the best place for Rosemary for the time being. While her head
understood Veronica’s logic, her heart couldn’t quite reconcile to it.

“I don’t think Mom is going to agree to this.”

Conrad shook his head. “Not easily, no, but you have more sway with her than you’re admitting here. When the two of you dig your heels in, you usually win.”

“And you said yourself that she’s not the same lately,” Veronica
reminded Rachel. “You’ve been worried about how much she sleeps, how many pills she’s taking. Sweetheart, I’m afraid your mom’s
going to get lost in the shuffle and she’s going to O.D.”

Rachel scowled; her first instinct was to vehemently deny that she’d let it get that far. The truth refused to stop nagging at the back of her
brain, though. In fact, it was pretty insistently working its way to the front of Rachel’s mind. She’d been so wrapped up in Julia and Conrad that she’d been giving her own mother barely more than a passing
thought.

Rachel sunk her face into her hands, muttering miserably, “I’m a horrible daughter.”

Conrad placed a protective arm around her, and Veronica leaned across the aisle to take Rachel’s hand.

“You’re just overwhelmed. It’s okay to pass the baton to
someone
else on this one,” Veronica assured her. “I truly believe this is the
best thing for your mother.”

Rachel swallowed hard and took a steadying breath. “I’ll talk to her.”

With that decided, the trio settled into silence. There wasn’t much more to say, and they were all lost in thoughts of their own.
The flight was short, and Veronica disappeared into the sparse airport crowd without a word once they landed.

When Conrad and Rachel pulled the rented sedan into Charlie and Neena’s driveway, Julia met Rachel inside the kitchen, flying straight into Rachel’s arms.

“What is it, baby girl?” Rachel held her sister close, rocking her gently from side to side as she stroked her hair. She wondered what had been left out of the briefing Rick had given her. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe.”

“They’re here. Sheriff Taylor said I’d imagined it, but I know they’re here. They’re just waiting. Take me away from here. Take me away from here right now.”

Rosemary shook her head and raised her shoulders. “She’s been this way since last night. Nobody’s able to calm her down.”

“Shhh, baby girl,” Rachel tried to console her frantic sister,
looking to the other adults in the room for a clue as to what had her sister so upset. “Honey, you’re safe. Let’s talk about this. Let’s take a deep breath and give ourselves a minute to figure out what our next steps should be.”

“It’s not me. It’s not me.” Julia pulled away and began to pace, her arms wrapped tightly about herself. “I’ve gotta go. Take me away from here right now.”

Rachel looked to Neena helplessly.

“She started screaming last night. We ran down to her room, and she told us she’d seen a face in her window. Charlie grabbed the shotgun and went out to check things out, but we didn’t see anyone. We couldn’t find where anything had been disturbed.”

“It was real.” Julia’s voice inched up.

“I’m not questioning the validity of what you said,” Neena
responded coolly without missing a beat. “I’m giving your sister the facts. Please let me talk.”

Julia silenced but continued to pace, breathing so rapidly that Rachel worried she was going to hyperventilate.

“Why don’t we all grab a seat and see if we can figure this out?” Conrad suggested.

Once they were seated in the living room, Neena continued. “Like I said, we didn’t see anything disturbed, and Sheriff Taylor couldn’t find any traces that anyone had been here, but I will say the
animals were unsettled. They could have just as easily been responding to an air pressure change or something, but everything furred and feathered has been acting spooked since last night.”

“I moved into Julia’s room when you left,” Rosemary told her. “I didn’t see anything.”

Julia opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp look from Neena
silenced her. Rachel imagined that the first thing to flit through Julia’s
mind had been similar to what had entered hers: Rosemary had
probably been knocked out on her nightly pills and wouldn’t
have noticed if the man had been standing in the room. The hair on the back of Rachel’s
neck stood up. A sense of foreboding hung in the air. She shot
Conrad a look that said “What the hell do we do now?”

She took her sister’s hands in her own, trying to catch her eye and speaking firmly but quietly. “Julia, I think if they were truly
here, we would have intercepted confirmation of that.” Rachel left out that they had, in fact, intercepted conversations alluding to the
fact while not outright confirming. “Still, we’d all rather be safe than sorry, so we’ve arranged for a safe place for you to go until we can be sure.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about!” Julia exploded. “It’s Neena and her beautiful family. You need to get
them
out of here
now
!”

Rachel blinked in shock. Her sister never yelled. She got quiet and sullen, but she never shouted.

“If there is someone watching the house, it’s important they not realize we’re on to them,” Conrad reminded everyone. “Not to mention the baby’s napping upstairs. Let’s try to keep this
conversation as calm and quiet as we can.”

Charlie tried a different approach to calm the girl. “Thank you for being concerned about us, Julia. But all we care about is your safety. Let’s get that squared away, and then I’ll see about taking Neena and the kids down to the cabin or something.”

 “She’s right,” Conrad agreed. “If they know you helped Julia or that you’re related to me, they will bomb this house as a very clear message to anyone else who might want to help us. We should have never come here.”

“Stop that.” Neena’s scowl was fierce enough to shut him up
and
make Julia stop pacing. “We knew the risk when we welcomed you here, and neither of us regrets our decision. If you think we are in
that much danger, then we’ll take the kids and leave now.”

Charlie looked to Conrad and then Rachel. “How much time do we have?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Rachel admitted. “Veronica is outside somewhere now, checking to see if it’s safe. Once she’s sure you can
get through unharmed, she’ll give the all-clear. Sheriff Taylor is aware of the situation. He plans to make sure you get out of town safely. The thought was that maybe you could take your family to the cabin for a while.”

“I’ll start packing now.”

Conrad placed a hand gently on his sister’s shoulder. “It would be best if it looked like you were just heading out for the evening.”

Realization dawned, and Neena’s eyes teared up a little around
the edges. Her gaze darted around the room. She nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll transfer the supply pack over to the baby’s
bag. Give me a couple of minutes.”

The entire Russell family mobilized, all apparently knowing their role without a word being spoken between them. Cara took her younger siblings into the living room. Gabrielle scurried about the
house, gathering random items to be packed.

Charlie pulled Neena into a hug, resting his forehead on hers. “Just let me grab my laptop and be sure the files are in the safe. Then I’ll help get the family rounded up,” he promised before giving her a
kiss and disappearing into his study.

“Should I pack too?” Rosemary looked helpless. In that moment, Rachel felt sorry for her mother.

“Just a few things into your purse,” Rachel told her. “I’ll be up in a minute to talk about some options for where you go next.”

“This is because of me,” Julia whispered once her mother had gone, curling up on the big easy chair beside the Russells’ fireplace
and hugging her knees to her chest.

“This is because of some really evil people, not you,” Rachel corrected, coming to sit beside Julia. She put an arm around her
sister. “No one thinks this is your fault.”

Neena sat on the ottoman and leaned down so she could look Julia in the eye. “Do you know what I was doing a week before I first saw this place?”

Julia shook her head slowly but didn’t speak.