In Love by Design (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (38 page)

Tre
stuck her head out the closet and I’ve never seen her look so pissed, sad, and happy-- all at one time.

She flashe
d me a “five” count with her hand and exclaimed fervently, “You’ve got to help these people, Bel!”

‘There goes the
schedule of my abducted weekend off work!’

I
was bumming big time that I was never going to get My Turn at this rate, but helping was never a doubt once I heard all those Spanish voices crying out. I may not speak the language, but the sound of five voices babbling in terror, not counting Anna’s, needed no translation.

Mia interject
ed on a frustrated cry of anger, “I’ve been trying to help them for the last week, why do you think they’re hiding here in Diego’s office, you huge ignorant woman!” She flicked a hand towards me and demanded contemptuously of Tre, “What can Anabel do that I haven’t? She doesn’t even know what’s going on, but you think your gang can walk right in and take over!”

Nodding my head towards
the thunderously frowning Tre over at the closet, I said lightly, “Mia, meet my friend, Tre J.” I swirled a hand at Tre. “Tre meet my new second cousin, Mia.”

The white
-blonde Viking with blue ice chips for eyes crossed strong arms over her munificent chest and stared down the petite, fiery-eyed Corsair with the curling black hair and hands poised aggressively on her hips.

This
was a sight to behold and I was not quite sure who to root for in this battle of the wills.

Tre spoke first
and her tone was just as snotty. “I don’t know what Bel can do either, you puny little brat, but she will do something and it sure as hell won’t take her a week! She killed a man two weeks ago after he tried to run us off the road, and let me tell you about the time she kicked…”

A little stunned to hear
Tre’s spin on the Hammer’s death, I nevertheless tuned out when she started divulging feats of our gang’s past exploits. I used this opportunity to check my phone, since it had been turned off for over half an hour.

A
missed call had come in ten minutes ago from an unknown number that caused a sinking sensation of dread in my stomach. I debated calling the number back. As a rule, I never call back missing calls or unknown numbers. If this was Dickie calling and he chose not to leave me a voice mail, I decided it was too dangerous to chance calling him back and I needed to trust he knew what he was doing.

I call
ed Luke and his phone rang, but went right to voice mail. I was a little surprised he didn’t pick up. I left a message. “E. This call was intended to ask for your permission to bring a few people over to the farm,” I laughed a little when I added, “for a sleepover. But then I didn’t want you to confuse me with all the people in your life that asked your permission for everything, so I’m telling you that I am.” I lowered my voice. “You can spank me later, if I’m disappointing you.”

I
hesitated, wanting to say more, but shrugged and pressed end. Luke said he’d let me know if he heard from Dickie and anything else I’d rather say in person to my beloved.

N
ext I called Mac and she answered with a whispered, “I can’t talk now!”

“
Best news I’ve heard all day, so please just listen. All is well. I swear to God he is true blue, I repeat, he is true blue. I’ll call you tomorrow with the details, but I’m done investigating, over and out.”

I end
ed that call without waiting for a response, hoping I was right and really would have the details for Mac tomorrow.

While I’
d been turned around and talking quietly into my phone, Tre had been speaking energetically to Mia. The tone of her voice had gradually returned to her usual upbeat self. Tre J was a fearsome competitor in sports or when riled, but mostly she preferred going with the flow and being a friendly giant.

Facing them again, Mia’s
appraising eyes were regarding me with open curiosity.

Without any hostility
, she politely requested, “I could really use any help you can give and I apologize for being difficult.”

Tre g
ave me a wink at my surprised glance at Mia’s attitude adjustment.

Smiling warmly
at the girl, I replied, “Apology accepted, Mia.” I believe I’ve already mentioned that I know women and their love of detailed stories, so I skipped ahead a few steps. “I have a few questions I want you to answer and then we’ll decide on a plan. Sound good so far?”

At my expectant look, she nod
ded and I asked, “You have five people illegally in the United States that you are helping, correct?”

“Yes, three women and two children, both girls. I am…” Mia started to explain more, but I held up a hand to stop her.

“I’ll want to hear your whole story eventually, but for now just answer my questions. Without telling me where, is there a specific destination for them to reach, and if so, when?”

Her eyes narrow
ed at my peremptory interruption, but she answered readily, “Yes, but they can’t arrive until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Okay, good.”
I next asked, “Now that the closet’s secret door has been broken, are they safe staying here in the hidden room in this office until tomorrow?”

Mia
’s hands were fidgeting again and her voice was anguished, “Nobody but Diego and I should have a key to this office door,” However, she wasn’t so anguished that she couldn’t still glare accusingly that I had a key, “so I think so. It’s moving them out of the store tomorrow that will be very difficult. I am so worried, and this is why I’ve accepted your help. I have been working alone and now there is this man…”

This time I only had to give
Mia a frowning look before she sat back with an offended sniff, but her mouth snapped shut. “Mia, believe me, when we have more time, I am going to want to hear every single detail about this man, but my gut is saying we all need to get out of here. What is your gut saying?’

Mia stare
d at me, as if not understanding the question.

Jazy
walked out of the closet. “My gut is saying we all need to get out of here right now.” She nodded and smiled briefly at Mia. “Hi, I’m Jasmyn, another of Diego’s sisters-in-law.”

Mia smile
d back a little dazedly and I stood up. I recalled Jazy’s sick feeling last night when I was being abducted and I didn’t need to be told twice.

Jazy asked,
“Bel, what’s the new plan? The girls are ready to go, but they’re waiting for Mia to reassure them everything’s okay.”

I smile
d at how my sister doesn’t even question for a microsecond that we’d leave behind the five females in the secret room to their own fate.

“Is Anna alright, Jaz?” I ask
ed in return, thinking of her whimpering and screaming in the closet before any of this started.

“She felt a mouse.
” Jazy met my eyes and stated flatly, “It was the broom.”

Concentrating
hard on stuffing Luke’s towel and the flashlight into the duffle, I managed to not lose it at the sight of the utter disgusted bewilderment on my sister’s face at Anna’s fear over a little mouse.

I asked
Mia, “Is the back entrance under surveillance?’

Black c
urls swinging, she shook her head no. “I’m here doing my usual shift and have never deviated from my schedule. I’m being stalked personally by a cop.” When I didn’t stop her this time, Mia continued, “He has threatened me before and I think my car’s bugged somehow, but,” she laughed bitterly, “if he suspected I had the girls hidden here, I’d be either in jail or blackmailed onto my back.” In a cynical voice belonging to a forty-year-old and not someone barely twenty, Mia added, “Or probably both.”

As
fascinating as this statement was, I only nodded and motioned the three women in close. “Here’s the plan. It’s a simple bait and switch because people see what they expect to see.” I smiled at the intent faces listening. “Until they see they’re wrong.”

T
en minutes later, dressed in Mia’s clothes, jacket, shoes, and carrying a Dos Santos grocery bag on my elbow, I exited the front entrance of the store and walked briskly down the block. The jacket hood was pulled up and I’d kept the Vikings hat on with the brim pulled low, but otherwise, our heights and builds were very similar. After observing Mia walk away this afternoon, I put a lot of extra swing in my hips to complete the illusion. If I was being followed, the plan was they weren’t going to be looking too hard at my face.

Once I’d walked out of the store and into the dark
ness of the quiet winter night, I didn’t look up from my phone the entire time. Pretending to text, I walked down the street and away from the store. Within a half a block, I saw out of my peripheral vision when a black Ford Taurus slowly overtook me.

Continuing to walk with my total
attention glued to the cell in my hand, I casually pushed the hood back. Reaching the circle of brightness under a streetlamp, I took off my Vikings cap to wipe at my forehead with my forearm and revealed my shining blonde braids.

The
Taurus accelerated up the street, hung a U-ie, passed me by from the opposite side of the street, and sped back in the previous direction.

I
kept walking to the next intersection. As prearranged, I turned right onto that side street and texted the all clear to Jazy. Waiting by a clump of bushes, it was only a minute before the GMC conversion van circled back to pick me up. Nine anxious faces relaxed into big smiles and Anna led the cheer when I climbed into the passenger seat. All the girls had snuck out the back emergency door when I left by the front. That stalking cop was in for a long night watching Dos Santos’ parking lot, if he’s waiting for Mia to leave the store.

I
was not usually grateful to be reminded of the lapses in my formal education, but tonight I was exceedingly thankful that I didn’t speak Spanish. Listening to the excited, chattering voices of Mia, Anna, the three adult Mexican women, and the higher pitch of two young girls, I buckled up. Sinking back into the plush front passenger seat, I let out a deep breath. Across the aisle, Tre gave me a laughing glance of commiseration and hit the gas.

We drop
ped Jazy off at my jeep in the Aldi’s parking lot. She was picking up pizzas and salads on the way to join us at the farm for this impromptu slumber party. I pulled rank and forced Anna to ride with my sister, insisting Jazy shouldn’t drive alone. Jazy and Anna weren’t exactly speaking with each other right now due to the invisible mouse episode and the thrashing Anna gave Jazy in the closet. This was before they burst through the flimsy back partition and landed on the laps of the terrified Mexican girls. They both give me dirty looks, but I didn’t care because I was even less thrilled with them. They were both determined to come over to Luke’s, despite the potential risks. They were worse than a couple of stubborn mules.

On the drive back to Luke’s
place, I mulled over the consequences of my actions tonight. To be prosy, it’s my duty as a citizen to contact the authorities and turn these women in to be dealt with according to the law. If I’m caught helping these five strangers, I could be prosecuted and end up in jail.

I
don’t have a firm position on the issue of illegal aliens in our country because, honestly, I haven’t given it much serious thought. Off the cuff, I don’t think people seeking a better life should be allowed to waltz into our country by illegal means simply because we share a physical border.

Having foreign friends,
I’ve heard of the mountains of paperwork involved, as well as the time, effort, and cost people put into legally becoming a citizen of the United States, or of any other country. I grasped the problems and resentments caused by illegal’s residing in our country, especially when granted amnesty after living here unlawfully. They’ve broken many of our other laws while doing so, laws that citizens were routinely fined and jailed over.

However, fac
ing five Mexican females who can’t stop hugging each other while speaking broken English and offering their undying gratitude to Mia and Team Ninja, it was hard to care about upholding the laws we have in place. These were living, breathing women scared out of their wits. From what I’ve gathered, they’ve escaped from some hellish town on the Mexican border where their husbands were gunned down. Call me unpatriotic and hypocritical, but I didn’t think three women and two girls were going to make or break the economic future of the United States when compared to the twenty million people already floating around illegally in our country.

I
was responsible for knowingly breaking the law. That was why I forced Anna to ride with Jazy and why I tried to quietly convince Tre to let me drive the van to Luke’s house. This was my bright idea tonight and we don’t all have to fry for it should we be unfortunate enough to get pulled over for some Godforsaken reason between here and the farm.

Like many Norwegians, Tre
also has a stubborn streak that was as deep as the earth’s core and she wouldn’t budge, either. She gently informed me that she’d received pictures of my jeep wheels and was much more concerned that I would damage the brand new van she’d borrowed from another relative. Tre’s rep couldn’t take two destroyed vans within two weeks, but apparently a prison sentence didn’t faze her.