Silence in the Dark (15 page)

“How could I not? I . . . I still love you, Bailey, even if you don’t love me.”

His words pierced her heart and opened a floodgate of emotions. Unable to speak, she stared down at the ground. A minute ticked by as he apparently waited for her response.

“Why did you go to Mexico?” The question dropped into the still night.

A tentative smile curved her lips. “Because they needed me, and I wanted to help, especially the women and children. Ever since I was eighteen, I’ve gone to Creel to work in summer missions. The poverty is so overwhelming, but the people are so joyful even though they have nothing.”

“Couldn’t you have just kept going in the summer?” His voice was low, sad.

She’d felt the pull to go into missions full time for several years, but it had taken running from his proposal to get her there. “I could have, but summer missions wouldn’t get me away from you. I was afraid if I stayed, you would change my mind.”

“And that would have been bad?”

“Yes. I couldn’t be the wife you need.”

“So you ran away.”

“Yeah.” She hugged her arms to her body. “I’m good at that.”

Angel pulled the frilly spread back on the daybed and pressed his fingers into the mattress, testing it. Firm, just the way he liked it. A quick scan of the room indicated guests didn’t usually occupy the study. Mrs. Adams—no, Kate—had already refused payment,
saying she would not take money from someone who had helped her daughter.

The older woman had not said much tonight, but her keen eyes seemed to take in everything. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had figured out he was Maria’s father. Which posed a dilemma. Right now, he needed Danny’s trust in case the cartel came after Maria in the States. If Danny discovered Angel had lied by omission, that trust would be eroded, even if Danny understood the reason behind the secrecy.

For six months, he or one of his men had kept a watch on his daughter from afar, following her as she went back and forth to school or anywhere else. He’d feared if the cartel discovered he was alive, Maria would be in danger. Either they had found out or it was simply a random kidnapping so prevalent in Mexico. Anyone who was wealthy had become a target.

He cocked his head as footsteps padded down the hallway. Since they were coming toward him, it couldn’t be Bailey returning. He’d seen her go down a short time ago, dressed for the outside. Easing the door open, he glimpsed the top of Solana’s raven head. Eleven o’clock here, but only ten in Chihuahua. Like Bailey, Solana probably couldn’t sleep, either.

Questions about the gentle waitress nagged him. The story of why she had her passport seemed plausible, and he hoped it was true. Otherwise, it raised possibilities he didn’t want to consider. He hated the suspicion that crept into everything, but he’d long ago learned not to take anyone or anything at face value. Now might be a good time to learn more about this mystery woman. And if she was everything she claimed to be, then that also opened the door to other possibilities. Instantly, he shut the door to that thought.

Solana looked up when he entered the kitchen, wariness stamped in her big brown eyes. His heart hitched at how the T-shirt swallowed her, making her look like a little girl playing grown-up.
Tomorrow he would buy her clothes that fit. Across the table from her, Kate gave him a warm smile.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” Kate asked.

“No.”

“We’re having chamomile tea. Interested?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “I haven’t acquired a taste for that yet. No, I think another bowl of that potato soup will do the trick for me. But I’ll fix it myself,” he said as she started to rise. He’d noticed where the bowls were kept and opened the cabinet door, taking out one. “I saw Bailey come downstairs . . .”

“She’s probably out looking at the stars.” Kate stood. “My body says it’s my bedtime, so if I can’t help you with the soup, I’ll bid you a good night.”

“Good night,” Angel and Solana said in unison as Angel took the pot from the refrigerator. Silence filled the kitchen as he ladled soup in the bowl, then warmed it in the microwave.

He sat across from Solana at the table and began eating. A light jasmine fragrance floated from her direction. “How is your room?”

She looked up, and her eyes had not lost their wariness. “Beautiful. Kate told me the vases in it were some she’d made. Tomorrow I want to see her studio.”

“So do you think you would like to be a potter?”

Some of the caution left her face, replaced by a faraway look. “My grandfather was a potter, and I always wanted to try it, but when he was alive, I was too small to kick the wheel. And now . . .”

The yearning in her face matched the yearning in his heart for things that could not be. He pushed the half-eaten bowl of soup away. “Why not now?”

She fluttered her hand. “So many reasons.” She swallowed. “When will we return to Mexico?”

“I don’t know yet. Do you have business that needs your attention?”

The wariness returned, and she lifted her shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

“How about your family? Do you need to contact them?”

“I only have my sister in Arizona, and she probably won’t try to call me since I was just there.”

“Which is why you had your passport and visa with you.”

She stiffened, and her gaze pinned him to the wall. “Why do you think I had those things with me?”

Uh-oh. His voice had given him away, and he was seeing some of the temper he’d observed at the cafe. Her reaction showed either she was very good at lying or she was telling the truth. He hoped for the latter. “In my line of work, coincidence rarely happens, but in this case, I think it has.”

Her lifted eyebrow indicated she hadn’t bought his answer. “And it was just a coincidence that you were at the cafe this morning?” she said.

Heat rose up his neck. “I have to eat.”

“Sure.” She stood. “I’m going to bed.”

“No, don’t go.” With a start, he realized he really didn’t want her to leave.

“Why not? It’s obvious you don’t trust me.”

He dropped his gaze. “It’s hard for me to trust anyone.”

She hesitated, and for a minute, he thought she would stay. “I understand that, but I’m tired. We will talk more tomorrow.”

“Yes.” After she left, Angel sat in the empty kitchen with the lingering scent of jasmine mocking him.

12

T
he sensation of falling jerked Danny out of his sleep. He checked the time. Four thirty. Still fully dressed except for his shoes, he eased from the bed and padded to the window. His room faced the circle drive, and he checked to make sure no one lurked about. Security lights outlined the oaks that lined the drive, their branches reaching into the night sky like silent witnesses. Nothing moved. He turned as boards creaked in the room across the hall. Angel was also up. Probably hadn’t slept.

Danny wasn’t ready to communicate with anyone just yet and returned to the bed. He stared up at the ceiling with his hands clasped behind his head. He’d intended to sort out his thoughts last night, especially after he blurted out his declaration of love to Bailey, but sleep found him faster than he’d expected. He stared at the ceiling as though it would give him the answers he sought.

He’d exorcised her from his life, or so he thought. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to tell him he’d risked his life yesterday and almost destroyed his plane, all because he was still in love with her.

What had he been thinking when he told her that he still loved her? That she would say she felt the same way? The words had come out of his mouth before he could stop them, and she had said nothing. Now, the logic that ruled his life demanded that he
process the way he felt toward Bailey, starting with everything else that happened yesterday.

When he saw her sitting with Joel, looking at
him
the way she used to look at Danny with those incredible eyes, jealousy ripped through him. Then when he thought those men had taken her . . . His stomach clenched and a vise squeezed his chest, just as it had yesterday. What a crock of lies he’d fed himself for the past two years.

He closed his eyes. Thinking about his non-relationship with Bailey was futile. He needed to focus on a plan of action. But first he had to know Angel and Solana’s plans. Bailey’s, he knew—contact the grandparents. She’d mentioned last night she wanted to meet with them in person, today hopefully. If she did, he’d take her—she would not get out of his or Angel’s sight until this was over. She wouldn’t like it, but she might as well get over it.

First thing on his list for today was to get someone to run him over to his house to pick up his SUV and some clothes. He relaxed as he did what he did best—plan. Even when he flew by the seat of his pants like yesterday, his mind jumped ahead, planning the next move.

The plane.
He had to get the wing repaired. Two inches to the right and the bullet would have hit the fuel tank. Pure luck that it hadn’t. Bailey would have said it was God. He shook the thought off as he relaxed into the mattress. He’d rather believe in luck.

Pipes rattled, and his eyes flew open. Danny glanced at the clock. Almost six thirty. He’d dozed off. Maybe Kate was up and he could get a cup of coffee. He slipped on his shoes and stepped out into the hallway. Angel’s room was quiet again, and no one else seemed awake yet so he tried not to clomp as he walked to the stairs and then down them. The rich aroma of coffee met him at the foot of the stairs. Kate was a woman after his own heart.

She looked up from the end of the table and closed her Bible as he came into the kitchen. “Good morning. You’re up early. Couldn’t sleep?”

He shrugged and made a beeline for the coffee. “There’s a lot to do today. Do you think Charlie can run me over to my house?” He picked up an earth-toned cup.

“I’m sure he can. He’s at the barn right now.” She took the cup from him and handed him another mug. “That’s Bailey’s favorite. This one’s bigger anyway.”

“If it’s her favorite, it’d be my luck to drop and break it.”

They both laughed, then Kate folded her arms. “Can we talk? I want to know what’s going on. When I asked Bailey, she skirted my questions.”

He scratched his jaw, his beard stubby to his fingers, then took his coffee to the table. “Not sure how much I can help you.”

Kate poured herself a cup and joined him. “But you were there, so tell me what happened.”

Danny sipped the hot liquid. Anything less than the complete story and Kate would find the holes. “I ran into Bailey at an outdoor cafe yesterday morning. She was with Maria and Joel, the girl’s uncle. Joel took Maria in to raise after his sister died. The father died two years ago.”

He’d been surprised when he learned Joel had legal custody of the girl. He didn’t seem the type.

“What happened to her mother?”

“According to Angel, Claire died from a reaction to melatonin and an antidepressant drug she was taking because of her husband’s death. She was under the care of a doctor, but she failed to tell him about the melatonin.”

“There were no grandparents to take the child?”

“Only one set, and they’re the ones Bailey was bringing Maria to see. When I ran into Bailey yesterday morning, she and Joel and Maria had stopped to eat on their way to the airport. Joel was kidnapped after I left the cafe, and whoever took him wanted Maria as well.”

“Bailey wouldn’t let that happen.”

Kate was already ahead of him. “No. They went on the run with help from Solana, made it to the airport just ahead of the men looking for Maria. That’s where Angel and I stepped in, rescued the three of them and took them to a nearby hotel.”

After another sip of the coffee, Danny raised his gaze to Kate. “The men followed us there along with Joel, but we made it to the plane and here we are.”

Kate held his gaze. “Sounds like you’ve skipped over a few of the details. Do you think the uncle was in some way involved?”

“I don’t know.” He chewed the inside ridge in his mouth. “Probably not. He had been beaten up pretty badly. I’m not certain how he escaped his kidnappers.”

“How did they find you at the hotel? Did the uncle lead them there?”

“Possibly. Or they may have put a tracking device on his phone and let him go, knowing he’d lead them to Bailey and Maria.”

“Why do they want Maria?”

“Angel says for ransom.”

“But you don’t think that.”

“No. I think if it had been for ransom, after they botched it, they would have moved on to an easier target.”

She nodded. “Who is this Angel?”

“All I know is his name and that if it hadn’t been for him, Bailey and Maria would more than likely be in the hands of the kidnappers.”

“Doesn’t mean you should completely trust him.”

He didn’t. But he owed him. “I know.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thanks for being there for Bailey. I think God put you at the right place at the right time.”

Danny shook his head. “Nah. God wouldn’t use me for anything.”

An amused smile lit Kate’s lips. “You don’t really believe that.”

Oh, but he did. He stared down at the dark liquid that had
grown cold. God couldn’t use him when he was to blame for his mother wrapping her car around a bridge abutment. If he’d only gone to the store when she’d asked him, she wouldn’t have driven herself on icy roads. He shoved back from the table and dumped the coffee in the sink.