Silence in the Dark (26 page)

It was a solution. But he didn’t like it that Maria would be traveling by car. “Let me call Danny. Perhaps he will be finished by noon—there would still be time to go.”

He stepped out of the kitchen and walked to his bedroom to call. Danny answered on the first ring. “Angel? Is everything okay?”

“There’s a problem with waiting until tomorrow to go to Corning. Claire’s father is having surgery tomorrow, and there’s some question as to whether he’ll make it through the surgery. I’m trying to work out a way to take Maria to see him today. I’d really prefer her to fly rather than travel by car. Less chance of something going wrong. Do you think you’ll be finished by noon?”

“We’re waiting on Edward to start the meeting now—he stepped out for a few minutes, so I don’t know how long this will take.”

“Would you consider letting me fly your plane?”

“What? Are you telling me you can pilot a plane?”

“I guess I am.”

“What else have you not told me?”

Danny wouldn’t want to know all of his secrets. “That’s it. I didn’t think my piloting skills were relevant.”

“You have a valid license?”

“Of course.”

“Let me think about it. If I see I won’t get through here by noon, I’ll call you.”

“Sure. Do you mind if I check out your plane? Maybe take care of refueling it?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Angel pocketed his phone and walked back to the kitchen. Joel’s voice stopped him just outside the door. From where he stood, Angel could see and hear his brother-in-law. Joel was doing what he did best—charming the people around him. The man thrived on attention.

Even though he’d wanted Joel at the bed-and-breakfast, being under the same roof gnawed at his insides. And when Maria climbed in his lap, as she was now, his desire to kill the man intensified. But Joel’s death would not bring back Claire, and if Angel wanted justice for what happened in the warehouse that day, he
needed to keep Joel alive. There was always a chance his brother-in-law would make a slip, and Angel would have the evidence to turn him over to the Mexican authorities for collaborating with the Calatrava.

Angel stepped back into the room. “Danny said it would depend on Edward as to whether or not he could fly Maria to Corning. Can you influence my uncle into wrapping up the negotiations by noon? Do that, and now that Kate has offered to take Solana to the doctor, we should be able to fly Maria to see your father before he has surgery.”

Joel’s eyes narrowed, then with a blink, a smile appeared on his lips. But Angel knew from the rigid jaw and tense shoulders, anger at not being in control smoldered just below the surface.

“You can’t drive her?” Joel asked.

“I’d rather not, just in case . . .” He cast his gaze toward Maria.

“I’ll see what I can do.” He took his phone out and walked away from them. When he finished his call, he turned and nodded. “Edward promised to wrap up today’s negotiations within the hour.”

“Good.” Angel winked at Maria. “And now you get to wear your new dress today, after all.”

Joel checked his watch. “What time do you think you’ll arrive?”

“If everything stays on schedule, around two.”

Joel nodded and knelt to hug Maria. “You be good today, okay?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “I will. I wish you could fly with us.”

“Me too, honey. But I need to go early and visit with my dad.” He gave her one last hug and straightened up. “Don’t let anything happen to her.”

Angel couldn’t reconcile the man he knew with the one embracing Maria. At first Angel thought it was an act, but just as he’d seen unbridled anger in his eyes, he now saw real love.

Joel stopped at the door. “Are you really going to bring her, or is this all an act just to get rid of me?”

“You have my word that I will bring her.”

His brother-in-law lifted his eyebrows, then turned and shut the door behind him. With Joel gone, tension eased from Angel’s body.

Solana squeezed his arm. “You made a good decision.”

“I hope so.” He ignored the way his heart raced at her touch, but he couldn’t look away from the adoration in her eyes. If she knew the blackness that filled his heart, she would run as hard and fast as she could from him.

Solana turned to Kate. “And thank you that I’m not the reason to keep Maria from going.”

Kate hugged her. “Glad to do it. Until then, I’ll be in my pottery shop.”

Angel said, “And I’m going to the airport to get Danny’s plane ready.”

Two hours later, he returned to the house. Regardless of who flew the plane, it was ready to take off. Maria met him at the foot of the stairs. His heart warmed at the sight of the only good thing in his life.

All the time he had lain in the Texas hospital, thoughts of Maria and Claire had given him the will to live. Three bullets had lodged in his body that day at the warehouse, one near his spine. For a while the doctors thought he’d never walk again, but as the swelling and inflammation subsided, feeling returned to his legs. Now the only residual effect of the bullets was in his mind.

“Daddy, you didn’t answer me!”

He brought his attention back to Maria. “Sorry, baby. What did you say?”

She put her fists on her waist. “I asked how I looked.”

Oh, shades of Claire. He laughed and picked Maria up. “You’re beautiful, like your mommy.”

“Really? Uncle Joel says the picture is so I won’t forget what she looks like.” She gazed into his eyes. “I feel bad sometimes when I can’t remember. I think that’s why Uncle Joel gave it to me. Can you open it for me?”

“Let me set you down.” His fingers shook as he held the small heart-shaped locket and stared at the photo of Claire from their wedding. His stomach lurched.

Why couldn’t Joel stay one-dimensional? When he did something nice like this, it made Angel doubt his assessment of his brother-in-law. What if he was wrong about Joel? What if he wasn’t the one who tipped off the Calatrava? But if not Joel, who?

18

B
ailey stopped at the top of the stairs and blinked back tears at the sight of Angel holding Maria. To see the child so happy lifted her heart. And when Angel was with Maria, the haunted look in his eyes disappeared. But the child didn’t change just him—she changed everyone who came into contact with her. Even Danny had succumbed to her charm.
Danny.
Bailey was seeing a different side of him. Gentler, yet with strength in the gentleness.

Maybe when this was all over, they could . . . do what? Did she dare to hope they might have a future? She’d told Danny last night she loved him. And he loved her. It shouldn’t be complicated. But it was. Even though she’d resolved to release her fear and trust God, that resolve hadn’t been tested.

But that wasn’t the only obstacle. She and Danny didn’t want the same things out of life. She’d been the happiest she’d ever been when she first arrived in Mexico, giving the tea parties and teaching the women in the village. What if Danny didn’t want her to return to Mexico?

Did she even know anymore what she wanted to do with her life? This week had changed everything. She had another two months on her contract. But after that, what? It was something she had to sort out. But right now she needed to focus on the trip to Corning. “Have you heard from Danny?” she asked.

Angel glanced up and waved. “Not yet.”

Footsteps stomped on the porch. “Maybe that’s him now.”

The door opened, and Danny hurried in. He caught her eye as she came down the stairs and smiled, making her heart flutter in her chest.

“You made it,” Angel said. “I’ve already refueled and checked the plane out.”

Danny pulled his gaze away from Bailey. “We haven’t seen anyone lurking about, but if the cartel is here and they know where we’re going, they probably will expect us to use the plane and land in Corning. There’s a small airport in Collegedale, the town just before you get to Corning. I’ll land there, and you can pick us up. I programmed the airport into the Escalade’s GPS.”

“Good thinking. I’ll leave now.”

“We’ll leave in an hour—flight time to Collegedale is twenty-five minutes, so we should arrive at the same time.”

“It’s been three days,” Bailey said. “Is it possible they’ve moved on to another target?”

“They may have,” Danny replied, “but there’s no need to take any chances.”

The front door opened again, and Kate and Solana came in.

“It’s off!” Solana raised her foot that was encased in a purple tennis shoe instead of a cast. “The doctor said it had healed nicely but that I should wear something with support, like these shoes you bought me. And now I can go with you to take Maria to see her grandparents.”

Bailey hugged her. “I’m so glad.”

Danny frowned. “But I thought your appointment wasn’t until later this afternoon.”

Kate patted him on the shoulder. “It looks as though my influence is a little better than yours. I made one phone call and got another doctor to take a look at her foot. They said to bring her right away, and so I did, and now we’re back. Oh, and I made sandwiches for your trip. Let me get them.”

Her mom thought of everything.

In ten minutes, Angel and Solana were ready to leave.

“Watch to see if anyone is following you,” Danny said.

“I will. Do you have your . . .” Angel dropped his gaze to Maria.

Danny nodded. “It’s in my car. I need to get it before you leave.”

“And I’ll borrow Daddy’s .38,” Bailey said.

“Do you know how to use it?” Angel asked.

“She’s passable,” Danny said with a laugh.

Bailey nudged him with her elbow. “I beat you the last time we target practiced.”

“I was kidding.” He eyed Angel. “You don’t want to compete against her.”

Danny walked out with Angel and Solana. When he returned, Bailey was setting out their sandwiches. “Where’s Maria?”

“Upstairs with Mom.” She cocked her head. “Why was your gun in the Escalade?”

“I had it yesterday when I went out to Geoffrey Franks’s house.”

“You went to Geoffrey’s house? By yourself and with a gun?” Her mom had mailed her newspaper clippings of Geoffrey Franks’s arrest last summer. She couldn’t believe Danny had gone to see him.

“No, I took Angel with me. Franks ran us off with a semi-automatic.”

She stared at him. “What were you going to do? Scare him into confessing who his contact in Mexico was? What if he’d shot you? Or what if you’d shot him?”

“Well, he didn’t and I didn’t. And I’ve already caught enough flak from Ian about this, so could you lay off?” He caught her hand. “I’d much rather talk about you, especially since you’re all I’ve thought about this morning.”

“Really?” She tilted her head. “I thought you were negotiating a contract with Edward Montoya.”

“Nah. My heart wasn’t in it.” He pulled her close. “I kept thinking about this.”

“Miss Bailey! Where are you?” Maria’s footsteps tapped toward the kitchen. “I’m hungry.”

Laughing, she pulled away. “Business first, Mr. Maxwell.” She turned toward the door. “We’re in the kitchen, Maria.”

At the last minute, Bailey decided to leave her dad’s revolver behind. She didn’t have a license to have a concealed weapon. When they reached the airport, Danny carried Maria inside the terminal.

“Morning, Sam,” he said, handing her off to Bailey. “Anyone new fly in lately?”

The airport manager scratched his head. “Couple of ladies from South Mississippi flew in yesterday.”

“Anyone from Mexico?” Danny asked.

“No.” Sam raised his eyebrows. “You want me to let you know if anyone arrives from Mexico?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“If someone followed us here, don’t you think they’d fly commercially?” Bailey said as they walked to Danny’s plane.

He shook his head. “I think they’d come in a small plane and probably land in Memphis, like Edward Montoya. If I were looking for you and Maria and didn’t know where to start, I’d follow Joel and Edward’s trail.”

“What’s Maria’s uncle like?”

“You’ve never met him?”

“No.” He had never come to the school with Joel.

“He seems nice enough.”

“Tio is my favorite uncle,” Maria said.

“More than your uncle Joel?” Bailey asked.

Maria placed her finger against her chin. “Maybe.”

Bailey hugged her. “That wasn’t a fair question. Are you excited about flying again?”

“No, ma’am. I wanted to go with my daddy.”

“Daddy wanted you to fly with us, and this will be much faster. It will be fine, you’ll see.”

Danny climbed up on the wing and took Maria from her. “Why don’t you sit in the backseat with Maria? We can talk through the headsets. I’ll leave hers turned off.”

Bailey climbed into the back and settled Maria in her seat, then adjusted a pair of headsets to fit the child’s head. “If you need anything, I’ll be right beside you.” Bailey gave her a reassuring smile. Once they were in the air, Maria would be fine. At least that’s the way it had worked the last time. As Danny started the engine, Bailey put her headset on and spoke into the mic. “We’re ready.”

Danny gave her a thumbs-up and taxied down the runway. Just as she’d predicted, once they were in the air, Maria relaxed, and before Bailey thought possible, Danny was radioing the small airport in Collegedale. As they came in for the landing, she peered out the window to see if she could see Angel. He and Solana stood just outside the small terminal building. Evidently they’d had no trouble.