Page 60 of Elusive Promise

"I don't know what to do?" she said helplessly.

She looked Elizabeth in the eye. "Talk to me. Tell me where he is."

"Ben said he was going to go to the men's homeless shelter run by Sacred Cross. It's by the convention center. He thinks he can blend in and stay hidden until the kidnappers are found. Then he swears he'll go to the authorities and tell them what he knows. He just wants to stay safe until they're caught."

"Thank you."

As they turned to leave, Jared put in a parting remark. "If you're sending us on a wild-goose chase, you'll regret it," he told Elizabeth. "Not just because you may end up in jail on obstruction of justice charges, but you might end up dead. The people who kidnapped Jasmine are playing for keeps. They've already killed two men."

"I know. I'm terrified. Neither of you might believe this, but I really do want Jasmine to be all right. She's my best friend's daughter. I just want to protect my son, too."

"Sometimes, you can't protect people from themselves," Jared told her.

Elizabeth sat down on her bed as tears streamed out of her eyes. "Will you at least try to protect him, Parisa?"

"Yes." Parisa felt compassion for Elizabeth, but she was also angry that Elizabeth had been sitting on information that could save Jasmine's life. "Don't call him, Elizabeth. Don't tell him to run. It won't work. He can't outrun this. He needs help, and I'm his best hope."

"You will remember that Neil saved your life?" Elizabeth asked.

"I could never forget that," she promised.

They headed out of the bedroom and down the hall, letting themselves out of the apartment.

"Do you think she's telling us the truth?" Jared asked, as they took the elevator downstairs.

"I hope so," she said grimly. "But I don't know. Maternal love…it can be pretty damn strong."

When they got into the car, she looked up the address for the shelter, which was near the Javits Convention Center, as Elizabeth had said. She gave Jared directions as he started the engine.

He was all business now—no teasing smile, no sexy humor. He was focused on the job. And that focus made her question again just what it was about the Paris bombing that was so personal to him.

Something else he'd said to Elizabeth had puzzled her. "You told Elizabeth that you can't protect some people from themselves."

"Yeah, so?"

"It felt like you had some experience with that."

He met her gaze for a quick moment, and there was an odd bleakness in his eyes. "I have. It didn't end well."

"Will you tell me about it?"

"Let's focus on finding Ben. Nothing else matters right now."

She couldn't argue with that, but his words only made her more curious and reminded her that while Jared might have shared some personal data about himself, there was still a lot he was holding back.

* * *

Parisa's question triggered some unwelcome memories, and Jared shoved them ruthlessly out of his mind. He didn't want to think about the past right now; there was too much going on. They had their first big break. There was a tie between Ben and the kidnappers. At least, he thought there was. Ben could just be in hiding because of what he'd done in Paris, but since he hadn't been hiding until Jasmine disappeared, his behavior seemed tied to her kidnapping.

He'd been right about Parisa being a valuable asset. She had used her relationship with the Langdons, her debt to Neil, as a way to get Elizabeth to trust her, and it had worked. She had probably destroyed her relationship with the family, but she was determined to save Jasmine, no matter the cost.

"Do you think I should call the FBI?" Parisa asked, interrupting his thoughts. "Ben could have information that will lead us to Jasmine. Should I be sitting on it?"

"Let's find Ben first. See what he knows—get him to talk to us before he calls for a lawyer, or he tries to run. You have the best shot of getting the truth out of him than anyone."

"He might already be running. There's no guarantee Elizabeth won't tell him to do just that."

"I think you convinced her that you're the best chance Ben has at getting a fair hearing. You were very persuasive. You brought in your stepfather, your debt to Neil, pushing all the right buttons."

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