Page 41 of Hidden Falls

“If she is Ramirez’s daughter, then you don’t have a case,” Lei said after she’d drunk half, rehydrating from the heat and stress of downtown. She pointed the bottle at Cruz. “Why does he think she’s his daughter? And where did you hear that?”

“That’s the gossip I’ve heard on the streets,” Cruz said. “Scuttlebutt is that Ramirez recently found his long-lost daughter who is now a teen. He’s planning a party at his place near San Diego to introduce her to society in a few months.”

Lei kept her gaze on Harry; when the other woman finally met Lei’s eyes, they were bloodshot and empty of expression. “We don’t know for sure that she’s his, only that he thinks she is,” she said. “Malia must be terrified.”

“Or he’s introduced himself as her biological father, has taken a paternity test to show her, and they are getting to know each other,” Lei said. “I’m sure it’s been a shock, but it probably was a worse one to find out she was illegally taken from the country.”

“He’s a drug lord. A criminal,” Harry shot back.

“And if he’s her parent, he has more right to her than you do,” Lei replied. “You don’t have a leg to stand on here.”

Harry took out another water bottle and slammed the door of the mini fridge. “She’s my daughter. I’m not letting her go without a fight.”

“Except that we’re a little outgunned,” Cruz said. He’d resumed his seat on the chair in the corner, and his white teeth gleamed in the dim light like a Cheshire cat’s. “I’m off-the-books on this, and so is Lei. If you’re going to war with this guy, you’re going to need more than us.”

Harry walked across the room to face the window. There was nothing to see; the light filter blind screened whatever was outside, likely a parking lot.

Lei sighed. “Listen, Harry. I’m sweaty, hungry, and tired. I’m going to take a shower. Can we order some room service after that? Maybe our next steps will be clearer with some food in our bellies.”

Harry gave a short nod.

Lei rose from the bed, picking up her duffel bag, highly aware of Cruz’s eyes on her.

What did he see?

She wasn’t the same as she’d been at twenty-one, of course. She was quite a few years older and had borne a child, but she was still slender and physically fit. Lei liked to think she was aging well, but who was she to know?

She shouldn’t be worrying about what a man from her past’s opinion of her was. She was married. “Very married,” she muttered, and closed the bathroom door on Cruz’s lingering gaze.

With any luck at all, by the time she came out those two would have figured out this was a fool’s errand and she’d be on her way home again.

* * *

Lei came out of the bathroom, dressed in fresh clothing and scrunching a bit of gel into her hair. She felt fresher, but no more rested. Her belly growled loudly as she stood in the doorway.

Cruz was still there. “I heard that, Lei. Another vote for eating out,” he said.

“We need to stay out of view,” Harry snapped. “Don’t forget, someone identified me at the airport.”

“But not Lei, and I’ve been here for over ten years as an agent. This is my hometown and I’m a fixture in the eateries.” The fans of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were attractive and spoke of laughter and time in the sun.

“I was hoping to hear that you’d given some more consideration to calling Sophie and her team, or handling this some other way,” Lei said.

Harry was standing by the window; her shoulders were tight and high. “If you want to go home, Lei, just go.”

“No. I came all this way, and I came to help. But this is crazy. If you know where Malia is, why don’t we figure out how to approach this man? He’s taken a sixteen-year-old girl captive. She will want to see her mother. She’s probably making his life miserable.” Lei came further into the room. “Why don’t we verify that she’s at his place, and then reach out to him? He might want to work things out with you.”

“And he might just want to kill me to settle Malia’s future once and for all,” Harry said. “Especially if he thinks I was the one who stole her in the first place.”

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Cruz said. “But Harry, you’re right. They’ve seen you; they know you’re looking for Malia. Why don’t you stay here, order room service, and call your husband? Talk the situation over with him. Visit with your other daughter on video chat. You told me she was sick.”

Harry’s face paled; she looked upset. Perhaps in her reaction to Malia’s kidnapping, she’d forgotten about Peter and Kylie. Lei approached and lay a hand on her rigid shoulder. “This is the hardest thing.”

“She’s not dead. That would be the hardest thing.”

Lei pictured her own children's faces. “You’re right, of course.” She squeezed Harry’s shoulder. “Call Peter. He must be going out of his mind.”

Harry sighed. “You’re both right. Here’s a key card so you can get back into the room when you return.” She pressed a plastic square into Lei’s hand.

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