Page 62 of The Doctor's Promise
It gave her hope. “Did you break into my apartment?”
Paul smiled. “I did. I was only looking for information on Jack’s whereabouts. I had to improvise when I heard someone coming. Plus, I saw you with Rafael Genova. Gold-digging whore…”
Noemi was confused, ignoring his jibe. “Paul, no one stopped you seeing Jack apart from yourself.”
He laughed. “You can really sit there and say that? Noemi, please. You, Leo, your parents... all of you conspired to keep my son from me.”
“Bullshit.” Noemi was angry now. “You are the definition of deadbeat dad, Paul. Jack would have loved you to be—” She had shot a look at Leonora, but her sister’s expression made her falter and stop talking. “Leo?”
Leo, her mouth swollen from her injuries, couldn’t look at her. “It’s true,” she whispered. “I wanted Jack for myself. I didn’t think Paul was good enough for him—” She shot a look at the gun and gave a short, mirthless bark of laughter, “—and clearly I was right.”
Noemi looked at her appalled. “You kept Jack from his father?”
She felt the gun being pressed against her temple. “Don’t act like you didn’t know, Noemi. It won’t save your life.”
Leo looked up at Paul. “She didn’t know. I told her that you didn’t want anything to do with us—with Jack. That you told me to get an abortion. That we meant nothing to you. Noemi didn’t know. Nor did my parents.”
The pressure on Noemi’s temple fell away, and she saw Paul, unsure, staring at Leo. “She didn’t know?”
“No one did. No one but me.”
Paul and Leo stared at each other, then in a split second, Paul raised the gun and shot Leo in the head. Noemi screamed as her sister slumped onto her side, bleeding profusely, her eyes closed.
Paul grabbed Noemi and dragged her from the room, Noemi crying hysterically. He practically threw her down the stairs and, clamping a hand over her mouth, he hauled her out to Leo’s car and threw her into the trunk.
“You’re my insurance policy now, Noe. Once I’m out of the state…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but she knew. She was a dead woman. Paul slammed the trunk closed, and she was in darkness.
As Drew drove,Rafa was on his phone calling the police, the FBI, everyone who could help them. He directed Drew to Leonora’s house, but as they turned into her street, Rafa cursed. Leonora’s car was speeding away from the house. “Follow her.”
He knew if Leo had taken off that quickly, she had to have Noemi with her, or Noemi had already left. Leo was the key, the main target. Follow her; find Paul.
“Rafa… that’s a guy driving that car. Sure it’s Leonora’s?”
Rafa felt ice cold fear in his veins. “Keep following them.” Them? Somehow, he knew, he knew that this situation was bad. Noemi could be with him; both women could be in the car, both in danger…
…or Noemi could be lying dead at Leo’s house. Rafa, calming himself despite his terror, called the police and gave them directions. “There could be… injured people.” Don’t say her name and she’ll be okay….
They followed the other car for miles, Drew keeping up with it, and Rafa warning him not to alert the other driver to their presence. More and more his instinct told him Noemi was in that car.
The police called him back. “We have a shooting victim…”
His heart nearly broke in two. “A woman?”
“Yes. Shot in the head but she’s alive. Caucasian, mid-thirties…”
Caucasian… Leo. Rafa knew he shouldn’t be so relieved. “That’s Leonora Castor. We’re following her car, and I think the shooter has my girlfriend.”
“Don’t engage, sir! We’re on our way.”
Rafa ended the call. Don’t engage. Yeah, right… if he had the chance to rescue his love, he wouldn’t hesitate to engage.
“Rafa.”
Drew indicated the car ahead which was swerving wildly now. Rafa leaned forward, and his heart soared as he saw Noemi wrapping her arms around Paul’s head, trying to put him off, stop the car.
Oh, you good girl, you brave, brave girl. I’m here… I’m coming for you…
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