Page 41 of No Child of Mine

A few minutes later, the phone rang, the shrill notes sending Daniel’s heart into triple time.

“Go ahead.” Samuel sat on a folding chair across from Daniel, a card table they’d set up in the living room, between them. His brother’s voice was calm, his expression full of encouragement. Ray leaned against the wall, his head down. Praying. DEA guys and their equipment filled the room until it might explode with the contained energy. Daniel closed his eyes for a second and tried to shut them out. He had to narrow his focus to his goal. Benny.

He ran through the strategy again. Without the drugs, Plan A was to try to bluff Morin into bringing Benny to a meeting place for an exchange. Plan B would be to offer money so Morin could pay off Barrera. Where that money would come from was still open to discussion. Both options included confronting Morin about his identity. It didn’t matter if he bolted from his current location since they had no idea where he was. If they could confirm his identity they could more quickly narrow down the possible locations to which he might run.

“That you, Martinez?”

The guy sounded like he was talking to an old friend. Daniel wanted to reach through the phone line and rip his head off. “I want to talk to Benny.”

“Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, ese. Did you get the product?”

Daniel choked back frustration. “We have information on the product. We want an immediate exchange. You pick the location. Give us the boy. You get the information. Face to face.”

“I don’t want no information. I want the product.”

“We tell you where it is. You pick it up.”

“That’s not the deal. I thought you wanted the kid back.”

“I do. Let’s meet and we’ll talk.”

“I want you to listen to something.” The kidnapper’s voice took on a gleeful quality that made Daniel’s skin crawl. The line crackled with movement. Something banged. Then another sound floated over the line. A soft groan.

“No, no.” Benny’s voice, high and filled with fear. “No more. I promise I won’t try to get away again.” A sob. Another.

Anger swallowed Daniel’s vision in a red wave.

“Benny, it’s me, Daniel,” he shouted into the phone. “We’re coming for you! We’re coming for you!”

The line went dead. “No. Don’t hang up! Don’t you hang up!” Daniel shot to his feet, shouting into the receiver. He smashed it against the table once and then hurled it against the wall.

“Daniel! Danny!” Samuel grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him back into the chair. Ray pushed away from the wall and slid in next to Samuel. They were twin giants towering over him. The other men receded into the background. “Easy,hermano, easy.” Samuel kept a tight grip on Daniel’s arm. “He’ll call back.”

“He’s hurting him, Samuel. He’s hurting him,” Daniel shrugged away from his brother. Samuel was bigger, but Daniel had fury and frustration on his side. He shoved him away and paced around the room, his back to all of them.

Samuel muttered something. The room began to clear. Feet tromping. The door clicked shut. Quiet.

Daniel wanted to smash a fist into a wall. He came to a stop in front of the window. The sun hurt his eyes. He looked back at his brother. “Right now, while we’re standing here talking, he’s hurting Benny.”

Ray picked up the phone and set it back on the table. Samuel stood in the middle of the room, his hands limp at his side, his face blank. Finally, Daniel dropped onto the sofa and put his head in his hands.

After a few seconds, Daniel heard his brother move and ease onto the couch. A hand touched his shoulder for a brief second. “He’ll call back.”

Another hour passed before the phone rang again. Daniel spent it in his bedroom, on his knees.

“Martinez.” He kept his gaze fixed on Samuel’s face. They would get this guy and when they did, he’d never hurt anyone again.

“You in the mood to talk?”

The kidnapper’s voice wasn’t so gleeful now. Daniel shifted his focus. The guy knew. “Yes.”

“You ain’t got no information. You don’t know where my product is.”

“What makes you say that?”

“A little birdie told me Shawna baby’s dead.”

“Yes. She’s dead. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still deal.”

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