Page 83 of No Child of Mine

Samuel chuckled, a sound without mirth. “You’re in a bad way, man. Whose idea was it to kidnap the kid to get Shawna Garza to talk? Yours? Now the kid’s missing, maybe dead. I’m sure you can imagine what that drug cocktail flooding your veins will feel like. You don’t have the drugs, you don’t have the kid, and Morin is dead. You got nothing for Barrera. And when he finds out you’ve been talking to us, you’re dead man walking. Lethal injection or Barrera’s brand of execution, which would you prefer?”

Rivulets of sweat slid down Diaz’s forehead. He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. “Noese, you got it all wrong. I’m just the muscle. I don’t run the show. I didn’t know nothing about snatching the kid until Chavez told Barrera—”

“Who? Until who told Barrera?” Daniel surged forward, grabbed Diaz’s shirt, and jerked him closer. “Chavez? Chavez was in on this?”

Diaz struggled to stand. The uniformed officer was on him in a second. “Huh-uh. Sit.”

“Daniel, back off.” Samuel’s fingers bit into his shoulder, pulling him away. “Back off now or you’re out of the room.”

He shrugged off the hand and circled the room, trying to control his breathing. Samuel eased back into his chair. “Are you talking about Tómas Chavez? How does he figure into all this?”

Diaz shook his head, his fat jowls quivering. “You want information from me, I want a deal. What’re you offering?”

“That’s up to the DA.” Samuel gave him an appraising stare. Daniel admired his brother’s calm. Personally, with each passing moment, the desire to rip the man’s head off down to his waist increased threefold. Samuel never even broke a sweat. “Are we talking about Tómas Chavez? Because if we are, I can promise you, I’ll work something out. But first you gotta tell me what Chavez’s involvement is.”

Diaz fingered the thick gold chain around his neck. “He’s aprimoof Barrera. Family. Used to be heavy into the trade. Semi-retired now, but he hangs with Barrera some. That’s how he knew Juice. He gave Juice some information to help him get the stash back after Shawna refused to tell Suarez where it was. Juice thought it was to help him, but really Chavez was helping Barrera.”

“Chavez is a handyman.”

“He likes to have a legit job. That’s his cover. He said it wasn’t smart to live like a gang banger.” Diaz grimaced, pursued his lips like he might spit, and then thought better of it. “Always thought he was better than the rest of us. Living on the north side. Working on ranches like some sort of dude rancher. It was just a smoke screen.”

“The information—it was about Shawna’s son, Benny, being at the Spanish Oak Ranch and the wedding preparations?”

The man shrugged. “Maybe. All I know is Chavez backed off after the police came out to his place and started nosing around. He toldseñorBarrera he needed to fly under the radar for a while.”

Samuel glanced at Daniel and then stood. “We’re done.”

“What about my deal? Hey, man, you said—”

“Sit tight. We’ll get back to you on that.” Samuel’s grin had a wicked edge. “You aren’t in any hurry, are you? I mean, once Barrera and Chavez find out you been talking to us, your life outside these four walls isn’t worth squat anyway.”

“You—” The man sputtered but Daniel didn’t wait to hear what he said. He shoved through the door and into the hallway behind Samuel.

“We need to confer with Cooper. Chavez’s place is in the county. Cooper deserves to be able to pick this guy up. We’ll get him for Benny and for Nina Chavez.” Samuel’s long stride challenged Daniel to keep up. “Chavez’s been in on this all along.” His cell phone chirped but he slowed only slightly as he slapped it to his ear. “Martinez.”

Daniel slowed, waiting, watching his brother’s face. There wasn’t much point. Nothing ever showed there. “Got it. Daniel’s with me. You guys go talk to the guy and call me as soon as you know anything.”

He disconnected, his lips pursed in a thin line, his dark eyes hooded.

“What?”

“They’ve got a line on Benny.”

“Is he—” Daniel couldn’t voice the words.

Samuel squeezed his arm. “Yeah, he’s alive, but he’s gone—again.”

Chapter Thirty-five

“The pastor said he stopped at this convenience store to get gas. Benny took off from here.” Alex eyed the highway that ran in front of the gas station as he spoke. The cars zoomed past at fifty and sixty miles an hour. According to Pastor Henderson, Benny had darted away from this spot and disappeared into the fields on the other side. It was a miracle he hadn’t been killed crossing the road. They’d allowed Pastor Henderson to continue into San Antonio with the assurance that they would call him as soon as they found Benny. Which better be soon.

“We need more bodies to work this.” Deborah pulled on a black leather jacket and slid from the car’s passenger side. Daybreak had brought steadily dropping temperatures. The wind picked up under a gray sky, giving her cheeks a bright pink tinge. Her eyes drooped with fatigue, but her voice sounded strong. “We could call Sarge and he can ask for the canine unit.”

“Benny’s been out there for at least an hour, exposed and scared. He’s hurt.” Alex pictured the kid’s sweet face, trying so hard to look tough. It would take at least thirty minutes, maybe more to mobilize a large scale search party. “We need to find him fast. Let’s do a preliminary search. If we can’t find him, we ask for additional manpower.”

They ran across the highway at the first break in traffic and then walked in silence, their breathing the only sound as they trudged deeper into the wooded area. A light rain turned heavier. Thunder rumbled overhead. The wind kicked up, sending a chill through Alex. If it got any colder, his PD windbreaker wouldn’t hack it.

“Lovely.” Deborah wiped at her face with the back of her hand. “Just lovely.”

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