Page 68 of Shame

“And?”

“Payne out of jail?”

“And out of the organization. You let Carmen and Lucas go.”

He’s silent. I shift, trying to quell my shaking.

“All right.”

I exhale and nearly slump to the floor. On unsteady feet, I find a chair out of sight from him, and fall down on it, clutching the little one to my chest, reveling in his warmth, his little snores.

“How do we arrange the exchange?” asks the clever matron. “It has to be on neutral ground, and you need to have Lucas with you.”

A thought strikes me, making me jolt with excitement. Nowhere is truly safe, but I have something that might work. I pinch Elena’s blouse to catch her attention and motion for her to disconnect.

“I’ll get back to you shortly,” she says, and ends the call before he has the chance to answer.

“What are you thinking?”

I can barely speak, I’m so wound up. “I get plane tickets, for me and the baby. They need to get tickets as well, and we meet on the other side of security. They won’t be able to bring weapons, and we meet right by security, where we’ll be in sight of the guards as well as hundreds of people.”

Swallowing, my throat completely void of moisture, I look pleadingly at her. It’s a good plan. It’s a fantastic plan.

She regards me for a long time, then she says slowly. “That is one complex plan… But it’s brilliant. The little one’s gonna need a passport, though.”

I feel the blood drain from my cheeks. Oh no.

Elena shakes her head. “Don’t worry about it, I can arrange that. You have one, though?”

I nod eagerly, my mind already processing the steps of what I need to do. Elena calls Salvatore again, a normal voice call this time and explains. I can’t hear him, but from her reactions, it seems he protests wildly. Finally, she looks at me and mouths ‘when’?

“We’ll call him as soon as we know. Tell him to arrange his part of the deal, and we’ll get back to him.”

“Elena!” I stop her as she’s about to leave. “His last name is Moreno… David Moreno. For the passport, I mean.”

She gives me an odd gaze I can’t quite interpret, looking between the little one and me.

“Okay,” she says and frowns, before she turns and leaves.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Lucas

I keep looking over my shoulder the rest of the day, filled to the brim with adrenaline, slowly coming down from the high of the fight.

And the day after.

Nothing happens. The gym has been cleaned up. No mentioning of the body. No one coming to question me. It’s surreal.

On the third day, a metallic sounding voice in the loudspeaker announces: “Lucas Payne. Visitor.”

My heart somersaults. My very first, and very irrational thought, is Carmen. Then I realize it can only be someone from the organization.

I walk up to the gate and wait. Then I’m led through the same corridors as before. Everything is in need of maintenance here. The walls are an ugly bile green, as if someone threw up in a bucket and then used it for paint. They’re chipped and scratched. We stop in front of a door. One of the guards opens it and motions for me to enter.

I hesitate a moment, but I know I have no say, so I walk to whatever doom awaits me.

On a chair, by a table, sits a relaxed Eric Reed, as always impeccably dressed in a dark gray three-piece suit. He tilts his head in a greeting, his expression grim.

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