“I started all this,” Mama said. “And now I have to finish it.”
“You don’t, Mama. You don’t have to go in there.”
“But I do. You know I do.”
The pain in Aubrey’s gut took her breath away. Her mother. This might be the last time they would ever be together.
“I’ve always been so proud of you, sweetheart. You know that, don’t you?”
Aubrey nodded. Tears ran down her cheeks. She looked at her mother. The woman who had been her center. Who had only wanted to protect her. She couldn’t lose her.
The van door slammed shut, causing Aubrey to jump.
Smolleck came toward them. There was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before—doubt? Or was it fear?
“Star’s agreed to swap.”
CHAPTER 45
Aubrey’s heart plummeted. It was what they wanted, but she wasn’t ready to say good-bye to Mama if something went wrong.
“What are her terms?” her mother asked.
Smolleck glanced at the dark building, then back at her. “She’ll allow Janis to bring Ethan out in exchange for a guarantee of leniency for her daughter. Star claims she pressured Janis into kidnapping Ethan and doesn’t want her daughter to pay for her scheme.” He rubbed his eyebrow. “She said this is between you and her and is willing to leave it that way.”
Her mother nodded. There was a look of determination on her face.
“Then what?” Aubrey said. “Once my mother is inside a building with this murderer and a bomb, how are you going to protect her?”
“This is my choice,” Mama said. “I would rather put myself in danger than leave Ethan in that building.”
“We don’t have a lot of options here, Aubrey,” Smolleck said. “Do you have a better idea?”
If only she did. She would gladly go inside herself in exchange for Ethan, but it was clear Star wanted her mother. She shook her head.
“Tell me what I’m supposed to do,” her mother said.
“You’ll go to the front door of the residence at the same time Janis carries Ethan out the rear door.”
“Can I bring a weapon in with me?”
“No. She wants you to approach the building with your hands in the air. No Kevlar. No phone. She said she’ll frisk you when you get inside, and if she finds a weapon, she’ll blow up the building. She also warned that if we try to storm the building once Ethan is out, she’ll detonate the bomb.”
Aubrey heard a noise escape her throat. It reminded her of the sound her childhood doll made when it was dropped. And that was exactly how she felt—as though she’d been dropped, hard.
“Will you get Ethan away from the building quickly when he comes out?” her mother asked.
“Yes. We’ll have agents in position to grab him and get him to safety.”
“Then I’m ready.”
“Wait, Mama. There must be some other way.”
Her mother’s face sagged. “Oh, my sweetheart. You know there isn’t.” She pulled Aubrey close and squeezed so hard it took her breath away. Then she released her abruptly and gave Smolleck a nod.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“Be safe, Mama,” Aubrey called after her.
Aubrey watched her mother follow Smolleck to the mustard-colored building.
“This isn’t good-bye, Mama,” she whispered. “Promise me. It’s not good-bye.”
CHAPTER 46
Diana stopped on the sidewalk, about twenty feet from the three-story yellow building. There was a warped garage door on one side of the entranceway and windows to a ground-floor apartment on the other. Tall hedges surrounded the property, blocking most of the windows on the bottom floor. The glass entrance door was covered with decorative bars, as were all the windows. It would be impossible for someone to jump out. Although the lights inside were off, she could see shadows in the hallway beyond the door.
She felt the creeping terror in her gut she had experienced so many years before in front of the brownstone, but then she realized something she wasn’t feeling. No dizziness, no disorientation.
There was only clarity.
She needed to save her grandson. She needed to end this with Gertrude.
Smolleck seemed to be listening into his earpiece, then spoke to her. “Someone—probably Janis—is approaching the back door.”
Diana could see a shadow moving down the hallway. “Does she have Ethan?” she asked.
“She’s carrying what appears to be a child wrapped in a blanket.” Smolleck’s body was tense, like an animal ready to spring into an attack. “She’s at the back door.”
Diana’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly hear anything else.
“Walk slowly toward the front door with your hands in the air,” Smolleck said. “When you get to the door, press the button on the intercom for apartment one hundred. Star’s instructed me to stay here, but I’ll call to you with instructions. Okay?”
“Yes.”
“Do not go inside the building until I say so. We must be certain Ethan has gotten out safely.”
“I understand.” She started walking slowly, her hands in the air. Her body was shaking. It wasn’t fear of Gertrude but terror for her grandson’s life. She reached the front door and studied the old, corroded intercom.
That last time, at the brownstone, she had banged on the door, screaming, Let me in! Let me in! And Gertrude had opened the door.
She didn’t want to think about the aftermath of that conversation. She pressed the button for “100” and waited. And waited. Perspiration ran down her back.
Diana pressed the button again. No answer. That’s when she noticed that the door, with its wrought iron frame, wasn’t completely closed. She heaved open the door, but stopped and glanced over her shoulder at Smolleck. He signaled to stay where she was.
She looked inside. Lights were on in the alley behind the building, and she could see down the hallway through to the rear door. A woman was by the door, holding a large bundle over her shoulder and chest like a shield.
Please, God, let Ethan be all right.