Sara felt her heart start to wither at the sight of him touching her so gently.
‘I’m sorry,’ he told Angie. ‘I didn’t mean for it to get like this. You’re right. It’s my fault.’
Angie glanced at Sara. Real or not, she wanted to make sure that Will’s obsequience had an audience.
Will said, ‘I know I hurt you. I’m sorry. Please, Angie. I’m sorry.’
Angie looked away from Sara, but only so she could soak up Will’s misery.
‘Please,’ Will repeated. Sara wanted to snatch the word out of his mouth. She hated the sound of his begging. ‘Please.’
Angie let out a short breath. ‘Do you know how bad things have been for me?’ Angie covered Will’s hand with hers. Sara couldn’t tell if she was breaking down or just playing Will like she always did. ‘Do you know the things I’ve had to do? Not just this week, but before?’
‘I’m sorry I wasn’t there.’
‘Harding was him, Will. When Deidre checked out, Harding was the guy on the other side of the door.’
Will took the words like a blow. This wasn’t an act. ‘You told me he was dead.’
‘He is now.’
Shock had almost rendered Will speechless. ‘Angie—’
‘What he did to me . . .’ Angie’s voice was low, troubled. She could see the effect her words were having on Will. ‘He did it to Delilah. He did it to a lot of girls. For years. I couldn’t stop him.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ His hand reached out. He stroked back her hair. ‘I could’ve done something. Protected you.’
‘I fucked up so bad, baby.’ Angie inhaled sharply. She was crying. ‘I know I fucked with you, but it was only to protect Jo. I had to buy her some time in the hospital, some time to heal, while I worked on getting Anthony back.’
‘I get it now,’ he said. ‘I understand.’
‘I don’t know how it all went so bad . . .’ She swallowed hard. ‘Dale was always smarter than me. Always stronger. He got inside my head again. Him and Mama, like they always did. I never saw it coming.’
‘We can still get Anthony back,’ Will said. ‘Let me help you.’
‘I just needed six more days. Then I could get Anthony, take care of Jo, make sure she got her happy-ever-after.’ Angie sniffed. ‘Somebody deserves a happy-ever-after, don’t they? Somebody needs—’ Her voice broke. ‘I can’t lose him, baby. I already abandoned her once. I can’t lose her kid.’
‘We’re not going to lose him.’ His hands went to her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes. ‘When you said your mother sent you the photo of Anthony, you meant Virginia Souza, right?’
Angie stiffened.
‘Right?’ he repeated.
Angie jerked away. ‘You fucking asshole.’
Will’s face registered a deep satisfaction. For once, he’d managed to be the one doing the manipulating.
He told Amanda, ‘Dale Harding was Angie’s pimp. Virginia Souza was his bottom girl.’ He wiped his hands on his shirt like they were dirty. ‘Virginia has Anthony. She’s the one who took the picture. She’s the one who has him.’
Angie glared at him. ‘I fucking hate you.’
He stared at her with a look of utter contempt. ‘Good.’
Amanda asked Angie, ‘Where is Virginia Souza?’
‘Go fuck yourself, you dried-up old bitch.’
‘All right. You’ve outspent your welcome.’ Amanda told Faith, ‘Take her down to the prison ward. Get her some medical attention.’
‘No!’ Angie panicked. ‘Leave me up here. Handcuff me to Jo’s bed if you have to.’
Amanda tried again, ‘Where is Virginia Souza?’
‘She’s not gonna hurt him. The father’s the highest bidder.’ She had her arms crossed low on her belly. She was pressing into the wound, making the blood run. She tried again with Will. ‘There’s a video on that iPad. Something that’s worth a lot of money. Virginia knew I had it. She said she’d trade Anthony for the iPad. I was supposed to meet her yesterday morning, but she double-crossed me.’
He was still unmoved. ‘Virginia called Reuben Figaroa directly. That’s why you wanted me to intervene. I get Anthony back for you, and then what? You sell whatever is on the iPad?’
‘I don’t give a shit about the money. You know that, baby.’
Amanda asked a third time, ‘Where is Virginia Souza?’
‘You don’t think I’ve been looking for her?’ Angie demanded. ‘She’s lying low. Not in her usual places. Nobody will tell me where she is. They’re scared of her. They should be.’ Angie wiped her eyes again. She always saved her tears for herself. ‘You can’t trust her. She’s a cold bitch. She doesn’t care who gets hurt, especially kids.’
Sara chewed at the irony.
‘There’s something else.’ Faith asked Angie, ‘Why did you come here?’
‘To say goodbye to Jo, in case . . .’ Angie looked out into the hall. ‘I kept waiting for the Amber Alert, but it didn’t come.’
Faith said, ‘Reuben won’t report him missing. He’s trying to handle it on his own.’
‘I figured.’ Angie took one of the tissues from her purse. ‘I was going to go to his house and shoot him in the head.’
The casual way she detailed her plan to murder a man sent a shiver of cold through Sara’s veins.
Angie blew her nose, wincing at the pain in her side. ‘Without Reuben, the iPad matters again. I could do what I was going to do in the first place. Trade the iPad for Anthony.’
‘With Kip Kilpatrick?’ Faith guessed.
Angie was still trying to get Will’s attention. He was deliberately looking away from her. She said, ‘I know I fucked this up, baby. I was just trying to help my daughter. She doesn’t even know who I am.’
Will’s face was stone. Angie had no idea what she had done to him. Sara’s only hope was that this new-found clarity would last longer than the crisis at hand.
Amanda’s phone rang. She listened for a beat, then told them, ‘Reuben Figaroa left his house. Laslo Zivcovik is in the car with him. They’re going west on Peachtree. Just crossed over Piedmont. We’ve got three cars on chase. The other stayed at the residence.’
Faith said, ‘He’s going away from downtown, toward the malls. Public place. Lots of people. That’s where I’d do an exchange.’
Amanda looked at her watch. ‘The mall just opened. There won’t be much of a crowd yet.’
Angie said, ‘He’s doing reconnaissance. That’s why he brought Laslo. Reuben is a control freak. He thinks his wife has been murdered. Somebody stole his son and is demanding money. This is why I wanted to go through Kip. I told Virginia that Reuben would shoot her in the head if he ever got the chance.’
Amanda said, ‘I don’t know how fast I can get SWAT there. The Buckhead precinct can do deep backup. We’ve got three agents in three cars. We’re at the end of rush hour. It’ll take an hour for us to get up to Buckhead. We can go lights and sirens part of the way, but—’
Sara said, ‘There’s a helicopter on the roof.’ She had flown in the air ambulance for emergency transports. ‘The Shepherd Spinal Center has a heliport. That’ll cut your travel time to fifteen minutes.’
‘Perfect,’ Amanda said. ‘Faith, handcuff Angie to the bed, get someone from APD to sit on her. Make sure they’re not connected to Collier. Will goes with me in the chopper. He’s the better shot and Reuben hasn’t seen his face.’ She tossed her keys to Will. ‘My rifle is in the back of the car. The magazines are in the lockbox. Get my speedloader and a pack of ammo.’
Instinctively Sara grabbed Will’s arm. This was happening too fast. Amanda was talking about shooting people. People shooting back. Sara didn’t want him to leave. She didn’t want to lose him.
Will cupped his hand to Sara’s face. ‘I’ll see you back home when this is over.’
THIRTEEN