But maybe that wasn’t in the cards for Lucy. Maybe she was the one who had to clean up the world so her nieces and nephews had a safer place to live.
For the first time, Lucy didn’t see the light of the future. With all the darkness she’d witnessed over the last three days, the light was gone. It was all darkness, all hopelessness, and how could she taint Baby Lucia with that?
Davidson was talking to her, and it took Lucy a few moments to realize she was giving her a status on the women they’d rescued. “I’m sorry, you said something about Ana de la Rosa?”
“She’s on mandatory bed rest. She’s twenty-eight weeks’ pregnant with twins, and her body is weak. Not from lack of nutrition—her blood work is good. But her heart is struggling. She went into premature labor last night, which we stopped. Her leg was shattered and she’s going in for surgery to repair it, but she’ll have a severe limp for the rest of her life. We’re going to try and keep her resting for at least four to six weeks before we schedule a C-section. If she improves, we’ll see if she can carry them longer.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“Would you like to see Baby Lucia? You’re on the approved list, you just need to show the head nurse a photo ID.”
“No.”
The doctor looked at her oddly. “I thought—”
“I can’t. Not now.”
“Is something wrong?”
Everything.
“I need to find Baby Elizabeth’s mother. And then … maybe I’ll be back.”
But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t hold that baby and think again about everything she could never have.
She thanked the doctor and went to find Nate.
Nate was waiting for her. He didn’t look happy.
“Noah is negotiating with Zapelli about the whereabouts of Marisol.”
“He can’t let that bastard go, that’s not what you mean, is it?”
“We actually don’t have a choice—the AUSA said the judge is going to toss everything we have. His statement, the search of his luggage, everything. But Zapelli doesn’t know that yet. The judge is angry, but he also understands the situation and postponed the hearing until one this afternoon.”
“Which means what?”
“We have a few hours to pressure Zapelli. Offer a deal to let him go because he doesn’t know we’re going to have to cut him loose anyway.”
“That’s not good enough. He sold her!”
“We can’t prove it.”
“We can if we find Marisol.”
If we find her alive.
*
An hour later, Noah met Nate and Lucy at the sheriff’s department.
“I have something.”
“Did you cut him loose?” Lucy asked.
“He will be released after the hearing.” Noah caught her eye, didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. She was personalizing this case, and she had to stop. She had to remember that not all the bad guys could be stopped.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“It sucks, Luce, I know it does, but I think she’s still alive.”
Adam said, “Where is she?”
“We need to go through Dobleman’s phone records. Zapelli said that he delivered Marisol to Lance Dobleman on Tuesday night. They met in a parking garage and moved her from his trunk to Dobleman’s. He overheard Dobleman talking to a man he believes was going to buy Marisol.”
Lucy sat down heavily in the closest chair. Would this nightmare ever end? Marisol had lost two children, had been prostituted, and was now being sold to another man?
“I have the records.” Adam flipped through several folders, pulled out one and handed it to Noah. “That’s it,” Adam said, pointing to something.
“Run it,” Noah said. Then added, “Please.”
Adam waved away the formalities. “The faster the better.” He got on his computer.
Noah sat next to Lucy and put his hand on her forearm. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“You good?”
“Yes.”
“You can stay here.”
“No.”
“Lucy—you don’t have to be superwoman all the time.”
She tilted her chin up and looked Noah in the eye. “I know, and I’m not. I’m going to see this through.”
“I think she’s alive, but … we have to expect the worst.”
“I do.” Always.
“Okay.”
“I heard from Sean this morning. They’re on their way back.”
“That’s really good. Rick didn’t have a time line. I assume they have everyone?”
“Yes.” And that was all she could say about that.
“Got it!” Adam scribbled an address on a notepad. “And it’s close by. You want backup?”
“Yes,” Noah said. “As many as you can spare. We don’t know what we’re facing.”
While Adam put together three units to assist, Noah called Quantico for information. “I have an address and a phone number, I need everything you have about the person or persons who live there. Immediately.”
Five minutes later Adam’s team was ready and Noah briefed him as they walked out to the vehicles.
“The house is owned by—guess who?—one of the shell corporations that Carson Spade set up. But the phone is personal. It’s registered to a forty-nine-year-old man named Alastair Holmes. He’s a registered sex offender who went off the grid years ago.”