Jane Choate - Shattered Secrets

“Wait! Please wait.”

A second voice. “Olivia, please. You have to do just as they say...” Calvin’s words ended in a scream.

Sal watched as Olivia held her breath. “Please. Please don’t hurt him. I’ll do what you want. Anything. Just please don’t hurt him again.” Her words dwindled to a sob.

“It is too late, lady. Your interference cost your boss much pain.”

“It was my fault.” She shouted the words in the phone.

“Why didn’t you listen? Why—” A hoarse cry followed. And another.

“Calvin!” But Calvin Chantry was no longer on the phone.

“What are you doing to him?” When she swayed, Sal placed his free hand at her waist, steadying her.

“Do you see what your failure to obey the rules has caused? This is on you, Ms. Hammond. Remember this the next time you are tempted to disobey instructions.” The voice was all the more chilling for its total lack of expression.

“Please,” she cried, voice slurred with shock and grief. “Please stop. I’ll do anything. Anything. But please stop hurting him.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Sal resisted the urge to wipe them away. He understood she wouldn’t want his acknowledgment of their existence.

“Then start obeying instructions. Or next time your boss will lose more than a body part.” A sly pause. “And you, Ms. Hammond, how would you look without one of your lovely ears?”

THREE

After a night of Calvin’s tortured cry echoing in her head, Olivia found herself on her knees, praying for the Lord’s guidance. She remained there for long moments, absorbing the quiet of the early morning.

Memories of her boss’s screams filled her throat with a lump of fear. She tried to swallow it, but it was like swallowing broken glass. Each shard sliced at her throat, spilling drops of blood and tears.

Why hadn’t she followed instructions? Why had she—It was too late for self-recriminations. The only thing she could do was to move forward. And that meant sending Sal away. She couldn’t afford to do anything else to antagonize the kidnappers.

Be still and know that I am God. The familiar scripture wrapped its peace around her, and she got to her feet, determined to do what she must.

Sal was a good and honorable man, but she had to keep him out of this from now on. Look what had happened when the kidnappers learned he was helping her. No matter what he said or what experience he’d had in dealing with abductions, he was a threat to Calvin’s safe return, which had to be her priority.

When he arrived to pick her up, he took one look at her and shook his head.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Wondering how you’re going to convince me to go away and let you handle this on your own.”

How did he do that? He’d read her mind as though her thoughts were written across her face in bold strokes.

“Your face gives away your every thought and feeling. So don’t bother trying to deny it.”

“I know you want to help, but this is Calvin’s life we’re talking about. If the kidnappers learn that you’re still helping me, Calvin will be punished.” She let her gaze meet Sal’s squarely. “Can you accept the consequences of that? Because I can’t.”

She watched as his broad shoulders stiffened and his lips pulled into a tight line, the controlled anger locked in his jaw a mute testament to his frustration.

Sal wanted to argue with her, to convince her that he was right—she saw it in his eyes—but he didn’t try to. All he said was, “I’m staying. Get used to it.”

* * *

Determination lit Olivia’s eyes. He knew that look. It was her I-can-handle-this-by-myself face. While he respected her independence, he couldn’t allow her to be hurt because she was too proud to admit she needed help. He knew he had to tread lightly.

He didn’t want to scare her. At the same time he needed to make her realize that kidnappings and ransom drops rarely, if ever, went smoothly. She didn’t know what she was getting herself into. He’d do whatever he had to in order to protect her. It was time she accepted that.

Olivia reached for his hand, nails biting into his palm. Visceral shock leached the color from her face until her skin appeared almost translucent.

“I’m sorry, Sal. You came all this way and I barely even thanked you.”

“It’s all right. But don’t try to send me away again. Whether you admit it or not, you need me.”

“You’re right.” She twisted a strand of hair. “That’s one thing I resented about you. You’re always right.”

Had he been right two years ago when he’d walked away from Olivia and what they had together?

At the time, he’d been sure it was the right thing to do. He’d left for a reason. That reason still held. His past was pockmarked with pain and despair. He couldn’t inflict that upon someone as full of light and love as Olivia.

He couldn’t focus on the past. Not now. They had to find Chantry. Both instinct and experience told him the kidnapping was more than a simple snatch-and-grab for money. If that had been the case, Olivia would have already received a ransom demand. Instead, the kidnappers were toying with her, trying to rattle her into making a mistake.

He had to convince her that she couldn’t blindly give in to their demands. He’d keep her safe, whether or not she agreed to it. His sense of duty and honor, drilled into him during his years in Delta, demanded that. Though he’d left the military behind, he hadn’t left the essence of it in the mountains of Afghanistan. It was in his blood, his pores, his heart.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

When Olivia and Sal arrived at the office, the receptionist greeted them and pointed to a box. “Ms. Hammond, a package arrived for you.”

Before Olivia could take the package, he stopped her. “Let me.” He withdrew a pair of thin protective gloves from his pocket and donned them. If there were any fingerprints or DNA on the box, he didn’t want to disturb them.

“You think this—” she gestured to the box “—is from the kidnappers?”

“I think there’s a strong possibility.” He looked about the reception area. So far only the receptionist was here, but other workers would probably soon arrive. “Do you want to take this into your office?” Inside her office with the door locked, Sal didn’t let go of the package.

She held out her hands. “I’ll do it.”

He shook his head. “There could be a bomb inside. Probably not. But we have to have it checked.”

Her nod indicated reluctant agreement.

Sal made a call to a friend still in uniform, explained the situation. Within ten minutes, an explosives expert arrived and told them to wait outside. A short time later, the man gave the all clear.

“No bomb. Something else.” He pushed aside wrapping paper.

Inside lay a severed finger.

* * *

Sal and his friend exchanged a grim look. “I don’t know what you’re dealing with here, Sal, old buddy,” the man said, “but you’d better get some help.” With that, he left.

Olivia barely registered the conversation. She could only stare. The gasp that escaped her lips was filled with revulsion. She’d expected something like this, but the reality was worse. A lot worse.

“It’s Calvin’s.”

“You sure?”

She nodded. “I recognize the ring. He bought it a few months back. We had just won a big case and he wanted to celebrate.” She frowned. “I remember mentioning that it wasn’t his style. Calvin said something about maybe I didn’t know everything there is to know about him. Then he laughed and patted my hand.” She squeezed her eyes shut against the memory.

Sal studied the box with its grisly contents. “The ruby looks real,” he said of the large stone set in the pinky ring.