Page 65 of Vanishing Legacy
Cash’s mouth went dry. “Are you talking about Trejo? Luis Trejo?”
She nodded. “He died on the table.”
The news hit him like a defibrillator. It took a few minutes to process.
Everything was finished. He and Penny were safe. They could put the nonsense with Trejo behind them and move on with their lives.
Only one more door to close.
Sonia.
“Thank you, Brooke. I’m going home.”
He still hadn’t heard from Williams. Probably dealing with the fallout of the arrest going horribly wrong. The FBI was smart to make them wait until Bailey had her meeting.
Cash stepped out of the elevator behind Juliette. He focused on the sound of their footsteps echoing against the concrete walls of the parking garage. His thoughts spiraled from Trejo to Sonia to Penny to Alana. It would take time to process everything. Time he didn’t want to waste right now. With Trejo out of the picture, he didn’t need protection from the Elite Guardians anymore. He could live his life again. Take that sunset ferry ride with Penny. Take Alana and Rocco to dinner with Penny. Ask Alana on a real date.
A black SUV screeched to a stop behind them. A team of black-clad men poured out. Juliette shoved him between two cars.
A shadow behind him caught him off guard. He spun to see a man with a gun aimed at his chest. Then he heard it. The sharp crackle of a Taser. Two probes shot out and embedded in his chest with sharp pinches. Electricity raced through his muscles. His entire body seized and he went down. Face first.
Footsteps rushed toward him. A hood was thrown over his head, his arms wrenched behind his back.
Rough hands dragged him across the concrete floor. He tried to resist, but his limbs wouldn’t cooperate. Muffled sounds came from somewhere off to his left. Another scuffle.
A pinch in his neck. Then silence as everything went black.
SEVENTEEN
FRIDAY, 3:45 P.M.
From her chair in the corner, Alana observed Penny’s speech therapy session. The small room, painted in calm shades of blue and green, housed a variety of books and puzzles. Penny drummed her fingers on the child-sized table and read flashcards. The way the woman redirected Penny seconds before her frustration boiled over impressed Alana. She’d tuck that technique away for later.
Alana had dressed Penny in the sunshine-yellow shirt and found matching yellow hair ties to hold her braided pigtails. It was true what people said. Picking outfits for little girls was more fun than dressing little boys.
When Penny finished her therapy session, she ran down across the room with her arms out for an unexpected hug. “I did good, see?” She pointed to the round unicorn sticker on her shirt.
“That’s amazing, Penny! Way to go!” Alana held her and whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”
On the way out, Alana held Penny’s hand in her left, leaving her gun hand free for the most dangerous part of their trek. Getting into the car.
Alana could not shake an unsettling sense of being watched. In the parking lot, her vision sharpened. She scanned the area with laser-like precision, taking in every detail. The glint of sunlight off a car’s windshield. The rustle of leaves in the breeze. The distant hum of traffic. It all registered in her mind as normal. Yet the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention.
Alana helped Penny into her booster seat and waited as Penny buckled herself.
“Wow, you did the buckle all by yourself.” She handed Penny a book and closed the car door.
She caught a flicker of movement near the building. A shadow that shouldn’t be there. Her muscles coiled and her hand went to her holster and rested on the butt of her gun. She concentrated on the target area a full minute. Nothing happened. The shadow remained still.
Alana hurried to get in the car. She plugged her phone into the USB port and left it in the console tray. When she turned the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life. The GPS map application appeared on the infotainment system, and she searched for a choke point. A bridge or narrow road she could use to channel the traffic to see if any cars followed.
Through her rearview mirror, she kept an eye out for the shadow to move as she navigated her way out of the parking lot and pulled into traffic. Her gaze flickered back and forth, keeping a close eye on the cars around them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
She blew out a heavy breath and glanced in the rearview. Penny looked at her book and swung her feet. She chattered to herself and didn’t seem worried or tense at all. Maybe Alana was paranoid.
Maybe, but her instincts told her something wasn’t right.
She took a sharp turn onto a narrow street that led to a bridge over the Savannah River. The road was flanked by tall buildings and dense foliage, making it difficult to see far ahead. The slow-moving traffic gave Alana time to study each car. Had that blue sedan been parked at the therapist’s office?