Free Taking Chances by Susan Lewis Page A

were Michael wouldn’t go for it, not now he had another woman in his life. On the other hand Chambers could make it a condition of his contract, when it finally got drawn up.
    Héctor Escobar and Dario Galvis were drinking beer with Morales when Chambers returned to the house. Carlota left him at the door and gave a star performance of having just been laid. Morales looked pleased and handed Chambers a congratulatory beer.
    ‘We have news,’ he told Chambers, settling back in his chair. ‘Good news.’ He signalled Héctor to continue.
    ‘We’ve got another name,’ Héctor said, his permanent scowl allowing only a trace of satisfaction.
    Chambers looked at him, his iron-grey eyes as sharp as flint. ‘How?’ he said.
    Héctor shrugged. ‘Never dump on a woman and never trust one either.’
    Morales said, ‘Galeano’s wife, the bitch my son was killed for, is getting even with the husband who just dumped her from a prison cell.’
    ‘He found himself a nice young boy to take her place,’ Dario sniggered.
    Morales looked at him, then turned back to Chambers.
    ‘How do you know she’s telling the truth?’ Chambers said. ‘Who spoke to her?’
    ‘
El Patron
spoke to her,’ Héctor answered. ‘One of the names she gave him is Julio Zapata. Gustavo Zapata’s older brother. They are the sons of Galeano’s sister.’ He paused , then looked Chambers right in the eye. ‘The third name is Salvador Molina,’ he said.
    Chambers’s insides turned to ice.
    Morales and the others waited. In the end Morales spoke again. ‘It is the same Salvador Molina as Rachel named in her reports, the one who fucks with kids.’
    Inside Chambers was shaking. Of course, he’d always suspected Molina, but there had never been any proof. There was probably none now, but he didn’t need it. All he needed was a moment to make himself accept finally that no matter what he had done back then, Molina would have killed her anyway. It still didn’t let him off the hook, but it sure as hell sorted out any lingering problem he might have had about taking another man’s life.
    ‘How do you know?’ he said.
    ‘
El Patron
’s men did the kidnap,’ Morales answered. ‘After that, they handed over to Molina and the Zapatas.’
    It figured. ‘So what now?’ he said.
    ‘Now, you decide,’ Morales answered. ‘You want these scumsuckers dead, you give the word. You want to do it yourself, we will arrange it. Or maybe, now you have the names, you want to leave and go back to your own country.’
    Chambers looked at the three men and saw their contempt for the third choice, and for any man who would take it. He thought of Rachel and what it must have been like for her in those final moments when the gun was pressed to her head. He felt her terror, her desperation, her hopelessness …
    There had never been any choice.
    ‘You know, you didn’t have to come,’ Michael said. ‘We’d have understood if you had other things to do.’
    ‘What makes you think I had other things to do?’ Ellen countered as they watched Robbie and his two friends leaping in and out of the water jets at Universal Studios’ Citywalk.
    ‘We’ve always got other things to do,’ Michael replied, glancing over his shoulder as someone in the crowd nudged past him.
    Ellen sighed, then suddenly she was dodging behind Michael and shrieking as Robbie made a dive towards her in his soaking wet clothes. ‘Robbie! No!’ she cried. ‘Robbie!
Michael stop him
!’
    But it was too late as, much to the enjoyment of the crowd, Robbie embraced her vigorously, drenching the light cotton pants and pale silk shirt she was wearing.
    ‘Right, you’ve asked for it now,’ she declared, and scooping him up she gave him a whopping great kiss right in front of his friends.
    ‘No! No! Oh, yuk! Ugh! Dad, stop her!’ Robbie yelled, struggling to get free as his friends clapped and jeered and Michael looked on with great amusement.
    Laughing, Ellen started to put him down, then