Free Silence in the Dark by Patricia Bradley

Bailey’s number. He’d give it one more try. This time the call didn’t go straight to voicemail.
    “Joel?” Bailey’s voice sounded hesitant. “I was afraid you were dead.”
    “Not quite, but thank goodness you’re all right,” he said. “Is Maria okay?”
    “Yes. How did you escape?”
    He rubbed his ribs that shot pain through him every time he breathed. At least the ice had brought the swelling in his eyes down enough for him to see. “It’s a long story, and I’ll explain when we’re together. Where are you?”
    She hesitated.
    “Never mind. Meet me . . .” He tried to think of a safe place.
    She answered before he came up with a plan. “There are men after Maria, maybe the same ones who took you. I don’t think I should bring her to you. I’m taking her to the States, and you can meet up with us at your parents’.”
    “She’s my niece. Do you think I’d put her in danger?”
    “I don’t know, Joel. I don’t know anything anymore, other than I want to keep her safe.”
    “She’s my sister’s child. No one will keep her as safe as I will. Where are you? I’ll come and get her.”
    “No. I have to hang up.”
    He stared at the dead phone. Then clicked on an app he’d put on Bailey’s phone. Her location popped up. Casa Grande.

7
    B ailey slipped her phone into her pocket. She was not handing Maria over to Joel. Not until they were safe in the States. Where was Danny? She’d carried his instructions to lock the door a step further and herded Maria and Solana into the bathroom.
    “Bailey! Where are you?”
    She opened the door. “In here.”
    He whirled around, scowling. “What are you doing in the bathroom?”
    “It seemed like a good idea. I thought if someone broke in, they would think the room was empty.”
    The lines in his face relaxed. “Good thinking.”
    Once they were out of the bathroom, Bailey realized Angel had joined them. Like before, he carried himself with the assurance of someone used to being in charge.
    “Mr. Angel, you came back!” Maria wiggled from her arms onto the floor, and Angel bent over and picked her up.
    “Yes, little one, I came back. And now we must leave.”
    When he straightened, Bailey held out her hand. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Bailey, and you must be Angel. Did you bring Maria’s medicine?”
    He shook her hand, bowing slightly. “Yes, I am Angel, and no,I did not bring the medicine. It is in the car, but we need to leave right away—every minute we stay in Mexico is dangerous.”
    Since she’d decided against going to the authorities, Bailey agreed with him. “We’re ready. What’s the plan?”
    “My plane,” Danny said. “That’s our next destination. We’ll go down the stairs and out the back. Angel will go in front, and I’ll be behind you three.”
    Sounded like a plan to her. “I’ll carry Maria.”
    “If you get tired, I can help,” Solana said.
    In the hallway, a couple strolled by, giving them a curious stare. Bailey turned to Danny. “Joel called. He wanted Maria.”
    “What? You didn’t tell him where you were, did you?”
    “No. I told him he’d have to come to the States to get her.”
    “Good.”
    Angel opened the door to the stairwell, and they trooped down the stairs. By the time they reached the lobby, she felt a little silly with the cloak-and-dagger when no one seemed to pay any attention to them. Maybe everything was going to be okay. They rounded a corner, and she gasped. “There’s Joel.”
    He stood outside the doorway, trying to get in. She faltered. His face looked as though it had been used as a punching bag, and both of his eyes were swollen and bruised. In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed a man running toward her.
    Angel grabbed Maria from her arms. “Follow me!”
    She half turned. “Where’s Danny?”
    “Behind you. He’ll make it. You help Solana.” Angel shot out the exit door, and she grabbed Solana’s hand and together they ran after Angel.
    Once outside,