Free Silence in the Dark by Patricia Bradley Page A

Angel raced toward a dark blue SUV. “You two, get in the backseat.” He handed a wide-eyed Maria to Bailey before he hopped into the driver’s seat and started the motor. She barely had her seat belt fastened before he shot forward.
    “We can’t leave Danny!”
    “There he is.” Angel pointed toward the door they’d exited.
    Danny ran toward them, and as the car slowed to a stop, he hopped in. “Go!” he shouted. “He has friends.”
    “Where’s your plane?”
    “At Chico’s Airfield outside of Chihuahua.”
    “I know where it is.” Angel made a hard right turn.
    Bailey held Maria tight as they barreled out of the hotel parking lot.
    “Joel must have brought the Calatrava to the hotel, but how did he find us?” Danny turned to look at her. “Did you tell him?”
    The accusation in his voice burned her, and she gritted her teeth. “I told you I didn’t. I don’t know how he knew.”
    “You have to know.”
    In her lap, Maria started to cry, and Bailey narrowed her eyes at Danny. “This is not the time to discuss the matter.”
    His gaze skittered to Maria. “But we will discuss it later.”
    “Fine.” With the lump in her throat threatening to choke her, she sank against the seat beside Solana. Tears stung her eyes, but she would not cry. Danny acted like she’d brought the men after them.
    Maria burrowed against her chest. “Is Mr. Danny mad at me?”
    “No, honey.”
    “Why are the bad men chasing us again?”
    “I don’t know, Maria.” Bailey stared out the window as Angel made another turn. How did Joel know where they were? Did he lead those men to her? She couldn’t believe he would do something like that, and if he had, she was the worst judge of men ever.
    Her cell phone dinged, and she slid it from her pocket. “It’s Joel. He wants to know where we are.”
    Angel looked in the rearview mirror, his eyes wide. “Do not answer him. He’ll lead the cartel to us again.”
    Danny reached from the front seat for her phone. She moved it out of his reach. “I’m not totally stupid. I didn’t text him back.”
    Her phone chimed again, and she read the text, then hugged Maria. “And he said to tell you he loves you.”
    “Will we see him again?” Tears rimmed Maria’s eyes.
    “I’m sure we will.” Bailey shifted her gaze to the front and caught Angel staring at her from the mirror with a cell phone pressed to his ear. Why was he helping them? She tilted her head. “Who are the Calatrava? Who runs the cartel?”
    Angel glanced in the mirror again. “No one knows,” he replied. “The only name I’ve heard on the streets is El Jefe.”
    “The Boss,” Danny said. “Somebody has to know his real name.”
    “No. He is like a ghost, and no one breathes it. Some say there is more than one in control.”
    “Like a governing board?” Danny asked.
    “I’ve never heard of it in Mexico before, but maybe.”
    “But even a board usually has one person with more power.”
    “El Jefe.” Angel shrugged. “I’m just repeating what I’ve heard.”
    “Why do you think they want . . .” She let her gaze drop to the top of Maria’s head.
    “Ransom,” the Mexican replied.
    “But Joel doesn’t have the kind of money the drug cartels demand when they snatch someone.”
    “I’m sure he carries kidnap and ransom insurance.” Bitterness laced Angel’s voice. “It’s also possible they want her in order to have control over someone.”
    That someone could only be Joel. But what did he have that the cartel wanted? He was a purchasing agent for a ceramics company. An image of his battered face popped into her mind, and she winced. He’d really taken a beating. She would like to know how he escaped from the men who took him.
    The SUV turned, then a couple of blocks later turned again. Bailey raised up and looked out the back window. Did Angel think someone was following them? They had left Chihuahua and were headed south into the countryside. “Where are we?”
    “Near my