Altercation Read online

  Jaci pushed herself into a standing position. “Sara. What’s wrong?”

  “Ricky and Neal,” she sobbed, running over to Jaci and throwing her arms around her neck. Her slender frame trembled.

  Jaci pulled back, brushing Sara’s hair out of her face. Her heart pounded anxiously. “What’s happened?” Had someone managed to sneak into the house and hurt them?

  “The FBI contacted the state of New York and asked them to take custody of them,” Sara gasped out between her tears. “They want to separate us.”

  “Separate you and the boys?”

  “No. Us.”

  It took a full two seconds for Jaci to understand what Sara meant. “All of us?”

  “All of us.” Sara’s voice dropped to a whisper. “For our own safety. They won’t even let me stay with Neal and Ricky.”

  Jaci glanced at Amanda, who was up on her elbows, eyes wide. “What do we do?”

  “You have to do something, Jaci! Talk to them!”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah.” Amanda nodded. “They’ll listen to you.”

  Jaci furrowed her brow. What on earth made her friends think she could do anything? She forced herself to think clearly. “It’s okay, Sara. I’ll go talk to the agent.”

  Jaci tiptoed down the hall, hoping Agent Banks was in his downstairs office. She dreaded the thought of having to go upstairs looking for him in her purple pajamas.

  Turning the corner, she saw that the office door was open. She knocked on the door frame.

  Banks looked up from his computer. “Yes, Jaci.”

  The tone of his voice wasn’t inviting. She steeled herself. He must know why she was here. “I just wanted to find out what’s going on. Sara said you’ll be separating us?”

  “Yes. We were planning on telling all of you tomorrow, but since she will be away from her brothers, we wanted to break it to her first. She wasn’t supposed to say anything.”

  He’d really expected Sara to keep it quiet? “I’m not trying to be obstinate, but we have to be together.”

  “First of all,” Banks said, “you need to realize that the decisions we make are not up for debate. Second of all, being together makes you an easy target. If we separate you, The Hand will have to spread out his resources. Unless we find him soon, we will be placing all of your families in the Witness Protection Program and not only will you be separated, but you’ll have new names and new lives. This is not a game, Jaci. We can’t accommodate the whims and wishes of teenage girls when there are lives at stake.”

  Jaci nodded quickly, biting on her lower lip. All her righteous indignation vanished in the face of his chastisement. “No, of course not, Sir. I understand.”

  The skin around his eyes softened. “I know the boys are unhappy about going back to New York. Their location will be kept secret.”

  There had to be something more that could be done. Jaci tried one last scenario. “What if Sara’s family decided to extend custody right now?”

  “Until The Hand is found and all of you are able to return home, her parents aren’t going to get custody. They don’t even have custody of Sara. We do.”

  That was it, then. There really was nothing more. “I’ll tell Sara. When do the boys leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  Her heart fluttered. “Will we be able to see them?

  “You’ll be able to say goodbye, if that’s what you mean. But after they leave tomorrow, no. Any phone calls or letters made from here could be traced back. Understood?”

  Jaci bridled slightly at his tone. She wasn’t a child. “Understood.”

  “One more thing.” Banks’s voice hardened. “I want the boys to think you are all still in Cincinnati. They know they are leaving, but I don’t want them to know you girls will be leaving also. Can you make them believe that?”

  Jaci paused, hand on the door frame. It seemed like this whole plan was riddled with secrets, and she hated keeping things from people. “Why?”

  “Because the less information people have about you, Jaci, the safer you’ll be. And you want to be safe, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” She turned on her heel and stalked from the room.

  She went past her own bedroom, past the guest bathroom, and knocked on the boys’ bedroom door. Her heart pounded and she clenched her fingers together.

  “Jaci.” Neal answered the door, toothbrush in mouth, his hazel eyes widening in surprise.

  “Hi.” She was glad to see both boys wore cotton shirts and pants to bed. She’d been half afraid to catch them in their boxers or something.

  Ricky joined Neal in the doorway. “Come in, Jace.”

  She gave a nod and pushed her way in, wiping sweaty palms on her blue sweatpants. The room was identical to the girls’, except everything the boys owned was spread out on the floor. She suppressed a smile. She’d forgotten the awful state their house had been in when the teenagers had met.

  Neal went to the sink, and Ricky crossed his arms over his chest. “So I guess you heard, huh?”

  Jaci nodded, dropping her eyes. “Yeah.” What was she doing in here?

  “Sucks.”

  “Yeah.”

  Neal put his toothbrush down. “I’m going up for a bag of chips.”

  “Grab me one,” Ricky said as Neal closed the door. “What’s up?” Ricky seated himself on the edge of the bed closest to the door.

  Jaci settled down next to him. “Is this your bed?”

  “No. Neal’s. Figured if we got attacked, he’d go first.”

  Jaci laughed. She leaned against the wall, turning to face him. “Why?”

  He frowned at her. “Why what?”

  “Why are you so nice to me?”

  He shrugged. “I like you.”

  Such a straightforward answer. Yet Jaci knew she could construe it to mean many different things. And she knew what she wanted it to mean. “Why do you always hang out with Amanda?”

  “She follows me around.”

  “When was the last time you kissed her?”

  He hesitated. “It’s been awhile.”

  “When?” Jaci pressed, surprised at her own boldness.

  “Not since New York.”

  “Do you like her?”

  “As a friend.”

  And how did he like Jaci? “You make it a habit to kiss your friends?”

  He leaned toward her on the bed. “She kissed me.”

  “Didn’t look like you minded.”

  “Yeah, but—wait.” He cocked his head and squinted his eyes. “You’ve seen us kiss?”

  She looked down and plucked at the bedspread, losing her nerve. “Yeah. Once.”

  “When?”

  She shrugged, picturing in her mind the way his arms had wrapped around Amanda’s body. “In New York.”

  “Jaci.” He tossed his head back and stared at the bunk above him. “Listen.” He focused on her again. “I’m a guy, Jace. If a girl kisses me, I’m going to kiss her back.”

  “How many times?”

  He made a noise in the back of his throat. “I don’t know.”

  “Is that all you’ve done?” Suddenly it really mattered to her.

  He hesitated just a moment too long, and she turned away, face flushing.

  “Hey, no, it’s not what you think.” He grabbed her hand, turning her back to him. “She offered, that’s all. But—I didn’t.”

  “Why not?” Jaci whispered, still recovering from the shock.

  “Didn’t want to.”

  “What changed? I thought you liked her.”

  He shrugged.

  “Has Amanda noticed?”

  Another shrug.

  Jaci closed her eyes, more relieved than
she wanted to admit. She took a deep breath and looked at him. “Ricky, I—” His eyes were steady on her, unnerving her. “Never mind.” She pushed away from the wall, irritated with herself. “I’ll just go now.”

  He seized her wrist. “What were you going to say?”

  “Nothing.”

  He let her arm go and leaned back on his elbow. “Okay . . .”

  “What does that mean?”

  He sighed. “You’re such a little girl sometimes, Jaci.”

  The door opened behind them and Neal came in. He glanced at them and shut himself into the bathroom.

  Jaci turned back to Ricky, but he’d moved to the door. He opened it. “It’s getting late, Jaci. You better go. Unless you came here to say something.”

  She stepped up to the door and walked out of the room. Before Ricky could close it, she whirled around and stuck her hand in the jamb. “I did. I wanted to tell you—be careful.” Withdrawing her hand, she fled down the hall.

  November 1, Victoriaville, Canada

  The tall blond with creamy skin stepped out the front door of the narrow, redbrick apartment, looking from side to side. She turned around and locked both the deadbolt and the doorknob.

  Carl understood her nervousness. Just a month ago the girl had been taken into police custody for “harboring criminals.” Luckily Carl had been around to get her out of jail.

  “Hi, Natalie,” he greeted her as she ran over to his rental car. No buses or begging rides from the RCMP this time, though Carl hated driving in other countries.

  “Hi.” Her lilting accent reminded him that English wasn’t her first language. She glanced behind her as she buckled her seatbelt.

  “It’s okay.” He put the car into gear. “Nobody followed me. Local law is working with us this time. Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

  “I know.” Still, she clutched her handbag in her lap and stared straight ahead.

  Carl felt bad for her. She’d been doing a good deed, helping three girls get away from their kidnapper and across the Canadian border. She probably didn’t help strangers anymore. “I really appreciate you taking me to the spot you found the girls.”

  She pointed him onto the freeway. “Go west.”

  “How’s Chris doing?” He hoped mentioning her boyfriend would relax her a bit.

  She brightened. “Oh, he’s good! We’re engaged.” She flashed her hand at him, showing off a large diamond ring.

  “That’s great. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. Here, take this exit.”

  Carl turned off the freeway, noting the country road they traveled on. It narrowed down to two lanes, one each way, and the twists and turns forced him to slow down. “You sped out of here?”

  “Yes. In Chris’ car.”

  They headed further into the country. Natalie sat up taller and narrowed her eyes, scanning the left side of the road. Carl hoped she’d be able to find it. The foliage and greenery all looked the same to him.

  “I think that’s it . . .” She tapped her finger on her chin.

  Carl did a U-turn and pulled over. The asphalt dipped down into a slight ditch. Dead vegetation covered the area, but he could imagine the tall grasses that were there a month ago.

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure this is it. They were in the grass, hiding. I didn’t see them until one of them—the dark-haired girl—jumped out at me.”

  “And then what?” It never hurt to hear the story again.

  “My car had a flat tire. She offered to change it for me if I gave them a ride into town. A van came from that direction.” She pointed the way they had been heading. “It stopped there. A man got out, called to them. The girls hurried in and I drove off.”

  “No one pursued?”

  “I don’t know. If they did, they didn’t catch us. But the men must have gotten the plate number. They traced the car to Chris and went to his house.”

  Carl nodded, fingers itching with anticipation. This gave him something. Jaci had said they came down a mountain. Where he and Natalie stood was the downside of a slope. The other lane bordered the upside. All he had to do was drive around and find the roads that went up the mountain. For a van to get up and down, it would have to be obvious and not too steep.

  “Natalie, you’ve been great. Let me take you home.”

  Carl came back two hours later with a full police escort. They fanned out behind him, making it impossible for anyone to get by on the road.

  Three miles from where Natalie had picked up the girls, he found a gravel drive with a chain-link fence on either side. His heart pounded. This matched the description.

  Five police cars trailed him up. Though he couldn’t see the sixth one, he knew it sat in an obscure place to watch in case someone showed up.

  He checked the odometer. It had only been four miles, but on gravel at a snail’s pace, that took almost twenty minutes. Finally, he rounded a bend and a white plantation house appeared on a concrete bed.

  Even from this distance, Carl could tell the house wasn’t occupied. The opened front door hung askew. The automatic garage door lay in a crumpled heap, the bare garage gaping for all to see. Huge holes riddled the four-story building.

  He parked and got out of the car. Several of the officers climbed out as well. He glanced at them, his triumph tinged with a bitter disappointment. He wasn’t going to find The Hand here. “Well,” he sighed, “guess I’ll go look for clues.” He jogged up the decorative porch, trying to gather his optimism. If there’d been a fight, The Hand probably left in a hurry. He might not have cleaned up nicely enough.

  Chapter Fourteen

  All right!” Agent Banks closed the door to the conference room and rubbed his hands together. “I know we’re here to discuss today’s schedule, but first I’ve got news for you.”

  The six teens stared back at him without enthusiasm.

  “Detective Hamilton found The Hand’s residence in Canada.”

  Jaci gasped. “Thank heavens! When?”

  “This morning.”

  “Did he catch him?”

  Banks shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Looks like The Hand cleared out. Hamilton found the attic you spoke of. He’ll dust for prints and vacuum for DNA, but he said it looks like the house went through a war. Parts of it have been blown away.”

  “So where is he now? The Hand, I mean?” Sara asked.

  “We don’t know. Don’t worry, though. We’ll get him.” He glanced around the table. “Now, to business. You know that Ricky and Neal are leaving.” He eyed the two boys. “We’ll drive you to the launch pad in two hours, and you’ll fly out via helicopter. We can’t tell you any more than that you’re going to New York.”

  “What about my probation?” Ricky asked, rocking his chair back on its hind legs.

  “We’ll work out a punishment for your indiscretions later.”

  “This is ridiculous.” Sara stood, knocking her chair over. “We have the right to know! Those are my brothers!” She pointed to Neal and Ricky. “We should be together!” She ran to the door and slipped out.

  Banks cleared his throat. “You’ve got two hours, boys. Be ready. Dismissed.”

  Neal rubbed his forehead. “I guess we better get ready to go. We’ll be in our room.”

  Ricky caught Jaci’s eye. “Check on Sara, will you?”

  Jaci wrapped her arms around her torso, sick at the thought of not being near the boys. She hadn’t realized how safe she felt with them nearby. “Yeah.”

  He stepped closer and touched her elbow. “You okay?”

  Jaci shook her head and backed away. “Yeah.” She hurried out of the room and searched for Sara. She finally found her crying in the hall bathroom upstairs. “Sara? It’s me.” Jaci tried the door. Not locked.

  Sara sat on the floor, one arm w
rapped around the toilet bowl, the other holding her hair back. Tears fell freely down her splotchy face.

  “Do you get sick when you’re upset?” Jaci turned on the warm water and wet a paper towel.

  “I don’t know.” Sara took the paper towel, wiping her face. Then she dropped it and clutched the toilet bowl again, vomiting forcefully. She rested her head on the ledge, her sobs turning into quiet hiccups.

  “Do you want to talk?” Jaci wiped down the toilet and threw the paper towels in the trash.

  “No.”

  Jaci sat next to Sara, rubbing her shoulders.

  “They’re leaving soon,” Sara whispered.

  “I know. But you’ll see them again. You’re their sister.”

  “You never know,” Sara murmured.

  Jaci hesitated. “Sara, nothing bad is going to happen.”

  “Something bad always happens.”

  Jaci could think of so many ways to dispute that. Many good things happened to them, not just bad. But Sara had borne the brunt of the unfortunate events. “Come on. Let’s wait in our room.”

  The room wasn’t messy, but still, Jaci picked everything up off the floor. She turned on the sinks and wiped them down, then washed her face. She organized the toothbrushes and checked on their supply of toilet paper.

  Finally, someone knocked on the door. Jaci stood all the shampoos up in the shower stall and stepped out of the bathroom.

  Sara already had her arms around Ricky, sobbing.

  Neal shot Jaci an alarmed look. “Has she been crying this whole time?”

  “No. She stopped for about half an hour.”

  Ricky pulled on Sara’s hair. “Hey. We got this. We’ll see you soon.”

  “What if you don’t?” Her voice was muffled by his polo shirt.

  “We will.” Ricky wrapped her up in a hug.

  “Calm down, Sara,” Amanda said, throwing her an annoyed look. “Two months ago you didn’t even know they existed. You’ll be fine a little longer without them.”