Hidden Truths - Page 73

“What time is it?”

“Seven in the evening.”

Well, that explains why my legs feel like they’re made of lead. “What was Roman doing here?”

“He came to talk with you. Brought Doc with him in case you didn’t come out of it.”

“What did he want to talk about?”

“His Mexico contact called,” he says and follows me into the kitchen as I walk to the fridge to take out a bottle of water. “He found Guadalupe Perez. She’s still at the compound.”

“Good. See if you can get her an ID that would work for the routine border crossing. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll go get her as soon as you have it.”

“Okay.” He nods but keeps looking at me in a strange way.

I’ve known Felix for fifteen years, and recognize most of his tells. “What is it?”

“Did Angelina act out of character before she left?”

I grip the edge of the counter and stare at the white tiles in front of me, gritting my teeth. It’s hard thinking about her. “Maybe a little. When I thought about it, I figured it was probably because she was already planning on leaving.”

“Did someone approach her?”

I swivel around to face him. “No. Why?”

“Because she’s not in Europe. She’s in Mexico, Sergei. With Diego Rivera.”

“What?!” I slam the glass I’m holding onto the counter, and it shatters into smithereens, pieces of glass flying everywhere.

“Roman’s contact said he saw her today, at the lunch party Diego organized. Rivera announced that the two of them will be getting married on Wednesday.”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to go over the past week in my mind. Angelina was acting strange the morning when she disappeared, so something must have happened prior. The mall. She spent too much time in that restroom.

“I need you to access the inside cameras of the mall where we went the day before she left,” I say.

“Sure. I’ll get my laptop.”

* * *

I stare at the black-and-white photo of a woman Felix pulled out of the police records. Then, I move my eyes to the right, where the still shot from the camera feed shows the same woman exiting the mall restroom just a few minutes before Angelina came out.

“Juana Ortiz,” Felix says. “There is no proof, but the note in the report says she’s suspected of working for Diego Rivera.”

“They probably threatened Angelina with killing her nana. Why didn’t she say anything, damn it?”

“I don’t think they threatened her nana, Sergei. Look.” He brings up another angle of the recording. Another end of the same hallway. Juana walks toward two men standing by a vending machine, nods, and they leave.

“I checked the other cameras, as well,” Felix says as he brings up the video of Juana leaving the restroom again. “They were standing fifty or so feet directly behind you. The taller one was concealing a gun under his jacket. It can be seen from another camera. Pay attention to where Angelina looks right after she exits.”

He plays the video and zooms in on the door to the restroom. The camera was probably mounted close by, because when Angelina walks out, I can clearly see the terrified expression on her face as she looks up and over my shoulder, straight in the direction where the men were standing. Her eyes wander to me, then back to the goons for a moment before she heads my way.

“I think they threatened to killyou,” Felix says.

I stare at the paused recording, my eyes glued to Angelina’s frightened face, and smile. “I’m going to slaughter them all.”

* * *

I put the last of the guns into the hidden compartment in the floor of my car, close the trunk, and whistle for Mimi, who dashes down the steps and jumps onto the back seat. I get behind the wheel and close the door. I’m just reaching for the ignition when the passenger door opens and Felix gets in.