Then again, she thought with her hand on the k.n.o.b to the bathroom door, what if this was all a setup and Vega was using Alayna to get to her? No. If Vega were with Alayna, Alayna would be dead. There was no doubt in Victoria's mind about that.

She turned the k.n.o.b as slowly as she could manage and pulled the door open while her own breath was held. Across the room she saw that Ben had rolled onto his side, his back facing her. Thank goodness. Silently she apologized over and over as her feet moved silently across the carpeted floor. The middle door in between the utility closet and the clothes closet was the adjoining bedroom door. It was a quick plan, one she prayed would work even though she had zero experience doing things like this.

If she could get into the other room, she could leave out that door. Rio was standing guard in front of their room door, not that one. She should be able to slip out without him seeing her. Then what?

She'd made it to the adjoining room, having closed both doors behind her. For one second she allowed herself a release of breath, and a sigh because she prayed she was doing the right thing. On her hip her cellphone vibrated and she looked hurriedly down at the screen.

ETA 10min How the h.e.l.l did Grace get here that fast? She had to be speeding, which was just like Grace and would almost certainly p.i.s.s Clinton off. Having his pregnant wife stand before him for a speeding ticket was not going to be cute.

Okay, this was going to be harder than she originally thought. Rio stood with his right side leaning against the wall to the door. His back was facing the door where Victoria had just come out. That should have made it easier, but Victoria was positive this man was a trained soldier. She bet he would hear her the minute she stepped into the hallway. The exit door was about ten to fifteen feet to the left, in the opposite direction of where Rio stood.

Think. Think. Think.

She pulled her phone out once more and dialed one of the numbers Ben had given her last night. He'd wanted her to be able to reach any of them if she needed them, so he'd given her Rio's and Ace's cell numbers along with Devlin's and Trent's. Victoria scrolled down her contacts until she got to Rio's, then hit call. Peeping her head out the doorway, she didn't hear any ringing and figured he had it on vibrate. She watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He said h.e.l.lo a few times and then hung up the phone. He knocked on the door and called to Ben. In her head she counted, waiting, hoping he would do what she thought he would.

And he did.

He used his key card to open the door to the room she'd just left. The minute he slipped inside, she slipped out and ran as if her life depended on it to the exit door. She made it down two flights of stairs, then headed for the elevator on that floor. She remembered using the freight entrance last night and took that same way to get to the back door. There she waited, tapping a foot against the floor as her heart ran a rapid rhythm in her chest.

"Come on, Gracey, come on."

As if Grace had heard her words, Victoria heard a vehicle pull up right outside the door. With one last prayer that she was doing the right thing, she eased open the door, saw Grace's ruby red Camaro, and moved quickly to get inside.

"Pull off slow. If you peel out of this parking lot, Devlin's right around back. He might hear you and be on our tail in seconds," she told Grace as she put on her seatbelt. "But hurry up. I don't want this girl to run."

"Right. Go slow, go fast, come now, stay home," Grace said snidely as she pulled out of the parking lot.

Victoria half thought she'd look into the rearview mirror and see Devlin at any moment. But she didn't and for a second she wondered why. By the time Victoria had finally replied to Alayna's text, asking where she was and receiving a reply, she didn't think about Devlin again. And she refused to think about Ben, or about how p.i.s.sed off he was going to be when he found out she was gone.

"What the h.e.l.l do you mean she's gone?" Devlin yelled the minute he ran into Ben's room.

"Dammit!" Ben cursed for the billionth time. Where was she? Why would she leave? Last night she'd been afraid, he'd seen it in her eyes. Then she'd toughened up, told him she wasn't scared of dying. He'd held her in his arms all night. He hadn't made love to her because they'd both needed another type of rea.s.surance. He'd felt her with him all night, not just physically but mentally. She accepted they were in a relationship just as she accepted their present situation. And now she was gone. What the h.e.l.l did that mean?

"How could she get out of here without you seeing her?" Devlin demanded.

"She called my phone then hung up. I thought something was wrong in here. I thought it was some type of code, so I came inside." Rio looked like he wanted to kick himself and probably would have if Devlin wasn't standing right in his face, intent on doing the job for him.

"I think she slipped out the adjoining room when I came in here," Rio admitted.

"You idiot!" Devlin yelled again. "Where'd she go, Ben?"

Ben was shaking his head. He stood near the window, staring through the slit in the curtains that he'd made the moment he realized she wasn't there. He could see part of the parking garage, could see the sun rising, daylight making its grand appearance for the next few hours. And he felt empty, totally and completely empty inside.

"She would go to her mother and to see Grace. She's worried about them," he said solemnly, his teeth clenching when he finished.

"That's if she left on her own," Rio followed.

"Vega would have killed us both. He wouldn't just take her and I doubt she would have gone with him willingly," Devlin said.

Ben shook his head. "She's not with Vega. At least she didn't leave with him. She left on her own."

"How can you be so sure?" Rio insisted.

Ben whirled around for a minute, wanting to shake the h.e.l.l out of the man who was supposed to be watching them. Then he decided against it. He'd been laying in the same bed as Victoria and he hadn't realized she'd left either.

"She would have fought Vega. With everything she had in her, she would have fought against him taking her. I would have heard and you would have heard."

"I agree about her fighting. She seems like a fighter," Devlin said. "I don't agree about Rio not hearing squat! It's apparent he wasn't paying very much attention."

Rio didn't say a word, just turned away. Then when he got to the door he asked, "Did you see any cars leave the parking lot?"

Devlin was a captain. He told his team what to do and what not to do. He asked the questions, he knew all the answers. Not this time.

"I came as soon as you called," he said.

"So she could have driven off while you were heading up here," Ben said. "Look for a red 2010 Mustang. It's Grace Ramsey's car. Victoria wouldn't have left without having a way home."

Devlin nodded to Rio. "Get on that now!" he told him. Then he turned back to Ben. "We'll find her, man."

Ben nodded, every muscle in his body tensing until he felt like any movement would break him in half. "Yeah, I just hope it's in time."

CHAPTER 17.

"What kind of Law and Order mess are you mixed up in?" Grace asked as she drove down the interstate, barely keeping within the posted speed limit.

Victoria could do nothing but sigh. "It's complicated. Look, I'll just drop you back off at your house and then I'll go meet with Alayna. I'll call you right after the meeting," she told her, hoping it would be enough to stop the questions she'd been barraged with since climbing into the car.

"If you think I'm just going to let you go off to meet some witness who's been considered dead for the past few months, you are crazier than I already thought you were."

"Well, if you think I'm going to let you waddle into the middle of this mess, you're not as smart as I always thought you were."

Grace honked her horn at a white truck that had narrowly missed hitting the front end of the car as it cut her off, trying to get into the exit lane.

"Okay, arguing is stupid and it's giving me a headache. Why don't we go to my place and ask Clinton what we should do," she suggested.

Victoria immediately began shaking her head. "No!" she exclaimed. "I mean, I don't want to involve either one of you. I wouldn't have even called if I didn't need a ride home."

"Listen here. We've been friends for way too long for you to start keeping secrets. Especially secrets that involve somebody throwing bombs through your window and having you followed."

Grace was so melodramatic. But she was also loyal and courageous and the best friend Victoria had ever had. At this very moment, the emotion of wondering if she'd ever see Grace or her baby again was waging a war with her confidence about going to see Alayna.

"I just need to go alone. She wants me to come and see her by myself. Now you know who I'm going to see and once I drop you off, I'll even text you the address Alayna gave me. If you don't hear from me within the hour, call the police," Victoria instructed just as Grace pulled into her driveway.

Grace didn't respond right away. She parked the car and killed the engine, letting her palms rest on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead for a few seconds.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, Vic," she said, the crack in her voice almost bringing Victoria to tears.

She reached for Grace's hand, pulling it into her own and holding tight. "Nothing's going to happen to me, Grace. We've been friends for too long for this great duo to be split up now." Tears blurred her eyes as she spoke but she dared not let them fall, dared not let them make an appearance because if they did Grace would cry as well and then they'd both be blubbering messes.

"I have to do this. If I can get Alayna to testify, Vega will be put away for life. As long as he's on the streets, there are so many people in danger. I can't let that happen without at least trying to do something. This is my career, Grace, and it's my life I'm fighting for."

Grace turned to face Victoria, big fat tears dripping instantly from her long lashes. "I'm afraid for you."

Victoria nodded, the lump in her throat too thick to speak instantly. She reached up and wiped the tears away from Grace's cheeks. "Fear makes you weak," she heard herself whisper the words her father had instilled in her. "You're the strongest person I know, Grace. You're the strongest and the smartest and I love you with all my heart. I'll be okay." Then because more words, more time sitting here with Grace would definitely tear her apart, Victoria pulled her friend close for a tight hug. Then she let her go quickly.

"Now get back in the house and wait for my text," she said, climbing out of the pa.s.senger seat and walking around to the driver's side.

Grace climbed out of the car and Victoria touched both palms to her stomach. "Go back inside and get some rest. My niece is not a morning person, remember." She smiled when she felt a swift kick just beneath her left palm. Never had Victoria felt anything as amazing as the movements of a baby in utero.

"You text me in five minutes with that address and then you've got another fifty-five minutes to call me and confirm you're alright. If you miss either of those deadlines, I'm telling Clifton and I'm calling every police officer in Las Vegas to come and find you. Do you hear me?"

Grace smoothed back unruly tendrils of Victoria's hair. The quick ponytail she'd made was hardly her best effort, but beauty wasn't exactly what she was going for today.

Victoria nodded. "I hear you."

They didn't embrace again. Neither of them thought they could take it if they did. So Victoria climbed into the driver's seat and buckled her seat belt while watching Grace move slowly into the house. When the front door had closed behind her, Victoria backed out of the driveway. At the corner of Grace's street, she picked up her cellphone and texted Grace Alayna's address. Then she set the GPS on her phone and listened as it guided her to what, Victoria had no idea.

This had to work. She was running out of options and probably out of time. He'd offered her money, put it in her bank account and waited for her to use it. At first she hadn't because it wasn't about the money. It was about love.

Alayna sighed, pressing her forehead against the grungy window at the motel where she'd been staying. It was only five blocks away from where she'd been living with her grandmother. She'd originally thought about going further, but couldn't bear not seeing her baby. The idea to drastically change her appearance so she wouldn't be recognized came in the middle of one of the loneliest nights of her life. The night she'd made the mess of her life ten times worse.

Three years ago she'd been young and innocent, working in the mailroom at city hall. Her aunt had gotten her the job two weeks after she'd graduated high school and Alayna had been supremely grateful. After her mother died when she was ten, she'd moved in with her grandmother and her Aunt Jaynie, who'd never been able to have children of her own. It wasn't a dream job, but she received a paycheck every two weeks and after working the entire summer she'd saved enough to buy herself a piece of c.r.a.p used car that gave her a sense of independence and thirst to achieve.

Larry was like a superstar in her eyes. She remembered the first time she'd seen him in person. He'd been standing in the elevator, his security team draped around him like he was the president of the United States instead of Clark County mayor. She'd been too afraid to get onto the elevator, even though Larry had smiled at her and one of his men-she would later learn his name was Timothy Hall, a lying b.a.s.t.a.r.d-had beckoned her inside.

It had only taken a day or so for Timothy to walk into the mailroom and escort her out. Her heart had hammered wildly as she thought she was being reprimanded for doing something wrong, or possibly fired. Instead, he'd taken her straight to the mayor, and that's when it all began.

Alayna's cellphone chirped and she looked down at the screen. The phone had been in her hand all night long, just as she felt like she'd been standing in this window for the same endless hours. With desperation clawing at her throat, she read the message and felt the burn of tears at the words. She was coming. Victoria Lashley was coming to see her, to save her.

Her hopes of being saved having been dashed so many times before, Alayna had almost lost faith. But that would totally break her grandmother's heart. Nothing else she did could be worse than not having faith in the G.o.d Ethel Jonas had taught her to love and trust. And even though she knew she'd sinned, so bad in another time and place she would have surely been stoned to death, she could repent her sins and be forgiven. That was the small glimmer in her mind that kept her going, that sparkled right next to the memory of her daughter. Lia was her life and Alayna refused to spend more time away from her. No matter what she had to get back home. She had to start thinking about Lia and not the broken heart that would never be mended because the man she'd loved with all her being was gone. That was probably for the best. She'd had months to come to that conclusion. Months to realize that men would continue to be users and abusers if she let them.

Moving from the window, she finally headed into the bathroom and turned the rusty old faucet. She waited a few minutes, and then a few minutes more while the water warmed before she grabbed the moderately clean washcloth to cleanse her face. Her eyes were puffy from crying bouts throughout the night. And her lip was split from the fight that had pushed her over the edge.

There was a soft knock at the door. It seemed much louder as it jolted her out of her deep thoughts. Alayna sucked in a breath and said a prayer. This was it.

"She's going to call me within the hour," Grace told Ben as they stood in her living room.

Judge Ramsey was standing right beside his wife, an arm around her shoulder, his pensive dark eyes glaring at Ben. He hadn't been too pleased to open his door at seven in the morning and find Ben with Trent and Devlin standing behind him like henchmen on his doorstep. But Ben was respectful, or as respectful as he could be under these circ.u.mstances. He'd explained why he was there without going into too much detail and asked to see Grace. When Grace had come into the living room, she looked like she'd been crying and had been expecting him.

"Where did she go?" Devlin asked impatiently.

To that Grace responded with an elegant eye roll and a squaring of her shoulders. On another day, in any other circ.u.mstance, Ben would have found the complete brush off funny and would have joked with Devlin about it for days to come. But not today, not now.

"She's in a lot of danger," Ben said, the words sticking in his throat with razor-edged sharpness.

"I know everything that's going on," Grace informed him. "You should have told her that when she first got this case dumped in her lap. Then maybe she could have gotten out before it was too late."

Grace's words were cool, not filled with vehemence so much as fear. Ben respected her, and he respected her relationship with Victoria. So he only nodded, taking her words and the accusation that went with them.

"I did what I thought was right at the time. Yes, I could have done things differently but I don't really know if we would be at a different point than we are now if I had," he admitted honestly. "But I'm not about to let him hurt her. That's why I need you to tell me where she went. Now."

He hadn't raised his voice. Judge Ramsey was not going to take that well if he did. And the last thing Ben wanted was an altercation between the Judge and Devlin. That wasn't going to work out well for any of them.

"I think we should contact the police," Judge Ramsey interjected.

Ben nodded. "Detective Noah Hannity is already aware of the circ.u.mstances, Your Honor."

"And why isn't he here? If this situation is as dire as you say, and I believe it is since my wife is trying valiantly not to shake and cry in front of you, why aren't the police already out looking for Victoria?"

"Because we have information that leads us to believe there's a leak in the police department," Trent offered. "I've been looking into the disappearance of Alayna Jonas for the past couple of months and the conclusion I've come to is that someone on the inside must have tipped Vega's men off about her whereabouts. Or, in the alternative, someone on the inside is one of Vega's men."

Judge Ramsey's frown was immediate. "That's a serious allegation," he told Trent.

"One I can back up," was Trent's response.

"Then you know who the leak is?" the Judge persisted.

Trent stood with his feet spread apart, hands clasped in front of him, shoulders squared. He looked directly into Judge Ramsey's eyes when he said, "I've got a couple of leads. But Victoria's safety supersedes that. Look judge, I've been on the battlefield, I've been in covert operations and for the past few years working all sorts of cases on the streets of Las Vegas and in other states. I've seen guys like Vega in my travels. He's a walking deadly weapon and if we don't stop him soon, the death toll is just going to keep rising."

"Unless we can take him down now," Devlin added in his dour tone.

Grace's eyes had bulged as fear really gripped her. She touched a hand to her stomach and gasped. The judge immediately directed her to a seat.

"It's alright, baby. Just take a deep breath. It's going to be fine..."

From a distance, Ben just watched. There was a connection here, an intimacy that was unlike anything he'd ever seen. This was a family, or they were about to be a family, and the love between them would be apparent. This is what Ben wanted in his future. It's what he wanted with Victoria.

Crossing over to the chair where Grace was seated, practicing what he thought were most likely Lamaze breathing methods, he knelt down and took her free hand in his.

"Grace, you know me. You know how long I've been in love with Victoria. I can't let anything happen to her. Not now when we've just found each other. Please tell me where she is," he implored.

Grace blinked, one tear rolling down her cheek. She took in a deep breath and stared back at him with blurry eyes. "The address is in my phone. She got a text from Alayna Jonas and she went to meet with her."

"G.o.ddammit!" Devlin cursed.

"Not in front of my wife," the judge bellowed.