Read Silence in the Dark for Free Online

to Angel. “Let’s go back to the restaurant.”
    “What’s going on?”
    “Maybe Solana is ready to talk to me.” In less than five minutes, Danny rounded the corner to the restaurant and continued around to the back alley. At the door he knocked, and a beefy Mexican opened it. “I’m looking for Solana,” Danny said.
    The big man nodded and stepped out of the way.
    “Thank you, Juan.” The slight waitress limped toward him. She held a small black bag in her hand. “Your friend may need this when you find her. I heard the man say it contains medicine for the little one.”
    Angel snatched the bag and rifled through it. When he pulled out a medicine bottle, his face paled. “Depakote? Maria has seizures?” He grabbed Solana’s shoulders. “Do you know where they went?”
    The beefy Mexican grabbed Angel’s wrist in a vise until he released Solana. “Do not touch her,” he spat in Spanish.
    “Siento.” Angel stepped back, his hands held up. He glanced at Danny. “We must find them, now.”
    “Depakote is used for illnesses other than seizures.” Danny slid his phone from his pocket. “But now maybe you’ll think calling Bailey is a good idea?”
    Angel gave him a sour nod, and Danny found the number she’d put in his phone. It rang twice, then went to a message that the number did not work. Oh great. She’d given him a false number.
    “I took them to the store around the corner.”
    They both turned to stare at Juan.
    “They could not stay here. La Calatrava will return when they don’t find her. But she didn’t stay there. I saw her leave. Just the two of them.”
    Danny raked his hands through his hair. Bailey and the child could be anywhere. The cartel might even have her by now. “Wait.I should have thought of this earlier. Bailey and Maria were flying to the States today. Maybe she’ll try to make it to the airport.”
    “Do you know which flight?”
    “No, but I know someone who can find out. I’ll call her on the way to the airport.”

4
    S tay here until I know the Calatrava are gone, and then I’ll be back for you,” Juan had said as he led them into a small grocery. “And whatever you do, stay away from the police!”
    Then he’d been out the door, leaving Bailey and Maria on their own. She had at least discovered the names of their protectors once they were out of the cellar. Juan and Solana. And that their pursuers belonged to the Calatrava gang, a small-time Chihuahua drug cartel that had grown in power over the last year.
    Her heart pounded in her chest as she glanced around the store filled with noonday shoppers. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked Maria.
    The child shook her head. “My tummy hurts.”
    Bailey knew how she felt. Her stomach ached just from thinking about Joel. If it was the Calatrava, they probably had already killed him, and she and Maria might as well be dead if they stayed in Mexico. And Danny. What if he had been caught in the gunfire? Her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t swallow.
    Her mouth got even dryer when the door opened and a stocky Mexican entered, glancing first one way then another. She ducked behind a display of canned peaches and searched for an exit.
    “Miss Bailey—”
    “Shh.” She placed her finger to Maria’s lips.
    When the man walked in the opposite direction, she pulled Maria toward a side door. Once on the sidewalk, she scooped Maria up in her arms and hurried away from the store.
    Bailey’s mind reeled as they walked the sidewalk. As a gringa with a Mexican child, she stood out. And she didn’t know this part of town that well. Where could she go if she couldn’t trust the police?
    Her familiarity with Chihuahua was limited to the areas around the school and Joel’s house. The cartel might even know she was a teacher and where. The problems swept over her like a tsunami.
    She had to find somewhere to think. A children’s clothing store caught her eye, and she pulled Maria into the small shop. Mindlessly she