Love or Justice Read online

  “Did you send someone to my home?” Albert stood stock still.

  “I did.” Kaimi nodded.

  “Have you hurt my wife or anyone in my home?” Albert’s eyes turned to stone.

  “I have a man in the area. If you allow me to leave here tonight, then I will call him before I go. It’s not too late.” Kaimi eyes held a malicious twinkle.

  Albert paused for a few minutes.

  Dante’s heart beat in his throat. He swallowed hard to keep it inside of him. He felt lightheaded, sickly even. Then he saw his father close the few steps between himself and Kaimi.

  Albert bent over, pushing his face so close to Kaimi they were nose to nose.

  “I don’t negotiate with criminals.” Albert took a step back.

  Kaimi sneered in response.

  “I’ll call the local PD.” Albert turned to go up the stairs.

  “But Dad, Laurie, Mom and—” Dante began.

  “Are in danger, and we need to leave as soon as possible.” His father spoke over his shoulder. “It’s time to go home, son.”

  Dante stared in disbelief for a moment, but then he began gathering their things together like his life depended on it. He had to get home. Dante unhooked the safe room door, leaving Cheyn’s body in plain view.

  Bob took the camera down from the wall, while Albert collected the laptop that the camera transmitted to from the bedroom upstairs. He grabbed the remainder of their belongings, tossing them over the banister as Dante and Bob waited below.

  Bob then broke into their first aid supplies and he refused to go anywhere unless he dressed Dante’s wound. Dante tapped his fingers, as his uncle staunched the bleeding, sterilized the wound, and bandaged him. Then his father helped pull him to his feet. They all lifted their packs onto their backs, and strode toward the door.

  “Mr. Quamboa, it has been a pleasure, but we have to be going.” Albert gave Kaimi a smug salute.

  “You will never make it in time.” Kaimi’s satisfied smile made Dante fume.

  “If your man did anything—” Dante started to say as he took a step toward Kaimi. His father grabbed his shoulder.

  “We don’t have time. We leave now, before the cops detain us further.” Albert’s expression was stern.

  Dante let out an infuriated breath, then turned away from Kaimi’s haughty smile, opening the sliding door. He stalked out of the house, toward the tree line. He made it there in record time. The throbbing in his leg only propelled him further, leaving his father and uncle breathlessly trying to catch up to him.

  “Wait, Dante! Wait. We have to be sure the police take him.” Bob waved him down.

  Dante turned. He was desperate to get to the plane, but he could already hear the sirens.

  “Dad—your phone. Try to call the house.” Dante gestured to his father with his chin.

  Albert nodded, gasping to catch his breath. Fumbling, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he turned to watch the police approach.

  They watched from the safety of the trees as the police charged into the safe house, from front and back. Dante watched with a small sense of satisfaction as the local PD untied Kaimi from the chair, leading him from the house.

  “Can we go now? They have him.” Dante turned on his heel.

  “Yes, yes. Let’s go.” Albert waved him up the path to the rental car.

  “Anything?” Dante asked over his shoulder.

  Albert shook his head as he tried to re-dial.

  “Keeps going to the machine. I’ll keep leaving messages.” He huffed as they began climbing up.

  Dante trudged up the hill with as much haste as his leg and stamina would allow him. They hiked up the short trail, which led to the road above. Parked along the side of the road was their rental car, masquerading as another piece of junk car that had broken down. They piled in, and Dante drove it to the airstrip like he was on the Honolulu freeway instead of a small side road.

  They pulled into the airfield parking lot, left the keys in the ignition, and sprinted to the plane. Bob went straight into the cockpit to request an immediate departure. Given that the skies were empty, ground control cleared them for departure. They taxied and took off, bound for Nebraska.

  ***

  Laurie

  “I just have this feeling, this awful feeling.” Laurie took a shirt from the laundry pile and began to fold it into neat little creases.

  “Honey, it’s natural to be a little anxious. You’re a bundle of nerves and hormones now.” Emma smiled indulgently.

  “No. I mean really.” Laurie huffed.

  “Well, of course you have an awful feeling. You’ve been on the run for a long time. Now you’re in a delicate condition and Dante’s not even here—of course you have an awful feeling.” Gabriella smiled sweetly as she folded a shirt.

  Laurie shook her head, sighing. They just weren’t listening to her. She couldn’t get either one of them to stop grinning and cooing at her since she found out she was pregnant. It would be infuriating, if they weren’t so happy for her. Meanwhile, Laurie just couldn’t shake a dreadful feeling of foreboding. It had crept up on her several days ago. It just wouldn’t let go.

  Laurie gave up, sitting back on the pillows strewn across Gabriella’s bed. They were folding laundry, now that the boys were asleep in Emma’s room. Emma had started insisting that she take up residence on the couch downstairs so the boys could have a “proper place to sleep.” Laurie knew it had been a long day, and maybe she was just over-tired. Perhaps Gabriella’s interpretation was not quite so far-fetched.

  “What should we start the boys on tomorrow?” Emma fluffed out a pillowcase. “Should we start with math or social studies?”

  “Social studies.” Gabriella hated math and tried to put it off until the very end of the day.

  “Why not English?” Laurie shrugged. “I can try to teach in the morning.”

  “No, no, no.” Emma tisked. “You should still rest in the morning. Don’t want to overdo it.”

  Laurie sighed, rolling her eyes.

  “I think I can handle it.” Laurie let her impatience show as she gazed back at Emma.

  They all heard something drop on the floor in the room below them. They stopped where they were. Laurie’s breath caught in her lungs. They listened to the silence for several long, tense minutes before they spoke in half-whispers.

  “Did you hear that?” Laurie tensed.

  “Probably just the boys.” Gabriella gave a nervous shake of her head. “Maybe they got out of bed?”

  There were more muffled sounds and scrapings beneath them.

  “Turn out the light,” Emma commanded in a whisper.

  Gabriella got up, shutting off the light in her room.

  “Maybe it’s the men?” Laurie strained to listen.

  “You would never hear my husband coming. Get in the closet.” Emma shoved Laurie in Gabriella’s closet.

  Laurie peeked out from the closet door. Gabriella handed Emma a gun from the drawer inside her dresser, taking another gun for herself. They took up stations behind the open door.

  Laurie could hear more commotion from downstairs. There was a long wait after that, as she imagined the intruders going from room to room downstairs, looking for her. Her blood roared in her ears and she was breathless. Without even thinking about it, she placed a protective hand over her unborn child. She wished she at least had a gun to defend herself with. She felt around in the closet, but came up with only a broken coat hanger. Laurie wished Gabriella had a broken lamp in here. She cursed the universe for making her go through this again.

  Armed with her tangled weapon, she felt footsteps begin to make their way up the stairs. Gabriella and Emma tensed. Laurie steadied herself. She felt calm, ready, even as adrenaline flushed her face and neck. Laurie didn’t care what came through that door—it was not going to kill her. She was going to do everything in her power to protect herself and her baby. She was going to fight like mad.

  As the two intruders entered th
e room, she prayed for everyone she loved: Dante, Gabriella, Emma, Bob, even Albert, and most of all, the unborn child she carried. Then the room erupted into gunfire and strangled cries.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-ONE

  Dante

  Dante hurled himself through the door of the plane into the cold Nebraska morning. His leg throbbed like mad. The frigid air wasn’t much of a distraction from it. Bob had flown them all night, only stopping to refuel once. Albert and Dante didn’t sleep at all. They twisted and turned in their seats for hours, waiting to land.

  “I know he was lying,” Albert had said to Dante somewhere over California. “No one has the faintest idea where we live. Kaimi wouldn’t even know where to start.”

  Albert still fidgeted in his seat, to the point that Dante was ready to tie him to it. Dante held himself in check, knowing he was worried and exhausted. Instead, he passed the dreadful hours with dull tasks, redressing his wound, checking his gear. It all kept him sane long enough to make it to their final descent.

  The three men jogged into the small airport. The same teenager sat at the counter as before. Albert told him what truck he owned, and the boy charged them a large sum for their parking. Albert paid without hesitation. Then they picked up their bags, racing to the door. They piled into the cold truck. The leather and plastic interior felt like ice. Albert didn’t wait for the engine to warm up, instead, he peeled out of the parking lot onto the road.

  Snow had fallen, dusting the broken corn stalks of the landscape with a crisp, white shield. It blurred in Dante’s tired eyes as he stared out into the distance. He drummed his fingers on the pack settled in his lap. He ran his hand through his hair several times. The drive took much longer than he remembered, and with every passing minute, the nightmares in his head grew stronger, more insistent.

  It wasn’t quite an hour before Dante spotted the farmhouse in the distance. Albert raced the truck the last half-mile up the road and down the driveway, bouncing on the pitted holes as they went. They pulled up to a quiet house. Nothing stirred or rippled at the windows as they pulled in.

  “Let’s just be careful here. Be ready for anything.” Albert turned around, looking at Dante. “We go in like it’s hostile.”

  “Well, with Emma in there, for you it is hostile.” Bob took his gun in hand.

  Albert glowered at him.

  “Oh, I was just lightening the mood. Why does the CIA have to be so damn serious all the time?” Bob rolled his eyes.

  Dante half-smiled in spite of the tingling sensation at the nape of his neck. He didn’t like the fact that no one greeted them; he had had a fantasy in his head of Laurie running out to the truck so he could breathe a sigh of relief and sweep her off her feet. That dream crumbled under the weight of each passing minute.

  The men slid out of the truck, leaving the doors open. They approached each vehicle, checking for occupants before moving onto the house. When they reached the front door, Dante choked on the frigid air when he saw the slit in the screen, and the scratches along the doorframe. Albert saw it too, his eyes narrowing. They positioned themselves beside the door. Dante reached over, turning the knob.

  Albert barreled into the house; Bob and Dante followed. All was quiet. No one was downstairs. They moved from room to room. The house was a mess. The boys had left homework and video games out; the kitchen had dishes piled in the sink. No one was there. Then they moved up the stairs. Dante saw the bullet holes in Gabriella’s open door, and he froze. He swallowed hard, as Albert, seeing the damage, moved passed him, into Gabriella’s room.

  There were more bullet holes, laundry was everywhere, and a large pool of blood was on the floor of the bedroom. Someone had smeared the blood out into the hallway, where the trail disappeared altogether going down the stairs. Dante clenched his jaw, trying to hold onto his sanity. He would not breakdown until he knew where Laurie was and what had happened. Nobody, no person was in the room to tell them more. So they continued into Laurie’s and Emma’s bedrooms. There was no one there either. Something had happened, and then they had all just disappeared.

  “The barn,” Albert ordered.

  Bob and Dante nodded. They avoided each other’s gaze as they moved down the stairs, staring at the banister or their gun. They didn’t want to see their own waning hope reflected back at them.

  They moved out of the kitchen door into the sun, then jogged across the snow-coated grass, running to their last hope. They moved up alongside the barn door. Albert reached over and opened it.

  Dante charged inside. He heard the surprised screams of the boys, before something hit the back of his head. He dropped to his knees, his ears ringing.

  “Dante?” came a breathless voice. The voice rang crystal clear in his head; Laurie was alive.

  “Laurie!” he exclaimed, turning. His vision blurred, and the pain escalated. The world swam before his eyes, but the joy bursting in his chest made him reach for her.

  “Oh, God! Oh, thank God it’s you!” Laurie threw down the rake she used as a weapon.

  Dizzy and disoriented, Dante lunged for Laurie as best he could. He nearly knocked them both off balance, before he caught himself. He leaned into the wall, with his love wrapped in his arms. Against his will, the tears that had been burning the back of his throat all morning filled his eyes. She was alive. She was alive, they were together again, and that was all he cared about.

  “Thank God you’re alive,” he said repeatedly as she cried into his shoulder. He kissed her, holding her tighter until she told him she couldn’t breathe. He laughed and loosened his hold just a little bit. Then he kissed her again, sweeping his tongue into her mouth, desperate to taste her.

  “Laurie, where are Emma and Gabriella?” Albert demanded through their haze. He shouted the question at them, since they ignored him for the past three times he asked.

  Dante broke off the kiss with a soft groan of dismay. His eyes focused on his father’s face. Albert looked drawn and pale in the morning light.

  “Oh, um.” Laurie turned her head to look at him. “Something happened last night and they had to take care of it. They should be back soon.”

  “What happened?” Bob took a step forward.

  Laurie looked at the boys, who were now clinging to their father.

  “You were attacked?” Albert lifted his hands in frustration. “What happened to the men who attacked you? Where did they go?”

  Laurie looked unsure for a moment. Then she gestured to the rack of yard tools beside her, which had an empty space where two shovels should rest.

  “They wanted me to bring the boys out here to wait while they…” Laurie waved her hand in a circle. “Emma and Gabriella left a long time ago. They should be back soon.”

  Albert looked at the rack for a moment, then visibly relaxed. Bob hugged the boys tighter, his worst fears relieved.

  “I’ll wait at the door, so they know we’re back. I’m sure my wife will have some choice words for me that shouldn’t be said in front of the boys anyway.” Albert headed for the door.

  Laurie and Dante smiled. Dante brushed her hair back from her temple. Then he kissed her, tasting her lips in a gentle caress. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her eyelids. He pulled her closer, until her body pressed against the length of his.

  “God, I’m so glad you’re all right. When we saw the blood, I thought…” Dante began his sentence, but he just couldn’t finish it. He buried his face in her neck instead.

  “Why did you leave?” Laurie gripped his jacket. “Why did you have to leave like that?”

  “I had to protect you. He wasn’t going to stop searching for you until they caught him.” He squeezed her as he murmured against her neck.

  Laurie leaned back, cupping Dante’s face in her hands.

  “You should have told me.” Pain flickered in her eyes. “Why didn’t you trust me?”

  Dante winced, looking away.

  “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I just thought you’d try to stop
me, or that you’d demand to go with me, and I just couldn’t let either of those things happen. I needed to protect you.” Dante ran his hands over her hair.

  She stared up at him, looking hurt and angry.

  “I’m sorry.” He rested his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t ever do that again. I worried the whole time, not knowing when I’d see you again. I can’t handle that.” Her voiced cracked with emotion. He nodded against her head in a nuzzling caress.

  “I promise,” he told her. “I won’t leave you like that ever again.”

  Laurie breathed in for a moment, and she stopped shivering. She pressed her cheek to his chest.

  “Did you find him? Do you know where Kaimi is now?” She nuzzled him.

  “Yes, we got him. You’re safe now.” Dante let out a sigh of relief.

  Gabriella burst through the barn door. Disheveled, with dirt covering most of her clothes, she ran to her husband, throwing her arms around him. From outside, Dante could hear his mother yelling at his father.

  “Albert, how dare you! How dare you just up and leave in the middle of the night!” Emma yelled.

  “Now, just wait a minute. Just wait a minute—” Albert defended.

  “No, you listen to me! You’re not in the CIA anymore. You’re retired—” Emma hissed.

  “I know I’m retired. I—” Albert interjected.

  “Do you? Do you? Because I don’t think, retired men get up in the middle of the night to go hunt down a mob boss. In fact, I think that’s the one thing retired men don’t do!” Emma yelled.

  “Our son needed my help. Laurie needed my help. Kaimi wasn’t going to stop looking for her,” Albert argued.

  “You put me, Laurie, Gabriella, and the boys all in harm’s way!” Emma huffed.

  “I knew you could handle it, and you did. You did just fine without me,” Albert pointed out.

  “No, I didn’t. I was staring down the barrel of a gun. If Laurie hadn’t choked him with a coat hanger, I would be dead right now!” Emma screamed at the top of her lungs.