Fatal Exchange (11 page)

M
ason tapped his foot against the tiled floor while he waited for an update from the captain. Until Avery and her team were able to locate Eduardo and his mother, his only option seemed to be to wait.

He glanced across the room where Emily had knelt down next to one of the desks to talk to a student at eye level. She’d spent the past few minutes making her way from student to student, something she’d apparently been doing since the ordeal had begun. She kept her voice low and soothing as she asked them how they were coping and assured them that this was all going to be over soon.

While Rafael was still refusing to speak to him, he had seemed to accept Emily’s decision to take charge in this small way and hadn’t made any attempts to stop her. Even though she might think his presence helped to take the edge off her panic, in his opinion, she was the calming factor in this room. Even for him.

He was struggling to keep his heart from taking the lead. Although he might have had feelings toward her in the past, what he felt today was something new. But he also knew that when dealing with emotional situations, feelings quickly grew out of proportion. He’d worked enough cases over the past decade to understand the strong emotional link that was often felt by the
victim for their rescuers. And sometimes it happened the other way around. Emily was strong, yet vulnerable. He was the hero who’d come to save her. Any positive reaction he’d sensed from her had probably been just an emotional response that would disappear as quickly as it had surfaced. He wasn’t really her hero. And when all of this was over, along with the tension of the day, she’d probably walk away from the situation—and him—without ever looking back.

Because there was also the fact that the rift between him and her family—with the exception of her father—simply ran too deep.

Emily’s phone vibrated again under his leg. He pulled it into his lap, out of view from Rafael, and read the text from the captain.

Get Amie released.

Mason’s mind snapped back to the present as he reread the text. Ten minutes ago, he’d tried to approach Rafael again, but Rafael was still refusing to talk to him.

Rafael’s phone rang. Mason felt his muscles tense. The captain clearly had a plan.

Rafael spoke to the caller for a few moments, frowned, then nodded at Mason. “It’s the captain. He wants to talk . . . to both of us.”

Mason walked to the front of the room while Rafael switched his cell to speakerphone. He set the phone on the desk, then stepped back, leaving a good three feet between them.

“Mason?”

“I’m here, Captain.”

“We should have the money in about an hour. Rafael, we need to know where to send it.”

Rafael gripped his weapon tighter. “I have an account.”

“Why don’t you give the number to me now?”

Rafael shoved his hand into his front pocket, pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, then tossed it onto the desk.

Mason picked up the paper and glanced over the numbers. He didn’t know a lot about banking—any more than Rafael likely did. Which only served to add to the questions he wanted to ask the boy. Where did he get the account, and the gun? And did he really think he was going to simply walk away from here when this was over?

He read the numbers to the captain, then turned back to Rafael. “What about after the money is transferred?”

“I’ll need to check to ensure a transfer has been made to the proper bank account.”

“And then?”

“Have a car waiting for me at the back east entrance . . . keys in the ignition. A tank full of gas.” Rafael stared past him, hesitating briefly. “I’ll take Tess with me and won’t hesitate to shoot her . . . If I see anyone in the hallway, I’ll shoot her. Anyone outside the building, I’ll shoot her . . . If no one gets in my way, and no one follows me, I’ll drop her off somewhere safe.”

Rafael’s words came out like a rehearsed speech. Any lingering uncertainties over whether or not he was being manipulated began to dissolve. Someone was feeding him the information, and they had to find out who. If they were listening, anything Mason said could put Rafael’s mother’s life in danger. Which meant that for the moment, his hands were tied.

“One last question,” the captain said. “Does anyone in the room need medical attention?”

Get Amie released.

“Amie,” Mason said. “She’s still struggling to breathe. She needs to see a doctor.”

“No—”

“Mason’s right.” Emily stood up, interrupting Rafael’s objec
tions. “Please, just let her go. All of this will be over soon, but she needs to go, and her staying won’t change anything. You’ll still get your money.”

Mason hid his relief as she backed him up. Smart girl.

“We’ve been over this before.” Rafael shook his head. “She’s fine.”

“She’s not, and you know it. Just think about it, Rafael,” Mason continued. “This is all going to be over soon. The money’s almost here. Let her go.”

“What if this is a trap?”

“Do you really believe that?” Mason chose his words carefully. “My job is to keep you safe, along with the lives of everyone in this room. Let her go. The money will be ready to transfer within the hour. You’ll be safe as well. I promise.”

Rafael chewed the side of his lip. “Fine.”

The captain spoke again. “I’m sending someone to the door to escort her out of the classroom. All you have to do is unlock the door and let her walk out as soon as you hear them knock. I’ll call you back as soon as the money transfer has been finalized.”

The captain disconnected the call.

Mason looked up at Rafael. “What happens after you leave here?”

“I make sure Eduardo’s kidnappers get their money. They’ll let my brother go.”

“And your mother? What about her? She’s missing. How is she involved in all of this?”

“I don’t know.”

Rafael avoided his gaze. He knew something. Something he couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him?

“And you think this will really all be over when they get their money?”

“It has to be.”

Someone knocked at the door. Rafael nodded at Emily. “Take her to the door, unlock it, then lock it again once she’s out.”

———

Relief mixed with fear as Emily walked to the back of the room to get Amie. Relief that this was almost over. Fear because so much could still go wrong. Her heart pounded, lungs about to burst, until she realized she was holding her breath. She let out the air slowly as she forced a smile at Amie, who was wheezing again.

She wrapped her arm around Amie’s waist and started for the door. “It’s going to be okay, Amie. You’re almost out of here.”

“Wait.” Rafael signaled for Izzie to move in front of him, then settled the gun against the back of her head. He wasn’t taking any chances.

Emily tightened her arm around Amie as they approached the door.

Please, Jesus, let her get
out of here okay—

The moment she unlocked the door, they burst into the room. Someone pulled them into the hallway. Amie screamed.

They were all around her. Running. Shouting orders. Men in black with official logos on their backs and caps, weapons drawn as they swarmed the room behind her. Someone grabbed Amie and hurried her down the hall, assuring her she would be okay.

Emily pressed her back against the wall as her brain tried to register what was happening. Amie’s release had been a setup. The students began to exit the room. Faces ashen. Crying.

Her mind clicked into teacher mode. These were her students and she had to make sure each one got out of the classroom alive . . . even Rafael. The effects of the panic she was feeling would have to be dealt with later.

A uniformed officer stepped in front of her. “Miss Hunt. I need you to come with me.”

“Not yet.” She was counting them as they went by. Six . . . seven . . . Mason was still in there . . . and Rafael. “I need to make sure they all get out okay.”

“Ma’am, we will ensure they all get out—”

“Emily?” Mason exited behind the last two hostages. “Are you okay?”

She pulled away from the officer and ran into Mason’s arms. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know. The situation had to have changed, necessitating their going in there.”

“He could have shot Izzie.”

“But he didn’t.”

The reality of the situation and all the emotions that came with it flooded through her. Relief. Fear. Anger. Her stomach heaved. “Where’s Rafael?”

“The captain will bring him out.” He shoved aside a stray lock of hair that had slipped across her forehead. “All that matters right now is that the students are safe—”

A gun fired.

Emily jerked away from Mason and bolted toward the classroom. If they’d shot Rafael . . .

One of the officers lunged toward her. “Get her out of here!”

Mason grabbed her waist to hold her back.

She tried to pull away. “You promised he’d be okay.”

The captain emerged from the classroom with another officer. “Mason, take Miss Hunt to the front office to be debriefed, then I want you to report back to me immediately.”

“Who was shot? Where’s Rafael?” Emily pulled away from Mason’s grip and stopped in the middle of the hallway in front of the captain. His hands were covered with blood. “You shot him.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

She bolted for the open classroom door, but Mason’s grip on her arm stopped her. “You can’t go in there, Emily.”

“He didn’t do this on his own,” she shouted. “I told you someone was using him.”

“He lunged at my officers with his weapon,” the captain said. “I had no choice but to stop him. We tried to revive him . . . I’m sorry, Miss Hunt, but Rafael is dead.”

R
afael
is
dead
.

Emily walked away from the uniformed officer outside the front of the school, still trying to process everything that had just happened. Nothing seemed real, even after giving a detailed statement, which had forced her to replay today’s events. Instead, it was as if she were trying to wake up from a nightmare where everything had gone horribly wrong.

And no one would tell her why.

The officer had assured her that he understood she’d been through something traumatic, but that anything she could tell them would be helpful in wrapping up the case. What was her relationship with Mr. Cerda? Had he seemed upset lately? On edge? They wanted answers, and she wasn’t sure why it mattered. With Rafael dead, the hostage situation was over.

A streak of sunlight broke through the dark clouds, but did nothing to take away the early afternoon chill. Emily fumbled with the top buttons of her coat. She should be relieved. She was safe. Her students—and Tess—were all going to be okay, including Philip. She crossed the parking lot in search of her father and Tess, but all she could think about were the final moments in that classroom.

God, I didn’t want it to end this
way. There had to have been another way.

But nothing they’d done had made a difference. She’d tried talking to Rafael, begging with him to put the gun down and end it. Mason had tried to fix the problem. Tried to negotiate an end to the situation. But nothing had worked.

She’d tried to read Mason’s expression as he’d hurried her down the hallway, but whatever he’d been thinking at that moment had stayed hidden behind those piercing eyes of his.

A sick feeling spread through her as she stared at the row of ambulances along the school driveway, where medics were treating her students. Jackson had arrived to take Rafael’s body for autopsy while forensics swept her classroom, now cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape. No matter what they found, they’d never find all the answers.

She hunched over, a dozen yards from Jackson’s vehicle, hands braced against her thighs. Forgetting was impossible. The sound of the gun going off, the closed body bag when they’d wheeled Rafael past her . . .

She tried to steady her breathing. Her students were reconnecting with their parents and siblings. Did anyone care that their freedom had cost a life? To them it might be worth the loss, but not to her. Rafael might have made bad choices by not getting the help he needed, but she still believed he hadn’t gone into that classroom on his own.

And then there was Elaine Cerda. She couldn’t imagine what Rafael’s mother would feel when she discovered she’d lost not one, but two more sons. One to the cartel and the other to an early grave.

She stared down at the sidewalk, unsure of what she should do. She needed to talk to Mason. She needed him to help her understand what had happened in those last few minutes. How they’d gone from trusting in Rafael’s safety to seeing him zipped
up in a body bag. She needed someone to make sense out of what she’d witnessed. But maybe it was already too late for that. Maybe finding out the truth now really was going to prove to be impossible.

Emily straightened her back, looking for a familiar face. Security was still tight and police officers surrounded the school. She wanted to go home, but wasn’t sure she was ready to be alone. Grace would drive her home, or any of her teacher friends if she asked, but that would mean facing a barrage of questions that she didn’t have answers to. It was going to take a long time to process what just happened.

Mason stood near the school entrance, talking to the captain. She couldn’t decipher what her heart was telling her. In the classroom, he’d provided that one link of sanity and protection she’d needed when her world had spun out of control, but now she didn’t know what she felt about him. She started walking toward the parking lot again. She needed to find her niece, then get away from all of this.

“Miss Hunt?”

Emily turned around at her name and stumbled backward as a smartly dressed woman shoved a microphone in front of her face. She’d been so focused on getting away, she hadn’t even noticed the growing crowd filled with media pushing against the edges of the barricade the police had set up.

“Miss Hunt, I understand that you are to be congratulated. You’re being hailed a hero by many of the parents and staff for your bravery in a very difficult situation.”

Hero?

Emily’s mind spun at the word. She was no hero. “I . . . I’m just a teacher who did what I had to do. Anyone in my place would have done the same thing.”

“But you are the daughter of the city’s former police captain, Thomas Hunt. Isn’t that correct?”

The camera hovered in front of her. The reporter waited for her answer. All she wanted to do was bolt. “Yes, he’s my father.”

“I understand as well that the gunman was one of the students you’ve been mentoring. Tell us how you felt, knowing that your life was being threatened by someone you’d given so much to.”

Where did they dig up
all this information?

“Miss Hunt. Tell us what happened inside that classroom.”

“You’ll have to speak with one of the officers.” Emily backed away. Anything she said would be twisted on tonight’s evening news. “I . . . I don’t have anything else to say right now. I’m sorry.”

She turned and spotted Tess standing with a group of students and rushed toward her across the wet grass. Emily had arrived at school today like any other day with little more than plans for house hunting, shopping with Grace, and Christmas vacation. Now all of that seemed frivolous.

“Tess?”

The girl turned and looked at her. It wasn’t Tess. Where was she? There was no sign of her father or sister either. Just a blur of familiar faces, but no family. Her father had to be nearby . . .

“Emily?”

She turned around, ready to fight off another reporter, then let out an audible sigh. “Grace.”

Her friend gathered her up into a big hug and held on tight. “Are you okay?”

“Numb.”

“Come on, we’re going to get you out of here.” Grace grabbed Emily’s bag, then slipped her arm around her shoulder. “They’re all desperate for another angle on the story.”

“They think I’m a hero. I’m not a hero.” Emily sucked in a deep breath and tried to stop the flood of tears that was about to erupt. “Philip was shot . . . Rafael is dead . . . I couldn’t stop any of it.”

“Most people here agree you are a hero. You kept the kids calm and, according to Principal Farley, found a way to communicate with the police.”

Emily’s hands were shaking. She needed to sit down. Needed to pull herself together.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. So, so sorry this happened. I . . . I just don’t know what to say.” Grace pulled back and caught Emily’s gaze. “It must have been absolutely terrifying.”

She wasn’t all right. She was shaking and unsure of exactly what she felt. “They shot him, Grace. They didn’t have to do that. I just don’t understand why they couldn’t have waited until after the transfer was made. They could have let the students go, then arrested him . . . not kill him. Nothing makes sense.”

“I know and I’m so sorry. I know how you cared about him. As a student and young man he’d come so far, but sometimes things just don’t make sense and maybe never will. Sometimes people are thrust into situations and they make the wrong decisions. That’s what happened today. And the captain did what he had to do.”

Emily listened to Grace talk, feeling as if she were watching the scene through the eyes of a bystander. Not a key player in some shocking headliner that was about to show up on the evening news. Maybe she’d been wrong about Rafael. Maybe he’d simply found a way to manipulate her. He was smart. But she’d been so convinced he would never have done what he did on his own.

Emily pulled her coat closer. She wanted to defend him, but Grace was right. You couldn’t ever really know someone.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to relive the last few moments in the school again. Wishing there was a way to erase the past few hours from her memory.

“Mark thought it might help to bring over some sandwiches and brownies for the officers and staff,” Grace continued. “I
know the hostage situation is over, but it’s going to take awhile for them to process the crime scene and get things back to normal.”

Grace sounded like her sister. They were processing the crime scene. Her school. Her classroom. How long would it take before coming to school felt normal again? How long before she wouldn’t think about what happened when she had to walk between the desks where one of her students had been shot, and another killed? How long would she worry that another student would decide to walk into the school and start shooting?

“I’m sorry . . . normal wasn’t the right word.”

“It’s okay, Grace.” Emily searched her memory for what they’d been talking about. Normal. Crime scene. Food. “I’m sure people will appreciate some of Mark’s goodies.”

“I could get you something. You need to eat.”

Emily shook her head. She hadn’t been able to eat the pizza in the room. There was no way she’d be able to eat now.

“Then why don’t you let one of the medics check you out before you leave? They’re looking at the students, and offering counseling—”

“I’ve already talked to someone.”

“At least let us drive you home.”

“I can’t leave yet. I need to find Tess. And my father. He’s supposed to be here somewhere, and I’m sure Avery is on her way as well now that this is over.”

“I haven’t seen Tess. Didn’t she come out with you?”

“Yes, but then the police needed a statement, so I’m not sure where she is.”

Emily heard the panic in her voice and tried to shake it. She scanned the edges of the school grounds again, trying to find her niece. Tess was safe. She had nothing more to worry about.

“I did see your dad a few minutes ago,” Grace said. “Maybe she found him.”

“There she is.”

Emily let out a sharp sigh of relief and felt some of the tension in her neck release as she hurried across the sidewalk to where Tess was standing.

“Tess.” She gathered her niece into a bear hug. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Are you okay?”

“Aunt Emily.” Her face was red, and she’d been crying. “Someone told me to wait here for Grandpa. That he was coming to take me home.”

“Good. And I’m sure your mother will be here soon as well.”

“They told me Rafael was shot. He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Emily nodded.

“I’ve never known anyone who died like that except for Uncle Michael, but even then I wasn’t right there. I can still hear the shot.”

“They were just trying to keep you safe.”

“I know.” Tess’s breath caught. “Grandpa.”

Emily let her father gather them both into his arms. It didn’t matter how old she was. Having him here made her want to disappear into his embrace forever.

“Emily . . . Tess.”

“Have you heard from my mom?”

“Yes. She . . .” Her father hesitated.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“I just got a call from Carlos.” He tightened his grip on them. “She’s going to be okay, but she was injured during the raid to find Rafael’s brother.”

“Injured?” Emily felt the now familiar waves of panic sweep through her. “What happened?”

“They were able to track down Eduardo at a funeral home a few miles from here. While they were leaving, two men showed up and opened gunfire on the officers.”

“But she’s okay?”

Her father nodded. “Carlos said the bullet caused a deep graze across her thigh, so while she lost a lot of blood and is going to need to be patched up a bit, it didn’t penetrate deep and thankfully didn’t hit anything vital. They took her to the hospital, but knowing your mother, she’ll be out before things are even wrapped up here. Eduardo was also shot, but I don’t know his condition.”

“So can we go see her?” Tess asked.

“You bet. We’ll pick up your grandma, then go see your mom. Do you need a ride, Emily?”

“No, I’ll drive my own car, but I’ll be right behind you.”

Her father didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”

She nodded and forced a smile. “I’m sure.”

Grace rested her hand on Emily’s arm as her father and Tess walked off. “I really think you should let someone drive you.”

She looked up to where she’d last seen Mason. He might not have all the answers, but at least it was a place to start. “I appreciate the offer, but there’s someone I need to talk to before I leave.”

Mason held the two steaming cups of coffee he’d snagged from the teachers’ lounge and headed down the sidewalk to where he’d just seen Emily making her way toward the entrance of the school. He’d been surprised at the amount of relief he felt knowing she was safe. He wasn’t sure what her reaction would be toward him. He’d promised to protect her, but he’d also promised to help protect Rafael.

As frustrated as he was with the way things had ended, that wasn’t the only reason he needed to see her. Something had happened over the course of the past few hours that had managed to ignite a fire inside him toward Emily Hunt. Which was why he wanted . . . needed . . . to see her again, even if it were nothing more than to make sure she was okay.