Chapter 5 - THE ROUTE THAT BETRAYED HIM
At seven the next morning, Adrian began lying to men he had trusted for years.
To Marcus Vale, he sent Route A.
To Sam Russo, he sent Route B.
To his cousin Daniel Moretti, he sent Route C.
Each message said the same thing.
Taking Claire and the girl south. Keep this between us.
Then Adrian did not take any of them.
He moved Claire and Maya north through farm roads in an old pickup borrowed from Claire’s neighbor.
Marcus’s two trusted security men followed from a distance.
At ten twelve, Route A remained quiet.
At ten forty-three, Route C remained quiet.
At eleven seven, Marcus called.
“I’ve got something.”
Adrian’s grip tightened on the phone.
“What?”
“Black Escalade, temporary rear tag, parked near Route B outside Stanfordville.”
Claire heard.
Her face changed.
Adrian asked one question.
“Who had Route B?”
He already knew.
Marcus was silent.
Then quietly, “Sam.”
For a moment, Adrian saw twenty-five years.
Sam stealing cigars from Adrian’s father’s study when they were thirteen.
Sam standing beside him at his mother’s funeral.
Sam dragging Adrian behind a concrete barrier during a warehouse shooting when they were twenty-six.
Sam pouring whiskey the night Adrian buried his father.
Sam saying, We’ll find who did this.
All those years.
All that trust.
Route B.
“Get me proof.”
“Already working on it.”
Adrian ended the call.
Claire looked through the windshield.
“You look sick.”
“I’ve known him since I was twelve.”
“Sam?”
“Yes.”
“He was the one you were going to call the first day.”
Adrian looked at her.
“How did you know?”
“You typed his name. I saw.”
He almost laughed.
Of course she had.
Claire noticed everything.
“Maybe there’s an explanation.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“No.”
They reached an abandoned orchard house Marcus had arranged through someone outside the Moretti circle.
Maya ran through the grass chasing grasshoppers.
Adrian watched from the porch.
“Tell her,” Claire said.
He looked over.
“Tell her what?”
“That you’re her father.”
His chest tightened.
“You’re ready?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because somebody is throwing rocks through windows and following us. If this goes wrong, I don’t want her finding out from a stranger.”
Adrian looked at Maya.
“What if she hates me?”
Claire actually smiled.
“That’s your concern?”
“Yes.”
“She met you three days ago.”
“Exactly.”
“She already likes you.”
“That might change when she learns I missed six years.”
Claire’s expression softened.
“You didn’t choose to.”
“I still missed them.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Adrian sat on the porch steps.
Maya eventually wandered over carrying a ladybug on one finger.
“Look.”
Adrian held out his hand.
The ladybug crawled onto his knuckle.
Maya sat beside him.
Claire remained behind them.
Adrian had negotiated with killers.
Politicians.
Federal prosecutors.
Men who considered murder a business expense.
Nothing had ever frightened him like this.
“Maya?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I tell you something important?”
She nodded.
“You know how you asked whether I had kids?”
“Yes.”
“I gave you the wrong answer.”
Maya frowned.
Adrian’s throat tightened.
“I didn’t know I had a child.”
Her eyes grew wide.
“How can you not know?”
“Someone kept it from me.”
“Who?”
“We’re still figuring that out.”
She looked at Claire.
Then back.
Adrian forced himself to continue.
“You’re my daughter.”
Silence.
Maya stared.
Adrian waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Finally she said, “Like my real dad?”
“Yes.”
“But Mom said my dad didn’t know about me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You’re Adrian Moretti.”
“Yes.”
“So I’m Maya Moretti?”
Claire stepped forward.
“You are Maya Bennett. Your name doesn’t have to change.”
Maya considered everything with the grave seriousness children reserved for life-changing information and snack choices.
Then she asked Adrian, “Do you know how to braid hair?”
He blinked.
“No.”
“Do you know how to make pancakes?”
“Probably.”
Claire snorted.
Adrian ignored her.
Maya continued.
“Do you like dogs?”
“Yes.”
“Roller coasters?”
“Not particularly.”
Her face fell.
“But I’m willing to reconsider.”
That seemed to help.
Then Maya asked softly, “Did you not want me?”
Adrian’s heart cracked.
He turned completely toward her.
“No.”
Maya’s mouth trembled.
“No?”
“I mean no, that is not why I wasn’t here.”
He took her small hands.
“If I had known about you, there is nothing in this world that could have kept me away.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
She studied his face.
Then moved suddenly.
Her arms wrapped around his neck.
Adrian froze.
Claire covered her mouth.
Maya whispered, “Okay.”
That single word nearly destroyed him.
Adrian held his daughter carefully.
Like something priceless.
Like something he had already lost once without knowing it.
His phone rang.
Marcus.
Adrian answered.
“Talk.”
“We found the SUV.”
“Where?”
“Abandoned barn near Route B. Empty.”
“Prints?”
“Working on it. But there’s something else.”
“What?”
“A tracking device.”
Adrian looked at Claire.
“On what?”
“Your sedan.”
His blood chilled.
“Factory?”
“No. Aftermarket. Professional. Hidden behind the rear wheel well.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s near the cooling line.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
She stood.
“Your water pump.”
“It failed.”
“Maybe.”
She was already moving toward the truck.
“Maya, stay with Adrian.”
Claire opened a toolbox.
“What are you thinking?”
“If somebody installed a tracker near the wheel well, they had access to the underside of your car.”
“And?”
“And water pumps fail, Adrian. But coolant hoses can be weakened.”
His face hardened.
Claire pulled out her flashlight.
“If yours was cut almost through, heat and pressure would finish the job after a few hours.”
Adrian understood.
“The breakdown wasn’t accidental.”
“Maybe not.”
Marcus heard through the phone.
“Boss?”
Adrian’s voice became quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
“Who serviced my sedan last?”
“I’ll check.”
“And who knew I had taken it?”
Another silence.
Then Marcus said, “Sam.”
Claire and Adrian looked at each other.
Seven years ago, someone had betrayed his father’s route.
Seven years ago, someone had buried Claire’s letters.
Three days ago, Adrian’s car had been sabotaged on a road less than a mile from her home.
That coincidence suddenly looked impossible.
His phone buzzed with an incoming message.
Unknown number.
Adrian opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Taken through a long lens.
Maya hugging him on the porch moments earlier.
Below it:
YOU FOUND WHAT WE TOOK FROM YOU.
NOW WE TAKE IT AGAIN.
Adrian stood so fast the ladybug flew from his hand.
Claire saw the message.
“No.”
He turned toward Marcus’s men.
“Lock this property down.”
Maya looked frightened.
“What happened?”
Adrian crossed to her.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Claire gave him a look.
Maya did too.
Adrian sighed.
“Apparently you both hate that answer.”
“Yes,” they said together.
Despite everything, he nearly smiled.
Then an engine sounded beyond the orchard.
Not one vehicle.
Several.
Marcus’s voice came sharply through the phone.
“Adrian, get them inside.”
“Why?”
“I just traced the SUV registration.”
“To whom?”
Marcus swore.
May you like
Then said the name Adrian had prayed he would never hear in this conversation.
“Samuel Russo.”
