Page 46 of Not Our Daughter

Cole was shocked to hear mention of Sayulita. How did he know? Where would they go now? There was no backup plan. He felt a measure of despair press in on him he hadn’t felt in a long time. But there was no way he was going to put the gun down. Not with Lisa and Jade still out there on their own. Not with the stocky guy still a threat to all of them.

“Take off your jacket,” Cole instructed.

Burns slowly took off his FBI jacket.

“Toss it here.”

Burns did as told. Cole quickly slipped it on.

“Start walking,” Cole said, gun aimed.

Cole quickly guided him over toward the front of the warehouse and began looking around at various tools and supplies stacked up on a small table against the wall. He spotted black duct tape and grabbed it.

“Turn around and put your hands behind your back,” Cole ordered.

When Burns did, Cole pulled off the end of the duct tape with his teeth. While keeping the gun ready in one hand, he quickly wrapped the agent’s wrists together like makeshift handcuffs. He then told Burns to sit down. Once the agent was sitting on the concrete floor, Cole wrapped his ankles so he couldn’t stand. It was the best he could think of in the moment to immobilize the agent.

“Listen to me, Cole,” Burns said. “This isn’t smart. Think about Jade.”

“Are you kidding me?” Cole hissed. The agent had no idea what he was saying. The sacrifices they’d made. The lengths they’d gone to. “Jade’s all I’m thinking about. She’s all I’ve ever thought about from the moment we left Austin.”

“You keep running, she’s going to get hurt. And that will be on you.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed. “You have a daughter, don’t you? A teenager?”

The agent seemed surprised to hear that. “Yes. Why?”

“What would you do to protect her from danger?”

Burns took a moment, then said, “Whatever necessary.”

“You’re damn right.”

Cole then put a final strip of duct tape over the man’s mouth. Returning to the double doors, he peeked out and cursed. As expected, he spotted several police officers scrambling around the department store. Cole noticed someone’s black ball cap sitting on a shelf right next to the double doors, grabbed it, and pulled it low on his forehead to hide his appearance as much as possible. He said a quick prayer and then stepped out into the chaos. He tried to move with a calm purpose,keeping his face as steady as possible, like he was an FBI agent on the job. He even held the gun out in front of him like an FBI agent would, although his fingers were clearly trembling. Two cops rushed straight toward him, their guns drawn, sending a chill up his spine. Would they immediately recognize him even while wearing the ball cap and the FBI jacket? Cole took a quick breath and willed himself not to panic. He spoke before they could speak to him. He was the FBI. He was in charge.

“Any sign of them?” Cole said, his brow stern, his voice firm.

“No, sir,” answered one of the officers.

“What about you?” asked the other officer.

“Me neither. I’ve searched this entire side of the store. There’s no one here. I don’t think they came this way. We should head back inside the mall. Let’s go!”

Both officers thankfully spun around and raced back toward the front of the store. But Cole didn’t follow. He instead turned and rushed to another back exit from the department store. Before stepping outside, he dumped the FBI jacket and the gun into a trash can. He then pushed through the door and sprinted into the parking lot. The rain was coming down hard again. Small crowds of people had huddled in spots around various rows of cars. But thankfully no police. Cole quickly made his way into the crowds, just another shopper running for safety, but kept moving until he was clear of the mall property.

Thirty-Four

Cole immediately called Lisa. They were safe and waiting for him more than ten blocks away. He caught up with them hiding in an alley between two old office buildings. He was completely drenched when he finally arrived—both from his own sweat and the steady downpouring of rain. His girls were sitting with their backs pressed up against a dingy metal dumpster and holding up a soaked cardboard box lid over them. For a moment, the dire reality of their situation hit him. Because they’d lost the van, they had no change of clothes, no dry shoes, no toiletries, no food, and no money—other than a couple hundred dollars in cash he still had in his front right pocket. They basically had nothing except the extra set of fake IDs he’d stuck in the back pocket of his jeans. However, they were alive and free. They would figure the rest out. They always did. His girls both jumped up and began hugging him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Lisa said, burying her face in his chest.

“Me too,” Jade said, hugging him from the side.

“I’m fine. I’m glad you’re both okay, too.”

It felt surreal that he’d survived the scary encounter in the department store warehouse. But he was still jittery. Especially after what Burns had told him about Sayulita. That was something they would have to talk about. They needed a new plan. He ushered them bothback under the cardboard lid, to keep from getting further soaked, and they sat together on the wet pavement next to the dumpster.

“Dad, I know the truth now,” Jade said.

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