Page 88 of Bound By A Promise

But they’d want to get her away.

I had an idea. “We need to send soldiers to all the private airports,” I said to Armando. “Get a call out. I don’t want one plane leaving Kansas City or surrounding areas without an inspection. Make it work.”

Catalina came from the SUV. “Here’s her purse and phone.”

Lifting the small purse to my nose, I closed my eyes and inhaled her cinnamon scent. Swallowing back the bile rising in my throat, I opened her purse and pulled out her phone. “I don’t even know her passcode.”

“Let me see it,” Catalina said, reaching out her hand.

I handed her the phone.

Catalina entered four numbers, bringing the phone to life. She handed it back to me with a grin. “When Camila was young, she found a cat and named her Bell. Papá wouldn’t allow us to have pets, so she kept Bell in the pool house for over a month before the cat was discovered.”

“Bell?”

“2-3-5-5, on the keypad.”

“What happened to Bell?” I asked.

“Papá had his men take her away. We told Camila she ran away.”

“Was she ever told the truth?”

Catalina shrugged. “I haven’t thought about that story in years. I just know it’s Camila’s go-to passcode.”

“I’m going to tell her the fucking truth and take her to the pound. She can have fifty cats if she wants. I don’t give a damn. Our father wasn’t fond of animals either. You all can start with kids. We’ll start with cats.”

Tears came to Catalina’s eyes. “You’ll find my sister.”

“I will.” I opened her text messages. My nose scrunched and I passed the phone back to Catalina. “What does this say?”

She read aloud, translating the Spanish to English.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

Camila

My stomach cramped as my world grew into consciousness. Slowly, the world around me infiltrated the inky fog surrounding my brain. I was moving, not me physically, my body was moving. I was in a vehicle.

When I tried to move, something sharp bit into my wrists as the putrid odor of smoke and perspiration filled my senses. My ankles too were restrained.

The sound of my heart thumped in my ears as I worked to control my breathing.

Wherever I was, I wasn’t alone.

A quick blink of my eyes gave me a snapshot of my surroundings. I was still wearing the same capri pants and blouse I’d worn to the museum.

The museum.

I’d been eating lunch with my family.

Gritting my teeth, I recalled the stinging sensation in my neck.

The terror built around me, consuming me with the reality that I’d been kidnapped. Someone had taken me away from Dante.

I heard a man’s voice speaking Spanish.