Secret Obsession (Carder Texas Connections #6)(53)

“He’s electrocuting her,” Elijah shouted.

Seconds later, Mary’s body sagged in the chair, her body charred.

Lyssa couldn’t stop the sobs.

Archimedes chuckled. He panned the camera to Jocelyn. Her daughter was screaming, terrified.

“Please,” she whispered into the phone.

The camera moved up. A symbol hung on the wall. Noah quickly copied the strangely shaped v.

“The time for running is over, Alessandra. Decipher my message if you want to live. Be at the rendezvous point in two hours with the answer and come alone.” He smiled. “I hope you can decipher the clues, Alessandra.

“If you don’t, your daughter will die.”





Chapter Twelve

Noah propped Lyssa up and held her in his arms. Her desperation palpable, she clutched at him. “What does it mean?”

“The last symbol is Urdu,” Noah said. “The number seven.”

“Three—eight—four—nine—seven? We only have two hours.”

He turned her to face him. “Look at me,” he said softly. “Two hours isn’t that long, so we know he’s nearby. We’ll figure it out.

“Hand me the laptop,” Noah ordered Elijah. He entered the number into a search engine and scanned the list. “What has a five-digit number?”

Lyssa took a slow deep breath. “Addresses, phone numbers, zip code. She scribbled the number, placing dashes between the numbers, then slashes. “A date?” She scribbled. “The three could be March.” She shook her head. “No, that doesn’t work. 3/84/97.”

“Wait a minute.” Noah pulled up a spreadsheet. He entered the number then changed the format. “May 5, 2004?”

“Where’d you come up with that?” Elijah asked.

“It’s how the spreadsheet tracks dates. The number of days from January 1, 1900.” Noah turned to Lyssa. “Does it mean anything to you?”

“I graduated high school that year,” she said. “At Thomas Jefferson High School here in Alexandria.” She shook her head. “We graduated in June.”

“What happened in May?” Noah asked.

She stood up, pacing back and forth. “Prom.” Her eyes widened. “Bill.”

“Where was the prom, Lyssa?”

“In the gym.”

“Your rendezvous. You’re going back to prom.” Noah grabbed his bag and glanced at his watch. “We’re running out of time.”

*

LYSSA BUCKLED HER knife around her ankle and pulled out her shotgun. She looked over at Noah. “Are we right?”

“Bill was one of the victims. Archimedes cut his feet off. Yeah, this is about prom.”

“How did you ever figure the date out?” she asked, still in awe.

“I told you I was a geek. I like spreadsheets.”

She twisted around. Elijah’s truck followed close. Zane was still in New York. CTC was sending a second team, but they wouldn’t get here in time. “Hurry,” she said. “Please.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about your daughter?” he asked finally.

He picked up speed heading toward Braddock. She let out a long, slow breath. “I’ve kept her a secret for so long. What if...what if he captured you, tortured you? I couldn’t take the chance.” She bowed her head. “I was just protecting her. I’m sorry, Noah. I couldn’t risk it, even for you.”

“We both tried our best to protect our family.”

“And failed,” she said. “I should have trusted you. I do trust you.” She gripped his leg. “This guy has known me for ten years. I’m the reason Jack is dead. I’m the reason my daughter will never know her father. Help me end this.” A shuddering breath escaped her. “For Jack. For our little girl.”

Noah didn’t say anything. Seconds ticked by.

“Noah?”

“For Jack,” he said quietly. “And for you.” He gunned the SUV and it sped up. “Did Jack know you were pregnant?”

“Her name is Jocelyn,” Lyssa said. She couldn’t stop the tears. “I was going to tell him that night. I had it all planned. A celebration dinner, and then I’d bring out my surprise.”

“The rattle and baby shoes,” Noah finished.

She gaped at him.

“I saw the outline in the dust at your place.”

“You knew?”

“I suspected,” he countered. “I didn’t know if it was wishful thinking on your part or something more. Reid never said anything.”

“His sister is a midwife. She delivered the baby then took her to Mary. That’s the last time I held her. All she has of me are a few videos singing lullabies. I hoped, maybe someday, when we met again, she’d recognize my voice, or a song.”

She clutched Noah’s arm. “You have to promise me. Whatever happens to me, you get Jocelyn out of there. You make sure she’s safe.”

“Lyssa—”

“This isn’t up for negotiation. If you have to make a choice, Noah, you choose Jocelyn. Not me.”

“It won’t come to that.” Noah pulled to the side of the road. “We’re two miles away. You have to drive from here alone. We need him to believe you’re following orders. I’ll be nearby, Lyssa.”