Chapter 23
“What do you mean, the cameras are broken?” Sam demanded. The girl working the reception desk flinched away from him. First she'd claimed she hadn't seen Tamara leave and now this?
“I’m sorry, sir, but it looks like they stopped recording late last night. We only just noticed all we're getting is static.”
Sam’s fist slammed down on the counter. Why did cameras keep breaking down? First at work with whoever attacked the dolphins and now here. Was he living in some Hollywood style adventure where hackers were controlling the world electronically? Or was it something else, was this related to Tamara and the crazy shit surrounding her? His doubts about the supernatural being fake were being shaken to the core.
“Sam! Subie is waking up!” Brock yelled from the elevator.
Sam turned and ran for the elevator, glad he had the right prosthetic. Brock was holding it open for him. As soon as they reached their floor they raced back to the room.
A couple paramedics squatted on either side of Subie. The battered woman was sitting up and holding her bandaged head. It looked like they’d cleaned the blood away from her face.
“What happened?” Sam yelled. He was almost as angry with her as he was with himself. Sam never should have left them alone, even if Subie had claimed she’d watch over Tamara. Now Tamara was gone.
“Not so loud,” Subie moaned.
“She has a concussion,” one of the men next to her said. He stood and stepped up to Sam. “What happened to her? Her body is covered in bruises that are older than the wound on her head.”
Sam knew that look. It was the same one Jenkins always gave him back when he was married. It never mattered that he’d never physically hurt his wife. The paramedic was looking at them the same way.
“She was kidnapped,” Brock spoke up. “They did that to her. I’d never hurt her.”
“Kidnapped?” the paramedic asked. “I haven’t heard that one before. Did you report it to the police?”
“I tried!” Brock stated. Sam saw the kid’s fists clench and knew he was close to fighting. “They refused to listen and I had to go save her alone!” Sam was tempted to point out that Brock hadn’t been alone, but understood his point. The police had been no help.
The other man looked skeptical. He glanced at Subie and shook his head. “I have to report this. Is there anything you want to say, miss?”
Subie looked up for the first time. Red suffused her eyes and she looked exhausted. “Brock might be a big man, but he’s a teddy bear at heart. He’s never hurt me.”
The paramedic grunted, but didn’t say anything else. He reached for his radio and left the room.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” the other paramedic asked Subie.
“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “Sam knows how to take care of me if anything else happens, don’t you Sam?”
Sam didn’t like the glance the paramedic sent his way.
“I’m here if you need anything,” Brock said, shouldering Sam aside and stepping between them. He dropped down to Subie’s level, and pulled her into a hug. Subie continued to look at Sam. Then she winked once, smiled wider, and hugged her boyfriend back.
Was she just using Sam to make Brock jealous? He didn’t like that, but he remembered doing the same thing to Tamara. Only, he’d been trying to drive Tamara away. What was Subie’s game?
“Well, I can’t make you if you don’t want to.” The paramedic stood up and faced Sam. “Don’t let her fall asleep for a few hours. If she starts getting dizzy and throwing up, take her in immediately.”
Sam just nodded. He knew all of that already, but didn’t want to explain it to him.
“Mr. Mendez,” a new voice called down the hallway, “are you part of this?”
“Captain Gomez,” Sam tried to sound cheerful as he turned around. The last time he’d met the Captain, he’d been friendly enough, but Sam didn’t have the best experience with the police. “What are you doing here?” He winced, realizing how dumb that question was.
“The hotel called in the incident. Said someone was badgering the receptionist.” Mendez looked as Sam, then into the room. Brock was helping Subie move over to the bed.
“Don’t let her lie down,” Sam instructed the kid. “Sorry about my behavior down there, Captain,” he continued, turning back to Mendez. “Whoever attacked Subie kidnapped my girlfriend.” Sam felt a thrill course through him as he stated Tamara was his girlfriend out loud. The thrill turned sour. She was gone and in danger.
“No harm done,” Mendez stated. Sam was surprised at how easy going this police captain was. “Do you or your girlfriend have any enemies that might want to harm you?”
“You mean besides Officer Jenkins?” Sam asked before he could think better of it.
Captain Mendez’s eyes tightened, but he didn’t say anything.
“Captain,” another officer called as he came down the hallway, “I got a statement from the receptionist. She said that the cameras went out late last night and still haven’t come back up.”
“That’s the sixth time this week,” Mendez stated. He turned back to Sam, “And the second one you’re loosely tied to. I don’t like coincidences, Mr. Mendez. What time did you get here last night?”
This conversation was going in the wrong direction. He was innocent. He needed to talk to Subie and find out what she knew, without any outsiders to hear. She might know where they took Tamara. He needed to get out there and find her. But to do any of that, he had to get past this cop. The thought struck Sam that this must have been how Brock felt last night. Suddenly he wasn’t so angry with the kid’s brash behavior.
“Late. Or early I guess,” Sam stated, trying to sound calm. “It was after midnight, sometime.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
“I can,” Brock spoke up. “We could hear him in here with his girlfriend until about four this morning.”
“Fighting?” Mendez pressed.
“Ha! No. There was a lot of screaming, but it wasn’t in anger. We thought he’d never finish,” Subie supplied.
Sam’s cheeks began to burn, but he tried to keep his face straight. The captain didn’t need that much information.
“My girlfriend is missing, Captain. Subie was attacked. If you’re done asking me questions, I want to get out there and find her.” Sam wanted to yell, to strike out at anything he could to vent his frustration. Attacking the police captain would only make matters worse. He struggled to keep his anger in check. For the first time in a long time, he won.
“Let the police do their job, Mr. Mendez. If she can be found, we’ll find her.” The captain stepped past Sam, leaving him in the hallway with the other officer. “Subie is it? Did you get a good look at your attackers?”
Subie shook her dark hair. “I thought it was Brock and Sam returning with food, so I opened the door. Whoever it was, they were fast. One of them hit me in the head, and the next thing I knew, Brock was waking me up.”
The captain examined the door for a moment. “Johnson, see if you can pull any prints from the door.” He turned back to the room. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”
Subie looked from Brock, to Sam, and then back to the captain. “I hope you find her, Captain. She’s a good girl. I hate to think what they might be doing to her.”
Sam felt his gorge rise. Until she’d said that, Sam hadn’t let himself think about what Tamara might be going through. Images of last night, the ritualistic symbols marked on Subie’s body, ran through his mind. Only instead of Subie, it was Tamara. Naked and crying out as they beat and cut her. Marking her up for whatever sadistic purposes they were going to use her for. Would it have something to do with them calling her a fallen angel?
All Sam knew for certain was that his girl needed him, and he was stuck here dealing with the police.
“Where are you going, Sam?” Brock asked.
He hadn’t even realized he was walking away until that point. “To g
et some air,” he told Brock over his shoulder.
“Don’t go too far, Mr. Mendez. I may have some more questions for you,” Captain Gomez called after him.
Sam punched the button for the elevator and waited for it to arrive. When the doors opened, a tall older man with a thick head of grey hair was already inside.
“Looks like you’re having one hell of a day,” the man greeted him as he stepped aside.
“You have no idea,” Sam muttered. The button for the lobby was already lit, so Sam mashed the button to close the doors.
“Girl problems?” the other guy asked.
Sam didn’t like the man prying, but there was something about him that soothed his anger. He took another look at him and saw that he wasn’t frail at all. In fact he was almost as big as Sam. Considering how old the man must be, Sam was impressed.
“My girlfriend was kidnapped and I wasn’t there to protect her,” Sam said before he knew the words were coming out.
“Hmm, I know something about trying to protect those important to you,” he said. “Sometimes things happen that are well beyond our control. It’s times like those that I try to put my faith in the Lord.”
Sam blinked at the man. Was he really getting a sermon at a time like this?
“I’m sorry,” the man proffered his hand. “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Adam. Adam Michaels.”
Sam shook his hand just to be polite. When was this elevator going to stop? It was taking forever. Adam had a powerful grip as they shook hands.
“Sam,” he offered. The man might be able to put him at ease, but he wasn’t about to give out his whole name.
“That’s a firm grip you have there, Sam. I can tell from your leg that you used to be a warrior. Served in a few wars myself.” The other man chuckled as though he’d made a joke, but Sam didn’t see the humor. “Can I tell you a secret, Sam?”
“Might as well,” Sam muttered. “This elevator is moving slower than the VA.”
“The VA’s not so bad,” Adam said with a smile. “They try hard and do a lot of good work. Believe me when I say I know what it can be like dealing with the big wigs and getting them to get off their proverbial asses every now and then to do what needs doing. Anyway, I digress. The secret is simple. No matter what happens in life, no matter what hardships you go through, family is what’s most important. As long as you have that, you can make it through anything. Oh, look at that. We’re finally here.” A wide smile split Adam’s face as the elevator doors opened. “Remember what I said, Sam Mendez. Family.”
Adam stepped out of the elevator with a strong and purposeful stride, leaving Sam behind. The doors began to close, and Sam moved to block them, still getting over his shock at the man’s words. How had he known Sam’s last name? And what was all that crap about family? Tamara was his family now.
But she wasn’t the only one. He still had two kids, though he rarely ever got to see them. When was the last time he’d even spoken to Sammy Jr.? He’d been so wrapped up in everything else, that he’d completely forgotten about them. What would they think if something happened to him while he was trying to save Tamara? He’d already almost died more than once in the last few days. Would his ex-wife even tell them, or let them believe that he’d abandoned them?
No, he couldn’t believe that. No matter how much of a bitch she was, his ex wasn’t that evil.
Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He had a call to make.