Chapter 13 - THE CHILDREN'S GAME
Maya knew they had made a mistake seven minutes after leaving.
Tommy knew after three.
The text had come from his mother's phone.
PLEASE HELP ME.
DON'T TELL LUCA.
Tommy had believed it.
Because children who spend their lives waiting for adults to choose them will run toward almost any adult who finally asks.
They reached an abandoned diner.
Nobody was there.
Then a black SUV arrived.
Maya grabbed Tommy's hand.
"Run."
They ran.
Two men chased them.
Tommy shoved Maya through a broken fence.
"GO!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"GO!"
One man grabbed Tommy.
Maya picked up a brick.
She threw it.
It struck the man directly in the nose.
He screamed.
Tommy escaped.
They ran into the woods.
Meanwhile, Luca tracked Maya's emergency bracelet.
The signal stopped near the diner.
He arrived with Victor and Elena.
Blood on the ground.
No children.
Elena began shaking.
"Luca."
"We're finding them."
"What if—"
"We're finding them."
Then Luca noticed something carved into a tree.
An arrow.
Maya.
He smiled.
"She left us a trail."
Every hundred yards, another mark.
A broken branch.
A ribbon from her coat.
An M scratched into mud.
Tommy had taught her.
The children were leading Luca toward them.
Then the trail stopped.
A shoe lay beside the road.
Maya's.
Elena screamed.
Luca picked it up.
His hands shook.
Then headlights appeared.
A van.
Victor raised his weapon.
The van accelerated directly toward them.
Luca shoved Elena aside.
Victor fired.
The van swerved.
Crashed.
Luca reached the driver.
Dead.
Passenger seat empty.
Then a phone rang inside.
Luca answered.
Samuel Price.
"Your daughter is impressive."
"Where is she?"
"Alive."
"If you touch her—"
"You'll what?"
Luca looked toward the dark road.
"I'll show you what twelve years of anger looks like."
Price laughed.
"Bring me the original trust."
"Where?"
"The baseball diamond."
Luca froze.
"Your house?"
"No."
Price sounded amused.
"Your father's first baseball diamond."
Luca suddenly remembered.
The abandoned South Side park where his father had taught him baseball.
"Midnight."
Price paused.
"And Luca?"
"What?"
May you like
"Come walking."
The call ended.
