Chapter Seventeen

"You on the move again, Ed?"

There had been little to no communication between both men for a little over twenty minutes, but Ritchie Phillips knew precisely where Ed was.

"I want to know if she's okay."

"You'll know soon enough," Phillips promised.

Deline sighed deeply as he turned the key in the ignition, starting up the car. "Where do you want me to go again?"

"Winston Cliffs."

Ed pulled out onto the freeway and began to drive, "It'll be an exchange, right? I'll give you the money and you'll give me my daughter?"

Ritchie Phillips chuckled cryptically, "Sure, Ed."

Delinda looked up at the sound of Danny and Sam walking into the living room. Rising to her feet, the woman walked over to the other woman and looked at her. "Sam, I'm sorry. I had no right to go off on you like I did."

Sam Marquez simply looked at the woman before nodding mutely. "Yeah," she said softly, "okay." Making her way towards the couch, she asked to nobody in particular, "Has Ed called?"

Luis shook his head grimly, "No, we haven't heard from him."

As Sam opened her mouth to say something, the doorbell rang. Noticing nobody going over to answer it, Danny walked over and opened the door and smiled, "Hey."

Mary Connell smiled as she stepped forward and hugged her friend, "Hey," Pulling back, she looked at him, "How are Ed and Sam?"

"A wreck," he answered softly, "Ed got a phone call from the kidnappers and left about two hours ago and Sam's already collapsed once."

"Oh god," the woman said as she sighed. Glancing into the room, the redheaded woman spotted Delinda and Luis, "And Delinda? Is she okay?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, "apparently she and Sam had a spat, but nobody's said a word about it. Quite frankly, I'm worried about all of them, Mare, Ed included."

Mary chewed her bottom lip and nodded, "I know, Danny, me too." Giving her friend a soft smile, she gently squeezed his forearm and walked in. Approaching Sam from the side, she put her hand on the woman's shoulder, "Sam."

The brunette closed her eyes as a tear fell, "Oh god, Mary," Quickly rising to her feet, she pulled her friend into a hug.

Embracing the other woman, Mary ran her hand down the back of Sam's head soothingly, "Hey," she said quietly. Pulling back, she looked the other woman in the eye, "We are going to get her back okay? Believe me, if there's anybody on this planet who can get her back, it's Ed."

Sam nodded and sighed deeply as she began to pace the room. "God, I'd give anything just to hear her voice again, to tell her I love her."

"You will," Danny said quietly, "You need to try and remain strong, Sam. I know its hard, but you gotta."

The woman remained silent as she looked out the window, a small piece of her dying.

Ed pulled into the gravelly lot of Winston Cliffs. Sighing, he cut the engine of his car and reached for the duffel bag. Cautiously, the former CIA agent opened the door and got out and looked around, keeping the bag close to his chest. His vivid aqua eyes missing nothing, Deline scanned his surroundings for any sign of activity.

The sound of a motorcycle squealing towards him, caused the sixty-something man to turn around abruptly. Jumping out of the way, Ed watched as the figure approached him.

"Give me the money!"

Deline rose his voice so he could be heard above the bike's engine, "Where's my daughter? You brought her with you, right?"

The other man, clad in all black with a black ski mask, looked at Ed before violently shoving him back. Grabbing the bag of money quickly, he sped off, leaving Ed in the wake of his dust.

"Sonofabitch!" Ed quickly ran to his car and turned it on. His wheels spinning in the gravel, he made a brisk descent towards where he thought the motorcycle headed. Pressing his foot down hard on the gas pedal, Ed drove till he saw thick brush quickly heading his way. Slamming his foot on the brake, he got out and ran blindly in the woods towards the mountains, only to find that the deeper he ran, the more lost he was getting.

Falling to his knees, he let out an anguished cry as he stumbled forward. Resting his hands and knees on the earth, he remained still for a few moments before forcing himself to his feet. Carefully, the former CIA agent made his way through the woods back to where his car was. Spotting the familiar sight of his sport utility vehicle, Ed stumbled towards it and opened the door. Resting for a few minutes, he felt beads of sweat drizzle down the sides of his face. Stepping up, he got in and reached for the phone and with a shaking hand, he dialed a number, "Luis, it's me." Sighing deeply, he rested his head on the steering wheel of the car, "Yeah, I lost the money."

Luis Perez held his cell phone to his ear, "What do you mean you lost the money, Ed? What happened?"

At the sound of her lover's name, Sam's head whipped up, "Ed?" Jumping up to her feet, she ran towards the detective, "I want to talk to him."

Holding his finger up to silence her, Luis walked into another room, "What happened?"

Deline shook his head as he sat up and started the car. Putting the vehicle in reverse, he turned and looked over his shoulder and backed up, "I drove to Winston Cliffs, which is where he told me to go. I had the money. I got here and I waited and this asshole on a motorcycle demanded the money. The other asshole--the one on the phone--promised me a trade, the money for Jasmine."

"And he didn't follow through," Perez guessed accurately as he sighed. "Ed, you should have contacted me immediately."

Ed banged his hand against the steering wheel, "I'm not an expert at this, Luis, I'm trying to get my kid back!"

"Alright, alright," he sighed, "come back to the house, we'll figure something out."

Without so much as a goodbye, Ed hung up and sped back towards the house.

Jonathan Tam pulled off in the woods and grabbed the flashlight, which was clipped to his belt. Turning it on, he unzipped the duffel bag and looked at the money inside, grinning, knowing that he held the trump card in his hands.