Chapter Eighteen

Ed pulled into the driveway of his home and cut the engine. Sighing deeply, he remained seated in the car, watching the Spanish styled home that he shared with his wife... a home he was still having a hard time giving up. Seeing the massive wrought iron and distressed oak door open, he spotted a figure running out of the house, coming towards him.

Seeing the dark haired woman approach him, Deline opened the door and got out of the car and stepped forward and took her in his arms. Encircling his arms around the sobbing woman tightly, he sighed once more, his calloused hand scraping down the back of her dark hair.

"I am so sorry, Samantha Jane," he whispered.

The raven haired woman shook her head as she pulled back, wiping a tear with her sleeve, "I'm just grateful you are okay, Ed."

"Come on," the man said, taking her hand, "let's go back inside."

Sam sighed deeply as she went in with him.

"Goddamnit!"

Jack Keller roared through the house like a tornado, kicking over boxes and tables in his path. "What the fuck was Tam thinking?" He demanded.

"Jack," Karla said quietly, "Please, calm down." Walking up behind him, she put her hands on the backs of his shoulders, "Please, baby, I don't want your blood pressure to flair up."

"Flair up?" Keller said as he whipped around, facing the woman, "It's through the roof right now, Karla! That fucking bastard came out of nowhere!"

"I know, I know," she said, "but we need to think positively, okay? Jonathan wants to see Sam suffer just as you want to see Ed suffer, he's going to contact you."

Stepping forward, Jack looked at the woman, "He better," he whispered, "or else somebody will pay."

Turning on his heel, Jack made his way back to the dingy room that Jasmine was being held in. Her face blanching, Karla ran after him, "Jack, don't take this out on the girl, she did nothing wrong, she's scared."

Quickly turning around, Jack's hand whipped across her face angrily, "Do not ever attempt to tell me what to do again, Karla, or I will see to it that your skanky ass is back in prison where it belongs."

Stunned that he hit her, Marin's hand went up to her throbbing cheek. Feeling the warmth and the impending bruise, she whispered softly, "Please don't do this, Jack."

"Get this place cleaned up," Keller ordered as he went into the room.

Delinda watched in silence as her father walked back inside the house. Tearing herself away from Luis' protective arm, she approached him, "Daddy," she whispered softly.

Ed lifted his eyes up to his daughter and opened his arms as the woman went to him, crying. "Oh god, Dad, I am so sorry."

Shaking his head, he planted a kiss on the crown of her head, "Nobody blames you, Delinda."

"I should have got there earlier, if I had just told Gunther I'd talk to him later, than she'd be here,"

"No," he said quietly and pushed her back to look at her, "You didn't do this. I don't blame you for this, Sam doesn't blame you for this, nobody blames you Delinda."

"I blame myself," she whispered as she wiped her tears.

Deline sighed as he pulled his daughter back to him and hugged her.

Watching Ed with his daughter, Luis Perez walked up behind Sam and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You want me to fix you a drink?"

The dark haired woman turned and looked at the detective and shook her head, "I need a clear head."

Nodding, Perez hugged his friend and sighed deeply, repeating the same prayer that he had been saying since the day this case fell into his lap: Please god, let us find her.

As Karla began to clean up the mess made in the wake of Jack's anger, the phone rang. Quickly making her way over to it, she answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Put Jack on."

Exhaling a breath she wasn't aware she was holding, Marin lowered her voice, "What the hell were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?"

Jonathan Tam merely laughed as he shook his head, "Put Jack on."

Sighing deeply, Karla set the phone down and walked towards the room that Jasmine was being kept in. Butterflies invading her stomach, the woman closed her eyes and took a breath and went in. Finding Jack watching the girl as she slept, she released her breath, "Jack?"

Looking up at her, Keller waited for her to continue.

"Tam's on the phone."

"Stay with her," Jack commanded as he rose to his feet and made his way out to where the phone was located. Picking the receiver up, he said, "You better have a good goddamned reason for doing what you did."

Laughing once again, Tam looked at the bag of money that was sitting next to him as he rode in the unmarked black limousine. "Oh I've got a damn good reason," he said.

"Let's hear it," Keller demanded.

Before he got his answer, the back door opened and in walked Jonathan Tam, cellular phone kept to his ear. "I'm going to turn you in."

"Like hell," Jack said as he slammed the phone down. Racing towards the Asian man, Keller wrapped his fingers around his throat and pressed hard.

The air being squeezed out of him, Tam wrestled against Keller's strength, kicking his legs and swinging his arms, hitting the other man in the face a few times.

Upon hearing the commotion, Karla raced in and saw the two men, "Jack! Tam!" Running towards them, she tried to pull them apart, only to be thrown against the wall by Tam.

"You sonofabitch!" Jack screamed as he punched the other man repeatedly in the stomach. Getting him to the ground, Keller then proceeded to kick him in the ribs as Jonathan lay on the floor, bloodied and in pain.

Reaching for his gun, Keller fired two shots into Jonathan Tam and watched as the life quickly left him. In no mood to deal with anybody any longer, Jack turned on Karla, gun aimed at her.

"Jack," the woman gasped in horror, "I didn't turn on you!"

"Not yet," Keller said through clenched teeth.

"I would never do that to you, you know that." Desperately, Karla took a step towards him.

In a fit of rage, Jack pulled the trigger again, launching a bullet into the woman's chest. Watching her fall to the ground, he went over and stood over her body, his eyes focused on the dying woman's. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered softly, "I couldn't take the chance."

Looking up, Jack reached for a rag and quickly wiped his prints off the gun and placed it in Jonathan Tam's hand. Making his way down the hallway, he went into the room that Jasmine was being kept in and opened the door.

"Wake up," he said as he went over to her and pulled her out of bed.

Jasmine woke up and looked at Jack, her eyes wide with fear.

"Now you listen to me and you listen to me good, you got it?" Jasmine nodded silently as Jack continued, "I'm taking you home to your parents now. But if you ever breathe a word to anybody that I was involved in this, I will come and get you again and you will not live through it. I will kill you."

Tears fell down the girl's cheeks as she nodded, "I want my mommy and daddy."

Sighing, Jack rose to his feet, "Let's go."

His hand wrapping around the girl's wrist, he led her out to his car and got her in. Once he was seated, he reached for his cell phone and dialed a number. "Eddie, it's me," he said, breathlessly, "I've found her, man, she was roaming out in the desert."