Promises to Keep Read Online Free PDF Page A

yoga. Kill a Pip. Take the stick out of your ass— something . Just do it before I get back with the girl,” he said before disappearing into the crowd, leaving Michael alone with a couple hundred people and a half dozen of Shaw’s walking, talking insurance policies.
    Relax? Every breath he took, every second he lived, was because someone else had decided to allow it. How in the hell was he supposed to relax?
    Michael took a few turns around the market, keeping a close eye on the dark maze of shops and lean-tos that Ben had disappeared into and then suddenly, there he was. Talking and laughing with a pretty young woman with large dark eyes and a shy smile. It was the girl from the surveillance video, and she was gazing up at Ben with a star-struck look as he led her though the marketplace toward a small outdoor café.
    They took a seat and placed their order with the waiter. Michael did another lap around the tables and booths. The Pips followed. He watched Ben and the girl. Coffee and buñuelos made an appearance. Ben smiled and charmed the girl for several minutes, putting her at ease before signaling Michael by looking at his watch.
    The girl looked up as he approached, and the smile perched on her face wobbled and fell. She shot a hurried glance at Ben before she started to shove herself away from the table. Ben’s hand shot out and gripped hers across the table. “ Eliza … esta bien. Nadie va a danarte. Queremos preguntarte algo. Solo unas preguntas. Nada más, te prometo. ” He gave her a reassuring smile. “ Hablas inglés? ”
    The girl nodded slowly. “Yes, I speak English.” She looked up at Michael and shook her head. “But I know nothing worth telling. I sell scarves. I am no one.”
    Michael took a seat next to her and leaned forward just a bit, dropping his voice to keep the conversation private. He could tell she was lying. “There was an American boy here with his mother a few weeks ago. He was small—blond with hazel eyes. You spoke to his mother, distracted her while your partner in the Yankees cap snatched him. We have it all on tape,” he said.
    Her eyes widened just a bit, and she started to shake her head. “No. I don’t know what you are saying. I—”
    â€œStop. Just stop.” Michael used his fingertip to turn her face toward the crowd. “Do you see them? The men in suits, circling like vultures?” He paused, waited for her to nod. “They’re here for you. To make sure you tell us what we need to know. And when they start asking questions, I can assure you, it won’t be over coffee and doughnuts.” He watched the tears well up in her eyes as understanding took root.
    She turned her face away from the crowd. “I can’t. You don’t understand. These men are very dangerous.”
    â€œWho are they?” Ben said.
    The girl shrugged, looked miserable. “I don’t know.” She swallowed hard, eyes full of tears again. “They took my brother first. Told me that if I helped them, they would bring him back, but … it’s been a very long time.”
    â€œHow long?” Ben said.
    â€œEight months.”
    Eight months ? Leo Maddox was taken only three weeks ago. A sick feeling began to form in the pit of Michael’s stomach. “Was the American boy the only one you helped abduct?”
    Her eyes flooded with tears. She shook her head. “No. But he was the last. There has been no one since.”
    Michael looked across the table at his partner. How many children could be taken in eight months?
    â€œEliza, where is he? Where do they take the children?” Ben said.
    â€œI don’t know,” she said quietly, staring at the tabletop. She was scared, couldn’t look him in the eye. She knew more than she was letting on.
    Michael leaned back in his seat. “You’re lying.”
    She looked up at him. “I don’t know. But