Chapter 37: There Goes My Baby
Nicole was right: her day could get better. She jumped up with excitement. "Where is he, Rafe?"
Rafe sighed and looked down. "I can't promise you anything, you know that. We're not 100% sure."
"But it's something right? What percent are you sure?"
"About 75%," Rafe told her. "There was a suspicious 'family' that lives in Miami, known for selling babies, making money off of them. Cameron used to live down there, and we even have pictures of him in a coffee shop down there talking to one of the people in charge of this ring."
"Do you think Daniel Rafael is safe?" Nicole asked with worry. She couldn't bear the thought of having found out her child had survived, only to die before she could get to him.
"Yes, we think so," said Rafe. "The ring has no agenda but to sell the children and make money," he said.
"So where is he? Is he still in Florida? Does the family still have him?"
"No," Rafe said. "But we've found pictures of them in the late fall of 2012, right around the time your baby 'died'. They sold all of their children from late November-early December to people in Cuba. They have the money and means to sneak into that country. Fake passports from Canada, Britain and Mexico, and yachts. They sail with the babies to Havana, make the trade off, and go back to Miami."
"Oh my gosh," said Nicole, putting her hand on her chest. She sat back down, looking at the ground in disbelief. "Rafe, we'll never get him back! We'll be lucky if in a few years, the embargo is lifted, but there's nothing we can do! The only way to get there is if we have family in Cuba, and neither of us do."
"I have an idea, Nicole. I've thought this through." Rafe took out his Iphone. "Mexico is lovely this time of year, and it's only a few weeks until Nick's parole is lifted. He is taking my sister to Cancun for their honeymoon."
"OK, that's nice," Nicole said with no enthusiasm. "But what has that got to do with this?"
"Who said we need to go to Cuba from the US?" Rafe smirked.
Nicole got to thinking. "What do you have in mind?"
"I can fly to Cancun with Gabi and Nick. I'll set it up so that I can get a safehouse in Cuba. I'll fly from Mexico to there, it's only an hour-long flight. I'll get your baby back, fly back to Mexico, and then here. It'll be difficult, but not impossible."
"OK. Well then, I'm coming with you," said Nicole.
"You can't. This is too dangerous, and supposed to be top secret. Besides, if we both disappear, it'll look suspicious to a lot of people."
"Everyone in town seems to think we should be together, so we can pretend we are, and go on a romantic escape to Cancun," said Nicole in a mocking tone. Her and Rafe smiled a bit.
"It's too risky. Again, us going to the same place as my honeymooning sister and Nick?"
"We can say we just flew with them, and went to a different city in Mexico. Rafe, I have missed out on months of my baby's life because of a deceitful doctor and some lowlife swamp thugs in Miami. No way am I staying here to wait for weeks, possibly, for him to come back. And besides," she said, putting a hand on Rafe's arm, "I'll worry too much about you."
Rafe sighed. He saw the look on Nicole's face, and again realized the weakness he had for this blue eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll try to figure out a way for you to come."
"Yes! Thank you, thank you!" Nicole hugged Rafe tightly. Everything had fallen apart in her life so quickly. But just as quickly, now everything was coming together.