Rank: Lighthouse Security Investigations Series

by Maryann Jordan

  She looked at the angled glass, a work of beauty in itself, and said, “The lights are so large, but then, I guess they would have to be.”

  “They’re a beacon,” he said, “to those in need.”

  She sucked in a breath as realization dawned, then said, “The Keepers. That’s why Mace calls you that.”

  “Come on,” he said, and led her around the lights to the door that led to the outside. Ushering her before him, he shut the door and moved immediately to the railing to look out over the ocean, never tiring of the view.

  “Oh my. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

  Her voice was not right beside him, as he had expected, so he turned to see where she was. Her eyes were bright as they looked out over the water, but she remained in the doorway, instead of moving to the rail.

  “You okay?”

  “This view is magnificent,” she said, her smile wide. Her gaze darted to where he was at the rail, and she said, “Don’t you think you could enjoy it standing back here?”

  Understanding dawned on him and he shook his head as he stepped closer to her. “You’re afraid of heights? Babe, why the hell did you come all the way up here if you’re afraid of heights?”

  Her eyes searched his for mirth, but only found concern. “You wanted me to see the view, and I did, too,” she confessed. “But there’s no way I can leave the safety of this doorway and get near the railing.” Giving a little shrug, she added, “Heights do make me nervous.”

  He stepped closer and lifted his hands to cup her cheeks. “You don’t have to ever do anything you don’t want to do with me. I never want you to be afraid.” Bending, he kissed her lips before asking, “Do you trust me?”

  Holding onto his forearms, she said, “Yes…I’m always safe with you, Rank.”

  “Then, stare out, baby. Look at the beauty. Being up high and looking down is the closest we’ll ever get to the birdseye view of what God sees.”

  Still holding tightly to his arm, she lifted her gaze and viewed the glorious ocean, marveling at its color reflecting the blue, sunshine filled sky. A smile curved her lips and she nodded. ‘You’re right…it’s God’s view.”

  He leaned closer and slid his nose along hers as he moved in for another kiss.

  “Rank! Helena!”

  They broke apart at their names being shouted from the bottom of the lighthouse. “Looks like Bray is ready for us.” He gave her a hard stare, and asked, “Are you ready?”

  Nodding, she replied, “As ready as I can be.”

  He grabbed her hand, linked fingers, and they began to descend the stairs.

  24

  Parking outside her office building, Helena sat in her car for a moment pondering the weekend’s activities. When she and Rank had finished their tour of the lighthouse, they had gone into the brightly lit kitchen and sat at the table. Rank, uncharacteristically nervous, had held her hand while Bray embedded the microchip tracer underneath the skin at the top of her arm. He had given her a numbing shot and, even though she was anxious, she gratefully did not feel a thing. She now had a tiny incision closed with a butterfly bandage.

  Later, she had asked Sylvie what she should do about the cats, since she did not want to travel with Prairie and her new kittens. Sylvie and Mace insisted they should stay at the cabin and David would make sure they were fed and the litter box was cleaned when he got home from school each day until she was able to get them.

  Her car, now with a locator device installed in it, had been brought back to her place this morning by Walker, who then caught a ride back to work with Rank.

  Rank and Helena had gone to her apartment yesterday evening, assured that her place was secure. They had danced around the topic of the distance between their two homes but did not delve into a conversation about it. Sitting in her car now, she reached her fingers up to touch her lips, smiling at the memory of another night of making love with him. He had reluctantly left her this morning, with promises to see her in the evening.

  Sighing, she wondered how they would make that work. He lived over an hour north of her, and his work was another thirty minutes north of that. Giving herself a mental shake, she wondered if it was too early to begin considering how they could cohabit.

  Her attention was caught by Anna going into the office and she jolted, realizing she had spent too much time sitting in her car. Jumping out quickly, she locked her vehicle before jogging into the office.

  “Did you have a good weekend?” Anna asked, as she sat behind her desk and opened her laptop.

  Smiling, she replied, “Absolutely. It was wonderful.” Walking to her office, her smile widened as she realized how true those words were.

  Todd popped in to say hello, and then she quickly lost track of time as she worked. Several hours later her phone rang, and she looked to see her father on caller ID. She immediately felt guilty, knowing that she had not spoken to her parents for a couple of weeks. I certainly haven’t told them about the new man in my life.

  “Hi, Dad,” she greeted.

  “Good morning, Helena,” he replied. “Your mother and I haven’t seen you for a little while, and I hate to ask you this, but we really need to see you this morning.”

  She hesitated, only because she had a lot of work to do, but it was unlike her parents to interrupt. Before she had a chance to reply, he continued.

  “Your mother’s not feeling well today and she’s asking for you.”

  “What’s wrong? Does she need to go to the hospital?” she asked, her voice full of concern as she stood and shoved some files to the side of her desk. Bending to grab her purse, she then snatched her coat from the back of her door.

  “No, no, it’s not an emergency. But she really is unwell, and I think you should visit her as soon as possible. I didn’t go to work today, so I’m here with her at home.”

  “Okay, Dad. It’ll take me about twenty minutes to get there, but tell Mom I’ll be there soon as I can.” Disconnecting, she walked into the lobby and said to both Anna and Todd, “My dad just called and said my mom isn’t feeling well. I’m gonna run to their house and check on her.”

  “I hope she’s all right,” Anna said.

  Todd chimed in, “Is there anything you need me to work on while you’re gone?”

  “No, no, it’ll be fine. I’ll probably be back this afternoon.” Waving goodbye, she ran back to her car and climbed in.

  Rank was walking into the LSI compound, after having made another trip to speak to Edwin and Bob, when Josh looked up and called out, “Helena just received a phone call from her dad. He said her mom wasn’t feeling well, so she’s going to go visit them.”

  Nodding, he asked, “Her tracer and car together?”

  “Yeah, I checked that. She’s in her car and has been on the road for about fifteen minutes. I’ve got her just about a mile from her parents’ house right now.”

  “Thanks, man. I won’t call her right now, I’ll wait until she has a chance to see how her mom is.” Moving back to his station, he and Walker discussed the case.

  Pulling into her parents’ driveway, Helena looked at the impressive structure. It was not the house that she had been raised in, since her parents had moved about ten years ago from a newer subdivision into an older one. Her father always claimed that the older mansions were simply built better.

  The red brick, three-story home had a winding driveway that led down to the road. The gardens were immaculate, the lawn perfectly tended. She often wondered why her parents needed so much room, but knew that the house was more about what it represented than practicality. She had to confess, it was a beautiful home but, to her way of thinking, a bit cold and impersonal.

  “Dad? Mom?” she called out, as she used her key and stepped into the entry foyer. The marble tile underneath did little to subdue the sound of her heels clicking across the floor.

  As usual when she entered their home, she thought it felt more like a mausoleum. She walked past the formal living room and dining room. Continuing on, sh
e made her way toward the one room in the house that she considered to be the most comfortable. “Dad, are you in the den?”

  “Yes, Helena. We’re back here.”

  As she entered the doorway, her eyes landed on her father first. Dressed in dark, neatly pressed slacks, white shirt, and blue tie, he appeared to be ready to go to work. She had always thought her father to be handsome, with his tall and lean body. While he enjoyed golf with his business associates and friends, he and her mother played tennis regularly. Their small estate included a tennis court and a swimming pool. His hair was silver, trimmed often, and his eyes were a grayish blue, more stormy than startling. As she took all this in, his wide eyes and pale face surprised her.

  Before she had a chance to speak, he spoke, his words scratchy with an unknown emotion she could not understand. “I’m sorry.”

  Stepping further into the room, a slight noise to her right drew her eyes away from her father. Sitting in a chair, was her mother. From her clothing, she could tell she had plans of going out, since she was wearing slacks, heeled boots, and a cashmere sweater that complemented her coloring. Her hair, always coiffed, appeared messy, and her always perfectly made-up face that showcased the green eyes that she had given to her, was ruined with tears, streaming down her cheeks.

  “Mom,” she stepped forward, full of worry.

  “Stop!”

  She startled at the shout and turned to see Frank Tercelli standing in the corner, a gun in his hand pointed straight at her mother’s head.

  Her breath halted in her lungs. Unable to suck more oxygen in and afraid to breathe out, she stood and stared. On instinct, she took another step towards her mother, her hands outstretched to protect her.

  “I said, stop!” Frank ordered.

  Her body obeyed, but her mind was rushing forward. “What? What do you want?”

  Frank’s face contorted for a second, before his jaw hardened. “I didn’t want it to be like this. I didn’t want it to have to come to this. I’ve got no choice, don’t you see?”

  Her eyes darted to her dad, whose face showed confusion as well as fear. A garbled hiccup sounded from her mother and her eyes moved back to her. Slowly shifting her gaze back to Frank, she tried to still the pounding of her heart. She lifted her hands slowly, palms out, toward him in a conciliatory gesture. “Frank, whatever this is, I know it has to do with me. You’ve got to leave them alone.”

  “I need the money. I’ve got to have the money, now.”

  Forcing her gaze to stay on him, she could feel her parents’ terror. “I had Kozlov’s money sent by courier to him on Friday, just like I said I would.”

  Frank winced, as though in pain, and continued, “He wants more payment. He says I fucked things up and he’s demanding payment from me to make that up.”

  Shaking her head slowly, with her hands still in front of her, she asked, “What has that got to do with me, Frank?”

  He snarled, “It’s all your fault. The system I had in place with you was easy. All you had to do was take the money and put it where I told you to. But you couldn’t do that, could you? You had to ask questions and look into it.”

  Her voice caught in her throat, she stared at him. Unable to hide her disappointment, she stammered, “So you admit it? You’re laundering money.” Anger took hold of her suddenly and she shouted, “Are you crazy? How the hell did you ever think that would work?”

  “It did work. It worked so well that when Kozlov came to me, I assured him that I had a way to do the same for him.” He blinked, as though waking up, and his body jerked as he waved the gun back toward her mother. “Enough of this. I need more money and you’re going to get it for me.”

  Looking over her shoulder, her mother’s ravaged face cut deeply into her. She dragged her eyes from her mother’s visible fear back up to Frank. “What do you want me to do? I’ll do anything as long as you leave my parents alone.”

  “You and I are going to take a little trip to the bank. I want you to withdraw half a million dollars so I can give it to Kozlov. I know you haven’t made all the deposits for my money to the charities yet, so you’ve got it. I know you’ve got it.”

  Nodding slowly, she agreed, “Okay. My parents—”

  Frank cut her off, ordering, “Get the tape. Tape your dad to that chair.” He indicated which one with a nod of his head. “And tape him good. I’ll check it and if he’s not secure, I’ll put a bullet in your mother’s head.”

  Ice water ran through her veins as she stumbled forward, picking up the roll of duct tape he indicated. With Frank still waving the gun toward her mother, her father sat in the chair and put his hands behind him.

  As she bent to her task, her eyes held her father’s, and he said, “It’s okay. You’ve got to do this. You’ve got no choice. Just like I had no choice.”

  She nodded her head jerkily, knowing that he had been placed in the untenable position of having to call his daughter because his wife was being threatened. As she ripped the tape and secured him to the chair, she leaned forward slightly with her back toward Frank and whispered into his ear. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be okay.”

  She knew he would not understand the meaning of her words, but her thoughts flew to Rank and the other Keepers. She had no idea if they would find out what was happening with her or be able to save her, but she wanted to give her father a modicum of hope.

  Within ten minutes, she was behind the wheel of Frank’s Mercedes with him in the passenger seat, his gun pointed toward her. Once at the bank, he threatened to shoot anyone there if she did not follow instructions, so they entered together and she kept calm, trying not to alert anyone to the danger lest Frank make good on his word.

  Withdrawing the large sum of money took several steps, but the gun resting just inside his suit jacket was threat enough to keep her in line.

  Once they were back in his sedan, she handed over the check that she had signed to him and sucked in a deep breath, hoping that he would let her go.

  Waving the gun toward her again, he ordered, “Drive. Just drive to where I tell you to go.”

  She followed his directions again and pulled out onto the highway, heading south.

  25

  Rank was making a note on some forms he and Walker were filling out, when Josh turned to him and said, “Helena went to her parents’ house, but now she’s on the move again and not in her own car. She left her car at her parents’.”

  He looked up from what he was working on and pulled out his phone. Punching the speed dial for her, he listened to it ring, but she did not answer.

  “Maybe she and her mom or dad are going somewhere in their car?” Walker suggested.

  “Pull them up,” he requested, standing with his hands on his hips as Josh pulled up the map on the large screen. The others began gathering around, ready to act if necessary.

  “Timestamps shows she stopped somewhere,” he said.

  Josh nodded and, with a few clicks on his keyboard, had the location. “She made a stop at a bank. Bank of New Hampshire.”

  Cobb spoke up, “That’s the bank where she keeps her business accounts, not her personal accounts.”

  Unease slithered along his spine and he shook his head. “Something’s not right. I can feel it.”

  Mace ordered, “Get into the bank's cameras. Inside and out.”

  Within a moment, Josh flashed video up on the screen. They watched as Helena walked into the bank, Frank Tercelli at her side.

  ‘Fucks’ filled the air as he watched her make a withdrawal.

  “Outside,” Mace ordered.

  Another few taps on the computer, and Josh pulled up the view of the parking lot, going back a few minutes to catch them pulling up in a Mercedes.

  “Why the fuck is she driving?” Drew asked.

  They got their answer when Josh zoomed in and cleared the picture. There, on the wide screen in front of them all, was Frank in the passenger side with a gun pointed toward Helena.

  “Fuck!” Rank roared, jo
lting into action.

  Mace ordered, “Tell the FBI to get to her parents’ house. Chances are, Frank used them as bait to lure her there. He’s already gone this far. If they’re still alive, they won’t be for long. He’ll need to have someone take care of them to cover his tracks.”

  He rocked back on his heels at the thought of Helena’s parents already being dead, possibly killed in front of her. His heart sunk and he startled as a hand clapped him on the shoulder. Twisting, he saw Walker, who spoke in a low voice.

  “You’re not alone in this. We got this, all of us.”

  Sucking in a hasty breath, his head told him that he needed to move into action, but his heart had him rooted to the spot. “I’m in love with her, man.”

  Walker’s fingers dug into his shoulder as he gave him a squeeze. “Not news to any of us, Rank. We’ll get her back.”

  “Where the fuck are they going?” he asked, his eyes moving to the screen on the wall while the others around him were hustling to prepare for a rescue, most disappearing down the hall where the equipment was kept.

  “They’re heading south,” Josh said. He twisted around in his chair and pinned him with his gaze. “My guess, Boston. That’s where Kozlov’s shipping business is.”

  Mace jerked his head around, and called out, “Drew, get the bird ready. Bray, get ahold of Jack Bryant, of Saints Protection, and tell him we’ve got a priority one and I need his pilot and Bart Taggart to meet us at the coordinates we send them.”

  Trying to focus as his thoughts swirled around his head, he realized that, with several of the Keepers out on their own missions, their numbers were depleted. Mace was calling in reserves, tagging one of his former Special Forces teammates. He had met Jack once. The guy had started his own security business, based out of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and had a great reputation. And Bart Taggart—he had served with him as a SEAL for a short time. He could trust these men. It was going to be okay. She was going to be okay.