Snowed In

by Cassie Miles

  “I’d like nothing more.” His hand cupped her breast. “Every time I see you, I want you.”

  “I know.” She nipped his earlobe, agilely jumped from his lap and went to her closet. “Getting dressed for dinner seems ridiculous.”

  “Come on, princess. You like being beautiful.”

  She didn’t change out of her jeans or boots, figuring that if she was sitting at the table nobody would notice the lower half of her body. If she was up and running around, helping serve or fetching more wine, the jeans and boots were appropriate. Inside her closet, she yanked her sweater over her head. The gray silk blouse Emily had suggested flowed over her skin with a subtle whisper. She added a fitted, black velvet jacket for warmth.

  She stepped out of the closet and posed for him. “Ta-da!”

  “Nice,” he said.

  She sashayed across the room toward him. “Give me one last kiss before I put on my lipstick.”

  She heard a loud popping noise.

  The lights went out.

  * * *

  IN NEARLY TOTAL DARKNESS, Blake leaped to his feet and reached out for her. The instant his hand made contact with her arm, he pulled her protectively against his chest. His gun was drawn.

  “Wait,” she said. “Over here on the dresser, there’s a flashlight.”

  He’d noticed the plastic flashlight. “Were you expecting a blackout?”

  Taking his hand, she led him across the bedroom and picked up the flashlight, which she immediately turned on. “I thought with the phone lines down, the electricity might go next. I had the twins put flashlights all over the house.”

  “What’s the procedure for when the power goes down?”

  “I don’t know. It’s never happened when I was in charge. We should start in the basement. The fuse box and the generator are down there.”

  Outside her bedroom, several people were calling out to each other. A flashlight beam appeared from across the hall, and Blake saw Emily and Jeremy.

  “Stick with us,” Blake said. “Let’s get everybody rounded up and settled in the front room near the fireplace.”

  With Sarah and Emily holding the flashlights, they climbed to the second floor and went down the hall to the general’s room. Jeremy knocked, “Dad? Are you in there?”

  “We’re here,” Maddox answered for him. “Is it safe?”

  Blake appreciated the caution. “We’re gathering everyone in the front room.”

  The door cracked open and Maddox stepped back, his handgun held at the ready. The general, clad in his uniform with a chest full of ribbons and medals, stepped into the hallway. “What happened?”

  Sarah answered, “A power line might have blown down.”

  “I heard a snapping noise just before the lights went out. Have you checked for fire?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Sarah said. “Blake, we need to get down to the basement right away.”

  At the other end of the hall, the senator and Rebecca waved flashlights. “What’s going on?” Hank asked. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Come with us,” Emily said.

  From downstairs, they heard a huge crash, followed by a shout, a scream and another crash. Moving as quickly as possible, they descended the staircase. The beams of their flashlights showed the shattered remains of the beautifully set dining room table. Skip and one of the Dewdrops stood yelling at each other. It wasn’t clear which of them had stumbled first, but Sarah’s best china had taken the brunt of their clumsiness.

  “Make sure all the candles are out,” Sarah ordered as she hurried through the dining room into the kitchen. He followed her into the mudroom and down the staircase into the basement. The pitch darkness in the windowless room was intense. Sarah’s thin flashlight beam barely made a difference.

  “I don’t see a fire.” Relief was obvious in her voice. “We need more light down here.”

  In his rental SUV, he had a heavy-duty, high-beam light, which he should have brought inside before the snow became impassable. “Didn’t you say you had camping gear stored down here?”

  She turned her beam toward the shelves beyond the laundry area. “I have Coleman lanterns.”

  Another flashlight beam shone down the staircase. One of the twins called down, “Have you checked the fuse box yet?”

  “I need more light,” Sarah said. “Would you come down here and help me with these lanterns?”

  They carried three lanterns and the container with fuel back up to the kitchen where the Ramirez family was trying to keep cooking with no stove and no burners. Blake left the twin and Sarah in the kitchen to prepare the lanterns and went to the front room where everyone had gathered.

  A quick head count showed him that they were two short. In the weird illumination of the flashlights, he saw expressions of excitement, anger and confusion. “We’re missing two people—Ollie and Alvardo. Has anyone seen them?”

  “Ollie was taking a nap upstairs,” said a Dewdrop. “Should I go look for him?”

  Blake didn’t want to start sending people off on solo missions. “Go with John Reuben and Maddox. Find Ollie and bring him down here. Now, where’s Alvardo?”

  “I was talking to him,” Honey said as she wrapped a multicolored shawl around her neck and shoulders. “Then the lights went off, and I don’t know where he went.”

  They’d have to organize a search. Alvardo could have disappeared due to a perfectly logical reason, like falling and hitting his head. Or Alvardo could be lying in wait, taking advantage of this moment of confusion.

  “When the boys get back with Ollie, we’ll search. In the meantime, make yourselves as comfortable as possible. We’ll try to get the generator working.”

  Back in the kitchen, he was pleased to see all three lanterns with mantles burning brightly. He gave one to William Reuben. “Take this into the other room. Keep an eye on the people in there and don’t let anybody wander off.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We’ll leave another lantern in the kitchen,” he said.

  “Gracias,” Slim said. “We can finish dinner.”

  Blake gave the third lantern to Sarah and headed back toward the basement. The light flared brightly around them as they descended the staircase and crossed the concrete floor. When he touched her arm, he felt her tremble.

  “It’s going to be all right,” he said.

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  Her fear was natural, and her doubt. “I need for you to be strong.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He remembered how she’d handled their first chase and how she’d managed to climb down the rocks to rescue Franks. If anyone could hold it together in a tense situation, it was Sarah.

  The door on the large metal fuse box hung open. Burn marks streaked across the concrete wall. Shards of plastic and metal wires scattered on the floor. From his years in the Middle East, Blake had dealt with a variety of bombs, and he recognized this setup. There had been a small, targeted explosion at the fuse box.

  The blackout wasn’t a result of the power lines going down. The power had been deliberately sabotaged. Someone wanted them in the dark.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sarah was beyond being surprised or shocked by what they’d found. Expecting the unexpected was the order of the day...or the night. The fear and confusion that had been rattling inside her head went silent. She didn’t have the luxury of allowing her emotions free rein. “This wasn’t an accident.”

  Blake squatted down and picked through the scrap littered below the metal box. “If I had to guess, I’d say that a small charge was fastened onto the box with a plastic clip. It was detonated from somewhere else in the house.”

  “Like Franks’s backpack,” she said. “But how could that be? The cell phones don�
��t work.”

  “Old-fashioned technology,” he said, “like a detonator button.”

  Anger sparked inside her. They were being manipulated, driven by one circumstance after another toward an unknown end. “Why is this happening? If someone wanted to hurt the general or the senator, why would they wait until they were here in my house? Why would they want to destroy the wedding?”

  “It’s a message,” he said. “The general was right about that.”

  “Well, I don’t get it, and I’m not going to waste time thinking about it.” She picked up the lantern and started toward the staircase. “I need both of the Reuben twins in the basement with me to get the generator working.”

  “Both of them? They’re my go-to men for security.”

  “They grew up in their father’s hardware store, and they’re good handymen, especially when it comes to emergency repairs. The boys might patch things up with a wad of chewing gum and a roll of duct tape, but it works.”

  He caught up with her at the foot of the staircase. “Sarah, I appreciate your determination, but I—”

  “You should appreciate me,” she said. “You should be really glad that I’m not a true princess who sits in the corner and combs her lovely hair. Bottom line—I’m the tough peasant chick who keeps things running.”

  She had a lot more to say, but he silenced her with a kiss that took her breath away. A shimmer flashed inside her head and eclipsed her angry frustration. All she really wanted was to keep kissing him and holding him. If her problems could just fade away, that would be just fine with her.

  He gazed into her eyes. “Like I was saying, you tend to get real determined when you set yourself a goal.”

  “Do I?”

  “Like jumping into a car and refusing to get out.”

  She recalled that first night when she wouldn’t let him boss her around and had ended up witnessing a police takedown. “Are you saying that’s a bad thing?”

  “I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He lightly kissed her forehead. “For right now, you need to be careful. Don’t go anywhere in the house alone.”

  “Do I need a weapon?”

  He paused to think. “There are already too many guns. Both the Reuben boys are armed. Stick with them.”

  “Not a problem.”

  She expected to spend the next couple of hours in the basement trying to get the power back on.

  * * *

  WHEN BLAKE RETURNED to the dining room, he found William Reuben and one of the Dewdrops helping Ollie get settled on the sofa. In the blackout, Ollie had slipped coming down the staircase and sprained his ankle. Alvardo still hadn’t been located.

  While Rebecca tended to the injured man, Blake pulled Jeremy to one side. Outside the circle of light provided by the lantern, they stood in shadow. He quietly confided, “The fuse box in the basement was purposely blown, and Sarah needs both of the twins to help her get the generator working. You and I have to divvy up the protection and search duty.”

  Jeremy nodded. They’d worked together so long that he didn’t need further explanation. “I’ll take protection,” he said. “Everybody stays in this room. No exceptions.”

  “And I’ll look for Alvardo.” Blake’s suspicions about the general’s aide appeared to be correct, which meant that everything Alvardo had okayed—including the IDs for the band, the stripper and the caterers—couldn’t be counted on. “I’m going to take the senator with me.”

  “Good idea,” Jeremy said. “The last thing I need down here is for those two old guys to get into a scuffle.”

  “It’s likely that your father is the primary target.”

  “Agreed.” His voice tightened. “I’ll protect the old man.”

  Blake gave Jeremy the walkie-talkie the twins had been using so they could stay in touch. Then he stepped into the light from the lantern to address the others. “Listen up, people. Sarah thinks we’ll be able to get the power back on. Until then, we’re in the dark. I don’t want anybody else to get hurt so we’ll all stay together in this room.”

  “We’re on the buddy system,” Jeremy added. “Nobody goes anywhere without telling me or without taking a buddy.”

  “What about dinner?” Ollie asked.

  “I think we can manage that,” Jeremy said. “Emily and Maddox, start cleaning up the mess on the dining table.”

  Blake said. “Hank, I want you to come with me. We’ll try to locate Alvardo.”

  The senator followed him as he crossed the room to the central staircase. He paused at the front desk to pick up the keys. The first place to search was Alvardo’s bedroom. Though both he and the senator had flashlights, navigating through the dark was clumsy. Hank groped along the walls until he stood opposite the desk. “What do you need for me to do?”

  “I know your position on gun control, sir. Do you know how to handle a firearm?”

  “Yes.”

  Blake unlocked the front closet where they had been keeping the weapons and found a handgun. He checked the clip and handed it to the senator. “The safety is off.”

  “If my friends in Congress could see me now, I’d never live it down.”

  “Keep your eyes open and watch for a threat.” Blake climbed the staircase with his gun held at the ready. On the landing, he waited for Hank to catch up. “Are you ready?”

  “Why did you choose me to come with you? Any of the younger men would be better at this.”

  Blake shrugged. “I can trust you. I know you’re not working with the bad guys.”

  “I assume we’re considering Alvardo to be a threat,” Hank said. “Are we looking for anyone else?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t have to worry about what you tell me,” he said. “This isn’t a political situation, and I have no intention of using any information.”

  Blake hadn’t thought of politics and how the threat might look to a senator. If he mentioned terrorists, would he be hearing his words parroted back on a CNN interview? “Before this night is over, things might come out that cast an unflattering light on the general.”

  “Charles,” he said. “We’ve been getting along. At least, we haven’t ripped into each other.”

  “I would appreciate...” He paused to rephrase. “I’m sure that your daughter and your future son-in-law would appreciate your discretion.”

  “I don’t hold with secrets. That’s how conspiracies get started. Everything needs to be aboveboard.”

  “Even if it hurts your family?”

  The senator didn’t answer. Blake listened to the shuffling of their footsteps as they went down the hallway. Outside Alvardo’s room, he turned to the senator. The glow from his flashlight showed a scowl on the older man’s face.

  “I can’t promise to stay silent,” Hank said. “If the events at this wedding lead to a greater truth, it’s my obligation to speak out.”

  “Charles is part of your family,” Blake reminded him. “You owe him a measure of loyalty.”

  “This isn’t easy for me. I don’t want to alienate Emily. She’s my only child.”

  And his life would have been easier if his daughter was getting married to a liberal English professor at Berkeley. But that’s not what happened. “Emily fell in love with Jeremy, a good man and a soldier.”

  “I’m proud of Jeremy and his service to our country,” Hank said. “And I respect Charles. Damn it, Blake, I’m not trying to be difficult.”

  “Was I right to trust you?” It was a serious question. “Do you have my back, Hank?”

  “Yes.” He straightened his shoulders. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect the people I love.”

  “Welcome to the war zone, Senator.”

  Blake flipped through the keys and opened the door to the bedroom. He’d noticed before that
Alvardo was careful to keep his door locked. If they were lucky, they’d find clues here.

  After making sure the man wasn’t hiding in the closet or under the bed, he searched the obvious places—the dresser, a drawer in the bedside table, shelves in the closet and Alvardo’s suitcase. In the top drawer of a small desk, he found a silver ring, intricately carved with flower designs.

  Hank peered over his shoulder. “It’s too small for him. Did Alvardo have a girlfriend?”

  “Not that I know of.” Ironically, the person who had all that detailed background information about the people in the house was Alvardo himself.

  “A wedding ring?”

  “There’s an inscription inside.” Blake held the flashlight so he could see the carved letters. “It’s in Arabic. It says ‘My Beloved Daughter, Salima.’”

  “Not a wedding ring.”

  “Muslims don’t usually exchange rings,” Blake said. “But there are gifts of jewelry for the bride. Like this ring.”

  Alvardo had suggested a terrorist connection to the general. If the ring was evidence of that plot, why had he hidden it in his desk drawer? Instead of finding answers in this search, he was turning up more questions. Alvardo had more secrets than anyone knew.

  Under the pillow on the neatly made bed, Hank found a Glock, which he handed over to Blake. The gun was loaded, ready to go.

  “This isn’t right,” Blake said. “The reason for sleeping with a gun under your head is to be ready to react and protect yourself. If Alvardo is an assassin, why would he be worried about somebody sneaking up on him?”

  “Maybe he didn’t trust the people he was working with,” Hank suggested.

  That suggested other attackers, outside the house. But the charge that sabotaged the fuse box had been planted by someone on the inside. Had Alvardo turned out the lights? Why?

  Blake grabbed the briefcase that Alvardo took with him everywhere. Inside were folders, envelopes and reports. He passed it to Hank. “Hold on to this. The material in here could become evidence.”

  Hank frowned. “Charles won’t be happy to see me with all his personal correspondence in hand.”