“Thank you.” I get up to hug them both.
“Now, pack up, and get out of here. By the time you get to your new home, I’ll have a stack of work for you to do. You’re still my best designer, and I’ll fight to keep you. I don’t want anyone to steal you away from me.” Mr. Harris tells me. “Now, when that man of yours comes back from deployment, come back, so we can all meet him and have a proper goodbye to you. Do you understand me?” I nod my head. “I have some boxes out in the hallway.” I sigh in relief, and the first person I start to call is Zack. I call him by Skype, and I know I woke him up.
“Hey, babe. Are you okay? You’ve been crying.” He sits up and walks into the bathroom to turn on the light.
“I’m more than fine, baby. I’m moving. They were already planning it. In fact, I’m packing my office up now. I’ll be there before dinner, and I have a few more boxes at the house that Kelly and I can get next weekend, while Alec’s at Stan’s for his sleepover. Then, I’ll be officially all moved in. I’m leaving my furniture there, since yours is better than mine.”
“Oh, babe. This is the best news I’ve heard.”
“Go back to sleep. I love you.” I tell him to wait, and he asks who is behind me, and it’s Mr. Harris. “Oh, this is my boss, Mr. Harris.” I show him Zack. “This is my boyfriend, Zack.” He yells for his wife to come in here.
“Thank you, sir, for your service and sacrifice, but don’t think I won’t kick your ass, if you hurt our Ella.” Mrs. Harris gives him the mom voice.
“No, ma’am. Ella will kick my ass, if I do anything.” Zack laughs, as we all say goodbye, and I tell him that I love him.
“That’s my boyfriend.” I say with a big smile on my face. Mr. Harris kisses my temple, before leaving my office. I can’t believe I spent my adult life in this office, and now, I’m starting a new chapter in my life.
Ellen Kane
This chapter is told in the POV of Ellen Kane.
It’s been a few weeks, and Pierre is getting ready to be released. I’m packing my stuff up, since we finally figured out where Pierre and his men are going to go. We’re going to go back to England. Natalie, who is my computer expert and best friend, is excited, because it’s her favorite country to visit. Sam is going to go back to France to see if he can get any leads. The SEAL team is being separated to go to England and France. Natalie and I stay together, so we’re on the same flight as Pierre. We are making sure to get noticed, as the dumb tourists, who don’t know any better. She’s playing up her southern accent.
Nat bumps into guy number one. We found out his name is Jacques. When he’s not looking, she drops a bug into his pocket. “Oh, heaven’s me. I guess, I had one too many tequila sunrises for breakfast.” She giggles.
“Margaret, come on. Our seats are here. I’m sorry about my friend. We just graduated from college, and our daddies sent us on this trip to Europe. We’ve been having fun.” We giggle.
“No worries, mademoiselle.” His heavy French accent drips.
“Ooh, you’re so handsome, and you have that sexy accent down to boot.” Natalie runs her fingers and up to his shirt.
“Sorry,” I tell him again. We move to our seats that are about two rows behind them, as we put on the headphones to see if we can hear what’s being said. Of course, the two men are talking about our asses. We’re looking around for Pierre, but now, we learn that he’s in first class. “How do we get into first class?” I ask Natalie, as she leans over the armrest to look forward.
“I’m not even sure. This is such bullshit. Why didn’t we think about first class?” I put my head back, as the flight attendant starts to talk to us about getting ready for takeoff. Natalie and I sit there pretending to listen, while I make notes of what we need to do. We put the headphone into our ear, so we can hear the conversation between the two men.
Natalie’s researching the hotels in the cities that they’re talking about, so we can get in there, as soon as we land. She gets up, when we see the other man, Lucien, get up to the bathroom. “Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll be right back.” She tells me, as she gets up and adjusts her shirt a little bit, showing some cleavage. It’s not long, before I hear her talking to Jacques through the earpiece.
“Hello, sugar. Mind if I take this seat for a little bit?” She flutters her eyes, as he nods. “Where are you headed?” She flirts with him.
“England.”
“Well, I know that, silly. Me, too. I’ve never been there. What’s fun to do? Care to play tour guide?” What the fuck is she doing? We can’t make any outside contact with them.
“I could do that. What hotel are you staying at?” He asks her.
“Oh, my. We never booked one. Where are you staying?” He looks around, and then leans in to whisper to her. “Would you be okay if we booked there too, so we can see each other whenever?”
“I’d like that.” He leans into kiss Natalie, and she kisses him back. I hear someone, clearing his throat in my ears, as Natalie blushes on her way back to her seat.
I laugh at her, as I bow down to her in my seat. “You need to be on more missions.” We listen to the conversation more, and their talking about Natalie and me. We roll our eyes. I look out the window watching the clouds, as I sigh, closing my eyes.
I’m startled awake by someone coughing in my ear. I jump, and Natalie’s looking at me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“It’s okay. You’re exhausted. I’ve been able to sleep, but between the tyrant, Sam, and the divorcing ex-husband, Matt, you’re emotionally drained.” She knows me better than anyone.
“You deserve it, too,” Natalie reassures me.
“I hate that my marriage is ending but bring on the fun at least.” I laugh, which makes her laugh with me. “Daddy doesn’t know what he signed up for, when he gave me his black card.” Natalie says, noticing how we are being watched.
“I know! Can you believe he told me to get whatever I want? I mean, who knew shopping could be so much fun in another country!” Natalie laughs.
We both start looking at the tourist guides, so we look like we don’t know what we are doing, so Pierre gets involved. The plane lands, and we grab our overhead bags, and then head out. Natalie’s looking for Jacques to play her role, as Margaret.
She spots him at the baggage claim, as she heads over to talk to him, but I had to take the headphones out. I hit the record button, so I can still hear it. I bump into Zack and drop my headphones, as he gives me a tracker to put in my shoe. I clear my throat, as I see Natalie smiling, as she comes back with her luggage.
“They have room in their car for us,” Natalie tells me, and I look concerned.
“What if Pierre recognizes me? He could kill me.” I tell her.
“How could he do that? You were in disguise, and he was on painkillers. Trust me. It’s sunny out, so put on the shades.” I nod, suddenly being very scared. We’re walking with the three men out to the stretch limo that’s waiting for Pierre. He doesn’t speak to anyone. Just wears the fedora over his head with the bandages. Natalie and I get in first, and I look around, feeling very nervous. I’m glad that none of the CIA gadgets and gear are with us because I notice they are searching our bags. Pierre finally gets in in the car, noticing us.
“Hello. My name is Pierre.” He’s speaking with a deep, husky French voice. The fire must have damaged his vocal cords.
“Well, hello handsome. I’m Margaret, and this my best friend, Tara. We’re from the United States of America.”
“I can tell. What brings you here?” Natalie tells him the lie, and he seems interested. She tells him all about the touristy things we want to do, and now, we have his attention.
“Do your parents know where you are?” He asks.
“We haven’t checked in with them yet. We went to Oktoberfest, which was a blast, and we were going to leave earlier, but the airport was being bombed. It scared us so much.” She’s playing the damsel in distress so great, and Pierre’s eating it up.
&n
bsp; “Jacques tells me that you’re going to be staying in the same hotel as us. That’s wonderful news. We can have dinner together.” I tell him yes.
Once everyone is in, then we head to the hotel. Natalie and I have been to England so many times, but we start pointing out things and asking what some of the buildings are, like real tourists would do. Pierre tells us about each thing, when we ask. We get to the hotel, and they check-in. I take note of their room numbers, as Pierre receives four cards and hands me one.
“This is for when we have dinner together. Come by anytime, my dear. Tu es une beauté précieuse.” He says, ‘You are a precious beauty.’ He kisses my cheek, as I blush. It’s our turn, and I look at the key to see the number. We explain that we’re traveling with them, and we would like a suite with adjoining rooms on their floor, if possible. We get one three doors down from Pierre, and I call Sam.
“What’s the status?” He doesn’t even say hello anymore.
“We made contact,” I tell him about everything. “We are actually having dinner with him tonight in the hotel restaurant. I have the key to his room. Zack, Tyler, and Mark are out in the parking lot. Do we have any other teams in England?”
“No, they won’t be there, until tomorrow.”
“We have a suite, so the team can be in one room, while Natalie and I are in the other room,” I tell him.
“When are we going to wrap this up?” He asks me.
“I don’t know yet. I’m hoping it’s going to be soon because this guy gives me the creeps.” Natalie comes out of the bathroom with her earbuds in her ear, listening to the bug on the jacket of Jacques. She calls me over. “I’ll call you tomorrow with an update.” I hang up with him, going over to Natalie.
“We got the location, and Jacques and Lucien are headed there now. Pierre gave them the order to kill the girls in the shipping crate because he found a new beauté précieuse to for his sale.” Natalie tells me.
“I’m that precious beauty. Pierre called me that.” My heart starts to race.
“Call Sam,” Natalie tells me, as I pull out my phone.
“Sam, we need that team now. He’s going to kill the girls because he found someone new to sell.”
“Do you know who?” Sam asks, as I hear him typing on the laptop.
“Me.” I pop my lips. “Can you get a team here? We’re beside the stairs, so they can get in easily. The key will be in the firefighter only hose on the wall. We’re going to dinner with them. I don’t know how to put a tracker on them.”
“Be resourceful,” Sam tells me. “The team will be there in an hour or two. I told them about the situation. They’re coming in by helicopter, and Zack has a SEAL team nearby, as well.” He says, hanging up the phone. I take the tracker out of my cell phone, since I knew they’d search my bags, if I got close to Pierre.
“We need to get Jacques’s phone to get this tracker in, so we can get the girls,” I tell Natalie.
I get dressed in a spaghetti strap red dress. It’s tight and hugs my curves in all the right places. I wish I could put a gun on me, but I’ll have to work with what I have. Natalie’s wearing a white dress that also hugs her waist.
“Ready to go?” She asks me, as I nod not looking forward to it. I knock on the door to Pierre’s room.
“Bonjour,” Pierre answers the door, kissing both cheeks. “Tu as l'air parfait” You look perfect he tells us, as we smile. “You ready to eat?” We both nod our heads.
We walk out of the door, and we link arms with him, as we walk to the elevator. Jacques and Lucien are waiting for us, and we make pleasantries, as we ride down. My skin is crawling with every touch from Pierre, Jacques, and Lucien.
The men are talking in French about how Lucien is going to take the car to shipping crate on the dock. I have my cell phone on, so Sam can listen and lead our team to rescue the girls. I hate not being able to be there with the girls, but I know Sam will have a group of well-trained women there to help the women, who have been tortured and raped.
We are seated at the table; Natalie is no longer next to me. The round table goes Pierre, me, Jacques, Natalie, and Lucien. Pierre starts ordering for all of us to impress us, and I have to act like the doe-eyed innocent girl, which I hate, because I’m not a damsel. I can take care of myself. My phone keeps buzzing, as Pierre’s hand is on my thigh, and I’m trying to distract him, while I keep silencing it.
“Oh, you’re such a bad boy.” I giggle, as I notice Zack and Mark in the dining room. I only know this because Natalie picked out their disguises.
“Let me show you how bad I can be.” He says in his French accent closely to my ear, as his hand finds his way to my garter belt. “You drive me crazy.” Pierre grabs the back of my neck and pulls me closer to him, “I felt that knife on your garter. It really turns me on.” He takes my hand to grab his hard cock, as I try not to gag. I moan, so only he can hear me, as I think to myself, “Where the fuck is Sam?”
“Naughty boy,” I say in my southern accent. My leg vibrates, letting me know they got the girls. “I need to go freshen up.” I look to Nat, and say, “Why don’t you join me?”
“Why do femmes need to go together?” Lucien asks, chuckling.
“We like to talk about you boys.” Natalie flips her hair. “Don’t worry, we will be kind. Don’t get into too much trouble without us.” We walk to where the bathrooms are located, giggling like high school girls, looking back at the table. We quickly duck into a conference room.
I hike up my dress, revealing my knife stuck in the garter belt. Zack holds up his hands in surrender, which makes Natalie laugh. She gets onto the laptop and starts typing. She writes something down and shows it to me.
“Give me your garter.”
I remove my garter and gasp in horror, when I see Zack, pounding on it. She gives a thumbs up. “He bugged you. Let me see what’s going on.” I walk over to her to stand behind her.
“Damn it. Pierre will know it’s gone.” Sam calls and tells us the girls are going to the hospital. “We need to get out there, or they’ll be gone forever,” I tell them, as Zack hands me a gun. We all flood out of the door with our weapons and earbuds in.
“On my count.” Natalie’s in our ears. “Shit. They’re leaving. Go out the side door to meet them.” We split into two groups, and I’m out the side door.
“Freeze. You’re under arrest.” I look at Pierre.
“Oh, Ellen. I’m so glad that I finally got your real name. I remember your eyes right before I was sent to the hospital. It was a very shrewd move to be on my flight.” He steps towards me.
“Don’t move,” I yell. “Being on that flight was pure accident. Put your hands on your head.” My men start to move in, when Pierre finally gets into the stance of his feet apart and his fingers laced together and above his head, as I put the cuffs on him.
“It’s a shame, really. You would’ve made me a wealthy man. I could’ve retired because the men would’ve fought for you.” He tells me, as he spits at me. “I’ll be out, before the sun comes up.”
“Don’t bet on it.” I get in his face. “Enjoy prison, bitch.” I walk him to the cop car, waiting for him. “I can’t wait to slide that door shut on you. Make sure to be nice to your roommate.” I wink. I see Zack, Mark, and Natalie standing there, but all I want to do is call Matt to tell him that I got him.
We head back to the hotel that we are really staying at, so we can debrief, work on our reports, and get some sleep. I’m exhausted. I hope that Sam will let me take some time off to take a mini-vacation to go to a spa.
Zachary Sanders
After the bust, we debriefed in England for about a month, making sure everything was good and legal. It’s been about six days, since I’ve been able to Skype call Ella and Alec, but I knew I need to be cautious. We’re heading home in a few days, and I can’t wait to surprise my family. Kelly’s been telling me how much life the house has now that Ella has officially moved in. I’m relaxing on my bed in the hotel room, when there’s a knock
on the door. I get up to answer it, and it’s Ellen.
“You look upset. What’s wrong?” I ask her. She sits down on the desk chair, and I’m on the edge of the bed.
“It’s Pierre. He’s out on bail and missing.” Her voice is shaky.
“What the fuck? How did this happen? We’ve been here for the past month, making sure every I is dotted, and every T is crossed.” I slam my fists onto the bed.
“I don’t know, but Sam’s wanting a conference with everyone.”
“Great, so more yelling?” I laugh. “I need my secure laptop to start running a facial recognition for him.” We walk down the hallway to the elevator together. This is frustrating, when the mission doesn’t go the way it should.
“Natalie’s looking for him, too.” She winks at me. Natalie and I got into a computer hacking conversation one night to see who was better. It ended up being a tie.
I start running my scans, as Sam talks about the fugitive hunt that’s now going to have every agency looking for him, too. We need to bring him to justice. In a body bag preferably. Nat and I spend the next week, scouring every lead that comes in, when finally, something happens.
“Found him!” Natalie stands up, squealing loudly. All eyes are on her now. “Oh, sorry. He’s in Texas.”
Natalie, Tyler, and I decide to leave first to stake out the hotel, where we found him for the last two days. I drive the streets of Texas, heading to the hotel, and then I pull into the parking lot. I look around, before walking into the hotel. Something doesn’t feel right. My hair is standing up, and I feel a tingle up my spine. I get into the surveillance van with Natalie, as I’m looking into the hotel lobby.
Sam’s sitting in the lobby, while drinking coffee. He nods at Ellen, and she decides to sit near him, so it doesn’t look like they’re together. He’s reading a book and not paying attention to her.
“You okay?” He asks her.
“Something feels off. I don’t know what it is, and I really can’t explain it.” She tells him, as I scan the hotel lobby to see if I can spot something.
Signed, SEALed, Delivered Page 12
