Hunted
Page 5
Kai puffed out his chest and then deflated. “No.”
Dante chuckled. “Next time, call me first. No wait—there better be no next time.”
“Yes, Father,” Kai said demurely…and, Sawyer thought, insincerely.
Dante rolled his eyes. “Homework. Now.”
“But Dad, I have to help find Harlow.”
“I hate to break it to you, kid, but you don’t work here,” Dante reminded him.
Kai’s brows puckered. “I don’t?” He fished in his back pocket and then slapped a hand on Sawyer’s desk. “Then how come I have these?”
Sawyer and Dante both leaned over to read the wrinkled business card with the COBRA Securities logo embossed in gold. It read: Kai Costa, Agent-in-Training.
Dante choked out a laugh. “Where did you get this?”
Kai beamed with pride. “Maggie made it for me.”
Maggie Addison McQueen, the former office manager turned fellow agent, had a soft spot for Kai. They all did.
Dante shook his head. “Maggie. Figures. Come-on. Let Sawyer do his job, Kai. He’ll let you know if he needs anything from you.”
Kai looked like he wanted to argue, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. When he walked to his Dad, Dante put an arm around his shoulder.
“You’ll let us know if you need anything?” Dante asked.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
#
As soon as Dante and Kai left his office, Sawyer called Luke and asked if he and Logan were available for a quick meeting. Ten minutes later, he was in Logan’s office, explaining the situation to his bosses.
“No one knows she’s there?” Luke asked.
“Just her sister.”
Logan was tapping notes into his iPad. “What is the name of the organization she was travelling with?”
“Relief Now. I haven’t had a chance to look them up.”
Logan punched some keys on the screen. “They have a very basic website, I mean, it’s bare bones. Not much beyond a mission statement that states they provide support to underprivileged children in third-world countries. The contact is Valeria Vargas.”
“President Duquesne will not be happy if we don’t inform her of the situation,” Luke pointed out.
“I realize that, but there must be a reason Harlow didn’t want anyone to know. Let me get down there and find out what’s going on first.”
Luke nodded. “We weren’t hired to retrieve her, so the President can’t get too bent out of shape.”
“That brings me to my next point.” It was an issue Sawyer needed to address. He wanted to use the full resources of the company, but this wasn’t an official job. It was personal. “I’d like to request vacation time to fly down to Coslos. And I’ll cover the cost of any resources used.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Not happening,” his bosses responded at the same time and his stomach dropped.
“Even though we weren’t officially hired, make no mistake, this is a COBRA Securities operation,” Logan insisted.
“You have full use of company resources,” Luke added. “Whatever you need.”
“Just bring her home safely.”
That brought a lump to Sawyer’s throat. Bringing Harlow home safely was the plan. He prayed he could deliver. “Thank you.” He cleared his throat. “With your okay, I’ll fly down there tonight. I need to see if Peter can trace the call Harlow made to Zoe’s phone so I have a starting point in the search.”
“I’ll give Wyatt a call, see if he’s able to make the flight so soon,” Luke said, dialing his cell. “He can take the smaller Gulfstream.”
Logan checked a calendar program on his iPad. “As of right now, we don’t need him back right away, but that might change. You’ll need to take another agent with you, too.”
“Mason’s due for R&R after the Lightkeeper case. We work well together. I’ll see if he’s up to heading down there with me.”
“Whatever you need, you have our full support,” Logan promised. “Just keep us posted.”
“Wyatt’s good to go,” Luke said. “He’s headed over to gas up the plane.”
“Thank you.” The words couldn’t convey the gratitude Sawyer felt at the unconditional support his bosses offered. He truly worked for the best company.
“Stop by the Prop Shop before you head out.” Logan picked up the phone. “I’ll give them a heads-up.”
He thanked them both and dialed Mason’s cell as he left the office. It kicked over to voice mail. He cursed loudly.
“Hey, Sawyer. What’s up?”
He turned to see Grant Colton ambling down the hall. Luke’s brother was one of the most competent men Sawyer had ever met, a former SEAL. “I’m trying to get in touch with Mason Rossi. I need assistance on an urgent case but his phone kicked to voice mail.”
“I’m available. What do you need?”
“I’m headed to Coslos on a retrieval mission with little intel.”
“I can be ready in fifteen.”
He sighed with relief and clapped Grant on the shoulder. “Thanks man, I appreciate it.”
#
While Grant packed, Sawyer headed to the Prop Shop, the department in charge of all things covert, from disguises to fake documents. Grant returned ten minutes later, having overestimated the time it would take him to clear the trip and throw together a go-bag. They geared up, packing provisions for any contingency. They had no idea what they’d run into when they touched down in Coslos and Sawyer wanted to be prepared. On their way out, he stopped by the technology department and gave Peter Dennis all the information to trace the call Harlow made to Zoe’s phone. Peter promised he or one of his staff would call with the details.
Wyatt had the engine fired up and prepared for take-off. They loaded the gear and then filed inside. They were airborne within minutes. Less than two hours after learning about Harlow’s disappearance, he was on his way to find her.
As the treetops grew smaller and then faded from sight, he couldn’t help but reflect on the earlier flight. It was a complete turnaround. This morning, the mood had been celebratory and relaxed. Now it was somber and intense. Harlow was missing, possibly in danger. It made his stomach cramp to think of her scared and alone in a foreign country.
“Give me a sit rep,” Grant said from across the aisle. He hadn’t had time to fill him in on all the details. He’d just agreed to help, no matter what. Teamwork.
“We’re going into this blind. Harlow Duquesne flew to Coslos on a humanitarian mission, but something went wrong. We don’t know what. She called her sister to let her know she was aborting the trip and coming home, but she ended the call abruptly after muttering something about them finding her.”
“Are you thinking ransom?”
“That’s one possibility.” And the most logical explanation. Her family was one of the wealthiest in the world. The second possibility was that it was political since her grandmother ran the country. The third was that it was random. It could just be that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sawyer rubbed the ache in his chest as his mind spiraled through the unpleasant possibilities. He couldn’t let himself think about human traffickers or the drug cartels that ran rampant in the country. Harlow was smart and she was resourceful. She wouldn’t be taken without a fight.
He did wonder about her reasoning in not telling anyone she was leaving the country. He got that her life had been lived under a microscope, but when safety was at stake, it paid to be prudent. It wasn’t fair of her to put the burden of the secret on her sister’s shoulders. Zoe was too young to have to deal with this alone.
“I have a few contacts in the region. I can try to get in touch with them when we land. I assume we’re keeping this low profile?”
“Yeah. The President doesn’t know her granddaughter is in danger.”
His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, not recognizing the number.
“Hello?”
Chapter Six
It said something about how much she thought about the man that she had his number memorized. She barely remembered her own cell number, but she’d committed Sawyer’s to memory. Most numbers she programmed into her phone, his included, but she’d spent a ridiculously embarrassing amount of time staring at his gold-embossed business card.
She punched in his number and waited with bated breath.
“Hello?”
Just the sound of his voice calmed her nerves and she felt like bursting into tears. “Sawyer.” His name came out in a breathless sigh.
“Harlow? Is that you, honey? Where are you? Have you been harmed?”
Honey. The endearment washed over her. Enveloped her. It did strange things to her heart, too. She was surprised he recognized her voice from one word.
“Talk to me, Harlow.”
“You’ve spoken with Zoe.” It wasn’t a question and she wasn’t totally surprised. She figured her sister had called the National Guard, but she’d taken it a step further and called the big guns. COBRA Securities.
“She’s worried about you. Are you safe?”
“For the moment, but I’m not sure how much longer.”
“Hold on a second.” She heard him telling someone to get a trace on her phone. “I’m on my way but we’re a few hours away.”
She shot upright and gasped. “You’re on your way here? To Coslos?”
“Yeah. I’m having your phone traced so we can locate you easily.”
He’d jumped on a plane without knowing the situation or if she was even in danger. Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to blurt out how much she thought about him and how she missed him, but now wasn’t the time.
“Can you tell me what happened.”
“Long version or short?”
“If you’re safe, I’ve got time for the long.”
She settled back against the wall. Darkness had descended over the country and the only illumination came from the moon filtering in through the window. She was glad so she didn’t have to see the poor man lying dead in the bed. She’d slapped the overhead lights off right after she found the cell phone so she didn’t have to see his face frozen in shock. She’d see it enough in her dreams in the coming years…assuming she got out of this alive. “Zoe told you I came with Relief Now on a humanitarian mission?”
“Yes, she did.”
“I met Valeria Vargas, the organizer, when she attended one of my yoga classes. We started talking and she told me about her organization and how she was struggling to find volunteers for her latest mission. I’ve wanted to get more involved in charitable causes and when I found out this one was helping underprivileged children, I decided to volunteer. It all happened so fast. I talked another friend into volunteering as well. I knew if I told my parents, they’d make a big deal of me going and either insist I stay home or send an army of security with me.”
“Mmm.”
She narrowed her eyes at that tone, wondering what that one sound meant. It sounded accusing to her. He probably agreed with her parents. When he didn’t say anything else, just waited for her to continue, she did. “Valeria, Carmen, that’s my friend, and I flew over this morning. Supposedly, another group arrives tomorrow after we had the temporary office set up. When the plane landed, a man who claimed to be part of Relief Now met us. Andrés. Valeria knew him, so I assumed he was legit. Then he started to come on to me…really strongly. I repeatedly told him that I was here to work but he ignored my protests. He wouldn’t quit touching me or invading my personal space.”
“Mmm.”
This time, the sound was a low, menacing growl.
“We were all in the office, getting things ready to go. Valeria left to grab some food for everyone and took Carmen with her. I didn’t want to be alone in the office with Andrés, so I went to the bathroom. I planned on taking my time, but the room was dark and foreboding, so I returned. I just started to enter when I overheard him on the phone talking with someone, telling them that he hadn’t been able to convince someone to go out with him, that he’d have to take them by force. Seeing as how he’d been coming on to me all day, I assumed he meant me.”
“What did you do next?”
His voice was low and comforting, wrapping around her in the darkness of the room. She slid further down the wall and continued. “I didn’t want to confront him and there was no one else around, so I decided to go back to the hotel and pack. I was worried about leaving Carmen, but I thought I’d call her from the airport to let her know what was happening. I thought if I was surrounded by people, he couldn’t get to me. But when I got close to the hotel, I noticed a man wearing sunglasses, scoping the area. He was also wearing a bulky jacket.”
“Hiding a weapon.”
“That’s what I thought. I ducked into a boutique and pretended to shop, all the while, keeping an eye on the man. A few minutes later, Andrés arrived and headed directly for him. They were looking around and I assumed they were searching for me. I purchased a scarf and dress from the boutique and as soon as they left, I took off in the opposite direction.”
“What about your luggage?”
“It’s still in the hotel room. If they were watching, I didn’t want to risk going back for it.”
“Good thinking. What about your passport?”
“I kept it with me, along with cash.”
“Good. What did you do next?”
“I started walking. I had no idea where I could find a hotel, I just hoped I came across one, and finally found one whose name I recognized. I checked in under an assumed name and I paid cash and kept my face down. Then when I entered the room, every bit of energy left in a rush and I fell asleep.”
“Adrenaline crash,” he said.
“Yeah. I felt like someone had let the wind out of my sails and I couldn’t even stand. I slept for a few hours. When I woke up, I panicked because I hadn’t called Zoe to let her know I’d arrived safely. I should’ve called her when we landed but my cell battery was dead. I called her on the hotel phone and as we were talking, I heard voices in the hall and my door rattled.”
“They found you?”
“Yes. I hung up with Zoe. There was a window that led to a fire escape. I started to climb out, but there were men on the ground watching the hotel. I had to assume they were watching for me. There was a connecting door to the next room and it was unlocked, but the room was occupied. The man didn’t wake, so I hid behind his curtains. I could hear someone enter my room next door and soon they burst into the connecting room. The man woke up and they demanded to know where he was hiding me. He kept insisting that he didn’t know what they were talking about. They threatened him and I was just about to step forward when they—” A sob bubbled up from her throat and her hand flew to her mouth. She had to force the words out. “They killed him.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”
Tears were streaming down her face now. “He died because of me, Sawyer. If I hadn’t come in here to hide—”
“Harlow, it didn’t matter that you were there. They would’ve killed him either way. They would’ve searched his room. You had nothing to do with it. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
He could say it, but she didn’t believe it. “It is my fault. If I hadn’t come to Coslos in the first place, the man would still be alive.”
“You can’t go back in time, so you have to let it go.”
Again, easy for him to say.
“What did you do next?”
“They searched his room and I was sure they would find me, but no one looked behind the
curtain. Then they left.”
“Where did you go next?”
“Nowhere.”
“Harlow, are you still in the room? With the dead man?”
She stifled another sob. “Yes.”
“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Don’t look at the body.”
She wiped tears from her cheek. “I’m trying not to. They left all the lights on but I had to turn them off.”
“I need you to do something for me. I want you to stay right where you are until I come for you. Find a towel or cloth and cover your nose and mouth.”
“I’ve got one here.” She’d also been breathing through her mouth. The stench was strong, and it wouldn’t be long until it drew attention.
“Good. Look, I’m worried about you being on the phone. Do you think this Andrés could’ve tagged it somehow to track you down?”
“I left my phone in the office charging.”
“How are you calling me?”
“I-I’m,” she swallowed hard, “using the dead man’s cell. I found it in his jacket pocket.”
“That was good thinking, Harlow. What about your friend Carmen? Did you tell her where you are? Could Andrés have coerced the information from her?”
Guilt punched her low in the gut. Her friend would be worried. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to her since I fled. I need to call her.”
“Wait until we get there. Do you have anything on you they could’ve tagged with a tracker?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve changed clothes twice…oh wait. As I was looking for a hotel, a man blocked my path. He was drunk and obnoxious. When he grabbed for my arm, I flattened him.”
Sawyer huffed out a laugh. “Good for you.”
“Yeah, but the scene drew attention. People were gathering and pointing, so I hurried away. I found another store and bought a different outfit with a big, floppy hat. I didn’t want anyone to remember me.”
“Good thinking.”
“But someone must have reported the incident to Andrés. Maybe they followed me to the hotel. I don’t know how they found me here.”
“Do you have any idea why this Andrés guy targeted you? Do you think it’s because of your family, your grandmother?”