Rescue Me: A Novel

by Christy Reece

  Though Christina was her priority, Eden would take the opportunity to snoop around for information. If Noah was correct and Alfred kept this part of the business to himself, she most likely wouldn't find anything, but she had to try.

  Jordan held out his hand to Noah McCall. “I appreciate you seeing me on such short notice.”

  The founder of Last Chance Rescue didn't look anything like what he'd expected. Ink-black hair, shorn to almost military standard, brown, almost black eyes, hawkish nose, and firm, determined jaw, he looked less like a Mafia hit man and more like a D.C. lawyer.

  “Not at all,” McCall said. “The information you gave me sounded intriguing. Why don't you come in and tell me what you can.”

  Jordan entered the nondescript hotel room, identical to the hundreds of hotel rooms he'd done business in during his career. He seated himself in a comfortable, overstuffed fake leather chair and watched McCall amble to the bar. “Would you care for something to drink?”

  “Water.”

  Returning with a glass filled with ice and sparkling water, he handed it to Jordan, then sat across from him and folded his hands, waiting for Jordan to start.

  Pulling a thick file from his briefcase, Jordan slid it across the table. It contained every detail, no matter how small, on his investigation of Devon's disappearance.

  “Devon Winters disappeared seven years ago last April in Washington, D.C. I believe I was the last person who saw her before she disappeared. She was twenty-one and emotionally distraught at the time. I'm sure that had something to do with her disappearance.”

  McCall's eyes flickered down briefly at the file and then back at Jordan. “What happened to upset her?”

  Jordan blew out a deeply held breath. He'd known he would have to spill his guts today, hold nothing back. Though remembering that time always twisted his in-sides into knots of fire, if this was his last chance to find Devon, he'd spare himself nothing to accomplish that goal.

  After a long swallow of water, Jordan replaced the glass on the table. “I've known Devon and her family for years. Her stepfather was my godfather. I saw her often, whenever I stopped in to see Henry. She was a sweet, innocent kid. She went off to boarding school. I got involved in my career. Whenever she came home for visits, I was out of town. Years passed.”

  In his mind, he saw that young girl. Curly, golden blond hair framed a round, dimpled face, and even with a mouth filled with metal braces, her smile could light up the hardest of hearts. She had clear gray, guileless eyes, a cute little button nose, a quick, intelligent mind, and a delightful slant on life that brought him to laughter more than once.

  “And then?”

  Jordan looked at Noah McCall, knowing full well the man had an excellent idea of what happened, without Jordan spilling his guts. It didn't matter. Jordan would do it anyway.

  “I was at a party … ball, actually. Shouldn't have been there. I'd just got back to the States from a … job. It hadn't gone well. I was running on almost no sleep … in a lousy frame of mind, and I'd had too much to drink.” He rubbed a weary hand down his face. There he went, making excuses for himself, when there were none. “And then, there she was … like a beautiful goddess.”

  “And by she, I can only assume you mean Devon and that she had grown up?”

  “Yes … but more than that. She'd changed so much, I didn't recognize her. I saw a beautiful, mature woman … not an innocent, inexperienced child.”

  McCall's forehead wrinkled. “I thought you said she was twenty-one.”

  “It doesn't matter. I was eight years older, in age and experience. I should have seen behind her act.”

  “So you didn't recognize her and Devon decided to keep her identity a secret?”

  “Yes, apparently she'd had a crush on me for years, something I never knew. She saw me at the ball and decided to test her newfound maturity.”

  “I'm assuming you slept with her?”

  Jordan held back a humorless laugh. Twenty minutes of the most intense sexual experience of his life couldn't really be summed up in such a common, unemotional way. He wasn't sure there were words for what had happened, though when he'd learned the truth of her identity, the only words to describe his behavior were reprehensible, disgusting, and vile.

  Suddenly wanting to get it all out, Jordan spit the words as if they were bullets. “After it was over, she disappeared. I still didn't know it was Devon… She told me her name was Mary. An hour or so later, Devon's mother called me. She somehow discovered what Devon had done. Told me a bunch of lies I was stupid enough to believe. A few minutes after that phone call, Devon came back to my house and I tore into her as if she'd committed a major crime.”

  “Can you tell me what you said?” When Jordan glared at him, McCall shrugged. “It might help, but if you don't want …”

  Without even trying, his mind zoomed straight to the one event he regretted more than anything else in his life. “Alise, Devon's mother, told me Devon tried to seduce two other of their friends, that she was seeing a psychiatrist for her problems. I believed her, and I accused Devon of setting everything up, seducing me.”

  “Well, wasn't that what she did?”

  Jordan shook his head emphatically. “If anything, I seduced her. I ignored all the signs of innocence, uncertainty, fear … and took what I wanted.”

  “Why are you avoiding telling me what you said to her?”

  Irrationally angry at McCall's persistence, self-loathing tinged his bitter words. “Because I called her a slut. Told her if I'd known who she was, I would have vomited before I touched her. I asked her if I hadn't used protection, would I have found out in a few months that I'd fathered a child with a lunatic.”

  His guts churning, Jordan glared at the man across from him. “That's why, McCall. This sweet, innocent girl I practically seduced was verbally raped by the man she thought her hero.”

  McCall's face remained impassive, his eyes empty. What had he expected? Exoneration? Understanding? This man's opinion didn't matter. What he needed was to find Devon … to know she still lived.

  “What happened after that?”

  “She ran out the door, but not before she apologized for about the tenth time, told me she loved me, that I'd always been her hero and she wished she could have been mine.”

  “And that was the last time you saw her?”

  Jordan nodded. “I went after her a few seconds later. It was pouring rain… I walked up and down the street but couldn't find her. I assumed she caught a taxi.”

  Unable to sit still any longer, Jordan stood and started to pace. He'd never repeated those shameful words to anyone. Saying them again caused an ache deep inside.

  “I got called out of the country a few hours later. It never crossed my mind that she hadn't returned home. I figured when I got back, I'd be less angry and more inclined to listen to her. It was a couple of months before I could get back. I went to her parents' house. That's when I found out she'd been missing since that day.”

  “I'm surprised her parents or the police didn't contact you.”

  “I was on a project few people were aware of … no one could contact me.”

  He went on to detail his conversations with the police, his own inept investigation, and the number of private detectives he'd had working on her case for years. He briefly mentioned he had many contacts in the government and used every one of them in his effort to find Devon, all to no avail.

  While Jordan Montgomery spilled his verbal guts, Noah took careful measure of the man he'd known for years, yet had never met. The photos he'd seen didn't do him justice. Attractive, mid-thirties, thick dark hair, and chocolate-brown eyes. Looked to be in excellent shape, well over six feet tall with a commanding presence that would entice many women. Noah could easily see how a young, innocent woman could be so fascinated by him.

  Exuding self-confidence, cool sophistication, and danger, Jordan Montgomery would draw women to him like bees to honey.

  Noah was more than a li
ttle shocked by his own anger toward Montgomery. After hearing the things this man said to a young, innocent Devon, he had the overwhelming urge to slam his fist into Montgomery's gut until he gagged. Profound guilt might have eaten at the man for seven years and the mistakes he'd made stemmed from anger and betrayal, but what Montgomery inadvertently set in motion made his crimes much worse.

  But it wasn't Noah's place to pin blame or offer pardon. All of this would be left up to Eden. What would she think when she discovered Jordan continued to search, even after all these years?

  Montgomery dropped back into his chair. “What do you think the chances are of LCR finding her?”

  Noah would reveal nothing. This would be Eden's decision. If she chose to expose herself, he was almost certain to lose her as an operative. She had buried her trauma, but bringing it back out into the open, having her reveal that trauma to the man who'd unknowingly been responsible for it, wasn't something he figured she'd be able to handle and come away from not changed in some way.

  Eden's coolheaded, emotionless persona was a far cry from the overemotional, damaged, and weak Devon Winters found in the alley all those years ago. If she returned to any part of that person, LCR would no longer be a fit for her. She'd be a real person instead of the hardened, detached mercenary he'd trained.

  Noah shook off his disquiet and regret. He'd set this into play. He wouldn't back out now.

  “You don't look very optimistic.”

  Noah jerked himself out of his introspection. The last thing he needed was Montgomery wondering what was going on in his head. “Just giving careful thought to what you've told me.” He eyed Jordan speculatively. “You went to our D.C. office years ago and we weren't able to help. I read our file. You and her stepfather offered a huge reward. Her face was plastered all over the world. The story got local and national attention. Nothing came from all of that. Why do you think that years later, this will be any different?”

  “As your name implies, this is my last chance. I had to come here on business and I knew the founder of LCR was here in Paris. It's a long shot, but I have to give it one more try. My job has afforded me the ability to search for Devon on my own and I always believed at some point, I'd come across some kind of clue.”

  “What's changed?”

  “Nothing yet, but it soon will. I've left my job. And I'm … getting married. I guess you could say I want to give finding her one final try before I give up completely and decide there's nothing more I can do.”

  “Will you ever truly give up?” Noah asked quietly.

  “You mean will I stop looking at every tall, slender, blond woman and wonder if it's her?” Montgomery shrugged with a restrained weariness. “Probably not.”

  “I'll be honest with you. Seven years is a lot of time and mileage to cover. Most of the things you've done, we would have done, too. It could be Devon is dead, which I assume is your greatest fear. But it could also be she doesn't want to be found. She may have left that part of her life behind her. It doesn't sound like she had a lot of support or love surrounding her and may have just decided to make a new life for herself.”

  Montgomery leaned forward, his eyes haunted. “If that's the case, that's fine. I don't even have to know where she is … won't even try to see her. I just need to know if she's safe … alive.”

  Noah stood, indicating the interview was over. “Let me give it some thought and see what kind of headway I can make based upon what you've told me and the file you brought.”

  Montgomery rose and held out his hand. “I'd appreciate any help you could offer.”

  As they made their way to the door, Noah couldn't help but ask a question. “Do you think Devon's mother will be of any help if we contact her?”

  An expression of bitter hatred appeared on the other man's face. “Alise wouldn't cross the road to save her daughter, so no, I don't expect you'll get any help from her. But if you think you can, then by all means, go ahead. Once you talk with her, you'll better understand Devon's disappearance.”

  So Montgomery didn't know Devon had contacted her mother a few months after she was released from the hospital. Devon had been told not to call back and she hadn't. The conversation, brief and cruel beyond Noah's comprehension, had solidified his decision to help her disappear completely. Evidently Alise never told anyone.

  The woman was indeed the bitch from hell.

  Eden wouldn't know about any of this until her assignment was finished. She didn't need the distraction. In the meantime, he planned to get even more information about Jordan Montgomery. He knew quite a bit already, but based on some of the things Montgomery had told him, Noah got the impression there was much more to the man than what he revealed. He suspected Montgomery might work with or for the government in a capacity other than as the CIA analyst his file indicated. If so, he'd probably figure out Eden's identity at some point, so she would need to make a decision pretty quickly on what she wanted to do.

  Also, though he knew Eden wouldn't like it and he wasn't sure it was the best idea he'd ever had, if Jordan Montgomery was as sharp and tough as he appeared to be, Noah wondered how he could be used. Noah had no compunction about using people for his own needs. What he and LCR did went beyond a single person. Using people to achieve his goals was as normal to him as breathing. If Montgomery could offer assistance with their new project, then he'd use him, despite Eden. She wouldn't like it, but she would understand.

  First things first, though. Just who exactly was Jordan Montgomery?

  seven

  Marc Larue's stone and brick mansion neither daunted nor impressed her. It might be a summer cottage to these people, but it boasted twelve bedrooms just in the main house. According to Georges, there were several other cottages on the compound. Selling and ransoming human beings, along with a multitude of other illegal activities, had paid off well for the Larues.

  Eden closed the door on the last bedroom to check and turned to head back to the east wing and her bedroom suite. She didn't expect Marc to house his victim with his family. Nor did she expect to find information on Alfred Larue's human trafficking business. Nevertheless, she could leave no stone unturned. There was a surprising lack of security in the house. Evidently the family believed whoever made it inside their doors was either worthy of their trust or not worthy of their distrust. As usual, her fake background checked out perfectly.

  Tonight, if all went as planned, she'd check the rest of the compound. If Christina was on the island, Eden would find her.

  Once his daughter was safe, Hector Clement would no doubt seek retribution against the Larue family. She had no feelings one way or the other on what might happen to the adults in this family. They deserved punishment. The children, however, were a different matter. Noah had made it clear to Clement that if anything happened to any of the Larue children, Clement would pay dearly. Noah could be very convincing.

  “There you are. I've been looking all over for you,” Georges said.

  The coy but sexy smile she flashed was calculated to get him to concentrate on her, not her location. Eden slid her hand into the hidden pocket of her skirt, hiding the small tool she used to open locked doors. “I was just wandering around, enjoying the beauty of your brother's magnificent home.”

  Georges's indulgent expression relieved a small spurt of tension.

  “Tomorrow, I'll show you around the island. You've yet to see the grandest part of all. I'll take you to the top of the mountain and we'll watch the sunrise together.”

  Eden held out her hand to him to lead him away from the rooms she'd just checked. “Imagine, having your very own mountain.”

  Georges took her hand. “I could give you a mountain and so much more if you would but let me.” He turned her hand over, and kissed her palm, inserting his tongue between her middle two fingers.

  An appropriate and expected shiver of arousal shuddered through her. Georges need never know it was actually revulsion. “Georges … please. You know I cannot betray Jacques.”
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br />   “But Claire, my love, your husband cannot give you the satisfaction I know your body cries out for. Let me at least give you that.”

  Eden pulled her hand away. “I can't ask that of you, and whether Jacques can give me physical pleasure is not important. I made my vows to him, to keep myself only to him.”

  A glimmer of anger flickered in his eyes before he quickly banked it. A small alarm clicked on inside her. If Georges became impatient, if he forced the issue, she would have a choice to make. She wouldn't leave without finding the child or some clue to where she might be. If she used her little viral bug, Georges would become violently sick, but she stood the chance of being removed from the island if they insisted on taking him to a hospital.

  Another option was the knockout drug she always carried with her. Of course, that would involve allowing him a sexual favor or two. Though it made her skin crawl and her stomach roil, Eden had been prepared for that from the beginning. In every assignment, she knew there were such risks.

  Saving the child was the objective. Any sexual act would be put out of her mind, just as anything else she did that might bother an ordinary person. Eden no longer made the claim of ordinariness … it had been beaten out of her years ago. She was a survivor and would do what was necessary, no matter how distasteful.

  Georges continued to stare at her for what seemed like endless seconds, as if the sheer power of his eyes would compel her to change her mind and agree to go to bed with him. Since that wouldn't happen until she knew there was no other option, she returned his stare until he had the grace to look slightly ashamed. Some small, decent part of him still admired her loyalty to her husband and she planned to play on that as long as possible.

  “Come, my love, it's time for dinner.”

  Allowing him to take her hand, Eden followed Georges down the stairs to the large dining room. She had met many of the family members throughout the day. Georges's mother had been the biggest surprise. Gracious and kind, she'd welcomed Eden into her home as if she were a long-lost daughter. An attractive woman in her mid-fifties, Inez Larue appeared to be a warm, loving woman who doted on her children and grandchildren. If Eden hadn't known for certain that she was responsible for some of the most heinous acts of the Larue family, she'd believe Inez was the epitome of motherhood. Too bad these people were criminals. With their acting abilities, they'd make great LCR operatives.