Driving Force

by Elle James

  Gus went after the guy holding the woman in black.

  Before he could reach him, the woman doubled over, her feet hit the ground and she flipped with the man holding her around her waist. Twisting free, she rolled out of range and came up in a ready stance.

  The two men who’d fought with the woman took off, running for the shadows.

  Declan’s two attackers broke free, grabbed the man on the ground by the arms and hauled him to his feet. Then they ran after the others.

  The man with the knife in his ribs lay groaning on the pavement, his voice trailing off as blood spilled onto the ground.

  Declan ran for Charlie who stood nearby.

  Gus approached the woman in the black dress.

  She raised her hands. “I’m not here to hurt Mrs. Halverson. I only need to talk to her. Nothing more.”

  Security guards ran toward them.

  “I can’t stay,” the strange woman said, her eyes wide as the guards came closer. “I can’t let them question me.”

  “Meet us at the corner three blocks in that direction.” Charlie pointed. “We’ll pick you up in my car.”

  The woman hesitated.

  Charlie reached out and touched her arm. “Trust me. We’ll be there.”

  After a solemn nod to Charlie and a glance over her shoulder at the people headed toward them, the woman ran.

  “What were you thinking?” Declan asked. “You don’t know who she is or what she wants. She could be after the same thing those men wanted. You for ransom.”

  “If she hadn’t shown up when she did, I might not be standing here,” Charlie said. “You two were outnumbered.”

  Gus nodded. Charlie was right. The men they’d fought had been trained in hand-to-hand combat. They hadn’t been easy to overcome. If the mystery woman hadn’t come along when she had, Charlie could have been taken or killed.

  “Now, let’s get past all the police questions and on the road home. I want to know more about our mystery helper.” Charlie started for the front of the hotel. “First off, where did she learn to fight like that? I need her to teach me a few tricks so I don’t get into another situation like that. I don’t like feeling helpless.”

  Gus would like to know more about the woman, as well. She’d impressed the hell out of him with her fighting skills. He had questions for her, too. And he wasn’t so sure they could trust her. Obviously, she could take care of herself, but would she use those skills on them to overtake the team and the driver and abscond with Charlie?

  * * *

  THREE BLOCKS DOWN the road from the Mayflower Hotel, she waited in the shadows, watching for a limousine. Had the Halverson woman told her she’d collect her to get her to leave her alone?

  Wearing only the dress and the high heels she’d worn to the party, it wasn’t long before the chill night air set in. She rubbed her bare arms and stamped her feet, praying a limousine would drive up, she’d get in and the heater would be on full blast.

  She’d ask all the questions after she’d thawed her cold hands and quit shaking like a blender on full speed. And she’d thought the heat intolerable in Syria.

  At that moment, she could stand a good reason to sweat. If she weren’t wearing the heels, she’d jog up and down the alley to get her blood moving. Alas, the straps were digging into her skin and making blisters. Running was only an option if her life depended on it.

  Without a watch, she couldn’t tell how much time had passed since Charlotte Halverson had promised to pick her up. Several vehicles had gone by, but none had been a limousine.

  Giving up wasn’t an option. She had nowhere else to go. No money, no home, no extra clothing. The jeans and T-shirt she’d arrived at the hotel in were where she’d left them when she’d changed into the staff’s uniform.

  She didn’t think she was the kind of person who stole items on a regular basis. When she had, it had been purely a matter of desperation. Until she knew who she was, she didn’t know whether she’d had a job, a bank account or a home. Surely someone missed her somewhere. Someone who knew her life history. Her name.

  One thing she’d learned about herself in her journey to that corner in DC was that she knew how to fight. Her moves were instinctive. Though she’d bet they were learned. The kind of learning that required lots of practice and repetition. Training.

  Had she been in the military? Perhaps she was a member of the CIA. That would explain why she had been captured and tortured. It would also explain why she had no identification papers on her.

  If the Halverson woman didn’t know who she was, perhaps she’d go to the CIA and ask if they were missing an agent.

  Unless...she was wanted by the CIA. In which case, she would be trading one prison cell for another. And she couldn’t go back into captivity. She’d die fighting before she would allow anyone to capture and torture her again.

  A dark SUV slowed at the corner Charlotte Halverson had indicated. Since it wasn’t a limousine, she had no intention of stepping out into the open. What if the men she’d fought with that night had come back to seek revenge on the woman who’d foiled their attempt to abduct the rich widow? She’d overpowered them once. What were the chances they’d let her get away with it again? Slim to none.

  The SUV continued a little farther down the road, inching along until it came to a full stop. A man got out and stood waiting.

  Headlights indicated the approach of another vehicle.

  She watched from the shadows of the alley, shivering in the cold.

  Hope blossomed in her chest as a smooth black limousine pulled to a stop against the curb.

  Still, she waited, not willing to expose herself to trouble when there was already one man waiting nearby. He could be there to make another attempt to nab the Halverson woman.

  Another SUV pulled in behind the limousine. A second man emerged. The two men standing guard were big, muscular and held themselves with the confidence and bearing of those who’d known military service.

  The limousine driver got out of the vehicle and opened the back door.

  The same man who’d chased her out of the hotel in the first place emerged from the vehicle and bent to assist the rich widow out, as well. She was followed by the other bodyguard who’d been inside the hotel with her.

  They stood for a moment, all looking around.

  “I don’t like this. You’re far too exposed out here on the street,” said the bodyguard who’d forced her out of the hotel.

  “Gus, we promised we’d come to pick her up,” Mrs. Halverson said. “I keep my promises.” She turned to her other bodyguard. “Declan, have your men look for her.”

  The one called Declan nodded. “I will, Charlie, after you get back into the limousine with Arnold.” He nodded to the driver. “If anything happens, I want you to drive. Get Charlie out of here as fast as you can.”

  Arnold, the driver, nodded. “I will.” He held the limousine’s back door open. “Mrs. Halverson, please. Let Declan’s Defenders do their job. If the woman is here, they’ll find her.”

  The widow frowned. “Fine. I’ll get into the limousine...in a moment.” She turned a full circle, staring into the shadows in all directions. “Young lady, don’t be afraid,” she called out. “I only want to thank you for helping us. Please, let me return the favor.” After a long moment, she sighed and slid into the limousine.

  Afraid Charlotte Halverson would leave before she told her who she was, she stepped out of the shadows into the dull yellow glow of a streetlight. “Wait. I’m here.”

  If it was a setup to grab her and take her to the police, so be it. With no better options and nowhere to go, she figured it was worth the risk.

  Mrs. Halverson started to get back out of the limousine. “Oh, thank God. I was worried you’d been hurt in the fight. Please, get in.” The older woman changed directions and scooted across the seat, making room
for her in the limousine.

  The man called Gus stepped in between the Halverson woman and her. “Perhaps it would be better if she rode in one of the SUVs.”

  “Nonsense, Gus. She’s riding with me,” Charlotte said. “I’ll be safe with you, Declan and Arnold to protect me.” She patted the seat beside her. “Come on. Let us take you where you need to go.”

  “I understand your hesitation to trust me.” She stared into Gus’s eyes and raised her arms. “If you want to frisk me, you can. I’m not carrying any kind of concealed weapon.”

  Gus snorted. “You don’t need to. Your hands and feet are lethal by themselves.”

  She held her wrists together in front of her. “If it will make you feel better, you can bind my wrists and feet to keep Mrs. Halverson safe.” The thought of being held captive made her quiver inside. But she reassured herself that she could escape if she had to.

  Gus glanced toward Declan. “Did you bring zip ties?”

  Declan nodded. “I did.” He reached into the front of the limousine and pulled out a handful of plastic zip ties.

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Mrs. Halverson said.

  “No, really. I don’t mind,” she said. “They are only doing their jobs and keeping you safe from me. I would expect no less.” Again, she held out her wrists.

  Declan slipped a zip tie around them and pulled it snug. “I’m sorry, but we don’t know you, or what you want from Charlie.”

  Gus frowned. “Aren’t you going to secure her legs?”

  “Absolutely not.” Mrs. Halverson glared at her bodyguards. “This woman is my guest. I won’t have you treating her like a criminal. Now, let her get into the vehicle before I fire all of you.”

  Gus frowned heavily before he finally moved out of the way and allowed her to get in beside Mrs. Halverson.

  He slid in next to her and Declan sat across from them.

  “Make one wrong move,” Gus said, “and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

  The woman nodded. “I’m not here to hurt Mrs. Halverson. I only want information.”

  Arnold closed the back door, slid into the driver’s seat and pulled in behind the lead SUV.

  “Okay, now that you have my undivided attention,” Mrs. Halverson said. “Who are you, and what is it you want from me?”

  “That’s just it,” she said, her heart sinking. “I don’t know who I am. I was hoping you could tell me that.”

  Chapter Four

  Gus frowned. “Wait. What? You don’t know who you are?”

  The woman shook her head. “No. All I know is what I have tattooed on my wrist.” She held out her hand, palm up.

  Charlie gasped and grabbed her wrist. “That’s the Trinity knot.” She shot a glance at Declan. “What are the chances that this is a coincidence?”

  “I don’t believe in coincidence,” Declan said, his voice tight, his jaw even tighter. “You don’t know who you are? How did you know to come to Mrs. Halverson?”

  The woman nodded toward the tattoo. “The coordinates below the symbol.”

  “What coordinates?” Gus stared at the tattoo. “All I see are squiggly lines.”

  “They’re numbers in Hebrew,” she said.

  Gus wasn’t buying her story. Who tattooed coordinates on her own body? And in Hebrew? Highly unlikely. “How do you know they aren’t a telephone number or someone’s birth date?”

  “I had ten days in the hull of a ship to think about it. As you can see, there are two rows of numbers. When I reached the US, I gave the telephone theory a shot. When I called the first one, it played a recording that it was out of service. I got a day care facility on the second one. Given the numbers, I figured they were longitude and latitude. The coordinates pointed to the Halverson Estate in Virginia.” She stared into Charlie’s eyes. “I don’t have any other ideas. If you don’t know who I am, I don’t know where to go from here.”

  Charlie studied her for a long time and then shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you at all.” Her brow furrowed. “But then I wasn’t always privy to all of my late husband’s activities. Perhaps he knew you?”

  The woman’s shoulders sagged.

  Charlie reached out to her. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help you. It must be very distressful not knowing your own name. In the meantime, we have to call you something.”

  “Jane Doe,” Gus said.

  “That’s so impersonal,” Charlie protested.

  “It’s temporary until we figure out who she is,” Declan said.

  The woman in the black dress shrugged. “It’s as good a name as any.” She nodded toward Gus. “And like he said, it’s temporary. Or at least I hope it’s temporary. Until I figure out who I am, I have no home, no identification and no job that I know of.”

  “In other words, you’re broke and homeless,” Gus said. “Can’t blame you for chasing down a rich widow. I guess I would, too, in your circumstances.”

  Jane Doe’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t want Mrs. Halverson’s money. I want to know who I am. Right now, I have no history, memories or family that I know of. If I had a job, I’m sure, by now, I’ve been fired for not showing up.”

  “You said you spent ten days in the hull of a ship,” Declan’s eyes narrowed. “Is that where you were when you came to or discovered you’d lost your memory?”

  She shook her head, her jaw hardening. “No.”

  Gus leaned forward. “Where were you?”

  She didn’t look at him, but stared into Charlie’s face. “I was locked inside a tiny cell in a small village in Syria.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened. “Syria?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Syria.”

  “What were you doing in Syria?” Charlie asked.

  Glancing away, Jane shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is I was held captive. That’s where I woke up without my memory.”

  “Why were they holding you captive?” Declan asked.

  “They wanted information from me.” A shiver shook her slender frame. “I couldn’t give them the answers they wanted.”

  “So, they tortured you?” Gus didn’t trust the woman, but the look in her eyes was so haunting, he could almost feel her pain.

  She nodded, raised both hands to touch the corner of her eye.

  That’s when Gus saw the faded bruise, barely visible beneath the makeup she wore. His hands clenched into fists. He didn’t like seeing bruised and battered women. Men who hit them deserved to die.

  “Oh, dear.” Charlie touched Jane’s arm. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “How did you escape?” Declan asked.

  “There was an explosion close to the building. It blew a hole in the wall of my cell. I got out by crawling over the rubble and hiding in the back of a truck full of unprocessed marijuana.”

  “And the ship?” Gus prompted, amazed at the woman’s tenacity and determination to be free.

  “I found my way to the port town of Latakia. I didn’t know where I belonged, but it wasn’t Syria. Based on the language I felt most comfortable speaking and my accent, I assumed I was from the US and needed to get back there to discover who I am.”

  “And I failed you.” Charlie sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. If you don’t know me, you don’t know me. I’ll have to keep looking until I find another clue as to my identity.” Jane glanced out the windows of the limousine. “Please, let me out at the next convenience store. I won’t hold you up any longer.”

  Silence reigned for all of three full seconds before Charlie exclaimed, “I won’t hear of it. You’re coming to stay with me.”

  Gus wanted to stop Charlie before she promised the stranger the world. But he couldn’t.

  Charlie was on a roll. “I have loads of room. You’ll stay in one of my spare bedrooms.” The older wo
man’s eyes widened and she clapped her hands. “I’ll have my men help you find the answers to your mystery.” She turned to Declan. “Between you and your team and my husband’s connections, we should be able to help out this poor woman.”

  Gus held up a hand. “Charlie, you don’t know her.”

  “Exactly,” Charlie shook her head as if speaking to a slow child. “That’s why we need to help her.”

  “She could be a wacko out to steal from you, or hurt you,” Gus said. He glared at Jane. “We know nothing about her.”

  “I’m usually a good judge of character,” Charlie said. “I took a chance on Declan and his recommendation for a team, based on his willingness to help me and my gut feeling that he was a good guy.”

  “But you knew who he was when you hired him,” Gus argued.

  Charlie’s lips thinned. “I didn’t know who he was when he pulled me out of the kidnapper’s van. When I did learn who he was, I still hired him, despite the black mark on his military record.”

  “This is different,” Gus said.

  Charlie crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t think so.”

  “Without any identification, you can’t look her up and tell if she’s a convicted felon. She could have escaped from prison where she’d been serving life for murder.”

  “Gus has a point.” Declan shrugged. “Having just escaped from prison would explain her lack of identification.”

  “I escaped from a prison in Syria,” Jane said. “Not here in the US.”

  “And there’s a difference?” Gus challenged.

  “I was being held for the information they wanted out of me.” Jane sighed heavily. “Not that it makes a difference, but they never charged me with a crime or tried me in a court. That I know of.”

  “The point is, my instinct is telling me to trust Jane,” Charlie said. Her jaw firmed. “She’s coming to stay with me. Gus, since you’re so worried about her, Declan can assign you to watch out for her.” Charlie smiled at Jane. “Don’t let these men bother you. They’re only looking out for my well-being.”