Savannah's Curse

by Shelia M. Goss

  “So what do we do next, since turning this over to the Justice Department isn’t the right move?” Savannah leaned back in her chair.

  “Oh, we’re going to turn all of this in, but not before we finish what we started. You will get justice.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”

  Troy’s gesture of putting his hand to his face softened her heart. He winked. “Next time, Savannah, aim for the lips.”

  She playfully hit his lower arm.

  He pulled it back. “Ouch. That’s the same arm you twisted behind my back.”

  “You wimp.”

  “I got your wimp.”

  Troy tickled her and she giggled. They both hit the floor, laughing. The ringing of Savannah’s cell phone interrupted their playtime.

  “Hey, that’s Montana. I got to get it.” She rushed to get her phone and listened as her sister spoke. “We’ll be right there.” She disconnected and turned to Troy. “The rest of the disc will have to wait. Someone tried to break in again, but the intruder was stupid enough to come alone. Asia has the unwelcomed guest tied up.”

  “Let’s go.” Troy logged off and placed the disc in a protective covering. He slipped the disc in a secret compartment.

  “Never would have thought to hide it under the lamp.”

  “And you thought I was just fashion conscious.”

  Savannah rushed to the door. “I’m not going to entertain you with a response.”

  Troy decided to ride with Savannah. Savannah sped through traffic and ran a few yellow lights to make it to her neighborhood in record time. “Stop here. That car looks out of place. I’ll meet you back at your house,” Troy said.

  Once he got out, she sped down the street to her house. She didn’t bother to park in the garage. Montana must have been watching for her, because she had the door opened before Savannah could insert her key.

  “Where is he?” Savannah asked.

  Savannah followed Montana into the downstairs guest bedroom. “There’s something you should know,” Montana said.

  Before Montana could finish, Savannah had opened the door. She was expecting to see one of the men in black, but she was shocked to see whom Asia had tied up. She walked and stood in front of the person. Staring back at her, with a smug look on her face, was a woman with curly auburn hair. If they had been looking in a mirror together, she would have sworn she was looking at a relative, except they were of two different races.

  “Scary, isn’t it?” Asia said.

  “Indeed” was all Savannah managed to say.

  “She won’t talk, but, you know, I could do like I see in the movies and rough her up a little,” Asia said.

  “That won’t be necessary. Then again, if she doesn’t tell me what she’s doing here, I might just let you.”

  Savannah plopped on the bed right beside the intruder. “When I take the tape off your mouth, I want to know who you are and why you’re here.”

  Savannah reached over to remove the tape. The intruder tried to bite her. Savannah slapped her mouth. “Let’s try this again. Who are you and why are you here?”

  In a monotone voice she responded, “Who I am isn’t important. If I don’t report back by a certain time, all of y’all can hang it up.” Her laugh was sinister.

  15

  Troy waited for someone to come to the door. If they didn’t hurry up, he would find another way in. Montana answered.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “I’m glad you’re here. Maybe you can get her to talk,” Montana said as she led him into a downstairs room.

  When he arrived in the room, he saw Savannah slap the intruder. When he walked around to get a good look at the home invader, he knew exactly who she was. “We meet again,” Troy said.

  Savannah and her sisters looked at one another. Savannah was the first to speak. “You know her?”

  “He knows all about me. Don’t you, playboy?” She winked her eye.

  Savannah crossed her arms. Troy tried to ease the tense situation. “Irene and I worked on a case together, but she switched teams.”

  “I work for the highest bidder.”

  “This reunion is fine and dandy, but let’s save the small talk for later. Answer the lady. What are you doing here?”

  “Steel underestimated you. You’ve been hanging out with his little girl.” Irene looked at the three sisters. “You know that’s what he calls you.” She paused before continuing. “He thought Major left something here that belonged to The Agency. I came to retrieve it.”

  “So your orders were to retrieve some documents, and what else?” Troy asked.

  “Now, Relentless . . . I mean Troy, you know my role.”

  Troy laughed. “He sends in the Terminator. He must be really scared.” He looked at Savannah. “I got this. I think your sisters need your attention.”

  Savannah looked at the confused looks on their faces. “Y’all come on. I’ll explain everything.”

  “You made a mistake by taking on this assignment.”

  She stood up and got closer to him. “I could cut you in, if you like. You already got them trusting you. Get me the documents, and I promise you’ll be paid nicely.”

  He pushed her back on the bed. “You must think I’m a fool.”

  She fell back before catching her balance. “I heard you had your own security firm, and you do what others can’t.”

  “I run a legitimate business. I don’t go around killing innocent citizens.”

  Irene stared at him with contempt. “There aren’t any cameras around. You can stop the act.”

  It took all of the restraint Troy could muster not to reach down and wrap his arms around her neck. She almost cost him his life a few years back, and he had wondered what he would do if he ever saw her again. He fell for her once, but never again.

  “You got sixty seconds to tell me what document you’re looking for.”

  “Or what? You’re going to kill me,” Irene said.

  Savannah walked back in the room with her gun pointed. “No, but I might.”

  “Don’t trust him, girl.”

  Troy went over to the bed and shook her. “I’m tired of playing.”

  Irene started laughing hysterically. Unbeknownst to Troy, Irene had maneuvered her hands free. She reached for Troy’s gun. Savannah shot her before she could get to it. Irene screamed and doubled over. “She shot me. I can’t believe she shot me.” Blood oozed down her arm.

  Troy pushed her farther on the bed. “As you can tell, we’re not playing.”

  “Spoilsport. Major supposedly had a disc with some information that Steel wants.”

  “Call him.” Troy removed a phone from his pocket and threw it to her.

  “What am I going to say? Your crazy goddaughter shot me, and, by the way, Troy’s still trouble.”

  Savannah waved the gun back and forth in the air. “I’m warning you. You say one more thing and I won’t hesitate to shoot you again.”

  Troy looked at Savannah and then at Irene. “I wouldn’t try her if I were you. My arm is still hurting from the last time we got into it.”

  Irene did as Troy directed. She threw the phone on the bed and said, “Troy, you forgot one of the rules. I’m the Terminator. I go out just the way I came in.”

  “Not this time, Irene.” He looked at Savannah and said, “I think you might want to leave the room.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to take care of our little problem.”

  “Troy, I was just kidding about killing her.”

  He pulled Savannah to the side. “If we let her go, you best believe Steel is going to send in some more arsenals. I can make her disappear. Her car is up the road. I need your sister’s truck. Can you have her bring it to the garage?”

  “Sure.” Savannah didn’t sound too convinced of his plan.

  “They’ll figure it out, and when they do, they’ll come get you and your sisters!” Irene yelled at Savannah.

 
Troy knocked her out with one punch. “I normally don’t hit women, but she’s not a woman—she’s a beast.”

  “Remind me not to make you mad,” Savannah joked.

  Troy tied Irene’s arms and legs with some rope provided to him by Asia. This time he would make sure the knots were tight enough so she wouldn’t be able to loosen them. He picked Irene up and threw her over his shoulder.

  “Is all clear?” he asked Asia before leaving the room.

  “What are you going to do with her?” she asked.

  “It’s best you don’t know.”

  He went to the garage and placed her in the backseat of Montana’s navy blue SUV. “I’ll be back in about an hour or two.”

  Savannah jumped in the passenger seat. “I’m going with you.”

  “Your sisters need you.”

  Montana said, “We got this taken care of. In fact, why don’t you get in the backseat? Just in case one of the neighbors is looking, it’s best that Savannah drives.”

  Troy thought about it. “You’re actually right. Don’t answer the phone. Here.” He handed Montana a cell phone. “This line is untraceable. You already have my number, so call me on it if you need either one of us. Savannah, where’s your phone?”

  “Right here,” she responded.

  “I need it.”

  Savannah handed him the phone. He, in turn, handed it to Montana. “I’ll get more phones like this. Irene showing up here turns things up a notch. You two . . . be careful. Come on, we don’t have much time.”

  He switched seats with Savannah. He leaned his seat back so if anyone was looking, the neighbor wouldn’t be able to tell if someone else was in the SUV. When they made it to the end of the street, Troy pulled up his seat. He pulled out his cell phone. He gave directions to one of his workers.

  “Slow down,” he said to Savannah.

  “The sooner we unload our passenger, the better I’ll feel.”

  Troy gave Savannah directions. Savannah kept her eyes peeled on the road. Troy took her through many curves and turns. The road went from a regular highway to a dirt road. They pulled up to what appeared to be a modern-day fortress. A guard walked to Savannah’s window.

  “Ma’am, may I help you? Oh, boss, I didn’t see you,” the big, burly guy said as he waved his hand at Troy.

  “She’s cool,” Troy said. “We’re delivering a package.”

  The guard pressed a button and the gate opened.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Savannah said.

  Troy hoped he hadn’t made a bad decision bringing Savannah to his secret haven. If he had, it was too late now. He removed Irene from the car and instructed Savannah to remain behind. After taking Irene inside and giving instructions to his men, Troy returned to the truck. “Let’s roll.”

  Savannah remembered how to get home without any assistance from Troy. On the ride back Savannah didn’t ask any questions, and Troy didn’t give any answers.

  16

  Savannah parked Montana’s SUV in the garage. “I want to ask you something before we go back in.” Savannah reached for Troy’s arm before he could exit the passenger side.

  “Ask away.”

  “What’s going to happen to her?”

  Troy waited a few seconds before responding. “If she’s good, she’ll be contained until this whole mess is over. If she’s bad—let’s just say—we have ways to deal with her.”

  “Say no more.” Savannah exited the vehicle. She used her key to gain entry into the house.

  Asia was on the couch sleeping and Montana was on her laptop typing. “I was just about to call you,” Montana said after glancing at the clock.

  “All is well,” Savannah said. “Anybody hungry? I can whip us up something real quick.”

  “How can you eat? My stomach is still in knots,” Montana commented.

  Troy intervened. “Why don’t you rest up and let me do the cooking.”

  Savannah looked at him. “Oh, you’re a regular Chef Boyardee.”

  “Being a bachelor, if I didn’t cook for myself, I would starve.”

  “And it’s obvious you’re not starving,” Asia sluggishly said.

  “You can go back to sleep,” Troy joked.

  Asia sat up on the couch and yawned. Once Troy was out of the room, she asked, “So what happened?”

  Savannah looked to make sure Troy wasn’t coming back. She gave them a condensed version. She didn’t mention where they took her, because of her promise to Troy. “Asia, I have to say, I’m proud of how you handled our unwanted guest.”

  Asia blew on her knuckles. “I might not be as in shape as you two, but I still work out every now and then.”

  “Speaking of working out, I haven’t asked him yet, but I will. Troy trains people to do undercover operations. We need to brush up on some skills, and he’s the perfect person to help us.”

  Montana closed her laptop. “I found some stuff that we need, so I’ll be going by to pick it up tomorrow. I took a leave of absence, but they are expecting me back in about four weeks.”

  “Well, that means we need to get busy. What about your job, Asia?”

  “They screamed, but I told them my family is important and I needed to take care of you until you could get back on your feet.”

  “As long as they bought it.”

  Montana shook her head from side to side. “I’m still trying to grasp how Uncle Raymond could betray us . . . and Dad the way that he has.”

  “Money will do it to you,” Asia said.

  “I don’t know if it was greed or an ego thing, but he’ll go down, just like the rest of them. The only loyalty I have is to you two,” Savannah said.

  “What about Troy?” Montana asked.

  “What about him? Dad is the only man I trusted. Troy is a matter of convenience. Once he’s helped us with this, his services will no longer be needed.”

  “Yeah, right,” Asia said before winking her eye in Montana’s direction.

  “Sis, it’s us. We know you,” Montana said.

  “I know me too, so, anyway, back to what’s important. Troy was able to decipher some of the message on the disc, so we have a list of people whom we need to find out more about.” She looked at Asia. “I want you to work with him so you can get as much information as you can about each person on the list. I think I recall seeing that Irene person’s name on the list, so that’s one down.”

  “We need a game plan. After Asia does that, what’s next?” Montana asked.

  “Let me think on it. I need to talk to Troy about some stuff first.” Savannah never thought her project-management skills would be used to plan a mission that would hopefully result in justice for her dad’s killer or killers.

  Asia held her arm out with a balled-out fist. “To the Blake sisters.”

  Savannah and Montana did the same. They repeated it several times. Savannah left them in the living room and followed the aroma of spices to the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and watched Troy place the casserole dish in the oven.

  “I hope it’s not too spicy,” he said, turning in her direction.

  “We’re Louisiana girls, the spicier the better.” She sat at the kitchen table and watched him cut potatoes.

  “Do you want something?” Troy asked.

  “No, I just like looking at you.” Savannah smiled.

  “I’m glad you’re amused.”

  Savannah said, “I need you to put us through your training, but the accelerated course.”

  Troy stopped cutting and looked at Savannah. “I got trained men who can handle this.”

  “I’m not hiring you.”

  “Didn’t ask you to.”

  Savannah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “If you don’t help, then I’ll just find someone else who will.” The kind of training they were looking for could not be found by looking through the Yellow Pages of the phone book. She hoped Troy didn’t call her bluff.

  “What exactly do you need?” Troy asked while chopping the
potatoes and putting them in a boiler.

  Savannah wondered if he was thinking about her the way he was destroying those potatoes.

  “Teach us more defensive moves. We used to work out with Dad when he would be in town, and more when he retired. I slacked off when he died.”

  “I can do that.”

  “Put us through the scenario training that you put your workers through.”

  “I’ll have to think on that.”

  “Troy, it’s a must. We’re going to be faced with more dangerous situations, and I need to know that we can handle ourselves. All of us have black belts, but there are some other things you can teach us.”

  Troy rubbed his arm. “If they have moves like you, they’ll be all right.” His dimples got bigger as he smiled.

  “It’ll teach you for sneaking up on someone. But seriously, we could all use some more moves.”

  “Got you.”

  “We also need to know about gadgets?”

  “Gadgets?”

  “You know, spyware, and I’m not talking about the spyware on the computer.”

  Troy took a seat across from Savannah. “I guess I can help you with that too.”

  “Wow. Thanks for the favor.”

  “Anytime.” Troy leaned back in his chair.

  “If I didn’t need you, I would hurt that other arm.”

  “I’m going to make sure you and I spar together, trust me.”

  “I look forward to it.” She couldn’t stop smiling. “Also, I wasn’t going to say anything, but Asia is a computer whiz. Work with her on the list.”

  “She might be a whiz, but there are things on there that even I have a hard time deciphering.”

  “Dad taught her some things, and she’ll be more useful than you think.”

  Troy looked to be in deep thought. “I’ll think about it.”

  Savannah pulled away from the table. “Do that.”

  “Vanna, you’re something else.” He knew she hadn’t given him permission to use her nickname, but it was the cleanest nickname he could think of at this time. He had to get a grip on his libido, because she was getting under his skin. Although Troy didn’t want to admit it, Savannah was also tugging at his heart. Before she could protest, Troy pulled her into an embrace.