The room was filled with three men and two women, who were monitoring computer screens and manning telephones.
“This is how I keep in contact with my men in the field.”
“Everyone, this is Diamond. She’s a new recruit. She’ll be working with me on a special case.”
They all spoke. Savannah almost forgot her alias.
He pushed a button on a keyboard and scrolled down. “We keep track of their location, and if anything happens out of the ordinary, we have people in various places.”
Savannah concentrated on the screen. He turned the screen off. Troy said, “Come on.” He entered a code and the door clicked and allowed them entrance into another room.
“This is where we keep secret documents.”
Savannah asked, “Why are you showing me all of this?”
“Because I want to prove to you that we’re a team. I have no secrets.” He had one, but he wasn’t ready to reveal his feelings for her.
“I’m satisfied.”
“I aim to please.”
He showed her a few more sensitive spots before heading to the warehouse, where they had trained yesterday. “Let’s check on your sisters and then get a few more rounds in ourselves,” he said.
“You sure you want more of this?” Savannah teased.
“I’m just getting started.”
“Hi, ladies,” Troy said when they entered the section where Montana and Asia were training. He addressed Mike. “How are they doing?”
“You should have warned me. My back’s a little sore from that one.” Mike pointed to Asia.
Troy patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll be all right.”
“Tell that to her,” Mike said before he returned to where Asia was standing.
“Let’s do a few rounds in the ring,” Troy challenged Savannah.
“I don’t box,” Savannah responded.
“I can teach you.”
After a few minutes of thinking about it, Savannah said, “Be gentle.”
“Always.”
Each of the sisters did different workouts with Troy and his men. Savannah was worn-out after her boxing match with Troy. Troy let her get a few jabs in to build up her confidence. This exercise was more to build up her stamina than anything else. He was confident that she could knock out someone if the situation arose.
Troy sensed exhaustion with all three sisters. “Let’s call it a day,” he said. “Instead of meeting here, though, I would like for you all to come to my house tomorrow.”
“I’m all for that,” Savannah responded in between taking sips of water.
“Let’s wrap it up,” Troy said out loud to everyone else.
“Good, because I was tired of beating his butt,” Asia teased.
Mike grunted. “Boss, I’ll talk to you later.” The look he gave Asia had everyone laughing. “Something’s not right about you,” he said as he walked past her.
“Asia’s always been a tomboy,” Montana said.
“Whatever.”
“Ladies, not here, please,” Savannah stressed.
Troy made sure Savannah and her sisters got off the complex safely. Mike was sitting at a chair in his office when he returned.
“Don’t even say it.” Troy slid into his chair behind his desk.
“You must really love the oldest, huh?” Mike commented. “There’s no way in hell, I would put up with that young one. What’s her real name, anyway?” he asked.
“Mike, now you know I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Her sister called her Asia.”
“Foxy is her name,” Troy insisted.
“Firefox would fit her better, because she’s one piece of work.”
“Looks like Mike has met his match.”
“Now I know you don’t want to go there, because you never did answer my original question.”
Troy pretended not to know what he meant. His feelings for Savannah were under lock and key, and they would stay that way.
Troy and Mike both caught up on their pending projects. Before leaving, he instructed Cheryl on what to do in his absence. “I’ll be working remotely. Mike will be in charge.”
Mike assisted him with the boxes he needed. Each box contained special surveillance and tactical gear.
“I don’t know what it is you’re working on, but you know you don’t have to do this alone, right?” Mike remarked.
“The less you know about this one, Mike, the better off it’ll be for all of us.”
“I got your back.”
“I know that, man. Hit you up later.”
He pulled out of the complex. He felt bad about not confiding in Mike. If need be, he would tell him everything. For now, though, he felt like he had everything under control.
Troy didn’t know when the tail got ahold of him, because he was deep in thought about Savannah. Fortunately, he found out before he got near his neighborhood. He weaved in and out of traffic to make sure he wasn’t being paranoid. Another look in his rearview mirror proved to him that he wasn’t.
“So you want to play,” he said out loud.
He decided to take whoever was following him through a maze and construction area. They were invading his personal time now, and he was long overdue for a nap. The person in the black car had no idea where they were. He could tell this from how they were driving. In fact, by the time they seemed to get control of the car, Troy was facing them head-on. The car swerved to avoid impact with Troy. They were welcomed with a few nails in the street and spun out of control. The car flipped on its side.
Troy stopped his SUV with his weapon drawn. This wasn’t a heavily populated area, so he wasn’t concerned about citizens witnessing this. However, someone could be looking over the rail from the highway above.
Before he could get to the car, the car burst into flames. He ran to the car to see if he could get the driver out, so he could beat him. The driver’s neck appeared to be broken from the impact. Troy pulled out his phone and called an emergency response team.
He checked the wallet of the driver and made a mental note of who the driver was. He placed it back in the deceased’s pocket and left the scene before the police arrived. He met a fire truck, which he assumed was going to the place of the accident.
Raymond was now sending men after him. He had every right to be concerned. His first two mistakes were crossing Major and scaring Major’s girls. This was strike three, sending someone directly after him.
“I hope you’re enjoying your freedom, Commander Steel, because come this time next year, you’ll be either dead or locked up. I’ll let you choose.”
Troy sped home.
20
“Ladies, we don’t have all day. I want to get there before noon!” Savannah shouted from the end of the stairway.
“Coming,” Montana yelled back.
A few minutes later, Montana and Asia walked briskly down the stairway. “We know you’re in a hurry to see your man, but you don’t have to rush us,” Asia stated as she grabbed an apple out of the bowl on the kitchen table.
“Whatever,” Savannah snapped.
“Touchy. Somebody has a boyfriend,” Asia teased.
“For the last time there’s nothing going on between me and Troy.”
“Heard it all before,” Montana sang.
Savannah slammed the car door. Her sisters stood outside. “If you’re not in by the time the garage door opens, you can walk.”
They didn’t test Savannah. They got in and didn’t say much. They listened to a local morning show. After driving for a while Savannah turned the volume down on the stereo. “I owe you two an apology.”
They both pretended like they didn’t know what she was talking about. “We’re cool,” Asia said.
“I just have a lot on my mind, and you guys teasing me about Troy isn’t helping any.”
She turned the music back up to drown out her thoughts. Montana commented, “These are some nice houses.”
Savannah pulled up to the gate and press
ed zero. “It’s us,” she yelled. She smiled up at the camera.
The gate opened a few seconds later. “Nice,” Asia said.
Troy met them at the doorway. “Glad you ladies could make it. Let me give you two the tour,” Troy said.
Savannah lagged behind as Troy showed her sisters around. “Why don’t you take them to your guest bedroom?” she teased.
“I would, but you wouldn’t want your sisters to react the same way you did, now would you?” he responded.
“Of course not.”
Montana waved her hand in between the both of them. “What’s in the room you want us to see, Vanna?”
“Only a six-foot python,” Savannah responded. The look on Montana’s face was priceless. “Hey, you asked.”
“Now, you know I hate snakes, girl.”
“You and me both,” Savannah said.
“Well, I don’t. I want to see it,” Asia said.
“You’re sure?” Troy questioned. “It’s feeding time, anyway. Want to watch?”
“Sure. Bye, ladies.” Asia followed Troy to the guest room.
“I’m staying near the door, because if that thing gets out, I’m out,” Montana said.
Savannah laughed. “You’ll have to beat me to the door.”
Savannah felt like she knew Troy’s place, since this was her third time visiting. She led them into the study area. She and Montana went through the books on the shelf. “Did you know that you could kill a man by pinching his nerve in this area of the neck?” Montana asked as she used her hand to show the nerve she was speaking of.
“Troy showed me the move the other day.”
Montana picked up book after book. Without looking at Savannah, she said, “I’m glad you talked me into doing the training. I’ve learned a lot these last few days.”
“I know you think I’m a little controlling,” Savannah said.
“A little.”
“Okay, a lot. But I only do what I do to protect you two. You’re all I have, and I don’t plan on losing you.”
“Girl, stop! You’re going to make me cry.”
They hugged each other. Asia and Troy returned to the room. “Aren’t they cute? Bonding while we fed the snake.” Asia faced Montana and outstretched her hands. “Girl, it was a big, long one too.”
“Ugh,” Montana responded.
“Troy, we’re yours for the rest of the day. Tell us what we have to do,” Savannah stated.
A wide grin spread across his face. “Don’t pinch me, because I must be dreaming.”
Montana said, “One Blake sister is all you could handle, and from the way things look, you’re not even handling that one well, Mr. Troy.” She folded her arms.
“My, my, my. Outsiders are not welcome,” Troy teased.
Savannah said, “You best remember that.”
“I love you, anyway, Savannah,” he responded.
Savannah knew he was only using a figure of speech. She didn’t want to imagine Troy still being in love with her after all this time. She pushed the “what-ifs” to the back of her mind. Troy led them to another room. He went directly to several boxes stacked in the corner of the room and placed them on a table.
“I feel like a kid at a candy store,” Savannah said as she rushed toward the table and picked up a few items.
Troy responded, “It’s playtime.” He then picked up an item. “Savannah, you’ll be my demonstrator.
“Asia, you’ll be using this,” he explained. “If you hook this up to the back of the computer, it’ll track every keystroke, every Web page, every log-in, and every password on a computer.” He passed the device to Asia.
She said, “It looks like an ordinary USB.”
“Exactly. It’s not meant to be noticed. It’ll be your job to get these hooked up to various computers.”
Savannah handed Troy another item. “This little thing has a camera in it. Watch this.”
Troy pinned it on Savannah. Savannah could feel his hands shake a little. She looked in his eyes and flinched. What she saw staring her in the face frightened her. She looked away. “Savannah, go anywhere in the room.”
Troy turned on a monitor. “Everywhere she goes, we see.”
Montana said, “It’s so pretty. I never would have thought to suspect a camera was part of it.”
“You’re not supposed to,” Troy responded. “Here’s one for each of you.”
“Ooh, more goodies,” Asia said.
“Savannah, hand me that box,” Troy said.
“I know what this is. It’s a wire,” Savannah said while patting herself on the back.
“But not just any wire. This can’t be detected. It’s placed in a sensitive area, and unless someone puts a hand up your crack, he or she won’t be able to detect it.”
Montana said, “What? You don’t have to worry about me using it.”
Troy laughed. “Just kidding. One little piece of wire can record enough information to incriminate someone. What we normally do is insert in between the toes, or in the case of some women, they intertwine it with their hair. No one is any the wiser.”
Savannah held the wire. “I’m impressed.”
“Montana, you’re going to like this.” He opened up a box filled with hairpieces, makeup, and other accessories.
She stood up and went through the pieces. “You’re trying to stay on my good side, aren’t you?” she said.
Explaining the use of each one, Troy went through the rest of the items on the table. “I saved the best for last. These are items that can literally bring a man to his knees.”
“Here I thought I was one of a kind,” Savannah joked.
“That, dear, you are,” Troy responded.
“Enough of the goo-goo eyes.” Asia pretended to be annoyed.
Savannah rolled her eyes.
Troy said, “These are weapons. Weapons that, if used correctly, could be weapons of minor or mass destruction.”
21
Troy enjoyed watching the excitement in Savannah’s eyes. For a moment he got lost in her eyes. Her eyes were hypnotic, and he would bet she didn’t even realize it. He explained what each weapon could do. He had triplicates of everything.
He held up a vial. “This could be fatal if you use too much, so you only need a drop to knock someone out.”
Savannah reached for it. He was quicker. He put his hand behind his back. She said, “Let me try it on you.”
“Uh, no.” He pulled out a small brown bag containing what looked like grains of salt. “You can mix this in food. It’ll work the same way as the other item. Use it sparingly.” He looked at Savannah. “Remind me to use my test kit before I eat at your house again.”
He continued to show them the other paraphernalia. Time stood still as he demonstrated item after item. It was late afternoon when he finished. “I hope you will join me for dinner tonight.”
“I need to do some stuff for work,” Asia said.
Montana added, “Me too. I took time off, but there are still some reports I need to look over at the house.”
Troy answered, “You better go before it gets too late, then. Be careful and call us when you get home.”
“Who said I was staying?” Savannah asked.
“You didn’t say you were leaving also.”
Asia and Montana grabbed their purses and their bags of goodies. “We’re heading out now.” Asia pointed to the door.
Montana added, “Seems like we’re not wanted here, anyway.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Troy said.
“They’re my sisters, so I’ll walk them out. What am I saying? I’m not staying,” Savannah said.
“Please,” he pleaded.
“Stay, we can find our way home,” Montana said.
“Besides, we got a whole bag of arsenals. I doubt if anybody wants to mess with us.” Asia had a “you don’t want to bother me” look on her face.
“Fine. I know when I’ve been outnumbered.” Savannah stormed out of the room.
“She�
��ll be all right. Put some food in her stomach and you’ll have her eating out of the palm of your hand,” Montana said.
Troy walked them out and gave them directions on how to get back to the freeway.
“I’ll bring her home before midnight.”
“You better, because you don’t want to get stuck with a frog,” Asia joked.
Troy said, “I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear that.”
He opened the gate and waited for them to exit before going to search for Savannah.
“Vanna. Savannah,” he called out several times, but there was no response. He went from room to room. To his surprise he walked in on Savannah in the kitchen. He liked what he saw as she stood with one of his aprons on. Without looking his way, she continued to remove food from the refrigerator.
“Since I was coerced into staying, I thought I would help with the cooking,” Savannah stated.
“A salad would go good with the steaks. I’ll throw a couple on the grill,” he said.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Less than two hours later they were seated out on the patio, eating steak and a pasta salad Savannah had fixed.
“These homemade rolls are to die for,” Troy said.
“I have to remember that for the next batch,” Savannah said in between laughing.
“I’ve created a monster.”
They worked together to clean up the kitchen. “Ouch,” Savannah said as they bumped into each other.
Troy took Savannah in his arms and, without asking, kissed her. When she didn’t pull away, he took it as a signal to tantalize her with his tongue.
She placed her hand around his neck and pulled him in closer. His hands roamed her body and he felt her body arch to his touch. The moan that escaped from her lips almost sent him over the edge. The member between his legs had a mind of its own. “Sa-van-nah, baby, if we don’t stop, I won’t be able to.”
She gently touched his face. His body shivered at her touch. Her hand touching him was like a feather. It didn’t tickle but sent a sensation through his body. “Did you mean what you said earlier?” Savannah asked.
Troy knew she was referring to his declaration of love earlier. The words were out of his mouth before he realized it, but now he couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge his feelings. “When this is all over, we’ll sit down and talk.”
Savannah's Curse Page 10
