by Dale Mayer
She turned to face him, appalled. “My God! Do I have to do all that?”
“Your insurance should take care of it. But we have to get the police report filed first.”
As if they’d heard his words, she could hear a vehicle driving up, parking in the driveway. She glanced out the window and saw a cruiser. Two local policemen got out, walking to the front door. She quickly grabbed her bag and made her way down the stairs. She dumped the bag in the front hallway and opened the door. The first man tilted his head at her and said, “Ma’am, we heard there was a break-in.”
She made a face. “There are break-ins, and then there is this break-in,” she said. “Yes, it’s been broken into, but the entire place has been trashed.” She stepped back and motioned for them to enter. “Come on in.”
They entered, took one look at the living room, and shook their heads. They silently walked through the entire house. She didn’t even follow. What was the point? Stone had stayed at the top of the stairs, and she saw Levi and Harrison leaning against the hallway wall, watching the uniformed guys quietly. The new arrivals just nodded at the other men.
She wondered at the lack of friendliness on all five male faces. Was that standard or just something very male? She walked to the library, wondering if anything else could be salvaged, but there was really nothing. The room was cold and empty. She checked the downstairs bathroom and then went into the kitchen. She’d hardly even cooked here. Everything was of decent quality, but nothing held memories that she wanted to hang on to. Systematically she went through the cupboards to see if she’d forgotten anything. She opened one cabinet and found her keys. Pulling them out, she stared down at one of them.
“What do they open?” Stone asked at her side.
“This is my spare house key. This is my spare car key. I parked my car at Marge’s place. Why would I want to leave it here all the time without anybody living here?” She pulled up the other key and frowned. “I think this is my safety deposit box key, but I’m not sure why it would be here.”
“Where else would it be?
“In my purse.” She turned to study the rest of the room.
“Except that you left the country for eight months, so would you have taken it with you? Why not leave it here with all the rest?”
“That’s sensible. And it’s likely what I did. I don’t remember exactly. Such a long time ago.”
She pocketed all the keys and continued to rummage through the kitchen. But it was virtually empty. At the entryway closet she opened the door, happy to see two of her jackets still there, apparently not cut or destroyed in any way. She slipped one over her shoulders and the other she packed in her bag. She picked up her purse and plopped her keys into it.
Turning to Stone, she said, “Any chance of a trip to the bank so I can get money and new bank cards?”
He nodded. “We can do that. But we have to deal with the police first.”
“Right.” She turned to the policemen who were now in the living room and asked, “What do I need to do?”
“Come on down to the station and file a report.”
The second man, who’d been quiet so far, looked at her and said, “Do you have insurance?”
She nodded. “I haven’t been home for eight months because I traveled to Afghanistan. I set up special insurance just for that reason.”
“Good. They won’t be very happy with you.”
She winced. Between the broken windows, damaged floors, contents strewn about, this would be a pretty big bill. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be hers. That worked for her.
Her parents may be megarich, but she wasn’t; yet she was well-off. Enough to ride through this mess if she had to.
*
While Lissa chatted with the two cops, Stone headed over to the guys. It had been interesting to watch what she considered worth saving. She had collected clothing and a few articles from the bathroom but not much. Yet she’d been delighted when her old purse had yielded a bit of makeup. She picked up no valuables. She collected no mementos. In the kitchen, she collected her keys, but that was it. Straightforward, no-nonsense, common sense woman. He liked it.
And he liked her.
He walked over to Levi and said, “Let’s take her to the police station so she can get that process started. Then we’ll go to the bank so she can get money and new bank cards.”
She had mentioned she’d stored her vehicle at a friend’s. He glanced around the room and asked, “The same friend who’s been keeping an eye on the place has your car?” Stone asked Lissa loudly. When she nodded, he added, “While we’re here, we’ll need to talk with her and see what we can find out.”
Lissa added, “She doesn’t live in my complex, but she’s not far.”
Levi’s phone rang just then. Stone waited patiently after he heard the name Kevin. He watched as his friend’s face hardened. Harrison walked closer, sensing something going on. When Levi got off the phone, he pocketed it and said, “Kevin’s gone missing.”
The three men exchanged a hard look. “Missing, as in possibly dead, or as in he slipped out of the country?” Harrison asked.
Levi’s glare deepened. “Either or both. No one knows anything at the moment.”
“And Susan?” Stone asked.
Levi shrugged. “That’s likely the reason he’s gone AWOL. She passed away last night.”
“What? I thought she was just worn out.” Stone hated to hear that. Sure she’d been tired and not looking very good, but he didn’t think she had been that bad. But once she’d been hospitalized, the team had lost touch as to the updates. He’d have to tell Lissa; the news would be upsetting.
Harrison brought up a point that Stone had completely overlooked. “When did he go missing?” Harrison asked in a slow, drawling voice. “Interesting that he does and Lissa’s place is broken into. Because Kevin could easily have been smuggling something into the country and using her as his mule.”
The three men stood in silence, contemplating the possibility.
“Interesting thought,” said Levi. “We’ll keep it in mind. The question is, after Kevin’s wife died, what happened to him and his plans?”
“And that’s the problem. It’s supposition. We have no way to know. Too many plausible excuses here.” Harrison headed toward the back door. “We need to find out the truth.”
As they walked toward the vehicle, Levi’s phone rang again. He glanced down at the number and frowned. Then he walked several steps away from everybody and answered it.
Lissa walked up behind Stone. They were both just far enough away that they couldn’t hear Levi’s conversation.
“What’s the matter?” she asked him.
“I’m not sure.”
Whoever Levi was talking to was really pissing him off. His back was rigid, and his free hand was clenched into a fist before he shoved it into his pocket. Finally Levi put away his phone and stood for a long moment before walking off into the distance. Then he spun on his heels and said, “Lissa, that was your father.”
She cringed instinctively, her hand grabbing Stone’s. Then she straightened, lifted her chin, and said, “What did he want?”
“His bonus back.”
She gasped. “That’s not fair. You had nothing to do with me leaving.”
“Your father seems to feel we did,” he said in a laconic tone. “Even though you didn’t get into the limo at the same time we did, and he saw you go upstairs. However, the driver would’ve known exactly who took you to the airport.”
She glared at him. “Let me borrow your phone so I can talk to him.”
“No, that’s not happening. You want to pick a fight with your father, you do it on your time and your phone.” And he turned and walked over to the truck to get in.
She swallowed hard. Stone grinned down at her. “Don’t worry about it. That’s between Levi and your father. Levi’s too cagey to let it go down like this.”
“Maybe. But I don’t want him to lose out because of me,” she sai
d forcefully. “My father wouldn’t even miss that little bit of change he handed out. And you guys have been so helpful that I feel like I should be paying you for this, but I don’t have any money at the moment.” She stopped and looked at Stone. “Am I paying you for this?”
“You’re not. I’ll talk to Levi and see what the deal is. But, if he didn’t mention anything upfront, he certainly wouldn’t be charging you on the sly. Levi’s too honorable for anything less.” Stone motioned toward the truck. “Get in.”
She hopped in. Both Levi and Harrison were in the front; she and Stone were in the back again. “I’m sorry, Levi. My father can be very difficult.”
“Well, he’s about to learn I can be too. Somebody set you up. And, like I told him, for all I know he’s the one who did it.”
Stone laughed. “I bet he backed off on threatening to pull the bonus check after that.”
“He didn’t back off much. But, from his reaction, I don’t think he was involved. He’s also horrified to think that his daughter is involved in some kind of smuggling operation.”
Stone watched Lissa slump into the corner.
“But I’m not,” she said defiantly. “I have nothing to do with this.”
“Then let’s find a way to prove it.”
Chapter 14
For a day that had kicked off pretty damn decently in Stone’s bed, it was rapidly going downhill. Still she made it through the filing of the report at the station, then, at the bank, she got money and ordered replacement cards. She was also relieved to see that no unexplained withdrawals had showed up on her bank account, at least as far she could tell.
After all, if somebody had gone through her house, maybe they’d also wanted her money. But, with that out of the way, she had to admit to feeling much better.
Once again outside, the men leaning against the truck, she realized what she really needed was to get her wheels again.
She stood in front of them and asked, “If I could ask for one more favor … could I get a ride to my friend’s house where I can pick up my car?” She pulled her car keys from her purse and said, “That way I can be mobile again. You wouldn’t have to run me all over the place.”
The men exchanged glances, then Levi gave a curt shake of his head. “You have to get insurance on your vehicle so you can drive it again.”
“Right.” She’d forgotten about that. “I seem to have forgotten the simple basics of living here.” She reached up and rubbed her temple. “I’d like to just go home and take a nap. But …”
She caught the way Stone looked at her, then realized she had no home. She was hopefully still allowed to go to Levi’s place …
But they’d done so much for her, she hated to impose. She straightened her back. “Look, I can go to my friend’s house and stay there,” she said. “I haven’t spoken with her yet, as I don’t have a phone, but I’m sure it would be okay with her.”
“Let’s get your phone first,” Stone said. “Then we’ll run past the house and see about getting your car. Right now you can’t make a good decision about what you want to do.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you for being very kind.”
He rolled his eyes. “I haven’t done anything anyone else wouldn’t have done. Come on. Let’s get into the truck. Hopefully we can grab a new phone for you someplace.”
Once in the vehicle, the discussion was about cell phone plans. As it happened, a phone store was at the end of the block. Levi quickly pulled up, and they walked in. Within twenty minutes she had a new cell phone and a new number.
She grinned, almost doing a happy dance. “I forgot how good it felt to be connected. This last week has been kind of tough,” she admitted. “I didn’t have Internet most of the time I was over there, and those of us who had cell phones, they didn’t work, except for Kevin’s. Mine worked for the first bit, but then the battery died, and the charger didn’t fit the electric plug-in. The outlet kept shorting and …” She shrugged. “The end result was, my phone was useless for most of the time. I’d check it every once in a while, but … Kevin ended up giving me his old cell after he bought a new phone on one of his trips. Of course it wasn’t reliable either. Hence, why he got a new one, but it was something.”
“Trips? What kind of trips?” Levi asked.
“It’s kind of hard to explain because I really don’t know the details,” she said. “I was there in a different capacity than they were. I was just there a volunteer to help out. I didn’t get paid, but got room and board. I paid for my own travel. Of course most of the people got reimbursed for their travel costs if they needed it. In Susan’s and Kevin’s case, because they were both doctors, they were on a medical program. He was coming to Texas soon for a conference, but I guess that’s out now.”
She frowned. “And they went around helping in other refugee camps. I saw them come and go for a while, and then they were stationed at the same one I was at for the last few months. But still they flew in and out, getting medical supplies and trying to drum up financial support. Maybe just some R&R for them.” She shrugged. “I don’t really know all the details. Volunteering was a chance to be somebody I wasn’t. A chance to let all my history fall away and just help others. I didn’t ask questions, and very few people asked any of me.”
She stared out the window as the truck rumbled toward her friend’s house. “It was a different lifestyle. A chance to step out of the regular world and be someone new.”
“And who were you over there?” Stone asked curiously.
She smiled. “I was nobody. Exactly how I wanted it. My father wasn’t a senator. My mother wasn’t one of the ladies of the clubs. I was just me. I slept on bunk beds, cleaned up in the kitchens, and gave children hugs. I was a volunteer who did anything and everything. Sometimes I did clerical work assisted in the medical rooms, others I helped in the kitchen.” She smiled with the memories. “It didn’t matter to me. I was happy to pitch in wherever.”
“What kind of training do you have?” Harrison asked. “You said something about boarding school and college.”
“Yes. And again my father decreed I become an art major. I actually went into business.” She smiled at the surprised look on their faces. “Just because I don’t like my father’s money doesn’t mean I don’t like it as a whole.” She upped the wattage of her smile. “And I do like to look after money. If nothing else, the business degree gave me the ability to handle what I do have.”
“And do you have money?” Harrison asked. “Normally we wouldn’t ask that, but considering you were kidnapped, who your father is, and how you are avoiding him …”
“My grandmother was very wealthy. She left me a trust fund.”
Harrison snorted. “Lucky you.”
“Actually I can now say you’re right. It is lucky me.” She turned to gaze at the scene traveling past the windows. “For a long time though I didn’t see the value. I do now.”
Stone’s quiet voice reached her. “Sometimes, through the hardest adversity, we truly understand what’s important.”
She turned and looked at him, her eyes getting misty. He’d been to hell and back and survived. She could do no less. “I’m not as good a person as you are,” she said, “but I’m trying.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What makes you think I’m a good person?”
She laughed. “Stone, I’ve said it before and will again—you’re a gentle giant with a big heart.”
*
He really shouldn’t let her get away with calling him that. It would completely ruin his image. He was a badass, always had been, planned to always be one. But in quiet moments, he would allow that he could be warm and fuzzy inside.
Probably not a good thing. He caught sight of Harrison’s grin and realized that, as far as the guys were concerned, that nickname would stick. Okay, so he was gentle and big, and maybe he was packing ten pounds too much, but it was all muscle.
And he’d stand by that any day.
Of course he also droppe
d thirty pounds when he lost his leg. The doctors had been good to him. And he’d be the first to say it could have been so much worse. He had a few other injuries, but they’d all healed. Physiotherapy had helped. Yet how damned amazingly hard it had been to relearn how to walk when he didn’t have a foot. Something so simple and yet so damn precious.
Finally, with all the errands done, they dropped her off at her friend’s house. She pointed to the car in the driveway, set off to one side. A small bright-red Audi.
He grinned. Figured she’d pick something like that, expensive and bright. Not flashy but definitely a statement. He slid from the truck on his side and waited for her to come around, and together they walked up to the front door. She’d already pulled her keys from her purse and flicked the unlock button at the Audi. Instantly they both heard the locks unlock with a click.
“How nice to have wheels again.” At the front door she knocked and waited for her friend to answer. But none came. She pulled out her new phone, added her friend’s name, and quickly dialed the number.
He glanced at Levi and Harrison, but they weren’t going anywhere. Not until they knew she had either a place to stay or her wheels to follow them to the compound.
She knocked again and held the phone to her ear as she tried to call her friend inside. Stone crossed his arms, wondering if she might be out. He walked around to the side and peered in the living room window. What he saw made his heart freeze. He immediately made a slashing move toward the men in the truck. He grabbed Lissa’s hand and dragged her to the truck, ignoring her protests. He shoved her into the backseat and barked, “Stay here.”
The others were already out of the truck. They headed around to the rear of the house. Stone went to the front, checked the lock on the door, and realized there wasn’t one. He pushed open the door, making sure he was hidden from view. When he heard the signal from the back door, he entered.
He went in low, weapon raised. The living room had been trashed, similar to Lissa’s house. But no one was in the house. He quickly made his way to the back room and around to the kitchen. The others were there, standing, staring.
