I nodded as I opened the book and thumbed through the pages. Sure enough, towards the middle, I found a CD. I popped it into the computer. It had four files on it. Two were videos – surveillance videos from the village. They were grainy, he must have used a hidden camera as he followed her. Not much to use there. The next file had notes and addresses. A name and location in Romania (possibly her Gypsy witch?), two addresses in San Francisco and an address here in Peru. This would definitely help. I printed out several copies. The last item was a Word document. The title stopped me cold. I looked at Carlos, then back at the screen. “Carlos,” I whispered, “why would he have a file with my nameon here?”
“I don"t know, but there"s only one way to find out,” he said.
I nodded and clicked on the file, groaning when I saw it was a letter to me.
“Oh my God,” I moaned as I sank into Carlos. We read it together:
My dearest love,
If you’re reading this, then one of my fears has come true. I’ve been trying for weeks to determine what Malina was up to, and one thing I suspected was that she was going to kidnap me. Obviously she has succeeded with that. Please be careful though. She blames you, and only you, for ruining her life. And she will stop at nothing to ruin yours. If she has kidnapped me, then it is only the beginning. You are still in grave danger, as are Carlos, Stacy and everyone else you care about. She’s out to cause you as much pain as possible until you crumble or surrender. This has become her sole purpose and she aims to do it quietly. We were wrong when we assumed she would go off and amass an army. She is doing this on her own, or with very little help as far as I can tell.
I’m so very sorry that I’m not there to tell you this myself. Please know that it was never my intention to hide anything from you. I was trying to figure out her full intentions first. I had to keep you from getting hurt. I need you to understand that I was doing the only thing I could do, the only thing I know how to do. I was protecting you. Now that job falls to the goofball. I know without a doubt that, just like me, Carlos will do anything for you and he would die to protect you. Promise me you’ll keep him by your side always. And I promise you, that no matter what you see, no matter what you think has happened, I will always, always, find my way back to you. You have my heart Sarah Pearl, and all of my love. I will see you soon.
Love, Matthew
My head fell to the desk and I felt Carlos" hand rubbing my back. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. I took a deep breath, sat up, looked at Carlos and nodded my head.
“Come in,” he said. Ramon stuck his head in. “Matt"s two o"clock is here.”
“Send them in,” I said as Carlos rubbed my shoulders. We both stared at the door, anxious to see who was coming in. Imagine my surprise when in walked our accountant, Tom.
“Mrs. Pearl,” he said, with his surprise clearly on his face. “I was expecting Mr. Pearl today; perhaps I should come back another time?”
I shook my head as I shook his hand. “Mr. Pearl is… traveling, and he doesn"t have a return date right now. Is this something I can help you with?”
He hesitated, looking from me to Carlos and back. “Well,” he stammered, “I"m only here to deliver some documents, but I don"t want Mr. Pearl to be angry with me for spoiling the surprise.”
I raised my eyebrows. “The surprise?”
“Are you sure I can"t come back another time when Mr. Pearl is here?” he said.
Carlos looked at me. I nodded slightly then Carlos put his hand on Tom"s arm and said, “Tom, we really don"t know… when he"s going to be back. He"s been kidnapped.”
Tom stared at him for a few seconds, then his eyes got huge as it sunk in. “OH! Oh NO!” he said. “Oh my, Oh no.” He sank down into the chair behind him, clasping his head in his hands. We sat silently, watching him, waiting. He finally looked up at me. “Has there been a ransom demand? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No ransom,” I said. “There probably won"t be. But Carlos and I will be traveling a lot, chasing leads, trying to find him, so please watch the cash supply closely. Please make sure there"s always a large amount available to me.”
He nodded his head. “Absolutely, of course I will.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a businesscard. “Can I borrow a pen?” he said. I handed him one and he turned the card over. “This is my private cell number and my home phone,” he said as he handed it to me. “Please call, anytime day or night, if you need anything, anything at all.”
I nodded. “Thank you, Tom. I really appreciate this.”
Tom stood to leave. “Ummm, Tom?” I said. He looked at me and I nodded at the large envelope in his hand. “Oh,” he said, “I completely forgot.” He handed me the envelope. “This is supposed to be your birthday present, he was going to hold on to it until September. I"ll give it to you and let you decide whether or not to open it.”
I took the envelope and stared at it. “Thank you very much, Tom.”
He took my hand in his. “I"m very sorry, Mrs. Pearl. I hope you find him soon.”
I smiled at him as he turned and walked out. I sank into the chair, setting the envelope on the desk in front of me. “What do I do Carlos?” I said.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry kiddo, don"t have any answers here. Besides, I"m lousy at surprises.”
I shoved the envelope over to him. “Here,” I said, “you look.”
He pulled the envelope down into his lap, opened it and looked inside. It took him a few minutes to figure out what he was looking at. His eyes went huge. “Holy shit,” he said.
“What?!” I said. “What is it?”
He looked up at me and grinned. “Gee, Sarah. Maybe I shouldn"t tell you.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “I"ll just get it out of you, you know,” I said.
He stared at me, tilting his head to the side, then nodded. “You"re probably right. But I"m going to take my chances. Let me say this: It won"t help us find him, so there"s really no need for you to see it now. I"ll tell you when the time is right or I"ll let him tell you.”
I frowned at him. “Okay,” I whispered, “you win… for now.”
I printed the letter from Matt that was on the CD and tucked it into my back pocket. I wanted to carry it with me always. “Okay,” I said, “what"s next?”
“Ummm, I think you"re done for the day,” he said.
My head snapped up, panic filling my face. “What?!? NO! Carlos, I fall apart when there"s nothing to do! You have to find something to keep me busy. Please?”
He stared at me for a second, then grinned as he stood up and stuck his hand out to me. “Come on,” he said.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Outside. You are going to have your first flying lesson,” he grinned.
“Carlos, is now really the time for that?” I said.
“Why not?” he asked. “We can"t leave for Washington until after we see Musetta tomorrow, you don"t have any more appointments today, and it just may come in handy someday.”
“Okay,” I whispered, not sure I was ready for this.
We walked out into the shaded part of the courtyard. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his chest pressing into my back. For a brief second my heart jumped in my chest. I shook it off– it must be because of how fragile my emotions are right now. “Okay,” he said, “close your eyes. Good, now imagine that your body is like an empty shell. It"s weightless, like a balloon.”
I smirked. “Or like the blow up doll in your closet?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” he said. “Okay, Sarah, now open your eyes.”
I did, and completely lost my concentration. We were floating fifty feet above the ground, and Carlos" hands were just lightly resting under my elbows. He gripped tight when he felt me as I started to fall. “Whoa!” he said as we floated back to the ground.
“You could"ve warned me,” I said.
“Well, consider yourself warned. Now close your eyes and
try again,” he said as his arms again wrapped around my waist. Once again there was another flutter of the heart, and another dismissal by me. I closed my eyes again and felt my body become lighter. “Now open your eyes, Sarah.”
“I"m afraid to,” I said, squeezing them tighter.
“Sarah, you"re lighter than air, just keep that thought firmly in your head. Come on, open them.”
I opened one eye, and saw Carlos about six feet in front of me. I felt the panic forming.
He saw it too. “You"re fine, Sarah,” he calmly said. “You can do this.”
I nodded and locked my eyes on his. He floated a little closer and held his hands out, barely touching my fingertips when I reached back. He grinned his goofy grin. “I told you, you could do this.”
I finally looked down, trying not to panic. We were at least seventy-five feet above the ground this time. “You"re fine. Now,head for the roof.”
“You"re kidding me right?” I said. “How the hell am I supposed to headfor the roof?”
“Face the roof, and lean towards it,” he said as he pulled up next to me. The roof was about two hundred feet from me. I tilted slightly forward, and was surprised that I moved about six feet closer. I straightened up and floated, turning to grin at Carlos. I leaned toward the roof and started floating towards it again. I was about twenty feet away and beginning to think I could do this when a squeal from below sent me tumbling toward the ground. I braced for impact, when Carlos swooped in and caught me, a few feet from the ground. He hesitated just a moment before he released his arms and in that moment, our eyes met, and there was something (longing? desire? what?) there, as my heart fluttered again. Don"t be ridiculous, Sarah, I thought, he"s your best friend, nothing more.
Stacy ran over to me. “Sarah, I"m sooo sorry,” she said. “I just got so excited when I saw you flying.”
“It"s okay Stacy,” I said, smiling. “I need to be able to work through distractions anyways. Obviously Ifailed miserably that time.”
“Do you want me to go inside?” she said.
I shook my head. “No, it"s okay.”
We stayed out practicing, until long after the sun went down and Stacy had gotten too tired and gone inside. I was completely exhausted, this was really hard work, but I didn"t want to face not having something to do. Finally, exhausted himself, Carlos floated over and put one arm around my waist and pulled me gently toward the ground. He didn"t have to say a word. I took a deep breath and nodded. We stopped by the kitchen and ate first, then he walked me to my room to gather a few things, including Matt"s pillow, one of his shirts to sleep in and clothes for the next day. I was really missing his scent. I was pretty proud of myself, as I made it all the way back to Carlos" room, changed and climbed into bed, before I lost it. And, once again, his warm, soothing, loving embrace, his calm, loving words, and his gentle fingertips on my forehead helped me to find my way back from the sadness and to the, thankfully, dreamless sleep that I so desperately needed.
Chapter Four
I was surprised when I woke the next morning with the sun streaming in through the window. I must have been totally exhausted to have slept this late. For a brief moment, I forgot what I was going through. For a brief moment, in my half-asleep stupor, I thought that it was Matt"s incredible body pressing in to mine. I thought it was Matt"s leg that was draped across mine and his arm that was firmly across my chest– big surprise there, I thought as I grinned. Just how it is every morning when I wake up. And just like every other morning, I began running my fingers through his hair and pressed my hip into his crotch, which I felt respond almost immediately. I was definitely more awake now. I turned my head to kiss him and quietly gasped when I quickly realized that it wasn"t Matt. “Carlos,” I whispered. He groaned slightly in his sleep and pulled himself closer to me. I could feel his entire body pressing into my side, his chiseled abs, his sculpted leg, his hard excitement trying to escape his shorts, everything. For a confusing split-second I had to fight the urge to turn toward him. Not good I thought. “Carlos!” I said, a little louder.
“Huh? What?” he mumbled then he opened his eyes and looked at me. He followed my glance as I looked at my chest and quickly pulled up his arm and moved away from me, turning quickly so that I wouldn"t see (too late) the bulge under the sheet. “Mmmm, sorry,” he whispered.
“It"s okay,” I said as I sat up. I looked back at him. “I"ll be okay for a little while if you want to go see Stacy.”
He stared at me. “Geez Sarah,” he said. “I was sleeping.”
“No, I know that,” I said, unable to tell him that part of what happened was me. “I"m just saying that I don"t want you to give up… everything to take care of me.”
He stared at the ground but I could clearly see the hurt in his eyes. “I"m not always about sex, Sarah,” he said. “You"re the first woman that I"ve ever met that I wanted to take care of. You need me, Sarah. That"s new for me. It"s different, and I kind of like it.” Then he suddenly grinned the goofy Carlos grin. “Of course, if you want to take care of me… I certainly won"t stop you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Keep dreaming,” I said, hoping he didn"t hear the slight shake in my voice. Why the hell did I just want to say„okay"? It confused me, and more than that, it scared the hell out of me.
He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. “Okay,” he grinned.
I smacked his stomach. “Come on, pervert. It"s time to get up.”
“Okay, okay,” he said as he climbed out of bed.
“Stefan knows we"re going to Seattle first?” I said.
He nodded. “Yep, right after we talk to Musetta.”
“Good. I"m going to shower and get ready for the assembly,” I said as I headed to the bathroom.
I felt okay. I desperately wanted to get to Seattle to look for Matt, but I knew we had to see Musetta first to try to have some sort of way to stop the pain. So I was okay, anxious, but okay, as I climbed into the shower. I shampooed my hair and washed my body. Turning around to briefly relax under the cascading hot water– I let out a surprised, “Oh” then, “Oh shit,” as the sorrow wave came out of nowhere and hit me. Who knows what triggered it– the fact that I rarely showered alone, the way that Matt and I always enjoyed our showers together so much, the fact that I was alone, the fact that he was missing, the fact that I was broken – it could have been any one of these things or all of them. But the fact was– here I was, alone, in the shower, sobbing, consumed by fear and grief, and unable to move or speak. My knees gave out and I sank to the floor, curling into a ball as I sobbed. At least ten minutes past before I finally heard the tap at the door that I knew was coming.
“Geez, Sarah, how long of a shower do you need?” Carlos said. He waited for a moment. “Sarah?” he said. “Sarah, answer me right now or I"m coming in.” A few more seconds and the door flew open. “Oh crap!” he said as he grabbed a towel and ran over to me. He turned off the water, wrapped the towel around me, scooped me up and sat down on the bathroom rug, pulling me onto his lap. I was consumed with grief, but at the same time, I felt completely safe in his arms. They just felt so good. He waited patiently until my sobs quieted, then he started bringing me back. “Come on, honey. He needs you Sarah,” he whispered as he rubbed my back. “I need you, Matt needs you. We both need your strength. He needs you to find him. You have to find him don"t you?”
I nodded and whispered, “Yes.” I started taking deep breaths, thinking of Matt and of finding him. I missed him desperately which must be why I was having these weird feelings whenever Carlos was near me, even when we were sleeping. Matt needed me to find him, he needed me strong. “Okay, okay, okay, okay, I"m okay now,” I gasped as I clenched and unclenched my fists. I raised my head up. “Sorry, I didn"t see that one coming at all,” I mumbled.
“You should be,” he said, then he grinned. “Now, I"m going to have to be in here when you shower. Geez Sarah, you really make me do some awful things sometimes.”
“Oh, shut up, dork,” I said an
d I leaned my head on his shoulder, unable, or unwilling, to get up for a brief moment. Something about feeling his arms around me felt… right. Again, I dismissed the feeling. “I really am sorry, Carlos”
“What on earth for, Sarah?”
“Well, first of all, I got you all wet.”
“I was going to get in the shower after you. You just gave me a head start, so don"t sweat it. Next?”
“I"m sorry I"m freaking out a little about us. I mean, I need you with me, but this shit that keeps happening when we"re sleeping. I don"t know what to do about it.”
“I"m freaking out about it too, Sarah. I"m sure it"s just a fluke thing because we"re both so stressed out right now. From now on, you sleep under the sheet. I"ll sleep on top of it. Just like we did that one time in New Orleans, okay? Next?” I had to bite my lip to keep from telling him that it wasn"t necessary, that I wanted him next to me without a sheet between us. I mean, we"re just friends and I really needed the support of my friend right now, right? But did that support really have to include us rubbing up against each other while we slept? Probably not.
I tried to climb out of his lap while keeping the towel around me. I wasn"t having much luck though. Every way I turned meant a big gap in the towel. Carlos finally said, “Here,” and put his hand over his eyes.
“Should I trust you to not peak?” I smiled.
From behind his hand, the goofy Carlos grin made its appearance. “No,” he smirked.
“Thanks,” I laughed as I jumped up, leaving the towel in his lap, and grabbed my robe. I pretended that I didn"t see the gap in the fingers, and I pretended that I wasn"t glad that I did.
“I still feel bad that I keep falling apart on you. That one came out of nowhere. I thought I was doing okay. I guess I"m not handling this very well,” I whispered.
“Sarah,” Carlos said, “you"re doing awesome, considering what you"re going through. Stop being ridiculous. Now, get dressed so we can meet up with the others to prepare for the assembly, okay?”
I nodded and went and grabbed my clothes. I had to push Carlos out of the bathroom to get dressed. “I don"t know Sarah,” he grinned. “I"m not comfortable leaving you alone at all.”
Malina's Revenge Page 4
