The last few days had been…she had no words to describe them.
Forced to flee her home in the middle of the night like some criminal. Ryan had smuggled her out that night and driven her across state lines, where he handed her over to one of his buddies who had driven through the night until they got to Virginia. Then he’d handed her over to yet another of their buddies who had brought her to a beautiful cabin tucked away somewhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Waking up to the view was one of the most beautiful experiences she’d ever had in her life and she had looked forward to spending several weeks there. Strangely, when she had thought of staying at the cabin for weeks, there had been only one thing missing. Ace.
Thoughts of him crept into her mind when she least expected them. She had tried to forget him. She really had, but when she was woken up in the middle of the night by an erotic dream about him, she gave up.
It was not just the way she felt when he touched her that she missed. It was everything. The way he teased her and made her laugh. The way he looked at her like he could see her…really see her. He was the first person to ever look at her that way.
And she’d sent him away.
Sierra buried her head in her hands, struggling with despair. She had no idea if she was going to come out of this alive. The Abrantes Dukes were after her, and they always got their man, or woman in her case. And she was sitting out in the woods in freaking West Virginia with just a duffel bag.
She thought she heard the sound of a vehicle approaching and lifted her head. Nothing.
What is wrong with me? Why do I have to complicate everything?
So what if Ace had been unable to promise her forever? So what if he was not in love with her? She could have had the greatest romance of a lifetime and she’d thrown it away for what? For something as fickle as permanence.
“This is just great,” she muttered to herself. She’d been searching for happily ever after and at that moment, she was not even sure of the next day.
I don’t want this…I don’t want you…
She felt her shoulders slump. Thinking back, she wished with everything she had that she could recall all the things she’d said to him in her house that day. It felt like a lifetime ago. What must he be thinking?
She laughed bitterly to herself. What else would he be thinking? Probably good riddance because the chances of their paths crossing again were highly unlikely.
The phone Ryan gave her beeped now. He was the only one who had the number.
I’ll be there in 5.
She stood up and lifted her duffel bag. She picked her way to the edge of the woods and waited, still hidden behind some trees. From where she was standing, she could see the gas station clearly. It was one of those twenty-four hour stations, but there was nobody about. It was a lonely road and she didn’t think many people came around at that time.
Suddenly she heard the sound of a vehicle approaching. This time her ears were not deceiving her. A huge delivery van pulled up to the gas station. From where she was watching, she saw a man climb out. He walked to the pump and filled the tank. Next he walked to the back of the truck and hit it twice. Then strode into the convenience store.
It was the signal they had agreed upon. Sierra heaved a sigh. Here goes.
She walked out and hurried across the road. The driver’s side of the van was facing the road. She noted that Ryan had parked in such a way that the door was in the shadows. Without looking around, she darted towards the van, pulled open the door on the driver’s side and jumped in.
Her heart was beating hard. She half expected to hear the sound of gunshots. She turned to drop her duffel bag on the seat beside her and froze.
**
As soon as the van came to a halt at the gas station, Ace went in to use the restroom and pick up a few things they might need. Once they hit the road, they were not stopping for anything, except to fill up on gas.
He went by different aisles, picking stuff up in a manner that seemed random. But he knew exactly what he was doing. He kept his eyes on alert, looking out for any trouble. He needed to hurry back to the van.
When Ryan entered the convenience store, every sense in Ace went on high alert. He closed the gap between them.
“Where’s Sierra?” He kept his voice low even though the only other person in the store was the store attendant and he was half asleep.
“She’s in the van.”
The reply should have satisfied Ace, but somehow it did not. They had driven around for several minutes and had taken some false turns, just to be sure that there was no one following them. And no car had been following them. Still, something did not feel right.
“Are you sure?”
Ryan nodded. “I made sure she was safely in before I stepped in.” Then he frowned. “What are you getting?”
Ace started to reply, then shook his head. He had a gut feeling that something was horribly wrong, and his gut had saved him on too many occasions for him to dismiss its warning.
He motioned to Ryan. “C’mon.”
Leaving the grocery basket right where it was, he reached for the gun that was tucked in his waistband and walked out to the van. He approached carefully, not sure if they were walking into an ambush. He stilled his mind, trying to figure out if there was any danger. He did not get the feeling that they were walking into a dangerous situation, still, he could not be too careful.
Everything appeared normal at first. The area was as quiet as it had been when they first pulled up. Ace scanned the perimeter, knowing that Ryan was doing the same. He could not tell how, but he knew that something bad had happened. He had only one thought, and that was to get to Sierra as quickly as possible. They needed to move swiftly and silently.
When they got to the van, Ace went around to the other side. He crouched and pressed his side to the tires, in an area he knew was a blind spot should anyone be looking out the window. Slowly, he began to inch towards the door. He looked up then and spotted Ryan on the roof of the van. He was flat on his belly and was crawling towards the front of the van.
Ryan signaled to Ace to wait for the all clear from him. Ace was hidden in the shadows, but there was some light reflecting over Ryan. A few seconds later, Ryan dropped down from the roof and waved his hand to Ace.
Ace stood up and walked towards the van. He pulled open the door and found it empty.
Where was Sierra?
“You sure you saw her get into the van?” he asked Ryan, who had pulled out his phone.
“Affirmative.”
A phone alarm rang inside the van. Ace climbed in and found a duffel bag on the seat. He followed the sound of the phone and located it on the floor. It was a slim black phone.
His first thought was that Sierra had been in that cab. The second thought was that she was no longer there. Something must have happened to her.
“She would not leave her phone behind,” Ryan said with conviction.
Ace believed him. “Check the restroom, I’ll look around”
Ace opened his backpack and took out his night vision goggles. He slipped them on and ran across to the edge of the gas station. The highway ran between a wooded area and there was thick forest on either side of the road. He slipped into the forest and moved on silent feet, his eyes and ears vigilant for the slightest movement or sound.
The ground was thick with leaves, so it was impossible to track footprints. But there were other things that could only be seen by an experience eye. Like the twigs that were snapped, as though they were crushed by heavy steps.
Ace crouched down and noticed other tell-tale signs. Some under bush plants were bent and broken. He stood up and took a few steps forward. Here the grass was bent, like it was pressed down by a foot. He brought out his phone and sent a text message to Ryan. They had plugged him into the Silver Shield messaging software for this mission.
Almost immediately, Ryan appeared wearing his night vision goggles. Ace pointed to the indentation on the ground and th
e other man nodded. Quickly, without wasting more time, they followed the signs till they got to an area with spoor. Two sets of footprints were clearly visible on the soft ground. Taking a closer look, Ace could tell that one was larger than the other. The smaller prints looked like they were belonged to someone who was being pulled or slightly dragged along.
Ace clenched his fist in anger and thought about all the things he was going to do to the bastards who had Sierra.
They made their way until they got to a dirt road several miles along. The footprints ended there but there were fresh set of prints. Tire prints this time. Ace studied the tire pattern, he recognized it. SUV jeeps usually had such tires.
Then he cursed as he remembered the silver SUV that whizzed past them several miles before they got to the gas station. It had seemed odd, a vehicle on the road at that time of the night. There were two men in the car and they had seemed in a hurry, never even sparing the van a glance.
He looked at Ryan and saw that he was also coming to the same conclusion. They broke into a run, following the path until it linked up with the highway. They stopped running then. There was no vehicle in sight. Nothing. The night was absolutely still, except for the occasional howling of a pack of coyotes. There was no sign of Sierra or her captors.
Ace stood there, hating the feeling of helplessness that was creeping over him. He had lost Sierra. How had this happened? He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. What the hell just happened?
Ryan tapped him, when he had his attention, he nodded towards where they’d left their van. Ace nodded and they jogged back, this time keeping to the highway. One thing bothered Ace; why they had taken Sierra instead of just shooting her. If the aim was simply to silence her, it would have been much neater to put a bullet to her head and leave her in the woods. That they had taken her meant that they needed her alive. He could not fathom why, but he knew one thing for sure: wherever they had taken her, he was going to find her. It was non-negotiable.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Diane was a woman on a mission. She came in to work early and set to work. She searched practically every inch of the senator’s office, looking for something that could be used to indict him. She did not know exactly what she was looking for, but she knew that she would know it as soon as she saw it.
She shut the last drawer in the file cabinet. There was nothing in there. She padded across the fluffy white carpet to his desk, sure that she would find something there. She dug her feet into the luxury of the rug. Her four-inch heels were sitting nicely beneath her table and she was standing only in stockinged feet. Diane was a very tactile person and the pleasure she got from the softness beneath her feet was sheer bliss, but she had a job to do. With a sigh she walked to his computer and turned it on.
While waiting for the computer to come on, she glanced at the slim watch on her wrist, a gift from him. Very briefly, in a moment of temporary insanity, she had thought of trashing everything he ever got her. Thankfully she had come to her senses really quickly. What else did she have from this farce of a relationship? She had no children…her heart clenched when she thought of the last abortion she’d had. That one she had wanted badly.
The computer came on and Diane shook off the morbid thoughts. What was done was done. It was impossible to reverse.
The password screen came on.
“Now, what can be his password?” She murmured while searching her brain.
She typed in his wife’s name and got an error message.
“Hmm…wonder what he would use?” Then she remembered that he had a pet name for his penis. “He wouldn’t, would he?” In fascinated horror, she typed in the name and the computer came alive. What a dope.
She felt like a huge scale had dropped from her eyes, revealing the egotistical, self-absorbed man to whom she had given the best part of her youth. How had she not seen him for the fake that he was? She couldn’t believe how many years … No. She was not going down that road.
Leaning forward, she searched his documents. Not satisfied, she went through the download folder. Diane searched every bit of the computer, even to the recycle bin, but there was nothing there. Minutes later, she straightened up. She was not ready to admit defeat, but she had searched every folder and file on the system and had not found anything. She’d even gone through his email and dropbox. She’d searched everything. Or had she?
Once more she bent and peered into the system. She was missing something; she could feel it. But what could it be? She glanced at the time. In the next ten minutes, the entire office would be abuzz with activity. She did not want the senator to meet her standing over his computer. It was just too suspicious for her peace of mind and Senator Coleman, for all his ego, was a suspicious man.
Diane stared at the desktop absent-mindedly when it suddenly occurred to her that she had not yet checked the pictures folder. What could possibly be there? She had no idea. However, once she clicked through, she saw a folder that was labeled family vacation. It stood out because the senator never bothered about documenting family vacations, that was usually his wife’s department. So if there were pictures they would not be in the senator’s custody.
She clicked open the folder and struck pay dirt. Quick as a flash, she stuck a thumb drive into the system. Before she could do anything else, she heard voices and they were coming really close. She dragged the folder into the thumb drive and tapped her foot as it copied, suddenly in a hurry.
She only had just enough time to shut down the computer and move to stand beside the coffee area when the senator arrived.
“Coffee please, Diane,” he said, tossing his briefcase unto the table. “Since you’re getting one for yourself,” he added.
“Of course,” she murmured.
She would have loved to tell him where he could get off, but he seemed in a really foul mood and besides, she was not going to expend her hatred on such petty things.
Once she left work, she would get in touch with Sierra Newman and send a copy of what was in her thumb drive via overnight dispatch. She would know which cops she could hand them over to and once that was done, the mighty Senator Coleman would come crashing down. She could not wait to be free of him.
Some deep instinct made her try to get hold of Sierra Newman during her lunch break. Out of frustration, she tried Silver Shield Security and got Emily Silver. After their conversation, she hurried out of the office complex.
Satisfied with her mission, Diane returned to her office and stopped abruptly when she found the senator sitting at her table. Two of his goons were standing behind him.
“W-what’s going on?” She was angry to hear the stammer in her voice.
“Hello, Diane,” he said with a smile that sent shivers through her spine. “Been a very busy bee, I see.”
Diane lifted her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She felt movement behind her and turned to see two more of his goons standing behind her. They must have followed her in without her noticing. There was something sinister in the air and Diane’s palms had become clammy.
“I’m sure you remember that we had security cameras installed in every office in this building, right? Surely you remember something like that.”
Diane froze. Shit! How the hell had she forgotten something so important?
“I see you remember.” He shook his head and tut-tutted.
“What are you going to do?” There was no need to pretend anymore.
“Good bye, Diane.”
What? What did he mean by good bye? She opened her mouth to ask, but never got the chance. A heavy blow landed on her head, the pain so severe, she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. A second blow and everything went dark.
Senator James Hugh Coleman stood up and went around the table. He took one look at the woman on the floor. Squatting, he took hold of her hand and felt for her pulse. He felt nothing. Standing up, he motioned to the men with him.
“Get the thumb drive and dispo
se of her.” Without a backward glance, he walked into his office.
**
James Hugh Coleman was the youngest child of Tom and Vanessa Coleman. While his mom taught seventh grade at the local high school before she passed away, his father was a construction worker. They were salt-of-the-earth people, hardworking and well respected within their community. His two sisters and three brothers were all hardworking people. Two out of Tom and Vanessa’s children went to college, Samantha and James. Samantha married and moved to Canada, where she worked in the city library.
James had always been different from the others. Charming and good looking, he often coasted along on his charm and looks. He, however, took his studies very seriously because he saw them as his ticket out of Average-Ville. So he worked hard and played hard and won a sports scholarship to an Ivy League School. It was while there he met Penelope Caxton-Smyth, heir to a sizeable trust fund and a member of one of Chicago’s most politically influential families. He pursued her with single-minded determination. Each time he thought about the energy and creativity he put into getting her to fall in love with him, he gave himself a pat on the back.
From a very young age, James knew he was destined for great things. He was never content with just being the son of a construction worker and a teacher. He wanted more out of life. He wanted to be great, and Penelope was his ticket to greatness.
In the eighteen years that they had been married, he had never given her a single reason to complain. He was an exemplary husband to her and a great father to their two children. His in-laws loved him.
James Coleman sat on the expensive cherry wood office set, a gift from his wife when he got reelected. It had cost thousands of dollars, but she could afford it. He leaned back and sighed in satisfaction. His life was perfect. He had the perfect public image, three homes, one in Chicago, one in D.C and one on Martha’s Vineyard. The one on Martha’s Vineyard actually belonged to Penelope, she’d inherited it from her grandmother. Even his kids were perfect. Jasmine got into college a year early and was already on her way to being an honor student. Percy was an all-star athlete and president of the student body; he was following in his father’s steps already. They were all healthy, well-adjusted kids, which was mostly Penelope’s doing.
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 14
