Four of Hearts (17 page)

“You aren’t going to lose either one of us. I can’t speak for Richard, but I’m pretty sure he won’t be offended to find out you love him. Now Ryan, that might be another story.”

“He knows. I told him. Well, I told him about you anyway.”

Fallon couldn’t hide her surprise. Candace sure wasn’t the insecure mouse of a school teacher she’d been when they first met. She’d grown into a self-assured woman, comfortable in her body and confident in her love. “You did?”

“Uh huh. I would have told him about Richard, but I wasn’t sure about my feelings before this. . . happened. Now, I might not. . . .”

“Stop right there. We’re going to get out of this, and you’ll have all the time in the world.”

Candace sniffed back tears. “You’re right. I know you’re right, but sometimes. . . .”

“I know. I’m worried too, but I know our guys won’t let us down.” Fallon scooted closer to Candace and wrapped her arms around her. Candace wiggled around until her back was to Fallon’s front. “Close your eyes. We need to get some rest.”

Their guard stopped his pacing and waved his gun at them. “Shut up. I can’t stand all this chatter.”

Candace sank lower and pulled her throw higher. Fallon nodded and tightened her arms around Candace. “Okay, okay. No problem. We’ll be quiet as church mice.”

He grunted something and continued his pacing. Fallon leaned over and whispered against Candace’s ear. “Try to get some rest. Just don’t snore.” Fallon was relieved to hear Candace stifle a giggle. It fueled her confidence that they were going to get out of this.

* * * * *

Richard stared at the printout in his hands. “Good God. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“Maybe, but it’s all we’ve got to go on. Hand me one of the reports,” Ryan said.

“Nothing in the personnel files?” Richard sorted through the stack, and handed over half the list of Internet connections made through the satellite link.

“Not that raised any red flags. All these guys have been with us since the beginning.”

“I’m thinking e-mail would have been the most likely. If he made a phone call, someone might have overheard.”

“Even so, would anyone have thought it was an unusual conversation? People talk about us all the time.”

“Probably not, but you can say more in an e-mail than you can over the phone.”

“But e-mail leaves a trail. If we can figure out who did it, a computer forensic team can find the e-mails, even if they were deleted. We need evidence to link these guys back to the source.”

“Vernon Cannon,” Richard said.

“Probably. But we won’t know that for sure unless we find a connection,” Ryan said.

“We’ll find a connection. We have to put an end to this shit. Hell, I’d give the guy the
Lothario
if I thought it would end there, but I don’t think it would. This guy is nuts, and he’s getting crazier by the day.” They returned to the reports for lack of anything better to do.

Time crawled slower than snails on a petunia. Finally, more exhausted than he’d ever been in his life, and no closer to finding the answer he was looking for, Richard tossed the stack of papers on the Captain’s desk and stood. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. It’s a waste of time.”

Ryan added his stack to the pile on the desk. “It’s all we’ve got. I’ve got to be doing something. The waiting is killing me.”

Richard stood with his back to the office. A broad window provided an unobstructed view of the Bridge. The fact that everything looked like business as usual did nothing to calm him. “It’s been hours.”

Ryan joined him, stretching his arms above his head as he did so. “Yeah. I keep telling myself not to panic, but then I remember the picture they sent, and I can’t breathe.”

“I know. What are we going to do if. . . .”

“No. Don’t even think it. Sean, Drew and Celeste have faced worse than this, I’m sure. And Bree may look like the girl next door, but she’s far from it. When she joined us, I checked out her referrals from the FBI. Trust me the woman knows what she’s doing.”

“I wish to hell I knew what she was doing right now. If we get out of this. . . .”

“
When
we get out of this,” Ryan corrected.

“When we get out of this, I’m not letting Fallon out of my sight again.”

* * * * *

Candace woke with a start. The rise and fall of Fallon’s chest at her back told Candace whatever woke her hadn’t done the same for her friend. She took stock of her surroundings. Lights still blazed in the house. Their captor had stopped his pacing and settled into a chair facing them. From the looks of him, he’d fallen asleep too, but the difference was, he still had a gun in his hand. Candace hoped he didn’t wake up and start shooting. She and Fallon would be the first thing he saw, and the most likely victims.

Nothing seemed different from when she’d dozed off. The mantel clock told her she’d slept several hours. It would be getting light out soon. Was the
Lothario
getting close? She couldn’t remember exactly what the demand had been. She’d been scared out of her mind with the gunmen surrounding her, and one holding a gun to her temple. They wanted the ship. That much she remembered.

It happened so fast she couldn’t even register what was happening. Suddenly, the room filled with black-clad figures moving on silent feet. Her sleep-fogged brain registered the menacing guns, and little else. Were these the same people? A wave of fresh panic twisted her stomach into a tight knot as two of the new arrivals jerked the man in the chair up and slammed him facedown to the floor. Two others stood between her and Fallon, and the scene playing out across the room.

Fallon jerked awake behind her, and they both sat up straighter. “What?” Fallon gasped.

One of the figures turned and pulled their ski mask off. A familiar fall of dark wavy hair tumbled down. “Good morning. How are you ladies this fine day?” Candace gaped at her sister-in-law.

“Celeste! Oh my God!” Candace was on her feet in seconds. Celeste wrapped her arms around her in a bear hug.

“Are you okay?” Celeste asked.

Candace moved from her embrace and looked around at the others in the room. “Bree. Drew. Sean! God, am I glad to see all of you!”

Fallon got to her feet. “What? How?”

“We thought we’d drop in for a visit. Didn’t know you all ready had company,” Sean quipped.

“Oh God!” Candace dropped back to the sofa.

“Hey, you okay?” Bree asked. She sat beside Candace and wrapped an arm around her.

“I’m fine. Just a little confused. But I’m so damned glad to see you.”

“I’d love to sit around and chat, but we need your help,” Sean said. “Can either one of you tell us how many there were?”

“Seven,” Fallon said. Their rescuers all turned as one.

“Two to go,” Drew said.

Sean nodded at Celeste and Drew. “Take this one in the kitchen and find out what he knows. We don’t have much time.”

Candace followed Celeste and Drew with her eyes as they hoisted the now handcuffed and gagged man from the floor, and half dragged him out of sight. Bree did her best to block the view, hovering like a mother hen.

“Do either of you need anything? Water, food?”

“The bathroom, then food,” Fallon said.

“Okay, let’s go. Bathroom first.” Bree led the way down the hall. Fallon rushed into the small guest bathroom off the main hall.

“I’ll use the one in our bedroom. Is that okay?” Candace asked.

“Go ahead. We checked the rest of the house before we came in. It’s clear.”

A few minutes later, Bree escorted them back to the front room and left them on the sofa, promising to return with food. They watched her disappear into the kitchen, leaving them alone with Sean who lounged against the wall as if storming an island and rescuing hostages was something he did every day.

“Sean, I can’t thank you enough,” Candace said.

“Don’t thank me yet. We have a few more to round up before this is over.”

“The others?”

“Secured.”

“They aren’t. . . .” She couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

“No. They’re alive, unfortunately. We found three stationed as lookouts around the island, one outside the house and the guy in there,” he jerked his thumb in the direction of the kitchen. “I’d guess the other two are on the other side of the island, waiting for the ship. We’ll know soon enough.”

Candace didn’t want to think about what was going on in her kitchen. Her brother and sister-in-law had been spies for years before they retired. Now they operated a high-end security business, and consulted for R&R Enterprises, Richard and Ryan’s conglomerate.

“Ryan?” Candace asked.

“And Richard?” Fallon added.

“They’re fine. They’re bringing the
Lothario
in as we speak. Gotta make a show of paying the ransom, just in case.”

“They want the ship.” Fallon said.

“That’s what they said. Drew thought we could pull off a rescue so they wouldn’t have to turn over the ship. Personally, I think it would be a lousy trade. I can’t imagine what anyone would want with that ship, or any other, for that matter.”

Candace smiled. Sean had no love for boats of any kind, his brother’s included, and he didn’t mind who knew it.

Bree returned with a plate of cheese and crackers and two water bottles. “This will have to do for now.”

“Its fine, thanks,” Candace said.

Drew and Celeste came back, minus the kidnapper. “Let’s go,” Drew said, heading for the door. Sean and Celeste followed.

“Bree, stay here. One of us will come back when it’s clear.” Sean turned to Candace and Fallon. “As soon as it’s safe, you two can come down to the beach. The ship should be here soon.”

“Thanks, Sean,” Candace said. Ryan’s brother could be an intimidating man, and seeing him like this, ready and able to do whatever needed to be done only added to his stature. Sean nodded, and the three of them left. A chill raced down her spine.

“Don’t worry. They know what they’re doing. This whole thing will be over in a matter of minutes,” Bree said.

“How did you get here?” Fallon asked.

“The hard way. Do you have any idea how long a swim it is between these two islands? I’m going to be sore all over tomorrow.” Bree shrugged and rolled her head on her shoulders.

“You swam? You’re kidding, right?” Candace asked.

“Nope. With scuba gear, and carrying a small arsenal to boot. I have all kinds of respect for those three, but next time, I want a boat.”

Candace stared at Bree. She couldn’t believe they’d all swam, in the dead of night, to their rescue. “We can’t thank you enough, Bree.”

“No thanks needed. This is the most excitement I’ve ever had. I trained for every possible scenario with the FBI, but never even had to draw my gun. Maybe I should have signed on with one of the more exciting agencies. I still could, I guess.”

“This is the kind of excitement I can do without,” Fallon said, oblivious to Bree’s obvious interest in pursuing a more exciting life. Candace wondered if Drew knew about Bree’s yearning for adventure.

“Who are these people?” Candace asked.

“Don’t have a clue. I’m sure we’ll have some answers before we turn them over.”

“You’ll be turning them over to the FBI?” Fallon asked.

“Yes, and they won’t be happy about the kidnapping and ransoming of American citizens.”

The room took on a rosy hue as the sun gradually pushed the darkness into the shadows where it belonged. Candace rubbed her arms, hugged tight across her chest. “How much longer?” she asked.

Bree consulted her dive watch. “I’d say they should be wrapping things up about now.”

A few minutes later, Celeste returned with a big smile on her face. “Let’s go. Bree, can you help me with the scumbag in the kitchen? His friends are all in knots, waiting for him to join them.”

They all groaned in unison at her ridiculous joke. “Is the ship here?” Fallon asked.

“On the horizon. You two should get down to the beach. I’d bet those men of yours are scanning the beach with binoculars right now.”