CHAPTER 28

With her red purse on her arm, earbuds in her ear, Grace chatted cheerfully to her sister. Dressed today in a red and white slim, knee length skirt, white blouse, red blazer with red ankle high spike shoes. Her accessories of matching necklace, earrings and bracelet, contributed to her happy carefree mood.

“I swear, the night was freakin’ amazing, AnnieMarie,” she said as she strutted down the sidewalk. “Jonathan worked my body like it was his mission to brand me as his.”

“Did he?”

“I think the initials JM are sealed into my right butt cheek.” Grace laughed along with AnnieMarie. “I feel like doing the Mary Tyler Moore twirl in the middle of Marshall Street.”

“What are you doing on Marshall Street?”

“My standard nail appointment,” Grace replied as she glanced at her nails. “Speaking of which, my feet are still tingling from the feel of Jonathan’s tongue gliding across my toes.”

“He’s a foot man,” AnnieMarie laughed.

“Jonathan is a full body man,” Grace laughed then continued on her path. “From the top of my head to the tip of my toes, I can testify that the man did not leave an inch of my body untouched.”

“He has you testifying.”

“I cannot lie. The man lived up to the legend I had built up in my mind.”

“You sound like a woman in love, Grace.”

Grace stopped walking, thought for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, I am.” She began walking again. “And believe it or not, I am okay with it. The heavy weight I expected never came. I feel as light as a feather.”

“It’s because you are with Jonathan. All the other men would have been like a chain around your neck, dragging you into a world you did not want. With Jonathan, every day is going to be an adventure. He is the chosen one for you, Grace. He is the whole enchilada.” She laughed.

Grace’s smile was beaming as she nodded in agreement. “I can’t believe how much I miss him already.”

“Miss him? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, he received a call this morning and had to fly back to London. His mother had some kind of accident.” She checked her watch. “He should be landing in a few hours.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” AnnieMarie replied. “Was it serious?”

“From the little information he received so far, it’s a bit serious, but I did not get the impression that it was life threatening. Since it is just the two of them, he needed to be with her.”

“Totally understandable. Oh…oh, I have news that you are going to love, but you can’t mention it to anyone, especially at the office.”

Her sister sounded excited. “What is it?”

“Myles asked me to help him find an engagement ring for Chrystina.”

“Shut the front door,” Grace exclaimed as she paused, thrilled with the news. “When? When is he going to ask her?”

“This weekend. Chrystina is moving into his place and he wants to do it then.”

Grace beamed with excitement. “Listen, call Lizzy Day over at Intimate Jewelers, tell her I told you to call. She can hook him up with a one of a kind total package that Chrystina will love. And give her the heads up, I might be next.”

“What? Are you serious? You and Jonathan, Myles and Grace. Oh, Winnieford is going to be beside herself.”

“Life is about to get very interesting for all of us.”

AnnieMarie sighed. “For some of us, at least.”

“No for all of us. I believe you and Cainan will work things out.”

“Do you think so?”

“I do.” Grace smiled. “If Jonathan and I can work through all the years of miscommunication, anyone can.”

“I think you should call, just to check on how he’s coping with the news about his mother. That’s a long plane ride to London. He’s probably worried.”

“You know, I think I will do that. Talk to you when I get to the office.”

Grace stopped, touched the earplug once to end the call with AnnieMarie, then once more. “Call Jonathan,” she ordered.

Her phone dialed the number.

“Hello, Love.”

His voice filled her with warmth as it always had. “While I enjoy the way your voice makes my heart skip a beat or two, I really wanted to check on how your mother is doing?”

“The last conversation indicated she was resting well.” Jonathan sighed. “I will feel better when I put eyes on her for myself. The incident as reported to me, is questionable at best. My mother is not the clumsy type.”

“Once you see her, you will feel better. Then you can look into what happened. How long before you land?”

Jonathan checked his watch. “Another two hours.”

“Call me when you touch down.”

“I wish you were here beside me.”

“Well, I’m inside of you wherever you go. Just as you are inside of me.”

“Hmm, I was inside of you,” he chuckled. “Deep, almost undercover.”

Grace’s heart filled with joy as she laughed. “Can’t wait for your next deep undercover visit.”

“There will be no visiting. I plan to reside there for eternity.”

“You are going to make me wet my panties standing in the middle of the street.”

“Put a plug in that until I get back home. I don’t want you wasting not one drop of your sweet essence.”

“Oh my goodness, I have to get off of this phone with you talking like that. Call me when you land.”

“Will do.” Jonathan disconnected the call. God he loved that woman. He laid his head back as thoughts of their love making filled his mind. He exhaled. The pieces of his life were finally falling into place. Grace was his. He was now working with people he liked and admired, doing work he truly enjoyed. Now if he could convince his mum to move to the states, life would be perfect.

###

Grace’s phone buzzed in her ear. “If you are calling with details of your undercover visit, I will have to stop to pick up new panties.”

“Well,” Warren’s voice laughed in her ear. “That should make for an interesting morning.”

“Warren? I thought you were Jonathan.”

“I figured and how deep was that visit?”

“Deep enough to know he is the only man that will be diving in.”

“Oh…we are going to table that conversation for later. Where are you?” Warren asked as Grace walked out of the nail shop.

“On my way to the office. Why?”

“Listen, whatever Elaine is up to is moving at a fast pace. She just instructed her people to get prepared for a vote on BIT by the end of this week.”

Grace slowed her pace. “Did we receive notice that BIT wants to meet?”

“No,” Warren replied.

“So why does Elaine think a vote needs to be scheduled?”

“I don’t have the answer to that one just yet,” Warren declared. “I will try to get more before you get here.”

“Okay, I’m on my way. Good work, Warren.”

Grace disconnected the call as she continued down the sidewalk towards her car. She was about to call Chrystina when her feet gave way. She screamed as her body fell through the grates in the sidewalk. Damn if the grate did not open wide. At least it did not catch her heel, she thought as she braced herself for a fall. She grabbed the handle of her purse, just as her body hit something that caused her to bounce up. It was a trampoline, she thought with a bit of relief. Her body hit again with a little less impact. It took her a moment to grasp what had happened. She started laughing, thinking she really needed to watch where she was walking.

“Whew.” She took a moment to exhale. “That could have been interesting.”

That moment turned out to not be funny at all. She felt the pinch of the needle in her neck, her body went limp and just like that, everything went black.

###

Jonathan was into the last hour of the flight when his cell phone buzzed.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Hello, Jonathan, this is Penelope Lovett. I stay in the flat directly across from your mum.”

“Hello, Mrs. Lovett.” Jonathan smiled as he remembered the frail woman who talked his head off every time she saw him. He had left his number with her when he moved to the states because he knew she was a curtain twitcher. If anything happened in the neighborhood she would know. “You and I have spoken several times.”

“Yes, well, you see I was away from home at the market. When I returned it seems your mum had taken a spill. Well, that’s a load of tosh, I know differently, you see. Your mum did not take a spill a’tall. There was a young fellow there. With your mum being a young woman I first thought it was a gentleman caller, you see. Yet when I noticed him standing behind the shrubbery, I knew then something was amiss. You see, your mum is particular about her garden and would not allow anyone to trample over her tulips.”

Jonathan was doing all he could to not lose his patience, but the woman was rambling on. Penelope Lovett was the exact same age as his mum. It was one of the reasons he’d purchased the flat. The location was near a park, with upscale and varied ages of residents. His mum was up in age, but still had a very young heart. So he placed her in an area where she could still be independent but would not feel out of place.

The woman was still talking. He was about to interrupt her when she blurted out, “It was the brute of a man who caused her to tumble. Now, I was not present to see the dastardly deed done. However, I know that brute was up to no good when I saw him standing near your mum’s tulips. She doesn’t stand for that you know.”

“Mrs. Lovett you saw a man near my mum’s flat?”

“Yes. He was standing to the side of the flat…..as if he did not wish to be seen. As I told……”

“Mrs. Lovett,” he interrupted her. “When was this?”

“As I was about to say before you so rudely interrupted me, this time it was directly before I went to the market. It takes me a little longer with my arthritis and all to…..”

Jonathan sat up. “Mrs……Mrs. Lovett,” he interrupted her again.

“Young man, you need to hold your britches to allow me to get it all out.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jonathan replied then patiently listened.

“Now, as I was saying. The brute has been seen for over a fortnight now in one place or another when your mum was around. Why one evening I saw him well after half past eight, watching your mum’s flat. Now mind you I would regularly be in bed that time of night, but I couldn’t sleep you know due to the arthritis so I thought I would have a gander behind the curtain, you see.”

Jonathan waited.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jonathan replied. “I was waiting for you to spill it all. Did you mention this to the Constables?”

“Heavens no. I gave you a ring as you asked me to.”

“Mrs. Lovett, do you think you could identify the bloke you saw?”

“Why yes, I believe I can. It’s my bloody knees that’s giving me trouble not my eyes.”

“My apologies, Mrs. Lovett. I will be there by half-past three this afternoon. I’m going to stop by the hospital first. May I come by for a visit with you this evening?”

“I would be delighted. We could have a spot of tea. Cheerio.”

Before Jonathan could say anything further, she had disconnected the call. His mind was reeling now. A man had been watching his mum’s home for over two weeks. Why and who?

He hung up the phone, then pulled out his laptop. His gut was telling him something was off. While he was strategically protecting the Dunnings, he may have left his mother exposed.

Jonathan pulled up the private numbers for the executives at Phase. He found Dewberry’s private number, put it into a program he designed to track calls using cell phone towers around the world. He put in parameters for numbers called from Dewberry’s private line. It did not take long for the information to populate. A map of the world appeared with numbers pinned at the location of the calls. Jonathan reviewed the hits, eliminating the numbers he knew were personal relations to Dewberry then looking closer at those that were not. As he glanced over the towers pinned on the map, he noticed a tower located in central Virginia. His attention went to that location. He hit the button for more details. It showed there were three calls made that hit a tower near Williamsburg, Virginia in the last week. That sounded familiar to him. He closed his eyes to think. Just as suddenly his eyes popped open. That was near the rehab center where Walker Dunning was staying.

“Why in the bloody hell would Richard be calling Williamsburg, Virginia?”

He knew the answer before he finished the thought. He immediately called Grace.

“Come on, Love, pick up.”

The call went to her voicemail. Jonathan strolled through his contact list on his phone then dialed a number.

“Roark, this is Jonathan.”

“It’s not like you to gloat, Jonathan. So what do you want?”

“Are you still in Richmond?”

“Why?”

“I think Grace may be a target. I need you to put eyes on her, now.”

“Look, she chose you as her man. So do your job and protect her. I’m out of it.”

“I am not there. I’m on my way to London.”

“You left her again?”

“Stop being an arse and listen. Get to Grace, Roark!” he shouted. “I don’t know what’s about to happen, but my gut tells me Grace is in trouble. If you care about her the way you claim you do, find her. I am sending you the last coordinates from her phone. I hung up with her about an hour ago.”

“Does this have something to do with the bank or her uncle Walker?”

“It may be both. Why do you ask?” Jonathan sat up.

“I turned over some troubling information to her yesterday regarding both,”

“What kind of information?”

There was some hesitation on the line. “What was the information, Roark?” Jonathan yelled out the question.

“There was an arrest warrant issued for Walker Dunning Jr. years ago. It was placed in abeyance. I’m pretty sure Grace was going to have it activated.”

“Does Walker know about the arrest warrant?”

“He did when it was issued. He signed an agreement to keep them from moving forward with it.”

Jonathan thought for a moment. “Would he know Grace has the information?”

“I don’t know how he could know,” Roark replied. “I sure as hell didn’t tell him and I doubt that Grace would.”

“How dangerous is he, Roark? Would he harm his own niece?”

“He wouldn’t do it himself, he is afraid of Grace. But I wouldn’t put it past him to hire someone to do it for him.”

“From what I know he does not have the means to compensate a hired hit.”

“Maybe he has friends in high places who do.”

“Maybe he does.” Jonathan held that thought. “Roark, get to Grace. If anything happens to her because your Alan is twisted I will put my foot so far up your arse you will think you’re having a tonsillectomy. Get to her.”

“What in the hell is an Alan?”

“Panties, panties, man…. Don’t get your panties twisted.”

“You really need to speak English.”

Jonathan had disconnected the call as he began working on his laptop. He knew what he was about to do next violated all privacy laws, but something warned him time was of the essence. He hacked into the carrier’s system, pulled up transcripts of the three calls. Most people did not know that for every call made on a cell phones, their carriers could request a transcriptions. Most were retrieved by law enforcement during a case. Since there was no case and no time to waste on getting subpoenas, he decided one good turn deserves another. He used Roark’s login codes to get the information he needed.

It would take a few moments to get that information so he tried to call Grace again.

There was still no answer.

He then called the hospital to ensure a guard was on his mother’s room. Being on the damn plane suspended in air made him feel helpless. After all the promises he made to her about never leaving, here he was again, when Grace needed him and he was not there to help her. Why didn’t he see the trap?

###

It was dark, but not night time, Grace thought as her eyes fluttered open. There was a foul taste in her mouth, like the remnants of bad medicine. She thought she heard ocean waves splashing through her mind. Closing her eyes against the dizziness, she took a few deep breaths. The room smelled musty. She swallowed then jerked up, her hand going to her neck as she remembered the needle, then falling through the air.

“She’s awake.”

“Jonathan?” She called out, confused. The voice wasn’t his, but it was a British accent.

Her eyes strained to see what looked like steel walls. It was hard to tell for the only light coming into the room was from the crack under what seemed to be double hinged doors. With her vision a little blurry, Grace slowly stood, allowing herself a minute to clear her mind. The only thing she could make out in the room was the cot she had been lying on. It didn’t look or smell very clean.

“What the hell?”

She heard a scraping against the floor. Her eyes quickly moved to the corner. There was someone in the room with her.

“Hello?”

The body seemed to be a little distance away, but she could see the outline as it stood. “Where in the hell am I and who are you?”

A flash light came on, blinding her. Grace instinctively put her hand up to block the beam. She could hear movement, then a latch clicking. The flash light went up, but the area was filled with sunlight from the opened door. Then it closed, the latch clicking back in place.

Shit, she wasn’t in a room. It was a box, or some kind of container - a steel one at that. She felt around on the cot she had been lying on to see if her purse was anywhere near.

“Shit,” she exclaimed. It wasn’t there. What in the hell was happening, she thought? It wasn’t good, that she knew for sure.

“Okay, Grace Dunning, now is not the time to panic. Think.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath then exhaled.

“That shit didn’t work,” she chuckled to herself. “Okay…okay. This shit is real,” she said as her eyes began adjusting to the darkness.

Grace thought about a game she and AnnieMarie used to play. They would each wear blindfolds to locate items in the room. The winner would receive candy or a good book. This time, the prize would be her life.

“Dammit, just when shit was coming together.”

She shook that thought off, put her hands up then walked until she felt the wall of the container.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit,” she said as she realized the box she was in was indeed steel. She reached up as far as she could, but did not feel a ceiling. That gave her an idea of how tall the container was. Next she put her back to the wall, then put one foot in front of the other. She wore a size seven and a half shoe. So two of her steps was close to one foot minus two.

Grace walked slowly, putting one foot directly in front of the other. Hands up, she continued, counting as she walked until she felt the wall on the opposite side.

“Okay, it’s approximately eight feet wide.” She exhaled, felt her way along the wall until she reached the corner. Putting her back to the corner wall, Grace repeated her steps, counting as she measured the length of the container, using her hand along the wall as a guide. By the time she reached the opposite corner her nerves were beginning to fade, her heart racing faster with each step and at one point she whimpered. I am not going out like that, she thought then shook it off.

“Twenty by eight feet.” She exhaled. “All right. This is either a shipping or a storage container. Some of those stories Roark had filled her head with about human trafficking came to mind. They pack shipping containers with women, lift them on to an ocean liner, then ship them off to different countries.

Well, it was only her, so that prospect could be eliminated. Which would leave the option of storing her here until….when? They get a ransom or kill her. Hmm…neither of those sounded good. She continued to feel around where the opening had been. There was a latch at the bottom of each door. She tested them to see if they would open from the inside. They did not.

“Dammit.” She slammed her hand against the door then cursed. She stepped back hitting something with her leg. Still not able to see without light, she felt around. It was a chair. A folding chair. So someone had been sitting by the door watching her. She continued to feel around. Maybe there was something else in the container she could use as a weapon. With a new found purpose, she walked, criss crossing the open area, searching for something, anything that could help her get the hell out of there. After about twenty minutes of wandering around, she had only found the chair and the cot. She sat, thinking. Since there was nothing inside the container she could use as a weapon she would have to settle for the one thing a woman always has. The sharp heel of her shoe. She took off both shoes, made her way back to the front of the container. Finding the chair, she took a seat, crossed her legs and waited, poised to attack the next person who opened that door.