“I’ve gotta admit, I’m kind of jealous. It sounds like you’re having a fabulous time, Steph.”
“Girlfriend, you have no idea. Costa Rica is amazing. The entire country is breathtaking. You should’ve come with us. I’d hoped we’d get to spend some quality time together while Stefan’s working.”
Savannah Sloane, Anna to her friends, leaned against the large window in her apartment, staring at the view of the bridge spanning the Mississippi River. As much as she’d once hated New Orleans and everything associated with the city, she’d learned to love the place she now called home. Stefan would be home soon, and they planned to meet up with some of the other Carpenter Security Services team at Lucky’s, a local bar where they’d become, if not regulars, then semi-regular patrons.
“I wish I could have come too, but you know I’m neck deep in catching up on my class work. After missing a couple years, getting back into the habit of studying is a lot harder than I remembered.”
“Plus, you’ve got a boyfriend who loves distracting you.” Stephanie’s laughter came through the phone loud and clear. “I’ve gotta admit, I don’t miss the long, sleepless nights of cramming for exams. Or horrible professors. But it was worth it, because I’ve finally got my degree, even if it took me twice as long to obtain it, and a great job to come back to. Only thing missing is a halfway decent love life, and then everything would be perfect.”
“Sorry, you can’t have mine.” Anna grinned as she said the words. After the personal hell she’d been through, she was finally in a good place, and engaged to a man she adored.
“You sure he doesn’t have any brothers? Think we can get some mad scientist to clone him?” Stephanie’s teasing made Anna’s heart sing.
Stephanie Barnes had become her closest friend and confidant ever since she’d moved to New Orleans to be with the man she adored. She’d helped her adjust to being back in the city which played a large part in her nightmarish ordeal, or what Anna called her year of living hell. Although Steph was a couple of years older than Anna, the two of them meshed immediately, and Stephanie had taken the shyer girl under her wing, helping Anna adjust to one more big change in her life.
Anna had been abducted during Spring Break a few years earlier in New Orleans, and finally rescued, though not before her life had become a living nightmare. The kind of thing most people only saw in movies or on TV, Savannah had lived through. But she’d survived, though it hadn’t been easy or quick to pick up the pieces. Stephanie had been one of the people who reached out, checking on her periodically. Though only an occasional call at first, their friendship had blossomed slowly, even after Anna decided to stay in California and not return to LSU. Heck, she hadn’t ever wanted to set foot back in New Orleans for the rest of her life. She chuckled. Look how far I’ve come.
“Tell me about Costa Rica. The pictures you posted on your Facebook page are gorgeous.”
Stephanie gave a long drawn-out sigh. “It truly is stunning. The place where we’re staying is close to the beach, though we have to drive a bit if we want to go surfing. The mountains are practically in our backyard too. And the people—they’re amazingly friendly. The staff here at Tabby’s villa treats us like royalty. It’s going to be hard coming back home and cooking my own meals. Or cleaning—because we both know I’m not Suzy Homemaker.”
“True.” While not a neat freak, Anna liked things fairly tidy. Stephanie’s apartment could hardly be described as pristine. More like unkempt. Okay, maybe that was a slight under-exaggeration. Stephanie had finally cleaned up the toxic mold growing in the refrigerator once it had turned green and had fuzzy stuff sprouting on it. Anna shuddered at the memory.
“Aw, come on, you’d miss the good old U.S. Plus, you’ve got a job to come home to, remember?”
“I know,” Stephanie whined. “But servants. And a chef. And a pool.”
Anna laughed aloud at her friend’s plaintive whimper. “Enjoy it while you can, because it all comes to a screeching halt in four days.”
Stephanie made whimpering puppy noises, before her voice turned serious. “I know. I still can’t believe I got the chance to come here. Tabby’s dad owns this place, and it is the ultimate in decadent luxury. Better than any five-star hotel, I swear. Seven bedrooms, each with its own private spa bathroom. The gourmet kitchen is any chef’s fantasy. And the pool—Anna, I swear you feel like you’re in a secluded garden oasis when you step outside.”
“I kind of hate you right now.”
“But you’ll love the presents I’m bringing when I come home. If I come home—I might change my mind and live here permanently. Do you think Tabby’s father would notice a squatter in one of the guest rooms?”
Anna rolled her eyes, even though her friend couldn’t see her. “Soak up all that sunshine while you can, because it’s been gray and yucky here for the last three days.”
“On that note, I think I’m going to head for the pool. The beautiful, warm water—”
Stephanie’s words abruptly cut off, and in the background Anna thought she heard male voices shouting in Spanish. A female scream echoed over the phone along with more shouting—and the sound of a shot.
“Steph! What’s happening?”
“I don’t know,” came her whispered reply. “I’m upstairs and can’t see anything. But I definitely heard a gunshot.”
Anna raced across the room, wrenched open the front door, and headed for the stairs. She needed to get downstairs, get to Stefan. Adrenaline buzzed through her blood with each footfall on the stairs as she ran. Still, she held the phone to her ear, not wanting to lose the connection.
“Steph, find someplace and hide.”
“I’m going to look out the window, see if I can spot anything—wait, there are jeeps parked in the drive. Three of them.” There was a long pause, and Anna’s heartbeat thrummed in her chest as she raced along the corridor.
What’s happening?
“Steph, talk to me.”
“There are a couple of men with guns. Automatic weapons. I’m pretty sure that was Tabby screaming a minute ago. Should I go look for her or Marie?”
“No! Find a place to hide. Is there a closet in your room?” Her heart raced inside her chest until she felt like it might explode, but it kept beating. And she kept running. One more flight of stairs, one level, and she’d be on the ground floor. Stefan was there, meeting with Carpenter and the team, working on one of their corporate cases. She needed to get to him. He’d know what to do.
Anna heard Stephanie’s frantic breathing, her gasps, and some other indistinguishable noises. “Somebody’s coming up the stairs. They’re shouting in Spanish.” Her words were edged with panic, and Anna ran faster.
“Stay calm, Steph.”
“There’s no closet in my room. Just an armoire for my clothes.”
“Can you fit under the bed?” From the corner of her eye, Anna saw Andrea Kirkland jump from her chair behind the reception desk as she stumbled into the lobby. Andrea had been recruited to cover for Stephanie while she took a much needed vacation. Her abrupt entry into the reception area of C.S.S., or maybe her panicked expression evidently told Andrea something was wrong, but she didn’t have time to stop and explain. She raced past the other woman, focused solely on getting to Stefan. She could hear Andrea’s footsteps following close behind.
“Hang on, Steph. I’m trying to get to the team. They’ll know what to do.” Her words were choppy, breathless, since she was still running past the lobby. Every muscle hurt, burning from her frantic race down the stairs. But she kept going, hurrying toward the room where the team was meeting.
“I’m trying, but I’m scared. Just don’t hang up, Anna.”
“I’m here, sweetie. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Finally.
Her hand grasped the knob on the first floor meeting room door and slid off. Shoot. She pounded her fist against the wood, until the door jerked inward. Nate Blackwell stood in the opening, his eyes searching for any sign of a threat, hand reaching for the gun she knew rested in the small of his back.
“I need Stefan!” Shouldering past him, her eyes feverishly scanned the room until they lit upon her fiancé’s face. He launched from his chair and was across the room before she’d had time to do more than draw a breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“Stephanie…Costa Rica…gunshots…”
By now, everybody in the room was crowded around her. Carlisle pulled the phone from her shaking hand, and she bent over at the waist, dragging in lungsful of air.
“Stephanie, it’s Carlisle. Can you hear me?” He hit the speaker button and laid the phone on the large wooden coffee table in the center of the room. The team had opted to be comfortable this morning, holding their daily meeting in the space normally reserved for clients.
“Stefan!”
“Sweetheart, I need you to stay calm. Tell me what’s happening.”
“I was talking with Anna,” she whispered, “and heard shouting outside—in Spanish—and then gunshots.”
Anna wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to catch her breath, and moved closer to Stefan, needing to be near him. The thought of her friend in danger, far away in a foreign country, with nobody there to help caused a knot in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer.
“Could you understand anything they said?” Stefan’s eyes met hers, although he stayed focused on every word Stephanie spoke, trying to reassure their friend.
“Not really,” her voice was barely above a whisper. “I caught a word here and there, but most of the people I’ve dealt since I’ve been here speak English.”
He scrubbed a hand across his jaw, and Anna could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Can you tell where they are in the house?”
“I heard somebody coming upstairs a minute ago. I told Anna there’s no closet here to hide in, and the bedframe’s too close to the floor, I’d never fit under there. I could hide in the bathroom, but I’m pretty sure there’s no place they wouldn’t see me.”
“Damn,” he whispered under his breath, and Anna’s heartbeat skittered. Her friend was in real trouble. The rest of the team wasn’t standing by idly, though. Nate was on Stefan’s laptop, typing frantically, and Carpenter was on his phone, barking orders. Stefan’s boss had tons of connections, both in and out of law enforcement, so maybe he’d get some answers to what was happening over a thousand of miles away.
“Steph, can you get to the window again? Tell me exactly what you see?”
“Hang on.” A deep shuddering breath echoed from the speaker. “Three jeeps, older models. Military style, like you’d see in the movies, not like the civilian kind you see on city streets back home. Kind of rusty and painted khaki green.”
Stefan’s eyes met Anna’s, and he gave her a reassuring smile. “Three jeeps, got it. Can you see any of the men? Tell how they’re dressed or how many?”
“There’s one man standing at the end of the drive. I can’t tell what he’s wearing, but it doesn’t look like a uniform of any kind.”
Nate’s lowered voice chimed in. “I’ve got a lock on her cell.”
Stefan gave a brief nod. “Okay, we’re going to assume there are several men there, maybe three to four per jeep. I need you to stay calm. Focus. How many other people are in the house?”
“Tabby—Tabitha Donnelly. Marie…I don’t remember her last name. She’s a friend of Tabby’s. Sofia, the cook. Miguel is our driver. And me. Five. The maid, Luisa, already left, I think.”
“Good girl. Okay, five people, and an unknown number of armed hostiles. Steph, listen to me. Stay calm. Take a deep breath. Remember your training. Remember who you work for. Know that we’re going to make sure you come home safe. Got it?”
Through the speaker, Anna heard her friend’s ragged sob, followed by a long indrawn breath. Sensed the moment it evened out to almost normal. She pictured Stephanie standing up straighter and taller, pulling herself together.
They’d both took self-defense training from Andrea Kirkland three days a week. Stephanie insisted she wanted to be more hands-on with the security side of the business and eventually wanted to go out on cases. It looked like Steph was going to get her wish.