Alveus (ABC's Inc. Romance #1) (28 page)

Dane
had taken the first shift at the helm, and even though the Citation cut
traveling time in half, exhaustion set in leading Dice to take over. Sue sat in
the co-pilot seat. The guy was friendly and open, explaining that his name was
Suzanovich and the nickname came from his time spent in the military. “I guess
it just stuck,” he shrugged. Dane surmised that the underlying theme of
nicknames was a way to maintain anonymity in the NRF.

Was
he really a member, now? Would he receive a call in the middle of the night,
asking him to join a clandestine rescue team? He rejected the thought as crazy.
Get real – they only do that in movies! The image of that sweet little girl’s
face, as she hugged him, set off a tsunami of anger towards the evil that could
perpetrate such an act. What kind of psychological scaring would remain in that
child for the rest of her life? His thoughts then turned to Lexi – oh, God. The
picture of her naked, plastered across the internet! Had she felt frightened
and alone? He remembered her eyes… they looked hollow, like she had simply
vacated her body.

“Dice
is preparing to land,” Sue announced, after waking him. “Need to put your
seatbelt on.” Dane straightened up in the seat and snapped on the belt, while
Sue returned to the cockpit. The Potomac River came into view as the plane
maneuvered into position and slowly made its descent.

Dane
grabbed his satchel, eager to return home and straighten things out with Lexi.
He met the men at the cabin door as they shouldered their duffle bags, and held
the revolver out to Dice.

“You
might be needing this,” he reminded them. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as
he watched the two men share a look. “What?” he asked with caution.

“Think
you could hold onto it for a bit longer?” Sue answered with a question. “It
seems we might have a situation,” he edified, casting a side glance at Dice.
“It wouldn’t hurt to have some backup.”

Dane
pulled himself up to his full height, striking what he’d been told was an
imposing stance. “A situation,” he repeated, gruffly.

“My
contact here has asked me to check out some suspicious activity at the back of
the strip,” Dice answered. “The pilot ignored instructions and parked his Cessna
out of sight behind a private bay. They communicated that they wanted to be out
of the way of traffic in order to do some repairs. He could send airport
security, but they’re in the midst of a shift change and the main terminal is
crowded with commuter traffic. Since we’re here…” he shrugged his expansive
shoulders. “We’ve seen similar behavior from human smugglers. It could get
tricky.” His last sentence held out a challenge to Dane.

Trafficking
in broad daylight? That certainly takes balls, he thought. The little girl’s
face and Lexi’s emotionless eyes, flashed through his mind, again. He nodded
and slid the weapon into his jacket pocket.

They
left the rented hangar where Dane housed the company Citation, and circled the
perimeter of the air field, inching toward the Cessna. He kept low, following
the others while keeping an eye out behind him. The threesome passed several
open bays where mechanics were busy performing maintenance on planes, until finally
coming to a hault at the rear of the last housing. Dane could hear voices –
maybe they
were
working on repairs, although the two men accompanying
him did not relax. Dice held out a hand, signaling for the other two to stay,
as he made his way to the corner and cautiously looked around the other side.
Pulling back, he gathered them close to quietly speak.

“Call
for back-up,” he told Sue. “Something’s definitely going down and they seem
antsy. I spotted three males and can hear sounds coming from their cargo bay. I
don’t want to voice what I think is going on in there, but heard a muted
scream.”

Oh,
my God, Dane thought. Was he talking rape? He turned his head toward a serene wooded
area on the other side of the chain link perimeter fence, as if hoping to
dislodge the image. And saw movement! Probably a squirrel, right? But, then he
noticed something peculiar about the fence. Catching Dice’s attention, he
pointed out the barely perceivable irregularities, just as the sound of a car
engine penetrated the air. Voices grew louder and there was a rush of movement
toward the barrier. Dane and the others had seconds to duck out of sight!

“We
have to do something,” he whispered, as he saw two men and a woman push through
the opening in the enclosure.

“You’re
late!” one of the men complained to the newcomers. An argument ensued and Dice
motioned for them to follow, as he crawled to the front end of the small
hangar.

“We’re
outnumbered by at least two to one,” he said. “We’ll have to sit tight until
help arrives or risk the chance of harming the victims. Airport security has
been notified and hopefully their arrival will keep the perpetrators occupied
until our team gets here. If need be, we can create a diversion, but we cannot allow
the enemy to escape through the gap in the fence – understood?” Dane and Sue
nodded compliance.

About
that time, an airport security van pulled up and two guards stepped out to
speak with the plane’s flight crew. Immediately, Dane’s group hastened to
secure the opening in the fence. That’s when all hell broke loose.

Like
rats in a sinking ship, the first to flee were the last to arrive. As the
leader of the Cessna team boldly explained about his long suffering engine
problems to the two security men, the woman got cold feet. She quickly ducked
out of sight behind the corner of the hanger, and her men followed. A fellow
from the Cessna group joined them. While his boss kept the guards occupied, he
made a run for the opening in the fence. So much for confidence in his leader!
He got a shocker when he discovered Sue blocking the exit with a weapon pointed
at him. The fool decided to wrestle him for it, and of course the gun went off!
Okay, well, that’s when all hell broke loose!

While
the idiot kept Sue occupied, the woman’s team made a run for it. The first guy
made it out and Dane jumped forward, shooting him in the hip. It only succeeded
in slowing the big man down. Dane took aim again, but before he could pull the
trigger he felt a bullet rip his flesh, knocking his feet out from under him.
His head hit the ground hard – blackness closed in and he lost consciousness.

»ɞ»ɞ«ɞ«

How
do I wind up in these messes?
Maybe her parents were
insightful to have sequestered her in the house for a decade – no telling what
kind of trouble she’d have landed in! Lexi giggled behind her restraint.
Like,
worse than the trouble I’m in right now?
She had the urge to burst into
hysterical laughter, but made an effort to get herself under control. This was
no worse than the hell pit she’d landed in at Sheikh Saleh’s compound. Except
for the dead body! She stifled another panic-stricken chuckle. It transformed
into a hot coal in the center of her heart when she realized that Dane would
not be coming to her rescue, this time. She had destroyed her chances for
reconciling, with the horrible letter she’d written to him. A tear slid down
her cheek.

Lexi
lost track of how long she’d been locked inside the steel storage container,
but she could see sunlight pushing its way through the cracks in the door. At
one point she’d even heard a delivery truck backing up to the warehouse bay,
but even with kicking and banging on the walls she could barely make a sound.
It would have taken a lot to be heard over the idling engine, anyway.

Apparently,
Cass and company were great proponents of duck tape; they’d used enough of it
to bind her hands, palms together, behind her back. Her
boys
had also
stuffed a disgusting looking rag into her mouth, before securing it with
another generous portion of the miracle invention. As she renewed her effort to
free her hands, Lexi noted wryly that someone should inform Fort Knox of its
unrelenting properties.

When
she first heard the lock click tight on her prison, Lexi had taken inventory of
her surroundings – still in the dark of predawn. The steel storage container
was cooled inside from the night air, although stuffy from lack of ventilation.
There was a foul odor which became stronger as she shuffled to the back corner.
Her heart twisted with pity when she surmised that the previous occupants had
used that corner to relieve themselves. A quick image flashed through her mind
of Cass strung up naked in that corner, giving satisfaction to the revenge wishing
to work its way to the surface. Scooting her feet along the wooden floor had
rewarded nothing of use in the empty trailer, and Lexi hadn’t had the courage
to search the dead guard’s pockets in the dark, with her bound hands.

Lexi’s
freedom taunted her from inside the pocket of her jacket, but the cell phone
might as well be a thousand miles away. And the GPS could not be tracked,
because she’d foolishly turned it off. Another sharp pinch to her already
bruised skin had Lexi abandoning the struggle to free her hands. She sat down
in the corner, as far away from the dead body and rank smell as possible. She
would rest a moment and build up the nerve to dig through the security guard’s pockets.
All guys carried around pocket knives – right?

Lexi
startled – a noise? Her head was in a fog, had she fallen asleep? The sun had
faded from the gaps in the door, but the heat of the day lingered. It was an
effort for her to breathe in air, the metal container heated like an oven, not
to mention what it did to the suffocating odor inside! Still, even coated in a
thin layer of sweat, Lexi shivered.

“Ms
Alberton, can you hear me?” A sharp bang of metal against steel followed the query.
Lexi kicked the door with her feet. Thankfully, even with her soft shoes it
gave a slight rattle of the hinges.

“Good,
my name is Jack Ferguson,” he said. “I witnessed what happened to you and left
to get help. Unfortunately, with the disappearance of the night guard your
people tightened security and wouldn’t allow me in. I had to wait until evening
to come back. I was afraid I might be too late and they’d moved you already.”

As
he spoke, Lexi could hear him working on the lock. Leaning forward, she tried
to stand, but her head felt dizzy and her legs weak. The heavy door opened and
a light landed in Lexi’s face, before swinging away to reveal the rest of the
container’s contents. Grateful for the fresh air, she filled her lungs. As she
continued to take deep breathes, Lexi felt her head begin to clear.

“Shell,
call the police,” her rescuer said into a communication device. “Now, let’s get
you free,” he told her, as he stooped down even with her face. Jack gently
removed Lexi’s gag and helped her to stand. Quickly slicing through the tape,
he helped to peel it from her bruised and raw wrists. He put a supporting arm
around her waist and guided her out into the dimly lit parking lot where Lexi
got a first glimpse of his face.

“Aren’t
you…?” her brows creased in confused remembrance.

“The
man at the bar in Georgetown,” he confirmed. He turned his neck to watch the
side of the building. Lexi followed his eyes and saw the flashing lights of a
police vehicle, just before it rounded the corner into sight. It was followed
by an ME van. Lexi trembled and Jack gave her waist a gentle squeeze. “I’ll
talk to them,” he volunteered.

He
left her side and Lexi watched as the men disappeared into the storage trailer.
She just wanted to go home. The whole thing had been one big nightmare. Her
uncle’s legacy continued. How many of her so-called loyal employees remained on
his payroll? Or was it Fenwick’s? No, it seemed his only interest had been in
science – and of course money. He admitted to the authorities that he’d started
out partnering with her uncle, although their interests were divided, Richard’s
being more diversified. She knew in her gut that Richard Alberton would never
be held accountable for his crimes. He was too slick. It was she that was
paying the price by being related to him. Would she forever be looking over her
shoulder, waiting to be trapped in another one of his exploits?

Ferguson
returned to escort her inside Al-Tech’s lobby. The FBI was now involved and had
questions for her. By the time they’d finished, Lexi was feeling completely
drained, and couldn’t rid herself of the putrid smell of human excrement and
death. All she wanted was a long hot bath and a comfortable bed. Her friendly
PI hurried over to her as she was climbing into her car.

“You
shouldn’t drive anywhere without an escort,” he said. “Why don’t I drop you off
at home and you can pick up your car tomorrow?”

Lexi
shook her head. “No, I don’t live at the house anymore. I’m staying at a hotel
and I need my car.” Ferguson opened the passenger door and spoke into his
phone, before settling in beside her.

“I’ll
just make sure you get there safely,” he said. “Shell can pick me up in my
car.” Lexi acquiesced, and he filled her in on his side of the story during the
ride.

Apparently
he hadn’t gotten the message that he no longer had to spy on her, and proceeded
to trail Lexi to work, early that morning. Since he couldn’t follow her through
the gate, he positioned his car outside the fence and got comfortable. The only
inconspicuous place to park kept him in sight of her car, but also gave him a
view of the back door to the lobby, as well. Finding it suspicious that the
security guard left the door propped open, Ferguson exited his car and followed
the fence to the storage containers. There he had a ringside seat to the argument
going on between the guard and Cass. Apparently the night watchman was getting
cold feet, especially when Lexi showed up for work unexpectedly, and was trying
to convince them to move their business elsewhere. After witnessing Lexi’s
capture and the guard’s murder, Ferguson tried to get hold of Dane, to no avail.

The
PI’s priority was to get Lexi out of there. If he got the police involved, he
knew from experience that the red tape would bog them down, and time was of the
essence. He grabbed some tools and returned to Al-Tech, where they halted him
at the gate. Without Ms Alberton’s authority, they could not be convinced to
let him in. So, he regrouped, waited until the building emptied, brought along
his sexy blonde associate, and induced the night guard to allow them access to
spray for insects. Once inside, his colleague, Shell, kept the security guard
occupied while he snuck out to rescue Lexi.

“Thank
you,” Lexi said, sincerely. It seemed inadvertently, Dane did rescue her after
all. Her heart burst out in pain from the loss of him in her life. How could
she have been such a fool? She closed the door to her hotel room and turned to
the bath.

Lexi’s
phone blasted out, waking her from a dead sleep. She rolled over and grabbed
the instrument. “Hello?” she answered, figuring it was probably the FBI with
more questions.

“Lex,
oh thank God!” Fani’s overly dramatic voice shouted through the receiver.

“Hello,
Fan,” Lexi said calmly, counterbalancing her friend’s anxiety.

“Lex,
you’ve gotta go back home,” she said.

“I
can’t do that Fani; it’s not my home anymore.” Lexi climbed out of the bed and
started preparing coffee. She still wore the hotel terry robe she’d put on after
her bath and noticed that she’d apparently fallen asleep atop the bed covers,
as well.

“Horse
pa-too-ee!”

“Oh…kay,
but that doesn’t change facts. I got angry the other night and burned my
bridges, as far as Dane is concerned. There’s no going back, Fani.”

“Do
you love him?”

Lexi
didn’t answer.

“Alexiah
Alberton! Do you love Dane Wellesley, or not?”

“Of
course I do, but…”

“Then
it may be of interest to you that he was shot last night!” Fani came off all
bossy and high-handed, which would have irked Lexi had her words not shocked
her.

“What?
Stefani Carsten if you’re just trying to maneuver me into going back – so help
me!”

“I’m
not Lex,” Fani was serious. “He was released this morning. He’s okay, but it
could have been worse.” She proceeded to fill Lexi in on what she knew of
Dane’s exploits, while Lexi hastily threw on some clothes. “He’s a hero, Lex,” she
ended, the drama queen resurfacing.

Lexi’s
corvette squealed into the driveway and stopped haphazardly at an angle, close
to the entrance. Sprinting up the steps, she threw open the front door and
began calling his name. “Dane! Dane?”

She
flew up the stairs and ran into their bedroom. He was lying atop the bed wearing
only his sweat pants, casually reading a book. She stopped and stared, soaking in
the sight of him.

“Dane?”
Suddenly tears of relief poured down her face. She’d been so scared.

“Liebling,
it’s okay,” he said, swinging his legs off the bed. “I’m alright.”

“No,
you shouldn’t get out of bed,” she said, motioning for him to lie back down. Her
tears flowed harder. “I… I’d better leave you to rest.” She turned to go, but
suddenly he was beside her, pulling her into his arms.

“I
heard from Jack Ferguson,” he murmured into her hair. “When I think of how
close I came to losing you…” he held her tightly. “We caught one of guys, the
other two got away. The woman got away, but they will find her, Pips. I swear
to you that no one will ever take you from me again.”

“I’m
sorry, Daney,” she sobbed into his chest. “I didn’t mean those awful things I
wrote. I don’t know why I got so angry with you.” Lexi couldn’t continue, as she
began weeping uncontrollably. Dane held her in his arms until she calmed. He
grasped her chin, tilting her head up to look into her reddened eyes. Leaning
down to give her a tender kiss on the tip of her nose, he reached on the table behind
her, and picked up the unopened envelope.

“Are
you referring to this?” he asked. “I never got around to reading it. I was so angry
when I found out you’d left, that I didn’t really give a damn what you had to
say,” he confessed. “By the time I calmed down I was already in the middle of…
well, this,” he pointed to his leg. “Fani told you what happened.”

“Wait
a minute, Fani called you this morning after she talked to me? So, you knew I
was on my way here? You were expecting me.” Lexi pushed her finger into his
chest. Dane shrugged.

“I
guess she felt that forewarned is forearmed,” he quipped.

“Did
you just say,
forearmed
?” Lexi repeated. “And just what did you need
forewarning about?”

“Nothing,
mein liebes,” he took a step back, “nothing at all –
gah!
” he grimaced
in pain. Lexi immediately helped him back into bed.

“You
shouldn’t get out of bed. Did the bullet hit anything important? I mean will
you have a limp or anything?” Tears threatened to well again.

“No,
liebling. Here help me take my pants off and I’ll show you.”

Lexi
raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing his intentions.
Hmm, if he’s feeling that
good… why not go with it?
She assisted in removing his sweat pants and he
pointed to the bandage.

“The
bullet just grazed my calf. There are a few stitches, and I lost a little
blood,” he explained. “I’m supposed to keep it elevated for a day or so.”

“But,
I thought you passed out,” Lexi said.

“I
got my feet knocked out from under me and hit my head on the asphalt. They
checked it out – apparently I have a hard head,” he joked.