Back on Solid Ground (31 page)

“Maybe
later,” he laughed.

Stacy went inside
and unloaded her groceries and pushed the button on her answering machine.  It
was full of messages, but there was nothing from Niki.  She was determined not
to let it get to her, but she was desperate to talk to him. 

Niki, Eli,
Jason and Carlos flew out of Medellìn Monday morning.  Niki walked around the
house in a funk, and he finally plopped himself down on the couch and turned on
the TV.  He was just thinking that he needed to keep busy when Eli came in.

“Feel like
going to London?” Eli asked.

“Hell yes,”
Niki said.  “What kind of job is it?”

“Does it
matter?”

“As long as
it’s not a kidnapping.  When do we leave?” Niki asked.

“Tomorrow
morning,” Eli said. 

“Good.  I’ll
go nuts if I sit around here.  Stacy Trent is consuming my every fucking
thought!”

“You’re still
planning on trying to see her again?” Eli asked.

Niki looked
surprised.  “Why would you say that?”

“I just think
maybe you’re being unrealistic in thinking that she’s going to want to have
anything to do with you.  We kidnapped her, for fuck sake, and that set the
stage for all the bad things that happened to her after that.  I just think you
should consider the possibility that she’s not going to want to pick up where
she left off with you.  The circumstances have changed – she’s not dependent on
you for her safety or survival any more.”

“You think
that the choices she made here were based solely on survival instinct?  Is that
what you’re saying?” Niki asked.

“I don’t
think you two would have ever gotten involved with each other under different
circumstances – if you hadn’t been thrown together.”

“Well, you
may be right.  I don’t know,” Niki said.  “But I’m sure as hell going to find
out.”

“I just don’t
want you to be blindsided if Stacy doesn’t want to see you again,” Eli said.

“I won’t be,”
Niki said. 

Eli sat down
in a chair and looked around.  “This place seems quiet without her, doesn’t 
it,” he asked.

“Yeah.”  Niki
got up and poured himself a drink and went out to the balcony where they had
kissed during the storm.  He remembered every detail of the scene, how she felt
in his arms, her soft lips when he kissed her, the way she smelled.  It wasn’t
just survival instinct.

“I’m going
down to the beach for a while,” Niki said. 

He left the
house and walked out to the end of the pier and then turned around and looked
at the view of the villa from the water.  He loved this island.  It had been
home to him for years and it was always his favorite place to be.  But right
then it didn’t feel inviting at all. It made him feel isolated and alone.  Eli
had followed Niki to the beach and was walking towards him on the pier.

Eli handed
Niki a beer.  “Are you pissed off at me?” Eli asked.

“No,” Niki
said.  He was quiet for a minute then he looked over at his brother.  “You want
to go home for a couple of days?  Maybe on the way back from London?”

The question
took Eli by surprise.  “I don’t know.  I guess.”  Then he thought about it for
a second, and said, “Yeah, sure.  Why not?”

“Okay,” Niki
said. “How long will we be in London?”

“At least a
week, but we could stay longer to kill time.”

“Let’s do
that and we’ll go to New Orleans from there.”

“Sounds
good,” said Eli.

“I’m going to
repack,” Niki said.

They went
back to the house and Niki went to his room and lay back on his bed.  Carlos
had been in and he had left Stacy’s jewelry on Niki’s bedside table.  Niki
picked up the necklace and dangled the charm over his hand. 
I’ll see you
soon, Stacy
.

When Wednesday
morning rolled around, Stacy was ready to get back to work.  She woke up early,
ground her coffee, brushed her teeth and showered before 6:30.  She had bought
some concealer at the grocery store and she ripped the packaging off and
smeared it under her eyes and on her cheeks.  It camouflaged the bruises better
than she thought it would.  She dressed in her favorite red Armani suit and
fixed her hair, and she looked at herself in the mirror. 
I’m back! . . .
kind of.

She poured
herself a mug of coffee and one for Alex, and she opened up a cookie bouquet
that the group from the office had sent her.  At 7:00, she was heading out the
door. 

“Oh, hi,”
Stacy said, surprised.  “I thought you would be Alex.”  She set the mugs and a
cookie down on the hall table and stuck out her hand.  “I’m Stacy Trent.”  The
agent shook her hand.  He didn’t look old enough to be with the FBI – he was
just a kid. 

“I’m Agent
Hill.  Agent Kanes comes on duty at 8:00.”

“What’s your
first name?” she asked.

“Dennis. 
Where are we going?”

“To work.  Do
you drink coffee?”  She felt like she should offer him chocolate milk.

“Yes, ma’am. 
Thanks.”

Stacy
groaned.  “Please don’t call me ma’am.  You can call me Stacy.  Here, I brought
you a cookie,” she said, handing it over. 

“Thanks. 
I’ll save it for later.”

“You know,
honestly, I don’t think I need protection from you guys while I’m at work. 
There will be people all over the place.  My dad’s not going to try anything
while I’m there.” 

“Are you
refusing protection?” Dennis asked.

“Well, I
wouldn’t put it like that,” Stacy said.  “I just think it would be awkward
having you guys sitting outside my door at the office all day.”

Dennis looked
at his watch.  “I’m only on for another hour.  Let me call Agent Kanes and pass
on your concerns to him.”  He got on his phone, got Alex on the line and
explained the situation. 

“Let me talk
to her,” Alex said.

Dennis handed
the phone to Stacy.  “He wants to talk to you.”

“Hi, Alex,”
said Stacy.

“Good morning,
Stacy.  What’s the problem?”

“There is no
problem.  I just don’t think I need you guys sitting outside my door at the
office all day.  I don’t think my father will do anything while I’m there,” she
explained.

“Stacy,” Alex
said, trying to keep his cool.  “Your father staged a very public bank robbery
to cover up his kidnapping/murder-for-hire scheme. And you’re telling me you
think he has qualms about doing something in front of people?”

Stacy didn’t
say anything.

“Hello?” Alex
said.

“I’m here,”
Stacy said, quietly  “I guess you’re right.”

“I am right. 
I’ll see you at your office,” Alex said, and he hung up.

Stacy handed
the phone back to Dennis.  “Shall we go?” she said.

Alex was
waiting outside her office when Stacy got there.  “Well, there’re no flies on
you.  How’d you get here so fast?” she asked.

Alex looked
at Stacy all dressed up.  “You look different,” he said.

“
Different
? 
What kind of a comment is that?” she said. 

Alex ignored
her.  “I’m your new sales rep reporting for duty,” Alex told her.  “That way we
can keep you under surveillance but not broadcast it to the world.  Because
your father’s definitely not going to turn up if he knows you’re being
shadowed.”

“A sales
rep?” Stacy asked.  “No one’s going to buy that.  How about you can be my new assistant?”

“Assistant it
is,” Alex said.

Stacy
unlocked the door and stepped in and turned on a light.  Her staff wouldn’t 
arrive until 8:30.  “You didn’t bring donuts or anything?” Stacy said.  “I
thought you guys ate donuts all the time.”

Alex
laughed.  “No.  I didn’t bring donuts.”

“Okay,
Assistant Alex,” Stacy said, walking through the office, turning on all the
lights.  “How about you start by making coffee?”  She went into the large
conference room and straightened all the chairs and did the same in the small
conference room.  Then she led Alex down the hall to the kitchen. 

Stacy sat
down at one of the tables while Alex made a pot of coffee.  “How long have you
been married, Alex?” Stacy asked.

He turned
around and looked at her.  “Six years.”

“What’s your
wife like?”

“She’s
beautiful,” Alex said, with pride. “She’s the best wife a man could ever dream
of.  I have no idea how I got so lucky.”

“How many
kids do you have?” Stacy asked.

“Two,” he
said.  “A boy and a girl.”

“Do you have
pictures?”

Alex fished
his wallet out of his pocket and opened it up to a family photo and handed it
to Stacy.  Stacy smiled when she saw it.  It was a candid shot of Alex standing
with his arm around his wife.  They were looking at each other, laughing.  One
kid was wrapped around Alex’s leg, and the other was tugging on the first kid. 

“What a great
picture!” Stacy said.  “I could use it in a real estate agent’s ad. 
Superimpose you guys beside a sold sign.”

Alex laughed
and took his wallet back. 

“You have a
beautiful family.  What are their names?”

“My wife’s
name is Alison and the kids are Ashley and Brady.” 

“What about
you?  Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Alex asked.

“Kind of. 
But he’s from out of town,” Stacy said. 

“I’m
surprised he’s not here with you through all of this,” Alex observed.

Stacy
shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject.  “Let’s find a place for you to
hang out while you’re here.” 

They left the
kitchen and walked back towards the lobby.  “That’s my office over there,”
Stacy said, pointing to the corner office.  “We could set you up here.  I don’t
think anyone uses this desk.”

Alex pointed
to a desk closer to Stacy’s office.  “That one would be better,” he said. 

“All right. 
We can transfer Amy’s things to this desk,” she said. “I’ll let you do that.”

“You’ll
let
me?  Gee, thanks.”

“You’re the assistant.”

Stacy walked
into her office and looked around.  It seemed like forever since she had been
there.  She sat at her desk and leaned her head against the back of the chair,
then swiveled the chair so she was looking out the window.  Her mind was a
thousand miles away when someone startled her out of her reverie. 

“Stacy!” Amy
said.  “I didn’t expect you back so soon!”  Amy came into the office and Stacy
got up and they hugged each other. She was dressed in head to toe black, as
always, her dyed jet black hair making her pale blue eyes pop.  “How are you
feeling?  Are you sure you’re up for this already?”  

“Yeah.  I
need it,” Stacy said.  “So, did you guys miss me?”

“Oh, Stacy. 
It was terrible.  Your father came in the day after your funeral and tried to
take over things and half the staff was threatening to quit.  But he didn’t
show up on Friday, and things settled down a bit.  Now that you’re here,
everything will be back to normal,” Amy said.  “Who’s the cute guy out there?”

“He’s a new assistant. 
I figured things would be chaotic for a while.  It’s very temporary.”

“I hate to
bring this up since you’ve just gotten back,” Amy said, “but that charity fund
raiser you’re sponsoring is in two weekends.  Do you think you’ll be up to it,
with everything you’ve been through?”

“I’ll be
fine.  I’ll be able to throw myself into something.  Besides, I did most of the
legwork on it before . . . before all that happened,” Stacy said, waving her
hand in the air. 

“Good.  I had
a call from your co-chair on Monday, and I never got back to him.  I’ll call
first thing this morning and let him know we’re still on,” Amy said.

“So what’s
happened while I was away?   Any new accounts?” Stacy asked.

“No.  Just
the opposite.  Our phones were ringing off the wall with clients who wondered
if we were still open for business.  But with all the exposure you’ve gotten in
the papers and on TV, everyone and his dog will know that you’re not dead,” Amy
said.  “You couldn’t have asked for better publicity.”

“Yeah, we’ll
need to take advantage of it,” Stacy said. 

Amy went to
leave. “Do you want me to close your door?”

“Please.”

“Oh,” Amy
said, poking her head back in, “I brought donuts.”

“Yay!” Stacy
said, jumping up, and she walked with Amy towards the kitchen.   She stopped at
Alex’s desk.  “Alex, this is my friend and associate, Amy. Amy this is our new
assistant, Alex.”

Alex stood up
and shook Amy’s hand.  “Nice to meet you Amy,” he said.

“She brought
donuts,” Stacy smiled.

Alex
laughed.  “Well, I know
you’re
happy.”

Amy looked
from Stacy to Alex and raised her eyebrow. “Did you know each other before?”

“Don’t give
me that look,” Stacy told her. 

The three of
them went into the kitchen and visited over coffee and donuts then Stacy went
back to her office and closed the door.  She opened a client file and stared at
the material,  but she couldn’t concentrate on work, so she went back outside
and over to Alex’s desk.

“Do you know
Parker’s number?” she asked him.

He wrote the
number down on a piece of paper and handed it to her.  “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I want
to call the guy who drove me to the Embassy.”

“I’ll get you
the number,” Alex said, and he picked up the phone and dialed a number and when
he was put on hold, he told her, “I’ll bring it to you.”

Stacy nodded
her head in acknowledgment and went back into her office and closed the door. Alex
knocked ten minutes later.

“We’ve got a
problem,” he said in a tone that made a chill run down her back. 

Stacy stood
up.  “What’s the matter?”

“Agent Hill
is in the hospital.”

Stacy racked
her brain.  “Who’s Agent Hill?” she started to say, and then she remembered,
“Oh my God, you mean Dennis?”