Diane [The Town of Pearl 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (21 page)

“You were on a bed posing? We saw one in the background but not any pictures with you posing on it. Did you?” Mark asked, raising his voice.

Diane became silent.

“Diane?” Drake raised his voice.

“Listen, I need to get ready. I’ll call you tonight since there’s an hour difference in time.”

Mark felt his gut clench. “Diane, do me a favor, and please be careful. Be aware of what’s going on around you. You and Sage stick together and remember if you feel uncomfortable or your gut bothers you, get to safety.”

Mark’s brothers looked at him strangely.

“I know, Mark. Hank, Paul, and Willie had me take the self-defense classes with Dalton and Hank, along with Sage and Millie. We’ve been really careful.”

“Okay, we love you,” Mark said.

“Yes, love you, baby, and can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” Lucas stated.

“Love you, honey, be good, and go to bed early. In fact, don’t bother to go to the party,” Drake added.

She laughed. “You know how much I like getting dressed up. I love you all, too.”

“Don’t forget to call tonight.”

“I won’t. Bye.” She hung up and Mark leaned back in his chair and ran his hands over his face.

“I can’t wait until she’s home and in our arms. I’m so worried. I have this bad feeling in my gut,” Mark shared.

“That’s because of the case, that agent who was killed and the one who was injured,” Drake said.

“Don’t forget about the raid. This could all be over tonight. She’s safe in New York. Not that I think anyone would come here to attack me, but just in case, I think we all should take extra precautions. Then when Diane returns, we can work on loving her and planning our futures,” Drake said.

“I’m all for that,” Lucas said as he stood up and headed out of the room. Drake followed after he squeezed his brother’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Mark stared at the picture on the screen, as he processed everything in his head.

He pulled out his phone and texted Diane a picture of Brenda. A few seconds later, she texted back.

“She’s very pretty. I hope that she’s okay. She’s beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you, Diane. I love you. Only you.”

“I know that. No worries, and thank you for sharing her picture with me. It means a lot.”

“Be safe. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

The texting ended and he felt slightly better at sharing her picture with Diane.

Please be safe, Diane. I would die if anything ever happened to you
. He touched the screen, and closed his eyes as her face filled his mind, and his heart ached for her quick return.

* * * *

Marzban watched her from across the room. She was more stunning than the pictures Zand and Arshad found online and that they took of her. In fact, the woman would make a great trophy to keep by his side and serve an even greater purpose alive. Agent Mark Santos would live in agony and defeat knowing that his lover was taken from him by the man and the operation he yearned to destroy.

It was time to meet her. He waited long enough. He walked closer as another modeling agent attempted to speak with Diane. She was getting lots of offers from what he overheard. She was quite the beauty, yet had a shyness about her.

“Excuse me, I just had to come over and introduce myself. I’m Miguel Samir. I am a member of the board with K&S modeling. Monique told me so much about you.”

Diane smiled as she shook his hand, and when their hands touched, he felt the instant attraction to her. Being a man to always surround himself with many women of his choosing, he couldn’t believe the intensity of the attraction he felt. He didn’t have that same sensation for Brenda. In fact, Brenda was still being watched closely by his team. He wondered where she disappeared to.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Samir.”

“Oh please, call me Miguel.”

Her eyes illuminated as she shyly turned away. The woman was perfect. He was going to really enjoy this. He glanced toward one of his guards and nodded toward the young woman Diane had come to New York with. He knew what to do. He had to keep them apart and get Diane alone. That was the only way he could make his move and abduct her. His plan was coming together, while his other reason for being in New York was being initiated.

The meeting at the dock was in two hours. In three, he and his new prize would be flying to Iran as he contemplated retiring with his new bride. Well, for the time being. He smiled and engaged her in further conversation as he escorted her further from the crowds of people.

* * * *

“Holy shit, this is so cool. How often have you gotten to fly in these types of private jets, bro?” Drake asked as he and Lucas sat on the large, wide leather seats in the government jet. Mark was looking at his laptop and he didn’t seem pleased.

“It gets boring. We’ll be landing in twenty-two minutes,” he told them.

Lucas looked at Drake. When Mark came into the room and told them that he was going to be part of the raid to bring this guy Marzban down and that he got a call from an informant about Marzban was confirmed being there, they thought he was out of his mind. Then he told them that they were coming, too, and would meet Diane at the hotel to surprise her and he would catch up later in the night. They were all for it. They missed her.

“Is everything okay?” Drake asked Mark.

“I don’t know. This doesn’t make sense. Weathers said he’s got agents on Marzban, Zand, and Arshad. Arshad is near the shipping docks, so he’s probably checking out security and making sure that things are going to run smoothly. But Marzban and Zand are right in the city, and in the same hotel that Diane is in.”

“What?” Drake asked, raising his voice as he gripped the seat.

Mark looked up. “There’s no way I’m betting this is coincidence. I’ve got my commander and a team trying to locate Sage and Diane now.”

“Do you think this Marzban guy knows about Diane and you? I thought you were distancing yourself from this case, and that you weren’t really that involved or in the spotlight?” Lucas asked, sounding angry.

“I was careful, but this guy has evaded capture, he took out Cody Jobs and other agents, and he could have Brenda and be going after the agents who tried taking his operation down.”

“What do you mean, Mark? There were others killed before now?” Drake asked.

“I didn’t know about any of this. Neither did Weathers. They think that someone from the inside was working all of us, and giving up secret information.”

“Who?” Lucas asked.

“Brenda. Fuck.” Drake ran his hands through his hair.

Mark stared at him. “I don’t think so.”

“How the fuck can you say that? You don’t know what she’s capable of or what happened to her. This is bullshit, and now our woman could be in danger!” Drake yelled.

“It has to be someone else. Someone who had access to the investigation, the other agents and spies involved and imbedded in the case. I’m going over everything now, and so is Weathers. Something isn’t adding up here.”

“When does this fucking plane land?” Lucas demanded.

“Minutes. We’ll be out of here and with a team of feds in minutes,” Mark said as he typed away on the laptop.

Drake felt his gut clench. “If anything happens to Diane, Mark, I’m holding you responsible.”

Mark looked up and appeared just as fearful and grim. “I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise to figure this thing out. We’ll get to her in time.”

* * * *

Diane excused herself to use the ladies’ room. Mr. Samir was a very charismatic and friendly guy, but he also gave her the creeps. She remembered Drake’s, Mark’s, and Lucas’s words of advice about following her gut instincts. She needed to locate Sage and get the heck out of this party. Just as she came out of the stall and washed her hands, the door pushed open and a tall, tanned man dressed in a tux reached for her. “Come with me now,” he ordered.

She pulled her arm from his grasp. “No. Get the hell away from me. Who are you?”

He pulled her hard against him as he pointed a gun with a tube-like thing at the end of it to her neck. “You are to come with me now, Miss Mercury, or your friend Sage dies.”

She was shaking and filled with fear. Diane had no idea what the hell was happening, and as they walked from the bathroom with the gun wedged against her back, they came to a long hall with an exit sign. He pushed opened the door and they began to head down the stairs. As soon as they rounded the corner, there was a woman there. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Marzban changed the plan. There are federal agents in the building.”

He pointed the gun at the woman. “You’re lying.”

“No. I’m not. Call him if you must.”

The man lowered the gun and reached into his pocket. Diane stared at the woman. She looked familiar, but her hair looked fake. The woman widened her eyes and jerked her head indicating for Diane to bend down. “Marzban, where do you want—”

Two quiet shots rang out as Diane gasped in shock. The woman just killed the man next to her.

“Diane, come with me. That man was going to take you away.”

“Who are you?”

“An old friend of Mark’s. He’s on his way, and the agents are moving in.”

“Brenda?” Diane asked.

The woman stopped. She smiled. “He told you about me?”

Diane nodded.

“He’s a great man. I just had my commander send him everything on Marzban.”

“They said you committed treason.”

“Then I did my job well,” Brenda stated as they came to the next door. “Stay back. If it’s clear I’m going to let you go on your own. Get to the second floor, room 210. Here’s the key card. My commander is there waiting. He’ll keep you safe until Mark and the team arrive.”

“What about Sage?”

“She’s been pulled into safety by agents Mark is working with. Now hurry up.”

Diane was overwhelmed with information. It turned out that Brenda wasn’t working with the bad guys but was deeply undercover. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this, but as she exited the door, she heard the gunshots, and ran like hell down the hallway. Looking over her shoulder, she saw another man with a gun and he was heading toward her. Did Brenda get shot?

As she fumbled with the key after finding room 210, she opened the door, closed it, and leaned against it as she gasped for air. Her eyes widened in shock the moment she saw Mr. Samir.

“Ah, right on time. We need to move quickly, and I expect you to cooperate.” Another guy grabbed her arm, and as she looked to the right she saw a man in a suit and he was talking on the phone.

“We can’t find her, Mark. She must be hiding out somewhere. We’ll search the hotel rooms. Every one of them until we find her.” She heard the man in the suit say. He disconnected the call and looked down at the table. That’s when she noticed the suitcase of money, and the gun and badge.

“Everything is set, Franks?” Mr. Samir asked.

“You’re good to go. Brenda is dead, the feds are raiding the docks, and you have easy access out of the building by the back exit. Just take the private elevator down the hall to the right.”

“Great. Take care of him,” Mr. Samir said to the other man in the room. The man raised a gun and shot the man in the suit twice in the head. Diane screamed and covered her face with her hands.

“Be quiet. We can’t have any loose ends now, can we?”

He opened the door and held her tight as they exited the room and headed toward the elevator.

“What in God’s name is going on? I don’t understand what you want from me.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t stop shaking. She just witnessed two people get shot at point-blank range and it seemed that Brenda was killed, too, and she saved Diane temporarily.

“No need for you to worry. You see, you’re going to come with me and be my little trophy after taking out all these federal agents. Your boyfriend, Agent Santos, is going to live with the fact that I have you, his prized possession, and that he will never see you again.”

“No.” She shook her head and tried to push away from him, but Mr. Samir was a big, strong man. He yanked her close so her face was right next to his.

“You will obey my commands or you will be tied up and beaten until you understand the rules. I have plans for you. You can remain sexy and beautiful, or battered and bloody. Either way, you are mine now.”

Diane closed her eyes and cried. She prayed that Mark and his team of agents knew what was going on and they could save her. But they were in Texas and here she was in New York. How the hell did this happen and what was she going to do to get out of it?

* * * *

“What the fuck is going on now, Mark? What’s happening?” Drake asked as he and Lucas pulled the federal agent jackets up over the bulletproof vests Commander Weathers gave them. They were in the hotel. Agents blocked all the exits.

“Look, they’re bringing her down in the private elevator. We can get them when they exit so there’s more room outside in the alleyway than in that cramped hallway,” Agent Ned Turk told Mark.