Fourth of July (32 page)

“You’re welcome.” She set to work on the ropes binding Alexis’ arms and hands to her lower extremities.

“Why did they kidnap you?” Rachel asked as she worked.

Alexis tried to keep her face off the floor as she explained the connection between her, Chris, and Danielle.

“You’re dating Chris? That’s truthfully the best news I’ve had all day.”

Alexis laughed.

“You must be so pretty.”

“I don’t know about that.” Her face flushed. Alexis was glad Rachel couldn’t see her.

“Of course you are. Chris only dates beautiful women.”

Alexis didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t think of herself as beautiful. She’d spent her childhood years being teased about her hair color, freckles, and diminutive stature. She wondered how many beautiful women Chris had dated.

“Well, I can’t wait to see what you look like so I can imagine you and Chris together,” Rachel continued when Alexis didn’t say anything. “I think the world of Chris and my children adore him. He insists they call him Uncle Chris.”

Alexis’ heart skipped a beat as she pictured Chris playing with children. Somehow she had known he would be great with kids. She would love to see that interaction.

First things first. She and Rachel needed to get themselves out of this mess.

“Why did they kidnap you? Three hostages seems a little overboard even for them.”

Rachel told her about the note the man taped to the bathroom mirror as she pried at the knots. The terrorists hadn’t talked to her at all, tying them up in the barn after allowing them to use the bathroom and giving them some food.

“I can’t imagine how Dylan and Chris can reach a solution that will be good for us,” Rachel concluded. “The President’s policy is that we will not submit to terrorism. Even if the terrorists are planning to trade us for their man, I don’t think Dylan could do it. His work always comes first.”

“Oh, baloney,” Alexis said. “He might spend a lot of time at work, but that doesn’t mean you’re not first for him. From what I know of your husband he would do anything, and everything, in his power to rescue you. I’m sure Dylan and Chris will work out a way to save us. Try not to worry.” Alexis heard her comforting words, wishing she could believe them. There was plenty to worry about.

“So I guess I’m the one who wasn’t meant to be kidnapped,” Alexis decided after mulling over all the facts. “Danielle must have been taking her own revenge on Chris.”

Alexis shivered, realizing the implication. The terrorists needed Rachel and Tyler, but there was no logical reason to keep her alive. She tried to suppress that horrifying thought.

“I don’t even know if Chris realizes I’ve been kidnapped. What if he assumes I stood him up?”

It was Rachel’s turn to reassure. “Chris is extremely competent. I’m sure he’ll figure out what happened.”

“I hope so,” Alexis said, “but that’s kind of irrelevant. We can’t sit here and wait to be rescued like two damsels in distress. We need to escape. How are those knots coming?” Her neck and back ached. She longed to sit or stand.

“They’re loosening. Are you a trained agent?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

Alexis assumed this was not the best time to reveal her position as the department’s psychiatrist, not a field agent. She had spent a couple of weeks at the FBI training center at Quantico. She knew how to hold a weapon. But rescuing herself and two innocents from a hostage situation? That was something they had failed to cover in her fourteen-day training.

THE WATERFRONT WAS SWELTERING. The air lifeless. Sweat rolled down Dylan’s back as he paced the short dock. Twenty minutes past the scheduled meeting time and Dylan’s trepidation grew by the second. Yusuf sat on the dock, seemingly unsurprised at his release from prison.

His uncaring attitude grated on Dylan’s already raw nerves. Dylan’s wife and son were in grave danger and all he could do was wait.

“Are your friends usually this late?” Dylan asked through clenched teeth.

“We work according to our own schedule.” Yusuf shrugged.

Dylan wanted to knock the smug look off Yusuf’s face.

“You’re still in my custody. Don’t push me.”

“Ha! You won’t touch me.” Yusuf’s laugh came out harsh and low. “I heard what you said to your partner. You wouldn’t dare take the chance of having your family killed.” He grunted. “You Americans, too soft.”

Dylan grabbed Yusuf’s shirt and yanked him to his feet. “I’ll show you how soft we are.”

The roar of a boat rumbled through the air. Dylan released Yusuf like he had swine flu.

A boat with an oversized bow slowed as it approached. The order had stated Yusuf was not to be harmed. Dylan hoped they hadn’t seen his lack of control. He shouldn’t have been so hard on Chris. This man was infuriating.

The boat glided in next to the dock. A small man disembarked. He tied the boat loosely and then walked toward Yusuf. They embraced.

“Salaam,” the man greeted him.

“Salaam.” Yusuf pounded his friend on the back.

The man approached Dylan with a hand-held machine. Dylan held his breath as his body was scanned one torturous inch at a time.

“Beep, beep, beep!” It screeched at Dylan’s upper back.

Dylan froze. The man ripped his shirt up, revealing the small device attached to the inside of his collar. He handed the gadget to a huge man.

“Go put this on a moving vehicle.”

The large man trotted down the dock.

The shorter terrorist performed the scan again. “He’s clean.”

Turning to Yusuf, the man completed the same search. The device beeped loudly as it passed the collar of Yusuf’s shirt.

“What?” Yusuf ripped the small piece of metal from the back of his neck and hurled it into the water. “You weren’t supposed to track me.”

“The note only said I had to come alone. Where’s my family?”

The small newcomer eyed him, ignoring the question. “Ahmed said to make sure he was clean and then bring him.”

“That wasn’t the plan,” Dylan sensed the situation begin to spiral out of control. “I delivered Yusuf. Now you hand over my wife and child.”

Yusuf chuckled. “These Americans think we play according to their rules.”

Dylan heard heavy footfalls approaching from the rear. He whirled to face the giant who’d taken the device away. The man held a large metal bar in his polish sausage fingers. Dylan threw his arms up to ward off the blow. Too late. He struggled to retain consciousness.

“Rachel,” the word came out as a moan as he fell in a heap on the dock, his world turning black.

“Everyone checked in? He wasn’t followed?” Carlos questioned the crowbar carrier.

“Alone.”

Carlos shook his head. “American cowboys. Follow some code of ethics. Always honest. Too bad we harbor no such illusions.”

Yusuf’s cackling laughter rippled across the water as they walked arm in arm to the boat. The third man hoisted Dylan onto his shoulders, trudging after them.

Chris waited with ill-concealed impatience as the four computer screen dots stayed at the dock for over half an hour. Finally, something. Yusuf’s decoy stayed close to the dock. Dylan’s decoy moved into the city, while the devices Dylan had willingly swallowed and Yusuf had unknowingly eaten began moving downstream.

The terrorists must have discovered the two decoy plants. He’d send people to check them out, but the real question was where they were taking Dylan. They could be burying him in the ocean for all Chris knew.

“Where are they going?”

He was talking to himself but a nearby programmer must have felt compelled to answer.

“Possibly a clandestine waterfront location or a mobile base at sea. There are any number of island destinations in the region. The Bermuda islands are within range as well.”

Chris swiped his cell phone. “Get the boats ready. We’re on our way. I need backup so give me all the agents you can spare. Keep the Coast Guard on full alert. This could be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for and I don’t want to take any chances with the hostages.”

What Chris didn’t tell his fellow agent was that these hostages meant more to him than anything in the world.

ALEXIS SUPPRESSED A YELL OF GLEE when the final knot gave way. Dragging herself to an upright position, she reveled in being vertical, enjoying her freedom of movement for a few seconds. She rubbed her wrists and ankles where they had been bound.

“Thank you,” she whispered to Rachel, giving her newfound friend a brief hug. “Now, let’s get you untied.”

Alexis worked until her fingers were raw. She untied Rachel’s hands, releasing her from the rope wrapped around her waist and secured to the thick wooden post. Her fingers ached from digging at the knots.

“What next?” Rachel asked.

“Let’s see if we can find a way out of here. What did you see when you were brought in?”

“It’s a big barn. I think the door is this way.” Rachel took her arm and propelled her forward.

Alexis shuffled, partially because of the darkness and partially because her body ached. They came in contact with the wall and Alexis led the way. Rachel kept one hand on Alexis’ back and the other holding Tyler.

Searching every inch of the wall, Alexis did a happy but silent dance when she found a door. She gripped the handle. With one slight rotation of the wrist, the door swung open.

“Yay,” she whispered.

She tasted bitter disappointment when no light hit her eyes. Inspecting the space with her fingertips, she realized she’d opened a closet. She touched rough blankets, and what she thought might be horse bits and harnesses.

“Just a closet. We’ll find the outside door next. We must be in a horse barn. I found blankets and harnesses.”

“That explains the aroma,” Rachel remarked.

“It is pretty foul,” Alexis agreed, wrinkling her nose.

“Why would a barn be so dark?” Rachel wondered.

“They must have boarded up the windows and doors.”

“They did a good job. I can’t see a thing.”

Their search continued.

“I found a door.” Alexis jerked on the handle. Nothing. She pushed but the door didn’t budge. She tried several more times before revealing the sad truth to Rachel.

“It’s bolted shut from the outside.”