VANISHED, A Romantic Suspense Novel (Edgars Family Novel) (13 page)

“Tell me what you need and where you are. I can be there as soon as I wrap up what I’m doing.”

That was Castello. No questions about why he needed help. His loyalty to the Edgars family was unconditional.

“I need a safe house.”

“You can use the one in German Village. You remember it, don’t you?”

He remembered it. They’d hidden Katie there from the hitman stalking her until they could make plans to trap him. Of course things had taken a few left turns in their plans, but the safe house there was still a secret. Only problem was, it was in Columbus.

“I remember. But it won’t work.”

“Why?”

“I need one in Cleveland.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone as Castello took in and processed this information. A moment later Luke heard typing in the background.

“It’s out of my district, but I’ve got a few options up there to keep my witnesses off the grid down here. What kind of amenities are you looking for?”

Damn, Frank sounded like a freaking travel agent. “Two bedrooms if you have it.”

“Uptown or downtown?”

“Someplace we won’t stick out too much. I’m trying to keep Abby way under the radar.”

“Abby?”

Crap.
He didn’t need Castello getting curious. “A fellow agent.”

“Okay, no flophouse for you two then.” More typing ensued.

Luke walked over to the connecting door and peeked in at Abby. She sat in the middle of the far bed, glasses perched on her nose once more as she typed away on her laptop, looking as if nothing had happened between them. Maybe she was right to pretend they hadn’t just shared a kiss that rocked both their worlds. He suspected they’d just scratched the surface of this thing and he was going to need all his attention focused on keeping them safe before it was over.

“Did you get it?” Castello was saying in his ear.

“Get what?”

“The address to the condo I just texted you.”

He looked at his phone. “Yep. Got it.”

“What’s going on up there, Luke?”

“Just a case.”

“Cut the crap. You and I both know you don’t go to a safe house without good reason. Is that reason Abby?”

Shit.
Castello was as sharp as his brothers and brother-in-law, and even worse, he was like a freaking bloodhound when he scented something—nose to the ground until he unearthed what he was searching for. If he thought Abby was a problem, he’d be doing a background check on her. Neither she nor he needed someone higher up looking into what they were doing before he figured out just where this all led.

“Does this have anything to do with that quiet investigation you’ve been doing for Dave?”

His brother had asked him to look deep into State Senator Howard Klein’s background after the man’s son had nearly been killed by the same gunman who’d taken Dave’s wife hostage in the hospital OR where she worked. The last thing he wanted was his oldest brother barging in to take charge. Dave wasn’t always patient, and until he knew exactly what he was dealing with, he needed to proceed with more discretion.
And there Frank went connecting dots
. He was going to have tell him something.

“Not sure yet. There may be a connection, but we’re a long way from knowing what.”

“I’m assuming you don’t want the family to know anything right now.”

“We’ve got a missing woman, so yes, until I know for sure what I’m dealing with, yeah, I’d appreciate some QT on this.”

“Okay. Just texted you the entrance codes for the condo’s garage and back door. Keys to the unit are inside. And Luke?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t hear from you in twenty-four hours, all bets are off with the family.”

Ever since he’d been the one to discover his former partner tortured and murdered for information, Frank had done periodic check-ins with every member of the Edgars family. Usually once a week, unless he thought you might be in danger.

“Got it. I should have this wrapped up in time for the weekly poker game,” he said, trying to ease the Marshal’s worry.

“Good. Still want to hear from you in twenty-four,” Frank said, not buying his bullshit and hung up.

Now that he had a new, safer place to hide Abby, it was time to go on the offensive. He grabbed his laptop-tablet and sat at the desk, quickly pulling up the coordinates for the last ping they got of the victim’s phone and entered it into a satellite map of Cleveland. It narrowed in on an old industrial park with old warehouses and flattop buildings. Not exactly a pinpoint location, but damn close.

“Who were you talking to?” Abby stood in the doorway watching him.

“A friend. He’s setting up a place for us.”

“Why?”

He closed the laptop, so she couldn’t see what he was working on. No use getting her hopes up and he wanted to get her settled into the safe house before he checked the site out. “The hotel was a temporary solution last night. Now that we know someone is interested enough to tail Jeffers, we need a more secure location.”

“Why don’t we just go to your home?”

He gave her a half smile. “That would be a hell of a commute. Remember, my place is three hours away in Columbus.”

“I thought you were the regional agent for this area.” She drew her eyebrows down, causing her glasses to slip down onto the tip of her nose, and pulled her lower lip between her teeth, something she tended to do when she worried.

“It’s a big region and I was en route anyways. So they diverted me here.”

“Your friend is letting us stay at his home?”

“Nope. He lives in Columbus, too. He’s giving us one of his safe houses.”

“Safe house? He works for Homeland, too?”

“No. He’s a U.S. Marshal. It’s a house he uses to protect witnesses before trial.” He shoved his chair back and walked over to stand in front of her. Taking a moment, he looked deep into her eyes before using one finger to push her glasses back up on her nose a bit.

“You’re that sure that we’re in danger?”

Damn sure you’re in danger.
“I’m not taking any chances. And you might as well give me your smartphone, too.”

“Why?” she asked even as she went to retrieve it, a sign that she might question his motives, but was learning to trust his orders.

He took the phone from her. Flipping it over, he removed the battery, then handed them back to her. “You can keep these in your suitcase for when the case is finished, but don’t use it again until then. Whoever removed Bethanne’s cell phone battery may be smart enough to search her call record or contact list.”

“Brianna,” she corrected him again as she slipped the phone and battery into the bottom of her bag. “And they’d find my name and number.”

“You need to get all your things packed. I don’t want to leave even a candy wrapper behind. Okay?”

“Okay. I didn’t unpack that much so I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” She turned to grab the things out of her closet, then looked over her shoulder at him with a you-didn’t-fool-me-for-a-second look on her face. “And while you’re driving to the safe house, you can tell me what it was you didn’t want me to see on your laptop.”

* * * * *

“You are not going with me.”

“Yes, I am.” Abigail resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. They’d been having this discussion—she refused to call it an argument—since they stepped out of the hotel. Instead, she focused her attention on plugging Brianna’s phone number into the new cell phone they’d picked up at a local electronics store. Luke had insisted on buying it with his credit card and using his mother’s name on the account. While she understood the real possibility Brianna could compromise her, especially if her captors were using physical torture to gain information, but super-spy’s paranoia was a little over the top.

“It’s dangerous and no place for an amateur,” he said turning left again. He’d been doubling back and forth, almost going in concentric circles, since they’d left the store, hoping to either pick up a tail or lose one. She wasn’t quite sure which.

“If it’s so dangerous, then that’s exactly why you can’t go alone with no backup. Besides, if you find Brianna, then you’ll need help getting her out of the place.”

“And if we find her dead body?”

His harsh words vibrated with the anger in his voice, making her lean away from the pain they caused. Damn the man. He’d always known the buttons to push to get her riled. He’d challenged her on every physical exercise during their weeks of training, almost as if he wanted to prove to her and the instructors she shouldn’t be considered a field agent. Unlike some other members of their training class, however, he’d never made fun of her or tried to humiliate her. Why would he choose now to hurt her?

To make her want to stay behind.

Well, too damn bad. She was going and that was all there was to it.

“Then I’ll catalogue the entire area before the local cops get there. And not just the crime scene.”

He didn’t say anything else, because there was no argument that trumped her special skills and they both knew it. In the dim light of the passing streetlamps, she watched him flex and grip his hands tighter over the steering wheel. He might be conceding the point and letting her accompany him to the area Brianna’s last phone signal had come from, but he wasn’t happy about it.

They drove a few more minutes in a snake-like pattern. Finally, assured no one had followed them, he pulled into an area of upscale apartments and condos, maneuvering the car behind one that looked like an English cottage she’d seen on the Travel Channel once. Pulling into a drive, he lowered his window at a keypad and punched in a set of numbers to open the garage door. Abigail looked around the area and no other place had this keypad feature.
What other special security devices were in the place?

Luke drove inside, cutting the engine as the garage door closed behind them automatically.

“Impressive,” she said as they climbed out of the car.

“Castello’s big on keeping his people secure.” Handing her his laptop-tablet, he opened the trunk and grabbed her bags with his, motioning her to the door into the house. She could argue that she was capable of carrying her own bags, but it felt nice having him haul the bag and letting her carry the lighter and more delicate electronics.

“That’s your Marshal friend’s name? Castello?”

“Yes. And let’s get this gear inside before you start playing twenty questions.”

Apparently, he was still aggravated about including her on the mission tonight. She followed him inside, fighting the urge to grin. All those weeks that he teased and challenged her during their training, she’d always been the one tense, angry and aggravated. It felt good to be the one delivering that feeling for once.

“Wow,” she said as she stepped into the upscale cook’s kitchen. It looked like an episode of one of the home design shows, complete with hardwood floors, granite countertops, porcelain country sink and cupboards made out of cherry wood and beveled glass. The room was part of an open-concept design, extending past a dining area and out into a great room with a leather sectional and fireplace made out of river stones from floor to ceiling. “Castello has nice taste.”

“He tends to be a minimalist, focusing on the security of a building, not the comfort of it. I doubt the big guy paid much attention to the furnishings.” Luke closed the door to the garage, then set the bags down on the counter.

She ran her hand over the granite countertop. “I didn’t realize U.S. Marshals must made good money.”

“He inherited a big chunk of money when he was in college, said he wanted to invest in property. Guess this is what he did with some of it.” Luke opened the refrigerator. “Damn. He doesn’t have much stocked in here.”

Typical primal male. Shelter, then food. “Look in the freezer.”

He glanced at her over his shoulder, lifting one eyebrow as if doubting her wisdom, but opened the bottom drawer of the fridge. It was packed with frozen food. “Ah. The jackpot. How’d you know?”

“Makes sense. You say your friend isn’t interested in comfort, just keeping things secure. He’s not going to have someone stock the fridge with perishable items, too risky. The more people know this safe house’s location, the more likely it will lose its security feature. But he’d want to be sure he could feed his protectees a meal when they arrived. Ergo, a fully loaded freezer.”

That got her one of Luke’s patented grins, only this time there was a heat in his eyes she’d seen only once before—the moment before he kissed her today. “You have the sexiest brain I’ve ever come across.”

She blinked. Then laughed. “What?”

He shut the freezer, picked up the bags and sauntered by her, adding a wink to his grin. “You heard me, sweetheart. I find the way you think very sexy.”

He found her sexy. He found her brain sexy.
At his words a heated flush started at her toes and spread like a summer fire. The man could change moods faster than a level four hurricane and dang if that didn’t make him the most infuriating, intriguing and charming man with whom she’d ever had to work.

“Oh, hell, no,” Luke said, stopping in the doorway leading off the great room.

“What’s the problem?” she asked, coming up behind him and peering into the bedroom.

“Castello is such a dead man.”

“Why? You can have this bedroom and I’ll take the other.”

“You can’t.” He dropped her bag inside the room, the pulled out his cell phone.

“Why not?” she asked with a sinking feeling, already suspecting what his answer would be.

“Because my good
friend
picked the worst time to decide to pull a joke. He gave us a safe house with one bedroom and one bed.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

A knock sounded on the door.

Luke had just finished leaving a you’re-a-dead-man message on Castello’s phone. He palmed his gun from beneath his coat and motioned Abby to move away from the door, out of the line of fire. She nodded as she pulled her bag into the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her pull out her service weapon and move to where she had a line of sight to the door.

Standing to one side, he peeked through the peephole. A young man in a T-shirt, denim jacket and jeans stood on the stoop.