“We’re all set. Just sign these, please, Miss Ambrose.”
Savannah didn’t even look at the papers. She just signed them and handed them back. Her hands were sweating, and she was struggling not to bounce her leg. “Would you be a dear and give me a copy of all the paperwork? Both the papers opening and then closing the account?”
“Not a problem,” Javon smiled and hit another button. A printer somewhere began to print. “Oh,” Javon said as his brow furrowed, and he leaned closer to the computer.
Savannah shot a nervous look to Abby who barely shook her head and then took a deep breath as if reminding Savannah to breath. “Just this morning you opened a new account online and made a cash deposit. Do you mean to close that as well?”
“Yes,” Abby said with a roll of her eyes. “I told you that you’d need that money to hire a crew. Why did you deposit it?”
Savannah forced herself to laugh. “I am so sorry. Please tell me I didn’t make a mess of it all?”
Javon smiled as if he really wanted to roll his eyes. “Not at all. We’re happy to keep this account open, or I can close it as well.”
“Close it, please,” Savannah said embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t know what I was thinking! But, can I have all the paperwork on that as well? I’m sure my accountant is going to have a fit.”
“Of course.” He tapped some more into the computer and Savannah went through the signing of forms again before Javon stood up. “I’ll be right back with your copies of the paperwork.”
Savannah and Abby were quiet until Javon was out of earshot. Then Abby was talking to Dylan through some communication equipment Savannah couldn’t even see. “Someone made a cash deposit in a new Savannah account this morning.”
Abby turned to Savannah and smiled as if nothing was wrong. “Dylan is on the lookout and will pull the car right up to the exit when we give the go-ahead. Ridge is already calling Kale.”
“It’s Penn. He’s here.”
Abby was quiet for a second. “You’re right. It’s Penn. Kale found a plane ticket for him. He left Charleston last night. His departing flight is tonight.”
Abby froze all of a sudden. “Got it.” She leaned down into her bag and pulled out a large sunhat and plopped it onto Savannah’s head.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Dylan spotted Penn at a coffee place across the street from the private entrance. He must have been inside ordering because he wasn’t there five minutes ago. We need to make sure you’re not seen.”
Savannah worked quickly to pull her red hair up and under the hat as her hands shook.
“Don’t worry, he can’t hurt you. If he tries, he’ll be dead before he has a chance.”
That stopped Savannah’s hands from shaking because the way Abby said that left her feeling very secure. “Sunglasses?”
“Use mine,” Abby said, handing a pair of black, large-framed glasses to Savannah who grabbed them as if they’d save her life. “No, don’t take him out. Great idea. We’re finishing up here.”
“Taking him out sounds good to me,” Savannah whispered and Abby grinned.
“I’m happy to oblige if you really want.”
Savannah couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.
“Dylan is going to put a tracker on him. Then we’ll know where he is at all times. Here comes Javon. Don’t look at the papers here. We’ll look them over on the boat,” Abby whispered. “Now smile.”
Savannah swatted at Abby and giggled.
“Here’s all your paperwork, Miss Ambrose.” Javon handed her a large packet of papers that she slipped directly into her bag. “And here comes your money. I have the full receipts for both accounts in the packet.”
The two women stood. “Thank you so much, Javon. I’m sure I’ll be back soon. You’ve made this such a wonderful banking experience for me.”
“I’m so glad, Miss Ambrose. You have my email. Let me know if I can help in any way.”
Savannah shook his hand, then walked from the table back out the way she came with Abby and five bank guards, three of whom were carrying two giant duffle bags apiece, each with the bank’s name on it. A little too obvious, but nothing could be done about it right then. Savannah was careful not to walk too fast, and when one of the security guards opened the private door to the back parking lot, she saw Ridge behind the steering wheel of a black SUV with heavily tinted windows and kept her head down. The large floppy hat hid her face from view of the coffee shop where Penn was sitting.
“Here you go, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Savannah said when the guard opened the back door for her.
Ridge got out of the SUV and opened the tailgate. “Can you place them in the back, please?”
The guards placed the bags of money as directed while Abby climbed in. Ridge walked casually around to the driver’s door and got in.
“Where’s Dylan?” Savannah asked, her voice breathless as she dared to look at Penn, sheltered by tinted windows, sunglasses, and her hat. Her body turned to ice as he looked up and winked at the waitress. She wanted to scream for that innocent woman to run as far as possible from him.
“Did you forget to breathe?” Abby asked as she nudged Savannah.
Savannah sucked in a breath once Penn was out of sight.
“Dylan is placing a tracker on Penn. He said he’d meet us at the boat. How did it go?”
“There were two accounts,” Savannah blurted even though Ridge already knew that. Her head swam, her vision blurred, and her heart felt as if it would leap out of her chest.
Abby yanked off Savannah’s seatbelt and shoved her head down. “Deep breaths,” she ordered as she rubbed her back. Savannah stared at the floor of the SUV from between her knees as her body gradually stopped shaking and the roaring in her ears began to fade away.
Ridge pulled up to the hotel and parked the SUV in the reserved space Dylan took it from this morning. “Everyone grab as much as you can carry without looking like pack mules,” Abby told them as they got out. “And leave the keys under the floor mat.”
They hadn’t even pulled all the duffle bags out when Dylan arrived. “We’re up and running,” he said, picking up two bags.
Savannah picked up her and Ridge’s bag of clothes, but before she could grab Dylan and Abby’s, Dylan took it in hand. “I got it. Don’t want to risk setting anything off. Let’s go. I’m looking forward to seeing the fam.”
Ridge took a sip of Ryker’s bourbon as they all sat on the deck after dinner. They were well on their way to the United States by now. They had called Agent Castle before they’d gotten too far offshore that morning. He’d told them his agent had called and checked in with Penn. He immediately pulled plane records when Ridge told him Penn was on the island with them.
“He must have slipped out the back of his hotel. I wondered why we hadn’t been able to get eyes on him today. I’ll have my guys ask around at the conference. Let me know when you’re closer to Charleston,” Agent Castle had said.
Ridge didn’t tell him about the second account yet. Kale had been called away, whatever that meant, and was just now getting to work on trying to find the source of the five hundred thousand dollars in the second account. At least that’s what he told Abby when she’d checked in with him via a satellite phone.
They’d spent the day enjoying the weather together as they rested in the sun and talked. Abby told them about her overprotective father, and Dylan added his own stories. Then Ridge got to tell Abby all about the history of Shadows Landing. It was as if they were in this little bubble of happiness and couldn’t be touched while on the open water. They were safe. And for twelve more hours or so they had no worries.
“Ready for bed?” Ridge quietly asked Savannah after they’d all had a couple drinks. When she nodded, he stood. “I think we’re heading to bed. Thank you both for all your help.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Dylan said as he wrapped his arm around his wife, who nodded her agreeme
nt.
Ridge and Savannah left them snuggled together on the deck and headed to their room. Ridge was torn. After today, all he wanted to do was strip Savannah naked and keep her in his bed forever. The thought of her being in danger when they got back was too much.
Ridge sat down and watched her as she began to get ready for bed. The way she tugged her hair loose and shook it out. The way she stripped out of her clothes and tossed them on the back of a chair. And when she turned, completely nude, toward him, he stopped breathing.
“You know, I’m not supposed to get my stitches too wet. Want to help me shower?”
“Anything to help,” Ridge said with a smile as he followed her to the bathroom, losing clothes along the way.
29
Ridge couldn’t decide if he wanted to get back to Charleston or not. Part of him wanted to so that he could finally move on with the woman he loved. But the other part of him wanted to never leave the boat. They could hide away somewhere in the ocean as if they were the only two people in the world.
Ridge watched with a mixture of dread and excitement as the marina in Charleston came into view. The wind blew his shirt against his body as he stood at the front of the yacht, watching.
Savannah came up behind him and silently slipped her hand into his. “It’s almost over.”
Ridge wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his side before leaning down and kissing her. Soon it would just be the two of them with no fear. Ridge knew Savannah would grow and spread her wings even more then. He couldn’t wait to see what she’d do when she was no longer in danger.
“Okay, it’s time to get out of sight,” Dylan called from behind them.
“Let’s finish this,” Savannah said, her face tilted back as she looked into his eyes.
“I’ll always have your back. I love you.” Ridge gave her a quick kiss and took her hand in his as they went below deck.
“So, Agent Castle has an unmarked van waiting for us. We will turn the money over to him, along with the recordings and copies of the papers you received. I heard from Kale that he’s still been unable to find where the second account came from,” Dylan explained. “Kale said to turn it over, and he’ll keep working on it. The plan is in place to call Penn as soon as you’re back in the hospital. Abby will be in the bathroom of your room with you, so you’ll never be alone. Cameras are all set up and ready to record the whole thing.”
Abby nodded and reached out to take Savannah’s hand. “I can put on a red wig and be in bed instead of you.”
Ridge wanted to say yes, but Savannah shook her head. “He saw me when he shot Granger in the drive by. He’ll know it’s not me the second he sees your face. I don’t want to risk him getting off by being cautious and professional enough to make sure he kills the right person.”
The yacht slowed and Ridge knew they were in the harbor now. Abby reached into her bag and pulled out a short black wig and handed it to Savannah. “It’s go time.”
Savannah handed over the money and paperwork in the large van with no windows and the normal seating removed. The only seating was a bench that ran along one side. It had Thumbs Up Plumbing written on the side, and at first glance looked as if it would fall apart from the rust. But the inside was redone and there were even metal rings on the floor to secure prisoners.
“So, this half a million isn’t part of the money embezzled from Penn’s company?” Agent Castle asked.
“We have no idea where it came from. But no, it’s not part of that embezzlement scheme,” Abby answered.
“We’ll take it in as evidence, but if we can’t find that it’s from illegal sources, it’s yours,” Castle said with a shrug as the truck bounced along the old streets of downtown.
“Mine?” Savannah asked with shock.
“It was in your name. So yeah, it would be yours,” Castle reassured her.
“I never thought about it. But knowing Penn, I’m sure it’s illegal.”
Castle nodded in agreement. “We’ll wait and see. In the meantime, my men located Penn and are tracking him.” He turned to Dylan and told him, “That tracker you put in his luggage is working perfectly. Thank you for that.”
“When do you think the hit man will come after me?” Savannah asked, finally voicing the question that had been weighing on her mind since they’d come up with this plan.
“The nurse is going to tell Penn he can come anytime since there isn’t security in that wing. This is all conjecture, but I believe Penn will come to see for himself. We will make sure it looks like a walk in the park. We hope the man will make his move tonight. We’re going to tell Penn exactly when the fewest people will be around in hopes that he conveys that to his guy. If not then, I expect it to be tomorrow. We’ll stress accidental death from secondary causes is still a risk, but only for the next two days in order to put some pressure on him to move quickly.”
“Penn’s conference ends today,” Savannah told them. “He’ll be back in Georgia soon.”
“Not to worry. We can arrest him in Georgia just as easily as here,” Castle told her. “He won’t get away with this.”
Savannah took a deep breath as the van slowed to a stop at the maintenance entrance to the hospital. They were all in gray overalls with a large thumbs-up logo on the chest pocket. Savannah got out with her black wig and a baseball cap pulled low along with Abby, Dylan, Ridge, and Agent Castle all in various degrees of disguise. They worked quickly carrying in “tools” as they made it into the building and out of sight.
They quickly shed their overalls and tools. Savannah handed the wig to Abby who stuffed it in a bag that she called her little bag of tricks. Dylan called it the boom bag. Savannah got the impression whatever was inside could probably level the entire hospital.
Abby and Dylan slipped into scrubs, Agent Castle put on a doctor’s white coat, and Ridge helped Savannah get into a hospital gown and into her wheelchair. Being busy was good. It kept Savannah from thinking too much. But all too soon she was in her room, Penn had been called, Ridge was sitting next to her, and Abby had turned the bathroom into her office. And by office, she really meant kill room.
“Penn just pulled into the parking lot. He doesn’t have his tracker with him, but the security cameras picked him up,” Dylan told her when he stepped into the room. He kissed Abby and sent her a wink before turning to Ridge. “Come with me, cuz.”
Savannah’s heart began to beat wildly as her nerves kicked into overdrive. Abby also gave a wink. “You got this. I’ll be here with you,” she said before turning off the bathroom light and leaving the door open enough to see out. Abby wore black scrubs and seemed to just disappear from view.
“Thanks,” Savannah said, knowing her new friend would hear her.
Ridge bent down and his kiss lingered on her lips as if he never wanted to pull apart. It felt like goodbye. “You’ll do great. We’re all around you. I’ve always got your back. Remember that. I love you, Savannah.”
Savannah took a deep breath as she cupped his cheek in her hand. “Thank you, Ridge. I love you too. So very much.”
Ridge leaned down and this time the kiss was more passionate before he pulled away and left without turning around. Only Agent Castle remained in the room. “All the audio and visual cameras are working. I’ll be across the hall. Dylan and Ridge will be next door. We all will be able to see and hear you. Just play up how tired you are and downplay how good the staff is.”
“Got it.”
Savannah took a deep breath as Agent Castle stood next to her, staring intently at his clipboard. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Slow and steady. Breathe in one, two, three. Breathe out one, two, three.
“How is she doing?” she heard Penn ask five minutes later.
“We needed that intensive care room for another patient, so she was moved before I wanted her to be,” Savannah heard Castle say as he moved away from her side. “She’s still in danger of what we call secondary risks. Were you told she’d developed an infect
ion?”
“Yes,” Penn said gravely. “I hated that I couldn’t see her.”
“I know. It looks like we have the infection under control, but we always worry about blood poisoning, heart attack, stroke, and embolism.” Castle paused and looked down at his phone.
“I have one more patient I have to see. The night nurse will call me if there’s any change. Fingers crossed the next forty-eight hours goes smoothly. If so, she’ll be all clear. After that infection, I’m worried her body is in a compromised state. But, she’s a fighter. And now she has you to fight along with her.”
“Is that you, doctor?” Savannah mumbled.
“Yes, Mrs. Benson. I just gave her some medicine that unfortunately makes her rather drowsy. She’ll be out until the last check of the night around four in the morning. That’s when they’ll wake her up to draw labs. So you might want to talk quickly. And there’s no security in this wing, so just ignore the visiting hours. You can stay as long as you’d like.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Penn said as Savannah batted open her eyes. Agent Castle walked from the room and across the hall where she knew he’d be watching. “How are you feeling, pet?”
“Woof, woof,” Savannah said, letting her eyes slide closed. “Meow.”
“Savannah, wake up,” Penn said, and Savannah fought a gasp when his hand tightened around her wrist. He shook her and her eyes popped open.
“Penn? Is that you? You’re all fuzzy-looking.”
“Do you need me to call the nurse?” Penn asked.
“Nah, I haven’t seen her in forever. I don’t think she’s here.” Then Savannah sniffled. “But you’re here. That’s so sweet of you, Penn. Thank you for not leaving me alone.” She let her voice trail off as her eyes began to slide shut.
She heard Penn walking around the room. Then he pulled a cord and her machine began to go wild. Warning bells rang repeatedly.
“Penn, can you answer the phone?” Savannah murmured.
Lasting Shadows: Shadows Landing #3 Page 19