“What time is it?” she murmured.
“Just past midnight. Go back to sleep.”
“Mmm. Can’t. Gotta pee.” She paused, then added, “Can you go for me?”
He chuckled, but the truth was he’d do anything humanly possible for his wife, lover, and submissive, including sharing the responsibility of raising their child. Unfortunately, getting up and taking a piss for her was not something he was able to do. “Wish I could, Angel.”
Throwing back the covers, she awkwardly maneuvered her body until her legs swung off the side of the bed and struggled to sit up. Ian kept his hands to himself. The last time he’d tried to help her, like a good Dom should, she’d nearly bitten his head off. Her hormones were wreaking havoc on her moods, causing them to swing wildly, and many days Ian had to tread lightly. He knew she didn’t mean to snap at him and had let her get away with a few things that normally would’ve resulted in a punishment. Other times, it had been obvious to him his kinky wife had been subtly asking for some form of discipline, and he’d given it to her within reason. Thankfully, Angie had been using the same obstetrician Kristen had used, one that was in the lifestyle and understood the different types of play. If Dr. Sellares knew her patients practiced BDSM, she provided the couples with a list of acceptable activities that wouldn’t harm the baby or mother-to-be.
As he waited for Angie to return, Ian turned onto his side and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t fall asleep until she was back in bed. Years in the Navy and being on black-ops missions had taught him how to control his sleep. He could nod off immediately if he wanted to, or rest with his eyes shut while still being aware of his surroundings.
Behind the bathroom door, the toilet flushed, and, simultaneously, his cell phone chirped from where he’d placed it on his nightstand. Its low beeps were just loud enough to wake him but not Angie if they’d both been asleep. Knowing if someone was calling him at this hour it couldn’t be for anything good, Ian snatched up the device and connected the call without looking at the screen. “Sawyer.”
“Ian, it’s Dad.”
At the strange tone in his father’s voice, he threw the comforter and sheet aside and sat up. Beau was at his feet before he even spoke. “What’s wrong?”
“I need you on the jet to the Philippines as soon as you can. Your mom is . . . she’s missing, Ian. Someone took her.”
“Wh—”
“She—she went to town with one of the nurses to run some errands just after eight this morning. When they didn’t come back in an hour like they were supposed to, we figured they were delayed and would be back soon. After another half hour, I called her cell phone, but it went to voice mail, so I grabbed one of the guides and we went looking for them. We found their vehicle about two miles up the road, pushed off the side of the road and down a hill. It was empty, but Marie’s and Jocelyn’s phones were left on the seats. A young boy that lives nearby said he saw three or four men block the road, and when the women stopped, they were pulled out of the SUV and forced into a van. One of the men then sent the SUV down the hill. Ian, he’s not certain, but he thinks the men had guns. The boy didn’t think either woman was injured, but we’ve checked the hospital and another clinic anyway. The police took a report and are out looking for them, but there’s not much to go on.”
Ian had already grabbed his go-bag out of the walk-in closet as he was listening to his father rush to explain the situation, then he pulled out a clean pair of BDUs and a T-shirt from his dresser drawers to change into. Having turned on the bedside lamp, Angie was sitting on the edge of the mattress, wide-eyed, watching him. He stopped and looked at her when his father said, “I know this is a lot to ask right now, with Angie ready to have the baby, but I need you and the teams here. We have no idea who has them, where they are, and why they were taken.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Dad. I promise, we’ll find them, and then I’ll be back in Tampa in time to see my kid born.” He’d accept nothing less.
As he got a few more details from his father, Ian’s heart was breaking. Even though she still didn’t fully know what was going on yet, Angie’s eyes were watery, and her lips were trembling. All she’d figured out so far was he was leaving to go halfway around the world, where Charles and Marie Sawyer had been doing charity work, right before she was due to give birth to their first child. Ian’s mother was a plastic surgeon who donated time each year to Operation Smile, traveling to the poorer areas in Third World countries to perform reconstructive surgery on children who suffered from a variety of facial deformities. Charles, known to family and friends as Chuck, was a self-made real estate billionaire, who could afford to travel with his wife and donate his time to help improve the poor areas she visited. When the four Sawyer brothers were young, they’d gone with their folks for a few weeks each summer and pitched in too.
Hanging up the phone, he kneeled in front of Angie. At some point, Beau had jumped onto the bed to comfort his distressed mistress. Since he couldn’t put his head in her lap because of the baby, he was snuggled up against her hip. Ian grabbed Angie’s hand. “Mom’s missing, Angel. I have to go.”
“Oh my God, Ian! What do you mean she’s missing?”
He quickly filled her in, then continued. “I’ve got to get Dev, Nick, and Jake, then call the rest of the teams.” Devon and Kristen lived in the apartment above them, while the youngest Sawyer brother, Nick, aka Junior, lived with his husband, Jake “Reverend” Donovan, in the apartment above Jenn’s. All three men were on the TS Alpha Team. Jake had been on SEAL Team Four with Dev and Ian, while Nick had spent his SEAL tours with Team Three in San Diego, before retiring less than a year ago to join his brothers and Jake in Tampa.
Grabbing her own cell phone from the nightstand, Angie waved him out of the way so she could get to her feet. “I can help make the calls. I’ll start with Omega Team while you take Alpha and anyone else you need to get ahold of.”
Before she could hurry away, he stopped her momentum, cupped her cheeks, and stared down at her. The most amazing thing that’d ever happened to him had been the day he’d met her. The second most being the day he’d married her. He wanted the third thing to be the moment he saw her bring their child into the world. Would he miss it? God he hoped not. But if that happened, he knew Angie wouldn’t go through it alone. Kristen, Jenn, and the other women associated with Trident Security, and a few from The Covenant, would all have her six. Their extended family took care of their own, and if he couldn’t be there, she’d have the best support team ever. “I’ll be back in time for Little Bit, Angel.”
Her gaze softened. “I know you’ll try, Ian, and I’ll try to make sure we wait, but Little Bit needs you to find Marie. She’s the only grandmother our baby will have.”
How the hell he’d gotten so damn lucky to have this beautiful woman fall in love with him, he’d never know, but he’d always be grateful. Bending down, he gave her a swift kiss on the lips. “I love you, Angel.”
“I love you too. Now, let’s get busy.”
2
Somewhere in the province of Davao del Norte, Philippines…
As Marie Sawyer heard the door unlock, her heart pounded in her chest. The cool air coming through a ceiling vent had been giving her goosebumps for the past hour or so. Central air conditioning in the Philippines was a luxury only the rich could afford. She still didn’t know where she and Jocelyn Navarro were or why they’d been abducted in the first place. Their wrists had been tied and their heads covered with potato sacks just moments after they’d been forced at gunpoint into the van that’d block the road they’d been traveling on. The only thing they’d seen since was the inside of the bedroom they’d been shoved into, after the heavy twine used to bind their wrists had been cut away. By the time she’d ripped the sack off her head, the door had been slammed shut and locked.
The room had a queen-sized bed, which they were sitting on, some sparse furniture, and nothing more. The attached bath had even less. The windows in both had be
en blacked out by a tarp that hung outside. An overhead lamp was their only light. It hadn’t taken long to realize there was no way out and nothing available to use as a weapon. Marie was certain her sons would argue with her about that. As trained Navy SEALs, they could probably find an exit and take down a bunch of the bad guys without blinking an eye. At seventy-one, she doubted she could overtake any of the younger, larger men holding them hostage. She might be able to outsmart them, but a physical fight was out of the question with no weapons at hand.
Aside from a few English commands, their captors had spoken Cebuano, one of the several local languages. Jocelyn was from the Philippines but had gotten an education in the United States where her father had been an ambassador. She understood what they’d been saying, for all the good it had done. The four men hadn’t revealed anything in either language to help the two women figure out why they were there—wherever there was.
Although they’d been forced to leave their cell and satellite phones behind, Marie still had her multi-function watch Ian had given her for Christmas a few years ago. It was a very durable, sleek, military-style design, and she didn’t have to worry about losing or damaging the gold one, that she usually wore, while visiting a lesser developed country where her charity work often took her. By her calculations, they’d traveled on a mix of paved and unpaved roads for fifty minutes or so. She and Jocelyn had left to run errands two municipalities over from where they’d been staying. They’d wanted to refill the clinic’s tiny stock room with supplies that didn’t necessarily have anything to do with medicine, such as feminine pads, baby formula, cloth diapers, shampoo, soap, canned goods, and batteries, among other things. The medical supplies and drugs were covered by the non-profit charity. Chuck and Marie were supposed to head back to the States tomorrow. Instead of going straight home to Charlotte, North Carolina, they were planning a detour to Tampa to await the arrival of their second grandchild. God, please let me live to see Angie and Ian’s baby. Don’t let this beautiful time in their lives be marred by my death.
Jocelyn and Marie quickly got to their feet as the door swung open, and a tall, intimidating man stepped inside. Out in the hallway, two men armed with assault rifles stood sentry. The one who’d entered the room gestured toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Grabbing Jocelyn’s arm to prevent her from obeying the barked order, Marie stood her ground. “Where? Who are you and why are we here?”
The man sneered at her. “Who I am is not important. As for the rest, come with me and find out.”
Marie lifted her chin at the challenge in his voice, then glanced at the pistol holstered at his hip. Her mind raced, but there weren’t any options. Whatever was going on, they weren’t going to learn about it in the empty room.
Hooking her arm around Jocelyn’s, she stepped forward. When the man was convinced they’d follow, he led the way out the door.
Well, they were in a house—a very large one by Philippine standards. Expensive art hung on the walls, while fine china and crystal stood on tabletops and in wall niches as they walked down a hallway to a flight of marble-covered stairs, undoubtedly the one they’d climbed earlier. As the man descended the staircase, Marie glanced over her shoulder. The two armed lackeys were right behind them, so they had no choice but to keep moving along.
They trailed behind their escort, across the massive foyer and into an equally impressive living room. It was finely decorated with the “expensive” theme she’d seen throughout the rest of the house, so far, except for the bedroom they’d just left.
“Welcome, Dr. Sawyer, or may I call you Marie?” The husky voice belonged to a stocky man who was sitting in a wingback chair. “Please, have a seat.” He gestured toward two couches, while puffing away on a cigar.
Marie stared at the middle-aged man. She didn’t recognize him but was surprised he knew who she was. That fact didn’t make her feel any better. “I’d rather stand while you tell me who you are, why my friend and I were kidnapped, and how you know my name.”
He snorted, then took a sip of what looked like brandy from a snifter. “Kidnapped? Such an inappropriate word in this case, isn’t it? Clearly, neither of you are children as the word implies. Let’s just say you’re here on a job interview, and I research all my prospective employees. Sit, and I’ll explain.”
When she refused to comply with his order, his eyes narrowed, and his expression grew hard. “I will not ask you again, Dr. Sawyer. While you are invaluable to me, your nurse is not.” Marie heard a gasp and turned to see the man who’d brought them there had one hand wrapped around Jocelyn’s upper arm and the other pointing his gun to her head. The younger woman’s tear-filled eyes were wide, and her face had paled significantly, while her entire body shook. Meanwhile, their unidentified host continued. “Nurses are much easier to come by than a woman of your caliber. If you insist on being uncooperative, she will pay for it.”
Marie had no choice. Stepping over to one of the couches, she sat, perched on the edge of the cushion. Jocelyn was shoved in her direction, then sat next to her, sobbing softly. Marie grasped her hand and squeezed before glaring at the man seated across from them. “Fine. We’re sitting. You said you’d explain—I’m waiting. And am I supposed to call you, ‘hey, you,’ or do you have a name?”
Yes, she probably sounded like she had when her boys had been younger and had gotten in trouble for one reason or another, but she refused to show how frightened she was. Calmness in the face of adversity was a trait most surgeons and emergency room physicians acquired over the years. If they freaked out, their staff would follow suit, and then all hell would break loose, putting their patients in danger. While she was unnerved on the inside, all she would show was her defiance.
An amused expression crossed the man’s face. “Brave woman,” he said. “You don’t recognize me?”
“Should I? I’m an American who has only been here for three weeks to work in a clinic, performing surgery. If you don’t work at the clinic or weren’t one of my patients and their families, then I wouldn’t have a clue who you are.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. You can call me Mr. Albano.”
It was highly unlikely that was his real name—it was a very common one in that region—considering he’d abducted them. Marie had a few other choice names for him, but it was probably wise not to mention them.
“Well, Mr. Albano, I’m scheduled to return to the States tomorrow.” She took a chance, nodded toward the woman beside her, and lied. “So is Jocelyn.” Actually, the nurse would be heading to a clinic on one of the other islands, joining the next Operation Smile surgeon who was arriving in a few days, but Marie was keeping that to herself. Hopefully, Jocelyn would play along. “We’ll be missed, if we’re not already, when we don’t contact our charity to give them our final reports this evening.” At least that part was true. She did have to check in with the director who handled everyone’s trips and schedules.
“I’m afraid you’ll be missing your flight. You see, you’ll be performing surgery tomorrow.”
Her brow furrowed. “Excuse me? On whom?”
The man shrugged. “A friend of mine needs to have his face reconstructed. Currently, he’s too recognizable by certain, shall I say, agencies, and he’d like to change that.”
Having three retired Navy SEALs for sons, whose special-ops careers had followed them into the private sector, she was far from naïve or stupid when it came to the underbelly of society. “You want me to alter some criminal’s face, so he can avoid being captured and prosecuted. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“You said this was a job interview. What happens if I refuse to be employed by you?”
His head tilted to the side and he took a puff of his cigar then blew the smoke into the air. “Then I’m afraid I’ll have no use for you or the pretty lady next to you, and no one will ever learn where you both disappeared to.”
So, in other words, do the surgery or they were both dead. Well, shit.
Sh
e glanced at Jocelyn, before returning her attention to “Mr. Albano.” In another time or place, she might have considered him to be a handsome man, but the smugness that hadn’t left his face in the past few minutes radiated the evil within him, and it made him downright ugly. “Where am I supposed to perform this surgery? I need equipment, a sterile room, an anesthetist—”
“All that will be provided. A fully-stocked operating room is ready to handle all your needs, along with a small surgical staff. This is not the first time I’ve arranged this procedure for one of my associates. However, the plastic surgeon who’d agreed to perform the surgeries, in exchange for cancelling his gambling debts, decided to get greedy and tried to blackmail me. Needless to say, he’s no longer able to perform surgery. After his hands were removed from his body, he was released into the woods for my men to hunt. I understand he screamed like a girl before they took his head.”
Marie and Jocelyn gasped at the horrible image and the nonchalance of the man who’d created it with a few simple words. This was just getting worse and worse, and Marie hated to ask her next question, but she needed to hear the answer. “What happens to us after the surgery? We’ll have seen your ‘associate,’ as you call him, so we’ll be able to identify him. You won’t just let us walk out of here if we can identify you and him.”
Albano nodded. “You’ll see his face right before the surgery, at which time you’ll map out the reconstruction. After the surgery, he’ll be swollen and bandaged. You won’t be seeing the final results at all. As long as you don’t give me any problems, I’ll have you both returned to San Isidro in one piece. As for being able to identify me, just by description alone, I’m not worried. One, I have plenty of the local and national law enforcement in my pocket, along with several politicians. You’d never come close to having me arrested. And, two, if you try, I’ll have everyone who works in and visits your clinic beheaded. Of course, I won’t do it right away—I’ll wait until no one sees it coming. You’ll have all those deaths on your hands, Dr. Sawyer, and I doubt you want that.”
Torn in Half: A Trident Security Novella: Book 8.5 Page 2