by It Girls
Something metal clanged ahead to her left.
She stopped and listened. Silence. Sweat beaded on her forehead, at her temples, and fear flushed her with heat.
Just do it, Chloe. Fear is okay. It's not cowardice. It's healthy. Bravery isn't the absence of fear…
Her own voice. Not Emma's, not Renee's, not Frank's or Jack's. Her own voice. Awed, she stilled. Focus. Focus! She slowly worked her way up the rows to the edge of the pallet, then peeked around the corner.
Her heart beat so hard she was certain it was signaling satellites all over the universe. A battery-powered light sat on the floor next to a straight-back wooden chair. A woman sat tied in it.
Senator Ellie Richardson.
But Harrison had reported that Ellie was fine. He'd said she'd taken a few days off to work out some issues. Well, hell, these were issues, all right. Being abducted was one whale of an issue!
Had he been protecting her identity as the Governess? Or knocking out false leads to keep every nutcase in the country from claiming responsibility? Did this mean Ellie was, or wasn't, the Governess?
Could be either. Chloe looked around, certain Ellie would be guarded, but she saw no one. She moved closer, then closer, up to the last stack of two-by-fours: the one remaining barrier between her and Ellie. She couldn't be alone here. Every ounce of training warned her that was impossible. Yet Chloe hadn't gotten a fix on anyone else near Ellie.
Ellie stiffened, snapped to alert. Sniffed, then sniffed again. "Chloe," she whispered. "Is that you?" She darted her gaze into the darkness but didn't see her. "Answer me. I recognize your perfume."
Her signature fragrance, Remember Me. Some habits could be helpful. "It's me." She didn't move into the light. "Are you alone?"
"No," she said aloud. "Two men. One was just here."
Wind rushed behind her long before the man got close. She spun around, dropkicked a metal fitting that collided with the man's forehead, and then hit the concrete with a reverberating clang. Before he clasped his forehead, she fired the stun gun against his back.
He fell to the ground. "Where's the other one, Ellie?"
"Outs— "
Gunshots fired, sounding like firecrackers. Jack!
Chloe rushed to Ellie, pulling her knife and slashing at the ropes tying her hands and ankles to the chair. Returning the knife to its sheath, she helped Ellie shed the ropes and gave her a quick once-over. She looked haggard, but not bruised or battered. "You okay?"
"I am now." The spunky senator smiled. "The bastards were going to sell me, Chloe. I discovered the Duke's identity."
More gunfire.
Chloe passed the stun gun to Ellie, then pulled out her Glock. "Stay close. Right behind me. No talking."
Ellie nodded, her eyes overly bright.
Chloe wanted to know specifically which bastards, but Jack needed backup now. Cautiously, she led Ellie to the door, using the stacks of lumber as cover. But the door stood open, and she knew damn well she'd closed it behind her. The man she'd stunned couldn't have opened it before she'd taken him down. He'd been close to Ellie; he hadn't had time.
Switching to evasive tactics, Chloe took a circuitous route to a window on the opposite side of the building. It was also on the opposite side of the building from the car, but their odds of getting out undetected and without gunfire were much higher.
On the last point before the window, she moved— and nearly collided with a man. Instinctively, she lifted her elbow and jabbed, hitting him full in the chest.
He sputtered. "Damn it, Chloe."
Jack! He was okay. Thank God. "Stunned one, one loose." She fired off a report.
"He's dead," Jack said. "Outside."
"That's it, then," Ellie said. "There were only two."
Jack blinked hard. "Ellie? What are you doing here? Where's the Governess?"
Damn. Chloe felt the disappointment down to her toes.
"Charming, Jack. I'm afraid I don't know where she is." Ellie smiled. "But thank you for helping me, anyway."
"I didn't mean it that way. I just expected her." Jack turned and led them out. "This way."
"I know," Ellie said, letting Jack off the hook. "Chloe, I need your cell phone, please."
She passed it to Ellie, who dialed. "Harrison? Oh, good. Get a team to the Towers STAT. Madison Pruitt's new building, on the Jersey side." She paused. "Oh, you did?" She smiled and excitement filled her voice. "He's found the Governess," she told Chloe and Jack. "Is she all right?" Ellie's smile returned. "Fabulous. Did you catch— "
Her smile disappeared. "Well, keep after it, then. No, I won't be here. You've got one D.O.A. and one stunned, so don't linger getting here." A pause, and then she added, "I'm going to the Roses' Halloween Ball." She listened for a long time, and her expression turned serious. "Then I shall be fashionably late to give you time to serve those warrants before I put in an appearance. But I will not give that son of a bitch the pleasure of getting any press on this."
So Ellie clearly trusted Harrison. When she passed Chloe her phone, she asked, "So Harrison works for you?"
"On special assignments for me and the Governess and half my committee."
So Ellie really wasn't the Governess. But the Governess's specialists in dignitary abductions had rescued her, and that was the important thing.
Outside, Jack cut an opening in the fence and they all climbed through and then got into the car.
Jack didn't offer Chloe an option to drive. She supposed he'd had enough excitement for one night.
She settled into the front passenger's seat, then looked back at Ellie. "What son of a bitch are we talking about— exactly?"
"We need to move," Jack said, seeing the sweeper's van coming down the street toward them. "Where to?" Jack said, hitting the gas.
"The G.R.C.," Chloe said, seeing Harrison drive pass, going in the opposite direction. "Ellie has to dress for the ball."
"You're seriously up for that, Senator?"
"I am now," she said. "Chloe, please call Renee and tell her I'm all right."
So she trusted Renee, too. And Renee had known she was still missing. Not at all surprised, Chloe made the call and heard Renee's excited squeal. Smiling, she asked the senator again, "What son of a bitch specifically abducted you?"
"Ryan Greene. He's the Duke."
"I knew it." Chloe's stomach clutched. "I just knew it. He loved the Roses a little too much, you know? You were right, Jack. The bastard didn't want the Roses, he wanted to stay as close as possible to know what the Rose agents were doing."
"Actually, he wanted both," Ellie said. "And tons of press on what a good guy he was so no one would believe even the most indisputable evidence of all the wicked things he did as the Duke. But we've got him now."
Chloe had to ask. She feared the answer so much she could taste it, but she had to know. "How deeply is Erik involved?"
Regret filled her eyes. "I'm afraid Erik was at the Towers, Chloe. I saw him myself."
She was going to be sick. She'd hoped for her parents' sake he'd been the legitimate front, but… Tears clogged her throat. "I'm— I'm so sorry, Ellie."
"Chloe, no." Ellie leaned forward and clasped her arm. "Erik is responsible. You risked your life to save me, and you did."
"She thinks she's a coward," Jack told Ellie.
Shock rippled across Ellie's face. "You've had four years of very successful assignments. And, believe me, the woman who just dropped that armed ape was no coward."
What Ellie had said hit Chloe hard. "How do you know I've had four years of successful assignments?" She had to be the Governess. The mirrored events just kept piling on.
"I sit on the Armed Services Committee. I have access to all Intel reports. Of course I know." She smiled.
But there was something in her eye. Chloe saw it and recognized it, and kept her mouth firmly shut.
"You were right to insist Renee is innocent, by the way," Ellie said.
Chloe looked back at Ellie. "I had my doubts," she
admitted shamefully, "but she just wouldn't do what the Duke is doing."
Ellie's voice turned tender. "You love her like a mother. That made suspecting her at all difficult, but you did what you had to do, and I'm proud of you, Chloe."
"Don't be proud," she said. "I hated every second of it."
"I'm most proud of that," Ellie said. "It proves you've earned all the medals you won't be getting."
"What?" Jack looked baffled.
Ellie rolled her gaze. "She's undercover. I can't give her the medals she deserves without outing her. But everyone who matters will know she earned them, including you, Jack."
"Yes, ma'am." He pulled up to Gotham Rose Club.
"Ellie, you owe me one," Chloe said. "I want to collect."
"What do you want?" she asked simply.
"Do something— something significant— to stop this black market white-slave trade."
"I will." Ellie looked her right in the eye with a conviction that matched Chloe's. "You have my word on that— and that's not a politician's promise. You can count on it."
"I am counting on it, and I'll be watching."
Ellie smiled. "I'd expect no less."
Chloe debated bringing this up, decided she had to, then plunged in. "I think Renee knew why the Duke was after us."
"She knew the Duke had targeted Roses because she was responsible for Julio's accident. She didn't know which Greene was the Duke," Ellie said. "Actually, she suspected Franklin, and so did I— for a time."
"It's a painful time in her history." Chloe sigh. "She often mentions how relentless guilt is."
"She's lived with it all of her adult life. Sometimes it ravages. Sometimes it nags. But it's always there."
"Then let's not mention it again," Chloe said, obscurely warning her that it wouldn't be in Chloe's report.
"Agreed."
Chloe nodded. Renee had done so much for her, for such a long time. Chloe now fully understood what Renee had meant about never being able to run from consequences. She was right about that. But Lucas was right, too, about the power of forgiveness to heal. You can forgive others and yourself, and accept small moments of grace that come your way. For Renee, this would be a small moment of grace and Chloe hoped that, in it, she found peace.
Frank met them in the G.R.C. parking garage, near the door. "I'll park her for you, Jack. Best get these ladies inside or they're going to be late for the ball."
"How is Emma, Frank?"
"She's fine. Mac and Perry are with her." Frank smiled. "She says I'd best not miss a thing with that video camera or I won't be getting my damn coffee for a month."
He loved it. "Do you need extra tapes?"
"Got 'em," he said. "Picked up a dozen on the way over. That should do it."
Frank was thrilled. Doing something special for his girls. Chloe grinned. "Damn right."
He slid behind the wheel and took off.
Renee came running out and grabbed Ellie in a hug, then ushered her inside, where she and Olivia fluttered around her, giving her everything Chloe expected Ellie most needed.
Standing next to the fireplace, Chloe held out her hands to absorb the heat and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked. "You seem disappointed."
"Honestly, I am." She watched the firelight play on his face. "I just knew Ellie was the Governess, but now…"
"She's not."
"You have to say that." She tapped his chest.
Teasing twinkled in his eyes. "She's a politician, Chloe."
"Yes, darling, she is. But you're not." She hugged him. "Is everything set for the takedown?"
He nodded. Arrest orders for Ryan and Erik have been issued. But Brit Caulfield is out of the country."
The FBI was tagging him to take down the chain rather than just his link. "Let me guess," she said in disgust. "Hong Kong."
Jack nodded. "They'll handle it from here on out."
"When will they make the arrests?"
"At the ball."
She cringed. "Damn it, Jack. I spent months planning that ball, and now it's going to be— "
"The hottest topic of conversation this year."
"But for all the wrong reasons." Still, Chloe supposed she'd have to give Rubi a tip not to be late or leave early. She owed her that for watching out for Erik, not that it had done any good.
"Chloe!" Ellie came running down the stairs. "Chloe, where are the women? Why weren't the women found?"
"We think they're on a plane to Hong Kong with Brit Carouthers," Chloe said. "We don't know exactly where they're going, so we have to wait— "
"No, no, no." She emphatically denied it. "Greene told Erik where they were to be held. He told him!" She squeezed her eyes shut. "I heard it, damn it." Muttering, she tried sounds, and tested words, trying to trigger her memory. "Hell's hill…or something like that."
"Hollow Hill?" Chloe asked.
"That's it!" Ellie clapped her hands together. "I'm certain of it. Do you know this place?"
"It's where we found Emma."
"They wouldn't put them in a room," Jack said. "We'd have caught that, and they know we'll search because we've done it."
An odd thought crossed her mind. She looked at Jack, wide-eyed. "How did Hollow Hill get its name?"
Olivia answered. "There's a city under it. The hill is actually hollow."
"Oh, God." Chloe and Jack hit the door in a dead run.
Chapter 18
Harvey Walker stood behind the front desk. Upon seeing Jack and Chloe approach him, his smile faded.
That suited Chloe just fine. She wasn't smiling, either. She leaned against the desk. "I'm going to ask you once. Only once," she warned him. "Where are the women?"
"I— I— " he sputtered.
She held up a finger. "Only once, Harvey, then you're going down— and I don't mean by arrest." She nodded to her hand, tucked inside her purse.
His eyes widened. "But you're a cop. You can't— "
She pulled her lips back from her teeth. "I'm a princess, and I'll do any damn thing I please." Finally, a use for her title.
Fear filled his eyes. "This way."
They followed him down a hallway, through a door marked Employees Only, then down a flight of stairs. "This is as far as I go," he said. "You know they'll kill me."
"So will I, and I'll do it now." Chloe pulled out her gun. "Dead is dead, Harvey. I suggest you give us directions."
"Down there." He pointed down the hallway, then ran.
Heavy doors lined both sides of the walls. A lock hung outside every door. "Jack, we'd better call for backup— "
"Already there, honey." The phone was in his hand. "Start blowing the locks."
Chloe listened at a door— silence— then moved to the next one. Still nothing. "If you can hear me, scream," she shouted.
A din of voices rose— all female.
She and Jack followed the sounds down the corridor to the eighth door. "Back up," Chloe ordered, then repeated it in Russian. "Get away from the door. I'm going to open it." She glanced at Jack. "C-4 or gun?"
"Gun. Less collateral damage."
She nodded, took aim. "Stay back." She gave the women a little longer to move out of harm's way, and then fired.
The lock cracked and fell to the floor. Her heart hammering, Chloe lifted her Jimmy Choo and kicked the door open.
And twenty women, including Rubi Cho and Ashley Thompson, spilled out into the corridor— all wearing Chloe's Vera Wang outfits. Well that explained why Gerard hadn't returned her clothes. Unfortunately, it also proved something significant.
"Oh, Chloe. Thank you." Rubi sniffed. "I'm going to kill that bastard brother of yours."
"He did this?" Disappointment and outrage warred in Chloe.
"The whole damn plane of us. We were coming back to New York for the ball. He and Ryan Greene held us at gunpoint!" Her shock was significant.
It's hell to watch your hero fall, and Ryan had been Rubi's hero. "I'm so sorry, Rubi."
She no
dded. "How did you find us?"
"Jack found you. I'm just along for the ride."
Rubi dipped her chin, glanced at the Glock in Chloe's hand, and then looked into her eyes. "Whatever you say."
"Thanks." Chloe pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'm glad you're all right."
"I'll be all right when I see those two bastards behind bars." She checked her watch. "Damn it. Ashley, come on. We're going to be late."
"Late?" Chloe stood stunned. "For what?" Didn't the woman realize she had to give a statement?
"The Halloween Ball," Rubi said. "I'm not missing it."
"Me, either," Ashley said, her chin high enough in the air to park one of Renee's best teacups on it.
"Seems Ellie's attitude is contagious," Jack said, looking at the two women.
"Yes, it does." Chloe knew exactly what he meant. Ryan and Erik had taken all they were getting. "Okay, but I need for you two to stay out of sight— or else be fashionably late."
Rubi darted a knowing look at Jack. "You're having them arrested at the ball?"
"I'm a reporter, Rubi," he said. "I don't arrest people."
"The authorities are on the way," Chloe said. "Ryan and Erik will be there, of course, but if they see you two, they'll know they've been caught and run before they can be arrested."
"It's Halloween," Ashley said. "We'll wear masks."
"I'll do that, but I am not going to miss seeing them handcuffed. Erik punched me, and he's going to pay for that."
"You'll need to file statements," Jack said.
"After the ball," Rubi told him, then she and Ashley left.
The other women began to follow them. Chloe stopped them, explaining in three languages that they needed to wait. Several feared being deported, but Chloe promised her attorney would help them and they wouldn't be sent anywhere. Then Chloe called her attorney and then Ellie to assure it.
Minutes later, the FBI arrived and took charge of the women. Harrison was with them, and he came to Chloe and Jack.