He refocused the binoculars to zoom in to Tessa’s face. Her lower lip pouted ever so slightly, and her eyes were drunk with fatigue, yet she watched the on-coming storm with interest without a hint of fear. Only once did her eyes stray to the other rooms as if searching for something or someone.
Then he saw it. Her lips moved to say, “Chase.”
Dropping the binoculars on the bed, he checked his weapon before lifting the back of his shirt and shoving it in his waistband holster. As he moved toward the door, Zoric yawned while pouring himself another cup of coffee.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Chase paused at the door long enough to nod toward the window. Zoric would know he meant Tessa. “Don’t wait up.”
He walked with purpose to Tessa’s room, careful to avoid the surveillance cameras. Before he knocked on the door his fist paused in midair. This went against everything he vowed to believe in. You didn’t sleep with co-workers and you never slept with another man’s wife. He planned to do both.
The tap on the door seemed quieter than the hammering of his heart against his ribcage. The door opened slowly at first then Tessa stood aside for him to enter as if she’d been waiting for him.
She closed the door before brushing past him to stand at the foot of the bed. The vulnerable look in her eyes locked with his intense stare. The halos of light mounted on the exterior of the building seeped into the suite outlining her body. One strap of the negligee dropped over a pale shoulder. In her bare feet she appeared smaller, more defenseless than she really was. Yet he knew she was capable of fighting her way out of a situation if threatened. The fight wasn’t in the blue eyes he could barely make out. He took a step toward her as she slid to the side, raising one hand to stop him.
Without knowing how, he could feel her breathing increase and knew that her eyelashes blinked a little faster, like they did sometimes when she was insecure. The smell of body lotion reached his senses as he removed his weapon in slow motion. His eyes fixed on her, exploring the face and body, shrouded in semi darkness. With one cautious step toward her, he laid his gun on the end table next to the couch. This time she didn’t retreat. Traces of raindrops on her collarbone and the lace outlining her bodice forced nervous fingers to touch the skin his eyes caressed with desire.
“Why are you here?” Her voice came out in a whisper. “I don’t need saving.”
“But I do,” he said unashamed as she fell into his arms, burying her mouth against his neck, then his ear and jaw. Her own desperation met his longing as he swung her up in his arms and carried her to the side of the bed.
“What the hell?” It was Zoric. He kicked the chair of the sleeping agent.
Chase opened one eye as he let all four legs of his chair fall back down on the carpeted floor. It was a dream. Correction. A nightmare. He pinched his nose with thumb and fingers, trying to wake himself up.
“What?” His growl made Zoric turn around.
“Someone is headed toward her room. Looks like room service, but she’s been out on that balcony forever.” Zoric reached over to retrieve his gun from the dresser with one more glance at the security feed from the hall camera.
Chase pulled his Glock from his holster and together they raced to intercept the waiter pushing the cart toward Tessa’s door.
~~~
The waiter struggled against his captors as they dragged him back to their room. With a cloth napkin shoved in his mouth and hands zip-tied behind him, the young man shook his head with panic. A black leather jacket thrown over his head, just as he’d approached a room at the end of the hall, prevented any chance of identification of the two men who now terrorized him.
A door opened and he felt hands pushing him. The sound of a dead bolt caused the waiter to spin around clumsily. A hand on his chest then a shove forced the waiter to cry out in fear as he hit the mattress. Words uttered about an open window, concrete below and smashed brains made the young man quiver. The napkin started to choke him as a gun pressed against his temple.
When his body began to shake violently Zoric leaned in.
“I’m going to remove the jacket.” His Serbian accent sounded matter of fact. “Then if you’re a good boy, I’ll remove the gag.” The waiter continued to tremble. “I mean you no harm. I just want information.” The waiter nodded like an animated cartoon character with a rubber band for a neck. “Very good. Keep your eyes on the ceiling. If you look at me, I will kill you. Do you understand?” Again, there was an exaggerated nod of the head.
The waiter stared at the ceiling obediently after freed of the head covering and napkin in his mouth. Covered in complete darkness, he couldn’t have seen his tormentor even if he’d wanted. The drawn curtains blocked any dappled light from outside. He could hear another person in the room.
“What do you want?” The waiter sucked air as if there weren’t enough.
Zoric took a step back from the bed. “What room were you taking the cart to?”
“Room 1419.”
“Why?”
“Because…” He stuttered just as the dark voice moved and touched his crotch with the gun.
The yelp gave the Serbian pleasure. “Let’s try again.” His voice became a hiss. “What was on the tray?”
“Cheesecake, strawberries, some chocolate covered pecans, maybe some champagne.”
The waiter couldn’t see that Zoric’s eyes lifted to someone else in the room. “Who ordered it?”
“I donno. The person in 1419, I guess,” he said feeling the gun again. “I mean…”
Zoric put one knee on the bed and pressed the gun firmly into the waiter’s crotch. “The person in that room doesn’t drink, so the champagne was a little over the top.”
“Okay, okay. Just don’t hurt me,” he begged. “That tray was for someone on the third floor. A man got on the elevator with me and offered me three hundred dollars to take it to 1419. Said it was a joke. He laughed and everything.” The waiter started to look down from the ceiling only to hear a growl from his captor. “I’m telling the truth. I’m sorry. That’s all I know.”
“What did he look like?”
“Old. Had a southern accent. Who are you? What can I do to make this right?”
Zoric removed the gun. “I’m the hotel hospitality police doing a service check and guess what? You failed. Not only did you take a bribe from one of my plants, but you blabbed to a complete stranger about what you did.”
The waiter moaned. “What’s going to happen to me?”
He reached in the leather jacket and pulled out a small canister. “I’m going to release you. You better show improvement or I’ll be back.”
More tears. “Thank you. I-I promise I’ll never do such a stupid thing again.”
The contents sprayed from the canister into the waiter’s eyes forced him to fall asleep. “That’s for sure.” He turned on the bedside lamp before searching the waiter. The three hundred dollars found its way into his pocket before turning the light back off. Zoric heard the curtains push back and lightning momentarily flashed into the room, outlining his friend looking out the window toward Tessa’s room.
~~~
She was still standing on the balcony, safe and unharmed. Chase exhaled as if he’d been holding his breath under water far longer than wise. Staring at her created that ache in his chest again. He watched her head turn to look back into the room. Tessa’s posture changed as her hand smothered a scream. An arm reached out the French doors, grabbing her free hand and jerked her out of his sight. Chase knew before he entered Tessa’s room that she was gone. The black nightgown lay on the turned down bed. Her purse had been emptied on the couch. The only thing that remained was the scent of her body he thought he remembered from a dream.
~~~
“What do you mean he left?” The congressman whispered as he turned his head to see the fetching flight attendant step out of the shower. He almost forgot what to say as his eyes explored her wet body. She smiled at him with sidelong glance
s and motioned for him to join her.
This time he spoke harshly into the phone. “I’m busy. Do you understand? I can’t be bothered with these details. What am I paying you for? Find the old coot and remind him the others are depending on him. If he doesn’t comply then shoot one of those Liberty seamen you have locked up. That’ll get his attention. Better yet, go get that niece of his. That should do the trick. We can’t have him rethinking this. Too much at stake.”
He slammed the phone down a little harder than he planned. The lovely creature coming out of his bathroom paused to lift the glass of champagne to her narrow lips. He’d brought it to her as she disrobed and turned on the shower. If the phone hadn’t interrupted he might be a bit more relaxed by now.
“Problem?” She smiled mischievously as she let the black robe drift open.
Jim Gault didn’t return the smile but eyed the woman from top to bottom as if trying to decide what to do next. “Yes. I may have to leave.”
The flight attendant pushed out her lips in a pout as she came to him sitting on the edge of the bed. “Let me help you decide what to do, Jimmy. All I’ve been able to think about today is how you...” She felt his hands enter her robe. “That’s right. Now what could be so important that you would want to leave this?”
The offer of her champagne, then another, until the glass was drained encouraged his hands to explore. She moaned as he pulled her closer, tasting the fair skin and drops of water that still clung to her belly. Drizzling the few drops of champagne left in the glass onto her breasts, the evening was finally set into motion.
The congressman felt her push him back on the bed. He decided, as his head began to spin, that third drink earlier in the evening coupled with the champagne had been a mistake. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep up with this one tonight. He let her take control. Being a powerful congressman certainly had its perks.
Tonight, the Egyptian would have to take care of business alone. His eyes grew heavy. It had been a long day, a stressful day. Sleep played on the edges of his consciousness as he felt the woman’s hands soothing and coaxing him into submission. He wondered if he were dreaming as strange foreign words whispered against his ear.
~~~
“Director Clark, you’re calling awfully late,” Dr. Samantha Cordova cooed into her Enigma phone. “It’s not like you to distrust me with such an important assignment.”
Director Clark sat in the White House with several Secret Service agents who, like him, were making follow-up calls. “I trust you completely, Sam. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. This is just a final check on your charge.”
Sam looked over her shoulder and smiled at the Prime Minister of Israel propped against pillows in his bed. He wore only a pair of boxer shorts, revealing a hairy chest and a very fit torso. Gilad Levi examined some reports delivered to him moments earlier. He had placed a pair of black glasses on his nose, giving him a distinguished look in spite of being nearly naked.
“Yes, Director. I just tucked him in for the night.”
“Very good. And,” the director paused, “thought you should know someone has taken Mrs. Scott.”
Sam couldn’t control the flare of anger welling up inside her. “Was anyone hurt?” She held in her thoughts, please let that bumbling woman be lying dead somewhere.
“Chase and Zoric are suffering from bruised egos, but there isn’t any word on Mrs. Scott. They think it was her uncle. We’re looking into it. Any thoughts?”
“Do you want my thoughts or my suggestion?”
Director Clark was keenly aware of the animosity Sam felt toward Tessa. “Suggestion, Sam.”
“If the uncle has her he’ll probably bring her back. If it’s someone else, she’s probably a hostage or dead. Wait.”
“Thank you, Sam.” The director cleared his throat. “I’m sure my brother is tired of waiting on you to get off the phone. Goodnight.” He clicked off.
Sam put down the phone and turned to look at the prime minister who had removed the glasses and was turning out the bedside light.
“No doubt that was Ben checking up on you.”
Moving toward the bed Sam dropped her silk robe and crawled in next to Gilad Levi. “On you actually. He knows I can take care of myself,” she said rising up on her knees.
Gilad eyed her with appreciation. “Then I think it’s high time you took care of me, Dr. Cordova.”
“With pleasure, Gilad.”
~~~
Shivering under an awning of a dark coffee shop, Tessa waited for her Uncle Jake. She realized he’d gotten in her room because she hadn’t thrown the dead bolt again. What if it had been the same person who had stolen the picture instead of a man she’d known and trusted all her life? He’d somehow managed to obtain a secure key card for her door.
Jerking her into the room Jake had handed her a yellow tee shirt, a pair of sweat pants and hoodie. While she quickly dressed, he’d found her slip-on tennis shoes. Before she could even complete the transformation, he pulled her toward the door. She hopped on one foot, trying to slip into a tennis shoe.
“Let’s go,” he urged frantically. “I don’t have much time. We’ll take the stairs first.”
“Uncle Jake, why are you here? Are you in trouble?” She already knew the answer to that question. Why else would he be here? Zoric was right. Something sinister was underfoot. She only hoped it didn’t involve the president. “Stop.”
He stopped on the third floor landing then cracked the door open enough to be spooked by what he saw. “Your friends,” he said despairingly. He grabbed her hand as she tried to look over his shoulder. Tugging so hard she had to stumble-run to keep up, brought home the seriousness of the situation.
Tessa knew she had to follow. Of all her relatives this man had been the one to attend every band concert, school play and soccer game. He always sat next to her father, applauding like she was the next best thing since sliced bread. His kindness, slow-to-anger personality and jolly laugh did not fit the man dressed in the long brown hunting jacket. A black ball cap covered his head that she knew was nearly bald. He was wet, but warm as he clung to her arm making sure she didn’t try and escape.
When she realized they’d gone down past the first-floor door Tessa tried to resist. “We’ve gone too far, Uncle Jake.”
His silence continued as they rushed down toward the basement and an emergency exit. He pulled out a revolver from the inside of his jacket and pushed the door open wide enough to look out into the alley. “Clear. Hurry.”
“Jake. No. Talk to me.”
But he didn’t talk to her. He ran down the dark alley smelling of rain and garbage as flashes of lightning brightened their escape. She shook him off, but followed dutifully as he came out onto the street and looked in both directions.
He’d left her alone for a few minutes to find a better hiding place. So now, here she stood under some awning waiting for him to return. Watching him cross the street toward her as he dodged cars and puddles splashing up over the curb slowed his walking.
“There’s a place around the corner.”
Without question, she tightened the hoodie around her throat and followed. The small café appeared to be closed for the night. The doorway was deep and dimly lit so hiding out of sight would not be a problem. A clap of thunder and snap of lightning made Tessa jump into the arms of her uncle. She felt his arm that carried the revolver go around her. A gentle pat on her back made Tessa slowly push away. The good man she’d always known looked like he’d aged ten years since she’d seen him at Christmas.
“Uncle Jake, what kind of trouble are you in? Please tell me.”
He moved to look out around their hiding place then slipped back in. “National security kind of trouble. They want me to shoot the president.”
“Who is ‘they’, Uncle Jake?”
He dropped his head, shaking it like a troubled child. “I don’t rightly know, Tessa. Somebody who doesn’t like the president, I reckon. They took my USS Liberty
mates and are holding them hostage ‘till I do the deed.”
Tessa grasped both his arms in panic. “Why them, Uncle Jake? Why you?”
“I might’ve made a few threats over the years,” he said sheepishly, “you know, like ‘somebody should take out the president and the two-faced Israeli murderers that they are.’”
“Uncle Jake!” Tessa couldn’t believe her ears. “Why now?”
“The president wants talks to begin on what really happened to the USS Liberty. The Prime Minister of Israel is here. I kill the president at some shindig the Geographic folks are havin’ this week. Implicate Israel. Relations with them will fall apart and…” He took off his hat and wiped the water from his forehead. “You gotta believe me, I don’t wanna do it.”
She took her uncle’s face in both her hands. “Look at me,” she demanded. “All my life I’ve heard you say how you hate the Israelis for what they did in 1967, how it ruined your life and someday you’d get even.”
He choked back a sob. “I know. I know. But not like this. Whatever happens, don’t let them kill my mates. They don’t deserve to die like this. Tell your dad I’m sorry.” His face grew contorted like he wanted to cry. “They sent me a picture of you and some man. It looked like you two were…” He couldn’t finish the sentence thinking his favorite niece might be having an affair with a dangerous man. “It was taken today, Tessa. I mean you and Robert…” His words fell as hard as the rain.
“A friend. That’s all. We…” she paused wondering how much could be exposed, “work together. He can help you.”
A look of confusion spread across his face. He took a step away, his eyes showing alarm. “He’s dangerous. Do you know he’s working for the government?” He stopped and looked closer at his niece with surprise. The southern accent thickened as he spoke. “You’re working with the government. That’s why you’re here. You’ve come to set a trap for me.” His voice showed signs of being wounded. “Stay away from the speeches tomorrow night, Tessa. You’re in danger. They may try to use you against me.” He backed toward the escape, looking with caution for signs of danger on the street. “They’re here. The Egyptians are looking for me.” His eyes turned back to Tessa as he reached up, smashing the light above their head with his gun. “I stopped checking in with them to go it alone.”
The Enigma Series Boxed Set Page 44