The dam that held back her tears broke. Somehow saying it made it feel final. Nadia sniffled quietly into the phone.
“Honey, Dante’s right here. He’s somewhat banged up, but he’s alive. We found him by the river. Where are you?”
“He’s … alive?”
She couldn’t have heard him right. “Did you say Dante’s alive?”
“Yes, he’ll be fine,” Nick said impatiently. “I’ll let you speak to him in a moment, but first you have to tell me where you are.”
“Uh, I’m on a plane. We left Rock Island …” She paused to look at her watch. “… sixteen minutes ago. They’re taking me to California.”
“How are you talking to me?”
“I managed to grab Dante’s cell phone. He dropped it when he was trying to rescue me. I’m wedged in this little toilet, so Vandergriff’s men can’t hear me.”
Her father repeated what she’d said.
Dante was alive!
She closed her eyes and smiled.
“Hey, you fall in?” Peterson yelled.
Nadia jumped and fumbled the phone. She managed to snag it before it dropped into the circular bowl.
“Daddy,” she whispered. “I have to go before they figure out what I’m doing. I’ll try to call back in a little while.”
“No! Don’t hang up—”
“Daddy, I have to.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Bye.”
Nadia shoved the phone back into her bra and flushed the potty. Throwing open the door, she plastered on a smile and swiped her hand across her forehead. “Whew, that was a close one. There for a minute, I thought I was stuck.”
She sauntered back to Peterson and plopped down in the seat beside him. Maybe if she kept him talking, he’d forget to retie her hands.
“Now, where were we? Oh, yeah, about that psychotic boss of yours—”
Dante stared into space, running the numbers in his head.
“Do you have any contacts at the FAA?” he asked, turning to Nick. “We need to get a copy of that plane’s flight plan.”
Nick’s eyes lit. He jumped to his feet. “Of course! If it’s a small plane, they’ll have to stop for fuel. We can intercept them before they get to California. Ronnie, call Carson James. He’ll help us.”
Ronnie immediately began pressing numbers into his cell phone.
Nick gnawed his lower lip, mulling it over. “Yes, we have to get her before they make it to California. Our chances will be much better. Vandergriff’s estate is more secure than Fort Knox.”
Dante leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Did Nadia say how many people are on board with her?”
“No. I didn’t have a chance to ask.”
Dante was already formulating a plan, one he was positive Branson wasn’t going to like.
The rescue he had in mind wouldn’t happen on the ground. It would happen in the air.
CHAPTER 7
Are you out of your mind?” Nick demanded. “What you’re suggesting is crazy. It’s suicide!”
Dante sat in the back of the Humvee with Nadia’s father. Ronnie was driving and Maria rode shotgun. Nick had begged her to go home, but Maria had refused to leave, proving which parent Nadia had inherited her stubborn streak from.
“No, I’m telling you … it’s a good plan,” Dante replied. “They’ll never see it coming. But there’s no use arguing about it until we talk to Nadia again. For all I know, it may not even be an option. We need to know what kind of plane it is, where they are … and a big part of this plan depends on Nadia herself. She can’t do anything if she’s heavily guarded.”
“But we can intercept them when they stop for fuel. We can take them on the ground-” Nick said desperately.
Dante shook his head. “You think that will be easy? Storming the plane when they stop for fuel? It would be like buying a front row seat for Nadia’s execution.”
Maria Branson gave him a sharp look, but Dante had to make his case. “And you said yourself … we won’t have a chance if he gets her home and locks the place down. Where does that leave us?” Dante leaned forward and asked, “Mrs. Branson, do you have something I can write on?”
Opening her purse, Maria extracted a pen and drew out a small memo book. Dante took them from her and began making a list.
“Do me a favor. Just humor me, okay? Have someone get this stuff together and get it on the plane. We may not need it, but we’ll have it on hand if we do.”
Dante ripped off the sheet and held it out to him. Nick chewed at his thumbnail and stared out the window. Impatiently, Dante shoved it at him.
“Please, Mr. Branson. I’m qualified to do this. I’m a jumpmaster. I’ve made over 500 jumps, and I know what I’m doing. I’d never suggest this if I didn’t think it was the best option for Nadia.”
Nick sighed and took the list. Glancing it over, he exhaled again and picked up the phone. He held a terse conversation with someone on the other end and read off the contents of Dante’s list.
Clicking the phone shut, he said, “Okay. You’ll have everything you requested at your disposal. I only hope it doesn’t come to that. We’re going to go with my plan first, but if we can’t catch up to them by the time they make a fuel stop, we’ll consider yours. Agreed?”
Dante nodded. “Now, let’s get the details straight.”
They went to work, hammering out the details of Nick’s plan and the contingency plan. In a shorter time than Dante would have thought possible, they were in the air, chasing after Nadia.
There was even a set of dry clothing waiting on Dante in the airplane, something he was eternally grateful for. Maria Branson discreetly excused herself to the cockpit so Dante could change.
“Are these Waynie’s pants?” he joked, and hooked his fingers in the belt loops to tug them up. They were about three sizes too baggy, loose in the waist and a couple of inches too short.
“Sue me,” Ronnie retorted, and tossed Dante a belt. “Do a favor for a guy and what do you get? Smart remarks. While you were plotting to save the world, I had to guesstimate your size.”
Saving the world.
That’s exactly what it felt like.
“Get over here and let me check out that shoulder again,” Ronnie commanded, patting the seat next to him.
Dante wandered over beside him and lifted his shirt. Ronnie nodded a moment later, satisfied with his handiwork. Shrugging the shirt back down, Dante said, “Mr. Branson, there’s one thing I don’t understand. This … thing with Vandergriff … it’s a war. He’s moving all out to destroy you. Has it always been like this, ever since you and Mrs. Branson ran away?”
“No,” Nick said with a bitter smile. “For nearly three years we did pretty well, but then he found us at the hospital. You know what happened there.”
Dante watched Maria emerge from the cockpit. She walked over and took a seat beside her husband.
Nick continued, “So, we ran. We moved a lot, never kept the same identities long, but somehow he found us again when Nadia started first grade …”
Maria made a strangled sound in her throat and Nick paused to look at her. She shook her head violently and clamped her hands over her ears.
“Uggh!” She jumped to her feet and fluttered her hands like she’d touched something repulsive. Nick stood and reached for her, but she pushed him away. “No, I’m okay. Stay with them. But I can’t … I can’t listen to anymore about him. I can’t bear to think about him with her.”
She ran to the cockpit.
Nick stared after her with glistening eyes. Dante had to look away from the pain he saw on the man’s face. Ronnie stared out the window.
“If something happens to Nadia, Maria will never survive it,” Nick said hoarsely.
Dante doubted either of them would.
“She’s been so strong, for so many years, but how much can one person withstand?” Nick murmured.
No one answered, and he cleared his throat. “When Nadia was
small, I finally got a man inside Vandergriff’s operation. He gave me some information that protected us for the next eighteen years … until now.”
“What information, and why just until now?” Dante asked.
“There was only one man Vandergriff feared, and that was his father. Franklin Vandergriff was a monster, just like his son, but he hid it better. He slaughtered Maria’s family in a fit of rage, but to the world, he was a respected diplomat and businessman. A man of religion. My spy discovered Vandergriff was funneling money from his father’s business into his own pocket. He collected copies of ledgers, dummy invoices Gary Vandergriff had made up for nonexistent accounts payables … it was quite an enterprise. I called Vandergriff myself and demanded he back off, or I’d make sure his father and all the board received copies. He was frothing mad, but he knew his father, who spared little patience for him anyway, would surely kill him. It worked for a long time …”
“Then his father died,” Dante said slowly.
“Yes.” Nick glanced at him over steepled hands. “How did you know?”
“The first time I met with Vandergriff was the day of his father’s wake. I wondered at the time what was so important he had to meet me on the day he buried his father.” Dante scrubbed a hand over his face. “He sure didn’t waste any time, did he?”
Nick exhaled. “That may be my fault. I’m afraid I provoked him to a new level of fury, if he had access to his father’s mail. I heard the old man was dying. Pancreatic cancer. So, I decided to take a chance. I sent him copies of the entire file, but …” Nick swept his hands wide. “… apparently, he didn’t get it in time, or Vandergriff would’ve been disinherited. Back in the day, the old man threatened him with it all the time. I was hoping he would, so Vandergriff wouldn’t have the resources to come after us like he has. I should’ve done it years ago, but I hated to interrupt this reprieve. I knew this day … this battle … was inevitable, but God help me, I wish there was a way to keep my wife and daughter out of it. Because of Gary Vandergriff, I gave up my name and any ties I still held with my family in Greece, because I knew anyone I loved would be in danger. A million years ago, I was Nicolai Andreakos. I was proud of that man. I’m not proud of the one I’ve become.”
“You saved Mrs. Branson’s life,” Dante said quietly. “You kept her and Nadia safe for years.”
Nick grimaced. “But none of that matters anymore, because I couldn’t keep them safe this time. My name isn’t all I lost. I lost my self-respect. I lost my courage. I lost my security—another victory I handed to Vandergriff, because since the moment I met him, I’ve thought of little else.”
The cabin of the plane fell silent. Dante wanted to reassure him, but feared anything he said would sound hollow. He was scared too. He thought of the stun gun. What else had Vandergriff done to Nadia?
“Hey, Ronnie, can I use your phone?” Dante asked.
Ronnie handed it to him. Dante sat back in the chair and called Sanders. He had to know what had happened.
“Do you know what time it is?” a sleepy voice demanded. “This better not be a telemarketer.”
“It’s confession time, Sanders.”
“Giovanni, that you?” His voice changed. The surliness was abruptly replaced by hesitation.
“You nearly got me killed, Sanders. You nearly got someone I care about killed and we aren’t out of the woods yet.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”
“Save it,” Dante said. “Why did you lie to me about Gary Vandergriff?”
Ronnie shifted in his seat, as did Nick. Both were pretending not to listen, but Dante knew they were. He didn’t blame them. He’d lost their trust and now he would have to earn it back again.
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“What happened?” Sanders asked finally.
“Oh, not much. I got shot off a cliff. Had to fish myself out of a river. An innocent girl got kidnapped …”
Sanders swore under his breath. “Dante, I swear to you I didn’t know it was anything major. Gary Vandergriff told me he knew that Branson was a drug dealer, but he couldn’t prove anything. He knew what a stickler you were for details and simply asked me to back up his story.”
“And you did this out of the goodness of your heart? Didn’t think it was fishy, him asking you to lie about all those things?”
Silence.
Dante felt his temper spike. “You didn’t think it was odd, him wanting me to bring him his ex-wife’s daughter?” he persisted.
“Vandergriff said the girl was his daughter— that Maria Branson was pregnant when she left him.”
“That was some pregnancy. She was almost two years overdue.” Dante frowned down at his hands and said, “You didn’t check any of it out, did you?”
Sanders sighed. “No.”
“Why? We go way back, Sanders. I thought I could count on you to be straight with me.”
“Vandergriff gave me a lot of money, Dante. A lot of it. He’d heard about you … everybody’s heard about you. He wanted you for the job and was afraid you wouldn’t take it. He swore to me that you wouldn’t get hurt. And the girl—”
“To hell with her, right?” Dante replied and rubbed his forehead.
“You don’t understand,” Sanders pleaded. “I was thinking of Frannie. You know she’s in her first semester of law school. It’s put a real drain on our savings. She was working all night and trying to keep up with her studies during the day … the money came in handy.”
“Oh, I understand all right. I understand that you were willing to sacrifice a girl about the same age as Frannie for money.”
“Vandergriff said he wasn’t going to hurt her. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone. I thought she was his daughter-”
“You’re not the man I thought you were, Sanders. Collect your last check and pray you never see me again.”
Dante clicked the phone shut and rubbed his face with his hands. The throb of his headache had grown steadily worse as he talked to Sanders. Nobody had principles anymore.
“Dante,” Ronnie said hesitantly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you. And called you all those names.”
Dante shot him a rueful grin. “Yeah, you should’ve. Hit me, I mean. And you only called me one name.”
“You were unconscious when he got to the really good ones.” Nick leaned back and gave him a tired smile, leaving Dante surprised by the first glimmer of humor he’d seen in the man. “Oh.”
Ronnie gave Dante a sheepish look. “So, you didn’t hear that about your mama and a billy goat?”
“No.” Dante slung a big arm across Ronnie’s shoulders. “But I’m listening now if you care to repeat it.”
“Did I say that?” Ronnie gave him a nervous grin. “I think maybe it was Waynie. So, don’t shoot me or bench press me or anything.”
Dante cracked his knuckles. “If this plan doesn’t work, you have permission to shoot me.”
The cabin fell silent, each man lost in his own thoughts and worries. Nick’s phone sat in the seat beside him. They all stared at it, willing it to ring.
Nadia glanced at Peterson when he came back from the cockpit. He smiled and resumed his seat beside her.
“We’re going to be landing soon. Have to make a fuel stop.”
“Stretch our legs?” Nadia asked hopefully.
“Sorry, hon. We aren’t allowed to let you off the plane. I need to do a few things in the hanger—talk to a couple of guys—but I was thinking maybe I could sneak you something back in.”
“An Uzi? A grenade?”
Peterson’s smile faltered, and he ruffled her hair. She could tell the situation was beginning to bother him.
“Well, I was thinking more along the lines of a candy bar, a soft drink-something like that.”
Nadia forced a smile. “That would be great.”
“Any kind in particular?”
“Nah.” She stretched her arms over her head and winced at the ache in her should
er. “I’m not hard to get along with.”
Peterson studied her, his eyes serious. “No, you’re not.” He chewed on his thumbnail and studied her. “Nadia, what do you think Vandergriff has in mind? What’s he going to do with you?”
“Who knows?” She shrugged and blew a piece of hair out of her eyes. “Last count I had, he was threatening to make me bear him an heir.”
“What?” Peterson looked at her in disbelief. “He said actually said that? It’s like a line in a bad movie.”
Nadia rubbed the back of her neck and yawned. “You’re telling me. Hapless heroine forced to bear the child of Satan. It’s been done already.”
Peterson chuckled.
She shook her head, wishing dearly for a cigarette. “All joking aside, he’ll do anything to hurt my mother and father. The easiest way to get to them is through me. I think it’s like a challenge to him now. He ruined my mother’s face and that didn’t do it. Then—”
“He did what?” Peterson interrupted. “What did you say about your mother? You haven’t told me about any of this.”
Nadia stretched out her legs. “She was in the hospital, right after she gave birth to me. Some goon dressed like an orderly walked into her room and threw acid in her face. She has all these scars, on one side of her face …”
Peterson blanched.
“But it didn’t work. He thought if he destroyed her beauty, he could destroy their love, but what they have isn’t just physical. It’s deeper, and my father is a better man than that. He doesn’t seem to see the scars and my mother loves him all the more for it. Vandergriff may have forced them to live their lives behind gates and security systems, but he’s never been able to tear them apart.”
Peterson sighed and sat back in the chair, lacing his hands behind his head. “I really have to find a new line of work. I thought security would be exciting, but not as cutthroat as my old job.”
“Which was what?”
“IRS auditor.”
“Good grief, I’m in worse shape than I thought,” Nadia said, and rolled her eyes.
In Enemy Hands Page 13