by Kim Alexis
“Darling! How wonderful to see you! What on earth are you doing in this hideous joke of an airport?” Raven threw her arms around Juliette and pulled her in for a hug, seeming to forget her tantrum over the luggage. The porter seized the opportunity and pushed the overloaded cart toward the exit as fast as he could.
Crisis averted. With any luck Juliette would get out of there before Raven started screaming at someone else. Known throughout the industry as a temperamental diva, the woman had never been unkind to Juliette personally—and in fact had once done her a very big favor. But with Raven came drama, which grew tiresome for anyone.
When the hug ended, they stuck to small talk, the two of them trying to remember how long it had been since they’d seen each other last. Five years? Ten? Splitting the difference, they decided it was about seven, when they’d both been in New York for Fashion Week and ended up just one row apart at a Carolina Herrera show.
As they talked, Juliette studied the six-foot-tall beauty, who in her prime had walked the runways for more top-name designers than perhaps any other supermodel in history. It was hard to say whether or not the years had been kind to Raven, but one thing was for certain: The plastic surgeons had not. Between the tightly pulled eyes and the puffed-up lips, Raven looked like a caricature of a human, as though she might melt into a glob of wax at any moment.
How pointless. How sad.
Pity surged through Juliette’s heart, and she was glad she’d forced herself to approach her old acquaintance, dramatics or not. Though never best buddies, the two women had moved in the same circles for a number of years. Seeing Raven now made Juliette feel rather nostalgic. Most of all it reminded her of how few people understood the world of the supermodel and the price paid by those who lived it. Despite the decades since either of them had appeared on a runway or a magazine cover, she and Raven shared a bond, one that would be with them for life—just as the title of “Supermodel” was theirs for life, whether they were still in the business of modeling or not.
“So what are you doing out here in the desert?”
She expected Raven to say she was headed for a Palm Springs golf resort, or perhaps a vacation rental in the nearby mountains. Instead, she ignored the question and began to fidget with the neckline of her blouse. “Let’s walk, shall we? Who knows what suitcase of mine that idiot will drop next? Better to be right there, keep him on his toes.”
Raven began moving toward the exit, and after a beat Juliette caught up with her. Through the windows she could see that the porter had stopped his cart beside a black stretch limousine and was now loading Raven’s bags into the trunk. Juliette sighed. Though she and Raven had both been successful in their youth, they’d handled that success in different ways. Even now, here was Raven with her designer luggage and her limousine, compared to Juliette with her roll-on bag and a lift from a friend. Their careers had been lucrative for them both, but somehow she had a feeling that all the money in the world couldn’t buy the one thing Raven needed most: connection to others. Relationship. An end to the loneliness that all but oozed from every pore of her statuesque frame.
If only there was a way to break through that outer, defensive layer that Raven wore like a suit of armor. Juliette slowed, taking her old friend’s arm and trying again. “So do you have a house out here or something?”
Raven looked away, her posture stiffening.
“No, I’m . . . I just . . .” Raven cleared her throat. “I came here to relax, pamper myself a little, you know? Take in the desert air and all that. How about you?”
Ah, deflection. In other words, it was none of her business. Juliette sighed, hating to let it go but knowing to back off. Raven had always been a guarded person. There was no reason to think she would’ve changed by now.
“Why am I here? It’s complicated.” Juliette hesitated, trying to think of the simplest way to explain that she’d come on JT Lady business, to give training sessions to spa staff this afternoon and then host a signature “Juliette Taylor Event” for a unique group of clients this weekend. “I’m on my way to Palm Grotto Spa, where—”
“What?” Raven’s head spun toward Juliette, eyes blazing. “How dare you.”
Bracing herself for a Raven-sized rant, Juliette took a step back. “How dare I what?” she asked.
Instead of answering the question, Raven snarled, her green eyes flashing. “That part is mine! Steal it from me and I’ll kill you!”
With that, she turned on her heel and stomped away, leaving a stunned and confused Juliette in her wake.
She watched as the redhead burst outside and strode toward the limo. Raven’s driver jumped to attention, opening the back door and holding it wide as she flung herself into the seat. The windows were tinted, so she disappeared from view as soon as he closed the door. Her driver climbed in front, behind the wheel, and waited as the porter finished loading her bags into the trunk.
What in the world . . . ?
All done, the porter closed the lid with a thud. Immediately the back window of the limo slid down and a claw like hand shot out of the opening, waving a wad of cash in the air until he took it. Just as suddenly, the hand disappeared inside and the tinted window slid closed again.
Well. That wasn’t surprising. Almost as notorious as Raven’s rants were her generous tips. Those tips were the only reason many people were willing to serve her at all.
Watching the limo pull away, Juliette could only shake her head. How could Raven talk to people that way and still manage to sleep at night? Glancing around, she realized two workers at a nearby car rental desk had overheard their exchange and were gaping at her. Giving them an embarrassed shrug, Juliette squared her shoulders, held her head high, and went through the door, rolling her carry-on bag behind her. She couldn’t worry about what other people were thinking—nor about whatever Raven had meant by her bizarre words.
The problems Juliette and her company were currently dealing with were far bigger and much more important than some aging diva’s temper tantrum.
Chapter Two
CRYSTAL WALSH SPOTTED THE cardboard box between some used strollers and a shelf of old glassware. Scrawled in black marker across the front were the words CDs: $1 each OR 5 for $5. Trying not to roll her eyes at the pointless math, she moved closer, calculating the time in her head. She could take, at most, ten minutes to look them over, and then she would have to run home, eat, and change before heading in for her shift at Palm Grotto Spa.
She pulled out a CD and was reading the back when she realized the vendor was speaking to her.
“You a Julie Andrews fan? I got posters over there. ”
Crystal shook her head. “No thanks. This is for my landlady. The movie’s kind of special to her, I thought she might like the soundtrack.”
The man nodded, gray beard bobbing up and down. “The Sound of Music’s a classic. And at just a dollar, a real steal.”
“It’s not counterfeit, is it?” Crystal’s eyes narrowed. She loved a bargain more than most, but she’d been burned by bad knockoffs before. They were everywhere at flea markets, but especially at dumpy ones like this.
“Of course not!” The man pretended to be appalled at the very suggestion.
She rolled her eyes. So far today, she’d walked past a stack of pirated DVDs, a whole table full of fake Fendi purses, and even some bogus JT Lady products. This box of discs seemed legit but sometimes it was hard to tell.
“The thing is, I don’t even know if she has a way to listen to it.”
“Well, then . . .” He stepped over to the next table to retrieve a small, portable CD player with headphones. “Three bucks, take it or leave it.”
Crystal hesitated. Mrs. Peterson probably didn’t know how to operate a portable CD player, but for just three dollars, it might be worth showing her.
“I’ll take it. If you’ll throw in the CD for free.”
He tried to haggle with her but soon she was walking away with the CD, the player—and a fresh pair of batteries
at no extra charge. That salesman had been no match for her, which she could’ve told him going in. She’d been bartering almost since she was old enough to talk. Given that the rare paycheck her mother earned was usually blown before the ink was even dry, Crystal had learned at a young age how to negotiate for better deals.
Those skills were still serving her well now that she was in her twenties and on her own for the first time. She’d only been living in Cahuilla Springs for three weeks, but so far she’d managed to decorate her tiny garage apartment and get some nice secondhand clothes for work, all within her meager budget.
Out in the parking lot, Crystal started up her car, but when she put it in gear, it popped forward with a lurch. Soon she was chugging on out of the parking lot anyway, Old Faithful doing its duty to get her where she needed to go.
Others might say she had a transmission problem, but Crystal knew it was more than that. The lurching had started three weeks ago, at the exact moment she’d first put the vehicle in gear to drive away from her mother, her home, and the only life she’d ever known. Faulty transmission or not, Crystal couldn’t help but find that leap forward, and every one since, as significant. It was almost as if Old Faithful had been as eager as Crystal was to get out from under the shadows of that dark, dark place, once and for all, and begin life anew—somewhere far away, full of hope and promise.
MARCUS WAITED AS THE Special Agent in Charge flipped through the dossiers. The team had created one for each person whose name had appeared on the terrorists’ list. Marcus first saw Juliette’s dossier seventeen days ago.
He’d thought of little else since.
“Here we are.” Nate pulled out the report. About ten pages long, it included all of the information the FBI had rounded up on Juliette Taylor, which ranged from general info, such as current and previous home and work details, to more specific reports on her finances, relationships, activities, and more. As expected, no personal ties between Juliette and the terrorist cell had been established.
Nate skimmed the first page, as if to refresh his memory, then handed it over. “Not sure if you’ve seen the final summary.”
“No, I haven’t.” Pulse surging, Marcus grabbed the page from him and gave it a look.
JULIETTE TAYLOR
Connection-Personal: Subject has no known connection to cell members, radical/militant political groups, Al-Qaeda, or any other recognized terrorist leaders, operatives, or supporters.
Connection-Other: Products created by Subject’s co-owned company have been counterfeited, with funds traced to cell.
Probable Reason for Inclusion: 1. Subject has recently become aware of counterfeited products and has initiated an internal investigation. 2. As a public figure, subject has been invited to join forces with anticounterfeiting organizations to increase awareness.
Threat Level: Moderate. At this time, subject is not believed to be a direct target of the larger organization.
Marcus exhaled, handing the paper back to Nate. Though nothing in the summary came as a surprise, it was still a relief to see it all written out this way.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
Marcus cleared his throat, shifting in his chair. “Two things, actually. First, I need to tell you . . . I know this woman personally.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “And you’re just bothering to mention this now?”
Marcus shrugged. “It’s complicated. Haven’t seen her for twenty-five years. But at one point in my life, she was, uh, important to me.”
Nate flipped to the back of the file and removed some pictures. Though most were from Juliette’s heyday as a supermodel, one was a more recent publicity photo that Marcus recognized from her company’s website. “Beautiful woman, then and now.” Nate studied the image for a moment then looked up at Marcus. “So the two of you dated? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Again, Marcus squirmed in his seat. This was one reason he hadn’t mentioned it before, because it was so hard to explain. “Not exactly. Our time together was short-lived. But she had a big impact on my life, and I’d like to think the reverse was also true.”
Nate leaned back and propped his legs up on the desk, crossed at the ankles. “Any contact since?”
“No. Well, yeah, a few years later, sort of. But not exactly.”
Nate shook his head. “Man, this is so informative I can’t get over your powers of explanation.”
Marcus chuckled. “Okay, fine. Short version. Like I said, she and I were together, briefly, twenty-five years ago, but then we went our separate ways. About two years later I was hoping to take our, uh, relationship to the next level, so I went to see her. After I got there, I learned she was engaged. So I left without making contact. And that’s it.”
“Ouch, Stone, no wonder you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Yeah, well, lot of water under the bridge since then.”
Nate was quiet for a long moment then swung his legs down from the desk and placed his elbows atop it instead. “I don’t see where we have a problem. For all intents and purposes, your work on the task force is complete. Twenty-five years is a long time. And we’ve pretty much been able to identify why her name was found on that list. I assume you concur with our findings? No secret alliances way back when that we should know about?”
“Yes. I mean, yes, I concur. No, no alliances. She’s a great person. This is the exact conclusion I expected.”
“Good. Okay, well, then, not to worry, but I appreciate you telling me. Better late than never.”
Nate began to tuck away the file, so Marcus reached out and placed a hand atop it. “Not done yet. There’s still the second thing.”
Nate sighed. “Let me guess, your high school sweetheart was number four, the congresswoman? You went to senior prom with number nine, the columnist?”
Marcus grunted. “No, Ms. Taylor is the only one on that list I know personally. But that’s just it . . .” His voice trailed off as he tried to come up with the best way to put it. “Look, I know full well that my activities with this task force were and are a hundred percent confidential. I’d never violate that.”
“I should hope not.”
“But that doesn’t mean I can’t take steps to protect someone who was once important to me.”
Their eyes met, and Marcus could see the shift in Nate’s expression. “What’re you saying?”
Marcus sucked in another breath and blew it out. “That I made arrangements to attend an event Juliette is hosting, so that we could reconnect. I won’t pass along privileged information, but I have to warn her somehow.”
“Warn her?” Nate’s tone was sharp.
“That she needs to be careful. That she has some dangerous enemies.”
Nate studied his face for a moment then stood and began pacing behind his desk. “Officially, you’re pushing the line here, Stone.”
“I realize that. But you tell me, Nate, how can I do nothing? Do you expect me to sit here and stay silent? I’ve been thinking of little else since I first saw her name on that list a few weeks ago. Surely you’ve been in this position yourself before. Have you never come across privileged information about someone you know being in harm’s way?”
Nate did not reply.
“You and I both know it’s possible to encourage someone to practice personal safety and defensive living without giving them the full reason why.”
Nate did not look happy, but neither did he start yelling or give an out-and-out no.
Marcus drew a deep breath. “Remember, I was brought in as a consultant here, I’m not a federal agent. A lot of guys in my position would’ve gone to see her and never said a word—especially now that our mission is complete and my contract fulfilled. But I don’t work that way. Consultant or not, this has to be above board, at least between you and me. I came here to tell you what I’m going to do because I don’t want you to learn of it some other way and think I violated the trust that’s been placed in me by you and by the FBI. It won’t be.
I guarantee it.”
Nate gave a weary sigh. “Fine. I’ll run this by headquarters tomorrow and let you know what they have to say.”
Marcus shook his head. “Sorry, buddy. My flight leaves tonight—and I’m going, whether the FBI wants me to or not.”
STILL REELING FROM HER encounter, Juliette walked outside, looked around, and spotted Didi behind the wheel of a shiny black SUV not too far away. Looking absurdly small in such a big vehicle, she was inching the rental forward in the traffic.
Juliette gave her a wave, then stood and waited for the car to reach the passenger pick-up area. She felt drained from her encounter with Raven and eager to get out of there. At least the rest of the day should go more according to plan. Within half an hour they’d be at the resort, where Juliette had a 1:30 manicure in the spa, followed by some quiet time in her room to unpack, freshen up, and prepare for this afternoon’s staff training sessions. The sessions themselves would be fast-paced and fun—and all finished by 6:00 p.m. or so. Then there would be dinner at the resort’s restaurant, final preparations for tomorrow, and, finally, hopefully, a peaceful moonlight soak in the mineral waters of the grotto to end the day. That thought alone had her feeling more relaxed already.
Didi flashed a grin as she pulled to the curb, and Juliette managed a wan smile in return. She tossed her bag into the back seat and climbed in the front, as always feeling about ten feet tall next to her diminutive friend at the wheel.
“Hi there. You okay? You look pale.”
“I’m fine.” Juliette buckled her seat belt. “Thanks for picking me up.” She was quiet as Didi pulled back out into traffic and followed the signs to exit the airport.
“You sure?” Didi glanced her way, brow furrowed. “I can tell something’s wrong.”
“Let’s just say I had a close encounter . . . of the redheaded kind.”
Didi laughed. “Oh no. Raven?”
“Raven.”
Didi reached the exit and merged onto the road that would take them north to Cahuilla Springs, the town where Palm Grotto Resort was located. “Well, hey, at least that’s not serious. We all have Raven-shaped bruises on our psyches, born from years of putting up with the diva of all divas.”