by Jaclyn Hardy
Carlie rode in a wheelchair several feet ahead of her and Dani pushed the fear away so she could be excited for her friend.
Dee put an arm around her. “Hey, it’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Which part? The baby? Or the fact that people are coming after us.” Dani rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a really weird couple of days.”
They stayed silent as they rode the elevator to the labor and delivery floor. Dee moved quickly and pulled Carlie’s hair up into a bun so Dani could fit the wig on correctly. By the time they got to the right floor, Carlie was a redhead with short, spiky hair. The annoying thing was that she looked just as adorable that way as she did with her blonde hair.
Carlie hit the emergency button. “Quickly. Put yours on as well.”
Dee rolled her eyes and grabbed the other two wigs out of the bag. “Do you want black or what is this? Purple? Who let Ben pick the clothes?”
Dani grabbed the black wig. “You can pull off the purple a lot easier than I can.”
“Actually, Dani, you can—ow. You have better coloring for it.” Carlie gasped and pulled the lever. “Sorry, ladies, but you’re going to have to move faster. This baby wants out.”
Dani sighed and took the purple one from Dee. She twisted her hair up and clipped it, then settled the wig on her head. Once it was comfortable, she helped Dee with hers. “Okay, I think we’re set.”
“I think Carlie’s right. You should think of going purple more often.” Dee jumped out of the way of Dani, laughing. “I’m serious.”
Braden rubbed his nose. “Remind me to let you three go up the elevator alone next time, okay?”
That just made Dee laugh harder as the door opened to the right floor. Braden pushed Carlie forward and she was instantly surrounded by nurses. Two nurses stood in front of Dee and Dani.
“Why don’t you two just stay here? The room will be crowded as it is.” One of the ladies smiled reassuringly.
“Wait, wait.” Carlie’s voice broke through the chaos on the floor. “I need those two. They’re my . . . doulas.”
Dani froze. She was a what?
“Both of them?” Her nurse asked.
“Yes. I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, so I asked both of them to come.” Carlie smiled, then gasped with pain.
“Very well, you two follow me.” The nurse shook her head and gestured toward the room they would be in. “If you two need anything, let me know.”
Dani was pretty sure the nurse didn’t believe Carlie, but she left the room anyway. Dani leaned close to Carlie. “I’m a what?”
“Come on. You know what a doula is.” Carlie breathed through another contraction.
“I do. I just don’t know why you would say I have anything to do with midwifery when I don’t.”
Dee patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll just support her from over here.”
“Fine.” Dani squeezed Carlie’s hand. “Is there anything you need? Or can I pretend like I’m not in here?”
“I’m fine.” Carlie gasped again, and Dani backed up quickly.
As much as she wanted to support her friend, Dani was pretty sure she would have been much better out in the hall. Or fighting crime with Hunter and Ben . . .
Dani held the little bundle in her arms and rocked back and forth. This tiny baby boy had snatched her heart as soon as he was born. While the others laughed and chatted, she sunk down on a chair and counted his fingers and toes for the hundredth time. Little Calvin, named after his grandpa—the reason Dani and all her friends were stuck in a hospital in the middle of California wearing disguises.
“So, are you going to share Calvin, or do I have to fight you for him?” Dee asked her arms outstretched.
Dani sighed and stood to hand him off. “I just got him to sleep.”
“He’s so adorable.” Dee sat where Dani had just been. “Oh, Ed said you need to call him. It’s important. Use the phone in the bag.”
“Okay.” Dani paused. She hadn’t heard Dee call Ben by his code name in months. “Any news on Todd?”
Dee shook her head, but didn’t say anything else. Calvin had her full attention. Dani took the phone from the bag and waved at Carlie. The hallway was crowded with nurses and families waiting to see their new babies. She hated to leave the floor, but knew she wouldn’t get much privacy in the waiting room. The janitor’s closet on the next floor down was empty, so she slipped inside and locked the door. That way if they tried to come in, she’d have a chance to hide.
There was only one number listed on the phone, so Dani pressed it. It took a few rings before someone finally answered.
“Are you in a secure location?” Ben’s voice was quiet, and there was feedback, but at least she could hear him.
“Uh, as secure as I can get in a hospital. What’s up?” Dani sat down on a stool and pulled off her wig.
There was muffled talking for a moment before Hunter’s voice spoke next. “Hey, we found Anna.”
Dani brightened. “You did? Is she okay?”
“Well, we don’t know that part yet. We’re still trying to figure out how to get into the house, but we know where she is.”
Dani jumped up, accidentally knocking over a bucket. “Where? How’d you find out?”
“Let’s just say Ben—er, Ed—is pretty good at his job.” Hunter said something to Ben. “How’s Carlie?”
“She’s good. Calvin is adorable.” Dani heard sounds outside the room. “Hey, I think someone is trying to get in here.”
“I’ll be quick. Do you want to be part of the rescue mission?”
Dani grinned. “Yes! I’ve been dying to get out of here. Dee and Carlie have been talking nonstop wedding and adventures. Talk about a third wheel.”
“Sounds exciting. Okay, we’ll be there in about ten minutes. I’ll call and let it ring once. Take the stairs and meet us at the side door. If it feels like someone is following you, call and ask for a pepperoni pizza.”
Ben had definitely gotten to Hunter. Dani glanced over at the now rattling doorknob. “Got it. See you then.”
Dani shoved her wig onto her head and made sure it looked okay. The purple was actually starting to grow on her. She opened the door and threw her arms around a very confused janitor.
“Oh, thank you for saving me. I never thought I’d get out of there.” She planted a kiss on his cheek, then sauntered away. As soon as she was to the stairs, she took two at a time back up to the maternity ward.
Dee shoved her phone in Dani’s face. “Look, I found the dress. And it’s right here in LA.”
Dani pushed it far enough away that she wasn’t going cross-eyed and whistled. “Wow, that’s gorgeous. But I thought you already had one.”
“Yes, but that’s when the wedding was going to happen in Arizona.”
“Wait, what?” Dani sorted through the bag that Ben had given them to find something to wear.
Dee flipped through the pictures on her phone. “Carlie and I were talking. The auction in Hungary runs right into my wedding. And I was super bummed until Carlie suggested that we just get married there. So then I found . . . this place.”
Dani stopped sorting and took the phone. “This chapel is famous. It’s got to cost a fortune to reserve.”
“Oh.” Dee’s face fell. “But it can’t hurt to check, right?”
“Nope. Might as well.” Dani closed the door. “Look, Hunter and Ed found . . . the person we’ve been looking for. I’m going to go with them to get . . . her. Are you okay without me for now?”
Dee nodded as she typed something into her phone. “Okay, but when you get back, I need you to help figure out how to reserve places in German. You took that in High School, right?”
“Yes, but they speak Hungarian.” Dani glanced at the website Dee was staring at. “The languages aren’t even close.”
“Oh.” Dee flopped into the closest chair. “Maybe we should just put it off. What’s another two weeks, right?”
Dani grabbed Dee�
�s phone and pulled up the app store to find a translation app. “Here you go. Use this and you should be able to find something. When I get back, we’ll go over the other details. You’re getting married. We’re going to make sure of it.”
She left a happier Dee peppering Carlie with questions and made her way over to the window to watch for Hunter and Ben. The phone rang once, and Dani waited for a second ring. None came. They were here.
She raced down the stairs and checked her outfit before leaving the stairwell. No one seemed suspicious, so she headed straight for the door. No, wait. Someone was staring at her. It could have been her violent purple hair, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. She casually pulled out her phone and dialed.
“Yes, I’d like a pepperoni pizza.”
“Great. Meet me on the south side. Zigzag through the parking lot. We’re in a black Jaguar. Got it?”
Dani turned to see where the man was. Still there. “Yes, I’ll have cheese with that.”
“Now I want pizza. Okay, I’ll see you over there.”
The call ended. Dani shoved the phone into her pocket and wandered over to the gift shop. She bought a teddy bear for Calvin and a magazine, then slipped out toward the back. Down two more hallways and back around and then she walked out to the parking lot. If she’d had keys, she would have played with them, but everything was still in the car that Hunter and Ben had apparently ditched.
One more weave through the cars and then she was at the Jaguar. She climbed in the back and let out a deep breath. She’d made it.
“Wow, Dani. You should think of going with that hair color. It looks amazing on you.” Hunter grinned from the front seat.
“Dee told you to say that, didn’t she?” Dani pulled off the wig and let her hair down.
Hunter laughed. “She didn’t. It really does look nice.”
“Sure. So where are we going?” Dani put on her seatbelt and sent a quick text to Dee so she’d know everything had gone smoothly.
“First, I need that phone.” Ben held out his hand. “I’ll give Dee your new number in a bit. We need to ditch this one.”
Dani sighed. “You guys have to spend a fortune on phones alone.”
“Pretty much.” Ben pulled out of the parking spot and left the hospital. “So, you were right. The hacking didn’t happen on Todd’s computer. Whoever is doing this retraced it through there, but it originated just outside the city.”
Dani caught the look on Hunter’s face. She should never have told him that there was a history between her and Todd. Although the fact that he was jealous was kind of adorable. “So where is he now?”
“Protective custody. This time with the FBI. We were able to show them enough evidence that he needed their protection. That meant we had to turn over the laptop, but not before we got Anna’s location.”
Dani’s eyebrows shot up. With everything they knew about Todd, she was shocked they’d actually protect him instead of arresting him. “Did he have anything to do with it?”
“We still don’t know that part. It’s not looking good, though.” Ben pulled onto the freeway and Dani settled into the backseat.
It would take a while to get out of the city, and she was exhausted from staying up all night with Dee and Carlie.
It took about an hour to get out of the city, but soon they were on their way along a road out into farm country. This was more like it. Dani missed the orchards from her hometown, most of which were gone now.
The orchards gave way to other farms, and then they passed into a small city. Dani recognized the name for some reason, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Ben turned off on a side road and followed that for a few miles until it ended at a stone gate.
“She’s in there?” Dani asked, staring up at the columns.
“Supposedly.” Ben unrolled his window and gave them his fake name.
The guard ducked so he could see inside the windows, then flagged them through. Dani smiled at him and tried to relax, but something seemed off.
“Who lives up here?”
“That’s what we’re hoping we don’t find out. I’d like to get in, grab her, and get out before we raise any alarms.” Hunter drummed his fingers on the car door. “I’m thinking I like to be the behind-the-computer guy way more than the middle-of-the-excitement guy.”
Ben laughed. “I was the same way. In fact, I still am. But with Carlie and Braden out of the picture for a while, there’s not much I can do.”
Dani grew more nervous the closer they got to the house. If she could just remember why she knew this place, she could—oh, no. “I know this place.”
Ben slammed on the brakes and turned around. “What do you mean?”
“That’s Todd’s grandparents’ house. I only came here once when we were still in high school, but I remember how scared I was of them.” Dani wanted to shake Todd. He’d sworn he wasn’t involved, but here they were.
“You’re sure?” Ben continued forward, the car going at a crawl.
Dani pointed to a house on the right. “He took me with him a couple of times. I just didn’t recognize it until we got here.”
“What do you know about them?” Ben drove past the house and pulled into the forested area between houses.
“Nothing. Except that they didn’t approve of me, they didn’t like what Todd was doing with his life, and they didn’t trust the government.”
Ben picked up a pair of binoculars. “It doesn’t look like anyone is home. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Dani took the binoculars from him and scanned the balcony and the garages below. There were no cars outside, but they had a garage full of luxury cars and trucks. “I wouldn’t bet on it. There’s steam coming from their vents, which means someone is doing laundry. His grandparents might not be there, but their employees are.”
“How’d you catch all that?” Hunter looked back at her in admiration.
“I may or may not have shoved the dryer vents full of leaves for a bird’s nest once or twice when I was a kid. I wanted to keep them warm.” Dani ignored the heat creeping into her cheeks. She’d gotten in so much trouble for that little trick.
Hunter and Ben busted up laughing. Dani muttered under her breath and handed the binoculars back. She pulled her hair up again and set the wig on it. They may not recognize her, but she wasn’t going to take that chance. The lipstick Ben had picked was almost as bright as her hair, which was perfect, and the sunglasses covered up half her face.
“There. How do I look?” She added a stick of gum for the finishing touch.
“If I wasn’t already dating you, I’d ask you out right now.” Hunter put on a fedora and a button-up shirt, followed by his own pair of sunglasses. “There. How’s that?”
Dani was glad she could hide behind her mask because inside she was dying. He’d said they were dating. That kiss had been pretty intense, and she couldn’t deny that she was attracted to him, but dating? It wasn’t something she ever thought he’d say. They’d been best friends for too long.
“You look great too.” Dani cringed. That was real classy. “Let’s do this.”
“What name did you come up with at the hospital?” Ben pulled out his phone.
“I’m Sonny and Dee is Daisy.” Dani laughed at the look on Ben’s face. “Hey, there was a baby being born in that room. We didn’t exactly have time to think.”
“You have to be able to think on your toes.” Ben frowned. “Let’s see. You’re Emma. And Hunter you’re Austin.”
Hunter nodded. “Got it. And you?”
Ben pulled his laptop out of his bag. “I’m your tech guy. Now, put these on. I won’t hear what you’re saying, but I’ll know where you are. If you push the button, though, I’ll know you’re in trouble, and I’ll send help.”
Dani took the tiny button that Ben handed her and examined it. While the tech Dee and Carlie had shown her was pretty awesome, this seemed so simple. She slipped it into her sock and climbed out of the car. Her dress was rumpled after being i
n the car for so long, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Hunter took her hand as they crept through the trees. It was a good thing, because the ground was uneven. The branches from the bushes scratched her legs and tangled in the underskirt of her dress. Maybe they should have just taken the road.
“So . . . do we just go up to the front door?” Hunter asked, staring up at the mansion in front of him.
“Not if we can help it. I’d rather not meet them again.” Dani checked the windows for movement. Everything was still except one room upstairs. “There. Someone is up there.”
Hunter led her around the other side of the house. “Do you remember the layout well enough to help us out? We don’t know where Anna is, just that she’s here.”
Dani shook her head. “I wasn’t in any part of the house except the living room and kitchen. I didn’t dare ask to use the bathroom for fear of making them angry.”
“They weren’t really that bad, were they?”
“Yes. They were.” Dani checked the basement windows to see if any of them were open. Not that they would be. The basement was most likely a wine cellar. When they turned the corner, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. Doors led down into the ground. Either they really didn’t trust the government like Todd had told her, or they had a root cellar. A padlock held it closed, but Dani was prepared.
She pulled out a bobby pin from her wig and had the lock open within seconds. Hunter helped her open the doors. An old, musty smell came pouring out of the basement. If Anna was in the cellar, these people would be in big trouble. Dani shuddered at the thought of what spiders and other creepy crawly bugs must be down here.
Hunter went first which was perfectly fine with Dani. She didn’t want to be alone down there. He climbed down the last step and moved his flashlight around before waving for her to come. Dani’s legs shook as she took the rickety stairs down into the cellar. Forget the craziness of Carlie and Dee’s other adventures. This right here was actually what she didn’t want to be doing.
Old furniture lay cluttered on the ground, some of it covered with sheets, while other pieces looked as though they’d only been there for a short period of time. It was clear that Anna wasn’t down here because the cellar was small, which meant they were going to have to go up inside the house.