by Drake, J. L.
“Yes, sir.” Tim nods and wraps his huge hand around my wrist.
I spit on the ground once he’s gone. Tim says nothing as he pushes me into the elevator and we go down to the parking level. He opens the door of a black town car and helps me in. I notice once the door is closed, it locks. Tim slips into the driver’s seat, starts the car, and pulls into traffic.
That’s when I shatter into a million pieces. A horrible sob bursts from my throat and I start to shut down. Mark, John, Paul, Keith, Abigail, June, Sue, Daniel, Scoot, Mike, Frank, Derek, Cole…but it doesn’t work. I can feel myself slipping away.
I barely feel the car stop. I only blink a few times when Tim climbs into the back seat with me. He holds up his hands, showing me he won’t hurt me. “Here.” He opens a little black bag and shows me the label Extra Strength Tylenol. I look at him, confused. There has to be a catch. “Take three, miss, you’ll need it. Are your ribs all right?” I shake my head no, because honestly they aren’t. He nods then hands me a bottle of water, removing the lid.
“Why do you work for him?” I’m not really sure why I ask, but I want to know and I feel like I need to say something.
He tucks the Tylenol away, avoiding eye contact. “It wasn’t a choice.”
Chapter Nine
Cole
Cole raises his gloved hand up into the air, waiting for Mario to get into position. Paul and John are sprawled out on the couches, beyond beat from sparring with him earlier.
“Logan, you’ve been at this for over three hours.” Mario shakes his head. “Your body needs a break, and god knows we do too.”
“Again,” Cole grunts out, still reeling with the decision to come home. It was the hardest decision, but they need to regroup and find what resources they can use.
Mario sighs and they continue to box for the next fifty minutes until he finally calls it quits. Cole, still with energy to burn, hits the free weights until he’s physically exhausted.
After a cold shower, he finally heads to his office and pours himself a double. He tries hard to pretend Savannah is in his bedroom waiting for him to join her, her eyes wild with excitement as she peels off his clothes like it’s the first time. The thought nearly brings him to his knees. God, he loves her…and now…He shakes his head trying to clear it. Then he lets out a long stream of air and makes a call.
“I wondered when I was going to hear from you.” Frank's voice is quieter than normal.
Cole sips his brandy. “Anything?”
“Luka Donavan didn’t return with the Mayor or Lynn.” He sighs. “We had a tail on them, but he only caught up with them at the airport. The Mayor told the press that he and Lynn were on a much-needed vacation from the media. They were at the TJ airport.”
“So you have nothing?”
There’s a pause.
“She’s been handed over, Logan. She was bought and paid for and, we believe, delivered to The American.” Frank clears his throat. “Whatever you need.”
“Blackstone will be shipping out at twenty hundred. I want your team, Frank. I want Eagle Eye.”
“Consider it done.”
“I need to make a trip to Texas too.”
“Cindy?”
“Yeah, she knows a lot. I’ll do what I have to.”
“I agree.”
Cole slams back the rest of his drink and sends out a text telling Blackstone they’re leaving in sixty minutes. He closes his eyes and shifts into survival mode.
The house is quiet; everyone seems to be busy. He finds his mother in the kitchen stirring her tea and staring out the window. She turns when she hears his footsteps, and tears leak out of the corners of her eyes. Batting them away, she tries to be strong.
“She’s a fighter, Cole.”
“That she is.” He slumps onto the stool, feeling the weight of the world falling all around him.
His mother slides a comforting hand over his shoulder. “She thought she was doing the right thing. You can’t blame her for loving you too much.”
“I don’t.”
“It’s easy to walk into the lion’s den when you don’t know the lion is there.”
“Trust me, Mother, she’s well aware he’s home now.”
“Logan.” Mark’s voice makes his head snap up. Mark’s puffy eyes give more away than he’d probably like to let on. “Umm, can I get you to look over the map with me?” Cole nods and stands as he forces a smile at his mom and goes to walk by Mark. Mark grabs his arm and wraps him in a hug, throwing Cole off. “I’m sorry,” Mark whispers in a sob, holding him tightly, “I’m so sorry, Cole.” Cole clings to his best friend, his brother, and finally lets out a little cry of his own.
***
Savannah
I keep my eyes closed, trying to hold the panic at bay. I start with Cole’s shaggy, silky hair just long enough that I can get the perfect grip to haul him to my mouth. His dark eyes, his perfect nose, his lips, his smile that…I jolt forward as the car comes to a stop. I peer out the window and see we're in the middle of nowhere, sitting in front of two huge cast-iron gates. I memorize the make of the security system and carefully watch Tim punch 55725 into the key pad. The gates swing open and we start to roll forward down a long, dusty driveway.
The house strikes me as odd, though, as it looks like a home straight out of Louisiana. It has two stories and is painted white with green shutters. There are six pillars in the front, and two wrap-around balconies, one on top and one on the bottom. Lord, this place is massive.
Then it dawns on me this is my new prison. Sure, it’s a step up from the last one, but nonetheless, it’s still a prison.
There are men with rifles scattered across the yard, and security cameras pointing in every direction. German shepherds on leads are sniffing the ground. One catches my scent and starts to growl as Tim holds the door open, watching me crumble, falling apart all over again. He moves to help me out carefully. He’s oddly gentle for such a big man.
He opens the door for me and nods at the butler and wait staff. They quickly scurry out of sight. Tim leads me upstairs to a bedroom immediately to the left. He tells me it’s my room and that anything I need will be in the bathroom. I think back to what The American said. Make sure she’s ready for me. I freeze, stuck mid-step.
“I can’t do this, Tim.” I start to shake. “Please, please get me out of here!” I turn to him with pleading eyes. “I don’t belong here. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want that man touching me…” Tim reaches for my elbow, pulling me across the room and into the bathroom. He closes the door and holds a finger up to his mouth, urging me to be quiet.
He leans in close, making me stiffen. “Cry,” he whispers, pulling back to look into my eyes with a strange expression. “When he goes to touch you, cry and say no. He won’t be able to do it. Denton is one evil fucker, but the one thing he won’t do is touch a woman against her will.”
I blink a few times and try to absorb what he just said. Denton? So The American’s name is Denton. “Why?” I struggle to get my thoughts in order. “Why in the hell would he bring me here? Does he really think I would let him sleep with me?”
Tim shakes his head slowly then checks his watch. “Denton’s smart.” He taps his head. “Very, very smart. That’s why all these years no one's been able to touch him. He’ll use mind games to control you, and before you know it he’ll get you into his bed. Denton can convince a priest to kill; he’s that good at manipulation.”
“Why does it sound like I’m not the first woman he’s had here?”
“You’re the fifth.”
“Fifth!” I hiss, only to have Tim’s huge hand wrap around my mouth.
He closes his eyes like he’s regretting telling me anything. “Yes, so you won’t be alone here in this house.” Wait! The girls are here? “You can’t trust them, Savannah, they’re all brainwashed, and whatever you say to them they will tell Denton, and you’ll be punished.” He drops his hand. “Punished in worse ways than when you were with Rodrigo.”
My eyes flicker with fear as I scan the bathroom. “Tim, please tell me how to get out of here. I won’t last. I’ll end it now.”
Stepping away from me and turning on the shower, letting hot steam fill the room, he motions for me to move away from the door and into a walk-in closet at the back of the bathroom. He closes the doors behind us and turns on the tiny light. I don’t know why, but I don’t feel nervous with Tim, maybe because he reminds of the guys back at the house. Big, but kind.
“Look, Savannah, I’m not a bad person. I never asked to work for the Cartel. I was just born into this life. My father was a runner for cocaine when he met my mother and got her pregnant. Trouble was, when she found out who my father really was, she tried to leave him. They only let her live until I was born.” His eyes shift downward for a moment. “I found out later my father was the one who killed my mother. I’ll spare you the details.” Thanks. “After that, my father gained the trust of the higher-ups and soon ran a few groups smuggling weapons and people in and out. If I wanted to live, I had to keep my head down and my mouth shut. They started me out small, but once they realized I could slip through the border with no problem, I was transferred to work with my father, and from there to here. Denton has known me for a few years, and a year ago told me I was going to be working for him. You don’t say no to Denton. I hate it here, I hate those women. Two of them I’m convinced played Denton, because they were evil from day one, and the other three are way past trying to live.”
“I’m really sorry for your mother, Tim.”
“Thank you, as I am for your mother.”
This throws me. “You know my mother is dead?”
“I know all about you, Savannah, down to your shoe size.”
“Well, that’s not incredibly creepy,” I mutter sarcastically.
“It’s my job, just like it is for Logan’s company.”
My breath gets caught in my throat. Cole’s name being uttered from Tim’s lips is unnerving. “You know about Logan?”
“I know he’s Special Forces. I know what he specializes in. I know that as soon as he slips back into the States, he drops off the radar just like Denton does. Denton has been trying to track Logan's group for years, but he hasn’t succeeded. When Denton found out Logan had you, well, let’s just say my job’s been pretty miserable.”
I sink onto a small chair, as my legs can no longer hold my weight. I'm just going to say it. “Tim, you must know, Logan is a good man.”
“I do,” he interrupts, making me pause and stare for a moment.
“Okay.” I nod. “Well, you say you can slip across the border without being seen. Can you help me get out of here and back home?” I’m careful not to say where home is.
“You want to go home?” His eyebrow rises. “Back to your father? Back to that bitch Lynn?”
“No.” I stand. “I want to go back to the States where I can live a real life that’s mine.” He smiles slightly. I’m guessing that’s the answer he was looking for.
“You’ll never get that while Denton is alive.”
I feel bold. “Then let's deal with that problem.” His eyes pop open. “Look, Tim, I’ve been through some real shit before. I’ve never killed anyone, but I know good trumps evil. You said it yourself, Denton is pure evil. Let’s try and make this world just a little bit better by taking him out of it.”
He stands there towering over me, studying me, thinking for a few long moments. I feel myself start to second guess if I can trust this guy. Oh shit, maybe this is a test!
“It can’t happen right away,” he finally says, putting his hands on his hips. “It’ll be too obvious.”
“How long are you thinking?”
“A few months.”
“Two weeks max is all I can do.”
He makes a face. “A month.”
“Two weeks.”
“Three.”
I let out a long, shaky breath, mulling over my options. I could try and escape, but if he punishes like Tim says he does, I know I'll break. “Okay, under one condition.” Oh god, what am I agreeing to?
“What’s that?”
***
Cole
Cole clicks his radio, signaling to Blackstone that they are close to the drop-off spot. They’re five minutes out when a call comes through on the satellite phone. He glances at his father, who shakes his head. No one should be calling unless something’s happened. Everyone is silent; only the rev of the Land Rover engine can be heard.
“Mike?” Cole answers quietly.
“You’re not going to believe this, Logan, but…go ahead.”
“Cole?” Her voice smacks his stomach into a somersault and lodges it right into his throat.
“Savannah? Where are you?” He has a ton of questions but he stops himself.
“Hi.” He can tell she’s fighting tears.
“Hi, baby,” he gets out. “Where are you?”
“I’m somewhere in TJ. Some farm with a Louisiana-looking home. Cole, his name is Denton.”
“The American’s?” he asks, still shocked to hear her voice.
“Yes. Luka's dead. The American killed him. I don’t know where Douglas and Lynn are. I’m here at The American's house, and there are other girls here. Five others.” She races on, “The American brainwashes them. He says he wants to sleep with me tonight, but…” Cole clenches his jaw so hard he’s sure he cracked a tooth. “Tim is his muscle, and he’s going to help me.”
“Hold on.” Cole is trying to take in her words, but she’s talking a mile a minute. “Who’s Tim?”
“The American's bodyguard. He said he doesn’t want to help Denton anymore. Cole, he’s going to help me get rid of him. It will take three weeks, then Tim will help me get back home.”
Cole glances at his father and shakes his head. “Savi, I need you to listen to me. Are you near a window?”
“There’s nothing for miles, Cole. Umm, Depex…the-the security key code to get through the driveway gates is, ahh, 55725. ”
Cole scribbles her information on his arm. “Okay, calm down, slow down. How long did you drive for?”
“I don’t know. Tim gave me Tylenol for the pain, so I slept most of the way.”
Cole lets out a long breath. “Baby, that wasn’t Tylenol. He drugged you so you didn’t know where he was taking you.”
“No, Cole, Tim is going to help me.”
“Why did you have to take Tylenol?” Cole asks, ignoring her last comment. Silence. “Savannah?”
“My family all turned on me; that’s why The American killed Luka. I think my ribs are fractured. Physically I’m okay, but until Tim offered to help me I think I was mentally slipping.”
Cole closes his eyes, wanting to take her pain away. “We're about to cross the border. I’m coming for you, baby. I will make sure of it.” He hears her starting to cry and jams his fist into the dashboard, cracking it. John pulls the Land Rover over, getting out with the others and giving him a moment alone with her.
“I have this tiny,” she hiccups, trying to find her voice, “razor blade tucked into my bra. I thought about using it.”
Cole's heart misses a beat. Leaning forward and catching himself, he pleads with her. “Please, Savannah, hold on for me, I need you. If you can take anything away from this phone call, take this. I’m coming for you. I’m in love with you, you know that! We're going to be okay. I just need you to hang on. You need to make me another Fritter.”
“Yes, Colonel.” Her voice suddenly changes; someone must have come into the room.
“Is there someone there?”
“Yes.”
“Tim?”
“Yes.”
“Just stay put, I’m coming for you. I need you to repeat after me. "Nos encontramos mañana enfrente de la marketa con la puerta roja a las tres de la tarde." She does, making it sound like she speaks Spanish fluently. “Perfect job. Okay, don’t say a word about any of us.”
“All right,” she sniffs, making him want to cry
himself. “Colonel?”
“Yes, baby?”
“The snowflake…that’s what I’m holding onto.” The line goes dead.
“You got a hit, Mike?” he asks, knowing Mike is still listening and taking down all the information Savannah rambled off.
“Burner phone. I’ve already started the search on the security system. I’ll be in touch.”
Cole drops the phone on his lap, needing a moment to comprehend everything that just happened. His heart aches thinking about her last words. The night he bought the snowflake necklace for her was the night they both declared their love for one another. It’s good to know that even after all she has been through, especially after seeing that photo, she still loves him.
His father is the first to get into the Land Rover. “Tell me, is our girl all right?”
Cole wipes his eyes. He hadn’t even realized they were watering while he talked to her. “We’ll see.” Daniel reaches over and gives his son's shoulder a tight squeeze. The rest of the guys pile in, and as John starts the engine, Cole says, “Change in plans, boys.”
***
Savannah
I watch Tim slip the burner phone into his pocket. He nods toward the bathroom.
“He’ll be expecting you to be clean.” He makes a sorry face. “We can’t have him wondering why I didn’t do my job.”
I look down, feeling a wave of nausea run through me. Can I really trust this man? I wonder what Cole made me repeat. I know better than to ask questions when we are not alone. Tim picks out a short dress and leaves, saying I need to be downstairs in one hour for The American's arrival.
I quickly shower, taking every so often to control my meltdowns, dress in the ridiculously short red dress, slip on what can only be described as stripper stilettos, and head downstairs. Every step makes my stomach knot tighter, makes me want to run out the front door and across the border to freedom at any cost.