Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series

by Ainsley St Claire

  “I’m not sure what an internet hole is, but I’m sure once they locate her, you can be there for each other again,” Lilly says calmly. I think she might be trying to talk me off the ledge.

  “You don’t understand,” I tell her. “She’s not a survivalist. I mean, you know her better than I do, but her idea of roughing it is going to a hotel that doesn’t have room service. She grew up in New York City, for Christ’s sake. Her dad was an investment banker. Survival is lasting through a sale at Barney’s.”

  Lilly chuckles. “You know her well.”

  “Shit, has anyone called her parents or her sister?”

  “I’m sure they’ve been contacted. We’ll find out. Hold on—Nate’s getting off the phone with Jim. I’ll put you on speaker.” I hear her say, “It’s Axel on the phone. He’s looking for an update about Mia.”

  “I just got off the phone with Jim,” Nate tells me. “Mia and her attorney met with the federal prosecutors in Portland earlier today. The State Department is getting some pressure from the Russian government. They’re sniffing around to trade Viviana for a few American tourists who are stuck in Russian prisons.”

  “The Russians have loaded the internet with false stories about her, and well, quite frankly, about you,” I tell him.

  “Yes, I’m aware. Jim’s team has been pulling them down off the servers, but each time they do, another one pops up.”

  “Fucking cockroaches,” I sneer, equally angry at them and at myself for believing their crap.

  “Exactly. Anyway, they were coming back as scheduled, and the helicopter held Mia, her lawyer, Marci, and the pilot, Craig. He works for Jim, and we know he’s solid—he was in the Marine Corps with us and did three tours in Afghanistan. They checked in as they took off, and they hit a mayday not long after crossing the California state line. We have tracking, and it looks like they went down somewhere between Redding and Eureka.”

  “I told Bash I could drive north. I mean, if they find them, I’m close and can get to them quickly to drive them back.”

  “No, Clear has it handled. We’re just here waiting.”

  “Axel, would you like to come over?” Lilly asks. “We can all wait for news together.”

  I can’t believe Mia didn’t rake me over the coals with her friends. But I decide I should take that as a good sign. Maybe she doesn’t totally hate my guts.

  “I think that’s a great idea,” Nate says.

  “Let me check,” I say. “My sister is still here with her four kids, and I’m not sure if she’s comfortable alone.”

  “We understand,” Lilly says. “We can hold.”

  “Persistent, aren’t you?” I tell her.

  “You bet. We have a teenager in our house.”

  “I’ll be right back.” I walk upstairs and find my sister singing to Tavish.

  “He won’t fall asleep,” she laments when I poke my head in the doorway. “He wants to hang out with his brothers. I swear this one is going to kill me.”

  I look down at Tavish, and he’s all smiles, not an ounce of exhaustion apparent in his body. “Mia went missing in a helicopter accident,” I tell my sister. “A friend has invited me over to wait with him. Do you mind if I go?”

  “No, of course not. I’m certainly capable of managing my boys on my own. And anyway, Nina’s here. I hope Mia’s okay.” Alana looks at me, as if she can sense my hesitation. “You don’t have to stay here with us. Go over and wait with them. Go take care of Mia. She’s going to need you.”

  I nod and get back on the phone as I head down the hall. “I’m on my way.”

  “I’ll send one of Jim’s Suburbans to make it easier to come—fewer cars in the driveway,” Nate says.

  “Sure. Or I can always take a rideshare.”

  “No, getting past all the press and everything else will be easier with someone from Jim’s team. Really.”

  I hate that he’s sending a ride for me. “Okay, thanks.”

  In less than fifteen minutes, Bash is at my front door.

  “Do you have news?” I ask.

  “No, when Nate called looking for a car and driver to take you to his place, I thought I’d come. I’m worried about Mia, too.”

  “I just hope Nina is enough coverage for my sister to be here alone.”

  “You know Nina was an Army Ranger, right? I think she has more hand-to-hand combat skills than most of our team.”

  ”Oh right, I forgot. She’s such a natural with kids.”

  Bash laughs. “Good cover.”

  The drive isn’t long, and as we pull into the estate, I call Jeremy to tell him where I am and promise to keep him up to date.

  “If you get bored, I have an Xbox in the guest house and there are some good games you can play,” he tells me. “Do you need me to fly home? I already checked, and I can get on the flight to Denver at six and be back in San Francisco by ten local and then to the estate by eleven tomorrow morning or so.”

  I’m touched that he would do that for me. “Thank you, but no,” I assure him. “Stay with your family. I promise I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

  I hang up as we exit the car, and we arrive at the front door just as a dozen or so pizzas are being delivered. Once we’re all inside, Nate introduces me to Walker Clifton. His wife is Marci Peterson, Mia’s attorney, who was also on the helicopter. He shakes my hand and doesn’t seem too worried. He must know something I don’t.

  “Help yourself to some pizza,” Lilly says as she opens the boxes on the huge kitchen island and pulls down some plates. “Can I get you a glass of wine or a beer? What are you in the mood for?”

  “I’ll have a beer,” I tell her.

  Walker nods. “I’ll take one of Nate’s homebrews.”

  Nate hands us each a green bottle and gives Lilly a look of triumph. I look at the label, and it’s not familiar. “I brew it myself,” Nate explains. “No pressure to like it.”

  Lilly scrunches up her nose. “I think it’s awful.”

  Nate rolls his eyes. “I’d think you had no taste, but you love me so I know that can’t be true....”

  “If you don’t like the beer,” Lilly tells me, “we can pour that crap down the sink and I’ll get you something else.”

  I smile and hold my bottle up for a toast with Walker and Nate. We cross the necks and take our first drink. It has a heavy wheat flavor with a bitter, lingering taste. I can see why Lilly might not like it, but I do. “Cheers,” I tell Nate. “This is nice.”

  Lilly shakes her head. “You don’t have to kiss his ass,” she says. Then she kisses Nate on the cheek and goes off in search of his girls.

  Walker sits on a barstool and looks out across the bay at San Francisco. Under different circumstances, the view of the City with the Bay Bridge on the left and the Golden Gate to the right would hold my attention for quite a while. But right now, I’m a little stressed. My mind is bouncing all over the place. I take another drink of my beer.

  Walker seems cool as a cucumber, but after a few minutes I realize he’s only half paying attention to what’s happening around him, and he checks his cell phone each time it fades to sleep.

  After a few minutes, Nate motions for us to follow him to his home office. Inside there are family pictures everywhere—him with his first wife, a black-and-white picture of Lilly, the girls at various ages. Oh, and also him with the president of the United States. I stop at a picture of a group that’s a who’s who of Silicon Valley. Mia’s standing next to Jackson Graham, and they’re all laughing.

  Nate stands at my shoulder. “That was taken almost five years ago, the first time the group of us got together for a poker game. We were at a wedding in Vegas. Those are my closest friends, and I’d do almost anything for them.”

  “I think Mia feels the same way,” Walker adds. “That’s why she went to Portland. Not only does she wants want Viviana to pay for her crimes, she wants her to be punished for violating our friendships. Mia’s not going to tolerate that, and though I kno
w she’s personally crushed by what happened—and by what Viviana’s still trying to do to her—she’s never lost sight of the bigger picture.”

  “You understand?” Nate asks.

  I shrug. “I think so. I trust Mia. I do. If it’s important to her, it’s important to me.”

  Nate nods. “A year ago, if you’d asked me if any of our friends could have been involved in my wife’s murder, I would have denied it was possible. None of us suspected a thing, as crazy as that sounds. Viviana was clearly a professional, and now it all makes sense.”

  I take another drink of my beer. I think it’s what’s keeping me holding on right now. “This is outstanding.”

  Nate grins. “Thanks.”

  “I think Mia saw things in Viviana she didn’t want to admit to herself until she learned what she’d done,” I tell them, thinking back on the few times Mia opened up about this. “She feels a lot of shame about their friendship—though I don’t think she should. Sounds like everyone was fooled. But I think the personal betrayals here are much harder on her than any professional fallout, like her being on leave from Diamond Analytics. Like you said, she’s standing up for her friends now, and she doesn’t think twice about it.”

  “You’re very insightful,” Nate says after a moment. “She’s lucky to have you.”

  “I screwed up.” Suddenly I can’t look at him. “She was accosted at a restaurant while we were out last week, and rather than protect her or—” I sigh. “—even believe her, I kind of just froze and let it happen. Before that incident, I didn’t fully know who she was. And after that happened, I got on the internet and was completely overwhelmed by the troll-generated articles that were everywhere for a while. I’m ashamed that I believed them for a little bit. And I haven’t been the kind of friend to her I should have. Now I just want the chance to tell her how sorry I am.”

  “I hope you two can work it out,” Walker says. “Mia is amazing. I just wish we could find them.” He stands, beginning to pace.

  “I agree,” Nate says. “But listen, during my tours in Afghanistan I learned that when there’s a big explosion, people die. We can’t find the chopper right now, because there was no big explosion. That’s a good thing. Hopefully no one was injured too badly in their rough landing, and they’re working their way home.”

  I nod. I need to change the subject. “I understand you’re renovating a house in the City,” I tell him.

  He nods. “We’re moving into the old French embassy on Jackson Street, and we just figured out the plans. We’re going to renovate it using the floor plan that was registered with the City after the 1851 fire.”

  “Wow. Did it burn down and need to be rebuilt back then?”

  “It was partially burned. The brick part of the house survived, so when they rebuilt it, they used all brick. After that, the thing was so solid it survived the nineteen-oh-six earthquake.”

  “When did the French government buy it?” Walker asks.

  “They bought and renovated it in the mid-seventies, adding the consulate general’s personal quarters.”

  “I remember my parents going to parties there when I was little,” Walker says. “It had a giant ballroom.”

  “We’re going to have to take most of the house down to the studs and rewire to adjust for modern times,” Nate says. “Needless to say, we don’t need a bunch of offices, so we’re moving walls out, and the house will seem bigger.”

  “That’s exciting.” I look around. “This place is pretty spectacular. I know Jeremy is grateful to be able to stay in your guest house.”

  “He’s a good kid. I hear he’s home with his family in Nebraska,” Nate says.

  I nod. We spend the better part of an hour talking about baseball before Nate’s phone rings. He looks at us before answering. “It’s Jim.”

  “Hello, Jim,” Nate answers. “You’re on speakerphone.”

  “We found them!” Jim exclaims.

  “Thank God,” Nate says.

  I sit back in my chair and feel like the weight of the world has lifted from my shoulders.

  Walker steps out and quickly returns with Lilly and Bash.

  “Is everyone okay?” Lilly asks.

  “We’ve not talked to them,” Jim says through the phone, “but we’re headed there now. The National Guard is lifting them into their helo. Someone is on a stretcher.”

  Walker nods and manages a smile, but I can tell we’re both still nervous. I hope everyone is okay. My stomach churns.

  “Jim, where are they taking them?” Walker asks. “I want to be sure I have a police presence there, given what we suspect.”

  What do we suspect? I knew Walker had to have information I didn’t.

  “I don’t know yet,” Jim reports. “I have a team, along with the NTSB, on their way to investigate what happened. It’s too dark to start much tonight, but my team will put up a perimeter.”

  “Okay,” Walker tells him. “We’re here at Nate’s. If you can bring them here, please do so.”

  “That’s my plan.”

  Chapter 25

  Mia

  I look out the window of the helicopter and see lights dotting the dark ground below. Evidently, Walker has gone to Nate’s, so that’s where we’re headed too. As we approach, Jim calls and lets them know we’re close.

  The helicopter touches down softly at a corner of Nate’s estate—much better than our last landing—and I can see Nate, Lilly, and Walker waiting. Then my heart drops when I see Axel. The air whips my hair into my face as I step down, and I’m grateful that Jim is helping me. I’m sore and a bit of a mess.

  Marci remains calm, cool, and collected as Jim helps her down. She was on the back bench on the other side of the helo from me during the crash. Our pilot broke his leg, but he was in good spirits and will likely be home tonight, though they were airlifting him to a hospital. Jim insisted we head out quickly in case there was some sort of team tracking us.

  All I want right now is a serious drink and a bath. Well, and maybe a few days of uninterrupted sleep, too.

  As the helicopter takes off again, Marci goes crashing into Walker’s arms. She was my pillar of strength through everything, but now she’s finally crying and letting it all go. As she should.

  “You’re okay,” Walker keeps repeating as he rubs her back.

  Nate and Lilly embrace me, and I’m so happy to be here right now. Until we were located and I knew things were going to be okay, I was going on pure adrenaline. Now I’m wiped out.

  “Are you okay?” Lilly asks.

  I nod. “It was a bit harrowing to start with…”

  “I’m so happy you’re okay,” Axel says as he steps forward and carefully takes me into a hug.

  I still can’t quite process that he’s here. I don’t have any idea where we stand right now. I know we need to have a long conversation, but I don’t have the energy at the moment.

  “I have an idea,” Lilly says. “Why don’t you take a minute to get cleaned up. You can take a bath or a shower, and I can lend you some yoga pants and a sweatshirt. If you’re hungry, we have some cold pizza or I’m happy to order something else.”

  “Cold pizza and a glass of something strong would be greatly appreciated,” I tell her.

  “I second that,” Marci agrees.

  We move into the house, and Lilly squeezes my hand. “We really are so happy you’re okay.” She shows me to a guest room and leaves to get me some clothes.

  A minute later, as I’m considering running water for a bath, Axel comes in with a bourbon and some pizza.

  I take a deep breath. “Thank you.”

  He looks at me seriously. “I have a lot of apologizing to do, and I hope you’ll give me the chance to talk through everything with you. But right now, I know you’re exhausted, and I’m just so grateful you’re okay. If you’re not comfortable with me sticking around this evening, I’ll leave. But I want you to know I’ve been worried, and I care about you.”

  I smile at him, and before
I can respond, he adds, “And Jeremy was terrified. Because he cares about you too, and because he’s sure you’re his good luck charm.” He manages a laugh.

  I have to smile at that. “He’s so superstitious.”

  “They say baseball players are the worst,” Axel says with a shrug. He sighs. “Okay, I’ll let you get cleaned up and relax a minute. Are you okay if I stick around? I mean, here at the house—not while you bathe.”

  I chuckle, and my stomach flutters. “Yes, you can stay.”

  “Great. I’ll be here when you get out.” Axel turns and heads down the hall, leaving me alone with my cold pepperoni pizza and bourbon.

  When I look at myself in the mirror, I can see a small scratch on my face—probably from the canopy of the helicopter, which broke during the crash. What the hell happened? I still don’t really know. I’m also covered in mud. I look down and my outfit is trashed. There’s no hope of ever getting it clean again, but we’re alive, and that’s what matters.

  I drink the two fingers of bourbon almost in one gulp. It burns as it goes down, but after a moment it smooths out my anxiousness. I munch on the slice of pizza.

  As inviting as a bath is, now I just want to get cleaned up, so I hop into a warm shower. While I’m in the bathroom, I hear Lilly yell from the bedroom that she’s leaving me clothes. I thank her, and as soon as she’s gone, I get out and dress.

  Lilly’s yoga pants are short and make me look like I’m waiting for a flood, but she gave me some warm socks, so I don’t care. Up top, I’m swimming in a Naval Academy sweatshirt.

  When I walk out, things are considerably less hectic, and I feel better too.

  “Bex and Katrina have gone downstairs to watch a movie,” Lilly tells me when I enter the kitchen. “You look comfortable. How do you feel?”

  “The slice of pizza and bourbon were a great help.”

  “Would you like more?” Lilly asks.

  “That would be fantastic. I didn’t eat at all today because I didn’t want to be sick before this morning started.”