American Heroes Series - 01 - Resurrection (19 page)

Cydney was staring at him with panicked expression, expecting him to say more about her child. When he didn’t, she lifted her eyebrows.

“Is that it?” she demanded. “She didn’t say anything else?”

J.D. shook his head. “Not much else. She was calling on a cell phone that she stole so there wasn’t much time.”

“A stolen cell phone?” Cydney repeated, looking as if she was about to become ill. “Oh, my God. My poor baby.”

J.D. watched her for a moment, careful about how he worded his next sentence. “I need to ask you something, Cydney,” he said slowly. “Yesterday, were there any notable visitors who came to view The Lucius Robe? Anyone at all?”

Cydney wasn’t following him, too focused on her daughter’s plight. “Notable visitors? Like who?”

“Anyone at all; politicians, celebrities… anyone.”

Cydney was struggling to think.  “The only one I saw was that televangelist,” she said. “Why? Was there someone else? What does that have to do with anything?”

“The televangelist,” J.D. repeated. “Who was it?”

“Coral Chastity Aames.  You know, that woman who cries on television and begs for money. My grandmother watches her sometimes. Why?”

J.D. glanced at Ethan, who was gazing down at him with a grim expression. “Because,” J.D. refocused on Cydney, wondering how she was going to take the news. “She’s with your daughter right now.”

For the second time in as many minutes, Cydney shot up from her chair. “What?” she yelped. “That woman has my daughter?”

Ethan and J.D. were struggling to sit her down again. “Did Coral Aames say anything to you, Cydney?” J.D. persisted. “Did you speak with her?”

Cydney nodded, shaken and furious. “She wanted to see The Lucius Robe. She wanted me to take out of the case and I told her no.”

“Was there anything else? Did you tell her your name or exchange any information?”

Cydney nodded. “She asked who I was and I told her.”

J.D. looked up at Ethan. “So she gets her name and finds out where she lives….”

Ethan was following him; he cocked an eyebrow in understanding. “And sent someone to her house when Olivia happened to be there.”

“Bingo,” J.D. said softly. “Get the daughter and use her for leverage.”

“Wait a minute,” Cydney interrupted, agitated. “You’re saying that woman was here to find out about me and my daughter?”

“No,” J.D. shook his head. “It probably could have been anyone. It just happened to be you. Had she run into any other museum manager, the curator for instance, she probably would have pulled the same thing.”

Cydney went pale, her agitation lessening as the seriousness of the situation settled. “So this bitch is part of that Disciple group? And she kidnapped my daughter in hopes that I’d turn over the Robe?” she shook her head furiously. “But they already have the Robe. Why do they still have my daughter?”

J.D. felt sorry for the woman; he really did. He squeezed her hands gently. “Olivia said that they need her to crown the next Holy Roman Emperor.  Beyond that, I’m not sure. But you can sure as hell believe I’m going to find out.”

Cydney stared at him, dumbfounded and numb, as Ethan gently rubbed her shoulders. J.D. gave her a weak smile and stood up.

“I’ll let you know if I hear anything else,” he said to them both. “I’ve got a dozen people working on this right now so hopefully I’ll have some news for you soon.”

Cydney was beyond grief at the moment. All she could think of was Olivia with that overly-made up woman, caught up in some bizarre scheme of emperors and robes. It made her sick to her stomach.

“Surely you have a ton of information about Coral Chastity Aames,” she looked up at J.D. “She should be easy to track, right?”

J.D. nodded. “We’re working on it,” he said. “We filed a motion with the U.S. District Court about a half hour ago to freeze all of her assets and bank accounts in the U.S.  As we speak, agents are preparing to raid her television studios down in Orange County and we have another group preparing to serve a search warrant at her home in Corona de Mar.  The IRS is already moving in to start auditing accounts.”

Cydney felt better that they were moving quickly. But it didn’t bring her daughter home any sooner.  Olivia was a half a world a way and Cydney was growing more distraught by the moment. But she rose from the chair, feeling Ethan’s strong hands on her arms to steady her.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said to J.D. “I appreciate all you’ve done for us, really.”

J.D. reached out and shook her hand, holding it big longer than necessary. “There’s one more thing,” he said softly. “Olivia asked me to tell you that she loved you and wants to make sure you’re feeding her cat.”

Cydney’s composure took a direct hit.  She crumpled up and sobbed, feeling Ethan’s powerful arms go around her.  This time, J.D. didn’t scold him for his public display of affection.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

There was one uniformed officer at Cydney’s house when Ethan and Cydney pulled into the driveway.  Climbing out of the car, the night was cool and dark around them as night birds sang in the sky over head. Somewhere, night blooming jasmine was growing and the heady scent wafted on the air. It would have been a very romantic night had their minds not been elsewhere.  Ethan took Cydney’s hand as they crossed the yard and onto the front porch.

The officer met them at the door.  Ethan had seen the guy from the previous night so they knew each other on sight. He told the officer it was all right for him to leave and that the FBI would be taking over until morning.  The uniform bid him a good night and left.

Cydney had already gone back to her bedroom by the time Ethan closed the front door and locked it.   He shut off the living room light just as a fat orange tabby rubbed up against his leg and meowed loudly.

“Cydney?” he called softly. “There’s a large carnivorous creature out here and I think it’s hungry.”

Back down the hall, he could hear her giggle wearily.  She suddenly appeared clad only her bra and panties, walking up the hallway and into the kitchen.  When she saw the expression on Ethan’s face as he stood there looking at her, she suddenly stopped.  He looked rather startled and she looked down at herself.

“Oh,” she muttered, apologetic. “Sorry. It’s a houseful of women and I just wasn’t thinking. I’ll be right back.”

She turned back around and walked exhaustedly down the hall. But it gave Ethan an excellent view of her shapely body; flat belly, rounded buttocks and delicious thighs.  He’d already seen her breasts and they were magnificent.  He watched her walk down the hallway, inspecting her shape, not at all self-conscious about it because he knew she didn’t know he was watching her. He was allowed to watch her openly with no one, especially J.D., to tell him to keep it under control. When she disappeared into the bedroom, he had to wipe the drool off his lips.

She emerged a short time later in a nightshirt that nearly knocked him off his feet. The scanty underwear had been more concealing; the nightshirt was loose fitting with a plunging v-neck and see-through fabric. And he could see that she wasn’t wearing any anything underneath it.  But Cydney was oblivious to the fact that he was checking her out; she went about feeding the big orange cat now purring at her feet.

“Hey,” he leaned against the kitchen doorjamb and crossed his big arms across his chest. “I thought you were heading back to the museum.”

She shook her head. “Not right now,” she said quietly. “After the news about Olivia, I really just want to lay down for awhile. I can go back over around five am or so and start my assessment. The insurance people aren’t due until noon, anyway.”

Ethan nodded faintly, watching her put cat food on a plate. “Good,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve decided to take it easy for a few hours. You’ve had a pretty busy day.”

She set the plate in front of the cat and looked up at him. “So have you,” she walked over to him, inspecting his handsome face in the dim light.  Faintly, she smiled. “You really don’t have to stay and baby-sit me. I can drive myself to the museum in the morning. I don’t think you’ve been home since this whole thing started.”

He gazed down at her, the gentle toss of her blond hair and the slight tilt of her amazing hazel eyes.  The picture was soft, beautiful, and ethereal.

“There’s no place I’d rather be than right here,” he murmured.

Her smile broadened. “We’ve already had our first date,” she said. “I guess it’s okay for you to hang out here.”

His smile broadened as well. “Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

She laughed softly. “Not yet.”

“I’d like to apply for the position.”

“Really?” she said with mock skepticism. “It’s a fairly rigorous interview process.”

“I’m confident I can pass.”

Her eyes twinkled at him as her gaze moved over his powerful form. “I think you can, too.”

Ethan unfolded his arms from across his chest and pulled Cydney against him.  Her arms wound around his neck and their lips met, softly at first.  But that momentary gentleness was replaced by passion so strong that Ethan swept her up into his arms and held her against him tightly. Their lips, their tongues, clashed and melded and began the intimate dance of desire.  Before either one of them realized it, they were on Cydney’s bed and Ethan’s clothes were coming off.

There weren’t any sleeping pills this time or a question of the right or wrongness of it.  Ethan knew very well what he wanted and he further knew that she wanted it, too. There was such a powerful attraction between them that went beyond the physical.  There was emotion involved and a magnetic pull he’d never before felt. Every time he looked at her, he felt as if she already belonged to him.  He felt as if he’d known her all of his life.  Her quick wit, sultry voice and gentle humor had him spellbound.  He never wanted to be parted from her.

Ethan took his time with her. His mouth and hands never left her body.  He felt like a starving man, gorging himself on her flesh. It was the most amazing experience he could have imagined and listening to Cydney’s soft gasps told him she was experiencing the magic, too.

Their passion went long into the night.  Agent Orange parked himself in the open doorway, listening to the animal grunts of pleasure and sniffing the musk of lovemaking in the air.  Around four o’clock in the morning, Cydney and Ethan finally fell asleep entangled in each other’s arms.

Ethan’s ringing cell phone woke them up.

***

Olivia didn’t own a passport. She’d never needed one.  But during a taxi ride from the Charles du Gaulle airport into Paris, she heard Nat and Coral speak of the need to get her one. Nat had been directed from his superiors to take her to a location where a fraudulent French passport would be made.  As the town car drove slowly in traffic down the Rue Royale, Olivia strained to catch a glimpse of the sights.  She could see the Place de la Concorde through the windshield with the big gold-tipped obelisk, but the car made a left onto Rue de Rivoli before she could get a good look at the obelisk.

It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise over Paris as the car made its way down the Rue de Rivoli.  Olivia, seated between Joseph and Nat, almost forgot the fact that she was an abduction victim. She was actually excited to be in Paris.  To their right was the Jardin des Tuileries, the garden designed by Louis the Sun King, and she could see the early morning sunlight casting brilliant light on the myriad of flowers.  A big fountain spit a clear water fount up into the air.  Directly to the east was the Louvre.

“Oh,” she gasped as she caught sight of the glistening pyramid at the Louvre entrance.  “The Louvre. I’ve always wanted to go there.”

The car suddenly made a quick left on the Rue St. Roche and she lost sight of the dazzling pyramid. It was a tiny street, no bigger than an alley, and Nat exited the car and went inside a small tour company business that faced out on to the street. It was called L'Ami du Voyageur had several national flag stickers on the big plate window.   Olivia climbed up on the seat and looked out of the back window, catching a small portion of the sun king’s garden and part of the fountain in her field of vision.  The area itself was filled with small shops, mostly tourist traps and t-shirt shops, with dingy little apartments overhead.  She turned to Joseph, sitting next to her.

“I’ve been in the same clothes for two days,” she said. “I haven’t taken a shower and I feel really gross. Can I at least get some clothes to change in to and maybe a toothbrush?”

Joseph nodded. “I don’t see why not,” he looked at Coral, seated across from them and looking rather wary about the suggestion. “Do you want to go and get her some things?”

“No,” Olivia said before Coral could answer.  She eyed the woman balefully before refocusing on Joseph. “I don’t want her to. I would rather have you get them for me. You might actually get me something I like.”

Joseph fought off a grin. “Okay, munchkin,” he said. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Joseph,” Coral grasped his arm as he got out of the car. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to….”

Joseph cut her off. “She’s right,” he said rather firmly. “She’s been in the same clothes for two days.  Tell Nat I’ll be right back.”

Coral opened her mouth to protest but he was gone, slamming the car door and heading off towards the Rue de Rivoli where shops were starting to open for the day.  Olivia watched him disappear on the avenue, realizing she was alone with Coral in the car.  The woman was weak and stupid. And slow. A thought began to occur to her; she might not ever have another chance like this.  This wasn’t like stealing a cell phone; this was much more serious.

There wasn’t time to think about it, consequences or results. Quick as lightning, she threw open the car door, slamming it into the curb.  As Coral shrieked, Olivia bolted from the car and ran in the opposite direction that Joseph had gone.  It was a narrow little street that was bisected by another alley about fifty feet from the car.  Olivia darted to her right and just kept running.