Girl Undercover 10 & 11: The Abduction & Dante's Inferno (10 page)

Ian snickered derisively. “He could always try, but he’d never succeed.”

“Let’s not tempt him.”

“Don’t worry, luv, I won’t. As much as I’d love to beat that bastard senseless, I’m not about to let my childish instincts get the better of me and risk ticking off Stenger.”

“Good thinking. So you’re absolutely sure he’s not onto you then?”

“Yes, I’m too far away.” He paused. “I suppose the sun might’ve caught my binoculars at some point, reflecting the glare in the lens. Yes, he might’ve seen that. It’s been very sunny here in New York lately.”

I was convinced that he must be pulling my leg. “You’re kidding. You’re not actually using binoculars?”

“No, I’m not kidding. I do use binoculars on occasion. Depending on where I am.”

“Big
ones?”

“Yes, I hate those smaller ones. They don’t fit my face. I’m standing so far away generally that I never thought it’d be a problem.”

“Stop using binoculars or suck it up and get a smaller pair,” I ordered him. “He never said anything about seeing a glare in the park, just that he had a feeling of there being eyes on him at all times. But we don’t want to give him any chance of ever catching you.”

“True. Fine, I’ll get the smaller kind. And you should try to get Kelly on his own. He might feel more comfortable opening up if Juback isn’t around.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking that, too. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns into putty in my hands if I can get him vulnerable enough. He looked like he was close to cracking today, and that was while his buddy was there. But then Jonah called unfortunately and the moment was gone.” I inhaled and exhaled wearily. “Oh, well. At least I know that he’s the less committed of the two now. I can’t wait to see what he’ll be like when I’m alone with him.”

Ian chuckled softly. “Just keep using your feminine charms and I’m sure everything will be just fine… Jonah’s not the only one missing you, you know.”

“Oh, yeah, who else is?” I asked cheekily, liking the turn this conversation had taken all of a sudden. As lonely as I felt sleeping in that big hotel bed, some sweet words from him was just what I needed. I smiled, thinking he must finally be ready to be more intimate with me again—and not in a friendly way only.

“I can think of a few people. Hey, I should get going. I need to get a pair of those tiny binoculars. It’s going to take me a while to find some.”

“Oh.” I cleared my throat discreetly so that Ian wouldn’t notice how snubbed I felt. I couldn’t tell if he’d cut me short on purpose or not. Either way, I wasn’t about to let my disappointment show. “Yeah, you don’t want to waste too much time not keeping track of Jonah. I’ll let you go then. We’ll talk soon.”

We said goodbye and then disconnected. I checked the time and saw that it was already four thirty. I was supposed to see Dante tonight for an early dinner at his house. I would finally get to reconnect with my godson and his mother, Ricki, who used to be my client for a short time when I was a trainer at Crunch years ago. Dante’s wife and his son would be the first of all my friends and family outside of law enforcement that I’d see. I was not yet ready to reveal my return to my parents; my mom especially would not stop badgering me, insisting on talking about how I was holding up and wanting to know what I had been doing while in Budapest. With all that was going on, I’d have a hard time keeping all my lies straight, not to mention lying at all. My mother was likely to see through me was I to stumble even a little bit. Introducing her and my father to the conspiracy was not an option at this point. If Captain Brady didn’t believe me, chances were they wouldn’t believe me, either. No, it was better if I just sent her an email, pretending I was doing okay back in Hungary still.

I smiled when I thought of Enrique, who had turned nine months old recently. Dante had told me the baby had a lot more hair now, a shock of black curls like his father’s, and could not only crawl but also walk several steps, as long as someone held him by the hand. Enrique had even tried to jump on a couple of occasions and could throw toys farther than most babies his age, further convincing Dante that his kid would become a great athlete like himself. I had to agree with his prediction. The sheer volume and duration of the baby’s cries could make anyone deaf, so the kid must have unusual lung capacity, crucial for any cardio endurance athlete. He’d probably become the next Lance Armstrong or a great marathon runner. Or opera singer.

Of course Enrique was already able to say “mom” to Ricki and “dada” to Dante. I couldn’t help but wonder if he would remember me, having been only four months and change when I last held him. Dante was sure that he would, but I doubted it. Especially since I had red hair now instead of my usual chocolate brown locks.

I had some time to kill and had been sitting most of the day, so I decided to hit the gym and get in a good workout before heading to Dante’s house. It could take a while before I got another chance to move and work my muscles, as I was determined to get more information out of the doctors quickly. The next time I saw them, which would be as soon as after dinner tonight, I would stay there for a longer period. Dante would come with me to relieve Sergei and stand guard. I would focus my efforts on getting an opportunity to talk to Dr. Kelly on his own. If I played my cards right, maybe we would have all the answers we needed within the next couple of days and could put an end to what The Adler Group was planning.

I thought I could be fairly sure that Stenger didn’t look like an aging Serbian man, whose defining features were his razor-sharp jawline and cheekbones. My mistake not to separate the two doctors immediately and Dr. Juback’s slick lie still irked me to no end. Knowing what the elusive leader of the movement actually looked like would make our quest to find him much easier. In addition to hanging around Jonah, Ian could tag Janine and Chatterly, both people we thought may be part of Stenger’s inner circle, at least Janine, and hopefully spot him that way. It was meaningless for Ian to hang around Nikkei when Jonah was training clients back-to-back. He should spend those hours following others who might interact with Stenger.

It was imperative that I was equally as slick when trying to get Dr. Kelly on his own tonight, and also while coaxing the truth out of him. I had to find out what Otto Stenger really looked like, as well as some names of people who dealt with him in person. Blowing off some steam at the gym was just what I needed to get me in the right state of mind for what awaited me later. I simply
had
to find a way to make Dr. Kelly trust and like me enough to reveal all the information I wanted.

Taking a detour to my hotel where I grabbed some gym clothes first, I drove to the Equinox Fitness Club location in West L.A., a gym I had never visited before. I wasn’t about to go to a health club where I ran the risk of running into people I knew, who, if they did recognize me despite my different hair, would surely want to know how I was doing. Even though they meant well, the last thing I felt like doing was talk about my loss and how I was coping. I had done enough of that with Dr. Sokoloff.

I walked up to the front desk and asked to buy a one-day pass. The gorgeous, smiling girl behind the counter took care of it, and within short I was walking into the sleek, trendy health club. Taking a walk around the premises before going to change into my gym gear, I marveled over how attractive all the trainers working on the floors were. All of them looked like they could be on the cover of any top fitness magazine, even a regular fashion glossy.

As I took them in, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of them were human hybrids, or if they were this good-looking without the help of genetic engineering. Of course, if they were regular people, I didn’t doubt that some of them had undergone plastic surgery procedures to improve their looks. Looks, not brains, ruled in this city after all.

I debated whether to engage a few of them in conversation while working out to see if they struck me as brilliant as they were great-looking. Maybe that would give me a clue. Deciding that I would give it a try, I headed toward the locker rooms to get changed.

Barely had I opened the locker in which my clothes would go when my phone rang. I found it in my bag. The number looked extremely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I pondered whether to just let the call go to voicemail and see who’d gotten the number to my latest burner that way.

I changed my mind at the last second and pressed the Talk button.

“Hello?” I said.

“Gabi, it’s Ricki.” Her voice was shaky and thin. “Dante has been shot.
Oh, God…”

I nearly dropped the phone.
“What?
Is he”—I swallowed hard—“Is he alive?”

“Yes, but he might not be for long.” She moaned, then started crying hysterically.

Grabbing my tote bag from the bench where I’d placed it, I walked out of the locker room. “Ricki, please calm down. I need for you tell me what happened.”

She sniffled and took a couple of deep breaths. Then, “He… He just sent me an email to tell me to call you and”—she sniffled some more—“and… and let you know one of his trainers has gone nuts and has… has taken everyone at the studio hostage…”

Hostage?
What the fuck?
I squeezed the phone in my hand and picked up my pace. My heart began to race in my chest as I hurried toward the gym exit.

“You have to go there and help him,” Ricki cried out. “I’d go myself, but I don’t know what to do with Enrique.”

“Don’t go anywhere, Ricki. I’m heading over to Malibu right now. Did you call the police yet?” I was out of the health club and half running toward my car. It was parked on the other side of the busy road. Frustrated, I willed the traffic light to give me the right of way instantly to stop the heavy flow of cars currently driving by before my nose.

“Not yet,” Ricki said. “He told me to call you first, then the police.”

Finally the traffic light turned red and I could get across the road to where I’d parked my Toyota. I ran as fast I could while still able to keep talking to Ricki.

“Did he say where in his studio he is?” I asked her between breaths.

“Behind the counter. There’s a laptop computer there. Oh, God… You might be able to get in using the front door. The crazy guy’s in the middle of the studio, he said. Closer to the terrace.”

“Okay,” I said, having reached my car. I opened the door and threw myself into the driver’s seat, my mind set on driving straight to
Cuerpos,
Dante’s boutique fitness studio.

But then it hit me that it would be convenient if I could be in touch with him as I headed over there. He apparently only had access to his laptop or he’d have called me directly. My burner phone had prepaid minutes to talk, but no prepaid data usage. I tried to estimate how much time I’d lose if I swung by Ricki’s house and we switched phones so I could communicate with Dante using her smartphone. Their house was close enough for it to be worth it, I decided. Having to go through her to get email updates from Dante was much too complicated.

“I’m coming by your house before I drive over there,” I told Ricki. “I’m gonna need your phone. I don’t have email access on mine. You have that on yours, right?”

“Yes… yes, I do.” I could tell that she was struggling to keep it together.

“Okay, I’ll be there soon. Maybe ten minutes. Now call 911, so we can get cops there. I’ll call, too.”

Ten seconds later, I was on the road and driving as fast as I could toward their house while at the same time calling for help.

As I zigzagged between cars, pissing off drivers and nearly hitting a guy on a motorbike, I thought about what I knew so far about the situation. Ricki had said one of Dante’s trainers had gone nuts and taken everyone hostage at his studio. Why would someone want to take them hostage? Was he just a maniac? He must have a weapon if Dante was shot. I wondered if Dante had somehow gotten behind the front desk at the last second, or if he’d been standing there already when he was hit. What about the other trainers, not to mention all the clients who were at
Cuerpos
at the moment? Had this maniac trainer shot others?
Killed
others? What kind of weapon was he using? A handgun? A machine gun? I swallowed hard, hoping it was the former and that he would run out of bullets quickly. I didn’t dare to think what would happen if I or other law enforcement didn’t get there soon enough. Not only would I lose my best friend, but Ricki would lose her husband and my godson his father.

It made most sense to me that the trainer was just a maniac who acted without a specific purpose in mind. But what had made him snap in the first place? As far as I had been able to tell, Dante always treated his employees like gold and they all loved him. I couldn’t for my life imagine that Dante had lied to me about this. So what the hell had set
this
one off?

Was it possible that the trainer was a hybrid human and that The Adler Group had something to do with this? Had they sent an order for this one to go on a killing rampage? Test drive how effective their microchips were?

I went ice cold.
Oh, God, that makes even more sense…

Were there more human hybrids at
Cuerpos?
There could very well be more of them there…
Fucking hell…
It wasn’t like Dante had really been able to tell, and now he was paying the price for it.

I could only hope that I and other law enforcement got there before it was too late.

I could see Dante and Ricki’s yellow house now, and it looked like Ricki was standing in the front yard. Yes, that was her, holding a bunch of towels under one arm and Enrique with her other.

Stopping the car on the street in front of the house, I got out. Ricki must have spotted me, too, because she came up to me right away. Pretty with porcelain skin and strawberry-blond hair in a messy ponytail, she looked the same as always, except her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Enrique was a lot bigger already and with lots of black curls on his head, just like Dante had promised. He gazed at me with big, serious, black eyes, sucking on his thumb for comfort.