Password to Her Heart (4 page)

She caught sight of the concrete, the darkness, and slight bit of light coming from a door. Her wrists were cuffed behind her back as she sat tied to a chair of some kind. She moved around with the little room she had and felt the stiffness all over. It was as if she had been run over by a truck. She hurt everywhere. Slowly her memory of what happened came back to her. She felt her heart racing. She closed her eyes as they welled up with tears. The three men from the bar had grabbed her. She’d failed. She hadn’t done what Keith had said. She wasn’t a trained soldier. She’d fought them best she could, but in the end the big guy struck her so hard he knocked her out.

She swallowed hard and blinked her eyes open. She wondered where she was. Vaguely she remembered driving in the van. She remembered someone holding her on their lap. They stopped, and someone asked them questions. They mentioned her passport. Her chest tightened.

She inhaled, the smell of food growing stronger as her belly rumbled. She was starving. Where had they taken her? Out of the country?

She heard what sounded like male voices and footsteps. She didn’t know what to do. Should she pretend she was still unconscious?

She closed her eyes, but the moment they entered they had planned on waking her. The kick to her chair jostled her body, almost making her fall over onto her side.

She tensed the moment she locked gazes with their eyes. They looked Hispanic, maybe Mexican, and they looked evil.

They yelled at her in their language. It was Mexican Spanish. They were holding large guns. AK-47s, if she was correct. They wore what appeared to her to be military uniforms. One guy thrust the butt of his gun at her thigh.

She cried out. “What do you want?”

He stepped forward, straddled her thighs, and grabbed her by the neck. He squeezed tight and she gasped, unable to fight back or fend him off because her hands were tied behind her back.

“Cuadrone, release her now,” the other man said. Cuadrone gave her neck a shove, causing an instant ache. She nearly tumbled over.

After Cuadrone pulled his gun back into position, a third man arrived with three other men.

He wore a different type of uniform and appeared important. The others bowed and then saluted him. One small nod of his head and the men returned to their casual stance, staring at her.

The big shot approached.

He eyed her over. She damned the short shorts she wore to the bar and the stupid tight T-shirt that accentuated her large breasts. She was shaking she was so scared. Keith had said the men who might try to take her were evil men who would think nothing of torturing her, raping her, and beating her to get to Keith.

She looked down, not even wanting to piss the man off by making eye contact with him.

His shadow loomed over her. He was a tall man, bulky and thick. Not fat but muscular, she could tell.

When she felt his fingers under her chin, she slowly looked up until their eyes met.

“I am Captain Montoya. I’m in charge here. Do you know why you are here?”

She shook her head. He squeezed her chin. “No,” she whispered, assuming that he wanted a verbal answer.

“Your brother is in a lot of trouble. He has caused a bit of a situation and we need to find him.”

She held his gaze, zeroed in on his tight, firm jaw, the goatee, and the scent of his cologne. His uniform was crisp, clean, and neat, unlike the other men in the room.

He squeezed her chin. “Where is your brother, Shawna?”

“I don’t know.”

He stepped closer, let his fingers slide down her throat and over the material of her shirt against her breasts.

“You’re a very beautiful woman. Young, ripe for the taking, it would be a shame to have to hurt you to get the truth from you.”

He stared at her and she didn’t know what he wanted her to say. She didn’t know how to respond. Did she lie, did she tell him exactly how Keith had come to visit her?

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I don’t know where he is.”

The backhand came across her face so fast she cried out and then he gripped her face firmly.

“Do not lie to me. You will only suffer more. There are ways to make you talk, to get the whole truth from you.”

“I don’t know where he is. I swear to you,” she said, her lips now bleeding and her cheek throbbing.

He ran his hand from her face to her shoulder. He squeezed it and then smiled softly at her.

“I believe you met Cuadrone, and also his partner Guazipan. Cuadrone has a special way of making women talk. You see, I don’t want to have him question you. I’d rather do it myself, but I’m on a tight schedule with time. Your brother visited you at your apartment three weeks ago. Where is he staying now?”

“I don’t know.”

He struck her again and she cried out and felt as if she’d sprained her neck from the hit.

“Please stop hitting me. I don’t know where Keith is.”

“I need to be sure.” The captain stepped away from her and Cuadrone took his place. He squatted down, got into a fighting stance, and struck her stomach and ribs repeatedly. Shawna cried out in pain, her stomach and ribs aching terribly until she threw up.

That got Cuadrone to stop using her stomach as a punching bag.

She was gagging and couldn’t catch her breath.

Someone yanked her head up by her hair.

“Oh God, please stop.”

It was Montoya. He wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and held her gaze.

“I believe you, Shawna. We sit and wait. He will come for you, and when he does, you both shall die together.” He jerked her head, releasing her hair and causing her head to snap back against her shoulders. She was shivering, felt the chills run through her blood and veins.

I’m going to die. They’re going to rape me and torture me. Where are you, Keith? Help me.

* * * *

“What did you find out about her?” Stitch asked Lee as Lee pulled up the files on the computer. Thanks to Tex and his ability to access motor vehicles and a search engine established for federal agents, they were able to locate Shawna.

“Tex is sending over a picture of her now and all her information,” Lee said.

Tiek walked closer as the screen downloaded and Shawna’s face filled the empty space.

Tiek whistled long and softly.

“She’s gorgeous,” Stitch whispered.

Lee swallowed hard. His phone rang. It was Tex, so he put him on speaker.

“Did you get everything?” he asked.

“Yes. I sent it to the printer. Stitch is getting the papers now,” Lee said as Stitch pulled the documents from the printer and looked them over.

“She’s only twenty-four years old.” He handed Lee some of the documents and the rest to Tiek.

“Yeah, I did a little digging, and it looks like she lives alone, works at a bar, and get this, some guy there, Mike, reported her missing yesterday. She never showed up for work. That was four days ago,” Tex told them.

“Fuck. Do you think she’s with Keith?” Lee asked.

“Don’t know, but I don’t like my gut feeling on this. What has Mercury come up with? Any chatter on the federal end?” Tex asked. Just then Mercury walked into the room.

“What’s going on?” he asked them as he entered carrying a package.

“We were finding out more about Keith’s sister. She was just reported missing,” Tiek told Mercury and handed him a picture of her.

Lee saw Mercury’s eyes light up and then go back to serious again. The man was hard as nails and never showed emotion, but Lee could tell that this situation was bothering him as much as it was bothering them.

“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she, Commander?” Stitch asked.

“Here, this came addressed to you. I just got off the phone with Commander Louis Smuthers. He was in charge of Keith. He believes that Keith is now working with a terrorist cell in Morocco. It’s out of our hands. So if the sister is with Keith, then their fate is set.”

Lee looked at the package. His heart was heavy and he just didn’t want to believe that Keith was capable of treason. He spoke with Tiek and Stitch this morning and they agreed that it didn’t sit right with them. Tex added his comments, too.

“Hey, where did you get this?” Lee asked as he pulled the contents from the package. There was a thumb drive, a key, and Keith’s handwriting.

“It’s from Keith,” he blurted out.

“What?” they all asked, including Tex, who remained on speakerphone.

“Look. He sent me this. There’s a phone number, too.” Lee looked at his brothers, his team.

“Call it,” Tiek stated.

“Wait, should we see what’s on the thumb drive first?” Stitch asked.

“No, what if it’s incriminating evidence and he drags all of us into his shit?” Mercury stated.

“Use the untraceable computer. It’s fine,” Stitch suggested and pushed the laptop in front of Lee.

Lee stuck the thumb drive in as he pressed a few keys. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Lee asked.

“Holy shit,” Tiek said.

“What is it?” Tex asked.

“Evidence that shows exactly what Keith has been up to,” Mercury stated.

“I’m on my way,” Tex said and then disconnected the call.

“I’m calling Keith. He sent us this stuff and this number for a reason. He needs us,” Lee said. Lee reached for his cell phone.

Tiek stopped him. “Wait, you may want to use an untraceable line, or one of the untraceable phones.”

“You’re right. We don’t know what the deal is,” Lee said.

“It’s better to be safe. This stuff looks like some sort of plans for developing a weapon. Look at these specifications,” Mercury said as he scrolled down until they came to pictures.

“Here, use this.” Stitch passed Lee a cell phone.

“Where did you get this from?” Lee asked.

“No questions, you know I like to be prepared,” Stitch said, brown eyes sparkling with mischief. All Lee knew was that if he were ever in trouble or in need of help, these men were the only ones he trusted his life with.

Lee took a deep breath and made the phone call.

“I don’t have a lot of time. I hate to drag you guys into any of this but I have no choice,” Keith stated.

“What the fuck did you get involved in?” Lee asked.

“Heavy undercover assignment gone badly.” They listened as Keith explained about his mission and about how his commander was working against him and with Montoya to develop this missile intended to be used in a terrorist attack. He explained about Chavez, and about the number of people involved with this terrorist cell.

“There’s no one in the government you can take all this information to?” Stitch asked.

“No, not without jeopardizing what I need to do. Chavez has the upper hand.”

“Fuck, and I just talked to that guy, Smuthers, thirty minutes ago. He knows about your sister, Keith,” Mercury stated.

“They took her, Mercury. They’ve had her for five days, held up in a secure base in Mexico.”

“What? Oh shit, Keith,” Lee replied.

“It’s why I sent you all the stuff. Chavez is making me call into the commander and claim that I’m going to give myself up, but say that I have a bomb that has the potential to destroy and kill. It’s a decoy to the real attack, and to keep the military unaware of the missile they built and where it’s located. I need your help.”

“What do you need, Keith? You know we have your back,” Tiek stated.

“They know about you guys. They threatened to kill all of you, including Shawna. I won’t put you at risk of getting killed. I already have Shawna to try and save. This is what I need you to do.”

He began to explain his plan and it all sounded like it would work because of Mercury and their connections, but how was Keith going to get Shawna out of harm’s way all by himself?

“Keith, you need our help to infiltrate that facility where Shawna is being held,” Lee stated.

“Lee, if you bring all this information to the right people and plan this accordingly, then you can go with the troops they send in. The location of the missile is nearby and the threats are real. It’s more than enough for the military to come into Mexico and seize everyone and everything they can.”

“I can meet you before that team arrives. I can go in there with you and save Shawna,” Lee told Keith.

“Me, too,” Tiek added.

“You know I’m in,” Stitch said.

“No, I won’t put your lives at risk. If you follow my directions, then this will all be over soon enough. I can’t even fathom what they’ve done to Shawna so far. I have to play my part. I just need you guys to promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?” Mercury asked as Tex walked into the room.

“If I don’t make it out of this alive, please take care of Shawna for me. Make sure you use that key to the safety deposit box, follow the directions, and ensure her safety and her future. She’s been through so much and something like this can set her back even further. I told her to trust no one. There’s a password that only her and I know. You use it to make her realize that she’s safe with the five of you. She’ll need reassurance because god only knows what these fuckers did to her already.”