Wicked Games (15 page)

He didn’t answer her
, but she could hear him moving around the room. She heard him rummaging through something, but he was moving so quickly she couldn’t tell what he was doing. She could hear muffled sounds of things being moved, cabinet doors opening and closing, and at one point, he was talking to himself. She kept straining her ears to figure out what he was up to.

How long until Noah figures out I’m gone? 

Noah finished his meeting at his security firm in downtown Miami and was very pleased with the new contract he had acquired. Shadow had been doing his best to keep Noah’s name, and his business name, out of the negative press.
Shadow had also helped get Richard’s name off the business, even as a silent partner. Noah had no idea how Shadow did it and he never asked, certain he didn’t want the details. 

Noah’s new client owned a major computer software business with offices located throughout the nation. The owner wanted a security detail at each location for the next
twelve months, as they worked to develop a new product line. This contract would put Steele Security on the map like no other before it, and it was entirely legitimate.

After his meeting ended, Noah began planning for resources to staff that many locations in his first long-term contract. He
was so engrossed in his work that he quickly lost track of time. When he finally looked up, he realized he had been at it for hours, but Brianna hadn’t called him. He grabbed his cell phone to check for missed calls, but there were none. 

He tapped the screen and dialed her number.  It rang several times before going to voicemail. He tried the house phone
, but no one answered.
Don’t panic…she could be busy or taking a nap or…
He turned to his computer, tapped a few keys, and checked his home security system. It hadn’t been set or reset since they left the house this morning. 

He called down the hall for Bull and Rebel to come to his office. He relayed his worry to them
, and when they tried to convince him he was overreacting, he blew out an exasperated breath and considered what he was about to tell them. If he was wrong and she was fine somewhere, she would have his head.  But if she wasn’t…

“Brianna’s pregnant. We just found out. Look, we haven’t told anyone yet, not even her family, because we just went to the doctor today to confirm the baby’s ok. She’ll be pissed at me telling you without her here, but if anything’s happened
to her…”

Bull and Rebel
were obviously stunned, but they were smiling and congratulating Noah. Bull knew Noah was worried and added, “OK, let’s find her.  Wasn’t she driving one of our SUVs today?”

Bull pulled up the GPS tracking software for their fleet of Steele Security SUVs on the computer.  Each one had been fitted with a tracker
, so others could find them in case of an emergency. He found hers and looked up the address where it was located. 

He turned to Noah, the worry obvious on his face and said, “Reaper, she never left the doctor’s office this morning.” The three men sprang into action.  Rebel started calling in backup
, as they made their way to the garage. They decided to start at her last known location and work their way out from there. 

The SUV still sat in the parking lot
, where she had met Noah that morning. He looked around the car, but found nothing to help them. He used a spare key, checking for car trouble, but it started fine and had a full tank of gas. Noah went back inside to talk to the receptionist, but he was told Brianna hadn’t come back in the office. 

Running back across the parking lot, he called Brad. “I need you to hack into the area traffic cameras
, and any other security cameras at this location, and find out what happened to Bri.
Now!”

Bull had his phone out and called Shadow to have him stay on alert.
Shadow was back in Miami, and they all decided to meet at Noah’s house to search for Brianna. Noah had called Brianna’s phone several more times, but it always rolled to voicemail. He knew without a doubt that she was in danger.

Brad’s tone of voice startled Noah from his thoughts, “Noah, I got something here!” Noah rushed to his computer
, as Brad played the video again. He watched as a man in a black mask grabbed Brianna, dragged her into the SUV with him, and sped away with her. The camera caught the direction the vehicle traveled for another twenty seconds before it panned in the opposite direction. 

“I’m working on cleaning up the image for the license plate.”

“Email that image to me,” responded Shadow’s deep voice.

Within a few minutes, Shadow had an email back from his contact at Langley. The email was a clear picture of the SUV, the license plate, along with the owner’s name, address
, and all known phone numbers. 

US Marshal Michael Stevens.

“He was Brianna’s handler when she was in the WITSEC program,” Shadow added.

“Hey, wait a
minute…” Rebel was remembering a conversation and putting the pieces together in his head.

“What, Rebel? You know something?
Talk to me!” Noah’s agitation was evident in his tone.

“That morning she made waffles.
I told her that US Marshal Stevens came by to talk to us. He told us that he didn’t think Richard was on that plane and he thought Richard had been taken hostage. She didn’t say he was assigned to her. She must have put it together that this dude was dirty. How could he not be, if he knew Richard was alive? They never reported he was taken hostage until he showed up. This one guy knew they were both alive.”

“And he knew Brianna was the key to the investigation.” Noah was beginning to realize what they were dealing with.

Noah dialed the cell phone number from Shadow’s email. He was surprised when the man answered.

“Stevens.”

“You took something of mine today, Stevens. I will tear you limb from limb with my bear hands, if even one hair on her head is missing.” Noah’s voice was calm but low. He was serious and determined to get Brianna back and carry out his threat to Stevens.

“
And you have something I want. How about a swap?” Noah didn’t like Stevens’ cocky tone. He sounded so sure of himself and not at all threatened by Noah’s statement. 

“What do you want?”

“The documents….All her evidence.”

“Let me talk to her first. I want to know she’s ok.”

“Noah?”

“Bri – I’m coming to get you!”

“Not until I get what I want, you’re not.”

“Just say where and when, Stevens.”

He gave an address where he wanted to meet in one hour. As expected, he told Noah to come alone.  Brad saved a copy of the documents he had saved on his computer, from his earlier research, to a flash drive and gave it to Noah.

They geared up for battle – this time in their work fatigues, guns and knives in various holsters and hiding places, communication devices, stun guns, smoke grenades and
mace. Noah sent one team to the address listed in the email Shadow received, just in case Stevens was sending them on a wild goose chase.  Shadow called the boys at Langley to start searching for any other local addresses that were remotely associated with Stevens. 

When I get my hands on him, he won’t have to worry about going to prison. He’ll be going to a morgue.
There was a reason why his nickname was Reaper, and he was determined to put it to good use.

****************

“Come on. We’re going for a ride,” Stevens said, as he yanked her up from the chair.

“
Stevens, you don’t have to do this.”

“Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me over the last three
years?“ He was pushing her back into the SUV.

As he closed her door, she felt something at her feet and quickly leaned over to touch it.
My purse!
She quickly grabbed her cell phone out of the side pocket.  As he slid in the driver’s seat, she tucked it between her right thigh and the edge of her seat, as far away from Stevens as she could get it. She kept her hands at her sides and only moved her fingers as she unlocked the screen. 

With her head held just right, she could barely see the touchscreen of her phone from under her hood. She quickly hit the speed
dial button for Noah’s cell and let the phone stay on. She hoped he could somehow track her cell phone signal and find her. She at least felt better knowing he was on the other end of the line.

“Where are we going, Stevens?”

“Oh, I’m going to meet your boyfriend and be done with all this shit.”

“And what do you plan to do with me?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Is he really enjoying this?
“How did you get involved in this? You’re supposed to be one of the good guys.”

“Good guys finish last, sweetheart. Haven’t you heard? Hollingsworth screwed me over
, after I helped him. He
owes
me.”

“But your name didn’t even come up in any of those documents. You were safe.”

“He screwed me over! That’s why my name wasn’t there! At first, I thought you were playing me  when I kept asking for them and you never gave them to me.”

“I wasn’t playing you. I didn’t know you were even involved.”

“Yeah, I figured that out.
Richard
cut me out completely. Took all the money for himself, but
you
have all the offshore bank account numbers.”

“So you can take all the
money…”

“
Such a smart girl…too smart for your own damn good.”

***************

Noah jerked the phone up when he saw Brianna’s number come up. He hit the button and heard her talking to Stevens and knew what she was doing. He put the call on mute and transferred it to the vehicle Bluetooth link, so the team could listen through the speakers. 

“Brad, track her cell phone and find her!”

Brad was already on it. He was sure what he was doing was illegal, but Shadow gave him the nod to continue. He hacked into the cell carrier’s website and identified the towers Brianna’s phone was pinging off of. A few calculations later, he had triangulated her position within a few hundred yards. 

Brianna was still talking and keeping Stevens talking.
That was a small consolation, just knowing she was still alive and didn’t sound hurt. But Noah had heard Stevens’ comment and his tone of voice.  Stevens wasn’t leaving any loose ends, and Brianna knew too much for Stevens to just let her go. He planned to kill her as soon as he got the bank numbers.

Noah sped to the location Brianna’s phone showed and saw the SUV turning into a long, gravel driveway. The house couldn’t be seen from the road
, and there was a row of trees on either side of the driveway, running parallel with the road. He pulled over and told the guys to make their way to the house. He was told to show up alone, and he would, but they would be close behind him. 

They quickly disappeared into the night
, and Noah drove on alone. He carefully took the scenery in, as his SUV crawled along the gravel drive. He was looking for any signs of traps. He knew what to look for, since he had set and been in enough of them in his military career.
Just like riding a bike.
Some training never really leaves you.

A single light was on in the house up ahead. He knew better than to think this would be that easy. He caught a glimpse of movement on the other side of the house and knew it wasn’t any of his men. They would be approaching from the other direction
, and they couldn’t have beaten him here. Stevens was lying in wait for him, and he would be damn sure Stevens was disappointed.

He stopped the car in the gravel driveway,
far enough away from the house to not be seen and blocking the exit. He turned the dome light of the SUV off and silently slipped out the door. He crouched down beside the wheel, as he searched the perimeter of the house. Gun drawn at his side, he ran towards the house, stopping to look in Stevens’ empty car, before crouching beside the front of the house.

He raised his head slightly to look in the window
, where the light was on, and saw Brianna sitting in the floor. His eyes took in the room and when his mind registered what he was seeing, his heart stopped.

That bastard is dead. He just doesn’t know it yet.

Stevens felt very confident in his plans. He was gloating at how he had beaten Richard
, after he had tried to screw Stevens out of his cut.
While they’re busy arresting and trying everyone else, I can clean out the bank accounts and never be found again.
Yes, he was sure this plan would work for him. He only had a couple of minor details to take care of first. 

He laughed to himself at the thought of how
lovesick Noah would come barging in to rescue his damsel in distress, only to find out what true distress really was. He had planned every detail of this scenario in his head, over and over for the past three years. He knew Brianna would eventually run back to Noah and back to the evidence. He didn’t know where the stupid bitch had hidden the documents, but he knew she didn’t have them on her. He had searched her townhouse plenty of times while she was out on her runs. 

She didn’t even know
he
was the one who convinced Richard’s buyers there was a “new weapon” in the making. His brilliant scheming surprised even him sometimes. That thought brought a real smile to his face. Richard was arrested, that Alexa Pope bitch was dead, her old man was arrested, and every day he heard of someone else in the circle had been caught red handed. Maybe Richard’s cutting him out of the money actually did him a favor, he mused, since now
everyone’s
money would be
his
. And as Brianna had pointed out, no one even suspected he was part of it.

In a few minutes, the only two people who could delay my departure from the country will be dead. 

He had secured Brianna to a wooden post in the old farmhouse that had belonged to his grandmother. It had long since been condemned, and she was moved to a nursing home, but he’d held on to the property, hoping it would be worth something one day. He laughed at his own witty self again. Tonight, it will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The house was made of wood – old, rotten wood – and it would burn to the ground with a single spark. And it would spark, all right.

All around the room, he had set trip wires
, so no matter which way Noah rushed in, he would set off the small bombs he had crafted. His time spent on the LAPD bomb squad really paid off in the end. He learned how to dismantle bombs, but in doing so, he also learned how to build them. 

The ones he set here were little more than Molotov cocktails
and didn’t take any real genius to rig.  The trip wire would ignite the flare sitting under the rag leading to the gasoline bombs. It was a short rag, so it would be a short fuse. Once one went off, the whole house would catch fire, automatically igniting the others. With a fire burning that hot, everything should burn away without a trace. And there’s no way Noah would leave Brianna in there to die alone.

Stevens crouched beside the house, waiting for Noah to run in and start the chain reaction. Then he would simply drive away and never be seen again. 
Such a perfect plan.

***************

Noah knew his men were within radio range and as
quietly as possible whispered, “
He’s mine
.” He moved silently along the front of the house towards the direction he saw Stevens going. As he turned the corner of the back of the house, he saw a dark figure crouched by a large bush in the backyard. His eyes scanned the area around Stevens, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He caught a movement in his peripheral vision. His men were setting up for an ambush.

Noah stole up behind Stevens, as silent and deadly as the Grim Reaper himself, caught him in a headlock with
his left arm and the barrel of his Glock against his right temple.
“Make a move, asshole. I dare you.”

Stevens went rigid and stilled his movements.  Noah had hoped for more of a fight than this. He didn’t like to kill anyone in cold blood, if he didn’t have to.  But this one time he might make an exception. He might just like it. Stevens’ hand shot back and a brief flint of moonlight reflected off his Bowie knife. 

Noah was too cl
ose to completely avoid the nine and a half inch knife. He jumped back and to the side, but the knife sliced Noah’s side, leaving a gaping wound. Burning pain tore through him, his left arm dropped to hold his injured side, and Stevens whirled around to face him. Charging, Stevens extended his arm, stabbing the knife at Noah again. Noah’s powerful roundhouse kick knocked the knife out of Stevens’ hand. As he dove for it, Noah shot at him. The bullet hit him in the side of his chest and this time Stevens didn’t get up.

Noah gave him a hard kick in the side
, and Stevens didn’t move or even groan in pain. If he were still alive, he wouldn’t have been able to take that kick. Especially since Noah strategically placed it right at the bullet’s entry wound. Walking away from Stevens and still holding his wounded side, Noah went to get Brianna out of the house before it went up in flames.

The other
men watched the interaction between Reaper and Stevens, but none interfered.  They understood Reaper’s innate need to handle Stevens on his own. Reaper briefed the men on what he’d seen in the house, and even though he didn’t need to, he stressed to every man to be careful inside the house. They carefully made their way into the dilapidated house, stepping over numerous trip wires.  Blake and Roman worked on removing as much of the threat as possible while the others helped free Brianna.

Once outside the house, Brianna finally saw Noah’s blood soaked shirt. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes. Not for her own safety, but fear of losing him.
“Oh my God, Noah! You’re hurt!”

Trying to relieve her fears, he gave his best smile and said, “It’s nothing. I’ve had worse.” She knew better
than to believe the wound was nothing. One of the guys gave her his shirt. She folded it and held it firmly against Noah’s side, putting pressure on the wound to help stop the blood loss as much as possible.  She wrapped her arm around his waist to help him to the car. 

A noise behind them startled her
, and she saw Stevens lunging at Noah with a large knife. With one hand, she grabbed the gun from Noah’s holster, turned on a dime and fired at Stevens, hitting him right between the eyes. She felt Noah take the gun from her hand, as she stood staring at Stevens’ dead body. Bull walked up beside her, put his arm around her shoulders, and quipped, “Our little sister doesn’t miss when she aims her gun.” 

“My brothers trained me well
.” She smiled up at Bull and leaned into him briefly before returning to help Noah to the SUV and then to the hospital.