Deny Tomorrow Page 22

  They’d been through drills like this before and had practiced this situation until they could execute the maneuver with precision. They would hit hard and fast, and one way or the other, it would be over in seconds. The only difference was, never before had the stakes been so personally high.

  Zach was waiting for the mole to move away from Arianna for even a second. He seemed intent on hovering over her, copping feels, and spitting questions at her…questions about him he could hear clearly through the door.

  “I know you know who the guy from Kervistan is. You are either going to tell me, or I am going to kill your fucking mother,” Reichter said and moved toward Kathryn.

  This was it. The time was now. “Three, two, one.” Zach counted down and signaled, “Go time.”

  Tony blew the door, and with no hesitation, Zach and Juan rushed through, rolling right, rolling left and back to their feet, weapons blazing. The attack was on.

  Zach took Arianna’s chair to the floor with a swift but firm kick of his foot, getting her out of the line of fire. Reichter and his men got off a few shots, but missed Zach and his team. One by one, they cut down every hostile in the room. But the fight was not over yet. Two more men came through another door firing. Zach dropped to one knee and took out the first man with a shot to the head, while Tony shot and killed the second assailant.

  ARIANNA COULDN’T believe what was happening. Swarming out of nowhere, she saw three commandos, camouflaged from head to toe. One commando had swiftly taken her chair to the floor, putting her safely below the gunfire. She saw her mom lying nearby, pushed behind a desk by another commando. She’d never been so scared in her life. Real bullets, real blood, and real people lying dead all around her.

  When the action died down, the first commando came back to her side and sat her chair upright. Untying her, he made a quick inspection of her face, pausing to examine the cut on her lip and a gash above her eye. Blood was pouring down her face, so he grabbed a bandana from around his neck and tied it around her head to stem the bleeding. He made a quick check of her arms and legs for other wounds and then, pulled his t-shirt off and put it on her, covering her shredded blouse.

  Arianna was so happy to finally be safe she threw her arms around the commando’s neck and sobbed. Whoever this guy was, she owed him her life.

  “You saved my life. Thank you so much,” she cried as she clung onto him. For an instant, the man returned her embrace, but then, suddenly, he pulled her arms off of him and sat her into a chair and signaled she should stay there. He moved away and began snapping pictures of the dead men while the other commandos removed wallets and cell phones and put them in bags. Finally, her commando savior returned and took her by the wrist, then signaled to the rest of the men to move out. They all headed silently for the exit.

  In contrast to the initial tenderness he’d shown, as they made their way out of the building, the commando now had a painful grip on her arm and was dragging her along in such an abrupt manner, her feet hardly touched the ground. Boy! This guy is rough. She glanced back over her shoulder and was happy to see her mother was at least being carried gently out of the building by one of the other men in the group. As for herself, her escort seemed angry and in a hurry, dragging her swiftly along behind him.

  The women were hustled to a waiting SUV where another man in a suit greeted them. Before Arianna knew what was happening, the commando hoisted her unceremoniously into the backseat. Her rescuer took one long, last look at her and then, slammed the door so hard it shook the vehicle. Arianna shuddered at the force and fury of its impact and looked after him. Something about him really unnerved her. The door opened on the other side of the van, and the other commando carefully placed her mother in the vehicle. He reached across and gently rubbed Arianna’s cheek with his knuckle and then, left as the man in the suit joined the women in the van.

  Such extremely different responses from two of her rescuers. One tender and affectionate and the other seemingly as mad as hell. She looked out the window at the man who had brought her out of the building. He was standing by the car talking to two men in suits. He looked back in her direction one more time and then, left with the rest of the commando team. The remainder of the men in suits piled into cars, and in a matter of minutes, the parking lot was empty. At some point, the local police would find only seven nameless men, lying dead in a room littered with drugs and drug paraphernalia. The true details of what went down tonight would never be known.

  “Ms. Garrett,” the man in the suit said, flashing a badge she barely had time to look at. She didn’t know if he was MPD, FBI, or CIA. He could have flashed a Boy Scout badge for all she knew.

  “I just need to ask you a few questions. Are you feeling well enough to talk for a moment?”

  Arianna nodded.

  “Very good, then. This won’t take long,” he said as the SUV pulled out of the parking lot. He took out a notebook and prepared to take notes. “First of all, what can you tell me about the guy who questioned you? Was he the same man you saw on the beach in Costa Luna?”

  Arianna nodded again.

  “What did you tell him about where you’ve been? Specifically, did you give him any names or talk about the location where you’d been hiding?”

  Arianna dabbed at the cut on her head which was still seeping blood. “Nothing. I told him I would tell him everything he wanted to know as soon as he let my mother go. I figured he was going to kill me. Maybe I could save her.”

  “You’re very brave, Ms. Garrett.” He offered her his handkerchief. “Are you sure you didn’t give out any more information…names, places, anything we should know about?”

  She’d stalled and equivocated. As she said, she was determined to at least secure her mother’s freedom.

  “Sir, Arianna put her own life and well-being in danger, trying to protect me and not implicate anyone else in this situation,” Kathryn interjected. “I almost wish she had told them something. It was painful to sit there and watch the brutal treatment she was enduring. I’m so proud of my daughter.”

  “Yes, her bravery is commendable. I’ll put that in my report and let the appropriate people know.” He snapped his notebook shut. “Well, that’s all the questions I have for now. I see we’ve reached the hospital. Let’s get those wounds looked at. And, Ms. Garrett, I think you can understand that it’s probably best you not discuss the events of this evening if you know what I mean.”

  Of course, she did, yet didn’t completely know what he meant, but she’d be happy to not talk about the hell she’d just been through. Thank God, the rescuers had arrived when they did. No one would ever know how close she’d come to caving. She was in shock at the moment, but was sure when the adrenaline wore off, the realization that she’d looked death in the eye and survived would come crashing down on her. With any luck, someone would be there to catch her when she crashed.

  Who was that guy? The man had flashed a badge at her, but Arianna took little notice of it. Still in shock, she had no idea what government entity the man who accompanied her to the hospital professed to work for. And who were all the other men at the scene, she wondered? It was so strange how all of them had packed up their cars and left at the same time. No police tape. No police officers milling around. All that remained was an empty parking lot. And of course, she still had no idea what information she was supposed to have that the mole was trying to beat out of her. She suspected the answer to that question rest with Zach, and thus, well…

  “I’m afraid we’re going to need a plastic surgeon to close this gash above your eye,” she heard the ER doctor say, “otherwise you’ll have a nasty scar, my dear. Your lip is cut too, but it should heal okay without stitches. And all this bruising and swelling will go down in time. Put some cold compresses on your face when you get home.”

  As Arianna waited for the plastic surgeon to arrive, her mother came into the examining room. Other than some minor scrapes and bruises, she was in much better shape than Arianna.

 
; “How are you feeling?” Kathryn asked.

  “Probably like I look… which is like hell.”

  Kathryn grimaced. “I wanted to kill that man with my bare hands, but I felt helpless. I’m so glad help arrived when it did.”

  Arianna lay back on the examining table, not answering. Not wanting to talk really.

  “I called Jim to come take us home,” Kathryn said. Jim Evans was her longtime boyfriend. “He said he’d be here in about a half an hour.”

  Arianna nodded and sat up as the plastic surgeon, along with a nurse, entered the room.

  “Just a pinch,” the doctor said as he administered the first shot to numb the site. “This is the worst part. Once we get you numbed up, you won’t feel a thing.”

  The surgeon attempted to ask her questions about how she received the injury, but Arianna knew not to tell the real story, a story best left as a classified matter, so she made up a lie about being mugged and pushed down to the sidewalk.

  “Sorry to hear that, but we’ll get you fixed up good as new. This cut is in the brow line,” the doctor said as he sutured the wound. “It will never be noticed once I’m finished. I’m also sending you home with some pain meds. You’re going to be sore for several days. Come see me in my office in ten days, and I’ll take these stitches out. Now, unless you have any questions, you’re free to go.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Arianna said, slipping off the examining table. She gathered her things and made her way to the lobby where she stopped by admissions to check out.

  “There’s no charge,” the registrar said. “The bill’s been paid.”

  “What do you mean?” Arianna asked. She knew she didn’t have any insurance, and she wasn’t covered on her mother’s anymore either.

  “Just that,” the woman behind the desk repeated. “Your bill has been all taken care of.”

  “By who?”

  The clerk shuffled through some papers and checked her computer screen. “Hmmm. This is strange. I can’t really tell by the information I have here, but it is paid. All I see is balance due, zero. There’s an account override and my supervisor’s initials. Hey, don’t knock it. Looks like someone’s been looking out for you tonight.”

  “Thank you,” Kathryn said to the person behind the desk and took Arianna by the arm. “Come on. I see Jim waiting at the curb. Let’s get you home.”

  The three arrived at Kathryn’s house as the sun rose on the horizon, but everyone was too hyped up to sleep. Kathryn put a pot of coffee on and decided to make them some breakfast. As Jim and Kathryn ate and Arianna held an ice pack on her cheek and lip, the women attempted to fill Jim in on Arianna’s long ordeal and the events of the kidnapping. They had been talking for over an hour, when Kathryn finally asked the question that had been in the back of Arianna’s mind the whole time.

  “Shouldn’t you call someone?” she asked. “Maybe Zach or Lisa?”

  Now, there was a question. It seemed logical, but she knew that somehow Zach already knew what had happened. She also felt he must have been connected to this rescue though she wasn’t sure how. Yes, calling him seemed like the logical thing to do that was for sure. They could celebrate the fact that this ordeal was over. But no, not really. Somehow, Arianna also knew that calling him was exactly the wrong thing to do.

  Finally, at about seven, she succumbed to Kathryn’s pressure to take a pain pill. Arianna hated medicine, but her head was starting to throb, so she relented. Tired and needing sleep, she made her way to her bedroom. She could no longer think about the narrow escape today, or how scared she’d been, or how thankful she was to be rescued.

  Standing in her bathroom, she looked in the mirror and was horrified at seeing her face. She had several noticeable stitches above her eye, a deep purple bruise covered her cheek, her hair was matted with blood, and her lip was cut and swollen. Slowly her eyes trailed down to the blood stained t-shirt the commando had put on her, and suddenly, a rush of sentiment washed over her. He had been so tender, so caring… so protective of her. But like a chameleon, he had also been extremely rough with her as they left the building. She thought it was odd the two extremes from the same person.

  Slipping off the shirt, she held it close and smelled it before laying it down. The scent seemed vaguely familiar. She wasn’t sure why. Covered with her blood and his sweat, what would be familiar about that? She stepped into the shower and let the water pour over her as she tried to wash away the remnants of her horrible ordeal.

  Exiting the shower, she reached for some pajamas, then stopped, drawn back to the t-shirt. She didn’t know why, but instead of donning her pajamas, she slipped back into the shirt. She remembered fondly how gallant that commando had been to cover her near nakedness.

  She moved gingerly to her bed, the pain pills making her very drowsy. Physically and emotionally spent, she fell soundly asleep wrapped in the warmth of a stranger’s t-shirt.

  IT WAS late afternoon when she heard the phone ring. As she fumbled for it, every muscle in her body ached, and her head was throbbing.

  “Hi, Arianna. It’s me, Lisa,” the voice on the other end said.

  “Oh, hey Lisa,” Arianna mumbled weakly, her lip so swollen she could barely talk.

  “I called to see how you’re doing. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Just a couple of stitches and some bruises...” her voice trailed off.

  “You still there, Arianna?” Lisa asked.

  There was a moment of silence before Arianna answered. “Yeah, I just hurt all over. No major injuries.”

  “I heard you had a close call. Why’d you leave here anyway?”

  “I don’t know, Lisa. Why do I do anything I do? I’m dumb, I guess.”

  “It was dumb, Arianna, but you’re all right, and that’s what’s important. At least this thing is over now.”

  “Yeah, that’s good.”

  “I don’t think that man will ever bother us again.”

  There was a long silence on the phone.

  “Arianna, are you still there?” Lisa asked again.

  “Yeah, I’m ....” She paused once more. She was in such pain and misery she could barely talk.

  “Well, since you won’t ask, Arianna, I’ll tell you. I haven’t spoken to him directly, but it seems like Zach is not very happy with you. He was furious when he found out you were gone. I heard him screaming and yelling all over the house, and I thought he was going to kill that one guard. He had him by the throat up against the wall. Tony had to pull him off of him.”

  Arianna began to cry softly. She knew she had blown it. Her taking off had been a slap in the face to Zach and all he had tried to do for her. When would she ever learn? Her impatience and impulsiveness always seemed to get her into trouble.

  “Lisa, I gotta go,” she said.

  “No, wait, Ari. Maybe you could just call Zach…”

  “Sure and say what?”

  “Well, tell him you’re sorry.”

  “Somehow I don’t think sorry will be quite enough.”

  “Well, maybe Tony could talk to him.”

  “Lisa, listen. You take care, okay?” Arianna said, not able to talk any longer. There was no way Tony would talk to Zach either.

  The tears were streaming down her cheeks as she hung up the phone. She couldn’t remember when she’d felt such despair and anguish. To find true love after so many years only to lose it because of her stupidity was almost more than she could bear.

  There was a soft knock at her door. “Arianna, are you awake?” Kathryn asked, coming into the room. “Oh, hey. What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, seeing Arianna’s tears.

  Arianna completely broke down and sobbed in her mother’s arms, crying bitterly for her loss. A loss she knew surely existed. Zach would not call her, and her pride would not let her call him, a call that would bring no good anyway. She didn’t think you jerked Zach Acevedo around like this and then, just called him, expecting to pick up where you left off.

  “Oh, Arianna, ju
st give it some time,” Kathryn said. “If he loves you as you said he did, I believe he’ll be back.”

  “No, Mom. You don’t know Zach. He won’t.”

  “WHAT NOW?” Tony asked as they sat by the pool nursing a couple of beers.

  “We go back to work,” Zach said, taking a long sip of his drink.

  “I meant about Arianna,” Tony said.

  “Yes, I know. The answer is, nothing for now. We go back to work, and we see what happens when we get home.”

  They were long overdue to report to their next assignment, a month long mission that would find them training a band of contra rebels in Central America. Unofficially, he and his men would be supplying US weapons and training to the rebel forces who in turn would try to oust the current ruling drug lords in their country. If it worked, it was money well spent by the US, not to mention the fact that it didn’t put any US soldiers in harm’s way.

  The mission called for them to work sterile which meant that all their weapons and equipment would be stripped of any “made in the USA” labels in case they fell into the wrong hands. It was a risky operation, but then, they all were. That’s why, once again, the government was paying him a small fortune to do this.

  But Arianna. She weighed heavily on his mind. He loved her. He knew he did, despite how mad he was at her right now. He was concerned about how she was doing, but his man had phoned him from the hospital with the doctor’s report, and it was pretty much as he’d suspected. Other than the nasty gash and a cut lip, there were no major injuries.

  Emotionally was a different story, however. She was really shaken up, but in a way, it served her right. Leaving here in defiance of his specific orders had almost gotten her and her mother killed. She ought to be shaken up. In fact if she were here right now, he’d be tempted to give her something even more to be shaken up about. It was just as well for her that she was a thousand miles away.

  So, now what, Tony had asked? With the elimination of Reichter, there was no further need for Zach’s protection. Arianna could safely return to her former life. Only one small catch. He wanted her to be a part of his life. To come live with him, eventually anyway.