Deny Tomorrow Page 8

  “Are you okay?” she asked Lisa.

  Lisa sat there immobilized with fear, not answering.

  Arianna shook her. “Now, listen to me, Lisa. We have to keep our wits about us. I have no idea what these men want, but don’t panic. We’ll get through this together. Do you hear me?”

  Lisa nodded slowly, her eyes still transfixed on the men in the kitchen.

  Arianna watched as the intruder from the bedroom searched through their purses, dumping all the contents into a duffel bag. Next, he grabbed Lisa’s computer and put it in the bag with the other belongings. Looking toward the men in the kitchen, he held up a lone cell phone, which he then tossed to one of them.

  Waving the phone, this man approached the sofa. “Which one of you ladies owns this phone? I assume you both have cell phones, so whose phone is this and where is the other phone?”

  Arianna shook her head. “There is no other phone. Right, Lisa?” she hastily added.

  The man smirked. “Okay, we’ll do this the hard way then.” He swiped the screen with his finger and opened the settings app to locate the number for the phone. Using his own phone, he dialed the number and let it ring. Finally, voicemail picked up and said, “Hi! This is Arianna. Leave a message.”

  He scowled at Arianna, then looked at Lisa and said, “Your phone? Where is it? You’re wasting our time.”

  Before Arianna could even stop her, Lisa blurted out, “In the car. It’s in my car.”

  Arianna cursed under her breath. She would have continued to deny the existence of the other phone, but it was too late now. These intruders had both of their cell phones, computer, and all their personal identification.

  “What do you guys want?” Arianna asked. She wondered if these men were here to simply rob them or if they had something more sinister in mind.

  No one answered at first. Finally the guy with the phone said, “You two are in danger so we’re taking you to some place safe.”

  A chill ran down her spine. This did not sound good. She looked at Lisa, who had a petrified look on her face.

  “What danger? The only danger I see is coming from you,” Arianna said.

  “No, not likely,” the man replied, not breaking stride as he rummaged through Lisa’s desk, continuing to look for what, she wasn’t sure. “Your friend at the beach today,” he finally said. “You do remember that guy, don’t you? He wishes to do you great bodily harm.”

  Her mind started whirling with possible connections and scenarios. How did they know about the FBI agent, and how had they found her and Lisa? Were these the two guys chasing the agent today?

  He also said the agent was a dangerous man, but he at least had met them in broad daylight in a public place. On the other hand, these men had broken into their house in the middle of the night, were robbing them, and she didn’t know what else they had planned. At the moment she feared these intruders more than the man on the beach. Something Lisa said earlier popped into her head… something about not being able to tell the good guys from the bad. Of course, maybe they were all bad, in which case, she and Lisa were caught in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

  She had no more decided this group was there to do her harm, when the man who had hauled her out of the bedroom, came up from behind and dumped a couple of robes on the sofa. Arianna stared at them like she’d never seen a bathrobe before. Why would he do anything so chivalrous as to bring us something to cover up with? At this point, confusion reigned supreme in her mind.

  “So, who are you guys anyway and what do you want?” she asked again, as she slipped on the robe.

  Another long pause. Finally, the man in front of her said, “Who we are isn’t important. Just follow instructions, and you’ll be fine. We’re not here to hurt you, but you need to do as you’re told, and right now, we need you to come with us.”

  We’re not here to hurt you. That was the second time she’d heard that tonight. She didn’t believe him either.

  “I’m not going,” Arianna said, standing up. “I’ll go to the police if I’m in danger. They’ll keep me safe. Since you want to keep me safe, you don’t have any problem with that, right?”

  She moved toward the phone, but the man who brought her out of the bedroom stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

  “Look, Miss,” the other man continued, his demeanor now deadly serious. “You can either come quietly, or we’ll gag you and carry you out that door. But one way or the other, you’re going with us tonight.”

  “I think we need to do what they say,” Lisa said, getting to her feet and urging Arianna to follow.

  Arianna shook her head defiantly. “No. Lisa, it’s not safe. We can’t go with them. Don’t do it.”

  Then, as if there had been an invisible signal, everyone sprang into action. The man, who was talking, took Lisa by the arm and escorted her out the door. Next, with all the precision of a trained fighter, the man from the bedroom dumped her face first onto the sofa before she even had time to offer the slightest resistance. He put his knee in her back and pushed her head between the cushions. Pulling the belt off her robe, he used that to gag her. Finally, he took some cable ties from his pocket and tied her hands behind her back, then pulled her to her feet.

  “Once again, we’ll do this the hard way,” he announced as he hustled her toward the door where she came face to face with the third man for the first time.

  Arianna looked at him and paused a moment, thinking for a fleeting second there seemed to be something faintly familiar about this guy…. maybe his piercing dark eyes. She wasn’t sure. As they stared at each other, a strange feeling washed over her. She felt flushed and anxious. She shuddered and wished she could pull her robe together in front, since her breasts could clearly be seen through her skimpy pajamas. Her hands being tied behind her back made that impossible.

  Shaking off his stare, Arianna knew she had to focus on the moment at hand. Kicking out at him, she let out an angry scream through her gag.

  “Hey! Hey!” the man holding her said. “You need to be nice, or you’re really not going to like what I do next.”

  Arianna continued to kick and thrash in an attempt to get away from the guy holding her, and so once again, he hoisted her up over his shoulder and proceeded to a waiting SUV. Dumping her in the back seat beside Lisa, he slid in next to her, and they sped off into the night.

  ZACH HAD watched the entire scene as Juan carried the girl out of the bedroom over his shoulder, her beautiful derriere prominently displayed. She’d put up quite a bit of resistance and had taken a nice chunk out of Juan’s hand.

  He also noticed she had not been afraid to stand up to Tony as he questioned her about the phone. The other roommate was obviously scared to death, but not this girl. In a way, he marveled at how she handled herself. This same moxie had likely brought her to Kervistan on a dangerous assignment. But tonight, he had no time for this foolishness, so he had signaled for the group to move out, and Tony and Juan had sprung into action. The dark haired girl had gone easily with Tony, but the blond needed to be restrained. Juan wasn’t taking any chance on getting injured again.

  When he came face to face with her at the door, it had been the moment of truth. The first hurdle had been crossed when she showed no sign of recognizing him. As they stood looking at each other, he felt the same pang of attraction as the first time he’d seen her. No one could have imagined finding this beautiful little imp, hidden under that burqa.

  Her shimmering, blond hair, wild and tasseled from being wrestled out of bed, framed the delicate features of an angelic-looking face. She had a nicely tanned complexion and azure blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, but were spitting fire at the moment. And, oh, the fact that her pajamas hid very little of her trim, well-rounded body, only made his attraction that much stronger.

  What a beauty, but the angelic face was all a façade. This girl was a little hellion! He knew she wouldn’t understand what was happening, and there was no way she would accept what she consider
ed to be a kidnapping. It didn’t matter. There was a target on her back. He’d gotten her into this. He’d get her out of it. In the meantime, as he did with all missions, he would keep his emotions in check and get the job done.

  SANDWICHED BETWEEN Juan and Lisa with her hands tied behind her back and mouth gagged, Arianna found it impossible to put up any resistance. She had tried to kick the seatback in front of her, but Juan had put his leg across hers, pinning her feet to the floor. She sat helplessly trapped and watched the city lights disappear as the SUV sped to a part of the island she’d never been to before.

  Tony turned and looked at Arianna from the front passenger seat. “We’ll take the gag off and untie your hands,” he said, “but I’m warning you not to try anything. I’m not in the mood for any more of your tantrums tonight.”

  Juan had a skeptical look on his face, but he reached over, cut the cable ties, and untied the gag.

  Arianna rubbed her hands and flexed her fingers to restore the circulation. “You could let us go, you know? That would solve both of our problems. What do you want with us anyway?”

  Tony shook his head and looked over at Zach who stared straight ahead as he steered the Escalade toward his seaside mansion. This would be the future home for these two women until the CIA mole was eliminated.

  “Miss Garrett, that is your name right? Arianna Garrett,” Tony said, looking directly at her. “Well you see, Arianna, you and Miss Calder, Lisa, are in more danger than you know so we’re going to look after you for a while.”

  Arianna stared at him, trying to absorb what he was saying. It just didn’t add up in her mind. How do you claim to be saving someone when you break into their house in the middle of the night and virtually kidnap them? No one had purposely hurt her, but one thing was certain. She and Lisa were being held captive by these men.

  “So, who are you guys?” she asked, again.

  Tony fumbled in the glove compartment, not answering. Finally he said, “I’m Tony. The guy beside you is Juan, and this is Zach behind the wheel.”

  “No, I mean. Who are you guys, really, and what do you want with us?” These men were professional somethings. She just didn’t know what that something was yet.

  “I told you. We’re just some people who don’t want to see you get hurt, and that’s all you need to know for now.”

  Arianna drew her feet up, pulled her robe around her, and rested her head in her hands. She was emotionally drained and struggling to fully understand the situation she was in. If these men really wanted to protect them, why didn’t they just take them to the police? Assuming their lives really were in danger, hadn’t they heard of witness protection programs? And if they were on the up and up, they’d be doing something besides whisking them away in the middle of the night. She had a very bad feeling about this.

  When she looked up, her eyes met the driver’s as he glanced at her in the rearview mirror. His stare riveted her to the seat and caused her pulse to quicken. Who is this guy? She couldn’t explain it, but for some reason, she had the distinct feeling he influenced more of the events than it seemed. She didn’t know why she thought that. He hadn’t said a single word the whole evening and had stayed in the background. Tony was clearly in charge so why was her attention drawn to this guy? But most confusing of all, was that under different circumstances, she might have even been attracted to this handsome abductor. Oow! Get a hold of yourself. This is no time for flights of fancy.

  “We need a couple more things from you ladies tonight,” Tony said, breaking into her thoughts. “I need you to jot down your passwords and PIN numbers for your cell phones and computer. We’re going to need to get into your accounts. We can get them on our own, but it would make things a whole lot easier if you’d just write them down for us. ”

  “Are you kidding me?” Arianna snapped, the stress causing her to run completely out of patience. “There’s no way we’re giving you that information.”

  Tony glanced at Zach who continued to stare straight ahead. Tonight was not the time to explain the reason behind their abduction or how they planned to successfully orchestrate their disappearance. He understood their apprehension, but he couldn’t do anything to allay their fears. He needed those codes tonight.

  “Ladies, as I was saying,” Tony continued, “if you would just jot down your passwords, I’d appreciate it.” He handed a notepad and pen to Lisa.

  “Don’t tell them anything, Lisa,” Arianna cautioned. “You give them your password, and they can hack into all your personal information. Don’t do it.”

  Despite Arianna’s caution, it was obvious Lisa was too scared to resist. She jotted down some codes and then, passed the notebook back to Tony.

  Tony looked at it, and obviously pleased, said, “Thank you, Miss Calder. Now, Miss Garrett, if you would be so kind as to do the same, I’d appreciate it.”

  Arianna could feel everyone subtly watching her. She saw the driver glance at her in the rear view mirror, almost daring her to resist. She snatched the pad and pen out of Tony’s hand, not really sure what she would do. God! She was not going to cooperate with these guys. But how could she not? If they were sinister enough to kidnap them in the middle of the night, what else might they do to get information they really wanted? Not that it mattered. She was sure they had the expertise to hack into her accounts without her cooperation. She imagined their plan was to rob her blind, then… well, she wasn’t sure what the end game was.

  Summoning all the courage she could, she made a decision. Anything they would get, they would have to get on their own. It would not be coming from her. So, she began to slowly print her response… Go-To-Hell! finishing it with a flourish and an exclamation point. Leaning forward, she handed the notebook to Tony saying, “Here you go, Tony. Let me know if you need any more information.”

  Tony looked at what she’d written and shook his head. He tipped the book slightly so Zach could also see what Arianna had written also.

  “Ah! Miss Garrett,” Tony said, more amused than angry. “You certainly do know how to make things more complicated, don‘t you? Are you always so difficult, or are you just doing this for our benefit?”

  Zach glanced at her in the rearview mirror once more. He didn’t know this girl all that well, but he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. Likely, this was but the first of many rebellious moves she’d make. Time would tell, but at this point, he’d bet money on the fact that eventually it would take more than mere words to illicit her cooperation.

  They turned onto a side road and traveled a short distance until they came upon a security gate already in the process of opening. Zach powered down his window and greeted the guard coming out of the gatehouse.

  “Evening, sir,” the guard said, peering into the back seat. “Mission accomplished I see.” Looking at Juan he said, “Looks like you got the best seat in the house.”

  Juan just glared at him. “Could we just move on, Zach? I need to see Doc and get this hand looked at. Probably going to need a damn tetanus shot.”

  “Whoa! You must have tangled with the wrong person tonight,” the guard quipped, bringing a smile and a chuckle from Zach and Tony.

  “Screw you, guys,” Juan said. “Some of us have had a better evening than others, depending on who was doing all the heavy lifting.” He gave Tony a hard shove in the back causing him to lurch forward.

  “Hey!” Tony snapped, regaining his balance. “Don’t take your bad night out on me.”

  Arianna thought all of this must be a reference to her, and she took a momentary delight out of knowing she’d been able to put at least a small chink in their armor.

  “Later,” Zach said to the guard and continued on up the drive.

  With the windows down now, Arianna could hear the ocean in the distance. In only a matter of seconds, the driveway opened up and looming in front of them was a large two story mansion. Yard lights illuminated a perfectly manicured lawn, bordered by blooming flower beds and palm trees. Balconies, overlooking th
e sea, lined one side of the house, and on down the drive stood a separate building which looked like a guest house or possibly servant quarters.

  The SUV pulled up beneath a portico brimming with tropical plants and hanging ferns, wafting gently in the breeze. They came to a stop beneath several steps that led up to a double-door entrance.

  Arianna was shocked by her surroundings. She had never expected to be going to such a magnificent place as this. In her mind, she had visions of being taken to some rustic fisherman’s hut on a dirty, deserted beach. The longer the night wore on, the more confused she became.

  The front door opened and a servant made his way to the vehicle. “Good evening, sir,” he said to Zach and took the keys from him. Zach acknowledged him with an imperceptible nod and proceeded to the house. At the doorway, he stopped to speak to an older woman in a black servant’s uniform, and then, he disappeared inside.

  “Follow me,” Tony said to Arianna and Lisa, offering his hand as they exited the vehicle. Lisa accepted the offer, while Arianna ignored his outstretched hand.

  As they entered the house, they found themselves in a large, open foyer with a grand circular staircase that rose to the second floor. Contemporary, light and airy, the interior was done in all neutral and off-white colors. Straight ahead, Arianna could see into a spacious living room with a wall of windows and doors that led out onto an elaborate pool area.

  To the right of the foyer, double doors opened into a sumptuous dining room, complete with a dazzling crystal chandelier and a beautifully polished dining table that could easily seat a dinner party of twelve or more. Several sets of French doors opened onto a patio covered by a balcony above.

  Breaking into her thoughts, Tony turned to the girls and said once more, “Follow me.”

  He led them down a hallway into the kitchen at the back of the house. Not surprisingly, the sparkling, white kitchen was equally spacious with multiple preparation areas as well as double ovens, double sinks, and the usual variety of appliances one would find in a kitchen designed for entertaining. In contrast to the large expanse of the kitchen, nestled away in the corner, was a small cozy dining nook which Arianna thought must be where the servants dined.