"It's ready to dial," he said, and walked away.
She pressed the emergency number that went through, but the minute the operator answered she lost the call. Gabrielle checked the connection. No cell tower.
How could she lose a tower without moving?
One of the great mysteries of cell phones.
She grumbled and reached around for her laptop out of habit before she got out of the car. She could use her blouse to make a bandage since it was warm enough to just wear the silk top she had on with her linen pants.
When she glanced ahead again, Carlos was almost to the car.
The driver sat up and jumped from the car, running for a valley in the hills lining the road.
Carlos spun and took off at a full run. His face went from furious to frightened when he saw her. "Run!"
She did, just as fast as she could. He caught up to her and grabbed her by the waist, yanking her off the ground, charging toward a dip in the hills on their side.
The explosion knocked him into the air.
She hit the ground sideways wrapped in his arms. Compression from the blast rushed across the open space like an invisible tidal wave of pressure to slam their bodies again. A second explosion shook the ground beneath her. Crashing banged and banged again right behind the explosion's initial impact.
She couldn't breathe. Gabrielle wheezed, fighting for air.
"It's okay, try to calm down." Carlos's voice sounded so far away. Her chest and lungs hurt like the devil. "You've had the wind knocked out of you," he told her.
He sat up, holding her in his arms. His face had scrapes and cuts, but he was alive. Oh, dear God, he could have died.
She tried to talk. Nothing came out.
"Shhh. Just work on breathing."
When she could finally fill her lungs, she drew a shaky breath, then nodded to let him know she was okay for the moment. He helped her stand. They turned around.
Their rental car was gone.
Vanished. Poof. No car.
"Where is it?" she croaked.
Carlos led her to the side of the road where their lovely Mercedes had rolled all the way down the ravine. The explosion must have blown it off the road.
"If I'd have stayed in the car, I'd be dead now," she whispered. Gabrielle's knees folded.
"Whoa. Don't pass out on me." Carlos lifted her into his arms and walked to the cut in the hills where he found a shady spot and sat down. "I have to assume they aren't going to shoot us or they wouldn't have gone through that much trouble to make it look like an accident. The other car had to be full of aircraft fuel for that kind of explosion."
Helicopter blades whomped overhead.
"Oh, God. Are they coming back?" Gabrielle cringed.
"No, that should be my people."
"How would they know?"
"I keyed an emergency call to Jake before I gave you the phone. Jeremy had a tracking device on this car for insurance to find us if anything happened."
"And the helicopter?"
"I told you Jake is the man to have when it comes to flying anything. He's also the one person who can confiscate something that flies at any time. Before we left, he located a small airport close to here and said he'd be prepared."
By the time they reached the airport in Milano and climbed out of the helicopter, Gabrielle was sorely missing her rental house on the lake back in Georgia.
"Want to fly somewhere else tonight?" Jake asked Carlos, then handed Jeremy their suitcases he'd kept stowed until now.
"No. Rae and Korbin have already reconned the city. I'd rather stay here where I have four of you close to help protect Gabrielle while we update the office and figure out where we're going from here."
"Okay, I volunteer for the first shift of protecting Gabrielle tonight." Jeremy walked back up giving that offer in his Boy Scout voice, but Gabrielle doubted he'd been one.
Carlos stepped close and said something to Jeremy too low for her to hear, but she'd seen his fury once already today when he'd turned around and yelled at her to run.
And he'd only played at intimidating Pierre and the others at the school.
This was not the playful side of Carlos. Veins stuck out the side of his neck. His hands were clenched into fists.
Jeremy took a step back. Probably a healthy decision.
Carlos finished whatever he was saying and just stood there, glaring at Jeremy, who lifted his hands in a confused motion. "You don't want a volunteer, fine. I'll sleep in." He backed up another couple steps.
Jake took in everything between Carlos and Jeremy without a word, but his eyebrows were staked high with interest.
Carlos drew in a breath and scratched his chin, then told Jeremy in a calmer voice, "Thanks for the offer just the same."
Jake chuckled.
Carlos cut a look at him that could maim, then turned a warm gaze to Gabrielle. "Ready to get cleaned up?"
"Oui." She walked with him to another car, this one an identical copy of the silver sedan they'd lost. When they got inside, she asked, "What was that all about?"
"Just clarifying Jeremy's role in this mission." Carlos lifted his hand to her forehead, his fingers gently brushing a tender spot. "How are you doing?"
"Ouch. Fine, until you showed me I'd hit my head." She felt the lump with her fingers. Must have been adrenaline keeping the ache at bay. Now her head throbbed all at once.
"Korbin and Rae have us already checked into the hotel and they'll be in a room close by."
"I'm okay, really. I don't break easily." Not physically, but she made no guarantee about her heart.
Once she was in the car, he leaned over and clipped her seat belt, then kissed her on the cheek and straightened. "Fifteen minutes and we'll be there."
"Do you think it was Durand?" she asked, voicing the worry that had nagged her.
"Not his style."
She thought on that for a moment until it hit her whom the person behind the attack had to be. Roberto. But how did he know she was here? And...would he try again?
When they reached the hotel, Carlos had her upstairs and in the bathroom showering before she could count to ten. Her relief at being here with him was short-lived when he refused to shower with her.
What had changed since this morning?
CARLOS CLOSED THE door to the bathroom, which was modest compared to what they'd left in France, and walked into the contemporarily furnished living room with a cream-colored, overstuffed, six-foot sofa and matching chair. He flipped the wall switch, turning on a pair of circular lamps hung from the ten-foot ceiling on chains above glass and metal end tables.
A double tap sounded at the door to the suite. He opened it to Rae and Korbin, both in jeans and looking a little worn down. Camping out hadn't been a treat for either of them.
"Where's Gabrielle?" Rae walked in, looking around. Her hair was still damp from a shower. She carried a laptop case.
"In the shower. I'll be back in a couple hours." Carlos accepted the 9 mm Korbin handed him on his way into the suite and shoved the weapon between the small of his back and his jeans, covered by a long-sleeved denim shirt he'd left untucked.
"So where are you going?" Rae asked Carlos, but the sinister glare brooding on her face shifted to Korbin. "What have you two discussed?"
Carlos didn't answer her right away. He looked at Korbin, who just shrugged and told Carlos, "You've got until daylight before I have to check in with Joe."
"Thanks. I owe you." Carlos would pay that marker in the future to Korbin without question for giving him a window of time to go off the grid tonight. And for keeping Gabrielle safe while he was gone. He turned to Rae. "I'm preventing any future accidents from happening and eliminating one person from trying to kill Gabrielle."
"It's like that, huh?" Rae's eyes lit with understanding and a gleam of warmth he wouldn't have expected from the hard-nosed operative.
Carlos could deny what she insinuated-that this was now personal for him-but he'd be wasting his breath since
Rae had already put together the puzzle pieces. That was her specialty. She would have scanned Gotthard's report, which likely included Roberto's history and residences since he'd been married to Gabrielle. Rae would then have added that information to Gabrielle's barely escaping two previous mysterious accidents that had sent her into hiding, then Rae would have tied it all together with the insurance policies Gotthard had no doubt located.
Yes, Rae knew where Carlos was headed, but oddly she wasn't in his face about how dealing with Roberto had nothing to do with the BAD mission.
"Just tell Gabrielle I'll be back tonight." Carlos wished he could do this without involving others, but BAD agents backed each other in any situation. Another reason they were like no other teams on the globe. "I know it's not fair to ask this, but I'd appreciate it if we kept this between the three of us."
Rae smiled. "You got it, luv. I admire a man who fights for what is his." She sent a pointed look at Korbin.
Korbin's face was a mix of humor and confusion. Carlos did a double take at her since he'd never heard Rae make an overtly feminine comment to a male agent, and on a job to boot.
"Thanks, but she isn't mine." Carlos turned to leave.
"And here I'd given you credit for not trying to wonk me with a line of bullshit," Rae added. "Be safe. We'll take care of your woman."
Carlos sighed and left.
Gabrielle wasn't his to keep, but he intended to ensure Roberto never bothered her again.
GABRIELLE WALKED OUT of the bathroom in a terry robe provided by the hotel. She was drying her hair with a towel when she stopped in the middle of the living area.
"And where is Carlos?" she asked Rae and Korbin.
"He's busy, luv." Rae flipped through the magazine in her lap. Korbin didn't move from his reclined position. Head back, eyes shut, and breathing almost undetectable. Was he asleep?
So Carlos refused to shower with her, then just left without a word? What was going on with him? Gabrielle strangled the towel in her tight grip, sick of sly and evasive answers.
"That's not enough of an answer, luv," Gabrielle snapped back.
Rae paused in scanning the magazine, lifted a curious gaze, sighed, then continued flipping through the bloody magazine.
"Where. Is. He?" Gabrielle demanded.
"Busy," Korbin said without opening his eyes. "That's all we can tell you right now, but he should be back by daylight."
Cracking a bank safe would be easier than pulling anything out of those two.
"Fine." Gabrielle hated the disappointment so thick in her throat it crowded that one word. She turned back to the bedroom and closed the door.
By the time she'd finished dressing in jeans and a white sweater, Gabrielle heard what sounded like food being served. Stay in the room and pout over being blown off by Carlos or go out and see what she could squeeze out of those two in the other room while she ate?
She thought clearer on a full stomach anyhow.
Gabrielle opened the door to the succulent aroma of dishes being uncovered and placed around a table with four chairs. Rae and Korbin were already digging in.
Gabrielle sat in front of the only unclaimed meal on the table. "So you don't expect Carlos back in time to eat?"
Korbin shoved a piece of steak into his mouth, conveniently sidestepping the conversation.
"Not sure." Rae pushed each food on her plate apart so that nothing touched. "We'd like to discuss some things while he's gone."
That played into what Gabrielle had in mind. "Sure. I've got a few questions of my own."
Rae finished sorting her food and raised her vivid gaze to Gabrielle's. "I give you points for persistence, but you lose a few for being slow on the uptake. We don't answer questions. We ask them. To begin with, tell me about Babette Saxe."
Gabrielle's mouth gaped open. She might have earned Carlos's trust, but he'd lost hers by exposing Babette to this group.
CARLOS WALKED SOFTLY through the ostentatious bedroom cast in twilight from the lights of Milano outside a wall of glass overlooking the city. Roberto's security was all show and little substance.
What idiot stayed in a place this vulnerable?
An arrogant one.
If Carlos had faced dealing with more than one bodyguard to gain access to the penthouse, he could just as easily have rappelled one floor to the balcony beyond the glass doors.
Hell, he could probably have jumped from the roof.
When he reached the bed, it was all he could do not to break out laughing. Roberto's dark brown hair was thick, just below his ears, styled and sprayed into the perfect shape. The guy lay spread eagle on top of red silk sheets. He wore skimpy black underwear.
Was that a thong for men? Ugh.
That would make what Carlos had in mind even easier to execute.
Roberto's toned form was too lightweight to have been the ripped body in that billboard Carlos had seen on the way here. Guess that was why they employ stuntmen and body doubles.
No stuntman to take the fall for Roberto tonight.
Carlos stepped close and flicked on the lamp next to the bed. The light glowed red. He rolled his eyes, imaging the lamp being used for mood lighting for the women this fool brought here.
"Wake up, Roberto," Carlos ordered in a normal voice.
Roberto muttered something like "Go away."
Carlos retrieved his switchblade and hit the release. He used the razor-sharp blade to flip a lock of hair onto the actor's forehead. Roberto swatted, hitting himself in the face and coming awake growling.
He glanced at Carlos, then his eyes widened. "Bruno!"
"Your bodyguard is sound asleep."
"Who are you? What do you want?" Roberto made those demands while scooting backward a few inches.
Carlos pointed the knife tip at Roberto's face, freezing the weasel in place. "Be very still or I'll be forced to contain you. Understand?"
Roberto nodded like a bobblehead doll on speed.
"Good. I'm here for one reason and don't have a lot of time to waste on this. I know about all three attacks on Gabrielle and that you're behind them. That ends now."
"I don't know what you're-"
Carlos touched the knife tip to Roberto's lips, stalling the denial.
"Remember the part about me being in a hurry?" Carlos lifted the knife from Roberto's face and waited on the fast nod again before going on. He moved the blade down until he slipped it under one strap of Roberto's thong.
"Oh, no...please, don't." Roberto sucked a sharp breath, trembling. His eyes stared at where the knife was a sneeze away from cutting Big Jim.
Or in this guy's case, nipping Junior.
"I had no idea they could make a male thong that small," Carlos taunted.
"Who are you?"
"Gabrielle's new bodyguard, and I take my job seriously."
"What the hell do you want?" Roberto yelled, the power in his voice fueled by a healthy load of fear.
That was more like it. This bastard had to pay for what he'd put Gabrielle through for the past ten years...and almost killing her today.
"What do I want?" Carlos echoed. "Very simple. Don't ever bother Gabrielle again. Don't even think about her in the future. Don't go near her and don't send any of your idiots to try to harm her again."
"Okay, okay. I'm not admitting to anything," Roberto added quickly. "But I swear not to have anything to do with Gabrielle in any way again." The color started coming back into his face too fast to suit Carlos.
"You don't really think I'd just take your word for this, do you?"
"Come on. I don't even know what you're talking about."
Carlos slid the knife closer, nicking the skin.
Roberto wailed as if his leg had been cut off. Big mistake to let an enemy know how easily you bleed.
"Shut up or I will cut something off."
Silence. Well, whimpering was quieter than Roberto screaming like a toddler who wanted a bottle.
"I'm going to give you a choice." Carlos wait
ed until he had Roberto's full attention. "I can either carve a scar from your forehead, across your nose and down around your cheek to your ear or take your left nut."
"Are you crazy?" Roberto ruined his insult by crying. "I'll give you money, anything. Tell her I'm sorry. I'll give her money. I never wanted to hurt her..."
Carlos rolled his eyes, waiting on the hysteria to subside.
Roberto sniffled, swollen eyes streaked with tears, body shaking uncontrollably, and if this went much longer, he'd probably need a clean thong.
When he quieted again, Carlos told him, "It's an easy choice, really. Lose your nut, you'll bleed a little, but you can still do the big-screen movies. However, it's probably going to cut into your love life, but from what I can see-" He glanced at the shriveling pouch on Roberto's thong. "Based on that dinky sac, you really ought to keep your face in prime shape."
Roberto started swearing all over again how he wouldn't touch Gabrielle.
Carlos flipped the knife quickly to Roberto's cheek. That shut him up. "I'm not leaving here until I'm convinced you really believe me when I say I will come back and there will be no choices the next time."
TWENTY-TWO
WHEN CARLOS OPENED the door to the hotel room, he expected Gabrielle to be in the bedroom asleep, Korbin catnapping in a chair, and Rae most likely online communicating with Gotthard.
He was really banking on Gabrielle to be asleep so that once he got rid of Rae and Korbin, he'd have a chance to wash off the residual scum he felt from tonight in a scalding shower. Then slide into bed and make love to Gabrielle.
Instead she stood in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed.
"Did you kill Roberto?" Gabrielle asked point-blank.
There went that fantasy.
Carlos glared at Rae. He pitched the paper sack in his hand to the corner near the door and crossed his arms.
"Before you go wonker, not my fault." Rae stood and looked at Korbin, who got up from where he'd been sitting in a side chair.
Korbin sauntered toward the door with one of those can't-help-you-with-this-one looks. He slowed long enough next to Carlos to say, "Gabrielle figured that out for herself, but that's not the only reason she's pissed. She knows that we know about Babette."
"How?" Carlos snapped, but kept his voice low so only Korbin and Rae could hear.
Rae had followed close behind. She stepped up as Korbin opened the door and told Carlos, "That would be my fault. Gotthard sent me a rundown on a list of students and figured out there was a connection between Gabrielle and Babette even though your girl buried Babette's records."