“Ten million dollars was earmarked for the production of StealthOff. Eight hundred thousand made it into the hands of Ashby. Look over your books and you’ll find nine million dollars unaccounted for. Zainer was preparing to run with the money before this went down. He used the explosion and Ashby’s death to cover his crime.”
Theroux used his sleeve to wipe more sweat from his brow. “Oh, God. This will send our stocks plummeting.”
“You have the video. You must have connections with the local police. Or better yet, the FBI. You need to have Zainer picked up unaware. If you do this right, you could be a hero.”
Theroux loosened his tie as if it were choking him. He called his secretary and asked if she would have Zainer come see him at his earliest convenience. Gabe took the phone from Theroux and said, “Have him come now.”
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Zainer hasn’t shown up at the office for the last two days. No one knows where he went. He’s not answering his phone.”
A cold feeling swept through Gabe. “Where does he live?”
“That’s confidential information.”
Gabe walked out of Theroux’s office and stormed to the secretary’s desk. He leaned forward with his hands flat on her desk. “I want the address—now.”
She wrote it hastily down on a sticky note and handed it to him.
Gabe called Andre and gave him the address. “I need you to see if Zainer left the country or if he headed to California.”
He tried to call his men on the ranch and couldn’t get through. Shit. I wanted Josephine to be in a blackout so she’d be protected for this. Our phones should work, though. Nothing. He called Andre back and had him fly someone out pronto. They’d be there in an hour. He needed to get word to his men that the worst-case scenario might be on the ground and headed their way. He wanted to jump on the first plane there, also, but there was something he needed to do first.
Gabe walked back into Theroux’s office. “You’re calling a press conference.”
“I am?”
“You are or I will make sure this story is spun in such a way that your company never recovers. You’ll end up in jail right alongside Zainer. I’ve taken down mobsters and dirty politicians. You, my friend, are going to say exactly what I tell you to or have fun picking up the pieces of what’s left when I’m done with your company.”
His phone rang. “He’s gone,” Andre said. “I need time to track him down. I’ll also put him on the FBI’s radar.”
“Do it,” Gabe said, stepping off to the side so he couldn’t be heard. “Theroux is going to make a statement to the press. I need to make sure Josephine is also legally safe when all of this ends.”
Twenty minutes later Theroux stood in front of several cameras and microphones. He announced that evidence had been brought to his attention that cleared Roy Ashby of any wrongdoing. He added that the man responsible for his death was Felix Zainer and offered a reward for any information that led to his arrest. In a final statement, Theroux added that the final plans for the StealthOff, if they were recovered, would be donated to the US Army in Roy Ashby’s name.
As soon as Theroux ended his announcement, Gabe rushed to the airport. His plane was fueled and ready. The flight back to the West Coast was the longest, most nerve-wracking trip he’d ever taken. Josephine needed him. I told her I’d keep her safe.
I can’t lose her. I love her.
With her, I’m the man I should have always been.
Without her, who would I become?
Suddenly Gabe understood his father in a profound way that had eluded him until that moment.
Chapter Eighteen
Josephine closed her eyes for a moment and sought the peace of meditation. Fear wouldn’t help her. Panic would make her sloppy. She needed to stay calm.
At noon, Dez knocked on the door of her lab and came in with a tray of food. “Where do you want it?” he asked with an easy smile.
“You can put it on the table near the monitor,” she said, reaching for the Taser she’d made.
He set the tray down while saying, “I hope you don’t mind, but I made a special dressing for you. It’s Greek and my girlfriend’s favorite.”
Josephine walked up behind him quickly and pressed the Taser to him. He fell to the floor, shaking. She took the gun from his holster and stuck it in the back of her shorts then whipped out the duct tape and put it over his mouth. She tied his hands together then his feet. I couldn’t do any of this if you hadn’t taught me how to defend myself, Dad. I now get why you believed working out daily was important, too. Dragging him to the closet was a physical challenge. Dez loved food. She did it, though. Just as she placed him inside he started to struggle and scream behind the tape. She removed the radio from his ear then his phone from his breast pocket. “I’m sorry, Dez. You probably wouldn’t have been the one to hurt me, but I couldn’t take that chance. When I’m safe, I’ll call someone and have all of you released.” He shook his head and seemed to be adamant about something, but Josephine wasn’t about to take the tape off his mouth. Maybe he doubted her. “I will. I promise. I’d never leave you like this.” She closed the door of the closet and leaned her back against it.
One down.
The lights flickered in her lab and went out. She rushed over and turned on the battery-operated receiver. If it worked, their radios were now useless.
She waited. Once she left her lab, she could be shot by any of them. Here, in close quarters, she had the advantage. A light knock on the door was followed by Montee calling out, “Miss Ashby? Are you okay? Just wanted to check that you’re not freaked out by the lights going off.”
Josephine stood next to the door without answering him. He opened it, looked around, and was completely unprepared for the Tasing she gave him. He was on the floor before he even said a word. Josephine secured him with the duct tape, removed his gun, his radio and phone, and dragged him to the closet where Dez was. He was furious and kicking, but Josephine calmed him by threatening to Tase him again. She straightened and put a hand on her back. “You two should lay off the donuts for a while.”
If a man could swear with his eyes, Montee was swearing at her. Josephine waved a finger at him. “This is your own fault. I liked all of you until I found out that you’d kill me if I tried to leave.”
Both men shook their heads and tried to talk but it was all jumbled.
Josephine waved her finger at them again. “I heard the truth myself. I’m not leaving you to die, though. You’re safe. And even if you don’t deserve it, I’ll send someone to let you out when I’m good and gone.”
The waiting was the hardest part. An hour passed before she heard Julio and Kyle talking outside the door. “It’s not like Montee to forget to check in. I haven’t heard from Dez either.”
“We’ll make sure Josephine is secure, then I’ll do a check of the area. They have to be somewhere.”
They’re together? Crap.
Josephine stood just inside the door. When they opened it she rushed to them. “Oh, thank God you’re here. I thought I heard something outside.”
Julio turned to look behind Kyle, and Josephine took the opportunity to zap Kyle. She gave Julio no time to react and Tasered him as well. Kyle started moving so she got him again and then Julio once more, just to be sure. I’m pretty sure that can’t kill them.
She removed their guns and secured their arms and legs with the expertise of someone who was beginning to get good at it. She did duct tape their mouths, but she didn’t bother with their radios because there was no one left for them to call. Nor did she bother to put them in the closet. They started flailing around and almost knocked a computer down on themselves. “Stop that. The only one who is going to hurt you is yourself. All I want to do is leave. Stay calm and you’ll all be freed by whoever I can get to come here. I haven’t thought that part through yet.”
She tied back her hair, put on her helmet and began to push the bike out of the lab. She paused briefly and smiled with pride. ?
??I didn’t even need the zip ties.”
The sound of car tires crunching on the gravel sent a shiver down her back. “Who is that?” she demanded of the two men in front of her.
They couldn’t speak, but they shrugged.
She picked her Taser back up and began to push the bike farther out of the lab. If they didn’t expect her to bolt, they might not be able to catch her. She stayed out of sight on the opposite side of the garage and watched for someone to exit the car. When the newcomer drew a gun and scanned the area, her stomach did a crazy flip. Who is he? Does he know I’m here?
I’m not faster than a bullet.
The snares. All I have to do is lure him to where I’d put them in the grass along the side of the garage. She threw a rock to catch his attention, waited for him to look away, then threw another. He headed toward the garage, and she prayed that the YouTube instructional videos she’d watched had actually produced a working snare.
The sound of a gun going off was followed by a long string of profanity. She peeked around the corner and saw the man hanging upside down with his gun on the ground just out of his reach. She picked it up turned it on the upside-down man.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Andre sent me.”
“I don’t know an Andre.”
The guy looked nervous. He might have been lying. On the other hand, he was upside down with a gun pointed at him. That might make him nervous, too. “He works for Mr. Brannigan.”
Gabe sent him. “What did he tell you to do?”
“He wants me to tell the guys that trouble might be on the way. They didn’t give me the details, but Mr. Brannigan is on his way back from Connecticut and didn’t think he could get here fast enough.”
“Fast enough for what?”
“To stop whoever is coming.” He gave her a sad look. “I’m here to protect you. Could you let me down? I’m getting nauseous.”
“Who is coming? I don’t understand.” Someone to take the bike? To take me? “Who?”
“All I know is that Mr. Brannigan wanted the ranch to go dark so you wouldn’t be involved in whatever went down. Andre said they were to keep you here and keep you safe at all costs. If anyone came for you they were to shoot to kill.”
Josephine sat down, still facing the gun at the hanging man. “The order to shoot to kill was to protect me?”
“Yes.”
She chewed her lip. Did I get this all wrong? “I want to believe you.”
“Where is everyone? Why are you on your own?”
She made a face. “I could tell you, but you might be lying to me. If I let you down, suddenly I’m tied up in the lab instead of them.”
“They’re tied up in the lab?” The man’s voice went up an octave.
She slapped her forehead. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m panicking. When I panic I get sloppy. I shouldn’t tell you that, should I? Do you have any proof that you’re not dangerous?”
The young man took his phone out of his front pocket. “You can call my mom. I told her where I was going.”
“Your mom?”
He grimaced. “I just started working for Andre. I was only supposed to deliver a message.”
Gabe made it to the ranch in record time. He jumped out of the car he’d had ready for him at the airport and scanned the area. Where were his men? Why hadn’t he seen any of them on the way in? A car was parked mid-driveway, which he hoped belonged to the man Andre had sent.
Off to one side of the driveway movement caught his eye. It was Josephine getting onto her black stealth bike. She rode up to him and pulled off her helmet. The move sent long waves of blonde hair cascading down her back. He took a step toward her, but she pulled a gun on him. Déjà vu.
“Stop right there.”
He did, but he knew he had a big, stupid grin on his face. She’s alive. Thank God. “Every time I think you can’t get hotter, you find a way to.”
She released the safety. “I want answers and I want them now. Where did you go?”
It was fun to play along. He raised both hands in a placating move. “You’re upset now, but you will be so happy with me when I tell you.”
“Stop evading the question and tell me.”
“I went to Connecticut to clear your father’s name and make sure you can safely come out of hiding without fear of being arrested or worse.”
The gun shook in her hand, but it was still pointed at him. “How . . . how would you do that?”
He knew the next bit of news wouldn’t be easy for her to hear. “I found the video of the night your father died.”
She gasped and her hand went to her mouth. He knew watching the video wouldn’t be easy for her, but it would give her the answers she sought. She needed that closure. “You’re lying. It was gone.”
“Money has a way of making things resurface.”
“Show me the video.”
He looked back at the car. “Shit. I don’t have it on my phone, and I didn’t bring my laptop back with me. Andre has a copy of it. I’ll see if he can send it.” He tried to contact Andre but it went through to his voicemail. “He’s not answering.”
She waved the gun at him angrily. “If you went to Connecticut to help me, why would you keep it a secret? Why not tell me?”
“I didn’t know what I’d find. You were safer off the grid.”
She looked torn. “What was on the video?”
As he described it, she lowered the gun. By the time he finished she was crying. He stepped toward her, but she raised the gun again. She was in shock, cold and shaking. In a gentle tone he said, “You’re safe now, Josie. The FBI is after Zainer. Raymean publicly declared your father’s innocence. I hope you really meant that you didn’t want to make money off the bike because I made sure the company also announced that the final design would be donated to the US Army. You’re free. Zainer will be found and stopped and you have no more need to hide from anyone.”
“How do I know you’re not just telling me what I want to hear?” She looked about to cry again. It was heartbreaking, but he’d spend the rest of his life making her smile. First . . . first she needed the truth. He wished he could spare her the pain he knew she’d feel when she finally did watch the video, but she wouldn’t endure it alone. He’d be right there for her—now and always.
“Before we get married we definitely need to work out the trust issues we have. I went after the video because I believed you and your father were innocent. You need to believe me now.”
“I heard you say I needed to be kept here. You gave your men an order to shoot to kill.”
He smiled reassuringly. “To kill anyone who came to hurt you, yes. I gave that order. If someone came here from Raymean, they weren’t going to leave alive.”
“Why blackout the ranch?”
“I didn’t want you to accidentally come out before I had cleared your name. Or have someone like Zainer find you before we had him on the run. The ranch blackout was the only way I thought I could insulate you until the danger was over.”
“Bobby said the same thing earlier.”
“Bobby?”
“Andre sent him. He just graduated from college. I don’t think he should have a gun.”
Gabe looked around. “Where is he? Where is everyone?”
Her instantly guilty expression was comical. It was quickly replaced, though, by the same direct look that had toppled him the first day they met. “They’re all tied up in the lab.”
He made a face as a thought occurred to him. “They’re all still alive, right?”
“Of course they are. I’m not a murderer.” The way she squared her shoulders and stood her ground could have inspired an army of men to follow her. Will there ever be a day when she doesn’t leave me near speechless?
Gabe asked Josephine to give him a moment, and he headed over to the lab. He stood in front of his completely incapacitated, highly paid security team.
With scissors, he released Julio first then handed him the sc
issors and nodded for him to free the others. He leaned against the doorjamb, shaking his head, but didn’t speak until all five men were back on their feet.
He pointed to the youngest man in the group. “I understand him, but what the hell happened to the rest of you? Dez, you’re a Navy SEAL. Julio, you and Kyle have protected presidents. Do any of you see a problem with one woman being able to kick all your asses?”
Julio stepped forward and placed the scissors on the table. “With all due respect—”
“Respect is what I’m trying to have for you, but what would have happened if Zanier had been here?”
“He’d be dead,” Dez said, with his shoulders proudly set back.
Gabe shook his head again in disgust.
Montee raised a hand in a silent call to halt the action. “You’re looking at this the wrong way, boss.”
“Really?”
Julio waved his hands in the air expressively. “We didn’t hurt her.”
Dez removed a last piece of duct tape off his arm. “Who would you rather have found in here? Us or her?”
The image of Josephine, tied up as they’d been, sent a protective surge of adrenaline through him. Had he come home and found her scared and restrained, he would have torn the men apart with his bare hands. He nodded abruptly. “Good call.”
He left the men and returned to Josephine.
“You’re amazing. I left four security men here with you and Andre sent an additional one. You thought they were going to hurt you so you locked them all up in your lab?”
“With a little help from Google and YouTube.”
“You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. When I take you to meet my family, you should probably tone this down a bit, but don’t for me.” He took a good long look. “I love you just the way you are. In fact, you need to keep some of these outfits so we can role play with them. I’ve never been into that, but I think I want to be tied up. Although tying you up sounds great, too. We’ll take turns.”
“You want me to meet your family?” Her expression turned hopeful. The smile that crept across her face was one of the most beautiful he’d ever seen. She was magnificent. Fire. Sweet. Brilliant. Mine.