Fool Me Once (18 page)

“Actually,
I don’t. I’ve already told you why he hired me.” She looked toward the exit.
“So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll be getting back to the yacht. Josh will be
missing me by now.”

Blazek
laughed mirthlessly. “I don’t think so, my dear. I’ll let you know when I’m
finished with you. In the meantime, I suggest you think about what I’ve said. I
want to be very sure that you’ve told me everything you know.” He leaned
closer. “Everything.”

Olivia
was about to respond when the door opened. Blazek’s two thugs had returned.

“We’ve
checked everywhere, Boss. Can’t find it,” Sideburns reported.

“You’ve
looked everywhere?”

“Yes,
Boss. We even went back to the dock. It’s not anywhere. It must have fallen in
the water.”

“All
right then.” He gestured to Olivia. “Miss MacMillan is going to be our guest
overnight. Tie her up.” He did not see the brief flash of hope that lit her
eyes.

“Gladly.”
Garlic Breath produced a roll of duct tape and shoved her roughly against a
metal support column. He pulled her wrists together around the pole and taped
them tightly. Her shoulders stretched painfully but she refused to complain. He
then taped her ankles together and stood back to admire his work. After a quick
glance at Sideburns he added more tape, attaching her ankles to the pole.
“There,” he said with a sneer. “Let’s see you get out of that.”

Olivia
ignored him and turned to Blazek, who had watched impassively. “Is this
absolutely necessary?” she asked, muscles already screaming for relief.

“Not
if you’d like to tell me more about your Mr. Morgan,” he said calmly.
“Otherwise I have it on good authority that a night in that position does
wonders for the memory.” He cocked his head to one side, seemingly oblivious to
her discomfort. “Well?”

Olivia
met his gaze evenly. She refused to let her fear show now. “Then I guess I’m in
for a long night, because I don’t know any more than I’ve already told you.”

Blazek
turned on his heel, and his voice floated back to her. “We’ll see,” he said.
“Goodnight, Miss MacMillan.”

Chapter Nine

Josh
watched Dirk work through the various scenarios, his analytical mind weighing
the strengths and weaknesses of their position. He tossed down his pen and
drained the coffee from his cup. “There, that’s it,” he said, his tone
matter-of-fact. “We’ve done everything we can. A.J. is checked out on the
G-Lynx, and he’s en route to one of our supply ships right now. They were
headed for Gibraltar, which means that once he gets our signal, he can be here
within minutes. Fifteen at the most.”

“What
else?” They’d been over all this before, but Josh needed to hear it again. He
paced around the table.

Dirk
shot him an understanding look. “Blazek checked you out thoroughly, like we
knew he would. Everything went smoothly there. Colin is as puzzled as we are as
to why he nabbed Olivia.”

“Maybe
he’s just being overly cautious. But I don’t understand why he would risk
offending a purchaser.”

“Why
not? He has a lot more to lose than you. And besides, who can you complain to?”

“Good
point.” Josh crammed his fists into his pockets. “You know, it’s just as well
we don’t know where she is right now. Because if we did, you’d have to tie me
down to keep me here.” His breathing became ragged. “If he’s harmed her…”

“Josh.”
Dirk glanced at his watch. “It’s three thirty in the morning, and we need to be
alert when Blazek calls in a few hours. Why don’t you go downstairs and shower?
Get some sleep if you can. I’ll wake you in a couple of hours. Then I’ll
shower.”

“I
don’t think I can sleep.” Josh caught sight of himself in the mirror over the
bar and did a double take. Sunken eyes looked back at him, and the stubble on
his cheeks gave him a decidedly scruffy look. He forced a smile. “I look like
hell.” He met Dirk’s eyes in the mirror. “I’ll have a shower and be back in a
few minutes.”

The
lower passageway was dimly lit. Josh paused outside Olivia’s room, and then
pushed open the door. Once inside he felt her presence like a physical blow. A
damp towel lay on the bed and he pressed his face into it, inhaling her scent.
In that one heartbeat of time he knew that he loved her. With a groan of
frustration he tossed the towel into the bathroom and sat down on the bed, head
in his hands. Was it too late? He allowed himself the luxury of remembering how
beautifully she sat a horse, how her eyes glowed in the candlelight of the
bistro, how she responded when he took her in his arms. He couldn’t lose her
now. All he asked was a chance to tell her how he felt, and to ask if she
shared his feelings.

He
stood up abruptly. Dirk was right. He needed all his wits about him to deal
with Blazek. He walked to the door, and flicked off the light switch.

A
pale glow caught his eye. Olivia’s laptop. He paused. She must have been
working on it this afternoon. A few keystrokes later, he was reading her notes,
and his heart started to thud in his chest. He ran up the stairs, startling
Dirk with a cry of elation.

“I
know where Olivia is,” he said, placing the laptop on the table. He pointed at
the screen. “Look at her notes. Blazek owns a warehouse just East of Puerto
Banus, but it’s registered in someone else’s name. That’s why it didn’t come up
in any of our searches. I’ll bet that’s where he’s holding her. He wouldn’t
dare take her to his villa, where the servants might see her.”

“You
know, I think you’re right.” Dirk checked his watch. “Are you thinking what I’m
thinking?”

“Absolutely.
If we can find her before he calls…” His eyes glittered. “With any luck, we’ll
whisk her out from under his nose and still complete our mission.”

Dirk
clapped him on the back. “That, my friend, would be the icing on the cake.”

* * *

Olivia
strained against the tape that bound her wrists, but her movements only served
to increase the pain in her shoulders. She couldn’t sit down and standing was
quickly becoming an unbearable agony. She renewed her efforts to loosen the
tape at her feet and arms, knowing that even a few millimeters would improve
her circulation.

Muffled
laughter erupted from the back of the warehouse and blue-white light flickered
faintly from a television set. The two thugs had been left to guard her. She
had watched Blazek instruct them before he left, and they had checked on her
three times now. Or was it four? Each time they appeared, her skin crawled as
they leered at her, enjoying her discomfort. Although she was desperately
thirsty, she refused to ask for water. She would not give them the satisfaction
of seeing her beg. By now, the muscles in her shoulders were thankfully numb; a
small victory in her struggle to maintain her dignity.

Her
head slumped forward, and the motion woke her up. How to stay awake? It was
becoming harder and harder to focus on anything; her thoughts were blurry and
indistinct. She laughed to herself. At least she thought she’d laughed…she
couldn’t be sure. If only her Editor could see her now. Could Iraq be any worse
than this? Maybe so, but at the moment she couldn’t imagine how.

Where
was Josh? He would come for her. She knew it with every fiber of her being. His
face floated in front of her eyes, darkly, ruggedly handsome. He was sitting
astride a beautiful chestnut quarter horse, half-turned in the saddle to smile
at her. She frowned. How did she know it was a quarter horse? She couldn’t
answer that, but seeing him gave her a warm sense of security, of being home.
She raised her hand to return the wave, and his face grew smaller, fading into
the distance.

* * *

Dirk
drove past the silent port, his eyes alert for any movement. Traffic was
non-existent at this time of the morning; even the commercial vehicles hadn’t
yet begun their rounds of the resort cities.

“Turn
out your lights.” Josh spoke softly, even though there was no one to hear.

Dirk
switched off the headlights. The sun wouldn’t rise for another hour and a half,
but they had no trouble adjusting their eyes to the pale morning light.

“The
commercial dock is about two miles away, according to her notes.” He turned to
Dirk. “You contacted A.J.?”

“Yes.”
The Englishman peered through the windshield. “He’s standing by.” He shot a
quick look at Josh. “He must be one helluva pilot if the Royal Navy is willing
to let him fly one of their helicopters.”

“He’s
the best. But I suspect Colin had something to do with it. He can be very
persuasive.”

Dirk
nodded. “Don’t I know it.” He slowed the vehicle, head swiveling from right to
left. “There’s the pier, and that must be the warehouse. We’ll park and walk
the rest of the way.”

Dressed
alike in dark clothes, the two men slid into the shadows of a row of loosely
connected shacks. The warehouse stood by itself, the only solid structure in
the area.

“Let’s
do a quick recce,” Dirk suggested, his voice low and tense. “Meet you back here
in a minute.” Sliding a gun from his shoulder holster, he disappeared in the
gloom along the left side of the warehouse.

Josh
scanned the area, and seeing no movement, walked boldly up to the small front
door beside the drive-in entrance. He scowled as he saw the keypad to the left
of the door. A similar keypad was mounted beside the roll-up doors. “Damn,” he
said to himself. “I was hoping to do this quietly.”

Dirk
materialized out of the shadows on the far side of the warehouse. “What do you
make of the security system?” he asked, nodding toward the door. “There’s
another keypad beside the rear door.”

Josh
rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m familiar with this system. It requires a
seven-digit code to gain entrance. Could you see inside?”

Dirk
shook his head. “Not one window in the whole building. We could blow one of the
doors, but that would alert whoever’s inside. I’d much rather do this…” He
looked over Josh’s shoulder, his eyes widening. “What in blazes?”

Josh
turned. A slight figure hugged the corner of the building.

“
Senor
Josh?” The girl’s voice was tentative, her eyes riveted on Dirk’s gun.

Dirk
looked incredulously from the child to Josh. “She knows your name. Who is she?”
He slipped the gun back into the holster.

Josh
wracked his brain. What was the girl’s name? He moved forward, careful not to
frighten her. Kneeling down, he looked into the child’s fearful eyes. She was
trembling.

“Rosalina.”
He made shooing motions with his hands. “Go away.” He looked back at Dirk for
help, but the British agent shrugged his shoulders. “Go away,” he repeated.

The
child’s hand came out from behind her back. In her palm, the rough stones of
Olivia’s necklace gleamed dully in the gathering light. She pointed to the
warehouse. “
Senora
Olivia,” she whispered, looking from Josh to Dirk.
She took Josh’s hand, her fingers small and trusting. She led him to the door
and pointed to the keypad. Reaching up on her tiptoes, she pointed to seven
numbers, eagerly watching Josh’s response. He repeated the sequence.

Satisfied
that he understood, she ran a few steps away, then turned slowly, her
expression surprisingly adult.

“
Gracias
,
Rosalina,” he said to the small woman-child. “
Muchas gracias
.”

The
men were treated to a brilliant smile and then the child ran off, disappearing
from view a moment later.

“What
just happened?” asked Dirk, his cell phone already to his ear.

Josh’s
voice was hoarse with emotion. “Olivia showed that child a kindness a couple of
nights ago, and it may have saved her life.” He found himself grinning while
Dirk consulted his GPS unit and spoke urgently into the phone. His fingers
closed over the necklace, and he shoved it into his pocket.

“ETA,
thirteen minutes.” Dirk glanced up at the sky. “And none too soon. It’s getting
lighter by the second. Let’s go.”

The
musical notes of the keypad seemed dangerously loud in the early morning
silence. They eased the door open and were soon inside the dark warehouse. Each
man pulled out a balaclava and slipped it over his head. Dirk raised a finger
to his lips, pointing toward the rear of the warehouse. Josh nodded,
acknowledging the faint sound. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to adjust
them to the dim light.

Heart
pounding like a trip-hammer he peered into the interior. Rows of cartons sat on
pallets, awaiting shipment.

“I
think we hit pay dirt,” he said, his lips next to Dirk’s ear. “They’ve got a
big shipment ready.”

Dirk
nodded. “Mostly RPGs and AK-47s, judging from the size of the cartons. Just
what we’re after.”

The
men crept toward the rear of the warehouse, guns drawn. The sound grew louder,
and they recognized it as a television set. An announcer droned on and Josh
gave his head a quick shake. TV in any language bored him. He bumped into Dirk.

“What
is it?” he said, his hand on Dirk’s back. “What do you see?”