Reunion (5 page)

Twenty minutes later, Grant watched as Patti went
out the door with some silent-but-deadly type named Marcus. They would be in
the first wave of agents…operatives…
whatever
Enwright Security called
them…to go to the location pinpointed by RJ’s tracker. Meanwhile, the cops had
been informed of the kidnapping and were on the way here to interview him about
his daughter’s disappearance. Graeme was staying here as the law enforcement
liaison and to field any questions about the delay in reporting the crime, and
RJ was here for moral support. All Grant wanted to do was go with Patti to find
Annie. How could that possibly be too much to ask?

Grant felt like he was poised on the precipice of
disaster. He suddenly remembered when he’d been seven or eight and his family
had taken their first trip to Disneyland. They’d gotten up well-before sunrise
and made the six-hour drive from their home in the valley, heading straight for
the theme park. As soon as the park opened, they pushed through the gates like
thoroughbreds at Hollywood Park, racing down Main Street and headed straight
for their father’s favorite ride.

After a quick check of Grant’s height, their
father dragged them through the still empty switch-back lines, until they were
deep inside the launching pad of a rocket to space. His young boy’s heart
hammered as the white tube jerked to a stop in front of the platform and he
clambered in to sit on the floor of the car. He sat alone in the front, while
his sister sat between their father’s legs in the back seat. A wave of thrilled
terror shook him as the attendant gave a hard tug on Grant’s seatbelt, nodded
once, and the car lurched forward.

Clickity-clack…the noise of the ride ratcheted up
his anxiety as they slowly rose up at what seemed an impossible angle.
Mechanical voices cautioned him to fasten his seatbelt, prepare for lift off.
Lights flickered, the engine roared, and the car drew to a near stop with a
click…click…click.

There.
That instant, instinctual knowledge
of the frailty of human life. The sickening awareness when you want to throw up
because the whole world is about to fall out from underneath you and there isn’t
one damn thing you can do stop it.

That was
this
moment. Just like that damn
Space Mountain ride…he was going over the edge, into the darkness. Unable to see
the next turn, barely constrained by the safety belt as he was tossed and
jerked in unexpected directions at the whim of an unseen hand.

Grant closed his eyes and swallowed hard. RJ had
seen Annie’s shoe in the back of the car that had only minutes before been
across the street. Someone
had
taken his little girl. The precious gift
bestowed upon him through a comedy of errors. Casual lovers, a torn condom, not
enough interest to mention there was a full term pregnancy. Apparently not even
sufficient mutual respect to mention she was dying before she’d gifted him with
a daughter. He could only thank the powers that be that Michelle had called an
attorney to make arrangements to finally tell Grant about Annie.

A loud knock on the door startled him from his
thoughts and he looked up in time to catch Graeme and RJ exchange a look. The
security expert was already moving to usher the cops inside, while RJ gave his
arm a squeeze. Then his old friend leaned in close and Grant found his scent
just as intoxicating as ever. For just a moment, he had a flash of their last
time, of burying himself inside that tight ass, the force of his thrusts
pushing RJ deep inside Patti.
Good God. Had they ever really been that young
and carefree?

“I’ll make more coffee, but I’m gonna stay close.
You know the cops will ask hard questions—let Graeme answer whenever
possible—and keep in mind that they’re just doing their jobs. Patti and the
others will have Annie back before the local cops even have a clue.”

Grant swallowed hard and blinked against the sting
in his eyes. He could hear Graeme behind them, ushering the police in through the
backdoor, the quiet voices coolly professional.

RJ draped an arm over his shoulders, the weight
reassuring, still oddly familiar. “Seriously, Grant, I know about Enwright
Security—they’re the best in the business. If she’s where the car is located or
if they find the guy out front, they’ll get Annie back. Be cool just a little
longer, okay?”

Grant nodded, then turned his face to look
directly at RJ. Without thinking, he reached to push the heavy black hair out
of RJ’s eyes. Silky—just like he remembered. As if pulled by an unseen string,
they leaned into each other, and for just a moment he wondered if RJ was going
to kiss him. Then the voices of the men entering the dining room broke the
spell of the moment and they both pulled back.

“Grant Anderson—Detectives Parker and Bennett.
This is his friend RJ Mendez.” Graeme made the introductions, indicating who
was who with a nod of his head, his face perfectly devoid of any expression.
Not an auspicious sign.

Parker was apparently going to take the lead, as
he stepped forward and heaved himself into the chair directly across from
Grant. Breathing hard, he was thirty pounds from fitting into the elastic waistband
of his Haggars, and his stained yellow tie failed to cover the last button of
his straining plaid shirt. Everything about the man screamed stereotype
donut-eating detective. Of course appearances could be deceiving. For all he
knew, this was their ace detective.

Detective Bennett was Parker’s polar opposite. A
woman about his own age, with pale hair drawn into a neat tail, hands busy with
a note pad and pen, even as her eyes moved around the room. Grant wondered if
she remained standing in an effort to distance herself from her slob of a
partner or if she liked the space to act as an observer.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning, Mr.
Anderson?”

Before he could answer, RJ pushed his chair back
and made a move as if to rise, probably to get that coffee he’d talked about.
The detective’s voice was sharp. “No, don’t get up, Mr. Mendez—we’ll want to
talk with you, too…”

Graeme stepped forward. “Detective Parker, I don’t
think it will be necessary to interview Mr. Mendez in this situation—”

“Yeah, well that’s why you’re a civilian now,
isn’t it?”

Across town, the team from Enwright Security was in
place, timed to make their assault just as the locals were informed of the
crime. It kept things cleaner that way. Strapped into a Kevlar vest, her
weapons ready, radio tested and working, Patti was as prepared as she could be.
She was surprised to be accepted as part of the rescue, but in reality, her
role was very narrowly defined. Her job was to get Annie. The other men and
women of the extraction team would take care of everything else.

Their target was a small adobe building located
just off the parking lot of an abandoned nursery. The red Prius was partially
hidden between the back of the building and a whitewashed wooden garden gate. The
quaint entry led to what would have once been the main display area when the
abandoned garden center had actual customers. Faded signs posted around the
property proclaimed this booming business was for sale. Right. Maybe ten years
ago. Now, it was in need of a total razing before the new owner could start
over.

Still, Patti thought the place held a certain
charm, with towering eucalyptus trees shading the west side of the property, a
trench meandering through the forty acres, probably the remnants of a
manufactured stream to lend ambience. The whole place screamed of a time when
landscaping in the valley had been accomplished without thought of water
conservation. No wonder they’d gone belly up.

A hint of pink settled at the horizon, the black
silhouettes of mountains starting to show. In another fifteen minutes the sky
would be light enough to show the location of every one of the operatives,
adding an additional sense of urgency. A voice spoke calmly in her ear.

“We have visual confirmation.” The female voice
was low, words precise. She’d been introduced as Jolynn Enwright, so Patti
assumed a sister, as opposed to spouse, since she knew Michael Enwright to be
in a relationship with Graeme and Liz.

“We have two males. One male seated in a lawn
chair, location south west corner of the room. The second male is standing near
the large front window, northeast side of the building. Patti, watch yourself,
he’s facing your direction. Let the others move first. The child is on a
mattress on the south wall, unmoving. Maybe asleep, bound, or both. I cannot
get an angle on the weapon models, so everyone assume worse case, armed and
extremely dangerous.” There was a pause, then an audible click before Jolynn
continued, in her slow, calm voice.

“Michael, this is Jolynn. Please document this
call as an official notification that I have located two suspects in the Annie
Anderson kidnapping case. Two suspects, armed and dangerous, the child is in
imminent danger. My personnel are in position and due to the approaching
sunrise, my team is moving in.”

Jolynn recited the address and Patti realized the
pause and click she’d heard moments earlier were the initiation of a second
audio recording—since she knew Michael had been already on the line with
Jolynn. This one would serve as the official record presented to investigators.

“Request backup at my location. We’ll want someone
to haul the trash out when we’re finished. All right, folks, it’s show time.
Go. Go. Go.”

The scene unfolded before her with the precision
of a choreographed ballet. Four dark figures moved in close to the building,
two on each side. Two more lay prone with scoped rifles trained on the door and
picture window. Marcus used hand signals to focus everyone, then on a signal of
three, he kicked open the door and tossed a flashbang through opening.

Not waiting for the situation to escalate, Patti
ran full on, straight into the building, focused on the south wall, trusting the
others to take care of their own targets. There were confused shouts, muffled
curses. Someone yelled, “Gun…”

Rapid gunfire erupted amid the cover of smoke and
turned her run into a crablike scramble, until she hit the mattress. A thin,
muffled keening guided her to the small girl.

“Annie…Annie. I have you, honey. Daddy’s waiting.
I have you.” She repeated her words over and over, knowing they went unheard in
a sudden rapid round of explosions. Then everything fell quiet, with only the
child’s muffled cries breaking the silence of the new dawn.

“Clear, clear, clear…”

“Shit.” The word was uttered from inside the room
and heard simultaneously in her earpiece, but might have been spoken through
cotton, for all the ringing in her ears. Patti looked up to see Jolynn standing
near the window, looking at the bloody body of a man. “Michael, the scene is
secure, we have the girl. What’s her status, Patti?”

Patti nodded, then did a quick visual. “Safe.
Conscious with no visible injuries. Taking her outside now.” As she gathered
the girl in her arms, she listened as Jolynn examined the room, briefed Michael
and the team.

“Okay, listen up. Just a reminder to everyone that
the recorder is still running and will be handed over to law enforcement, along
with our weapons. Michael, all team members are safe. Marcus has a wound to the
upper arm—looks like a bullet creased his sleeve. There are a few other
scrapes, but nothing Gabe can’t take care of on scene or at the clinic. The two
suspects are down. This one…” There was a pause. “Yeah, no need for the
ambulance to hurry. We’ll take detailed statements—as will the feds. Michael,
we’re going to be here for a while. Might want to send Graeme over as soon as
he shakes free of the locals…and maybe call Carter and see if he can have one
of his Phoenix attorneys meet us. This is a fucking mess.”

Patti yanked the earpiece out, not needing to hear
any more. Evidence was being preserved, that was all she’d needed to know. Her
priority remained Annie, who was unnaturally still in her arms. When she got
them far enough away from the building to avoid having the child overhear or
see anything further about her kidnappers, Patti slowed her near-run into a
more casual pace and tried to calm her own breathing.

“Hey, sweetheart. Hey, Annie. I’m a friend of your
daddy’s. I’m Patti. Let’s go sit under the big tree over there.” She kept her
voice calm and confident, two things she knew the four-year-old girl would
need.

As soon as they reached the trees, Patti sat,
curling the unresisting little body so they sat cuddled together, the small
girl pressed against her chest.

“Let’s call Daddy,” Patti said, ignoring protocol
and pulling her phone from where she’d jammed it into her waistband earlier.

“Annie?” Grant’s voice was razor thin, and she
knew the stress was unbearable. She could hear a voice in the background
hissing instructions to hand the phone over.

“Right here with me, Grant. She’s okay.” Sirens
grew louder, and Patti could see a line of patrol cars, unmarked sedans and
SUVs, and at least three ambulances racing north on I-17. They would take the
next exit and be arriving within the minute.

“Grant, honey—I don’t have much time, but the
authorities will take her to the closest children’s hospital. She doesn’t have
any injuries that I can see—but they need to check her, okay? Get RJ to bring
you straight away.”

Annie shuddered once against Patti’s chest then
let out a terrified scream.

“Jesus, Patti! What’s wrong, what’s wrong?”
Grant’s panicked voice faded as the first of the emergency vehicles raced into
the parking lot, sirens still blaring.

“Nothing…the sirens…” Patti spoke loudly over both
Annie and the approaching vehicles. Shifting the girl to rest solidly in her
lap, it was easy to hold the phone so they both could hear without using the
speakerphone. “Annie, sweetheart, it’s okay. Here’s your Daddy. He’s going to
meet us. Everything thing’s okay.”

With a great hiccoughing breath, Annie stopped
screaming and looked at the phone. “Daddy?” she whispered.

“Right here, baby. That’s my Annie, that’s my most
special girl. You stay with Patti. She’s going to bring you to me, okay?”

Big round eyes looked up at Patti, then back at
the phone. “Patti?”

“Yeah, she’s my next best girl, after you, honey.
It’s really loud on the phone, so I’m going to come meet you. Stay with Patti
until you see me. You hear me, baby? Don’t go anywhere without Patti. She’ll
take good care of you.”

“Don’t worry, Grant, I have her. Cops are here;
gotta go.”