Girl Undercover 10 & 11: The Abduction & Dante's Inferno (2 page)

As I took in the pale, red-haired woman with the dark circles in the mirror, I thought something else was needed in order to really drive home what bad shape I was in. Hearing how Jonah approached my front door, I rushed into the bathroom and got some soap that I rubbed into my eyes. It hurt like hell, but the effect was awesome. My eyes were now red and swollen, making it seem like I had cried hard recently.

A knock on the door told me Jonah had arrived, so I went to open it.

“Hey,” he said, staring at me as I pretended to struggle to smile at him. I could instantly tell that he wasn’t too crazy about the way I looked, even though he tried to hide it. But the fact that he didn’t throw himself at me the way he usually did spoke for itself. I smiled inwardly.
Awesome.

I opened the door for him to enter, wishing I had thought of ways to make myself stink, too. That would have really turned him off, and maybe he’d forget about me once and for all. Then I remembered what he had done to Nicki, what he was capable of, and was relieved instead that I hadn’t gone overboard. If he lost all interest in me, I would likely end up as dead as I would if he found out that I’d just manipulated him all along. I’d be reduced to a piece of useless ballast that knew too much and as such, the sooner I was eliminated, the better.

What had I been thinking?

Quickly sobering up to reality, I wiped away what remained of the fake circles under my eyes with the heels of my hands as Jonah entered my place. Then I removed the hairband from my wrist and gathered my stringy hair in a high ponytail, improving my look further. I needed this jerk to be in to me as much as ever.

“Excuse the mess,” I said as I followed him into the living room. My big suitcase was splayed open in front of the coffee table. Clothes, shoes and toiletries were thrown inside it as well as all over the floor around it. “Please make yourself comfortable. I just need to use the bathroom.”

As I was inside the bathroom, I washed my face to be sure the dark circles were completely gone. I added some Visine to get the red out of my eyes, hoping it would take effect soon. Regarding my image in the mirror, I applied a touch of blush and some lip gloss before I left the bathroom.

Jonah was checking his phone as I appeared in the living room. Blowing his long, dark bangs away from his eyes, he raised his head.

“So what’s the bad news?” he asked.

“My mom’s really, really sick,” I said and took a seat on the sofa arm the way I’d done when Burt had been at my place only days ago. “She has lung cancer and the doctors have given her max three months to live, but possibly only a few days if we’re really unlucky.”

To my surprise, Jonah had the decency to look like he was feeling bad for me. “That really sucks, Jamie. I’m so sorry. Is there something I can do? I have access to the best doctors in the whole world, you know. They might be able to cure her.” He screwed up his face like he considered something, then brightened. “Actually, I could have a couple of them sent there as soon as tomorrow night.” He smiled and nodded to himself. “Just give me the address to her hospital and I’ll tell my dad to send over a couple of doctors in his private jet.”

It took all I had not to give away the horror that was spreading within me—this was
not
the direction I had foreseen this conversation to go in. I made myself press out what I hoped looked like a grateful smile instead. “Oh, that’s so incredibly sweet and thoughtful of you, Jonah! Of course, her doctors are really, really good. I honestly don’t think there’s more that can be done to save her life.”

The contented expression on his face vanished and was replaced with one of outrage. He sat up and his beautiful blue eyes turned into small slits. “Are you kidding me? Don’t you want to give your mother every chance there is to cure her cancer? I just told you, I have access to the best doctors in the whole frigging
world
and they can be flown to her in twenty-four hours. I can promise you they’ll be a lot better than whatever doctors she has in
New Mexico.”
He spat out the last sentence, and I could tell he was getting angrier by the second.
Fuck.
I needed to do something to get this rapidly derailing situation back on track fast.

I dashed over to him and sank down on my knees, grabbing his hands, peering up at him.
“Of course
I want to do everything there is to save my mother’s life. I would love it if you could have some of the doctors you’re talking about take a look at her.” I pressed my forehead toward his hands for a moment in a display of submission. Then I gazed up at him again. “I’m so, so sorry if I came across as ungrateful. Please don’t think that I am.”

He regarded me in silence for a long, tense moment during which I honestly feared he might punch me in the face he looked so furious. If he did, it would be over. I didn’t think I’d be able to take his beating of me without defending myself. I was skilled at deflecting blows, which would be the last thing Jonah would want me to do.

But instead of raising his arm, he closed his eyes and began to do the deep breathing he’d told me his father’s psychologist had taught him to control his anger issues. Ten breaths later, during which I stared at him, still petrified, he opened his eyes and his anger seemed to have subsided significantly. I let out the quiet breath I had been holding.

He squeezed my hands and smiled benevolently at me. “Of course you’re not. You’re just not thinking straight what with your mother being so sick and everything. Give me the address to the hospital where she’s at and I’ll have my dad fly a couple of his best doctors there to take a look at her. I’m sure they’ll be able to cure her. They have access to drugs that no other doctors do. Wouldn’t that be great?”

I made myself give him a meek, grateful smile. “Yes, that would be so fantastic, Jonah. Thank you so much.” I got to my feet. I needed to buy myself time, figure out how to best handle this situation. “So you think they can be there tomorrow night then?”

“Yes, they should be able to get there by then. I don’t think my dad can make it happen any sooner than that. Let me call him and find out. What’s the name of the hospital again?”

“UCLA Medical Center,” I blurted out, not able to come up with any hospitals in New Mexico at the top of my head. “She’s working with specialists who work out of that hospital. As you just said, the doctors in New Mexico aren’t that great. So she had to be flown to California.”

Jonah gazed at me for a couple of silent beats, as though digesting what I had just told him, before nodding. “Oh. Yeah, I’m sure the doctors in California are better than in New Mexico. But they’re for sure not as good as our doctors.”

“Right.”

“Okay, let me call my dad and see what he says.” Looking down into his hand with the cell, he speed-dialed a number.

Chapter 2

The conversation between Jonah and his father only lasted about three minutes. And, much to my disappointment, it sounded like Otto Stenger had no problem making happen what Jonah wanted.

Disconnecting the phone, Jonah put it into a pocket in his hoodie and grinned at me. “He’ll have two of his top guys land in L.A. tomorrow night. Eight p.m at the Van Nuys airport. You think your mom can last until then?”

“Um, yeah, I think so,” I said, careful not to sound combative or snarky even if that last comment regarding the state of my mother hadn’t been exactly sensitive.

Jonah got to his feet. “I’ve gotta get back to work. My next client’s at one and I’ve gotta eat something before then.” He came up to me and folded me into his arms, gazing down into my eyes. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You’re my girl after all.” He nuzzled his nose against mine and the corners of his mouth quirked up. As I sensed that he was gearing up to kiss me, I pulled away slightly, pretending to prick up my ears.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I think that’s my phone buzzing. Can’t you hear it?”

My phone was in my purse that I had thrown on the counter in my small kitchen.

“My client’s supposed to get back to me,” I continued before Jonah got a chance to respond. “I want to tell her in person that I’m quitting. She’ll be upset, so I didn’t want to just leave a message. I should go see if it’s her. We’ve been playing phone tag.”

I released his arms from around my waist and rushed out to the kitchen where I found the phone in my purse. As I was out of Jonah’s vantage point, I quickly turned off the sound and pretended to answer. Talking into the phone, I walked back to the living room where he had remained in the same spot that I’d left him in. I told my imaginary client to hold on for a moment because I needed to say goodbye to someone. Lowering the phone, I threw my arms around Jonah and kissed his cheek, whispering in his ear how grateful I was for what he was doing for my mom. I added that I couldn’t wait to see him as soon as I returned from her sickbed before letting go of him.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long,” he said, looking pleased. “These doctors will have your mom cured in no-time and then we can be together again.”

“Sounds great.” I smiled up at him, dying for him to get the hell out of my place at last.

He gave me a peck on the lips, taking me by surprise, then swiveled around and headed for my hallway, fulfilling my wish finally. Walking after him, I watched how he opened the front door. Before he disappeared through it, he turned around and blew me an air kiss.

“See you soon, baby. You’ll see how it’ll all be okay.”

Blowing an air kiss back at him, I forced a bigger smile onto my lips. And then he was gone, allowing me to relax.

As soon as the door was closed, I rushed back to my purse and found my latest burner phone. I speed-dialed Ian’s latest burner number. He picked up after the first ring.

“What’s new?” he asked by way of greeting.

“Meet me at our special place right now. I’ve lots to tell you, and it’s not good.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in fifteen.”

We disconnected and I waited another five minutes to be sure Jonah had left my street before I exited my apartment and hurried over to the coffee shop I’d referred to.

I only had to wait a short while before I spotted Ian walking outside Aroma Espresso Bar through the glass wall. He entered and came up to the small table I’d claimed, sitting down on the chair facing me. Leaning toward me, he said, “Shoot.”

I told him what had happened when Jonah came over to my place, stressing particularly the fact that I had been convinced Jonah would hit me, which made Ian curl his hands into tight fists and his nostrils flare.

“So it’s only a matter of time before he’ll find out that I’m totally full of it,” I concluded at the end of my story, grimacing.

“Yes, and when he finds out, I don’t think using
breathing techniques
will calm his anger.” Ian ran a hand over his face and blew out a frustrated breath. “Bloody hell… I’m going to have to kill him after all then…”

“Either that or”—in the brief time I’d spent waiting for Ian, an idea had taken root in my mind—“I could always kidnap the two doctors when they arrive. And then make them tell Jonah stuff so he
thinks
everything’s exactly the way I told him.”

Ian looked at me appreciatively. “That’s a great idea, Gabi, but very hard to pull off. For example, you’ll be in New Mexico, a place I assume you’re not that familiar with. And you’re most likely going to need help, not only to subdue them, but to keep control over them the entire time. You might have to keep them for a while. A long while. Months. I suppose I could go there and help you, but that would mean we’d lose valuable time that would be better spent on me trying to find Stenger.”

I smiled at him, but didn’t say a word. I had omitted a tiny but vital part when relating my latest rendezvous with Jonah.

Ian cocked a brow at me. “Okay, you have an ace up your sleeve. Out with it.”

“Because I couldn’t think of a hospital in New Mexico, I just gave him the name of one I knew in Los Angeles, claiming that my mother was working with a cancer specialist there. Which means he’ll be flying these two doctors to California, not New Mexico. And I not only know California—Los Angeles especially—like my own hand, but I also have people there who can help me kidnap the doctors and then keep them in check for as long as we need. People who can be trusted for sure.”

He stared at me like he could hardly believe what I’d told him.
“Bollocks…”

I frowned. “Bollocks? Huh? Are you trying to tell me I’m bullshitting you? Well, I’m not.”

He smiled wide. “In that case—brilliant. Kidnapping them is what we’ll do then.” The smile shrank as he thought of something. “As long as you’re
absolutely
sure you can trust the people you have in mind. Are you absolutely sure?”

“Definitely. Dante’s like a brother to me. I’d trust him with my life. He’d do anything for me. And he has friends who’re equally as loyal to him, people I also know.” I considered my proposal some more, and it struck me that Ian was right—it
was
fucking brilliant! “In fact, I think that if Dante and company apply the right pressure to these two doctors, we might be able to learn invaluable information regarding Stenger’s masterplan. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re a lot more clued in on it than Jonah.”

Ian chuckled. “Yes, you’re probably right about that. When will you be leaving?”

“As soon as possible. Jonah already believes I have a flight out for tonight and the doctors are apparently scheduled to arrive in L.A. tomorrow night. I need to be there to receive them. I also need to make sure I have my helpers ready to go.”

“Right. We have to get you on a plane immediately. It would be best if you got there by tonight to give you ample time to prepare. In addition to get your guys ready, you’ll need to figure out a good place to stash the doctors.”

“Yeah, I know. It would be great if I could get there by tonight, but I don’t think I can find a flight that quickly.”

Ian took my hand and squeezed it, giving me a lopsided, knowing smile. “How about you let me take care of finding you a flight for tonight while you pack and get ready? I’m sure you have lots to do before you go see your dear mom.” His eyes, suddenly an amazing sea green, glittered conspiratorially.