Independence: #2 Angel (36 page)

“Where are you? Don’t go doing anything heroic or stupid…or maybe they’re both the same thing,” Natalie mumbled, the sound of an engine starting rumbling through the phone line.

“If I’m right, they’re taking her out of the country. I’m not going to let that happen, Lieutenant,” Colin ended the call and guided the car swiftly along the roads toward the coast and the popular marina.

Abe Thatcher sat watching the entrance to the hotel, a waiting limo telling him they were still inside. As well as the conversation he was listening to and recording.

“I won’t let that happen,” Crystal promised her father vehemently.

“I know you’re my best guy, baby. Just be careful. Call me if anything happens.”

“Immediately.”

Chapter Thirty-One

No one paid much attention to a kid bopping along with earpods in place and a heavy winter coat on. Her head was bare and beneath the bright halogen lights, shone red with droplets of mist shimmering off the high riding, curling ponytail.

Her lips moved as if she were singing along to the music that might have been playing in her ears. If she were listening to music.

“I’ve found the yacht registered to one of his companies,” she spoke calmly, quietly. “I can see it being prepped from the coffee shop in the Marina.”

“Anyone from the file visible?”

“Leonard. He’s been pacing an inside cabin with his phone to his ear. I’m guessing updates on the progress. Where are you, dad?”

“They stopped at a hotel. From the conversation, they’re making Angel read a prepared statement to absolve all parties in the restraining orders.”

“I’m sure it’ll be released before they intend to set sail and definitely before the police find them,” she rechecked her equipment and relaxed. Casual, silent and invisible. An art form, she mused as she wandered toward the stack of items to be moved onto the boat.

Angel knew she’d have nail marks in her palms. Somehow she’d managed to read the statement without collapsing in tears. Right now, anger was vying with being terribly frightened for a top slot in her emotional scale. If they took her away, she might never be free again.

The one redeeming thing so far, was that Earl Leonard hadn’t made an appearance. Elizabeth had said she’d be taking a cruise. Angel walked to the large plate window of the suite they were in. People were packing up the cameras and receiving orders from her step-mother, their voices low and on the other side of the room.

Not that she cared. She stared at the droplets of rain running down the window. Lights splintered and sparkled outside over the large expanse of private boats. But all she saw was Colin. All she felt were his arms around her. All she heard were his words. That was the only way she was going to manage.

Hope, she thought with a ragged breath, her hands up and rubbing her cheeks, taking away the hints of her tears. Elizabeth was calling her and she’d been lost in her thoughts. So it wasn’t a surprise when a strong, thin and tight hand wrapped itself around her upper arm and shook her.

“I am speaking to you, Angelica.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you were busy.” She knew better than to fight either physically or verbally. She envisioned Colin in her mind and kept her gaze lowered, waiting. Compliant. Be polite and compliant, she repeated over and over in her mind.

“We’re leaving. Get your jacket, Angelica.”

“I don’t have my clothes,” she said as she went to where she’d laid her jacket and purse. She hadn’t seen Elizabeth throw her phone away. Maybe…just maybe…the hope that Colin would track her through it was the only thing keeping her from a mass of crying Jello. She had the first button on her jacket done up as she walked to the door where Elizabeth stood, impatiently tapping her foot on the floor.

“No trouble, Angelica. No noise. No talking. Nothing. Walk with me the same way we came in. Quiet and dignified. Everything else has been handled,” Elizabeth said calmly, opening the door and gesturing. “To the parking lot and the waiting limo. The marina isn’t far.”

“He won’t let you get away with this,” Angel heard her voice but didn’t believe she’d spoken the words out loud. Especially when Elizabeth gave that silvery tinkle of a laugh. As if anything Angel said mattered.

“He’s quite sexy, Angelica, but he really should have stayed out of family business,” she said with a casual shrug. “He’s not a concern. I’m sure he’ll be able to find a replacement quite easily.”

“I have a Christmas tree set up,” Angel kept talking. “We found amazing little angels and snowflakes for it last weekend. It’s beautiful. We spent half of last night planning a little dinner party. He likes me and wants me around him. He doesn’t hurt me.”

“Perhaps you can achieve that with Earl, child. Of course, you could have started off better if you hadn’t slept with that attorney like some cheap slut he picked up off the streets.” Elizabeth lifted her phone from inside her purse and began scrolling through the messages. “They have the yacht prepared for your arrival.”

“You don’t need me to make your life happy. Why are you doing this?”

“I need you to fix what you’ve done with that courtroom mess. I want you out of my life, once and for all. And Earl will take care of that for me in exchange for a little help with some of his cash issues.”

“Money laundering and hurting people only looking for a better life,” Angel stared through the darkened windows. They weren’t moving very quickly, but the locks had been set the instant they had been seated. “He uses people for his drug and smuggling business. And you…and father…preaching such lofty words that don’t actually mean a thing to either of you.”

“And within an hour, you will be on a yacht headed for Mexico. The ends justify the means,” Elizabeth told her, barely lifting her eyes from the screen of the phone in her hands. “I’ll have what I want. Earl will have what he wants and your father’s congregation will be settled and back to normal.”

“And I don’t matter.”

“You never did, Angelica. It’s taken you a very long time to realize that.” And with that, she tucked the phone away and smiled as the door at her side was pulled wide.

Angel only just realized the motion had stopped. Icy, fresh air blew in off the water. The rains had stopped for the moment and some of the clouds must have lightened and thinned, because a faint light from the moon was sending sparkling shimmers of a glow down over the water.

“I received your message,” a low voice said from the outside seconds before his face appeared in the open space. He extended his palm to her. “Angelica. How good of you to accept my offer.”

She ignored his hand and sat still. Then the door behind her clicked and she felt it open. She turned to the side and stepped out without looking at anyone around her. Eyes on the ground, she heard Colin tell her in his sexy drawl. Memories. She had them and she’d never let them go. They’d keep her sane. He’d find her. She had to keep repeating that, no matter what happened.

Angel stepped from the inside of the limo and looked toward the very large waiting yacht. People scurried around carrying large boxes from a big truck parked near the loading ramp in the above parking lot. A chill ran through her and it had nothing to do with the weather. She was breathing too fast as she looked around, seeking an escape.

She saw the water’s edge and wondered…just for a few seconds. She was a strong swimmer, but the cold water…or the man coming around the limo and quickly grabbing her arm. She should have taken the water. His hand tightened painfully, but she refused to show him he was hurting her. Eyes on the ground, she heard in her head, stepping inside and away from the night.

“Let me escort you to our suite, Angelica,” his voice was low, a snarl in his words that made her cringe. He was too much like her father and brothers. No, he was worse, she realized, stumbling along the wide plank leading to the main level of the large boat. “I strongly urge you to adjust to your situation. It will be much more pleasant for you.”

Nothing about you will be pleasant
, she thought, keeping her opinions to herself. He’d strike her at the first reason she gave him. Part of her knew he’d strike her simply because he was of the mood to. But for now, she’d remain silent.

“There is food and clothing for you. Get out of those pants and select a dress. I’ll be back when we are safely underway,” he gave her a little shove into the large stateroom. “The heat is on and you should be most comfortable,” he tipped his head before pulling the door closed.

Angel heard the snap of a lock and sighed. Instinct had her wanting to kick at the door. A lot. But she turned and went to the large windows. She was reaching for one of the latches when a noise behind her made her spin. Grateful that her shoes gripped the floor beneath her, she stared at the woman stepping from inside the bathroom.

“Who…?” Angel stared at the woman. She had red hair, bound into a ponytail and bright blue eyes that smiled at her. She wasn’t very tall, probably five and a half feet tall but very slight looking.

“Shh…we have one guard outside,” she reached inside the jacket she wore, her hand coming out with a small gun that fit perfectly in her palm. She placed one finger against her lips and worked a small set of thin tools in the lock. “These things are so easy. I graduated from them when I was seven,” she confided with a little chuckle, sliding the slim pieces of metal into a small case Angel hadn’t seen until now. It disappeared into an inner pocket of her jacket.

The finger went back to her lips as she held the gun steady and eased the door inward.

“Over here, Angel. I want him to see you. Call out to him. Tell him you need to talk to him,” the redhead stepped to the left side and waited.

Angel gulped down her agreement and moved to the door, her hand on the knob. She turned it and cleared her throat, trying to make words come out. She was a baker. She wasn’t a person who hung out with guns and…and…

“What the fuck? That door was locked.”

Angel just stared. He couldn’t be more than twenty-five. If that.

Her mouth opened and she almost spoke something far from intelligent when the redhead stepped out and fired. Angel closed her eyes, but the thump of him hitting the floor couldn’t be blocked out that easily. She didn’t look when she spoke.

“Is he…?”

“It’s okay. Just a tranq dart,” the redhead chuckled. “Help me drag his heavy butt into the suite. Then, we’re outta here,” she promised, tucking the gun into the band of her jeans and bending over to take one of the guard’s arms. Between them, they managed to pull him inside and reclose the door.

“Who are you?”

“Oh. Crystal,” she answered with a smile before turning the inner lock. “That will hold them for a little bit. Provided we get away without anyone seeing us.”

“That’s the door.”

“Yes, but they have really nice, big windows and I already loosened one of them,” she said with a nod.

“Again. Who are you?” Angel followed, keeping her voice low as they climbed on the bed and stood before one of the large, thick panels of glass. It was designed to slide to the side and had a full sized screen on the other side. A screen that now had a very long knife sliced through it, carving a simple opening for them to squeeze through.

“I work for your boyfriend,” she looked at Angel and frowned. “Technically, I work for my dad who works for your boyfriend. Who is very worried about you. C’mon, let’s get out of here. I don’t like these guys and I have a little surprise set beneath the boat.” She tipped one wrist up. “In less than five minutes. We gotta move.”

Angel knew she shouldn’t ask as she climbed on the ledge behind the enormous bed and turned to squeeze sideways through the slit screen. Her feet gripped the highly polished fiberglass of the front of the large yacht. She took one last look at the bed and shivered, grateful for whoever sent the redhead to her.

“What’s going to happen?” She whispered, waiting on her heels like Crystal had ordered. She’d make a darn good dom.

“It’s going to take on a lot of water, really quickly,” Crystal whispered back. “Over this way and keep low. Let’s get out of here before things get sketchy.”

Angel wasn’t about to argue. However the woman and her father worked for Colin, she was grateful. She had to guess he’d hired someone to watch her. Again, grateful, she thought with a relieved sigh as she followed Crystal down a liguidy rope ladder over the side of the boat. And into a much smaller boat.

As soon as her feet hit the bottom, she was tossed to the side and onto a pile of cushions and coiled up ropes. Crystal stood at the center, one hand on a wheel while the other maneuvered some sort of control at the side. Whatever it was, they were moving through the water, almost silently.

Until a loud yell went up from behind them.

“Crap,” Crystal scrambled for an inner pocket and came out with a small phone. She tossed it to Angel. “Press on and one – tell him your name and that you’re safe and we’re headed for shore just outside the bridge. And we’re being followed. We’ll be on the ground running and get his butt over here fast.”

Angel nodded and quickly followed orders, her body falling to her elbows on a stack of coiled ropes as the boat jerked to the side and picked up speed. A lot more speed than she would have through the little boat capable of.

“Hi, this is Angel Morehouse. I’m supposed to tell you we’re safe and being followed and are going to ground just outside the bridge. And you should get here fast.”