Untraceable (18 page)

“No, I just didn’t
want you to run out and buy something similar. It’s unusual, so I’m
guessing you’ll like it. Ever heard of a
Maybach?”

I was about to
strain a brain muscle trying to remember the name. I had heard of
it before, but probably dismissed it because I had never been
interested in sedans before now. “I know the name, but I honestly
don’t remember the car.”

“It’s about as
luxurious as a car gets. I’ve ordered you one with all the toys;
everything from built in DVD players, to electronic curtains and
even a refrigerator in between the rear seats in case you have to
put baby food or something in it.”

“Are you sure you
ordered me a car and not a motor home? Does it hit sixty within
thirty minutes?”

“I’ll have you
know it’s twelve cylinders like your Aston, 604 horsepower and has
a top speed of 172 miles-per-hour, but I don’t expect you to ever
find out if it really will reach that speed.”

“Wow, that has to
be a record for a motor home,” I smirked. “I’m kidding. It sounds
wonderful and I can’t wait to see it.” I couldn’t lean over and
kiss him because of the arrangement between my belly and the seat
belt, so I blew him a kiss.

We didn’t hear
from Jonathan for another week. Micah got to go on his fishing trip
with Trent. He very proudly displayed his twenty-one inch
largemouth bass when he got home. I thought he would have it
stuffed since he was so impressed with himself, but that night I
was surprised to find him cooking in the kitchen. I knew
immediately it was his fish in the frying pan. He had filleted and
skinned it, and rolled it in seasoned flour and fried it golden
brown in a little olive oil. It was delicious, and I’m not really
that big of a fan of fish.

CHAPTER ten

Our anniversary
was only ten days away and I was struggling to decide what to get
Micah as a gift. He was getting me a ‘family’ car, but what would
he like to have? I was lying on the bed nursing a dull headache
while Micah showered, when his phone went off. I picked it up and
noticed it was Trent calling. He was telling me that Jeanie was
dying to get us all together for a picnic, and he wanted to get
Micah back out on the lake to see if he could re-create the feat of
the twenty-one inch bass or if it was simply beginner’s
luck.

That was when the
idea hit me; the perfect gift for Micah for our
anniversary.

“Trent,” I
practically shouted into the phone, “you just gave me a great idea!
I’ve been racking my brain to figure out what to get Micah for our
anniversary—a boat—a bass boat. Could you tell him you’re looking
for a new boat and get him to go with you? Help him find the
perfect boat and trailer—ah, crap—he’s going to need a truck, isn’t
he?”

Trent was laughing
by this point as he listened to my rambling, “It’s a good thing
you’ve got a deep bank account—I’m lucky if I can get a new pole
out of Jeanie.”

“Would you mind
doing this for me? I don’t want him to have a clue, and he is
really good at figuring out gifts.”

“Yeah, I think I
can pull this off. Let me talk to him.”

Micah was still in
the shower when I rapped on the shower door. He was grinning from
ear to ear when he opened the door, “Headache
gone?”

I stared at my
soaking wet, butt naked, hot husband and smiled as I waved the cell
phone in my hand, “Trent is on the phone for
you.”

“Oh,” he said,
shutting off the water, grabbing his towel and drying his face and
hands.

The date was on.
Trent worked for the power company so he had odd work days. He was
free all day Wednesday which worked out well since Micah didn’t
like leaving me home alone. We’d had the house all to ourselves for
several days because Mom and Kimmy had flown to Louisiana to visit
David, but they were due in Wednesday before noon. Trent would come
to our house and they would leave out early and spend the day
picking out
Trent’s
new
boat.

Micah was all
smiles as they pulled out of our garage in the Vet and headed down
to Outdoor World in Dania Beach. I wondered if he would be
suspicious as to why Trent was looking at brand new boats instead
of used ones, but I could only hope he wouldn’t figure out the real
reason for the trip.

Fifteen minutes
later my phone was ringing with a very excited Jonathan on the
other end.

“Can you and Micah
come out to the property this morning? I want to show you
something.”

“No, I’m afraid
he’s tied up for the day. What did you want to show
us?”

“The house on the
property—it is wonderful, but we will have to decide how to make it
accessible. I am thinking you should put in a road around the west
end of the lake.”

“What
house?”

“The rancher’s
retreat on the other side of the lake. I should have called you
first because I have already hired a man with an airboat to take us
over there. I guess I will have to call and
cancel.”

I remembered that
Jeanie said the rancher who owned the property, before the
developer, had built something on the other side of the lake, but I
assumed it was a simple little shack that wouldn’t be of any value
to us. But, by the sound of Jonathan’s voice, it was no simple
shack.

“It’s nice,
huh?”

“Extremely
charming. There are no electric lines running to the house, it runs
on a fuel cell and solar. The setting is beautiful and the
furnishings are still inside. I cannot wait for you to see it. I
think, if we had someone come in and cut a road around the lake,
you two could live on the property right now until your new house
is finished.”

“Really? You’re
serious?” Maybe there was something else I could surprise Micah
with for our anniversary. Mom would have a fit if we moved out
before her grandson arrived, but it would be awesome to have a
private weekend retreat. “How long would it take to cut in the
road?”

“Two or three
weeks, if you like the house well enough to do this—you really need
to see it. As I said, I hired a man with an airboat to ferry us
across the lake. He is going to meet me there at noon, but I guess
I will call and cancel.”

“No, don’t do
that. I want to see it. I’d like to surprise
Micah.”

“Do you want me to
pick you up? The drive will not be so long in my
car.”

Riding in the
Ferrari was a cool idea, but not if Micah found out I did it. “No,
I’d better not.”

“Of course,”
Jonathan said (and I could almost hear his smile through the
phone), “it would be an even shorter drive in your Aero.” He
paused.

I
pondered.

“Not that I am
suggesting anything reckless, but it would be fun to have
you
trailing
me in your
car. I have been dying to see it on the road.”

Trailing him? Oh,
please—if anything, he would be trailing me.

“We would create
quite the sight with an Enzo and an Aero sizing each other up on
I-95. But,” he paused again, “your husband is not one that I
actually want to make angry, and I am pretty sure he would
blame
me
and not you for getting that beauty out
of your garage. But your Aston Martin would get you there in good
time,
if you want to see
the house today
.”

“How soon can you
get here?”

“I can be at your
house in fifteen minutes—if that is not too
fast?”

“You’re asking the
wrong girl that question; I’ll be ready.”

I was already
dressed in my blue-jean maternity skirt and a loose cotton blouse,
and I had put on my makeup before Trent arrived. All I needed to do
was put on tennis shoes instead of my dress flats and I would be
prepared to trek across the landscape to get to the wooded
surprise. I went downstairs and out to the garage. My Aston Martin
sat by itself in the three stall bay. I really would like to take
what was in the other garage. I’d love to feel the adrenaline rush
in my veins when I turned the key. I’d love to put Jonathan and his
Ferrari in my rear view mirror and watch him attempt to
out-maneuver me. I’d only be gone about six hours and I doubted
Micah would even be back by then—Mom would, but would she spill my
secret if I took the Aero? She’d be calling Micah if she pulled in
to find my Aston in the garage and me not there. I doubted she’d
even look in the other garage for my Aero.

Ah, now there was
an idea.

I left mom a note
on the kitchen counter and pulled my car to the end of the driveway
to wait for Jonathan. When the Ferrari came around the bend in the
road, I couldn’t get the smile off my face. Just before he reached
me, I pulled out in my Aero and took off for the property. I was
laughing when my phone went off. Thank goodness it was Jonathan
calling and not Micah.

“You are living
dangerously this morning,” he chuckled.

“The key word to
that statement Mr. Rossi is ‘living.’ I needed a little adrenalin
fix today. Good luck catching me.” And I hung
up.

We arrived at the
property after only an hour and fifty minutes. I was careful, but a
little heavy on the speed since his streak of gray lightning kept
attempting to get around me. It was the most unadulterated fun I’d
had behind the wheel since I’d been on the airbase in Colorado. He
actually only made one serious attempt to take the lead and that
was just before we pulled off the interstate. I could see, in my
side mirror, the determination across his face as he made his move.
We had come up behind a grouping of cars when I heard him drop the
gears and the high wind of his engine as he hit the fast lane. It
only took me a second to maneuver around the grouping by weaving to
the right and then giving my gas pedal an opportunity to meet the
floorboard. It didn’t take more than the blink of an eye to catch
and pass him before our exit.

I pulled up to the
gate and waited for Jonathan to open it. I rolled down my window as
he unlocked it.

“I might as well
hold it open and let you drive through first, I have been watching
nothing but your license plate ever since we left Palm Beach
anyway,” he smiled.

I drove back to
the lake and waited for him to join me. We made it early, so his
rented airboat hadn’t arrived yet. Now that I was here and had
enjoyed some time behind the wheel, I was feeling horribly guilty
about driving my car. It wasn’t the best decision I’d made in a
while and, even if I made it home before Micah, and even if Mom
didn’t notice what I pulled into the driveway in, I still planned
to tell Micah about my adventure and accept his wrath. I deserved
it. I could only hope that this house was as good as Jonathan
eluded to so I could use it to off-set my poor
judgment.

We made
conversation about the elevation for the new house and interior
design, until a SUV with the boat pulled in. I was surprised when
the two men climbed out. I had been expecting a backwoods, Florida
good ol’ boy, but these men had an unmistakable look to them—they
looked like gangsters. They looked completely out of place as they
unstrapped the airboat from the trailer.

“Aren’t they going
to put it in the water first?” That worried feeling starting to
mount.

“It is an airboat,
Leese; they do not need it to be in the water to launch
it.”

I moved closer to
Jonathan, “Where did you find these guys? They don’t look like they
belong running an airboat.”

“You are safe,
Leese. Maybe they do not look the part, but they know what they are
doing. You are not afraid, are you?”

“I don’t like the
looks of these guys.” I knew Micah would not like the looks of
these guys, either.

“You are perfectly
safe. I know them. They look a little rough, but they are okay. If
you really are worried, I do not have to show you the house today,
we can—”

“No. We’re here,”
I said, trying to be brave. “You’re sure they’re
okay?”

At that moment the
airboat blades began to turn and then proceeded to get louder and
louder. The other man gave the boat a push and it came off the
trailer as if it floated to the ground. The motor lowered in speed
and the men motioned us to approach.