Who Wants to Be a Sex Goddess? (29 page)

“I like the shape you're in. And I'm sure you can get back up to speed.” She paused. “But I can see how the metal detector thing could be a problem.”

“Damn it, it isn't funny.”

“I know,” she said and buried her head in his shoulder.

“Okay, so maybe it's a little funny.”

“No.” She looked up, suddenly serious. Took his face in her hands. “It isn't funny. It's your career. Which is your whole life, I bet. And I know how it would feel to be cut off from that. But you'll find a way through it. I know you will.” She leaned toward him and kissed him. “I know you will.”

A
nother anti-inflammatory and pain pill put Dillon out. Andy crawled into bed beside him and pulled the covers over them. She was soon fast asleep and didn't awake until the sun coming through the window woke her the next morning.

Dillon was gone. Of course. But at least she knew he had to be close by. She eased out of bed, feeling stiff and sore in a hundred places. She dressed in her borrowed clothes and shoes and padded down the hall to the kitchen.

Mac, Dillon, and Hank were sitting at the table over coffee and pancakes. Andy sat down and Mac poured her a cup of coffee.

“We're having a council of war. Drink up so we can bring you up to speed.”

Andy drank her coffee and immediately felt better. Dillon must be feeling better, too. The color was back in his face and the intensity back in his eyes.

“Okay,” she said. “Shoot. Have you heard from Talbot?”

“No,” said Hank in a low rumble. “And Dillon's insisting on going back into Terra Bliss.”

“No way,” said Andy. “We barely got out with our lives.”

“I have to,” said Dillon. “It's my assignment. You stay here.”

“The hell I will. If you go, I go.”

Dillon scowled at her. Mac grinned. Hank just shook his head.

“We'll all go,” Mac said and won scowls from everybody. “Oh, come on. Where's your sense of adventure?”

“This isn't the movies,” said Dillon. “It's my job. Not yours.”

“It is, too,” said Mac. “Some asshole just tried to murder my favorite niece. And I'm not going to let them get away with it.”

“Yeah,” added Andy.

Dillon turned to Hank, ignoring the two women. “Can you give me a ride back to the retreat?”

“Sure,” said Hank.

Dillon stood up, put his plate and cup in the sink, and started toward the door. His limp was less pronounced this morning, but he still wasn't in prime shape. He needed her, thought Andy. And he was going to get her. And Mac, too, if she knew her aunt.

“We'll be ready in five minutes.” Mac pushed back her chair.

Dillon turned around, blocking the doorway. “No.”

“If I can just fit in one little question?” said Hank.

The three of them turned on him.

“Just how do you plan to get back inside?”

“The way
I
came out,” said Dillon. “No one else is going.”

Andy, Mac, and Hank simultaneously looked down at his knee.

“I can make it. And the element of surprise might tip their hands.”

“You don't even know how many are involved, and they might be watching the wall,” said Andy, desperate to keep him from going in alone. Which was exactly what she shouldn't be feeling. This was something he had to prove for himself—or die trying. Talbot and the police were on the inside—if he made it that far. Why didn't they come out?

As if in answer to her unspoken plea, a car rumbled up the dirt road and came to a stop in front of the house. Hank went to open the back door, and Andy caught a glimpse of a black sedan. Seconds later, Grayson Talbot stepped out.

There was a brief round of introductions. Talbot's eyes widened a fraction when he met Mac. Then before Andy knew what was happening, Talbot and Dillon were sitting in the sedan. She glared at the tinted windows; she had no doubt the doors were locked.

She and Mac exchanged looks. Mac was humming the tune to “Secret Agent Man” under her breath. They watched from the window while twenty minutes went by and nothing happened. Then both car doors opened and the two men stepped out. They walked around the car and out of sight.

Andy and Mac moved to another window and saw Talbot and Dillon conferring with Hank, who was stacking wood under a corrugated roofed shed. This meeting lasted only a couple of minutes; then all three men got into the sedan and drove away.

“Well, of all the…,” said Mac.

“They're going without us,” said Andy. “And they've taken Hank.”

“Yeah, but I've got the keys to the SUV.”

In no time they were following the sedan down the mountain.

“Not too close,” warned Andy. “They're trained to spot tails.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Mac. “I was doing those movies before you were born.”

The sedan drove down into a small town at the base of the mountain. It passed through without stopping, but turned into a graveled drive where a green sign advertised the
TAHOE LANDSCAPING COMPANY
.

“That's the lawn service the retreat uses,” said Andy.

“Hmm,” said Mac and pulled the SUV into a clump of roadside bushes.

Ten minutes later, a Tahoe Landscaping truck pulled out of the parking lot and passed them going in the direction of Terra Bliss.

“Well, damn,” said Mac. “It looks like our men in black have just turned into our men in green.” She revved up the SUV and followed. But at the fork of the road that led to Terra Bliss, she turned right, in the direction of Hank's cabin.

“Where are you going?” asked Andy.

Mac gave her a look.

Andy grinned.

Ten minutes later, Mac stopped the SUV on the dirt road where it had been parked the day before. “Let's get hopping, then.” She ran around to the back of the truck and came back with a rope and grappling hooks. “You never know,” said Mac.

“I have one in my cabin.”

“That's my girl.”

Keeping eyes and ears on the alert, they cut diagonally through the woods and found a secluded spot were they could climb over the wall without being spotted. Mac swung the grappling hook up to the top. It snagged on the brick and the rope went taut.

Andy went first, hand over hand, keeping the rope steady while her feet climbed the surface of the wall. A quick look-see for the guards and she motioned Mac to join her. As soon as she was squatting next to Andy, they repositioned the hook and rappelled down the opposite side.

Andy quickly coiled the rope and hid it under a pile of leaves.

“What do we do now?” whispered Mac.

Andy hadn't thought about that. She'd been so anxious to be a part of the operation that she hadn't really made a plan. One look at Mac told her that they had both gone off a bit—if not a lot—half-cocked.

“Let's try to get over to the cabins. I'd really like to get a pair of my own shoes. Yours are giving me blisters.”

Mac nodded, and they skulked single file toward the cabins.

They were nearly there when Andy threw her arm out, stopping Mac while two patrol guards passed by within feet of them. Andy couldn't tell if they were the same ones that had accompanied Bernard Bliss, but she wasn't taking any chances.

Andy's cabin appeared to be unguarded, so after a quick look around, they crossed the clearing and slipped inside. It looked just like she left it, until she pulled her suitcase out from under the bed and opened it. Everything was wadded up and thrown carelessly back inside. The backpack was on the floor, its contents dumped beside it.

“I wonder what they were looking for?” she whispered.

“Possibly evidence that you were some kind of investigator.”

Andy's lips tightened. “My whole masquerade would point to that, wouldn't it? How dumb was that?”

“Pretty dumb, but imaginative.”

“I hope I didn't mess up the real investigation.”

She turned to go back to the living room and gasped. A face was looking in at the window. Andy's heart jumped to her throat until she registered the big red hair. “Oh, God, it's Jeannie. We've got to stop her from saying anything.”

But Jeannie was no longer there. They heard the screen door open and slam shut.

“Ariadne. Where the hell have you been, hon?” Jeannie rushed into the bedroom, hands gesticulating wildly. “Everybody's worried as all get-out. Katherine said you'd left on a family emergency, but hell, that's what they said about Miranda.” Her head swiveled toward Mac. “Ohmigod, it's you. Where have
you
been? What's goin' on?” Her head swiveled back to Andy. “How'd you find her? We've all been worried sick.

“Come on down to my cabin. I'll get the girls and we'll celebrate. First, maybe we should tell Dr. Bliss that you're back.”

“No,” said Andy and Mac simultaneously. They pulled Jeannie away from the door. “You can't tell anyone, okay?”

Jeannie looked hurt. “But—”

“Promise. There's about to be an arrest.”

“An arrest? Did they find out who killed my Demetri?” Her eyes filled with tears. “Well, they'll have to let me at him first. I'll tear the so and so limb from limb.”

“Go back to your cabin and stay there,” said Andy. “Let the authorities take care of this.” She saw the belligerent set to Jeannie's jaw and touched her arm. “Jeannie, I know how you feel. But this is the right way.” Andy saw Mac roll her eyes behind Jeannie.

She was right. They had no business interfering, either. But that was different. Dillon was involved.

“Go on,” said Mac. “You want him arrested, don't you?”

Jeannie nodded. “So it's a he? Which one? Just tell me.” She turned from Mac to Andy. “Not Dillon? Not that sweet piece of sugar?”

“No,” said Andy. “Not Dillon.”

“Then tell me who.” She crossed her arms. “I'm not leaving until you tell me.”

Andy sighed. “Okay, but promise you'll go to your cabin and stay there.”

“Promise,” said Jeannie, hugging herself more tightly.

“Bernard Bliss.”

Jeannie's mouth dropped open. “No.”

“Yes. Now go.” Andy nudged her toward the door.

“But how do you know?” asked Jeannie as they propelled her through the living room. “Are you a detective? I didn't think you could be as plain as all that, and now I see it all. This is so exciting.”

“Jeannie, we'll tell you everything as soon as it's over. Now go to your cabin and don't say a thing to anybody.” They pushed her out the door.

“Think she'll stay quiet?” asked Mac.

“I hope so. But I couldn't think of any other way to get rid of her. Let's get down to the main lawn and see what's happening.”

They stayed within the trees and peered out across the expanse of perfectly manicured grass. A large landscaping truck was pulled up alongside the pool, and they could hear the distant hum of the ride-on mower. There was no sign of the smaller truck that Hank, Dillon, and Grayson Talbot had commandeered.

“Where are they?” asked Andy. “They should already be here. What if they weren't let inside?”

“Shit,” said Mac.

“What?” And then she saw Jeannie hurrying across the lawn toward the main building.

“Shit,” said Andy. She automatically stepped forward to go after her, but Mac pulled her back.

“You'll never make it without being seen. We'll have to wait for the guys.”

“Well, they better hurry.”

They waited, Andy biting her nails, Mac sighing at regular intervals. They both jumped when the front entrance of the Pantheon opened and Bernard Bliss and Katherine Dane walked down the front steps with Jeannie between them.

“Oh, no,” said Andy.

“Shit,” said Mac.

In silent agreement, they moved through the trees parallel to the three people who strode rapidly across the lawn toward the pool.

“Why doesn't she run?” asked Andy. “No. Don't tell me. They've got weapons. This is much easier in the movies. Real danger sucks. What are we going to do?”

Mac shrugged and kept moving.

They watched them skirt the pool. Then they were lost from view.

“Where are they—Oh, damn. The helicopter pad. They're going to use her as a hostage.”

Mac was standing on tiptoe to get a better view of the lawn. “Where's that damn truck?”

“Can't wait,” said Andy and broke into a run. She could feel Mac running behind her. She was dimly aware of passing people as they made their mad dash toward the far hill where the emergency helicopters were held in readiness.

They heard the engine even before they saw the blades churning over the crest of the hill. They reached the pad just in time to see Bernard Bliss push Jeannie inside and climb in after her. But where was Katherine?

The copter revved up.

Andy looked desperately at Mac.

“Go.”

Andy raced toward the tarmac, slowed down by the wind stirred up by the rotors. Flying bits of newly cut grass and grit lashed at her skin.

She was still twenty feet away, when the helicopter lifted off the ground. She raced after it, with some vague notion of stopping it before it was airborne. Soon it would be impossible. She took two running leaps and vaulted off the tarmac.