Drake (Men of Versteck Valley Book 3) Read online

  Pleased by his praise yet shaken by the call, she rubbed her arms to warm them against a sudden chill.

  “Asher’s reviewing the conversation,” Drake said as he moved to stand in front of her. “Consider that call the only warning that someone’s looking for you. Chances are you won’t get another one. The additional men watching your home and stopping anyone from entering your office is important.”

  Faith nodded. The random call from Keith shook her. “What now?”

  “Anything that’s different we need to know. That includes your staff as well. Does Zelda normally buy you coffee?”

  She stared at the cup and nodded slowly. “Sometimes, not often.”

  Drake held out his hand for the cup.

  Reluctantly, she gave it to him and watched as he poured the contents into a plant.

  “Best to be safe.” He tossed the empty cup into the trash. “Our team was the first here this morning and ran a scan. I’ll have Franco run another one.” He typed a message into his phone.

  The idea of watching everyone, not trusting anyone, made her sick. She couldn’t work like this. But Keith had called twice, and he sounded sorry for doing it. Who put that kind of pressure on him she wondered but had no idea.

  Three hours later, Faith received a call from the bank. “Ms. Gardner there’s someone here asking questions about your client, Ms. Blake’s safe deposit box. There’s a note on the account that we’re to contact you if that ever happens.”

  Faith stilled and hit the desk a couple of times to get Drake’s attention. He looked up at her.

  “Who’s asking questions?”

  Drake stood and moved closer.

  “The gentleman handed the clerk a card claiming he’s Ms. Blake’s attorney, a Mr. D. Vinson.”

  “Does he have a court order?” Faith asked.

  “No, he doesn’t, not that it matters since your name’s on the account,” he said.

  “Did you tell him that?” Faith prayed he hadn’t.

  “I didn’t tell him your name, but I did mention that two names were on the box.” When Faith didn’t say anything, he continued. “Is there anything else I can do for Ms. Blake?”

  “No. Thank you for alerting me, per her instructions. I appreciate it,” Faith said feeling sick as she hung up.

  “Someone was at her bank?” Drake asked.

  Faith repeated the conversation. It sounded worst the second time. Drake moved from the desk as he typed on his phone.

  Who was D. Vinson? Francesca never mentioned anyone by that name. Faith searched the Bar’s database for the surname Vinson and filtered it down to men with first names beginning with D. There were several. She stared at the names and shut it down.

  No reason to search for D. Vinson, he would look for her.

  “How’re you holding up?” Drake asked as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. “Busy day, huh?”

  Faith leaned on her elbow and rubbed her forehead. “Tired, shocked, concerned, and hungry.” She snapped her fingers. “If I don’t pick up my clothes from the cleaners, I won’t have anything to wear the rest of the week.” She stood and grabbed her purse.

  Drake held out his hands, stopping her.

  Just that quickly she had forgotten.

  “Give me the ticket, and I’ll have someone pick them up for you. They’ll be at the house when you get home,” Drake said watching her.

  “Thanks. I…I forgot I can’t just go.” It bothered her. Despite understanding why she couldn’t or shouldn’t do it. The loss of freedom was depressing.

  He took the ticket and walked out the office.

  Zelda stepped in holding a cup and looked around. “The two of you’re getting close. He’s hot, good looking.” She placed the cup on the file cabinet near the door while leaning against it and smiling. “If I was younger, I’d give him a test drive myself.”

  Faith didn’t say anything.

  Zelda straightened. “I apologize for leaving Friday after you asked me to stay. It won’t happen again. If you’d like, I’ll open and close every day and work on Saturdays.” She added a smile but after the morning Faith had, she didn’t reciprocate.

  “No thank you,” Faith said watching red splotches appear on her administrator’s cheek. “In fact, if you can’t stay when I need you then I’ll find someone who can. Consider this your weeks’ notice.” Maybe it was Zelda’s complete lack of regard for Faith’s situation on Friday or the problems facing the firm, but Faith was done paying Zelda for her poor work performance. Faith deserved better and would hire someone who could at least pretend to care about the job.

  “What? I’m sorry about Friday, but I’d made plans based on how we normally work. I admit I should’ve changed them after you asked…but I didn’t think you’d mind. Not really.”

  “How many times have I talked to you about your job performance? Twice, and knowing that ... you still decided not to remain an extra hour on Friday after I told you what I needed? Now you know I did mind how you left me high and dry after I asked you to stay.” Faith tapped her foot as she crossed her arms to keep from using them to make a point.

  “But fired? Put me on probation, give me a chance to make it right,” Zelda said, her gaze looking everywhere except at Faith. “I promise it’ll never happen again.”

  I never felt you had my back, Faith thought. “I’ve given you opportunities to do better, but not much has changed. You still leave early, confuse appointments and mess up the timesheets for the others. Every pay period I have to go behind you and fix the numbers to make sure everyone gets the right pay. If I have to do that, why do I need you to do it?”

  “I work hard and try to keep up with you and the clients. None of them have complained about me, have they?” Zelda asked.

  They loved Zelda.

  “No one’s complained to me. This is not about how you treat my clients, but how you perform your job. I don’t want staff who ignore my requests and sneak out the door when my back is turned.”

  “I understand. That happened once and won’t happen again,” Zelda said, forgetting she had done it before, and they had a similar conversation then. Tired and ready for a reboot of the day, Faith stuck to her decision. Zelda had to go.

  “This is your last week if you can’t work through the week, I understand.” Faith noticed the cold glare that filled Zelda’s gaze as she turned in a huff and left the room. “I should get rid of her right now, pay her for the week. It’ll be less of a hassle.”

  Zelda’s cup remained on the filing cabinet. When Drake re-entered, she waved him over to read the words she had written: Scan the cup on the filing cabinet.

  He looked at her.

  She nodded and shooed him away.

  Drake pulled out his pocket scanner and waved it over and around the cup. Nothing.

  Too exhausted to be embarrassed, Faith picked up the cup and returned it to Zelda. “I’m ready to go home,” she told him as she grabbed her bag.

  <<<<>>>>

  Faith’s dry cleaning lay across the living room sofa when she and Drake entered the house two hours later. They had stopped at the grocery store and a drive-thru for dinner on the way home.

  “I’m going to eat, shower and go to bed early. I’m still tired from the weekend,” Faith said as she grabbed her clothes from the sofa while Paul and Drake brought the groceries in from the garage.

  “What about this food? Aren’t you going to put it up?” Drake called.

  “Forgot about that, I’ll be there in a sec.”

  Drake and Paul unpacked all the bags.

  Faith returned after she had showered and changed into a pair of old gray sweats and a Duke tee-shirt. “I had to wash the day off me,” she said looking at the food on the counter.

  Drake and Paul sat at the table eating.

  “It’d go faster if we worked together,” she said as Drake bit into his chicken.

  “That’s what I thought when we brought in the bags and unloaded them to make it easier for you to see,” D
rake said over his shoulder.

  Paul’s gaze remained locked on his food, and he continued eating.

  “I see,” she said and turned on the small television in the kitchen.

  Drake finished eating just as Faith put the last of the groceries away and the newscaster spoke.

  “More on Senator Jason Bloom’s recovery after the break.”

  Faith and Drake whirled around and stared at the small flat screen. “What?” she said looking at Drake and back at the screen.

  “Bloom’s back? What’s he recovering from?” Drake asked. “We need to know where he’s been.” Drake placed a call. “Gavin, Bloom’s back.”

  “I heard. Mabel called his office to find out where he’s been, on Theo’s behalf of course,” Gavin said.

  “Right.” Drake didn’t care about the whys or hows, where had the Senator been and what’s wrong with him?

  “The spin is he was involved in some kind of accident and was hospitalized before returning home. His wife flew in and is by his side. No one’s talking much. Whatever you hear on the news isn’t official, just speculation.”

  “Anyway to find out where they brought him in from?” Drake asked.

  “Asher’s already on it and is tracking it. If she was with him, Asher’s guys will find her soon. How’s Faith holding up?” Gavin asked.

  Drake looked over his shoulder. “Watching the news in shock. You heard about the call from her old company?”

  “Yeah. And that someone tried to access the box. Asher has men and security heavy on the house?”

  “Yes.”

  “They’ll look at the house tonight.”

  “I know,” Drake said and glanced at Paul who remained at the table watching the television.

  “If things get really crazy, we may fall back to Versteck,” Drake said in a low voice.

  “Asher said the same thing. It’s the one place he could guarantee her safety. Wait until he finds Francesca before mentioning the move to her. It’s important to know what’s in that red satchel.”

  That surprised Drake. “You think she’s dead?”

  “I’m preparing myself for it. Otherwise, why return without her? He left her somewhere, I’m sure of that,” Gavin said.

  Drake thought about it. “Possibly.” He didn’t know enough about the Senator or his condition to make that leap. What if both were hostages or taken and the Senator had been released? What if Francesca was being held as a lever for blackmail? He mentioned his concerns to Gavin.

  “That’s possible. Highly probable and another avenue to consider,” Gavin said slowly. “Which could mean she’s still alive at least until the Senator does what the blackmailer wants.”

  “Right. It’ll be interesting to see what the Senator does over the next few days,” Drake said.

  “I might be able to help with that. There are a few people on our payroll whose job it is to keep us informed on what’s happening with specific laws and lawmakers,” Gavin said. “I’ll have Mabel look into it. We’ll know more by tomorrow, there are a lot of leaks on the hill.”

  “That’d be good. Make sure Asher’s informed as well. I’m out,” Drake said and disconnected.

  “Well?” Faith watched him with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Paul stood and went through the garage to go outside to check on the others leaving them alone.

  Drake told her what Gavin said. “He’s expecting to know more about where the Senator was when he got hurt, what kind of injuries he has and how long he’ll be down. What do you think about the blackmail angle?” He needed to know more about the Senator and Francesca.

  “She loved that man and would do anything for him. If he felt the same about her and certain people knew that…I can see them holding her as a lever.”

  “You don’t think she’d turn on him?”

  She looked at the countertop a few moments. “No. She said the information in the satchels would protect him. Even if she’s dead…” She took a deep breath. “If that’s the case, the information in the red satchel is probably to clear him and points to someone else.”

  “Wouldn’t that be the same for the green satchel?” he asked.

  She looked at him. “Possibly.”

  “Let’s take another look at what was in it,” he said.

  Faith nodded, and they headed toward her home office. Drake pulled up his laptop and logged into Asher’s system. After a series of protocols, he accessed the data from the green satchel.

  “Look at these pictures. Do you recognize anyone?” he asked as he enlarged each photo.

  “That’s Francesca, the Senator. I think that’s his wife.” She pointed to the man hugging the Senator’s wife. “I don’t know him.”

  Drake clicked a few buttons and circled the face of the man. He hit a few more keys, the screen flashed and normalized. “Let’s look at the rest of them.” He pulled up the others. Most were variations of the first. Francesca was with the Senator, they appeared happy and very much in love. The Senator’s wife looked just as happy with the guy she was with. It was obvious these photos were taken over time. Was Davina, the Senator’s wife, in a long-term monogamous relationship with this guy?

  “Who is he?” Faith murmured staring at the photo of Davina and her mystery man.

  “Why did Francesca include these photos along with the others of the Senator with these men?” Drake asked as he drew circles around the faces of prominent businessmen, some he recognized, others he did not.

  “Why’re you doing that?” she asked.

  “I’m doing a search using their faces,” he said. “Asher’s probably done it already, but I didn’t see it in this file.”

  “I recognize some of those men,” she said pointing.

  “Me too. The question remains. What’s she telling you by leaving all these photos? How will they help take suspicion from the Senator for her disappearance or worst?” he asked staring at the faces of the men in conversation with Senator Bloom.

  “I have no idea, and that sucks.” She leaned back in the chair and stared at the monitor.

  “Once we find out the identity of Davina’s lover it might help shed light on the question,” he said forcing back a yawn.

  “Tired?” she looked up at him.

  “Long weekend.” He winked and shut down the connection before locking his computer.

  She stood slowly while looking down at her hands. “Everything I’ve worked hard for is on the line, isn’t it? I mean, Keith Hammers, a 70-year-old legal icon called me because someone high enough in the food chain asked him to.” She looked up at him. “This is really happening, isn’t it?”

  Drake cupped her cheek with his palm. “Yes. But you’re not alone. We’re going to help you through it.”

  “Why didn’t I meet you in law school? I’ve looked at the yearbook, photos from that time and nothing. We didn’t take classes together?” she asked surprising him with the change in conversation.

  “I’m sure we took lectures together, the entire class was crammed into the auditorium for Langley’s lectures,” he said mentioning a popular law professor from school.

  She grinned. “Ah, yes. Professor Langley is an institution within the institution. I enjoyed the lively debates he had with himself.”

  Drake grinned. “The man was a genius and let us know during every lecture. I think it was a true, false question on a pop quiz once.”

  She laughed. He liked the tinkling quality of her voice and wished she laughed more often. “He was a mess.”

  Drake nodded in agreement.

  Faith’s phone rang. Smiling she pulled it from her pocket and looked at the caller ID. “Daddy?” She listened for a few moments and then cried. “No. Nooooo.”

  Alarmed, Drake peeled her phone from her fingers. “Mr. Gardner, this is Drake. What happened?”

  “Some fellas jumped Alex, beat him really bad, he’s in the hospital,” her father said.

  “Which hospital?” Drake asked, typing in the information to send A
sher.

  “Mercy. He’s asking for Faith. Been calling her name wanting to talk to her. I told him I’d call but…Denver’s a long way to come. She probably won’t get here until tomorrow,” her father said.

  “We’ll try to get there sooner,” he said non-committedly even though he was certain they’d leave soon.

  Watching Faith curl in a ball on the floor, crying, Drake sent Asher the text. Asher’s cursing wasn’t unexpected. This might have been avoided if Faith had allowed Asher to send men to watch over her father and brother. Now she’d have to explain everything anyway, but her brother was already hurt.

  Asher promised to send men to the hospital to secure Alex’s room immediately. Drake rented a private jet for them to reach her brother before midnight.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Drake and the security team entered the hospital and took the elevator to the third floor. Her father stood in the hall near the nurse’s desk with a short, dark complexioned woman wearing a cream-colored dress and flats. Both listened intently to the nurse.

  “Daddy.” Faith’s hoarse voice barely made a sound, but her father heard and looked in their direction.

  “My daughter’s here,” he said walking toward her with his arms outstretched. She flew from the shelter of Drake’s arms into her father’s. Crying, she shook hard in his embrace. Drake motioned for the men to move out and take positions in the hall and waiting area.

  While Faith reunited with her father, Drake watched the woman who had been with Mr. Gardner. She didn’t look happy, almost angry until she saw him watching her and returned his gaze.

  She looked away first and spoke to the nurse before lifting her purse strap onto her shoulder, turning and heading toward the elevator.

  “How’d you get here so fast?” her father asked.

  “Drake chartered a plane. How’s Alex? Where is he?” Faith asked, her words choppy as she looked up the corridor.

  “Down the hall. We were talking to the nurse.” Her father frowned and looked around. “Where you going, Betty?”

  “Down to the car to head home,” the woman said.

  “Come meet my daughter.” Mr. Gardner waved the woman over.