Drake (Men of Versteck Valley Book 3) Page 9

  She forced a grin. “Yes, he is like that.” Gavin asked to provide her safety but she hadn’t realized that included a driver, new security in her office, and she’d bet her home system would be upgraded, too.

  “Almost done here,” Asher said. “Nice system.”

  “Thanks,” she said as the tension ebbed.

  “What I’d like to do is talk in the vault, bring you current,” Asher said.

  She nodded. That sounded good, she had questions.

  “We’ll go over protocol, expectations, and boundaries, so we both know what to expect from the other,” Asher said, his gaze still on the monitor.

  “That’s good.”

  “Once you receive your client’s instructions, you’ll tell me what and where to start the search. The quality of our work will rest on the information you share. We understand the confidentiality and sensitivity of this case and won’t push, but it’s important that you understand, the more we know, the faster we’ll find her.”

  Faith held Asher’s gaze a few moments and understood Gavin’s confidence. Asher was the real deal. He would shoot it straight with her, and she appreciated that more than she could say.

  “I’ll share as much of it with you as I can,” she promised. “She left instructions, I don’t know what they are.”

  Asher nodded and looked at Drake. “The team’s here, open the door so they can get started.”

  Drake left the office.

  Asher leveled his gaze on her. “Gavin told us you didn’t want to bring Drake in. I’m glad he insisted. Drake’s the inside man no one will suspect. He’s not only a sharp attorney, but he’s also one of the best in personal protection. Don’t fight us on this.”

  Stunned by the swiftness of his decree and intensity of his gaze, Faith stared at Asher waiting for him to smile to soften his words or something. She was the client, and her opinion should hold some weight.

  When his gaze didn’t waiver, she nodded. “I set up an office for him.” It was the only thing she could think to say. Tomorrow or the next day or week, all of this would settle and make sense. Right now, it was all she could do to focus and keep up.

  “Good. He may not need one since the two of you will work together.” Asher stood as the door opened. “Please show me around your office so I can tell them what I want installed and we can head to the bank.”

  Faith nodded and avoided Drake’s gaze as she gave Asher a quick tour of the entire office. He snapped out instructions, and the people moved in several directions to fulfill them.

  “If you’ll get your things, we can go to the bank now,” Asher said, watching her.

  Ready for fresh air, Faith returned to her office, glanced at the men drilling a hole in her wall, grabbed her purse, files and other items and left.

  <<<<>>>>

  Faith, Asher, and Drake sat at the same table Faith, and Francesca had sat a year and a half ago. So much had happened since then, Faith had a hard time believing more time hadn’t passed. She waited until Asher finished scanning the room and opened the box on his nod. Drake and Asher sat across from her watching as she opened the green satchel.

  Inside were two large sealed folders. She opened the one labeled “One” and pulled out sheaves of paper, leaving the photos for later. Some of the information could be viewed as damaging to the Senator. She would hold onto those for now.

  Hidden in the documentation was information of several locations Francesca and the Senator visited. Names of hotels, restaurants and other venues. Faith slid that information to Asher. He used a scanning app on his phone to copy everything she gave him without reading or looking too hard at it.

  In the back of the satchel was a letter addressed to Faith. She showed Drake and Asher the envelope, sat back and read it.

  “Faith, if you’re reading this I’m missing. Which means I’m not able to stop the trigger which sent you instructions to open this satchel. I’m authorizing you to use this information and hire a competent firm to search for me. Please only use the second folder if number one isn’t enough. I think it should be and only included the second folder as a back-up.

  If possible, I’d like you to keep Jason out of it and protect his reputation. Six days have already passed, so get busy, start the search. I’m depending on you.

  Francesca.

  P.S. Watch your back, there are some mean and crazy people out here.

  Seriously? That’s it? Disgusted she gave the letter to Drake so he and Asher could read it. Asher scanned it and handed it back to her. Faith pulled everything out of the first envelope and gave it to Asher to scan. She couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not, his expression never changed.

  Faith opened the second folder and looked inside. Francesca had been smart. She had recordings of conversations with several people Faith didn’t know yet. She held up a small cassette for the men to see. “We’ll use these as a last resort.”

  Asher nodded and spoke. “Within the next 24 hours, teams will arrive in five of these locations to search for her. If there’s no sign of her being in any of those places, they’ll go to the next until the list is exhausted or she is found.”

  She nodded as she replaced the items into the satchel.

  “There’s a chance word will get out that someone’s looking for her. In fact, I’m sure of it. If it was me and I’d placed her somewhere, I’d have triggers in place to alert me if anyone asked questions. Which is why I’m doing a precision search, five locations at a time so we can monitor any blowback and have an idea where or who tipped off her captors.”

  Faith met his gaze in appreciation. “Good idea. What about the Senator?”

  “What about him?” Asher asked.

  “What if he comes back?...Without her? Isn’t he a suspect?” she asked.

  “He’s been a suspect from day one. When he returns, I’ll have someone watching him. If a man has been in a relationship with the same woman for, how long did you say?” Asher asked.

  “Almost 19 years.”

  “That long and she’s missing, he’ll show some kind of reaction either way. It won’t be business as usual for him. If so, then there’s a problem of a different nature,” Asher said.

  Drake nodded in agreement.

  Faith looked at Drake. He paid close attention to everything and allowed Asher to do most of the talking.

  “Is there anything else we need to do here?” She returned the satchel and the files from her office to the box, which included Francesca’s latest will.

  Asher looked at his phone and then his device. “I sent you a contract for our services, review and sign it. Gavin secured everything with a retainer, but you’re the client and will need the contract to show your client after she’s returned.”

  Faith appreciated how confident and positive he sounded. It eased her fears and allowed her to breathe easier. Francesca was in good hands. “You sent it?” She looked at her phone and saw the link. “I’ll look it over and return it tonight.”

  Asher nodded. “Any questions?”

  She still wasn’t sure about Drake’s role but would talk to him privately about that. “You said you’d start with two men, what would make you increase your staff?”

  “Once they come after you, we’ll add more men,” Asher said.

  Startled, she looked at him. “You and Gavin seem pretty sure that’s going to happen.”

  Asher nodded. “It’s the way things are done. Francesca’s relationship with Bloom was a threat to someone, and she’s missing, but the threat isn’t gone. Once we start the search, it won’t take much to learn about you.”

  Faith frowned. “How? She has other attorneys, banks…I’m not the only one who worked for her.”

  “If they follow the money it will lead to this bank. You’re on the account with her and have access to her safety deposit box. They will want to know what’s in the box, wouldn’t you?” Asher asked in a reasonable tone.

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t…I see what you mean,” she said connecting the dots.<
br />
  “It’s just a matter of time, and we don’t have a lot. Your instructions were to start searching immediately, and I’ve released my team to do that. They were on standby and are preparing to leave to the locations I’ve assigned.”

  Impressed, Faith nodded. “That’s great. I hope she’s alright.”

  Neither man said anything.

  Her heart plummeted. Ready to leave the small room, she stood after locking the box and grabbing her purse. “How much time do I have before they come after me?” she asked.

  Asher shrugged. “I don’t know. Drake will take it from here.”

  She looked at Drake who looked at something on his phone.

  “Is my house under surveillance?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Asher said.

  “Has the security been changed?” she asked, peeved.

  “At your home?” Asher asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Not yet. After they finish your office.”

  “You’ve got the scanners?” Asher looked at Drake.

  “Yes.”

  “And the other tools and devices?” Asher asked him.

  “Yes, in my bag. We’re good,” Drake said looking up from his phone.

  “Alright,” Asher said before meeting her gaze again. “Work tomorrow as normal since it’s Friday. By Monday or the middle of next week, I believe people will start asking questions. The moment anything unusual happens, share it with Drake. Things tend to happen fast once the ball is rolling.”

  “Unusual?” She needed clarification because this entire situation was unusual for her.

  “You get calls or visits or bump into people you haven’t seen or talked to in a while. There are no coincidences, Faith. We need to know everything. It’s all important, don’t hold anything back.”

  “Isn’t that the reason Drake’s going to be in the office? To see and hear those kinds of things?” she challenged.

  “How will he know what’s unusual for you?” Asher asked.

  She opened her mouth and snapped it shut.

  Asher picked up his small tool kit and placed it in one of the pockets on his cargo pants. “Lets’ go, they’re done with the office, and I need to test everything before I leave.” He looked at Faith. “Do you want them to install the security in your home now or tomorrow?”

  “Let’s get it all done today.” Tomorrow she had other things scheduled and didn’t want anything to interfere with what could be her last day of normalcy.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Friday, the next day, turned out to be a lesson in the futility of living your life by the rules and doing your best to be a good person. Karma was dead. Nothing turned out the way it should.

  First, Faith overslept, after staying up late staring at the ceiling wondering if Francesca had set her up and if she was foolish to put herself in danger. No matter how she looked at it, she had to treat Francesca the same way she would want to be treated. By the time she fell asleep, the morning was on the horizon. Later today, she had to buy a new alarm to replace the one she threw against the wall this morning.

  Next, the pink and navy dress that showed off her figure to perfection was dirty, forcing her to wear the last clean item in her closet, a green pantsuit that made her butt look flat. Her bone-straight hair was cut into a bob that reached her shoulders.

  Not today.

  Today, the left side refused to take the slight bump no matter how many times she used the curling iron. Frustrated, she pulled her hair back into a bun, something she hated because her much older assistant, Zelda, wore a bun every day.

  Typically, Friday’s were slow, and her staff worked half a day. The moment she walked into the office, Zelda’s tight-lipped smile, red-splotched skin and slicked back hair bun, announced trouble. Faith wished she hadn’t hired the woman who was a friend of one of her sorority sister’s friends. After six months of misfiled reports, botched messages, duplicated appointments and lying about her time, things weren’t working out, and Faith planned to fire the woman next week after she returned from an out of town sorority event.

  “Roberto,” Zelda said as she handed Faith several messages, including one from Audrey. Faith shook her head and entered her office dreading the conversation with Roberto and stopped short.

  Drake sat in the chair facing her desk watching her.

  Frowning, she placed her bag down to face him. “Is there another problem?” Please say no.

  “Wanted to give you an update on the security and go over the weekend plans,” he said looking better than anyone had a right to look on such a crappy Friday.

  “Oh.” She looked at the messages and then took a seat at her desk. “Give me a few minutes. I need to take care of these.” Deliberately, she called Audrey first.

  “Harold came to the store last night. Thank goodness I wasn’t there and saw him looking around on the security cam this morning. Whatever Claude’s doing isn’t working. File a restraining order on him. Keep that crazy man away from me, Faith,” she yelled. “That’s your job. I’m paying you to keep him away.”

  Audrey rarely raised her voice, which meant this situation was getting to her. “Contact your security team, tell them you’re going away this weekend. Go somewhere, rest, find your center and leave this to me. I’ll have papers filed by this afternoon and served over the weekend. There’s no need for you to be in town when that happens. Have your store manager take over for a few days next week too.”

  For a few moments, neither spoke. “Maybe the beach,” Audrey said into the silence. “I could use some sun.”

  Crisis averted, Faith sent a message to the attorney in Atlanta, another of her sorors, telling her to proceed and file the order against Harold Sessions. They would weather the scandalous storm that might arise later. “The most important thing to me is that you’re safe and in good hands. Don’t tell anyone where you’ve gone, keep a low profile, call me at any time if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Faith, sorry about raising my voice earlier. You’re my port in the storm. I really appreciate your calm strength at times like this. I’ll contact Scott.”

  “Have him make the arrangements,” Faith cautioned.

  “Good idea. Maybe he’ll come and protect me personally,” Audrey said coyly.

  “Sounds like a good weekend in the making. Enjoy, get some rest, make sure someone’s watching your house and store while you’re gone. I’ll talk to you next week unless you need me before that,” Faith said, hoping Audrey became so wrapped up in Scott she didn’t come up for air until the following weekend.

  “Will do. Wait, did you get the contracts for the patent?” Audrey asked. “Manning’s said they sent them over to you. Look them over so I can sign them, and we can close that deal.”

  Faith had forgotten. “Yes, they came in. I’ll go over them and have them ready next week.”

  “Thanks.” Audrey disconnected.

  Faith glanced at Drake. Dressed in dark trousers, light blue dress shirt which made his gray eyes appear a hazy shade of blue. Thick, wavy, dark hair that looked as if he ran a hand through it and nothing else, looked great brushing against his collar. Drake had an interesting face. Masculine but not overly so. Not pretty but close. Maybe it was his long lashes or full lips or tipped-up nose, possibly the combination of them all, like paint thrown on a canvas, it all worked well together. The man oozed sex-appeal, fun, and romance.

  His gaze met hers, and she rethought her assessment. Drake was nobody’s fool despite his easy-going appearance and behavior, there was a ruthlessness in his eyes. Many attorneys had that quality, she’d seen it up-close several times. He wore his gun comfortably as if it were an old friend which meant Drake wasn’t just ruthless, he was lethal as well. A frisson of fear rolled down her back.

  “Problem?” he asked in a slow and easy drawl.

  “Huh?” Embarrassed at being caught looking at him, she blinked a few times.

  He pointed to her phone. “Problem with your client?”

  She inhaled d
eeply. “That was easy. This one will be…well, he’s quite demanding.”

  “Drop him.”

  “I’ve thought about it several times…he needs legal help and has gone through several attorneys already.” Roberto was in a dead-end relationship that was breaking his heart and eventually might cost him his sanity. His lover was married with children whom he loved and would never leave for Roberto or anyone else. As the children grew older, he spent more time with them and less with Roberto.

  Drake stood, tall, lean, muscular and yummy. “Let me know when you have time to go over that information I mentioned earlier.” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and strode toward the door.

  “Is it because he’s a guy?” she asked curious about his real reason for leaving.

  “No. It’s because you’re dreading the conversation. I don’t want to see you in pain.” He winked at her and walked out.

  She smiled slowly and made the call to Roberto.

  <<<<>>>>

  Faith leaned back in her chair waiting for the pain medication she had taken to ease her throbbing head to kick in. Some days, and most Fridays, her two paralegals worked from home or visited courthouses, which meant they didn’t come into the office either. Zelda had requested to leave shortly after Faith arrived, claiming previous appointments. Faith had asked her to stay an hour longer. Initially, Zelda agreed until Roberto called again, whining about his lover not coming to spend the weekend with him. For a woman in her late 60’s, Zelda moved with gazelle-like speed when she left 30 minutes short of the additional hour she had promised Faith.

  Faith answered the phone while working on briefs for a couple of hours. In pain and disgusted with the interruptions, she sent the calls to the answering service. By then shards of pain stabbed behind her eyes.

  When her phone rang, she ignored it. It rang again, and she looked at the caller ID. “Alex?” Had something happened to their father?