Redemption’s Inferno (Inferno #3)

Chapter 24

C urled up in the corner of the sofa in her office, Emilie had her laptop on her lap as she tried to look at the vendor orders that would be arriving next week. She’d been distracted and things had been slipping through the cracks; last night they’d run out of orange juice at the bar and this morning Franny had told her there were only three rolls of toilet paper in the storeroom. She had to get things back on track so she could focus on Chains, but it was hard. Not only was she worried about her friends now that they knew what was going on, but she would become nearly paralyzed with fear every time she thought about where he was or what might be happening to him. She clung to the hope he was still alive; it was the only thing keeping her going .

She looked up as Franny came in, a list in her hand. She peered over her glasses at Emilie and frowned. “You look like hell, girlfriend .”

Emilie shrugged. “I’m single and nearly nine months pregnant—how else should I look ?”

“You really haven’t heard from him at all?” Franny asked in a soft voice .

“Not even a damn postcard from the edge.” Emilie sighed. “The worst thing is not knowing how he is. I mean, even if he doesn’t love me anymore, to just drop off the face of the earth is weird. His mother hasn’t heard from him either, which makes it worse. I don’t know whether to smack him for worrying all of us or to cry because I’m never going to hear his voice again…” Though she hadn’t confided in Franny, it was easier to talk about Chains in terms of a broken heart, versus her real fear, which was that he was dead .

“Believe me, I know.” Franny perched on the edge of the couch. “It’s been nearly six years since I lost Gary and sometimes I still go to send him an email—that’s how we kept in touch when he was deployed. I dream about him and it’s so vivid, so real, I wake up and think he’s coming home …”

“It must have been awful,” Emilie said sadly. “You must miss him terribly .”

“August 17, 2010,” Franny grunted. “I’ll never forget that day as long as I live .”

Emilie froze, trying not to react as she slowly looked up. “Is, uh, is that the day he died ?”

“Yup. He was flying a helicopter that went down in Iraq.” Her face hardened, her features twisting painfully. “They said one of the other guys on the helo took the only parachute and jumped after they were hit, leaving the rest of the guys to go down .”

Emilie’s heart was beating so fast she hoped Franny couldn’t see it, so she looked down, wanting to seem sad for her. “That’s dreadful,” she managed to whisper .

“That guy survived,” Franny snarled. “He better hope he never runs into me in a dark alley .”

“War is hard on everyone,” was all Emilie could think to say .

“A lot harder on the families of the ones that died than the ones that lived!” Franny had a look of such hatred on her face, Emilie nearly recoiled. Franny seemed to catch herself, though, shaking her head. “Well, that was a long time ago, anyway. So, did you order toilet paper and hand sanitizer ?”

Emilie pressed her hands into her lap so Franny wouldn’t see them shaking. “I did. Also have juices coming—orange, grapefruit, cranberry and pineapple .”

“You’ll need to restock tequila, vodka and rum before you go on maternity leave,” Franny continued as if nothing had happened .

Emilie wasn’t sure how she survived the next half hour, going through the inventory list and vendor order dates with the woman who most likely had either killed or was trying to kill the man she loved, but she wasn’t stupid. Nearly nine months pregnant and all alone with her here at the club, she was in no condition to get into a physical altercation with her. However, that didn’t mean Joe and Dante couldn’t go after her .

G etting home as quickly as she could, Emilie hurried through the house, calling out to Misty .

“Hey.” Misty looked up from the book she was studying; she was taking her first-ever college class. “What’s up ?”

“Simone napping ?”

“Yup.” Misty frowned. “You okay ?”

“Yes, of course.” Emilie turned. “Listen, you’ve been working a lot of hours lately. I think I’ll take Simone to the park for a bit, and you can focus on your studies. I can’t stay in the house—I’m going a little stir- crazy .”

“Okay, then I might go up to the library. I have a paper to write.” Misty nodded, packing up her books and going into the other room .

Emilie hurried to get Simone. She’d left a message for Erin but she hadn’t called her back yet and even though she didn’t think Franny suspected anything, she wouldn’t take a chance with her daughter. She packed a bag for her and then lifted the sleeping toddler out of her bed. “Come on, lovey, we’re going to go play, okay ?”

Simone nodded sleepily, nestling into her mother’s chest .

Emilie bundled her into her SUV and headed towards Dante and Becca’s house. If there was anywhere Simone would be safe, it was there. Their house was jokingly called the Compound; it was a veritable fortress and everyone complained they would never go visit because of the amount of security they had to pass to get inside. She was almost there when her phone rang and she answered with the hands-free unit .

“Hey!” Erin said breathlessly. “I was at yoga. What’s up ?”

“Can you ask your friend Louie to look up a Marine killed in Iraq on August 17, 2010 named Gary Pomeranz .”

Erin paused. “How did you find out this guy’s name ?”

“He was Franny’s husband .”

“Franny…as in Franny that works for you ?”

“Yes.”

“Sweet Jesus… Fuck me loud!” Erin hissed. “Okay, I’m calling Louie now. I’ll get back to you .”

E milie got to Dante’s house and explained what she’d discovered. She nearly laughed as Dante launched into a tirade of expletives in English, Spanish and French—all languages he spoke fluently. Then he pulled out his phone and called someone, speaking in such rapid Spanish she couldn’t even pick out the words she knew. When he hung up she stared at him questioningly .

“Well? Who was that ?”

“Cuban mafia,” he said drolly, turning to his desk .

“Dante.”

“Some things are better if you don’t know,” he said. “And don’t tell Becca either .”

“I don’t know anything to tell her .”

“I taught you enough Spanish when we lived together to get the gist of it .”

She snorted. “Not at that speed !”

He chuckled. “Yes, well, it’s best this way. Now, I want you to sit down and put your feet up. We’ll find this bitch and make her tell us where he is .”

Emilie’s phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. Erin’s name flashed on the screen. “ Hey !”

“Here’s what I can tell you: There was no Gary Pomeranz on that mission, but there was a Gary Matthews, and a look at his personnel file showed he was married to a woman named Francine Pomeranz. Captain Gary Matthews was one of five Americans killed on a mission in Iraq on August 17, 2010. The helo was shot down by Al-Qaeda insurgents using a missile launcher. An MI6 operative and two Mossad officers that were also on that mission as part of a joint task force were rescued approximately 12 hours later by a special ops unit and delivered to Germany for debriefing. Everything else is classified .”

“Any clues at all as to how it relates to the IED explosion you were in or Shay’s death ?”

“There are only two people who might know the answer to that,” Erin said sadly. “One is in prison in Leavenworth and I don’t know if she’ll even talk to me .”

“And the other ?”

“The other is whoever betrayed Chains, whose identity we don’t yet know .”

“Shit!”

“Has anyone talked to Franny ?”

“Um, well, I think Dante is taking care of that.” She met his gaze. “But he was talking in Spanish so I couldn’t understand him .”

“Keep me in the loop,” Erin said. “And let me know if I can do anything .”

“I will.” Emilie disconnected and looked at Dante. “Now what ?”

“Now, you sit your behind down and put your feet up—they look like stuffed sausages .”

She looked down and sighed. “I know, but — ”

“There is nothing we can do until we find her. Sit down and put your feet up. I promise, as soon as we find her, I’ll let you interrogate her yourself .”

Her eyes lit up. “Can I use a Wartenberg wheel and a flogger ?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re not even kidding, are you ?”

She frowned. “Why would I be kidding ?”

He muttered something in Spanish about crazy pregnant women as he sat back down at his desk .

E milie must have dozed off because she jumped when her phone rang. It was Viggo so she answered right away .

“Where’s Simone?!” he demanded .

“Here with me, at Dante’s house .”

She could hear his audible sigh of relief. “Why didn’t you tell anyone where you were ?”

“Sorry, I meant to but I fell asleep .”

“We had a break-in, Em .”

“At the house?” She got to her feet and began to pace. “Is Misty okay? Oh my God, how much damage? What did they take ?”

“Misty was at the library, so she’s fine. They tore the place up but didn’t take anything—that’s why I was afraid they’d taken you, Simone or both of you .”

She swallowed. “Oh fuck. That’s what they were after, but I was afraid she would come after us so I brought Simone here .”

“She? She who ?”

“Is Jamie there? You guys need to come over .”

“We’ll be filling out police reports for a while,” he said. “What’s this all about ?”

“It’s Franny,” she said quietly. “The person who’s either after or already has Chains is Franny .”

“Franny?!” Viggo couldn’t hide his shock. “What in the fuck would she want — ”

“Look, it’s a lot to explain. As soon as you get through with the police, come on over. Dante has people looking for her now. By the time you get here, we might have answers .”

“Right, okay. See you soon .”

Emilie didn’t know what to do, but she couldn’t just sit and wait. Since Franny may have figured out they were on to her, if she was actually holding Chains prisoner somewhere, she might kill him. If he was still alive, though, she’d obviously had a reason for keeping him alive and Emilie might be able to use that to her advantage. Looking down at her stomach she thought of the baby she carried inside her. She didn’t want anything to happen to him, but she also couldn’t walk away from the man she loved. She knew deep down in her gut if he was still alive, whatever he was enduring was because they’d threatened to hurt her if he didn’t. Exactly what he’d always worried about. He’d loved her enough to put himself in danger, after having already saved her once, so this time, she would be the one doing the saving .

There were just a couple of things she had to do first .

B y dinnertime, Viggo, Jamie, Misty, Karl, Kate and Joe had all arrived. Emilie and Becca sat around the large dining room table with everyone, listening and exchanging glances. Becca knew her friend well and she’d instantly recognized Emilie was hiding something, but Emilie had simply said she was overwhelmed and worried about Chains. She knew Becca didn’t believe her, which was why she was watching her so intently. Emilie was carefully biding her time, though, making sure her facial expressions didn’t give anything away; it wasn’t that she didn’t want their help, it was just that she didn’t think Franny was stupid enough to let them trap her. The only way to get Franny to actually take her to Chains was to go alone, and Dante and Viggo would never allow it. So she was going to have to find a way to contact Franny and sneak out without being seen. Once she knew where Chains was, she would somehow let them know so they could help her get him. She wasn’t sure how to do that yet, but a plan was formulating in her mind .