Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Matt froze. He’d known all along that coming to Elizabeth’s place was taking a chance, but he’d also been desperate to help her get more information about herself. Now it appeared that they’d run out of luck. He looked at Elizabeth, seeing the terror on her face—and the anger. These guys kept coming after her like relentless robot killers in a science-fiction movie, and now one or more were in the house.
Stealthy footsteps came slowly down the hall.
What are we going to do? Elizabeth asked.
Get out the escape hatch.
Thank God you thought of one.
He ushered Elizabeth behind him.
Climb out the window.
What about you?
I’ll block them, then follow. Head for the car.
He knew she wanted to argue about the hastily conceived plan, but she silently acknowledged there was no alternative.
Stepping around the file cabinets, she headed for the open window.
He pulled out the gun that he’d taken away from the guy they’d encountered out back. What had happened while they were inside, exactly? Had Polly’s killer found his partner and set him free? Or had another thug shown up? And did whoever was out there know Matt was armed?
Matt tensed as the footsteps came closer, his attention divided between Elizabeth and the invaders. In his mind, he could see her climbing out the window and dropping down to the narrow space between her house and the one next door.
When he knew she was outside, he breathed out a small sigh. She was safely out of the house, but he knew the man who had killed Polly Kramer wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to Matthew Delano.
“We know you’re in there,” one of the thugs called out. “Come out with your hands up, and you won’t be hurt.”
Oh sure.
Could they really know he was in here? Or were they guessing? Apparently, they didn’t remember there was a back way out of the room. But Matt couldn’t just run for it. If they came through the door, they could catch him on the way out and drill him in the back.
To give himself a few extra seconds, Matt fired through the doorway.
Curses rang behind him as he ducked into the area in back of the file cabinets.
One of the men in the hall fired an answering shot through the door.
Matt reached the window and was thankful that Elizabeth had pushed it open farther. Climbing halfway out, he returned fire before hurling himself through the opening.
He wasn’t surprised to find Elizabeth waiting for him on the ground. Even without reading her thoughts, he knew she wasn’t going to take off and leave him there.
Thank God. Her exclamation of relief rang in his head as he pressed his shoulder to hers.
He didn’t waste his breath or his mental energy upbraiding her for staying in the path of danger. Instead, he focused on the window, knowing she was following his thoughts and lending him power. When a head appeared above them, Matt hurled a bolt of energy at the man, who made a wheezing sound and dropped back inside.
Come on.
With Elizabeth right behind him, Matt ran down the narrow side passage, then climbed over the waist-high fence between the two houses, reaching to help her over.
They sprinted through the yard, through the back gate, and down the alley.
No shots followed, presumably because the guys weren’t going to take a chance on a gun battle outdoors in a residential neighborhood. Or maybe they were worried about Matt’s secret weapon.
But he and Elizabeth weren’t exactly home free. Before they’d reached the end of the alley, a police siren sounded in the distance.
“Someone must have heard the shooting in your house,” he said as he slowed his pace, walking at normal speed toward his car.
Moments later, they were inside the vehicle and on their way out of the neighborhood, leaving the cops and the thugs behind them.
Elizabeth sat rigidly in her seat, and Matt knew what was in her mind. He was torn between putting distance between themselves and her house and the reassurance they both needed.
He turned onto a side street, made another turn, and pulled up under a low-hanging maple tree that partially hid them from the street.
When he cut the engine, she turned to him with a little sob that was part relief and part frustration. He slid his seat back and reached for her, pulling her into his armsand holding tight as he ran his hands over her back and shoulders, thankful that they had both made it out of her house alive.
Her apology rang in his mind.
I’m so sorry. You said it was too dangerous to go there.
But I also said we had to do it. We both knew it was necessary.
They almost caught us.
But they didn’t.
As they silently spoke, she brought her mouth to his for a frantic kiss. And his response was no less emotional. If they hadn’t been on a public street, he knew they would have been tearing each other’s clothing off in the next moment and making frenzied love.
But out here in the car in a residential neighborhood, all they could do was cling together, rocking in each other’s arms, kissing and touching and silently proclaiming how glad they were that they’d found each other and how relieved they were that they’d escaped from Derek Lang’s men.
The name jolted through both of them. He knew that the heightened emotions of the moment had made it pop into Elizabeth’s head. But he also knew from her thoughts that she was sure it was right. He was the man who’d sent the thugs after her—when she’d crashed her car, later at Polly Kramer’s house, and now. She looked at Matt, and he caught the swell of victory pounding through her.
Derek Lang. That’s his name, she shouted in his mind.
Yes.
The next question is, what did I do to him?
I hope we’ve got the answer.
She nodded as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small flashlight that she’d taken from the bulletin board. The men who’d searched the house had ignored it as just part of her kitschy office decorations, but when she’d unscrewed the top, she pulled out the thumb drive hidden inside.
“They got the hard drive, but they didn’t get this,” she said. “Hopefully, it duplicates what was in the computer.”
“Clever of you.”
She grinned at him. “Yes, if I do say so myself.”
“Let’s hope it’s got what we need. I’d like to figure out what’s going on.”
“But we need a computer.” She smiled as she caught his next thought and murmured, “Your laptop is in your trunk.”
“Yeah.”
“Clever of you to bring it along.”
“I thought it might come in handy.”
She didn’t ask where they were going because he knew she saw the picture of the motel room that had formed in his mind.
She scooted back to the other side of the car. He slid his seat closer to the wheel again and drove away, carefully staying under the speed limit.
Matt slowed at the row of fast-food restaurants where they’d bought lunch.
“We just used up a lot of energy with that mental stuff. We should get something to eat,” he said.
She tipped her head toward him. “That might be what came out of your mouth, but you were thinking about something else.”
“I guess I can’t hide that X-rated image of the two of us in bed. But we’ve got to keep our priorities straight. Food, work, and then pleasure. What do you want for dinner?”
When a picture of a large pizzaloaded with cheese, vegetables, and meat leaped into her mind, he said, “Excellent choice.”
They bought the pizza along with soft drinks and brought it back to the motel.
Matt drove through the motel parking lot before he stopped, but as far as he could tell, nobody suspicious was hanging around. Still, he had Elizabeth wait in the car while he retrieved the laptop from the trunk.
After he’d ushered her inside, he set the computer and the food on the table, then locked the door and checked out the bathroom.
“There’s a window in here,” he announced.
“In case we have to make another quick getaway?”
“I’m just being cautious.”
“It was lucky you were being cautious at my house.”
They looked at each other for a long moment. We have to practice restraint and discipline, he forced himself to say.
Opening the box, he scooped up a slice of pizza and put it on a paper plate while he booted up his computer.
He looked up and saw Elizabeth watching him.
“You can just eat like that—after someone’s tried to kill you?”
“That’s the best time for a hearty meal.”
She shook her head and reached for a slice, pulling her chair around to his side of the table so she could look at the screen while she ate.
“Okay, this is good,” she admitted.
He inserted the thumb drive into the USB port before booting up the machine. They both ate pizza and sipped their drinks while they waited for the start-up routine to complete.
“What do you think is on the drive?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Too bad it’s not my biography.”
“Well, since we know your name, I’m sure we can get an approximation. There’s probably a bio of you at the place where you work. Probably one of the county or city social service agencies.”
“I didn’t think of that. But let’s read the thumb drive first.”
He switched the computer’s attention to the external drive and got a list of files.
“Which ones first?”
“Might as well start at the top.”
The first file contained snapshots of women—all of whom looked like they might be of Eastern European origin.
Next was a picture of the Port of Baltimore and one of the huge containers that were often taken off ships and set directly onto tractor-trailer trucks.
They both stared at the pictures.
“It might seem far-fetched, but I think I understand the connection between the pictures,” Elizabeth said. “Does it sound crazy to think that Derek Lang is using cargo containers to smuggle women illegally into the country?” She swallowed hard. “And then something bad happens to them.”
“Well, we know something big is going on. Big enough for Derek Lang to want you out of the picture.”
“As in—dead.”
“You must have found out about it. But how could you stumble onto something like that?”
She shook her head in frustration.
They opened more files. Some contained dates and times. Others were lists that looked like order forms.
They kept looking through the files, but there was no more information that helped Elizabeth unravel the mystery.
“We have to help these women,” she murmured. “Which means we have to figure out where they are.”
“And we have to help ourselves because we’re not going to be safe unless Derek Lang is off our backs.” He turned toward her. “I’m thinking it would be hard to pull off an operation like this without police protection.”
“Or police being paid to look the other way.”
“There has to be a reason.”
When Elizabeth looked at Matt, she knew he had caught her thoughts about how to come up with more information about the women.
The first time I remembered anything about myself was when you touched me. I think we need to try that again.
He nodded, but she was pretty sure it was going to take more than simply holding hands.
Keeping her eyes on him, she stood up, kicked off her shoes, and watched him do the same.
“You think we’re going to be able to focus on what we’re supposed to be doing?” she asked.
“I guess we’ll find out. Keep your shorts on to make it harder to go too far.”
“A good precaution.”
She pulled off her shirt, bra, and jeans, leaving on her panties, and when she pulled back the covers and slipped into bed, he followed her, wearing only his briefs. He gathered her to him, both longing for the contact and both knowing that they couldn’t give in to their own needs—not yet. They had to focus on dragging out the information that had to be in her mind.
She brushed her lips against his, then pillowed her head on his shoulder while his hands stroked over her arms and up and down her back.
Maximum contact, he silently murmured as he lifted her and stretched her out on top of himself, only two thin layers of fabric separating her center from his erection.
The intimacy was like a jolt of heat, and she couldn’t stop herself from moving against him. After a few moments, he quieted her with his hands and thoughts.
Stay still, or we’ll end up making love instead of pulling information from your mind.
Hard to remember that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.
Yeah.
Knowing he was right, she settled down, letting the simmering sexual heat pull their minds deeply together. The first time they’d touched, the transfer of memories had been unexpected. Now they had a much better idea of what they were doing—like when she’d found the thumb drive hanging in plain sight on the bulletin board. He wasn’t just inviting her memories. She felt him lending her energy, the way he’d done when they’d been out in the woods hurling thunderbolts at rocks and then again when they’d disabled the guy who had staked out the back of her house.
As she pulled the power into herself, another picture formed in her mind.
She was at a row house in Baltimore, checking out how things were going with a young mother named Wendy, who’d adopted a child from Romania. They had been talking for about five minutes when another young woman slipped in the back door.
Elizabeth looked up, taking in the woman’s frightened eyes and pale skin. The newcomer and the mom exchanged glances.
“This is Sabrina. I met her when I was out walking the baby. I saw her a few times, and I knew she needed help. I told her you’d be here today—and that you could help her.”
Elizabeth nodded, wondering at this unorthodox approach to social services. But in her profession, she had to be open to people in need, even when they didn’t necessarily go through normal channels.
Wendy picked up her baby and went upstairs, leaving Elizabeth alone with the other woman.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
Sabrina licked her lips and spoke haltingly in heavily accented English. “Pardon me if I don’t speak too good.”
“You’re doing fine.”
“I thought to come to this country because there is nothing for me back home.” She stopped and swallowed hard. “I had some money saved. I paid it to a man who said he could get me into America—and get me a good job.”
When she stopped talking, Elizabeth prompted her. “And what happened?”
“He got me here. Me and other women. We traveled in a big shipping container.”
“My lord.”
“It wasn’t so bad. We had lights there, and food and toilets. But then we got to Baltimore, and I found it was all a big lie. Men were here to meet us. They took us to a house where they forced us …” she stopped then started again, “forced us to be prostitutes.”
Elizabeth sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m sorry.”
“They had us under guard at a house way out in the country, but I was able to escape.”
“How?”
“A man wanted to take me home for the weekend. He paid a lot of money for that, and I hit him over the head, stole some of his money, and got away. I know that attacking him and stealing from him was wrong, but I had to do it.”
“What he was doing was wrong.”
Sabrina nodded. “Yes.”
“But why is this happening in Baltimore?”
“Some of the girls had relatives in the city. That’s why they came here. We talked about this area, and I knew the part of the city where people from my country lived. I found this neighborhood. I was starving on the street, and Wendy helped me.” She gave Elizabeth a pleading look. “I need to hide out from the man who is in charge of this shameful business. And I need to get the other girls out of that house.”
Elizabeth was shuddering as she came back to the present. Tears leaked from her eyes as she looked down at Matt.
He rolled to his side, cradling her against himself. “You were investigating the smuggling ring.”
“Yes.”
“And it led you to Derek Lang.”
“Yes. Sabrina had picked up his name at the bordello.”
“Why didn’t you turn him over to the cops?”
“Because I went to a fancy reception where he was. I saw him with a man high up in the police department, and I knew he was paying the guy off to look the other way. I was afraid that if I just turned him in, I’d end up dead.”
“Which looks like it was the plan, anyway.”
“Obviously, Lang found out I was poking into his business. I was staying in a motel room near home while I figured out what to do.” She made a low sound. “I left some of my stuff there.”
“Like what?”
“Clothing. Toilet articles.” She thought for a moment. “I guess nothing that would help them find me now.”
“Right.”
“When you didn’t come back, the management probably went in and cleared it out.
“Did they save it, do you think?”
“Is there something important in your stuff?”
She laughed. “I did have some money.”
“We’ll have to think about whether it’s worth trying to retrieve it—and paying your back rent.”
“If we explain that I lost my memory, maybe they’ll be … charitable.”
“Maybe, but we’ve got more important issues.”
“Yes. Like my crashing my car.” She shook her head. “It’s not my car. Susan, one of my coworkers, lent it to me because she was going out of the country and wouldn’t need it.”
“When this is over, we’ll figure out what to do about that.”
“I suddenly remember a lot more stuff.”
“Good.”
She gave him a direct look. “Well, it’s not exactly coming at a convenient time. I mean, I want to explore what I know about myself, but we can’t while we’re stuck in this mess.”
“You remember something specific that you think is important?”
“Yes. You said your mother went to a fertility clinic in Houma, Louisiana.”
“Yes.”
“Would you believeit? I remember my mother talking about it.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “That’s the link we’ve been looking for between us. It can’t be a coincidence. It must have something to do with our abilities.”
“But first, we have to deal with Lang and his thugs.”
“Yes. I know they would have gotten me when I crashed the car, but I think there were too many people around.” She dragged in a breath and let it out. “And now, what are we going to do—about us and the women?”
Derek Lang rarely permitted himself to be worried. He was a visionary, but he was also a cautious man with a firm handle on any situation into which he ventured. But this thing with Elizabeth Forester was getting out of hand. He’d investigated Dr. Delano and found out he’d done several years as a medic in Africa—during which he’d had several hair-raising escapes from death. Apparently, those experiencestaught him how to defend himself.
He looked at Patterson, the man who’d been tasked with guarding Forester’s back door.
“How did they get past you?” he asked.
“They zapped me with something.”
“Zapped?”
“Something like a Taser.”
Derek’s brow wrinkled. A Taser wasn’t exactly a long-distance weapon.
He asked for an account of the rest of the screwed-up mission, listening as Southwell related finding Patterson and their both going into the house after the fugitives, one from the front and one from the back.
“And how did they get out of that?”
“The doctor opened a window while they were in the office.”
He thought of saying that every exit should have been covered, but of course, there had only been two guys on the scene. Even so, he wanted to lash out at these men who had returned to him with bad news. But he wasn’t going to waste the energy. And he’d better start looking for a replacement for Southwell. The man was simply making too many mistakes.
“Double the guard on The Mansion,” he said.
“Yes, sir.”
“And tell Susanna to come in here,” he ordered.
She would do what she could to calm his frayed nerves.