CHAPTER SIX

Morning came far too early.  Stephanie had tossed and turned throughout the night, huddled beneath the blanket, staring out into the darkness beyond her balcony’s French doors.  In her head, she heard Etienne’s voice repeating over and over that he was coming for her. 

It was barely past dawn, and already she could hear voices outside, Spanish mixed with raucous laughter.  Obviously, her captors were having a great time.

Flinging the covers back, she noticed the edge of the cellphone sticking out from between the mattress and box spring, where she’d stuck it last night after her call to Etienne.  It was a worthless paperweight now that the battery was dead, because the mercenaries who’d searched her room had taken the charger when they’d confiscated her laptop and tablet.  But at least she’d been able to make that final call.  The one that kept hope alive inside her.

Etienne had sounded calm, like everything was business as usual—except for one thing.  He’d called her baby.  Never, in the entire time she’d known him, had he called her by any endearment.  Hearing his sexy Cajun drawl always did funny things to her insides.  Although all his brothers, and even his daddy, had the same accent, they didn’t sound like Etienne.  Didn’t make her heart flutter or give her goosebumps just by standing next to her. 

She knew all about Carpenter’s hands-off policy.  To be honest, she’d appreciated it when she’d first hired on with C.S.S  After her past experience with an overly possessive jerk, she wasn’t willing to risk her heart—or her life—again for any man.  After they’d relocated to New Orleans, things changed.  Mostly her feelings about one tall, dark, and decidedly dangerous man who made her feel again.  Made all the frozen recesses that she’d thought long dormant come alive whenever he walked into the room. 

Padding to the bathroom, she took care of her morning routine, washing and brushing, and took a long look in the mirror.  She didn’t care about the dark circles under her eyes.  Those might be a good thing, since she didn’t want to attract the attention of any of the mercenaries.  Today was going to be a no makeup kind of day.  She almost didn’t brush her hair, but at the last minute decided to heck with what they thought, she couldn’t go out without doing that little bit of normalcy. 

Digging through the armoire, she pulled on jeans and a tank, covering it with a button front shirt that she left open down the front.  The mornings here could be a little cool, until the sun was high in the sky, when the temperature would soar.  They’d picked the perfect time to come to Tabby’s villa, if you discounted the whole hostage-taking debacle. 

Fully dressed, she wandered to the balcony, scoping out the situation outdoors.  Several men clustered beneath her, talking quietly, and she wished again she’d learned Spanish instead of French.  It had been her fantasy—to go to Paris.  Eat at the cafés, stroll along the streets, watching the couples.  Maybe visit the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.  Too bad she never got the chance, because if things didn’t look up, she might never get to fulfill that dream. 

Her bedroom door was flung open without notice, and two guards strode through, their scowling faces doing nothing to reassure her.  Guess it was time to head downstairs for another fun morning of waiting for the leader of the pack. 

“Come.” 

Without a word, she walked out the door, and stopped in her tracks when she spotted Tabby and Marie waiting at the top of the stairs, surrounded by guards.  Wow, two guards each?  Do they think we’re going to make a break for it?  She bit her lip to keep from tossing out a snarky comment, because it would be wasted on them, since none of them spoke enough English to catch the meaning anyway.

“You both okay?” she asked instead.  Neither woman looked bright or chipper.  They probably hadn’t gotten any more sleep than she had, which was nil.  Being held captive certainly wasn’t high on the list of cures for insomnia. 

They were hustled into the kitchen once again, where Sofia stood at the stove, loaded pans on the burners.  The smell of bacon and sausage permeated the air.  It was a nice change from eau d’ sweat, which wafted off their guards in such close quarters. 

Huge platters of scrambled eggs and warm flatbread sat on the end of the counter, along with bowls piled high with sliced mangoes, pineapple, and oranges.  Though she didn’t want to eat, she knew she needed to keep her energy level up.  Because Etienne was coming for her and she needed to be ready for anything. 

“Wonder if the boss is going to show up today?”  Tabby whispered.  Her voice sounded raw, and Stephanie wondered if she’d been crying the whole night.  Marie still looked kind of shell-shocked, every movement forced and slightly uncoordinated, as if she couldn’t focus on what was happening.  Girlfriend needed to snap out of it pretty quick, or she’d never make it through their ordeal. 

The main guard, the one Stephanie considered the leader, strode into the kitchen, heading directly to the counter with all the food, and gave a brief nod.

“Bueno.”  Turning toward them, he gave the women a cheerful grin.  “Come, you eat.  Today everything happens, and you need to be strong.” 

Yep, it was just like she thought.  Either Mister Boss Man was coming to the villa, or they were going to be moved.  She kinda hoped the man was coming to them, because that gave her a fighting chance.  Etienne and the rest of Carpenter’s team knew where she was, and it would be the first place they’d look.  If the hostages were moved, who knew how long it would take to track them down again. 

“Let’s eat.” 

“I don’t think I can.”  Marie put a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.  “I just want to go home.” 

“Sweetie, we all want to go home, and we will.  But in the meantime, you need to eat something, keep your energy up.”  Stephanie slung her arm around Marie’s shoulder, and guided her to the end of the counter, handing her a plate.  “Try some of the fruit.” 

After helping Marie fix her plate, Stephanie loaded her own with a lot of everything, especially the protein.  Eggs, bacon, sausage.  When Etienne got here, she’d be ready.  To fight or to flee, didn’t matter, she’d follow his lead. 

Seated around the small round table in the corner where they’d sat the day before, she dug into her food, watching as the guards loaded their own plates, and took them out, allowing other guards to come and get food.  Poor Sofia was having a hard time keeping up with feeding so many people, but she gave it her all.  Tabby nibbled on a piece of mango, her eyes darting around the kitchen.  Stephanie could practically read her mind, and placed a hand on her knee, shaking her head.  The last thing she needed was for Tabby to decide to play Rambo. 

Leaning closer to her friend, she whispered, “Help is coming.”

Tabby’s eyes widened, though she kept nibbling on the piece of fruit on the end of her fork.  “How?”  She mouthed the word. 

“Remember, I was on the phone yesterday when they stormed the house?  My boss knows.”  Stephanie gave her a wink and shoved a forkful of eggs into her mouth. 

Tabby grinned, because she knew who Steph worked for.  Carpenter Security had done a bodyguard stint for her father last year, and the other woman was aware of exactly how professional and determined they were. 

She wondered if she should say anything to Marie, who was pushing the food around on her plate, not having taken a single bite.  Probably best not to. 

The guard clapped his hands together, the sound reverberating, and Marie jumped, though Stephanie remained stoic.  This was the calm before the storm, and she’d do her best to hold things together, keep the other women safe. 

Because Etienne was coming, and he’d save them all.

# # # # # #

They’d landed at a private airstrip several miles from anywhere, the whole place surrounded by jungle and rainforest.  It was beautiful in a wild, untamed way.  Etienne stared at the tall, dark-haired man who met them at the airport.  Dylan Roberts stood at least six foot four and a good two hundred pounds, and not an ounce of it was fat.  His face looked like it was hewn from granite, all sharp angles and jagged edges.  A small scar bisected his eyebrow, and a two inch one decorated his chin.  He figured there were probably several more somewhere on his body.  Very few SEALs walked away without a few battle wounds. 

“Boudreau?  Got a call from somebody named Carpenter, asking for my help.”  The man’s voice matched his appearance, rough and raspy, as if he didn’t do a lot of talking. 

“I’m Etienne Boudreau, and this is my brother Sebastian.  Carpenter update you on the situation?” 

Roberts nodded.  “Nasty piece of business.  I’ve sent somebody to scout out the place, see if he can get some intel on how many mercs we’re dealing with, maybe find out who’s behind this.” 

“One of the hostages got a phone call out last night before her phone went dead.  She counted at least fifteen.  Doesn’t know who’s in charge.  Said the head honcho hasn’t shown up yet.”  He tossed his bag into the back of the jeep, and climbed into the front seat.  Bas followed suit, climbing into the back, and Roberts eased his long frame behind the wheel. 

“After I talked with your boss, I put out a few discreet feelers, getting the lay of the land.  Seems like this isn’t a local player, but whoever it is, they’re willing to pay out top dollar.  Sent in his own private army, because none of the men around here were offered work.”  Dylan started the jeep, and pulled onto a narrow road snaking through the surrounding jungle. 

Etienne grabbed his seat as the wheels hit a deep pothole.  “No locals?  Isn’t that odd?” 

Roberts glanced his way, before turning his attention back to the rutted dirt path.  Nobody in their right mind could call it a road.  “Most of the locals around here are peaceful, hard working men, but anybody can be tempted if the price is right.  There’s been nothing circulating on the local grapevine about work.  None of the shop owners have talked about strangers in town either.  Whoever these mercenaries are, they’ve been shipped in from another town.  Which is not good news.” 

Somebody obviously had deep pockets.  Most would hire local muscle.  There were always people who’d do anything for a little extra money, and American dollars spoke loud.  Bringing in mercenaries specifically for this operation meant somebody meant business.  The question was which one of the hostages they were after, and what they wanted from them. 

Chances were high it was Tabitha Donnelly.  Her father owned and operated a news conglomerate, and had both wealth and political friends in high places.  Snatching his daughter and holding her for ransom made sense, especially if this was about money.  Carlisle was still finding information about Marie.  At this point, they were still trying to establish a last name and ID on her.  Nobody seemed to know much, except she was Tabitha’s friend. 

Stephanie, on the other hand, didn’t fit the profile of a valuable hostage, at least not on the surface.  If somebody knew she worked for Carpenter Security Services, they might consider her valuable to Samuel Carpenter, and hope he’d pay a large amount of money for her safe return.  Which he would.  Samuel had already authorized him to negotiate any amount the kidnappers wanted, because she had value to everybody back home. 

“Bas, see if you can get a signal, and check in with home base.  See if they’ve got any further intel.”  He heard rustling sounds as Bas dug the satellite phone out of his pack, then the sound of his brother’s voice quietly talking to one of their teammates back home. 

“Surprised you guys didn’t come in guns blazing.”  Roberts kept his eyes glued to the pockmarked pathway.  “Pretty sure a company like Carpenter Security Services has the manpower and firepower to deal with the situation.” 

Etienne considered his answer carefully.  Fiona said they could trust Roberts.  His gut told him the same, even though he didn’t know the man.  There was an aura of confidence and authority surrounding him.  Probably came from being a Navy SEAL. 

“Hostage negotiations and rescue are not our specialty.  Bodyguard work and security are standard ops.  We put a call in to Wolf and the Riverton SEALs, but they’d just gone wheels up on assignment.  Commander Hunt gave us your name.  Said we could trust you, because you’ve done this sort of thing before.” 

A shadow crossed Roberts face, then disappeared.  “Yeah, my team did numerous rescues.” 

“Bro, Carlisle says he hasn’t been able to get an ID on the third woman yet, which worries him.  I think he’s being paranoid, but he’s run her picture through every facial rec program, including his baby, and nothing.” 

A tingle spread from the base of his spine to the little hairs on the back of his neck.  The fact Carlisle couldn’t find anything on her—that bugged him.  The woman had to have an ID somewhere.  Driver’s license.  School ID.  Green card or work visa.  Nobody was completely invisible in this day and age.  Big Brother truly did watch everything.  If it bothered Carlisle, then it definitely rang alarm bells with him. 

“I don’t like it.  Have Samuel get in touch with Albert Donnelly, see if he can provide any information on this woman.  If she’s such a good friend of his daughter, he probably knows everything about her.” 

The sounds of the rainforest intensified the farther they drove from the air field.  He knew the closest town to the villa was forty-five minutes away, so they still had a drive ahead of them.  But he couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t focus on anything but Stephanie. 

She was a strong woman, and she’d been taking self-defense classes.  That would help, if she got into a skirmish one-on-one. 

Please, don’t let her do anything foolish.  His gut instinct screamed for him to tell Dylan Roberts to drive straight to the villa.  Between the three of them, they had skill and training, and under normal circumstances could probably take on fifteen men and deal with them, no sweat. 

But these weren’t normal circumstances.  There were at least five hostages, counting the cook and the driver.  The mercenaries probably knew the terrain and the house, if they were professionals.  They had the home field advantage, and he wasn’t about to walk in there blind, or put Stephanie in danger.  No, he’d follow Roberts’ lead, though it irked him.  Used to leading, standing by and waiting for somebody else to make the decisions didn’t sit right. 

“Former military.”  Roberts’ voice interrupted Etienne’s thoughts.  “I can tell from the way you hold yourself.  Both of you.  Which branch?” 

“Army Special Forces.  Brother is a former SEAL.  Ranger Boudreau.” 

Roberts chuckled.  “I’ll be damned.  I know your brother.  Did a couple of jobs with him.  Good man.  How’s he doing?” 

Etienne grinned.  “He’s working for Carpenter Security, too.  Married to a great woman.  They just had a baby.  Beautiful little girl named Abigail.” 

“Good for him.  He deserves to be happy.”  Etienne heard the muttered, not like some of us, but didn’t comment.  It wasn’t any of his business. 

They drove a few more minutes in silence before Roberts pulled the jeep to the side of the road, shoving the gear into park.  “Okay, here’s how things are going to work.  This is my op.  My people.  Most of them have worked with me for a while, and I’m calling in favors to get ’em here this fast.  You’re going to stay at my place, and you will not, I repeat not, under any circumstances, show your faces in the village.  We don’t want anybody to know strangers, much less Americans, are anywhere near here.  Am I clear so far?” 

Etienne caught his brother’s eye.  Bas shrugged as if to say, whatever.  “No problem.  So far.” 

“Good.  The rest of the team will meet up at my place.  It’ll be a tight squeeze, but...” 

“Why are we wasting time?  We need to start planning, not sitting here on our asses chatting.”  Bas leaned back in his seat after making his feelings known. 

Etienne agreed one hundred percent.  They were wasting time.  He promised Stephanie he was coming, and yet here he sat on a roadside in the middle of nowhere.  What was next, they’d be sipping bloody tea? 

“Everybody out.” 

Etienne looked at the man like he’d lost his mind.  Then he realized Roberts hadn’t been speaking to them.  Camo-suited men eased from the surrounding trees and bushes.  Damn, he hadn’t even noticed them.  He was getting slow. 

“My place is two minutes from here.  Jose will show you the way, get you settled.”  He gestured toward a tall, slender man of about thirty, who nodded.  “Everybody speaks English, so you shouldn’t have any problems.  I’m heading back into the village to make contact with my guy, find out what he saw at the villa.” 

“I should be at that meet—” 

“Remember, you can’t show your face in the village.  Go, get settled.  Study the blueprints of the villa, know every inch of the place, inside and out.  I’ll be back in less than an hour.” 

He could tell by the stone-faced expression on Roberts’ face that he wasn’t backing down.  Climbing from the jeep, he grabbed his bag, and waited for Bas to join him. 

Roberts shoved the jeep in gear and drove away. 

Etienne prayed he came back with good news, because he wasn’t going to wait much longer.  Come hell or high water, he was going to rescue Stephanie.