Savannah's Curse (17 page)

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Authors: Shelia M. Goss

BOOK: Savannah's Curse
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31
Savannah was all he could think about. Finding Montana was a top priority. He could not fail Montana or Savannah. The men he went to meet were checking out several leads. Thus far, everything came to a dead end. He had hoped to have something to report to Savannah by now. It had been two hours.
His phone vibrated. He answered. He listened to Savannah. “We have one more person to check out. I'm hoping this will be it.”
Savannah said, “Be careful.”
“Always,” he responded before he disconnected the call.
He was disappointed that the last person on the list also led to a dead end. All he could do now was head back over to Savannah's and prepare to do the money exchange. Raymond might not be behind Montana's kidnapping—he was more confident about this now—but he would not go unpunished. The disc Troy still had in his possession would be enough to put Raymond and whoever else out of commission. Whether they did jail time or not, at least it would expose them for the crimes they committed. He would make sure the media wouldn't get all the gory details. He didn't want the men and women who were honestly doing their job and working in the field to be in jeopardy. He only wanted those who decided to take others' lives in their own hands, as if they were their Maker, to be held accountable.
Troy went home and picked up everything he thought they would need for tomorrow's drop-off. It had to be planned carefully, or it all could backfire. He packed up more surveillance equipment for Savannah to wear and for him to be able to set up remotely. Savannah would probably be watched when she left the house, so they would have to time things.
“Savannah, I'm outside,” Troy said as he pulled into the driveway. Raymond's car was no longer there.
He rang the doorbell. It didn't take Savannah long to come answer the door. She hugged him as soon as he walked in. The smell of her perfume had his hormones on overload. He knew she was vulnerable with everything going on, so he would not take advantage of her. He wanted her to come to him when she was 100 percent sure of her emotions, not out of need for comfort.
His body was betraying him as she kissed him. The items in his hands slid to the floor as his willpower was getting weaker and weaker. “Vanna. I can't,” he said in between kisses.
“I need you,” Savannah begged.
Troy didn't want to disappoint her, but he didn't want her to have any regrets the next day either. “Baby, I want you more than anything, but not like this.”
Savannah removed her arms from around his neck and pulled away. “Not even this is working out.” She was sobbing.
His heart tugged. He was torn between doing the right thing and giving in to Savannah's emotional state. He had to do the right thing. He picked up the bags, which had slipped and fallen, and placed them on a table.
Savannah sat with her legs curled up under her in the chair across from the couch.
“Baby, you need to get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us and you need to be well rested,” Troy said.
“I can't sleep. I can't eat. Asia's not talking. I'm just all alone.” Savannah began sobbing again.
Troy walked to where she sat and bent down on his knees. He took her face in his hands and pulled her head up. They were staring into each other's eyes. “As long as I'm alive, you'll never be alone.” He kissed the tears streaming down her face. When their lips locked together this time, neither one pulled away.
Troy needed her as much as she needed him. “Let's go upstairs,” Savannah suggested.
Troy stood up. “Savannah Blake, you've had my heart for what seems like forever. I love you, and because I love you, when I go up those stairs, it will be to hold you.”
“But—”
He placed his index finger to her lips. “Shh, come on.”
Instead of Savannah leading him to her room, Troy led her. He pulled back the covers of her bed. He undressed her with his eyes first before using his hands to do the work. With each piece of clothing he took off, his lips pressed on the body part. He unbuttoned her shirt. He kissed her on each shoulder as the shirt fell off. He used one of his free hands and unbuttoned her pants. He let the pants slide down. His lips traced her stomach all the way to her belly button. Savannah sighed with each kiss.
He lifted each leg and kissed between her thighs as he removed each pant leg. He gently led her to the bed. Before joining her in the bed, he put on a strip show of his own. He got excited seeing the desire in Savannah's eyes as he removed his clothes. He lay on top of her and kissed her, until both were moaning as if they had reached an orgasm. All of this happened without them having sexual intercourse.
Troy's reserve weakened with each touch, but in the end he did the right thing. He snuggled up with Savannah. “Good night, my sweet.”
Savannah didn't protest this time. She responded, “Good night.”
Troy could feel the rapid beat of her heart. As the stress left her body, the beat slowed its pace and her breathing became even. When Troy was confident she was sleeping peacefully, he closed his eyes.
When he woke up the next morning, Savannah's leg was wrapped around his body. His lower member was on high alert. He wanted to show her how much he loved her, and if Asia hadn't knocked on the door, he would have forgotten his promise to himself and to her to wait.
“Savannah! Troy's truck is outside, but I don't see him,” Asia yelled. She attempted to turn the knob, but, thankfully, one of them had remembered to lock the door.
Troy nudged Savannah to wake up. “Asia's at the door.”
“I'll be out soon,” Savannah said without even opening her eyes.
“You're so cute when you sleep,” Troy commented.
“Uh-huh. Wake me up later,” Savannah said as she dozed back to sleep.
“Baby, we need to get the day started. There's a lot of stuff we need to go over,” Troy said.
Savannah reluctantly pulled herself out of the bed.
Troy beat himself up for thinking logically. Savannah looked sexy in her purple-laced underwear. He was glad she didn't look back, because she would have seen him at attention. He tried to think of other things to calm his member down, but nothing worked. He waited for her to enter the bathroom before he got up and put his clothes back on. He went downstairs and outside to his truck. He brought in his overnight bag and a box with his other gear.
He used the downstairs bathroom to shower. Asia and Savannah were both downstairs when he exited.
“I know what you were doing,” Asia teased.
Troy's mouth dropped open. He hoped she didn't know that he just relieved himself of the buildup of the tension he felt for not taking Savannah up on her offer. The guilt on his face said it all. Fortunately for him, Asia didn't press the issue.
“Anybody hungry?” Savannah asked. “For some reason I woke up with a healthy appetite.”
Asia added, “I'm sure you did.”
“What?” Savannah said innocently.
“You two are something else,” Asia said.
“Asia, drive your car into the garage,” Troy said.
“Why don't we go in your truck?” Savannah asked.
“No. Whoever the kidnapper is needs to see something familiar. I'm sure he knows your vehicles. Your Mustang is too small for what I need to do.”
Asia followed his directions. While Savannah cooked, Troy set up the equipment in Asia's car. Asia assisted him with the wiring. “This should do it.”
“I never would have thought to put a tracer on the car.”
“It'll give us Savannah's location, just in case he decides to switch the drop-off location at the last minute. In the past it's happened more times than I can count.”
After they ate a hearty breakfast, Troy went over the plans. “I don't know what Raymond has planned. Although I don't think he has anything to do with Montana's disappearance, I don't trust him.”
“You can't be serious. I think he knows exactly where she is.”
“Savannah, I've worked on cases like this before, and although he's a good actor, I honestly don't feel that he knows.”
“If you say so,” she responded.
“Raymond will have his men doing their thing, but we'll be doing our own. I'll set the wire up on you, and you do exactly what the kidnapper tells you. If he tells you to go to another location drop, do so. I have a tracer on your car.”
Asia stated, “We'll be in Troy's SUV, so don't worry.”
“He might even frisk you to see if you have any weapons,” Troy said. He reached into the box and brought out a very small handgun.
“I didn't know they made anything that small,” Savannah said, taking it from Troy's hand.
“He'll never detect this. Put this here.” Troy moved his hand on her waistband. He noticed the concern on Savannah's face. “Don't worry. It won't go off unless you remove the safety. When someone does a pat search, it'll go undetected.”
Asia said, “Why doesn't she just put it in her thirtyeight double-D chest? They definitely won't be able to find it there.”
“Asia!” Savannah yelled.
“Well, you both know I'm telling the truth.”
Troy looked at Savannah. “She does have a point.”
“I am not putting this gun in between my breasts,” she said, swinging the gun from side to side.
“Whoa, Annie Oakley. It's small, but still lethal,” Troy said as he ducked away from Savannah's aim.
“I have a choice,” Savannah joked. “If it goes off, I could either lose a boob or my side. Decisions. Decisions.”
“Whatever you decide, do it quickly, because time is winding down.”
Asia looked at the clock. “One o'clock couldn't come fast enough for me.”
The doorbell rang. Troy went to see who was outside. “It's Raymond.” He alerted them.
Raymond came in, giving orders. “Troy, I want you working with my men. Savannah, I'll ride with you. Asia, you stay here, just in case.”
Troy didn't have to say anything because Savannah had it all under control. “Raymond, I appreciate everything you're doing, but I'm riding by myself,” she contradicted.
Asia interjected, “And there's no way I'm staying behind with both of my sisters' lives in danger.”
“It's for the best. I'm only thinking of your safety.” Raymond looked at Savannah. “And you have no idea how these things can turn out. You take him the money, and he ends up killing you and her.”
Troy said, “Speaking of money, Savannah said you were providing the cash. Where is it?”
“It's in my car. I'll be right back.”
Savannah said a few obscene words. “Who does he think he is? He can't come in here trying to boss me. Ooh, if I didn't need that money, I would tell him to kiss my you know what.”
Troy rubbed her shoulders. “We'll go with our original plan. Let me talk to him. We can use all the eyes we can get.”
Raymond returned with a New Orleans Saints duffel bag. “This is two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He won't get far, because there's a tracker at the bottom.”
Asia picked up some of the money and let it fall on the table. “So this is how two hundred and fifty thousand dollars feel. I could sleep on this.”
“Don't go getting too comfortable,” Savannah said. She took the money from Asia's hand and placed it back in the duffel bag. She zipped it up and threw the bag on the floor. “Troy, tell Raymond our plan, so we can get this show on the road.”
Troy could tell that Raymond wasn't too keen on their plan, but knew he had no choice from the look on Savannah and Asia's faces. He reluctantly agreed. He made a few phone calls and said, “It's a go. We're ready to move when you are.”
32
Savannah went to the bathroom, and although everybody probably assumed she was using it, she actually went for some quiet time. Although Raymond and Troy did this kind of drop-off thing all of the time, she didn't. She was scared. She prayed until she heard the knock on the bathroom door.
Troy's voice called from the other end, “It's time.”
“Okay, I'll be out in a minute.” She wiped her face with a cold towel.
Everybody was waiting for her in the kitchen. “I'll be fine,” she said.
She placed the tiny handgun on her side, picked up the duffel bag full of money, and went to her car.
Troy said, “We won't be far behind. Raymond has some men set up at the first drop-off. But I'm sure that's just a test to see if we're going to follow. Asia and I won't be far behind. If you get a second drop-off point, I want you to repeat it so Asia can write it down, okay? Everything you do, you need to make sure you verbally repeat it . . . but don't be too obvious.”
Savannah sighed. “Got it.”
She turned the radio on but heard Troy's voice in her ear. “The music drowns out the sounds.”
Savannah responded, “Sorry.” She turned the radio down and drove to her destination. She looked in her rearview mirror to see if she was being followed. She saw Troy and Asia a few cars behind her. She knew they would soon drop off. It was like Troy was reading her mind.
“I don't see anybody following us. Raymond is meeting his men at their locations, so chill out, dear. We got your back.”
Savannah smiled. She drove on in silence. She could hear the tires' movement on the road. Each sound was magnified. The cars screeching and horns blowing seemed to be louder than normal. Music usually calmed her; instead, she took deep breaths in and out to calm herself.
She arrived at the busy park at precisely twelve fifty-five. Five minutes before the official drop-off. She looked around to see if she saw any suspicious behavior. Women were playing with their kids. Men and women sat talking. A few people were there by themselves, reading books and magazines. Some were walking their dogs, or the dogs were walking them, depending on how you looked at it.
One o'clock approached, and she checked her phone to make sure the ringer was on. She exited the car and stood by it, as previously instructed. She waited to hear further instructions. A little boy threw a ball in her direction. She bent down to retrieve it, and was about to throw the ball back at him, but the child ran out of sight. In those few seconds her attention was brought back to the ball, and that's when she saw the message scribbled on it.
Go to the trash can.
She read the note a few times. She looked around. No one seemed to be out of place. She got something out of her car, acting as though she was going to throw something away. There was a small envelope with her name on it in the trash can. She picked it up, but she waited until she was back in the car before she opened it to read.
She made sure she spoke out loud. “‘To be on the safe side, I decided to change the location. Meet me at the outlet mall in Grapevine. Once there, go to the information booth. Ask for directions to Gonzales. Your instructions will be left there in a pamphlet.'”
Savannah threw the note down. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to bring more attention to herself. Troy spoke in her earpiece. “I know you're probably frustrated, but we can catch him still. No worries. Okay, kid? We'll meet you at the outlet.”
Savannah thought she was going to be stopped for speeding, but both times the police officers only waved at her to signal her to slow down. She did slow down, but as soon as they were outside her view, she sped up.
She didn't see Troy, or anyone else, but she couldn't wait for them to arrive. She exited the car and went to the information booth, as instructed. The clerk handed her a pamphlet. She wondered if the clerk was working with the kidnapper. She didn't open the pamphlet until she was a few feet away. It read:
Glad you came alone. Meet me on the pier in fifteen minutes.
She hoped Troy was able to hear her over the background noise of the people talking in the outlet mall. She didn't get a response in her ear. She took the duffel bag and pretended to be window-shopping. She walked toward the pier. She looked over her shoulders at every sound.
I have to calm down. Montana's life could depend on it,
she thought.
Savannah tried to ease her fears by breathing in and out. She could sense that Troy was near, even before he voiced it through her earpiece. “I'm in the mall. Asia and I both are wearing hats. Don't fear, baby. We got your back.”
Savannah let out the sigh she had been holding in.
Before she realized it, someone had something stuck in her back. “Keep on walking. Act normal. We're going to take a walk up that way,” the voice said. Savannah recognized that voice, but she couldn't remember from where. She didn't resist. She did as instructed.
“Where's my sister?” Savannah asked.
“You'll see her soon enough,” he responded.
Where was Troy? Where was her Uncle Raymond? That was all Savannah could think about as they were walking to a remote area of the pier. She had no idea that the building was on the end. She had never walked that far out.
“Don't turn around. Hand me the duffel bag. Montana is in the boat,” the man said.
Savannah was about to turn around to hand him the money and he shouted, “No! If you turn around, I won't be able to let you leave.”
“Here. Now go get my sister.”
“You have less than ten minutes. If you don't get to her, she'll drown.”
Savannah dropped the duffel bag and ran down the pier. She climbed the stairs that led to a boat. Water was creeping on the boat. She heard something move. She was relieved to see Montana, who was tied up and had something over her mouth. Savannah looked around to see if anyone was coming to help. Where were they? Time wasn't on her side; the boat was sinking. She tried to untie Montana, but without any good results. She removed the tape covering her sister's mouth.
“Vanna,” Montana's weak voice said.
Savannah said, “Shh, I'm going to get you out of here.”
Montana opened her mouth to say something but fainted.
Asia yelled, “Vanna! Where are you?”
“Down here!” Savannah responded.
Asia rushed down the stairs to the boat. “Help me get her up,” Savannah cried out.
Asia and Savannah were able to get Montana off the boat, and Savannah barely had her foot on the last step before the little boat sank.
Raymond rushed over and pulled out a knife and cut the rope. He picked Montana up and rushed her to where some paramedics were waiting.
They paced in front of the ambulance until Montana came to. The medic had placed an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, so she wasn't able to talk. The tears streaming down Montana's face tore at Savannah's heart.
“She's going to be all right, isn't she?” Savannah asked the medic.
“Yes. She's a little dehydrated and probably in shock from the cold water. We need to get her to the nearest hospital.”
“I'm riding with the ambulance,” Asia said.
For the first time Savannah thought to ask about Troy. “Where's Troy? I didn't see him.”
“He tackled the kidnapper. I don't know where he is. I rushed to find you,” Asia responded.
“He'll have to catch up with us later. I'm just relieved to have Montana back.” Asia and Savannah hugged.
“We have to go,” the medic responded.
“What hospital? Just in case I get lost,” Savannah inquired.
“Metro,” the driver replied.
“Savannah, wait, we need to ask you some questions,” Raymond said.
“Not now, you don't.” She walked around him and rushed to her car.
She tried her best to keep up with the ambulance but wasn't able. They were inside the hospital by the time she pulled up. She parked the car in a zone marked
NO PARKING
because she didn't have the time to wait for an available spot. She would deal with the ticket later.
Asia met her at the entranceway. “They say she's going to be okay, but I'm still worried,” Asia said as they rushed to the emergency desk.
“We need one of you to fill out these papers so we can admit her,” the hospital attendant said.
“I'll do this. Asia, you go check on her,” Savannah stated.
After what seemed like an hour, but was only five minutes, Savannah filled out the form as best as she could. Some of the things she left blank. The attendant seemed to be moving in slow motion as she entered the data in the computer system.
“I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but I really must go check on my sister. My contact number is on there, which is my cell phone, if you need anything else.”
Savannah didn't wait for her to respond. She went in search of Montana. She was in one of the makeshift rooms in the emergency area. Asia sat by the bed, holding her hand.
“The nurse said she's going to be fine. They gave her something to sleep,” Asia said.
“What about the doctor? Has he been in here yet?” she asked.
“Not that I know of.”
Savannah left the room and went to the nurses' station. “My sister was kidnapped and is suffering from shock, or God knows what. I need a doctor in her room ASAP!”
The head nurse stood up. “Calm down, miss, or we will have to ask you to leave.”
“I'm not going anywhere until a doctor sees about my sister.”
“Baby, baby, I got this,” Troy said as he entered through the door.
Savannah watched Troy pull out his wallet, but she couldn't hear what he told the nurse. A few minutes later she was on the intercom paging a doctor.
Troy wrapped his arm around her and led her away. “It's going to be all right,” Troy said.
“Where were you? Montana could have drowned in that boat. I could have drowned,” Savannah said. She didn't want to seem ungrateful, but the stress was catching up to her. He was the closest thing to her, so he would feel the brunt of her frustrations.
“I was watching you. We couldn't play our hand or the kidnapper would have bolted. In fact—”
Before Troy could finish, a doctor came around the corner and headed toward Montana's room. Savannah grabbed his hand. “It's about time.”
They stood to the side as the doctor examined Montana. She was still out of it and was barely coherent.
“How long will it take for the medicine to wear off?” Troy asked.
“She'll be like this until tomorrow morning,” the doctor responded. He turned toward Savannah and Asia. “She's going to need plenty of rest. Her body went into shock being in the water. I understand she was a kidnap victim. We have counselors on staff who can help her with dealing with the aftermath,” he suggested.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Savannah responded.
He pulled out several business cards from his pocket and handed one to each sister. “If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me.”
Savannah laid her head on Troy's chest. He held her. Asia sat down and leaned back. Savannah was glad to have both of her sisters safe and sound.

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