Authors: Shelia M. Goss
Savannah's Curse (4 page)
5
On her way home Savannah stopped at the grocery store to pick up a roast and a bag of potatoes. She wanted to make her sisters' favorite meal. She would have their undivided attention, provided they had full stomachs. Savannah wasn't sure if she was ready to reveal her past with Troy. It would be hard enough to convince them to work with him without throwing in that extra information.
Every few minutes she found herself checking her rearview mirror to see if someone was following her. Since Savannah's unexpected visitors this morning, she decided to take extra precautions. Once securely in the house, she activated the alarm.
Less than two hours later the aroma of the roast filled the air. She stopped stirring the butter in the mashed potatoes when she heard the front door open. Montana and Asia both had keys and barely rang the doorbell; however, she couldn't help but be a little on edge. Savannah yelled, “Anybody there?”
“Vanna, it's me,” Asia shouted. Asia sashayed in the room, wearing a pair of black slacks and gold satin shirt showing her cleavage. Her short Halle Berryâstyled haircut accented her high cheekbones.
“Girl, don't tell me you wore that blouse to work.”
Asia patted her bare chest. “What's wrong with it?”
“Don't let me go there.”
“You're just an old maid.”
“Whatever. I just don't believe in showing all of my assets.”
Asia ran her hands down her side. “If you got it like I do, why not flaunt it.”
Montana came in on the tail end of Asia's statement. “You're so superficial.”
“I love you too,” Asia responded.
“Don't start, y'all. Asia, set the table. I need to talk to Montana for a minute.”
Asia crossed her arms. “No secretsâremember?”
“The longer it takes for you to set the table, the longer it'll take for me to bring the food out.”
Asia rubbed her stomach. “You better be glad I'm hungry.”
Once Savannah was sure Asia was out of earshot, she asked, “You haven't talked to Uncle Raymond, have you?”
“I told you I wouldn't.” Montana frowned. “For now, anyway.”
“Just checking. Take this to the table and I'll be there in a minute.”
The chatter over dinner consisted of Montana and Asia discussing their jobs. Savannah waited until after the dishes were in the dishwasher and the kitchen was cleaned before bringing up the topic they were all there to discuss.
Savannah sat in her favorite spot on the love seat, while Montana sat in the chair and Asia slid down and sat on the floor. Each sister held a notebook with her prospective notes.
“The Blake sisters' official meeting starts now,” Savannah joked.
Montana sighed. Savannah addressed her. “Do you want to say something?”
“No.”
Savannah ignored Montana's attitude. “I had a surprise visitor when you two left last night.” She told them about her encounter with Troy. She purposely left out information about their past relationship.
“Why didn't you call the cops?” Montana asked.
“Because I had the situation under control,” Savannah responded.
“He could have killed you,” Asia added.
“Believe me, I had the upper hand.” Savannah smiled as she recalled having Troy pinned down.
Savannah informed them about Troy's association with their dad. “He's working for himself now. We need him because he knows the ins and outs of The Agency. Otherwise, we wouldn't need him.”
“I don't like this.” Montana frowned.
Asia asked, “How much does he know?”
“He claims to know what Dad knew.” Savannah paused. “One other thing, he doesn't know you two know everything. I want to keep it like that.”
“If you don't trust him, why are you willing to work with him? For all you know he could be playing you. He could be the weak link in The Agency that's behind dad's killing,” Montana stated.
“You must not have heard a word she said,” Asia chimed in. “He's an exâsecret operative. We need him.”
“At this point, I don't trust anyone but you two. But we need someone who knows how they operate in the inside, and Troy is the man.” Savannah hoped she sounded convincing.
Asia asked, “Why don't we just get Uncle Raymond involved and let him take care of all of this?”
“Because Uncle Raymond is a by-the-book guy. I'm sure Dad told him about his suspicions, or if he didn't, he had his reasons. My job . . . Our job is to find out what Dad knew, and then we can decide whether or not we need to inform Uncle Raymond.”
“For all we know, he might already know something,” Montana added.
“You promised,” Savannah said.
Montana placed the folder down on the table. “I haven't told Uncle Raymond anything. But come on. He's a smart man. He should know weâwell, youâaren't sitting idly by while a killer is loose.”
“Has it ever crossed your mind as to why Uncle Raymond has never talked to us about finding the killer?” Savannah asked.
“Because maybe he knows and is just waiting to get enough evidence,” Asia added.
“Could be. But for now, let's just keep this between us.”
The doorbell rang. “Were either one of you expecting anyone?” Savannah asked.
“No,” Montana and Asia said in unison.
“Grab your weapons,” Savannah said as she stood to go answer the door.
Savannah saw Asia reach for her small handgun.
She heard Montana say, “She better be kidding.”
“Better safe than sorry,” Asia responded.
Savannah looked through the peephole. To her relief it was Troy; however, she was upset at him because she specifically told him she would call when her sisters left. She glanced at the clock on the foyer wall. The time was ten o'clock. She didn't realize they had been talking this long. The doorbell rang again.
Montana walked behind her. “Do we need to pull out the heavy artillery, or are you going to open the door?”
Savannah shooed her away with her hand. “I got it.”
She opened the door. Without an invitation Troy entered, dressed in a pair of black jeans and black buttondown shirt. “What a welcome party,” Troy joked.
Savannah's heart skipped a beat. Her hand remained on the door as she turned around and saw both of her sisters with their weapons by their side. Her voice crackled. “We weren't expecting company.”
“Obviously.”
Asia cleared her throat. “Excuse my rude sister. I'm Asia.”
“You're the youngest, right?”
While they were introducing themselves, Savannah rushed to remove their notes and to get her nerves together. By the time they made it back to the living room, the table was nice and neat.
“You didn't have to clean up on my account,” Bridges commented. The sparkle in his eyes lit up when he looked at Savannah.
Asia and Montana looked from one to the other.
“Did we miss something?” Montana asked.
“No, but my, my, my, it's getting late and you both have to get up early,” Savannah said, walking toward the center of the doorway.
“I can spend the night over here in my old room,” Asia suggested.
“Or not,” Montana said. “Can't you see she wants some time alone with her new beau?”
“He's not my beau. Besides, he has somebody.”
“No, I don't,” Bridges shouted from behind.
Savannah grabbed Asia by the arm and literally had to pull her from in front of Troy. “I'll be back,” Savannah mouthed.
Troy laughed.
“He's off-limits, Asia.” Savannah felt possessive, although they were no longer a couple. Now, if she could get her heart to remember that fact, she would be better off.
“You didn't tell us he was cute,” Asia said.
Montana added, “And fine.”
“You didn't ask. Now bye. Talk to you two tomorrow.”
Montana and Asia got a good laugh at her expense. Montana pretended to be offended. “We've been kicked to the curb because of a man. I never would have believed it.”
“Out now!” Savannah shouted. She loved her sisters, but at times they could be pests. She watched them enter their cars. She didn't see Troy's vehicle. She dreaded the questions her sisters would have after tonight about Troy.
6
Savannah walked back in the living room after they left. “See what you started.”
Troy couldn't hold back his laughter. “I didn't mean to embarrass you, but you should have called me.”
Savannah picked up a pillow and threw it at him. He ducked a little too late. “What was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?”
Troy sat down on the couch next to her. “I reviewed the information you gave me last night, and I also had a chance to make a few phone calls.”
Troy went over what he had discovered through his phone calls. “We need to get those papers from your dad's safe-deposit box, and that'll probably solve the whole puzzle.”
Before Savannah could respond, the lights went out. “I hope I have an extra fuse.”
Savannah left Troy in the living room as she felt her way to the kitchen. She searched through the kitchen drawers to locate her flashlight and fuse. “Come on. It has to be in here somewhere,” she said out loud.
She smelled Troy's cologne before he opened his mouth. “I don't think it's a fuse. I heard something outside and wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I'm fine,” she responded.
A noise came from the direction of the living room. Troy automatically went for his weapon. He held up his index finger to his mouth and mouthed the word, “Quiet.”
Savannah recalled the men in black's surprise visit earlier during the day. She leaned and whispered in Troy's ear, “Some men stopped by the house earlier today. I don't know who they were, but they gave me the jitters.”
“I wish you would have mentioned it earlier.”
Savannah opened her mouth to speak but was thrown to the floor by Troy. Before she could blink, a smoke bomb flew through the kitchen window shattering glass everywhere.
Troy grabbed her by the arm. “Follow me.”
Smoke filled the room, making their vision cloudy.
Savannah snapped. “Why do I have to follow you? This is my house. You need to follow me.”
“I'm not going to argue with you. Get us to the nearest exit,” Troy said as he reluctantly let Savannah lead them out of the kitchen.
She opened the side door. Troy said, “No, it's not safe. Find us another way.”
Savannah grabbed Troy's hand and pulled him in another direction. She knew exactly where they were going. She led them to the secret panic room her dad had built in the house many years ago. Her father made sure they had safety drills, and fortunately, up until this moment, she had never had to retreat there. Not knowing what or who was on the outside trying to get in, she rushed with Troy behind her to the secret hideaway.
“Well, I'll be,” Troy said as he helped Savannah move things out of a closet and rearrange them so they wouldn't look disturbed.
Savannah shone the flashlight on a panel near the secret door and activated a code. She led them down the stairs.
Troy watched Savannah as she hit a switch and the entire room lit up. Instead of being a stuffy room, it was filled with state-of-the-art equipment and appeared more like a den rather than an underground dungeon.
She flipped on a security monitor. He looked at it to see if he could recognize the assailants. While he watched the monitor, Savannah removed some weapons from a glass rack on the wall. “Just in case you need this.” She handed him an assault rifle.
“And here I thought I had to protect you.”
“Now is not the time for jokes.” Savannah's tone was more of being scared than being angry.
“Just trying to lighten things up,” Troy responded. “We need to get out of here. There are four that I can see, and they are going from room to room.”
“They'll never find us.”
“I'm sure they won't, but we don't want to be trapped here, just in case.”
“There's a secret passageway that'll bring us to the other street,” Savannah said as she picked up a backpack and placed a few more items in it, including additional ammunition and the flashlight she got from the kitchen.
“Good. That'll put us closer to my car,” he said.
“I meant to ask where you were parked.”
“Fortunately for us, I thought it best to check out the surroundings before dropping by.”
Savannah glanced at the security cameras. “I've activated the alarm, so the cops should be here any minute. Follow me.”
“After you.” Troy extended his hand and followed Savannah through the tunnel.
Savannah stopped several times. She held her hand up to her nose. “I think I'm going to puke.” The stench smelled like a combination of moldy mildew and dead animals.
Troy gave her a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Hold this up to your nose.”
They continued down the pathway until they reached a ladder. “This is it,” Savannah said. She removed the backpack and handed it to him. She climbed up first. The round metal didn't bulge.
“Let me,” Troy said. Savannah was in the process of going back down the ladder, and her buttocks ended up in Troy's face.
“Now that's a new meaning to kiss myâ”
Savannah interrupted him, “Sorry.”
Troy backed down and helped Savannah when she reached the last step. She jumped off and landed face-to-face with Troy. Time stood still as they stared into each other's eyes. Troy's vibrating phone broke the trance.
“We better get going,” he said, ignoring the phone call. Savannah moved out of the way as she watched Troy climb up the ladder. With a few hard pushes he was able to open the metal. He looked around, and when he was sure all was secure, he motioned with his hand for her to follow suit.
She picked up the backpack and handed it to him right before he helped her out of the hole. He quickly placed the metal back over the hole and covered it back up with the grass. “Come on. I'm parked not far from here.”
The adrenaline rush Savannah felt had her on edge. She was glad she worked out regularly or she wouldn't have been able to keep up with Troy's fast pace.
He opened the door to his SUV for Savannah before rushing to the driver's side. Savannah was impressed that even in times of distress he was still a gentleman. If it weren't for their history, she would find his noble ways sexy. She got in and put on her seat belt.
“Whoever is after you will soon realize you're not in the house.”
Although it felt like hours since escaping into the secret room, only minutes had passed.
“I need to use your phone.”
“Under the circumstances I think you need to keep communication with anyone at a minimum,” Troy responded.
“Either let me use your phone, or let me off at the first pay phone,” Savannah snapped. “I need to make sure my sisters are okay.”
Troy had been so concerned with Savannah's safety, he had forgotten about her sisters. He couldn't let anything happen to her or them. Major would never forgive him if he did. Funny, how a dead man could still control him from the grave. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, Troy decided at the last minute to go down Savannah's street. He hit a button and Savannah's seat went straight back.
“What in the world!” Savannah shouted.
“I want to see if your houseguests are still there, and see if I can get a license plate number.”
Savannah let out a few obscenities as she dialed Montana's number. She was barely talking above a whisper. Troy slowed down his car enough to see that the assailants were still snooping around. He made a mental note of the license plate and was tempted to stop, until he saw several shadowy figures exit the backyard. Troy continued to drive at a normal pace, so as not to draw attention. At the sound of the police sirens, it looked as if both he and the assailants had escaped just in time.
“I'm okay. Stop worrying,” Savannah repeated several times.
Troy tried not to listen to her private conversation. A part of him envied the closeness she seemed to have with her sisters. His thoughts lingered on distant memories of his mom and sister.
Troy heard Savannah say, “Call me on the number displayed on your caller ID if you need anything.” She hung up the phone and sighed. “All is secure. I told them I would be staying with you tonight.”
Lucky me,
Troy thought.
Troy thought.
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