Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Saving Sarah (Kindle Worlds Novella) (New Orleans Connection Series Book 7) (3 page)

How could he tell her, in every single dream, every nightmarish scene that played like some weird-ass avant garde kaleidoscope of black and white imagery—her sister was dead. 

CHAPTER FOUR

"You know something." 

Sarah's accusatory words landed like a physical blow.  Truth be told, he didn't
know
anything—not with any certainty.  Dreams weren't reality.  He didn't have a single shred of evidence anything had happened to Anna.  And he was lying to himself, because his dreams were never wrong.

They had started when he was a kid, though they didn't happen often.  Knowing when somebody was coming to visit, because he'd dreamt it the night before.  Seeing the face of a new kid, then meeting them a few days later when they moved into the area. 

He hadn't paid much attention to them, not until he dreamed his grandmother's death.  Waking from the nightmare, with tears streaking down his face, he'd run and told his mother, shaking her from a sound sleep.  He still remembered how pale she'd been when he'd recounted the dream that upset him.  How her arms tightened around him, squeezing hard enough he'd cried out.

When the phone rang minutes later,
he knew
.  The look on her face, her shoulders slumping like she'd taken a bullwhip strike against her spine, were more eloquent than words.  Her eyes met his, shiny with unshed tears, and she nodded once before pulling him against her hip and rubbing his back while he'd sobbed.   

She'd made him promise never to tell anybody about the dreams.  And he hadn't.  Even as a kid, he knew people would call him a freak.  So, he kept his mouth shut.  Still did.  Nobody outside the family knew about his prophetic dreams, and he'd even stopped telling them a long time ago.  For all he knew, the rest of the family thought he'd quit having them. 

When he'd reached his teen years, they disappeared and he'd felt both relieved and bereft.  When he'd returned from Afghanistan they'd started again.  Now the dreams were interspersed with nightmares of his time spent in that bombed out hellhole with members of his team fallen and bloody in the dirt.  Separating the fantasy from reality got a little twitchy at times, but he was handling it. 

Except for my dreams of Anna
.

"I said, you know something, don't you?"  The accusation in Sarah's words shook him out of his thoughts. 

"I don't know a damn thing."

"That's a lie.  You reacted to her picture like you'd seen a ghost.  Dammit, what's going on?"  She slammed her hands on her hips, and stood staring at him, and he couldn't help thinking how cute she looked, all defiant and ready to take him on like a mama bear protecting her cub. 

"She looked familiar for a second, maybe because of her resemblance to you."  Damn, he hoped his lie would throw her off the scent, because no way in hell was he talking about his dreams.  She was essentially a stranger. 

"You got a place to stay?"  A change of subject was in order, and would give him a chance for his still reeling thoughts to settle.

"Yes."  She rattled off the name of a nice, moderately priced place not too far away from his apartment.  Close enough for them to coordinate their search, but far enough they'd not be on top of each other when they needed a little breathing space.

That stray thought had his mind racing in a new direction.  Him on top of her, their bodies lost in ecstasy as passion flared between them.  Nope, he shook his head.  Not gonna go there. 

"That's a good place.  How about this?  You head back there and get settled."  He raised his hand when she started to interrupt.  "I'll pick you up, and we'll grab an early dinner, then head into The Quarter and start asking around.  See if anybody remembers seeing your sister.  By then I might have heard back from Remy, and it'll give me time to read through this."  He picked up the envelope she'd given him earlier and tapped it against his palm. 

Her body seemed to deflate and she shrugged.  "What time do you want to meet?" 

"Meet you in the lobby at seven.  Things don't really get hopping in the French Quarter until well after dark."  He took a step toward her, and clasped her hand between his.  "We're going to find her.  Hold onto that, Sarah.  I won't give up—not until she's back with you again." 

And he wouldn't.  He'd find a way to return Anna to her family, even if it meant the worst case scenario—bringing her remains home.  He wouldn't leave them without answers. 

"I believe you." 

"Let me get you a cab."  Now that the initial overtures had been played out, and he'd talked to Wolf, he was anxious to look at all the information she'd given him, see if it tied in any way to the things he'd been dreaming.  But he wanted privacy for that—and he doubted she'd be content to sit quietly in the living room while he went over the reports alone.

"It's fine.  It's just a couple of blocks from here, right?  I could use the fresh air." 

"You sure?"  The neighborhood where his apartment building was faced onto a fairly quiet street in one of the nicer areas of the city, so she should be safe walking the few blocks to the hotel, yet he was torn—needing her to leave and wanting her to stay.

She smiled and started down the hall, with him trailing behind.  "Are you sure?  Let me walk you to the…"

Her hand touched his forearm and he stopped talking, focusing on the feel of her skin against his.

"Really, Ranger, I'll be fine.  I'll see you tonight."  She pulled the door open and quickly stepped out into the hall, and strode toward the elevator.  Damn, she was gorgeous both coming and going.  He couldn't have stopped watching her walk away if his life had depended on it.  That absolute firm conviction he'd felt at the bar reasserted itself as the elevator doors slid closed, blocking her from sight. 

She was his.  He knew it with a gut-deep certainty, and somehow it felt right.  Good.  But he also knew damn good and well, he couldn't do a thing about it—not until they found Anna.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ranger's hand rested on the small of Sarah's back as he guided her through the crowded entrance of their third bar of the night.  He'd met her at the hotel hours earlier and they'd eaten and strategized on their next step.

He hadn't heard from Remy yet, but he wasn't too concerned.  Cops were always busy—he'd get back to him as soon as he had something to report.  They'd decided instead on trying to check out a couple of places Anna and her friends had visited. 

Retracing her sister's footsteps after so much time had passed proved to be as effective as finding the Holy Grail.  Nobody remembered seeing Anna or her friends.  Not surprising.  New Orleans was a tourist mecca, and the French Quarter with its shops, restaurants, bars and clubs on any given night meant wall-to-wall bodies, partying and having a good time.  Throw Spring Break into the mix and you had uncontrolled chaos.  He was only thankful Spring Break and Mardi Gras hadn't fallen on the same week, or there'd have been no chance of finding anybody. 

He sidestepped a couple of girls gyrating in his path, bumping and grinding to the pounding rhythm of Nine Inch Nails pouring through the speakers.  The music was loud enough that the thumping bass caused the cement floor to vibrate beneath his feet.  Taking a good look at the dancers, he shrugged.  Damn, they looked like they were barely fifteen or sixteen.  Definitely jailbait and not old enough to be in this crowd of tourists and hangers-on.  He couldn't help wondering how they'd made it past the front door. 

Sarah's hand slid into his when he stepped around them headed toward the bar.

Two muscular, stony-faced bartenders manned the overcrowded space, doling out drinks in rapid fire succession.  It was a Saturday night, and it looked like everybody decided to head to the French Quarter and get their party on.  Personally, he'd rather be just about anyplace else.  He didn't like crowds. 

Stalking forward, he wedged his body into a spot at the overcrowded bar and shifted over enough to give Sarah a bit of space.  Her hip brushed against his when the person beside her got a little too close, jostling her in an attempt to get the server's attention.  When the bartender spotted him, Ranger motioned him over. 

"What'll it be?" 

"Information."  Ranger pulled up Anna's picture on his phone, the one he'd e-mailed to himself, and showed it to the guy, watching him closely. 
Bingo.
  The bartender's eyes widened slightly, his pupils dilating.  Yep, he recognized her.  

"What about her?"  There was a wary tone in the bartender's voice.  Ranger got it.  He wasn't a cop, so the guy had no reason to give him any information.  Hell, for all he knew, Ranger was a stalker or an angry ex looking for a little payback. 

Ranger nodded toward Sarah, talking louder to be heard over the music.  "This is the girl's sister.  She's missing and the family is worried.  We're trying to retrace her steps, see if anybody remembers her or might have seen her around." 

The bartender leaned over, resting his elbows on the bar top, the muscles in his forearms bulging, and gestured for the phone.  Ranger handed it over and watched the guy study it closely, saw the downturn of the corners of his mouth.

"Yeah.  She was here with some girls.  Probably a week ago maybe?"  He rubbed his finger along the side of his nose.  "I forget her name—Amy or Abby or…"

"Anna," Sarah added and the guy nodded.

"Right, Anna.  Cute little thing.  Pretty, happy, and smiling.  She and her friends seemed to be having a great time."  He nodded toward the dance floor.  "Spent about an hour out there."

"So she didn't act like anything was wrong?" 

"They weren't drinking—not here anyway.  Tried to pass fake IDs, but no way they were twenty-one.  Strictly bottled water and sodas for that crowd.  Hang on a second."  He turned and yelled over the pounding music, "Hey, Danny, come here a sec."

"Be right there, man." 

After finishing his order, the other bartender ambled down to where they stood.  Danny towered over them, standing at least six foot four and was built like a mountain of muscles on steroids.  A shock of red hair was pulled back into a long ponytail at the base of his skull, and full sleeve Japanese-style tattoos ran up both forearms to disappear beneath the sleeves of his black T-shirt.

The first bartender turned the phone toward Danny.  "You remember her?" 

Danny looked at the phone, cocking his head.  "Hmm, about a week ago?  Spring breakers.  Cute little thing." 

"She's missing and we're trying to find her."  Ranger carefully studied Danny, gauging his reaction to his statement. 

"Aw, damn.  She seemed like a sweet kid.  Real friendly."  Danny shook his head and handed the phone back, and started to turn away. 

Sarah reached forward and touched his hand.  Danny stopped, raising his brows.  "That's Anna.  She's my sister.  I have to find her.  Do you remember anything that happened when she was here?  Anybody bother her or her friends?  Nobody's seen or heard from her since she was here, and…"

"Hey, dude, you gonna take our order or what," a voice yelled from further down the bar. 

"Hold your horses, I'll be right there." 

"I got it," the other bartender said and walked away to handle the impatient customers while Danny looked at Anna's picture on the cellphone again, concentrating hard. 

"You gotta know, it was pretty much wall-to-wall people here that entire week.  The only reason I remember her," he wiggled the phone, "is because she was nice, polite.  Kinda out of the ordinary, you know?  Most people come in here for a good time.  Dancing.  Drinking.  It's a nice place, the owners run a clean joint."

"But you remember Anna?"  The hopeful note in Sarah's voice tugged at Ranger.  He wasn't holding out much hope—not with the dreams he'd had.   

"Yeah.  Look, I could be wrong, but I remember a guy watching her—them—all the girls in her group.  But mostly her.  Then, again, who wouldn't watch pretty girls dancing and having fun?  Happens all the time."

"Did you recognize him?  Can you describe him?"

Danny handed the phone back to Ranger with a shrug.  "Never saw him in here before.  I don't know, maybe twenty-five or so.  Could've been younger, since I didn't see him up close.  Dark hair.  Five-ten or five-eleven.  Nothing to make him stand out—except he kept watching her like she was special."  Danny shrugged again.  "Sorry I can't be more help." 

With that he walked away, headed back to deal with other customers.  Sarah blew out a weary breath and her hand cupped around his, still holding his phone with Anna's picture displayed.

"At least we know she was here."

"That, and somebody was watching her.  Wish we had more of a description to go on than dark hair and five foot ten.  That's probably half the guys in New Orleans."  He ran his finger down the side of the phone.  Anna's bright smile tugged at his conscience.  He hadn't told Sarah about the dreams.  Especially how they ended.  For once, he wanted the outcome to be different.  To be able to change them, bend them to his will, and force a different conclusion.  Because if these dreams were prophetic…

"Hey, I know her!"  Ranger spun around toward the bubbly voice coming from beside him at the bar.  A pretty auburn-haired woman, probably early twenties with vivid green eyes crowded in next to him, pointing at the phone.

"Anna, right?  She was a real sweetheart."  The girl waved her empty glass at Danny and raised one finger. 

"You saw her?  Talked to her?" Sarah leaned around him, staring at the girl.

"Yep."  The stranger pulled a maraschino cherry out of her empty cup by the stem and popped it into her mouth, pulling the stem free.  "My friends and I hooked up with her group and went clubbing after we left here." 

Sarah's eyes met his and he read her growing excitement.  "Have you seen her since then?" 

"Nope." 

"Where did you head after you left here?"  Ranger heard the demand in his voice and winced when he noted her stiffen.  Damn, he didn't want to lose the little redhead, not until she told them everything she knew.  The slim lead from Danny would be almost impossible to follow. 

She looked at him, a tiny frown line between her brows.  "What's it to you?" 

"Sorry.  I'm Ranger Boudreau and this is Sarah, Anna's sister.  We're trying to find her, because her family hasn't heard from her."  He smiled, trying to inject a little warmth into his tone.  Scaring her was the last thing he wanted.  She might be the last person to have seen Anna, and he didn't want to blow it.

"Aw, I'm sorry.  I'm Felicia Dumont.  Lemme see.  We headed over to The Panic Room for about an hour.  Then we got hungry, so we went to Franco's to grab something.  Probably stayed there a couple of hours.  After that, half of us headed to Zoner's and the rest headed for Bimini Jack's." 

Ranger recognized the names of all the places she mentioned, a couple of clubs that catered to the younger college-aged crowd and tourists only wanting to drink and party, not looking for authentic French Quarter fun. 

"Which group did Anna go with?"  He asked the question cautiously, keeping his tone light and friendly.  The more info they got from Felicia, the easier to track Anna's movements.  Tex was working things from an electronic angle, following Anna's cellphone GPS footprint, but it took time, especially since they weren't going through official channels.  He and Sarah were beating the bushes the old-fashioned way, but it was slow going. 

"She went with me.  Over to Bimini Jack's."  She stopped for a second.  "We danced and goofed around a couple more hours before we dropped her off at her hotel.  I guess it was around four-ish."  She shrugged.  "I'm not sure of the exact time, 'cos I had a righteous buzz going." 

"You didn't see her again after that?"  Sarah asked, leaning over his shoulder. 

"I gave her my number and we were gonna hook up again the next day, but she never called.  I tried hers a couple of times, but it went straight to voicemail.  I figured she just blew me off, so I stopped calling." 

"Did you notice anybody watching her?  Maybe hanging out near your group, or trying to talk to her?" 

Felicia tilted her head, obviously thinking about his question, before she shook her head.  "Sorry, I can't say I did.  Like I told you, I was pretty buzzed that night.  Wish I could help, but…"

Ranger pulled a business card out of his back pocket and looked on the bar for something to write with.  Sarah tapped his shoulder and handed him a pen, and he jotted his number on the back of the card.

"If you think of anything else, give me a call.  My cell's on the back.  The number on the front is Remy Lamoreaux.  He's a detective with the New Orleans Police Department and he's helping us look for Anna.  If you can't reach me, call him.  He'll know how to get hold of me." 

She looked down at the card before sliding it into her bra with a wink.  "I'll call you."  Picking up her drink, she sauntered away. 

"So we're no closer than we were." 

"Not true," he said, turning to face her.  "We know Anna and her friends definitely partied here on Saturday night.  We also know somebody was watching her.  Thirdly, she left here and spent most of the rest of that night with Felicia Dumont and her friends, and she got to her room safely.  It's more than we started with." 

"True." 

He looked at the clock over the bar, noting they'd been out asking questions for hours.  It was past time for them to take a break, grab a bite, and regroup.  Maybe check in with Tex and see where things stood with the GPS tracking and cellphone search. 

"I'm starving.  How about we grab a snack and decide on our next step?  Sound good?" 

With a final glance around the club, Sarah nodded.  "Right, food."

"I know a great little out of the way place that serves authentic New Orleans cuisine.  And the best desserts you've ever tasted.  If you don't mind a short walk, that is."

"Walking's fine.  I could use the break."

He held out his hand in silent invitation, and she slid hers into his.  A zing of sensation awakened deep in his gut, the same one he'd felt at Lucky's bar, and again at his apartment.  The same one that urged him to claim her in every way a woman can be claimed.  Yet he fought the urge, because he didn't need that kind of complication in his life, not now and maybe not ever.  Between the PTSD and the psychic dream crap, he wasn't exactly the catch of the season. 

No, he decided that when the search for Anna was over, one way or another, he'd wish Sarah well and send her on her way—alone.  She deserved better than a burned out husk of a man, racked with guilt.  She deserved somebody who could offer her the moon and stars and give it to her.

He'd wish her well, and pray she found somebody who could give her everything he couldn't, because he had nothing left to give.  And she deserved to be loved.  Too bad he wasn't that man, because no matter how much his body ached to make her his, his head said to walk away before somebody got hurt.  And he had a feeling that somebody would be him.