Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Saving Sarah (Kindle Worlds Novella) (New Orleans Connection Series Book 7) (4 page)

CHAPTER SIX

"I haven't been able to get anything on Anna's cellphone."  Tex sounded tired.  Ranger felt guilty for having pulled him into helping look for Sarah's sister, but Wolf assured him Tex had the greatest chance of finding any electronic fingerprint that might lead them to Anna.  But he knew the man was also working twenty-four/seven on whatever mission Wolf and the other SEALs were handling, so the additional burden of having him help with Anna's case weighed heavy. 

"Damn.  Think it's turned off?"

"No.  I tried turning it on remotely, but got nothing.  Honestly, I think it's trashed." 

Ranger ran a hand through his hair, pushing the long strands out of his face.  He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger. 

"That's what I was afraid of," he confirmed.  He'd figured tracking the cell was a longshot at best.

"How's Sarah holding up?" 

"As well as you'd expect, hanging onto hope, but the longer her sister's missing, the less likely we're going to find her.  Did Carlisle get in touch with you yet?"  Ranger figured two experts were better than one when looking for a missing person and he'd passed the info on to Stefan Carlisle, the tech expert for Carpenter Security Services.  Carpenter had brought Ranger into the fold, allowing him to work part time for Carpenter Security the last few months, though he'd been offered a full time gig if he wanted it.  Maybe—after he found Anna. 

If he didn't find something soon, he'd call in Carpenter and the rest of the team to aid in the search.  His security company contained state-of-the-art computer systems, just for Carlisle to play with.  As an added bonus, Samuel Carpenter had inherited like a gazillion dollars from his family and had more resources and connections than the White House. 

Tex chuckled.  "Yeah.  The amount of stuff Carlisle knows is freaky scary.  Have you seen his facial recognition software?" 

Ranger stopped himself—barely—from rolling his eyes.  "Computers aren't my thing.  I know enough to turn mine on and load software that's already been written and has step-by-step instructions.  Don't you remember how much help you had to give me just loading that encryption program for my e-mail?  Games I can handle.  My brother, Jean-Luc, says he's never seen anybody who can finesse cyberspace like Carlisle." 

"Lemme tell you, this program he wrote is freakin' awesome.  My facial rec program is damned good, but this?  No wonder the feds are breathing down his neck.  It's head and shoulders above anything they've currently got."

"Were you able to get anything from the picture Wolf sent, the guy who was watching Anna?  I know the quality sucked, and there wasn't much of his face showing." 

"We're still running it.  Carlisle and I are tweaking the program as we go, since there's really not a lot of his face showing in the photo, just the side of his head and his right ear.  We might still get an identification from the ear alone, though it’s a longshot." 

Ranger looked around his apartment, wondering again why he bothered to keep a place in the city.  In the swamps, he wasn't confined, with the walls closing in on him.  There he felt free.  Here it felt like he was trapped with no way out.  His breath hitched in his chest and one hand tightened on the arm of the chair, clenching and unclenching.  

Breathe through it.  Do the exercises the shrinks droned on and on about.  One breath in, hold it, slowly blow it out.  Do it again. 

"Ranger, you there?"  There was a note of concern in Tex's voice.  Crap, he'd zoned out on the guy and gotten him worried. 

"Yeah.  Keep me posted if you find anything.  I'm heading out to pick up Sarah and check on a lead.  Talk to you later."  He hung up before Tex could say anything else.  Tossing the phone on the end table beside his chair, he vaulted from his seat and raced toward the sliding glass doors leading to the tiny postage stamp-sized balcony. 

He took a deep breath as soon as the door opened, inhaling deeply and pushing the demons back, burying them out of sight.  He'd have to deal with them sometime, but not today.  Today he'd help Sarah. 

Another long indrawn breath, and he relaxed against the railing, his shoulders losing the rigidity from moments earlier.  This attack hadn't been a bad one, once the breathing techniques kicked in.  Maybe the therapist had been right, and he'd learn to deal with those moments that assaulted him from nowhere, tossing him back across time and space until he was surrounded by death and destruction and blood and gore. 

"Focus."  That was another thing they'd taught him.  Find something pleasant to ground himself, a person or place that took him away from the dark place his memories threatened to drag him into. 

It was
her
face. Sarah's beautiful face, with vivid blue eyes so crystal clear and bright, lit from within like sunlight on a serene pool.  They reminded him of calm waters with barely a ripple, and he wanted to dive into their depths and never come up. 

Long dark lashes surrounded them, framing their exquisite azure color.  Tiny lines at the corners of her eyes radiated out, what his mama used to call laugh lines.

And her smile.  It flirted across her lips, a barely there lift of the corners, but enough he knew she smiled often.  He wanted to see that smile grow and blossom.  Needed to see her happy, the same way he needed his next breath. 

Her hand lifted, reaching toward him in invitation, beckoning him toward her, welcoming him until he felt like he'd come home. 

He opened the eyes he hadn't realized he'd closed with the sudden realization he'd finally figured out what it was about Sarah that drew him so inexplicably.  When he was with her, near her—he felt like he'd come home. 

# # # # #

No matter how she looked at it, a prison was still a prison.  Even though the walls surrounding her didn't have bars, it didn't change the fact she couldn't leave. 

Anna paced across the thick carpet again, following the same path she'd walked for days.  Back and forth.  From the bed to the bathroom doorway and back again, retracing her steps.  The bottoms of her feet finally didn't hurt from the cuts she'd gotten being dragged across the parking lot.  She gave a bittersweet laugh at the thought she'd probably wear a groove in the carpet, and she didn't give a damn. 

She'd lost count of how many days she'd spent waiting to find out her fate, but deep in her gut she knew.  It was time to stop hiding from the truth.

Death awaited her
.

Maybe not today, but any time now the grim reaper would knock on her door, and she'd be gone.  She'd vanish without a trace.  Never have the chance to leave her mark on the world, except with her own family. 
Will they ever know what happened to me?
 

Her hands fisted at her sides and she fought back the tears threatening to fall.  She'd cried enough to fill an ocean.  Useless tears, they'd accomplished nothing, and didn't make her feel any better.  She missed her family more than she'd thought possible.  The lure and excitement of going away for college had tempted her to spread her wings and fly.  That meant moving halfway across the country, leaving California behind and starting a whole new life at Louisiana State University. 

Now she'd give anything to be back in San Diego, with her mother stuffing her with homemade peanut butter cookies, and her dad fussing about her forgetting to close the garage door again.  And she missed her big sister.  She idolized Sarah, and wanted to be just like her.  Had she ever told Sarah how proud she was of her, that she'd followed her dream of being a writer? 

Now, because she'd trusted the wrong person, made one stupid mistake, chances were good she'd never see any of them again.  She wrapped her arms around her chest, beating back the thought. 
Hell, no.  I'm not dead yet. 

A soft knock sounded on the door right before it swung open, freezing her in her tracks.  She'd stopped hiding, it never did any good.  He'd wait until she eventually came out into the open.  If there was one thing she'd discovered, he was patient.  It wasn't like she hadn't tried.  The first few times, she'd hidden in the closet or locked herself in the bathroom.  At first, he'd searched.  After that, he just waited quietly, biding his time until she caved. 

And she was tired of it all. Tired of staring at four walls, or out the huge glass window at the view of the city, with all the people milling around, free to go about their lives, while she was denied the simplest luxury—the freedom of choice.  Even the small television was useless. 

"Babe, how are you today?" 

"Don't call me that, you—you butt." 

She watched the smile disappear from his face, replaced by the look of resignation she'd come to expect.  Why had she trusted him?  He'd seemed so nice when they'd first met.  Sweet and friendly, and somehow vaguely familiar.  She remembered spotting him at Bimini Jack's, leaning against the grass cloth-covered wall looking at her.  When they'd made eye contact, he'd waved but hadn't left his spot. 

The next time she glanced his way, he was still there, watching her.  She'd secretly been a little flattered, and when he'd motioned her over, she'd whispered to Celia she'd be back, and joined him. 

"Biggest mistake of my life."

"What mistake, sweetheart?"  He stepped closer and reached for her hand.  She snatched it out of reach behind her back before he could touch her.  The last thing she wanted was his hands on her.  Just the thought made her want to vomit.

"Meeting you.  Letting you talk me into going out with you.  Worst.  Mistake.  Ever." 

His mouth tightened and he reached forward, gripping her chin in a merciless hold.  "You need to change your attitude, little girl.  I'm the only thing standing between you and a world of hurt."  His fingers squeezed tighter before he turned her loose with a sigh. 

"Would it do any good to promise I'll keep my mouth shut?"  She knew it wouldn't, but asked anyway.  She'd promise him just about anything he wanted, if it meant she'd be free and able to go home. 

He shook his head.  "He wouldn't believe you.  I've asked over and over.  Gimme a little more time, babe.  He's distracted now, but I'll wear him down, convince him to let you—us—go." 

She flung her arms out.  "He's never going to let me out of here alive.  You know it.  I know it.  There are only two ways I'm ever leaving this room—you help me escape and I never stop running—or in a body bag."

"Dammit, babe, I won't let that happen.  We're meant to be together, you know that.  I'll make him see things my way.  I just need a little more time." 

He reached for her again, and this time she went into his arms, though her skin wanted to climb off her bones when he touched her.  He hadn't done anything sexual
yet
, but every time he came by her room, he got a little more forward, a little more aggressive.  It didn't take a rocket scientist to know he wouldn't take no for an answer much longer.  Maybe if she could convince him to trust her, that she was beginning to fall for his line of baloney, he'd make a mistake and she could make a run for it.

"I just want to go home."  The words, barely above a whisper, seemed to echo like a cannon shot.  His arms tightened around her in a vicelike grip, and it was difficult to draw a breath. 

"No.  We're going to be together.  Always." 

And just like that his crazy personality was back.  His rapid shifts between mostly lucid and calm could segue in a heartbeat into a possessive abusive monster.  This persona scared her to death.  Her upper arms still carried the bruises from when she'd tried to walk away on that horrible night, before everything turned into a hellish nightmare.  She'd quickly figured out whenever
this
guy showed up, the best thing to do was agree with everything he said—until he went away. 

"I didn't say I was leaving you.  I'd never do that.  But I miss my parents and my sister.  Maybe we can invite them to visit?"  She spoke the lie without feeling bad about it.  Anything was better than taking another beating.  She could still feel his backhanded slap across her face.  The bruises reflected in the mirror every morning were a vivid reminder of how dangerous he could be, even when the monster was buried deep. 

"After the wedding.  We'll stop and see them on the way back from our honeymoon.  Would you like that, love?" 

She fought the tears threatening to overflow.  There had to be a way out—
there had to
.  She wasn't about to let this son of a bitch and his father win. 

Unbidden, a man's face popped into her head.  One she'd seen before, in her dreams.  Though she hadn't slept much since being trapped in this limbo between heaven and hell, this god-forsaken prison, but when she slept, she'd dreamt of a stranger.  Tall and muscular with long dark hair and haunted eyes.  He came to her in her dreams like an angel, with a promise of peace and safety.  They'd never spoken, though she somehow knew he'd been searching for her. 

"I'm tired.  It's time for you to go." 

"But I want you, my love.  Surely…"

"You promised.  Remember?  We'll wait until our wedding night, so I can come to you untouched and pure.  It's what we both want." 

He sighed and took a step back, looking at her with such longing, but behind his eyes she saw the monster peeking out.  She was playing a dangerous game, and prayed it didn't come back to bite her in the butt.  But the thought of his hands on her, or worse—she really would rather take her chances with the swamp creatures he'd threatened to toss her to.