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Texas Ransom
Amanda Stevens
He was a man with connections Wealth, power and the perfect life. That’s what Graham Hollister thought he had with his wife, Kendall. He’d almost lost her in a deadly car crash, but since then he’d revelled in their renewed marriage. Until one Texas night changed everything. She was a woman with a past A crime cartel came to abduct Kendall. Only the kidnappers didn’t just want a ransom – they were out for revenge.Now strong, determined Graham must race against time and all odds to rescue the love of his life and everything that he holds dear.
He couldn’t see her at first…
But then he spotted a flash of red near the entrance. The stranger who had stopped her earlier was beside her as they moved quickly towards the door.
“Kendall!”
Whether she somehow heard him over the roar of the panicked crowd, or whether the force of his gaze drew her attention, Graham didn’t know. But at that exact moment she glanced back, her gaze clinging to his and he saw her lips move. I’m sorry.
Sorry for what? Graham thought a split second before he found himself pushed back against the wall.
He called out to Kendall, but his voice was lost in the din. Frantic to reach her, Graham tore himself free and fought his way through the terrified mob.
But by the time he reached the door, his wife had vanished.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Graham Hollister – When his wife is kidnapped, he uncovers a web of international intrigue, betrayal and a brutal enemy with a terrifying vendetta.
Kendall Hollister – A woman with a shrouded past.
Leo Kittering – A man who will stop at nothing to avenge his dead son.
Gabriel Esteban – He possesses the name of an angel and the soul of a devil.
Hector Reyes – A henchman caught between a rock and a hard place.
Michael Barron – Graham’s best friend has a few secrets of his own.
Terrence Hollister – Graham’s older brother and bitter rival has a failing business in desperate need of cash.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens is a bestselling author of more than thirty novels of romantic suspense. In addition to being a Romance Writers of America RITA
Award finalist, she is also a recipient of awards for Career Achievement in Romantic/ Mystery and Career Achievement in Romantic/ Suspense from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. She currently resides in Texas. To find out more about past, present and future projects, please visit her website at www.amandastevens.com.
Texas Ransom
AMANDA STEVENS
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Prologue
A waxing moon rose over the barren countryside as the black SUV bumped along a back road that ran parallel to the border. Two hundred yards away, across the Rio Grande, was Big Bend National Park, a vast terrain of canyons, desert and mountains. A place where a man could stay invisible for days if he needed to.
Leo Kittering sat alone in the back seat and stared straight ahead as the headlights tunneled through the darkness. He glanced back once, made uneasy by their proximity to the border, but the road was clear. Nothing behind them but a swirl of dust that settled slowly in the moonlight.
Kittering turned away from the window. His heart fluttered as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He hadn’t felt this exhilarated in years. And with good reason because soon everything would be in place.
The man and woman…they wouldn’t know what hit them.
He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, though. There was still a lot to be done. Too many things that could yet go wrong. An operation of this magnitude was a delicate balance of careful planning and guesswork.
A part of him wished that he could be there when it all went down, but his time for that kind of work had come and gone. He was no longer a young man or in the best of health. But even if he had still been in his prime, he wouldn’t risk crossing the border. If he was spotted and detained by the authorities, the whole plan would be jeopardized.
Besides he didn’t need to see their faces at the exact moment they realized their lives were over. He could take just as much satisfaction in the aftermath.
He shifted his considerable weight in the seat and rolled down the window for a breath of fresh air. The man in the front passenger seat glanced over his shoulder. He had a cell phone to his ear, which he lowered for a moment to ask in an anxious voice, “Leo, you okay?”
The older man grunted, neither confirming nor denying the query.
The vehicle came to a stop, and to his right Leo could see the glitter of moonlight on muddy water. For years, American tourists and Mexican villagers had crossed the river in nearby Boquillas, a loosely enforced class-B port of entry. Leo himself had come over not far from there, but that had been a long time ago. The crossing was officially closed now, although residents of the tiny village continued to go back and forth with their livestock. And often with even more valuable cargo.
Leo’s mind churned with memories and emotions and with a sudden unease. “They’re not here,” he muttered as apprehension fingered down his spine.
“Don’t worry, they’ll show. There’s too much at stake for them not to.”
I hope you’re right, Kittering thought, his eyes still glued to the water. Because if Gabriel Esteban didn’t come soon, somebody would have to pay.
As if reading his mind, Hector Reyes—the man with the cell phone—shot him a worried look. “I made the arrangements myself. They’ll show,” he said again, as if he, too, needed reassuring.
Kittering closed his eyes for a moment, letting the humid air wash over him. He’d brought L.J. here once, when they’d been on a camping trip in Big Bend. The boy couldn’t have been more than seven or eight because they’d still been living in San Antonio at the time. Leo had owned his own business even then, been a well-respected member of the community. Happily married, a settled family man. Then a few risky deals had soured and he’d found it necessary to relocate in something of a hurry to Mexico.
His wife, Nina, had refused to come with him. She’d tried to turn L.J. against him, too, but the foolish woman had learned the hard way that you did not keep a father from his only son.
Nina, God rest her soul, had been dead nearly thirty years, and L.J. was gone now, too. But it gave Leo no comfort to imagine that mother and son were reunited in heaven.
The only thing that gave him any pleasure since his son’s murder was the promise of revenge. It had been a long time coming. But now the day of reckoning was almost at hand.
“What about Houston?” he growled. “Our contact there can be trusted? You’re certain?”
Hector Reyes turned again, his gaze meeting Leo’s in the dark. “He knows the consequences of betrayal. Nothing will go wrong.”
“An operation like this…we can’t be too careful.” Leo sank back into deep thought. He wanted to turn his mind away from the past. He needed to get his head back in the game before the others arrived so that he could be on guard for even the smallest hint of treachery.
Leo had never met Gabriel Esteban, but his violent reputation preceded him. Leo wasn’t afraid of very many things or very many men. Not after everything he’d seen and done in his sixty-three years on this earth. But the stories he’d heard about Gabriel Esteban chilled even his blood.
Doing business with an animal like that…
Leo shuddered.
His men were jittery, too, especially Hector, who would accompany Esteban and his crew to Houston. Leo didn’t blame Hector for being nervous. He was in a difficult position. If he refused to go with Esteban, he risked Leo’s wrath. And if Esteban turned on him once they were across the border, Hector would wish that he’d never been born. The poor man was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
Leo felt only a slight twinge of guilt over Hector’s predicament, even though the younger man had worked for him for years. Hector had started in the organization as a kid, a penniless street urchin who’d turned up at Leo’s front gate one day, demanding a job. Leo had admired the boy’s bravado and his determination to take care of his family, especially his younger sister, Maria. So Leo had given him the odd job around the estate.
But behind Leo’s back, Hector and L.J. had become fast friends, and sometime later Leo discovered that the boy had moved into the house. He’d take a room down the hall from L.J.’s and had never left, even when Leo’s son went off to university.
After L.J.’s death, Hector had become Leo’s right-hand man, and eventually Maria had moved into the house, too. Leo thought the world of both Hector and Maria, but still he didn’t hesitate to send him on this dangerous mission. Because when all was said and done, blood was still thicker than water.
A movement in the dark caught Leo’s attention, and his eyes narrowed as he focused on the water. A few yards downstream, a teenage boy crossed the shallow river with a donkey. Leo watched until the boy was out of sight, and then he turned slowly as approaching headlights illuminated the interior of his vehicle.
“That’ll be him.” Hector glanced nervously over the seat. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked in Spanish. “Gabriel Esteban is a very dangerous man. Once you agree to his terms, there’ll be no turning back.”
The driver, who had spoken very little during the drive, cast a wary glance at first Hector and then Leo.
Leo knew what he was thinking. There would be hell to pay for anyone else who dared challenge Leo’s judgment.
Everyone who worked for Leo knew of his temper. His control had a way of snapping when it was least expected over the seemingly most inconsequential incident. Part of that was by nature and part of it by design. Leo enjoyed seeing the men’s fear. It kept them on their toes.
He’d been a little too lax with Hector. That was another reason he was sending him across the border with Esteban. Hector had become too complacent. And that could spell trouble very quickly in their business.
“I know what I’m doing,” Leo snapped. “Now, leave me, both of you. I want to speak to Esteban alone.”
Hector and the driver climbed out of the vehicle, but they didn’t go far. Leo could hear them muttering in Spanish through his open window.
The headlights on the other vehicle went dead, and all at once the darkness of the countryside seemed to envelope Leo. He felt an unfamiliar tightness in his lungs, as if something heavy was pressing against his chest.
Suddenly he couldn’t wait to be home, safely ensconced behind the high stucco walls that protected his home from the prying eyes of the federales. In the past five years, since L.J.’s death, he’d rarely ventured outside those walls. Now he remembered why. After nearly three decades, the Mexican landscape still seemed foreign to him.
A few minutes passed before Leo saw a tall, dark shadow emerge from the other vehicle and walk slowly across the dusty road toward the SUV. The approaching stranger said something to Hector and the driver, and then Leo heard a soft laugh before Gabriel Esteban opened the door and slid onto the backseat beside him.
The interior light had been disengaged, but moonlight flooded through the windows and Leo could see the barest hint of a smile still lingering at the corners of Esteban’s mouth. His was not a nice smile, more like a vicious smirk. His face was pitted with acne scars and his thick eyebrows rose in points above his dark eyes, giving him a demonic appearance befitting his reputation.
In spite of the physical imperfections, Leo had a feeling that Gabriel Esteban never wanted for female companionship. There was something about him, a perverse charisma that would draw a certain kind of woman like a moth to flame.
Gabriel eyes met Leo’s in the moonlight and the unpleasant smile deepened. “Señor Kittering.”
The sound of his voice drove an icy chill straight through Leo’s heart. He was not a man easily intimidated. He’d operated for too many years on the seamy side of society and had turned a blind eye to the havoc his profession wreaked on innocent lives. He’d arranged the “accident” that had removed his wife from his son’s life, and he’d never so much as fingered a rosary in regret.
But now the thought of what Gabriel Esteban would do with Leo’s money filled his heart with a black, freezing dread. Leo was surely on the road to hell now. He had been for a long time, but now there was no turning back. For what he and Gabriel Esteban had planned, there would be no forgiveness.
“Señor Esteban.” He said the name with the respectful wariness befitting two powerful rivals who suddenly found themselves co-conspirators in a diabolical scheme.
“You have the money?”
Leo reached for the laptop on the seat between them. “Half will be transferred into your account now, the other half when the job is finished. Just as we agreed.”
Gabriel Esteban nodded. “Then let’s get on with it, shall we?”
It took Leo only a few seconds to transfer the funds to the numbered bank account in the Caymans that had been set up for the operation. Once Esteban was satisfied the transaction had gone through, he glanced up. “Relax, mi amigo. In a matter of days, we will both have what we want.”
“I’ll relax when the woman is safely across the border.”
“And the man?”
“Do whatever is necessary to gain his cooperation. Then kill him.”
Esteban grinned as he opened the door and climbed out, then briefly turned to say over his shoulder, “I’ll be in touch. Have your man ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
Leo watched him walk back to the other car. The headlights came on, and the vehicle turned, heading down the road in the direction from which it had come.
The front doors of the SUV opened and Hector and the driver got in. Hector glanced at the laptop on the seat beside Leo.
“It’s done then?”
“It’s done.” Leo drew a long breath, settling into the corner of his seat as his gaze went back to the river.
God help him, it was done.
Chapter One
“It feels a little like heaven up here, doesn’t it?”
“Only a little?” Graham Hollister teased as he surveyed the city lights from the rooftop of the PemCo Tower, an eighty-five-story glass-and-granite monolith that was now the tallest skyscraper in the Houston skyline.
The building would soon become the oil company’s world headquarters, but for now, tonight, it was the culmination of all Graham’s dreams.
When he closed his eyes, he could feel the building sway beneath them, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He fought it off. He didn’t want anything to spoil this night.
He tightened his arms around his wife’s slim waist. “Only a little like heaven,” he mused. “Damn. I must be doing something wrong.”
She pulled away and shot him a look over her shoulder. “Will you stop fishing? I told you earlier the earth moved. What more do you want?”
“Tell me again. I’m feeling insecure.” His hand trailed down her bare arm. “Or better yet, show me.”
She slapped at his hand. “Up here? No way! I’m not an exhibitionist.”
“Tell that to Myron.” Myron was the stray tabby they’d adopted a few months ago when he’d crawled over the fence one day and caught them skinny-dipping in the pool. He’d gotten quite an eyeful before either of them had noticed him stretched out on one of the loungers.
“Different situation entirely,” Kendall said. “And besides, Myron doesn’t have a judgmental bone in his body.”
“And I do?”
“You’re not the one I’m worried about. Getting caught in flagrante delicto by the Mexican ambassador is not my idea of a fun evening.”
“No, but I bet it would be his,” Graham said as he drew her back against him.
Her shampoo smelled like flowers, but her perfume was something darker, headier. That was Kendall. Always a dichotomy. Insecure, dauntless and perfectly flawed. A woman he found endlessly fascinating, even after seven years of marriage. More like five, though, if you counted the long separation.
But Graham didn’t want to think about that tonight. He and Kendall had never been happier, so what did it matter that she’d once left him? He hadn’t tried to stop her. The truth of the matter was he’d been relieved when she walked out on their marriage.
That had been a long time ago. Things were different now. They were different.
And yet there were times, such as earlier tonight before they’d left the hotel, when Graham sensed that maybe everything between them wasn’t as perfect as he wanted to believe. Sometimes, when Kendall didn’t know he was around, he’d see a look come over her face. Sad, pensive…lost. Graham tried to chalk it up to her past. She didn’t talk much about her family, but he knew she’d had a difficult childhood and a troubled adolescence. He’d never pressed for details. He wasn’t keen on airing his dirty laundry, either, but at times, he still felt as if he’d barely scratched the surface of who she really was.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
She turned. Was it his imagination or did her smile seem tentative? Wistful? “I love you, too.” She lifted her hand to trace his jawline. “It’s going to be okay.”
His heart did a funny little somersault against his chest. “What is?”
“Tonight,” she said, but there was a slight hesitation before she answered.
He nodded and managed a smile although suddenly his mouth had gone dry. Something was going on with her. Something she didn’t feel she could share with him.
“Kendall?”
“Yes?”
“Are you sure the earth moved?”
She punched his shoulder. “Forget it. We’re not having a quickie on the rooftop to stroke your ego when there’s a whole roomful of people waiting downstairs to tell you how wonderful you are.”
“Not the same thing at all.”
“Seriously, Graham. I’m so proud of you,” she said, her eyes suddenly glistening.
That was another thing that had Graham a little concerned. Kendall had been so emotional these past few days. He had no idea what that was all about, and she didn’t seem to want to tell him.
“All right,” he said reluctantly. “You’ve convinced me. I suppose we should go downstairs and at least make an appearance.”
She nodded. “I need to freshen up first. My hair must be a mess.”
“You look beautiful.”
“I never look beautiful,” she said with a resigned shrug that always broke his heart.
He resisted the urge to trace one of the scars on her face with his fingertip, but she wouldn’t like that. Since the last surgery, the imperfections were barely even visible, but she knew they were there. And even after all this time, she was still a little self-conscious in social situations.
To Graham, though, she would always be beautiful.
She started for the elevator, but he caught her arm and she turned back. “What is it?”
He gazed into her eyes. “Are you happy? With me, I mean.”
Her lips trembled and for a moment, he thought she was going to cry. Instead she smiled and lifted herself on her tiptoes to remove his glasses before she kissed him.
“Being with you is like being in heaven,” she whispered.
“YOU’RE ONE lucky bastard, Graham. I hope you know that.”
Graham nodded as he surveyed the glittering crowd that had assembled to celebrate the post-construction phase of the PemCo Tower. “I’m doing okay.”
“Doing okay?” Michael Barron, his best friend since their college days at Rice University, clapped him on the back. “I think most folks would say you’re doing a little better than okay. Gorgeous wife. Big house. Your own company. And now this…” His blue eyes twinkled. “You’re living the dream, buddy.”
“You’re not doing so badly yourself,” Graham said, his gaze still on the crowd. Where the hell was Kendall? She’d gone to freshen up as soon as they came down from the roof, and he hadn’t seen her since. That had been several minutes ago. He didn’t know why, but her absence made him uneasy.
Or maybe his apprehension that evening had more to do with the argument he’d had with Terrence that morning. He hadn’t told Kendall about their latest disagreement because he knew how much she hated the combative relationship he had with his older brother. Terrence always knew how to push his buttons, and Graham should have known better than to let him get to him. After all this time and all the success he’d achieved, he certainly had no reason to feel intimidated.
But somehow in Terrence’s presence, Graham always reverted to the insecure geek who’d grown up in the shadow of his football-star brother.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong.” Michael deftly plucked a champagne glass from the tray of a passing waiter. “I’m living the good life, too. It’s just that my career has taken a few unexpected turns. Not you, though.” He took a long sip of his drink. “You’ve had the same goal since we were roommates in college. You always said you were going to design the tallest, grandest building in Houston, and by damn if you didn’t pull it off. I admire your focus, Graham. I really do.”
Graham tried not to wince at the accolade. Sometimes he wasn’t so sure his dedication was anything to be proud of. Career tunnel-vision had almost cost him his marriage, but ever since he and Kendall had reconciled five years ago, he’d made a promise to her and to himself that their relationship would come first no matter what.
He’d been worried when he first took the PemCo contract that it would put too much stress on their marriage. From inception to completion, the project had consumed nearly two years of his life, requiring endless meetings and arduous hours at the computer drafting version after version of the building until a design was finally accepted by the team.
And then came the politics, the disagreements, the costly delays and untold man hours that were inevitable with such an ambitious project. The tension had only escalated once the alliance between Houston-based PemCo and Pemex, the Mexican state-run petroleum company, became public. One of PemCo’s refineries had been firebombed in protest, and the mastermind, a former head of the oil workers’ labor union named Joaquin Galindo, had been arrested in Mexico City and sent to prison.
There were times when Graham wondered if the project would ever be completed under such volatile conditions. But through it all, Kendall had been supportive in a way he could never have imagined before the accident. The near-death experience had changed her, softened her, made her reevaluate her priorities just as it had Graham.
He really was a lucky guy, Graham thought, taking a sip of his own champagne. He had everything any man could ever want.
“I just never thought I’d find myself working for your brother,” Michael was saying. “Let alone occupying the office that should have been yours. That wasn’t my plan when I first passed the bar.”
Graham shrugged. “You’re a better vice president than I ever would be so it all worked out for the best.”
“Maybe. But I still say if your old man had lived, he would have eventually worn you down.”
“Not a chance. I’ve never wanted to do anything but design buildings. Dad would have finally accepted that fact. Besides, there’s no way I could work with Terrence. One of us would kill the other.”
Michael scowled. “This is none of my business, but we’ve been friends for a long time so I hope you won’t take my advice the wrong way. You need to cut Terrence some slack. The company’s going through a rough time, and he’s got a lot on his plate. That knock-down-drag-out you two had earlier didn’t help.”
Graham frowned. “What are you talking about? Hollister Motors has always been financially sound.” The company his father founded nearly forty years ago had given them all the kind of lifestyle most families could only dream of. Graham was well aware of the fact that his inheritance had allowed him to open his own architectural firm in Austin at a time when many of his contemporaries were still struggling to pay off school loans.
“And it will be again,” Michael said adamantly. “But there’s a lot of new competition for the kind of specialized engines we build, and to stay ahead of the game, we’ve got to become more innovative with our designs. Research and development is expensive. We need an infusion of cash right now, which is why Terrence is proposing selling off some of the family assets rather than incur more debt.”
“We own property besides Dad’s ranch. The downtown warehouses have got to be worth a small fortune.”
“Only if you hold out long enough to find the right buyer. Terrence already has someone interested in the ranch. These guys will fork over a check as soon as the papers are signed. We could have that money in a matter of days.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult about this, but—”
“But what?” Michael cut him off impatiently. “The deal makes sense and you know it. Hey, I like playing cowboy as much as the next guy, but we’re all adults now with busy lives. When’s the last time you drove out there?”
Graham couldn’t remember the last time. Still, he was hesitant. “Dad loved that ranch. I don’t feel right selling off something that he put his heart and soul into.”
“The ranch was a hobby at best. He put his heart and soul into Hollister Motors. He’d be all for this plan and you know it.” Michael’s gaze hardened. “The company needs that money. If you’re holding out just to spite your brother—”
“Give me a little more credit than that,” Graham said angrily. “I was blindsided this afternoon. I had no idea Terrence was even considering selling off assets, let alone the ranch. Maybe if I’d been given some warning instead of having papers shoved under my nose and ordered to sign, I might have been a little more agreeable.”
“He went about it the wrong way, no question. But what else is new? Terrence is a straightforward kind of guy. Forget how it was put to you. You’ve had time to mull it over, and you know what’s at stake if we don’t sell.”
“Why didn’t Terrence tell me all this himself?”
Michael drained his champagne and reached for another. “Because he’s as mule-headed as you are. And he probably didn’t want to admit that the company’s hit a rough spot. Not to you. Not after all this.” He turned toward the windows and gestured with his hand at the twinkling lights of the Houston skyline. “You’ve got it all, Graham. You’ve won. Now you can afford to be generous. Especially when it comes to family.”
Graham shoved his glasses up his nose as he studied the skyline. He didn’t feel as if he’d won anything. He’d busted his ass to get where he was today. And, yes, Hollister money had helped him get there faster, but he didn’t appreciate Michael’s implication that his success was the result of some kind of contest with his brother.
“I just wish someone had told me before now how bad things were at the company,” he muttered.
Michael glanced over at him. “Does that mean you’ll sign the papers?”
“Of course, I’ll sign. The company means a lot to our family.”
Michael let out a breath of relief. “We never had this conversation.”
Graham shrugged. “Fine. Then I guess you’ll want me to tell Terrence the news.”
“What news?”
Graham turned in surprise. He hadn’t expected his brother to show up tonight even though he and his wife, Ellie, had been issued invitations weeks ago.
Graham felt the same old pang of resentment he always experienced in his brother’s presence. Terrence was three years older, and, right up until Graham had turned eighteen, he’d been at least three inches taller. A late growing spurt had put Graham at eye level with his brother, but somehow he still had the impression of having to look up to him.
Growing up, Terrence had been everything that Graham was not. A star athlete with almost palpable charisma, he’d been big man on campus in both high school and college while Graham had been hardly more than his quiet, more intellectual shadow.
Terrence was just like their father and Graham had always envied their closeness. But no matter how hard he tried, there had always been a distance between him and the old man.
Rugged, handsome, and gregarious, Nate Hollister had been a real man’s man. He hadn’t known how to relate to a son who didn’t excel at sports and who spent most of his free time in his room studying and reading.
Graham swallowed past his resentment and smiled. “I’m glad you guys came tonight.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Ellie stood on tiptoes to brush her lips against Graham’s cheek. “This place is amazing. I’ve watched it go up from the day the slab was poured, but seeing it now all lit up against the skyline and knowing that you designed it…” She trailed off with a shiver and held up her arm. “See? I’ve got goose bumps.”
Graham laughed and gave her a light hug. No matter how awkward and uncomfortable he often felt in his brother’s presence, Ellie had a way of making him relax. She was seven months pregnant with their third child and it obviously agreed with her. Her eyes and complexion glowed as she beamed up at him. Tiny and blond, she was still as lovely at thirty-eight as she had been back in high school when she and Terrence had been voted the most popular couple.
“I didn’t exactly do it on my own,” Graham said. “I had a little help.”
“It was still your vision. We’re all so proud of you. Aren’t we, Terry?”
His brother’s gaze didn’t quite meet Graham’s. “I’m just sorry Mom couldn’t be here tonight.”
“She’s where she needs be.” Their grandmother had fallen a few days earlier and broken a hip. Their mother, Audrey, had driven up to Lufkin to be with the older woman while she underwent surgery and physical therapy.
Michael placed his hand on Graham’s shoulder, a friendly reminder of their earlier conversation. “I need to mingle. I’ll see you later.”
After he was gone, Graham and Ellie chatted for a few minutes while Terrence watched the crowd with a brooding scowl. When there was a lull in the conversation, Graham said, “I’ve had time to think about our earlier discussion. I’d like to drop by and sign the papers in the morning before Kendall and I head back to Austin. That is, if you’ve got time to see me.”
Terrence’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you want to do this? Once those papers are signed, it’ll be a done deal. I don’t need you coming back in a few days accusing me of having railroaded you into this.”
“I’m sure,” Graham said, trying to tamp down a spurt of anger at his brother’s tone. “I don’t know why I was so resistant this afternoon. It just made me think of Dad—”
“Yeah, I know.”
Their gazes finally met, and for the first time in a long time, an unspoken understanding passed between them.
Ellie, who was never one to allow a silence to grow awkward, slipped her arm through her husband’s. “I’m dying for a drink, honey, and I haven’t seen anything all night except champagne.” She patted her stomach. “Do you think you could find me a ginger ale?”
“Sure. Be right back.”
Once Terrence disappeared, Ellie moved closer to Graham. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You know for what.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, I should never have been so resistant.”
“And Terry shouldn’t have been so pushy. I know how he gets. Especially with you. He’s like a bulldozer.”
“It’s not just him. We rub each other the wrong way. Always have and probably always will.”
“That makes me so sad.”
Graham smiled. “Don’t let it get to you. It’s just the way things are.”
“But it shouldn’t be that way. You two are brothers. You should be closer. Especially now that—”
“Now that what?” Graham asked curiously.
She hesitated, her gaze scanning the crowd. “Now that you have a new niece or nephew on the way,” she murmured.
“I can still be a doting uncle, just like I am with Ashley and Caitlin.”
Ellie and Terrence’s two daughters were ten years apart. Ashley was fifteen going on thirty, a blue-eyed blonde who looked just like her delicate mother but with her father’s propensity for hell-raising. That she was causing Terrence the same kind of grief he’d put their mother through at the same age was completely lost on him. It was strange because when they’d been teenagers, Graham had never been able to relate to Terrence’s rebellion, but now he was often the one Ashley turned to for advice.
The younger girl, Caitlin, not only looked like her mother, but also had Ellie’s sweet disposition. Nothing ever seemed to faze the five-year-old, even the occasional scream fests between her father and older sister.
And now they had another one on the way. Graham loved his nieces dearly, but sometimes after they’d all been together for a holiday or birthday, he was left wondering if he was cut out to be a father. He hadn’t said anything to Kendall about his doubts, but he might have to because lately she’d been bringing up the subject of children a lot.
“Where’s Kendall?” Ellie asked as if reading his mind.
“I’ve been wondering the same thing. She went to powder her nose a little while ago and I haven’t seen her since.”
“Is she okay?”
“Why wouldn’t she be?”
Ellie hesitated. “We had lunch today and she seemed—I don’t know—quiet. She said she felt fine, but I thought she looked a little stressed.”
“She’s probably just worn herself out making all the arrangements for our trip.”
“Oh, yes, that trip.” Ellie sighed. “I’m so envious. What I wouldn’t give if Terry and I could get away for a whole month. But once you have kids, everything changes. I doubt we’ll be able to manage more than a weekend getaway for the next eighteen years.” She adjusted her beaded jacket over her stomach. “Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking. Then again…thinking had very little to do with it.” She paused with a chuckle. “You know, a trip like that…just the two of you…I wouldn’t be surprised if Kendall came home pregnant.”
Graham almost choked on his champagne.
She laughed again. “You’d better get used to the idea of being a daddy, Graham, because I think your lovely wife is ready. More than ready.”
Graham felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Was that why Kendall had been so emotional recently? “She’s not…she didn’t tell you…”
“Listen to you stammer! She didn’t tell me she was pregnant, no. But I don’t know why you’re freaking out at the possibility. You’d be a terrific father.”
“Not every couple wants to have children,” Graham said with a scowl.
“That’s true. But I’m pretty sure Kendall does.”
“She said that?”
Ellie shrugged. “Not in so many words, but I can tell. It’s none of my business, of course…”
“Oh, come on,” Graham said dryly. “Since when has that ever stopped you?”
“True. Okay, I’ll just say it. Is everything okay between you two? Is there some reason why you don’t want to start a family just yet?”
“Everything’s fine. We’ve never been better. And maybe that’s what scares me,” Graham admitted. “Things are so good between us, I don’t want our relationship to change.”
“It could be a change for the better, you know. I may complain about being tied down, but I wouldn’t take anything for my girls. And Terrence…well, you know how he feels about them.”
“I’m not Terrence.”
“No, you’re not.” She gave him an amused look. “I wonder if I should tell you something.”
Graham groaned. “Why do I feel as if this conversation has led me straight into a minefield?”
“Relax. It doesn’t have anything to do with having babies.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “Did you know I used to have a little crush on you in high school?”
“Oh, right. Your boyfriend’s geeky younger brother.”
“You weren’t geeky. You were deep. And don’t think I didn’t notice how you looked in that football uniform.”
“How could you tell? I never got off the bench. Whereas Terrence—”
“Oh, your brother was something all right and I was crazy about him. But you had something special. A quiet kind of confidence that made me think you’d be the person I’d run to if I were ever in trouble. You still have that quality, Graham.”
He gave her a rueful look. “You give me far too much credit. Terrence is the hero type, not me.”
She reached up and patted his cheek. “That’s one of the things I’ve always adored about you. You’re totally oblivious to your appeal. Kendall is one very lucky woman. I hope she knows that.”
No, I’m the lucky one, Graham thought, his gaze returning to the crowd. And now if he could just find his wife, the evening would be perfect.
A LITTLE WHILE later, Graham finally spotted Kendall in the crowd. Her red dress stood out like a beacon amidst the sea of black tuxedoes and ball gowns, and his focus vectored in and lingered for the longest moment as he sipped his champagne and tried to hide a sudden impatience.
He would have preferred to do more than admire his wife from afar, but anything other than a smile would have to wait until they got back to the hotel.
He shifted restlessly as he continued to watch her. She was tall and elegant and so graceful she appeared to float through the room. Up close, the scars from the accident were still visible, but rather than detracting from her looks, the imperfections gave her a fragile, ethereal beauty that served to remind Graham of how fleeting life could be. How important it was to live each moment as though it were the last.
Ellie and Terrence had disappeared a few minutes ago, and now Graham stood alone and pensive. He’d lost his enthusiasm for the event and wondered when he and Kendall could slip away. It was all he could do to keep from glancing at his watch, but he told himself that he should just relax. After all, it wasn’t every day a man realized a lifelong dream.
As the architect on record for the project, Graham had been invited to say a few words to the crowd, but he’d declined so that the guest of honor—the Mexican ambassador to the United States—would have more time at the podium. Manuel Garza was just winding up his speech. He had close ties to PemCo Oil and had been a strong advocate of deregulating Mexico’s petroleum industry to allow in foreign investors. He’d seized the opportunity to stress the necessity of developing a regional energy program and cited the PemCo Tower as a symbolic merger of the two great neighbors. It was a gutsy speech, considering the protests back home.
As the ambassador began to close, Graham’s attention drifted to the windows and to the panoramic view of the city. Even now, standing at the very pinnacle of his dream, he could scarcely believe he’d accomplished what he had set out to do—make his mark on the skyline of his hometown.
As he’d told Ellie earlier, the accomplishment was not his alone. Austin-based Hollister and Associates had collaborated on the design with a larger architectural firm in Houston, as well as with the developer, builder and representatives from PemCo Oil.
Thousands of hours had gone into both the design and construction of the building, but all that was behind Graham now. When he walked out of the building tonight, his role in the project would be greatly diminished. He and Kendall would finally be able to enjoy the vacation they’d been talking about for years. A month-long adventure that would take them to Bora Bora, Hong Kong, Singapore and finally the Australian outback.
The tickets and itinerary, along with their passports, were tucked away in his desk drawer at home, their suitcases had been brought down from the attic and Kendall had been feverishly shopping for weeks.
From the parade of sundresses, shoes and sportswear that had been modeled in their bedroom night after night, the one thing that stood out in Graham’s memory was a certain turquoise bikini that made him anticipate even more keenly the long, luxurious days on a private island in the South Pacific that would launch the trip.
He could picture Kendall’s long, toned body stretched out on the sand, her skin warm and silky to his touch. The image was so vivid that Graham could almost smell the coconut oil, but the stirring of warmth in the lower part of his body was all too real. He needed to think about something else.
You know, a trip like that…just the two of you…Iwouldn’t be surprised if Kendall came home pregnant.
His thoughts skidded to a halt as his sister-in-law’s prediction rushed through his head. How would he feel about that? Graham wondered. He’d never thought of himself as the paternal type, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t the real reason for his hesitancy.
After five years of marital bliss, he still harbored a secret doubt about his relationship with Kendall. What if she decided to leave him again?
His gaze went back to her. He couldn’t help it. He loved looking at her. But as she drifted closer, he noticed something he hadn’t been able to see from a distance. The anxious glitter in her dark eyes might have gone unnoticed if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. She was still smiling, but tension tightened the corners of her mouth and her fingers strayed to the gold necklace at her throat, a sure sign that she was upset.
She stopped for a moment, waylaid by someone Graham didn’t know, and as the man leaned in to make himself heard over the ambassador, Kendall’s gaze uneasily searched the room. Her eyes found Graham, moved away, then came back, a silent plea emanating from the brown depths.
Something was wrong. Graham could see the distress on her face. He started toward her, but at the same moment, a waiter collided with someone in front of him. The heavy tray of crystal flutes toppled, showering champagne over those in the immediate vicinity.
A collective gasp rose from the crowd as everyone scurried out of the way, and Graham’s view of Kendall was momentarily blocked.
Somewhere nearby a woman screamed. Not the shocked squeal of someone who had been doused by champagne, but a horrified, ear-splitting shriek that stunned the room into silence.
Everyone seemed to drop back a step, creating a void at the front of the room where a man had collapsed. Graham recognized him instantly. It was Manuel Garza.
Graham’s first thought was that the man had had a heart attack as he left the podium, but then he saw a crimson puddle beneath Garza’s left shoulder.
The ambassador’s wife was on her knees beside him, her hands covered in blood. She looked up, her eyes frantic and brimming. “Por favor! Someone help him!”
Graham reacted instinctively. He moved forward, not really knowing what he could do, but in the space of a heartbeat, security came out of the woodwork. Graham was pushed back into the crowd by a man wearing an earpiece. As the officer spoke rapidly into a transmitter concealed by his sleeve, he turned away, and Graham saw someone else rush toward the wounded man.
A hand reached out and grabbed her, but she jerked free and shouted, “For God’s sake, I’m a doctor! Let me help him!”
The ambassador’s personal bodyguards quickly formed a protective circle around him as the undercover HPD officers assigned to the event moved to restore order. But in the initial pandemonium, Graham had lost sight of Kendall.
He turned now, desperate to find her. He couldn’t see her at first, but then he spotted a splash of red near the entrance.
“Kendall!”
Whether she somehow heard him over the roar of the panicked crowd, or whether the force of his gaze drew her attention, Graham didn’t know. But at that exact moment, she glanced back, her gaze clinging to his a split second before he found himself pushed back against the wall.
He called out to Kendall, but his voice was lost in the din. Frantic to reach her, Graham tore himself free and fought his way through the terrified mob.
But by the time he reached the door, his wife had vanished.
Chapter Two
Kendall had no idea what had just happened in the room behind her. She’d heard the crash of glass, a scream and then all hell broke loose. She glanced over her shoulder, trying desperately to find Graham again, but someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hallway.
“Hurry!” the man ordered in a raspy voice. “This way!”
“Wait!” Kendall tried to resist, but he was too strong.
“I told you. Do as I say and nobody gets hurt.” He shoved her toward the elevators, and when she stumbled, he grabbed her arm again and jerked her upright.
Dread tightened in her chest. She hadn’t seen or heard from Hector Reyes in years, not since the night she’d tried to flee Mexico for good. Not since the horrible car accident that had left her battered and scarred and wanting to die.
And then she’d opened her eyes one morning and found Graham at her bedside. She’d later learned from the doctors that she’d been unconscious for nearly a week before his arrival and had been given very little hope of survival. But somehow she must have sensed Graham’s presence. Somehow his voice had lured her from the darkness.
For days, he remained at her bedside, talking to her softly when he thought she’d drifted off. He’d been candid about the ambiguity of his feelings, perhaps because he wasn’t sure if she could actually comprehend what he was saying.
But she’d heard every word. Lying flat on her back with her face and head swathed in bandages, both arms broken and one leg in traction, drugs dulling but not obliterating the constant pain, she’d listened. And she’d wondered how any woman in her right mind could have ever allowed a man like Graham Hollister to slip away from her.
She’d vowed to herself over and over that if she was lucky enough to survive her wounds, if she was fortunate enough to have a chance to start over, she would do everything in her power to change, to become the kind of person a man like Graham deserved.
But she should have known that the past—those terrible secrets—would eventually catch up with her. That her life before the reconciliation would come back to haunt her. And just when they were thinking of starting a family.
Kendall blinked back hot tears as she stepped into the elevator. She didn’t look at the man beside her. She couldn’t.
“I told you where the money is. Take it and let me go,” she pleaded.
He was a tall, swarthy man with gleaming black eyes and flawless English. “What assurance do I have that the police won’t be waiting for me at the drop point?”
“I wouldn’t do that. You know I wouldn’t. There’s too much at stake. If anyone were ever to find out—”
He laughed. “Yes, you’ve covered your tracks well, haven’t you? You’ve always been very clever. I’ll give you that.” His voice hardened. “But the answer is no. You’re coming with me. Once I have the money, I’ll let you go.”
“Can I at least call my husband and tell him I’m okay? He’ll know something is wrong. I would never leave without telling him.”
“You’ll call him as soon as we’re safely out of the building. Trust me, you don’t want him to follow us. The situation could get very nasty.”
Kendall closed her eyes. “Please don’t hurt him—”
“As I said, no one will get hurt as long as you cooperate. So just relax and enjoy the ride. It’ll soon be over.”
“How soon?”
“As soon as I know you haven’t betrayed me. Because we both know what you are capable of, do we not?”
She suppressed another shiver as she felt his gaze sweep over her. Hector Reyes had once been employed by the same man she’d worked for in Mexico. Leo Kittering was an American ex-pat who had remarried well and used his wife’s resources to forge a powerful empire.
At one time, he’d been a major power broker, but then his only son had died, and all Kittering had been able to focus on was revenge.
Whether Hector Reyes still worked for him or not, she didn’t know, but she had a feeling that if Kittering had sent him, she would already be dead. Collecting a hundred thousand dollars in extortion money would not even be on Leo Kittering’s radar.
The elevator slid to a stop on the third floor. They got off and used the stairwell to reach the lobby level.
Hector seemed to know his way around very well. He led her quickly down a narrow corridor to an emergency exit that opened into a dead end street.
Kendall braced herself for the alarm she thought would go off when the emergency door was opened, but all remained silent. She wondered if the system had somehow been disengaged, either by Hector or perhaps an accomplice inside the building.
A black van, nearly invisible in the shadowy alley, waited nearby and inched forward as they emerged from the building. A panel slid open in the side, and Hector pushed her toward the vehicle.
As Kendall stumbled forward, someone inside the van grabbed her and pulled her inside. Hector scrambled in behind her, shoved the door closed and the van took off so abruptly, Kendall lost her balance and fell.
Huddled on the floor, she glanced around. Besides Hector and the driver, there were two other men in the back of the van, masked and armed with assault rifles. They spoke in Spanish, so low and rapid that Kendall had trouble following the conversation, even though she’d once lived in Mexico.
But she had no trouble interpreting the danger she suddenly found herself in. This was no ordinary extortion or blackmail scheme. She was being kidnapped. Obviously, the money that Hector had asked for had been a diversion, a way to get and keep her off guard. Now they would go to Graham. He would find out everything.
But it wouldn’t matter because she would be dead.
Kendall wasn’t naive enough to believe they would release her once they had what they wanted. She knew her chances.
Panic mushroomed in her throat, and it was all she could do to swallow a scream. How was she going to get away from them?
Hector picked up her evening bag, removed her cell phone and tossed it toward her. “Call your husband. Tell him you are all right and you want him to meet you at home.”
“But we’re spending the night in Houston—”
“Do it!”
Kendall mustered up a cool defiance. “Why should I? If you had any intention of letting me go, you would have taken the money and run.”
“Now you are being too clever for your own good,” Hector advised. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, this will end very badly for you. And for your husband.”
At the threat to Graham, Kendall’s courage flagged. “What do you want?” she said raggedly. “If it’s more money—”
“Some things are more important than money,” one of the men barked, his lips curling in disgust. He was tall and dark, with the cruelest eyes Kendall had ever looked into. “But someone like you would have a difficult time comprehending that.”
“What do you want from—”
“Enough!” The man hit her with the back of his hand, and Kendall fell back, stunned by the pain. Light exploded behind her eyes, and for a moment, she thought she would pass out.
Hector Reyes knelt beside her and leaning in very close, he placed his lips against her ear. “These men will kill us both if you don’t do as I tell you,” he whispered, curling her fingers around the cell phone he placed in her limp hand. “They’ll put a bullet in my skull, but you won’t be so lucky. Comprende?”
SECURITY moved quickly to seal the exits, but in the initial confusion, Graham managed to slip out of the room without being detained. He hurried down the long corridor, not knowing if Kendall had come this way or not. Or if he would be stopped before he reached the elevators. All he knew was that he had to find her.
He had no idea who the man was that she’d left with, but Graham’s first panicked thought was that the stranger was somehow connected to the attack on the ambassador. And he’d taken Kendall hostage.
But he didn’t see how that was possible. The man had been nowhere near Garza when he collapsed.
Something else niggled at Graham. When Kendall turned at the door, their gazes had clung for a moment before he’d been pushed back against the wall. But in that split second, he’d seen her face clearly. She’d looked pale and anxious, but she hadn’t been frightened.
A chill slid down Graham’s spine as he hurried toward the elevators. The notion that Kendall had left with the stranger of her own accord filled him with the darkest dread even as he told himself there had to be a logical explanation for her behavior.
When she’d walked out before, Graham had been all too willing to take the easy way out, to bury himself in his work and let their relationship drift toward divorce.
But in the five years since the reconciliation, their marriage had grown stronger every day. Or so he’d thought.
Now doubt tore through his heart, and he remembered all the hours that he’d devoted to the PemCo Oil project. All the evenings he couldn’t make it home for dinner. The trips. The cancelled plans. Had his wife again grown restless while he pursued his dream?
He would have known if she were that unhappy. They were so close. They talked every day, no matter how busy his schedule. There had to be a perfectly innocent reason for her hasty departure. There had to be—
The vibration of his cell phone inside his breast pocket cut off Graham’s thoughts, and as he pulled out the phone, he glanced at the display. It was Kendall.
Relief washed over him as he lifted the phone to his ear. “Kendall?” When she didn’t answer, Graham said anxiously, “Are you all right? Where are you?”
Still more silence. Then finally she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Why did you leave like that?”
“I had to.” Her voice was low and shaky and Graham knew that something was very wrong.
“Are you sick? Why didn’t you tell me? We could have left together.”
“I didn’t want to tear you away. This is your night, Graham. And I’m sorry I ruined it.”
“I don’t give a damn about that. Just tell me what’s happened? Where are you?”
“I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe that.”
“Tell me what’s going on, Kendall. You’re scaring the hell out of me.”
“I’ve done things, Graham. Things you don’t know anything about. But it was a long time ago. I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve changed because of you.”
His grip tightened on the phone. “Listen to me. I don’t care what you did in the past. We’ve both made mistakes. Whatever it is, we can work it out.”
“Not this time.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I love you—” Her voice broke and Graham heard a male voice mutter something in the background.
“Who’s with you?” he demanded.
“No one. It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t know what to think! Just tell me where you are. I’ll come get you. We can talk this out. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”
He heard her draw a shaky breath. “Do you really mean that?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then meet me at home. I’ll tell you everything. We’ll see then if you still want to work it out.”
The connection went dead and Graham immediately tried to call her back. Her phone rang and rang, but she’d obviously turned it off.
Cursing inwardly, Graham started toward the elevator, then stopped as the walls started to spin. He recognized the symptoms—it was an old problem—but this time the vertigo had come on so suddenly, he’d had no time to prepare, no time to focus. He could feel the eighty-five-story building sway as the walls tilted and the floor seemed to disappear beneath him.
For a moment, he imagined himself standing on one of the steel support beams, and he blindly put out a hand to steady himself. That was when he saw Kendall’s earring lying on the floor in front of the elevators. He knew it was hers because he’d given her the pear-shaped rubies as an early anniversary present.
The earring must have fallen off as she got onto the elevator. Or had she left it on purpose as some sort of clue to alert Graham that she hadn’t left of her own free will?
He was grasping at straws, Graham realized. Kendall hadn’t been coerced into leaving. He’d seen her at the door. The look in her eyes when she’d glanced back hadn’t been fear. It had been regret and Graham had no idea why.
Graham’s head was still spinning, but he knew he had to somehow get the vertigo under control. He would force himself to function because he had to. He had to find Kendall.
Clutching the earring in one hand, he stumbled toward the elevator, punched the down button and waited for the doors to slide open. As he staggered into the confined space, he stood with his back pressed against the wall, his gaze focused on the red emergency button. He didn’t look at anything else, and eventually the walls stopped spinning. His head cleared and by the time he reached the lobby, he’d managed to regain control of his equilibrium.
The huge glass-and-granite lobby was already swarming with police officers. Through the wall of windows he could see the bubblegum lights whirling atop the squad cars, and as he watched, a SWAT van pulled to the curb. Several men in armored body suits piled out of the back and headed toward the building with grim, determined expressions.
Graham quickly canvassed the lobby. Luckily no one had noticed him yet, but he hadn’t taken the time to figure out what his next move should be, let alone formulate any kind of plan. Obviously, he wasn’t getting out of the building without being seen, and even if he could, he had no way of knowing whether Kendall was still inside. But his gut told him that she was already gone, and he had a terrible feeling that if he didn’t find her soon, she would be lost to him forever.
Graham continued to study the lobby until he saw a familiar face. Earlier, when he and Kendall had first arrived, he’d struck up a brief conversation with one of the security guards. He’d manned the desk where all guests were required to sign in, and behind him, a bank of screens monitored the exits and various points inside the building.
Graham had caught a glimpse of an Astros game on one of the screens, and he’d asked the guard for the score. The man had recognized Graham’s name when he signed in, and they’d talked for several minutes about baseball and the design of the building before Graham realized that Kendall had gone over to the elevators to wait.
That same guard was still behind the desk as he watched the controlled chaos in the lobby.
Straightening his tie and then his glasses, Graham strode toward the guard without looking right or left. His formal attire would hardly allow him to blend in with the dour-faced officers in the lobby, but more often than not an air of authority was all it took. He’d learned that lesson first from his father and then from his brother.
The guard didn’t seem to notice as Graham approached. His attention was riveted on the SWAT activity outside the front doors.
Graham cleared his throat and stood a little straighter. “Excuse me.”
The guard turned. “Something I can help you with?” He was short and stocky, with thick blond hair and a round, boyish face.
“I hope so,” Graham said. “Do you remember me? We spoke earlier when I first came in. I asked you about the baseball game.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re the architect, right?
“That’s right. Graham Hollister.”
“What are you doing down here? I thought they were holding everyone upstairs.” The guard nodded toward the elevators as he hitched up his pants. He had the kind of protruding midsection that made it difficult to keep the waist of his pants from sliding down. He also wore glasses with thick black rims. He reminded Graham of a comedian who used to be on TV.
“I left before they locked the doors.”
The guard’s attention perked up. “Were you up there when it happened?”
“Yes, but I didn’t really see anything. There were too many people around.”
“Doesn’t matter. The cops are going to want to talk to you anyway. They’ll want to talk to everybody who was in that room.”
“I understand that, but I’m looking for my wife,” Graham explained. “I just want to make sure she’s all right. She came down a few minutes ahead of me. I need to know if she left the building before I arrived.”
“Not likely. HPD has the place surrounded. Nobody’s allowed in or out.”
“She may have gotten out before the lockdown. You saw her earlier when we came in. She’s wearing a red dress. Tall, slim, brunette. Very attractive. She may have had a man with her.”
The guard gave Graham a curious look. “She didn’t come through the lobby. I’m sure I would have noticed.”
“What about the other exits?”
“The front entrance was the only one open tonight. The others were locked for the evening. And even if they weren’t, I monitor all the exits from the console. I would have seen her, regardless.”
“Maybe you stepped away from your desk for a moment. Went to the bathroom or something.”
“Been right here all night.”
The guard was starting to get a little impatient, and if Graham wasn’t careful, he might not get anything else out of him. “Look, could you just please check the surveillance recording? It won’t take long.”
“I’m not authorized to do that.” The guard’s voice noticeably chilled. “Besides, I’ve already told you. Your wife didn’t come through the lobby. She didn’t leave the building through the front exit or any exit. I would have seen her. If she left the party upstairs with some guy, maybe they’re just having a cozy little chat somewhere in the building.”
He started to turn away, but Graham grabbed his arm. “Wait!”
The guard jerked away from Graham’s grasp. “Hey, take it easy, buddy. The feds are in control now, okay? I couldn’t help you out even if I wanted to. Now back off before I call a cop over here and have him personally escort you upstairs.”
The guard’s agitation attracted the attention of two men standing nearby. One was tall, thin and impeccably dressed in a dark suit while the other was shorter, stockier and more rumpled. But they both wore buzz cuts and the unmistakable air of federal authority.
The taller one said something to his partner and then strode over to where Graham stood with the security guard. “Something wrong here?”
His tone was low and amicable, but his eyes glinted with steel. He had the look of a regimented man, from his precisely knotted tie to his spit-shined loafers, and Graham knew instinctively that the guy was not someone he’d want for an enemy.
“I’m Special Agent Delacourt with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” He flashed his ID and badge. “What seems to be the problem?”
The guard spoke before Graham had a chance to. “This man says his wife is missing. He wants to look at the security tapes so that he can see if she left the building.”
The hard eyes turned back to Graham. “When did she leave?”
“She wasn’t feeling well earlier. She came down for some fresh air. I just want to make sure she’s all right,” Graham said.
“You have some identification?”
“Of course.”
While Graham fished his wallet out of his jacket, the security guard said helpfully, “He’s the architect who designed this building.”
Delacourt cocked his head. “That right?
“Yes. My name is Graham Hollister.” He handed his driver’s license to the agent.
Delacourt glanced at it briefly, then called his partner over. “Becker, you still got that guest list HPD’s circulating?”
The shorter agent strode toward them. “What’s going on?”
“See if you can find Graham Hollister on it.”
While his partner scrutinized a sheet of paper, Delacourt refocused his attention on Graham. “You were at the reception when the shooting occurred?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see it happen?”
“No. There were too many people around. The only thing I saw was the ambassador lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Do you know anything about his condition? Is he going to be okay?”
“We don’t know yet. Did you notice anything unusual before the shooting occurred?”
Graham didn’t like the way Delacourt was looking at him. It was almost as if he suspected Graham of something. “A waiter dropped a tray of glasses right before it happened. It caused a commotion.”
Delacourt and Becker exchanged glances. “Anything else you can think of?”
“Not right offhand. Like I said, it was crowded and I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Graham Hollister’s on the list all right,” Becker confirmed.
“He says he’s the architect that designed the building,” Delacourt said.
Becker’s brows rose. “Oh, yeah? That’s convenient.”
“Isn’t it?” Delacourt turned back to Graham. “We’re going to need you to come with us.”
Graham frowned. “Why? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Delacourt and Becker exchanged another glance. “No one is suggesting that you did.”
“Then why do you need me?”
“We’re going to search this building from the ground up. You can save us a lot of time by going over the blueprints with some of our agents.”
“But—”
Delacourt gave him the hard look again. “Maybe you didn’t understand me. No one is leaving here until we’ve searched the entire building. The sooner we get started, the sooner you can get out of here and go find your wife.”
The last thing Graham wanted was to be tied up for hours, but he didn’t have a choice. He nodded wearily and followed the agents across the lobby.
Chapter Three
Graham had been sequestered for nearly three hours with a team of FBI agents, State Department officials and HPD officers when Delacourt came in suddenly and announced that he was free to go.
“Does this mean you’ve found the shooter?” Graham asked as the special agent escorted him to the front entrance.
“Let’s just say, we no longer think the suspect is in the building.”
“Why?”
“We have our reasons.”
Graham wondered what those reasons were, but he decided that for now it was best to say as little as possible. Until he could find out what was going on with Kendall, the last thing he needed was Delacourt’s continued interest.
“What about the ambassador? How’s he doing?”
“Holding his own. That’s about all I can say.” Delacourt nodded to another agent in the lobby. “You haven’t remembered anything else that might help us out?”
Graham shrugged. “Like I said, there was a lot of confusion. I didn’t even know Garza had been wounded. I didn’t hear a gunshot, although I suppose it could have been masked by the falling tray. I thought at first he’d collapsed from a heart attack. And then I saw the blood on the floor beneath him. That’s all I remember.”
“What about the waiter who dropped the tray? You said he had dark hair, an average build. Any distinguishing marks? Scars, moles anything at all that you can recall?”
Graham shook his head. “Nothing more than what I’ve already told you. I didn’t really get a good look at him. After he dropped the tray, everyone around him scrambled to get out of the way. And then a second or two later, I saw the ambassador lying on the floor.”
The agent fished in his pocket and brought out a card. “Details sometime come back once the adrenaline settles. If you think of anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, give me a call at this number.”
Graham pocketed the card and nodded. “I will.”
He started to walk away, but Delacourt said suddenly, “Hey, what about your wife? Have you heard from her?”
“No, not since earlier. I guess I’m meeting her at home.”
As Graham walked away, he resisted the urge to glance over his shoulder. He had a strange feeling that Delacourt was standing there watching him. And that he would be hearing from the agent again very soon.
AS GRAHAM climbed behind the wheel of his BMW a little while later, he started thinking again about Kendall’s strange exit from the reception. And he thought about the way she’d left all those years ago, with only a note to explain her sudden departure. She’d disappeared for months with barely any communication. Graham had had to learn from his best friend that she’d moved to Mexico.
Back then, Kendall had been a woman he barely knew. A gorgeous, restless creature who had grown tired of her husband’s fifteen-hour workdays. And it wasn’t as though Graham hadn’t seen it coming. He had. He just hadn’t done anything about it. And now this.
What if she decided to leave him again?
He cut himself off. He wouldn’t go there. Not until he talked to her.
The other guests had long since left the building, and the parking garage was nearly deserted. As Graham backed out of his slot, he took out his cell phone and started placing calls.
He checked the hotel first. He and Kendall had booked a suite at the Warwick for the night so they wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to Austin after the reception. She’d asked to meet at home, but it made more sense that she meant their hotel room.
But she didn’t pick up in their suite nor had she left a message. Graham tried his brother’s house next and when Ellie answered, he quickly explained why he was calling.
“She left without saying anything? That’s odd,” Ellie murmured.
“You didn’t see her?” Graham asked anxiously.
“I looked for both of you before we left, but after the shooting everything was so chaotic. I was scared to death that some madman was going to open fire into the crowd. It didn’t even occur to me at first that it was an assassination attempt…” She trailed off, and Graham could hear the tremble in her voice. “I can see why you’re worried about Kendall. I’m still so shaky I don’t want to let Terrence or the girls out of my sight. But you say…she left before the shooting? Why would she leave without telling you?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you could tell me. You said she seemed quiet at lunch today. Did she say or do anything that might give me a clue?”
Ellie sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t help you, Graham. But I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. She’ll turn up. She may even be back at the hotel waiting for you now.”
“I just tried the suite. She’s not there.”
“Well, then, she may be on her way. You’ve called her cell?”
“Of course, I have. It’s turned off.”
“Do you want one of us to drive over to the Warwick and check the suite?”
Their house in the Museum District was only a few blocks from the hotel, but Graham was already pulling onto the street. He was waylaid for a moment by a police officer at the garage exit who checked his ID, then waved him on.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m on my way over there now. I’ll check it out for myself.”
“Let me know if you hear anything.”
“I will. Thanks, Ellie. I’m sure you’re right. It’s probably nothing. We just got our wires crossed.”
But if it was a misunderstanding, he would have heard from her by now. Besides, a simple mix-up wouldn’t explain her sudden departure from the reception or the phone call a few minutes later. I’vedone things, Graham…
He drew a breath and wondered why he hadn’t told Ellie about that phone call. Maybe because he didn’t want to attach too much importance to it, but how could he not? The ominous conversation had been playing in his head for hours, niggling at his peace of mind.
Kendall was gone. And for all Graham knew, she might not be coming back.
He slammed his palm against the steering wheel in frustration. The downtown traffic was still heavy even at that time of night, and he suddenly felt as if every minute that went by put him further away from Kendall. His first impulse was to drive straight home to Austin where she’d promised to meet him, but he wanted to check their room first.
When he pulled up in front of the Warwick, he didn’t bother parking, but instead jumped out and tossed his keys to the valet, telling the young man that he would only be a minute.
He called the room again on his cell phone as he hurried toward the elevator. Still no answer.
As he let himself into their darkened suite, Graham could no longer deny that something was very wrong. He’d been trying for hours to convince himself there had to be a logical explanation for everything that had happened.
But now, standing in the room with the scent of his wife’s perfume lingering in the air, he finally admitted to himself that she wasn’t just gone. She was very likely in trouble. And he didn’t know what in the hell to do about it.
Even though he knew she wasn’t there, he went through the suite, calling her name, checking the bedroom, the bathroom and finally the closet. The clothes she’d brought for their overnight trip were still hanging from the rod, her shoes lined up neatly on the floor and her suitcase tucked away in a corner.
She hadn’t been back to the room. All her things were exactly the way she’d left them, including the silk robe she’d tossed on the bed earlier as she dressed.
Graham lifted the silk to his face. Her presence in the room was so palpable he expected her to come walking in at any second.
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