"I want to speak to Holly Lindsey right now! Where is she?" Blake shouted as soon as Sonia opened the door of her hotel room. The petite agent yanked her inside and shut the door behind them.
"Stop that racket right now, Blake, or you'll regret it," she said roughly. For a second, Blake stood speechless, but she quickly rallied. "How do you know my name?" she asked suspiciously, "and what have you done with my mother?"
Since Sonia had started working with Roger, she had seen countless pictures of his daughter and so knew exactly who she was, but there was no time to explain that now. Instead, she motioned the young woman to an armchair in a corner and picked up the phone. She pressed a button and Roger's voice filled the room.
"Is that Blake I heard at the door? Damn it, Sonia, where are you? Answer me!" Realizing that he was now on speakerphone, he added more quietly, "Is that you, Sonia?"
Before Sonia could answer, however, Blake sprang out of her chair. "Dad, it's me, Blake! What the hell is going on?" Sonia sighed. "Blake, I'm going to say this with a lot of respect now, but you need to can it so that we can figure this whole thing out." Blake reddened and opened her mouth to retort, but then seemed to think better of it and simply nodded.
"Chrissy, I promise we'll explain everything later but first, I need to know why you came to California. How did you know your mother was staying at that hotel?"
"I got a phone call earlier today from the hotel's manager. He said that Mom was really sick and feverish but that she refused to see a doctor or go to the hospital. He said he found my number in her wallet and that I had to come or else they would have to call an ambulance and remove her from here."
"Didn't you find that a little weird?" Sonia asked, her eyebrows raised.
Blake shifted in her chair, looking sheepish. "Well, now that you mention it…but he sounded so sure of himself, and he was so pushy, that I just didn't think."
"How did you get here so soon?" her father asked.
"Alan-Michael was at my place when the guy called, and I guess he took pity on me because he offered to lend me the Spaulding jet."
There was a silence as Roger's mind started to reel. "So you came here much earlier than you were supposed to, right?"
"Yes. And nobody at the front desk seemed to know what I was talking about. Dad, what is going on here?"
"I'll explain that in a minute. Sonia, do you think what I'm thinking?"
Sonia scratched her chin pensively before replying. "That they lured her here so that they could use her against you? Seems about right, yes."
"And the only reason it didn't work is because she arrived much earlier than they had anticipated."
Sonia nodded and glanced at Blake. "You're one lucky girl!"
Blake pranced from her chair, a vein visibly pulsing on her right temple. "I have had it! Who are 'they'? What are you guys talking about?"
"Oh Honey, Sonia will explain it all to you, I have to go find Holly. I don't want you to worry about a thing."
"But where is she?"
"I have to go Sweetie, I'll talk to you really soon."
Before she could reply, he hung up his car phone. Blake grabbed her head and let out a frustrated groan.
"Must be hard being treated like a five-years-old," Sonia said with a side grin.
"What?"
"Never mind. Would you like to sit down so that we can talk properly?"
Blake eyed her warily but complied. "Who are you anyway?"
"I'm Sonia. I'm a…colleague of your father."
"You mean in his new wine business?"
"Blake. Your father is back with the CIA."
Holly felt like she had been walking for hours in the dark but knew it could only have been a few minutes. Her shoes were covered with dirt and her bare legs were scratched in several places from the vines. Every time she wanted to slow down, Richard yanked her hard and pushed her forward.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked for the third time. This time, Richard turned around briefly to look at her.
"In the woods over there." She looked ahead and saw the dark outline of a forest beyond the vineyard. She knew that it would be the end of her if they ever reached the edge.
"I thought you said you would take me to my ex-husband. Which one was that? I'm afraid I have a few."
Richard laughed briefly. "I meant Roger, and you can drop the act. But that's right, we're not going to him. I'm going to take you somewhere where we won't be disturbed and then Roger will come to us, alone, with the weapon shipment. That is, if there are any weapons. I'm starting to doubt even that."
"What weapons? And how do you know Roger?"
Richard gave her a vicious pull. "Stop lying to me. I made a background check on you, that's how I learned that you two used to be married."
"You made a background check on me?" Holly asked with what she hoped was an accusatory tone. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because I never trust anybody, and it serves me right. Do you mean to tell me that meeting you at that conference was pure coincidence? No, you must have known that I was dealing with your ex-husband so that he would sell me firearms. It was all part of a big plan to con me, admit it!"
"Come on, Richard, you're the one that hit on me that night!"
This gave Richard pause, but only for a fraction of a second. "You made sure I noticed you, and then you were all too ready to jump in the sack with me." He looked at her with disgust. "Does he pay you to do that or does it just turn him on?"
"Listen, I don't know what Roger is up to and I'm not his accomplice. I hate his guts, have for years. Surely your background check must have taught you at least that."
Suddenly, she tripped and fell, this time hitting the ground hard. With her free hand, she felt a rock about the size of her palm. She picked it up stealthily and jumped back on her feet before he could try to help her up.
"I learned you two can't stay out of each other's life, that's what I learned," Richard said, looking ahead to the forest and picking up the pace.
"We have been divorced for years and we don't even speak anymore. I thought you and I had something special, Richard."
He glanced at her. "I thought so too. But nothing is going to stand in the way of what I have to do, not even you."
"Nothing? How about a rock!" she mumbled under her breath. She raised her arm and struck him on the head as hard as she could. To her relief, he fell down like a log.
Her first instinct was to run for her life. Then she remembered Roger's mission. It was her mission too now. She took a deep breath, still holding the rock, and kneeled beside Richard. Searching his jacket pockets, she found a cellphone. Looking some more, she felt something hard and metallic and let out a cry of victory. It was a gun. She examined it cautiously and saw that it was loaded.
"That's good, that's very good," she said out loud. She picked up the cellphone and dialed the number at the vineyard, which she had memorized earlier that day at Roger's request.
"Ariana's," a deep voice answered.
"Raymond, am I glad to talk to you," she said into the phone.
"Holly! Where are you? We've been worried sick!"
"Behind the restaurant where Richard took me. Listen, he's on to me and Roger. He thinks we're small-time cons trying to rob him."
"We know, Sonia overheard his gang at the hotel. You need to get out of there or he's going to hurt you."
"No, you guys need to come here. I just knocked Richard unconscious and I have his gun. I can't walk away now."
"Okay, I'll call Roger and let him know. He's probably not too far from the restaurant by now."
"What do you mean? Isn't he with you?"
"He bolted when he learned that Richard had taken you hostage. You wait for him okay?"
"Yes." She turned off the phone and sat on the ground. She couldn't help smiling, knowing that Roger was on his way.
