A/N: A huge thanks to Guest, max2013, Caranath, Guest, ILoveMom, zenfrodo, Guest, Stork Hardy, Vinsmouse, Jackie, and catlover1033 for reviewing! You made my day! Thank you to those who are reading as well!

Chapter 17

"This is ridiculous!" Kathy threw her evening bag across the living room of her suite. "I won't put up with this for one more second. Where is Joe?"

Louis gave a weary sigh as he poured himself a drink from the bar. He had nothing but respect for the senator he worked for, but the man's daughter was going to send him to the funny farm.

"Frank told you. They are investigating. They're doing what they were hired to do."

"My father hired them to protect me!" Kathy shouted. "How can they do that if they're not even here?"

Louis swirled the beverage around in his glass before he took a sip. "Don't you want this guy caught? Don't you want to be able to have fun without looking over your shoulder all the time?"

"I want Joe!"

Louis smirked and took another sip of alcohol.

"No kidding. Let me tell you something, Kathy. This might be a huge revelation for you. You're not always going to get what you want in life. Daddy can't buy you everything."

Kathy flopped down on the couch. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Louis took a seat on a barstool. "I thought we were talking about Joe."

"We're talking about why he isn't here protecting me."

"Your father didn't hire a bodyguard, Kathy. He hired a detective." Louis raised an eyebrow. "But you seem to think he hired a boyfriend."

Kathy glared at him.

"Joe's not interested in you. The sooner you figure that out, the better off you'll be."

She jumped up from the sofa and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Spoiled brat," Louis muttered as he poured himself another drink.

OOOoooOOO

Emily's body began to shake violently against Joe's, and he called for the doctor in alarm. The doctor leaned down to check her vitals, and smiled.

"Her pulse is stronger."

"But I can't stop her from shaking," Joe said, holding her even closer to him.

"That's a good sign. Her body is trying to warm itself again."

Joe gently caressed her back and kissed her cheek. "Come on, baby. Come back to me."

He threw his leg over hers and drew her in to him more tightly. A shudder went through Emily that Joe thought would tear her in two. He brought his lips over hers and kissed her, hoping to warm her even more.

After a moment, he felt her returning the kiss. He pulled back and stared into her green eyes.

"Thank God," he murmured, hugging her tightly.

OOO

As the doctor went over to check Emily, Frank felt Nancy stirring in his arms. He looked down as her eyes fluttered open. Relief flooded through him.

"Hey, beautiful."

Nancy smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Frank complied with her request, but when she began to slide her hand down his chest, he grabbed her wrist.

"You might want to wait until we're alone."

She stopped abruptly and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

"Nance, are you really awake?" Bess Marvin's voice echoed to one side of her.

Frank grinned at the confusion on her face.

"Oh, Mademoiselle Drew, I cannot tell you how relieved I am," Father Bertrand said, as he approached the bed.

Nancy's eyes widened and she looked at Frank. "Am I having some sort of twisted dream?"

Frank hugged her to him and chuckled. "No, baby."

OOOoooOOO

"Where are Joe and Frank?" Lauren asked as Kathy threw herself on her bed.

"Investigating."

Kathy sighed and pounded her pillow. This was not how things were supposed to turn out. This dance tonight was going to be the moment that Joe realized they belonged together. It would have been so romantic. They would have slow danced together, and when Joe took her in his arms and she looked into his eyes, he would know he loved her.

"Why are you so mad?" Tammy asked. "I thought you said Joe wouldn't rest until he caught this guy?"

"Yes." Kathy lay back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling. "I don't like being away from him, that's all."

Lauren was perched on the edge of her bed, filing her nails. "Just how serious are you and Joe anyhow?"

"I want to marry him," Kathy stated.

And the sooner Joe figured it out, the better things would be. She could end all this stalker nonsense and they could just be happy. But now she couldn't even pretend to get the latest stalker notes she'd written. What was the point if Joe wasn't here to see them?

"Does he feel the same way?" Lauren asked as she reached for a bottle of nail polish on the night table.

"Of course he does."

Lauren raised her eyebrows as she polished her fingernails, but didn't say anything.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that I'm not sure he's that serious, Kath."

Kathy rose up on her elbow. "What are you talking about? Of course he is."

"Okay." Lauren waved her hand in the air to dry the polish. "If you say so."

Kathy was fuming. Lauren was supposed to be one of her best friends. Why would she say something like that?

"We're going to get married. I love Joe."

Lauren sighed. "Whatever. Look, I'm only telling you this because I'm your friend. I don't see it in his eyes."

"You don't see what in his eyes?"

"Love, passion, that 'can't live without you' look." She picked up the nail polish bottle again. "Sorry, Kath. I'm just not seeing it."

"Joe just doesn't like to show his feelings in public, that's all," Kathy replied.

"Fine. So he's not into PDA." Lauren began to polish the nails on her other hand. "That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the look he should have when you walk into the room. His face lighting up when he sees you. All of that stuff."

"You've been reading too many romance novels," Kathy grumbled. "Joe loves me, we're getting married, and that's the end of it."

OOOoooOOO

While Doctor Delacroix checked the girls' vital signs one last time, Frank stepped over to Joe. "I don't know about you, but there is no way I'm letting Nancy stay in a hotel room by herself after what happened tonight."

"We're on exactly the same page," Joe said, as he finished buttoning up his shirt. "They can stay with us. And I don't give a damn what Kathy thinks about it."

"You're not planning on letting her know that Emily is your girlfriend, are you?" Because Frank was damn sure that would not go over well.

Joe snorted. "I'm not that stupid."

"So, what's your plan then?"

"I'm going to give her enough rope and hope she hangs herself." Joe tightened his belt. "If she's as hot after me as you say she is, just having other women in the suite will trigger her insecurities, and she'll screw up."

"You think she's insecure?" Frank wasn't sure about that one. Kathy appeared to have more self-confidence than anyone he knew.

"I do," Joe said. "I know you haven't spent as much time with her as I have, so you probably wouldn't see it, but she's actually very unsure of herself. I think it's because she's been given everything she's ever asked for in life. She's never gotten anything on her own merit, so she doesn't think she can."

Frank nodded. It made sense. "Then I'll follow your lead on this. I'll introduce Nan as my girlfriend, and Em and Bess can be her assistants."

"But I still want to use that hotel room tonight," Joe said. "Why don't you tell the girls that Em is staying here for the night, and that I'm still working on Kathy's case."

"Not sure that's going to fly with the princess." Frank knew Kathy would be suspicious about this whole set-up, but right now he couldn't come up with anything better. And he was not willing to risk Nancy's welfare for a good cover story with a client who'd already lied to them.

"You know what? At this point I could care less," Joe said as he shoved his feet into his shoes.

Nancy called to Frank from the other side of the room. "Honey, we can go now."

"Be right there," he responded with a warm smile. "I agree, Joe. And right now, I'm more worried about Nancy and Em, than Kathy's feelings."

"Me, too," Joe agreed. "Whoever kidnapped them intended for them to die in that hell hole. When I think of Em on the floor of that dungeon, cold and not moving…"

Frank snapped his fingers as a burst of inspiration came to him. "Joe, I've got it. Let's use the federal agents to help set a trap for Kathy."

"What? How?"

"Let her see one of them. One she doesn't know. Louis said they had some rookies assigned to her as well as agents she's familiar with."

Joe grinned. "Then she'll think someone's really stalking her?"

"Not only that, but she'll think we don't suspect her at all. If she is the one behind all this, it might make her careless and give us the opportunity we need to get better proof."

"I've got to hand it to you, Frank. That's brilliant." Joe gave his brother a light punch on the arm.

Frank smiled. "Thanks. And while we do that, we also need to figure out who's after Nancy and Emily."

Joe's eyes darkened.

"That's my number one priority."

OOOoooOOO

Frank hovered over Nancy as she sat up in the infirmary bed and dangled her legs over the side. "Are you sure it's all right for them to leave?" he asked, glancing at the doctor.

Because he thought she needed to stay in the infirmary through the night at least. Maybe longer. Maybe he should insist she be transported to a hospital, where they had real medical equipment instead of this…glorified school nurse's office.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "Their body temperatures are very close to normal, their vital signs are good, and they're coherent and aware of their surroundings. They may need a little bit of rest, but other than that, they're fine to resume normal activities."

"Like being kidnapped and thrown into a dungeon?" Nancy asked wryly.

"Well, that may be all in a day's work for you, Miss Drew, but I wouldn't advise doing it again anytime soon." The doctor checked her pulse then smiled. "Unless you're dressed appropriately, of course."

Nancy rolled her eyes and tugged at her low-cut evening gown. Frank reached for his tuxedo jacket and placed it around her shoulders. She needed to be more covered up in his opinion anyway.

"So I guess we can go back to the hotel?" Bess asked. Then she sighed. "Oh, but our room is a mess."

"You're not staying in your room," Frank stated.

"Oh?" Nancy asked. "Then where on earth are we going to stay?"

"In the suite with me and Joe."

Joe nodded in agreement from the other bed, where he was helping Emily to stand. "Yeah, until we figure out who kidnapped you and why, you're not going to be alone."

"What are you talking about?" Nancy slid off the cot.

Frank tensed up and moved closer, ready to catch her if she became unsteady.

Nancy reached for her high heels and slipped them on her feet. "You two are on a top secret government case. Remember? We're not even supposed to know you."

"We have a fairly good idea who the culprit is," Joe explained, wrapping a blanket around Emily. "And actually, having you around might help us catch the suspect."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "You know who's been stalking the senator's daughter?"

"Well, we don't know for sure." Joe smiled at her. "But we have some good theories. We just need the proof."

"Um, from what you've told me about Kathy, she's not going to like having us there," Emily said.

Joe shook his head. "Doesn't matter. We'll get you an adjoining room. The suite can be expanded several times over."

"Don't worry, Emily," Frank called out. "Joe and I will take care of everything."

Nancy rolled her eyes and smacked Frank lightly on the arm. "Spoken like a true man."

Frank chuckled and pulled her close. "That's right, Nan. Whether you like it or not."

Nancy smiled against his chest. "I like it."

OOOoooOOO

Fifteen minutes later, Frank stood outside of the Alpine Suite with Nancy and Bess.

"Okay, are you ready for this?"

Nancy grinned. "Piece of cake after the dungeon."

"You haven't met Kathy."

Bess smirked. "I'm sure I can handle Kathy."

Frank chuckled as he unlocked the door. "I'm sure you can too, Bess."

Bess had a wicked sense of humor coupled with a heavy dose of snark. Frank didn't think Kathy wouldn't get away with much with Bess around.

He ushered them into the main living area of the suite, where Louis was seated, reading a newspaper. He looked up in surprise when they entered.

"Louis, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend, Nancy Drew, and her friend, Bess Marvin."

Before Louis could say anything, Kathy burst out of her bedroom.

"Is Joe back?"

She stared at Nancy and Bess.

"Who are you?"

Frank put his hands on Nancy's shoulders. The moment of truth had arrived. He braced himself for the tantrum.

"This is my girlfriend, Nancy."

"Really? And what's she doing here?"

"I'm a detective. I'm here working on a case," Nancy explained.

Kathy looked Nancy up and down and arched an eyebrow.

"Not my case."

"No, not your case," Nancy replied.

Frank turned to Louis, who seemed to be watching the proceedings with amusement. "The girls were kidnapped earlier tonight from this hotel and imprisoned in the cathedral."

"What?" Louis stood up, and his mouth dropped open. "Why would someone do that?"

"It has to do with my investigation," Nancy explained. "I just haven't figured it out yet."

"Anyway," Frank interrupted. "I can't have them staying by themselves. I spoke with the desk clerk, and one of the adjoining rooms to the suite is vacant. I've reserved it for the girls. I hope you don't mind."

"No. No, of course not," Louis assured him.

Kathy crossed her arms in front of her. "What if I mind?"

Frank smiled patiently. He was going to be firm with her. Because it was about damn time somebody was.

"I'd apologize, but in the long run, it wouldn't really matter. The girls' safety is more important."

"What about my safety?"

"You will be perfectly safe, I promise," Frank assured her.

Kathy looked pointedly around the room. "Where's Joe?"

"He'll be back tomorrow. I explained this earlier. He's doing some investigating."

OOOoooOOO

Emily waited patiently, as Joe, with one arm tightly around her waist, opened the door to the hotel room Frank had reserved.

Emily's eyes lit up as she stepped inside.

"Oh, Joe, this is so cute!"

She gazed around at the small fireplace, the elaborately carved wooden headboard with a downy featherbed topping the mattress, and the small storybook windows on the far wall.

He smiled at her, pulling her in for a hug. "I knew you'd like it."

The blanket she was wrapped in dropped down to the ground as she slid her arms around Joe's neck. He buried his face in her hair and splayed his hands across her bare back, then stood still, just holding her for a moment.

"Joe, are you all right?" Emily asked.

He let out a long, ragged breath. "Baby, you scared the hell out of me tonight."

"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

She knew how hard this was for Joe. He didn't like her involved with detective work at all. Especially detective work with Nancy.

Joe kissed her cheek. "It wasn't your fault. I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

"I wish I knew what we did to provoke it."

Joe held her more tightly. "Let's worry about that tomorrow, okay?"

Emily nodded and lifted her head. "Okay."

Joe kissed her tenderly, then took both of her hands in his, leading her to the bed. He lifted her up and sat her on the featherbed, then reached down for the blanket and wrapped it around her again.

"You stay right here."

"Where are you going?"

"It's a surprise. You'll see," Joe said as he stepped into the bathroom.