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. Shed 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 hadnt seen or heard from Hector Reyes in years, not since the night shed 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 shed opened her eyes one morning and found Graham at her bedside. Shed later learned from the doctors that shed been unconscious for nearly a week before his arrival and had been given very little hope of survival. But somehow she must have sensed Grahams presence. Somehow his voice had lured her from the darkness.
For days, he remained at her bedside, talking to her softly when he thought shed drifted off. Hed been candid about the ambiguity of his feelings, perhaps because he wasnt sure if she could actually comprehend what he was saying.
But shed 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, shed listened. And shed wondered how any woman in her right mind could have ever allowed a man like Graham Hollister to slip away from her.
Shed 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 pastthose terrible secretswould 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 didnt look at the man beside her. She couldnt.
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 wont be waiting for me at the drop point?
I wouldnt do that. You know I wouldnt. Theres too much at stake. If anyone were ever to find out
He laughed. Yes, youve covered your tracks well, havent you? Youve always been very clever. Ill give you that. His voice hardened. But the answer is no. Youre coming with me. Once I have the money, Ill let you go.
Can I at least call my husband and tell him Im okay? Hell know something is wrong. I would never leave without telling him.
Youll call him as soon as were safely out of the building. Trust me, you dont want him to follow us. The situation could get very nasty.
Kendall closed her eyes. Please dont hurt him
As I said, no one will get hurt as long as you cooperate. So just relax and enjoy the ride. Itll soon be over.
How soon?
As soon as I know you havent 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 shed worked for in Mexico. Leo Kittering was an American ex-pat who had remarried well and used his wifes resources to forge a powerful empire.
At one time, hed 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 didnt 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 Kitterings 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 shed 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 wouldnt matter because she would be dead.
Kendall wasnt 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 were 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 dont do exactly as I say, this will end very badly for you. And for your husband.
At the threat to Graham, Kendalls courage flagged. What do you want? she said raggedly. If its 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 dont do as I tell you, he whispered, curling her fingers around the cell phone he placed in her limp hand. Theyll put a bullet in my skull, but you wont be so lucky. Comprende?
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 dont do as I tell you, he whispered, curling her fingers around the cell phone he placed in her limp hand. Theyll put a bullet in my skull, but you wont 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 shed left with, but Grahams first panicked thought was that the stranger was somehow connected to the attack on the ambassador. And hed taken Kendall hostage.
But he didnt 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 hed been pushed back against the wall. But in that split second, hed seen her face clearly. Shed looked pale and anxious, but she hadnt been frightened.
A chill slid down Grahams 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 shed 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 hed thought.
Now doubt tore through his heart, and he remembered all the hours that hed devoted to the PemCo Oil project. All the evenings he couldnt 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 Grahams 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 didnt answer, Graham said anxiously, Are you all right? Where are you?
Still more silence. Then finally she whispered, Im 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 didnt you tell me? We could have left together.
I didnt want to tear you away. This is your night, Graham. And Im sorry I ruined it.
I dont give a damn about that. Just tell me whats happened? Where are you?
I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe that.
Tell me whats going on, Kendall. Youre scaring the hell out of me.
Ive done things, Graham. Things you dont know anything about. But it was a long time ago. Im not the same person I was back then. Ive changed because of you.
His grip tightened on the phone. Listen to me. I dont care what you did in the past. Weve both made mistakes. Whatever it is, we can work it out.
Not this time.
Dont say that.
I love you Her voice broke and Graham heard a male voice mutter something in the background.
Whos with you? he demanded.
No one. Its not what you think.
I dont know what to think! Just tell me where you are. Ill come get you. We can talk this out. Whatever it is, it cant be that bad.
He heard her draw a shaky breath. Do you really mean that?
Of course I do.
Then meet me at home. Ill tell you everything. Well 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 shed obviously turned it off.
Cursing inwardly, Graham started toward the elevator, then stopped as the walls started to spin. He recognized the symptomsit was an old problembut this time the vertigo had come on so suddenly, hed 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 Kendalls earring lying on the floor in front of the elevators. He knew it was hers because hed 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 hadnt left of her own free will?
He was grasping at straws, Graham realized. Kendall hadnt been coerced into leaving. Hed seen her at the door. The look in her eyes when shed glanced back hadnt been fear. It had been regret and Graham had no idea why.
Grahams 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 didnt look at anything else, and eventually the walls stopped spinning. His head cleared and by the time he reached the lobby, hed 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 hadnt taken the time to figure out what his next move should be, let alone formulate any kind of plan. Obviously, he wasnt 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 didnt 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, hed struck up a brief conversation with one of the security guards. Hed 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 hed asked the guard for the score. The man had recognized Grahams name when he signed in, and theyd 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.