Her Delta Force Protector, page 2
Harper drove down the residential street, parked in the driveway of a house that was for sale and empty, and waited. “Here we go a snooping,” she muttered when Lisa passed by.
Fifteen minutes later, Lisa turned into the parking lot of a warehouse. Harper stopped before reaching the warehouse and cut her lights. When Lisa went inside, Harper parked next to a semi in the lot across the street. Another car was already at the warehouse, and she took a picture of it with her phone, and then zoomed in on the license plate, and snapped another photo.
Why were they at a warehouse? She waited a while, but when no one came out, she decided to leave. She had a plate number and could look the person up, so it wasn’t a wasted trip. Before she could leave, another car arrived. A man got out and walked to the passenger door. He opened it, and a woman got out.
Harper took more pictures, then put the binoculars to her eyes. The woman appeared drunk or stoned, and the man was supporting her as they entered the building. Harper picked up her phone again and snapped some more pictures, including the plate number of that car. “Time to go.”
The next morning, Lisa was in the kitchen when Harper came out. “Morning.”
“Can’t talk. I’m running late.”
Harper narrowed her eyes at what she saw on Lisa’s arm. “Another bruise?”
“What is with you?” Lisa snatched her arm away. “It’s nothing. I bruise easy. Big deal.”
“You didn’t used to.”
“I have to go to work.”
Lisa was a receptionist at a doctor’s office. When Harper had advertised for a roommate to share the house she was renting, only Lisa had responded. They’d hit it off and over time had become friends. Until she’d hooked up with this new boyfriend, they’d talked about everything. Now it felt like Lisa barely tolerated her. Yet her friend wasn’t happy. If she was, Harper could accept that things had changed between them and move on with the next phase of her life.
After Lisa left for work, Harper dressed. She spent a few extra minutes staring at her reflection in the mirror. This was the last time she’d wear an Army uniform, and she had mixed feelings. She’d matured during her eight years in the Army, had experienced living in Japan and South Korea, had rescued a dog that had flunked out of military dog school, and had met Kade and made him her best friend.
It had been a very good eight years, and today was bittersweet. She was leaving a life she loved for a new life. Joining the Peace Corps was what she thought of as her last chance to travel and to do her part for making the world a better place before she settled down and checked off the next items on her bucket list...falling in love and having babies. She’d been an only child, her mother dying when Harper was a baby. She’d always wished for brothers and sisters, and that was probably why she wanted a household full of kids.
Harper loved her father, a man who had wanted to be surrounded by children but hadn’t found a woman he could love enough to replace his wife. For herself and for him, she would have those children and make him the happiest grandfather ever.
She was minutes from home, headed for the base, when she turned left instead of right. She’d just do a little drive-by of the warehouse, see if either of the two cars from last night were there. The lot was empty, and if she didn’t know better, she’d think it was an abandoned building. She circled around and drove past the back. What was going on inside there? Whatever Lisa was involved in, Harper knew in her gut that it wasn’t good. Before she could talk herself out of it, she parked down the street, then carrying only her car keys and phone, she walked back.
There was a window, but it was boarded over. Next to the window was a door, and Harper twisted the knob, expecting it to be locked. It was not. She opened it and leaned in. The first floor was wide open, and she didn’t sense anyone in the building. In the middle of the room was a bed covered by a red velvet bedspread. Two cameras on tripods were aimed at the bed.
What in the world? Harper stepped inside. A table was against a wall, and she walked over to it. Photographs of women in various stages of dress were spread out over the top. She shuffled through them, sick at heart when she found ones of Lisa naked and tied to the bedposts. There were also some of the woman she recognized from last night. She put that one, the ones of Lisa, and a few of some other women in her back pocket.
The place creeped her out, and she needed to leave before someone showed up. But first she took pictures of the room, the bed, and the cameras with her phone. It was time to have another talk with Lisa.
* * *
Harper was waiting when her roommate arrived home from work. “We need to talk.”
“Don’t have time.” Lisa blew past, heading for her room.
“Make time.” Harper stepped in front of her, stopping her. “Are you making porno films?”
Fear flashed in her friend’s eyes. “What? Why... Why would you say that?”
Harper handed her one of the photos. It was of Lisa wearing only black lace panties. “This is why. What have you gotten yourself involved in? Talk to me, Lisa.”
Tears pooled in Lisa’s eyes as she stared at the picture. “You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me then.”
When Lisa’s lips trembled and the tears fell down her cheeks, Harper led her to the sofa. “Talk to me,” she said after they were seated. “Are you making porno movies?”
“Yes,” Lisa wailed. “But I don’t want to.” The story came out between sobs. “I was in love with him, Harper. In the beginning, he told me that he was filming us for only us. I didn’t see any harm in it. It was kind of sexy. A few weeks later, another man was there, and...” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“You had sex with him, too?”
Lisa nodded. “I didn’t want to, but then they gave me a glass of wine to drink. I think they put something in it because I felt really weird, and I don’t remember much of that night.”
Dear God. “You have to stop, not go there anymore.”
“You don’t understand. They won’t let me stop. If I don’t show up, they said they’d put the videos all over social media.” She frowned at the picture. “How’d you get this?”
“I went to the warehouse. There were photos of other girls, too. You have to go to the police.” She was furious that men would drug a woman to have sex, much less film it for others to see, and that just couldn’t stand. She was also beyond disappointed in Lisa for letting herself be used like that.
Lisa vehemently shook her head. “No, they’ll kill me if I do that.”
“That’s a bit drastic, don’t you think? You can’t let them do this to you. What’s this guy’s name?”
“I’m serious, Harper. They’re not men you want to mess with. You’re better off not knowing his name.”
“Well, you can’t go back there.” Since she had the men’s license plate numbers, she didn’t need their names.
“If I don’t show up, they’ll come for me. I have to leave. Go somewhere far away.”
That was a good idea. “What about your friend in Alaska? Can you go there?” Lisa and Stephanie were foster sisters, the only person Lisa had kept in touch with from her foster care days.
“Yeah, she told me I should come see her sometime. I’ll call her.”
“First, you need to call that man, tell him you’re sick, that you have the flu and you’re vomiting. He won’t want to be anywhere near you. You can’t go back there tonight.”
Relief was in Lisa’s eyes as she hugged Harper. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Everything’s going to be okay. Just promise not to let another man use you like this.”
“I think I need to take a break from men for a while.”
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.” She hoped Lisa learned a lesson from all this.
After the phone calls were made, Lisa packed, managing to get almost all her clothes into two suitcases and a carry-on. Early the next morning, Harper followed Lisa to a used car dealer where she sold her nine-year-old hybrid for next to nothing. Then after a stop at an ATM, Harper took her friend to the airport. They’d agreed that Harper would call the doctor’s office when she returned home and tell them Lisa had a family emergency and probably wouldn’t be back.
“Take care of yourself,” she said as she hugged her friend. “And don’t call anyone here, even me. If there’s anything you need to know, I’ll email you.”
“Okay. Thank you for everything. I’m going to miss you so much.”
“Same. Just go and be happy.”
What she didn’t tell Lisa was that she was going to tell the police what was going on in that warehouse.
* * *
Harper read over the email she planned to anonymously send the police. After taking Lisa to the airport yesterday, she’d returned home and packed. She hadn’t planned to leave until next week, mostly because she’d hoped Kade would be back by then, but she didn’t want to be around if one of those men came looking for Lisa. The plan had changed, and she’d get on the road first thing in the morning. She’d call Kade after she got home.
The house was furnished, so all she had to pack were her personal things. She loaded her car, then cleaned the house. She called the owner, who promised to mail her deposit as soon as she inspected the house and confirmed there wasn’t any damage.
She was taking the trash to the curb when a black SUV stopped in front of her driveway. A tall man wearing a knit cap got out, and as he strode toward her, his intense gaze narrowed on her, one word came to mind...menacing. Her gun was packed in its case and in the car. Why hadn’t she kept it on her?
He stopped a few feet from her. “Where’s Lisa?”
“At work.”
“No, she isn’t. Where is she, Harper?”
He knew her name? She told herself to stay calm, which was hard when her heart was pounding like a jackhammer on crack. “She left this morning for work. Who are you, anyway?” And how did he know Lisa wasn’t at work?
“Someone you don’t want to mess with, little girl.”
A part of her wanted to roll her eyes at the scary movie dialog, but the smarter part wanted to run. She also sensed that the worst thing she could do with this man was show fear, even though internally she was shaking like a leaf. She was Army. She was badass. All she had to do was act like it. He wouldn’t do anything—like kill her or beat her up—standing in her driveway in broad daylight...right?
“If Lisa’s not at work, then she’s probably with her boyfriend. Who did you say you were again?” Was this the boyfriend? He wasn’t the man who’d arrived at the warehouse after Lisa.
“You better hope I don’t find out you know where she is.”
“Well, you better not threaten me again if you don’t want me to call the police.” Pushing your luck here, Harper. Need to shut up. Yeah, but this guy was pissing her off. She didn’t get angry often, but when she did, she had no filter.
Pale blue eyes so cold they made her want to shiver roamed over her, pausing on her chest. “You’ll make a good stand-in if I don’t find your friend. And, Harper, make no mistake. I will come for you if Lisa isn’t where she’s supposed to be tonight.”
Frozen to where she stood, the garbage can the only barrier between her and a man who made her want to take a hot shower and scrub her skin raw, she blew out a relieved breath when he returned to his car and left.
Her plan to leave in the morning had just changed. It was time to go. Like right now. She’d send her anonymous email to the police when she was at her dad’s house. Leaving the garbage can on the curb, she went back inside and locked the door behind her. She raced around and put her toiletry bag, the clothes she’d left out to put on in the morning, and the few other things still to pack in her Army duffel bag.
After loading her car, she drove down her street for the last time.
* * *
“So, that’s the full story,” Harper told her father over dinner the next night. She’d driven straight home. With stops for gas, coffee, and a quick dinner, it had taken eleven hours, and finally feeling safe, she’d fallen face-first in her bed and slept most of the day.
Her dad swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple rising and falling. “Sweetheart, you have to remove yourself from whatever’s going on with Lisa and those men.”
“I know, and I am. Promise.” And she would, right after she sent the anonymous email to the police.
Which she did later that night.
Her first two days home she vegetated. Her third day, she broke her promise to her dad and went online, searching for news stories of a police raid on the warehouse. There was nothing. Maybe they were still investigating.
What she did find, though, was a story on the increase of drug deaths, especially from fentanyl, in the area around Fort Bragg. The article included a photo and the name—Abby Warton—of the latest victim, and Harper gasped. Abby Warton was the woman she’d seen go in the warehouse with the other man.
The one person she wanted to talk to was Kade. She trusted him, and he’d know the best thing to do. She called, got his voice mail, and left a message. When he hadn’t returned her call by the next day, she knew he was still gone on whatever mission the Army had sent him on.
Unable to stand by and do nothing, she sent the police another email, attaching the photo she’d taken of who she now knew was Abby Warton and the man with her. Harper didn’t know if the men were connected to Abby’s death in any way, but her gut said they were. She also included the license plate numbers of the two cars. After a short debate with herself, she also sent this one from the anonymous email she’d created.
The biggest reason was Lisa. If these men, the one she’d seen with the dead girl and the one who’d threatened her, had killed Abby, then Lisa was in danger. If Harper gave the police her name, she’d have to explain why she was at the warehouse and that would mean giving them Lisa’s name. As soon as an arrest was announced, making it safe for Lisa to talk to the police, Harper would convince her friend that she had to report what she knew. If she refused, then Harper would come forward.
The next reason was her father. She’d promised him she wouldn’t get involved. He was worried about her, and she got that. She was the only family he had, and keeping her safe trumped all else in his mind. Before she identified herself to the police, she owed it to him to tell him she was going to give the police her name. He’d worry less if the men in question were behind bars when she did it.
Also, she didn’t know for a fact the men were guilty. She had no proof other than seeing Abby go into the warehouse and Lisa’s fear of her so-called boyfriend. Even without proof, Harper believed with every fiber of her being that something happened to Abby in that warehouse.
The following day, there was a response to her anonymous email from a Detective Johnson demanding that she call the phone number he gave. She almost did, but the tone of his email rubbed her wrong. Why hadn’t he asked any questions, even assured her that her identity would be kept secret? Plus, she wasn’t ready yet to out herself. Would they want her to return, to talk to them in person? Would any meeting with them be kept confidential until the men were arrested? She wanted to think about it before giving him her name, so she replied with the truth, that she was afraid to come forward at this time.
If he responded with a promise that the police would keep her safe, she’d give him her name. Another day passed before he answered, and there was nothing about her coming forward. He only asked her to click on a link and tell him if she recognized any men in the attached photos. She studied the five pictures, but none were the two men she’d seen, and she replied no, she’d never seen those men before.
Detective Johnson never replied, so she’d wait for the arrests, which would surely happen soon since she’d given the detective the license plate numbers.
* * *
“Come in,” Harper said, lowering her Kindle and glancing at the clock. If her father was knocking on her door at eleven at night, that meant he’d been called to the hospital for one of his patients.
He poked his head around the doorjamb. “I’ve got to head out.”
“Okay. See you in the morning.” She read for another hour, and when her eyes grew heavy, she set the Kindle on her bedside table and went to sleep.
The nightmare felt so real. Her scalp actually hurt when the monster dragged her out of bed by her hair. Wait. Why was she on the floor?
“Get up, bitch.” The monster kicked her ribs.
Not a nightmare. Pain shot up her side, and she groaned. She scooted across the floor until she was backed against the wall. The man grabbed her arm and jerked her up. It was too dark to see his face, but she knew that voice. It was the man in the knit cap who’d threatened her on her driveway.
“I should have checked the security cameras sooner,” he said, his fingers digging into her arm. “You’re a nosy one, aren’t you? Where are the pictures you stole? Where’s Lisa?”
“You’re hurting me.” She tried to pull her arm away, but he tightened his grip. How had he found her? And they had security cameras inside the warehouse? That had never occurred to her. She’d make a lousy spy if she couldn’t consider and plan for things like that.
“That’s what happens to little girls who stick their noses in things that are none of their business.” He slapped her. “Where. Is. Lisa?”
“I don’t know. I swear.” She cried out when he punched her in the same place he’d kicked her. Oh God, that hurt.
“Bitch.” He wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed. “Where is she?”
“Cho...choking me.”
“Tell me, or I’ll kill you and then wait for your father to come back and kill him, too.”
