Page 57 of Baby Bodyguard

“Did she fight him? Did she kick?” His voice rose despite his attempt to control it. “Did she do anything I’ve damn-it-to-hell taught the woman?”

Widget shifted from foot to foot. “She… er—”

“What?”

She winced. “Sami ripped the top off of the chocolates and ate one.” She pointed to the corner of the foyer. “See? The lid’s over there.”

He turned to look. Sure enough, the lid lay discarded in the corner. He hadn’t noticed it before. For some reason he had trouble drawing breath. “She ate the chocolates. That’s it? She. Ate. The.Chocolates?”

“Just one.” More tears flowed. “Then the guy tipped his cap in my direction and marched out the door and tossed her into his limo. That’s all I remember.”

Pudge tugged on Noah’s arm, practically dancing with excitement. “A big guy with a limo. Get it?”

The two exchanged a glance of total accord. “Bill,” they said at the sametime.

Widget blinked in confusion. “That’s right. How’d you know?” Her tears slowed. “I almost forgot that part. When he gave her the chocolates, she said, ‘Thanks, Bill.”’

“Why in the world would Reggie’s driver abduct Sami?” Rosie demanded.

Noah’s mouth tightened. He didn’t have an answer to that, but he knew what he intended to do about it. He thought of the odd-shaped “shaving kit” he’d hidden in his dresser drawer upstairs. Damn. Looked like it was time to break out his razor. “Idon’t know what Bill wants with her. Yet. But I’m going to find out.”

“Oh, Bill wasn’t abducting Sami.” Noah and Rosie turned as one to stare at Widget. She smiled weakly. “I forgot that part, too. When he picked her up, he said, ‘Sorry about this, Ms. Sami.”’

Noah thrust a hand through his hair, hanging on to his patience by a mere thread. “You mentioned that already.”

“I know. But then he said, ‘I have my instructions.’ I’d guess that meant Bill was working for someone else.” She glanced from one to the other. “Right?”

Chapter 10

“Noah, this doesn’tmake a bit of sense,” Babe insisted, nervously lighting her sixth cigarette since he’d arrived. “Why would Reggie abduct Sami? He adores that girl.”

He didn’t give a damn what Reggie’s reasons were. The man was going down and Noah planned to make sure it hurt. At least now he understood what had bothered him about the blackmail notes. There hadn’t been any contact information. No “Drop ten grand off at the third bench in Golden Gate Park.” No phone number to call. Just the threat itself. Reggie had expected Sami to recognize who had sent the messages and respond accordingly.

Only, Sami had never received the notes.

Noah cursed himself for being such a fool. If he hadn’t been so distracted by parts south of his belt buckle, he’d have caught on to that detail a hell of a lot sooner.

He paced the length of Babe’s living room. In the past hour he’d discovered that it took precisely twenty strides to go from her phone to her picture window and a mere nineteen for the return trip. Useless information. Annoying information. Mind-numbing information that did absolutely nothing to cool his temper. “Have you gotten hold of him, yet?”

“No. And I’ve called the house and the limo number at least a hundred times. No one’s answering.”

“Where would he take her?” he rapped out. “Think, Babe.”

“I have been thinking!” Lines of strain etched a path on either side of her mouth. She ground out her cigarette. “There’s one possibility. Reggie has a small retreat in the mountains near Santa Cruz. It’s isolated. Abit on the primitive side for my tastes, but—”

“Let’s go.”

“We don’t know for sure that’s where Reggie’s taken her,” she protested. “What if he calls while we’re gone?”

“Then he’ll discover no one’s home. He’ll either try again or he’ll phone the house. Rosie has my cell number. She’ll get hold of us.” Noah cupped Babe’s elbow, marching her out of her apartment and toward his Jeep where Loner anxiously waited. When she dug in her heels, he turned on her. “We’re useless to Sami sitting here. Don’t you get that? At least if we check the cabin we’ll be doing something.”

She capitulated without another word. Climbing behind the steering wheel, he headed south, picking up speed once they were clear of the city. Aside from Babe’s occasionally offered directions, they accomplished the record-breaking ninety minute drive in tense silence. For the first time in her life, she seemed unwilling to indulge in casual chitchat, which came as animmense relief to Noah. When they were on the last leg of their journey, she finally broke the silence.

“The cabin’s on the far side of this ridge,” she said. “Turn left onto the dirt road around the next bend.”

“Will he see us coming?”

“Yes. But only if you drive all the way to the end of the road. The cabin’s at the top and we’ll be approaching from the back side. Right up until the final curve, we’re concealed by trees. If you park at the base of the hill, we can hike up and chances are good we won’t be spotted.”

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