Healed (The Found Book 3) (21 page)

“Wha? Whas hap?” His tongue felt too large for his mouth.

“Easy Nate.” He heard Max, but it was like he was talking to him from miles away.

“Jesus, what did you do?” Cyrus demanded. “Sarah, I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Shhh, let me fix this.” The world was still swimming, and then he felt the warmth of his angel surrounding him. It felt like she was hugging him to the depths of his soul, so warm, everyplace her body met his vibrated with energy, with love. Soon he felt strong, and he had his arms wrapped around her.

“Enough. You’re done. I don’t need more, Sarah.” She didn’t pull back, the energy kept flowing, and he knew she would give him everything, he gently pushed her back, breaking their connection. “Angel, don’t get sick.”

“I feel it Nate, I can’t get sick because it’s you.”

“Okay, but I have enough. I’m fine now.” He watched her closely, as well as going inward, ensuring he didn’t feel sick. So far so good. She punched him in the chest.

“I’m fine you goof,” Sarah laughed.

“So it’s two sides of the same coin,” Sierra mused. “Do you really think you can get Alma to understand?”

“If she’s anything like Nell, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Sarah said with a fond smile.

“What if she’s not like Nell. What if she isn’t that advanced. She has been living an isolated life,” Sierra pointed out.

“I really think once she is introduced to healing she will want to emulate it. Especially when her mother does it. She does the other so instinctively, she’ll do this.”

“Sarah, you have to promise me you’ll have a limited amount of contact with her. I won’t let you do this unless I have your word.” Now he had experienced the impact of the energy draw, this plan was a whole lot scarier.

“I promise Nate.”

Chapter Fourteen

The lead wasn’t quite accurate. Stovers might have been in Washington D.C. at one point, but he wasn’t there now. Nate was always considered the volatile one on operations, but he had nothing on Gabriella Guttierez. Shit, they’d been in the FDA official’s office where the Brone executive said Stovers would be when they had found out he was in Virginia. Gabriella actually yelled about being given the runaround.

“Are you out of you damn mind woman?” Nate demanded now they were finally on the road. He’d waited until they had got gas and he’d been able to pick up some food at the gasoline mini mart to soothe himself. He figured as long as he had Nutter Butters, beef jerky and Ding Dongs he might not kill the woman.

“What?” she asked as she picked up his Milky Way bar and started to read the label.

“What part of the phrase ‘under the radar’ don’t you understand?” Nate demanded.

“All of it,” Gabriella said looking at her short unpainted nails.

“We are trying not to raise suspicion. We don’t want anyone asking us unnecessary questions. Do you understand that?” Nate said in the same tone he would use if he was talking to a child.

“Yes.”

“So what you did causes people to notice us, which is bad,” he exploded.

“Just like this candy bar is bad for you.” She tossed the candy bar back onto the console. “Nate, did we or did we not get the information we needed? I threw a fit, and we got information.”

“Bullshit, Gabriella, we already knew he was in Virginia.”

“Then you weren’t paying attention. When I was yelling we were being given misinformation about where he was, she went to the official’s calendar. I’m assuming it had where Stovers and Grainger were meeting.” Now she was talking to him as if he were a child.

“If you are only assuming, how do you know we have more information?” Nate grabbed the candy off the console and opened the package and took a bite.

“Kota, didn’t you take a picture of the screen?” Kota chuckled from the backseat.

“Ellie, what will you give me if I say yes?”

“Gabriella.”

“Ellie,” he drawled out in an amused tone.

“I will allow you to call me Ellie if you took a picture,” she said in an equally amused voice.

“Grainger and Stovers are having meetings at a resort with other Brone executives tomorrow. I also happen to have Grainger’s cell phone number now…Ellie.”

“Thank you Dakota.”

“Oh, get a room already.” Nate ate the Milky Way in one more bite and hoped he wouldn’t be pulled over for speeding.

****

“Three rooms, are you sure?” Nate asked Gabriella at the check-in desk. She gave him a haughty look. He didn’t have much else to say as they made their way through the luxuriously appointed lobby towards the elevator. Nate once again blessed his height, because he was able to see the sign to the restaurant hidden behind some foliage.

When he pointed it out, Gabriella asked if he had a thyroid condition, and suggested he seek medical help. “Let’s meet at the restaurant at the top of the hour. That should give everybody time for whatever they need to do.”

“Barbarian,” Gabriella said as she let herself into her room, but she flashed him a grin to let him know it was all in good fun. Thank God, he didn’t need someone who couldn’t handle being teased on his team. For that matter, he would like his friend to have someone who had a sense of humor and Kota definitely seemed to have his sights set on her.

“So Kota?” Nate started as they walked down the hall together.

“Nate, don’t be a barbarian,” Kota said as he slid his room key into the door and went inside. Oh yeah, his friend had it bad. This was going to be fun, he couldn’t wait to tell Sarah. But first he wanted to hear her voice. He placed a call as soon as he got into his room.

“Did you find the bastard?”

“Not yet, but between Kota and Gabriella we have a chance.” He explained how they had worked together.

“So you think there might be something going on between the two of them?” she asked.

“Not yet, but my boy Kota is giving it the old school try, and this is not his normal type of woman.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kota usually likes the more light hearted type and Gabriella is uptight. But she seems to be coming around.” He explained about the fun Kota was having with the Ellie nickname and how he’d gotten her to agree to it.

“Wasn’t that kind of pushy?”

“I think she’s had so much responsibility for so long, somebody needs to teach her how to play,” Nate said.

“Kota seems pretty serious to me,” Sarah countered.

“I’m hoping they’ll play together, and not just between the sheets.” Nate let out a laugh that Sarah echoed.

“I didn’t know you were such a gossip,” she teased him.

“This isn’t gossip, this is me sharing official naval intelligence.” She laughed again and his heart warmed. “I have to get downstairs, we’re meeting in the restaurant for lunch. Stovers is due to meet with the FDA guy out on the verandah.”

“Be safe.”

“You too. We’ll talk before you go out on your operation with Max and Maricel.”

****

“Where the hell is Stovers?” They’d been waiting for him to show up to the lunch for over two hours. It was clear the others at the table were just as frustrated as they were. The executives were out on the patio looking over the first tee, while Nate, Kota and Gabriella were inside with Kota’s back strategically placed to the window.

“Grainger is pissed.”

“Pissed as in angry, or pissed as in drunk?” Kota asked Nate.

“Both.” He’d been watching him order scotch after scotch as the minutes ticked by and Stovers didn’t show up. It was apparent Grainger wasn’t used to being kept waiting. After trying to placate him for the first twenty minutes, the Brone team decided to shut up and apparently pray for Stovers arrival.

After hour three, everybody got up to leave. Nate was thankful Grainger had booked a room and wasn’t getting behind the wheel of a car. He, Kota and Gabriella stayed at the table. Hell, the restaurant wasn’t all that busy, it wasn’t like they needed their table.

“It made sense he would be meeting with someone from the FDA. Hell, his arm of Rixitron is constantly trying to get something shoved through,” Kota mused.

“But why would he have been back to business as usual. He just had his operation in Nevada taken down, it didn’t make any sense. We should have known better.” Nate was disgusted for having been sucked down this path.

“The man in Sandy Springs did not lie,” Gabriella stated unequivocally. “Also, the calendar was real.”

“Nobody is questioning your ability to get people to tell the truth,” Nate soothed.

“Of course you are not. But Stovers convinced this man he would be here. He probably convinced these other Brone men too. Why?”

She was right. Why would he have done that? Why did he need that cover?

“Who else in D.C. would he have been meeting?” Kota wanted to know. “You’d think it would be someone with the government.”

“Or not. The lobbyists carry a whole hell of a lot of weight,” Nate said picking at one of the remaining rolls from the bread basket.

“Stovers is part of pharmaceuticals, why blow off a meeting with a big man within the FDA to meet with a lobbyist instead? Unless…” Gabriella asked

“Unless it’s not an FDA lobbyist,” Nate said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s planning on meeting with someone from defense. We guessed he wanted to weaponize Alma’s capabilities, so why not meet with someone in defense?”

“But Nate, that’s sure as hell putting the cart before the horse,” Kota protested.

“That arrogant son of a bitch would do it.”

“Sure, he still might want to breed healers for the pharmaceutical arm of his company, but you can be damned sure he’s trying to figure out a way to make money using Alma’s powers.” Nate tossed the half eaten roll back into the basket and stared at Kota who just nodded in agreement.

“You’re right,” Kota agreed, “There are plenty of people who would want to get their hands on that kind of power. No wonder he has been meeting with the Nanotechnologies arm of Rixitron. They are involved in defense applications.”

“I love how your countries call their departments of weapons and death, defense,” Gabriella said derisively.

“Well Brazil does the same thing,” Nate said defensively.

“I said countries, not country. Listen when I speak,” she said in a haughty tone of voice.

“Seriously Kota, you have a thing for this woman?”

“She’s hot when she’s busting your balls. The accent is just the cherry on top.”

“Do not talk about me as if I am not here. I must excuse myself for a moment.” She got up and made her way to the bathroom.

Nate and Kota watched her as she walked. She had quite the nice sway going. Not quite as good as Sarah’s, but still, it was nice.

“You can stop looking anytime now,” Kota smiled easily at him. However, Nate knew behind the smile was a definite warning. It did his heart good.

“She’s got your tail in a twist. I thought it was Maricel.”

“Maricel is a sweet girl. I definitely felt the need to protect her. But Ellie? I have different things in mind besides protection, that’s for damn sure.” Nate signaled the waiter back over.

“I’d like a nice Brazilian Cabernet.”

“We have two, would you like to see the wine list, they here vary greatly in price.” Nate named off the one he knew would be the most expensive. The waiter’s eyebrows rose. Gabriella struck him as a woman who would appreciate a good bottle of wine, and she deserved it for helping to figure out why Stovers was in D.C.

“Damn man, I keep forgetting you come from money. I keep thinking of you as some redneck who played football for OU.”

“I’m that too. It’s good to keep you on your toes.” Nate nodded towards the restaurant entrance as Gabriella made her return. The waiter came back with the wine and started to pour, when she saw the vineyard, she let out a happy sigh.

“This reminds me of home, thank you Nate.”

“Hey, it could have been me,” Kota protested.

“The Goodman’s of Long Island probably had him drinking different vintages when he was still in short pants.” Then she took Kota’s hand. “However Coyote, you and I will walk together in the desert, and you will provide me with many other things.”

Nate saw the shock on his friend’s face, and wondered what the name Coyote meant, but figured it was too intimate to ask. Probably more of that
found
whoo whoo shit. The only time it was okay in his book was when it was between he and Sarah, and then it was sacred.

Nate held up his glass. “Here’s to the next part of our adventure, and finding that asshole.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

“As will I,” Gabrielle said, clinking her glass to Nate’s and Kota’s.

****

It finally panned out with Kathy Simms and the man from Brone. They’d found exactly where Alma was being held. Sarah, Max and Maricel were headed towards a small clinic in Sandy Springs while Sierra and Cyrus were back at the hotel acting as a command post.

Sarah was still shaky on the plan, but Max was sure it would work, so she decided to trust him. Maricel would have trusted a serial killer if she thought it would get her to her daughter. At the front desk, Max did the talking.

“We’re here to see the baby girl, you should be expecting us.”

“You don’t look like people who do testing,” the receptionist said. “I don’t see anyone on my list to visit Leslie Rogers. Let me call her doctor.”

“You’ve seen us before Miss Landers,” Max said looking at her nameplate. “We come once a week, don’t you remember? Every week, we come and visit Leslie Rogers. You give us passes to access the entire building.” Sarah watched as the receptionist smiled and nodded.

“I’m having an off day. I know you come in every week, but what are your names again, so I can write them down on your passes?” Max smiled and provided names.

“Miss Landers, I seem to be having an off day as well. Can you give me directions to where Leslie is?” She brightened, happy to help.

Max hustled them quickly through the doors to the private part of the clinic. “The effect wears off quickly when I’m not talking to her,” he explained.