Decker hugged her close and murmured, "I'm sorry. I know you were counting on him."
Dani nodded, but didn't say anything. She was aware that Mortimer was slipping away, allowing them time alone. Sighing, she slipped her phone back in her pocket and raised her face to ask Decker what they should do now to find Stephanie when the phone began to ring and vibrate in her pocket.
Chapter Eighteen
"Dani?"
"Nicholas?" she gasped in shock, recognizing his voice from their first call. Her eyes flickered to Decker as he moved in closer, and then to Mortimer as he suddenly paused and turned back. Both men looked grim, and she could feel the tension filling the air.
"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner," Nicholas said. "I know you've probably been worried sick, but I didn't want to call until I had some good news for you."
"My sister?" she asked eagerly, encouraged by his mention of good news. "Do you have her?"
"No." He sounded apologetic. "But I know where she is and that she's alive."
Dani closed her eyes. Alive was good. She'd take alive. Everything else could be repaired either with counseling, or by having Decker or one of the other men wipe Stephanie's memory.
"I imagine you aren't alone?" Nicholas asked.
Dani opened her eyes. Judging by their expressions, Mortimer and Decker could hear both sides of the conversation. It was that nano-hearing of theirs, she supposed as she admitted, "No. Decker and Mortimer are here."
Both men looked put out, but she ignored them.
"Does your phone have speakerphone capabilities?"
"Yes," Dani said, for the first time grateful that she'd allowed the salesman to talk her into getting it.
"Put me on speaker then," Nicholas requested.
Dani did, then held the phone out in front of her. "Go ahead."
"Decker?"
"Yeah?" he asked grimly.
"The Four Seasons Hotel, room 1413," Nicholas said. "I'll give you five minutes to get on the road and then I'll call back." The phone clicked as he hung up.
Dani was moving before the sound died, hurrying down the hall toward the kitchen and the garage beyond. She was aware that Decker was on her heels and that Mortimer was following him, but her mind was on getting to the garage and a vehicle.
"We can take one of the SUVs," Mortimer suggested.
"A van would be better," Decker said quietly, and then added, "We don't know what shape Stephanie is in."
"He said she was alive," Dani announced, almost smiling with relief.
Her desire to smile died, however, when he pointed out gently, "Alive covers a whole lot of ground, Dani."
The image of the women in the ravine immediately rose up in her mind, and Dani bit her lip, her worry pouring back through her. Stephanie's mind could be healed or her memories erased, but she might still bear scars from this experience.
"We don't have a van," Mortimer pointed out, tugging them back to the matter at hand.
"I do."
They all paused and swung back at that announcement as Lucian stepped off the stairs and turned into the hall.
"What's happening?" he asked, moving toward them.
Dani continued on into the kitchen as the men paused to answer. She didn't really care if they took a van or a go-cart as long as they got to her sister. Her gaze landed on Justin as she entered the kitchen. The man was just closing the refrigerator door, a disgusted expression on his face. Turning to see her, he said, "We don't have a single thing to eat in this house. I should-"