Dangerous Stranger - Piper Stone Page 0,90

shifted in the passenger seat, his hand firmly planted around his weapon. While my decision to bring him meant the safe house location had been breached, I had no way of knowing what I’d walk into. If the security had been breached, an ambush planned, backup was needed.

What I couldn’t move past was Jorge’s reaction, the fear in his eyes and it wasn’t because of what he knew I was prepared to do. There was something being held over his head.

The last five minutes seemed to take forever, my fury encroaching on madness. I roared into the entrance, idling within feet as I studied the landscaping. If the area had been breached, the carefully designed foliage would have been destroyed, which was exactly what I intended on doing.

“What the hell is this place?” Montego asked, leaning forward.

“A taste of paradise.” I roared the Ferrari through the cultured vines and lush plants, hissing from the need to do so.

When I jerked the car to a stop only feet away, I heard Montego’s words of exclamation.

I wasted no time for explanation, merely pulling the SIG into my hands as I stormed toward the front door. There were no outward signs of forced entry but as I knocked three times, my stomach began to churn.

“Go around the back, Montego. Check the shoreline and the back deck,” I instructed, knocking twice more. “I want to make certain no one breached the perimeter from any direction.”

“Will do, boss.”

My throat felt constricted when there was no sound, no attempt at answering the door. There was also no time to waste. The second the handle turned, I kicked in the door, moving quickly to the doorframe, the weapon in both hands. I darted my head inside, quickly scanning the perimeter as I listened for any kind of noise, my eyes falling to the broken vase that had once been on the small table. I stepped inside, shifting from left to right before glancing at the security system. It had been disarmed.

She’d opened the door to someone.

I bolted into the house, moving from room to room. When I walked into the kitchen, the stench of stale, nearly burnt coffee assaulted my senses. The moment I turned off the maker, I noticed the pair of binoculars. What in the hell? I walked closer, glaring down at them as another round of adrenaline kicked.

I walked by the hidden room, glaring at the wide-open space, my instincts crawling like snakes all throughout my body. Something was very wrong.

Then I headed to my office, confirming what I already knew. Someone had been searching; the closet door open and contents of the desk gone through. With no sign of a vehicle, was it possible that Savannah had left of her own accord, deciding to run after all? What was the point of the binoculars? Snarling, I lowered my weapon, shoving it into the holster before storming closer to the desk.

What the hell had she been looking for?

“Boss, there’s evidence of a boat. Couldn’t have been long ago given the tracks in the sand.” Montego was out of breath, his face pinched.

Fuck.

The picture frame caught my eye, which meant she’d pried open the drawer. She’d be unable to make any sense of the information in the envelope, various codes indicating offshore accounts. However, why the fuck had she removed the photograph? I looked closer, knowing there had to be a damn good reason. Seeing the corner of the picture, I tugged it from under the keyboard. Why would she remove it in the first place?

When I turned it over, I realized why. She’d left me a message.

The painting I mentioned. The guy in the middle is the purchaser.

The erotic painting she’d told me about. Why would it be important for me to know who’d purchased it?

They were the only words written in black ink, yet as I flipped the photograph back over, my blood began to boil.

* * *

I had no doubt Savannah had seen someone outside the windows. Whatever training her asshole stepfather had given her had certainly included some form of surveillance tactics. I only hoped what he’d taught her would help keep her alive.

Betrayal was something that came with a bitter taste, this time the wretched copper tang of blood.

Savannah was unexpected in several ways, including her level of intelligence. The note had told me exactly what I needed to know, including how to find her. While the young girl at the galleria had been terrified of providing any information, she’d