Freeze Frame by Desiree Holt

Table of Content

• 1. Unnamed
• 2. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Published by Kindle Press, Seattle, 2017 Amazon, the Amazon logo, Kindle Scout, and Kindle Press are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
• 3. To Josh Felker, handgun instructor extraordinaire and former Army Ranger who helped me bring this book to life. There would be no Phoenix without you. It is often said that writing is a solitary job, but that’s not really true. This book, like so many others I have written, could not have come to life without the love and support of some really great people. You are always there when I need you, and support me even when I hit the proverbial wall. So Margie Hager, Kate Richards, Joe Trainor, and, of course, my wonderful children—Amy, Steven, and Suzanne—this is for you. And to all my wonderful friends in the writing world, and my incredible readers, Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
• 4. Contents Acknowledgments Note The Phoenix Agency Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Other romantic suspense by Desiree Holt About the Author
• 5. Acknowledgments Mark LaRue, LaRue Tactical Congressional Research Service Report to Congress on Drug Cartels The declassified Defense Intelligence Agency Coordinate Remote Viewing Manual
• 6. Note I see the scenes like pictures taken with an imperfect camera, where part of the images are missing. I adjust my mental f-stop, letting in a little more light, then a little more until the picture is clear and I can focus . . . focus . . . focus. Then a shutter in my brain goes click! And I see it. The image I’m reaching for. —Katherine Culhane, explaining remote viewing to Mike D’Antoni of the Phoenix Agency
• 7. The Phoenix Agency They served their country in every branch of the military—Army Delta Force, SEALs, air force, marines. They are pilots, snipers, medics—whatever the job calls for. And now as private citizens they serve in other capacities, as private consultants training security for defense contractors, as black ops combatants eradicating drug dealers, as trained operatives ferreting out traitors. With the women in their lives, each of whom have a unique psychic ability, they are a force to be reckoned with. Risen from the ashes of war, they continue to fight the battle on all fronts. They are Phoenix.
• 8. Chapter One The conference room had been darkened as she requested, the only light coming from a small lamp on a corner table. Katherine “Kat” Culhane settled herself at the head of the table in a comfortable chair so large it nearly swallowed her petite form but was exactly what she needed to relax her body. She looked at the man seated to her left, and nervously, she wet her lips. “I have to tell you again that when I’m at my best, my success rate hovers between eighty and ninety percent, and lately my . . . gift seems to be wavering.” Joel Singer put his hand over hers. “I understand. You made yourself very clear. But the Graumans are willing to take this chance. They don’t know what else to do.” Katherine had been very reluctant when he’d called three days ago, introducing himself as a private investigator and asking for her help with a case. Her remote viewing powers had been wavering for the past couple of months, a problem that disturbed her a great deal. It was almost as if the
• 9. Chapter Two Kat insisted on driving Mari to the airport, to the private terminal where the Wright International aircraft were kept. A sleek-looking Gulfstream V stood on the tarmac, waiting for its passengers to board while the pilot did his preflight check and took care of other last-minute business. Eli and Sydney Wright, and their teenage daughter, Lissa, were already inside the small terminal building and greeted Mari warmly. Kat had seen pictures of them and always commented on what an extremely good-looking family they were—the tall, muscular man with the wavy black hair and a dimple in his chin, the slim redhead looking up at him with affection, and a younger female version with the same lustrous hair and slender build. She bet they looked good in magazine shots and newspaper publicity. “I’m so glad you’re coming with us.” Sydney enveloped Mari in a quick hug. “I told the slave driver we need some ‘girl time’ while we’re there.” “Mom’s right,” Lissa added. “And where you guys go
• 10. Chapter Three Eli Wright’s head throbbed, and his throat burned. But he forced himself to lie quietly as he tried to assess the situation. His hands and feet were bound with what appeared to be duct tape, and he was folded up in a cramped position. Sydney, Lissa, and Mari were lying next to him, still out cold and in equally uncomfortable positions. And no one had taken note of the fact that he was actually awake. As long as he could fool them, he could try to make some sense out of what was happening. Try to remember landmarks or anything else that would be helpful. They were in the same van, riding along yet another bumpy road. He ran his gaze over the women as best he could from his twisted position, satisfying himself that they had no visible bruises or wounds and that they were at least still breathing. The next thought that slammed into him was the two dead security guards and poor Len, an earnest young man, dumped out like so much garbage. He had to swallow hard to keep from vom
• 11. Chapter Four The man sometimes known Rip stood in his office, looking out at interstate traffic passing not a hundred yards from his building. It was late, and the roadway was a blur of headlights cutting into the night. Ants, he thought, moving in armies, rushing from place to place with no other purpose in life than to survive. Well, wasn’t that what he was doing? Something to survive? “Yes, I’m here,” he said into his cell phone. “Remember. Make sure they aren’t harmed in any way.” “We will handle them with kid gloves,” the man on the other end of the conversation told him. “Royalty wouldn’t be treated any better.” “Cut it out, Nando.” The man’s arrogance irritated him beyond belief. “I know how the great cartel lord Victor Herrera treats his guests. And you take tremendous pleasure in carrying out his unpleasant orders. I want these people returned in one piece. Hurting them isn’t part of the bargain.” Nando Aguilar’s low chuckle sent chills skittering along Rip’s spine. “But it is
• 12. Chapter Five When they had all been hustled onto the plane, Eli heard the men speaking angrily in Spanish and wished he’d spent more time learning it. The voices rose and fell, then someone stomped through the plane. Eli felt the prick of a needle as he was injected with something. At once he felt dizzy and thick-tongued. “What did you give me?” he demanded. “What’s going on?” “A minor delay,” his captor said. “Our travel arrangements have been changed slightly. We want to make sure you all get a good night’s sleep while we’re waiting.” “Where are my pilots? Did you kill them, too?” He chuckled, a sound Eli heard as pure evil. “No, Señor Wright. They are sleeping soundly in a motel room, and by the time they wake up in twenty-four hours, they will be fully rested.” Although the engines didn’t fire up, the plane began to move, and Eli assumed they were being towed. But before the rolling motion stopped, he passed out, the drug taking its effect. Eli was the first to awake, having no ide
• 13. Chapter Six “Do you have the video?” the man known as Rip asked the person on the other end of the phone. His nerves were fraying, and he wanted this damn thing over as soon as possible. “I’m insulted you even ask,” Nando answered. “We’re getting ready to email it in a minute.” “This has to be timed just right,” Rip reminded him. “Hit all the key people as simultaneously as possible.” “Just be sure to play your part,” Nando ordered. “Get off my back, okay? I have more at stake here than you do.” “Just making sure there are no slip-ups on your end. You know what you have to do. This has been discussed over and over. The plan is made. Follow it.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with.” Rip snapped the cell phone shut and tossed it onto his desk. Waiting for the two men from the Phoenix Agency hadn’t done a lot for his nerves, and their conversation had been even worse. He just hoped he’d pulled it off. At least he wasn’t the only one they were focusing on. And maybe they’d thi
• 14. Chapter Seven The situation in San Diego was a disaster. Mike landed at the private airport the Wrights used, taxied up to the terminal, and told the man who came out of the adobe building they might only be there for a couple of hours. The man had just finished putting blocks behind the wheels when a man whose badge indicated he was the airport manager came running out to them. “I monitored your incoming comm,” he said. “Which one of you is D’Antoni?” Mike stepped forward. “I am. What’s the problem?” “You the one who called here, checking on the Wright International plane?” Mike nodded. Mark had come up to stand quietly next to him. “We just got a call from a man who says he’s the chief pilot for Wright,” the manager told them. “Doesn’t sound too good, I’ll tell you.” “What did he say?” Mark prodded impatiently. “Yesterday when he and the copilot left to go into town for lunch, their car was waylaid and they were kidnapped and drugged. Apparently they’ve been stashed in some motel, an
• 15. Chapter Eight Kat was glad Mike grabbed her arm to support her, or she was sure she’d have fainted. He eased her down on the couch, poured the rest of the liquor from the tiny bottle into her cup, and held it up to her. “Drink,” he ordered. “Now.” She swallowed it quickly, her eyes tearing as it burned her throat, but it chased away the jitters. “I want to know what your office said.” Mark told everyone what Andy had pulled from the email and what the video had shown. “So we know they’re all alive and unharmed. For the moment, anyway.” “How did they look in the picture?” She wanted to know. “Could Andy see enough in the video?” Mark nodded. “He said they looked dirty and tired but otherwise okay. And now that Andy’s in Pelley’s system and Post’s, he can monitor for the next video email. I think that’s the one where we’ll find out how much they want. But here’s a kicker for you.” Mike frowned. “What?” “Andy tried to backtrack the link to find out who sent it, but it’s anonymous and boun
• 16. Chapter Nine The three men were having another conference call, and it was a toss-up which of them was suffering the most anxiety. With the FBI now watching all of them, they’d each retreated to their respective restrooms, returning the first call and waiting until they were all connected. It had been hell, constantly switching telephones, using throwaways, and having to send the numbers encrypted to each other. But with the FBI monitoring everything, they couldn’t afford to take chances. “I don’t know what you two are bitching about,” Pelley said. “I’m the one who’s in the middle of all this.” “Yeah?” Ryan Post’s voice was scratchy from lack of sleep. “Well, I got a call not half an hour ago that some agent would be at my doorstep any minute to ask me what I knew about my sister’s whereabouts. Now I’ve got not just him but also someone hooking up tracers to all my communications equipment. Personal and business. I thought these guys were supposed to be discreet? Not make themselves so
• 17. Chapter Ten Kat was sure that she glowed. That everything she and Mike had done was imprinted on her somehow for everyone to see. She was beyond self-conscious when the Hallorans joined them in their suite, but Faith, as usual, made her feel at ease. Even when Mike couldn’t keep himself from touching her, whether it was draping his arm around her or rubbing his finger along her arm or her hand, the other couple acted as if it was business as usual. When room service arrived and they sat down at the table to eat, Mark gave them a rundown on what they’d been doing. “We went back to the airport,” Mark said, cutting into his steak. “I wanted to go over their plane very carefully and see if there was anything there you could use, Kat. I did a little reading on remote viewing on my laptop and learned that it’s a type of clairvoyance. That often it’s symbols or images—not just specific coordinates—that can bring images to your mind. That you’re actually ‘seeing’ with your brain rather than yo
• 18. Chapter Eleven By ten o’clock, Mark and Michael had printed out everything they could find on Victor Herrera and the Sinaloa cartel. The only thing they couldn’t find was the exact location of Herrera’s estate. There were brief descriptions of it, more than five hundred acres somewhere in the state of Sinaloa, but no one knew or would tell exactly where. “Arrgh,” Faith said, massaging her neck. She’d been going over the printouts from Tess one more time, hoping in her own research there’d be some kind of clue. Sinaloa was a huge geographic area. It would take days—maybe even weeks—to search every inch of it. “We could try taking a pass with the helicopter,” Mike said, “but if Herrera’s got his own army and he sees us overfly his house, they could have missiles and easily shoot us down.” “We’ve got to pin down a location, then try to scout it.” Mark stood up and went to the minibar, pulling out a soft drink. “Let me try a session again,” Kat said, impatient to be doing something. She se
• 19. Chapter Twelve Kat was a bundle of nerves in the morning, but she knew Mike needed her to keep herself together. She’d given them everything she could about the location where the hostages were being held. Now it was up to them to pinpoint it. She fidgeted through breakfast, waiting for Ed’s call letting them know that he’d arrived. “If you push those eggs around anymore, they’re going to jump off the plate,” Mike teased. She knew he was trying to ease her tension. “I’m sorry.” She set her fork down on the edge of her plate. “I’m just having a hard time waiting.” “I know, kitten.” He took one of her hands in his and squeezed it. “But I promise you we’ll get this done. Now come on. Eat a little. Then we’re going to put some alternate plans together for when Ed gets here.” Obediently she picked up her fork, put a tiny bite of egg in her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. It tasted like Styrofoam. “Do you think you should try calling Ron Pelley or that FBI agent again? Maybe they’ve heard s
• 20. Chapter Thirteen Ron Pelley rode in the car with Anthony Delaware, one of four cars doing a “follow and drop” on the signal coming from the envelope with the bearer bonds. One car had finally caught up with the motorcycle and relayed the position back to the others. In staggered movements that car dropped back, another took its place, and so on. The motorcycle hadn’t entered the interstate, instead taking side roads. Delaware had placed a hand radio on the seat between himself and Pelley so they could both hear what was happening. “I’ve still got him,” the agent picking up the signal on a laptop told him. “Everyone keep heading in the same general direction.” “No one for more than five or six blocks at a time,” Delaware warned. He glanced over at the man sitting next to him. He could tell Pelley’s nerves were on the ragged edge, and he had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next. “Boss, he’s stopped,” the man with the laptop said, interrupting the agent’s thoughts. “The
• 21. Chapter Fourteen “Your boys from Phoenix are busy,” Jason Malone said into the telephone to Anthony Delaware, launching into a brief rundown on their activities.” As the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Diego office, he’d been kept in the loop from the beginning, but he hadn’t yet been able to be much help. He’d questioned everyone at the airfield where the Wright International plane was still parked and at the restaurant where they’d eaten lunch. Someone had finally remembered the van that took off with the Wright party, but no one had any information about it. He’d put feelers out on the street, too, trying to find the identity of the kidnapper. He and Anthony Delaware had finally agreed that it was the work of a drug cartel, but pinning down the specific cartel was like chasing a butterfly. He’d had the agents in his office work their snitches, but there were still no results. People were afraid of the cartel leaders. They’d rather go to jail than face the wrath of any of th
• 22. Chapter Fifteen After they’d packed everything up and just before they checked out of the hotel, Dan called the Wright pilots and asked them to hang on a little longer. Then he persuaded them to take part in a little charade at the airfield. Just in case anyone was watching, they all put on a show. Mike and Ed engaged the manager in a loud conversation about winds and weather, asked him about traffic conditions heading east, and made sure anyone hanging around the terminal heard both of them announcing their intention to head back to San Antonio. “You mean you’re leaving without finding out what happened to your friend?” one of the pilots asked. The two of them had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and were standing around drinking coffee. “Sorry,” Mike said. “We’ve decided to leave it all to the FBI. They’re better equipped to handle this.” “What about your friend?” the manager asked Mike. “Weren’t you looking for someone in particular?” Mike pulled Kat close to him and hugged her. “We
• 23. Chapter Sixteen Nando finally made his escape from Victor Herrera’s wrath, happy to have his skin in one piece, never mind his life. He had never seen El Jefe in such a rage. Not that he himself was any too pleased. How in the hell had these people, whoever they were, learned who had taken the hostages, where they were kept, and yanked them out from under the very noses of El Jefe’s personal guards? Because they had gotten sloppy, he told himself. Too confident. A mistake he’d never make again. His men were burying the dead and tending to the survivors even as he retreated to the safety of his own quarters. He pulled out his cell phone, his hands shaking as he pressed the speed dial for the man he was sure had betrayed him. Señor Rasgon would regret this, every day of his miserable life. Nando would exact his pound of flesh and more. And remind the man it was very unhealthy to make an enemy of the great Victor Herrera. The phone rang four times on the other end before going to voice ma
• 24. Other romantic suspense by Desiree Holt The Phoenix Agency Jungle Inferno Extrasensory Scent of Danger (Preorder August, 2017) Feel the Heat (Preorder August, 2017) Vigilance Hide and Seek (October, 2017) Without Warning (March 2018) A Deadly Business (August 2018) Strike Force Unconditional Surrender Lock and Load (Available November, 2017) Retreat to the Rear (Available 2018) Take No Quarter (Available 2018) Corporate Heat Where Danger Hides Double Deception (Available Fall, 2017) Book #3 (Available 2018) Book #4 (Available 2018)
• 25. About the Author Desiree Holt has produced more than two hundred titles in nearly every subgenre of romance fiction. Her stories are enriched by her personal experiences, her characters by the people she meets. After fifteen years in the great state of Texas, she relocated back to Florida to be closer to members of her family and a large collection of friends. Her favorite pastimes are watching football, reading, and researching her stories. Learn more about her and read her novels here: www.desireeholt.com www.desiremeonly.com www.facebook.com/desireeholtauthor www.facebook.com/desireeholt Twitter @desireeholt Pinterest: desiree02holt Google: www.desiree02holt LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/desiree01holt Follow her on Bookbub: http://support.bookbub.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2252078-what-are-new-release-alerts-?b_id=4259 Keep up with her on her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ce7DeE