Her limbs tingled. This was her only hope. Alice swallowed, "Hurry."
The large industrial sound of a lever screeched in the air and Alice's heart raced. As she swung, she opened her eyes and plastic hit her in the face. She grimaced, but then she saw the apartment floor below. Her entire body felt weak. She would survive.
"I came to confront the girl sleeping with Peter," Jennifer said.
Now was not a good time for conversation. Alice's heart thrashed in her ears.
"I was kidnapped." Her feet tiptoed on the floor. Jennifer had saved her. She'd never say another bad thing about her again. Then without one plea, Jennifer reached above her and tried to untie the rubber. With a grunt, the actress opened her purse and found her keys.
"I have a pocket knife for the handcuffs. These are not police-issued. Give me a second."
Nothing made sense. The Spanish telenovelas were filmed in a nice area of town, so Jennifer wouldn't need a knife, not that she was complaining. With a few strikes, her new best friend freed her.
Alice collapsed to the ground as she tried to compose herself. Tears in her eyes welled as she gripped the floor. "Thank you."
"The girl sleeping with Peter kidnapped you?"
"I didn't see a girl. It was John's boss at the FBI."
Jennifer reached out to help her stand. Alice's legs were weak, but she found her balance as Jennifer said, "No wonder Rafe said the government database was giving him trouble."
Alice rubbed her forehead. "He told you that?"
Jennifer held onto her arm as Alice stumbled closer to the door and the elevator. They had to get out of here in case Smith, or his mysterious benefactress, returned. "I was in his office demanding a name on that DNA."
Adrenaline pumped in her veins. "Is Officer Soliz here?"
"No. I drove here myself."
Jennifer let her go so Alice could walk on her own two feet. A few steps later, Alice had her strength back. "Jennifer, can you drive me to the Morgan mansion?"
Alice went to open the door, but Jennifer grabbed her hand. "Escuchar. The elevator just dinged in the hallway."
Her hands shook. "We can't be here."
"There is no place to hide."
Alice stared at her feet and then at Jennifer. Her gaze returned to her new friend. "Take off your heels."
"What?"
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hall. They were out of time.
Alice pointed. "Those can be used as weapons. We just have to get to the stairwell."
"You want me to run without high heels?"
She closed her eyes and prayed. "Yes."
As she opened her eyes, Jennifer handed her one shoe and kept the other, stiletto out. "I could just slap him."
Someone was outside the door. Alice tensed and whispered, "He's stronger than that."
"You've never seen me slap a man."
"Actually, I have. Hit and run to the stairs. This is the plan." The door handle opened. Alice gathered her energy that surged from the near-death adrenaline rush.
Smith stepped into the room. Alice lifted her hands and then crashed the shoe spike on his head. The heel broke, but he went down. "Run."
"You broke my shoe."
She grabbed Jennifer's hand and held tight. "Now."
Hand in hand they raced toward the stairwell. As the door closed behind them, Alice broke the glass on the fire alarm and pulled it.
The loud screeching sound pierced through the air. Other people joined them on the steps as they raced downward.
Her heart hammered in her chest as they made their way outside.
Chapter Thirty One
Excessive energy coursed through John as he held his phone. His mind raced as he waited for his security team to pick up on his ring. As he peered out the window, his hands twitched. No one answered. He paced. There should be video footage of his front yard.
As his hands shook he made a fast plan. First he'd call the police. Then he'd call DC and report what happened to Smith's superiors. None of this helped him search for Alice, but he had clues.
A racing heartbeat echoed in his chest as the phone rang again, but this time, he swung open the door and jogged to the car where Morgan's security should be.
Nobody was there. Pick up, Rafe. The seconds ticked and finally Officer Soliz answered. "Good morning, Mr. Morgan. What's going on?"
John rocked on his feet and peered inside the black van. "Alice was kidnapped out of my house."
Something metallic screeched in his ear as Rafe shouted, "What?"
He tapped his finger against the van window. "I let Special Agent Steven Smith into my house to collect my badge. I went to get the badge and when I came back, they were gone."
"I'm on my way."
John swung open the van door. No one was inside. "Security will have a video, if I can find them."
"John, we'll find her."
His neck stiffened. This wasn't good. "Hurry."
If no one was in the security truck, then either Smith went after his people or they were on patrol around the property.
No need to panic. He dialed Washington. With his free arm curled around the back of his head, he paced before his front door and waited to be connected to someone. Then he spoke to Smith's boss and repeated the story.
No matter what it took, he had to save Alice. His life wasn't as important. A few minutes later, the supervisor told him, "We're sending our men to help you now, Mr. Morgan."
The FBI and the police were both good at solving crimes, but not for prevention. He swallowed back his thoughts as a police cruiser came into view.
Rafe parked and walked from the cruiser, waving toward another patrolman who then sped away. John stared at his Mercedes. If he knew where to go, he'd be there already. He had to figure out where she was taken so he could get her back. As Rafe walked over and stood next to him, John couldn't hide his pain. "We have to find Alice."
Rafe patted him on the back. John shook his head. Sympathy didn't help her and that was all that mattered.
Security chose that moment to turn the corner from the back of his house. John crossed his arms. These two were supposed to answer their phones if they walked away from the van, not that it mattered. John called out to them, "Where is the video of Smith taking Alice?"
Both men stood straight, like they were new cadets in the Marines. One said, "We sent it in, sir."
John walked in front of them like a drill sergeant. "You did what?"
The boy shook in his boots as he repeated his training. "We saw the entire thing sir, including the black sedan take off from your driveway. Ron caught everything on video, and all digital files save automatically at Morgan security headquarters. From there, they disseminate the information."
The information rang in his head as truth. He backed up and stared at Rafe and then back to the men. "Give me the number immediately to whoever is on staff. Headquarters are still in the same place?"
"On the estate, sir."
"At Peter's house?"
"Yes."
Clarification always helped. John pointed Rafe to his driveway. They'd take his Mercedes. He then told the security detail, "Call it in to the police department too. We need to give Rafe the video. The license plate?"