Calm Waters: Tempest Bleu, #1

By K. A. Bryant

In CAPTURED, they broke her heart. Now it's her turn. A storm barrels through town while the true Tempest brews. It wan't what they did to her that stirred the waters. It was what they did not do. They didn't help the love of her life.

Tempest Bleu Series:

 

A quiet Sunday school teacher and devoted wife has her life torn apart when her beloved husband  is brutally taken from her. He designed panic rooms for the rich and famous.  He was a trusted consultant to Presidents around the world. The world knew him. The world trusted him, but she loved him.

 

The unrelenting bond between Tempest and her four friends brings them together at a street side cafe every month for coffee. Over the cloth-covered table, their lives collide and adventures begin. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. A. Bryant
• Release date: May 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393010999

K. A. Bryant

Author of Amazon Best Seller, Mark of the Two-Edged Sword, K. A. Bryant is author of fiction espionage, political crime novels. Captured is the second book in the Caleb Promise Series. Blogger, K. A. Bryant is dedicated to encouraging and others to reach for their dreams by offering practical strategies to do so. 2020 will hold the launch of her non-fiction line tasked with enlarging this effort. K. A. Bryant books are available world-wide on multiple platforms as she brings a refreshing take on espionage and political thrillers with the Caleb Promise Series and the soon to come heroine series. To find out more, sign up for the K. A. Bryant mailing list on  kabryant.com.

Book preview

Dedicated to God who is the head of my life,

To My darling husband for your unwavering support and prayers,

My loving children, for being a great joy

&

My dear parents whose love lifts my heart continuously.

Thank you Dad for your tireless work & dedication.

The best is yet to come!

"Stretch further than you thought you could,

Reach higher than you feel you should,

&

Dive deeper than you ever would.

Then... you are living."

-K. A. Bryant

Chapter One

AdobeStock256202758_Swirl_Divider.jpg

Tempest Bleu

Mexico, The United States Embassy

ANOTHER FAKE FINGERNAIL pops off. She doesn’t feel it. Even if she did, she wouldn’t have cared. Where is he? Tempest squeezes her purse even tighter. She stares at the Embassy door, praying he will come bursting through them as desperate to find her as she is to find him.

Her arms tucked deep into her sides. The arms of the metal chair hold her like he would. She clawed her way through the protesters surrounding the embassy, believing that once she crossed through those thick soaring steel double doors, she would be overcome with a feeling she has not felt since their plane landed... safe. She was wrong.

The United States Embassy is bursting with United States citizens lining the walls. Her bleach-blond strands of hair cling to her head. The inadequate cool air from the air-conditioning is no match for the blistering Mexican sun. Clearly it was not intended to cool the two-hundred people that ran into its doors waving American passports. The air was musky and the smell of perspiration was overwhelming.

Her glassy eyes scan the crowd, searching for Christian. Were these people here for the same reason she was? She felt fortunate to get a seat. At first she thought the man gave up his seat out of gentlemanly kindness; but watching him pace in front of her clutching a photo, she figures that he must be doing it out of sheer restlessness. Could it be that it happened to him too?

Her sleeve is torn with speckles of blood soaked through her white blouse. Her heart thumps in her chest. Is this really happening? The angry voices of protesters spill in each time the door opens. Suddenly, the building shakes and slender barred windows shudder. An explosion. She pulls her purse to her stomach. Her breath shortens, and she heaves for the next.

Three American soldiers with automatic machine guns part the crowd and rush out the front door. Reinforcements for the outnumbered troops outside. Tempest closes her eyes. Her foot shakes nervously. Beads of sweat stream down her forehead into her already smeared makeup. Their second honeymoon was not supposed to go like this.

Bottles smash against the stone facade. The anxious buzz in the embassy turns to screams and emotional meltdowns. Despite the sturdy double doors being closed, they could all hear it. The Go home shouted by the protesters erupt into chants of burn it down!

The seat grips her sides tightly. They were never made for a full sized woman, but this one is exceptionally uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s not the seat. Perhaps it’s the fact that her darling husband is not beside her as he has been for the last twenty-five years. They married young, but she was ready. He was ready. They never regretted one moment.

Amid her deep breathing exercises, a small, strangely calm man walks out of the steel door that separated the waiting room from the Embassy offices, extending a piece of paper in his hand as far as he can to read it.

TEMPEST BLEU!

She holds down the chair arm as she squeezes herself out of the seat. I’m here! I’m here! Eager to disappear behind that thick door and escape the madness of the masses.

He propped the door open with his foot. Identification, please, he says without looking at her. He is only interested in the passport. She opens it to the photo page and turns it to him. He glances at the picture, then at her. Having confirmed the resemblance, he steps aside, bracing the door with his back and allows her to enter. The heavy steel door closes and locks behind them.

HIS OFFICE CHAIR IS the same as the one in the waiting room. Tempest digs into her purse and pulls out Christian’s passport. Certain he will ask for it, she opens it to his photo page. Then it hit her. Thick tears stream down her full cheeks and she gasps to catch her breath. Again, without looking at her, the strangely calm man slides a box of tissues in front of her. He pauses for a moment, knowing she will regain composure. Blowing her nose, she wonders how she will ever get through repeating what just happened to her and Christian. She can’t believe it herself.

She spewed her story like a rapid-fire weapon, eager to relieve itself of its stack of bullets. She didn’t realize just how truly desperate she was to rid herself of the torrid weight of it until it poured out. Sputtering and events shuffled, the story went forward, reversed and then caught up to itself again. Finally, the last of it broke free.

Breathless, she rubs her moist palms on the thighs of her pants, waiting for him to say something... anything. He sits, staring at her blankly. She knew it was an unbelievable story. But what she didn’t know was that he had heard far stranger tales. She squeezes her hands and twists her wedding band, waiting. His is expressionless. She had expected him to pick up the phone and dispatch a troop of soldiers into the streets of Mexico to find  Christian.

DO YOU KNOW OF ANYBODY who would want to harm your husband? He asks calmly.

You didn’t even ask his name, she says, glaring at him.

HE SIGHS KNOWING THAT just having the person speak the name of the missing loved one evokes a flow of emotions that often makes getting the facts very difficult. Madam, every person who walks through this door is equally important to me. Knowing your husband’s name will not help me find him. Knowing the circumstances of his disappearance, will. I need to get this information from you while it is still fresh in your mind. He looks at Tempest over his dark framed glasses, his pen hovers above the paper he was writing on.  Where was the office of this dentist located?

TEMPEST’S EYES SEARCH the office as she thinks. She recalls the large shopping mall. She can even recall the face of the seemingly kind taxi driver that referred them to the dentist. But she cannot for the life of her remember the name of the shopping mall that the dentist office was in.

I’M SORRY I DON’T RECALL. Tempest says.

He exhales deeply, frustrated. Fine, approximately how long was the drive from the airport to the shopping mall? Five minutes, ten? He props his pen to write her answer.

Again, Tempests eyes dart across the office. I’m sorry... I just don’t recall. Christian was in so much pain. That’s all I was thinking about.

All right, you said that there was a young woman who escorted you away from your husband while you were both waiting in the dentist’s office to be seen. Does your husband make it a habit of going to doctors in foreign countries?

Sir, my husband doesn’t make it a habit of going to doctors at all. After they served breakfast on the plane, he got an excruciating toothache and the kind taxi driver told us he knew of a good dentist.

So you followed his advice and went straight to the dentist from the airport?

No, she rolls her eyes. We checked in at the hotel, put our luggage in the room while the taxi driver waited in front of the hotel for us.

What was the name of the taxi company? He readies his pen.

She shakes her head. I didn’t notice. We had luggage, we were hot, and we just got into the taxi. Remember, sir, my husband was in a great deal of pain.

All right, let’s get back to what you told me earlier. So this woman took you to an office down the hall from the dentist’s office that had no windows and kept you there. Did she force you to stay in the room?

No, I did not feel forced... well... I felt compelled to stay because she said that the doctor would not see Americans without certain forms being completed. She said she was the insurance processor for them.

So you felt that staying with her would help your husband see the doctor faster? He asks.

Yes, in fact, when she saw me trying to fill out the stack of forms, she called the office to give them clearance to see Christian.

THE SMALL MAN’S FACE remained blank, but he sat back in his chair. He held the pen between his forefinger and thumb and bounced it. His eyes look down to the file-topped desk as if he had heard something that triggered a dark thought. He didn’t even jump as she did to the sound of a loud boom outside of the Embassy. She could hear the jeers of the angry crowd outside growing louder.

AT FIRST, I THOUGHT that the woman was quite nice to do that considering she had not verified  my information. That was... until I realized. He sits forward in his seat and focuses. I realize that the office was odd. Tempest muttered, ashamed that she didn’t notice it earlier.

What do you mean odd? He asks.

There was nothing personal in there. That’s not the way a woman’s desk or office would be. There were no pictures. There were no flowers. There was no name tag. There was no purse. Then, I felt afraid. The room became sweltering, and she excused herself to adjust the air conditioning. She was gone a while, and I turned around and that is when I saw it.

His eyebrows raise. Saw what? He asks.

I saw the small thermostat on the wall beside the door. Tempest’s glassy stare widens.

Chapter Two

AdobeStock256202758_Swirl_Divider-1.jpg

HE stops bouncing his pen. He leans forward. Now he was interested. Now he was engaged. She knew that if he was truly interested in what happened to Christian, he would work harder to find him.

PLEASE, CONTINUE.

TEMPEST SWALLOWS DREADING the questions that may follow. Questions like, why didn’t you notice this sooner? How could you be duped so easily? She couldn’t imagine these words leaving his lips, but these are questions she fears she may have to answer one day. She has never had to think along these lines. Christian was her covering in every sense of the word. Now she would have to think about everything. She would have to assess and navigate and decide. Three things she didn’t have to do when her covering was in place.

I SENSED THAT SOMETHING was wrong as I looked closely at the phone she used to call the dentist’s office. It was a black old fashion phone. She glances at her lap. It was not connected. The cord was dangling off the side of the desk and the papers she was writing on were just scribbles and indiscriminate check marks.

TEMPEST BREAKS DOWN and sobs. She pulls a handkerchief out of her purse and almost blows her nose in it when she realizes it is Christian’s. It is the handkerchief she used to dab his forehead as he perspired profusely in the bouncing taxi cab. Her hand trembles as she holds it. She gently folds it and places it in the zipper pocket inside her purse and pulls a tissues from the box on the desk.

HOW DID YOU GET OUT of the room? He writes on the paper again.

The door was open. Tempest says flatly.

SHE LOOKS UP AT HIM wide-eyed. Until now, they were broken pieces of her memory rather than a full sequence of events. Saying it  aloud, she knew that this was calculated. She and Christian were targeted. She glances down at her oversized diamond wedding ring. She thinks about their Louis Vuitton matching luggage. Without even realizing it they were sticking out like a sore thumb.

Tempest swallows again  to control her emotions in order to help them find Christian. She watched enough police movies to know that the longer it takes for them to get on the trail, the harder it will be for them to find him. She squeezes her purse.

SHOULDN’T YOU SEND someone out now? There must be something that we can do. Sitting here answering questions will not get Christian found.

Mrs. Bleu, you were extremely brave to come to the embassy under the circumstances. As you can see, the Mexican government is in the middle of a coup and the tide has turned against American presence in the country. Every Mexican police officer in this city is now engaged and trying to control looting and abductions in the city. He points towards the waiting room. "There are stacks of Americans out there just like you with love ones missing, and I’m going to tell you the same thing that I am telling each one of them. There is a mass exodus of Americans from Mexico happening right now. Return to your hotel. They will have made plans for buses to take Americans to the airport. The best thing you can do for your husband is to return home and engage the proper channels to find him. I will make every effort to locate your husband. You cannot help your husband if you get yourself killed. Get on the bus.

I am not being cold. I am staying clear minded so that I can help you and every person in that waiting room. Are you certain that there is no one that would have wanted to harm your husband on this trip? Is there anything else that you can remember about the dentist office, the shopping mall... anything?

Yes, it was dark. Tempest grips her purse and twists.

What was dark?

The mall... the entire mall was dark. It was as if the rapture happened and I was left behind. It was empty. The lights were off and every shop was closed. There were hundreds of people walking through that mall when I went in her office. I went to the dentist's office, and it was closed also. I broke the glass on the door to get into the office.

SHE FEELS HER HEART rate increasing and desperation wrapping itself around her neck like a firm gripping hand that won’t let go. The air in the office is stagnant. She does not want to leave without having some resolve. She knows soon he will issue the order to her again to leave the office and return to the hotel unless she can come up with something that gives him a reason to get on Christian’s search quickly.

He sees the desperation in her eyes and believes that this woman truly loves her husband. He places his hands in his lap and discreetly spins his wedding ring. Now and then it happens. He thinks about what it would be like if you were sitting on the opposite side of that desk pleading for someone to find his Rachel.

IS THAT HOW YOU CUT your arm and hand? He asks softly.

Tempest looks down at her arm. She hadn’t noticed that her hand was still bleeding. My arm? She pulls her sleeve up. No, this happened outside. A protester’s sign. Please! No matter how much it costs, I can pay. Find my husband. Find my Christian Bleu!

A light flickers in his eyes. He sits up straight in his chair and his face flushes red. Excuse me for a moment. He rushes out of the office.

TEMPEST SITS BACK CONFUSED. Did she get through to him? Did he finally feel her pain? Was her plea enough for him to send troops out for Christian? Her foot shakes nervously again and her purse so deeply drawn into her gut that it feels like a part of her. Her blouse sticks to her back and although she can barely turn in the chair, she looks through the half glass wall separating his office from the hallway.

The small man is in the office across the hall speaking to a man wearing a full suit. He is leaned in deeply toward him and pointing at her. His toupee shifts slightly as he speaks. The man in the tie makes a telephone call. The small man paces behind him. When the phone call ends, the man hangs up the phone and speaks discreetly into the small man’s ear.

Surprised, the small man stands straight up, stares at him for a moment then relents. He nods and walks toward her. Tempest exhales eager to hear his plan. Hope swells in her belly. She releases her purse slightly and scoots her way to the edge of the chair as he enters the office. But he doesn’t sit. Instead, he stands in the open doorway.

MRS. BLEU, THANK YOU for coming in. Please know that I will do everything that I can to assist with finding your husband. Return to your hotel immediately do not stop anywhere. I will submit a request for the local police to contact you. Is there someone you can call in the States?

I don’t understand. You are supposed to help me. The only thing you’re doing is telling me to go back to my hotel and call someone from home for help! Get on a bus? I came here with my husband and I intend to leave here with my husband. Her hands tremble. Not because she’s afraid, but she has not raised her voice to anyone in years.

SHE realized quickly that it was futile to argue with him. She returned to the hotel as advised with a few more bumps and scrapes from pushing her way through the enraged protesters that surrounded the Embassy. Thankfully, they