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  F-Stop

  Desiree Holt

  Book 4 in the Phoenix Agency series.

  Kat Culhane hasn’t seen Mike D’Antoni for two years until they run into each other in Texas. Time has passed but the heat between them hasn’t diminished. Hello leads to lunch, lunch leads to dinner, and dinner leads to bed…and the most erotic sex they’ve ever had.

  When Kat’s sister disappears, along with her boss and his family, Mike and the Phoenix Agency roll into action, with Kat’s remote viewing abilities playing a key role in the search. At night she loses herself in Mike’s arms as his hands and mouth soothe and seduce her. In addition to finding her sister, it’s obvious to Kat and Mike that this time around, they also have to find a way to hang on to each other.

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

  www.ellorascave.com

  F-Stop

  ISBN 9781419934278

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  F-Stop Copyright © 2011 Desiree Holt

  Edited by Helen Woodall

  Cover art by Syneca

  Electronic book publication September 2011

  The terms Romantica® and Quickies® are registered trademarks of Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  The publisher and author(s) acknowledge the trademark status and trademark ownership of all trademarks, service marks and word marks mentioned in this book.

  The publisher does not have any control over, and does not assume any responsibility for, author or third-party Web sites or their content.

  F-Stop

  Desiree Holt

  Dedication

  To my very own personal hero, who dared me to be myself and who lives on in all my heroes. And to Marilyn Campbell, without whom none of The Phoenix Agency books would have been written. You rock!

  Acknowledgments

  Much of the information in this book was derived from the Controlled Remote Viewing Manual by Paul H. Smith, (Major, Ret.) and the Firedocs Web Site.

  Congressional Research Service Report to Congress on Drug Cartels

  Mark LaRue, LaRue Tactical

  The Declassified Defense Intelligence Agency Remote Viewing Manual

  Author Note

  “I see the scenes like pictures taken with an imperfect camera, where parts 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.

  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 in the comfortable chair at the head of the table, so large it nearly swallowed her petite form but 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, 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 f/stop of the camera in her brain was refusing to let in the amount of light she needed to clarify the picture she was reaching for. One of the reasons she had finally agreed to come to San Antonio was to meet with some people she believed could help her. And of course, the fact that her sister Mari lived here was a big plus.

  It also gave her the opportunity to leave Tampa for a couple of weeks. Put some distance between herself and a problem there she didn’t want to deal with. Sometimes she wondered how much that problem had to do with her current psychic stress, then dismissed it as rationalizing.

  She sighed, tucked a few strands of her thick, lustrous, streaky-blonde hair behind her ears and nodded. “I’ll do my best. You said their son had an auto accident about half an hour from here in the Hill Country. They found his car but not him?”

  Joel nodded. “The car was pretty racked up. The theory is he managed to get out but sustained a head injury, wandered away and lord knows where he is.”

  “What about dogs? Trackers? They usually do a good job in cases like this.”

  “The area around the crash is filled with streams. If he splashed through one of them the dogs would lose the scent.” He studied her with an intent gaze. “You really are their best hope. If you can do anything they’ll be terribly grateful.”

  “I’ll give it my best shot. Did you write down the coordinates where the car was found?”

  “Yes.” He slid an index card in front of her. “You said that was all you wanted.”

  She nodded. “That’s right. Now I need you to just sit quietly next to me.”

  Katherine closed her eyes and let her mind open itself, reaching for the layers that could extend beyond her immediate space. In a moment an image flickered, like an old-time movie, black and white and fuzzy at the edges.

  She swallowed. “I see a piece of road. A curve. And a large tree. Wait.” She focused harder, willing the images to come to her. “More trees. And water on the road.”

  “Yes, that’s it.”

  She could tell Joel Singer was trying to keep the excitement from his voice. “It was raining that night and he lost control on a curve.”

  Then her mental screen went black and Katherine gritted her teeth in frustration. Exhaling a long breath, she focused again. This time the picture was a little clearer.

  “I see a hill past the trees. And boulders. Large ones. Wait! More water.” She pushed her mental layers as hard as she could. “A creek. And something black and white.” She wrinkled her nose. “I think it smells.”

  She reached for the pad of paper and pencil she’d asked him to have ready and began sketching—the curve, the tree, the hill, the blob of black and white. A stream. And then the image sharpened in her mind and froze, framed as if by a camera.

  “A cave,” she said. “But not really a cave. A big hole in the rock.”

  “That’s it.” He hitched his chair closer. “There are lots of big cave-like holes in the limestone around there. It’s easy to fall into them. Anything else?”

  “I don’t think it’s far from the creek. There’s a pile of boards on the ground.”

  Then it was gone. Katherine rubbed her face, trying to force her mind back into viewing
mode, but nothing appeared on her mental screen.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “That’s all I’ve got. I told you I’ve been having some problems.”

  “It may be enough.” He had his cell phone out and was already dialing. “I’ve had people waiting at the crash site to see if you came up with anything. Yeah, Chuck? Here’s what we’ve got.” He repeated everything Katherine had said. “I’m going to fax her sketches directly to your cell. Call me back but meantime, get moving.”

  “I hope that helps,” she told him.

  “It’s more than we’ve had up until now. Let’s wait in here until I get a call back. No sense getting the Graumans’ hopes up if it comes to nothing.”

  “I agree.” Katherine leaned back in the chair and sent up a silent prayer that she’d been able to help.

  “Would you like some coffee while we wait?” Joel asked. “I have some fresh on the sideboard.”

  “Yes, that would be nice. Thanks. Just black, please.”

  He filled two mugs, brought them back to the table and handed her one. They sat in silence, sipping, waiting for the cell phone to ring. When it did, they both jumped. Katherine listened to Joel’s side of the conversation and watched his face. When a smile broke out she allowed herself a full breath.

  “They’ve got him,” he told her, snapping the phone shut. “He’d banged his head and become disoriented, managing to get out of the car and stumble away. We were right that he’d staggered through the creek and up the hill on the other side. Then he twisted his ankle and fell into that limestone hole.”

  “But why didn’t the trackers find him? The dogs?”

  Joel chuckled. “Simple answer. He ended up disturbing the home of a skunk, which sprayed the area with his odiferous perfume, effectively killing every other scent in the area.”

  “How is he?” Katherine was almost afraid to ask.

  “Badly hurt, dehydrated and weak from blood loss but nothing that a hospital can’t fix. We got to him in time, thanks to you.”

  “Thank god,” she breathed.

  “We need to tell his parents,” Joel said. “I think they can use some good news.”

  * * * * *

  “Kat, that is so wonderful.”

  Mari Culhane hugged her sister. She’d come home from work to find Katherine stretched out on the couch, nursing a glass of white wine and looking thoroughly exhausted.

  It was easy to tell the women were related. Same petite figures. Same emerald eyes. Only where Kat’s hair was a naturally streaked honey-blonde, Mari’s was more of a chocolate color with golden highlights. And where Mari was exuberant, Katherine was restrained, almost rigidly self-contained. But the affection between them was obvious to anyone who looked.

  “Yes but it might have turned out worse.” She sipped at the wine. “I told Joel, just as I told you. My powers have been wavering lately, like a light bulb just before it goes out. What if I hadn’t been able to help? What if my gift failed me?”

  Mari kicked off her shoes and flopped into a chair. “But it didn’t and that’s the important thing. Anyway, didn’t you say part of the reason for this trip was to meet with some women from a group called The Lotus Circle to see if they could help you?”

  “Yes. And I’m grateful you let me show up on your doorstep this way.”

  “Oh honey, you know my door is always open.” She giggled. “Unless I have a towel on the doorknob.”

  When they’d shared an apartment right after college, that had been the signal that one or the other was entertaining company.

  Mari fetched a wineglass from the kitchen, poured herself a drink from the bottle in the fridge and returned to her seat. “So tell me. What is this Lotus Circle? What do they do?”

  “To explain that, I need to give you a short course in metaphysical history,” Kat warned.

  Mari propped her feet on an ottoman and leaned back, holding her wine. “Lecture away.”

  “Okay. Legend has it that The Lotus Circle first came together in ancient Egypt, where the lotus flower was associated with various gods, including Ra. Kadesh, the goddess of sexuality and fertility, was traditionally depicted holding lotus flowers and many believe that she was the founder of the Circle. According to the story that has been handed down over the millennia since then, The Lotus Circle consisted of women with exceptional psychic abilities. Members were telepaths, clairvoyants, healers and practitioners of various metaphysical skills, such as astrology and forecasting with tools, like cards and stones. Their gifts and talents were revered by pharaohs and slaves alike and it was their sacred oath to help anyone in need, regardless of their station in life.”

  “So what happened to it?” Mari asked.

  Kat shrugged and took a sip of her wine. “The world changed, ambitious men felt threatened by the gifted females.”

  “And nothing’s changed,” Mari reminded her.

  “Anyway, over time, the Circle was gradually wiped out until a professor, Dr. Olivia Crandall, reached out to four other women and resurrected it. Now they even have a website and people who post on it from all over the world.”

  “So who are you going to see here in San Antonio?”

  “A woman named Vivi Alderson. She’s kind of the lead person in this area and also has been very successful in helping others when their gifts began to fail.”

  “I think your problem is you’re just stressed out,” Mari told her. “You take too many of these cases that tap into your energy and leave nothing behind for you. I mean, it can’t be healthy for you.”

  “I’ll be fine.” Kat sat up, setting her glass down and rubbing her temple. “But you’re right. I may have been pushing myself too much lately.”

  “Brent Fontaine can’t be helping anything either.” Mari’s voice was filled with concern. “How’s that going?”

  “A lot better since I’m here for a while.” Kat stretched and sighed. “Some men just don’t know when to quit. Who’d ever have thought he’d turn out to be the stalker type?”

  “Listen, it’s none of my business, except you’re my sister, I love you and I care what happens to you. But don’t you think you should have called the police?”

  Kat raised an eyebrow. “And tell them what? That some rich, good-looking guy keeps calling me and sending me flowers?”

  “He’s stalking you, Kat. You said it before. You’ve got to get him to leave you alone before things get out of hand. Who has a name like Brent Fontaine, anyway? He sounds like a character from Central Casting.”

  “I know, I know. I was…”

  “Vulnerable,” Mari supplied.

  “Stupid,” Kat corrected her. “Anyway, being away from him for a while and not taking his calls on my cell ought to send him the message.” She hugged her sister. “And thanks for telling me I can hang out here for a while.”

  “Maybe if things with Mike—”

  “Maybe nothing,” Katherine cut her off. “Mike D’Antoni was a big, big mistake. One I’ll never make again.”

  She’d never discussed the disastrous ending of her relationship with the handsome Phoenix Agency partner, nor did she intend to. But it had probably been the reason she’d fallen into the situation with Brent so easily. She’d met the handsome hedge fund partner at a dinner party and his come-on was so smooth she was swept up into a whirlwind relationship with him before she even realized what was happening.

  It had taken far too long for her to realize everything was about Brent. Everything focused around him. He resented her friends, her work, any time not devoted to him. She woke up one day frightened to discover she’d allowed him to isolate her from everyone and everything. When she told him she thought they needed some space, things had gotten ugly. And a pattern had been set.

  He’d call or come by, shouting at her, demeaning her, then try to apologize with flowers and expensive gifts. The worst scene of all had been the one when she’d told him they were finished, not to get in touch with her anymore and definitely not to come by her place. She
’d had to threaten to call the police to get him to leave.

  The visits had stopped but not the calls or the gifts, all of which she returned to his office by messenger.

  But worst of all, her clairvoyance began to waver and for that she resented him the most.

  “So when are you going to see this Vivi person?” Mari adeptly changed the subject.

  “I thought I’d call her tomorrow after you guys take off.”

  “Ah yes. Tomorrow. It isn’t every day I get a free trip to Hawaii.” She grinned. “And if it wasn’t for the fact that Eli Wright has business meetings I’d be staying in my office while he and his wife and daughter were drinking mai tais and lolling on the beach at Waikiki.”

  Mari had what Kat considered a dream job as executive secretary to the CEO of Wright International, a conglomerate with offices all over the world. She worked very hard at her job and Katherine suspected this trip was actually by way of a thank you. Eli Wright appreciated hard work and loyalty.

  “So what time is takeoff?”

  “Noon. I have to be at the private hangar at eleven.” Mari drained her glass and pushed herself out of the chair. “That means I’d better get packing.”

  “How about if I run out and pick up some Chinese while you’re doing that? A small thank you for letting me stay here while you’re gone.”

  “Kat, you know you can stay here any time you want. For as long as you want. No big deal.” An impish grin played at her lips. “But I’ll accept with gratitude.”

  * * * * *

  The gleaming Gulfstream G550 stood on the tarmac at the private airstrip next to a Piaggio p.t180 Avanti II. The combined cost of the two planes could easily feed any Third World country. The meeting place had been chosen for its remote location, which guaranteed privacy. The Gulfstream, the larger of the two planes, was the actual site of the gathering.