“Oh, my,” Jordan whispered.
The naked pair giggled as though drunk out of their minds, then gaped in feigned astonishment at the guards. Those men gaped in startled awe as Emily lurched toward them, laughing, and took the Russian by the hand. “Come on, big boy, let’s party.”
She belched, and laughed uncontrollably, waving the empty bottle. He took a couple of steps as she drew him in, even as Taylor stumbled into the North Korean. “Ooops.”
Leaning helplessly against him, she covered her mouth and snickered, then blew him a kiss. “Say, you’re kind a cute. Wanna; you know?”
Taylor waggled her eyebrows at him and also seized his hand. “Come on, handsome.”
The North Korean followed, reluctant, and glanced at Jude and Natalie, who had paused to stare at the outlandish behavior of the American women. The Russian had vanished inside with Emily, and now the second guard permitted Taylor, still giggling, to lead him into the room.
Neil and Jordan hurried down the hall even as Jude and Natalie headed for the door. Hearing grunts and the sound of heavy bodies striking carpet, Neil went into the room behind the others and quickly shut the door.
“It worked,” he crowed, staring at the unconscious men.
“Damn right,” Kane growled, and Neil hastily glanced up to see Taylor and Emily dressing themselves fast. Drake also glowered in fury, the same rage that Neil would feel had it been Jordan to tempt the men with her naked body.
“You boys can chill,” Emily said, now dressed in her usual t-shirt and jeans, sitting down to pull her sneakers on. “Maybe you should tie them up, huh?”
Neil helped Kane carry the Russian into a bedroom while Jude and Drake lugged the North Korean. Setting them on the big bed side by side, Kane caught the lengths of rope Taylor threw him. The four of them quickly tied the bodyguard’s hands and feet in such a way that they could not free themselves.
“Gags,” Emily said, handing Drake towels from the bathroom.
Neil put his hand over their noses, satisfied that the two men still breathed. “They should be all right.”
“Someone just stuck their head out the door.” Ronan’s voice sounded urgent through Neil’s radio. “They know their boys are gone.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kane
“Okay, kids, let’s see if we can catch another fish.”
Kane trotted across the sitting room to the door and peered through the fish-eye lens. A North Korean stood in the half-opened door, looking first one way down the hall, then the other. His expression appeared disgusted rather than alarmed, which made Kane wonder as to the competency of these bodyguards.
“Jude, Natalie,” he hissed. “I might need you.”
Feeling their presence behind him, Kane continued to watch through the peephole as the man finally withdrew his head and closed the door. Kane turned. “We may have to get violent with this guy,” he said, his voice low. “But we can’t afford to make any noise. You two, make a show of leaving your room, fuss with the key.”
Opening the door, Kane slipped out and went down the hall to the corner, then around it. Jude and Natalie, garbed as Arabs, slowly emerged from the room, fussing over the door. Jude peered myopically down at the key card in his hand, as though unable to figure out how it worked. At that moment, the North Korean once again emerged from the meeting.
Jude turned to glance at him, then spoke in slow, halting English. “You help? This—no work.”
The guard shook his head impatiently, gesturing for the two of them to move on. Natalie did so, standing a few feet away even as Jude tried again. “Door—no, um, no—”
The guard snapped something in Korean, making Jude stare at him in bafflement. “Help?” he asked, his voice plaintive.
His body position forced the North Korean to turn with him, leaving his back exposed to Kane. Hoping he had the room, he shifted into his dragon and paced slowly, silently down the hall. He filled it completely, and he was forced to keep his head lowered to not brush his horns against the ceiling.
Jude continued to display his key and his helplessness, keeping the man’s angry attention on him. Pausing within arm’s reach of the North Korean guard, Kane must have breathed on the man, or perhaps he sensed Kane’s immense presence behind him, for he suddenly turned. Before he could shriek in horror at the monster standing in front of him, Kane seized his upper body and squeezed.
Unable to breathe, much less scream and warn his people, the man’s eyes bulged from his head. Jude stepped up and cracked the man in his head with the butt of his gun. In Kane’s grasp, the North Korean went limp, unconscious.
Shoving him through the now opened door, Kane shifted back to his human. “Get in, fast,” he ordered, his voice low.
Drake and Neil dragged the man away from the door even as Jude and Natalie lunged inside. Kane peered once again through the lens and saw nothing. He took a deep breath to relieve his tension.
“Awesome,” he said with a chuckle.
“Slicker than shit through a goose,” Jude exclaimed, hugging Natalie. “So, we have one Russian and one North Korean left?”
“Unless they have more we don’t know about,” Kane replied, peering through the peephole again. Nothing moved from across the hall. A pair of Caucasian tourists walked past the doors as he watched, but nothing else happened for long minutes. He turned away and regarded his friends.
“Okay, so we’re facing possibly six men in there,” he said, “all armed. We can’t bust in there with guns blazing; we’ll get hurt or killed, and we’ll blow the entire thing wide open.”
“So, then what?” Emily asked, her hand in Drake’s.
Kane touched his earpiece. “Ronan, Daryl, you copy?”
“Yeah, boss.”
“We have three birds in hand. Let us know if the rest of the flock decides to fly.”
“Copy.”
“They’ll run once they discover their boys are missing,” Kane said. “We have to stop them. Keep them in the hotel.”
“How are we to do that?” Jude asked, frowning. “There are so many exits from this place.”
“We scare them into going up, not down.” Kane paced, thinking. “Keep them in their tower rooms where they can’t get past us.”
“But how do we kill them?” Drake inquired, clearly perplexed. “We aren’t supposed to do the job here.”
“We won’t. If we can scare them into their upper rooms, then we let them out when we control the situation. Permit them to leave, so to speak.”
“Then, when they do head for the front door, we’ll be ready.” Emily nodded fiercely. “But, Kane, even if they panic now, won’t they go back to their upper rooms to get their important papers and such? Would they go to a meeting like this with their passports?”
Kane eyed Jude and Natalie. “She might be right. Get up to our room across from Snowman’s. Drake and Emily, across from Nasty’s. The rest of us will stay here and watch, see what the reaction is once they discover they are down by three. Let us know when you’re in position.”
The four slipped out of the room, and once again, Kane peered out. Nothing moved, and Kane wondered if he had missed them departing while they were talking. No, he saw the door open a crack, then close again. “Okay, our birdies are still inside. Ronan, let us know when they are on the move, and what direction they take, up or down.”
“Copy.”
Kane glanced at Neil, Jordan, and Taylor. “Now, we wait.”
After a time, first Natalie, then Drake, reported they were in position inside the upper rooms. “All clear up here, boss.”
“Okay, great. Just hang tight; this could be a long afternoon.”
An hour passed slowly, and Kane’s headache worsened from peering through the funky lens until he asked Neil to take his place.
“I can’t handle that anymore,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead to ease his pain.
“Sit,” Taylor ordered, patting the couch beside her. “I’ll rub your neck and shoulde
rs; that might help.”
“Let me check on our friends first.”
Opening the bedroom door where they had stashed their captives, Kane saw all three lying in a row on the bed. They had been struggling against their ropes until his entry stopped them, but the binds had only tightened as they fought, not loosened.
“The more you fight, the worse it gets,” he advised them, not knowing if they understood him or not. He gazed at the North Korean he captured. “What you saw was real, dude,” he told the man. “So just know that’s what you face if you want to piss me off.”
The North Korean clearly understood English, for he froze, terror filling his eyes.
“Yeah.” Kane pointed his finger at him. “That was me, and I can change back at any time. Just be warned.”
Closing the door behind him, Kane crossed the room to sit beside Taylor. “Anything?”
“Nope.” Neil kept his eye pinned to the lens.
Glancing at the time, Kane saw it was after one in the afternoon. He closed his eyes as Taylor massaged his shoulders and neck, easing the tension, and thus, some of his headache. “Now we’re stuck here, and I’m hungry.”
“We don’t dare order room service,” Taylor murmured, her strong fingers working the muscles in his shoulders. “If we do, we risk innocent staff bringing it if those guys make a break for it.”
“I wish they would so we can push them into their upstairs rooms,” Kane replied.
He worried that when Bobrovsky and Moon decided to run, they would head straight for the front doors, and not return to their rooms. If that happened, he and his friends would have to chase them down. “We should have prepared a vehicle in advance,” he said, grumbling, cursing his lack of foresight. “We really are amateurs at this business.”
“If they run for the front,” Jordan replied, “we’ll go after them, even if it means carjacking a taxi or a limo. Or even someone’s Lamborghini.”
“They could be waiting for a car right now,” Taylor advised. “Maybe we should do the same.”
Kane opened his eyes to look at her. “You mean call down to the front desk and ask that a limo be waiting with a driver?”
“Why not? Then if they head for the hills, we have the means available to chase them.”
“My lady is a genius.”
Rising from the couch, Kane went to the room’s phone and dialed the front desk. After he was greeted, he gave his name the hotel had and his room number. “I need a private limousine ready and waiting out in the front,” he said. “Quickly, as I made need to head out on short notice.”
“Very good, sir. I will order it right now.”
“Thanks. And bill it to the room.”
“I will, sir. Thank you.”
Kane hung up and stared at Taylor. “That was almost too easy.”
“So now if our friends depart in haste, we can run them down,” she answered with a smile. “Naturally, the limo driver will have to remain behind.”
“Naturally.”
“Still no movement,” Neil reported.
Kane paced, restless. “What could they be doing in there?”
“Phoning their comrades at home?” Jordan suggested. “Rallying help from the local consulate?”
“Then they’d have to identify themselves, and why they are on a secret mission to Dubai in the first place.” Kane paced. “No, I think they are trying to plot their escape from here, then get to their respective planes. But they’re low on their manpower and maybe are afraid to leave the room they’re in.”
“I bet they’re calling their pilots,” Taylor exclaimed. “Making certain their private jets are gassed up and ready. Then they’ll head for their rooms, get their passports, and leave.”
“Then we really have to scare them into their rooms, and not permit them to stick even their noses out. Not until we want them to.”
“Kane,” Taylor said thoughtfully. “Maybe we should let them run. Make for the airport. Take them when they try to get to the planes.”
Kane shook his head even before she finished. “Sorry, love, we can’t. Too many witnesses, too much risk that innocents will get in the way. What you’re saying makes sense, but the airport is in the city. We can’t go dragon until after dark.”
“But the private airfield is out in the desert,” she persisted. “Follow them in the limo, they see a limo headed to the airport the same as they are, they won’t pay any attention to one more.”
“It’s tempting,” Kane replied, thinking as he paced. “Neil, Jordan, what do you think?”
“While it would be nice to have all this over with,” Jordan answered, “I’m afraid there are too many variables outside of our control. We wouldn’t be able to get the others down in time; it would only be six of us, not ten. There’s six of them, and those guys are trained to kill.”
“And we can’t go dragon,” Neil added, still watching through the small lens. “It won’t be dark for almost eight hours.”
Taylor sighed. “And we need dragon power. Damn, I really thought we could get this done.”
“Me, too, love.” Kane paused to caress her face with his fingers, smiling. “You’re still a genius in my book.”
Taylor kissed his hand so close to her mouth. “I love you, too.”
Neil hissed. “They’re on the move. They’re walking from the room just as calm as can be.”
Kane clicked the radio. “Snowman and Nasty are out; keep them in sight.”
“Copy,” said Ronan instantly.
“Got it,” Jude replied.
“We’ll watch for them,” Drake added.
“Ronan, see if they go up or down.”
“Yup.”
Neil opened the door a crack and looked out. “They’ve gone around the corner, Kane.”
“Let’s go.”
Ushering Taylor and Jordan out ahead of him, Kane quietly closed the door, leaving the three captives locked inside. They’ll be found tomorrow morning when the maids come, and hopefully, all this will be over with.
Following Neil, who had flattened himself against the wall at the turn in the hallway, Kane paused. Neil peered around the corner, then spread his hand out and pressed it downward. Stop. Kane glanced behind them, saw nothing to trouble them, and looked forward once more. He dared not speak into the radio, for their targets may be able to hear him.
Neil withdrew his head from the corner, then made a gesture that Kane interpreted to be, they’re at the elevators. Wishing he could see for himself, itching to know what was going on, he forced himself to patience.
Neil put his head around the corner again, and a shot fired from beyond the bend dropped him to the carpet like an empty sack.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Drake
Kane’s voice bellowed in his ear. “Neil’s been shot and you need to do whatever it takes to keep those mother fuckers contained.”
Shock ripped through Drake as he stared at Emily. “How bad?” he demanded, meeting her wide eyes. “Is he alive?”
“He’s alive, and we’re taking him to my room.”
Swearing vile oaths under his breath, Drake peered out the door and into the hallway but heard and saw nothing. He closed it again, then triggered his radio. “Jude, Natalie, you got anything?”
“Not yet, Drake. We heard about Neil. Should we go below and help?”
“No,” Drake replied, feeling furious and helpless and out of control. “Boss says to get them into a room, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
“Think they’ll split up? Snowman go into his cave, and Nasty his?”
That question made up Drake’s mind. “Nope. I’m gonna herd them into one suite.”
Taking off his earpiece and radio, he glared into Emily’s fierce eyes. “Flame their asses, Drake,” she snarled.
“You got it, babe.”
Leaving the suite, Drake headed toward the elevators, and looked up at the floor numbers. A car was headed up. It might be Snowman and Nasty, it might not. But either way,
he would be ready. Standing off to the side where he would be out of their immediate sight, he slouched in a corner. At first glance, he would appear as a lone man, possibly drunk. By the time Snowman and Nasty learned differently, they would be running for cover.
He intended they, and their remaining guards, would run for the same suite.
Just like herding sheep.
As Snowman’s suite lay further down the corridor that spiraled around the higher tower, he intended to drive them into Nasty’s suite. It was not just closer, but easier. And he himself would be close enough to his prey to chew their asses if that’s what he chose to do.
A couple arrived to wait for the elevator car, speaking a language he didn’t recognize. He knew they tossed him quizzical glances, but he hoped they would simply get on the elevator when it opened. With their presence, Snowman’s and Nasty’s men might be hesitant to shoot with witnesses to close at hand.
The bell dinged.
The doors whispered open.
Snowman led the way out, closely followed by Nasty, and their remaining guards. The couple politely waited until they had cleared the car before entering, and that gave Drake a critical few second. But he had to attack before the parties split up and went their separate ways.
The doors whispered closed.
Drake caught the guards hesitating as they looked at him, their hands reaching under their coats. Snowman and Nasty both hesitated, unwilling to keep moving forward without their guards. His eyes met Snowman’s piercing blues, and he grinned.
Snowman yelled something in Russian. His bodyguard whipped out a gun at the same instant Drake shifted.
Screams of terror met his dragon form as he completely filled the short corridor where the elevators stood. Snowman started to head left toward his own suite until Drake’s flames scorched between the Russian dictator and his intended route. Changing direction, Snowman yelled something, slapping Nasty on the back to urge him to run faster.
Drake gazed down at the frozen, petrified Russian bodyguard. The man stood, his gun in his hand, staring up and into Drake’s eyes as though he was a bird and Drake the serpent that hypnotized him. Though that is what it seemed like, Drake didn’t intend to hypnotize the asshole.
Dragon Fever: Limited Edition Holiday Romance Boxset Page 74