Respect

by Jay Crownover

  Race pulled me into a hug and touched his lips to the center of my forehead. “Honestly, so do I. You know nothing is going to be the same with you gone, right?”

  I rolled my eyes and slipped out of his embrace. “I’ve been gone for years. You and the Point survived. Don’t say anything to Brysen. I’ll talk to her when I’m ready.”

  He nodded solemnly and strode over to Brysen. He claimed his bride with a possessive gleam in his eye. When they waltzed away, disappearing on the dance floor, I fell into Brysen’s abandoned seat and looked at my mother out of the corner of my eye. She had been so beautiful once, before addiction did its damage. After hearing Booker’s story, all things considered, Brysen and I were lucky she’d taken help when Race offered it.

  “You look lovely, Karsen. So grown up.” She offered a tenuous smile and fiddled with her glass of water. “I’m so proud of both of you.” A wistful expression crossed her face. “I’m sorry your father isn’t here to see all you’ve both accomplished.”

  Race wouldn’t let my old man anywhere near Brysen. And I couldn’t blame him. “It’s all right, Mom. I know Brysen is very excited you made it today. She was very happy to share her big day with her family.”

  She smiled at me again and returned my side-eye look. “How about you? Is there anyone special in your life? Are you going to be walking down the aisle next?”

  I bit back a laugh. The big, expensive dream wedding was always more up Brysen's alley than mine. Our images of happily ever after never really did line up with one another.

  “I’ve been in love with the same man since I was sixteen. Do you remember Booker? The big guy who went with us when Race checked you into rehab?”

  Her eyes widened and she slowly nodded. “He’s a very handsome man. Shame about what happened to his face. He would be a real heartbreaker without his scar.”

  I sucked in a sharp retort and reached for one of the glasses of water on the table. “I love his scar. You would, too, if you knew what he went through to get it. He’s a special kind of man. One who is reliable and stronger than he knows. He’s taught me so much, and I can’t imagine a life without him.” I was saying this as much for my mother’s benefit as my own. I was ready to claim him in front of the entire world. Finally, I didn’t have to keep my feelings for Noah Booker tightly controlled and in check. I could throw them out into the world and watch them take flight.

  My mother’s smile wavered and she reached out to brush the back of her finger over my cheek. Even after all these years of sobriety, they still had a tiny quiver. “Be careful putting any man on a pedestal, sweetheart. I thought your father was the answer to all my prayers, and he took us all down when he proved just how fallible he was.”

  I took a drink to keep the harsh accusations on the tip of my tongue at bay. Dad didn’t fall off any pedestal; she didn’t do a thing to keep herself, or us, from going down with him. She hadn’t even tried to save us on the way down.

  “Booker isn’t cut from the same cloth as Dad. In fact, he is his own unique fabric that is priceless and impossible to find anywhere else.” The weave he was made of didn’t rip or tear. It was practically indestructible.

  Across the room, Noe’s head suddenly shot up from her phone. I only noticed because I’d been watching her, waiting for any change in her behavior. She was my only link to what was going on with Booker and Ari, and I wasn’t going to miss a thing. She turned and said something to Key, who turned to Nassir with a smile. The next thing I knew, the suave, dark-haired criminal had sidled up to my mother, asking her to dance. He was a dazzling man, but there was something in those amber eyes that warned of the dangers lurking beneath the expensive pinstripe suit. My mother hesitated until Key popped on the other side of her, promising that her husband didn't bite unless you asked him to. The blush on my mom’s face was priceless, and so was the expression on Nassir’s. He was the most formidable man I’d ever encountered, but his wife had clearly figured out a way to tame the wild beast. Once my mom was properly distracted, Key inclined her head toward the doorway where Noe was now standing.

  “Go. We’ll ride herd on your mom and make sure she doesn’t get into anything she shouldn’t. Nassir will keep an eye on the bride and groom, as well.” She reached out and squeezed my shoulder in silent support as I slipped out of the ballroom as unobtrusively as possible.

  As soon as I was in the hallway, Noe snatched my hand and started pulling me toward the bank of elevators. “I have a set up in one of the suites. Stark has us wired into everything happening in Denver. It’s not as good as being there, but we can get front row seats through the live feed.” She paused for a second and tilted her head to the side. “That means if anything goes wrong, you’re going to have to watch it knowing there is nothing you can do.”

  “I understand.” It was going to be difficult to sit on my hands while Booker went in, guns blazing, but I believed in him. My problems were his problems, and he was better equipped to deal with this situation than I was. “Let’s go.”

  I followed her to one of the suites on the top floor. The furniture in the room was moved around so she could make a command center that looked an awful lot like the one in the basement of the condo complex. She had several computers on the desk that were wired to multiple flat screen TVs.

  She plopped down on the end of the bed and picked up a laptop that was thrown carelessly on the mattress. Her brow furrowed and her tongue poked out as she concentrated on the screen in front of her. A few seconds later, all the TVs burst to life and I couldn’t control a gasp when Booker’s unmistakable form filled the frame.

  He was standing in front of a warehouse that would fit in perfectly with the crumbling buildings in the heart of the Point. He was dressed all in black, standing next to an impeccably dressed, dark-haired man who looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on where I recognized him from.

  I was going to ask Noe who he was when Booker suddenly moved and I noticed he’d been blocking a woman.

  I nearly choked as I pointed a finger at the screen closest to me and demanded, “Is that Taylor Fucking Swift?!”

  Noe nearly fell off the bed, she was laughing so hard.

  “No. But she looks enough like her to pass for her . . . or you. Just watch.”

  Nodding, I settled in to watch my man do his thing. I braced for the worst but expected the best, because I knew Booker wasn’t going to let me down.

  Booker

  “Do I want to know how you found a call girl who looks exactly like Taylor Swift in the three hours it took to fly here?” I was admittedly impressed, not only by the complete lack of hesitation or questions asked when I called and asked Benny for help, but also by his scary level of efficiency and attention to detail.

  A deep chuckle sounded next to me. As Benny shifted in his expensive loafers, we both stared up at the warehouse. The buzz of the drone Stark sent with me and instructed me to set up sounded overhead as the bizarre-looking machine zipped around the big building. Stark wanted to make sure the warehouse wasn’t wired to blow before we went in. He was also using the device to read thermal images. He wanted to make sure Troy didn’t have an army hidden behind the graffiti-covered walls.

  “A man has to have his secrets. They keep me useful . . . and alive.” Benny glanced down at the clearly expensive watch strapped to his wrist and squinted up at the rapidly setting sun. “We do need to get a move on. I promised Echo I would be home for dinner.”

  A surprised laugh escaped me. “Never thought I would see the day where you worried about something as basic as getting home in time for dinner.”

  Benny flashed a grin and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his perfectly pressed slacks. I don’t know why he was dressed as if he was about to hit a runway instead of a rescue mission, but to each their own. The guy had always had a flair for the dramatic, even when he was a no-name enforcer like me. He always subscribed to the rule of ‘dress for the job you want, rather than the one you have’. I was more of t
he mind to dress in a way that would let me blend into the shadows and would hide whatever blood I was bound to get on me. Benny and I had different ways of doing things, but our end goal was the same. Get the girl and make the idiot who took her sorry he was ever born.

  Benny shrugged. “My girl doesn’t ask for much. All she wants is me home for dinner. She does better with a set schedule. Helps her focus on the here and now instead of getting sucked into the past. So, if that’s what she needs from me, then I’ll do whatever it takes to give it to her.”

  I nodded in understanding. “Crazy, isn’t it? They could ask for the world and we would try and give it to them. All they want are these little things that don’t seem like they should matter, but to them they’re everything.”

  Benny grinned. “Yeah, that’s why I make it a point never to fuck up the easy things she asks for. It gives me leeway for when I really screw up. Which I do . . . a lot.”

  There was a tapping coming from the car behind us. The woman in the back seat pointed to her wrist, even though she wasn’t wearing a watch, to remind us she was being paid hourly and the clock was running. Benny waved her off as I tapped my earpiece, opening the line of communication to Stark. “Our decoy is getting impatient. Can we move in yet? I don’t want the kid getting restless and doing something stupid.”

  “Give me a couple more minutes. So far there’s nothing sending up a red flag from the scans. This kid knows his way around a computer, though, and that makes me nervous.” He cleared his throat and his tone was lower when he continued speaking. “Heads up, I tapped into the feed he’s using to stream the video of the girl. Once you get into the building, Noe will be able to see everything happening. Karsen has been asking her for regular updates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if your girl is also watching. They can see you now, through the drone, but there isn’t any sound. So maybe don’t die while she’s watching.”

  I glared at the drone as it flew directly overhead. “I’ll keep that in mind, boy genius.”

  He chuckled in my ear and the sound was oddly settling. “Why is Benny dressed like he was at Race’s wedding?”

  I cast a look at the man standing next to me and returned the low laughter. “Dunno. Maybe no one told him blood stains are a bitch to get out.”

  Benny lifted a black eyebrow and looked up at the flying object. He flipped it off and scowled. “Maybe I’m just good enough I don’t normally have to worry about washing blood out of my shit. Asshole.”

  Another tap came from the car and Stark grunted in my ear. “Okay. Everyone is in place. You can go in. Remember, I’ve got control of the power grid juicing the entire neighborhood. If shit goes south, I can cut all the power which should give you a slight advantage, but it will also leave you totally alone—and blind—in the building.”

  “I think the kid is more of a threat behind a keyboard than he is in real life. So far all he has done is pick on his ex-girlfriend and try and run me off the road. He’s been avoiding a face-to-face confrontation for a reason.” But that didn’t keep me from checking the Glock Benny handed me the second I got off the plane. “Let’s do this. Benny has to be home for dinner.”

  Benny moved to the car, pulling open the back door and helping the woman who was earning a small fortune for this charade to her feet. When we’d picked her up from the hotel downtown, she’d been dressed in a slinky black dress and sky-high heels. Now she was in a pair of skinny jeans and a simple v-neck t-shirt. She was a little bit shorter than Karsen, and her eyes were bright blue instead of brown. Her mouth was also a little bit poutier, which I guessed came from medical enhancement. She was a dead ringer for the popular singer, where Karsen just bore a striking resemblance to her. From afar, fake Taylor would get us inside the doors and close enough to grab Ari and neutralize Troy.

  “Stay between the two of us. Keep your sunglasses on. Try to look like you’re madly in love with the big guy over there.” Benny barked out the orders as he moved the woman to stand between the two of us.

  She made a purring sound and I felt her hand stroke along my spine. “No problem with the last part. I like ’em big and brawny. What are you doing after this is over, handsome?” Her voice was all wrong, too. There was a distinctly southern drawl coloring all her words. I had to tell her not to speak at all. If she uttered a single word, the illusion would be broken in no time.

  I lifted an eyebrow and turned so she could see my entire face. I had to give her credit; she didn’t completely recoil or gasp in horror. However, her hand immediately fell away and a tiny pout of distaste lifted her puffy lips.

  “When this is done, I’m going back to my girl.” It was going to be my answer from here on out. No matter where I was, or what I had to do, when everything was said and done I was going back to Karsen.

  A genuine smile pulled at fake Taylor’s mouth. She reached out and put a hand on my arm. This time, I could tell it was because she was being paid, not because she was flirting.

  “I bet she’s a special girl if she’s able to handle you. Let’s do this thing. I still have time to meet with a client later tonight if we move fast.” Her nails dug into my arm to get me moving, and I took a step forward to comply.

  “Remember to look worried. He has your best friend tied up inside and he’s been stalking you, watching you for years. You don’t want to be here but you have no choice. If he speaks directly to you, don’t say anything. He would more than likely know something is up. The girl he really wants is at her sister’s wedding. He’s making a point by demanding she show up here today. He wanted her to choose him above all else.” I spoke quietly and took steady steps forward. The drone was still flying overhead, and I could hear Stark muttering in my ear. He was watching the thermal images to make sure Troy wouldn’t move to higher ground. He didn’t want Benny and me getting picked off before we even got in the door.

  “Two people. Both still in the main area of the warehouse. One is still. One is moving. As soon as you get inside, you need to head to the lowest level of the building. I’m sure he set up shop in that location to help block any signals he was sending out and the ones we were trying to trace.” Stark’s instructions were curt and to the point.

  Benny and I exchanged a look over the top of fake Taylor’s head and moved forward. It took a few kicks and a shove with my shoulder to get the rusty, old door to budge. Fake Taylor stiffened as we stepped into the musty interior of the building. Her fingers dug into my arm where she held onto me, and she started to mutter about finding a new line of work as our feet tracked through years of dust and debris. I thought she was going to bolt when a rat ran across her foot, but after a shriek and a torrent of swear words she calmed down and kept moving.

  Benny chuckled from his position behind her and whispered he would throw in another five hundred bucks for the rat. That seemed to appease her some, but when I looked back at her, she was having no trouble looking terrified, even with the dark sunglasses on her face.

  “Hang a right up ahead, then go down the stairs. That should put you in front of another door. Once you get through the door, they’re in the main room.” Stark swore. “I think he knows you’re there. He’s moving around the room a lot more now, so be careful breaching the interior.”

  I nodded, not wanting to make any more noise than necessary.

  We followed the directions and ended up at another big, metal door. This one wasn’t going down with a well-placed kick. I knocked on the solid surface and heard the sound echo through the cavernous building.

  “This door is new.” I tapped it again. “Any idea how I can get through it?”

  Stark was quiet on the other end of the comm. I felt the hooker and Benny shift anxiously behind me.

  “Give me a sec. Let me see what I can do. I know there’s another way in, but you’ll have to circle back and go in a different way, which would be overkill.” We had plans for the other way in already and circling the building would take too much time. I was getting ready to ask Stark for plan C or even D, wh
en an electronic crackle filled the air, followed by a hysterical giggle.

  “What’s the password?” The disembodied voice drifted from hidden speakers and sent a shiver down my spine. “Hello, Karsen. I missed you so bad, baby.”

  So, he could see us. I looked over my shoulder at Benny, who no longer appeared to be treating this as a joke. The young woman between us was doing a remarkable job holding her composure together. She was also taking Benny’s instructions to pretend like she couldn’t get enough of me to heart. Her entire front was plastered along the length of my back, and I hoped if Karsen could see any of this, she wasn’t getting the wrong idea. Not that I really thought she would, but I hated the idea of her seeing any other woman with their hands on me. She was the only one allowed to touch me.

  “Tell me you missed me, too. Tell me how much you love me and I’ll open the door.” Insanity was obvious in every word and laced through every sentence. This guy was off his rocker. “Give me the girl. She’s the only one allowed to walk through that door.”

  That wasn’t happening, but he didn’t need to know that. I turned and pulled fake Taylor into my arms. I bent my head low like I was comforting her. I lifted my eyes to Benny and jerked my head to the side. Without words, he understood I was telling him it was time to split up so he could work on finding another way into the room.

  “He isn’t going to open that door until you talk to him. The real Karsen doesn’t have an accent. She also speaks like she’s a hundred years older than she actually is because of the way she grew up. Anyway you can pull that off? The drawl will leave us dead in the water if he hears it.” The words were barely more than a breath of sound against her ear.