Deadly Alliances

by Candle Sutton

  Then again, it was highly unlikely all three of them would be in on it.

  “Reilly will be fine. And there should be two of us, just in case we run into trouble.”

  Alex’s words did little to reassure her, but Lana knew she was right. Burying her protests, she nodded.

  Thank goodness for the extra rental car. Not bulletproof, so they’d never take Reilly anywhere in it, but it worked well for little things like this.

  Before they left, however, there was one thing she needed to do.

  Since she couldn’t quiet her misgivings about the team, Reilly needed his own source of protection. Her backup pistol should do the trick. Not having it on her was a little risky, but she’d never had a problem with her Glock. And right now, it was more important for Reilly to be able to protect himself than for her to have a backup.

  As if he knew she was thinking about him, Reilly poked his head into the room, looking from her to Alex and back again. “Did you find us a place to stay?”

  “Yeah.” She motioned him in, quietly shutting the door behind him.

  How much did she want to tell him?

  The less he knew, the better. The last thing she needed was to stress him out and trigger an asthma attack.

  But he did need to be prepared to defend himself should something serious happen.

  Retrieving her spare gun from her suitcase, she pulled it out of the holster and inserted a full magazine. “Don’t ask a lot of questions and don’t let anyone else know, but I want you to keep this on you.”

  “No way. I’d probably shoot myself.”

  “You won’t.” She gave him a rundown on how to use the weapon. “Trust me, after a few hours you’ll hardly know it’s there.”

  “I’ve never fired a gun before. What makes you think I could use it to protect myself?”

  “You could do it. Just humor me, okay?” She handed him the empty ankle holster. Too bad she didn’t have a different holster. One easier for him to access should something happen. “Put this on.”

  He lifted his pant leg and strapped the holster to his ankle. Gingerly taking the gun from her, he slipped it inside. “Don’t you need this?”

  “That’s my backup.”

  “Yeah, but don’t you usually carry it?”

  “I’ll be fine.” She couldn’t help smiling as he moved carefully, as though afraid he’d accidentally discharge the gun if he moved the wrong way. “Ri, you need to act normal. It won’t fire unless you rack the slide, which can’t be done by accident.”

  He nodded. “I’ll try. I gotta tell you, it feels funny.”

  “You get used to it.” Lana glanced at the clock. “Well, Alex and I are headed to clean things up at the house. We should be back in an hour or two.”

  The drive took less than ten minutes and soon Lana found herself leaning out the window of one of the upstairs bedrooms, watching Alex gingerly walk across mist-moistened shingles. The sharp slant of the roof promised a swift and unhindered descent should Alex lose her footing.

  “You’re going to break your neck and your husband will kill me.”

  Alex didn’t look back. “And I suppose it would’ve been better for you to come out here with your injured arm?”

  Neither option was great. Why wasn’t there a ladder anywhere around here?

  Of course a ladder would’ve made it easier for someone to access the upper level of the house, so she really shouldn’t be surprised at its absence.

  Reaching the camera, Alex examined it closely before making her way back to the window. Once inside, she slid the window shut. “There’s at least an inch of grime coating that camera. It probably hasn’t been touched in years.”

  “Great.”

  They’d already fingerprinted the camera’s controls but there was only one set of prints: Chow’s, most likely from repositioning the camera after the shooting. The single set of prints only confirmed her suspicions.

  Someone had wiped it clean.

  Now all she had to do was figure out who. And she had to so it before the sniper took another shot at Reilly.

  ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪

  Wind rustled Stevens’ hair as he stared at the turbulent ocean. The restlessness inside him rivaled the merciless way the waves pounded the beach.

  If only he’d been able to take care of Tanner last night.

  It should’ve been simple, but it’d all fallen apart. And he’d missed the target.

  The knowledge of that failure hung so heavily it hurt.

  His anger had long since burned away, leaving only a deep sense of disappointment, all directed at himself. He was supposed to be the best, but he’d really blown it last night.

  Now he had to start from scratch.

  Laughter drew his attention to the water, where two kids built a sandcastle while their parents watched from a few feet away. One part of the castle collapsed and the dad knelt to help the smaller child rebuild it.

  What was it like to build a sandcastle?

  He’d never played in the sand as a kid. He’d never done a lot of things. Family activities hadn’t been a priority to his parents.

  Part of him wanted to kneel in the sand and try it for himself, but he’d look like an idiot.

  He turned.

  No matter what he wanted, the fact remained that he had a job to do. There would be no time for fun until he’d completed this hit.

  At least the morning hadn’t been a complete loss.

  Time online had allowed him to check out all the airports within a hundred mile radius.

  After hacking into each of their systems, he’d learned that very few private flights had left during the night and none of the groups had been large enough to be Tanner and his security detail.

  Of course, it was possible that they’d fly out today. He’d keep an eye on the airports for a few days, just to make sure, but odds were good that they would’ve left last night if that was their intent.

  He hoped they hadn’t left town by car. That one would be a lot harder to track.

  The only other possibility was that they had remained in town.

  A gutsy move on their part, but tactically smart. It’d be the last thing he would expect.

  Which brought him to his next option – examining the area’s many hotels. Given that a group like that would need either several rooms or a suite, it shouldn’t be too difficult to pinpoint, but it would take time. There were a lot of hotels.

  At least time was something he had in abundance.

  No one who made it on his radar survived. Tanner wouldn’t be the first. Soon enough, the prosecutor would be dead.

  Ten

  “I can get my own suitcase. See those little round things on the bottom? Wheels. Makes it easy.”

  Reilly ignored her as he collapsed the handle on her suitcase and plunked it up on the bed. “This where you want it?”

  “No, but I’ll take care of it.”

  “Tell me where it should go.”

  “Geez, Ri. I’m not an invalid.”

  Blue eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Weren’t you told to take it easy?”

  “Moving a suitcase isn’t hard.”

  “It could still reopen the wound. Now where should I put this?”

  She nodded to the floor next to the dresser. “Right there is good. I won’t really be unpacking anyway.”

  “How come?”

  “It’s easier to leave in a hurry if we need to.”

  “Oh. Should I leave my stuff packed?”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  He turned away from her and regarded Alex. “Make sure she doesn’t try to do more than she should, okay?”

  The grin Alex tried to hide slid through. She offered a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”

  “I don’t know why I bother.” The words, muttered through Reilly’s clenched teeth as he exited the room, elicited a chuckle from Alex.

  Alex waited a few seconds before commenting, “He’s right, you know. You need to take it easy.”

&
nbsp; “So I’ll keep the karate to a minimum. You’d think I have a hole in my arm the size of a pizza the way he carries on.”

  “A pizza, huh?” Alex looked pointedly at Lana’s arm.

  A smile teased the corners of Lana’s mouth. Okay, so a pizza was about three times the size of her arm. “I may have exaggerated a little.”

  “A little?”

  “Fine. A lot. Happy?”

  “Getting there.”

  “Thanks for not taking his side when he was standing right there. The last thing he needs is any encouragement.”

  A weighted pause hung between them as Alex removed a cosmetics case from her suitcase and set it on the dresser. When she spoke, all traces of humor had vanished. “He’s concerned about you and dealing with a heavy load of guilt. Babying you is his way of processing. It’s also a good distraction from everything else that’s going on. Let him fuss, okay?”

  Alex had a good point. If Reilly focused on her, the murder wouldn’t constantly play through his mind.

  “All right. I just wish it wasn’t so annoying.” Leaving her still-zipped suitcase on the floor, she headed out of the bedroom and into the living room of suite 501.

  Across the living room, the door to suite 503, where the rest of the team would sleep, yawned open. While not as cushy as the house they’d just vacated, the two suites would suit their needs nicely.

  The only person in the living room was Peters, who had a laptop open in front of him.

  Maybe she’d check on Reilly. It beat hanging out with Peters.

  She spun and headed back down the hallway, past her bedroom and the bathroom, and poked her head into the room at the end of the hall. “How’s it going?”

  “Fine.” Turning from the shirt he’d just hung in the closet, he assessed her. “Did you need help?”

  “Nope. Only saying hi.” She crossed the room and drew the heavy drapes closed.

  “Hey. I kinda liked the sunshine.”

  “There’s a shooter on the loose, remember?”

  An eyebrow arched. “You really believe he can get us on the fifth floor?”

  “I believe in caution. Don’t open these at any time for any reason.” Time for a distraction. “And be ready to go at five, okay?”

  “Go?”

  She grinned. “Did you think I’d let your birthday slide by without some kind of celebration? We’re going out for dinner.”

  “Really?” The look of anticipation deflated as his gaze landed on her arm. “Sure it’s safe?”

  “Absolutely.” Somehow she managed to exude more confidence than she felt.

  Taking him out was risky. Sure, they had a plan in place, a private room reserved, and multiple escape routes but so many variables couldn’t be adequately anticipated. What if something went wrong?

  Leaving Reilly’s room, she headed back down the hallway to her own room. She leaned against the doorframe, watching as Alex stowed her suitcase in the closet.

  “Everyone else knows about the dinner plans?”

  Alex nodded. “Yeah. Peters and Chow will leave about fifteen minutes ahead of us to scout everything out and secure the room. They’ll do the same when we’re ready to leave so they can make sure things are good here, too.”

  That was something, anyway. Now the biggest risk would be getting to and from the vehicle. Simple, right?

  Too bad nothing about this was simple.

  “So tell me about this friend who showed up last night.”

  Lana moved to sit next to Alex on the bed. “Reilly and I knew him back in high school. He and Ri were pretty close until his dad was reassigned. They lost touch after that.”

  “And now he just happens to be a reporter in the town we’re hiding out in?”

  “Kinda questionable, huh?”

  “A little.” Alex pushed off the mattress. “But it should be easy enough to verify. I’ll send Peters to the local paper and have him talk to security. Maybe they can even tell us what time he left last night.”

  ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪ ₪

  “Invite him to dinner.”

  Lana stared at Alex, sand filling her throat. Alex couldn’t have said what Lana thought she’d heard. “Come again?”

  “Peters confirmed Branden’s story. Security tapes show him leaving the office at 7:27. That’s about five minutes after the attack. There’s no way he could be the shooter.”

  “And we’re sure he was there the whole time?”

  “As sure as we can be. Even so, the newspaper office is a good ten miles away. Unless he can freeze time, there’s no way he could’ve taken that shot and been leaving the office when the footage says he did.”

  Okay. Chances were good he wasn’t the shooter. But he was still a liability. “We can’t let him see Reilly. He’d be able to identify him.”

  “He could probably identify him anyway. I doubt Reilly’s changed that much since high school. And he recognized you, so his memory obviously isn’t terrible.”

  Not the point. “We don’t know he can be trusted. He is a reporter.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s untrustworthy.”

  “You told Maxwell all about that, right? I can’t believe he’d order us to stay here when a reporter has identified me.”

  “Weird, I know. But he told us to sit tight.”

  Unbelievable.

  Staying in this town was the last thing she would’ve expected under the circumstances.

  Maybe Rosetti’s inside man wasn’t part of their team. Maybe he was the one directing their actions.

  Alex leaned forward. “Just invite him. It’ll give me a chance to stress the importance of keeping what he knows quiet.”

  “I told him last night that he couldn’t tell anyone about this. He said he wouldn’t.”

  “I think observing him for the evening, and letting him see the seriousness of the situation, is a prudent move. And won’t Reilly be surprised to see his old friend? It’ll take his mind off that bandage on your arm, at least for a few hours.”

  Reilly would enjoy hanging out with Branden.

  Under the circumstances, it’d be one of the best gifts she could give him.

  Besides, Alex dealt with security issues every single day and she thought it was safe. Time to trust the expert.

  “Okay. I’ll give him a call.”

  “Don’t tell him where we’re going. You’ll pick him up.” Alex grinned. “My trust only extends so far.”

  Going into their room, she closed the door before retrieving the card Branden had given her. A distracted male voice answered on the third ring. “Yeah.”

  “Branden?”

  “Is this Milana?” The voice perked up instantly.

  “It is. How’s it going?”

  “Oh, you know, work is work.” Papers shuffled in the background. “So what’s up?”

  “Well, I know it’s last minute, but would you be free for dinner tonight?”

  “Going out for Reilly’s birthday, huh? Sure thing.”

  Wow, fifteen years later and he still remembered? It lent credibility to his story. “I can’t believe you remembered after all these years.”

  “What can I say? My memory is one thing that time hasn’t changed.” He chuckled. “Of course, the fact that it’s exactly ten days after my dad’s birthday doesn’t hurt either.”

  She’d forgotten that detail.

  “When and where?”

  “Actually, I’ll pick you up about six.” She smiled, not that he could see it, but she hoped it would come through in her voice. “If that’s okay with you.”

  “Still don’t trust me?”

  The lightness in his tone sounded forced. Possibly covering up hurt. Or perhaps annoyance.

  “Maybe I just wanted a chance to talk to you before we meet up with everyone. Besides, that way if our plans change, I don’t have to call you at the last minute with a new location.”

  A lame excuse. They both knew it, but neither pointed it out.

  The three-second pause spoke volumes
. “From what little I know about your situation, I doubt your plans change at a moment’s notice, but I’ll let you have this one. How about you pick me up at work?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll text you when I get there.”

  After confirming the time, she ended the call and joined Alex in the living room.

  Alex glanced up. “I take it we’re good to go?”

  “Picking him up at six.”

  “Good. And you already made arrangements to enter the restaurant through the service entrance?”

  “Yeah. I told the manager it’s a surprise party and we wanted to sneak a special guest in through the back. He thought I was a little weird but seemed to buy it, especially with the extra money I put down for the inconvenience.”

  “Well, I think you’re a little weird too, but I don’t hold it against you.”

  “How generous.” The sarcasm helped relieve some of the tension coiled within her.

  “Seriously though, good cover. Shouldn’t raise too much suspicion among the staff.”

  At least not until they left, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. She had all night to come up with a believable story.

  “After we get Reilly settled and the room secure, you’ll take the car to pick up Branden.”

  Meaning he wouldn’t see the Suburban used to transport Reilly. Smart.

  “Try to pump him for information and if anything feels off, and I mean anything, abort. Trust your gut.”

  Lana ran through the plans in her head. Arrive at five-thirty before most of the dinner crowd. Lock the room’s restaurant entrance since the wait staff would use the room’s rear entrance. Sneak Reilly in and out the back.

  They should be perfectly safe. So why couldn’t she settle her nerves?

  Trying to push the anxiety aside, she cleared her throat. “Okay, so when we go to leave, we do the same thing, but in reverse.”

  Alex shook her head. “Not quite. I’ll have Peters and Chow run Branden back on their way to the hotel. We’ll wait about a half hour before leaving.”

  Silence descended like the fog that sometimes blanketed the beach. She tried to relax but almost felt sick.