Hard As Ice (Fortis Series 1)

by Raven Scott

  “Nia? Hi,” he stated, trying to seem casual, unaffected.

  “Hi, Evan. I hope I’m not interrupting you at work,” she stated politely.

  “No, not at all. I’m just sitting around eating bonbons, counting my limitless cash supply,” he quipped, missing the freedom to tease her.

  “Ha-ha, very cute,” she shot back, though he could hear the smile in her voice. “Jokes like that are only funny when poor people make them. It’s called irony.”

  “Hey, I’m a working man. I earn a paycheck like everyone else. I’m allowed.” It wasn’t exactly accurate, but she didn’t need to know that.

  “Whatever,” she dismissed.

  There was a small pause.

  “What’s going on, Nia?” he finally asked, sitting back in his chair.

  “I just got a very strange phone call that I thought I should tell you about. It was from Matt Flannigan’s girlfriend.”

  Evan sat up straighter, caught off guard by her statement.

  “Jennifer Coombs. Why was she calling you?” he asked.

  “She just called the office looking for Chris.”

  “What did she want?”

  “That’s the strange part,” Nia explained. “Do you remember the call I told you I overheard? Where Chris said he was trying to find her to get something back?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “I think it was cocaine. She said to tell Chris that she flushed the coke down the toilet and to never call her again.”

  “That’s everything?” he asked, now walking out of his office toward the bull pen where Raymond and the other agents on the team sat.

  “That’s all. She just hung up after that.”

  “Okay, thanks for letting me know, Nia.”

  “Okay. But there’s one more thing.”

  Evan stopped midstride.

  “I have some preliminary estimates for your collection,” she stated.

  He clenched his jaw. She only wanted to talk about business.

  “I wondered how you would like to review it. I can just e-mail it to you, then you can let me know if you have any questions. The options are well outlined, in terms of how you can sell or auction them off,” she continued.

  Then what? His dad’s art collection was the last thing that connected them.

  “I’d like to review them with you if that’s okay,” he replied.

  “Over the phone?” asked Nia.

  He looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes to three.

  “No, in person. Tomorrow. How about nine o’clock in the morning?”

  There was silence in response.

  “Evan,” she finally whispered.

  “In fact, I’ll be in Boston this evening. We can have dinner tonight and finish off my contract tomorrow.”

  She paused again and Evan suddenly felt as though he had to see her. As though if they didn’t meet tonight, he might never see her again. He couldn’t explain the irrational thought but his heart started beating like a drum in his chest.

  “I’ll pick you up at the gallery later. Let’s say, at six o’clock?” he pressed.

  “Aren’t you in Alexandria? How can you possibly be here by then?” she questioned.

  “Don’t worry about it. Six o’clock, Nia.”

  “No.” His heart stopped, painfully. “Pick me up at home. I’ll be there by then.”

  Evan grinned, feeling the adrenaline now coursing through his veins.

  “It’s a date,” he confirmed before disconnecting.

  Evan jogged over to Raymond’s desk to give him the update. The agent looked relieved to see him.

  “Hey, looks like we can finally cross Chris Morton and Coombs off the list on the Worthington mission,” Evan announced. “Turns out Morton was only chasing Flannigan’s girlfriend for some lost drugs.”

  He repeated what Nia had told him about the cocaine. But Raymond just nodded and waved his hand dismissively.

  “Good, but Ice, I was just about to call you. I think I have something on Walsh.”

  “That’s great! Go ahead and send me the details,” Evan replied as he turned away, already thinking about everything he needed to do to get one of the choppers in the air within the next thirty minutes. “I’m headed for an overnight trip to Boston, so I’ll read it when I land.”

  He was back across the office floor to his office before Raymond could respond. Within another fifteen minutes, he had everything he needed for the trip. That included a packed duffel bag in his office that was always ready and stocked with two extra sets of clothes and toiletries. It was an old habit from the agency, one he was grateful he hadn’t let slide.

  With his bag strung across his chest, Evan found both his partners sitting in one of the smaller boardrooms, reviewing some files.

  “You going somewhere?” Sam asked with a sardonic lift of his brow.

  “I’m taking chopper two,” he stated.

  “Okay,” Lucas replied simply. Fortis had two leased helicopters, ready to fly at all times to support their missions.

  “Anything you care to share with us?” added Sam.

  “I’m going to Boston. I’ll be working there tomorrow, but I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be back. Monday morning at the latest to start the senator’s case on the ground,” Evan explained, very aware that he sounded a little off the hinges. He didn’t care.

  “All right then. Go get your woman,” Sam ordered, almost cracking a smile.

  “Keep us posted,” added Lucas, grinning like a fool, and looking a little like Evan felt. “No details or anything. I’m not into that. Just the highlights. Sam needs tips.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Evan chided.

  His two friends continued to provoke each other as he left the building.

  The hangar and landing pad were at the rear of the Fortis property. Evan had one of the machines started up and inspected by three-fifteen. He remembered the private heliport about ten minutes from Nia’s place. Before takeoff, he sent a note to Sandra Blake asking her to arrange landing approval, and for a car to meet him on the ground in Boston. She acknowledged his request in less than a minute, proving that his interim CEO title at DaCosta Solutions certainly had it perks.

  With everything in place, Evan lifted the powerful machine into the air to start the two and a half hour flight at top speed. Hopefully, it was enough time to figure out a game plan to convince Nia they should be together. By the time he landed the chopper, Evan had it all worked out. Nia was afraid of love, scared to trust him. So, they would date, like at the beginning, for as long as needed. He just had to remind her of how much fun they had, when they were just two people getting to know each other, before his Fortis role was uncovered. And Evan would be there for as long as it took, without expecting her to make any changes in her life. If that meant rethinking his life, then so be it.

  Maybe Fortis needed an office in Boston. Or he could accept the DaCosta CEO role permanently and run the company from Massachusetts. There were plenty of feasible scenarios, with nothing to stop him from doing whatever he wanted. For once in his life, Evan was truly grateful for the financial security that made the various options possible.

  Sandra came through, and there was a car and driver waiting near the landing pad. At five-fifty, Evan was on his way through South Boston with a few minutes to spare. He sent the executive assistant an e-mail to say thanks, followed by a text message to Lucas confirming his touchdown. When the driver pulled the car up to the curb in front of Nia’s apartment, the lights were out suggesting he had managed to beat her to the finish line. Jogging up to the door, Evan knocked, not surprised when there was no answer. He went back to the car to wait for her arrival.

  Almost fifteen minutes later, he was still waiting and was now concerned. Particularly since her cell phone and work phone rang unanswered. Nia James was punctual to a fault and he had no doubt she would have called if she were running behind schedule.

  Trying to be patient, he had used the time to review the informa
tion Raymond had sent. The agent had finally discovered a connection between Walsh and a Worthington employee. Gleason Courier, the company where Walsh’s delivery driver worked, had contracts with many large distributors in the hospitality industry. Their drivers would pick up large skids of supplies from these warehouses, then transport them to the Gleason depot to be assembled for customer orders.

  One of these large warehouses was in Watertown. One of their shift supervisors was Nigel St. James.

  With his heart racing, Evan did a location search of Nia’s cell phone, with confirmation that she was still in the gallery. It was now six-twenty. His gut told him something wasn’t right. He asked the driver to head into the downtown core, while he tried to call Nia’s cell phone again.

  He was about five minutes away from her office when he received a text from Lucas simply stating 911. It was their code to call headquarters immediately.

  “Yeah?” he asked the moment Lucas answered the phone.

  “Where are you?” Lucas immediately asked.

  “Downtown Boston. Nia’s running late so I’m going to meet her at work. Why?”

  “I have her on surveillance at the gallery, Evan.”

  Evan swallowed, not liking the sound of urgency in his friend’s voice.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Did you read the report from Raymond?” Lucas demanded.

  “Yeah,” Evan replied tightly.

  “I got an alert from the new security system. Someone’s entered the Worthington protected zone without the right protocols.”

  “Nia,” Evan stated, closing his eyes against the implications.

  “Yeah. And the security guard on duty, Stan, isn’t responding to my calls.”

  “How much time do I have?” grilled Evan as he reached into his duffel bag and pulled out his gun.

  “Not long, a few minutes, tops. The safe zone was meant to alert security if someone enters any of the sensitive zones in the warehouse outside of business hours, including the safe.”

  “I’m on my way,” Evan confirmed in a chilling tone.

  Chapter 27

  “These look incredible,” Nia gasped.

  She held up one of the photos spread out on the small table in her office. Her team finally had the pictures ready for the summer auction in August. With all of the beautiful shots of the jewelry and other art pieces, it was going to be hard to pick the final ones for all the marketing collateral.

  “I know,” Adam added, rifling through another small stack.

  “It’s almost three-o’clock now, so we have an hour or so,” Nia confirmed to him and Nancy. “Let’s get as far as we can in selecting one for each item in the auction. We can send the extra ones to the clients. They always appreciate that. If we have time after, I’d like to start working on descriptions. I think you did a good first draft, Nancy. We’re getting close.”

  Her two employees nodded, and they dived into the task.

  For Nia, it felt great not only to know that the Crimson Amazon and other pieces were again safe and secure, but that the time line required for the auction was not impacted. The international exhibit of the rare jewelry was an ambitious plan to begin with, usually only done by the bigger players in the industry. But it was now all coming together. The first was scheduled for Independence Day weekend in New York.

  By four-o’clock in the afternoon, she and the coordinators were able to finish choosing the images needed. They set aside the selected pictures from the ones Nia would send to their clients. Once the two coordinators had left, Nia sat behind her desk to call Emma at the reception area.

  “Hi, Nia,” the young girl replied, still not quite her usual bubbly self.

  “Hey, Emma. Can you do me a favor?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m sending several packages out tomorrow to clients. Do we have any of those padded courier envelopes?”

  “I think so. How many do you need?”

  Nia counted in her head.

  “Fourteen, I think?”

  “All right, I’ll bring them up in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks, Emma.”

  The receptionist walked into her office about ten minutes later while Nia was thinking about Evan and their plans for that evening. How on earth was he going to get here from Virginia by six o’clock? You can barely get through airport security and on a plane that fast.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Emma as she put the envelopes on Nia’s desk.

  “Huh?” Nia replied, snapping her head up with surprise. “Oh, nothing.”

  “Are you sure? You look worried.”

  “No,” denied Nia, relaxing her shoulders and sitting back. “It’s nothing. Just a meeting I wasn’t expecting.” Emma nodded, lingering a little. “How about you, how are you doing?”

  The young girl smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “I’m good.”

  “Are you sure?” probed Nia. “I know things have been a little hard for you, with Chris . . . gone.”

  Emma waved her hand dismissively.

  “It’s fine.”

  “Well, once we’ve hired a new manager, things will go back to normal. You’ll see,” Nia assured her.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Wait, Emma,” said Nia as she stood up from her desk. “Can I ask you something?”

  The younger girl paused, her face sad.

  “I know Matt and Chris were friends. Were they into anything dangerous together? Like doing drugs?”

  Emma looked down and then away.

  “I’m not trying to criticize, I promise,” Nia insisted. “But if you know something, it might make you feel better to talk about it.”

  Emma’s face crumpled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “It was harmless,” she whispered. “Matt and I like to do a little blow on the weekends. That’s it. Matt would always have some around. So Chris thought he could make some money on the side, supply other people. Nothing major. Just a little here and there.”

  “Oh, Emma,” Nia whispered, expecting something like this but still surprised to hear it confirmed.

  Emma wiped at her eyes and brushed her wrist across her nose.

  “And now they’re both dead,” she ended in a whisper.

  Nia rubbed her back soothingly until the young receptionist stopped crying.

  “I’m okay now,” she finally stated, but her voice was still a little shaky.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Nia reassured her.

  Emma nodded.

  “Thanks, Nia,” she added before she left to go back down to the gallery.

  Nia let out a deep breath, glad that Emma had finally told someone what had been going on. Now, Evan and his team could determine if Chris had really been involved in the robbery, or not.

  Then remembering her dinner plans, she got back to work.

  It was hard to suppress the bubble of excitement in her stomach. But Nia tried to stay grounded. She couldn’t assume that Evan was flying into Boston just to see her. In fact, it now seemed likely that he had been headed there anyway. He was probably already sitting in the airport when she called him, right?

  She also tried not to think about what this evening could mean. As much as she missed Evan and wanted to see him again, nothing had really changed. He still wanted something more, and she still could not trust him with her heart.

  Forcing herself to focus, Nia went back to the task at hand. It was hugely satisfying to put together the client packages, particularly for Aubrey Niknam. Just four weeks ago, there was the real possibility that Nia would have to inform Aubrey and others that the unthinkable had happened. That their valuable assets had been stolen from Worthington, despite the state-of-the-art security measure they had been promised. The appraised value would have been covered by the company’s insurance but that was often much less than what it could fetch at auction. So, as Nia wrote out the courier parcels containing the beautiful photos of each item in the auction, it felt pretty satisfying. />
  The only hiccup was that she had miscalculated the number of shipments to be sent and was short by one envelope.

  A few minutes before five-thirty, she was shutting down for the day, ready to take a taxi home in order to get there a little early. Nia packed up her laptop, grabbed the prepared packages and remaining photos. The only thing left to do was stop at Emma’s desk to write up the final envelope. Then the whole stack would be ready for pickup tomorrow morning.

  Downstairs, the large gallery area was empty. Though the doors closed at five o’clock each evening, the operations team typically worked for another hour to lock down the building. With Chris gone, Emma was managing on her own with some part-time help. Nia waited by the reception desk for a few minutes for Emma to return. Getting impatient after a few minutes, she went into the warehouse and looked around. The receptionist was nowhere in the immediate vicinity, and Nia was running out of time.

  Checking her watch, she turned to head back into the gallery when she saw a discarded shoe near the back door that led to the alley. It looked like the one Emma had been wearing today. Nia stopped to look around. Then she took a few steps forward until her path was suddenly blocked by the man who stepped in front of her.

  “Hi, Nia.”

  She screamed in surprise, then covered her mouth, feeling foolish once she realized who it was.

  “Nigel! What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

  Nia glanced around again, still searching for Emma and wondering about the discarded shoe.

  “Nia, I need your help,” he stated.

  The serious, nervous tone of his voice made her look back at him.

  “Did Emma let you back here? Do you know where she is?”

  “Nia, listen to me!”

  He grabbed her arm tight, causing her to stumble forward.

  “Nigel. What are you doing? Let go of me!”

  Her heart was now hammering in her chest as the confusion turned to fear. Something wasn’t right. Nigel had never been to her work before, now here he was in the warehouse, and Emma was missing.

  “Listen to me. Listen to me!” he insisted in an urgent voice. “I’m in trouble, Nia, and I need your help.”