The rattle was soft and barely audible, but Eddie heard it. His adrenaline dove into overdrive. He dropped to the concrete and inspected the space beneath the car.
Nothing.
He jumped to his feet and looked inside the car, checking the floorboard beneath the steering wheel.
Nothing.
It must be under the seat.
“Rio,” he said just above a whisper. “I’ve got to get you out of the car. Slowly lift your hands and grab hold of me.” He’d managed to keep his tone incredibly calm, even while his heart hammered against his chest.
“What? What is it?” she murmured the trembling words just under her breath.
“Just grab hold of my arm.” He let a measure of insistence enter his voice. The snake peeked out from under the driver’s seat. Fear shuddered through Eddie. “Do it now!”
She latched onto his arm, and with the force of a tidal wave he yanked her from the car.
The snake shot out from under the seat and settled into a predatory stance at the pedals and began striking at the edge of the driver’s seat.
Eddie slammed the car door shut, trapping the danger inside.
She fell into his arms, clearly frightened. “What was that, Eddie?” Her panic-stricken voice evoked his sympathy.
He draped his arms around her. “It’s a rattlesnake.”
“What?” She melded her body against his. “How the hell did a snake get in my car?”
“It didn’t get there all on its own.”
Enough was enough. It was time to get to the bottom of this stalking business. Right here. Right now. Before Rio got hurt—or worse.
CHAPTER 15
THE knights had reassembled at the roundtable in the Federal Complex’s conference room. This time James Laraquette had been invited to attend the meeting.
He didn’t know whether to feel relieved that Gabe had finally clued him in, or pissed off that nobody had told him before now that his daughter’s life was in danger.
James had made a lot of mistakes over the years where Rio was concerned, including his all-consuming commitment to the success of his business.
Sure, there’d been many a day when he’d stayed far too long at the office, or he’d been away a day or two longer than he should’ve on some business trip—but he’d done it all with his daughter in mind. She’d seen it as neglect; he preferred to think of it as securing her future.
He’d done an admirable job of that, too. Now he was committed to devoting his time to restoring the relationship that he’d failed to properly forge in the first place. But these days they were doing okay. He’d be damned if he’d lose her to the whims of some stalker.
Sitting here, witnessing the heated discussion between Eddie LaCall and Blake Switzer had him wondering about the FVC’s ability to provide Rio with proper protection.
“You need to back off,” Blake said to Eddie, in an elevated voice that somehow managed to match the aggression in his eyes. “You’re not involved in this investigation.”
“Not involved?” Eddie questioned Blake skeptically. “If not for the working relationship I have with this woman—” He stood and pointed at Rio. “Then by all means, let this mark my involvement.” Eddie slammed his fists against the table. The disdain showed in the blazing daggers that James swore he saw hurdling from Eddie toward Blake. Poor schmuck. “I just saved her from the bite of a poisonous snake. She was like a child, trembling in my arms.” His face twisted into a scowl as he dropped into his chair. “Don’t tell me I’m not involved.”
“Let’s try to remain calm.” Gabe sounded like an elementary schoolteacher hanging onto control of the class by a very thin thread.
“Can you remain calm now that this nutcase has crossed the line?” Eddie snarled at Gabe, giving Blake a break.
“This is the reason I didn’t put you on this investigation.” Gabe pointed his finger at Eddie and shook his head. “You’re too close to her. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“What?” Rio gave a dubious laugh. “How can you say that? If it weren’t for Eddie, I’d be dead right now.”
“True,” Chris Bradley quietly agreed.
“Can someone please explain to me what the Treasury Department intends to do to protect one of its own?” James threw his hands into the air. “My daughter!”
“James,” Gabe’s tone lightened now that he’d directed it solely at him, “you know I’ll protect her as if she were my own.”
Eddie’s gaze danced back and forth between the two men and then he turned to Rio, mouthing the words, “What’s that about?”
“Later...” she said in a soft whisper.
Gabe paid little attention to the pair, settling his sights on Blake. “I want the video from the parking garage reviewed immediately. I want to know who put that snake in her car.”
“Will do,” Blake uttered a docile response.
“Everyone else—” Gabe’s gaze traveled around the table. “I don’t want Laraquette left alone for a single second. If LaCall isn’t with her...one of you had better be.” He stalled trying to prevent the glower hardening on his face, as if success would allow him control over his frustration. After a brief moment of quiet meditation, he added, “Now everybody out.”
“Mr. Laraquette,” Eddie addressed James directly. “May I have a word with you, sir?”
“Sure, Eddie.” James said and pushed himself up from the chair. “And remember...its James.”
Everyone departed, leaving James alone with Rio and Eddie. She glanced between them, clearly uncomfortable. James hadn’t seen that look since the time she’d tried to get rid of him before he got the chance to interrogate her date before the high school prom.
She’d liked that guy, too. The difference was, James liked this one.
“Eddie,” James said, for two reasons. One, to direct the heat away from his daughter. And two, he intended to find out just how capable her new partner really was when it came to protecting her. “What are your thoughts on this thing?”
“Well, sir,” Eddie’s voice filled with professionalism and respect. “You might consider using some of that money of yours to supply additional security for your daughter until the case is solved.”
“I’m listening.” James encouraged him to continue.
“Well, she’s got a great car and all, but it’s easily accessible. Right now, she needs to be in a vehicle that’s a little harder to get to.” As Eddie spoke, James could see the imaginary wheels turning. “Better yet...why don’t you bring in a chauffeur? That way, someone will be with the car at all times, and we won’t have to worry about someone getting to the vehicle again.”
“Well done.” James commended Eddie’s determination and judgment.
“A chauffeur? Daddy!” Rio questioned the proposal, but with a front of false defiance. He knew her better than she’d like to think. Rio had a bad case for her new partner. It almost made James chuckle out loud.
“Look, cut the invincible crap, Laraquette.” Eddie’s voice took on a measure of fortitude. “We all know you’re tough, but you’re going to garage the Vette for now.”
James folded his arms across his chest and glanced back and forth between Rio and Eddie, amused at what he was witnessing. Eddie was giving her a run for her money.
“Okay.” She caved, although appearing to fight her withdrawal.
Interesting. That was too easy.
Another façade, James decided. “What’s going on, Rio?” he asked.
“Nothing. Why?” She wasn’t nearly as convincing as she thought.
“Why don’t you tell us a little something about nothing?” Eddie jumped on the bandwagon. James liked this guy.
Rio looked at James, then Eddie, and then back to James again. “Dig, she knew.” Her demeanor crumbled.
“She knew what?” James asked cautiously.
“About the snake.”
“What?” the word barked out on Eddie’s savage tone.
“She knew. She warned me.” Ri
o shrugged it off. Another front. “Well, sort of.”
“Wait,” Eddie said. “You knew about the snake?”
Rio rolled her eyes. “Of course not.” She shot him a condescending look. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“So how does it work?” Eddie asked.
Enough was enough. “What did she say? Exactly.” James directed the inquiry to his daughter.
“Something about a baby’s rattle.” Rio’s revelation made James’s heart skip a beat. Grandchildren. That was a little scary. “I didn’t get it at the time,” she said, “but now it makes perfect sense.”
In some strange way, yes. If Michelle saw a baby’s rattle just before a rattlesnake was discovered in Rio’s car, then James had to give the girl credit that he’d previously denied her.
“What else did she say?” The question nagged at James like an angry lover.
“Just that there’s danger all around me.”
“That settles it,” Eddie said. “Where you go, I go.”
“Well, can we go now?” she asked with a sprinkling of sass. “Or do we have to wait for a chauffeur.”
“From this point forward, you will not be setting foot in a vehicle that isn’t manned twenty-four hours a day, young lady.” James exerted a fatherly tone with Rio.
“God! You guys are like two peas in a pod.” She all but growled as she rolled her eyes and fixed her hands on her hips. “Give either one of you an inch and you’ll take a mile.”
James chuckled inside. He realized Rio was smitten with Eddie, but James felt indebted to the man. He’d saved her life. Good thing he had her keys.
He had her keys.
That meant he’d probably been driving her car.
“Eddie...” James hesitated, letting the daunting thoughts sink in. He focused on capping the angst roaming around inside his head—just in case he was wrong. Then again, he could be right. “I think you should probably limit yourself to a chauffeur driven vehicle, as well.”
“Huh?” Eddie said, eyebrows crinkling.
“Yes,” James said, more insistent this time. “If you two have separate destinations, I’ll bring in another car and driver.”
“What?” Eddie questioned him with more force and firmness this time.
“Think about it,” James said in a coaxing voice. “Who’s been driving her car lately?” He posed the question, but didn’t wait for either of their thoughts on the matter. “I’m not saying the target is you,” he said directly to Eddie. “Who knows?” he added with a shrug. “But at the very least, you could’ve been an indirect victim today if you two had been following suit and got into the car together, with you driving.”
While James had no doubt who those menacing letters were meant for—in light of the fact that Eddie had been driving Rio’s car, James was on the fence regarding the snake’s intended victim.
* * *
Rio watched, amused, as Eddie played with the gadgets and compartments in the back of the Mercedes limousine.
“So,” Eddie said, checking out the mini bar off to the side, “what’s the deal with your dad and Dalton?” he asked the question as he perused the bottles of liquor.
Oh, that’s right. He probably didn’t know. “Gabe Dalton is my godfather.”
Instantly, his eyes diverted from the liquor to Rio. “What?” Intense astonishment touched his bronze face.
“Yep, Gabe is my godfather.” She repeated the revelation with an air of ambiguity.
“Man, you’re full of surprises.” He stretched out his arm along the back of the seat and rested it against the back of her shoulders.
“Gabe and Daddy were in the Army together during the latter stages of the Vietnam War. Apparently, Gabe saved my father’s life.” She tilted her head and paused in thought. “It’s a highly embellished story, I think. And it grows every time I hear it.”
“No wonder you get away with so much crap,” Eddie said with a noticeable chuckle.
“What?” She let the word snap off her tongue just to keep from laughing. “I don’t get away with anything,” She tossed her hair back across her shoulders and if it happened to whip his arm, so much the better. “If anything...” Why didn’t anybody see it? “Gabe rides me more than he does anybody else.”
Eddie snorted a strong laugh.
The limo rolled to a stop at the entrance of The Golden Sunset Hotel and Casino. Rio didn’t miss Chris Bradley waiting nearby. He approached the door when the driver shifted the car into park.
What’s he doing here?
“Chris’s going to stay with you until I return,” Eddie said as if he’d heard her private thoughts.
“What?” she questioned him. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find out who sent those letters and put that rattler in your car.” Determination invaded Eddie’s voice, and a sense of foreboding entered her mind as she thought about the snake. She shivered and he gave her a comforting, embracing pat. “Maybe not today. But I will solve this case.” He looked at her, showing no signs of relenting. “And that is something Blake Switzer will never do.”
Bradley reached into the car for her hand and Eddie pushed her toward him. She emerged from the limo and stood beside Chris as the car drove away with Eddie inside.
She glanced up at the afternoon sky. Gloomy clouds had begun rolling in a rare summer storm.
“Chris...” She hesitated, her gaze stuck to the darkening skies. “Would you take me to my dad’s office?” she asked and slowly turned toward him.
“No can do.” His answer came swiftly and definitely.
“What? Why not?” she countered.
“Because, you’re not supposed to be in a vehicle that isn’t manned twenty-four seven.” Bradley reminded her with a slight smile. She got that he was taking some perverse pleasure in her dilemma of being “grounded”.
Okay. Quickly realizing she’d get nowhere fast with him, she fished her cell phone out of her purse and hit the speed dial.
Within two rings, her father answered.
“Daddy...” she said with quick urgency. “I need you to come get me.”
CHAPTER 16
EDDIE listened diligently to the chastising rant blasting through his cell phone. At times like this, he hated technology.
“Look,” he said to the caller, “I told you, I don’t have time for that right now.” Anger fumed hot inside his head. “I’ve got my hands full tracking down a stalker who’s on the verge of turning into a killer.” He disconnected the call with a heavy flick of the “end” button and placed the device beside him on the car seat.
Something about Blake Switzer’s demeanor—just before and right after the rattlesnake incident—nagged at Eddie. Maybe it had something to do with his belief that Switzer wasn’t capable of solving the case before the stalker decided to quit playing games and do away with Rio. For real.
Maybe he just didn’t trust Switzer. The thought had crossed Eddie’s mind, more than once, that perhaps Switzer didn’t want to solve this case.
Even if no one else did, Eddie saw the increasing anger burning in the guy’s glare each time he witnessed Rio and Eddie together. If Switzer wasn’t directly responsible, was he angry enough at Rio to feed her to the wolves?
Eddie wanted to get rid of that growing doubt highlighting Switzer. If he let it blossom into full-blown suspicion—sooner or later he’d have to admit that if Switzer’s jealousy was capable of such repercussions, then so was Naomi’s.
Is there anybody that you don’t suspect right now? He questioned his sanity. Hell, who was he kidding? He didn’t trust anybody. Not after some fruitcake had managed to place a deadly snake in Rio’s car, and do it right inside the parking garage of a federal building.
Things had gone from bad to worse. He needed to get his hands on the file detailing Switzer’s investigation. He needed to know just how serious this guy was about solving the case, and what kind of evidence he might have in his possession.
Once Eddie figured out where
his colleague’s head was, then he could determine which team Switzer was on. Friend or foe.
Back at the Federal Complex, Eddie poked his head inside Gabe Dalton’s office. “Sir...” He waited for a response from his boss. When Gabe glanced up from the mountain of paperwork, Eddie asked, “Do you have a minute?”
Gabe propped one elbow on the desk and motioned Eddie inside. “Aren’t you supposed to be protecting Laraquette, LaCall?” he said, his voice brimming with abrupt reproach.
“Bradley is with her, sir.” Eddie’s tone, much more docile than usual, prompted wide-eyed surprise from Gabe.
That probably meant Gabe hadn’t seen through him yet. Truth be told, Eddie was a lot more worried—maybe frightened was a better word—than he was letting on.
Gabe motioned toward the empty chair. “What’s on your mind, LaCall?”
Eddie sat, trying to find the right words. He couldn’t just come out and say, “I suspect everybody, including Switzer.” That wouldn’t work. He had to find a different approach.
“Well?” Gabe’s tone was short. “Let’s hear it.”
After a short pause, Eddie said, “I want to know the status of Switzer’s research into this Atkins guy.”
“How many times do I have to remind you?” Gabe said. “You aren’t assigned to this case.”
“Then tell me off the record,” Eddie urged his boss. “Do it for your goddaughter.” He gave Gabe the most scrutinizing stare he could muster. “I’m sure Rio’s father put his faith in you for a reason?”
Gabe sighed heavily. Eddie sensed a calmer side of his boss emerging, as if someone had lifted a huge weight off his back.
“James Laraquette and I served together during the latter part of the Vietnam War.” A faraway look glazed over Gabe’s eyes. “We were basically on cleanup duty. The war had been over for a couple of years. Back then we were escorting prisoners and Nationals alike. One of those civilians had a gun and he was intent on freeing the POWs.” Gabe paused, his distant gaze intensifying. “I felt like I was in the middle of some bad dream. The gun was aimed as James’s head. He didn’t see it. I did.” Gabe sat silently for a brief time and Eddie could only imagine that he was reliving the incident. In an instant, his face brightened and his eyes lit up. Like he’d emerged from his nightmare. He glanced at Eddie. “Most people would say he’s indebted to me. There are other cultures who would say...when you save a man’s life, you’re responsible for it.”
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