by Debra Webb
Alayna’s gaze narrowed as if she were endeavoring to discern if she had just been insulted. Silence congealed in the room. Casey telegraphed him a sharp warning with her eyes. He, too, had a part to play and bubbling with enthusiasm was not in the profile. This was her gig. She should appreciate the intricacies of his part.
When he had stretched Alayna’s patience far enough, he said, “My assistant insisted I catch your show while scouting locations.” He acknowledged his partner with a subtle dip of his head. “I rarely scout for talent these days. It usually comes to me.” He mentally ticked off the trauma-filled seconds that followed, allowing the silence to swell once more.
“Since you’re here,” Alayna said finally, “I presume you enjoyed the show.”
“I did.” He forced the instinctive tension in his muscles to unwind. He had to take it slow, not appear too eager.
“Then you are interested in my show?”
“I’m intrigued by you.”
Alayna relaxed in her chair for the first time since arriving. “As I am intrigued by you.”
“Perhaps we should speak privately.”
No one had touched their food or drink during the stilted exchange. Levi predicted that everyone at the table was less than pleased by his suggestion. Everyone except Casey. She would be livid. All the more reason not to make eye contact with her.
Alayna turned to Jazz and he immediately stood. Without a word he left the room, the others filing out after him, including Casey. She shot Levi a withering look on her way out. She would have to trust him the way she expected him to trust her.
Now that the room was cleared, Levi rested his full attention on the lady who Fernandez had claimed was the sister of Slade Keaton.
“You have questions.” Her expression provided no clue as to what she might be thinking. “I do.”
“Perhaps I have answers.” One corner of her mouth tilted upward just the slightest bit, fracturing the ice that seemed to encase her.
“Assuming we were to reach an agreement,” Levi broached, “can you be available to devote the time required to the project?” What sorts of ties did she have, if any? There had been some mention of a mother. He needed to learn as much as possible without deviating from his profile. Now that they were alone, it was the time to push harder.
“Perhaps.”
Nice hedge. “You don’t have commitments that would divide your attention?” He clasped his hands in front of him. “I find it very frustrating when family obligations get in the way.”
“You have no family, Mr. Stark?”
The way she watched him, prepared to pounce on the slightest deviation from character, would have been a bit unnerving except that he’d spent the past twenty-four hours with Casey Manning. He had full confidence that he possessed nerves of steel.
“Let’s just say I have no obligations that pose a threat to the needs of my work.” He could hedge with the best of them.
“I can see how that would be fortunate for a man in your position.”
She had either taken the bait without reservation or she was playing him to buy time for her own agenda. “Why don’t we put our dance cards away, Alayna?” He matched her poker face. “There are many personal questions you’ll need to answer. I don’t like surprises and those who bankroll my projects don’t either. Is Alayna a stage name?”
A smile widened the tiny fissure in her perfectly composed features. “Yes. But my name is irrelevant. My family obligations are as well. My commitment at Delicia is at my leisure. Does that answer your question?”
“I see.”
“So there is no misunderstanding, I have no previous film experience. I have only what you saw tonight to offer. Either it is what you’re looking for or it is not. The money is irrelevant.”
That gave him a whole lot of nothing. “No criminal record?”
“Of course not.”
“You’re American?” He was nearly certain she was. Either that or she had at least one Anglo parent.
“By birthright I am, but this country is my home.”
She was warming to him, one degree at a time. “Although much of the project would be filmed here,” he explained, trying another avenue to ask the same questions, “we’ll be spending a great deal of time in the States. Is that a problem?”
“I never leave this country.”
Why, he wondered. “That will be an issue.”
“In my experience,” she countered, “we do what we must to obtain what we want.”
Touché. Now was the time to take it up another notch. Throw her a curveball. “Sadly, I must answer to my investors. One of them in particular insists that part of every project be filmed in his beloved city of Chicago. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. Slade Keaton?” Levi leaned forward and blatantly studied her. “I’m certain he would be very disappointed if I failed to communicate that requirement. I’m also certain he will be very interested in you.”
Her eyes glazed with cold fury. “Who are you?”
“You do know him.” No question there.
She stood, her chair rocking precariously behind her. “We have nothing further to discuss.”
Levi blocked her path when she would have moved toward the door. He couldn’t let her get away just yet. “I have questions about Keaton.” She started around him and he placed his hand on her arm, prompting an icy stare that warned her tolerance threshold had been reached. “The matter is urgent. I was told that you’re his sister. If that’s true, you may be able to help.”
“You have made a mistake, Mr. Stark.”
“I don’t think so. I think you do know him and I’m not going to stop until I find the answers I need.” He was pushing it here and she still hadn’t called in her security. Some part of her was curious.
She inclined her head and studied him. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?”
Not exactly the reaction he’d hoped for. “Right now I’m dealing with you.”
“No, Mr. Stark. You have far greater problems than me.” She searched his eyes. “I regret to inform you that as of this moment you are living on borrowed time, as they say.”
“Is that a threat, Alayna?”
She squared her shoulders, signaling that she was done here. “It is merely a statement of fact, Mr. Stark. Now, if you will step out of my way, there will be no need to involve security.”
Not just yet. “Who is Keaton?”
For five thundering beats of his heart he was certain she wouldn’t answer, then she said, “He is a man trained to kill anyone who gets in the way of what he seeks. If it is you he seeks, he will find you no matter how long it takes and then he will lie in wait until the perfect moment to act. You will not escape.”
“How do you know this?” Was she his sister or a former lover? Levi needed answers. “Who are you?”
“That is irrelevant. I will give you one final advisement, Mr. Stark. Please hear me well. You and your friend should run. Now. Your actions have awakened a sleeping dragon and you will be devoured by her.”
Alayna walked around him. He didn’t try to stop her.
Levi stood alone in the room, the walls suddenly closing in around him. His instincts screamed at him. He had to call Victoria. He had to warn her.
“What the hell happened?” Casey stormed his position. “What did you do, Stark?”
“We have to get out of here.” He glanced around, felt the urgency building for reasons he couldn’t fully understand. They had to move quickly.
“Tell me what went down in here, Stark.”
He grabbed her hand. “As soon as we’re out of here.”
She started to argue but he shut her up with a look.
Levi wasn’t sure if she fully got it but whether she did or not, she didn’t resist.
To his amazement their cell phones and weapons had been left at the front entrance with the restaurant’s security guard. And both weapons were still loaded. Who was this woman? Levi shoved his weapon into his waistband. Ca
sey’s went into her bag. As much as he’d prefer they keep them palmed, they couldn’t go out into the street like that. Not even in Mexico.
He held tightly to Casey’s hand as he weaved through the clutches of partiers on the sidewalk. Going back to the room was not a good idea. They needed some place safe to lay low until he figured this out and touched base with Victoria.
The absolute certainty of Alayna’s warning, more so than her words, had him worried. She could have called in her security at any point during the exchange. He and Casey had been unarmed. But Alayna had not done that. She wasn’t worried about what he or Casey might do to her. No, her concern lay elsewhere. With Keaton? Maybe. That was the part he needed to know.
Alayna suggested someone else would be coming. She was so certain, she’d even left their weapons. That was the part that worried Levi the most.
Casey yanked hard on his hand and he kept moving. They needed more distance from Delicia and whoever Alayna feared might be watching. A dozen yards later, Casey balked, dragging him to a stop. He had no choice but to turn around.
“Not here,” he warned. He knew she had questions, but there were too many people here. Too much noise. He needed to make a call and get a safe house address for regrouping.
Victoria had warned that his safety was to come before all else. But he wasn’t worried about himself at the moment. It was his boss and this unpredictable blonde he wanted to protect. He wasn’t sure how Casey would react to this turn of events.
“We need to get off the street,” he told her.
The urgency he felt must have finally penetrated. “Okay. I get it. We need dark and quiet.”
With her in the lead, they covered two blocks in record time. She navigated him into a cantina that looked less than reputable. The place was jam-packed but somehow she effortlessly threaded through the bodies and found a table in the darkest corner of the joint. Too bad it was occupied.
Casey reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of cash and thrust it at the couple. “La mesa, por favor.”
The man looked to the woman who smiled and reached for the cash. They grabbed their drinks and cleared out.
Casey sat down before he could pull out a chair for her. He collapsed into the remaining one.
“How bad did you blow it, Stark?” she demanded.
He sincerely appreciated her confidence in him but this was not the time to challenge her trust issues. As soon as he gave her the dirty details he had to call Victoria. Didn’t matter what time it was. That unrelenting sense of doom kept hammering at him.
“According to Alayna, Keaton is dangerous,” he explained to Casey. “We need to contact our clients and see how they want us to proceed. He has to be stopped.” Somehow. Having gotten that out, he caught his first real breath as he scrubbed a hand over his mouth. This was way wrong. Every atom in his being vibrated with urgency.
“That’s all you got? That he’s dangerous? Damn it, Stark.”
“Did you hear me? This is—” A bump against his shoulder startled Levi. He shot to his feet, his hand instinctively going for his weapon.
Two women giggled and apologized profusely in Spanish. He picked out the word banos and realized their table was next to the restrooms. He blew out a chest-full of tension. Turning his chair around to put his back to the wall, he sat down again and reached down deep for calm. But he couldn’t find it.
“You don’t get it,” he growled at Casey who still glared at him.
“I get that she was our only lead and you blew it.” She shook her head. “I should never have left you alone with her.”
The exchange between him and Alayna kept playing over and over in his head. What had he missed? “There was something she said besides the fact that he was dangerous.” The warning had been pretty straightforward and still it nagged at him. He missed something.
“Did she admit to being his sister? Did you at least get that from her?”
Her. He almost had it. “She said we should run. Now. That we had awakened a sleeping dragon.” What else? There was more. “That we…would be devoured by her.”
“She said dragon?”
Levi nodded in answer to her question but his attention was centered on the rest of what Alayna had said. Her…not him.
Would she have spoken about herself in that manner? Maybe. He couldn’t say for certain.
Unless, the her was Alayna’s mother. Who else would be watching Alayna closely enough to be aware of her visitors or anything else going on in her life? A spouse? A lover? That she’d indicated a female didn’t rule out either. But since a mother had been mentioned, he leaned in that direction.
Levi’s gaze collided with Casey’s. “I think she meant the mother, hers and Keaton’s.” It was a leap but the only logical one based on the intelligence they had so far. Levi scanned the crowd of revelers. Staying still like this was a mistake. They needed to move.
“We have to go.” He reached for her hand as he stood. To his relief she didn’t debate the issue.
The place had to have a rear exit. Going back out onto the street wasn’t a good idea.
Evidently thinking along the same lines, Casey pulled him close and said, “This way.”
Going right past the end of the bar didn’t sit well with the bartender. His shout followed them into the kitchen. Casey didn’t slow down. A dishwasher ranted at them in Spanish as they hustled out the rear entrance.
“I assume going back to the hotel is out.” She didn’t slow down as she spoke, dodging trash cans and the clutches of those doing their business in the dark of the alley.
“For now.”
Casey abruptly pushed him into the wall of the nearest building and pressed her body against his. “You’re certain she said her and dragon.”
“That’s what she said.” Despite present circumstances his body reacted to the soft curves of hers. “Does that ring a bell for you?”
A group of men sauntered past, sniggering and making remarks about Casey’s red dress. When they had passed, Casey resumed their trek along the alley.
“Not really. She may have been referring to herself,” she suggested over her shoulder. “She’s damned bizarre.”
“Possibly.” Bizarre was an apt description for the lady.
Casey stopped and Levi barely avoided bumping into her. She faced him. “We need to know where she lives. If there’s a mother, they may share a home.”
She was right. But he needed to make that call. Had Casey already contacted her client about the initial meet?
Didn’t matter. Alayna knew Keaton. They had no choice but to follow that lead, whatever the danger.
Though Victoria had reminded him that his safety was to be primary, the bottom line for him was her safety. And Casey’s. Alayna had said Keaton would lie in wait until the perfect time. He had been watching the Colby Agency very closely for months now. That part was very disturbing.
Victoria was in danger.
Levi had an obligation to get to the truth. Whatever it took.
“I still say they could be living on the floor above our room at the hotel. If it exists,” Casey qualified.
That risky avenue was their only real option at the moment.
Their only lead.
“We can’t go in through the lobby.” And the hotel restaurant would be closed, ruling out that option.
“The side and rear exits are fire escapes and we’d set off the alarm,” she added.
They were missing a step…?.
“If she uses that tunnel for movement from the club,” he said, “we can tail her from there.” He’d bet his life she had a private access from the club to the restaurant where they had met tonight. Alayna was a local celebrity, but her supersecretiveness was a little much.
Casey hitched her thumb toward the darkest part of the alley. “Down the street and then cross to the other side.”
“Watch our backs.” Levi palmed his weapon and took the lead. If his partner had a problem covering the rear she kept it to
herself for a change.
He’d wondered if this partnership would work out when the chips were down. It seemed to work so far.
The possibility that Casey Manning was the her Alayna had spoken of and now intended to lead him into a trap loitered around the fringes of his thoughts.
This whole performance could be about uncovering the name of his client. Casey could be the enemy.
Maybe he was a fool but he refused to believe that theory. She had come through repeatedly.
She was his partner until her actions showed otherwise.
THE BEACH WAS STILL QUIET. There had to be a popular beach hangout somewhere but, thankfully, not here. He and Casey had taken a position near the opening of the hidden passage. Not close enough to hear trouble coming but near enough to see any movement.
Casey dropped her red stilettos in the sand and fished her weapon from her bag. They each had a few bullets in their clips. Not enough to wage a war but enough to get by. Levi surveyed the beach and the water beyond. A couple of vessels had dropped anchor in the bay. Night-vision goggles would have been nice.
Beside him, Casey was restless. He’d insisted she take his jacket against the chilly night air. They’d gone over a route for slipping away if the need arose. He’d likely have to drag Casey kicking and screaming if she wasn’t ready to go but he was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her alive.
“Why haven’t you gotten married?”
Talk about coming out of left field. At her question, he turned to his partner though he couldn’t see her face in the shadows of their surveillance position. “If I tell you,” he challenged, “you have to answer the same question for me.”
She pulled in a big breath, maybe for courage. “Fair enough.”
He’d expected her to decline. Now he had to answer. A deal was a deal. “I came close once but she didn’t want children.” He chuckled, the sound self-deprecating. “We’d dated for two years. How could I not have known that?”
“Kids are a big commitment.”
“Your turn,” he reminded her. She wasn’t going to change the subject.