A Deadly Business

by Desiree Holt

  Maes looked at Raca. “We’re still missing four of your men. I can’t believe they’d have gotten lost here. Something’s not right.” He looked at Morganstern again. “Does your man at the power plant have a gun?”

  Morganstern shook his head. “Why would he need one here? We have no crime on this little island.”

  “Well, something is fucking off about this whole thing. The only answer is that someone took them out, but who in the hell could it be? It would take a skilled, trained soldier to do this.” He looked at Desmet. “Tap into the registrations here and we’ll check them against the people in the restaurant. See if there’s a loner there.”

  He looked at Morganstern again, watching the man’s reaction. Was that a flicker of something across his face? A movement or expression that would give him a clue?

  “Got it,” Desmet said moments later.

  “Fine.” His gaze swept the room again. “We’re going to read off each of the names. When yours is called, stand up. I’m sure you have figured by this time I have no hesitation killing anyone who tries to get in my way.”

  Desmet began the roll call. By the time he reached the end, everyone had been accounted for.

  Maes swallowed down his anger. Something was wrong, and he was damn well going to find out what. He looked over at the two laptops and saw that Vitale had finished his transfers. He was so tempted to shoot the man just on general principals. If he did that, however, the last couple of names on the list would balk at making their transfers, sure they’d be killed anyway. Maes knew if you just held the threat of death over their heads, you could get people to do almost anything. He could kill them all later.

  “Who’s next?”

  He waited until the next person was seated before lifting a glass of water from one of the trays and taking a sip. For the first time in more years than he could count, he felt his composure slip a fraction. This was supposed to be a simple affair, well planned and well executed. Things had gone wrong almost from the beginning, and he had the disturbing feelings things were slipping from his control.

  What the hell was wrong with the power and utilities on this place? And where were his men? At first, he had assumed there was a bigger problem with the power plant than they wanted to let him know and they were manhandling whoever was in charge to make sure things kept working until they were finished.

  But it was taking a damn long time. He looked at his watch. Too long. Sending another man out to check would only compound the problem. He still had a niggling feeling he was missing something. That someone else was on the island he did not know about. There had to be. And that someone was going to wish he’d never fucked with Stefan Maes.

  “Call Zagor again,” he told Raca. “Tell him they should just kill the mechanic who can’t seem to fix things and get their asses back here. I don’t know why they’re still there. Do they think this is a vacation? We’ll be done soon. We can stand a little discomfort until then. I want them back here at once.”

  Raca pulled his radio from its clip on his belt and keyed the mic.

  “Zagor? This is Raca. Mr. Maes is done waiting. I don’t know what the fuck is the problem down there. Just kill the mechanic or whoever is supposed to be fixing this shit and get the fuck back here right now. And bring everyone else with you or just shoot them. I don’t care which. If they haven’t been able to take care of the problem up to now I don’t need them.”

  Nothing from the radio. No response.

  “Zagor? Answer this goddamn radio or I’ll kill you myself.”

  Still no answer. He looked at Maes for further instructions.

  “Fucking assholes. Someone else is out there. It’s not possible that four men who work for us are so incompetent they can’t get this done.”

  “But who?” Raca asked. “We killed the guards and the employees are either in this room or herded into one room at the staff residence. All except the fucking mechanic who keeps screwing up the electricity.”

  “There has to be someone else out there. Someone we don’t know about. Someone who it seems is not in the computer system.” He glared at Walt Morganstern. “You want to tell me who that is, Morganstern? You’re the owner here. This place is secluded enough that you don’t have strangers just showing up and running around.”

  Morganstern just stared back at him. “You know every single person on this island by now.”

  “Boss?” Raca nudged him. “Maybe someone swam here.”

  Maes stared at his top gun. The man was a stone killer, and he trusted him with his life, but sometimes he was downright stupid.

  “Do you know how many miles it is to the closest village? Don’t be an idiot. I’ll fix this.” Maes ground his teeth then grabbed the radio. “I know someone is out there listening and fucking up my project. Whoever you are, you’d better show yourself right now. I am not playing games here. I will kill one person for every minute it takes you to answer me.”

  He waited, and when there was no answer he depressed the button again and ordered one of the men to fire a shot in the air.

  “Did you hear that, asshole? I don’t care if I have to kill everyone here, but their deaths will be on your head.”

  More silence, then the crackle of static.

  “Don’t kill anyone. I’m on my way.”

  * * * *

  “Don’t go. Please, Justin. Think carefully about this.”

  Marissa was doing her best to hold on to her nerves. She knew when Justin walked into that restaurant Maes would kill him.

  “I am, and I have to do this. I can’t have the deaths of all those people on my head. You know Maes. Will he follow through on his threat?”

  She wanted to say no, but she knew better. Swallowing, she nodded her head. “At least wait for Mike and the team to get here.”

  “No can do. Think of how many people Maes can kill with each minute that passes.” He cupped her chin and brushed his mouth over hers. “And I have to keep him from getting to you. All I need to do is stall until Mike gets here.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. I have to go now. I promise it will be okay.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, wanting to hold him pressed to her forever, even as she knew he was right. She forgot there were two other people in the room. Forgot everything except the devastation she’d feel if Maes killed him.

  “I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.” She hugged him more tightly, relishing the warmth of his body and the feel of his arms holding her. “Somehow when I wasn’t looking you stole my heart.”

  “Hey.” He cupped her chin and tilted up her face. “That’s only fair, since you also managed to steal mine. And I promise you, I’ll get us out of this. I want a future with you.”

  She studied every inch of his face, memorizing it. “You can’t promise me that. Maes is—”

  He touched the tip of a finger to her lips. “Yes. Whatever you’re going to say about him, I’m sure he’s that in spades. But I was a SEAL, remember? SEALs are survivors and know a thousand different ways to grab control of situations like this. So, have faith in me.”

  “I do,” she whispered. It was Maes she had no faith in.

  Justin cupped her face in his hands. “Mike and the team are due any minute. Listen to me. I need you to be Lauren Masters for a little bit, wearing your CIA hat. I’m leaving the sat phone with you to connect with them. I’m depending on you to get them there in time to save my ass.” He stared into her eyes. “But don’t go jumping the gun. Mike will get here in plenty of time.”

  But Mike hasn’t even jumped yet. I’ll have to handle things. I can do anything as long as Justin comes back to me safe and sound.

  She sucked in a deep breath and pulled herself together. She could do this. She’d been in dicey situations in London. This was just different geography. She had to do it. For Justin. For both of them.
r />   “Okay.” She nodded. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

  Before Justin could say anything, his sat phone vibrated. He looked at the readout. Mike Perez.

  “I’m putting this on speaker.” He punched a button. “Mike?”

  “Ready to jump. Sitrep. How copy?”

  “Copy five by five. Situation has changed.”

  “What the fuck?”

  He gave Mike a brief rundown to catch him up, but even as he did it, the radio spat out static followed by Maes’s voice.

  “You have one minute to get up here before I pull the trigger and you have yet one more body to deal with. I promise you I am not fooling around here.”

  “You know he’s not,” Justin told Marissa. “And he sounds like his nerves are fraying. That’s not good.” He handed both electronics to Marissa and gave her a hard kiss on the lips. “I gotta get up there. It’s up to you now, babe. I know you can do it.”

  Then he was gone, out the door and racing along the path to the main building.

  If only she’d convinced him to wait for Mike, but even as she thought it she knew he’d run out of time.

  She could do this, despite the accelerated beat of her heart and the fear for Justin’s safety that held her in its grip. Justin was counting on her. She could be again the person who had lived on the edge of danger for three years getting the information to take down Maes. For Justin she could be Lauren Masters again and do whatever she had to do.

  She checked the load in her gun again and put it in the pocket of her slacks. Then she picked up one of the handguns the thugs had been carrying, checked its load, and stuck it in her waistband at the small of her back. Despite Justin’s orders, she wasn’t going to sit around here waiting for Mike and the team. She had a plan. As soon as they were on the ground, which should be any second, she’d put it into play.

  * * * *

  Justin debated the best way to enter the restaurant, but in the end, decided coming through the main entrance was the best. He also ditched the idea of taping a gun to his back a la Bruce Willis in Die Hard. The minute he set foot in Sunset, Maes’s men would take charge of him, and the gun would be useless. He couldn’t shoot them all at the same time.

  Instead he was depending on Marissa, and on Mike Perez, who was unequalled as a team leader, to get there in time to save his bacon. He just had to hold out until the team arrived.

  Sure.

  Piece of cake.

  When he stepped into the restaurant he took in the scene at once. Maes was standing against the window wall to his left, with one of his thugs on either side of him. He had seen pictures of Maes, but they didn’t accurately portray the cold cruelty etched in the man’s features. His carriage, his attitude, all shrieked arrogance and cruelty.

  At the table to Maes’s immediate right Val Desmet still sat at a laptop, watching another man typing away on another computer. The rest of the guests still sat at the other tables, looking much the worse for wear. Their expressions were a mixture of fear, despair, and outright terror.

  Justin wanted to choke the life out of Maes with his bare hands. Maybe, if things worked out, he’d at least get to break his nose.

  He had barely stepped into the room when Maes saw him. His lips curved into a smile that held little humor.

  “Ah. Here is the man who has been causing us so much trouble. Raca? If you please.”

  In seconds the very tall goon at Maes’s right was beside him jerking one of his arms behind his back and frog-marching him over to where Maes himself was standing. In the next second he was shoved to his knees.

  “Hands behind your back,” the thug ordered.

  In a moment Justin felt flex cuffs tightening around his wrists. Great. This was not going to be much fun.

  Justin complied, not about to antagonize anyone at this point. His job here was to stall as long as he could without inciting any more bloodshed.

  “Wait a minute.” Maes pulled his cell phone from his pocket, tapped the screen, and pulled something up.

  Justin caught a glimpse of the screen and saw it was a photo. Of who? And where was it taken?

  Then Maes shifted his gaze back to Justin.

  “Son of a bitch.” Maes stared down at him. “You are the one in the photo with the bitch.” He held it in front of Justin’s face. “How did you get her away so fast? My people had just found her. She’s here, isn’t she? Answer me.”

  Justin looked at the photo and his heat nearly stopped beating. Fucking A. It had been taken at the Driftwood, when he and Marissa were at lunch with Avery, most likely by the couple whose appearance had started this whole episode. Marissa had been spot-on about them. So now Maes had someone connected to Marissa in his grasp. He could not let Maes believe she was on the island. The man would send one of his killers out to look for her and…

  He gave himself a mental shake of the head. No, no, no, no.

  “Answer me, damn it,” Maes barked. “If you are here, she has to be also. A perfect place for you to hide her from me. You must have had her on a helicopter five minutes after my people spotted her.”

  Justin shook his head. “She’s not here. I’m here by myself.”

  There was little humor in Maes’s laugh.

  “Really? You expect me to fall for that lie? So, tell me where the fuck she is. I’ll overlook the way you’ve screwed things up for me tonight if you hand her over.”

  Yeah, right. Like that would happen.

  “I told you, I’m here by myself.” No matter what, he had to make Maes believe that. It didn’t matter if he died. Marissa would get over him. But if he was responsible for her death? He’d never be able to live with himself. Maes could torture him but he’d never confirm she was on Princessa Key. His only hope was that Mike would arrive shortly, and they could take control of things here.

  “The Morgansterns hired me to do a security survey of the island. They didn’t want their guests to know what I was doing so I’m here off the radar.”

  “What a crock of shit.” Maes’s laugh had little humor in it. “Please do not think I am stupid enough to believe that.”

  Justin clenched his jaw and said nothing. He was better off keeping his mouth shut and letting Maes flap his jaws.

  “What a shock it must have been for you both to discover I had arrived here.” He frowned. “Just how did you learn of it, anyway, since you didn’t come to the restaurant? No one knew we were making this, shall we say, surprise visit today.”

  Justin used all his training to control his breathing. One wrong step here, and Marissa would be dead. He just stared up at the man in front of him, his face showing nothing. Yeah, he was good at that. He’d had years of experience.

  “Still not talking? I know she’s here, probably hidden away. And I promise you, I will find out from you where. Then you can watch me kill her one painful minute at a time.”

  Maes nodded at Raca, who closed his hand into a fist and connected with Justin’s face. Justin’s head spun, his brain rattled, and he fell to the side. Raca grabbed him by his collar and hauled him back to his kneeling position.

  Justin had been in situations like this before. He knew how to control his reflexes and to take himself out of this mentally. Hell, SEAL training was tougher than this, and Mike would be here soon. As long as Marissa was safe he could do this.

  “We can do this all day,” Maes told him in a measured voice. “Raca is like a machine. But I don’t know how much your body can stand. Now. Again. Where is Lauren Masters?”

  Chapter 15

  As soon as Justin was out of the facility, Marissa began counting down. When she got to two minutes she turned to Luis.

  “Whatever you do,” Marissa told him, “do not open this door. But in case one of those assholes shows up with Semtex, keep one of those assault weapons at the ready.”

  “Whatever you’re
planning,” he said in a slow voice, “I don’t think I’m going to like it.”

  “All you have to do is be prepared to shoot Maes or any of his men who come through that door.”

  “Marissa. You can’t leave until Mike gets here. Justin said so.”

  Dani’s soft voice in the corner startled her. She was amazed at how quietly the girl had sat through all of this. She had to be shocked by everything that was happening, especially when Luis and Justin killed the four goons.

  “I’ll be fine, Dani,” Marissa assured her, and tried her best to believe it. “I promise you. You’ve been great sitting there through all of this. Just let Luis keep protecting you and you’ll be fine.”

  “I won’t be fine if you and Justin get killed,” Dani protested.

  “Not gonna happen.” Marissa forced a smile. “I promise.”

  “You can’t make that kind of promise.”

  “Yes, I can, and you can believe me.” If only she believed it herself. But she couldn’t sit around here any longer, not when Justin was at Maes’s mercy. She was still a crack shot, and she’d learned plenty about stealth in the CIA. Every second they had to wait put Justin in even greater danger.

  “Where are you going?” Luis asked. “As if I didn’t know.”

  “Up to the restaurant.” She shook her head when he opened his mouth. “Don’t try to talk me out of this. I have to make sure Maes doesn’t kill Justin before Mike and the team get there.”

  “And if Maes gets his hands on you?”

  She looked hard at him. “I’ve got two guns. Before he touches me, I’ll kill him.”

  Luis sighed, then buzzed the door open. “Please try not to get yourself shot, okay?”

  Her mouth curved in a tiny grin. “I’ll do my best. Shut down the lights and cameras now.”

  “But Justin said—”

  “Things have changed. And Maes will think it’s the electricity being wonky again. Or if he doesn’t, I’ll be up there before he can do anything.”