Ladies of the Night OMNIBUS Collection: Sizzling Romantic Suspense

by Taylor Lee

  “You see, we have the best hole card we could possibly have. We have you, Noah. After we’ve roughed you up a bit—a task I’ve assigned Logan, we will send your father graphic pictures of what has happened to his son. And what will happen next, if the weapons aren’t sent post haste.”

  Logan broke in with a sinister leer.

  “Yeah, asshole. I’ve been reading up on our shared history. I’m looking to Emmitt Till. Examples of how our brothers dealt with niggers like you in the past. We don’t have cotton gins to tie you to before flaying the skin off your back, but I’m confident we’ll find something to strap you to prior to hanging you. Of course, in teaching any uppity house nigger who’s boss, our first step will be castration.”

  Grinning diabolically at his fervent partner who was literally licking his lips in anticipation, Drechsler chuckled. “In addition to convincing your father to do as we say, the pictures we send will be a powerful recruitment tool for FAN. New members will be ecstatic to know that there is still an organization that believes in reordering the integration nightmare this country has had to endure for the last fifty years.

  “Unfortunately, I won’t be on site to enjoy the fallout personally. I plan to spend several months, or years, depending on my international contacts, in Dubai or perhaps Kazakhstan. Both locations have iron-clad, non-extradition treaties. Minutes from now the whirring blades you hear will be my Eurocopter EC175 that will take me to my Bombardier Challenger 600 jet that is waiting in the mountains. And from there, on to Dubai!”

  A tentative knock on the door caught Drechsler’s attention. Noah’s harsh command, “Now!” echoed across the room.

  In seconds, Noah had Drechsler in a choke hold, his K-Bar pressing against Drechsler’s carotid artery. At the same moment, Gray shot an impressive left hook to Logan’s jaw, dropping the burly scoundrel to the floor, his gun discharging harmlessly. The team agreed later that the most impressive take-down was Ruby’s. Twisting against Ned, she drove a sharp knee to his groin. The never-fail move distracted him enough that her open hand strike against his throat elicited a scream of pain and another harmlessly discharged sidearm.

  Noah sliced against Drechsler’s throat just enough to draw blood. Ensuring that Drechsler couldn’t move without bleeding to death, Noah’s commanding voice rang out. Speaking to the rest of the FAN members, he said, “Unless you want to watch me slit open your boss’s throat, you’ll put your guns on the table now.”

  The clatter of weapons hitting the table confirmed that none of the FAN members wished to be a martyr.

  At that moment the door swung open and a crowd of uniformed men led by Sheriff Carter entered. Noah’s lip quirked up in a grin.

  “Damn glad you got my text, Sheriff Carter. Didn’t know if it would be too high tech for you. But I had only seconds to alert my team and you. Glad to see you have back-up. If all my messages got through, you’ll have a squad of Army Rangers here within minutes to ensure that these sons of bitches are on their way to a secure holding cell. Wouldn’t want that rag-tag gang of drugged out, racist bigots to decide they wanted to be heroes and attempt to spring their leaders. Although I think that’s as likely as Glacier Bay, Alaska, melting in our lifetime. Meantime, Sheriff, you mind getting these assholes cuffed while we wait for the Rangers?”

  Pulling Ruby into his hungry arms, Noah whispered.

  “Are you okay, fire woman?”

  She nodded and burrowed in next to him and whispered, “As long as you keep holding me until my heart stops trying to pound out of my chest.”

  Grayson chimed in with an audible sigh.

  “Jesus, man, I’m with short stuff. Christ, I was chatting it up with these assholes, waiting for you, when I got your text. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that cryptic message as long as I live. Damn, Noah. That was inspired.”

  Noah laughed. “I hoped to God that all either of you would need to see were the words, ‘It’s Ned.’”

  Grayson put a comradely arm over Noah’s shoulder and squeezed hard. “Like I said, Bro—inspired.”

  “Speaking of inspired, Clay,” said Noah, “There’s more than a little poetic justice to know that you and Logan will be spending the rest of your sorry lives in the Florence ADMAX, Supermax prison—the highest security prison in this country, or as it’s also known, the Alcatraz of the Rockies. What is particularly fitting is that, yeah, there are a passel of skinheads there; but my understanding is that the ‘brothers’ outnumber them about 10 to1.”

  “Right on, Noah. Just think of all the ways that Clay and Logan will get to experience the retribution they deserve from a bunch of guys who are as racist as they are.”

  “You’re right, Grayson. In addition, I’d bet my left nut on the fact that those brothers share the same ‘proclivities’ that Clay and Logan do.”

  Noah strode over next to Drechsler who was lying face down, hogtied with multiple cuffs. He kicked him over and used his boot to force Drechsler to look at him.

  “Just think, asshole, a whole gang of angry, hungry men who get off on abusing people the way that you and Logan do. Only this time, you’ll be on the receiving end.”

  Puffing on his cigar, Noah added, “You might be interested in how this went down the way that it did, Clay. I got a text from my father to call him. Thank Christ that I did. Pop said he’d gotten an urgent message from me indicating that the arms shipment needed to go to Iraq. Because it came from Ned, supposedly a trusted source, the Senator and the ATF director were about to comply. But my father is funny that way. Like you, Clay, part of him is a racist through and through. Wouldn’t trust a white man with his son’s life. Sent me a text disagreeing with ‘my’ order but confirming it would be done—as long as he heard the order from my mouth. Like I said, thank God, that I called him.”

  Lifting Drechsler’s chin at a painful angle, Noah smiled down at him.

  “Actually, Clay, my favorite Sun Tsu quote is the advice I followed tonight. Sun Tsu wisely said, ‘The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.’

  Noah added contemptuously, “Thank you, asshole, for giving us so many ways to defeat you, your arrogance and blind hatred chief among them.” Nodding to his men, Noah said, “That, fellows, is precisely what we did. Congratulations to you all.”

  After they’d spent several minutes discussing all the things that could have gone wrong, and didn’t, Grayson glanced at the table and raised an inquiring brow at Noah.

  “Don’t know about you, Bro, but I’m kinda thinking we should, you know, celebrate while we wait for the troops.”

  Turning to the Sheriff, Noah said, “I presume, BJC, that you and your men are sticking around to have the pleasure of watching these motherfuckers thrown into the Army Chinooks?”

  Sheriff Carter growled dismissively, “Damn straight, Noah. I wouldn’t miss that sight for a chance to screw Miss America, and/or her mother.”

  Noah laughed, then glanced at the bottles of Bunnahabhain Single Malt Scotch on the table. “In that case, Sheriff, you and the rest of the good guys should know that that booze rings up at over $400 a bottle. I recommend we take Clay up on his generosity and polish them off.”

  A resounding cheer filled the room.

  Epilogue

  Ringing against his glass for attention, Ian stepped to the front of the arbor. The myriad flowers and bowers decorating the charming gazebo were redolent with a mix of sumptuous fragrances and a rainbow of stunning colors. The dappled sunlight through the latticed frame mimicked the bright smile in Ian’s dancing eyes.

  “Noah, Ruby, Gray, please join me here if you would.”

  Knowing what was coming, and how shy Ruby was about praise, Noah grasped her hand and pulled her next to him. He was gratified when Gray took hold of her other hand ensuring that she was front and center—as she should be.

  Looking across the lush grounds to the small group of people gathered in front of th
em, Noah met his mother’s glowing smile and his father’s stern nod with a gracious bow. Seeing Jase, Sapphire and Diamond gazing appreciatively at them, he acknowledged his cohorts with another bow.

  Ian continued. “I don’t have to tell any of you, how proud I am of the three individuals standing before us today. I know that I say this after every mission that we accomplish but, God Almighty, how did we ever survive this one?”

  The agents all laughed and nodded in agreement.

  “But we did, and the reason is standing here before you. These two men and this one extraordinary woman are among the smartest and outrageously courageous of anyone I’ve known in a long life of working with heroic men and women.”

  Letting the applause die down, Ian turned to Ruby.

  “All of you know Ruby, who is the epitome of a strategic operative. One of her strongest weapons is that when her targets see this beautiful women—who redefines the adjective “lush”, and they hear her glorious laugh, they don’t realize that once she puts them in her crosshairs they are dead men walking.

  “Likewise, Grayson, who we have affectionately nicknamed Surfer Dude, is a study in contrasts. Outrageously funny and disrespectful, his opponents rue the day that they cross the Surfer Dude. In a split second, Gray goes from being the most amiable guy you’ll meet to the deadliest warrior on my team of trained killers. Clay Drechsler learned the hard way not to underestimate Ruby and Gray.

  Turning to Noah, Ian continued. “But I want to focus on the Commander of this operation.”

  Waving aside Noah’s frown and hand raised in disagreement, Ian said, “This in no way diminishes the role your partners played, Noah. Both Ruby and Gray were remarkable as always. But you were the commander under challenging operational and personal constraints. At your insistence we used your race to bait and inflame the FAN zealots. In retrospect that plan was as inspired as it was dangerous.”

  Noah shrugged. “Hell, Ian. As the master said, ‘Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories’.”

  Ian laughed along with all the others. “And yes, Noah, there was that. Your ability to go toe to toe intellectually with Drechsler, who is admittedly a highly educated man, was a trifecta. Your wit and sheer intelligence threw him off his game and gave us a decided advantage. According to Ruby and Gray, the son of a bitch all but fell for your charm.

  “And then there was your quick-wittedness when you learned that Ned Angler was our mole and that Drechsler et al had been playing us from the beginning. Somehow in the space of minutes you informed your partners, the Sheriff and the Army Rangers who were on their way in that we’d been had. To paraphrase Lincoln, you literally singlehandedly yanked victory out of the ass of an ignominious defeat.”

  Gray broke in. “Ian’s right, Bro. Your two word text “it’s Ned” has to go down in our annals as brilliance.”

  Noah shrugged. “Of course, who but you and Ruby could have looked at that text and understood the enormity of what we were facing.”

  He focused on his father who was standing to the side and confessed, “I hate to tell you all how close I came blowing my pop off when I saw that he’d texted me. But I knew if I didn’t call him back, he’d hound me until I did. Fortunately old habits die hard.”

  Senator Walker grimaced and said gruffly, “It’s a good thing that they do, son.”

  The imposing man hesitated for a moment and then stepped forward next to Noah.

  “If you’ll forgive a proud father—and one who is accustomed to taking the floor…”

  At Noah, Gray’s, and Ian’s laughter, the Senator continued. “It’s important that I tell all of you something most of you know. That is that I’ve struggled with Noah’s choice of avocation.”

  He turned and met Noah’s gaze.

  “After seeing how close a scurrilous gang of racist bigots came to shipping weapons to overseas terrorists, potentially causing hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths, I will never again question your chosen profession, Son. You and the rest of these remarkable men and women are true heroes. To a confirmed media whore who lives and dies for press attention, the fact that you toil in the background, that you’re never acknowledged publicly for your courage or your wisdom makes you even more heroic. I salute you, Son.” Scanning the team, he said, “I salute all of you. I’m humbled to be in your presence.”

  Noah was tremendously moved by his father’s sincere praise. Reaching for the usually stern man who now had tears in his eyes, Noah embraced him. At the emotionally charged moment, Gray stepped in.

  “We can’t let that go by without a toast, Senator. C’mon, Ian. How much longer are you going to hold out on the booze?”

  Amid the laughter, Ian motioned to several of the servers who picked up trays of champagne and began moving among the guests.

  After several toasts and congratulations all around, Grayson punched Noah on the arm and gave a low wolf whistle. Pointing to the tall warm-skinned woman who was standing at the entrance to patio, Gray murmured, “I know it’s impolite to point, but, daaa-aam, Bro. Is that one of your friends from D.C.?” He whistled again. “Hell, she looks like she just came from an Ebony photoshoot. Or, the closer I look, could be an Asian Fusion Fashion gig. She looks like she’s got a little bit of everything in her gene mix and the result is breathtaking.”

  Noah glanced over at the striking woman standing tentatively to the side of the Gazebo, her unease apparent. He was relieved when both Diamond and Ian headed toward the new arrival.

  “Apparently you haven’t met the newest of Diamond’s ‘Ladies’, Gray. Her name is Maya Tavares. In addition to African roots and a splash of Asian, she likely has Latino ancestry as well. Ruby introduced her to me the other day. I gotta tell you, if I’d ever seen Zoe Soldana’s twin sister, this woman may be even more beautiful. It won’t surprise you that Diamond has given her the code name, Topaz.”

  Gray whistled again and shook his head. “Topaz. A perfect name for a remarkable stone…and woman. God, add a mane of shiny black hair, that gorgeous skin and a model’s body that doesn’t quit, and you have one stunning woman. Tell me, is she as unapproachable as she looks?”

  Noah demurred. “She’s definitely cool, contained, but I couldn’t tell if it was a cover for uneasiness or even shyness. But when you see her astonishing eyes you’ll agree that Diamond’s choice of a code name was brilliant.”

  Gray watched as Diamond and Ian engaged the imposing woman in conversation then led her over to the assembled group and made a point of introducing her to Senator and Mrs. Walker. Gray waited until there was a break in the conversation and Topaz moved toward one of the servers. Swooping in between the waiter and Topaz, he snagged two glasses of champagne from the tray and handed one to the surprised woman.

  Grinning at her, he said, “I guess I could have been more obvious, although I’m not sure how, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet you. I hope that you were planning to have a glass of champagne before I shoved one at you.”

  At her contained lift of one shoulder that wasn’t quite a shrug, more of a pulling back, Gray determined not to be put off by her obvious attempt to step away.

  “I understand that you are a new agent at LOTN. My name is Grayson Webb. I work with Ian, Noah, Jase and the rest of Ian’s team.”

  Maya nodded and said carefully, “Yes, I heard Ian talking about all of you. You are the chameleon.”

  Gray frowned slightly. “Hmm, I don’t recall Ian calling me that.”

  Maya stepped back and held the flute of bubbly liquor in front of her ignoring that he’d raised his glass to her.

  “I believe he said that they call you the Surfer Dude, but that your killer instincts can be turned on in a flash.”

  Gray grinned and yanked at the dirty blond shaggy hair sweeping his collar.

  “Yeah, unless I decide to cut off some of this, I’m likely to be saddled with that moniker.”

  Maya studied him appraisingly then shrugged dismissively. “Clearly it se
rves some purpose for you or you would have cut it long ago—after you stopped rebelling as a teenager.”

  She put her glass of untouched champagne on the table, frowning at it as though it had a fly in it, and added coolly, “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to talk to Sapphire.”

  Watching her walk away, a vision in motion, Gray tried not to jump to conclusions, but even he had to admit that he’d been thoroughly and expertly dismissed.

  Ruby walked by at that moment and winked.

  “What’s wrong, hot stuff? Finally met a woman who didn’t roll over on the ground like an adoring puppy and beg you to pat her tummy?”

  Gray’s laugh sounded forced. “Somehow Ruby Red, I can’t imagine the Amazon princess doing that for anyone, especially me. But in answer to your astute observation, yes, I was kicked to the curb by one of the most stunning women I’ve seen.” He added with a pained sniff, “And she did it without a backyard glance.”

  Ruby laughed and hugged him.

  “It’s okay, Surfer Dude. You always have me as a fall back.”

  Gray snorted and hugged her back. “Like hell I do. You think I haven’t noticed that you and Noah turn into a pile of gooey mush the minute you see each other. I could be upset, feeling abandoned, jealous. Except that it makes me happy as hell for the two people I love more than anyone in the world!”

  Seeing Gray and Ruby hugging each other, Noah hollered at them from the front of the gazebo.

  “Ruby, would you come here. I need to ask you something and I want witnesses for your answer. That is, Gray, if you can keep your hands off my woman long enough to get her up here beside me.”

  Gray laughed, “Sorry, Bro. There’s no way I can be this close to the fire woman and keep my hands off of her. But I sure as hell can bring her to you.”

  He reached for Ruby and swung her upside down over his shoulder. Ignoring her surprised shrieks, he placed his hand firmly on her bottom and marched to the front of patio. Depositing her beside Noah, Gray swept his hand in front of himself in an exaggerated bow and gazed up at Noah.