Texas Takedown

by Heather Woodhaven

  SIXTEEN

  Matt paced the lobby of the conference center. He’d called David about Isabelle’s bag and to get an update on the honey pot. So far James hadn’t seen so much as a nibble from any hackers. David said he’d already retrieved her carry-on bag and was on his way to deliver it to the officer who would drive her to the airport.

  He’d been looking forward to attending Isabelle’s famed presentation, but after their interaction this morning, he worried he would be an unwelcome distraction. He couldn’t bear to ruin her big day. His heart beat faster as he recalled her words on the barge.

  Isabelle was willing to give them a chance, as more than friends. And he had just stood there like an idiot until he was sure she regretted ever saying a word. But what could he have said? If he admitted he had feelings for her, then she might give up her dream for him. He’d never forgive himself if she did that.

  And then, on top of it all, if he ended up having to move around, feelings of resentment would build until she couldn’t stand him. He needed at least to explain why he hadn’t said anything, but how could he do that without admitting he had fallen hard for her?

  David walked in empty-handed. “The cop put her bag in the car. What a day, right?” He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked out the expansive windows. “You know, I came here hoping you were ready to realize your true potential.”

  Matt pulled his chin in. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’d take one look at us and what we’ve become, wake up and beg to be schooled in the empire we’re building. Instead, you’re here and so happy that we couldn’t possibly expect you to consider—”

  “Isabelle told you.” Matt shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

  David smirked. “Of course she did. Can’t get anything past your big brother.”

  Matt stepped closer so his brother was forced to look him in the eye. “What exactly did she say?”

  David smiled. “She said that someday you hoped to run my new California conference center.”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “She had no right.”

  “If it were anyone else, I’d agree with you, but Izzy was practically family before she moved away. She knows you. And I’ve been told my smoldering eyes can get anyone to talk.”

  “Isabelle,” Matt said.

  David raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  “She wants to be called Isabelle. Only I get to call her Izzy.” The last sentence came out of his mouth in the heat of the moment. If only he could redact it. “And you probably looked like a lost puppy. My eyes could out-smolder you any day.”

  A slow smile crossed David’s face. “Okay. Straight up? I said I had hoped you didn’t like it here so much. I practically baited her into telling me.”

  That made more sense. “Well, you can forget it. It’s not how I want this to go down. Besides, Isabelle got it wrong. I was more interested in the Oregon conference center.”

  David laughed. “I wondered. Isn’t Sand Dollar Shores only twenty minutes from where she lives?”

  “That’s not why.” Matt’s chest heated. Was it really that close? That was less time than most people commuted.

  David turned back to face the window. “I’ve got my pride, too, Matt. I think it’s in the McGuire DNA. Although, personally I think it’s more about dignity and less about self-righteousness, but I might be fooling myself. I wonder sometimes...maybe God hates the proud because He knows it keeps us not only from seeking Him but also from letting others know what we want.” David shrugged. “But what do I know?” He slapped Matt on the back. “I’ve been my own worst enemy before, little brother. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Let her know.”

  Matt shook his head. “What are you talking about now?” It drove him nuts when any of his brothers added the word little.

  David laughed. “I’m going to see if I can find some coffee.” He shook his head and walked away without any further explanation.

  Matt’s phone vibrated. He flipped it open and James started talking before he even offered a greeting. “They’ve already found the honey pot. They’re using a satellite connection, which is harder for me to trace accurately, but I think the signal is coming from inside the conference center. Matt, they’re attacking the system with everything they’ve got. I need to pull it offline before they find the real encryption. Keep Isabelle close. She’s probably in danger just being there.”

  Matt hung up the phone and started running toward the hallway he’d last seen Isabelle walk toward. David must’ve seen his movement, because he sprinted to his side. “She went through that door.”

  Two giant security guards appeared out of nowhere and stepped in front of the door. “No access, sir.”

  David and Matt exchanged glances. No one was keeping him from getting to Isabelle. No one.

  * * *

  Isabelle pulled her shoulders back and forced herself to stare into Mr. Frazer’s eyes. “I take it you were never interested in booking the hotel.” She stared at him, recalling the past week and all the places she’d seen him.

  He’d been asleep in the lobby—obviously faking, now that she thought about it—after the Tower incident. Had that meant he was actually after her laptop then? And he’d been in the hotel before and after the elevator incident. He’d been joking with the guards after she’d almost been gunned down. Perhaps to sneak a peek at the security system? And he’d stood behind her when she was talking to Struther and Allen about the flash drive. In fact, he’d stood next to the front desk when Matt had instructed the staff to move her to the suite. The man had always been in the background, watching...and most likely directing his associates.

  Frazer nodded. “Astute observation.” His voice was filled with sarcasm. He pointed at a chair opposite Parveen.

  If he tied her hands behind the chair, she’d be sunk. Her dad had run her through similar situations. Except it was harder to recall what to do when it came down to it. She sat down and, without waiting for instructions, put her elbows together, leaned forward and offered her wrists to Frazer. She tucked her chin down and closed her eyes so as to appear submissive. “Please don’t duct-tape my mouth,” she begged. “I promise I’ll cooperate.”

  “Look at that, Ms. Parveen. See how easy it could’ve been for you if you’d had a little manners?” Frazer’s voice sounded sinister, but he didn’t rip Isabelle’s arms backward. He yanked the cold plastic tight against her wrists and shoved her shoulders back into the chair. “For now the duct tape stays off, but not because you asked. I might need you, but if I hear one squawk out of you, you’ll get a lot more than duct tape. Understood?”

  Isabelle knew enough not to answer. Frazer straightened and moved to a small desk in the far corner, where a dimly lit laptop was running through lines of code. “In just a moment I’ll have what I need and this will all be over.”

  Parveen let out a squeak behind the duct tape. Isabelle assumed Parveen understood that over meant dead.

  “So, at least give me some peace of mind,” Isabelle said softly. “Why you? You’re not even in the industry. Are you?”

  Frazer smirked. He set his gun down for a second as he typed a few lines into the laptop. The faint light from the screen glinted off the sparkling half of her necklace. So he had the flash drive. “I’m in a different type of industry. Ms. Parveen actually hired my organization’s services to acquire your research and kill you.”

  Isabelle flinched. Parveen had been behind it all along? She had been standing right behind her in the Tower, talking with Matt, when Struther set up a meeting with her. She knew the conference schedule and where Isabelle was staying. But why would she do it? Parveen wouldn’t meet her gaze.

  “Oh, yes,” Frazer continued. “Apparently the conference business gives her access to all sorts of new research she can sell to the highest bidder. Wha
tever you stumbled on was worth a very nice asking price.” Frazer tapped on the computer.

  The collar of his shirt gaped a bit, revealing part of a tattoo on his chest. She recognized it. The man in the cab had it. Did they all have it? How many people was she up against?

  “So nice a price that I felt the need to take over the auction myself.” Frazer shook a finger at Isabelle. “But I must admit, you gave me a run for my money. I usually get to stay on the sidelines and dispatch my associates. But you’re a smart one. A challenge worthy of some personal attention.”

  “You’re trying to get the security encryption,” Isabelle said.

  Frazer pursed his lips. “And I might consider not killing Ms. Parveen if you help me access it.”

  Parveen made a loud squeal underneath the duct tape. Frazer picked up his gun and shot her in a seamless motion. A ping came from the gun’s silencer. Isabelle flinched against the back of her chair and couldn’t help a small squeak coming out of her own mouth. Parveen’s shoulder began bleeding as she hunched over, tears falling.

  Frazer scowled. “I told her to be quiet. Though if you don’t care about her life, maybe I can grab another conference attendee. I have plenty of bullets.”

  Logically she understood Parveen had been the one to hire a hit on her life in the first place. If Frazer could be believed. But she couldn’t ignore the woman in extreme pain sitting across from her. An attempt to bluff and act as if she didn’t care if Frazer killed Parveen could give her an opportunity to escape, but Frazer seemed the type to call her bluff in a heartbeat. She didn’t want Parveen’s death on her conscience. She needed to buy them time.

  Soon she would be expected on the stage to give the presentation. If she were late to the stage, then someone would come looking for her. She just needed to stall. Please let Matt have the sense to alert the police before coming after me.

  “I can enable the security encryption key,” she said slowly. “But it’s too complicated to explain.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Try me.”

  Isabelle struggled to recall exactly what she’d said when she’d made the gunman in the Tower falter. “I used a quantum permanent compromise attack. I used the equation if x is—”

  “Yes, I know all that. You don’t need to bore me with meaningless equations.”

  Isabelle was the one to falter. He knew? She took in a small breath. He was the one the gunman had called in the Tower.

  “You don’t skip the hierarchy and take over an underground criminal organization without some smarts, Miss Barrows. Now, want to try again? Or shall I use up another bullet?”

  She swallowed. There was no bluffing Frazer, then. She knew it was smarter to stay in one location and wait for help, but time was ticking. “Do you have my phone or my tablet with you?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “So you can play some Tetris?”

  Studies showed a daily dose of Tetris increased brain efficiency, but she pursed her lips to keep a defensive comeback from flying out. “There’s a back door on each device that when combined... Well, you apparently know.” The truth was, she didn’t know if it was even possible to set up such a system, but she just needed him to consider it to buy some time. Frazer raised an eyebrow.

  The door burst open. Two guards stood on either side of Matt, who had a growing black eye. A small cry escaped from her lips.

  “We have a problem,” the guard on the left said. “One of them got away. Ran straight outside to the police.”

  “Is it our guy?” Frazer asked.

  Isabelle’s mouth dropped. The police were under his thumb, also?

  “I think so,” the guard answered. “He was the one waiting outside for her.”

  Frazer gave her a look. “See, we had a backup plan.” He tapped his temple.

  “So you can kill me sooner rather than later?” The question flew out of her mouth before she could stop it.

  “I would think you would care more about who else I took out until I have what I wanted.” He pointed to one guard. “Go see if the officer needs your assistance in damage control.”

  Her blood ran cold. What did “damage control” mean? Had innocent bystanders seen anything? Matt’s face paled, as well.

  “We’re about out of time anyway.” Frazer pointed the gun and silenced Sandra Parveen forever.

  Isabelle cried out and began to shake.

  “Would you like to reconsider the duct tape, Miss Barrows?”

  She clamped her mouth shut and took sharp inhalations in an attempt to stop the shaking.

  “We’re going to take a little field trip since your friend here caused some unwanted attention. If you do anything to add to that attention, Mr. McGuire here will be the next to suffer. I hope I’ve made myself clear.”

  SEVENTEEN

  The remaining security guard wrenched Matt’s arm backward and placed a zip tie around his wrists. Across the room, Mr. Frazer stuffed a laptop in a bag. Isabelle hunched over her arms, presumably crying, but her mouth grabbed the end of the zip tie and tugged.

  Matt almost told her it would do no good, but she seemed to have another purpose. She stopped when the square lock on the tie lined up between her wrists. Her eyes lifted to the lifeless form of Parveen and then darted to him.

  His only hope would be that the cop wouldn’t try anything at the front of the conference center, where people were walking by at all times and security cameras were positioned. Though if Frazer had two security guards and a cop under his thumb, maybe that wasn’t enough to guarantee David’s safety.

  Frazer had succeeded in keeping Matt’s guard down at the hotel because he’d appealed to his pride. His neck tingled and his stomach churned with the reality of how well it’d worked. David was right. Dignity was one thing, but Matt had let pride supersede wisdom. He hadn’t come clean with Isabelle so they could figure out the possibility of a relationship together. He hadn’t been a straight shooter with David and the rest of the family from the beginning about his hopes and dreams for the conference center at Sand Dollar Shores.

  “Let’s go get your phone and tablet, Miss Barrows,” Frazer said. “Don’t worry. It’s close by, and if I find it doesn’t solve my problem, you’ll be very sorry.” He jutted his head to the security guard. “Clean this up.” He gestured with his gun for Matt and Isabelle to walk ahead of him into the darkened hallway.

  The crackle of a speaker sounded in the room behind them. “Sir,” the guard called out. “His brothers are arriving. They’re entering the building.”

  Matt’s eyes widened in the darkness. That meant his entire family would be in danger, but it also ideally meant David had a chance of survival. Luke would at least have a weapon.

  “Deploy the rest of the team. Keep it discreet.”

  He wanted it discreet? Then Matt needed to make sure they did the opposite. What was it that Isabelle always cited? OODA? Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. His eyes strained to see anything they could act with.

  Aside from folding chairs lined up against the auditorium hallway, there was nothing. Music and loud conversations filtered through the wall, which meant that hundreds of attendees were waiting for the keynote presentation to start. Even if they screamed their heads off, it was unlikely anyone would hear them over all the noise. “Now would be a great time for OODA,” he whispered.

  She turned her wide eyes to him. She nodded. “Do you hear that?” she said aloud.

  “What?” Frazer snapped.

  She swung her bound wrists above her head and pulled them down fast and hard. Her right elbow shoved back into Frazer at the same time a slight pop sounded and the zip tie flew off her wrists. Matt couldn’t mimic the motion, but maybe he could try something similar. Either way, he wasn’t about to let Frazer shoot her.

  He stomped on Frazer’s foot and shoved his entire body into his
side. Frazer hit the wall. A ping echoed in the hall as Isabelle yanked at something unseen in the wall. Fire-alarm sirens filled the building.

  Matt leaned his torso forward, swung his arms as far up as he could strain, then swung them down. His fists hit his own backside painfully hard, but his elbows spread apart with the momentum. The zip tie strained against his wrists but didn’t budge. Frazer shoved him to the side and straightened, taking aim at Isabelle. Matt kicked him in the stomach.

  The gun dropped. Matt kicked it down the hall and tried to swing his arms up again. As he swung downward, the zip tie snapped, stinging his wrists.

  Isabelle grabbed a folding chair and spun around, slamming the chair into Frazer. He buckled. Matt pulled his fist back and let it fly into his torso. Frazer fell back, and Matt and Isabelle both took off running. A creak behind them made Matt look over his shoulder into the darkness. Had the security guard in the room come out?

  A flash of light. “Get down!”

  He shoved her head down as the ping of a gun sounded uncomfortably close to his ear. Matt slammed into the door leading to the lobby area as another ping went off and Frazer yelled something. The light overwhelmed his senses, but he pressed forward, shoving Isabelle in front of him, into the throng of people flooding the entrance.

  “No shoving,” an irritated man yelled at Matt.

  “Matt,” a voice yelled over the crowd. It sounded like Luke...or David.

  “Matt,” another voice screamed. That one definitely belonged to his mother.

  Two men in suits grabbed Isabelle and Matt. Matt spun around, his knee in motion to smash into the guy’s stomach, when he heard “NSA.”

  Matt tried to slow down the momentum, but the man was able to sidestep him. “Show me a badge!”

  “They’re legit,” Isabelle hollered over the fire alarm. She waved a badge above her head.

  A dozen more men in suits scattered in various locations around the lobby. Several more stood at the entrance, checking identifications before allowing attendees to leave.