by Mia Dymond
“What the hell?”
Carley screamed behind him. He turned to find her standing on the nearest table, between the coffee pot and a stack of china cups.
“Ace,” she said with wide eyes. “There are rats everywhere!”
“Carley, come back down here. They can climb the table leg.”
She shook her head. “Not this one. Only coffee, no food.”
Okay, so she had a point.
“Do. Not. Move. I’ll be right back.”
“Shoot them!” Her pace paled. “They’re out of control!”
He cupped her face in one hand. “Breathe, Baby.” He waited as she took several deep breaths. “You’re safe right here. Just stay put and I promise I’ll be right back.”
She nodded and he headed across the room, fighting the urge to shiver as one brave creature ran across the toe of his boot. Even though he wasn’t fearful, he didn’t exactly welcome the uninvited appearance and gave it a swift kick in the ass, sending it sailing in a ball of fur as he resisted the primal instinct to brandish his weapon and blow it to Kingdom Come. Instead, he took another quick glance at the action around him.
Men attempted to herd the intruders out of the room and away from hysterical women, an impossible task since the exit was several flights of steps above them. Apparently, rats weren’t too keen on climbing stairs. Having found that the majority of the food was on top of the tables instead of underneath, the pests climbed tables and gathered their bounty as best they could while dodging waiters with makeshift traps made of pots and pans. Some were even so brazen as to sit on their hind ends and munch away while watching the show.
He breathed a sigh of relief as security personnel ushered their charges up the stairs and out the door. Despite the state of total confusion, the process moved rather smoothly but clearing the area would demand major skill and patience.
Always cool and in charge, Thunder approached and stood beside him, arms crossed as if he dared the rodents to challenge him. “Chaos called for reinforcements. ETA 20 minutes.”
Ace released a hard breath. “I hope he called an exterminator. We’ll never find them all.”
He noticed Kat and Chaos headed toward them, impressed when Kat kicked a rat out of her way and then hurried toward Carley. He was equally impressed when she actually coaxed Carley off the table.
He smirked at Chaos. “Your girlfriend even intimidates the rats.”
“Did you see any in the kitchen?” his teammate countered.
He frowned in confusion.
“You went to canvas the kitchen, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” He fought the urge to grin; he’d gloat later. “No, I didn’t see any.”
“Anywhere else?” Thunder drawled.
Again, he frowned.
“Damn, Ace.” Chaos shook his head. “Your tie is missing and somewhere along the way you left your suit coat behind.”
This time he didn’t even attempt an alibi nor did he suppress the grin. “No, I didn’t see rats anywhere other than this room.”
“We checked the kitchen,” Rebel said as he and Sophie approached. “They seem to be congregated in this area.”
Ace glanced back at the buffet and dessert tables where silver domes covered every platter available. “Looks like the staff trapped most of them on top of the tables.” He also noticed that although Carley now stood on solid ground, Kat squeezed her hand tightly and practically dragged her toward them.
“Good grief,” Kat murmured as she and Carley finally stood next to him. “What a mess.”
Carley slipped free of Kat’s hold and buried her face into his chest. “I knew it was too good to be true,” she moaned against his shirt.
“Don’t worry.” Kat patted her on the back. “Everyone knows this is too big of an inconvenience to have been caused by you. If they don’t, they’re idiots.”
Carley lifted her head and then turned to face everyone else. He made no move to release her, just a slight adjustment when her backside graced his still-interested cock. Incredible.
“That doesn’t change the fact that my events are being sabotaged.”
Sophie ran a hand across her brow. “Where on Earth did they come from?”
“Just like the scorpions, someone had to bring them in,” Rebel answered. “An infestation of this magnitude wouldn’t have escaped notice by the hotel management.”
Chaos folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, I’ll buy that but how the hell did they get past us?”
Ace wanted to know the same thing. The whole damn place swarmed with security. Only one scenario made any kind of sense.
“This has to be an inside job.” He gave Carley a slight squeeze. “Is there anyone new on your staff?”
“Only the four of you.”
“Same chef?”
“Always.” She released a hard sigh. “Why would anyone on my staff want to sabotage the party? They don’t get paid if I don’t.”
He shrugged. “Jealousy?”
“I don’t think so.” The feathers in her hair tickled his chin as she gave her head a forceful shake.
“I don’t have an answer yet, but I will. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m just impatient.”
Men dressed in white coveralls and who wore long black gloves descended the stairs and pounced on the area with nets and wooden boxes and scooped up rodents one by one.
“This is going to take all night,” Carley groaned. “My girls won’t even think about clearing the tables until they’re assured something’s not lurking around.”
Sophie frowned. “Where’s Liv?”
He moved his attention off the men in white and finally spotted her tucked into a corner. He swallowed hard as he attempted a response that wouldn’t incite panic. Except, Carley beat him to the punch.
“Oh, no,” she murmured, “She’s trapped!”
“Ah hell,” Thunder growled. “I’ll take care of it.”
Thunder stomped across the room, his boots heavy against concrete as he covered the approximate thirty feet in determined, long steps toward Liv. Since when had rats become mortal enemies? He’d seen action in the unforgiving desert and confronted tangos a million times worse, for crying out loud. Now he had to add rats to the mix? Someone had a sick sense of humor and he had finally had enough.
Determined this mission would be a quick and uneventful one, he stopped next to a dining chair on top of which Liv stood. With her face pale and her fingers clutched around the back, he prayed like hell she wouldn’t release the scream from her throat that he’d bet a hefty amount of money she had cocked and ready to release.
“Comfortable?”
“No, but I’m safe.”
“You planning to come down anytime soon?”
“No.”
He extended a hand. “Come on, you’ll break your neck on those stilts you call shoes.”
“Not until they’re gone.”
“The rats are more afraid of you,” he insisted.
“Doesn’t matter.” She shook her head so hard the feathers behind her head shifted to one side. “I’m good up here until you guarantee me that you’ve exterminated them.”
He released a heavy sigh and laid a hand on her forearm. “Seriously Liv, get off the chair before you fall.”
“Absolutely not.”
Without another word, he slid one arm under her legs and one behind her back, and then lifted her into his arms.
“Put one arm around my neck,” he told her, “and hang on so you won’t be rat food.”
She scowled, obviously not happy with his remark. “That’s not funny, Thunder.”
“Wasn’t meant to be.”
She buckled her hands and squeezed. He coughed. Girl had a grip.
“Easy.”
“Sorry, I hate those things.”
“Obviously.”
He sucked air into his lungs while he waited for her to loosen her hold, finally balancing her on one of his arms while he loosened hers and
cleared his airway with his free hand.
“Any particular place you’d like to go?”
“Kitchen.”
He gestured with his head in the direction of his team. “Your posse is clustered over there.”
“Kitchen,” she repeated, “on top of the highest peak you can find.”
Once he breathed normally, he dodged a few rodents who ran for cover while he headed to the kitchen and finally unloaded her on a countertop near the doorway. She didn’t waste any time before she folded her feet under her.
He bit his lip. “Liv, they probably won’t climb the cabinets.”
“Good.”
He then noticed the place was empty. “Where is everybody?”
“Out there. The men are chasing the party-crashers and the women ran for the bathroom.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He turned to leave, pausing at the door when she spoke.
“Wait!”
He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “You’ll be fine.”
“Leave me your weapon.”
He raised both eyebrows, not entirely sure he’d heard her correctly, but the look of utter seriousness on her pale, porcelain face told him he had.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“Five minutes.”
“I’m serious, Thunder. Do not leave me here unarmed. Get me a broom, a pan, anything.”
Now convinced Liv meant business, he decided he definitely would not leave his weapon in her hands. Instead, he grabbed an empty skillet near the stove and handed it to her.
“Shoot to kill,” he said with a smirk.
She narrowed her eyes. “Ha, ha. Just hurry.”
He shook his head as he left the kitchen and headed back to his team. “She won’t leave the kitchen,” he told them, “and she’s armed.”
“We’ll go sit with her.” Carley released a hard sigh. “There isn’t anything else to do out here anyway.”
Thunder waited until all three women left the area to speak. “Can you believe she actually wanted me to leave my weapon?”
“Did you?” Chaos lifted an eyebrow.
“No,” he spat, “I found a skillet.”
Ace folded his arms across his chest. “All the witnesses are gone. I’ll get a guest list from Carley.”
“He’s turning up the heat,” Rebel said. “Something tells me he’s desperate.”
“Obviously,” Chaos agreed.
“This has got to have something to do with the port.” Ace unfolded his arms. “There’s just no other explanation.”
“You could be right, but there’s nothing else here to go on. Take your women and go home. We’ll meet at the office in the morning.” Thunder pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll chase Liv off the kitchen cabinet and see you then.”
***
From behind the tinted windows of his black sedan, he watched the evening’s bedlam unfold. Limousines lined the driveway of the hotel’s entrance and paused only long enough for the occupants to climb inside and slam closed the doors. One by one, they left the area in a bumper-to-bumper parade, distancing themselves from the festivities. He snickered. If only he could boast about his handiwork.
With his attention still on the hasty exit, he pulled his phone from his suit coat pocket and pressed a frequently-called contact. The voice on the other end answered immediately.
“I assume you planted the bait.”
“I did. And they took it, just like we thought.”
A deep chuckle crossed the line. “And the mark?”
“She’s still inside. I left early to avoid detection.”
He hesitated, not sure he wanted to pose the next question, but knew he must out of both curiosity and necessity.
“You realize it’s only a matter of time before they figure out our plan, don’t you?”
“I do. Perhaps they will come to their senses before that happens.”
“Maybe. Although, they seem determined to hold their position.”
“Fools.” His associate released a hearty laugh this time. “They do not even realize we do not need their cooperation.”
“No, we don’t,” he agreed, “but it would make things much easier.”
“Nothing is easy with these men.”
He knew that to be a cold, hard, undisputed fact; his knowledge pushed him to make the next suggestion.
“Should I work on a more personal warning?”
A long pause filled the conversation and he wondered if the call had been dropped. He moved the phone from his ear and glanced at the screen to assure it was still connected. When numbers continued to keep time in the corner, he pressed the device back against his ear and waited.
Finally, he heard the deep voice again.
“It is time.”
CHAPTER SIX
Early the next morning, for at least the third time in a week, Ace once again sat at Alpha Four’s briefing table with the rest of his team and wondered how the hell to explain the attacks on Carley’s events. Not one weapon had been pulled or one life threatened, yet the perp had managed to make things extremely difficult for Carley and for that the jerk had hell to pay.
He glanced at his watch. 0630. Carley probably hadn’t even moved and he would bet she was most likely buried so deeply inside her blankets that he’d need a shovel to dig her out. He attempted to wake her before he left the house just to let her know she would be alone, but it had been like trying to wake the dead. In fact, he placed two fingers to the pulse point at her throat and finally she released a soft mumbled sentence that sounded something close to your fingers are cold. Satisfied she was only sleeping soundly, he placed a kiss to her forehead and whispered good-bye. It took everything in him not to blow off the meeting and crawl inside beside her.
A familiar click interrupted his pleasant thoughts and he looked up to see the computer appear from its hiding place inside the table. Time to go to work.
He settled in while Rebel pressed keys. “We still don’t have much to go on other than a truckload of rodents,” he mumbled.
“True, but on a positive note,” Thunder said from the head of the table, “we do have several common denominators. All of the incidents include Carley, all of them are directed at exclusive events, and on the surface it appears the threats appear to be a warning of some sort.”
Ace ran a hand across the top of his head while he processed the Intel. “There’s one more. Christopher Remington has attended each of the events.”
“His background checks out clear,” Rebel reminded him, “which means we need to dig deeper. Any ideas?”
He nodded. “Remington showed up at the Kensworth Investments meeting Thursday night.”
“He sits on the Board?” Chaos frowned. “Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.”
Ace shook his head. “No. Apparently he attended to assure himself the vote was positive.”
“It wasn’t.” Thunder cocked his head to one side. “How’d he take it?”
“He was obviously shaken. I got the impression the decision to wait on the vote made him nervous.”
Rebel raised an eyebrow. “Nervous enough for sabotage?”
“I really don’t know.” He released a hard breath. “According to Carley, she and Remington are life-long friends. Besides, up until then a decision hadn’t been made either way to support the project or wait for more information.”
Chaos sat forward in his chair and steepled his fingers. “I get the impression the same person is behind each threat. Remington really didn’t have a reason to threaten anyone.”
“Unless he’s impatient.” Thunder shrugged. “Maybe he thought he could hurry things up if he added a little excitement to the mix.”
Rebel gave a couple slow nods. “There are several other hold-outs, right?”
“Yes.” He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head. “Neither Judge Abbott, Senator Graystone, nor the Blackwells have adde
d support.”
Chaos flexed his fingers against one another. “So why is our perp targeting Carley?”
“She’s the easiest,” he answered with a bitter taste in his mouth. “It’s a little more difficult to get to a federal judge and a senator and the Blackwells pretty well stay near the hotel.”
Thunder leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “That doesn’t mean he won’t try to get to them too. The Kensworths just may be the first.”
“We need to take him out before then,” Chaos said matter-of-factly.
Ace smirked at his teammate’s conclusion. Taking him out had a whole different meaning to him than the general public. “Do we have information on private investors?”
“I found several right on the surface, most of which are private businesses in the area that have personal interest in the opportunity,” Rebel answered. “Naranja Farms, Sunshine Environmentals, and Everglades Petroleum have all pledged their support. I’m working on several more below the radar and I’ve put feelers out with some promising leads.”
He agreed with Rebel that Remington didn’t seem to have a reason to hold anything against Carley or any of her friends, for that matter. It was quite obvious that the financial support of Kensworth Investments wasn’t mandatory; the construction had already begun. Still, something just didn’t add up.
He released a hard sigh. Maybe someone else had an idea. “Why is Remington so dead set on having Kensworth behind them?”
“My guess is clout,” Thunder answered. “Kensworth’s been around a long time and has a helluva lot of respect in the community. I suspect the same for Abbott and the Blackwell family. Remington’s smart enough to know that if these companies won’t back him, neither will the public.”
“Does Remington even have access to the objects used to threaten her?” Chaos folded his arms across his chest. “Last time I checked, the local stores don’t sell body parts.”