Reaper's Reward

by Marie Harte

  “No.”

  “Really?” His gaze hardened. “Because I know Rick’s taken with you. Even after fucking Elise, he still wanted to do you. I could tell.”

  “Elise? The head of security?” Funny, but stalwart and serious Elise hadn’t seemed Rick’s type. Petite and dark-haired, she seemed way too somber and professional to screw around with a playboy like Rick Hastings.

  “Don’t play coy, Jewel. I like your innocence, but innocence and ignorance aren’t one and the same. I saw you taking Ethan, saw you licking his big cock. Ah, there’s that blush; that’s so sweet. So how was he? Did he taste as yummy as he looks?”

  Jewel didn’t know what to say. Instead, she turned back to the computer, praying Rick or Ethan would stumble upon them. Ethan ‑‑ who was currently “tied up.” She’d refrained from thinking about him because she didn’t want to doubt that he was okay. Any other thought was unacceptable. No, Ethan would be here soon. She just had to distract Jaz long enough to let her master do his damned job.

  And if he didn’t hurry it up, Jewel promised herself she’d tie him up when this was all over.

  Chapter Nine

  Ethan grunted in pain as he finally managed to saw through the remainder of the ropes chafing his bloody wrists with a shard of sharp glass. He took care of the knots at his ankles as well, but when he tried to stand, the small janitorial closet he was stashed in spun.

  Pressing a hand to the back of his head, he felt it come away bloody. Great. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, forcing his eyes back open to better understand what the hell had happened.

  Jewel, was all he could think. I have to get to Jewel.

  The memory of leaving the stairwell and being bashed in the head slowly returned, and Ethan focused on standing tall and clearing his mind. Blotting out the pain, he breathed evenly before attempting to open the door.

  It was locked, of course. But the screwdriver set on the second shelf to his right quickly took care of that. When the door swung open, Ethan did his best not to plow down the half dozen guests staring at him in horrified fascination. He recognized a few of them, then quickened his pace when the familiar face of Elise neared.

  “Have to reach my room.” He coughed through a dry throat.

  “You look like hell.” She wiggled her way under his much-heavier body and managed to turn him around all the same. They moved quickly, thanks to her sturdy strength, and reached his room in minutes.

  “Jewel.” Ethan heard the panic in his voice and forced himself to remain calm. Overcome the fear, the danger. See the true course and steal your victory. The mantra had served him well enough overseas, and it would serve him as well here, with his woman in danger.

  Elise swore. “Ethan, what the hell’s going on? I can’t find Rick, and Gus and Malcolm have been out of contact for the past hour.”

  Ethan entered his room, hoping to find Jewel on his bed, where he’d told her to wait for him, only to find it empty. He sank down on the bed and gave an involuntary groan.

  “You’re lucky your brains weren’t bashed in,” Elise said softly.

  “Thanks, Elise. Tell me more good news.”

  She frowned. “I think Gus is the one who stole Rick’s codes. He’s been acting odd lately, and I saw him in Rick’s office the other day when he had no reason to be there. But Gus turning on Pete makes no sense to me.”

  “Me, neither.” Ethan rose and wobbled, but glared at Elise when she tried to steady him. “We need to find Rick right away. You track him down, and I’ll head to his suite. The Mirvolo Cup is our other vulnerability.” Not to mention Jewel. “Our thief will strike there as well as at Rick. We cover them, we should be okay. Pull everyone if you have to, but find Rick and do it as discreetly as possible.”

  Elise nodded, never questioning. Ethan liked her, then recalled she was still on his suspect list even as she left his room. Shit. More complications. He tried to shake off his dizziness and wiped some blood out of his eye when a rivulet blurred his vision.

  I’m so going to paddle Jewel’s ass for leaving my bed. The thought cheered him enough to leave the room and reach the server closet that Pete used to man. With the new codes Rick had inputted to ward off more undue intruders, Ethan punched in the numbers and entered the small room, ignoring the frowning guard who was manning the station. He was dimly aware of the man leaving him alone. Focused, Ethan sat and entered another password and watched the desk-mounted monitor come to life. What he saw scared the hell out of him.

  Jewel sat across from Jaz, a determined yet scared look on her face. Gauging her expression, he knew he needed to look no further for the guilty party than Jaz. But he still wished he knew why the man had done it. Why kill Pete? And why go after the Mirvolo Cup? Motives led to understanding, and it was always a good thing to understand one’s opponent.

  Ethan’s vision blurred again, but he pushed through the pain, determined to reclaim Jewel and put a stop to Jaz’s madness once and for all. Armed with little more than a throbbing skull and an overtaxed body, he muscled his way down the hall toward Rick’s suite, only to be intercepted by Rick, Elise, and a dozen hulking guards.

  Rick held up a finger for silence and pulled Ethan back down the hallway toward the nearest room, the others following closer behind. Once inside, Ethan stared in amazement at the gadgets strewn over the furniture.

  “Shh, listen.” Rick turned up the volume on one of the devices, and Ethan blanched when Jewel’s and Jaz’s voices mixed.

  “Why are we waiting?” Ethan demanded, but Rick forced him into a seat.

  “Because I need to time this just right. Jacobs, come here.”

  Jacobs nodded and sat by Rick. Ethan didn’t hear what Rick told him, but the large security expert smiled and began typing.

  “Look at Jewel, Ethan.”

  He did as Rick asked, wondering why he couldn’t understand what was happening. Impatient, he stood. Rick mumbled something to the men behind him, and Ethan scowled at the guards suddenly surrounding him.

  “You’re in no shape to interfere. Somebody patch this man together while I take care of the mess I created. Now watch, Ethan.” Rick pointed to a giant plasma screen on the nearby table. “We’re going to get Jewel and the cup out of there safely.”

  Rick murmured something else to Jacobs, then turned to Elise. The look on Elise’s face was surprisingly guarded. Then Rick kissed the breath out of her before walking out the door.

  Apparently, Elise would have gone after him, but she, too, was held back. Ethan was startled to hear the petite woman swear like a Marine.

  “Elise?”

  “Dammit. Let’s watch, Ethan, as Rick the Magnificent plans on saving the day. The jerk.” Her eyes misted, but she blinked hastily.

  They stared at the screen while Ethan mentally scrambled to find a way out of the room without falling on his ass. Jewel needed him, and he needed more than life itself to see her safe. And as Rick entered the viewing screen and found himself face-to-face with a murderous Jaz and a bloodied dagger, Ethan realized something else. In all his years of service, he’d never lost a man. And he didn’t plan to lose one now.

  “Fuck Rick.” Ethan shook his head. “Jacobs, you’re the computer expert. Find a way to send a message. You six,” he said, blinking to keep the large guards in focus. “Follow Elise and take charge of the perimeter…”

  * * * * *

  Jewel swallowed audibly as she stared past Jaz to an apparently unarmed, pleasant-faced Rick Hastings. Are you nuts? she mouthed, knowing she and Jaz had been watched from the security cameras in the ceiling. She’d been told as much through the laptop when an easy, basic computer code had intruded while she’d been unscrambling that third, impossible layer of electronic defense.

  “Jaz?” Rick said quietly. “I see a man facedown in the corner. What’s going on?”

  “Oh, Rick.” Jaz turned around and sighed, pulling a gun she hadn’t noticed before, and motioned Rick farther inside. “I hadn’t wanted you to find me lik
e this.”

  “Sure you did. You’re a smart man, Jaz. If you’d wanted complete anonymity, you’d have stolen that cup a while ago and done it right out from under me.”

  Jaz smiled at the compliment, staring at Rick like a starving man, and Jewel was startled to see how much he was still in love with Rick. She glanced at Rick, but his gaze remained locked on Jaz. Slowly, subtly, Jewel noticed that Rick placed himself between her and Jaz. The fact that Ethan still hadn’t arrived began to shake her confidence.

  “How’s it going, Jewel?” Jaz asked, a dagger in one hand, a pistol in the other.

  “I’m getting closer.” Jacobs, she typed. What the hell is Rick doing in here? And where’s Ethan?

  A flurry of crazy characters popped up on the screen, giving her a headache reading through them. Tired of wading through the jumbled script, she made sure Jaz’s attention was centered on Rick before entering a few commands to make reading the type easier.

  Ethan’s fine, a jackass as usual.

  Thank God. He was all right.

  Do whatever Rick tells you, and whatever you do, don’t excite Jaz. Let Rick distract him. We’ll be in momentarily. Is that a gun in Jaz’s hand?

  Yes, and a dagger in the other--- the one he probably used to kill Pete, and the one he stabbed Gus with.

  She typed slowly, keeping a puzzled, frustrated look on her face so Jaz would assume she was still working.

  Okay. I’m going to release the final bar on the cup. You were close, but nowhere near to unlocking it in time. Just pretend you’re having a genius moment.

  Jewel inhaled softly, nervous. What if Jaz decided to kill them once he had the cup in hand? At present, he was talking softly to Rick in a sick, lovey-dovey voice. Whatever hold on sanity Jaz had possessed prior to this afternoon, he’d surely lost it after stabbing Gus. Hell, maybe he’d lost it after stabbing Pete.

  “You know I never meant to hurt you, Jaz, don’t you?” Rick took a step closer to the man, but Jewel saw Jaz’s fingers tighten around the dagger. Oddly, Jaz didn’t seem as concerned with the gun as he was with the other weapon, and she realized he was waiting for Rick to step within range, then whammo, he’d thrust hard and deep.

  “Jaz,” she said loudly, standing to grab his attention. Both men turned to her as one. “I did it. I broke the security.”

  Jaz smiled, his face alight. The door on the glass casing slid open with a soft buzzing, and in seconds, the Mirvolo Cup stood without the encumbrance of a barrier.

  “Rick, grab the wine.”

  Rick shared a frustrated glance with Jewel and shook his head. He grabbed a bottle from a small minibar and returned to Jaz.

  What was he doing? Jaz had his attention centered on the damned cup. Now, while he was preoccupied, they ought to be racing for cover. But, no. Rick stood with a sad expression on his face as he stared at Jaz. Well, if he wasn’t leaving, neither was she. Jaz didn’t seem to want to hurt her, and she’d be damned if she’d leave Rick alone with a crazy man. Granted, she was no Amazon, but together, they might be able to overpower Jaz enough to get their hands on his gun, at the very least.

  “Pour it.” Jaz put down the dagger and reached for the cup. When his fingers closed around it, a strange glint lit his gaze. Jewel watched the odd ceremony, bemused by the strange shadow clinging to Jaz. Almost as if death loomed near… She shivered and saw Rick stare at her, his eyes unreadable even in the bright light of the room.

  “Bacchus favors me. Say it, Rick. Say, ‘Bacchus favors you, Jaz.’”

  Jaz waited, the pistol upraised in one hand, the cup in the other. The rubies on the cup’s base glinted like drops of blood over the gold, and Jewel wondered at her fanciful imaginings. The unnatural stillness in the room only added to her unease, and she took a step closer to Rick as Jaz raised the cup.

  Rick used a corkscrew to open the bottle while Jaz closely watched. He stood within a breath of Jaz and filled the cup with rich red wine. “Why don’t you let me hold the chalice, Jaz?”

  “No. You won’t take it from me, lover,” Jaz spat. “This is just killing you, isn’t it? You’re always so in control, always so damned possessive of this fucking gold cup. Well, watch as I possess what you treasure most. More than a man, more than that whore Elise. More than the love that could have been yours,” Jaz said bitterly.

  “Jaz, I’m so sorry… But you don’t know what you’re holding.” Rick tried to persuade his ex-lover; Jewel wanted to kick him.

  Let Jaz have the damned cup already. Let’s get out of here and leave this mess for security to handle.

  “Fuck you. Now the magic is mine.” Jaz kept his eyes and his gun trained on Rick while he swallowed mouthful after mouthful from the gleaming chalice.

  At that moment, the room erupted into chaos. Ethan and two men burst through the door while Elise and several others crashed through the windows bordering the eastern and western walls of the room. Jaz started at the noise and suddenly stumbled. That quickly, Ethan was on him, knocking the gun from the other man’s fingers. But Jaz somehow managed to escape his hold and lunged at Rick in a shocking burst of speed.

  “You mother fu ‑‑” Jaz shrieked as spittle flew down his chin. He stopped abruptly and began seizing, then fell to the floor. His body flailed uncontrollably before he gurgled one final time and stilled on the floor.

  Jewel gaped in shock, barely aware of Ethan’s arms around her. But as he leaned heavily against her, she realized she was holding him up as much as he was trying to comfort her.

  “Oh, my God. Ethan, are you all right?”

  “Fine,” he said hoarsely, and kissed her hard on the mouth. She noted the dried blood on his face, the matted hair, and stained clothing. Blood, too much blood and death. Then she looked at Jaz’s still form on the floor. “What the hell happened to him, Rick?”

  Rick shook his head, a haunted look in his eyes. “I always handle the Mirvolo Cup for a reason. The cup has its own defenses, the least of which is a very deadly poison known as tanghin. When I found the cup, I had it extensively tested.”

  “It’s in the cup?” Jewel stared, horrified. She’d sipped from that thing only a few short days ago.

  “It’s released into the cup if you don’t press the correct sequence of stones before gripping the handle.” He smiled sadly. “Bacchus didn’t favor Jaz. I tried to tell him that, but he wouldn’t listen.”

  Jewel felt like she was watching a bad soap opera. Glass covered the area; one man lay dead on the floor while another groaned, near death, under the care of the guards. And Ethan, her hero, looked like death warmed over.

  “Come on, tough guy,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Now that you’ve rescued me, how about we fix that gaping head wound?”

  Ethan half nodded, then chose that moment to lose consciousness and took her to the floor with him as he fell.

  * * * * *

  Ethan woke to a splitting headache and an arm across his chest. To his relief, Jewel snuggled against him, safe and warm, and undeniably naked. Despite the pain at his temples, his body stirred, and he wondered at his own fortitude.

  “Hmm?” Jewel kissed his chest and yawned. She rose on her elbows to look down at him. “Finally awake again. Do you know your name?”

  “What?”

  “Come on, Mr. Dominant. Your name. And where do you live?”

  He rattled off the answers and gently probed his skull, wincing when he felt the tender spot behind his head.

  “Easy, Ethan. Jaz must have whacked you pretty hard. You’ve been in and out of it for over twenty-four hours. But don’t worry, we took you to the hospital and they did a CAT scan. No brain damage. Good thing you have such a hard head.”

  “Where…”

  “You haven’t had a reason to use it, but Rick took you to his fully staffed clinic available on the other side of the island. They mostly do cognitive research, or something like that, but I wasn’t really paying attention when we were rushing you over there.”

  He wasn’t so
groggy he didn’t appreciate the tartness of her answer. “Worried, hmm?”

  “Of course. It’s not every day your knight in shining armor passes out and takes you down with him.”

  Ethan closed his eyes and felt his face heat. “Sorry.”

  She laughed and stroked his chest. “Don’t worry about it. Elise and Rick pieced together for me what happened. But I’m still not over my mad at Rick. What the hell was he thinking to just walk into his suite with Jaz waving a knife around?”

  “He was doing what I should have done. Protecting you.”

  “No. It was more than that. I think Rick truly liked Jaz and felt guilty he’d dumped him. But, man, Jaz was way over the deep end.”

  Ethan couldn’t help reliving his fear of when she was stuck in that room with a maniac by her side.

  “It’s not all bad, Ethan. At least Gus wasn’t willing to kill anyone. He exercised poor judgment, sure, but he’s no killer. They flew him to Nassau for help, and last I heard, he was just leaving the ICU at Princess Margaret Hospital.”

  “Good.”

  She was quiet a moment, and he opened his eyes, wanting to see her. Jewel stared at him, her light brown gaze speculative.

  “What’s wrong, baby?”

  “I just think it’s weird that all of what happened centered around broken hearts. My client obsessed over a younger, handsome man, thinking herself in love, but got blackmailed instead. Jaz really just wanted Rick to notice and love him again, and Gus turned on Rick because he was jealous about Elise. For such a noble emotion, love seems to be a real asskicker. You know?”

  The look she gave him made his stomach tighten. Love. Yeah, he knew all about it. The question was, did she? And how to bring up the subject without looking like a complete moron, especially since they’d basically met only a week ago. How many people fell in love that quickly?

  His mouth felt dry. “Jewel? Would you mind grabbing me a glass of water?”

  She scrambled to her feet, and he caught a glimpse of flushed breasts and a firm, round ass. Unfortunately, she returned from the bathroom wearing his shirt. “Here, take this. Some pain reliever for your noggin.”