by Jack Stroke
Storm Warning
Jack Stroke
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Also by Jack Stroke
Blockhouse Blues and the Elmore Beast
Scam
The Other Hotel
18 Hours to Die
18 Hours More
Amber Storm
Thanks to Heather for her editing and support.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Amber Storm will return
Free Amber Storm book
Also by Jack Stroke
Have you read The Other Hotel?
Have you read Blockhouse Blues?
Have you read Scam?
1
With her feet dangling over the roof’s edge, halfway up towards the clouds, Amber could see forever.
To the edge of the world and beyond.
She’d never had a problem with heights. What would it be like not to be able to even approach an edge like this, let alone sit up here and look over? How would that feel?
The building wasn’t the tallest, not by a long shot, and yet it felt high. Way down below, cars crawled along the road, constant despite the late hour.
She glanced around as she waited. On either side were a long line of high rise buildings; casinos, hotels and apartments.
In front of her, the ocean stretched out in a murky blackness.
“Report in,” came Mother’s voice in her ear.
“Good to go,” Amber replied.
It was the third time Mother had asked. Was there a delay? Or was Mother merely being more prudent than usual? Probably option two, this being Amber’s first job back. First job for Mother in a few weeks. It felt strange having Mother’s actual voice in her ear again, as opposed to Amber simply hearing Mother’s voice in her head.
“Repeat objectives.”
“Again?”
“Amber…”
“Fine. Infiltrate the club without being seen. Find Gomez. Swap his hotel key for the decoy.”
“Good girl.”
Was Mother nervous? Impossible to tell from her voice.
Movement caught Amber’s attention. To her left a couple wandered about aimlessly in their hotel room, no sensing they could be seen. The couple close enough for Amber to reach out and touch. They hadn’t bothered to close the curtains. Why would they? The room was halfway up to the clouds. What did it matter? The couple couldn’t see Amber. Even if they had known she was there and looked, they would have struggled to spot her.
“Okay, Amber,” Mother’s voice said. “Go time.”
“Roger that,” Amber replied, a flicker of excitement lighting up her chest.
Inhaling deeply, she leaned forward and toppled off the edge of the building, face first.
2
Amber fell too fast for a floor or two before the harness kicked in, slicing her abs. She found her feet and walked face first down the wall. The ground slowly approached, although at this height, not enough to make a significant difference.
Counting five floors down, she stopped and turned. The window was completely dark. It probably had a great view of the ocean, except what was the point in a place like this? Would anybody ever actually take the time to appreciate it?
Amber reminded herself what came next. Not that she was unsure, just to concentrate on the important parts. An error now could be problematic. She removed the glass cutter from a tiny pocket in her dress, taking great care not to drop it. Cutting the window took a concerted effort. Eventually she had a circle deep enough.
Pushing off from the building, Amber swung out on the rope, both feet colliding with the window as she swung back. The aim was to use enough force to remove the circle while making as little noise as possible. The impact caused a dull thud. Unavoidable. She kicked off and tried a second and third time. No luck. Had she not cut the hole deep enough?
Cursing that she may have to cut some more, Amber tried one last time, pushing off the window and swinging herself back. This more forceful fourth strike did the trick. The window cracked loudly and the circle fell back, slowed by the blind. It didn’t break as it landed flat on the floor. Amber followed it in.
She paused. Was there anyone here? Had she been heard? Didn’t appear so.
Detaching the rope and stepping out of the harness, Amber crawled under the blind. She glanced about the room. Two doors. One to a bathroom, one to the corridor. No people.
A plush bed sat up against the wall with little else to keep it company. The space could easily be mistaken for a hotel if Amber didn’t know any better.
Wind tore in through the hole in the window, playing havoc with the blind, kicking it backwards and forward. The owner wouldn’t be happy about the window. It would probably be a nightmare to have to fix, all the way up here.
“I’m in,” she informed Mother.
“Good girl.”
Amber tiptoed to the bathroom. The light let out a soft buzz as it spluttered to life. She could have used either of the mirrors in the main room - the one facing the bed or the enormous one covering the ceiling. The bathroom seemed safer. She barely recognised the face staring back at her.
“Was the intention to make me look like a clown?”
She was made up to within an inch of her life.
“You look lovely,” Mother sa
id.
Did she? The makeup job at least went with the sparkly black dress that Mother had provided, its fabric barely covering her thighs.
She definitely looked the part. Well, except for her feet.
The lack of shoes was somewhat of a giveaway.
“Radio silence from now on unless necessary,” Mother’s voice whispered in her ear.
Amber took a deep breath. She was ready to go.
No one would notice her feet.
3
With the building’s layout memorised, Amber knew exactly where Gomez would be. Now she had to project the appropriate air of confidence. Carefully easing open the door, she strode into the corridor.
The gentle thud of far off bass sounded from somewhere. The corridor was bathed in a dark red glow and smelled vaguely of artificial cinnamon. Keeping her head down, she took a left, moving purposefully around the corner. She was after the third door past the elevator.
Good that she had taken the time to memorise the layout so thoroughly. Everywhere looked the same.
There were plenty of women about but no one paid her any attention. Why would they? All were wearing similarly skimpy outfits and garish makeup.
Finding the room, Amber paused. Was Gomez inside? Hopefully Mother’s information was correct, otherwise this could be problematic. Why was she even questioning it? When wasn’t Mother’s information right?
Allowing herself a quick glance about, Amber opened the door.
A man was lying face first on a massage table, naked save for a towel.
Gomez.
His broad shoulders glistened with oil.
Two ladies attended to him. Still in the massage phase. Just as Mother had suggested.
The women glanced up, confused by Amber’s presence. The target himself remained unaware of any change. Amber flashed her best friendly smile and nodded hello, like her presence here was the most natural thing in the world.
She tiptoed across the room towards the pile of garments. Picking up Gomez’s clothes, Amber folded them neatly on a nearby chair.
The ladies went back to work, not thinking anything of it.
In the back pocket of his pants Amber located the hotel key, exactly where it was supposed to be. She switched it for the decoy.
Neither of the ladies gave her another thought as she slipped back out the door. Amber couldn’t help but grin. Too easy. The hard part was done. It would all be simple from here.
And it would have been, if it wasn’t for her damn feet.
4
“You have to wear appropriate footwear,” Mother had told Amber an hour earlier.
“Appropriate for what?”
“Very funny.”
“I’m serious. I can’t rappel in heels.”
“Carry them. You can’t parade around Kinki’s Gentleman’s Club without shoes.”
“Sure I can. No one will notice. What I can’t do is carry a pair of heels with me while I descend the side of the building. It’s not the same as carrying the decoy hotel key and the glass cutter.”
Mother’s expression didn’t alter, clearly not happy. Mother liked her orders followed, not questioned.
“It will be dark in Kinki’s. I’ll be in and out. No one will ever see my feet,” she assured the older woman.
Amber believed it too.
Unfortunately, she was wrong.
Striding along the corridor, her stockinged feet rubbing against the thick carpet, a voice rang out from behind her.
“Hey. Hey, you.”
Amber ignored whoever it was, careful not to react or increase speed.
“Hey.”
A hand grabbed her shoulder.
“Where are your shoes?”
Amber stopped and turned. She had little choice. The woman was tiny yet full of fire. Too old to work the rooms. Most likely management.
Amber smiled. “I left them in my room.”
Nope. No good. The woman screwed up her face. “Who are you?”
“Sally,” Mother’s voice informed her.
“Sally, I’m new,” Amber repeated to the woman.
The woman wasn’t buying it, yet it was clear from her expression she couldn’t come up with any other explanation for Amber’s presence.
“Where are your shoes?”
“I had to… I can’t explain. I’ll show you,” Amber said. “I need to show you.”
She grabbed the woman’s hand, pulling her along. Not giving her any time to think.
Amber found the door where she had entered, hoping it was the right one.
“What… What are we…” the woman protested.
The billowing blind mystified the older woman, giving Amber a moment to cross the room. The glass cutter was where she’d had left it near the window. Hardly an ideal weapon and yet threatening enough. Amber snatched it from the floor and spun around, shoving the cutter in the woman’s face.
“Make a sound and I’ll slice you up,” she hissed.
It wasn’t clear if Mother actually sighed in Amber’s ear, or she imagined it.
Amber pointed towards the bathroom. “Go, in there.”
The woman backed in, her hands raised.
The bathroom door was fairly standard. Lockable from the inside, which wasn’t a whole lot of help. Amber could have maybe kicked the handle off, if she was wearing shoes.
“Who are you?” the woman said.
“Shush. You step out that door, I swear I will cut you,” Amber said.
She swiped the glass cutter towards the woman to emphasise her point. The woman backed up again.
Amber closed her in. The stupid door opened inwards, so there was no way of blocking the thing.
This wasn’t good.
5
Cursing silently, Amber dashed to the window. The plan had been to go out the same way she’d come in.
“Amber? What your status?”
“All good. On my way.”
Except it wasn’t all good. She had been spotted and placed the woman in an easily escapable room. Would the woman stay in the bathroom? Why would she? There was nothing holding her there.
The possibilities raced through Amber’s mind.
Should she change plans and go out the front door? How quickly would the woman let herself free? How quickly could she raise the alarm? Quicker than Amber could get all the way to the ground floor and out.
Stupid. Had Amber blown the whole job just because of a lack of shoes?
The best bet was probably to ask Mother how to proceed, except she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear Mother’s answer.
No, this was okay. She would still go out the window. Even if the woman would let herself out and raise the alarm. Would that matter? It depended how exactly she would raise the alarm. And then whomever she raised the alarm to would have to decide how to react. It would take time for word to reach Gomez, if it did at all. Even then, no one would have no reason to suspect he was the target. His hotel key was still in his pocket as far as he knew.
No, Amber was good. She still had time. But she had to move fast.
Her gloves and harness lay waiting on the floor. Making a split-second decision, Amber chose not to worry about the harness. Attaching it would take too much time.
“Everything okay, Amber?” came Mother’s voice in her ear.
Amber clambered out the window to the waiting rope.
“Amber?”
“Peachy,” Amber said. “Moving on to part two.”
Climbing down the building, Amber proceeded with more care than she usually would, primarily because the lack of harness significantly increased the chance she could die.
Two floors down, she felt the rope shake in her hand.
Turning around, she shot a look back up. The woman had indeed let herself out of the bathroom and was half out the window, trying to shake Amber off the rope. Not ideal. Amber kept moving, picking up speed. The shaking rope merely added to the level of difficulty.
Soon she felt the rope go slack again. Amber d
idn’t need to look up to know the woman had given up and gone back inside. At least, given up with the rope.
Picking up speed, Amber made it the remainder of the way down the building without incident and without dying. Good result. Nearing the bottom she could see the black Jaguar waiting for her extraction. Perfect. She’d made it.
But just as she let go of the rope, two burly security dudes emerged from the front of the building, yelling and pointing up. The woman upstairs must have raised the alarm in time.
Crap. The two security guys stood between her and the black Jag.
6
Had Amber let go of the rope in time?