HARD LINE

by Justice, A. D.

  “That’s it. Just make sure the price per share is the minimum you want because that’s all you’ll get.” Silas has been so patient with her. She still thinks of this as stealing no matter how many times he’s explained she’s the legal owner of all the shares. She can’t steal from herself.

  When she submits the order, she sits back and stares at the screen. “Now, we wait?”

  “Yeah, but I promise we won’t have to wait very long.” Silas chuckles to himself, knowing the news he submitted online earlier has already created such a buzz in Saudi Arabia, we can hear the hum all the way from Paris.

  We checked in to our procured, not stolen, room and went on a shopping excursion the minute the stores opened. She was so excited to buy new clothes and shoes in Paris. She rolled her eyes at me so many times in the hours she dragged me from one store to the next that I warned her they’d get stuck in that position. She thinks I’m hopeless because I don’t get what the big deal is about the clothes here. We can buy clothes anywhere.

  It’s obviously a chick thing.

  She retorted it’s a chic thing.

  Then she laughed when I asked what the difference was.

  Whatever. She’s happy. I’m happy. She has new clothes that I can take off her later. We all win.

  “When will I know if they sold?” She refreshes the screen. Again.

  “As soon as people start snatching them up. At the end of the day, all the day’s trades will be called, and most of the money will be transferred to your account right away, but they have three days to pay up. You’ll have access to the full amount after the end of those three business days.” Silas has explained that a few times already.

  “Okay, it’s done. I’ll check back later and see how much has moved. Why don’t we order some room service? I’m hungry, and we need to finish making our plans for Rafael.”

  Silas glances up at me, and I nod.

  “Tawnee, we have orders to neutralize this threat for national security reasons. But I can’t approve for you to go with us. Please trust me. Jason and John will stay here to protect you while Roman, Nick, Noah, Shadow, and I handle the rest. If you get involved, I won’t be able to protect you from French or US laws.” Silas carefully explains the precarious situation we’re in, and I can only hope she understands.

  She glances up at me, the anguish and distress immediately clear in her expression. “He did this to me, Silas. Not to you or anyone else. But you’re telling me I don’t have the right to defend myself?”

  “What we’re doing isn’t self-defense, sweets. You know that. It’s the preservation of our way of life, which happens to coincide with fulfilling a deep need for vengeance in me. Please let me take care of this for you. Trust me to do that.”

  She taps her nails on the tabletop for a solid minute, considering her options against our request. “All right. I’ll stay here. But if anyone comes into my room, they’re fair game to me, and you two will stay out of it.”

  “Deal,” Silas and I reply at the same time.

  “Will you at least include me in the planning session so I’ll know what’s happening?”

  “Yes, we will. You need to be prepared in case anything goes off plan. I don’t want you getting caught unaware.”

  We order enough food and drinks for an army then call the rest of the guys up to our suite. While we eat, talk, and laugh, the time ticks away. Silas’s phone pings with incoming information at the same time as Shadow’s. The two team leaders have just been alerted to an incoming threat.

  “The four camel-men of the Saudi apocalypse just landed in Paris, didn’t they?” My question is rhetorical. I already know that’s what their alert is about.

  “Yeah, they’re here, and they’re searching hotel databases for Rafael’s name to verify this is where he is. This hotel is full, so they’ll be looking for their own room next. My guess is they’ll only stay one night—long enough to do the job and get back home the staff finds his body.” Silas pushes back from the dining table and stands. “It’s time to put our plan into action. Roman, I’m going to change clothes and will meet you in the stairwell. Shadow, you have your uniform, right?”

  “I do. I hope he’s a big tipper. I hate serving ungrateful people.” He walks out with a spring in his step, headed back to his room to change with the other guys on his heels.

  I turn to Jason and John. “Don’t let her out of your sight or out of this room until we come back. I don’t care if every fire alarm in the building is going off—if I’m not at that door, do not open it.”

  “Got it. We’ll keep her safe.” John assures me as he steps up beside her. “Don’t worry about us. Just focus on getting the job done upstairs.”

  After I change into my nondescript black clothes, I meet Silas, Shadow, Nick, and Reaper in the stairwell. Shadow carries a silver platter covered with a white linen napkin. The covered plate is compliments of the chef. Having heard Raf was in the building, the chef wants to welcome him personally.

  “I’m going in. The terrace doors are wide open, just as Tawnee said they would be. After a quick climb up one floor, I’ll be inside his room in no time. Give me ten minutes, Shadow, then deliver his gift.”

  “Ten minutes—mark. Get to climbing, Roman.”

  I rush back into my suite and straight to the balcony directly below his expansive terrace. I scale up the ornate concrete decoration and over the wrought-iron fence. From my vantage point, I see Rafael lounging on his couch while watching TV. I expected him to have it on the news or a business channel, but I realize he’s so confident in his underhanded dealings, he’s not the least bit worried anything will go wrong.

  Kneeling behind the small round table with two chairs, I watch for any other movement inside the suite. If Tabitha and Carter are in there with him, I’ll deal with them first. My guess is they’re in a separate room. His insistence on having the three-bedroom royal suite to himself in Dubai tells me he doesn’t share well with others. After eight minutes, I feel confident he’s alone, and I move into place inside the suite. Right on time, Shadow knocks on the door and announces he’s with room service with a perfect French accent.

  When Raf opens the door, he barely acknowledges Shadow. “I didn’t order anything, so you can take that off my bill immediately.”

  “This is compliments of the chef, sir. He heard you were staying with us this week and wanted to send your favorite rare delicacy to you, free of charge.”

  “Really? What is it?”

  “Pufferfish, sir.”

  “Chef Olivier does know how to tempt me. Bring it in—I can never resist pufferfish.”

  Shadow walks in with the tray and waits for Rafael to give him instructions. “Where shall I put it, sir? Would you care to dine at the formal table?”

  “No, just put it there by the couch. I’m watching this show, so I’ll just enjoy my fish with the wine I’ve already opened.”

  “Very good, sir. With compliments from the chef, we hope you enjoy this small treat.”

  “I’m sure I will. Thank you.” Raf pulls out a €100 bill, hands it to Shadow for his tip, then closes the door in his face before he can respond.

  Raf sits on the couch and removes the silver dome cover, humming to himself when he sees the thinly sliced pieces of fish. He leans back on the couch, taking the plate with him, and mindlessly pops slice after slice into his mouth while watching TV. When he has scarfed down almost the entire fish, he sets the nearly empty plate on the coffee table and starts punching his lips and tongue with his fingertip.

  I grab him around the neck from behind and force him down onto his back. When he opens his mouth to protest, I release several drops of the pufferfish’s deadly toxin down the back of his throat.

  “You’ve already eaten enough tetrodotoxin to kill thirty people, but those extra drops I gave you will ensure the job is done faster. The tingling you felt on your lips and tongue was the neurotoxin already going to work on your nervous system. With as much as you’ve consumed, you
’ll be paralyzed in the next few seconds. You’ll lie here, fully aware of what’s happening to your body, but unable to do a fucking thing about it.

  “Before you die, I want you to know what else is happening right now. Tawnee is here—she’s alive and well. We rescued her from that women’s detention center you let your piece of shit friends throw her in. All those shares you were waiting to cash in are still in her name, and she just opened the order to sell them all. By the close of business today, she’ll have more money than you ever dreamed of having. But there’s more—she doesn’t know this part yet. I’m waiting to give her the rest of the documents as a wedding gift.

  “Look at this picture, Raf. It’s one of the real Tawnee and you getting married. We also have a copy of your marriage license and a copy of your will. The will you changed eight months ago to leave everything you own to her. So, you can lie here, you fucking coward, and die in your own piss and shit as you lose control of your bodily functions. You think about how you had it all when you had her, and how you lost it all when you betrayed her and left her for dead in a Saudi prison.”

  When I release him, he remains rigid and still on the couch. But his eyes confirm his brain still functions at full capacity. He’ll be dead within twenty minutes, but I’m not going anywhere until I see it with my own eyes. No fucking ghosts will come back to haunt my love.

  His breaths become ragged and shallow as his diaphragm short-circuits from the poison coursing through his body, shutting down his organs. The light in his eyes is extinguished, and there’s no way anyone can bring him back now.

  One down.

  When I step out into the hallway, Silas, Shadow, Nick, and Reaper have all four of Tawnee’s kidnappers on the floor. “Bring them in here with Raf.”

  We lift their limp bodies and haul them into the suite and arrange them in the other chairs. After a few drops of toxin into each man’s mouth, and the leftover contaminated fish on the plate, the cause of death for all five will be easily explained. Since pufferfish isn’t on the hotel menu, it will clear the chef of any wrongdoing, and they’ll assume he brought the delicacy in from somewhere else. It won’t be traced back to anyone in this city; we’ve already made sure of that.

  The five of us walk back down to my suite with a weight lifted off our shoulders and smiles on our faces. We can go home soon—or we can bring the family to us for a while first—because the menaces to society have been dealt with expediently. When I reach the door to our suite, my heart jumps up in my throat when I see it’s not latched shut.

  I gently push it open the rest of the way and peek inside. Tawnee has Tabitha subdued on the floor, while John holds Carter with his hands cuffed behind his back.

  “What the hell happened here?” I know I specifically told them not to open the door unless it was me.

  “These two idiots got the room numbers mixed up and tried to get into this suite. When Tawnee heard their voices, she bolted for the door before we could catch her. But we got them, anyway. INTERPOL is on the way to get them and help process the paperwork for the other mess—our director called theirs and explained the situation. Carter and Tabitha are going to spend a long time in prison,” Jason explains.

  “Is that what you want, Tawnee? For them to live their lives behind bars?” I want to make sure because we still have time to make them disappear.

  “Yes, I decided death was too quick and easy for them after what I’ve been through. They’ll spend the rest of their lives thinking about what they did to me, though. In separate prisons. In separate cells. Alone.”

  She made the right choice. But then, so did I. Rafael never would’ve gotten what he deserved, and those four kidnappers would’ve been national heroes when they returned home. Now, they’ll all go home in pine boxes.

  For all intents and purposes, this is over. For Tawnee and me, we’re finished with their deception, betrayal, and greed. My focus is solely on her from now on—whatever it takes to make her happy.

  That’s my new hard line perspective… my only rigid stance going forward.

  Chapter 25

  Roman

  “You want to tell me what really happened in here?” I turn to Tawnee when the last of our squad leaves the room.

  The slightly guilty expression on her face gives her away. You’re totally busted, sweets.

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “I gave those men strict instructions before I left. That door should have been barred from the inside. They should have tied you to a comfortable chair with silk ropes and sat in your lap to keep you from opening it. So, do you feel the need to confess anything?” I put my hands on my hips and straighten my back, and using my intimidating glare, I wait for the truth.

  “I confess… I regret nothing.” She lifts on her tiptoes to kiss me. Her lips are so soft, and I’m so grateful to feel them again.

  “You’re trying to distract me. I know your tactics.” I manage to state my accusation between luscious kisses. “Not that I’m complaining… much. I’d just like to know the truth.”

  She pulls back and looks up at me from under her lashes. I know the very second when she accepts the inevitable.

  “All right. Here’s the full truth. You took off on your own to exact your revenge against Rafael when I’m the one who was wronged. I appreciate your doing it on my behalf, but it’s not the same, Roman. There are some things I need to do and standing up for myself is one of them. But I agreed to your plan, even though you still haven’t told me what you did to him, for the record—so I had to improvise.

  “Jason and John follow the rules pretty well, so they had set up surveillance in the lobby to keep tabs on who was coming in and out. When John saw Tabitha and Carter coming back in, laughing and enjoying themselves, I may have snapped. Just a little. Not like a Roman-level snap, but enough. As Raf’s head of security, I still have access to his messaging network, so I used Jason’s phone to access it. Raf was never tech-savvy enough to handle it on his own. So, I messaged them as Raf and told them the hotel had to change their room, but their keycards would still work.”

  “They didn’t know that’s impossible? The front desk would have to re-key them to work with this lock.”

  She shrugs. “Tabitha and Carter never questioned Raf like the rest of us did. I guess they just thought he magically made it happen. Anyway, when they showed up at the door, Jason, John, and I were ready and waiting for them. Tabitha was easy to overpower since I cracked her ribs when she confessed to stabbing me in the back. John and Jason had no problem restraining Carter. And you know the rest.”

  “But you decided to let them live.” I’m questioning if I’m worthy of her love. She shows mercy and forgiveness while I charge full steam ahead and let a man die a cruel death.

  “I gave it a lot of thought, and I even wavered when I had her in my grasp. But something she said to me stayed with me. She planned to ride off into the sunset with Carter and the money Rafael promised them. Spending her life with him was her ultimate goal, regardless of who she hurt along the way. Then I realized how devastated I would be if you and I were separated for the rest of our lives. I realized how devastated I’ve been since the day we split up. Doing that to Tabitha and Carter would be worse than ending their lives, putting them out of their misery. Their hell is only starting… and they’ll be in it for a long time to come. They don’t deserve death.”

  “And Rafael? What do you think he deserved for his offenses?”

  “He deserved to die. He planned this scheme for a long time. All the paperwork he had drawn up and forged. The trip to Dubai under false pretenses. The wreck that put us all in danger. He had someone attack your dad. He arranged my kidnapping, and he knew where they’d take me. Then that led to Lara’s death. Even though I don’t have proof that she’s dead, I heard her screams after they caught us talking. If she’s still alive, she’s wishing for death. This is all on him.

  “He hurt so many people simply to make more money that he didn’t even need. He a
lready had more than he could ever ask for—money, possessions, respect, admiration, and loyalty—but none of that mattered to him in the end. It’s as if everything he did was a game to him to see how much he could get away with before someone stopped him.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way because his death wasn’t an easy one. He suffered. He felt every second of it right up until the end. And I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. I’m sorry you feel I took away your right to exact your own revenge. Maybe I did. But when I carried you out of that shithole, I thought you’d die before we could get out of the country. Maybe it was selfish of me to leave you out, but I couldn’t take the chance of something going wrong and losing you for good. I can handle anything any man throws at me, but I’m not strong enough to lose you. So, when Silas pointed out we couldn’t cover for you if things went sideways, I jumped at the loophole to keep you safe.”

  “Tell me how he died.”

  We sit on the couch, and I proceed to tell her every step I took, every word I said, and every reaction Rafael had to the toxin up until the moment he took his last breath. She listens intently but silently, taking everything in. I can’t help but wonder what she thinks about me now. Will this change her feelings for me? Will she feel unsafe around me and walk away?

  “What are you thinking, Tawnee?”

  She purses her lips and slowly nods her head, considering how to frame her response. “I’m impressed. That was a great idea—very imaginative. I especially like how it can’t be traced back to anyone so there’s no fall guy in this scenario. Thank you for taking care of everything and seeing it through until the end. And thank you for taking care of me. I understand your reasons. All I ask is you include me in the discussions in the future instead of deciding for me. And I promise not to be so independent that I don’t listen to your concerns. Deal?”