Fierce Shadows: Shadows Landing #4

by Kathleen Brooks

  “Enough,” Ryker said simply and the room went quiet.

  “We’re good. Thank you.” Drake Charles glanced around the room as Isabella walked out.

  “If you need me, just pick up that phone and I’ll be here in minutes,” Isabella said, nodding to the guards to close the doors.

  “Then let’s get started,” Ryker’s voice rumbled as the doors were shut.

  “You are a lifesaver,” Isabella told Dare as she reached over and squeezed his upper arm. “Come on. Let’s have lunch. My treat.”

  “Let me see if Manny needs anything, and I’ll meet you at the outdoor café. The sun is out and I’d like to sit outside for a bit before getting back to work.” Plus he wanted to observe the pool area since that was the location of several of the reported incidents.

  “That sounds lovely.”

  They rode down the elevator together and when they entered the lobby, Isabella was instantly stopped for work and Dare was able to walk right into the restaurant. Rudy was behind the bar in the restaurant that was quickly filling up, and Dare gave him the thumbs up to let him know all had turned out well. Manny was pacing near the door behind Rudy. The door opened and one of the boy toys almost hit him as he walked out with a bottle of rum. It looked like their regular order of rum, but something made Dare do a double take. However, the boy toy was already out of the restaurant before he could get a second look at the bottle.

  “How did it go?” Manny asked nervously as they headed into the storage room.

  “You’re good. She’s not canceling the contract. But you owe me. Now I have to go have lunch with her to finish smoothing things over.” Dare was about to start back toward the door when he paused. “Hey, that bottle of rum the kid just carried out. Was that one of ours?”

  Manny looked confused.

  “He’s one of the staffers who are always at Miss Crowne’s beck and call. I call them the boy toys. He just walked out of here with a bottle of rum but I didn’t recognize it.”

  Manny stopped pacing and snorted with laughter. “Boy toy.” He laughed again and shook his head as he finally took a deep breath. “That’s a good one. Watch out or you’ll be one of them. She has her eye on you. Why do you think I sent you to deliver it?”

  “I know, but the rum—”

  “If it’s in here, it’s ours. I didn’t notice what he had, though. Why?”

  “Something seemed off about it.”

  Manny stopped laughing. “Off how?”

  “I didn’t get a good look at it, but you know how counterfeit goods might have one letter out of place or a different color mark?”

  Manny was definitely not laughing as he went over to the rum shelf and began looking around. “I don’t see anything that’s off. Counterfeit alcohol is a major industry problem. Not so much here, but back in my home country it’s caused many deaths. Let me know if you find it and what looks off when you get a closer look.”

  “Will do.”

  Dare headed to the pool and found the boy toy serving poolside drinks to the few people eating outdoors. It was the low season, but they still had enough guests who rented villas for the winter to fill the poolside café and the indoor restaurant.

  Dare was about to head for the bar when Isabella flagged him down with a smile and a wave. “I took the liberty of ordering us some drinks. You look like a whiskey man.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dare sat down and lifted the drink to his lips and took the smallest of sips. Nothing tasted off but he wanted to be careful.

  “What can I get you?” one of the four boy toys asked.

  Isabella ordered a salad and Dare chose shrimp and grits. Dare looked around as Isabella talked. Two waiters, one floater, and one beach waiter who had been on vacation until the other day were all walking around. All four were Isabella’s boy toys. Everyone out there was with the exception of the bartender, Brody.

  Dare noticed they were all busy so he tossed back his whiskey and stood up. “The staff is busy. You want anything from the bar?”

  “Another glass of champagne. I have a feeling I’ll need it today.”

  Dare gave her a smile of understanding and went to the bar.

  “What’s up? Darrell, right?”

  “That’s right,” Dare said, shaking Brody’s hand. “I feel like rum. What have you got?”

  Dare examined the bottles as Brody rambled off the list. There it was. Dare felt his heart speed up. It was a matching bottle to the cheap rum bars used to make mixed drinks. The only difference was that the cap was a different color. Now he just had to get the bottle to test it.

  “I’ll take a rum and Coke. Why’s the cap on that rum white?” Dare asked, pointing to the bottle he’d seen the boy toy carrying out of the storage room.

  “Huh?” Brody turned to see where Dare was pointing. “Oh. Private bottle. We offer it to residents, long-term guests, or high rollers. They can buy bottles for a special price. I don’t have anything to do with it and to make sure I don’t use it accidentally, it’s marked with a different cap. Cristian is in charge of them so I don’t pay attention to those bottles.”

  “I don’t think I’ve met Cristian yet.”

  “I’m surprised. He’s buddies with Manny. Manny’s your boss, right?”

  Dare shrugged as Brody poured the champagne. “I’d probably recognize him then. I’m not the best with names. What do I owe you?”

  “On the house for the boss. Perks of eating with her. Besides the view.” Brody gave him a wink as Dare picked up the glasses.

  “Thanks, man.”

  Dare plastered on a smile and sauntered back to the table with Isabella. She was on the phone when one of the boy toys arrived with their food. From his research, he knew Benny and C.J. were the pool waiters. Hoyt was a floater. The beach waiter who had returned this past week was Vern, but Dare hadn’t seen him a lot. C.J. and Benny were the two who were with Isabella the most. It was easy to mix them up. All were between twenty-one and twenty-four years of age. They were all tan and muscled with preppy blond or light brown hair and expensively perfect teeth.

  “I’ll be right there, sir,” Isabella said with an annoyed look.

  Dare set the drink down in front of Isabella as she hung up. “They want to order lunch off menu. They’re going to cause me to lose my hair.” Isabella grabbed the champagne and chugged it down. “Enjoy lunch. I’m sorry to run out on you. I’d love to have a rain check. Maybe something more intimate so we can talk?”

  “Just name the time and I’ll try to arrange it around my work schedule.”

  Isabella stopped behind where he was sitting and rested her hands on his shoulders. “I’ll do that.” Her hands trailed down to the top of his pecs and he let her fingers trace his muscles before she hurried off.

  Dare saw the death glares he was getting from the boy toys. They sensed competition, and they were moving in to strike. “You want a doggy bag for that?” the one from the storage room asked. Now that he was closer, Dare saw it was C.J.

  “Nah, I’ll finish it here. I have a drink I want to enjoy. Thanks, though.”

  The man glared at him as the beach waiter, Vern, moved in closer.

  “I am so sorry. I was telling the bartender how bad with names I am. I see you’re name is C.J.” Dare read it off his nametag. “Are you Cristian?”

  “No. Cristian is our boss.” C.J. answered as the beach waiter joined him.

  “I don’t think I know him.”

  “He only deals with special clients, not some delivery boy.”

  Dare shrugged and took a bite of shrimp. “Mmm, this is good. You all want to share Isabella’s salad? You guys can join me.”

  They glared and Dare smiled. It was a staring contest that Dare wasn’t interested in playing, which meant the two boy toys left in frustration and Dare sat back to observe.

  25

  Harper was ready to bust out of the hospital on her own if her family would just back off enough so she could blink without them asking if she wa
s okay. She loved them. She’d do anything for them. But right now they were bugging the heck out of her.

  They were all packed into her room. Gavin was constantly going out to talk with one specialist or another. Tinsley was doing her best impression of a peppy cheerleader who talked about anything but what had happened while Ellery and the other wives were Tinsley’s backup squad. Wade was back on duty with the Coast Guard so he’d just left, and Ryker had to go to some meeting as soon as he got word she was going to make it. Ridge and Trent had her back, though.

  “Honey,” Ridge groaned at his wife. “Maybe we can quiet the girl talk down. I’m sure Harp has a killer headache.”

  Bless that man.

  “Are you hungry?” Trent asked. Harper didn’t have time to reply before he turned to Tinsley. “Tins, why don’t you all take that basket Miss Winnie and Miss Ruby gave us and see if you can find a microwave to put together a couple plates of food for everyone?”

  “Oh, great idea!” Tinsley jumped up from her seat. She was even more excited now that she had a mission.

  “I’d really appreciate it,” Harper told the girl squad. They all leapt at the chance to help and that made Harper feel guilty for the relief she felt when they all filed out of the room. “You know I adore Savannah—”

  “I know,” Ridge said as he turned on the television. “SportsCenter is about to come on.”

  And then the three of them sat in blissful silence watching sports. At the commercial break, Harper already felt calmer. “I know I don’t say this enough, but I love you guys.”

  Gavin stopped in the door and then rushed forward, placing his hand on her forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Are you hallucinating?”

  “Funny. I love you too, big bro.”

  “Sucking up isn’t going to stop me from turning off the television. No television with a concussion. And I love you too.” Gavin leaned down and kissed her forehead. Harper reached out and placed her hand over his. “They’ll do rounds tonight and they’ll discharge you as long as you’re still doing well.”

  “We have food!” Tinsley sang loudly.

  Harper squeezed Gavin’s hand, and he winked at her in return. “Harp has a concussion so we need to keep the noise to a minimum.”

  “Sorry,” Tinsley mouthed as she brought Harper a plate of food. Her stomach rumbled and she realized it had been almost twenty-four hours since she’d eaten.

  “Thanks, Tinsley. Y’all are taking great care of me.” Harper smiled up at her youngest cousin and saw the pure soul that was Tinsley. She had seen darkness, but she was determined to cast it out with beautiful paintings and the love she had for her family.

  “I got you this,” Darcy, Wade’s wife, told her coming into the room a couple of minutes later and handing a new phone to Harper. “I know your old one was ruined by the water.”

  Now Harper really felt bad for being annoyed with the girl squad. “Thank you, Darcy.” Harper sent off a quick text to Georgina who immediately replied that she and Skeeter were holding down the bar and Harper should just focus on getting better.

  Harper pulled up Dare’s number from the cloud. Her finger hovered over the text message icon, but in the end she turned off her phone and set it down. Instead, she talked with her family as they shared dinner together, crammed into a small hospital room.

  “Some of the guys at Palm Meadows were talking about Cristian at lunch. Who is he?” Dare asked Roy Lee as they loaded a shipment into a large box van.“Cristian?” Roy Lee clearly didn’t know him either.

  “Yeah, one of the pool waiters said Cristian was his boss and handled drinks for special guests. I guess long-term guests or big spenders can buy a bottle at a reduced price from Cristian. Then the pool and beach waiters know to get it from their own bottle instead of what Brody uses for the rest of the guests.”

  “I ain’t never heard of that, but what do I know?” Roy Lee shrugged.

  Dare didn’t ask any more questions as he finished loading the van. Dare sent a message to his boss to look into the mysterious Cristian when Austin and Roy Lee headed off to make their delivery. The research was frustrating. The IRS was dragging its feet getting the information to them, even though it had now been requested multiple times. It was time to head back to the resort, get that special bottle of liquor stored at the pool bar, and ask Manny about Cristian.

  When Dare arrived back on the island, Manny was in the storage room comparing inventory and order forms. “You saved my ass today,” Manny told him with relief. “I heard Miss Crowne has had a rough time with her special guests. I’ve been around in case of emergency, but I’ve been hiding in here as much as possible.”

  “She was called away from lunch because of them. Something about ordering off menu.”

  “Yeah, they’re all up there now waiting for dinner. And guess what kind of dinner?”

  Dare shook his head. “Off menu.”

  “The chef’s assistant took the hotel speedboat over to Charleston to get the specialty meat and fish that was ordered. That’s what Miss C gets. She told them she could get them whatever they wanted if they held their meetings here. I’m pretty sure I saw a group of escorts in bikinis waiting in the kitchen to serve as the waitresses.” Manny snorted. “Rich assholes.”

  Dare hid his reaction. From what little he knew about Ryker, he didn’t seem the kind to appreciate escorts parading around when they were having a meeting. Drake Charles and Elle Simpson were happily married with kids who were close to graduating from high school by all media accounts.

  However, this was not his problem. What was his problem . . . “Hey, who is Cristian?”

  “You don’t need to know him. He’s a real asshole.”

  “But who is he? C.J., who got that bottle that looked strange to me, told me Cristian was his boss and that the bottle has a different cap on it to indicate a guest has bought the whole bottle,” Dare explained as he began to help Manny with the inventory.

  “I hadn’t heard that before, but I guess that makes sense.” Manny shrugged. “People buy or bring bottles of wine to restaurants. No different. Just stay clear of Cristian. He’s the kind of guy who thinks he’s the most important cock in the barnyard, if you know what I mean.”

  Yeah, Dare understood. He hated guys like that. “Carson Cruz reminds me of that too. I bet he and Cristian get into some fights.”

  Manny nodded. “Cruz likes to throw his weight around. I’ve seen him try to use his position to intimidate people, and Cristian is just a dick. It makes me glad I don’t work for them. I have to keep Miss C happy, but I don’t have to report to anyone here. The people I work with the most with are Rudy and Brody, and they’re good guys. All the rest is workplace drama. Thank goodness our team doesn’t have that.”

  Dare snickered. “You mean, besides Roy Lee and Austin’s fights over South Carolina versus Clemson.”

  Manny gave an exaggerated shudder and then they both laughed. “Here’s my count,” Dare said, giving Manny the count he’d just done on rum. There hadn’t been a single bottle with a different cap. “But I remember Brody saying he was low on something. Let me go ask.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Dare grabbed a clipboard and headed to the pool bar. Brody was eating dinner there while workers were quickly assembling the temporary walls to turn the place into the all-weather nightclub. Brody worked long shifts four days a week, then surfed the rest of the time or picked up extra shifts if the weather was bad.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Brody called out when he saw Dare.

  “Getting an inventory for Manny so we can place your next order.”

  “Perfect timing,” Brody told him before rattling off a list of things he needed.

  “Mind if I take a look?” Dare motioned to the bar and Brody waved him over from where he sat on the other side of the bar top.

  Brody kept talking about some girls from Charleston who said they were going to come party tonight. “Don’t you know Thursday is the new Saturday?”

 
Dare chuckled and then turned his back on Brody. He began lifting bottles and making notes to indicate which ones were almost empty. Dare reached for the bottle with the white cap when the boy toy came in.

  “What are you doing?” C.J. snapped as he rushed behind the bar.

  “Inventory. What does it look like?”

  “I need to make a drink. Get out of my way.”

  “Did you get everything?” Brody asked, standing and throwing away the wrapper of a taco he’d just eaten. “I need to get this place ready to open.”

  “I’m good. Thanks.”

  Dare needed that bottle. He would see Manny and then he’d do a little clubbing this weekend to see exactly who was ordering from that bottle.

  26

  Harper slept until lunch the next day, but it wasn’t until dinner that she began to feel better. Maybe it was because Trent woke her up every couple of hours until seven that morning to make sure she was okay. Then she’d finally been able to sleep, and sleep she did.

  “Am I released?”

  “To do what?” Gavin asked her as he pulled off the blood pressure cuff.

  “First to get a smothered pork taco bowl from the Pink Pig. Second, to check on my bar.” And third, to wonder why Dare was ghosting her. She glanced over at her replacement phone and looked for any new messages. None. He tells her he loves her and then he doesn’t check on her? That made her head spin more than her concussion.

  “You’re released for light work only. Some studies say that light exercise can help improve your concussion, but if your head starts to hurt in any way, you need to immediately stop. So, yes, you can have dinner at the Pink Pig. Yes, you can go to the bar, but—”

  Harper wanted to roll her eyes but it kinda hurt when she did right now. “But?”

  “You need to leave if the noise gives you a headache.”