Take No Quarter

by Desiree Holt

  “You’ll pay for that when we get home tonight.”

  “Oh.” She laughed. “I hope so.”

  Then she opened her door, slid out of the car and took one last look at him to carry her through the day.

  She stepped off the elevator and into the firm’s reception area at eight on the dot. When she got to her office, Susan was waiting for her.

  “Mr. Calhoun has already been here for an hour,” she told Kenzi in a low voice. “He’s set up in the conference room. He had me order up the special pastry tray from Flour Power and actually asked for brewed coffee instead of using the pods. The fancy stuff he keeps locked up.” She dropped her voice. “What’s going on, Kenzi? How come his own secretary doesn’t take care of what he calls the details? And are you going to get any credit for all the work you did?”

  Kenzi drew in a calming breath. “Our client is coming in this morning. He’s probably got his secretary printing out the files he needs.”

  “I’ve never seen him this uptight.” Susan lowered her voice even more. “Is everything okay?”

  Kenzi nodded. “Yes, but for whatever reason, Calhoun wants this particular project to be letter perfect.” She squeezed Susan’s arm. “It’s all good. I promise.”

  “If you say so. Just tell me what you need from me.”

  “Right now, a cup of coffee would be fabulous.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Kenzi dropped into her chair and blew out a breath. Maybe this entire business had nothing to do with Dana’s situation. Maybe a lot of things. But whatever the reason, she couldn’t get the idea of the connection out of her mind. The bigger question, if it was true, was whether Reed Calhoun had known and was in some way involved. She’d just have to watch how she behaved and be on top of her game today.

  She had just opened both her desktop and laptop computers when Susan arrived with her coffee

  “He’s here.” She looked over her shoulder as if someone was standing behind her. “He was whisked right into Mr. Calhoun’s office.”

  “Then we just wait to see if I’m needed. In the meantime, let’s get back to work on the Park Place project.”

  At least a dozen times as she worked on documents, she was tempted to call Trey and see if anything had changed with Dana. Last night Slade and his team had outlined several possible scenarios and how they would handle each. Then, while Trey had taken Kenzi home and Teo had stood guard with Dana, the rest had gone to scope the place out under cover of darkness so they could fine-tune things.

  Now all they could do was wait.

  At last, shortly before noon, when her nerves were raw and she was about to jump out of her skin, Susan knocked on her door and opened it.

  “Mr. Calhoun just buzzed and asked for you to join them in the conference room.”

  For a moment, panic slid over her like a cold cloth. Then she drew in a breath and exhaled slowly.

  “Okay. Here we go. Wish me luck.”

  Susan squeezed her arm. “Of course.”

  Kenzi checked to make sure all her files were in order on her laptop, then picked it up along with a notepad and a pen. She was pretty sure Reed had shown Señor Reyes the final documents to review today, but there might be some last-minute changes. She knocked once on the conference room door and when she heard, “Come in,” opened the door and entered.

  The two men were sitting at one end of the table, cattycorner to each other, each with a mug of coffee. A stack of documents sat in front of Reed.

  “Good morning.” She smiled at both of them. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Reyes.”

  Kenzi took a moment to study him carefully. Alex Reyes was tall, well over six feet, and his lean body was clothed in a suit she was sure had cost more than her weekly salary. His close-cropped black hair was liberally sprinkled with grey, the kind that gave him a distinguished look, and onyx black eyes looked out from beneath thick black eyebrows. She could practically feel the power emanating from him.

  He rose with athletic grace and held out his hand. “Nice to see you again also, Miss Bryant. Reed says the bulk of the work on this is yours, so I wanted to thank you personally. You’ve done an excellent job.”

  “Thank you.” She spoke in what she hoped was her best professional tone of voice. “It’s been a great pleasure and an honor to work on this. I wish you very good luck with the endeavor.”

  He nodded. “Thank you. In today’s global marketplace, more and more people are discovering the value of international business. Setting up the corporate framework for it can be tricky, with all the different regulations in so many countries.”

  “I agree. But be assured, every regulation was checked and double checked.”

  “I’m sure it was. I wouldn’t expect anything less of this office.” He looked at Reed. “Señor Calhoun and I go back a long way.”

  “Yes.” Kenzi dipped her head. “He’s told me.”

  “I am sure you know, Miss Bryant, that I have been a client of this firm for many years, a relationship that continues to grow stronger.”

  “Which we are all excited about,” Kenzi assured him. Why was he looking at her as if he was trying to see under her skin? What does he expect to find?

  “One of the many reasons is the absolute confidence in the respect of confidentiality by every member of the firm.” Including you, his tone seemed to imply.

  “Of course. And every one of us takes this seriously.”

  “Good. I am glad to hear that.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. She had to make him believe she did not suspect a single thing.

  “Was there a problem with something?”

  “No, no, of course not. That’s why I wanted you to know how much I appreciated the hours you spent on this. You’ve created corporate structures like this before? Reed said that’s why he asked you to work on this with him.”

  “Of course. Not many, but the ones I’ve done have also been complicated.” Again, she dug up a smile. “I find it an area of the law that fascinates me.”

  “What did I tell you?” Reed chimed in. “You have no worries here. Have we failed you in all these years? Trust, Alex. Well-placed trust. That’s why you bring everything to us, and it will always be the same.”

  Kenzi looked from one to the other. “Excuse me, am I missing something here? Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”

  “Not at all.” Reed shook his head. “But this is a very big project, right? We discussed that at the very beginning.”

  “And you know it has had my undivided attention and total confidentiality. And that will continue.”

  “Yes, confidentiality,” Reyes repeated. “I’m glad you mention that again. I don’t mean to be insulting, but this is not something you discuss at home with your husband, right?”

  “I don’t have a husband,” she told him, “but if I did the answer would be no. The nature of my work never makes it to dinner table conversation. That would be a violation of trust.”

  Reyes looked at her for a long, silent moment and for a brief second, she wondered if he could see inside her head. Then his lips formed a wintry smile and a sudden chill raced down her spine.

  “Thank you. I don’t mean to imply that I think you would do this, but with something that has a scope this enormous, I’m sure you can understand my desire to cross every T and dot every I. Thank you for being so diligent with my project.”

  “Of course.” She looked at Reed Calhoun. “Was there anything else?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Excellent job, as usual. When this project goes forward and all the pieces are smoothly in place, we’ll need to talk about moving you up the ladder.”

  “Thank you.” Under other circumstances she would have been sizzling with excitement. Now she felt as if the ground beneath her was shifting. “If you don’t need me anymore, I should get back to my office.”

  “Of course. Good job.”

  Both men smiled at her, but as she walked out of the conference room she could feel two sets of
eyes boring into her back like hot pokers. Had Reed called her into the conference room just so Alex Reyes could congratulate and thank her, or did he have an ulterior motive? Had she given either of them any reason to suspect her or to sense that she knew about the real Reyes under the public façade? She could hardly wait for today to be over.

  Even though she was now deep in another project with a different client, and should have been completely absorbed in it, the afternoon hours dragged. Every time her phone buzzed or there was a knock on the door, she jumped. Telling herself she had to get her act together did nothing at all.

  When five o’clock rolled around, she’d had enough. She checked to make sure Reed Calhoun had left for the day, then called Trey to come and fetch her. When she nearly fell into the car, he grabbed her chin and turned her face to him.

  “Rough day?”

  “You might call it that.”

  She gave him a snapshot of the little scene with Reed Calhoun and Alex Reyes and the vibe she’d gotten.

  “He just kept poking at it.” She raked her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ears. “Asking me again and again. Even wanted to know if I discussed it at the dinner table.”

  “You think he suspects anything?” Trey asked.

  “I don’t know why he should,” she told him. “I’ve done the work and been careful not to ask the wrong questions or say the wrong things.”

  “Do either of them know Dana is your sister? And would they have been following her stories in the media?”

  Kenzi shrugged. “Maybe they saw the news clips of her rescue, but I’m not sure if they’ve paid attention to her story. If we’re wrong, if the DEA is wrong, and Reyes is not part of the cartel, it wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans to him. But if they’re right and he is,” she pointed out, “and they put me and Dana together, it means I’ll have eyes on me.”

  “I'm with Slade. I think you need to call in sick until this is over.”

  She shook her head. “I never get sick. “

  “Huh. Not in all the time you’ve been working there?”

  “Not once.” She laughed. “I’m disgustingly healthy.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything disgusting about it at all.” His voice had dropped an octave and one hand squeezed her thigh. “People get sick without warning all the time. Have you taken many sick days?”

  She shook her head. “No, but….”

  “Let’s check with Slade and see what he thinks. I’ll call him when we get home.”

  “How’s Dana doing?” Kenzi grinned. “Did Axel get her on a horse for real today?”

  Slade laughed. “Only after a great amount of teasing. He just took her down a short trail into the woods and back. Good thing, too, because Slade said she’s getting antsy about hiding out at the ranch and being surrounded by so many people.”

  “Yeah, she’s pretty much a loner. She ‘ll take any chance at all just to get a story because she’s so damn sure she’s got everything under control.”

  “She does realize she’s got vicious killers after her, right?” Trey asked.

  “I’d like to think she does, but she’s spent her professional life walking into dangerous situations by herself. She’s had to claw her way up to where she is now, fighting a lot of male reporters in what is still a male-dominated profession, so she never gives an inch.”

  “She’ll have to accept protection for her meeting or we may not let her go.”

  Kenzi burst out laughing. “Stop my sister? That’s something I’d pay to see. I’m just glad she focused on riding horses today instead of figuring out how to ditch everyone.”

  “She did that for sure. And I think she enjoyed it once they got going.”

  “And hopefully it took her mind off the situation.”

  Even as she said it, Kenzi thought the words should be capitalized—The Situation.

  Seconds later Trey pulled into the parking lot, then they were inside, where she could shut out everything else. The door was barely closed before Trey pulled her into his arms, pressing her against his lean, hard body. She felt every muscle, every inch of him, including the swollen length of his cock that threatened to push its way through his fly.

  “Wow.” The corners of her mouth ticked up in a grin. “Someone’s glad to see me.”

  “You have no idea.”

  He thrust his fingers through her hair to cup her head. He held it in place while he drove his tongue deep into her mouth. The flavor that was uniquely Trey flooded her senses, surging through a body relaxing at last after a bitch of a day. She stroked her tongue over his and pressed her body against him, wiggling her hips just a little to create friction.

  When Trey lifted his mouth from hers, they were both breathing heavily.

  “I needed that,” she told him.

  “Ditto.” He licked just a corner of her lips. “I’ve half a mind to strip you down and take you on the floor right here,” he growled.

  God, it was so good to be inside, with Trey teasing all her senses awake. It was just what she needed after the last few hours.

  “Well, hang on to the other half,” she teased. “You need to call Slade and I need a shower in the worst way, just to wash off the stink of my meeting.”

  “If you insist. But fair warning.” His gaze burned into hers. “I’m hornier than hell.”

  “Good. That’s just what I need.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex Reyes leaned back in his chair and took a sip of the aged bourbon in the crystal rocks glass. He was doing his best to project an outward appearance of calm, because the Alex Reyes the public saw was always calm, even in the most stressful circumstances. Today, however, it was particularly difficult. His well-paid spies had let him know the DEA had been gathering evidence at an alarming rate and could be poised to shut everything down—even the cattle and mineral operation—at any moment.

  He had pushed Reed Calhoun to get all the paperwork in order for the shift in operations, his brother had been informed and they were just days away from implementing it and protecting themselves. What had begun as a way to expand beyond the operations of the other Mexican cartels had now turned into a lifesaver for their entire operation, but only if they could get it moving in time.

  Now, when he needed it least, he was having to deal with additional unpleasantness, in the form of the man sitting across from him. This man, who he had nurtured and coached and directed and made a crucial and integral part of the organization, had suddenly become a devil who was turning on the very people who had made him what he was.

  They sat in a corner of the lounge at the Athletic Club, angled toward each other in deep armchairs upholstered in rich leather. The facility neither catered to athletics nor operated as a real club. It was, however, a very private place for the uber-wealthy whose businesses included drugs, guns, sex trafficking and other enterprises that crossed international borders, operated outside the law and raked in millions.

  No expense had been spared to guard against electronic eavesdropping or cell phone location, or any other snooping devices. Here key people could have a drink or a gourmet meal and discuss business away from the public without fear of discovery, which was why Alex had asked Bruno Cerda to meet here. Their presence would be ignored, never acknowledged by others, and all conversations would be private.

  Cerda was both an accionista—a shareholder—and a commercializador, someone who helped run the legitimate enterprises of the cartel. He had been with them since they were all young men, and had performed very well, earning him a permanent seat at the table. Unless, of course, he said something today to fuck it up.

  He swallowed a smile as it occurred to him that if he had to kill the man, what better place to do it? By tacit agreement, no one would pay attention.

  Cerda took a healthy swallow of the single malt liquor he was drinking and looked at Alex over the rim of his glass.

  “I assume this meeting is your attempt to tell me my request has been denied and why.�
��

  Alex stared at the man for a moment longer, trying to determine what had prompted the man to do this, and if there was something he’d missed all along.

  “Let’s take a look at where we are,” he began. “Just to set the stage.”

  “I think the stage is already set,” Cerda told him. “In less than a month, your international corporate structure will be in place and you will begin the operation. Correct?”

  Alex nodded. “That’s the plan.”

  “You are going to make millions, Alex.” He shook his head. “No, billions. Tapping into the three most profitable businesses Lopez Garcia runs—drugs, guns and sex—you will increase your income at least tenfold.”

  “We will,” Alex acknowledged. “And your share will increase exponentially. You will never be able to spend all the money you will be making.”

  “Aah, so you say.” The man took another drink from his glass. “But a pittance compared to what you and the other two will rake in. I deserve a bigger cut and you know it.”

  Alex studied him again. “So, your point is, you deserve a share equal to ours?”

  Cerda shrugged. “Not equal. I would not ask for that. You take all the risks, after all. But certainly I hope for a share larger than what I’m getting now.”

  Why is there always someone whose greed is so out of control that they’ll risk destroying everything for it?

  He swallowed a sigh. “We discussed this before. Until everything is in operation and we see what the actual risk and reward is, it isn’t wise to change the financial structure. Agreed?”

  Cerda sat for a moment, staring into his glass. Alex did not for one moment believe the man was thinking. It was his little trick, his little tell, that he truly believed helped him to get his point across. So, he sat quietly, waiting him out.

  “Perhaps I would settle for more upfront compensation,” Bruno said at last. “Others have tried this before and failed, chased away by those already in control who destroyed competition. Maybe it would be to my advantage to settle for less but get it up front.”

  Alex sipped his drink again and took his time answering. It was his way of keeping the other person off balance.