Booker
“Do I want to know how you found a call girl who looks exactly like Taylor Swift in the three hours it took to fly here?” I was admittedly impressed, not only by the complete lack of hesitation or questions asked when I called and asked Benny for help, but also by his scary level of efficiency and attention to detail.
A deep chuckle sounded next to me. As Benny shifted in his expensive loafers, we both stared up at the warehouse. The buzz of the drone Stark sent with me and instructed me to set up sounded overhead as the bizarre-looking machine zipped around the big building. Stark wanted to make sure the warehouse wasn’t wired to blow before we went in. He was also using the device to read thermal images. He wanted to make sure Troy didn’t have an army hidden behind the graffiti-covered walls.
“A man has to have his secrets. They keep me useful . . . and alive.” Benny glanced down at the clearly expensive watch strapped to his wrist and squinted up at the rapidly setting sun. “We do need to get a move on. I promised Echo I would be home for dinner.”
A surprised laugh escaped me. “Never thought I would see the day where you worried about something as basic as getting home in time for dinner.”
Benny flashed a grin and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his perfectly pressed slacks. I don’t know why he was dressed as if he was about to hit a runway instead of a rescue mission, but to each their own. The guy had always had a flair for the dramatic, even when he was a no-name enforcer like me. He always subscribed to the rule of ‘dress for the job you want, rather than the one you have’. I was more of the mind to dress in a way that would let me blend into the shadows and would hide whatever blood I was bound to get on me. Benny and I had different ways of doing things, but our end goal was the same. Get the girl and make the idiot who took her sorry he was ever born.
Benny shrugged. “My girl doesn’t ask for much. All she wants is me home for dinner. She does better with a set schedule. Helps her focus on the here and now instead of getting sucked into the past. So, if that’s what she needs from me, then I’ll do whatever it takes to give it to her.”
I nodded in understanding. “Crazy, isn’t it? They could ask for the world and we would try and give it to them. All they want are these little things that don’t seem like they should matter, but to them they’re everything.”
Benny grinned. “Yeah, that’s why I make it a point never to fuck up the easy things she asks for. It gives me leeway for when I really screw up. Which I do . . . a lot.”
There was a tapping coming from the car behind us. The woman in the back seat pointed to her wrist, even though she wasn’t wearing a watch, to remind us she was being paid hourly and the clock was running. Benny waved her off as I tapped my earpiece, opening the line of communication to Stark. “Our decoy is getting impatient. Can we move in yet? I don’t want the kid getting restless and doing something stupid.”
“Give me a couple more minutes. So far there’s nothing sending up a red flag from the scans. This kid knows his way around a computer, though, and that makes me nervous.” He cleared his throat and his tone was lower when he continued speaking. “Heads up, I tapped into the feed he’s using to stream the video of the girl. Once you get into the building, Noe will be able to see everything happening. Karsen has been asking her for regular updates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if your girl is also watching. They can see you now, through the drone, but there isn’t any sound. So maybe don’t die while she’s watching.”
I glared at the drone as it flew directly overhead. “I’ll keep that in mind, boy genius.”
He chuckled in my ear and the sound was oddly settling. “Why is Benny dressed like he was at Race’s wedding?”
I cast a look at the man standing next to me and returned the low laughter. “Dunno. Maybe no one told him blood stains are a bitch to get out.”
Benny lifted a black eyebrow and looked up at the flying object. He flipped it off and scowled. “Maybe I’m just good enough I don’t normally have to worry about washing blood out of my shit. Asshole.”
Another tap came from the car and Stark grunted in my ear. “Okay. Everyone is in place. You can go in. Remember, I’ve got control of the power grid juicing the entire neighborhood. If shit goes south, I can cut all the power which should give you a slight advantage, but it will also leave you totally alone—and blind—in the building.”
“I think the kid is more of a threat behind a keyboard than he is in real life. So far all he has done is pick on his ex-girlfriend and try and run me off the road. He’s been avoiding a face-to-face confrontation for a reason.” But that didn’t keep me from checking the Glock Benny handed me the second I got off the plane. “Let’s do this. Benny has to be home for dinner.”
Benny moved to the car, pulling open the back door and helping the woman who was earning a small fortune for this charade to her feet. When we’d picked her up from the hotel downtown, she’d been dressed in a slinky black dress and sky-high heels. Now she was in a pair of skinny jeans and a simple v-neck t-shirt. She was a little bit shorter than Karsen, and her eyes were bright blue instead of brown. Her mouth was also a little bit poutier, which I guessed came from medical enhancement. She was a dead ringer for the popular singer, where Karsen just bore a striking resemblance to her. From afar, fake Taylor would get us inside the doors and close enough to grab Ari and neutralize Troy.
“Stay between the two of us. Keep your sunglasses on. Try to look like you’re madly in love with the big guy over there.” Benny barked out the orders as he moved the woman to stand between the two of us.
She made a purring sound and I felt her hand stroke along my spine. “No problem with the last part. I like ’em big and brawny. What are you doing after this is over, handsome?” Her voice was all wrong, too. There was a distinctly southern drawl coloring all her words. I had to tell her not to speak at all. If she uttered a single word, the illusion would be broken in no time.
I lifted an eyebrow and turned so she could see my entire face. I had to give her credit; she didn’t completely recoil or gasp in horror. However, her hand immediately fell away and a tiny pout of distaste lifted her puffy lips.
“When this is done, I’m going back to my girl.” It was going to be my answer from here on out. No matter where I was, or what I had to do, when everything was said and done I was going back to Karsen.
A genuine smile pulled at fake Taylor’s mouth. She reached out and put a hand on my arm. This time, I could tell it was because she was being paid, not because she was flirting.
“I bet she’s a special girl if she’s able to handle you. Let’s do this thing. I still have time to meet with a client later tonight if we move fast.” Her nails dug into my arm to get me moving, and I took a step forward to comply.
“Remember to look worried. He has your best friend tied up inside and he’s been stalking you, watching you for years. You don’t want to be here but you have no choice. If he speaks directly to you, don’t say anything. He would more than likely know something is up. The girl he really wants is at her sister’s wedding. He’s making a point by demanding she show up here today. He wanted her to choose him above all else.” I spoke quietly and took steady steps forward. The drone was still flying overhead, and I could hear Stark muttering in my ear. He was watching the thermal images to make sure Troy wouldn’t move to higher ground. He didn’t want Benny and me getting picked off before we even got in the door.
“Two people. Both still in the main area of the warehouse. One is still. One is moving. As soon as you get inside, you need to head to the lowest level of the building. I’m sure he set up shop in that location to help block any signals he was sending out and the ones we were trying to trace.” Stark’s instructions were curt and to the point.
Benny and I exchanged a look over the top of fake Taylor’s head and moved forward. It took a few kicks and a shove with my shoulder to get the rusty, old door to budge. Fake Taylor stiffened as we stepped into the musty interior of the building. Her fingers dug into my arm where she held onto me, and she started to mutter about finding a new line of work as our feet tracked through years of dust and debris. I thought she was going to bolt when a rat ran across her foot, but after a shriek and a torrent of swear words she calmed down and kept moving.
Benny chuckled from his position behind her and whispered he would throw in another five hundred bucks for the rat. That seemed to appease her some, but when I looked back at her, she was having no trouble looking terrified, even with the dark sunglasses on her face.
“Hang a right up ahead, then go down the stairs. That should put you in front of another door. Once you get through the door, they’re in the main room.” Stark swore. “I think he knows you’re there. He’s moving around the room a lot more now, so be careful breaching the interior.”
I nodded, not wanting to make any more noise than necessary.
We followed the directions and ended up at another big, metal door. This one wasn’t going down with a well-placed kick. I knocked on the solid surface and heard the sound echo through the cavernous building.
“This door is new.” I tapped it again. “Any idea how I can get through it?”
Stark was quiet on the other end of the comm. I felt the hooker and Benny shift anxiously behind me.
“Give me a sec. Let me see what I can do. I know there’s another way in, but you’ll have to circle back and go in a different way, which would be overkill.” We had plans for the other way in already and circling the building would take too much time. I was getting ready to ask Stark for plan C or even D, when an electronic crackle filled the air, followed by a hysterical giggle.
“What’s the password?” The disembodied voice drifted from hidden speakers and sent a shiver down my spine. “Hello, Karsen. I missed you so bad, baby.”
So, he could see us. I looked over my shoulder at Benny, who no longer appeared to be treating this as a joke. The young woman between us was doing a remarkable job holding her composure together. She was also taking Benny’s instructions to pretend like she couldn’t get enough of me to heart. Her entire front was plastered along the length of my back, and I hoped if Karsen could see any of this, she wasn’t getting the wrong idea. Not that I really thought she would, but I hated the idea of her seeing any other woman with their hands on me. She was the only one allowed to touch me.
“Tell me you missed me, too. Tell me how much you love me and I’ll open the door.” Insanity was obvious in every word and laced through every sentence. This guy was off his rocker. “Give me the girl. She’s the only one allowed to walk through that door.”
That wasn’t happening, but he didn’t need to know that. I turned and pulled fake Taylor into my arms. I bent my head low like I was comforting her. I lifted my eyes to Benny and jerked my head to the side. Without words, he understood I was telling him it was time to split up so he could work on finding another way into the room.
“He isn’t going to open that door until you talk to him. The real Karsen doesn’t have an accent. She also speaks like she’s a hundred years older than she actually is because of the way she grew up. Anyway you can pull that off? The drawl will leave us dead in the water if he hears it.” The words were barely more than a breath of sound against her ear.
She gave me a crooked smile, one that was startlingly similar to Karsen’s, and whispered back, “Honey, the drawl goes with the whole Taylor Swift thing. Drives the guys nuts and I can charge an arm and a leg. I’m from San Diego, originally. I can do this.”
Without any prompting from me, she leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. The one with the scar. She was good, really good. That was a move only the real Karsen had ever been brave enough to pull off. It would also go a long way to solidify she was who she claimed to be in Troy’s eyes.
Pulling back, she took a step next to me and cocked her head at the door. Immediately, we were both blinded by a flood light flickering on. She threw up a hand to cover her face and let out a squeal of surprise.
“You need to open the door. I came all this way, missed my sister’s wedding to be here. Stop playing around and let me in.” She put her hands on her hips and watched the door. I kind of wished she didn’t need the sunglasses to perpetuate the ruse. I was curious if her go-to-hell face was as fierce as my Karsen’s. It was a smart way to play it. The real Karsen would have been irritated.
Another laugh full of hysteria and insanity echoed through the building. “I can’t believe you picked me. I knew you would. I knew it every time I watched you that you loved me the way I loved you. I knew you could see me.”
“I haven’t figured out the door yet. Want me to cut the power?” Stark’s voice jolted me from the silent showdown with the immovable object in front of me.
I shook my head in the negative. I wanted to save the ace up my sleeve for when it would do the most good.
“I’m not letting her come in the room alone, Troy. You have to know that.” I swiveled my head, trying to locate the camera. “You can’t have her. She’s mine.”
A deranged howl ripped through the speakers, and I heard a thump like he kicked something over.
“No, she loves me. Don’t you, Karsen? You liked having me watch you, protect you. I was always there for you, not like him. He’s too old for you, too ugly. We are perfect together. I watched for hours and hours. I have so much footage of you doing simple, everyday things, but when you do them, they are so special.” The words rose in volume and it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was spiraling out of control. My skin crawled as he admitted to having cameras planted in Karsen’s personal space. He’d been watching her every minute of the day. When real Karsen heard about the absolute invasion of her privacy, she was going to lose her mind. This kid was lucky it was me he was dealing with instead of her. I was starting to realize she had a wicked thirst for vengeance.
“I just want my friend back. Open the door so we can talk. I’ll keep the big guy out here while we talk, okay? But you have to let me in.” The girl was convincing. I almost believed she was full of wholesome sincerity. I owed Benny a new expensive ass watch for tracking her down and getting her on board.
“Oh, we’re going to do so much more than talk. I’ve been waiting so long for you, baby.” The woman next to me flinched but held her ground.
Slowly, the metal door started to creak and slide open. The sound was grating and put my teeth on edge. I exchanged a look with the woman next to me, when the hollow voice filling the space around us ordered her to step forward.
She faltered but moved in the direction she’d been commanded. I put a hand on her shoulder to hold her still.
“Stark. Now.” The woman’s head whipped around as I seemingly spoke to no one, and the voice overhead shrieked in fury when he heard me say the other computer guru’s name.
“No!” The door started to slide shut, but before it could move an inch, the entire building went dark.
The fake Taylor screamed and latched onto my arm. I could hear more screaming from inside the room, and the sound of Troy’s actual voice filtered out through the open doorway as he swore and screamed. A gunshot went off.
I tucked the woman safely behind me and ordered, “Don’t move. Benny will be back for you shortly. He’ll get you out of here. You did great. Tell him to double what he’s paying you.”
She nodded numbly and slunk back against the far wall as another gun shot rang out.
Once she was tucked safely away, I pulled the night-vision goggles Benny had supplied over my eyes and started into the pitch-black room. The kid was firing randomly, shooting in every direction. I flinched when a bullet whizzed particularly close to the chair Ari was tied to. I heard a furious snarl travel through the dark and realized things were about to move really fast. I needed to get the gun out of Troy’s hand and equally as important, get Benny home in time for dinner.
The kid didn't see me coming. He couldn’t. Without the night vision, I couldn’t see my hand two inches in front of my face.
I went in low, trying to stay out of the line of fire. A bullet hit one of the lights hanging overhead and a shower of glass rained down, peppering the floor with sharp shards. I caught him around the waist, taking him to the ground, swearing as the glass ripped my clothes and sliced into my legs.
I grabbed Troy’s wrists and bashed them on the ground until he released the weapon. He screamed and thrashed around underneath me. It was like trying to keep an eel contained.
I got a knee in the balls and took an elbow to the chin, but as soon as I managed to get my forearm across the guy’s windpipe, he stopped moving . . . and breathing . . . but I wasn’t going to feel bad about that.
“Stark! Lights!”
There was a distinctive hum of fluorescent lights firing back up and the room was once again illuminated. I ripped off the goggles and looked over to where the pretty roommate had been tied to the chair.
She was no longer held captive. Instead, she was in the arms of a burly, dark-haired man wearing SWAT gear and looking at the man struggling to get air into his lungs like he was ready to drop him from the top of the building. I didn’t normally involve the cops in anything I did, but in this instance, it was necessary. Ari’s older brother deserved to be here, and Dominic Voss was how I was going to make sure this kid stayed the hell away from Karsen forever.
I put more pressure on the choke hold, leaning forward until my nose was practically touching the stalker’s.
“The entirety of Denver’s SWAT team is outside this building, waiting to take you in. What kind of idiot kidnaps a cop’s kid sister? Not to mention you knocked her around, so he already wants your balls in a jar on his shelf.”
The kid choked and gagged under my arm. His eyes were watering and snot was rolling steadily out of his nose. He looked crazed and feral.
“When I left the Point, I was ready to cut you into tiny pieces and send them to the farthest corners of the states, Braveheart-style. I imagined you begging, pleading, crying for me to let you go. I imagined you watching my girl, creeping on her, invading her privacy, touching her things, and I realized death wasn’t enough. Sometimes death can be a blessing. You don’t have to worry about anything or anyone coming after you when you’re in a grave. You don’t have to worry about watching your back and staying safe when you’re six-feet under. No, making you bleed was too easy. So, I contacted the cop. He wasn’t thrilled he had to work with me, but when I promised to hand you over on my way out of town, he couldn’t tell me no.”
I could hear people moving around behind me in the room. I could hear Ari babbling and sobbing alternately. The sound of squawking police radios threatened to pull my concentration from my prey, but I wasn’t done yet.
“Dying is a breeze and you’ll wish for death once you find out what life behind bars is like. That cop is going to make sure you get put away and the guy whose system you hacked into is going to make sure you end up in the worst of the worst cellblock. You’re gonna end up in a Supermax with guys who will eat you for breakfast and no one will even know you’re there.” I pushed off his neck, pointing at my face as I climbed to my feet. “If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with a souvenir like this. Every single day you’ll be reminded of what you did, what they did to you, and why you’re there. You’ll think of me, and you’ll remember I’m the reason you’re there.” I smirked at him. “You’ll have nothing but time on your hands to think of all the ways I’m keeping Karsen happy. Welcome to hell, kid.”
He howled in outrage and made a move as if he was going to lunge at me, but the dark-haired cop was there in a flash. He had a knee on the guy’s neck and put his face to the ground with enough force I was sure the stalker was going to be missing teeth when he was pulled to his feet. His hands were zip-tied together and he was handed off to a waiting officer. I grinned as he was jerked around like a rag doll. None of these guys were happy one of their own was involved in this mess.
The cop considered me thoughtfully for a second. “Is it too much to ask that you come in and make a formal statement?”
I shook my head. “Got my girl waiting for me. I need to disappear.” I wasn’t about to let them run my prints or dig into who I really was. And I really did want to get back to Karsen.
He stared at me for a minute, obviously debating if he was going to let me walk away with no questions asked. Eventually, his sister called for him and he heaved a deep sigh. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
I laughed and rubbed my fingers over my scar. “You don’t want to owe a man like me, Voss. Let Karsen stay in Ari’s life. Don’t try and dissuade the friendship, regardless of what you hear or think you know about our lives. Let Ari keep the illusion Karsen is nothing more than a normal girl, and we’ll consider it even.” He was dying to ask questions, and I knew he wasn’t going to like the answers.
He nodded and turned toward his sister. “Keep her safe.”
The warning was clear, but totally unnecessary. Keeping Karsen safe was my sole reason for existing. I’d finally found my purpose in life. It wasn’t to be a man admired and feared, it was to be the man loved and respected by her, and her alone. It was also my job to love and respect her, unlike any other.
After all, when you loved something, you set it free . . .