Dark And Dangerous (12 page)

Chapter 12

 
The sun was shining from a clear blue sky as
Kayley stood in Nathan's office pretending to paint, while he tried to call
Smith Imports. She held her breath, wishing it wasn't Monday. She felt her
stomach clutch convulsively when Nathan's call was answered.

 
"This is Nathan Sanders. I need to speak
with the manager."

There were a few humming
seconds of silence, before it was answered again.

 
"It's Nathan Sanders. I'm inquiring
about one of your employees, Joseph Hamilton." There was a short silence
as the person on the other end of the line spoke.

 
"There's been a personal crisis that I
need to inform him of," Nathan lied smoothly. "He doesn't work for
you anymore," he repeated and met Kayley's eyes. She had given up the
pretense of painting and was looking and listening intently.

 
"Do you have a phone number or address
where I can reach him? You don't have any contact information?"

Kayley wrung her hands
nervously while she listened.

 
"What kind of business do you run, or
maybe that's something I should be asking the police about?" he
threatened, knowing exactly what buttons to push to get the results he wanted.

He wasn't disappointed.

 
"Why don't I just check our records
again," the other man said hurriedly.

 
"Good idea."

It didn't take long before
he was writing down the information he wanted and hung up.

 
"Okay." He looked up at Kayley.
"He gave me an address in San Diego, but insisted there was no phone
number"

 
"Oh." Nervously she moistened her
lips. "Well, I guess that's it then."

 
"No. I'm going to call Troy and have him
get the chopper ready."

 
"But he probably doesn't live there
anymore, and don't you need to work?" she asked gripping desperately for
straws.

 
"It's the next step, Kayley." He
reached for her hand and found it cold with tension. "Hey, don't
worry." To her surprise he pulled her onto his lap, tucking her close,
even as she stiffened.

 
"If we find him we can find out what is
happening, and if we don't, then we'll take it from there," he said
reasonably.

 
"With my logical mind I know you're
right, but my feelings disagree. I can't explain why, but I have the feeling
something is very wrong."

 
"With your brother or with Smith
Imports?" Nathan asked playing with her hair.

 
"With everything. I'm sure there's
something very wrong where Joe's concerned, but I don't know what it is."
Absently she fiddled with one of the buttons on his shirt.

 
"At least if we find him we'll
know." He didn't add that he had serious warning bells about all of it,
and had had them from the moment he had discovered the intruders at her
cottage.

 
Shrugging them off, he picked up the phone
and called Troy to arrange their flight.

Feeling immensely tired,
Kayley gave in to herself and leaned her head against Nathan's shoulder,
closing her eyes. Emptying her mind, she listened to him speak while his warmth
slowly seeped through her chilled bones.

 
"Troy will have the chopper ready in
fifteen minutes," Nathan said, ending the call.

 
"Okay." She couldn't make herself
move away from him, so she stayed where she was for just a moment longer.

 
"Sorry to interrupt."

At the sound of Damian's
voice Kayley's eyes flew open, and embarrassed she tried to slide off of
Nathan's lap. But he simply tightened his grip, keeping her where she was. He
knew she didn't realize it, but this had been the first time she had truly
leaned on him and relaxed, unless she was sleeping, and he had no intention of
letting her go.

 
"What do you want?" he asked,
unaffected by his
brothers
grin.

 
"I just wanted to tell you that I've set
up a meeting with the architect for one O
´
clock tomorrow."

 
"Good. Kayley and I are leaving for San
Diego in about ten minutes."

 
"Going on a day trip?" Damian kept
his voice light, but his eyes were serious. His gut was telling him something
was wrong.

 
"Something like that," Nathan said.

 
"Need help with anything? I could
rearrange my schedule and go with you."

Hearing the concern,
Nathan smiled reassuringly at him. "That shouldn't be necessary. But
thanks for the offer. It shouldn't take us that long. I think we'll be back in
the evening."

 
"Okay. But if you need anything just
give me a call." Damian closed the door behind himself as he walked out.

 
"He's worried about you," Kayley
said, looking up at Nathan.

 
"Yeah, Damian has always been able to
pick up on the smallest things. Even when he's in another country he'll know if
there's something wrong with one of us. He always has. A couple of years ago
when he was out camping in the middle of
no where
,
without a cellphone or anything else other than his tent, he sensed there was
something wrong with Yasmin and came hurrying back. He had to hike all day and
all night to get back to his car, and then drive all day before he finally
reached her."

 
"What was wrong?"

 
"She had been mugged and knocked
unconscious on her way back from a party, and we were all frantic because she
hadn't come home and we couldn't reach her."

 
"And Damian felt that?"

 
"He didn't know what was wrong, he just
knew something was."

 
"And he knew it was Yasmin there was
something wrong with?"

 
"Yes."

 
"I wonder how he does that," Kayley
said, mostly to herself.

 
"You could ask him. He doesn't mind
talking about it." Nathan looked at his watch and felt disappointed that
it was time to leave. He would have liked to sit with her snuggled on his lap
for a while longer.

 
"It's time."

Chapter 13

 
It was
around noon when they arrived in San Diego, and drove towards the address they
had been given in a car Nathan had rented. As the GPS led the way, Kayley
watched the city through the windows.

 
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Nathan
asked.

 
"Yes, it is. It's much better than I had
expected."

 
"Yeah." Keeping his eyes on the
road, he said casually, "We could fly here next weekend and take in the
sights. I know a great hotel we can stay at."

 
"I ah
.."
She watched him closely to try and decipher if he really meant it. "I
would love to see San Diego up close," she said carefully.

 
"Good." He made sure to keep his
eyes on the road. "I'll make the hotel reservation."

 
"Okay." She wasn't sure if this was
as important a step as she thought it was, and found herself wishing for the
first time in her life that she had a friend she could discuss it with.

 
"Okay," Nathan interrupted her
thoughts as he parked in front of a white building,

"
according
to the GPS this should be it."

 
Stepping out of the car, they looked around.
It definitely wasn't a place where she wanted to walk alone at night, Kayley
decided.

Nathan took her arm in a
protective gesture that surprised her as he took in the surroundings.

 
Loud music echoed out onto the street through
open windows and groups of men loitered at the doorsteps in front of buildings,
sporting baggy clothes and different bandannas. At the moment everyone's eyes
were fixed on them.

 
"I feel like I'm in a gang movie,"
Kayley whispered under her breath.

 
"Just let me lead the word," Nathan
said in an undertone, and led her towards the building her brother lived in.
The group of about eight men that had been sitting at the steps in front of it,
got up and watched them with expressions that reminded her of a pack of hyenas
that had just spotted a wounded animal.

A man that appeared to be
of Hispanic descent stepped towards them.

 
"What are you doing here?" he asked
in a surprisingly soft voice as the gold chains he wore around his neck,
glinted in the sunlight.

 
"We're here to see Joseph
Hamilton," Nathan answered calmly.

 
"Joseph Hamilton," the other man
repeated. "Do you know a Joseph Hamilton?" he asked the men behind
him. The men shook their heads, but otherwise remained silent.

 
"No, we haven't heard of a Joseph
Hamilton," he answered.

 
"But-" Kayley began and was cut off
by Nathan.

 
"We were given this address."

 
"By who?" he wanted to know.

 
"The company he used to work for. Smith
Imports."

A cold light came into his
eyes, and for the first time his Spanish accent colored his voice heavily.
"Smith Imports give you this address?"

 
"Yes. You know them?" They watched
as the men seemed to stiffen.

 
"Why you speak with them?" he
asked, ignoring Nathan's question.

 
"We need to find Joe."

 
"Why?"

 
"Because his sister has had some
trouble."

His gaze shifted to
Kayley. "You his sister?"

 
"Yes," Nathan answered before
Kayley had the chance.

The man turned and started
to walk up the stairs. "Follow me."

The other men stepped
aside to let them pass, before following behind.

 
"I am Carlos," the man said as he
started up the first flight of stairs.

Kayley sucked in a breath
to speak, but stopped herself when Nathan squeezed her arm, and shook his head
too lightly for anyone else to see. They followed Carlos up several flights of
stairs before he stopped in front of a door and pulled out a key. Unlocking it,
he stepped into the room and left the door open for them to follow. Nathan kept
Kayley close, and scanned the apartment. They walked into a small living room,
but there was no sense of being cramped, as apart from one small couch and an
old battered sofa table, there was nothing else in the room. No art, just paint
peeling off the walls and no carpets to cover the old uneven floorboards.
Carlos turned to them and gestured to the other men to close the door, before
he spoke.

 
But before he even had the chance, the door
into what Kayley assumed was a bathroom, burst open. A gun appeared and a man
stepped through the doorway and into the room, followed closely by two more
armed men.

 
"Hands up," the first man said with
a heavy Slavic accent as he and his companions waved their guns at them.
"Slowly."

 
Nathan strategically sidestepped in front of
Kayley in an attempt to shield her, and watched the other men stiffen, clearly
ready to fight. Carlos shook his head in warning, and lifted up his hands,
turning slowly to face the Slavic. Seeing it, the men reluctantly lifted their
hands while guns followed their every move.

 
"Who are you?" Carlos asked.

 
"I'll ask the questions," the
Slavic said and gestured to them. "Now, turn around and put your hands
against the wall."

 
"Just move slowly," Nathan murmured
under his breath to Kayley. She did, mirroring Nathan as they slowly moved over
to the wall and placed their hands against it.

 
"Search them," the Slavic
commanded.

His men followed orders,
searching each man for weapons. They didn't find any guns, but was rewarded
with quite a few knifes. Kayley kept her eyes glued to a spot on the wall,
while the men muttered Spanish curses as they were searched.

 
Turning his head slightly Nathan looked down
at her. "Just keep still while they search you," he whispered.

She nodded and swallowed
nervously as the men came closer.

 
"Don't worry. I'll get us out of
this."

She didn't have time to
answer, didn't have time to tell him not to do anything rash, before it was
their turn to be searched.

 
"She's clean," Nathan said, knowing
it was futile.

 
"Shut up," the man shoved him hard
in the back, and searched him with more force than was necessary

 
Kayley stiffened but remained still as she
was searched quickly and impersonally. She breathed a sigh of relief, when he
stepped back.

 
"Turn around," the Slavic commanded
them. When they turned and lowered their arms, he walked closer and stopped in
front of Nathan and Kayley, while his companions stood slightly behind him,
their guns aimed at the men.

 
"Why are you looking for Joe
Hamilton?" he asked, fixing his cold eyes on Kayley.

Wanting their attention
away from her, Nathan answered quickly. "It's natural to want to speak
with your brother. Especially when burglars break into your home claiming to
look for something that belongs to them."

 
"So you know about it?" His hard
eyes shifted to Nathan.

 
"Yes. I caught one of them."

 
"That was you?" The Slavic stepped
closer as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

 
"Yeah. I only caught the one, because
his cowardly partner ran like a rabbit," Nathan said, provoking him. He
had guessed from the Slavic's reaction that he was the other burglar, and
decided to use it as an out.

 
He was expecting the blow, but still the
impact made his head reel and stars explode in front of his eyes, as the wall
prevented him from evading. Using the pain and adrenaline, he surged forward
and caught the Slavic off guard, ramming a fist into his face.

 
Nathan had counted on Carlos's men to follow
his lead and wasn't disappointed. They had just been waiting for an
opportunity, and jumped forward attacking the other two men before they had
time to react.

 
Kayley froze with a scream lodged in her
throat. She watched as the Slavic punched Nathan and he, rather than crumble as
she had expected, struck out. The Slavic's head whipped back at the impact.
Blood welled as his lips cracked and his eyes wheeled.

Using the momentum, Nathan
grabbed the gun from him and in the same motion tripped him to the floor, face
down, and secured his hands behind his back.

 
Then everything happened so quickly, it
mostly seemed like a blur of movement. Carlos and his men knocked one of the
guns out of their assailants hands, making it fly through the air and land a
few feet away in their struggle.

 
Reacting quickly, Kayley snatched it up
before it could get into the wrong hands.

Whirling back, she saw
that they had managed to secure the two men in the same way Nathan had, face
down on the floor.

 
Carlos crouched down beside one of the men.
"I will ask you some questions now and you will answer me honestly, or
Juan will use his knife on you."

The man flinched, but kept
silent.

 
"Kayley." Nathan turned his head
quickly to her, without losing his grip on the Slavic.

She was staring at Carlos
with horror in her eyes. "Kayley," he repeated. She flinched and
managed to tear her eyes away from the knife to look at him.

 
"I want you to go out into the hallway
and wait for me."

 
"But
—
"

 
"Now, Kayley," he snapped
desperately, wanting her to get out before it got really ugly.

Hurt by the tone of his
voice, she hurried out of the room, only pausing long enough to lay the gun on
the coffee table.

 
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief when the
door closed behind her. He had seen the hurt clearly in her eyes, but it had
been the quickest way to get her out.

He heard a groan behind
him and turned to see blood welling from a shallow cut on
the
mans
cheek.

 
"That is just the beginning of what Juan
will do to you if you don't answer. Now, tell me how did you get in?"
Carlos said softly.

The man rolled his eyes
nervously towards the Slavic, who gave a slight shake of his head. As he kept
his silence, Carlos gestured to Juan. "Okay."

 
"Wait," they looked up surprised as
Nathan spoke, "he's not going to tell you anything."

 
"Why not?" Carlos looked at him and
pursed his lips.

 
"Because he's afraid the punishment for
talking will be bigger than anything you can do to him."

Carlos straightened and
rubbed his chin as he considered. "I think with enough persuasion he'll
talk."

 
"You're right," Nathan said calmly,
"however I think you will get more out of this one." He nodded
towards the Slavic "He appears to be the highest in command."

 
"Ah, you want me to go straight to the
head, rather than the toes." Carlos smiled, a hard row of teeth.
"Clever." At his gesture two of his men grabbed the Slavic from
Nathan and rolled him over on his back. Crouching beside him, Carlos smiled
coldly.

 
"How did you get in?"

The Slavic watched him
silently out of emotionless eyes.

 
At the silence Juan grinned and spun the
knife around in his hand. Seeing it, Nathan thanked God Kayley had left the
room.

 
"I think you should cut off one of his
fingers, Juan," Carlos said. "Maybe start with his pinky."

 
"Si, Carlos." Juan grinned widely
and bent down grabbing the Slavic's hand and pressed it to the ground. He
lowered the knife, pressing slowly into flesh. The Slavic's eyelids flinched as
the knife sliced through skin and blood welled.

 
"Stop. Stop."

At Carlos's gesture, Juan
eased the pressure on the knife, but didn't remove it.

 
"How did you get in?"

 
"Through the back entrance." The
Slavic panted as sweat ran down his forehead.