Heart of Light (41 page)

Jolene fought back the scream that wanted to come out of her mouth when she felt him between her legs. She slowly tried to return to her dark place where she could forget it all and pretend that none of it mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~

C
AM
SAT
IN
THE
conference room of Alexander’s office building, peering down at the bustling city streets below. It was eating him up inside that he had to wait. He had no control over anything. All decisions were being made by Alexander and, while he trusted him, it didn’t make it any easier to sit idly by while someone else held Jolene’s fate in his hands.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard the door open. He raced up to Alexander as he entered the room with the same people that had been present earlier.

“Did it work?” he asked excitedly. “What’s the next step? Shouldn’t we get to the hotel?”

“Relax, Cam,” Alexander said calmly. “This entire plan rests on no one knowing what’s going on. It’s the only way we’ll be able to get Jolene and, possibly, everyone else out safely.”

“Let’s go now!” Cam shouted, his agitation showing. “Why are we sitting here waiting when she could be…?”

“I told you. Don’t even think about it,” Alexander soothed. “I have a reservation starting Friday night at the hotel.”

“
Friday
?!” Cam exclaimed. “That’s five days from now!”

“I understand your frustration, Cam. I absolutely do. Like I said, I need to gather as much intel on that hotel as possible. I have people in place who are doing just that as we speak. Friday, I’ll check in. I had a nice little heart-to-heart with that scumbag, David, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to convince Falconi that he should extend me an invite to his poker room. I plan on bidding on Jolene.”

“I’m coming with you,” Cam declared.

“No,” Alexander responded firmly. “You will stay off-site. I can’t risk you being there. You’re too attached and invested. I
will
get her out, I swear to you, but you need to trust me to do what I do best. Jolene’s life depends on this going down without a hitch. You saved my Olivia’s life. Now let me repay the favor. Please.”

“Exactly, Alex. How would you have felt if you couldn’t be there for your girl when her life was in danger? I’m begging you. Just let me be there. I can help. Please.”

Alexander sighed, shaking his head. What he was about to agree to went against everything he had ever been trained but, over the years, Cam had proven himself to be trustworthy.

“If I agree to let you come, you will need to follow my instructions to the letter. One step out of line could mean life or death. If you fail to follow orders, I don’t care that you’re my friend, I will break your legs so you can’t step out of line again. Got it?”

Cam simply stood there, his mouth agape for several long moments while he processed Alexander’s words.

“Yeah. Got it,” he agreed, swallowing hard.

“Good.” The two friends shared a look before Alexander broke his gaze. “Martin,” he barked, everyone in the room jumping. “Get the soon-to-be ex-senator and bring him in here.”

“Sir,” he nodded before retreating into the hallway and bringing David out, zip-ties around his wrists.

Cam’s eyes settled on him, his demeanor exuding the same exact arrogance as the day he first saw him sitting on the couch of his beach house as if he owned it. He had never been a violent man and only once before in his life did he want to make someone suffer, but he could no longer control his anger.

“You fucking monster!” he yelled, rushing toward the man who had nearly killed Jolene, attempting to wrap his hands around his neck.

“Enough!” Alexander pulled him off of David and threw him across the room before stalking over to him and pressing his foot on his throat. “You’re a good friend, Cam. I don’t want to hurt you, but if it’s the only way I can ensure that this operation goes off smoothly, I will. If you can’t sit here calmly without trying to kill him, you can leave. Now, do you want to stay here and help Jolene, or do you want to be left out with no knowledge of what’s going on?”

“I’ll stay,” he croaked out. “I’ll be good. Promise.”

“Okay. Good. Remember… One toe out of line and I will make sure you can’t walk without crutches. Got it?”

Cam nodded.

Alexander smiled, taking the pressure off his throat and walking back to the table, having a seat. Cam followed closely behind, glaring at the senator with venom in his eyes, controlling his rage so that he would know what was going on. He had to keep reminding himself that the only reason he wasn’t strangling David at that moment was to save Jolene.

Alexander turned his attention to the large screen of the table in front of them. “Now, these are the blueprints of the hotel on file with the city planning board,” he said, looking at David. “Where’s the poker room?”

He remained silent, not wanting to offer any more help than he was already giving them.

“Do I need to remind you that you’re surrounded by a room full of trained killers that would take great pleasure in snapping the neck of someone who thinks that they can use and abuse women?”

David turned his eyes away. “Top floor.”

“Good.” Alexander swiped through the prints on the screen and found the penthouse floor, examining the layout. “What’s the access like?”

“It’s keycard only,” David replied. “The top five floors are. If you’re staying in one of the suites, you have a keycard that will grant you access to four of the top five. To get the keycard to the top, Mr. Falconi has to give you that himself. You have to be invited into his poker room.”

Alexander nodded and Cam could see the wheels turning in his head. “What type of security is in place on the top floor?” he asked.

He shrugged. “The usual. He’s got a few guards that patrol the hallway to make sure that no one gets out.”

Alexander returned his attention to the screen, scanning the drawings. “So, there looks to be about ten large suites. How many guards patrol the hallway?”

“It varies. Every time I was there, the most I had seen was two.”

“Good. That’s doable.”

“That’s just the hallway patrol, though,” David said. “The poker room and Mr. Falconi’s suite will have two additional guards each.”

“Interior or exterior?”

“Poker room will have two interior. Mr. Falconi’s suite will have two exterior. He prefers the privacy.”

“Maybe we should just tell the police what’s going on,” Cam said, suddenly nervous about everything.

“Cam, you said it yourself. If this guy finds out that someone’s called the cops, who he appears to pay off for their discretion, these girls’ lives are at risk. We need to get them out safe and unharmed. I know what I’m doing. The cops, even if they do want to form a SWAT team, will have to deal with all the bureaucratic bullshit that I don’t have to.”

David looked at him. “What are you going to do?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. All
you
need to do is play your part, don’t get out of line, and make sure you can get me an invite to the poker room.”

He shook his head. “Falconi only likes people with a lot of money.”

Cam laughed. “Yeah. I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Alexander grinned in response. “I’ve got that covered.”

David looked between the two friends.

“Believe me. Just tell Falconi that your old friend, Alexander Burnham, is in town for a few meetings and needs some entertainment while he’s away from home.”

“Shit!” David exclaimed. “I knew you looked familiar. But you run a security company. Don’t you think he’ll get suspicious?”

“See, that’s the thing about security companies. We work both sides. Just get me in the poker room and I’ll take it from there.”

“He may realize something’s going on if I don’t bid on any of the girls. I always…” He trailed off.

“You always what?”

“I always bid on Jolene.”

“Make your regular bids. I’ll outbid you.”

“He may not accept it. He can be particular about who he gives her to.”

“Well then, please enlighten me. What does it take to make sure this sick fuck accepts my bid?”

David scanned the room, his voice shaking. “When you get there, he’ll ask you what your type is. Jolene will have blonde hair and blue eyes. And she’s tall. Say that’s what you’re interested in and he may send her over. But, then, don’t appear too eager. Stay calm. There will probably be about twenty men there, but there’s only about eight girls. Stay aloof. Eye the girl up and down. Then make him an offer that’s too good for him to pass up. That’s what always worked for me.”

Cam’s face flamed in anger as he listened to David. He stood up, his fists clenched as he hovered over him. Before he knew what was happening, he swung back, ready to punch him.

“Whoa!” Alexander seized his arm before he could deliver the blow. “We need him. If he walks in with so much as a mark on his face, Falconi will grow suspicious. Calm down.” He turned to his associate. “Martin, get the senator out of here while we discuss tactics. Keep him comfortable until Friday. Well, not too comfortable.”

“Sir,” he nodded, grabbing David forcefully by the elbow and pushing him out of the conference room.

Alexander turned back to Cam. “I’m letting you stay, but nothing said in this room is to be repeated. You do as I say. You don’t step a foot out of line or this whole thing could blow up in your face and you could lose her. Forever. Got it?”

Cam nodded his head, taking in Alexander’s words. “Got it,” he mumbled, hoping he could adhere to his orders.

~~~~~~~~~~

“G
REG
? A
RE
YOU
IN
here?” a female voice called out, waking him from his thoughts about whether his daughter really was in Chicago. He almost didn’t want to believe it. For the past year, she was in the same city as he was, in a hotel where he had attended numerous functions, and he never found her. The guilt of her being within his grasp was eating him up.

“In here,” he said from the kitchen, thankful that he didn’t keep any alcohol in his house. If there was a day that he was going to fall off the wagon, today was that day.

“How ya holding up?” Laney asked, her voice sweet and soothing.

He spun around to face her. “I’m so glad you’re here, Laney. I can’t go through this alone.” He wrapped his arms around her, needing to feel some sort of comfort in a world that was spiraling out of control.

“You’re not alone. You’ve got me, and Mark. Just try to clear your mind of it all.”

Greg laughed under his breath, pulling out of Laney’s embrace. “Easier said than done.”

“Well, I have some good news for you. I got a call from the Houston Medical Examiner’s office and they’ve finally decided to open the investigation into Holly’s death. They’ve agreed to allow me access to their findings.”

“Really? What made them change their minds?”

She shrugged. “Not sure, really. I think they were sick of me calling up and complaining about the similarities between her death and the body we found recently up here. Sometimes, my darling, Greg, it pays to be a pain in the ass.”

He smiled for the first time in the past few days and planted a soft kiss on her lips. “You may be a pain in the ass, but I love you.”

“That and, apparently, the chief down in Houston, your old boss, is on his way out. There’s a new guy who’s cleaning up the department, starting with questionable cases that were left unattended. I’m heading to the office to get a jump start. Houston said it would probably be a few days until they had anything for us. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. Just a few minutes ago, he was ready to fall off the wagon, but seeing her calmed him dramatically. “I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway, now that we know who took Jolene.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. But don’t you want to know who killed Holly? I think you need to know for sure.”

“You’re right.” He kissed her forehead. “You always are.”

They shared an intense moment, Greg’s heart filling with adoration for the woman who had stood by his side through his ups and downs.

“Well, I should get going,” Laney said, breaking her eyes away. “I’ll call you if I find anything, okay?”

“Thanks.” He leaned down and their mouths met. He slid her lips apart with his tongue, deepening the kiss before pulling back. “I sure missed you while I was away,” he murmured.

“I did, too. I’m just glad you made it back in one piece. I was worried that something would happen to you.”

“Impossible. You’d never let me live it down if it did.” He looked at her and beamed. “Why don’t we get out of town? When this all blows over, let’s go somewhere. I think we could both use a breather from all the drama for a while. I hear Bora Bora is beautiful this time of year.”

“That sounds perfect, Greg.” She planted one last kiss on his lips. “I’ll be in touch. I love you.”

He watched her saunter out of his living room, contemplating finally asking her the question that he should have years ago.

“S
ENATOR
M
URPHY
!”
A
RATHER
attractive and distinguished-looking man in his sixties shouted across an extravagant hotel lobby early Friday afternoon. “I heard you were in town!” He walked up to the well-built senator and the men shook hands. Leaning in, he continued, “I saw that comedy special of yours a few weeks ago.”

David nervously danced from foot to foot. “Yeah. It’s an election year. According to my campaign strategist, voters love a reformed sinner.”

“Brilliant.” Falconi chuckled. “It was definitely a good laugh, although you did quite a number on my Jo-Jo Bear.” His tone turned harsh and he tightened his grip on his hand. “And I couldn’t have her limping around the poker room. She missed the whole week of work. I’m rather upset you didn’t call me when you found her,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry, Tony.” David attempted to pull his hand away. “I wasn’t thinking with my head and I got a little carried away. I should have called you when I realized it was her, but I got a bit selfish. I led you to the girl, though, didn’t I? If it wasn’t for that press conference, you’d still be looking for her.” He smiled weakly, hoping that Falconi would change his severe expression.