Wicked Games (10 page)

US Marshal Stevens told them Richard was taken. That he wasn’t on the plane.
Rebel didn’t realize the weight of his words. He had said them so easily, he could’ve been talking about the weather. But Brianna connected the dots immediately. She knew she didn’t trust Stevens for a reason and now she was realizing why.

Her mind was swirling with the facts and possible scenarios. A US Marshal in the Middle East?  He was there to help with the weapons delivery. He was there
with
Richard. He works for Richard. 

And when he found out she had proof somewhere in the US, he pretended to help her in witness protection.
He kept hounding her for all the evidence all this time. He
knew
she hadn’t given it all to him, because he didn’t find his name associated with anything.
His
name is somewhere in the evidence she gave Noah.

Department of Defense personnel. 

US Marshals. 

US leaders. 

Foreign leaders.

Big business owners.

There were too many high-level people involved for them to just leave Noah alone, to just leave him out of it, even if she handed over her proof. 
Her
proof…she
had
brought this to Noah’s door. If she hadn’t kept digging, none of this would’ve ever happened. She couldn’t let Noah pay, with his life, or in jail for the rest of his life, for her stubbornness in getting
the story
.

She finished
cooking the waffles and excused herself from the guys. They barely noticed her absence anyway, since they were too busy eating breakfast.  And Bull still hardly even looked at her, much less spoke to her. She missed her brothers, but she couldn’t think of that right now. She had to hurry before Noah woke up and stopped her. 

She knew the whole
interrogation
technique he used with his questioning. Definitely not the same technique he would’ve used in the field. But he had used that on her too many times during their relationship, especially to find out any surprises she had planned for him. She couldn’t keep any secrets from the man. Even though he agreed to trade her to Richard, she knew he would never go through it. Even if he hated her, he still wouldn’t do it, because he was an honorable man.

So, she had to make the trade herself and make sure that Richard was caught red-handed
, so that none of his contacts could protect him. The pre-meditated torture and murder of a young woman, who had proof of his weapons dealings, should do the trick.

She thought of last night…or actually, this morning, and how it felt to be in his arms again. Her heart hurt and tears pricked her eyes at just the thought of him. She watched his eyes when she asked him for her final request and knew it was too late
for them. There was no going back to what they had, because she had really fucked things up between them. So many regrets raged through her mind. If only she had told Noah about Richard. If only she had made him listen. If only she had stood toe to toe with him, fought it out, and made her case known.

If
only
…she had one more day with Noah.

She didn’t know why he changed his mind
, and she almost didn’t go through with it herself. The thought of him making love to her because he felt obligated in some way was just too much to bear.   Once he kissed her, all rational thought left her, and she was only glad she had this one last memory with him. But for now, she had to focus on her plan.

Noah’s security firm was state of the art. He had all kinds of surveillance gadgets and toys. Most were at his firm
downtown, but a few items always made their way home with him. Some were worn on clothes, placed in a shirt pocket, or the old-fashion method of taping to the skin. Brianna searched his office and found a remote access digital recorder that was discreet enough to hide in plain sight.

The recorder would be found if anyone screened her
for bugs, so she would wait until the last minute before turning it on. It only required a simple touch to make it start recording, but if anyone were watching, they would definitely know what she was up to. She activated the receiver in Noah’s home office, wrote him a letter to explain as best she could, and quietly walked out the front door, after leaving the blindfold. She wanted to let them know she would never betray them. She had kept that with her all these years, and it seemed fitting to leave it with them now. 

She ran all the way to the hotel
, where her backpack was still waiting for her. The clerk on duty recognized her and gave her a new key card for her room. She quickly showered, dressed, and checked out. She knew Noah or someone from his security team would be coming for her soon, and she planned to be out of sight by then.

She set off down the street and hailed a taxi at the corner. She knew Richard was still in Miami
, and Noah mentioned going by his hotel suite to see him.  Richard always stayed at one specific hotel in Miami when he visited. He always got “his” suite and the staff there knew him well. He liked that he didn’t have to ask for the amenities he wanted, they were always waiting for him. She gave the information to the driver, “The Villa by Barton G.”

Now, all she had to do was pull off the tricky part.
She planned to find out Richard’s plans for the night and confront him. Preferably in public, so he wouldn’t shoot her on sight. She needed to catch him in the act for this to work. She would be spying on a man, who was thoroughly trained and highly skilled in reconnaissance techniques. Oh, and no doubt Noah and his team would be doing the same thing very soon. 
Yeah, this will go over well.

She stepped out of the taxi, paid the driver, and walked into the hotel lobby. Scanning the roo
m, she didn’t see Richard anywhere, but kept her face turned from the security cameras as much as possible. She used her fake identification and credit card to check into the hotel. She knew her credit card transactions could be traced, and most likely were being traced, if what she suspected about the Marshal was true, but this was the best way she knew to get close to Richard.

She got her room key and left the hotel. If she were to stay here for very long, she would need better clothes. Hers were not nearly elegant enough to blend in very well. She left on foot and went in search of high-end boutiques for a few new items –
dresses, pant suits, shoes, makeup, and jewelry. And a wig, an expensive one that looks like real hair. 

She spent the afternoon going to different places, using her government issued credit card at her leisure
, finding the items she needed and buying them, regardless of the cost. After today, it wouldn’t matter anyway. She was careful to watch for anyone following her from store to store. After a couple of hours shopping, there was one man who had been at more than one store with her, but hadn’t bought anything.  She mistakenly turned down the wrong street and quickly found herself away from the crowds.

Brianna quickened her pace
, but was too late.  A man grabbed her from behind, wrapped his hand around her mouth, and pulled her into an alley. Her heart was pounding, and she struggled against his hold and tried to elbow him in the ribs. He shoved her into the backseat of the idling car, where another man was waiting for her.

Blinking rapidly and trying to catch her breath, she looked hard at the man sitting across from her.
  The man who grabbed her sat in the front seat.

“
Stevens
? What the hell are you doing? Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

“Because
you
are not even supposed to be here. And we shouldn’t be seen together in public.”

“Then why not have your village idiot
here,” motioning to the other man, “talk to me instead? He’s followed me for the last two hours!”

Ignoring her sarcasm, Stevens got to the point of the meeting. “Do you have the rest of the evidence for me?”

Feeling completely uneasy after what Rebel said earlier, she lied. “No, I don’t have it. I’m working on it. I have your number.”

“I need you to get it to me as soon as possible.  I’ll be waiting.”

Brianna got out of the car and hurried back to the more populated area. There were still a few things she needed to purchase, so she finished shopping.  Using the bathroom at a gourmet coffee shop, she transformed into a long, red-haired socialite, even making sure her eyebrows matched her wig color. 

She hailed a taxi to get back to the hotel
, after the earlier scare. She didn’t want to risk being seen by anyone else. She returned to the hotel, bags in hand, and walked in as though she owned the place. She didn’t feel the confidence she was trying to show. She desperately wanted to be back at Noah’s, safe, and secure.

“If Richard sees us watching him, he will know we’re onto him. We have to assume he has a team of security agents
, just like we do. This is the enemy, men. Don’t forget that.” Noah concluded his recon speech and motioned for everyone to gear up. It wasn’t quite like the 40-pound backpack he carried in the Army, but he was dressed for battle, nonetheless. 

Bull, Rebel
, and a team of others joined him at his firm, as they looked at the map of the area around Brianna’s hotel. He assigned stations and responsibilities to each man. The search at the hotel had turned up minimal information. She had checked out and left on foot. The clerk pointed in the general direction she walked, but her trail went cold very soon. 

The computer techie of the group
, Brad, had a search running on local taxis, in the event she used a credit card. The chances were nil, though, since they didn’t know her alias name, and Noah knew she wouldn’t use her real name. Brad was also pulling all the information from the flash drive Brianna gave Noah. Reviewing the data, he whistled, “Girl’s done her research, Reap. This is
huge
.” 

Brad continued with his recount of the evidence Brianna had saved to the flash drive to give them more details than Brianna’s letter had given. 
“None of these contracts are the standard ones you signed, Reaper. Your signature has been forged and according to her notes, all the escorts you provided were illegal. If anyone had been caught, you would’ve been sent to jail for life…. if anyone let you make it that far. With the names attached to this operation, they would’ve buried you. She was right, this would never hit the press. You’d be dead and the story buried along with you.”

Bull lowered his head and swore under his breath, “That son of a bitch.” Noah nodded and shook his head, thinking of how many escorts he’d provided and how many times it could’ve gone wrong. And what stung the worst was his friend had purposely involved him
, and when Brianna found out, Richard had tried to kill her. That very thought made him see red.
I will have Richard’s head for this
, Noah vowed.

Bull’s phone vibrated
, and he looked at the caller ID. Noah looked at him, and Bull said, “I have to take this, Reap,” and stepped out of the room. A moment later, he stepped to the computer and changed the search parameters to find financial transactions for Leslie Solomon. The computer returned several results at several boutiques. “Got a hit,” Bull called out.

They looked at the store locations on the map
, and Rebel commented on how close the stores were to Richard’s hotel, just as the computer returned a room charge hold for The Villa by Barton G.
She’s at the same fucking hotel! We have to find her before we’re too late!
Noah passed out pictures of her to the other men, but with the charges at the wig shop, he advised the men she had changed her looks, again. 

With e
veryone briefed on the mission and dressed for urban warfare – meaning suits, button downs, wireless communication earpieces, gun holsters under their jackets and at their ankles, the security team climbed into the SUVs and headed to the hotel. 

Noah decided
he would check in as a guest and try to get eyes on both Brianna and Richard. Several pieces of his security equipment would help them keep watch over all the exits. If all went well, they would also have ears in Richard’s suite.

Bull pulled out his cell phone again. He briefed the person on the end on the plans for the night and ended the call. Noah looked at him, waiting for Bull to
fill him in on what he was up to. Bull said, “Don’t ask, Reaper. Just trust me.” 

Noah stared hard at Bull. “You know I do. But if you’re pulling someone else in, don’t you think we need to know
, so we don’t shoot the wrong guy?”

Bulled nodded, but said, “You probably won’t even know he’s there, Reaper.” 

Still sensing the tension, Bull added, “Look man, I’ve been too hard on her. Yeah, it sucks that she let us believe she was dead, but she had a damn good reason, and I didn’t even give her a
fucking
chance.”  He folded his arms across his chest, as he took a deep breath, “I gave my word I’d always have her back, and I let her down, man. I’m doing my damnedest to fix that.”

Noah gave him a look
and a nod that said he knew exactly what Bull meant.

***************

As Brianna entered the hotel lobby, she heard a familiar voice once again from a man a couple of people in front of her.
Richard.
He continued talking to his companion, as though no one else was around.

“
Make reservations for dinner at Prime One Twelve at 8 p.m. I want my table at Mirage by 11 p.m.  VIP room, you know that. I want a bottle of Moet chilled and ready. And make sure they have the security camera feed on the plasma this time.” His assistant was taking notes and simply replied, “Got it.”

Well, thank you, Richard.
Easier than I ever imagined.
Brianna checked her watch, almost 6 p.m.  She had plenty of enough time to get ready for Miami’s most exclusive club. She decided since Richard would have the security feed playing live in his VIP room, she shouldn’t have any problems getting in. But, getting out alive would be tricky, and the noise in the club would make the recorder useless. She had to get him to leave the club to pull this off.

Settled in her room with the purchased clothes and accessories prepared for later tonight, along with the hidden recorder, she sat on the bed. She was exhausted. She didn’t get much sleep last night…er,
this morning, thanks to Noah. She smiled at the memory. She immediately felt the strong pain of regret and loss at losing him again. 

Shaking it off and knowing there was no other way, s
he ordered room service from her personal butler, compliments of the Villa suite, and retrieved her cell phone from her backpack. She hadn’t even turned it on, but since she knew Richard would be getting ready for dinner, she wanted to research a few things on the internet.

She was deep in thought, taking notes
, and researching the area. A light rap on her door startled her at first, but then the butler called to her, and she let him in. The smell of food reminded her how long it had been since she’d last eaten, and she suddenly realized she was starving. She sat down at the table and began to eat, thinking of what was to come. Her stomach seized when she realized this was most likely her last meal, and she was completely alone again. 

Unable to eat any more, she decided to rest for a couple of hours before she went to the nightclub.  She set the alarm on her phone for 9:30 p
.m. She lay down on the bed, and even though she should’ve been too anxious to sleep, her eyes were suddenly very heavy. Her last thoughts before she drifted off were of Noah, just like she had every night before.