No one could possibly be more satisfied or happier than she was right now. There was no feeling in the world to match this sense of completion. The future looked so incredibly bright. Nothing was impossible. She and Swanny would find a way to stay together. It was a vow she made to herself, one she fully intended to see through.
CHAPTER 31.
SAM Kelly immediately answered the secure phone, anxious to get a report from Steele or Rio. After what had happened in Paris, Sam was more determined than ever to use any and all resources he had at his disposal to rid Eden of the threat to her.
"Sam," he said shortly.
"This is Steele," Steele said curtly. "Someone got to Sanchez before we did and Jesus, it"s a b.l.o.o.d.y ma.s.sacre. Everyone is dead. Sanchez, his men. The place is trashed. It"s a complete cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k."
"G.o.dd.a.m.n Hanc.o.c.k!" Sam swore. "I should have seen this coming after he reared his head in Paris and promptly disappeared and fell off the radar. I"m one hundred percent sure he"s behind this. He has close ties to Eden and her family, and it"s just like him to take matters into his hands and take out any threat to what he considers his family."
"Well, he f.u.c.ked us on getting intel," Steele said, obviously as p.i.s.sed as Sam was. "I"m having my team go through the pieces to see what, if anything, we can learn, but I have a feeling Hanc.o.c.k took anything pertinent to our investigation. What do you want us to do now, boss man?"
"Complete your sweep," Sam replied tersely. "I"ll call Rio up and tell him to stand down. I"ll report in with Nathan and Joe. Tell them the developments. If Sanchez hired an a.s.sa.s.sin, he"ll quickly discover that he"s not going to get paid, so I think they can breathe a little easier. I"ll tell them to continue their security until the shoot is over but that they can relax a little. It should take a lot of pressure off Eden as she winds this down."
"Will do," Steele said. "We"ll let you know if we discover anything, and then we"re pulling out and heading home unless you need us for something else."
"Things are quiet right now," Sam replied. "All we have going on right now is Eden"s protection, but I"ll let you know if things change. I know you"re anxious to get back to Maren and Olivia."
There was a pause before Steele gruffly responded, "Yeah, I am. But we"ll get the job done and report in with anything we find."
Sam disconnected and then sucked in a deep breath. f.u.c.king Hanc.o.c.k. At times it seemed they couldn"t move for tripping over him. He always popped in from nowhere and they never knew what side he lined up on, despite the fact that he"d saved Maren, Steele"s wife, at much risk to himself.
He shook his head. Who knew Hanc.o.c.k had actual human ties to anyone? He was more machine than man. The news that he considered Eden and her father and brothers "family" had been a shocker because Hanc.o.c.k was most certainly a lone wolf. Always going his own way and answering to no one. He was definitely a wild card. Someone Sam was always wary of, no matter the circ.u.mstances.
He didn"t trust Hanc.o.c.k as far as he could throw him, no matter that he"d actually been helpful to KGI"s cause in the past. And Sam wasn"t deluded enough to think that Hanc.o.c.k helped out of the goodness of his heart. The man always had his reasons for every move he made.
With a shake of his head, he called Joe and relayed the news to him. After listening to Joe mutter the same curses Sam had uttered himself upon receiving the news, they hung up, with Sam issuing the warning that although they could relax, they were not to stand completely down and to treat the situation as if there were still an existing threat to Eden.
They had only a short time left before Eden wrapped up and would be returning home. At that point, KGI could sign off, collect their paycheck and put another successful mission down in the books.
CHAPTER 32.
EDEN hummed as she dressed for the launch party. With the relieving news that the threat to her had been eliminated, she felt lighter and carefree. She was in love. Even better, Swanny loved her. Nothing seemed insurmountable in light of those events.
She hadn"t asked for details. Didn"t want them. And to Swanny"s credit he didn"t give her anything more than, "The threat to you has been taken care of."
She trusted Swanny, and she trusted his team and organization, for that matter. She knew that while Swanny"s team had been front and center, KGI had been working behind the scenes to get to the bottom of the whole mess. So if they said everything was good, then she believed them.
Swanny, much to his consternation, had been shooed from her room so she could dress for the launch party. He and his team waited for her in the lobby. She wanted to surprise Swanny by wearing the necklace he"d given her. She couldn"t wait to see the look on his face and love warming his eyes when he realized she was wearing his gift.
No, it didn"t exactly meet the standards of the designer dress she was wearing, but she didn"t give one d.a.m.n. She loved the necklace and she was wearing it, choosing it over the many jewels designers would kill for her to wear for the event.
She had just finished securing the clasp when she heard her hotel door open. Frowning, she stuck her head out the bedroom door, her hand covering her chest where the necklace pendent rested, prepared to reprimand Swanny and tell him to get his a.s.s back down to the lobby, but it was maid service pushing her cart inside.
Smiling, Eden walked farther into the living area. "There"s nothing I need. In fact, I"m just about to leave if you want to give me five minutes and then come back."
Even as she said it, a p.r.i.c.kle slithered down her spine because she remembered that Joe had arranged for them not to have maid service during their stay. Swanny always picked up linens, towels and other necessities straight from the front desk. For that matter, no one was allowed on her floor.
But perhaps now that a threat no longer existed they had relaxed their restrictions. She"d have to ask Swanny about it when she met him downstairs.
"It is no problem, miss," the maid said in a heavily accented voice. "I just leave you new towels and give you turn-down service so when you return everything is perfect, yes?"
As the maid spoke, she closed the distance between herself and Eden, a warm smile on her face. She had darker skin, but Eden couldn"t place the accent. It sounded more Central American than Mexican. It definitely wasn"t French, but then many immigrants to France came from all over the world and took jobs in hotels and restaurants.
"That"s fine," Eden said faintly.
She started to step around the maid to collect her clutch and head to the elevator when suddenly the woman moved with speed that astonished Eden. Then Eden felt a p.r.i.c.k in her arm and she stared aghast at the woman just before the room sort of fizzled around her and grew fuzzy.
She opened her mouth to scream for help but found herself incapable of saying anything at all, much less screaming.
The maid grabbed her arm and jammed the barrel of a pistol into her side, her expression menacing as it yawned and blurred in and out of Eden"s vision. G.o.d, she had to get herself together. Make herself overcome the effects of the drug. This time she had only herself to rely on to get out of trouble. And there was no way in h.e.l.l she was going to let Swanny down.
"Now you listen to me," the maid said, all traces of her accent gone. "You"re coming with me and we"re going out the side maintenance entrance and if you make one wrong move, make a single sound, I"ll kill you where you stand. Nod if you understand."
It took considerable effort for Eden to nod. The drugs had her impaired enough, but terror paralyzed the rest of her.
She stumbled as the maid started forward, her grip painfully tight on Eden"s arm and the gun digging into her side, most a.s.suredly bruising the skin.
The maid all but dragged her toward the elevator and then pressed the b.u.t.ton for the subfloor, one level beneath the lobby, that was restricted to employees only. The maid inserted a card that identified her as a hotel employee and the elevator descended to the bas.e.m.e.nt level.
To Eden"s utter horror, when the maid yanked her from the elevator, she nearly tripped over the body of another maid. There was an obvious gunshot wound to her forehead, right between the eyes, and the woman"s head lolled to the side, eyes open and gla.s.sy with death.
Eden"s stomach lurched and the world went even dizzier around her, the drugs rendering her incapable of doing anything but being meekly led to the exit. The maid threw open the door, did a quick survey of the alleyway and then shoved Eden into the backseat of a small Peugeot. She leaned in over Eden and quickly taped her mouth shut and then roughly turned her on her side, jerking her arms behind her and cuffing them together.
It all took but a few seconds, but time had yawned for Eden and everything was moving in slow motion, terror and helplessness filling her as she realized she was being kidnapped. The woman, whoever she was, had already killed at least one person to gain access to the hotel. It was obvious killing meant nothing to her and now she held Eden"s life in her hands.
Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as the car eased out of the alleyway and into Paris traffic. She was certain this woman meant her to die. But where was she taking her? And why?
Swanny, her father and her brothers flashed through her hazy consciousness. She"d never see them again. Worse, they"d likely never know what happened to her. Tears slipped from her eyes, hot against her chilled skin. She wept for all she"d lost and for the pain her disappearance would cause Swanny and her family.
And then she prayed that Swanny and his team would somehow, some way, miraculously find a way to rescue her before it was too late. Swanny hadn"t given up when faced with the unthinkable. He"d survived months of torture and degradation and come out the victor, never giving the animals who tried their best to break him the satisfaction of doing so.
She drew on his strength now, the memory of all he"d endured. He deserved someone of the same caliber, the same never-quit att.i.tude and the determination to come out the victor.
She gathered those things to her, holding them tightly, letting them-and Swanny-burn brightly in her mind. Because something in the deepest part of her soul realized that she was going to need to tap reserves she wasn"t sure she possessed. But d.a.m.n if she was going down without a fight.
CHAPTER 33.
SWANNY was waiting impatiently in the lobby with his teammates, checking his watch and muttering under his breath. He didn"t like leaving Eden, no matter that the threat to her had been eliminated. His gut wasn"t quiet. It was going off like a m.o.f.o.
Deciding to f.u.c.k it and risk her disappointment since she wanted to surprise him, he turned to stride toward the elevator just to ease his screaming gut when Hanc.o.c.k stormed through the entrance to the hotel, his features creased with rage and . . . worry.
It was the worry that stopped Swanny in his tracks, because nothing worried Hanc.o.c.k. The guy was an automaton and he only had one expression. Well, that wasn"t exactly true. When he"d come to Eden"s room, it was as if an alien had temporarily taken over his body because the man had actually shown emotion and tenderness with Eden. There was obvious affection between the two, and Swanny still couldn"t get over the fact that Hanc.o.c.k considered Eden and her family his own family. And he called her cupcake. For the love of G.o.d . . .
"Where the f.u.c.k is Eden?" Hanc.o.c.k demanded.
Typical no greeting, no pleasantries. That wasn"t Hanc.o.c.k"s way and, well, it wasn"t Swanny"s either. They both got straight to business without meaningless chitchat getting in the way.
"She"s in her room finishing dressing for tonight"s launch party," Swanny supplied. "She should be down any minute."
"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" Hanc.o.c.k swore. "You left her unguarded even for a few minutes? What the h.e.l.l kind of operation are you running here? I have intel you need immediately."
At that, Swanny"s entire team came to attention and crowded around, all business, as they waited for Hanc.o.c.k to continue.
"Well, since you obviously eliminated the threat to her, it doesn"t make a h.e.l.l of a lot of sense that you"re freaking the f.u.c.k out," Joe drawled, staring pointedly at Hanc.o.c.k to let him know that KGI was well aware of who got to Sanchez.
Hanc.o.c.k swore again. "He wasn"t the threat. He never was."
"What the f.u.c.k are you saying?" Swanny demanded. The dread in his gut intensified. G.o.dd.a.m.n it, he knew something wasn"t right, and he d.a.m.n well should have put his foot down and never agreed to give Eden ten minutes to finish dressing alone.
"Short version," Hanc.o.c.k clipped out. "Eddie had it all wrong. He thought the mother and daughter were killed when their mission went FUBAR. He a.s.sumed it was the son seeking revenge after I took out the father after he killed Eden"s mother. But it never made sense to me. If he was seeking revenge, a wife for a wife, then why wouldn"t he have killed Eden then? Wife for wife, daughter for daughter."
Swanny"s panic level was reaching epic proportions. He didn"t like where this was going a d.a.m.n bit.
"Let"s get to her room," Hanc.o.c.k barked. "I"ll give you the rest on the way up. I want to make d.a.m.n sure she"s safe because the threat to her has not been eliminated."
At that, Swanny and his entire team broke into a run, Swanny pounding on the elevator call b.u.t.ton.
As they piled into the elevator, Hanc.o.c.k continued.
"The daughter survived. It was only thought she was killed in cross fire. It"s not the G.o.dd.a.m.n son after Eden. It"s the daughter. It explains how inept the attempts on her life have been. This isn"t some hired a.s.sa.s.sin after Eden. The daughter is coming after Eden herself."
"Son of a b.i.t.c.h," Swanny swore. "G.o.dd.a.m.n it, Hanc.o.c.k. Haven"t you ever heard of a f.u.c.king phone? Why the h.e.l.l didn"t you let us know immediately instead of waiting until you got here to spill? You talk about us not doing our job, but if Eden means so G.o.dd.a.m.n much to you then, why the f.u.c.k didn"t you immediately get on the horn and warn us?"
"Because I thought you"d keep doing your G.o.dd.a.m.n job," Hanc.o.c.k snapped. "I came straight here after taking out the son and his security. It was there I found correspondence from his sister and him begging her not to go after Eden. To stop the cycle of revenge and retribution. In all of this, it appears the son is the only halfway intelligent one. I didn"t discover this until after I"d taken him out. I f.u.c.ked up. I admit that. I should have made him talk because he didn"t deserve to die. He tried to talk his sister down, but she"s bats.h.i.t crazy and is obsessed with making Eden and Eddie suffer and taking Eden out. She wants Eddie to know, to see his daughter suffering, and that may be the only G.o.dd.a.m.n thing that gives us time to find her before she kills Eden."
The blood in Swanny"s veins froze. Dread clutched him by the throat and wouldn"t let go. Oh G.o.d, please let Eden be in the hotel room where she"s supposed to be. No matter what, he wasn"t leaving her side until the crazed lunatic trying to kill her was taken out for good. He cursed himself for relaxing his guard even for a moment. No matter how prettily Eden had asked for a few minutes to dress and meet them in the lobby, he should have insisted on remaining with her the entire time. He hoped to h.e.l.l his f.u.c.kup didn"t cost Eden her life. He could never live with himself. He could never live without her.
They rushed off the elevator, guns drawn, and when they got to her suite, Swanny went cold with dread.
The door wasn"t completely closed, a maid"s cart partially obstructing the entrance. He shoved it inside, gun up, his team flanking him as he burst into the room.
"Eden!" Swanny bellowed. "Eden, are you here?"
They rushed in, spreading out quickly. Swanny ran into her bedroom only to find it empty. A quick check of the bathroom turned up nothing, and he began to sweat as panic gripped him by the b.a.l.l.s.
"She"s not here," Hanc.o.c.k yelled. "Fan out. We have to search the hotel from top to bottom. Go, go, go!"
Somehow Hanc.o.c.k got paired with Swanny and they hit the stairway, running full tilt down each floor. Nathan, Joe and the others would do a floor-by-floor sweep, but Swanny knew if Eden had been abducted, her kidnapper wouldn"t have stuck around.
They ran to the bas.e.m.e.nt floor and used the access key provided by hotel security to open the door leading to the stairwell. As they rounded the corner where the elevator stood, Hanc.o.c.k let out a vicious curse.
Swanny saw the maid lying on the floor, eyes gla.s.sy with death, a bullet hole low on her forehead, directly between the eyes. Blood had already congealed and she was cold, and rigor was starting to set in.
Son of a b.i.t.c.h. The crazy-a.s.s daughter had gotten into Eden"s room by posing as a maid and used the key card from the cleaning lady she"d shot and killed.
Swanny bolted up and ran toward the exit, throwing open the door, ducking out, hoping against hope that he wasn"t too late and could get a bead on the crazy b.i.t.c.h who"d taken Eden from her hotel room.
What bothered him the most and filled him with overwhelming panic was how she got Eden out with no issue.Eden was trained in self-defense. She could handle herself in a bad situation. So the only way someone would get her out of a hotel with no one knowing and without one h.e.l.l of a fight was if Eden had been drugged.
Thinking back on the hotel room, there was no sign of a struggle. Nothing had been out of place. Just the maid"s cart, and the door had been left ajar. She had to have been drugged. It was the only explanation.
With a maid coming in, Eden being Eden would have been nice and welcoming, never suspecting a maid could be a danger to her. Especially since Swanny had a.s.sured her the threat to her had been taken care of.
Stupid f.u.c.king idiot.
This was his G.o.dd.a.m.n fault. He"d never get over his complete idiocy. Never would be able to make it up to her even if he got the chance, and he prayed he"d have that chance. That he"d find her before it was too late. He couldn"t entertain any other option or he"d lose his mind.
"Quit beating yourself up," Hanc.o.c.k said gruffly. "This is as much my fault as it is yours. There"s nothing to be accomplished by either of us going over the woulda, coulda, shouldas at this point. We have to get it together and find her."
"We need the video surveillance stat," Swanny said grimly as he and Hanc.o.c.k completed their sweep of the alley and parking lot.
"Leave that to me," Hanc.o.c.k said. "I may not be the geek your Donovan is, but I know my way around computers and electronics. You can be the heavy and I"ll pull up what we need."
They both hurried inside and went straight to the security desk. Confronted by two very large, very p.i.s.sed-off men, the head of security didn"t even protest. He brought them into the surveillance room and let Hanc.o.c.k take over.
"There was a blip earlier," the security guy said in impeccable English, his expression grim as he related the information. "It blinked and went out for a few minutes, which is likely when Miss Sinclair was taken. But we have a camera in the alleyway, so if they went out that way, and it"s likely given the location of the murdered maid that they did, you may pick up footage of the vehicle and get a plate at least."
Hanc.o.c.k typed furiously, skimming through footage before the blackout and then homing in on the alleyway when the cameras had gone back online.
"Son of a b.i.t.c.h," Hanc.o.c.k breathed.
Swanny leaned forward to see a woman shoving Eden into the back of a maroon Peugeot and then leaning over her for several seconds. When she backed away they could see Eden lying in the back, the shiny glint of handcuffs on her wrists.