“How’s it looking?” Ronan asked.
“Doable,” Clay said. “My biggest problem right now is that the cameras are set up in clusters. If I can’t find a way to separate them, looping one will loop the others in the cluster.”
Ronan didn’t like the sound of that. Looping the footage on one camera for a short period of time wasn’t likely to cause alarm. Most of the staff monitoring the cameras behind the scenes wouldn’t even notice, especially if they kept it under a minute.
Looping multiple cameras was much more likely to get unwanted attention.
“We need a way to control when — and if — Gordon takes a break,” Declan said. “Otherwise we’re just counting on his lack of bladder control.”
“I’m working on that,” Ronan said.
Nick looked at Clay. “Can you get us IDs for the casino? Restaurant staff, security, cleaning?”
Clay scoffed. “IDs are nothing.”
“You have thirty-six hours,” Ronan said to Clay. “Idrisov’s pilot filed a flight plan for Grozny two days from now.”
“He’s leaving Monaco?”
They all turned to look at Elise, who hadn’t said a word to anyone but Nick throughout the meal.
“Looks that way,” Ronan said.
“You can’t let him leave,” Elise said. Her eyes were flinty in the candlelight, and for the first time Ronan caught a flash of Julia’s determination in her face, the anger Julia tried to pretend wasn’t simmering below the surface.
“We won’t,” Ronan said. “One way or another we move on Gordon the night after tomorrow.”
“That’s not a lot of time to get the details in place,” Declan said.
“Tough shit,” Ronan said.
Declan grinned. “Did I sound like I was complaining?”
12
Julia watched as Nick and Declan picked up the two black duffel bags and carried them out to the waiting Rover. Clay was already outside, checking his laptops and other equipment. Beyond the living room, Elise sat on one of the lounge chairs, staring out at the ocean, something she spent hours doing even though there had been a time, back before she was kidnapped, when it seemed she couldn’t sit still for even a minute.
Ronan came down the stairs and walked over to Julia. Like Nick, he was wearing the casinos’s uniform, procured through some escapade of Declan’s that had involved an all-nighter, the loss of twenty-thousand dollars at one of the high-roller tables, and a Swedish heiress named Ingrid.
“We’re all set,” Ronan said. The uniform’s white shirt strained to cover his broad shoulders and was tucked into black pants that hugged his muscular thighs.
She slid her hands around his waist as he pulled her close. She knew it didn’t make sense for her to go with them on the mission to kidnap Mark Gordon. Elise shouldn’t be left alone at the house and there wasn’t anything for Julia to do at the casino anyway.
But she still hated it.
“You’ll be okay here?” Ronan asked into her hair.
She pulled back and nodded. “We have the guns, and I’ll arm the security system as soon as you’re out the door.”
“And you’ll call if there are any problems.”
“And I’ll call if there are any problems.” He’d been obsessive about security since they’d arrived in Cap-Martin, worried about Elise and Julia’s proximity to Gordon, who they now knew was tied to Manifest.
“Good.” He tucked a strand of hair behind one of her ears, his eyes a match to the Mediterranean stretching to the horizon outside. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then seemed to change his mind.
“What?” she asked.
He smiled. “I love you. No matter what.”
No matter what happens tonight. No matter what happens ever.
They still said it sparingly enough that the words made her stomach flutter. “I love you too,” she said. “No matter what.”
He kissed her, covering her mouth with a slow sweep of his tongue that opened up an abyss of need at her core. When he pulled away, his eyes were full of feeling she couldn’t define.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” he said.
She nodded. “I’ll be here.”
She stepped away first, putting distance between them. When someone was going to leave, when you knew they were going to leave, it was better to take the first step away.
He turned and headed for the door and she was surprised by the rage that rushed her body at the sight of his retreating back. Whoever was behind Manifest had done this, had taken Elise from her, had thrown them all into a conflict that forced them to risk their lives. If something happened to Ronan, it would be their fault.
And if something happened to Ronan, she would spend the rest of her life hunting down every last one of them.
“Ronan.” She hadn’t been aware of planning to stop him. He turned to look at her. “Be careful — but get that bastard Gordon."
He nodded. Then he was gone.
13
Ronan looked out the window of the Rover at the limos and SUVs lining the street outside the casino.
“Which one is Idrisov’s?” Ronan asked.
“Third from the front,” Declan said. “Limo. Diplomatic plate.”
Jesse Martin, Mark Gordon’s right-hand man, would be in the driver’s seat, waiting for word from Gordon that he needed a break or was escorting Idrisov out of the building.
“Let us know as soon as Martin leaves the car,” Nick said from the seat in the back next to Ronan. “It’s the only way we’ll know Gordon’s about to exit the VIP room.”
“Will do,” Declan said.
Ronan scanned the area, making note of every detail and running a mental checklist on everything they needed to carry, everything they needed to do to get Mark Gordon out of the casino.
“Remember,” Clay said from the passenger seat, “you have one minute on the loop. The more times it plays, the greater the chance someone will notice.”
Ronan knew what he meant: the loop would repeat the same one-minute footage. Eventually, one of the casino’s staff monitoring the footage would notice that nothing had changed, or in a worst-case scenario, that the same people were walking the hall over and over again.
“I’ll cue the loop from here and let you know when it’s in place,” Clay continued.
“Let’s check comms,” Nick said from the seat next to Ronan in the back.
Ronan flipped the switch on his communications device and Nick’s voice sounded in his ear. They did a quick check with each other, and with Clay and Declan, who would remain in the car. Clay would be able to hack into the casino’s WI-FI from there, and Declan would get them away from the casino as quickly as possible once they had Gordon in the car.
“All clear,” Ronan said when the comms check was complete.
“Try to get in and out in under an hour,” Clay said. “I’ll cover my footprints in their system, but like the loop, the longer I’m in there the greater the chance that I trip an alarm somewhere.”
Nick reached for the door. “We’ll do our best. Just remember that we’re at the mercy of that laxative. We need him clear of the VIP room to take him.”
“You’ve got it? The laxative?” Declan asked. “And the syringe?”
Nick sighed. “This isn’t our first rodeo. We’ve got it.”
“Just checking,” Declan said.
Ronan looked at his phone before zipping it into the pouch that was strapped under his casino employee jacket. “It’s nine-thirty. We’ll do what we can to get him out by ten-thirty, but no promises.”
Ronan opened the door and stepped onto the pavement.
“Ready for this?” asked Nick, coming to stand next to him.
“Let’s do it.”
They walked purposefully around the casino to the service entrance reserved for employees. Declan had somehow gotten ahold of the shift changes during the all-nighter he’d pulled doing intel on the casino — Ronan didn’t want to know — and it was an
easy matter to slip into another group of uniform-wearing men and women heading for the doors, taking last drags on cigarettes before going inside.
Ronan was glad he was with Nick. It would discourage anyone from trying to play Welcome Wagon by asking either of them if it was their first night on the job. The casino had thousands of employees on the payroll in the catering, waitstaff, and cleaning departments. Ronan and Nick were just two more showing up for a shift.
The throng of uniformed employees broke up as soon as they entered a long hall, some of them heading for the employee locker room while others went straight to their assigned station. Ronan and Nick had decided in advance to avoid the locker room: too many possibilities for curiosity and chit-chat, for someone to remember them later if anyone came asking about them.
“This is me,” Nick said when they came to the turnoff for the waitstaff.
“Catch you on the flip side,” Ronan murmured.
They’d gone over the casino’s interior plans until Ronan and Nick had memorized every hallway, every bathroom, every area marked as part of the casino’s operations. Ronan called it up in his mind’s eye and continued to the double doors leading to the housekeeping department.
The place was a cacophony of controlled chaos, a hoard of people dressed like him engaged in various tasks — carrying stacks of towels, loading housekeeping carts with fresh cleaning supplies and toiletries for the casino’s rooms, and looking at clipboards.
Ronan headed for a wall lined with cleaning accoutrements and removed a porter’s broom and dustpan.
“Morris? What are you doing, Morris?”
It took Ronan a few seconds to realize the accented voice was directed at him. He forced himself not to glance down at his uniform, Morris emblazoned on the name tag.
He looked at the man questioning him, trying to affect the mannerisms of someone who cared about their job and didn’t want to displease the boss — and the guy with the pinched face was obviously some kind of boss, as evidenced by the fact that he wore a suit instead of the uniform everyone else wore.
“Yes, sir?”
“Where are you going with that?” the man asked, glancing at the broom and dustpan.
“I was told to work the hall outside the VIP room on the second floor,” Ronan said.
The man nodded and made a waving motion, indicating that Ronan was dismissed.
Ronan gripped the handle of the dustpan and made his way through the room, working his way around the other employees either leaving after their shift or departing for the night’s assignments.
“In position,” Nick’s voice came through Ronan’s earpiece.
“Give me ten,” Ronan murmured, looking down to cover the movement of his mouth in case anyone came looking for the security footage later.
“Copy.”
Ronan pushed through the doors and kept his head down as he stepped into the hall and headed for the service elevators.
14
Julia spooned octopus salad onto two plates and added some olives and slices of bread from the local bakery. Nick or Declan had been walking into town with Elise every day for provisions, and the bread was to die for, crusty and buttery on the outside and doughy and rich on the inside.
“You want more wine, El?” Julia called through the open doors leading to the patio.
“I’m good,” she called back.
Julia returned everything to the fridge, put forks on the plates, tucked napkins under her arm, and carried the plates out onto the patio.
She handed one to Elise. “Bon appetite.”
“If I’d known all it took to be waited on hand and foot and taken to the French Riviera was a kidnapping, I would have arranged it sooner,” Elise said.
“Not funny,” Julia said, situating herself in the lounge chair next to Elise. “But I’m glad you’re recovering your sense of humor.”
“Who said I was kidding?” Elise deadpanned.
“Ha-ha,” Julia said, digging into the salad. She let her gaze travel to the edge of the horizon. It was like a magnet, and she often found herself standing at the windows or on the patio, mesmerized by the line separating sea from sky. “It is beautiful here though.”
“You didn’t even have to be kidnapped,” Elise said. “Talk about injustice.”
Julia looked at her and frowned. “Stop.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes and Julia thought about Ronan, wondered what he was doing at that very moment, if he and Nick had made it into the casino without any trouble.
“I think he loves you,” Elise said.
Julia turned to look at her. “Ronan?”
Elise rolled her eyes. “No, Clay. Yes, Ronan.”
Julia looked at her plate and tore off a piece of bread. “I love him too.”
“No, I mean, I think he really loves you.”
Julia lifted her eyes to the water. “I know what you mean.”
“So… what’s going on?” Elise asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on,” Elise said. “I know that look on your face.”
“What look?” Julia asked.
“The one that says you’re bracing yourself for something awful to happen, that says you want to be prepared when it does.”
Julia plucked an olive off her plate and put it in her mouth, using the time she spent chewing to think about her response.
“It’s been kind of crazy,” she finally said. “We haven’t exactly had time to be a normal couple yet.”
Julia had told Elise how they’d met, how Ronan had crashed into her in the alley behind Seth Campbell’s house when they’d both been casing him for news on Elise.
“But you know you love him, and he loves you. What else is there?” Elise asked.
“There’s… a lot,” Julia said. “A lot we haven’t even talked about, a lot we haven’t done yet.”
“You infiltrated Manifest’s party in Florence. You learned to scuba dive in Greece. You snuck onto the Elysium. You saved my life,” Elise said.
Julia looked at her. “But we haven’t gotten annoyed with each other for leaving socks on the floor. We haven’t had leftovers three nights in a row. We haven’t gotten bored yet.”
“So? I mean, those things suck, but they happen to everyone after a while. You think because you’re enjoying the honeymoon the marriage would suck?” Elise shook her head. “That’s kind of fucked up.”
“We haven’t talked marriage,” Julia said.
“You know what I mean.”
“I’m just being careful,” Julia said.
“I know. And I know why. Believe me, I know. We didn’t exactly have role models for healthy relationships. You could use it as an excuse not to get too close, or you could do something really radical.”
“Like what?” Julia asked.
“You could break the cycle, stop it here and now,” Elise said.
“How do I do that?”
Elise rolled her eyes, and for a second, she was just like the old Elise, the one who made fun of Julia’s seriousness, who breezed over any talk about rules or consequences. “By loving him. And letting him get close enough to really love you. Duh.”
“He knows I love him,” Julia said.
“Does he?”
Elise held her gaze until Julia had to look away. “Why are we spending all our time talking about my life? What about you?”
“What about me?” Elise asked.
Julia watched her shuffle the food around on her plate, a tactic Elise thought no one noticed. “Have you thought about what you want to do?”
“After I’m off house arrest you mean?”
Julia sighed. “You know that’s for your own protection. And I’m right there with you. I’d kill to get in my car alone, grab a coffee, and take a solo walk on the beach. But this won’t last forever. Have you thought about what you might want to do when it’s all over?”
“I don’t know,” Elise said. “Go back to school maybe?”
Julia raised he
r eyebrows in surprise. “Yeah?”
Elise shrugged and looked at her plate, a curtain dropping over her features so that Julia couldn’t read her expression. “Maybe. It’s hard to think about that now.”
“I get that,” Julia said.
Elise looked over at Julia. “Think they’ll get him? Mark Gordon?”
Julia hesitated. Elise trusted her, and Julia wanted to keep it that way. She didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.
“I think if anyone can get him, Ronan can.”
Elise nodded and returned her gaze to her plate as the words Julia had left unspoken lingered in her mind.
And if Ronan doesn’t get Gordon tonight, he won’t stop until he does.
15
Ronan waited for the hall to clear before he murmured into the hidden mic on his comms system. “In position. Everything’s quiet out here.”
“Nick, report.” It was Declan’s voice in Ronan’s ear.
“Took me ten minutes to deal with the guy assigned to the room. Finally had to clock him, tape his mouth, and stick him in a supply closet,” Nick said.
“Jesus,” Ronan muttered. “You couldn’t deal with him some other way?”
“Tried telling him I’d been assigned to take his place. He wanted to call the supervisor to confirm,” Nick said. “Don’t worry. He’s out cold and sleeping it off behind a few cases of toilet paper.”
“Anyone see you?” Declan asked.
“Negative,” Nick said. “Pulled him into the room behind the bar to talk in order to avoid making a scene in front of the VIPs. Idrisov is in the poker room now. Gordon’s in position in the VIP room. Two other guys, look like guards, more or less minding their own business.”
A couple entered the hall from one end, the woman in a short red dress, the man in a tux. The woman was at least twenty years younger than the man, although not exactly young, her face heavily painted with makeup. She leaned her head against the man’s shoulder and laughed as they approached the VIP room.
Murphy’s Love: Murphy’s Law Book Three Page 6
