She settled on the seat beside him, tears streaking down her face. “He looks good. Healthy. Don’t you think he’s the most beautiful child in the world?”
Raphael’s heart was so full of love and pride, he thought it might burst. “Yes. Without a doubt.”
“I think he’s lost a tooth.” A shaking hand pointed to the screen. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes. Looks like.”
Her eyes wet with tears, she turned to him. “I miss him so much.”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he drew her to him and kissed the top of her head. “I know you do. We’ll get him back soon. I promise.”
The exchange between Giovanni and Olivia lasted only a couple of minutes. One of LCR’s techs had edited out as much of Clarissa Fletcher as possible. The whole point of this video was to highlight Giovanni and show that he was well and healthy. McCall had given him another flash drive that included the interview and Olivia’s observations. He would view it later. For right now, he wanted to sit here with his new wife and watch their son. None of it was ideal, but for right now, he would take what he could get.
A while later, Giselle felt herself being lifted and carried. Though groggy, she was awake and aware immediately and knew exactly whose arms held her. She turned her face into Raphael’s chest, breathed in his scent. She supposed falling asleep on the sofa after watching a brief recording of their son a half-dozen times wasn’t anyone’s idea of a proper wedding night. But for who they were and what they’d been through, it felt right. Comforting and soothing after the storm. Another one was coming, a bigger, final one. Knowing they would face it together meant more than she could express in words.
When he settled her on the bed, she whispered softly, “Stay with me, please.”
“You’re sure?”
Gazing up at his serious, handsome face looking down at her with such tenderness, she wanted to cry. This was what she’d given up all those years ago. Even though she’d had no choice, the pain of that loss continued to hurt. But he was here with her now, and whether it lasted only a few more days or a lifetime, she had to take the chance.
“Never been more sure of anything in my life. I want you, Raphael. All of you.”
Lowering himself onto the bed beside her, he wrapped his arms around her and just held her tight.
Growling, his need and frustration obvious, he said, “I can’t resist you, Giselle. No matter how hard I’ve tried, I never forgot you. Never stopped wanting you.”
Covering her mouth with his, he thrust his tongue deep, sweeping her into a vortex of swirling, whirling, mad desire. Groaning her approval, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him all that she had. She was his…had been his from the moment they met.
Raphael couldn’t stop…didn’t want to stop. His mind told him that things needed to be resolved before this happened again. That they still had so much between them. He told his mind to shut the hell up. This was what he wanted, needed.
Clothes ripped as hands found their way beneath, searching for warmth, for heat. Giselle broke away from Raphael’s searing kiss and gasped out, “I never stopped wanting you either. I couldn’t.”
His mouth covered hers again as his hands roamed soft, silken skin. Hating to break the kiss, but unable to stop himself, he followed his mouth with his hands. Every inch of skin he uncovered, he praised with his fingers and then his mouth. Giselle’s body arched as his mouth teased her nipple, and then she shrieked when he gently bit, then suckled hard.
The night closed in, cloaking them in shadows. They moved against each other, wanting, seeking, needing. Reconnecting in the most elemental way possible. Gasps of delight filled the room as they once again rediscovered one another. Tasting, taking, giving.
It was like it had been before, only more. The other night had been about reconnecting and satisfying an aching emptiness. Tonight was about commitment…about love. About renewal.
Tonight was a new beginning.
Chapter Thirty-four
LCR Headquarters
“Since we flew in only a few hours ago, most of us had a late night.” He shot a wry grin at Raphael and Giselle. “And two of you should be on your honeymoon. However, things are happening quickly, and I felt it important to brief everyone here at headquarters.”
He nodded at the half-dozen whiteboards lined up against the wall. “As you can see, we have a lot of information to get through. Took some major digging, as well as assistance from additional resources. If you’re curious about specifics, you can read the boards once we’re done.”
Noah sent Angela a smile. “Special thanks to Angela, who worked tirelessly to put this together.”
Raphael sat with the rest of the team. These meetings were usually attended only by the Elite team. On occasion, Samara would attend to give her expert advice on criminal behavior. Today the meeting included one additional person—Giselle. McCall had said, and Raphael agreed, that she needed to be in on the planning stage. Not only could she offer expert insight into the Fletchers, she deserved to know how hard everyone was working on rescuing Giovanni.
Noah had told him they had an enormous amount of information, and the low-tech whiteboards covered in writing were a testament to that fact. Someone had painstakingly written down the information, and there was a lot of it. A rush of gratitude went through him. As a matter of course, LCR went to great lengths for all of their clients. However, he knew that considerable time and expense had gone into this particular case. Against LCR, the Fletchers didn’t have a chance in hell.
“From what we can determine,” Noah said, “the Fletchers have been conducting business this way for at least two generations. Could be more, but honestly that’s for others to dig into if they’re interested. We’re only interested in the here and now.”
“What exactly are they into, McCall?” Brennan waved his hand, indicating the boards. “That’s a helluva lot of information, but what does it mean?”
“It means that they have a wealth of information on people. Misdeeds, screw-ups, cover-ups. Information that could and would destroy careers and families. Ruin lives. Maybe even change the trajectory of the country or the world. When and if they need to tap into that information, they use it to their advantage.”
“Use it, how?” Riley asked.
“To get what they want.”
“So they blackmail or bribe?” Sabrina said.
“That, along with threaten, coerce, maybe even exchange information—tit for tat. Whatever they need to do to accomplish what they want, to acquire what they want. The murder of the family that Giselle overheard them talking about is likely not an anomaly. We haven’t run across any other mysterious deaths yet, but I’m betting we will at some point.”
Palms on the table, Noah leaned forward. “Land deals mysteriously go their way. Stocks get sold before they go down. Stocks get purchased right before they go up. Real estate gets rezoned. Politicians from both sides of the aisles are friends and acquaintances, along with judges, law enforcement officials, local and federal. The power behind these connections is staggering. If the Fletchers have something on each one of them, it’s no wonder that when they ask for something, they get it.”
“Which is probably how they found where you live,” Sabrina said.
Anger glinted in Noah’s eyes. “Yes. There are also celebrities—actors, directors, producers.” He pointed to one of the boards filled with writing. “This one lists those names.”
“Hell,” Aidan growled, “it’s like they run their very own tabloid business, but instead of reporting what they find out to the public, they use the information to coerce others to get what they want.”
“Exactly.”
“And if someone tries to betray them?”
“They wouldn’t know who to trust. Whispering into the wrong ear could get someone dead. Sometimes it’s safer and easier to do the deed than to fight.”
“I guess that also goes along with nothing negative ever being written or reported abo
ut them,” Raphael said.
“Exactly,” Noah said. “When something negative pops up, somehow, someway, it mysteriously disappears. I’m not saying everyone is in bed with them. They probably don’t even use a tenth of the information they gather, but if they need it, they’ve got it at their disposal.”
Noah turned to Giselle. “You said that Danny told you about some of the troubles he had before he met you?”
“Yes. He said he was thrown out of three different colleges. That he had been stopped five times for drunken driving and once was even caught with cocaine in his car.”
“And he was never arrested?”
“I think he was taken into custody, but all the charges were dropped.” She shrugged. “He seemed to take it as a matter of course. Whatever he wanted to do, he could get away with it. All it took was one phone call to his parents, and the problem disappeared.”
“So what we have,” Noah concluded “is a family who not only believes they’re above the law, they have proved that fact on numerous occasions.”
“That’s a helluva lot of information to have and keep up with,” Aidan said. “How do they do that?”
“Thanks to an outside source, we’ve learned he has a team, headed by one man, who gathers and maintains the intel.”
“We know who this person is?” Raphael asked.
“We do.”
“Please tell me we’re going after him,” Justin said.
“Not necessary.”
“How so?”
“Someone else is already on him. It’s only a matter of time before he’s neutralized.”
“The good guys?”
“Let’s just say they’re on our side in this. Now that we know how Fletcher is getting away with everything, we’re going to get the man in charge of this intel to tell us everything. He’s going to give us what we need to bring these bastards down.”
“Noah…everyone.” Giselle looked around the room and then back to Noah. “Please know that I am profoundly grateful for all the help you and everyone at LCR have given me. And if you can prove these allegations, it certainly looks like the Fletchers could be imprisoned for years, but…” She swallowed hard, and her eyes sheened with tears. “How can we be sure that this will bring Giovanni back to me…to us?”
“That’s where you and Raphael come in. Before we do anything with this information, before this man is even apprehended, we’re going to get your son.”
“How?”
Noah smiled. “Here’s how.”
As he laid out the plan, Raphael felt the gigantic boulder of worry fall from his shoulders. This would work…this would definitely work.
Manhattan, New York
Fletcher apartment
Daniel paced back and forth in his office. Hugh sat on the sofa, sipping coffee. His friend had always been the calmer one. Daniel had a quick temper, and Hugh often eased his worry with his low-key temperament.
Their friendship had survived for over forty years, and there was no one he trusted more to unload his worries on than Hugh.
“I can’t believe this has gone on so long. Who knew she would be so hard to kill? The girl has been nothing but trouble from the day my son met her.”
“It’s not as bad as it looks. So what if the girl got married? That should make it easier to catch both of them together.”
There was that. When word had come in that the little bitch had gotten married again, it had been all he could do not to go after her himself. After all the aggravation she’d caused, how dare she find happiness? Even temporary happiness was more than she deserved.
“I would, however, recommend you dispose of the problem prior to your spring party. You and Clarissa will enjoy it so much more if that pesky issue isn’t hanging over your heads.”
“You’re right. Neither of us will have a moment of peace until this is settled. And the spring party is our favorite of the year. It’ll just give us more to celebrate when the girl is out of the picture.”
“Speaking of pictures, have you given thought to how you want to introduce the boy?”
“Clarissa wants to take him to Europe in the late spring. Allow people to speculate a bit and then announce the adoption. Because of the trouble the girl has caused, we can’t make a big splash with him. Noah McCall and his people will likely give us flak no matter how we bring him out. However, if we take a more subtle approach, their impact should be minimal.”
Hugh was about to comment, but closed his mouth when Daniel’s special phone chimed. As only one man had the private number, they both knew the identity of the caller.
Daniel put the call on speaker. He had no secrets from his best friend.
“Mr. Cavendar, things are not working as I instructed. Why is that?”
“We’re headed in the right direction, Mr. Fletcher.”
“Right direction?” Daniel practically shouted the question. “Not only is the girl still alive, she got married. How is that remotely the right direction?”
Rockwell, New Jersey
Cato counted to five before he replied. He was paid too well to say what was really on his mind, which was, If you’d let me take care of the matter early on, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Since he couldn’t respond truthfully, he gave his employer the next best thing. “She and Sanchez will be dead within forty-eight hours.”
“You can guarantee this?”
“Yes.”
It hadn’t been easy. He’d had to spend way more money than he liked, made more promises than normal, and threatened a boatload of people, but he now had a location for the honeymooning couple. Being in the middle of wedded bliss, they would never know what hit them.
“Our spring party is next weekend. I want everything taken care of before then. If not, heads will roll. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
“You’ve never disappointed me before this, Cavendar. I know the girl is wily and she’s got some powerful friends, but no one is more powerful than we are. You’ve made certain of that.”
Yes, he had. And as long as Fletcher and his sidekick, Rawlings, stayed out of his way, he would continue to do what he did best. He got the goods, and Fletcher used it to manipulate to get his way and annihilate when necessary. The arrangement had worked well for decades.
“I know you and your team are working overtime on this,” Fletcher was saying. “I’ll make sure you’re compensated.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Now, let’s review some other business issues.”
As Cato reviewed the various issues that his boss wanted resolved, he felt a moment of amusement. How many people were able to blend financial and legal matters, security concerns, with a side note of lurid details on a prominent businessman’s new love interest, along with a discussion of murder?
Even if he wasn’t paid a ton of money to take care of these matters, plus hundreds of other things, Cato knew he’d take less money just for the side benefit of enjoyment. The job was never boring and sometimes just downright fun.
***
Rural Virginia
The newly married couple arrived at their honeymoon hideaway in the dead of night. Like any couple in love, they only had eyes for each other. Deep laughter came from the man, as if his new wife had said something hilarious. A giggle followed the laughter, this from the woman, as she stood on her toes and kissed him full on the mouth.
The giggling increased when he threw her over his shoulder and carried her up the steps and into the cabin. Seconds later, the lights came on. The curtains on the window did nothing to hide the fact that the couple was now locked in a passionate embrace.
A perfect way to go out.
Forty yards from the cabin, hidden behind a couple of giant holly trees, Clive and Franco watched their prey.
“You ready?” Franco asked.
Lowering his field glasses, Clive glanced over at his partner. “You don’t want to wait awhile?”
“Wait for what? They’re in ther
e. What more do we need to do?”
“I don’t know. It’s just, Cavendar told us to wait until just before daybreak. They’ve got a few hours left.”
“You get a romantic streak all of a sudden? Or are you getting chickenshit in your old age?”
“Hell no. I just figured we’d do what he said. Don’t matter to me if they get dead in five minutes or five hours. Dead’s dead.”
“Then let’s get it done. It’s too cold to stay out here and argue.”
“Fine,” Clive snapped.
And with those words, he picked up the RPG launcher, aimed, and squeezed the trigger. A fireball zoomed to the cabin and struck with magnificent force. The ground shook like an earthquake had hit, and the entire area lit up like it was daylight.
“Oh man!” Clive hooted with laughter. “I got to get me one of these!” Almost nothing he loved better than a good explosion.
Franco stood watching, making sure he saw no movements. They wouldn’t be caught with their pants down again. When he was assured there was no way anyone could have survived, he started packing up. “Let’s get out of here.”
No more encouragement was needed. They needed to be long gone before the fire department got word.
They were half a mile away when Franco made the call to his boss. “It’s done.”
“You’re sure this time?” Cavendar asked.
“Oh yeah. They were kissing in front of the big window when the blast went down.”
Clive guffawed beside him and said loudly, “It was a beautiful thing, boss. They went out in a blaze of horny glory.”
“Excellent. See you two on Monday.”
Ending the call, Franco glanced over at his partner. “Pancakes?”
Clive grinned. “You read my mind.”
Running Strong Page 26
