Noah left the suite with no one the wiser. He called Brad to tell him what they had to work with.
Brad replied, “I will try to boost the signal to make it more sensitive. It may mean more distortion on our end, but any bit of information is better than none.”
“I’m going to check Brianna’s suite now. She’s probably not back yet but I have to see. It’s too close to Richard’s suite for me to stay here and wait, though,” Noah relayed. “I’ll be back in a few.”
When Noah returned to the command center room, Brad informed him he had just successfully patched into the hotel’s security cameras. They had eyes and ears on all floors, elevators, and the front door. Noah breathed a sigh of relief for the lucky break they’d caught. When Brianna returned to the hotel, they would know. He visualized slinging her over his shoulder and carrying her back home. One way or another, he was determined to find her and stop her.
One of the guys had food catered in for the group. To anyone else, they looked like a group of businessmen getting ready for their meeting the following morning. Their computers were all on the tables and they were engaged in business strategy discussions, using code words only they would decipher. Brad’s computer screen wasn’t visible to anyone else, so he continued monitoring the cameras. When the hotel staff left the room, he switched it so everyone could see it on the projection screen.
* * *
Brianna entered the hotel lobby in the midst of a large group, wearing her red-haired wig, new clothes, and new makeup. When she heard a familiar voice coming from a man a few feet in front of her, she kept her face turned away from him as she listened to his incessant ramble. Richard, she sneered. He continued talking to his companion as though no one else was around.
“Make reservations for dinner at Prime One Twelve at eight o’clock tonight. I want my table at Mirage by eleven o’clock in the VIP room. 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. You just gave away your scheduled much easier than I ever imagined, she thought sarcastically.
Brianna checked her watch, almost six o’clock. She had plenty of time to get ready to go to 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. It was getting out alive that would be tricky. The loud noise in the club would make the recorder useless. She had to get him to leave the club to pull this off.
She settled in her room with the purchased clothes and accessories prepared for later tonight, along with the hidden recorder. When she finally sat on the bed, she felt exhausted to her core. She didn’t get much sleep last night, or this morning, thanks to Noah. She smiled warmly at the memory. She immediately felt the strong pain of regret and loss from losing him yet again.
She shook it off because she knew there was no other way. She ordered room service from her personal butler, compliments of the Villa suite, and retrieved her cell phone from her backpack. She knew she had time to kill since Richard would be getting ready for dinner. There were a few things she wanted to research on the Internet while she waited.
She was deep in thought, taking notes, and researching the area when a light rap on her door startled her. When the butler called to her, she held the door open for him as he carried her tray of food to the small table. 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. Her thoughts drifted to 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 to wake her in time to get ready for the club. 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 every night before.
Brianna’s alarm on her phone went off just as she was in the middle of the best dream about Noah. She turned the alarm off and sat on the edge of the bed. A sudden wave of intense fear and dread washed over her because she knew what was about to happen. She kept repeating that she had to see this through to save Noah. That was the only consolation that kept her going. She prayed this would be enough to stop Richard once and for all. She rose, walked to the window that faced the ocean, and opened it. She took a few minutes to listen to the waves lapping on the beach and let the sound calm her frayed nerves.
She showered and dressed to go to the exclusive South Miami Beach nightclub, Mirage, where Richard would be. She carefully applied her makeup and made sure everything was completely perfect. She tried the red wig on but decided against it. She knew she wouldn’t walk away from Richard alive. Her last request to herself was to be Brianna for the night. She dried her long hair and styled it with the flat iron, adding curls to the ends to help accentuate her looks.
She had picked out a trendy tight-fitting dress to help her look like she belonged there. It was glittering blue and stopped above mid-thigh level. The top tied around her neck, leaving her arms and back exposed. In the back, the tight material began again below her waist, teasing at giving a view of her ass. She moved her hand along the front hem of the dress, felt the small recording device, and breathed a sigh of relief that it was securely in place. She reasoned that it was in the best place to avoid suspicion. She could simply pull on the hem in an act of modesty to make sure the dressed covered her, and no one would know what she was really doing.
She put on her silver, open-toe high heels, then her earrings, followed up with her necklace. She picked up her small matching clutch to put her license, credit card, and cash inside. She gave herself a once over in the mirror and decided she looked very nice.
Too bad all this fuss isn’t for a date night with Noah, she thought solemnly.
She stepped out of her room and asked the concierge to arrange for a limo to take her to the Mirage. She walked to the front of the hotel to wait for the limo to arrive. Within a minute, a long, black limo arrived, and the driver opened the door to let her slide in. He was barely out of his teens and was probably working his way through college. She caught him smiling at her while blatantly watching her ass. When he realized she saw him, the smile quickly faded and his face turned a deep red. She laughed to herself and leaned back against the leather seat as he pulled the limo away from the hotel.
* * *
Steele Security sat in the plush meeting room, watching the security feed change over to different camera views on the overhead projector. When Brianna suddenly appeared in the hotel lobby, Noah yelled for Brad to switch to that camera view only. Noah watched as she walked toward the front door, then he ran out of the room after her. She wasn’t there by the time he reached the lobby, so he continued outside. She wasn’t outside, either. He looked both ways and saw a limo about a block away.
As he ran back inside, Brad was walking to him. “There’s a delay on the feed, boss. I’m sorry, I didn’t know they were working on a delay on the cameras until you ran out of the room.”
“Damn it!”
They walked over to the front desk and asked the clerk about the types of transportation they offered. She confirmed his belief that the limo had just left with one guest and would be back within twenty minutes. Noah asked to be next on the list for the limo, and told the guys to get the SUVs ready. He would talk to the driver and find out where he dropped Brianna off.
If this guy refuses to talk to me, I’ll break both his legs, he vowed.
“Twenty minutes my ass! Where the hell is this guy? It’s been forty-five minutes!” Noah bellowed. He paced back and forth along the sidewalk as he grew more and more anxious. He still had his wits about him to watch for Richard and his team still had eyes and ears on hi
m from the SUVs.
“Boss, he’s coming down.”
Noah heard Bull in his earpiece and moved out of sight. He watched as Richard left and told one of the teams to follow him, and the other team to stay put for the time being. He was still waiting for the limo driver to verify where he took Brianna. As he moved back into the lobby, he saw the limo pull up to the front.
By the time the driver put the limo into park, Noah had opened his door and all but dragged him out of the car. “The lady you picked up from here, where is she?”
The driver, obviously young and scared, was speechless. A huge, muscled man just yanked him out of the car. He stammered, trying to form a coherent string of words. “I…uh…she’s…um…”
“Where?”
“Mirage….nightclub…”
The black SUV slid up beside the limo, Noah jumped in, and Bull sped off to the nightclub. No one said a word as they flew through traffic, dodging cars, and running red lights. Noah fisted his hands and released them, repeatedly.
“Brad, anything on the digital recorder yet?”
“No. Nothing yet.”
21
Chapter Twenty-One
Brianna enjoyed the smooth ride of the limousine and asked the driver to take his time. She wanted to take in the sights and sounds one last time before going to the club. She had him drive the entire length of Ocean Drive to South Pointe Park. He waited while she walked with her toes in the sand and her shoes in her hand. She stood and listened as the waves crashed, breathed in the salty air, and enjoyed the ocean breeze for several long minutes.
She reluctantly walked back to the limo, climbed in the back, and closed her eyes as he drove her to Washington Avenue. In the backseat of the limo, the memories that she wanted to take with her took over. Her thoughts were always of Noah. She could see him, feel him, and hear him close to her. She felt as the car slowed to a stop and opened her eyes.
A long line of people, wrapped all the way around the block, waited outside Mirage. Young ladies in various states of dress openly flirted with the bouncer. Their attempts to get in ahead of the hordes of others waiting in line were blatantly obvious, but the bouncer didn’t seem to mind their advances. Small groups of guys and girls talked and laughed with each other, without a care in the world, other than having a good time.
Brianna stepped out of the limo and looked directly at the security camera, smiled, and waved. She knew it was a blatant challenge that Richard wouldn’t be able to resist. She showed up there willingly and waited for him to take the bait. She strolled up to the bouncer, smiled, and waited. She noticed an earpiece in his ear and knew he would soon be given orders. He looked down at his clipboard list, then back up to her, before he opened the red velvet rope and let her in. Several people called out to him to also let them in as she walked into the exclusive club.
The multi-level club was packed with bodies writhing to the music on the enormous dance floor. Strangers chatted and looked for company for the night, others waited at the bar to get another glass of their poison of choice. The DJ was set up in the middle to give everyone a good view of the show. A light show danced with the beat and changed colors on the ceiling and walls. Brianna walked through the crowd on her way to find Richard and politely refused several requests for a dance and more.
She reached the VIP room and took a deep breath. It was a smaller room for more intimate gatherings, but still large enough for a good size party. The room included its own bar and plush leather couches. Richard stood as she walked in. His eyes raked over her, and he had the type of smile that reminded her of a sleazy, snake oil salesman. She swallowed the bile that tried to rise in the back of her throat and stopped in front of him.
“Brianna. I’m so shocked to see you. I thought you were dead.” He didn’t even try to sound genuine.
“Well, it seems we’re both back from the dead, Richard.”
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m here to ask you to leave Noah alone. Call off your dogs.”
“You know what I want, Brianna. When I get what I want, you get what you want.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. There was no warmth or compassion there. His eyes were stone cold, and she knew he was lying, but she played along anyway.
Brianna looked around at the others in the room. There were several young women scattered throughout the room. They clearly enjoyed the free drinks Richard supplied. There were also several hired henchmen who waited for a reason to pounce on someone. “This really isn’t the place to talk about it. Is there somewhere else we can go?”
Like the cat that had caught the mouse, he replied. “Of course, of course.” He motioned for one of his men to come over.
They walked out of the back door of the club and got into the backseat of Richard’s car. As the man drove in silence, she watched the buildings go by in a blur. The people out having a good time were oblivious to her predicament. She took mental notes of the direction they were headed–away from crowds, hotels, clubs, and restaurants. They were headed to a more deserted area where they would have plenty of privacy.
Playing the victim, she looked at the man who drove them, then to Richard. “Where are we going?”
“Oh, just a little place I have acquired. It’s a good place to talk. Very private.”
They continued to hold eye contact until she finally turned her head and looked out the window. They pulled up to a windowless building made of large concrete blocks. The door was solid steel with an industrial deadbolt lock. The driver got out and opened the door for Brianna while Richard exited from the other side. The driver unlocked and opened the building door for them and then locked it back when they were all inside.
Richard flipped on the light to reveal a large room with a single chair in the middle of it and a long, thin table sat against the wall to the right. There was a doorway on the back wall that led to another darkened room. The second room was somewhat smaller than the one she was in, but she couldn’t see what was in it.
She turned to Richard and asked, “What is this place?”
Richard didn’t answer. The driver walked to the table, picked up a wand to sweep her for bugs, and walked back to her. The wand made no noise as he ran it over her front and back. “She’s clean.”
Then he walked back and laid the wand back on the table. The sound of a door opening came from the darkened room and Brianna jerked her head around. Three more men strolled in and stood silently as they waited for orders.
Brianna reached down, tugged on the hem of her dress in modesty, and pulled it down. She purposely glanced around the room with a nervous gaze. She secretly activated the hidden recording device and then flattened the wrinkles in her dress.
Richard watched her, but didn’t seem to know what she was doing. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly, as if he were amused at her attempt to cover herself in that dress.
“Oh, don’t worry. These guys aren’t here for that.”
“Why are they here?”
With an ominous chuckle, Richard gave a nod to the men, and they stalked toward Brianna.
* * *
Noah’s second team of men had waited for Richard to leave the hotel and tailed his car to Mirage. They watched as the driver let Richard out at the front door and he strolled straight up to the entrance. The bouncer immediately opened the red velvet rope and let him walk in ahead of the line of waiting partiers.
The driver pulled away from the curb and made a turn at the end of the block. Roman, the man in charge of the secondary team, put his team into play.
“Blake, follow the car around to the back of the building. Put a GPS tracker on it in case they leave again,” Roman said as he handed the tracker off. “Watch the back and report back if you see anything at all.”
Blake took it and walked around to the back of building as he followed the path Richard’s car took. He watched from the shadows as it pulled into a parking lot behind the building and the driver jogged back around to the front. Blake mo
ved silently through the parking lot and secured the location device to the underside of the car.
Blake conveyed his status back to the group. “The GPS is ready. There’s a parking lot behind the building and there’s a back door. There’s no doorknob so it’s an exit only. I’ll stay back here. We’ll need eyes on it in case they come out of it.”
Roman found a place to park where he could watch the front door. Alex opened the GPS tracking software and confirmed the steady dot on the screen.
“Do we have any intel on this guy? Does he have a team of guys? Or another car?” Alex asked from the backseat.
“We know he has men, but we don’t have any other specific info on them. We didn’t have time to find out who they are or how many,” Roman replied.
“So, we’re flying blind,” Alex stated.
“Pretty much,” Roman chuckled.
“Good. I hate when people spoil the ending,” Alex joked and they both laughed.
After several minutes of waiting, Alex got out of the car and began his perimeter walk. All of the men were on edge and with good reason. They all respected and admired Noah tremendously. If he was worried about this operation, they knew they all had a reason to be worried as well. No one wanted to be the one who let him down and allowed Brianna out of his sight.
Alex walked down the street in the opposite direction from Blake. He scanned the faces in the waiting cars as he watched for Brianna. He turned the corner of the block and continued his stroll toward the back of the building. He checked every possible entry and exit point along his walk. As he reached the back alley of the club, he saw headlights illuminate a gravel parking lot.
Screeching tires, a loud crash, and hysterical screams suddenly filled the night air. Alex urgently called to his team through his communicator as he ran back to the front of the building, in the direction of the screams. “Roman. Blake. Talk to me. What’s going on?”
Wicked Games: The Extended Edition (Steele Security #1) Page 24
