“Okay, dude. Your funeral. I’m patching you through. I’m protecting your number from her, though. We don’t want the police tracking you.”
Callan took a deep breath and watched Eryn work the keyboard. Anxiety clawed through him. There were too many variables in play and he didn’t have control over enough of them. All he could do was keep digging to try to close the distance. The dashboard clock showed the time as 4:27 a.m. The time he had to find Daniel was growing thin. Six and a half hours wasn’t enough.
“Hello? Callan?” Jenny was almost breathless with emotion. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t talk long. I wanted you to know that we’re still trying to find Daniel. We think we know who has him.”
Listening to his sister weep, Callan hardened his heart and focused on the mission. It was a mission. He couldn’t think of his pursuit of Daniel’s kidnappers in any other fashion. He had to be focused like it was a job, not something personal. “This will all be over soon, Jenny. We just need to hang in there. But first I need to know, before you got involved with Daniel, you were dating Toby?”
“There’s not much to tell. I met him at a club near the college. We dated for a while. Then one night we went out with Daniel and Sierra. Sierra is Toby’s sister. Daniel and Sierra were into each other at the time. Daniel and I decided we liked each other more than we did anyone else. After a while, we started dating.”
“How did Toby take it?”
“You mean, did he get all psycho?”
“Yeah.”
“No.” Jenny sounded sure of herself, but Callan knew she could also be wrong in her assessment. “He was hurt, a little. His ego more than his heart. But not much. I’ve never met the girl that could break Toby’s heart. Not even me. He still teases Daniel about dating me first, but that’s all it is. A goof. Daniel always teased him about dating his sister. Part of the friendly rivalry they’ve always had.”
“Where’s Toby now?”
“Gone. You scared him, Callan, and Daniel’s father is angry with him for not stopping you. As if. Ever. Daniel’s father doesn’t know you.” Jenny managed a small chuckle over that. “But the police are looking for you. They don’t want to just talk to you anymore. They intend to arrest you. They’re saying you killed somebody.”
“Just focus on getting Daniel back. We’re going to make it through this. We’ve made it through everything else we’ve had to deal with.”
Jenny was crying again. “I don’t know, Callan. Before, we always had each other. Then you went away. I’m sorry, but it doesn’t feel like you’ve ever really come back.”
That hurt. Callan froze the pain and pushed it away. “Stay strong, Jenny.” He clicked the phone off and lay back in the seat. Fatigue chewed at him, fraying his mind.
Wordlessly, Eryn reached over to him and placed her hand on his. Her blue-green eyes met his gaze and he saw the worry in her face. “You okay, soldier?”
“I’m holding my own.” But he folded her hand in his and held on to her, drawing strength he hadn’t known he would find there. Usually on a mission behind enemy lines, he felt alone. Even with men he trusted with his life. With Eryn, though, he felt differently, and that made him uncomfortable in a way he’d never before known.
Less than forty minutes later, using the software Koenig had uploaded to her computer, Eryn hacked the security on Toby’s netbook and rifled his files while Callan sat the steering wheel drinking coffee.
Since the conversation with Jenny, he’d gotten quiet and she knew he was in a bad place mentally. Emotionally he seemed to have pushed everything away and wasn’t dealing with the situation. Her heart went out to him, but she knew he wouldn’t tolerate empathy at the moment. She wouldn’t have, either.
Since she’d already seen Toby’s Facebook pictures, she opened up the image databases on the netbook. As it turned out, Toby had the same potentially unhealthy narcissistic interests as Leslie “Felony” Harris had. Toby’s world revolved around all things Toby.
She started with the latest pictures first and went back. She didn’t have to go back more than a few days to find a link. When she did, at first she couldn’t believe it. She magnified one of the pictures to fill the screen, then turned the computer around to face Callan.
“See anybody you recognize?”
Callan sat up and came to attention almost at once.
The picture had been taken at a strip club. That was evident from the nearly naked dancers that Toby Ballard was mugging with. A few of the shots showed the club’s name in neon tubing behind the stage: Black Dice.
In a few of the shots, though, Dylan Mott and his men sat at the table where the photographer had sat. In a few others, Mott and Toby had been talking and drinking. Toby’s tie hung askew and he wore a big, drunken smile.
Callan reached for the ignition and his phone. He punched speed dial as he put the transmission into gear. “Koenig?”
The Challenger leaped out onto the Strip like a predator among sheep. Eryn’s stomach twisted a little with dread, but she felt hopeful as well. They all needed resolution, but at the same time she didn’t want it to come too soon because it meant there would be no more reasons to hang around Callan.
“Okay, dude, I missed this little mecca. Black Dice is a new enterprise for Dylan Mott. The business isn’t located in his regular portfolio. If I’d had the time to do a deeper background, I would have found it.”
Callan sat in the car at a convenience store across the street from the strip club/casino. The small building was divided into two businesses that sat side by side. Both businesses were named Black Dice. One was a gentlemen’s club and the other was a small casino featuring slots and blackjack. The clientele was definitely blue-collar and desperate, not the people that were drawn to the big casinos.
Checking the neighborhood, Callan didn’t see any police cars or unmarked surveillance vehicles. He’d developed an almost supernatural radar for those things in foreign countries. In the United States, those vehicles stood out even more strongly to him.
Apparently no one else had made the connect to Dylan Mott and his associates. He let out a tense breath. “We’re still ahead of the curve. The police don’t have a line on Mott or this place yet. Now we have to find out if Mott is here.”
“So what’s the plan?”
Callan sat quietly for a moment, not liking what he was about to say. He checked his watch. It was 5:17 a.m. His eyes burned from lack of sleep. “We watch. And we wait. This is all we have to work with.”
“Do you think Daniel is inside?” Eryn spoke softly.
“I don’t know. We’re only going to get one chance at this. If we blow it, Mott is going to stay away from here.”
“He may be inside now.”
“We have time. A little. For now we’ll invest it in learning more. It’s still over five hours till the ransom drop. We have time.” Callan repeated the statement in an effort to make himself believe that. He leaned forward and started the car. “Get out a pencil and paper. We’re going to take down all the license plates of the vehicles in the parking lot. Koenig can run them, see if we can tie any of the vehicles to Mott.”
“I don’t need a pencil and paper.” Eryn held up a digital camera.
Callan nodded and engaged the transmission. They joined the traffic, then flowed into the Black Dice parking area.
Chapter 19
At a few minutes till six, Callan and Eryn were checked into a cheap motel near Black Dice. From where they were on the third floor, they had a clear view of the casino/gentlemen’s club on two sides behind the building. Koenig had hacked into the traffic cams on the cross streets and covered the other two sides.
Eryn knew the observation post was far from perfect, but it was as close as they could make it. Callan had brought up a pair of high-powered binoculars and an equal quality camera with a huge telescopic lens. Knowing that both of them needed more than coffee to survive on, Eryn went downstairs and down the block to a small café where she
bought two big breakfasts with pancakes, sausages, eggs and fresh fruit. She added a large thermos of coffee.
They moved the room’s small desk over by the window so they could continue to watch Black Dice while they ate. Callan ate mechanically, neatly cutting up the food before popping it into his mouth.
Eryn watched him as much as she watched the Black Dice. An extra pair of eyes on the building was overkill at the moment, so she didn’t feel she was letting him down. The way he moved the knife and fork, unerringly picking up the food without looking at it, was amazing. And he did it all without speaking.
“I guess you don’t talk a lot at your meals.”
“Not when I’m working.” Callan didn’t look at her for a moment, then he glanced back at her. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. To answer your question, no, I don’t have a lot of company.”
“After everything we’ve been through tonight, you owe me. Big-time.”
His face darkened a little at that. “Once we get on the other side of this, just figure up your bill. I’ll pay whatever you want.”
“I only want one thing, Callan.” She placed her hand on top of his. “When this is over, because it’ll be over soon and we’re both going to survive, I want to take you to dinner. Someplace nice where things don’t explode and people don’t shoot at you. I think we both deserve that.”
He shook his head at once. “No.”
She started to draw her hand away, but he captured her fingers in his and held her fast with tender strength.
“I’m going to take you to dinner. I’m old-fashioned about a lot of things. No woman, outside of a commanding officer, has ever bought me a meal.”
“Well, I still think you can be retrained.” She squeezed his hand and the heat that had been building inside her broke, and just like that breakfast was over.
Callan stood and pulled her from the chair till she was pressed against his chest. Her breath caught in her throat as he bent down and kissed her hard, and her body was instantly aflame, as though hours hadn’t passed since earlier in Leslie Harris’s bedroom. She pressed herself against him, feeling her body heating up even more. Losing control, feeling his body responding against hers, she tried to pull him into her.
Managing some bit of control from some hidden recess, Callan managed to pull away. Eryn felt she’d been ripped apart. His voice was hard and raspy when he spoke. “If you want this to stop, now’s the time to say so.”
“Don’t you dare stop.” Eryn grabbed his shirt in both fists and pulled him toward the bed. She fell back and he came down on top of her. His muscular body covered hers from the tips of her toes to her lips. They fumbled with their clothing, pulling it away, getting closer and closer together. His hands roamed her body, delivering pleasure to her in ways she’d never before experienced. It was like her body was waking up more than it had ever been awake. Every nerve ending suddenly seemed alive on a whole new level.
She kissed him, bit at him, too, and he groaned at the rough contact, somehow managing to handle her because she felt out of control. Her body opened to him and she felt the warm liquid heat of herself ready for everything he could give her.
But he stopped and held back.
Eryn growled. “Don’t. Stop.”
“We don’t have anything.”
“I thought you were prepared for everything.” She barely resisted grinning up at his helplessness.
“Not this.”
Eryn laughed at him, putting a hand over her mouth when she saw the look of anguish manifesting on his face as he started to pull away from her. She roped an arm behind his neck and held him in place. “As you were, soldier. Maybe you aren’t prepared, but I am. There was a drugstore next to the café.” She reached down to the floor, snared her jeans, and took out the small brown paper bag that held the condoms she’d bought.
“You planned this?” He looked as if he didn’t know how he was supposed to take that.
“You think I’m seducing you? As I recall, you made the opening move on this soiree, mister.” Eryn delicately shook the paper bag. “Now, are you going to follow through?”
He reached for the bag.
She knocked his hand away, reached inside and took out one of the foil packages. It took her a moment to get the package open and her lack of expertise was almost embarrassing. But then she used both her hands to put it on his girth and he struggled to maintain control as his hips automatically bucked, seeking her.
Then he was inside her, penetrating her deeply, filling her up. All her teasing was forgotten as her own self-control exploded. She moved against him, holding on to him tightly as he hammered into her. There was no way this first time was going to be gentle or controlled. Not with the fire that had been simmering between them.
Her first climax swelled up inside her and she nearly blacked out. She didn’t even have time to regroup before the next overwhelmed her as well. He plateaued at the same time she hit her third mind-draining pleasure high.
He collapsed onto her, then tried to roll away. She held on to him, making him stay where he was. She felt warm and wonderful, totally relaxed, and somewhere in there her satisfaction robbed her of her consciousness.
Panic thrummed through Eryn when she realized she’d fallen asleep. She sat bolt upright in the bed when she saw bright sunlight streaming through the motel window. Evidently Callan had covered her with the blankets from the other side of the bed because they fell away from her.
Fully clothed, he sat at the window. He turned around to face her and smiled. “Take it easy.”
“How long have I been asleep?”
“Not long.”
Feeling a little self-conscious, Eryn wrapped a blanket over herself. She brushed at her hair, trying to bring it back into some semblance of order. “Anything happening with Mott?”
“Not yet.”
Leaning down beside the bed, Eryn pulled her cell from her pants. It was almost eight. She’d been asleep longer than Callan had said, or their prenap activities had taken longer. Thinking about that, she realized that no matter how long those activities had lasted, they hadn’t been enough.
She missed the postcoital cuddling, but under the circumstances, she could forgive Callan for getting back out of bed. She just didn’t know how he’d found the strength. She had been exhausted.
“I’m going to shower. Let me know if something changes. I won’t be long.”
He nodded.
Eryn slid off the bed, grabbed her clothing and her emergency makeup kit from her jacket and headed for the small bathroom. Thankfully, she didn’t have to look over her shoulder to see if he was looking at her as she went. There was a mirror on the wall over the small sink.
He was checking her out as she crossed the room, and from the look on his face, he still wanted her as badly as she wanted him. She smiled to herself.
Callan sat at the window and tried not to think about how out of control his life was. He felt delicately balanced, like he was walking a tightrope. Dealing with Jenny and with Daniel’s kidnapping had been hard enough. Now with the thing that had happened between Eryn and him, he didn’t feel he had a handle on anything. It was like he was in freefall, scrambling during a busted play.
Only the experience wasn’t as alarming as he’d thought it would be. The chemistry that had bubbled up with the woman had been surprising and undeniable. He’d had to have her, and he wanted her again. If they’d been someplace where nothing was going on, he wouldn’t have let her out of that bed for days.
That thought was entirely too pleasant to think about. And there was no indication that anything like that would happen again. That possibility left him unsettled. He didn’t know how they could experience what they’d just experienced and just walk away. He wanted to know—
His cell vibrated on the table at his elbow. He picked it up and flipped it open. “Yeah.”
“Dude, it may be time to go hunting. Toby Ballard just showed up at Black Dice. He’s parking his rental in the parking lo
t now.”
Picking up the binoculars, Callan trained them on the parking lot. The angle was almost too sharp for him to see clearly, but he saw the SUV sliding into a parking spot. “You’re sure it’s Toby?”
“I tracked his credit cards. He got a rental there in Vegas. The rental has a LoJack system. I’ve been following him for the past forty minutes, waiting for him to light somewhere.”
“I don’t know what a LoJack system is.”
Koenig sighed. “Dude, we have got to bring you into this century. A LoJack system is part of a satellite tracking network. Car rental agencies and regular people use them as theft deterrents.”
“Understood and appreciated.” Watching through the binoculars, Callan watched Toby cross the parking area. One of the men from the photographs in Leslie Harris’s computer and in Toby’s computer stepped from the club’s side door.
“Okay, I’m going in.” Shaking off the tension that filled him, Callan took a few deep breaths to reoxygenate his blood. His fatigue dropped away.
Eryn came out of the bathroom. She stopped and looked at him as he slid his pistol into its holster. “Something happened.”
“Toby Ballard just showed up at the club. One of the guys we’ve identified as Mott’s crew was waiting for him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Go inside. Find Daniel, if he’s there, and get him out.”
Eryn shook her head. “You can’t just walk in, Callan. They’ll be looking for you. They’ll see you coming. You won’t make it out of there alive, and neither will Daniel.”
Callan hesitated, knowing what she said was true. Inside the club they’d have the home-field advantage. The only thing that balanced that was that Callan wasn’t a cop.
Her face firmed in resolve. “I can get you in.”
Immediately, Callan shook his head. “Too dangerous.”
Best Man for the Job Page 19
