An Embarrassment of Monsters: A Dark Romantic Suspense Novel (Alace Sweets Book 3)

by MariaLisa deMora

“Want some?” The innocent words were delivered with a salacious wink, wickedness personified that stroked along Owen’s skin, standing his hair on end.

  What the hell. Wordlessly Owen stalked across the width of the room, coming to a halt right in front of Doc. Then, gazes locked, enjoying seeing how Doc’s eyes widened, Owen opened his mouth and wagged his tongue. Doc lifted the can, Kelly and Shiloh clapping wildly, and shot a burst of gas-driven sweetness into Owen’s mouth.

  “Mmmmm.” He made a show of licking his lips. “Good stuff, Doc.”

  ***

  Alace

  Owen’s voice sounded in her headphones, as clear as if he were next to her in the room. “In place. Where’s our guy?”

  He was out in public, casually patrolling a section of street near Ramblewood, off the New Jersey Turnpike. His circuit consisted of a not-yet-open pizza place, a gas station, and a gym where he’d already complained the guys lifting inside were staring at him funny. And a bank, which was their actual target.

  “Incoming. Three blocks. Get close enough so the reader can—”

  “Yeah, I know my part, Ward.” He’d planted a minimal skimmer on the ATM at the bank, one designed for only close-range live transmission of data. “He’s the Jag, right?”

  Owen knew the make of the car, so the unnecessary question was nothing but his nerves showing. Alace played along, responding with an affirmative sound.

  The dot representing Owen was close to merging with the one indicating the man they were hunting. Donald MacLeod had been a bit of a conundrum as they’d investigated him more aggressively. Not a man of influence or great wealth, he owned a chain of heating and air conditioning sales and repair stores—an impressive accomplishment for someone who’d come up from the streets like MacLeod had. In fact, his profile closely matched not only Warrant and Kuellen, but three of the other ring members she and Owen had identified.

  The software on Owen’s phone activated, and she saw the chip transaction information show on the screen, followed by the key sequence of the man’s PIN. Embedded within the microchip of the card were additional details, all the info they needed to turn this man’s life inside out.

  “Got it. Everything we need.” She saved the information to their shared secure server, then replicated it to another similar secure location. “Belts and suspenders. You’re good. Head back to the RV.” They’d purchased an old run-down recreational vehicle for this gig, and it was currently parked in a nearby shopping plaza. “Time to work our magic on things.”

  “What if he’s heading there right now?” Owen’s dot hadn’t moved, was poised next to the bank’s exit driveway, exactly where he should be if their intentions today were to intercept the man. They weren’t.

  “He’s not.” She spoke with confidence, pushing the surety Owen needed to hear into her voice. “He’s going to his Marlton store. There’s a breakfast meeting with his store manager. We saw the appointment on both of their calendars, so it’s not merely a placeholder. Go to the RV, Owen.” The software shut down, indicating the card had been withdrawn from the ATM. MacLeod would be leaving the bank at any moment. “Owen—”

  “Yeah. Headed out.” His tracker moved, angling across the four-lane street towards the shopping plaza. MacLeod’s dot arrived where Owen had been standing, then turned in the opposite direction, towards Marlton. Alace let a pent-up breath seep out silently, not wanting to call Owen’s attention to her anxiety. “Keep his tracker turned on. Make sure we know where he goes.” Owen’s dot moved faster, and his breath was loud, rough and ragged as he ran headlong through the city streets. “It’s just—” He rounded a corner, only yards from where the RV was parked. “If he does have kids at the compound, and he’d gone up there? I can’t. It’d be like Shiloh all over again, Alace.”

  “I know. But he’s not. You are, remember?” That was their plan. She’d needed Owen to assist with the skimmer, so he’d diverted to town for the day. “You’ve got the invitation and are going to show up a day early, see if you can gain access. You’re the one with a reason to be there. Any guards will err on the side of keeping MacLeod’s friends happy.”

  That was going to be the hardest part of the gig, hands down. Sending Owen in without backup felt wrong, but it had been hard enough to acquire an invitation for one semi-unknown to a party MacLeod had scheduled for the weekend. Using Owen’s established darknet persona had earned them an open door, but it would have been impossible to gain access for two. August was in the vicinity, and once Owen had the RV inside the perimeter of the compound, August would slip inside and set up in the vehicle. He simply wouldn’t be inside the buildings until the end.

  “Now to see where the money, in fact, takes us.” The material her researchers and Owen’s had uncovered was good, but it only showed part of the picture. With the new intelligence gleaned from his credit card, she’d be able to obtain even more of his information. She already had access to his home network, but it was mostly cluttered with data from his kids. They’d drawn a blank from the wife, which had Alace’s instinctive alarm ringing loudly. “You good to drive up?”

  “Yeah.” Nothing remained of the joking and jovial Owen in that single word. His voice had turned hard and determined, and Alace understood the need to divorce himself from the gig, but it was foreign. Now that she’d gotten to know the real Owen, she hated any incursion back into stoic Owen’s more limited interactions.

  On a whim, she pulled up a web browser and typed in a quick inquiry. The results made her roll her eyes, but she decided to plow through and see if she could bring him back to himself, even by a little bit. “Hey, Owen, what do you call a person who runs behind a car?”

  She sat through a beat of silence, then Owen asked, “What? I’m in the RV, heading out in five minutes.” A door slammed, and she heard a rustling sound, then he said, “I don’t get it.”

  “He’s behind a car, so he’s exhausted. From the car’s exhaust. You know, it loses a lot when I have to explain things to you.”

  “Oh, hardy har har.” The RV’s engine rumbled to life. “Funny one, Alace.”

  “What do you call a person who runs in front of a car?” His dot was on the move again, as was the tracker she’d had him install in the RV. When he didn’t answer her, she supplied the punchline. “Tired.”

  “Heh.” He clipped the sound off short, then snorted. “That one wasn’t half bad.”

  “One more, and then I’ve got things to do.”

  “Don’t hurt yourself, Alace. Humor’s not a native language for you. I know it, and it’s okay. I can get by without jokes, you know.”

  “I know, but this one is pretty good.”

  “Sock it to me, momma.” True humor threaded through his voice, and Alace found herself smiling. “Gimme.”

  “How do crazy runners get through a forest?”

  “I’ll play along.” His chuckle was music to her ears, and he sounded much more relaxed, ready to work. Able to bend without breaking. “How does a crazy runner get through a forest?”

  “They take the psycho path.” His groaning complaint made her laugh. “I’ll check back in soon. Ping me if you need me.”

  “Take the psycho path she says,” he grumbled. “I’m headed to the woods right now, you realize that, right? I’ll take the psycho path all right. I’ll take it all day long.”

  “Drive safely.” She disconnected, leaving his humored words behind.

  She checked in with August and found he was ahead of schedule, having completed tasks assigned to him with time to spare. His vehicle sat a couple of miles away from the compound’s entrance, parked on an unused logging road, camouflaged against casual discovery with branches and foliage. He sent her a picture of the inside of his backpack, and she counted the items in view carefully.

  One expensive bottle of cognac, the container shaped so uniquely it had been easy to devise a bug and adhere it within one of the folds of glass.

  Six small, discreet cameras capable of transmitting on a shielded fr
equency for up to twelve hours on the internal batteries. They’d continue to record for longer than that, and footage could be retrieved later.

  Two portable parabolic microphones for long-distance listening. While less convenient than a handheld device, these would be easy to place and hard to spot, and would give August insight into what was happening inside the compound.

  Armed with recent satellite imagery, Alace and Owen had pored over the compound setup. Drawing conclusions based on expected floorplans lifted from the files of the construction contractor, they’d decided to focus on the two main structures. Isolated cabins were used to house party guests, and while they might bring in their own entertainment, the plan was to stay on point with first rescuing anyone being held captive by MacLeod. Their layouts were simple, so if a rescue was needed it wouldn’t be hard to fold into the overall plan. One of the target structures was a sprawling house with multiple wings joined in the middle by a main hub. That hub was two stories high with a basement, and the open room on the upper floor was a likely candidate for where party activities would be conducted. The second building looked more like a livestock barn on the architect’s drawings, but Alace and Owen both knew it was unlikely the occupants of the individual holding areas were animals.

  August would place the listening devices as close as he could safely do so, adjacent to those two buildings.

  She saw four incendiary devices, ones guaranteed to burn hot enough to catch nearly anything on fire. At the end of things, they’d burn it to the ground. Knowing Owen’s aversion to open flames, Alace had initially shied away from the idea, but he’d circled back to it again and again. “Scouring the earth,” he’d called it. She didn’t disagree. Those would be planted at opposite corners of the two main structures after they were certain all innocents had been removed from harm’s way.

  “Miss Alace?” The questioning call broke her concentration, and she glanced towards the closed bedroom door.

  “Looks good, August. Carry on.” After issuing the assurance and order, she terminated the connection and locked her computer. A quick look at the bassinette showed Lila still sleeping, sprawled on her back, arms carelessly tossed over her head. Alace reached the door and thumbed the simple doorknob lock she’d engaged before starting work. Opening it, she looked down at Kelly, standing hand in hand with his little sister. “Yeah?” She squatted, bringing herself down so she could look him in the eyes. “Whacha need?”

  “Is it okay if we go outside and play?”

  Alace mentally calculated the amount of time she needed to kick off the research on the data they’d acquired from MacLeod’s card, added in some necessary analysis cycles, and decided she had ample time to spend an hour outside with Owen’s kids.

  “You bet. Let me just get Lila, and I’ll come with you.” She smiled, knowing it looked forced but hoping the kids wouldn’t notice. Babysitting wasn’t an inherent talent, and she still wasn’t sure why she’d allowed Eric to go into the office today. “Be right there.” She stood and took a sideways step towards the bassinette, not giving the kids her back. Okay, I’m being ridiculous. “Go ahead. I’m literally ten seconds behind you. But don’t run in the house.” Don’t run in the house? “I mean, be careful if you do run.”

  Another sideways step had her next to where Lila slept, and she bent to gather her daughter into her arms, startling into stillness when Kelly appeared next to her. He stooped and grabbed the diaper bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder. “Thanks,” she called after him as he disappeared into the hallway.

  Knowing there would be kids who might need immediate medical attention, Doc had flown to Philadelphia hours after Owen landed, his tickets requiring a quick turnaround on manufactured identification, a need Alace hadn’t anticipated. He was parked at a motel close to the compound under the same false name, rental car completing the look of a vacationing out-of-towner. Once everything was under control at the compound, he would head in, prepared to treat patients in the RV, which would also be used to transport any kids they found. Alace would activate a local asset to pick up the rental and return it on time to the agency, completing the image of the tourist.

  But that meant Doc’s planned role in Owen’s life was disrupted.

  Hence, the appearance of Owen’s kids at her bedroom door.

  Lila squirmed against Alace’s shoulder, rubbing her face across the fabric and snuffling. Alace cradled her close, humming softly as she descended the stairs. The rear sliding glass door was open, the screen thoughtfully closed to keep bugs at bay. Seeing the two kids running wide circles through the backyard, Alace detoured into the kitchen briefly, grabbing a couple of juice boxes, a container of donut holes, and the divided plate from the refrigerator that held Lila’s lunch.

  After making her way outside, Alace settled into a lounger, lifting her legs and crossing them at the ankles, presenting a façade of relaxation to anyone watching. No one is watching. She reached into the diaper bag Kelly had left near the chair and retrieved a lightweight blanket to protect Lila from the sunshine beaming down from the sky. Alace leaned her head back and closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth.

  “Miss Alace?”

  She opened her eyes to find Kelly next to her. Looking past him, she saw Shiloh was still running drunken circles, giggling when she staggered sideways as she spiraled in a tighter circuit.

  “Yeah, Kelly?” Underneath the blanket, Lila shifted, snuffling again as she moved. Alace moderated her voice. “You need a drink?”

  “That boy, the one who came to the house a few weeks ago. Is he gonna be okay?” Alace froze, concentrating on Kelly, his breathing, his face, the tiny muscles twitching his expression into one of concern. “Don’t be mad. I didn’t mean to see. Promise. I woke up and thought maybe I’d heard Shiloh, so I checked on her and saw the light on in Doc’s workroom. It’s been bugging me, but I didn’t want to worry Owen.” His forehead crinkled, brows drawing together. “I figured I could ask you.”

  “What do you know about him?” No use denying Rodney had been in their house, not if Kelly had actually seen him. Better to mitigate any possible fear or concern and play off the occurrence as something normal. “What did you hear that makes you worried for him?”

  “Well, he was there to see Doc.” Kelly shrugged in that effortless way little kids always had, like their bones were fluid. “And he sounded like someone had hurt him bad. I just wanted to make sure he’s gonna be okay.” He glanced around at his sister, who had fallen to the ground on her back, arms and legs sprawled akimbo, her laughter floating towards the sky. “Like me and Shiloh are.”

  In her mind, Alace reviewed a video she’d been sent of Rodney’s homecoming.

  Once Rodney underwent initial treatment at the Aurora Children’s Hospital, things moved fast. Too fast to transport his parents to Colorado, not with Alace expediting everything from behind the scenes. The children’s hospital in Atlanta was prepared to receive him, but Alace diverted the ambulance to his parents’ house along the way from the airport. The driver had recorded the encounter, from moments before the door burst open until the back of the ambulance closed, Rodney’s mother seated on the gurney with her son in her arms.

  The glimpse into the woman’s life had ripped at Alace, building an inferno where a flame had barely kindled before. In the room behind her had stood an unseasonable Christmas tree, seven years of unopened presents piled underneath. On the mantel were montage photo frames declaring things like “Happy 10th Birthday,” two of the available slots filled with photos of Rodney’s siblings, one rectangle standing empty. When the woman leaped toward the ambulance, Alace had noticed a tattoo on her arm. A quick online search surfaced not only the tattoo but the meaning. A tree, the main branches made from renditions of her children’s signatures, one space starkly blank. Waiting. Everything was about waiting for Rodney, even as her other children had forced time to keep moving forwards.

  Rodney had already endured one reconstructive surgery, with two more planned as soo
n as his wounds healed enough. For a certain sum of money, that same ambulance driver had happily transferred to a hospital staff position and was feeding Alace more videos as things changed. Even swaddled with bandages, tongue stitched and swollen, Rodney had talked about his savior. “The man with kind eyes,” he’d called Owen. “My hero,” his mother declared.

  Yeah, Rodney was going to be absolutely fine.

  “He’s with his mother and father again.” Kelly tilted his head to one side, considering her response. “I get regular updates on him. Do you want to know he’s okay going forwards?”

  “Yeah.” Kelly’s smile was without subterfuge, bright and loving. “That’d be great, Miss Alace.” He held out his hands. “Want me to take Lila for a little bit?”

  Lila’s movements hadn’t ceased this time, and Alace looked down to see her daughter’s face peeking out from underneath the blanket. Her toothless grin was as brilliantly innocent as Kelly’s smile. Alace drew her closer to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Wanna go with Kelly, baby girl?” The grin widened, Lila’s approval of the offer clear. “Here you go, kid. Bring her back when she gets heavy.”

  She handed Lila over, watching as the little girl gripped tight to Kelly’s shirt, holding herself close so she could wobble forward and plant an open-mouthed kiss against the boy’s cheek. True to form, Kelly held her securely, one hand splayed across Lila’s upper back. When Lila pulled away, her mouth was shiny, wet with saliva. Kelly grinned at her and swiped his face against his shoulder. “Hey, kiddo.”

  Alace kept an eye on them as Kelly wandered into the yard, both of his arms wrapped around Lila. Alace pulled her phone from a pocket, unlocked it, and launched her text string with Eric. Snapping a photo, she uploaded it there, and then after a moment’s thought, sent the same picture to Owen and then Doc. Kelly was half-turned away, staring into Lila’s face, both children in profile while behind them Shiloh was falling out of an attempted handstand, hair in a tumbled halo as her legs came down.

  Sunshine AND outdoors with children. It’s like I don’t even know you.