Blackout: A Romance Anthology

by Stephanie St. Klaire

  Turning slowly, he scanned the windows around the casino entrance as well as the elaborate glass front entrance. The busiest street in the country, Las Vegas Boulevard — the strip — was completely dark. Vegas was off the grid.

  Without any communications tools, Cane tracked down each and every person from his team at their designated posts throughout the main level of the casino and hotel. Without fail, each had cleared their area and stood post, containing the crowds to a narrow, more manageable area. There were guards posted at the entrance, letting people out, but not in — not until the lights were back on. Some ventured to the stairwells, tasked with a treacherous climb for most, so they could wait it out in the comfort of their hotel rooms. Thirty minutes had passed, and they only had an hour of generator life left.

  All Cane wanted to do was locate Charlie. He thought he’d come across her by now, somewhere in the common areas, but he hadn’t. Last he spoke to her, she was going up to the penthouse to escort Davenport down to some VIP event here in the hotel. That area had been cleared and emptied, though.

  That churning in his gut was unrelenting and stronger than it had been all day. His only job was to protect Charlie from Anson Deveraux — a guy who knew his way around technology in big ways. Anson wasn’t just a little tech savvy, he was far beyond that. The man had used a prison computer with limited internet access and managed to matrix himself out by hacking the prison.

  He freed a handful of the most dangerous prisoners housed there at the time as a diversion. Did that kind of intellect mean he could take an entire city off the grid? Maybe. Maybe not. But there hadn’t been any sign of the guy in months. Last time they were on his trail, he was in Brazil. This wasn’t above Anson, but there certainly wasn’t enough to justify pegging him with the blackout. Not even Cane’s nagging instincts were enough to label this as acts of Anson Deveraux.

  Henry Davenport, however, hadn’t left Cane’s radar, especially after the call he’d had with his cousin, Liam, not an hour before the lights went out. Cane didn’t have a file on Henry yet because there wasn’t a file to share. Liam handled everything technological for Brother’s Keeper Security and was known for developing some of the most sophisticated security software ever to be used — some developed for the deepest covert government and military branches the United States hosted. The branches nobody acknowledged, or spoke about, but knew were there.

  If Davenport had anything to hide or find, Liam was the guy to nail him. But there was nothing. The website for Davenport Industries was less than a year old for a Silicon Valley company that had been around nearly a decade. It hardly made sense. It was a front, and it was beyond the scope of suspicious. So much so, Liam and the rest of the O’Reillys had dispatched a special team of operatives coming from all over the country to report to Cane by morning. It may not have been their mark, Anson Deveraux, but it was somebody they couldn’t identify a little too interested in Charlie.

  That’s why Cane had no doubt his concerns had come to fruition and whatever was going on had something to do with Charlie. Davenport was definitely up to no good. Guilt rolled through him. He hadn’t trusted his gut with this guy, and now the city was in turmoil and Charlie was missing. He was hoping for a coincidence here, but it was less and less likely to happen.

  There was no way to reach the team headed his way now — he would have to work with what he had, and those resources were already somewhat spent managing the current situation. Las Vegas held some of Brother’s Keepers biggest fish — they had many of the hotel and casino owners on their roster of clients, so they had people nearby. Just no way to reach any of them, and it had to be pure pandemonium on the strip where half the population was drunk or high mixed with scared tourists.

  The last time Cane had seen Charlie, she was headed to the penthouse, so that was where he was headed. He was on his own, for now, but he didn’t need help when it came to her. He knew that now more than ever. The urgency to reach her coursed through his veins like a shot of pure adrenaline. When the security lights dimmed and went out before they were due, it was a clear indication they had been targeted. This wasn’t a random incidence — it was intentional.

  ***

  It was odd. Eddie and Skye had cleared the small rooms of the penthouse and turned up nothing — the rooms weren’t even being used. It seemed this Davenport guy was the only one using the entire floor, and just a single room. His bag was empty, there were no clothes hanging and definitely no treasure to discover. Not even a watch. They knew they were in the right place because the penthouse was pretty clear, but what this guy was here for no longer was.

  “Who comes to Vegas with an empty suitcase?” Skye asked as she exited the bathroom. “Not even a toothbrush.”

  “I don’t know. I’d say this felt like a set up, but there’s no way anyone saw us coming,” Eddie said, looking around. He pointed to the far side of the room with his cellphone flashlight. “Let’s look over there. Last place.”

  “Bingo,” Skye said. “I found a laptop, but it isn’t anything fancy.”

  “Definitely not worth getting caught over, that’s for sure.” Eddie shrugged. “I just don’t get it. If not to gamble, why is this guy here? I mean, no clothes? He was definitely planning a spending spree in the casino, right?”

  “I don’t know.” Skye was slow to reply. “I think…I found something? It’s like a floorplan to something?”

  Eddie joined her at the foot of the bed where she was rifling through papers she’d found there on a chaise with the laptop. “Building schematics. These…are plans for this hotel and casino. What’s he doing, planning a heist of his own? Is that what the big, empty suitcase is for? Whatever he plans on taking?”

  “Something doesn’t feel right, Eddie. We need to get out of here and tell someone.”

  “Oh sure, Skye. Let’s go tell the guy in the too tight shirt with the swollen muscles that we broke into the penthouse and think the dude staying in it is planning to rob the place.”

  “I guess we can’t say anything.”

  “We can watch him, let him do the dirty work, then grab whatever he snags before he knows it’s gone.” Eddie was always thinking ahead. “Let him take the fall, then we take the goods.”

  “I don’t know, Eddie. This feels bigger than us. It’s a bad idea. For all we know, the guy is a notorious killer and would spend his life hunting us down to get back whatever we took.”

  “You watch too many of those true crime shows. That never really happens.” Eddie laughed.

  A moan startled them as they noticed movement from the bed. It wasn’t just unmade and messy. The darkness had camouflaged the fact that there was someone actually in it. A woman.

  Skye covered her mouth with both hands to contain the scream trying to escape while Eddie pulled her behind him. He flashed his light in the direction of the movement, but couldn’t tell what he was looking at other than a pile of blankets. He slowly came around to the side of the bed, Skye close behind, and dragged the blanket down.

  “Oh my God, Eddie,” Skye cried. “Help her.”

  “It’s the girl,” Eddie said, handing his phone to Skye to free his hands so she could hold the light in his direction. “It’s Charlie. The hostess.”

  “What?” Skye leaned over, gaining a closer look, and burst into tears at the sight before her. “Can she breathe? Take that thing out of her mouth. Oh my God, why would someone do this?”

  In quick movement, Eddie removed the gag from Charlie’s mouth and began to untie her hands and feet. Racing against a nonexistent clock, he looked over his shoulder often to make sure the guy, Henry Davenport, hadn’t returned. “I have no idea, but I think I know why he needed a big empty suitcase,” he said, sitting next to her on the bed.

  “No,” Skye said. “Don’t say that. What do we do? We can’t leave her here. We have to help her.”

  Eddie tried to help Charlie sit up, but her body was limp, and her breathing shallow. He didn’t see any visible injuries, which meant
she must’ve been drugged. Given the ropes and rag tied around her head and mouth, they’d discovered something sinister, and he hadn’t the foggiest idea what to do.

  “Phones are out. Elevator is out. I don’t know how we get help.”

  “Eddie we aren’t leaving her.”

  “I know. I just need to figure out a way to get all of us out the door and down the stairs — the only route up or down for anyone.”

  “What if we run into him? He’ll recognize her, and I don’t see that ending well for any of us,” Skye said.

  “Cane,” Charlie said, her voice muffled.

  “Charlie? Sweetheart?” Eddie said with a gentle shake. “Are you awake?”

  Skye leaned in, holding her hand. “Honey, we’re going to help you. Do you know who did this to you? Do you know where he is?”

  “Find him.” Charlie held her head up briefly, until it flopped back down like a newborn baby. “Find Cane.”

  “Who’s Cane? Charlie? Where’s Cane?” Eddie probed.

  “Anson. Tell Cane Anson’s…” Charlie’s voice trailed off again, and she was unconscious.

  “Anson? Anson’s what, Charlie?” Eddie gently swatted her face, trying to rouse her, but it didn’t work. She was out.

  “Stay here,” Eddie said. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t you dare leave me alone — us…alone.”

  “I’m just going to the foyer,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Foyer?”

  Bracing himself in the bedroom doorway, Eddie said, “I need the laundry bag…from the cleaning cart.”

  CHAPTER 9

  “Thank God she doesn’t weigh more than a buck ten,” Eddie whispered, a full laundry bag over his shoulder. “Going down the stairs isn’t as easy as I thought. We may as well be going up the whole way.”

  “Do you need a break?” Skye replied. “I just feel so bad that she’s stuffed in there like that.”

  “She’ll be okay as long as she doesn’t wake up in there,” Eddie added. “I didn’t know how else to get her out of there. I mean, the bin on the maid cart would have been easier, but with the elevator out…”

  “Yeah, that thing wouldn’t make it downstairs, and even if it did, it’d be more suspicious than a laundry bag. God, Eddie. What are we going to do?”

  “This — move the girl. Then, I guess we find this Cane guy.”

  “Why don’t we just find the security guy? He seemed fond of her, let him figure out the Cane thing,” Eddie said. “We are getting in way over our heads here. We need to get her to safety, then we bounce. Not our circus, not our monkeys.”

  “Eddie, we aren’t just going to ditch her. We found her for a reason, this like…divine intervention, or something.”

  “Divine?” Eddie laughed. “You think God purposely made sure we stumbled upon a girl about to be victimized in some way…maybe even murdered?”

  “Maybe.” Skye turned her nose up. “What if…what if all our choices led to this. What if this is our…you know, like redemption, or whatever?”

  Eddie stopped on the next landing, gently putting the bag — Charlie — on the ground, tucked in the corner. Hands on his hips, he turned to face Skye while he caught his breath. “Look. We’re just a couple of…cons who stumbled upon another cons dirty mess. Nothing more. Nothing divine about that, babe. Wrong place, wrong time. We aren’t heroes, okay?”

  “No, we’re doing the right thing, though. That has to count for something,” she argued. “Maybe this is the start of a new journey.”

  “A new journey?” Eddie laughed again. “Look, the only reason we’re doing the right thing is because it’s either that or get implicated in something we have nothing to do with. We may be a lot of things, but we’re not kidnappers or…rapists or murders. We get her to safety, then we run and never look back — conscience clean.”

  “Well,” Skye said, crossing her arms, “I’m not leaving until she’s safe and we figure out who Cane is. She needs him.”

  “Oh, really? Really, Skye? And what about this Anson person? Should we figure out that part too?”

  “Maybe?” Skye was determined to get her way. Whether Eddie believed her or not, she felt compelled to explore whatever this opportunity was. “What if that’s who hurt her? What if it’s a clue?”

  “What if he’s the penthouse guy, Skye? You saw what he did to Charlie. Tied her up and her heads all banged up. Drugged too, it seems.”

  “That Henry Davenport guy is penthouse guy, Eddie. We already know that. You’re the one who overheard them talking about him.”

  “Or is he? What if Anson is in the Penthouse too? Or worse, what if Anson is Davenport?”

  Skye guffawed. “How do we know Cane isn’t penthouse guy? Or all three are the same person?”

  “That’s the point, Skye. We have no way of knowing. All we know is there is a penthouse guy out there somewhere who will eventually come back for Charlie and we just fucking took her,” Eddie blurted, his whisper louder than he intended. “We’re getting out of here. This isn’t our mess to clean up, Skye, and I won’t leave you here.”

  The sound of muffled footsteps began to fill the center of the stairwell. Eddie put a finger to his mouth to silence Skye, then moved to the railing and looked down. In a sudden burst of movement, he had Skye pinned, back against the wall, Charlie pinned behind Skye’s legs.

  With his body firmly pressed against Skye, he leaned in, and whispered, “Someone’s coming up. Stay behind me and play along.”

  Skye’s audible swallow confirmed just how scared she suddenly was. But she played the part, her arms quick to hug Eddie’s neck, her legs kicked wide by his feet. He was trying to hide as much of Charlie as he could — make it look like nothing more than the bag of dirty room linens they were trying to pass it off as.

  “You’re blocking the way.” Came a deep, monotone timbre from behind Eddie. “I said…”

  Eddie looked over his shoulder. “There’s room. Move along, this isn’t a peep show.”

  “Get a room. You’re blocking the emergency exit,” the tall blond man said.

  As if truly offended, Eddie turned, shielding Skye with his body, and faced the man. “Look…friend.” Eddie thumbed at the badge he wore with his stolen security uniform. “Hotel security. Where you coming from?”

  The man’s mouth opened, then shut without saying a word.

  “Better yet, where you going? You know there’s some kind of city-wide blackout, right? Or have you been stalking the stairs all evening looking for couples to watch? You want that kind of show, you’re going to have to go off the strip pal.” Eddie was growing bolder by the moment on the outside, but on the inside, he was sweating bullets and hoping the man wasn’t drunk and ready for a fight. “Who let you up here?”

  “N-Nobody,” the man stuttered. “I’m just heading back to my room.”

  “To do what, buddy? Lights are out up there too. What floor? Room number?” Eddie didn’t give the guy a chance to answer. “If you think you’re going to try to knock off some rooms and rob some unsuspecting tourists in the middle of a crisis, you’re sorely mistaken.”

  “I’m just going to my room. A few floors up.” The man stalled, carefully choosing his next words. “I don’t do crowds, and the lobby is a clusterfuck, okay?”

  A soft moan interrupted the banter. The man’s eyes narrowed on Eddie before he glanced down toward the bag. Skye was quick to catch on and used that moment to rub her leg up Eddie’s and let out a mimicking moan, trying to sell the sound they were hearing as her own.

  “C’mon, honey. Just let him go so we can finish what we started.” Skye looked into the man’s angry eyes and nearly gasped at the emptiness she saw. It was dark, and they only had the light of a couple flashlights, but it was enough to see there was something sinister about him. She continued the ruse, ever the actress, and pulled the lobe of Eddie’s ear into her mouth, never looking away from the man.

  “Fine,” Eddie said to the man, “go. But know t
his. There is security on every floor right now and if you’re up to no good, we’ll know. We run a tight ship around here. So, get to your room and stay there until the power comes back or we’re evacuated.”

  The man took one last look at the bag on the floor before brushing by the couple and heading up the next flight of stairs. Eddie wasn’t shy about his presence, even leaning forward over the railing to watch the man as he ascended. It was only one flight up where the man exited the stairwell and let the door slam behind him. Eddie waited a moment, listening for any sign of the man before jogging up to confirm he had indeed moved on.

  “Okay. He’s gone,” Eddie said when he ran back down.

  “You played that off well. Do you think he bought the moan?”

  “Not at all. I think he’s as up to no good as we are. I’m willing to bet that’s not even his floor — too convenient.”

  “Do you think he’s penthouse guy? Did you see his eyes?” Skye asked. “They say the eyes are the widow to someone’s soul, and there was no soul in there.”

  “I think we need to find Cane. Penthouse guy could be anyone,” Eddie admitted. “No matter who that guy was, he’s up to no good.” Eddie reached for the bag and pulled it over his shoulder.

  “How do you know?”

  “I don’t, just a hunch. We need to get out of here,” Eddie said. “We’re only two floors away from ours. These are all suite and VIP levels, if we don’t move fast and get out of here, he’ll narrow down where we are if he gets curious — especially if he starts looking for what’s in the bag.”

  ***

  With Charlie safely hidden in their room, tucked in their bed, Skye ran to the wet bar and grabbed a bottled water, a hotel notepad, and pen from the nearby desk.

  “Eddie, run and get some ice,” Skye said over her shoulder as she scrawled a note.

  “Ice? For what?”

  Skye tossed an annoyed look Eddie’s way. “For Charlie. What if she wakes up and the water is too warm?”