by Rebecca Deel
Lily scanned the open area for motion sensors or cameras. Found nothing. She glanced at Remy. He nodded. Slowly, they circled the open space, staying in the shadows as they walked toward the back stairwell.
Once inside, they climbed the stairs. No sound betrayed their progress. At the second floor landing, Remy eased open the door from the stairwell onto the main hallway. No sounds. Weapon in hand, he slipped into the gloom, motioning Lily to wait.
Irked her some, but she had to give him credit. He was trying not to go all caveman on her. Her ego could deal with letting him go first in this situation. There would come a time when her other skills might save his life. She shivered, hoped that never happened. He was beginning to mean a great deal to her.
Seconds later, Remy returned and signaled her to move into the hall. Moonlight glowed through windows on either end of the hallway. Halfway down, she knelt in front of the door to Montgomery’s suite of offices and slipped in the lock picks. When the lock gave, she stood and turned the knob.
Inside the office, they pulled out their penlights. Lily found and disabled the alarm in a matter of seconds. She shook her head. Cheap system. “You search out here,” she whispered in Remy’s ear. “I’ll take the office.”
He nodded and they separated.
Lily headed for the doctor’s file cabinet. Finding the office equipment locked, she made short work of the flimsy lock. Sliding open the first drawer, she scanned the folder labels. Building contract, maintenance, equipment rental agreements, vehicle rental, employee files. The next drawer yielded more useful information. Looked like patient files. She scanned the names, stopped when she found Christine Wilder’s file.
She slid off her backpack, unzipped it, and slid the file inside. As she turned to shut the drawer and begin searching the desk, her light highlighted a name she’d missed. Mouth dry, Lily freed the file. It couldn’t be. Could it? The mission clock ticked in her head. She knew they would have to leave soon, but she had to check. She laid the file on Montgomery’s desk, flipped it open, scanned. Her eye caught the address listed for the patient.
Her heart sank even as anger heated her blood. Elaine Higgins was a patient of Montgomery. Grim resolve filled her. She no longer had a choice. There was no way she would let the Higgins family sink more money into this scam. Maybe her mother wasn’t too far gone. Perhaps traditional treatment could cure her or at least extend her life. She had no chance if she continued to pour money into a worthless treatment.
Lily slid the file into her pack along with Christine’s, turned her attention to the desk and computer. She set her pack at her feet and sat in the comfortable leather chair. Yeah, the good old doc sure liked his comforts at the expense of other people’s health.
She searched the drawers for a password. Nothing. Next, she turned to the computer, flipped the keyboard up. Nothing there either. Eyeing the mouse pad, she turned it over. Bingo. Montgomery had taped his password to the bottom. She rolled her eyes at the doctor’s choice. Lip curling, she typed in the words “tropical getaway.” Jerk.
Lily dug out her flash drive and copied the files saved on Montgomery’s computer. She’d just slid the drive free and into her pack when she heard a noise in the outer office. She froze. Remy had been utterly silent in his search so far. Male voices drifted through the open doorway. Not Remy. Had he been discovered? Just as quickly as the thought surfaced, she discarded it. If Remy had been fighting two men, there would be a lot of noise as he took them down.
Grabbing her pack, Lily flipped off her penlight. No exit from the office. No closet. No bathroom. Fabulous. Under the desk, then. It was that or nothing. She crouched and duck-walked into the darkened space, thankful she’d thought to tug a black watch cap over her blond hair. Nothing like blond hair to draw attention to yourself in the dark.
She froze as footsteps drew near.
“Put one in here. Between this one and the other in the reception area, this place ought to go up in flames pretty fast. Montgomery doesn’t want anything left to trace back to him.”
A rustle of fabric, the scent of nauseating male cologne. One of these guys had a lousy sense of smell. The other man set something on the desk right above Lily’s head. “All set.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
Heavy footsteps rushed from the office and the suite.
Within seconds of their exit, Lily heard Remy whisper, “Sweetness, we need to book.”
She scrambled from beneath the desk, stood, strapped on her backpack. A glance at the desktop and a ball of ice formed in her stomach. A bomb with a timer ticking down to detonation.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Remy grabbed Lily’s hand and they sprinted from the office suite to the stairwell, raced down the stairs, and burst into the open space. Time to detonation counting off in his head, he shoved the door open. They swerved to the left and dashed down the darkened alley. When his mental clock reached zero, he pushed Lily to the ground and dived on top of her.
In a split second, light flashed and a deafening explosion ripped through the peaceful night, scattering broken glass and stones and bricks all around them. Something heavy slammed onto his back. Remy grunted, wrapped his arms tighter around Lily’s head.
“Remy?” The woman underneath him wiggled to get free, sounding frantic. “Are you okay?”
“Rock.” At least, he hoped that’s what hit him. “Stay still a minute.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“You can check me when we’re back in the suite, honey.”
“Really? Fantastic. I get to see all those muscles up close.”
Though her comment made him smile, Remy caught the worry in her voice. He glanced around, blinked against the dust and smoke as flames poured from what was left of Montgomery’s office building.
“Come on.” He pushed himself off Lily and reached down to pull her up. “We need to get out of here before someone sees us and thinks we’re the ones who set off the bomb.”
They walked at a fast clip down the alley away from the flames. Back on the sidewalk, Remy turned them away from the hotel, headed to more populated areas where they wouldn’t draw as much attention. At least that was his intention until he got a good look at Lily’s face and clothes. A pedestrian hurried toward them, headed in the direction of the fire.
Spotting a darkened doorway, he urged Lily into the space, pressed her up against the door and kissed her. He kept the kiss light, listening intently for the footsteps to pass their location. Finally he heard the man moving further down the sidewalk.
Remy lifted his head, turned to watch the other man’s progress. When the gawker was out of sight, he glanced at Lily. “We look like we’ve been in a war zone. We need to find a faucet to wash the dirt off our faces and hands.”
“And here I thought you were overcome with a need to kiss me senseless.”
He grinned. “I should pat myself on the back. I wasn’t even trying.”
Lily’s lips curved upward. “Got an ego problem, Doucet?”
“Not when it’s justified.” His quip earned him a chuckle and made him feel like he’d accomplished something to take Lily’s mind off their brush with death. A few seconds slower and they wouldn’t have made it out of the building before it blew. “We need to find an outside faucet or fountain.”
After a glance around to be sure they were alone, he led her from the doorway and laid his arm across her shoulder, tucking her into his side. Anyone stumbling upon them should see two lovers walking in the warm evening provided their faces remained averted from a streetlight. He walked with Lily to one of the older homes with a fountain in the yard. The lights were off in the residence. The owners must be out. Otherwise, they would have been on the balcony watching the fire a few blocks over. Sirens raced closer to the scene of Montgomery’s office building.
They washed the dirt from their faces, arms, and hands. “We’ll need to ditch our clothes.”
“Got news for you, Remy. I’m not trotting down
the streets of the French Quarter stark naked.”
“Good. I’d have to deck every man who looked at you. After you shower, I’ll take our clothes and get rid of them. Can’t afford to have the hotel staff get a whiff of smoke on them. I guarantee Merry Sunshine will be talking to the cops within the next 24 hours and she was warned ahead of time that we were coming by Trina. The cops will be very interested in our whereabouts this evening.”
“Should we just leave?”
“If we run, we look guilty and make them look at us even closer. I used the company credit card, honey. They’ll track us down. Might as well wait until tomorrow to check out and give the boys in blue a chance to ask their questions.”
Lily nodded. “Let’s get out of here before a neighbor notices us loitering near the fountain.”
They returned to the street, this time holding hands and moving at a slow stroll toward their hotel. They gave Dumaine a wide birth, stopping at a coffee shop to purchase iced coffee and a couple muffins. While there, he and Lily engaged the clerk in a conversation about the highlights of living in Nashville. After they left the coffee shop, he pointed out a few shops with distinctive names for Lily to remember when they were questioned. The coffee shop employee should remember them, but as slammed as they were with customers, she probably wouldn’t be able to give an exact time Remy and Lily had been in there. He hadn’t seen a security camera. Even if he’d just missed it, the time stamp on their sales ticket would show them several blocks from the fire within minutes of the explosion. He was thankful his family had spent enough time in the French Quarter that all the Doucet boys knew shortcuts around the area.
As they approached the hotel, Lily asked, “How do we play this? We can’t get too close to anybody or the stench of smoke will be obvious.”
“Ride the elevator from the garage to our floor. If there’s someone on the elevator when the car door opens, act like you forgot something and will catch the next one.”
He pushed the button to call for the elevator. When the double doors slid open, the car was empty. Now, as long as the car didn’t stop in the lobby, they were clear.
Reaching their floor without a stop in between, he carded them into the suite, closed and locked the door. “Shower fast, elf. Do you have anything heavy I can weigh down our clothes with?”
“You’re going to dump them in the river?”
“I’m going to try. If that’s not possible, I’ll find somewhere to bury them.”
She frowned. “Why not drop them in a Dumpster?”
He gave her a look. “Every cop knows to look in a Dumpster. It’ll be one of the first places they’ll check, especially ones between here and Dumaine.”
“What about our weapons, Remy? Normal people don’t travel with a small arsenal.”
“We’re on the job, searching for a possible kidnapping victim. They can confirm it with James and Brent and we have the correct licenses to carry. Merry Sunshine will also have to tell the cops that we agreed to contact Montgomery next week to set up an appointment for your mother.”
“After we confronted Trina who isn’t going to be nearly as accommodating as Merry.”
He waved that argument aside. “I’ll think of something. Go take your shower, honey.” He waited until she closed the door to her room to yank out his cell phone.
“Maddox.”
“It’s Remy. We’ve got a problem.”
“Talk to me.”
Remy laid out the events of the last few hours, ending with, “I plan to ditch our clothes in a few minutes. We’re clear for now.”
“But you know that’s not going to last.”
“Nope,” he agreed. “We have a few hours’ reprieve at best.”
“I’ll alert the legal team just in case. Cops will probably be calling me to confirm your mission.”
“That’s my guess as well. Call James. Tell him to expect contact from the NOPD.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Remy hurried through his own shower, making sure to wash his hair a couple times to rinse out the smell of smoke. When he emerged from his room, Lily was waiting in the living area, her clothes stuffed in a black bag.
She handed the bag to him. “There’s room in there for your clothes as well.”
Perfect. A black cloth bag would sink to the bottom of the river provided it was weighted down. “Don’t suppose you have a barbell handy.” He didn’t want to lift one from the hotel gym. Those things came in sets and it would be more than obvious that one was missing.
Lily strode to the kitchenette and retrieved the coffee mugs she’d purchased. “How about these?”
He considered them, shook his head. “You have a receipt for the purchase. They might want to see the mugs. I’ll find some rocks to use.”
“Suits me. I didn’t want to toss my coffee mug anyway.”
Remy grinned and brushed his mouth over hers. “I’ll be back soon.”
He eased the door to the suite open, checked the hallway. No foot traffic. Using the stairs, he made his way to the back of the hotel and slipped out into the night.
While waiting for Remy to return, Lily paced. She longed to step outside on the balcony and watch the teeming French Quarter nightlife, but was afraid someone would notice her on the balcony alone. Better all around if she didn’t have to explain his absence since they were supposed to be dating. She paused. Were dating, she corrected herself. Sounded weird. Never in a million years would she have believed Remy Doucet to be interested in her.
She grinned. She wondered what her friend, Sophie, would say when she heard. Probably that she’d told her about Remy’s interest a few months ago after watching them together at a company function. Lily had blown her off. Turned out Sophie was pretty intuitive.
Her text tone chimed. Lily checked her message and punched in Zane’s number. “Hey, it’s Lily.”
“I found Montgomery’s facility in Mexico.”
“Good.”
“No, sweet thing. Bad.”
“Why is it bad? We wanted you to find the place.”
“I didn’t want him set up in the Chihuahua province. The government there hates Fortress with a fiery passion. One misstep and we’ll never find your bodies.”
“Guess I don’t have to worry about human traffickers, then.”
“Not funny, Lily.” His tone was sharp enough to almost draw blood.
“Sorry. Gallows humor. Did you find schematics for the doc’s place?”
“In your email. Is Remy close by?”
“Nope. He’s ditching our clothes.”
Silence. “Come again?”
“Long story.”
“I have time and this sounds like a good one. Talk.”
Talking to Zane beat pacing around the suite, worrying her partner had been detained by the police for questioning. She took her friend through the events of the last several hours. When she finished her recitation, Zane asked, “Are you okay?”
“A few bruises where Remy tossed me to the ground and dived on top of me.” And that reminded her. She didn’t get a chance to check Remy’s back for injuries, something she intended to fix as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
“Close call, Lily.”
So close her ears were still ringing and she could swear she felt the heat from the flames flickering over her skin.
“Did you find anything in the doc’s office?”
She glanced at her backpack on the floor at her feet. “Two patient files. One belongs to Christine Wilder.”
“And the other?”
“Elaine Higgins.”
“Small world,” Zane said softly.
“We have to expose him before he ruins other people’s lives.” Her voice grew husky. “I don’t think I’ll be able to put off going to see my birth mother. I can’t let her family sink any more money into these so-called treatments.”
“Don’t go alone, Lily.”
Warmth spread through her body. “I won’t. Remy will go with me.�
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Another silence. “Like that, is it?”
“Yeah. It’s new, though. And don’t spill the news to Sophie. I want to tell her myself.”
“My lips are sealed. I’m happy for you. He’s a good guy.”
Lily frowned. Zane sounded almost sad. “Zane, are you okay?”
“Sure.”
“Try not to overwhelm me with your enthusiasm. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on. I thought we were friends.” And she didn’t have many of those. That meant she valued the ones she had. “Talk to me.”
“It’s nothing anyone can fix, Lily.”
“Try me.”
He snorted. “You’ve got a miraculous cure to get me out of this wheelchair?”
Lily thought back through their conversation, connected the dots. “Your friends are all getting married or dating.”
“Give the beautiful woman a round of applause.”
“Zane, you don’t have to hide your feelings with me. Why aren’t you seeing anyone?”
“The women I’ve met can’t see past the iron horse I’m riding.”
“The right woman will. She’s worth waiting on, Z.”
“I’m beginning to think the woman you’re talking about doesn’t exist.”
Lily grimaced. Zane was such an amazing man, a hero. He’d served for ten years as a Navy SEAL, saved countless lives with his heroic actions. He deserved someone special in his life. “I’m glad you made it home.” The idea he might not have come home, that she might never have met him, sent a slash of pain through her heart.
“On my better days, I am, too. Today isn’t one of them. Just ignore me, sweet thing. I’ll be better tomorrow.”
Her eyes narrowed as she remembered the date. “This is the anniversary of your injury, isn’t it?”
“Got it in one. Like I said, I’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“Well, with all this research you’re doing for us, we’ll owe you dinner. Preferences?”
