Savage Rising

by Katie Reus

  She resisted the urge to touch her covered-up bruise. Stupid jackass.

  “Olivia, welcome.” He held out a hand so that she and Savage could step inside. When he moved, his jacket shifted and she spotted a pistol tucked into a shoulder holster. He’d likely be the only one carrying a weapon right now too. Hence the body scan. It hadn’t just been for listening devices, but weapons as well.

  “You’re Neely?” Savage subtly stepped in front of her, blocking her almost completely from Kyle as the door shut behind them.

  “Yes.”

  Before she’d moved two steps into the room, Savage moved like, well, a savage, at Kyle’s positive response.

  He smashed his fist into Kyle’s pretty face once—hard. “That’s for hurting what’s mine.” A soft, deadly growl of words.

  Completely in line with the role of a man obsessed with her, but still surprising. She noted three other men in the room, and none of them made a move to help Kyle.

  Feeling at a loss for what to do, she just stood there, her mind trying to catch up to what had happened. Before she’d blinked Kyle had his gun drawn and was pointing it at Savage as blood streamed out of his nose and down his mouth.

  She’d never seen anyone move as fast as Savage as he grabbed Kyle’s wrist and took his gun. Just…took it. As if it was freaking candy. In a few quick moves, he’d disassembled the thing into three pieces. Instead of tossing them on the ground, however, he tucked them into his own pockets.

  Well that was…unexpected. Olivia covered her shock but no one else in the room, least of all Kyle, was hiding theirs. If there had been a “who is the scariest guy in the room contest,” Savage would have won, hands down.

  For a solid five seconds silence reigned, until Kyle looked past Savage at her and snarled, “What the hell?” Murder was in his gaze.

  The other men remained where they were seated, two on a long, plush white leather couch and one by a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Atlantic.

  “Don’t look at her. Look at me.” Savage was in a completely different mode than she’d ever seen him. “I’m here because she’s here, because you need her skills—and it’s pretty clear you need mine as well. You assaulted her two days ago. I’d be a shitty partner if I just let that go. Consider that your payback.” The edge to Savage’s voice sounded a little like payback wasn’t over.

  But it was hard to tell. Her nerves were shot as she waited for Kyle to respond. What if he kicked them out? What if he—

  “That’s fair.” Kyle’s voice was even as he headed to the minibar, grabbed a towel. “Now who the fuck are you?” he asked as he pressed the white cloth to his face.

  “Name’s Savage.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “What are your skills? Your resume? Who have you worked with?”

  “Who I’ve worked with is none of your business. And my skills are acquisitions and deliveries. Occasionally a cleaner.” All words Kyle would understand.

  Without actually saying it, Savage had just told him that he retrieved expensive things and delivered them to buyers. And he was also a killer. Cleaner, triggerman—there were a few phrases common in circles like this that meant the same thing. Cleaner was the most common for assassin. And she wasn’t sure if he really was or if this was just part of his cover. She’d been too afraid to ask him back at Brooks’s ranch when they’d been building his background and their history. But she believed that he could be.

  Taking Olivia’s hand, Savage tugged her toward the seating area, his movements completely confident.

  She felt like they were walking into a tiger’s den. Of course, he was a tiger himself and secure in his strength. She, on the other hand, felt like a scared rabbit.

  He oh so gently guided her down into one of the zebra print high-back chairs and stood next to her like a sentry as he faced Kyle and the others.

  “I’m going to need more than that. I need to know you’re not a Fed.” Kyle held the bloody cloth at his side now.

  His nose was swelling—something that made her incredibly happy—but she wasn’t sure if it was broken. If it wasn’t, that was only because Savage had restrained himself. No doubt he could have killed Kyle with a few moves.

  “I don’t care what you want.”

  Panic punched through Olivia, but she decided to trust Savage. He was here to help and had more experience than her in situations like this. The whole Redemption Harbor Consulting team did. She’d gone to Skye for a reason, so she was going to have faith, even if her heartbeat was an erratic drum in her ears and she felt as if she could split apart at the seams. She was definitely not cut out for undercover work.

  “You do if you care about Olivia.” Kyle wasn’t even looking at her anymore. As if she didn’t exist at all. All Kyle’s focus was on the real predator in the room.

  Everyone’s was.

  She subtly glanced around at the other men, took in what she could glean about them. One black man in his early thirties—maybe late twenties. Head shaved, a little stubble on his face, and dressed like he was part of a biker gang in all black and a leather jacket. Not that she could judge since she was dressed similarly. Both the men on the couch were white. One wore gray slacks, a crisp button-down shirt and a vest—with an actual timepiece hanging out of it. From his Brioni shoes to his buffed and polished fingernails, he was likely the con man of the group. Knowing what she did about the crews Kyle had run in the past, she’d bet on it. The other man was dressed simply in jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved sweater. Everything about him was forgettable. Easy-to-look-at face, but not memorable, clothing style boring, and even though he was sitting, she guessed his height to be about five feet nine. He could be anything—someone who posed as a delivery man to get into somewhere to plant bugs. Or he could be a thief. It was too hard to tell just by looking at him.

  “Fine. You get to know more about me and she gets to speak to Martina. From a live feed. Skype or FaceTime, I don’t care which. Once she does that, you’ll know what you need to about me,” Savage said.

  Kyle looked as if he wanted to argue, but after a few seconds while Olivia held her breath, he finally nodded. When he looked at her there was more annoyance than anything in his expression. Someone else had taken over control of the situation—something Kyle liked to always have. Even as they spoke he was probably thinking of ways he planned to kill Savage. Unless of course Kyle decided he needed to use him. Kyle might be a killer, but he was also a businessman. If he thought he could use someone, he’d use them until he no longer needed them. And if someone betrayed him, they died.

  Something she didn’t want to think about right now.

  “Come on.” He tilted his head at her and when she went to stand, Savage smoothly moved in front of her.

  This must have been what he’d meant about taking over, being in control. He probably hadn’t told her about his plan to punch Kyle because she’d have argued with him about it. Or she assumed that was why he didn’t. Once they were alone she was going to talk to him about that.

  He took her hand but kept her behind him as they followed Kyle to the minibar. He reached behind it and pulled out a sleek tablet. After he typed in a few commands, he handed it to her. “Keep it brief.”

  He didn’t move far and neither did Savage as she looked at the screen. The camera was pointed at the same chair and the same blue background she’d seen Martina in before. Kyle was texting someone on his phone and a few moments after that, Martina appeared on the screen.

  Wearing different clothes than in the video, she appeared to be in good health, but that didn’t mean anything.

  “Martina!” She couldn’t pretend this didn’t matter to her. Hell, what would be the point? Kyle had kidnapped Olivia’s lifelong friend for a reason. He knew this was her weakness.

  “Mi pequeña.” Martina’s voice was full of warmth. “How are you? Are you okay?”

  Olivia wanted to sob. Martina shouldn’t be asking her that. “I’m fine… How are
you? Are they treating you okay?” She wasn’t sure who “they” were, but at least one person had to be watching her. Whoever Kyle had texted. At that thought she wondered if Gage could do something with the number, maybe track whoever Kyle had been in contact with. She’d have to ask Savage about it as soon as they were alone.

  Martina nodded, stress lines around her mouth. “This isn’t the ideal situation, but it’s not terrible either. I have a bed to sleep on and they let me watch television. I miss you guys.”

  “We miss you too.” Olivia so desperately wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, that she was going to get her out of this mess, but held back. She didn’t want Kyle to have even a hint that she was planning something.

  “All right, that’s enough. You see that she’s fine.” Kyle went to grab it from her but she shifted.

  “I love you, Mama.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

  “I love you too.”

  Kyle grabbed the tablet then and turned it off. “Now it’s time for you to talk,” he said to Savage.

  “Fine. Call Victor Morales. He’ll vouch for me.”

  Olivia had no idea who this Morales was, but it was clear Kyle did if his expression was any indication. “Victor Morales? As in, the Morales crime family?”

  “The one and only.” Savage slid an arm around her shoulders, pulled her close to him in a ridiculously possessive way that left no doubt to anyone that he considered her his.

  Kyle watched him a long moment, then pulled out his cell phone again. “Stay here,” he ordered before disappearing into the attached bedroom.

  Sweat trickled down Olivia’s spine as they waited for him, but Savage was ice cold. She was glad for his presence. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be holding up at all. Being here, knowing her friend was still captive, dealing with a bunch of criminals she didn’t know—who were all male. God, it was a relief to have this force of nature by her side.

  Five minutes later Kyle was back, a half-smile on his face. He looked as if he’d just won the lottery.

  “All right, Savage. It sounds as if you’re legit. Morales says you’re good too. I’m going to need proof, however.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper as he strode toward them. “You’re going to crack the safe here.” He held out a small business card with the name, address and logo of a local jeweler. Tatiana’s Fine Jewelry. “It’s a Kaira 2000.”

  Taking it, Savage lifted a shoulder as he removed his arm from around hers. “All right.”

  “Right now.”

  Savage stiffened just as she did. “It’s the middle of the day and we haven’t cased the place.”

  “So? Morales says you’re a superstar. Superhuman, even. And I know she’s good. You two do this now. Or Martina is dead.”

  Chapter 8

  —Life is all about how you handle Plan B.—

  Zac wanted to slam his fist into Neely’s smug face again, but the man was smart. Or smart enough for now. He was playing on Olivia’s only weakness. And no way would Zac say no. Not when Martina’s life hung in the balance. “Fine, we’ll do it.” This definitely wasn’t ideal but he’d done more with less time and information.

  Olivia nodded, no pause at all. No surprise. He knew she’d do anything for her friend—a woman who was clearly more like a mother to her than he’d originally realized. “But we need props. I’m not going into this place showing my face. Otherwise we’ll become targets of local law enforcement and that could hurt whatever job you’re planning in the future.”

  Neely’s jaw clenched and Zac could feel the annoyance rolling off him. Why would he be annoyed though? Asking for props—aka a disguise—was smart.

  The hairs on the back of Zac’s neck prickled in awareness. He wasn’t sure if it was the whole situation or something about Neely’s reaction right now.

  “Fine. But you’re going dark.”

  “Excuse me?” Olivia asked.

  “No phones for the job. And no personal identifiers.”

  That was pretty standard but Zac didn’t like being without his phone. It was one of the company’s untraceable ones anyway. And after this they’d have to toss their phones in case Neely put a tracker in or tried to clone them.

  Next to him Olivia shifted slightly but nodded in agreement. She had one of the company’s untraceable ones as well. Zac pulled out his, handed it over but kept the pieces of the pistol. He definitely wasn’t giving that back—for two reasons. One was self-preservation. And the other…he’d just see what Gage could dig up on this weapon. And Kyle Neely. The man’s prints were on it.

  “I’ll need a wig, fake glasses, expensive-looking earrings and a bracelet—real diamonds, preferably—and a stethoscope,” Olivia said. “Do you have the right kind of drill for this?”

  Neely nodded.

  “I need a fedora and glasses,” Zac said, pushing up the sleeves of his button-down shirt. His clothes were already the right look for the kind of couple who would enter the high-end jewelry store, as was the insane hundred thousand dollar watch on his wrist. He’d have to thank Brooks later for making him wear it. The thing had been a gift from Brooks’s father and as far as Savage knew, the cowboy had never worn it.

  Neely nodded once, then motioned toward the two doors that swung inward to the master suite. “I’ve got anything you need.”

  Two racks of clothing, mostly men’s, but some women’s, were lined up near the windows overlooking the ocean. There were also accessories, including wigs. Wordlessly Olivia went to the wigs and grabbed a sleek platinum blonde bob. As she twisted her hair into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and fixed the wig in place, it was clear she’d done this before.

  As she finished up, he picked up a tan wool fedora and square black-rimmed glasses. Not the best disguise but he wanted something to block his face enough. The hat covered up enough of his ears that if he was caught on any CCTVs, it’d be hard to say for certain that it was him. Of course, he hoped Gage would be able to hack into any video feeds surrounding the store and delete any images of him and Olivia.

  “You’ll be taking one of my crew with you.”

  Yeah, Zac had thought he might say that. “I’m taking the biker.”

  Neely’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You’ll take who I say. And Maxwell will be going with you,” he said, motioning to one of the men in the other room. A few moments later the pretty boy with the vintage timepiece stepped into the entryway. Of course his name was Maxwell.

  “Look, I want the other guy, unless he’s completely incapable. I need someone to act as a distraction and he fits the type.” Which was mostly true. But Zac had seen the other guy before. He’d met him years ago as part of another government-related job. At the time he’d wondered if the man was actually a Fed, or maybe a spook. But the man’s role in that previous job had been minimal so Zac never made enough contact to confirm. He wasn’t even sure if the man remembered him. “You want Olivia and me to do this with no prep? Then I need to be in control.”

  Neely’s eyes narrowed a fraction. “You’ll be in control for this job only. But you’re taking Maxwell. He can create a distraction.”

  Though it went against his instincts, Zac nodded. He knew when to back off and when to act like a dick. Now he had to be in professional mode and let Neely think he was in charge.

  “Maxwell,” Neely said, still keeping his gaze trained on Zac.

  Zac had needed to come in and basically dominate Neely. It had been a risk, yes, but he’d wanted Neely off guard enough to do something stupid. Like open up a live feed on his laptop to a kidnapped woman. Gage was monitoring the penthouse and any communications that came out of it, so if he’d been able to figure out where Martina’s IP address had originated from—or at least narrow down an area—they could extract her. Then he and Olivia could walk away.

  Maxwell stepped into the entryway now, nodded once at Zac, then flicked a quick, disinterested glance at Olivia. He played with the chain on his timepiece as Neely told him he’d be
going in with the two of them.

  “You’ll be the distraction,” Zac said to him. “It would be better if you changed clothes, looked more…flashy. You won’t be connected with what Olivia and I do. All you have to do is be a giant jackass.”

  The man simply nodded and headed to one of the clothing racks. Okay, so he wasn’t the chatty type. When he pulled out a shiny gold and black shirt, black slacks, faux alligator skin boots and a gaudy gold watch, Savage nodded in approval. That would definitely work for the kind of distraction they needed.

  “I’ll take my gun now,” Neely said when the four of them were headed to the front door. Looked as if the other two were staying behind. Which sucked—because one of Zac’s crew could have broken in and done recon of the penthouse.

  Zac simply snorted. “It’s going to be my backup.” Complete and utter bullshit, because he wasn’t planning to pull a weapon on innocent civilians or local law enforcement, but Neely wouldn’t know that. And Neely wasn’t ever getting this pistol back.

  It was clear that Neely wanted to argue, but the man nodded, barely concealing his rage. Oh yeah, he was definitely plotting how to kill Zac. Well, the feeling was mutual.

  In the lobby of the hotel, he kept Olivia close to him, linking his hand with hers so their fingers were intertwined. Despite the tense situation, he enjoyed the feel of her hand in his. It felt as if they were really a couple. Something he’d never been part of before. Never thought he wanted to be part of. That was for other people. Not someone like him with blood on his hands, who knew absolutely nothing about relationships. Not healthy ones anyway.

  She seemed to be holding up well, not that he would expect less after reading about some of the jobs she’d pulled. But this was different. Her friend’s life was on the line. Yet she was clearly ready to do anything to save Martina. Which just made him like Olivia even more.

  Out of the corner of his eye Zac saw Leighton step out from behind one of the pillars, his movements casual. Zac kept his focus on where they were going, not making eye contact with his friend as Leighton brushed past him, placing a small earbud in his hand.