True Peril

by Veronica Forand

  Jubert also had an ocean of debt drowning his shop and appreciated some help in securing his retirement in exchange for a favor.

  The front door bell rang, indicating a customer had arrived. Dane stood in the back. He was armed with a knife and an instinct that rivaled the most experienced assassins in the world. And all he wanted was a smooth exit. Federico could be heard arranging for a custom suit, navy wool, double vent, no cuffs on the pants. Jubert led him to a dressing room to take measurements. Federico’s bodyguards waited outside by the car, as expected.

  When Jubert’s store phone rang, he left Federico alone and went to answer it. On his way to the back room, he handed Federico’s phone to Dane. Phones were lifelines, and the absence of this one would be noticed within seconds. Dane hid in the corner of a stockroom and hooked up the phone to his laptop. The program, a gift from Cassie, overrode the password and downloaded a few new items into the messages and the contact list. A few photos of him screwing a high-end prostitute were also added. This would break up his family, hopefully. No blood, but victims were inevitable.

  Twenty seconds into the download, Federico called out to say his phone was missing. Shit. Half-dressed, he walked around the main store in case he’d dropped it. Jubert tried to assist, but was more in the way than helpful.

  Dane waited, watching the download complete and holding the knife. The urge to slit Federico’s throat was overwhelming, but he needed to change, to prove to himself that he didn’t have to kill except in the worst cases. He slipped the phone back into the changing room under a small cut of wool fabric, then he left out the back door, leaving his products and a bag of cash as payment for Jubert’s help.

  As he drove away, he called Simon. “Done. Where are you?”

  “Just hit the beach. I’m going in alone next time. Toby vomited over the side and nearly capsized us.” His voice muted. “Yes, I’m talking about you. How can a former naval officer get seasick? Grow some balls.”

  “I’m glad you have him on your side. I’m headed to the office.”

  “Have fun. We’ll contact you after it blows.” Simon hung up. He hadn’t wanted to participate with Cassie so close to her due date, but with Mitch and Gunther dead and the other team working on a project in Argentina, Simon owed his men.

  Dane, now seven blocks or so away from Jubert’s store, grabbed some lunch in a small café and lingered over a cup of coffee until it was time for his second task. Even now, he could succeed in his tasks, and the mission might implode on any number of other pieces. Killing them would have been easier, but Eve had the ability to think beyond that solution. They could structure a new operation. One based on intelligence over violence.

  At one o’clock in the afternoon, he parked on the street, pulled out a briefcase, and strolled into Potencia, C.A. headquarters, a modern six-story building near the edge of downtown. Federico Isler’s palace. A young woman with flowing dark hair and flawless skin greeted him at the reception desk.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, her Spanish incredibly soft and lyrical.

  “Yes.” He handed her his business card. “Scott Eaton from Allentown Steel. I have an appointment at noon.”

  She glanced at the clock and then at the computer screen. “It’s one o’clock. You’ve missed him.”

  “One o’clock? My watch says noon.”

  “Señor, we’re one hour before your time.”

  “Damn it all. My assistant should have informed me. Will he be back today?”

  The woman looked again at her computer. “He may return in an hour, but I cannot guarantee this.”

  “That’s fine. I can wait.”

  She showed him to the fifth floor. Another beautiful woman manned the desk in front of Federico’s office. A little older and more skeptical, she nevertheless greeted him and then asked if he wanted a cup of coffee.

  “Do you have decaf?”

  “Not brewed. I can make it for you, if you don’t mind waiting.”

  “It seems I have all the time in the world.”

  When she slipped away, he called Cassie. “I’m in.”

  “Perfect. Go to the secretary’s computer, not his.”

  He went to her desk and tried to log in. “I need a password.”

  “Try Fr5Je8.”

  “And you know that how?”

  “She has two children, and that’s the code she uses for Facebook and her Instagram accounts.”

  He typed in the code and bingo! “Thanks.”

  The elevator door opened, and Dane left the computer loading the information from a memory stick pre-programmed by Cassie. He moved back to the couch without hustling too much.

  A younger man in a suit walked past him down the hall. He glanced back at Dane, but didn’t say a word. At about five feet eight, he didn’t seem threatening. More like an accountant than a warrior. He entered a different office, slamming the door behind him. Dane immediately returned to the desk and to take the memory stick back. His hand was on the computer when the guy slipped out of his office, gun in hand.

  “What the fuck do you think you are doing?” the guy spoke in angry Spanish.

  Dane didn’t want to kill him. It would screw up his attempt to run this operation with less blood. He lifted his hands in the air. His knife was safe in his car because of the metal detectors at the entrance to the building. The metal pen on the desk was an option. Take out his carotid artery or his airway, and he’d have time to walk away before someone found the armed accountant. Most likely the secretary.

  Dane put his arms over his head. The man stepped closer. An explosion from across town rocked through the building. Simon’s work. Accountant guy swerved to look out the window, as pictures fell off the wall and a flower vase shattered on the floor. Dane didn’t waste a second. He approached the man from behind and pulled his left hand behind him while wrenching the gun from his right hand. Forcing the man to the ground, Dane could break his neck and be done, but death had to be a last resort. Instead, he grabbed the computer screen and smashed it over his head. Hard enough to knock him out, not hard enough to kill him. At least he hoped he didn’t kill him.

  The secretary came back, clearly shaken. “What happened to Aaron?”

  Dane shrugged. “Something shook the building, and he fell against the wall. Knocked himself out. The computer screen toppled over on him. He needs medical assistance. Can you call?”

  “Of course.” She picked up the phone and focused on Aaron for a few minutes.

  Dane needed to leave. He couldn’t be discovered there.

  The secretary knelt next to Aaron as Dane folded the sweater from her desk as a pillow for Aaron. “What happened? I heard an explosion.”

  He rose to his feet and strode to the window. “Looks like a factory over by the water is on fire.”

  She paused. “Which one?”

  “Not Potencia, the one next to it.” Not just any plant, the main plant for CAVIM, Compania Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares, owned by the Venezuelan government. Potencia’s main competitor. If Simon and the team had followed the plan, everyone should have been evacuated in a false fire alarm, so there’d be no injuries.

  They didn’t want to blow up Federico’s factory. That would have been too obvious. Instead, they hit the corner of something a bit more politically useful to the team.

  “The town will be crazy. That is one of the main employers here.”

  “My flight is in two hours. I don’t want to be delayed in this chaos.”

  “If you must go, leave now. Who knows how long it will take the ambulance to come? It could be an hour or two.” She gazed at him, that certain look that once would have had him making fancy dinner reservations and getting a hotel room with an extra large tub. But that was before Eve.

  “If you don’t mind then, I think I’ll take my leave. It was nice meeting you.”

  He headed to the elevator with a spring in his step and a smile on his lips.

  When he arrived in the lobby, a security gua
rd, armed and annoying, waved him over. “Sir, do you have identification?”

  A little late for that, but Dane showed him Scott’s passport. The man analyzed it as though it harbored military secrets. After a full minute, he handed it back and escorted him to the door.

  Dane moved calmly and quickly out of the building.

  Simon called an hour later while Dane was drinking his second Scotch at the airport bar. “It’s done. We didn’t see any casualties. I texted Eve. She’s in play.”

  …

  Eve waited for the many men in her life to converge in a tiny village in Costa Rica. She’d flown over to have better access to the mission and to check on her sister-in-law, and she also wanted to be close to Dane in case something went wrong. She didn’t need to worry, however. He called her as soon as he’d left Federico’s headquarters. His mission accomplished, she now needed to complete her part.

  She pulled the burner phone from her purse and called Juan Carlos on his cell. No answer, as expected. She left a message anyway, in Columbian Spanish.

  “Juan Carlos, this is Señora Rodriguez. There seems to be a problem with the funds transferred from China for your associate, Mr. Isler. Should I wire your contact to ask them to transfer it again? I can be reached at the number you provided to me. Thank you.”

  She hung up and called Cassie. “Go ahead and transfer the funds.”

  “An easy ten million pounds. I converted it to yuan just for fun. The bank can deal with converting it back.” Cassie stayed silent for a second and then said, “Done.”

  “You’re wonderful. Have you heard from Simon?”

  She laughed. “He’s on a boat with Toby, who apparently shouldn’t ever be on a boat. I think Simon will be flying with Dane from now on. He’s impressed with the subtlety of the operation. So far, we haven’t left a fingerprint to trace. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

  “If this works, you and I will be planning the operations from now on.”

  “We’re more creative than the two of them. And we resort less to violence when things go south.”

  Although the men had more field experience, Cassie and Eve, with massive support from Dane and some grudging support from Simon as well, had made this happen. They would not only neutralize Juan Carlos and Federico without killing them, but also without the four of them being implicated. Eve loved that they were becoming more ethical. It was Dane’s compromise with Simon, since Dane was at the most risk of killing someone for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Seeing how much it ripped him apart made her work that much harder to create an environment where he didn’t always have to take the immoral route.

  “Eve, you’re the brains of this. I don’t know where you get your ideas, but Simon owes you.”

  “I like making things happen without all the violence. Although I swear, I wouldn’t hesitate to stop a direct threat.”

  “Amen to that. Take care of yourself, it’s still dangerous.”

  “You too. When I return I’ll get to meet your daughter.”

  “Daughter? You’re not on Simon’s side, too?” Cassie sounded more amused than angry.

  “Simon knows everything from what he tells me.”

  “It’s annoying at times, but I love him anyway.”

  After they hung up, she logged onto her computer and watched everything unfold.

  News sites reported the arrest of the CEO of Potencia, Federico Isler. According to inside sources, the Venezuelan government had learned of a possible scheme of their local competitor from the U.S. National Security Agency. The text messages and emails Dane had downloaded to Federico’s phone and computer were sent to Chinese contacts in the munitions industry. Their involvement would not only implicate him in a scheme to destroy the competition in Venezuela, but might be enough for the government to charge him with treason. His cousin Juan Carlos, who happened to be wanted in the U.S. on drug charges, was arrested for laundering money from the Chinese government on behalf of Federico. What a mess. They wouldn’t be able to worry about anything but saving their own necks for at least a decade or so.

  Eve couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face. Success. And not a drop of blood shed. At least she hoped not. It felt good to be in the right spot with the right people doing exactly what she’d been born to do.

  A few hours later, she headed downstairs to meet with Jenny in the bar and hoped Dane would arrive soon, safe, and sound. Although why she worried, she didn’t know. He never received more than scratch during these missions. She was married to a superhero.

  Simon was the only team member who’d be absent. He’d flown home to meet up with Cassie. The woman not only researched the whole mission, but she did it while on bed rest, only a week before her due date.

  Dane traveled to Costa Rica to reconvene their team. He’d taken control of the South American group with Eve at his side. Her dramatic rescue of the team in Columbia and their success in eliminating Juan Carlos and Federico as threats gave them the credibility to lead the men in the future.

  She needed another hot shower for her stiff and sore shoulder. She settled for a margarita at the bar. Ojochal, located on the coast of Costa Rica, was a small beach hideaway, the perfect place to relax before everyone parted ways after the hell that had been San Stefano. She let the sound of the waves and the salty breeze relax her. Jenny limped over to her wearing a pretty sundress.

  “How are you feeling?” Eve pushed out the seat beside her and slid a margarita toward her friend.

  “I’ve been better. You?” Jenny took a sip of the cold drink and sighed.

  “I always hated my nose, so I may like this one better.”

  They both laughed. Jenny’s face, although a bit beat up still, appeared sunny and happy again. She’d be fine.

  The tequila in Eve’s drink helped minimize her own pain.

  She caught sight of Dane, his hair a lighter brown again after a quick shower and some Dawn liquid detergent washed the temporary hair dye away. He strolled in with a small group of gorgeous men, all dressed casually, as though they’d be heading out to the surf after a drink. Her husband was the best looking by far, and a waitress took notice. The young, busty woman matched his stride, linked her arm in his, and tried to pull him to a table away from Eve and Jenny. His sexy brown eyes sparkled with the attention. When one of her hands reached a smidgen too low, he laughed, and gave her a wink and a pat on the arm. The woman seemed satisfied with the brush-off and headed toward Joe. Joe whispered something in her ear, and she nodded and then slipped behind the bar.

  “Getting any action?” Dane kissed Jenny on the cheek and then sat next to Eve.

  “Not as much as you. She was cute,” Jenny said.

  “Not my type.” He turned to Eve and kissed her in a way that made it clear he was taken.

  Eve clasped his hand. “Really? What is your type?”

  The waitress returned with a round of drinks. Liam handed her a wad of cash and sent her on her way.

  The men focused on Dane’s answer with smirks on their faces, probably waiting for him to dig a hole.

  “I need a very special kind of woman. Not someone who loves me just for my body,” he said. “There’s more to me than solid abs and this kick-ass haircut. I prefer the type of woman who travels the world, taking down the leaders of notorious drug cartels.”

  Jenny patted his shoulder. “It’s always nice to be married to someone who will support you financially. If she worked all the time, you’d have more time for shopping and sunbathing.”

  “True, but I need something to do as well.”

  His sister laughed. “I hear they’re hiring in the Peace Corps.”

  “I’m not like you, Jenny. I’m lousy with a hammer. And with my language skills, I’d create more international incidents than prevent them.” He took a long swig of beer. When the bottle hit the table, he leaned toward Eve and brushed a finger over the painful area surrounding her nose.

  She winced at the pressure. “Maybe you were mean
t for a string of meaningless relationships.”

  The other men cheered.

  “Amen to that,” Liam called out, although his appraising eyes continued to rest on Jenny.

  “Not me, guys.” Dane kissed Eve’s nose. Softly, without causing pain. “Since I’m married, I guess it’s a moot point anyway.”

  “You don’t have to be married,” Eve said, although her smile gave away her confidence in his commitment to her.

  “I’m afraid I do. I never break my promises, and when I promised you on the beach in Monterey, as the sun sank below the horizon, that I’d stay with you for better or worse ’til death do us part, I meant every word. And I still do.”

  “Let’s hope death is a long way off then.”

  And with that, everyone raised their glasses and cheered.

  …

  Up in their room overlooking the beach, Dane managed to ease Eve’s pain in her shoulder by inflicting her with incredible sensations in every other part of her body. His guilt over escaping the Columbian mission with nothing more than a few bug bites made him the most caring, most devoted of husbands, and an incredible lover as well. Placing her needs above his, he stayed away from her shoulder by focusing almost exclusively on her lower half. Time and time again. Between his fingers, his teeth, his tongue, and an erection that could last for days, he cured all her wounds, emotional and physical. She needed him more than she’d ever realized. Without him, this whole enterprise wouldn’t matter. He’d woven himself into her life and nothing could be whole again without him by her side.

  Hours later, Eve sat propped against the headboard of the bed. Dane, resting with his head on the pillow beside her, stared at her naked chest. His eyes had a strange, dreamy quality, as though he was taking everything in, memorizing her figure for a rainy day. She didn’t mind, as she’d been checking out his perfect body all morning. Her focus, however, was aimed a bit lower than his chest.