Negotiation Tactics (Sutton Capital Series Contemporary Romance)

by Lori Ryan

  “Oh! Thanks,” Jennie grinned then slid her feet into the shoes and opened the door. “Be right back,” she called over her shoulder.

  Chad sank onto the couch and waited for Jack to call them back and thought about the night before. Jennie was acting as if everything were normal. God, he hoped she was okay with last night.

  In a way, he wanted to regret it. He wanted to feel like he’d done something wrong, but he couldn’t. Having the chance to hold Jennie in his arms for one night had been incredible. He didn’t know if she could ever give him more than that, but he’d take what he could. He’d take the memory of one night with her if that’s all he could have.

  The phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. Chad picked it up, knowing it would be Jack and Andrew.

  “Yeah, guys,” he said.

  “Chad, I want you guys out of there. The jet’s on standby. Get to the airstrip and get out of there now,” Jack said.

  “They’re laundering money,” Andrew explained. “That’s the only reason to run that money through there like that and the only explanation for billing for boats that don’t exist. And, whoever the hell those idiot nephews have gotten into bed with won’t be nice people. Nice people don’t need to clean their money. My guess is the building inspector, Bandon, they’ve partnered up with is taking bribes.”

  Chad was already up and grabbing passports and Jennie’s purse. He threw them in his backpack and headed for the door. If they had time to get back and pack their stuff, they would. But, he wanted to be ready in case Jennie’s questions raised red flags. If the shit hit the fan, they at least had what they needed. They’d replace the clothes.

  “I’m going. I’ll call you when we’re on the plane.” He didn’t wait for them to answer. He needed to get to Jennie. Since she’d never suspect anything like this, she might ask one too many questions. Their undercover work wasn’t supposed to be dangerous.

  Chad suddenly realized the position he’d put her in, the danger she could be in right now. He felt as if someone had sliced him open and gutted him. If anything happened to Jennie, he would never forgive himself.

  Chad jogged along the secluded path and up to the main building of the resort with only one thing on his mind. Jennie, and getting her to safety.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jennie crossed the lobby to the front desk, glad to see her friend Tracy was working there. She slipped into airhead mode.

  “Hi, Tracy!”

  “Hi, Jennie. How are you today?” Tracy asked, her smile wide.

  Jennie pouted. “We only have three days left here and Chad mentioned wanting to go out on a fishing boat. It always seems like all the boats are out. Are all the boats booked?”

  Her friend’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Jennie. They’re all booked. The fishing trips book several weeks in advance. In fact, most people book them when they book their reservations for the resort. Apparently, sitting and waiting for a fish to bite a hook is quite popular,” Tracy said, wry humor in her voice.

  “Oh no. I really wanted to take Chad fishing. You guys don’t have other boats you could bring in or another location we could take a trip from?” If Tracy thought the questions were odd, she didn’t show it. She just shook her head.

  “I’m afraid not. We only have the three boats and they fill up fast. Our dock isn’t big enough for more than that,” Tracy said.

  Jennie feigned disappointment and said good-bye. As she walked away from the front desk, she headed toward the staircase that would bring her out to the hallways leading to some of the rooms. Jennie had seen a doorway marked private right before the stairs and she wondered if there were offices back there. Maybe even the nephews’ offices.

  With a quick peek over her shoulder to ensure that Tracy was distracted by one of the other guests, Jennie slipped through the door and walked down the hall of the private area. There were offices on each side of the hallway, but they were all quiet and empty. Except for the office at the end. Jennie heard voices coming from that one and she recognized the speakers immediately. The Masters brothers.

  Jennie walked quietly down the carpeted hall ’till she stood close enough to hear the conversation. She didn’t know the voices well enough to tell right off which one was Matt Masters and which one was Alan Masters so she listened as the conversation developed.

  “Shit! There has to be ten thousand in here this time,” one voice said.

  “So wh-wh-what?” came the reply. That must be Alan. He had a stutter that was so mild most of the time, it was barely noticeable, but something was making it more pronounced now. Nerves, maybe?

  “We can’t keep running these large amounts through here. Someone’s bound to notice if we don’t stick to smaller numbers,” said the other voice, which Jennie now surmised must be Matt.

  “We have to run through whatever Rick tells us to. H-h-he w-won’t let us stop now,” said Alan.

  “He has to let us stop. We didn’t agree to this much. And, I’ll tell you one thing, brother. There’s no way all of this is for him anymore. No way he’s taking in ten thou a week. I’m telling you, he’s got us cleaning money for other people now. If we’re gonna take that kind of risk, I want a bigger cut.”

  Jennie bit her cheeks to keep from gasping. She began to backpedal down the hallway. She now knew she and Chad had gotten into something a lot more dangerous than they were used to. Well, at least than she was used to. Chad dealt with this kind of thing all the time when he was in the military and she suspected he still did some more dangerous jobs for Sutton than he told her about, but she sure as hell didn’t have this kind of experience.

  Jennie’s breathing suddenly sounded too loud in her ears – as if it would fill the hallway and alert the brothers to her presence any minute now. In her rush to get away from a conversation she shouldn’t be listening to, Jennie tripped over a decorative table, knocking over the vase of flowers that sat at its center.

  “What was that?” she heard from the room down the hall.

  Jennie panicked, looking around her frantically, for a way to get away. A place to hide. She was too far from the door that led to the lobby to make it down the hallway safely. She ducked into another open doorway. An office.

  There was nowhere to hide in the room she’d entered. The desk was open at the bottom on both sides, so she couldn’t crouch down there. The door even opened out into the hallway so there was no way hide behind it. She was trapped. Jennie looked down and saw her hands were shaking. She focused on slowing her breathing, listening for any sound from the hallway. She didn’t have her cell phone with her and she couldn’t remember Chad’s number to use the office phone on the desk to call him.

  The hallway was quiet and still for a minute but then the telltale cadence of shoes sounded on the tile floor. Jennie knew they’d find her any second. With a small curse, Jennie pulled off her favorite sandals. She quickly snapped the heel off one of them. In reality, they only had a one-and-a-half-inch heel so a heel would be unlikely to snap as she was walking in them, but she was banking on the brothers not knowing that. Jennie braced herself with one hand on the wall in the small office and waited.

  “Oh, help. Can you guys help me?” She took a couple of little hopping steps toward them. Not the direction she really wanted to go, but at this point, she needed to go toward them before she could get away from them.

  “What are you doing back here? This area is off limits,” barked Alan.

  “It is?” Jennie batted her eyelashes. “I’m sorry. I twisted my ankle and I thought the infirmary was back here. Can you guys help me?” Jennie held up the broken sandal as evidence of her plight and held her breath.

  The men walked toward her slowly and she couldn’t tell if they were buying her story or not. Nerves settled firmly in her stomach as she began to wish she hadn’t tried to dig so deep for information this time. She’d give anything to be back at the villa with Chad right now. Jennie watched the two men approach and remembered how empty and abandoned this hallway w
as.

  Oh no; they know. They’re not buying this.

  Alan reached out and grabbed her arm. Hard.

  Jennie swallowed and her voice sounded small, almost foreign to her ears. “I’m looking for the infirmary. My ankle—”

  “Calm down, Alan,” Matt said, placing a hand on his brother’s arm.

  Alan dropped Jennie’s arm, but before she could try to get away, Matt had an arm around her shoulder. He was being gentler than his brother, but there was no mistaking the firm pressure guiding her back down the hall toward their office.

  “We’ll help you in our office,” he said.

  Jennie’s mind was scrambled as she ran through possible ways to get out of this. Should she scream and run down the hall? If she did that, they’d definitely know she had overheard them. If she didn’t make it to the lobby in time, she’d be trapped. And, she wasn’t completely sure any of the employees would be willing to risk their jobs and take on the brothers even if she did get their attention.

  Should she go with them to their office and hope she could talk her way out of this? She was a master at playing dumb. The thought of going even further away from the populated spots on the resort with these guys made Jennie feel sick, but she didn’t think she had a choice. She took a deep breath and started to let Matt walk her toward his office. A tight knot of nerves settled in the pit of her stomach.

  ***

  Chad made himself slow to a walk when he entered the lobby. Jennie had a habit of poking and prodding for answers. If she asked the wrong question here, she might put herself in danger, but he couldn’t let on that anything was wrong. He scanned the front desk, but she wasn’t there. One of the women he’d seen Jennie chat up a number of times stood behind the desk.

  He approached and nodded a greeting to the woman, putting on his meathead facade. “Hey,” he grunted. “You seen Jennie?”

  “Oh, you just missed her! She was here, but she went out the east stairwell. Hurry, you might catch her.” The woman gestured to the stairwell and Chad nodded.

  He pulled some cash from his pocket put it on the counter. Hopefully, it was enough.

  “We’re heading out with some friends to spend the last few days on a boat. Bring our bags out front right away.” Chad knew most people did what they were told when he gave them an order.

  He didn’t wait for an answer. He headed toward the east stairwell. When he spotted the door marked ‘Private’ before he reached the stairs, he knew exactly where Jennie had gone.

  Chad stopped by the door and pulled his cell phone out, acting as if he were going to call his wife. Through lowered lids, he watched until the woman at the front desk turned away, and then slipped through the doorway.

  When he turned, his heart dropped into his stomach. Jennie was being led down the hall by the two idiot nephews and she didn’t look like she wanted to be there. Chad broke into a jog again.

  “There you are, Baby,” he said as he came up to her. “I’m starved, Baby. You know I gotta eat breakfast before ten or my stomach hurts. What are you doing back here?”

  The nephews stopped their forward motion, but the one that had his arm around her kept it there. She turned her sweet, trusting eyes to Chad and he could see the panic beneath her ditzy show.

  “I hurt my ankle, Baby. I fell.” Jennie’s eyes locked onto his, trusting and sure, as if she knew he’d get her out of this. God, he loved this woman – even when she was playing dumb.

  Chad scooped her up in his arms. “I’ve got you, Babe. I’ll take care of you.” He dropped a kiss to her mouth and began to walk down the hall, carrying Jennie away from the nephews. These yahoos didn’t worry him. It was the people they most likely worked for that had him sweating.

  One of the nephews grabbed Chad’s arm as he turned away and Chad felt Jennie tighten her hold on his neck.

  “Hey wait,” the idiot nephew said.

  Chad turned, looking down at the man’s hand on his arm. “Yeah?” he grunted, staring down the smaller man before staring directly into the other man’s eyes. Chad knew most guys wouldn’t argue with him when he turned up his scowl. He waited a half beat but the guy didn’t say anything. The nephew dropped his arm and stepped back as Chad turned and left.

  He didn’t look back. He walked through the door to the lobby then set Jennie on her feet. They walked out the front doors of the resort and Jennie slipped into one of the cabs waiting in the circular drive. Chad stood guard by the side of the cab while their luggage was loaded. He handed her a wad of cash. If he spotted the brothers, he’d tell the driver to leave with Jennie and he’d catch up to her after dealing with Matt and Alan.

  As he expected, the brothers didn’t show. The luggage was loaded and Chad whisked Jennie away. They didn’t slow down until they reached the airstrip and boarded the small private jet Jack had waiting for them. And Chad didn’t breathe easy again until Jennie was back in Connecticut, safely at home.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jennie walked down the hospital hallway, smiling absentmindedly at people she passed in the hall. She knew she would likely see Chad for the first time in three days when she arrived in Kelly’s hospital room – she couldn’t exactly avoid the situation.

  Kelly had given birth to Madeleine Sophie Sutton three hours earlier. Jennie couldn’t wait to hold such a tiny new life in her arms. Even the nerves she felt at the prospect of seeing Chad for the first time since they returned from Florida wasn’t scary enough to keep her away from her best friend today.

  Jennie found the room and knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” came Kelly’s voice from the other side.

  Jennie pushed open the door and found Kelly sitting up in bed. A mass of pillows propped her up. She looked tired, but happier than Jennie had ever seen her. In her arms was a tiny pink creature with a scrunched up face. She was ugly and beautiful, all at the same time.

  And she was awake! Wide eyes looked up at Kelly as Kelly beamed at Jennie.

  “Oh, Kelly. She’s beautiful,” Jennie said as she sat on the edge of her friend’s bed.

  “I can’t believe she’s finally here. I never want to put her down,” Kelly said.

  “Does that mean I don’t get to hold her?” Jennie laughed. “I washed my hands and everything,” she said, holding her hands up.

  Kelly laughed and transferred Maddy into Jennie’s arms. She was swaddled tightly in a striped blanket and she gazed up at Jennie. As Jennie watched, tired lids sank down over her eyes. Within minutes, Maddy slept soundly in her arms.

  “Wow. I think I could watch her forever,” Jennie said.

  “I know. They say newborns sleep for long stretches in the first one or two days. After that, we’re supposedly in for feedings every two hours and nights without a lot of sleep. I’m trying to soak up the fun stuff right now,” Kelly said.

  “Well, I’ll come over and give you a break whenever you need it. You just call.” She looked around the room for Jack. “Speaking of breaks, where is Jack?”

  “He and Chad went out to get me some real food. The nurses said I can eat soon and Jack didn’t want me to have to eat hospital food. I have to admit, I was a bit relieved. I’m starving after so many hours with nothing but ice chips and popsicles. And, hospital food doesn’t exactly sound appealing,” Kelly said.

  The two women talked about babies and the size of tiny fingernails for another thirty minutes. Jennie suspected Kelly would bring up the Florida trip and she wasn’t wrong.

  “So, does Chad think you guys are in danger because of what you found in Florida?” Kelly asked. She had a strange look on her face.

  “We’re not sure what’s going to happen yet. We met with Jonathan Masters to tell him what I overheard and it was awful, Kelly. The poor man was so shocked. I think he always knew his nephews were lazy but you could tell he had no idea they would do something like this. Then it hit him that they’d put his whole family at risk with this. The federal government will most likely seize the resort and if they try to
go after the winery, the rest of the family could lose everything. His grandkids would lose their inheritance, all of it. Never mind the fact that the feds could decide to arrest Jonathan as well,” Jennie said.

  “I can’t believe how selfish and stupid the nephews have been. You met them, right? What are they like?” Kelly asked.

  Jennie shook her head. “Just arrogant and useless, for the most part. I can tell you one thing; I doubt they were the brains behind this. They aren’t very bright at all. When you talk to Jonathan, it’s hard to believe they’re even related to him. He’s the sweetest man. He totally understood when Jack told him we needed to report this. He wasn’t angry at us at all.”

  Kelly picked at the blanket covering her in the hospital bed. “So, you and Chad will have to testify?”

  Jennie nodded. “Most likely. And, mostly me. They may not need Chad at all since it was me who heard the brothers talking. But, Chad said federal investigations take a very long time. The FBI is notorious for investigations that last as many as five years, or even more. They tie everything up in a bow and won’t go to trial until they have mountains of evidence ready to go. Jonathan Masters is getting his nephews a lawyer and he and the lawyer are going to get the nephews to turn themselves in. Chad says at that point the feds will probably send the brothers back in to feed them evidence against the building inspector. The amount of money that was going through there couldn’t be from a single inspector taking bribes. The FBI is going to want to know who they were cleaning money for. They may end up not needing my testimony at all when the brothers start collecting evidence for them.”

  Jennie looked up to see that strange look on Kelly’s face again.

  “Um, Jennie, I need to tell you––” Kelly started as the door opened and Chad and Jack walked back into the room.

  “Hey, Sweetheart, how are my girls?” asked Jack. He looked almost as worn out as Kelly but every bit as happy.