by Bianca D’Arc
That sounded…interesting. She supposed, if she ever lost touch with Jay for whatever reason, she could always have the alarm company send someone out to un-modify her system back to what it was now. In the meantime, she liked the idea of having a reason to keep Jay around into the future.
“That sounds good,” she said softly. “As long as you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” Zack laughed as they began to eat their breakfast. “Are you kidding? You just let the kid loose in the candy store. Jay loves tinkering with electronics. He’ll be upgrading everything around here if you let him.”
They ate in silence for a bit, and it wasn’t awkward at all. In fact, it felt kind of homey to have them with her, in her house. She hadn’t ever imagined a scenario where they’d all be eating breakfast together, but she could easily get used to having them both around. It would be nice to not have to worry—at least for the week they had off.
But what about after that? Anxiety crept in as she finished her eggs. She sat back and sipped her coffee, frowning a bit.
“What happens if the police can’t find the men who attacked me last night?” Becky spoke her thoughts aloud, hoping the guys might have some answers.
“We’re here for the next week at least,” Jay said quietly. “If we can’t solve this problem in that time, we’ll figure out a Plan B then, but for right now, we’re going with Plan A.”
“What’s Plan A?” she asked, intrigued.
“Catch the bad guys before they have a chance to cause any further problems,” Zack answered her question, his tone full of conviction.
“But the police—” she started.
Zack cut her off. “Are busy with petty crime. The men we saw last night were well-trained and organized. They’ve done their homework and knew enough about you to make personal threats,” he reminded her.
“They made it personal, so we’re going to return the favor,” Jay put in, his expression hard, his eyes promising mayhem to the men who’d dared attack her last night.
Wow. They were both so intense. It was kind of thrilling in a way she’d never expected. What was wrong with her? She should be scared shitless. Instead, she was feeling kind of tingly in places that probably shouldn’t get tingly—not unless she had one of them alone. Preferably naked. Damn. Was it getting hot in here?
She got up and started clearing her dishes, just for something to do.
Zack joined her at the kitchen sink a short time later, and Jay opened a toolbox he’d put on the side table in the living room. He started laying out both tools and what looked like electrical components of various kinds she didn’t immediately recognize. It all looked very complicated, but he really did seem to be enjoying himself.
“While Jay does his thing with the gizmos…” Zack said when she was finishing rinsing the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, “…we should probably talk more about what happened last night.”
She froze. “I’m not sure what else I can add to what I told the police,” she replied. “And you were there for that. You heard what I told them.”
Zack nodded. “Yeah, I heard, but there were a few questions they didn’t ask that I’d like to pose, if you’re agreeable.”
She got the sense he was treating her with kid gloves, as if afraid she might break if pressed too hard. Well. He’d learn she was made of sterner stuff than that.
“Okay. But I want another cup of coffee. How about you?”
She was already reaching for the pot on the counter and turned to find he’d retrieved his empty mug from the table. She hadn’t even heard him move. She poured his cup first, then her own, and joined him back at the table.
“Shoot. What do you want to know?” she asked, once they’d been seated again.
“One of the guys last night knew your name. Is there any reason you might be targeted for kidnapping?” Zack asked, flooring her with the question. Where was that stern stuff she was supposed to be made of? Damn.
“Kidnapping? Me?” She tried to wrap her head around that concept and couldn’t. “I don’t know why you’d think that. I’m not rich. I don’t know anyone who is. Nobody who’d pay ransom or anything like that.”
“You do know at least two people who are loaded,” he corrected her. “Your boss, the owner of the restaurant, and Jay over there.”
“Jay?” She looked over at the tall soldier who was currently gutting her alarm system. He had what had been described to her as the brain of her alarm system in pieces, wires sticking up everywhere. When he saw her looking at him, he sent her a little wave.
“Ever heard of Foster Electronics?” She nodded mutely. “Jay’s dad was Mr. Foster’s silent partner. He owns a quarter of the company. Hence, the electronic gizmos he likes to play with.”
Becky was shocked by the revelation. Hunky Jay was a millionaire? Wait. Foster Electronics was huge. Jay might be a billionaire!
What was he doing in the military? And what in the world did he see in her?
Chapter Seven
“Whoa, partner. You don’t think it’s a little early to be laying that on her?” Jay sent to Zack silently.
“She’s got to find out sometime, and maybe it’ll make her feel a little safer knowing that you’d be able to pay the ransom if someone did snatch her.”
“Okay. I see your point. But, if she’s weird around me after this, I’m putting toothpaste in your favorite combat boots.”
“Jay isn’t the only rich guy you know, though,” Zack went on with the conversation he’d started with Becky. “And his background is a pretty closely held secret, so it’s unlikely you’d be targeted to get to his money. It’s way more likely that someone might see your boss as a better target.”
“Mr. Livern?” Becky had that deer-in-the-headlights look on her pretty face right now, but Zack figured she’d begin to assimilate all the new information given a little time to adjust. “But I’m just an employee. He wouldn’t even come down to the restaurant last night when the police called him. He would never pay a ransom to get me back.”
Zack thought carefully about how much to tell her. He’d already dumped a lot of surprises on her this morning, but the information Jay had dug up and briefed him on while she was getting dressed was too important to keep her in the dark. He’d do it carefully, though.
“I know you keep the books for the restaurant and do the bank drop. What other accounts do you have access to?” Zack knew the answer already. Jay had been a busy boy while Zack had been sleeping, but they’d agreed Zack would handle this part while Jay upgraded security.
“Mr. Livern has some other accounts,” she replied reluctantly. “I’m not supposed to talk about this, Zack. If he found out, I’d be fired on the spot.”
“That’s okay, sweetheart. We did a little digging, and we already know about the offshore accounts. What I want to know is how much access you have. And I bet those guys last night would want to know the same thing, if they got you alone.”
“That’s ridiculous. The whole neighborhood has been experiencing burglaries. Nobody was targeting me specifically.”
That was pure, panicked denial he heard in her tone. He had to make her understand the facts.
“One could theorize that the prior incidents were set up to make everyone think there was a sudden crime spree focused on the businesses in that area, with steadily escalating levels of violence. It would be a good cover for your abduction. Just another crime and another escalation in the pattern, but I have to tell you, those guys last night were pros. That was a strike team if I’ve ever seen one, and they knew your name, which, to me, means they were targeting you specifically.”
Becky’s mouth fell open and stayed that way. He’d stunned her with his suppositions, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Tell me, what would happen if you couldn’t go to work for a week or more?” Zack asked gently.
“Well, I suppose the head waiter, Paco, could take over some of my responsibilities, but Mr. Livern would probably have to find someon
e else to handle the books and the money.”
“And until he could find someone to replace you?” Zack led her to the answer he was seeking.
“He’d probably have to come in himself to handle the receipts. At least in the short term.”
“Great way to flush out a reclusive millionaire, if you ask me,” Zack told her.
“But he’s not that reclusive. I’ve met him any number of times,” she protested, still clearly in denial.
“He varies his visits, doesn’t he? You once mentioned that you could never predict the next time he’d come in, so that’s why the staff is always on their toes. But tell me…exactly how long has it been since you’ve seen him?”
Zack hated interrogating her, but he didn’t know any other way to break this information to her. He couldn’t just tell her outright. That would be even harsher than leading her to the understanding the way he was doing it, now. At least to his way of thinking.
“I haven’t seen him in a couple of months, actually, but we talk by phone at least once a week,” she admitted.
“And, in those calls, he gives you instructions about moving funds in and out of his various accounts, doesn’t he?” Zack asked, not letting up.
Becky nodded. He could see curiosity replacing the denial in her eyes. Good.
“So, what’s the big deal about that? It’s his money, after all. I’m just an employee, following his orders.” Now, she sounded a little angry, which was also a good sign, as far as Zack was concerned.
“What if I told you Livern was an anagram?” Becky’s eyes narrowed at his question. “Have you ever heard of Emilio Renvil?”
“No. Who’s he?” Becky couldn’t have faked the innocence in her expression.
“An honest-to-goodness international man of mystery. Some reports say he’s simply a business man with a magic touch. Some say he’s a power broker. And some say he’s an arms dealer with major mob connections.” She gasped, and disbelief showed on her face. “You know your boss owns multiple businesses, right?”
“Yeah. I do some extra bookkeeping for him, sometimes, but I don’t know the full extent of his holdings,” she answered.
“But you have had access in the past to certain secure offshore accounts of his, right?” Zack kept the pressure on since she seemed to be recovering from her initial shock.
“A few times,” she admitted. “He asked me to do balance transfers on occasion. But I don’t know what it was all about. Just some extra paperwork, he said, that he didn’t have time to do himself. He told me he was learning how to delegate.” She gave a mirthless chuckle at the phrase.
“Did you ever see balance information on any of the accounts?” Zack asked.
“I didn’t have that kind of access. Just the account numbers and authority to make deposits and transfers,” she told him.
Zack shook his head. “That would be enough, though,” he said, inwardly cursing. “Just having the account numbers would have been enough to make you a target.”
“Target for what? Those guys last night were just trying to mug me.”
“I don’t think so.” Zach tried to break it gently. “To us, it looked more like a snatch and grab. They were trying to kidnap you, Becky. Otherwise, why send so many guys and a getaway van? If all they’d wanted was the deposit pouch, two guys would have been overkill, and anything with wheels would have sufficed. But, to kidnap a person, a van is the perfect vehicle. They expected you to fight back, which is why there was a team, but they didn’t expect you to have skilled help at your side.”
“Kidnap? Me?”
“If they had the account numbers you have, plus your authority to transfer money, they’d essentially have access to whichever accounts you do. They’d force you to do the transactions online, and then, if they were halfway decent, they’d let you go. However—and I won’t sugarcoat this—the kind of men you’re dealing with here would probably kill you after you do what they want.”
He hated being so blunt with her, but she deserved the truth.
“Little harsh, bro,” Jay commented silently.
Jay had been tinkering with the electronic stuff the whole time, but he’d been listening in on the conversation. They’d had only a few moments while she was getting ready for the day to go through the intel and devise a plan. Jay would implement electronic upgrades ASAP while Zack broke the news to Becky. Of the two jobs, Jay’s was the easier one, by far, Zack thought.
Becky took a deep breath and let it out, then consciously rotated her shoulders to release tension, rolling her head from side to side. After the de-stressing moves were done, she blinked and looked directly into Zack’s eyes. He was glad to see the fear was buried. It was still there, but she’d consciously pushed it down. At least, for now.
“If Livern is really Renvil, then I suppose I shouldn’t look for better treatment from my boss either.” The astuteness of her assessment was a little surprising, but then, she was a very intelligent woman. Zack was proud of the way she’d just pulled herself together and applied that quick brain of hers to the problem.
“That’s our judgment, too, I’m sorry to say,” Zack confirmed.
“So, what do I do now?” she asked, seeming a bit lost.
Zack blew out a breath. “One way or another, this whole thing has got to come to a head. We’ve got a week off. We’re hoping that’s more than enough time to lure the bad guys out into the open. Once we can see the snake, we can behead it.”
Becky cringed but nodded.
“We may not have to do any luring, after all,” Jay reported, moving rapidly away from his tinkering. “Zack, we’ve got incoming. Top drawer, next to the fridge. Beck, get under the table and stay there.”
“What?” Becky looked stunned.
She was slow to move, but Zack was already up and at her side, urging her to drop to the floor and get under the heavy table that was pushed into one corner. She would be protected by two walls and the wood of the table on top. It would have to be enough.
Zack made sure she was under cover before reaching into the drawer where Jay had stashed his weapons. Good man. He’d brought multiple options, but Zack wouldn’t introduce guns unless their opponents did. No sense escalating things and getting in trouble with the local authorities.
With any luck, they could limit this encounter to fists and feet. Zack looked forward to kicking some ass. He just hoped they could end this quickly and move on with their lives.
Becky heard the front and back doors crash in simultaneously, and then, she saw multiple sets of legs rush in from both directions. She couldn’t tell exactly how many men had invaded her home from her vantage point, but so far, it looked like Jay and Zack were holding their own, and nobody had discovered her hiding place. Not yet.
She heard meaty thuds that she assumed were fists impacting with flesh. The men didn’t say anything, but there was a bit of grunting as the two sides clashed. She saw one guy go flying across what little she could see of the living room through the archway. When he landed, it sounded like something broke. She could only imagine the splintered wood as a massive crack sounded from the other room. Jay was in there. And, from the sound of things, he was kicking some major butt.
Zack wasn’t doing half bad either. He’d managed to keep the two men he was fighting in the close confines of the kitchen at bay. Neither had gotten close to her hiding spot, and she suspected they didn’t even know where she was.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard one of them growl a demand at Jay, in the other room.
“Give us the girl, and we’ll leave,” the apparent ringleader tried bargaining with Jay. It sounded like maybe he’d been the one to go flying across the living room.
“You don’t know who you’re messing with, man,” Jay said in a voice loud enough for them all to hear. “She’s off limits.”
The fighting seemed to have stopped for the moment as negotiations were pending, but Zack was still standing ready, guarding her hiding place without being too obvio
us about it. Hope rose. They might just come out of this with no further injuries.
“You don’t know our boss. He’s spent a lot of time and effort setting this up. He wants her, and he’s going to get her,” the ringleader insisted.
She could just see Jay in profile as he moved into view. He was shaking his head, making a tsking sound.
“Setting up the other robberies was a nice touch, but your boss is just going to have to go away empty-handed this time. She’s under our protection, and nobody is going to get to her.” He sounded so tough, she was impressed. “You might as well tell Salvatore to go after Emilio Renvil directly, because his restaurant manager has friends in even higher places than they realize.”
“You two?” the ringleader scoffed. “You’re good fighters, I’ll grant you that, but you can’t watch her all the time.”
“Buddy, there’s a whole strike force behind us, and we’ve got the means, and will, to keep her safe twenty-four/seven. Your boss and even Renvil are small time compared to the assets at my command. You all need to rethink your objectives here or you will be stopped. One way or another.”
“What the hell is this? Who are you guys?” Now, the leader sounded both frustrated and a little bit alarmed.
Jay shook his head. “You really should’ve done your homework, but then again, I doubt a two-bit hood like Roberto Salvatore would have access to any source that would lead back to us. We’re black ops, man. We don’t fuck around. You’re only alive because we don’t want to draw too much attention Stateside, but if you continue to trouble our friend, Becky, we’ll bury you. And that’s a promise you can take to the bank.”
Becky could see the two bad guys in the kitchen shifting their feet a little nervously, now. She couldn’t see much more than their lower legs, but she could tell they were surprised by what they’d just heard.
