Delta Recon (SEAL Team Phantom Series, Book 2) (17 page)

Dave rubbed the back of his neck. “So, what you’re saying is we’re safest here? But, for how long? It’s not like we can eat, sleep and shower. Do all the normal things here forever.” Dave paced away.

“Not forever, no. Lance will be released before Maci. I know it’s not ideal, but until we can get more intel on Medellin, or neutralize the threat, it’s the best we can do for right now.” Fire burned in his gut at the truth of his statement. Damn, he wished to hell Medellin would have died in Columbia.

“We can stay at Alan’s hotel. He has security the president would envy,” Mo interjected.

Tay wanted to tell her the cartel could get to them there, but didn’t want to scare her. Hell, the hotel was probably a lot safer than the hospital. “Use my secure line and you can call him. You can’t tell him exactly what is going on, but tell him it’s a matter of safety, and if he needs to speak to me, I’ll give him the version I am able to.”

Fear stamped the women’s faces, except for Jaqui who walked out of her mother’s room and heard the last of his words. God, he loved her.

They gave Mo a little room for privacy while she placed her call. A few minutes later she came back with a small smile on her face. “He’s flying out tonight, but has given me access to his suite on the top floor. Nobody else will be able to get up there except Alan, and those with me, he’s assured me.”

Nodding, he took his phone back. “Good. We’ll take you over and escort you up.” He pulled Jaqui to his side, brushing a kiss to brow. “You ready to go, or do you want to stay and visit with your parents?” His dominating side was definitely pushing to the front of his psyche, but there was nothing else he could do but try to control what was in his power.

“No, she’s sleeping. Let’s get these two over to the casino, then can we stop back by here on our way back?” Oh, yeah. His woman was fire and ice. Her eyes dared him to deny her, yet her body braced for his denial.

“Mr. Hyland, you okay with staying or do you want to go with us?” He didn’t allow Jaqui to see the twitch in his lips, and hoped like hell nobody noticed his arousal.

Dave looked at his girls. “You think they’ll be safe there?”

Tay had already made the necessary texts to Kai, who he knew was already getting men in place, or at least organizing it at the casino. Alan Mancini owned one of the premier casinos on the strip and if Tay knew anything, the man had to have some major security set up. Problem was, he didn’t know the man himself. Once they were back at Jaqui’s parents’ home, he’d do some checking, and see if he couldn’t hack the security himself. If he couldn’t then it was secure. If he could hack it...well depending on how easy it was to get in made all the difference.

“I’m not going to lie, sir, but they will be safer there than here.” He gave the honest answer and waited.

The air seemed to hang while they all waited. Although he knew the twins were a year or two younger than Jaqui, they were still this man’s children. “That’s better than I expected.” He held his arms out, and both girls surged into his brawny arms.

Tay and Jaqui gave them a little space, watching as people went about the halls. The soldier stationed outside of Maci’s door stood straight, eyes and body transmitted a confidence that he’d kick anyone’s ass who dared try and enter.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Nettie said with a sigh.

“Have you told Shep anything yet?” Jaqui asked as they made their way back to the bank of elevators.

Nettie groaned. “Damn it, no. What am I supposed to tell him? Hey, baby, you know how I went to visit my family? Well, guess what...there’s this madman drug kingpin fella who wants to off my cousin. Oh, yeah, and just because I’m related, he might do me in too. Love you, bye Felicia.” Her snarky comment made them all laugh, especially the last words said in such a tone that was completely devoid of a southern accent.

Walking out, the trio of women looked almost like triplets, except Jaqui’s hair was a little blonder, and longer. With the heat of Vegas though they all had their hair up in messy buns that he couldn’t wait to take down and run his hands through. “I bet you three were terrors growing up together,” he mused as he unlocked the vehicle after making sure it was safe.

Jaqui giggled. “You have no clue what they would put me up to. Heck, I was older by a year than these two hellions, yet you’d think they were the older ones. I think it was the power of the twins that did it.”

“Can I ride up front? I tend to get a little car sick if I already have an upset stomach, and I’m afraid this afternoon has made my stomach all kinds of queasy.” Nettie held a palm against her abdomen.

Tay glanced at the younger woman, worry creased his brow. “Are you okay? You’re not pregnant are you?”

He heard Jaqui suck in a breath, but opened the passenger door for Nettie and looked at Jaqui to make sure it was okay. Her nod reassured him.

“Oh god no. Seriously, I just get a little anxiety that shows up in nausea. Yay me. Not!”

After making sure all the women were in the vehicle, he got in, looking in the rearview mirror, he saw the uncertainty in Jaqui. There was nothing he could do at the moment other than get the two Hyland women to their safe location.

At the casino, he hated leaving his SUV for valet, but Mo assured him it would be safe. Of course, he’d go over it with the bomb searching device before they left. A thought struck him, and he made a quick decision to switch vehicles before leaving. He grabbed his pack and Jaqui’s, shouldering them before circling around. They’d agreed to not speak to anyone, which apparently was a common thing for Mo when she came with Alan. Dressed as they were, they didn’t draw a lot of attention. He walked behind the women, eyes and ears open as much as possible. The constant sounds of slot machines and people calling out kept him on edge, until they made it to the private lift. A large man stood in front of it, his expensive suit clearly hand tailored to fit him.

“Excuse me, I have access to the penthouse,” Mo said with a haughty tone he’d never heard from her.

“Of course, ma’am. I’m told you have the code.” He moved to the side giving access to a keypad. Once Mo moved in front of it, the bodyguard placed his own body behind, keeping anyone else from seeing what she entered.

“Thank you...um, I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” Mo’s cheeks turned pink.

“Reece, ma’am.” He looked Tay up and down. “Mr. Mancini said you and your sister were the only ones staying.

Mo nodded. “Yeah, they’re just going to come up and make sure it’s all clear.”

It was past time for him to show the big man he was not some lightweight to be dismissed. “Thanks, Reece. I got it from here.” Tay ushered the women inside, not missing the clear sign of a gun holstered at the back of Reece’s waist, or the way the man’s hand flexed. Tay rethought his plan of waiting until they got back to Jaqui’s place to research Alan and his casino. Knowledge was power.

Reece didn’t look back at them as the elevator shut silently. The long flight up, Tay waited for the thing to come to a halt and for men to come pouring in, exhaling a sigh of relief as the doors opened on the top floor. They stepped out and a large foyer greeted them with another set of double doors and a keypad.

“Extra security in case someone somehow got past the first one,” Mo explained. This time she wasn’t as cautious entering the code since it was just the four of them, and Tay watched the numbers, memorizing them automatically. He nearly laughed as he watched her punch in the numbers eight, six, seven, five, three, zero, and nine. The song about a girl named Jenny by Tommy Tutone.

To say the place was grand would be a major understatement. He’d seen shows where rock stars and the like had parties, and clips from scenes at suites in Vegas, yet none of them compared to what they stepped in to.

“Damn, girl. You done did good for yourself. I’m guessing it would be silly to ask him what kind of ground clearance his truck has,” Nettie joked, looking shell shocked.

Mo stared around as if seeing it for the first time. “It’s nice, but I’ve only been here a couple times. Come on, we can sleep in one of the guest rooms.”

Tay wondered why they weren’t going to sleep in the master suite. “You ladies mind if I look around and check out the security?”

“That would be wonderful.” Mo looked scared. Nettie not as sickly as she’d been when they’d left the hospital.

It took him a solid twenty minutes to complete his inspection, satisfied with the security for the most part. Someone would have to land on the roof and rappel down. Not that the cartel didn’t have that ability, he just didn’t see them putting that much effort into getting to two cousins. He checked in on Jaqui and saw they were in deep conversation. The need to verify Alan was a good man, and on the up and up consumed him.

A half hour later, Tay sat back stunned. Alan looked like the debonair business man that he presented to the world. Rich, good looking, and a ladies’ man. However, Tay wondered what the man would do when he found out someone had been recording his comings and goings, piggybacking on his own security cameras. Fuck! He scrubbed his hand down his face, looking toward the area he could hear Jaqui and the twins coming from. He wondered how much Mo loved the man, and figured he’d wait to break her heart until after he could get them out of the man’s hotel. He’d scrubbed the security camera in the elevator where someone had hacked and recorded. Tay wasn’t sure how long they’d been recording, and what all they’d seen, but he’d make damn sure the last bit was never seen by anyone.

Worry made him look again toward where the women were. If Alan knew his secret was out, would he kick Mo and Nettie to the curb? Hell, Tay would make damn sure the man understood the U.S. Government didn’t take kindly to men who would be so callous to another human, let alone one who was considered under their protection. Overstepping boundaries? Sure, but he didn’t give a shit.

“Does it pass muster, Tay?” Mo came in with a glass flute filled with golden liquid.

He shut down his computer and stood. “I made a few adjustments to his security cameras. Nothing he’ll notice, but tell him to give me a call when you speak with him.” His mind made up, he gave Mo his number.

“At least we are getting to relax in the lap of luxury. I mean, we have our own private pool and everything.”

Tay had seen all that, too. On the top level there were no other suites and the big man at the bottom kept everyone out. He hoped if someone was trailing them, they’d see the impossibility and choose an easier target.

The feel of his phone buzzing had him holding his finger up. “Excuse me, ladies, it’s Kai.”

––––––––

T
ay went outside for some privacy to talk with Kai. He’d sent the information he’d gotten on Alan to him, knowing they may need it.

“Damn, Tay. Warn a brother before you send shit like that.” Kai’s growl was almost as bad as his bite.

“You don’t like porn?” Tay joked.

“You can’t see me right now, but I’m flipping you off. Hang on, cause I’m giving you two middle fingers, fucker.”

The sound of jets or planes alerted him that Kai was on his way. His next words confirmed his suspicions.

“We just landed in Vegas. I have a few things to clear, then we’ll rendezvous at Jaqui’s. I brought your stuff.”

By stuff, Kai meant Tay’s own weapons, along with Jaqui’s he was sure. They didn’t fly commercial while on a mission, and this was officially a mission. A fact he hadn’t informed Jaqui of yet. Shit! “Can you send a pickup for Jaqui and me? I don’t trust the car now that it’s been in the hands of god knows how many people.”

“That makes sense. Yeah, let me do some maneuvering. I can have Oz there in twenty minutes. Text when you are at the front and he’ll tell you what he’s in.”

“Thanks, Kai. See you at Jaqui’s parents.”

Kai gave him his arrival time. Tay was glad it wouldn’t be just him guarding Jaqui any longer.

“See you then. I’m assuming you have the entire team with you?”

“I won’t even answer that dumb ass question as I’m assuming you’ve got shit for brains, since you landed in Vegas and all. Must be the dry air or some shit.” Kai disconnected before Tay could reply.

He laughed as he pocketed the phone. Kai was one hundred percent in love with Hawaii. Oh, the man could adapt anywhere, but hearing him blame the air on Tay’s question made him laugh out loud.

“What are you laughing about?” Jaqui asked, coming up behind him to wrap her arms around his waist. Having her close always settled him. He should have realized she had done that for him even back before they’d made love. His heart, mind and body was now of one accord. Jaqui Wallace was it for him. He was exactly what Kai had called him, only not because of the dry air, but because he’d let the best thing that had ever happened to him slip away. Or rather, he’d ran like a little bitch. Well, he was done running, unless it was for Jaqui, then he would always run for her.

“You really do freak me out when you go all silent Bob on me.” Jaqui ran her fingers over his close cropped hair, pulling his head down for a deep searing kiss.

He pulled her close, kissing her back just as frantic to claim her mouth.

A cough interrupted them, followed by the loud clearing of a throat.

“Yo, no banging of my cuz on the patio in broad daylight, handsome.” Mo stood with her hands on slim hips.

“It’s her fault. She kissed me first.” Tay held a squirming Jaqui in front of him, hiding the erection tenting his pants. At the rate he was going, he would have a zipper indent permanently scarring his cock.

Nettie pointed at them. “You’re the one with your hands on her ass, big guy. Come on, I’m hungry, Mo. Let’s order room service. Do you think that handsome guy downstairs will deliver it to us?”

“Aren’t you engaged to one Shep Calhoun of the Calhoun’s?” Mo glared at her twin.

“Hey, I may be engaged, but I ain’t dead. Did you see that man’s guns?” Nettie held her hands above her own biceps.

“Ladies, I don’t think it’s wise to mess with that man. Now, if you order delivery, how does it get delivered?” Tay worried his bottom lip.