IF I WERE YOUR WOMAN (26 page)

Ray moved quickly to put his strategy in motion. On the flight to Los Angeles for his meeting with Evangeline, he’d finally received a message from Laney’s cousins. The three ex-Navy SEALS had agreed to a meeting with him after he’d spoken with Evangeline. As soon as he landed in San Francisco, he called his father, Alcee, brothers, Marcel and A.J., and brother-in-law, Zach. They agreed to meet at the corporate office of BF Automotive in San Francisco’s financial district. 

A wild, hard edge embraced the identical triplet’s persona. Men walked lightly around them and their icy gazes could flay skin from a body strip by strip. Also, Ray learned how they’d undertaken missions to try and breech security, probing for any weakness that could be exploited.

Former Lieutenant-Commander Elijah Johnson had a coolly courteous manner, which Ray never took lightly. The deep voice was as deadly as those cold brown eyes that cast a gaze so sharp it could split a single strand of hair right down the middle. Ensign Michael Johnson was just as lethal. He sat with his arms folded and voluntary manslaughter in his narrowed eyes. Peter “Arrow” Johnson was the youngest of the triplets and the quiet one of the bunch. The warrant officer was a highly skilled sniper who’d gained a reputation and the nickname “Arrow” for the precision of his shots. His face and voice were always expressionless.

Ray let his gaze slowly roam over the three men again. He liked what he saw. They had the same murderous glint in their eyes that he had. Right now he needed that deadly rage to find the two men who’d attacked Laney. He’d stop at nothing until he got the results he wanted. 

When Ray walked inside the executive conference room, the former SEALs were already present. Seven hostile faces immediately turned toward him. After he shared his confrontation with Evangeline and Antón Perry, a rush of adrenaline pumped through him as he prepared mentally and physically for the job before him.  

“Ray, how long will it take to put things in motion?” Marcel asked.

“Whatcha think, Arrow?” Ray inquired.

With cold eyes, the sniper cocked his head sideways. “The sooner the better.”

A.J. looked over at his younger brother and blew out a hard breath, bracing a hand on the back of his neck. “Listen,
petite frère
, are you sure the four of you can pull this off?”

Ray offered A.J. a smile of confidence. “We can and we will.” He glanced across the room at Elijah. “Everything’s squared away on your end, right?”

Elijah nodded. “Everything’s set.”

“I don’t know, brother-in-law…” Zach frowned. “This plan of yours…” He broke off and glanced at the other men with hesitation. “If y’all get caught, everybody’s ass is going to get locked up.”

Ray winked. “Well, I guess we’ll have to be careful so we don’t get caught.”

A wrinkle burrowed itself into the middle of Alcee’s forehead. “So, you’re one hundred percent positive Bryant and Nelson hired the men who attacked Laney?”

Ray leaned back in a leather chair and offered a crafty smile. “Let me put it like this, Pop. If they didn’t, they better start singing like Tweety Bird and tell me who did.”

Alcee chuckled. “Son, what do you have up your sleeve?” 

Ray sucked his teeth. “It’s called revenge, Pop. Baptiste style.” He walked over and patted his father’s shoulder. “I might not be the same man who left here, but some things never change.” He thought about Laney and the bruises on her delicate skin and pounded his fists together. Rage consumed him. He had to push it away because he couldn’t afford the mistakes rage caused. “If you want to come after me, then come after me. When you drag my woman into the middle of it, that’s where I draw the line.”

Zach tossed Ray a chastening look. “Listen here, brother-in-law. If I catch wind of y’all doing something stupid, I’ll call the Cordova chief of police personally.” He glanced at his watch. “Gotta run, boys. I promised my baby I’d take her out to dinner.”

Ray escorted Zach out the conference room and returned a few moments later. With a shoulder braced against the doorframe, feet crossed at the ankle, his gaze zeroed in on the SEAL team with an intensity that caught Marcel’s attention. 

Marcel ordered fiercely, “Find them.”

A.J. remained silent, but moved his finger back and forth under his neck in a cutting motion.

Ray gave a thumbs-up to both his brothers. “I’m on it.” He glanced at the triplets. “All right, boys. It’s show time.”

S
ix hours later, the triplets entered The Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. They moved quietly through the lobby, communicating by hand signals or whispering into the microphones attached to their clothes. Michael took his position near the elevator. Five minutes later, Ray swaggered across the lobby and headed straight for him. “All systems go?”

“Elijah,” Michael whispered into his microphone. “How’s it looking?” He nodded at Ray and pressed a card key into his palm. After a moment, he whispered again. “See you in three.”

Ray entered the elevator and pressed the button. When he arrived at his designated floor, he was met by Elijah. They walked in eerie silence down the hallway toward one of the executive suites. All the rooms except for the one they were headed to were empty. In fact, all the rooms on the floors above and beneath the one they were on were empty, too. Ray had reserved and paid for the rooms on all three floors. There wasn’t a need to disturb the other guests.

Quietly, Ray inserted the card key and unlocked the door. With Elijah on his heels, he entered the suite. A tingle touched the back of his neck like a cold wind. His gaze connected with Ashton’s first who sat stiffly in a chair near the window. Ray immediately felt an intense hatred directed toward him. Then his gaze settled on Nelson who sat calmly on the sofa. Ray strode across the room and pulled a chair out, straddling it backwards. “Bryant,” he drawled quietly. “Looks like we meet again?”

Ashton drew to his feet and narrowed his eyes at Ray. “W-what are you doing here?”

A wry smile turned Ray’s lips. “The only one asking questions now is me.”  

Ashton glared at Ray, then stared at Elijah. “Who is he?”

Ray flashed a crafty grin. “Trust me, before you leave, you’ll make his acquaintance.” He had only one mission: find out the names of the two men Ashton and Nelson had hired to attack him. Shutting out everything, he hung both arms over the back of the chair.

Nelson nervously glanced around the room, then attempted to stand.

With a sprinter’s speed, Elijah made his way across the room until he towered over Nelson. “Going somewhere?”

Ashton’s head snapped around the moment he heard the opening of a door.

Peter entered the main area of the suite from the bedroom with a sniper rifle snug across his shoulder.

Trembling, Ashton’s eyes riveted back to Ray. “A-are you people crazy?”

Ray peered over the top of a pair of yellow-tinted Prada frames. “Maybe. Now there’s only one thing I want to know. Who did the two of you hire to attack me?” 

“Attack?” Ashton snorted. “I don’t have the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

Ray shook his head. “Wrong answer. 

Sweat beaded across Nelson’s forehead. “W-we weren’t involved in any kind of attack.”

“Oh, hell no,” Ray shouted out and was on his feet in an instant. “I’m too tired to play games with either of you.” He glanced at Peter. “Take both of them out!”

Slowly, Peter crossed the room, went down on one knee and raised the rifle to his shoulder. He sighted through the scope, not for a shot. The powerful scope plainly revealed the agony on Ashton and Nelson’s face. 

Ray cleared his throat. “Any last words?”

“You won’t dare,” Ashton nervously chuckled.

“Shut up,” Ray growled. “The next words out of your mouth better be the names of the two men you sent after me.” He looked down at Peter. “Can you make the shot?”

Peter answered with a cold, murderous smile.

“Do it,” Ray ordered.

“N-no, please don’t,” Nelson cried out.

“Talk to me then,” Ray warned in a dangerously fierce tone.

Nelson’s eyes were wide with fear. “If I-I give you the names, will you let me go?”

Ray’s expression was vacant. “Maybe.”

“Don’t you say another word,” Bryant ordered.

Nelson whipped his head around toward Bryant. “I’m not going to be the fall guy for something you wanted to do.”

Ray tapped the crystal on his watch. “Gentlemen, I’m waiting.”

“T-their names are Kenneth Mason and Will Manner,” Nelson nervously admitted.    

Ray stood in front of Nelson and braced both hands on the arms of the chair. “Where can I find them?”

Because Ray was leaning in so close, Nelson had to tilt his head back to see Ray’s face. He gave them the address of where the two men were located.

Ray straightened and pulled his cell phone from the case at his waist. He punched in a number and waited. When he heard Alex’s voice, he relied the information he’d been given. He focused intently on Nelson again. “If I find out you’re lying, you’re a dead man.”

“I swear, I’m telling you the truth.” Nelson attempted to get up. E-everything went wrong that day—”

“Shut up,” Bryant shouted. “That half-breed bitch has gotten us into enough trouble as it is.”

Ray lifted his brow. “What-did-you-say?”

“You heard me,” Ashton spat out. “All of
you
people are just alike.” Then he turned to Nelson. “I should’ve known better than to trust you to do this right. You find the people to do the job and what do they do? Screw it up!”

Ray nodded stiffly, but didn’t utter a word. He glanced at Elijah and tilted his head at Nelson. The telepathic request had been transmitted. Elijah placed a strong hand under Nelson’s armpit and escorted him toward the door.

Elijah glanced over his shoulder at Ray. “I’ve got this one.” He jerked his head at Ashton. “I’ll leave that one for you.”

Ray nodded slightly and glanced over at Peter. He lifted his left hand up and pointed his index finger at the door, an indication for Peter to leave, too.  When he and Bryant were alone, he took off his jacket and tossed it somewhere near the sofa. Rolling back his sleeve, he flashed a mirthless smile. “Remember what I told you I was going to do the last time I saw you?”

Confused, Bryant shook his head sideways.

“Well, I do.”

~ ~ ~

“Mr. Baptiste, I-I don’t know what to say,” said the chancellor of The University of Tennessee Health Science Center. “This is a very generous endowment.”

Two hours later, Ray sat across from the chancellor after he’d made arrangements to meet with him to present his personal donation to their cancer research program.  In addition to what he’d just given and what Evangeline would be adding, the project would be well funded for several years.

Ray nodded. “And there’s more where that came from as long as Dr. Houston serves as the principal investigator on all of the projects.”

The chancellor beamed with delight as he glanced over at his staff members and two other members of the board of regents seated around the table. “Oh, absolutely. We pride ourselves by staffing our projects with the best researchers in the world.” He turned to the two members from the board of regents. “Perhaps we should include Dr. Bryant on this project as well.” 

Ray grimaced. “Uh, doc, you might want to hold off on that for a while.” 

“Mr. Baptiste, I can assure you that Dr. Bryant will be a valuable asset working under the direction of Dr. Houston.”

“I’m sure he would, but he’s taking a little R&R for an extended period of time.”

A frown marred the chancellor’s forehead. “I didn’t know Dr. Bryant had a vacation scheduled.”

Ray shook his head. “Uh, no, doc.  You’ve got things a little confused. Dr. Bryant won’t be on the R&R you’re thinking of.”

“He won’t?” The chancellor scratched his head. “Well, when people go on vacation, they usually enjoy a little rest and relaxation. Right?”

A cynical smile made the corner of Ray’s mouth quirk up. “Usually. However, in this case, Dr. Bryant’s R&R will be more along the lines of recover and recuperate.” Ray clapped his hands together. “Well, I believe this is a win-win situation for everyone involved.” He peered over the top of his glasses. “Right, doc?”

“Recover and recuperate,” the chancellor muttered under his breath, confused.

“Hmm-umm. And it’s gonna be a long one.”

~ ~ ~

Laney was curious. It had been two days since Raphael had returned and brought her back to his house. During that time, he hadn’t discussed a single detail of what he’d done while he was gone. She suspected her first cousins Elijah, Michael, and Peter were somehow involved, but getting any information out of them was worst than getting information out of Raphael. The only thing she knew for certain was that Ashton had submitted a letter of resignation.