In Her Sights (15 page)

A waitress was there seconds later with a fresh glass of
iced sweet tea. “Ms. Lexie, would you like your usual?”

“Please.” Her usual lunch order was a chef salad tossed with
a mix of crab, lobster, and shrimp. Cocktail sauce as dressing. The chef
created it for her years ago and she came here just for that order.

“And for you, sir?”

Adam studied his menu for a second and then ordered a
seafood club sandwich.

The waitress left, and he shook ice loose in his glass. “I’m
afraid there isn’t much to tell. The men just had some prior breaking and
entering. Nothing too major.”

Nothing major? Had he arrested the same men they’d caught
last night? Some breaking and entering was far different than the weapons
charges she’d read about. “Did they say anything? Any reason why they decided
to try my house?”

He adjusted his chair and met her gaze. “I don’t want you to
be scared. You’re in good hands with Addison’s Security, but just so you’re
aware, they said they didn’t do the first break-in. Just last night.”

She gasped on cue. After all the years of fake gasping, she
nearly bought it herself. “Do you think they’re lying?”

He lifted a shoulder. “It’s hard to tell. Maybe, maybe not.
Just wanted to let you know. I would suggest you alert Addison. Consider extra
caution over the next couple of weeks.”

“Yes. Of course.” She placed her hand to her chest and
fiddled with a necklace that hung low. “I just can’t imagine two break-ins in a
row. I’ve gone years without a single incident.”

He continued on. “One of these guys mentioned you had a
collectable? Something new? I believe that’s what they were after.”

Bingo. There it was. The dagger. It had to be. Interesting
choice of words he used though since he didn’t ask her directly about it. Made
it easier for her to lie about it, for whatever his reasons. “I haven’t bought
anything recently.”

He hummed and leaned on the table. “Maybe it’s not a new
purchase, but he acted like it would be a big payday. Something worth a lot of
money.”

She lifted her shoulders, still able to tell the truth
through all this. He was making it easy. “I bought a custom emerald bracelet a
few weeks ago. I have far more expensive items in my safe than that, though.”

His frown was deep between his brows. “No. They didn’t
mention jewelry. Do you collect anything at all?”

She gave him a wide-eyed look. “Diamonds and swimsuits?”

“Any art?”

Still avoiding it. Maybe he really didn’t know. Maybe they
just told him something brief. But with two snitches arrested last night, they
would have given the details. “Paintings aren’t something Mom and Dad ever got
into, and neither did I.”

“What about sculptures or rare antiques?”

“Um.” Oh, more interesting that he was hitting all over the dagger
without actually asking about it. She deepened her frown and stared at the
center of the table. “There could be something in Mom and Dad’s room. I haven’t
been in that room in over twenty years. I would have to ask Julia, and she can
let you know. I’ve picked up a few things when I travel. Just souvenirs. Vases
I like or something like that, but I haven’t done that in a while.”

The waitress returned, placed food down, and was gone a
moment later.

He shook his head. “Not necessary. If you think of something
in particular that has a good value too it, just take extra precautions.”

Good value. She nearly laughed out loud. That was
practically her entire house. “Addison’s Security should have me covered by the
end of the day, but thank you for letting me know.”

“Good to know he’s working quickly.” He laughed as he rubbed
at the sweat on his glass. It was awkward and stiff laughter followed by
silence. The corner of his mouth kicked up a smile that was more smirk than
grin.

It was the kind of gesture that prickled the hairs at the
base of her neck. She played along because he clearly had something on his
mind. “Something funny?”

He chuckled again. “Half the men we arrested last night insisted
you were the one to get the jump on them. Not Addison. They said you were
dressed in black and moved like a ninja on TV.”

“That’s crazy,” she laughed. Hers was real, though. This
whole lunch was so odd that it was becoming funny. From the light description
of the men breaking and entering to the questioning of the dagger—and now this.
She shook her head. “I wasn’t even there.”

He stared toward his tea. “That’s what we said. We
questioned them all separately. Some didn’t see anything. Four all said the
same.”

She swallowed and shrugged. “That is so weird.”

He leaned on the table, this time with his elbows and forearms
on either side of his plate. “With thugs like these, their rep is all they got.
None of them are going to make up a story about a woman getting an upper hand.
But they’re all sticking to it. That it was you—definitely you—who got there
first. They insist you caused one of them to suffer a broken knee and another’s
nose.”

She sat back in her chair and adjusted her napkin. The less
she said the better. If he questioned her later, she’d have to try to recount the lies and that could get complicated. “I don’t know why
they’re making those accusations.”

He waited a beat. “Strange what people will lie about, isn’t
it?”

“Extremely.” She kept the smile on her face. Clayton’s words
of warning came back to her. “I can’t imagine why they’d accuse me of such a
thing. If I had been alone and couldn’t run, I would like to hope I would try
to defend myself.”

“One of the officers thought you’d taken a few self-defense
classes.”

She nodded. “Yes. When I was young. After my parents were
murdered and the killer never caught, it was thought learning martial arts
would give me a peace of mind. I started then. Since I’m often in questionable
parts of town for philanthropy, Uncle Gabe and Sammy insist I take a refresher
class every now and then. Usually, an instructor comes to my home.”

He frowned. “Uncle Gabe and Sammy?”

And now she could smile very easily. When backed in a
corner, it was always good to name-drop. “Gabe Maxwell and Senator Samuel
Dearing. When I lost my parents, they stepped in for me to ensure I had all I
needed. They’re both like fathers to me.”

Adam’s eyes widened, and he readjusted in his chair. “Oh.
That was very kind of them, and I’m sure eased their mind knowing you can
defend yourself.”

Now this attitude of him leaning away was much better. Uncle
Gabe and Sammy were dear old family friends of the Chief of Police…also known
as Adam’s boss. Adam might be fairly new to town and unaware of just how far
she could reach, but he would know everything about his boss if he was looking
to impress, as Clayton had mentioned. “That’s the idea. Thankfully, no one ever
came for me, so I never had to put it in use.”

Adam smiled now. “Last night, we discovered you have a lot
of friends out there.”

She didn’t have to fake her confusion this time. “Is that
so?”

“We had to put the men we arrested in a holding cell by
themselves. Some of the other criminals didn’t take well to them breaking in
your house. They were making threats.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of them.” It really was on a twisted, odd
level. Also something good to know. Not that she would walk through the
quarters and ask for someone to help her, but the idea of it made her blush.
Things like the Clinic made headway to creating that loyalty. At the end of the
day, criminals had kids and parents. They needed health care like everyone else,
and she enabled a way for them to have it.

Adam shook his head, his lips flat and pressed together. He
saluted her with his glass. “Job well done, Ms. Olympia. You haven’t managed
all of them yet, but when it comes to criminals, you have their loyalty.”

She didn’t like the double-entendre he made there, but she
smiled and thanked him nonetheless. There was only a little salad left on her
plate, and she made sure to finish every last bite. Her plate was clean, cup
empty, and she glanced at her watch to end this. She wasn’t afraid of him—he
didn’t make her skin crawl—but there was a vibe there she didn’t like.
Something she needed to reevaluate. Her performance with him was spot-on every
time they met, but she just didn’t know. There was this instinct of falling in
a trap. For some reason, he hadn’t bought her hook, line, and sinker like
everyone else did. “Thank you again for meeting me, and I appreciate that
update. I have another meeting across town, and I need to be on my way.”

“Oh.” His brows lifted and he smoothed his hand down the
front of his tie as he stood. “Let me get the check and we’ll be on our way.”

She took one last sip of tea and stood. “No need. I keep an
open tab.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“Lunch was my idea.”

Her car was brought to the curb, and Adam tugged open the
door. He might have been accusing her of a few things, but at least he was
still a gentlemen. He held the door wide and stopped her. “Lexie, I was
wondering if you might be interested in doing this again?”

She wouldn’t exactly call this lunch fun, but if he was as
new as Clayton said, then maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. If Adam had a chance to
get to know her, it could put his questions at ease about what those thieves
accused. Or, at least, get to know her as well as most people in this town did.
Which meant seeing her as a leg up in favor with people like the police chief.

She paused. That’s what was different during this lunch. He
wasn’t sucking up. He must not realize her benefit to his career. Or he was
fully aware she could make or break him with a few lines and was so arrogant,
he thought he could overcome her opinion.

But tonight was impossible. She had things to do in choppy
territory. “How about tomorrow around eight?”

“Sounds great. I’ll pick you up.”

Chapter Fifteen

Right at the end of lunch hour, traffic was every bit as
horrible as Lexie had expected. In the hour it took her to get to Olympia
Organization in bumper-to-bumper traffic, it gave her a chance to plot out her
night. Something quick. In and out to schedule a meeting for another night. The
leader of The Sidewinders gang wasn’t an easy target to pin down at the last
minute. His schedule fluctuated with his desire at the moment. His home always
had gang members in it, regardless of the time of day, and Joe was never alone.
Not even in his room at night while he slept.

To drop in on him at night unannounced and not get killed
required a lot of set-up and planning. Things she frankly didn’t have a lot of
time to manage. Bringing him to her in a place that offered an easy escape was
more than doable.

She pulled into the parking garage of the fifteen-story
building of Olympia Organization. Every real estate deal passed through her
uncle’s office on the top floor. The other levels were for the businesses they’d
acquired and headquartered over the years. Hotels, resorts, department stores.
If it was a property worth something, Olympia would take an interest. She
parked in the spot marked with her name written on it. It used to say Thomas
Olympia in big white letters on a blue sign.

Now it was hers. She didn’t know what her dad’s plans were
for her in the business in the long run, but with Uncle Gabe, they had a system
down that continually turned profits every year.

She gripped the brass knobs of Uncle Gabe’s door and stepped
in to see a few other men hovering around a large mahogany conference table that
was scattered with paperwork. They all looked up and called out a greeting. It
was a familiar sight that added a bit of warmth in her belly. So different from
when her dad had brought her here. He would just point to a couch in the corner,
where she would sit with a bag Julia had packed with games, books, and colors
to keep her busy. Unless a bathroom trip was needed, she’d spend hours on that
couch.

Lexie walked across the room as Gabe looked up. “Sorry. It
took me longer than I expected. I was across town.”

Uncle Gabe rubbed her back during their embrace. “No
problem.”

“What are we doing?”

“Buying out a real estate company, Howard’s Properties.”

Howard’s Properties was their competition. Not a threat to
their business by any means, but they dabbled in home real estate. She twisted
the pen between her fingers. “Howard’s going under? I thought he was doing well?”

“Started building a hotel, and the cost is sinking him.”

A bailout. “What are we gaining, other than debt?”

She looked at the paperwork scattered about and scanned
through paragraph after paragraph.
BUYER retains rights to
—she shook her
head. She was no desk jockey. Thankfully, after a few years, Uncle Gabe didn’t
make her read every contract and come back with a summary of what it all meant.
It would take hours, and she didn’t have time like that available anymore.
Especially with it just a few months from election day.

“We’re bailing out the hotel, finishing the building, and
then we’ll own a large percent of it once it’s done. Howard wanted to keep fifteen
percent of the hotel, so in exchange for that percentage, we’re gaining his
properties.” He flipped through a few pages and lifted a sheet of business
names and addresses.

She glanced down the couple dozen properties. “He’s trading
all this for a fifteen percent in a hotel?”

Uncle Gabe nodded. “It’s a good hotel, excellent location. He’ll
retire comfortable on that and not work another day in his life. We’ll fold
this hotel under our
Simply Olympus
hotel umbrella and include a couple
penthouses across the tops, a couple floors below that will be for suits and
below that, rooms. We own the property next door, so we’ll make it a big
conference hotel.”