Riley (The Kendall Family #3) (20 page)

Riley stared at their target, who put down the kid and went inside. “Can’t argue with that. You’re certain he’s the only one with the intel we need?”

“Probably. Jake might’ve known. They seldom told me the client but then Thomas never trusted me. Jake was more his right hand man.”

“Okay, so we still need Thomas. There’s no way to question him without him knowing it’s us.”

That gave her an idea and she wished she’d thought of it sooner. “Actually, there might be.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it.”

“We’ve already planned to be disguised when we kidnap him. If I don’t speak, he’ll never know it’s me, and if I stay out of sight or we keep him blindfolded, he won’t know a woman is one of the pair. He doesn’t know your voice. You can pretend you’re another Marine or someone avenging you.”

Riley looked intrigued. “Not bad, but it calls attention to us again and might make Thomas investigate who’s come to do that, leading to scrutiny that reveals we’re both still alive.”

She sighed. “That’s true. Maybe we can reveal that Jake was captured and this is how we found out. It could throw him off.”

“Maybe. We can work it out later. I think we’ve seen enough for now. We can’t grab him here, or at his office. Luring him to Jake’s is our best bet now.”

Jordan put the car in reverse and drove away, a bit disappointed they couldn’t do the job now, but the new possibility offered hope.

“Will you be okay with us not finding out why Thomas tried to kill you?” Riley asked as they headed back to the hotel. “If we’re letting him go, he can’t know we’re alive, and so we can’t ask.”

She didn’t answer at first, not being sure what to say. “I can probably guess why he wanted to. I don’t think it really matters, and it certainly doesn’t matter as much as finding out who hired him to kill you and why. I think I can live with it. Otherwise, the risk to us is too great. If it means not killing him for his kids, then so be it.”

Riley squeezed her hand. “I think it’s the better thing to do.”

“So do I,” she admitted. Part of her really wanted to put a bullet in Thomas’ head, but she’d have to settle for imagining it.

They arrived at the hotel within an hour and worked out their plan for getting Thomas to Jake’s. First, they needed to make sure they could get in and set their trap, so after a meal, they drove the thirty minutes to one of Jake’s condos inside Paris, bringing everything they needed for an interrogation: handcuffs, stun gun, hoods, their disguises, firearms, and various supplies for breaking in and cleaning up after themselves.

The living quarters were on the fifth floor of a complex that had minimal security, probably so that Jake could come and go without being noticed. Jordan knew how he thought and that he probably had the placed rigged with cameras and motion sensors. Like her, he kept a weapons stash elsewhere, and this place was mostly living quarters. He was presumably only interested in having the identity of someone who’d broken in; since nothing of value was here, a break-in would mean his identity had been compromised because there was little reason to break in other than searching for intel. Jordan also knew that any alarm would be silent and likely alert his phone instead of the cops, whom he wouldn’t want to involve. After all, when he tracked down an intruder and killed them, the police would never trace it to him.

For these reasons, she wasn’t too worried about picking the lock. All that mattered was witnesses. Still wearing disguises, they parked in back and entered via a rear door as if they belonged there, feigning familiarity and relaxation, though they took the stairs to avoid elevator cameras. No one was on the fifth floor and Jordan didn’t take long to pick the golden door lock. When she pushed the front door inward, a silent alarm sent a signal to Jake’s phone, which Riley held in one hand and glanced at. In his other, he discreetly held a gun.

“Me first,” he said, pushing past her.

She frowned but didn’t stop him because she still had to pull her gun from her waistband. Following, she let him go toward the kitchen while she scanned the living area, too sparsely furnished for anyone to hide. Of course, they knew Jake was dead, but there was a chance someone else was here.

“No sign of activity in the kitchen,” Riley remarked.

Jordan nodded, realizing he meant freshly made food or drinks. Her eyes picked out an unhidden black ceiling camera aimed at the door and another pointed at the living area. Jake had apparently wanted an intruder to know they were being seen. They’d need to find the recording device, which was hopefully here, and take it, since they’d be leading Thomas here and letting him live. He’d undoubtedly investigate once freed. He’d also realize something had happened to Jake, but they didn’t care what he thought. Let him wonder.

They went down the hall, ducking into a spare bedroom, and then checked the master suite. No one was here.

“Draw the curtains,” Riley commanded, moving to do the same on another wall.

Jordan complied and said, “The computer in the guest room might be the recorder for the cameras, but it’s probably a decoy. I know Jake.”

“Okay, so where’s the real one?”

“Gotta search for it.”

“Let’s do that in a minute. Do we think we’re ready for this tonight?”

“Is there a reason to wait?”

“Not really. You know them. Will Thomas come here if Jake asks him to?”

Jordan nodded. “I can see Jake wanting to brag in person about killing me, or thanking Thomas here, instead of at HQ, where he wouldn’t be able to admit it. I know they enjoyed wine together. I’m thinking to invite him for a small celebration.”

“You’re sure he’ll bite? We only have one chance of doing it this way, and if he wants Jake to come to him, we’re screwed. And when Jake doesn’t show up, he’ll start to get suspicious.”

“Let’s worry about that if he doesn’t bite.”

“Okay. Let’s set up an interrogation site here and find that recorder. Then we’ll start this.”

A more thorough search turned up the real hard disk recorder the cameras were feeding, hidden beneath the carpet in the master closet, where Jake had cut out a section of flooring to put the recorder under the floor. They didn’t bother confirming it had recorded them. Riley just opened it up with tools and smashed the delicate pieces so they’d be unreadable. Meanwhile, Jordan shoved the master bedroom’s bed out of the way and brought a chair to tie Thomas to. Then the snipers sat together and initiated texting with their mutual enemy, who responded quickly.

Jacques: I’m here.

Thomas: Paris?

J: Just got in. Have a gift for you! To celebrate

T: For a job well done? :)

J: Ding dong the bitch is dead

T: lol

J: Come now. Already through half a bottle

T: What’s the gift?

J: A surprise. Will you come? At Rue Diablo

T: Be there in two hours

J: K

“Should quit there,” Riley suggested, not wanting to risk tipping their hand. The less said, the better. Jordan presumably knew enough about how Jake and Thomas interacted to mimic the dead assassin. Riley never would’ve made the Wizard of Oz joke. He gave her credit for style. It worked.

“Yeah,” she agreed, putting the phone down but leaving it face up in case another message came through. “We have a couple hours to be certain we’re ready.”

“Or we could fool around,” Riley joked. She rolled her eyes at him and they spent the next hour securing the rooms so that nothing accidental happened, like tripping over a doormat, or banging into furniture in the way, or even random knickknacks on tables being used as weapons. They kept the living room that Thomas would be captured in mostly intact so he wouldn’t be suspicious on entering. This was where they’d grab him.

For the remaining time, they ensured their disguises were on and went outside, trying to get an idea of escape points, should they need one, and how many people seemed present in other units. They weren’t anticipating much fighting, and no gunfire, but things often went wrong.

Being in an urban area, the condo had pedestrian and vehicular traffic in solid numbers, and the number of lights on in the adjacent units caused some concern, but unless they fired a gun, it wouldn’t matter. Just in case that happened, they returned to the room and made sure everything they didn’t need for interrogation was already packed for quick exit. They also planned a route down the rear stairs and away. The Paris Metro wasn’t too far distant, allowing them to take that and ditch the car if needed.

Sitting in the condo, with enough lights on to make it seem welcoming, they saw Jake’s phone light up with a text from Thomas, saying he was five minutes away. They got into position, Riley exiting the condo and going to the stairs to watch for him on this floor. The hall had only six doors for rooms, plus the stairwell, where he stood as if having just climbed and about to exit. He kept the door open, peering out for signs of the elevator opening.

He felt a little nervous, which was unusual for him, but then he usually waited at a safe distance with a sniper rifle. His military training had prepared him for hand-to-hand combat, which he excelled at, but he had seldom set a trap for someone like this. The planning wasn’t his favorite thing. He preferred the action to simply come upon him before he had to worry about it too much. What truly worried him was Jordan. She’d seemed calm, so he didn’t think she’d overreact to coming face to face with the man who’d ordered her execution, but tempers could flare. And if Thomas somehow died tonight, and before Riley learned who’d ordered the hit on him, Riley would have nothing to go on. A lot was riding on this.

A ding announced the arrival of the elevator. He waited a moment and then stepped into the hall, pretending to be engrossed in the smartphone in his hand, his head down, but when the lone person turned away from him, Riley looked up and recognized their prey. He typed “all clear” and hit send while still advancing with his head down like a distracted walker.

He assumed Thomas had seen him and then disregarded him. Thomas was moving away toward Jake’s door. On reaching it, Thomas turned to knock on it. The Marine passed the elevator, noticing that Thomas still held a glowing smartphone in one hand. Just when Thomas glanced at him, Jake’s door swung inward and Thomas turned back to find a gun pointed at his face. At the moment Jordan had opened the door, Riley yanked his gun from his rear waistband, aimed it at Thomas, and quickened his step.

Seeing Thomas look at him again, this time in surprise, Riley gestured with his gun at the open door, just steps from him now. “Inside, now.”

Thomas nodded, casting wary and appraising glances at both of them. That prompted Riley to tell him not to try anything stupid. Thomas cautiously did as ordered while Riley grabbed his phone to keep it on and unlocked. They might need it.

As he stepped inside, Thomas said in English, his accent smooth and suave, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I do. Stop talking. Eyes forward.” Riley shoved him toward the master bedroom, letting Jordan close the door behind them so she stayed out of sight. She couldn’t hide her hips and bosom but had otherwise disguised herself with a pullover mask that gave away no features. Thomas hadn’t had much chance to look at anything more than a muzzle in his face, Riley suspected. The Marine still wore a wig.

All three entered the interrogation room, where Riley made Thomas sit in a lone chair, his back to them, before Jordan bound him to it. She stood behind Thomas with a gun handy as Riley, beside her, put a mask over his own head. Once done, he altered Thomas’ phone to remove the security lock. Then he came around to the front.

Up close, Thomas’ face had pockmarks and a couple small scars, suggesting he’d been a little hands-on at some point. Maybe Riley needed to be wary of any physicality from the guy, but he posed no threat bound as he was. The Marine thought to check Jordan’s bindings, as she wasn’t used to doing that sort of thing, but he trusted her. Before he had a chance to say something to Thomas, their captive spoke first.

“I assume this is no coincidence. You know who I am?”

Riley replied, “Thomas Beckett, asshole.”

“That’s not my exact title, no.” He seemed more amused than threatened. Riley scowled.

“Would you prefer ‘corpse’?”

“You aren't going to kill me.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll never get away with it. You’re a dead man even now.”

Cockiness had never been appealing for Riley. “You’re starting to bore me. Let’s get to the point. Who hired you to kill Riley Kendall?”

Thomas’ eyebrows rose, a calculating look flashing across his features. “I don’t know what—”

Riley punched him in the face, sending blood flying. Adrenaline and a surge of intense satisfaction tore through him. Thomas didn’t look nearly so sure of himself anymore, preoccupied with pain as he was. Riley suppressed a smile. “Answer the question.”

Looking dazed, Thomas spit out a tooth. “I see you don’t mince words.”

Riley slugged him again, hoping to get the message across quickly. If he got into a conversation about bullshit with the guy, he lost ground. “Not real big on fluff. Answer me.”

“If I tell you that,” Thomas said, seeming partially defeated, “I just get myself in more trouble.”

“You’re never going to be in more trouble after today.”

Catching the meaning, Thomas gave him a long look, eyeing the bloodied fist. “Well, if you’re planning to kill me, I don’t have much to lose.”

“That depends on how much pain you want to experience first. Is protecting that person worth it?”

A sardonic smirk briefly appeared. “Not really. Look, lots of people know who wanted Riley dead.”

“Then that guy will never be certain that
you’re
the one who squealed. A name, now.”

Thomas sighed, conceding that. “I can’t argue with your logic. It was Abu Yasin.”

“Who the fuck is that?”

“Leader of IJL, Islamic Jihad League.”

Riley drew a blank. Countless terrorist groups existed around the world and keeping track of them all was hard. And not his job even while in the military. The name didn’t ring a bell. All he knew now was that a terrorist was behind it. He glanced at Jordan and she shrugged.