Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (201 page)

“You know, don’t throw it open like they do in the movies and shit. Just…open it.” The movie always got shit like that wrong. The last thing you wanted to do was announce your presence in a big, bad way.

Kade stepped back from under the platform and watched as Mannie approached the door. Liz was on her feet now and she tugged at his arm, saying something Kade couldn’t hear. Mannie patted her hand, then gently set her aside and went for the door. It swung open easily. Kade held his breath.

Nothing happened.

Mannie let out a huge gasp that Kade silently echoed, then said, “It looks like an exit. I can see a window and the streetlamps outside.”

“Then get out of here,” Kade said roughly. “Take the girl with you and get somewhere safe.”

Mannie glanced back down at Kade. “I don’t want to leave you alone,” he said. “What if you need help?”

“Please,” Kade scoffed. “I
let
you find that tripwire.” Not particularly the case, but no sense arguing semantics. “Now go.”

He didn’t wait to see if Mannie would listen. He’d spotted what looked like a carefully hidden exit underneath the platform in the opposite corner from where Mannie had found his. Kade didn’t know where it led and didn’t care. He just had to get out of this paintball playground. It was creepy as fuck.

And Blane was still out there.

Chapter Ten

Blane was about ready to tear this shithole apart. They’d searched everywhere and were no closer to finding his brother than they had been earlier.

“Hey, look at this.” It was Terrance and he was gazing through a doorway. “This place must have a basement we missed.”

“How the hell did we miss an entire floor?” Blane asked, coming up to him. The stairway led down and wasn’t lit.

“We didn’t miss it. We just found it,”

Blane didn’t reply. He knew he was being a dick, he just couldn’t bring himself to care right now. Worry for Kade superseded everything else. It was only because of his training that he was able to keep it compartmentalized and from turning into total panic.

“I’ll go first,” he said. His Glock at the ready, he started down the narrow staircase. Terrance followed a couple of steps behind.

At the bottom of the stairs stood another door. Blane paused, taking a breath before reaching for the knob. But before he could turn it, the door opened.

There was a split second where his finger tightened on the trigger before his brain processed who stood in front of him and ordered his muscles to stop.

Kade stood there, his weapon a mirror of Blane’s.

“Where the
fuck
have you been?” Blane spit out, his relief nearly palpable, which meant now he was just pissed off. “You were supposed to get to the top and help me.”

“I tried,” Kade said, lowering his weapon. “This place is like a fucking funhouse, minus the fun. Did you get Brandy?”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Blane replied. “Liz?”

“Ditto.”

“Then let’s get the fuck out of here.”

They headed for the front door, Terrance trailing them, and had just reached it when all the lights suddenly came on.

“Leaving so soon?”

They turned to see Péng standing about twenty yards away, flanked by two men pointing AR-15s at them.

“It was entertaining, to say the least, watching you play the American cowboys and rescue the damsels in distress. But I’m afraid we still have our problem. I want that device.”

“Our deal was that the girls were to be untouched,” Kade replied. “You broke the deal.”

“A few bruises don’t matter,” Péng shrugged. “Now give me the device or I’m going to have my men shoot your companions. Which one shall they kill first? The black one?”

The rifles aimed at Terrance who stood on Kade’s right.

“Or perhaps…your brother.” The rifles swung to Blane on Kade’s left. “Oh yes,” Péng continued, “I know you have a brother. A quite well-known man, politics in his blood, now an attorney of wide repute. I would imagine the discovery of such a close relation as you would captivate the media’s attention. Especially when they realize you’re a black hat and assassin.”

“What the fuck is a black hat?” Blane asked Kade in an undertone.

“A hacker with malicious intent,” Terrance replied.

Blane looked at Kade. “Really? What have I told you—”

“Not malicious,” Kade interrupted. “Just not…benevolent. That’s all.”

“Really? We’re arguing semantics now?” Blane retorted. “If the FBI finds out that you’ve been doing this shit—”

“They’re not going to find out.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know—”

“Dudes!” Terrance interrupted, looking at them as though they were insane. “We got two rifles pointed at us. Can we do the family intervention later?”

Kade looked somewhat abashed. “Sorry, man. Okay, let’s finish this.”

“How’re you—” Blane started, but Kade interrupted.

“Péng, you’re really irritating me now, and that’s hard to do.” He paused and scrunched up his face a little. “Well, actually, it’s not hard to do as I’m not really known for being a patient kind of guy. But I do have this one thing, call it a ‘hot-button’ issue for me.” He used quotey fingers for
hot-button
.

“Really?” Péng asked. “Do tell.”

Kade’s voice turned to ice. “It’s pointing a fucking gun at my brother, dickhead. Now, Terrance.”

Barely had Blane processed the words before the entire rock wall directly behind Péng blew up. Kade tackled him to the ground as bits of rock and debris, along with other bloody bits he didn’t want to consider, rained down on them. Smoke and rock dust clouded the room and it took a few moments for things to settle.

“Off,” Blane said, coughing at the dust in his mouth and nose. His little brother had shielded
him
from harm. Why didn’t Blane just hand over his fucking man card. It should be the other way around—
Blane
protecting
Kade
, though it sounded like Kade needed more protection from himself than anything else.

“Nice work,” Kade complimented Terrance as they all got to their feet. “And fast.”

Terrance shrugged. “Just following orders.”

Blane looked at Kade. “When did you…”

Kade stared innocently back. “When did I what?”

Blane held up a hand. “You know what? Never mind. Forget it. I don’t want to know. Let’s just get out of here.”

They left out the front doors, one of which was hanging slightly askew from the blast. If the explosion had been overheard, there wasn’t a way to tell. No one was running to help and no sirens sounded in the distance.

“Hey! Guys!”

Mannie was calling to them. He and Liz were standing by a cab. In a moment, Blane, Kade, and Terrance had approached.

“Did you see that?” Mannie gushed. “There was like this huge explosion and I thought for sure you guys were goners, but then out you come through the doors like you’re fucking Bruce Willis or some shit like that. Cool!”

“Mannie, I thought you were going to get Liz to the hospital?” Kade asked. “You just been standing out here?”

Mannie looked hurt. “I didn’t just wanna leave you guys, you know? Not without making sure you were okay.”

Kade rolled his eyes. “Please. Was there any doubt?”

All three men turned to look at him.

Kade cleared his throat. “Okay, so anyway, I can take her to the hospital.”

“No,” Liz said, tightening her grip on Mannie’s arm and sliding closer to him. “I want him to take me.” She looked down at him, her face softening. “He saved me.”

“
He
saved you?” Kade said, sounding insulted. “I was the one who—”

“Let’s get you guys a cab,” Blane interrupted. Liz was looking at Mannie as though he were a seven foot tall knight in shining armor. It was kind of sweet.

Terrance flagged down a passing taxi and Mannie and Liz got inside. She was clinging to him like a vine and Mannie didn’t seem to mind one little bit. Terrance slammed the door shut, but just as the cab was about to pull away, Mannie leaned out the window.

“I haven’t forgotten about that audition, Kade!” he yelled. “You owe me!” Then they were gone, speeding down the road.

Terrance looked at Kade. “What audition?”

“Don’t ask.”

Terrance shrugged. “Whatever.” He held out a hand to Kade. “Nice working with you, man.”

“Ditto,” Kade said. “If you’re in the market, I might be in touch.”

“Sounds good.” He turned to Blane. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Flagging down another cab, Terrance climbed in. A moment later, Blane and Kade were left alone in the lot.

“Now what?” Blane asked.

Kade sighed. “Now we’re done. Girls are safe, Péng is dead and so is Raymond. There’s no one left to connect me to the device, so all’s well that ends well.” He gave Blane a crooked smile.

“I don’t know if I’d say this ended well,” Blane replied dryly. “And we still don’t know where that thing is. Are you sure you can’t think of where you would have hidden it?”

“No clue.”

The warm evening breeze brushed over them and Blane tipped his head back to look at the stars, except very few could be seen. The lights of the city were just too bright.

“I’m starving and I want a shower,” he said.

“Sounds like a plan.”

A few minutes later they were ensconced in a cab heading back to the MGM. Traffic was heavy and Kade had leaned his head back against the seat, his eyes shut. Blane thought he might be sleeping. That sounded good. He was exhausted. But they both couldn’t sleep at the same time without either of them being awake and aware, so he stayed alert, watching the people and scenery go by.

They were nearly back at the hotel when the driver slammed on the brakes and cursed.

“What’s the problem?” Blane asked as Kade jerked awake at the sudden stop. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.

“Damn geese,” the driver groused. “They’re fucking everywhere and get in the way. The city needs to do something. They’re a nuisance and a menace, chasing people and wanting food. They’ll eat anything.” He stepped on the gas and the car shot forward.

Blane was wide awake now and he looked at Kade, who was already looking at him. They were thinking the exact same thing.

“The goose,” Kade said.

They hit the doors of the MGM at a pretty good clip and had made it nearly to the elevators before they were stopped.

“Blane Kirk? Kade Dennon?” A large man in a suit blocked their path. He face looked like it had been in one too many brawls, the nose slightly crooked. An earpiece was in his ear, the cord disappearing underneath his collar.

Security.

“Yes?” Blane answered.

“Please come with me.”

Shit. They’d found out Kade had gamed the system last night. Not that it had sounded as though Kade had tried real hard to hide it, not judging by the size of that stack of poker chips they’d left in their room.

“What’s this about?” Blane asked, stalling and stepping slightly in front of Kade.

“I think you know what this is about,” the man said. “It would be in your best interest to come along quietly.”

Kade touched Blane’s shoulder and he glanced around. Kade gave him a slight nod. Blane’s lips pressed together, but he said, “Fine. Lead the way.”

They followed the guards into the bowels of the casino, the walls and floors stripped of color or decoration. It was an antiseptic as a hospital, completely lacking in welcome or warmth. And someplace Blane would have been content to have never seen.

They hadn’t searched them for weapons yet, that happened as soon as they entered the room. On the small side, it held one table and three chairs. The two guards took all the weapons Blane and Kade were carrying and left the room, leaving them alone with the head guard.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Kade said, “Mac! Man, it’s good to see you.”

To Blane’s amazement, the guard gave Kade a handshake and a hearty slap on the back. “Dennon, why am I not surprised you’re the one causing shit?” He was grinning as he said it though.

“You two know each other?” Blane asked, glancing from one to the other in bewilderment.

“This guy helped me out of a bind a while back,” Mac said. “I said I owed him one, so now I’m here to deliver.”

“What’s the scoop?” Kade asked.

Mac sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, your winnings aren’t going to be confiscated, so that’s the good news. But Alfonso is pissed as all hell.”

“Who’s Alfonso?” Blane asked.

“Alfonso Riveria,” Kade replied. “He’s like the second-in-command at the MGM.”

“Yeah, he should be here any minute,” Mac said. “I was supposed to rough you up a bit, so look hurt.”

Kade snorted at that just as there was a perfunctory knock on the door before it opened.

Another man walked in, flanked by six security personnel. By the time everyone was inside, the room was a bit crowded.

It wasn’t that much of a stretch to realize this was Alfonso. Clad in a suit that easily cost well into four figures, gold links at his cuffs, and shoes shined to a gleaming sheen, he oozed Vegas casino magnate.

Blane’s body was stiff with tension. He didn’t like not having his Glock, he didn’t like that Kade was in here, and he really didn’t like being surrounded.

“Mr. Kirk. Mr. Dennon,” Alfonso began, “I would say welcome to our casino and hotel, but I see you’ve already made yourselves at home. Congratulations on your…winnings.”

“I always did have a lucky streak,” Kade smarted off. Blane wanted to duct tape his mouth shut.

“Why are we being held here?” Blane asked. “Is it against the law to win money in a casino?”

“Of course not,” Alfonso replied with a casual wave of his hand. “Though perhaps some might say luck had little to do with it.”

Best not to reply to that. Kade must have thought the same thing because for once he kept his damn mouth shut.

“What do you think, Mr. Dennon?” Alfonso asked. “Are you telling me you were just extremely…lucky last night?”

“Well, I didn’t get laid, so no, I wouldn’t say I was lucky.”

Fucking shit.

“Kade won that money at the slots,” Blane cut in. “How could it possibly have been anything other than luck?” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re suggesting there’s some way to compromise a slot machine?”