AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He did leave the door open for another meeting.” I remember his idiotic ravings at the yacht club.
“One hundred fifty thousand dollars at the Monte Cristo?” As he says the words, my brother’s expression changes. “That’s it. That’s how we’ll get him.”
“Will he commit a crime if we give him what he wants?” I ask.
“No,” Cal continues. “The trick is we don’t give him what he wants. You give him the original fifteen thousand, and when you hand it off, you place a bug on him.”
“A tracking device?” I look over at Freddie, who is now leaning back in his chair frowning.
“It’s a risk,” he says, “but we can try it. Along with the additional coverage, of course.”
“Tell me the risk.”
“Cal’s suggesting what? You place it in his coat? Attach it to his sleeve? It’s a warm night, he takes off the coat, he disappears.”
I push out of my chair needing to walk. “Is there a way we can bug his person?”
“What if you give him a phone as part of the deal?” André chirps.
“Too obvious,” Cal replies. “Even an amateur like this guy would know we can track a cell phone.”
“Can we bug money?” the young guard asks.
Freddie doesn’t look up from his computer screen. “No.”
“I’ll make contact,” I say, walking to the door. “I’ll say we can meet in the bar of the Monte Cristo at five. That will give us the entire evening to see what he does. I’ll also alert the authorities. I’ll have them contact Freddie, and you can guide them based on what you see.”
“I’m already tracking his phone,” Freddie points to the laptop. “Looks like he’s at the Monte Cristo right now.”
“Good time to send an email.” I head to the door. “I’ll be across the hall if you need me.”
* * *
It takes less than a minute to send my message, but I linger at the computer waiting to see if he’ll respond right away. Alerting the police is lower on my list of things to do—primarily because I don’t want them interfering with justice, should it need to be carried out.
Now that Ava is pregnant, it seems each passing day I grow more obsessed with her safety. I’ll do anything to keep my beautiful wife protected, but now I’m also concerned with the tiny being her amazing body is carrying.
Minutes continue to tick past when I notice her voice out in the hallway. It sounds like she’s talking to André. Going to the door, I step out to see the young guard flushed and stuttering as he tries to have a conversation with my wife. If he wasn’t such a greenhorn, I might feel sorry for him.
“Ava,” I say, and she startles, looking over her shoulder at me.
“Rowan!” Her smile is dazzling, but I’m a bit puzzled as to why she’s surprised to see me where I work.
“Are you looking for me?” I go to where she’s standing. She’s holding a narrow clutch purse, which she moves behind her back as I get closer.
“Zelda and I just got back from Occ
itan,” she says, placing one hand on my chest and kissing my cheek. I’m surrounded by the scent of fresh jasmine. “I wasn’t sure if you knew your mother is here.”
“I heard, although I was pretty sure I already knew by how nervous the staff was acting this morning.”
She wrinkles her nose with a smile. “She said she expects us all to be at dinner tonight at the usual time. Any idea when that might be?”
Shit. “Six, I believe.” My mind is immediately preoccupied with the email I just sent to Vega. I’ll have to act quickly to meet him at five, piss him off, and be back for a hasty dinner at six. Cal will have to miss it and face our mother’s wrath. Not that he’s ever had to do that. Even before he met Zelda and was burning up the tabloids, she would dismiss his behavior as boys being boys. I on the other hand have always been the future king.
Not that I mind. I’ve never been one to enjoy the scalding glare of the paparazzi.
“You could have texted me,” I say, putting my hands on Ava’s hips and pulling her closer for a kiss.
