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“You have makeup and hair ready?” I ask the guys up front.
“Yep, waiting for us at the hotel. I had to move mountains to get that shit lined up. Where the fuck do you normally find a stylist to come play dress up before the crack of dawn?” Tommy says.
“Yeah, we don’t all have one in our back pocket,” Frankie agrees, and Claire’s eyes open wide with undisguised interest.
“Oh, do tell, Sheldon. Who’s the lucky lady?” she coaxes.
“It’s nothing,” I retort, giving Tommy a glare as he smirks at me and then turns his attention up front.
“So, I went through the plan you sent. Fill me in on the gaps,” Claire demands.
“You read the rap sheet?”
“I did, and you’re right. He’s methodical and deadly.”
“Well, I’m glad you understand the need for precaution,” I respond. Claire has gained the reputation for going head-to-head with anything and anyone without a fear in the world, and while that may have gained her a respected notoriety, it can also leave her dead as fuck in the blink of an eye.
“Alexis, the woman he’s after, is staying in the Prestian suite right now. We have the perimeter surrounded and haven’t seen any signs of Darwin yet, but I’d bet my balls he followed her and the team to the towers. They didn’t see anything suspicious, but he has to be watching. I’m sure of it.”
“So, we give him a little bait? I get dolled up like Alexis, come out, and he follows me to the hospital?”
“Exactly, but we have to be careful. If he has eyes on Alexis, he knows we have her stashed. We need to lure him out into the open, but Darwin’s not going to fall for us letting her waltz right out of towers without protection anytime soon, at least without a plausible reason for her to come out of where we just put her. He’ll smell a trap a mile away.”
“Her best friend works in the ER at the hospital, and her close friend is still in the same hospital and not doing so well. That’s our reason,” she states, always a quick study.
“Exactly.”
I fill in the details of the rest of the plan for her, and she takes it all in.
“We have a couple float nurses assigned to the unit. They’ll spread the word that Jan isn’t doing so well and call Lex to let her know her friend has taken a turn for the worse.”
“That’s when I step in?”
“Exactly. You can bet your ass he’ll follow you, Claire. If he’s planning to take her, he has to be counting on the fact that, at some point, she’ll return to either her apartment, the salon, or the hospital. My guess is he already has plans in place to take her if she makes her appearance at any of those places. We just beat him at his game.”
“I like it, and you’re right. He has to be the type to plan. What did the report say? Methodical?” she asks.
I nod. “Exactly what it said. He seems to pride himself on his elusiveness, so somehow he’s going to make his move right under our noses because he’s like a fucking chameleon.”
She nods. “I read his dossier. It’s like he was professionally trained.”
“My thoughts exactly, but nothing like that is in his reports.”
Her eyes narrow, but she doesn’t say a word. We both know some of the most elite training conventions in the world, and it’s not like they want their name on a goddamn report or don’t have people on the inside who can scrub that shit off any document that exists. “We don’t give this fucker time to get too comfortable, Claire. He’s probably counting on the fact it’s going to be awhile before she feels safe enough to leave the penthouse, and once news stories begin circulating, he’s going to feel the pressure to move fast, get in, get out, and disappear. We have the element of surprise on our side if we do this right. Once you get done with hair and makeup, the ladies we have at the hospital will do their thing, and then we’ll have Liam and Trent from our security team escort you to the hospital.”
“Got it. I’ll get into place, and once the nurses call the fake code, the security team will pretend to be distracted, give him the opportunity he needs, and he’ll try to grab me.”
“Exactly. Here, put these on just to be certain the fucker doesn’t recognize you later. Those boots are pretty memorable,” I remark, handing her a wig, glasses, sandals, and a jacket from the bag Tommy and Frankie brought, while I turn away to get myself changed.
I’ve donned the last of my disguise when the driver pulls off the road and toward the wooded and secluded rest stop. “Thanks, guys. We’ll keep in touch,” I direct to Frankie and Tommy.
“Showtime,” Claire states as a Suburban pulls in with a nondescript gray Lexus trailing behind it. The driver of the Lexus gets out and jumps into the Suburban as I grab our bags and guide Claire to the Lexus.
“Here, give me your phone,” I tell her after we get settled, taking it from her and installing the microchip that will ensure she’s trackable.“We’re checked in as Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey. Here’s your identification card. If anyone asks, we’re traveling in for a wedding and have a late dress rehearsal tonight.”
“Got it,” Claire replies as I ease into the main thoroughfare that will take us to the highway.
“So, do I call this woman we’re protecting Alexis or Lex?” Claire asks.
