Fast Track (23 page)

Jack had just put the car in drive when he and Alec heard her scream through the phone. He slammed the gear back into park and was out of the car and up the steps in record time. Alec was already ahead of him.

Aiden also heard her. He had just stepped off the elevator when Cordie’s ear-piercing scream hit him like a lightning bolt. He raced to get to her.

Cordie was not going to die without a fight. She made a fist and punched the man as hard as she could in his Adam’s apple. It slowed him down, but not for long. He gagged and released his grip for a split second, then grabbed her again. Realizing she was no match for his strength, she went limp and slumped to the floor, but he had such a strong hold on her, he pulled her back up. Time slowed in her mind, and she was about to black out when suddenly he was ripped away from her. Gasping for air, she slid down the wall. The world was spinning, but all she could see was Aiden, and she was terrified he was going to get hurt. When she finally could focus, she realized Aiden was pounding the hell out of the attacker. Good God, he was going to kill him.

Time was suspended in her mind. Suddenly Alec was there, and Jack was right behind him. She watched Alec pull Aiden off her attacker while Jack lifted her and carried her to the sofa.

“Let’s have a look,” Jack said. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No,” she answered. Her voice was so hoarse she didn’t recognize it. “I’m fine.”

The second he let go of her she jumped up and lost her balance. Her legs had turned to rubber. Grabbing Jack’s arm, she took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn’t stop staring at Aiden. The look in his eyes was chilling. If Alec had let him, she thought Aiden would have beaten the man to death. It wasn’t temper she was seeing, or anger. It was fury.

While Alec was handcuffing him, the man said something Aiden took offense to. Aiden tried to grab him, but Alec blocked him with his shoulder.

“Go ahead. Call her a bitch again. See what happens,” Aiden taunted, his voice deceptively calm. When he tried again to push Alec out of his way, Jack moved in front of him—no small trick, to be sure—and began to pat down the man while Alec recited his rights.

“What’s your name?” Jack asked. The man shrugged and didn’t answer.

“He’s one of the men who was with Simone,” Cordie said. “His name is . . .”

Alec finished her sentence. “Arnold Jenkins.”

“How did you know—” Cordie began.

“Liam,” Alec answered.

Cordie was too shaken to think it through. Everything was happening so fast.

“Is your buddy Charles Kendrick with you?” Alec asked.

Jenkins’s response was obscene. Alec had had enough of his filthy mouth and slammed him into the wall. “Stop talking,” he ordered.

Jack searched Jenkins and found no identification, just a hotel key card in his back pocket. He pulled a fierce-looking knife out of his left boot. There was a small pistol tucked in the other. As soon as he held up the weapons for Alec to see, Jenkins demanded a lawyer.

“Who do you want to call first?” Jack asked. “A lawyer or Simone?”

Jenkins looked at him blankly for a second and then grinned up at him with an arrogant smirk. The action was not lost on Jack and Alec, who exchanged a what-was-that-all-about glance.

Aiden went to Cordie and put his arm around her. She could feel him shaking when he gently pulled her down to sit on the sofa.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked her. “We should get a doctor here to look at you.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted. “He just choked me a little.”

“Choked you a little?” Aiden was so inflamed he could barely get the words out.

Jack crossed to the sofa and squatted down to look at Cordie’s neck. “It’s not bad,” he said. “His neck looks worse than yours.”

“I hit him in his Adam’s apple with my fist,” she explained.

“Good girl.”

Alec had pushed Jenkins into a chair by the door and was on the phone. He finished the call and said, “Jack, five, maybe ten, minutes away.”

Jack explained. “Alec has a couple of agents swinging by to get Jenkins. We’ll instruct them to lock him in isolation until we get around to interrogating him and letting him call a lawyer.”

“Is that legal? Putting him in isolation?” Cordie whispered so Jenkins wouldn’t hear.

“Processing a suspect takes time,” he replied. “And Alec and I don’t like it when someone hurts one of our own.”

They considered her one of their own. She was touched and suddenly feeling very emotional. She wiped a tear from her eye. “Make him sweat,” she said.

Jack laughed. “That’s a given.” He patted her hand, then walked over to Alec and said, “You’ve got this. I’m thinking I’ll go ahead and ride with Jenkins, make sure he’s put where I want him.”

“When you interrogate him, I want to be there,” Aiden said.

Alec shook his head. “Sorry, but no.”

An argument started and didn’t end until Jack left with Jenkins in tow. As he was walking out the door, he told Aiden, “You better figure out how he got up here.”

“I’m going to do that right now,” Aiden assured him. “Alec, are you staying here?”

“For a little while. Then I’m heading over to Jenkins’s hotel room with Jack. The crew should already be on their way.”

“Wait until I get back,” Aiden told him. “Walker and his nurse must have heard Cordelia. I want to tell them she’s okay.” His voice turned hard. “And I want to find that guard.” He paused at the door to smile at Cordie. “You’ve got a wicked scream.”

After the door closed behind him, she asked Alec, “Was that a compliment?”

“I think so.”

“Will you excuse me a moment?” She didn’t wait for permission but went into her bathroom to splash cold water on her face. When she looked in the mirror, she was pleasantly surprised. The skin on her neck was red, but she didn’t think there would be much of a bruise. Her sling was torn. She couldn’t remember that happening. Jenkins must have grabbed it when he tried to drag her up to her feet. The memory was way too fresh. She pressed her back against the wall and took several deep breaths. She was her father’s daughter, she reminded herself. No time for tears or tantrums. She needed to stay tough, to keep it together. She could break down tonight when she was alone.

She took a few minutes to clean up. After tossing the sling into the trash, she changed into a new blouse, combed her hair, and applied a little lip gloss. At the moment, that was the best she could do. She sat on her bed for a while, willing her heart to stop racing, and when at last she felt composed, she took a notepad and pen from the nightstand drawer and returned to the living room.

Aiden was already back and standing at the bar talking to Alec. She went to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Cordie, would you like something to drink?” Aiden asked.

“Diet Coke, please.” Her voice was still raspy, and her throat was sore from the man’s hands squeezing it closed.

“Are you sure you don’t want something stronger?” Alec asked.

Aiden filled a glass with ice and poured the drink for her. He put it on the table and pulled out the chair adjacent to her while Alec took the seat across from him. Both men were studying her. Cordie was acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and Alec was impressed by how she was able to hold it all together. Aiden, on the other hand, was worried. He knew she needed to let out her feelings, not squelch them.

“What’s the paper and pen for?” Aiden asked.

“I thought I’d make notes and write down Liam’s phone number. I want to call him.” She picked up the pen and looked at Alec. “May I have his phone number?”

He had the number memorized and rattled it off to her. It was only when she started to write the numbers that she realized her predicament. She was left-handed, and unfortunately her left arm was in a cast. She wasn’t ambidextrous, but she tried to write Liam’s name with her right hand, giving up after three letters. The scribbles looked like a preschooler’s work.

She pushed the paper and pen to Alec, who said, “Where’s your phone? I’ll program Liam’s information in.”

“I don’t know. I had it when he—” She stopped suddenly, took a breath, and asked Aiden to call her cell phone.

They found it under a chair. After adding Liam’s contact information, Alec handed the phone to her. “I want to know why you want to call him,” he said, “but you can explain later. Right now I want to hear what happened. Did you let Jenkins in? Did you open the door for him?”

“No. He was walking into the suite when I came out of the bedroom. I saw the flowers . . . then him.” Frowning, she looked around the room. “What happened to the flowers?”

Alec pointed to the foyer. The flowers were strewn all over the marble floor, and the vase was in scattered shards. She thought it odd that she hadn’t noticed the mess until now. Had he thrown them? She couldn’t remember. She’d been busy at the time trying to keep the maniac from choking her to death.

“How did he get past security?” Alec asked.

Aiden had the answer. Patty had gone to the lobby on her break to make a few personal calls. Jenkins approached her with flowers and asked if she knew where the penthouse elevator was located. He was dressed in navy pants and a navy shirt with the name of the florist shop on the back, and he also wore a baseball cap with the florist’s logo. She offered to carry the flowers up but realized the vase was too heavy for her. Without thinking, she took him up with her. That was the first mistake.

The second mistake was made by the guard on duty. Walker was pitching a fit because he couldn’t get into the wheelchair without help. The guard left his post in front of the elevator and went into the suite to help.

Third mistake: Patty rushed to Cordie’s suite and opened the door for Jenkins, not realizing Cordie was back from the doctor yet. Telling Jenkins to just put the flowers on the table, she ran around the corner to help Walker.

Aiden wanted to fire everyone, including Walker—if that were possible—for being impatient and demanding everyone’s attention. He wasn’t thinking like a businessman now because he was still having an emotional reaction to almost losing Cordelia. He wouldn’t allow himself to acknowledge why he was out of control when it came to her, or why just thinking about anyone hurting her sent him into a rage. He found it impossible to be reasonable.

Cordie talked him off the ledge and saved a few jobs in the process. She pointed out that yes, while mistakes were made, everyone would now be more vigilant. In the end Aiden compromised to keep the peace. He would let Patty continue to take care of Walker and to help Cordelia when she needed her assistance, and he would transfer the guard to another less stressful position in the hotel. He told Alec, if he had to hire his very own SWAT team to keep Cordelia safe, then, by God, that’s what he would do.

“Do you remember when Regan was in trouble?” Alec asked.

“Of course I remember,” Aiden said. “She was being stalked, and you investigated. Once the nightmare was over, we were stuck with you.”

“At the time she was temporarily living at the hotel, and you posted a guard.”

Aiden nodded. “Yes, I did. I was worried about my sister.”

Alec was walking to the door as he continued. “You were upset, but you were in control. It’s different with Cordie, isn’t it?”

The door closed without an answer.

 • • • 

Jenkins had been staying at an upscale hotel, but his room was a pigsty. There was a
Do Not Disturb
sign on the door, letting housekeeping know they were not to enter. His clothes were on the bed, the chair, and the floor. There were a few items hanging in the closet. Wet towels covered the bathroom floor, and carryout containers spilled out of every trash can. They found a Glock hidden under the mattress.

Jack held it up and asked, “Where did he get this?”

“We’ll have to ask him,” Alec said.

On the desk in plain sight were three Testor burner phones. Two were fully charged but hadn’t been used. The third was just a shell.

Alec showed it to Jack. “How much do you want to bet he was using this one to call Australia?”

Gloves on, they went through all the trash hoping they’d find the guts of the phone, but they didn’t. It would have helped their case to have evidence of a link between Chicago and Sydney, to hit redial and see who answered. No such luck. Nothing about this was easy.

B
efore heading to pick up carryout, Alec and Jack dropped their wives off at the hotel. The men had told them what had happened to Cordie, and Sophie and Regan wanted to see for themselves that she was all right. Cordie answered all their questions while they helped her change into comfortable yoga pants and a top.

“How come you have so many workout clothes, and you don’t work out?” Sophie asked.

“I’m going to start as soon as I get settled in Boston. I used to get such a workout at St. Matthew’s running up and down the stairs a hundred times a day. Now I sit like a blob.”

“You don’t work out, Sophie,” Regan reminded her as she was brushing Cordie’s hair.

“I do now with Jack. I’m actually starting to like it.”

Regan and Cordie laughed.

“No, you’re not,” Regan said.

“You’re such a bad liar,” Cordie added.

Sophie shrugged and nodded in agreement. “I really am.”

Cordie stood. “Leave my hair alone, Regan,” she said, taking the brush from her hand. “I’m starving. When will Alec and Jack be here?” she asked as she headed to the living room.

“Anytime now,” Regan answered. “They’re bringing carryout. Alec wouldn’t tell me where they’re getting the food. He just said it was something exotic and we’d love it.”

“Pizza.” Sophie and Cordie said the word together.

Regan nodded. “Yes, pizza.”

“Jack told me they’re getting healthy food.”

“Pizza,” Cordie said again as she took a seat on the sofa and folded her legs under her. Sophie kicked off her heels and joined her, and Regan curled up in a chair across from them.

“You should have seen this place earlier. There was glass everywhere and flowers. Housekeeping made it spotless again.” When she saw her friends exchange a fearful glance, she quickly added, “Let’s not talk about what happened.”

Regan nodded in agreement. “I’ve got a huge favor to ask you, Cordie.”

“She’ll do it,” Sophie said confidently.

“Do what?”

“The Summerset Ball.”

“We always go together,” Sophie insisted. “The Summerset Foundation helps a lot of people, and the ball is their big event. Regan’s working on the committee this year.”

“When is it?”

“And you have fun, don’t you? It won’t be the same if you aren’t there.”

“When is it?”

“In a month. You could stay here that long, couldn’t you, before you move to Boston?” Regan pleaded.

Sophie patted Cordie’s knee and said, “A month isn’t long at all, and didn’t you tell us you were having work done on your Boston town house before you moved in?”

“Yes, but—”

“Alec told me they haven’t even started refinishing the floors. Something about a union fight. Nothing to do with your town house, but that was the reason for the delay. I guess the dispute is still going on, and they won’t go back to work until it’s settled.”

“Besides, you can’t go anywhere as long as people are trying to kill you. Right?” Sophie said.

The reminder was given in such a blasé voice, Cordie began to laugh. “Right,” she agreed. “But that will be resolved soon.”

“You sound confident,” Regan remarked.

“What about the Summerset . . . ,” Sophie began.

“If I’m already in Boston, I’ll fly back for it.”

“Where’s Aiden?” Regan asked the question and looked around the room as though she expected her brother to pop up from behind a chair.

“He’s not here,” Cordie said. “So you can stop looking for him.”

Her comment set them off, and Alec, Jack, and Aiden walked in to the joyful sound of laughter. Jack carried a stack of pizza boxes from Tony’s Pizzeria. Alec had beer. Aiden was taking off his tie. He took a bottle of beer from Alec, opened it, and took a long swallow.

“Where’s Spencer?” Regan asked.

“Meetings,” he answered but didn’t embellish. “How are you feeling?” he asked Cordie.

“My arm’s a little sore, but I’m fine, thank you. You should go get Walker.”

“He’s busy.”

“Doing what?”

Her question made him smile. She’d sounded so suspicious. “He’s just busy.”

“He loves Tony’s pizza. You should take him a couple of slices.”

“Cordelia, he’s with someone, a female someone.”

She didn’t understand why, but the realization that Walker was entertaining a woman embarrassed her, probably because Aiden had to spell it out for her.

“Oh.”

Aiden laughed. “You’re blushing.”

“Cordie,” Sophie called. “Alec brought Kelly’s root beer. I know you love it.”

Kelly’s was a locally owned company, and their root beer was hugely popular. Jack opened a cold bottle for Cordie and handed it to her.

“My boss, Mr. Bitterman, is addicted to the stuff,” Sophie said.

Aiden followed Cordie to the table. “When is Liam calling?” he asked Alec.

“Ten o’clock. I’ll set up the computer so we can see him.”

“I don’t need to see him,” Aiden said, his irritation obvious in his voice. “I want to know what the hell he’s doing.”

Cordie understood Aiden’s frustration. “Maybe he’ll have made some progress.”

“Some progress? I want to hear that there’ve been arrests and confessions.”

“Aiden, you should be more patient,” Regan said.

“The hell with that. Has Jenkins said anything yet?” he asked Jack.

“Not yet, but he will.”

“How can you be so sure?” Cordie wondered.

Alec answered. “He’s being charged with attempted murder. We’re letting that fact settle in his mind, and when we next talk to him, we think he’ll want to make a deal.”

“You mean, he’ll give you Simone for a lesser charge?” Cordie asked.

“Something like that,” Alec said.

Aiden knew that Alec and Jack were excellent at what they did. They had the commendations to prove it, but he still wanted to take over and tell them what to do. None of his suggestions were legal, though, but in his mind, after seeing that bastard’s hands on Cordelia, he didn’t think that mattered.

“Cordie, where’s your sling? Shouldn’t you be wearing it?” Sophie asked.

“It was torn up when Jenkins . . . you know.”

“I’ll get you another one,” Aiden promised. He had his phone to his ear as he walked into the bedroom.

Dinner was relaxed. There was no more talk of Simone or Jenkins, and Cordie was thankful. She ate two slices of veggie pizza and listened to Alec as he enthusiastically explained how he was going to remodel the basement of his and Regan’s new home. It seemed the only thing he wasn’t putting in was a basketball court.

“Have you signed the papers yet?” Sophie asked Cordie. “Because if you haven’t and you still own the house, Jack and I would like to make an offer to buy it.”

The stunned look on Alec’s face made everyone laugh.

Sophie patted his arm. “I was just teasing.”

“We really ought to get things moving and transfer the money,” Regan said. “The papers should be ready tomorrow afternoon. If you could go with us to the bank . . .”

Alec shook his head. “We’ll bring the papers to you, Cordie.”

“When do you get the cast removed?” Regan asked her.

“A month.”

“Oh, that’s perfect. Since you have to stay to see your doctor, you might as well go with us to the Summerset Ball.”

“I’ve heard there are doctors in Boston,” Cordie said.

“You should stay,” Sophie urged. “You shouldn’t bounce around from doctor to doctor.”

“If I have to go to that ball, you should have to go,” Alec said.

“You look so handsome in a tux,” Regan told her husband. “And you love going. You . . .” She sighed then. “Okay, I can’t sell it.”

Alec laughed. “I go because it’s important to you, sweetheart. And that’s why Cordie will go.”

“We’ll see,” Cordie said in the hope her friends would be appeased.

She felt trapped, trapped in paradise, and she was beginning to feel sorry for Aiden. He would go nuts if she continued to stay in the suite after arrests were made and the threat was over. She didn’t want to think about that now. Her friends were here. She was having a wonderful time, but fatigue was beginning to take over and her arm was starting to throb. She excused herself and went into her bathroom to get a Tylenol. When she opened the door, Aiden was waiting in her bedroom with a new sling.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

“It was just delivered,” he answered. “Stand still and let me fix this thing.”

Once the sling was in place, he moved her hair out of the way. His hands stayed on her shoulders as he stared at her. And then he said something that shocked her.

“You’re beautiful, Cordelia.”

She didn’t know how to respond. He kissed her then, but once wasn’t enough. His mouth covered hers again, and he pulled her into his arms. The kiss wasn’t at all gentle, but raw, carnal in its intensity, and she was so aroused that, when he pulled back, she desperately wanted to rip his clothes off and fall into bed with him.

Sophie’s laughter from the living room pulled her back to reality. Cordie realized her hand was on the zipper of Aiden’s jeans. She jerked back and took a deep breath. She wagged her finger at him, patted her hair as though that would straighten it, and all but ran into the living room. She tried to ignore him the rest of the evening.

A few minutes before ten, Alec looked at his watch. “It’s almost time to hear from Liam.” He went to get Aiden’s computer and set it on the coffee table so everyone could see.

Liam checked in at ten on the dot. He appeared on the computer screen wearing a T-shirt that said
Bob’s Beer and Babes Bar
on it. The background wasn’t in focus, but it appeared he was sitting on a deck or patio with waves lapping at the shore behind him. He asked who was there, and Alec identified everyone and quickly introduced him to Regan and Sophie, who stepped away from the computer screen and mouthed the word
wow
to each other. Liam’s good looks had obviously impressed them, because they gave Cordie the why-didn’t-you-mention-how-hot-he-was look. She shrugged in response.

Jack watched the silent exchange. Fascinated, he whispered to Sophie, “What are you doing?”

“Talking to my friends,” she answered.

Liam greeted the group. His demeanor was courteous and businesslike, and it irritated Aiden that he could be charming and polite to Sophie and Regan, but he’d been a lecherous flirt with Cordelia.

Alec had already talked to him about Jenkins’s attack on Cordelia, and Liam wanted to see for himself that she was all right.

She stood in front of the computer screen. “I’m okay,” she said, smiling.

“Do you have any more information for us?” Alec asked.

“Hold on,” Aiden interrupted. “What about the other man who was with Simone? The one who tried to drag her out of the hotel?”

“Charles Kendrick.” Alec supplied his name.

“Where is he?” Aiden asked.

“He’s still here in Sydney,” Liam said. “We’re watching him.”

“Anything to report?” Jack asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do have something interesting. Documents,” he said. “I’ve e-mailed them to you, Alec. I think, once you’ve read through them, you’ll understand why I can’t stop smiling.”

“That good, huh?”

Liam nodded. “Yes, that good. It’s dry reading but worth it. Just don’t ask me how I got them.”

As soon as Liam ended the call, Aiden suggested that he, Jack, and Alec go down to his office to print out the e-mail and start reading.

“This will probably take a while,” Jack told Sophie.

“The hotel limo driver will take both of them home,” Aiden offered.

Jack and Alec kissed their wives good-bye, then waited at the door for Aiden, who had crossed the room to Cordie.

“Don’t you dare leave this suite,” he ordered.

“What?” She acted shocked. “But we were going pole dancing.”

“That’s not funny. I mean it, Cordelia. You stay put.”

“Yes, sir.”

And he was gone.

“Your brother is like a general. I know he means well, but he’s beginning to get on my nerves,” Cordie said.

“He’s been on my nerves for years,” Regan said.

Sophie spoke up. “I love him. He can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned.”

“We all love him,” Regan conceded. “Cordie and I just recognize his flaws.”

Sophie was in a nostalgic mood. “I never told you what happened to me when I was nine years old. It was pretty awful. Aiden became my champion.”

“What happened?” Regan asked.

“My dad was in trouble with the law . . . again. I was home with the housekeeper when two scary-looking men with guns and badges came in and took me to the police station. I was so frightened. This one detective kept threatening to put me in foster care, and no one would ever know where I was. He’d make sure of it.”

“Why was he threatening you?”

“He wanted me to tell him where my father was. I didn’t know the answer, but even back then, if I had known, I wouldn’t have told. He also wanted to know if there was a safe hidden in my house. The questions went on and on. To this day I don’t know how Aiden found out what was happening. Maybe the housekeeper called him. I asked her, but she insisted she hadn’t.”

“What did he do?” Regan asked.

“He saved me,” she said. “When I saw him, I started crying and ran to him. He put his arm around me and told me everything was going to be all right. He brought a couple of attorneys with him, and he threatened the detectives with all sorts of things. He swore if they ever came near me again, he’d have their badges, and from the way the attorneys were backing him up, I think he could have done it.”

“Why didn’t you want us to know?” Regan asked.

“Back then it was because I cried, and I thought you two would think I was a baby. Time passed, and I just never got around to it.”

“Do you realize how young Aiden was? He couldn’t have been twenty yet,” Cordie said.

“I wish you had told me when it happened,” Regan said. “Talking about it would have been therapeutic.”

“I knew,” Cordie said.

“How?” Sophie asked, surprised. “Aiden promised me he wouldn’t tell anyone, so I know you didn’t find out from him.”

“We were having a sleepover at Regan’s house, and back then I had such a crush on Aiden. Remember?”