Misguided Target (8 page)

“What are you asking? What is it you think James and I were exactly? Do you think I'm his girlfriend or his personal fucking concubine?” she spat angrily, surprising me. “Let's get one thing straight about James and me, we only had sex a handful of times over seven years ago. That was before I even started in this escort shit. I love James as a friend, I owe him a lot, but I am not his personal whore or girlfriend. And given that you know so little about your brother, but like to think nothing but the worst about him and anyone he associates with, let me enlighten you, Kane. He and Dominique had a very unique relationship, and she wouldn't have taken kindly to him screwing all her girls. He took her girls as dates from time to time and liked taking me because we were friends, not to mention I was very good at my job, which I don't expect you to understand, but it's the truth. But because he took me out so much, it may have given people the wrong impression about us being in a relationship, and truthfully he liked them thinking that. It gave him a reason to leave and get away from the ridiculous people in his world, most of whom he despised. So to answer your questions, no he wasn't the type to take women here that I know of, but I wasn't his keeper so I don't know for sure. I can't answer whether he had their contact information either, but I can't see why he would,” she stated, her eyes burning with anger. “Now what was the point of that question?”

“I was just wondering if whoever killed those women would have found them through James somehow. I don't think it's a coincidence that they died on the same night that this all happened and I know this is all links somehow but…I don't understand what this is all about because right now I just can't make sense of it,” I answered, my thoughts and emotions feeling a little overloaded from the large amount of information she had just thrown at me. A part of me was livid that she was giving me shit for judging my brother and for knowing nothing about him. She had no right to comment on our relationship or lack thereof. Moreover, no matter how relieved I felt that she and James hadn't been 'together' in a long time, I still didn't understand the ins and outs of their relationship, or their history together, which seemed to be a very complex. I wasn't trying to hurt her, but I wasn't used to dealing with matters that had this many emotions involved. Things were so much easier when you didn't have a bunch of feelings in the mix causing additional confusion.

“Fine,” she answered simply, still looking aggravated. Regardless of my feelings about her or my brother I needed to get my head on straight. My life was turning into a fucking soap opera, which was not helpful given all I was trying to deal with. “I'm going to do some cyber research on his computer. Let me know if you find anything in the house that I should see,” I stated, walking over to her backpack, retrieving her laptop from it, and placing it on the kitchen island. I sat down and started hacking my way onto an external proxy to snoop through James' computer data. My plan was to grab everything I could off his computer's hard drive so I could dig through it later. I had to try and get this through using a back door, in case someone had put an alert on his computer after they did their own digging. I noticed a ton of data was deleted, which I gathered was the stuff that might be worth looking at. Whoever got rid of it hadn't done the best job, and I hoped whoever was here before me wasn't as good at finding things as I was.

“What are you doing?” Kendall asked curiously, standing behind me and watching my every move from over my shoulder.

“I'm trying to access his deleted files. Someone erased some data, but I think I can get it back.”

“So you're hacking?”

“Yes.”

“So you're a hacker?”

“Well if the fact that I can hack makes me a hacker then yes, I'm a hacker,” I answered smugly as she let out an irritated sigh.

“Let me guess, you learned this particular skill-set as part of your career in the SEALs,” she said with an equally smug tone. The word 'SEALs' caused my heart rate to spike. How did she know I was a part of the SEALs? I told her I was military, but I never specified who I worked for. I mean it isn't like I'm not allowed to tell anyone about my profession, I just can't talk about any specifics about. The problem was that people always wanted specifics. Besides, I wasn't sure I trusted her enough to give her any more details about my life. Still, she was incredibly perceptive because I doubted that James would have told her. He knew that I wouldn't appreciate him giving details about my life to anyone. We might not have known each other very well on a personal level, but we both knew of each other's careers and the importance of keeping secrets about them.

“I don't know where you're getting your information from, but I learned this skill at school,” I answered without addressing the SEALs comment. Besides, I wasn't exactly lying — I had learned my computer skills in school. Granted it was while getting my degrees in Computer Science and Cyber Operations from the Naval Academy and from on-the-job training, but still, she didn't need to know that.

“Oh, so a Naval Intelligence Officer of sorts I see, very interesting,” she replied, trying to get more information out of me. I refused to engage any further on the topic. It was the best way to stop encouraging her questions. It didn't take long for her to lose interest and she eventually stepped away from me while I kept searching James' deleted history. There was a lot of information about secret meetings with lobbyist and other individuals, but nothing that would be important enough to kill for. A series of encrypted files got my attention, and they turned out to contain date and time stamps along with what looked like locations. There were also two sets of letters that looked like initials beside some sort of encoded descriptor. I didn't have time to try to decipher what all this meant, so I decided to take them with me. It was probably time to head out.

I shut her computer and stuffed it back in her backpack. I looked around but couldn't see Kendall anywhere, “Kendall,” I called out, but she didn't answer. I walked up the stairs leading up to the second floor, “Kendall,” I called again, but still no answer.

Panic shot through me. What if I hadn't checked the premises enough and someone had stayed behind? I ran down the hall, checking each room until I finally heard movement in the master bedroom. I quietly approached the closet, ready to take down whoever might be in there but all I found was Kendall rummaging through boxes in James' closet.

“What are you doing?” I asked, feeling both relieved and irritated. This woman really had a way of getting under my skin.

She tilted her head with a sarcastic smile, “I'm knitting a sweater,” she offered, causing a smile to creep onto my lips.

She giggled before returning to the boxes she had placed on the floor. “I haven't found anything of interest yet, but he was smart enough not to keep incriminating documents in the open,” she offered, still deep in thought.

“We should really get going soon.”

“Yeah I know. I just can't help thinking there's something here,” she said, shaking her head in frustration. “Where are we going anyway?”

“Listen, I have a hotel room. No one knows where it is. I got James' limo driver to pick me up at a coffee shop a few blocks from my hotel,” I stated, watching her brows shoot up, perplexed. “What?” I laughed. “You're wondering why I didn't get picked up at my hotel.”

She nodded so I continued, “I didn't want James to know where I was staying because I didn't want to show up there and try to push me into seeing him if last night didn't go well,” I answered, watching her eyes soften with understanding. “Anyway,” I said bringing us back to the topic at hand, “I think it will be safe to go there, at least for tonight.”

She got up and walked over to one of the custom-built dressers. Opening one of the drawers, she reached in and pulled out a blue sweater, handing it to me. “What's this for?” I asked.

“Well you still have a little blood visible on your dress shirt. If nothing else, you and James are about the same shirt size.” She laughed uncomfortably.

I scoffed aloud; I personally thought I was in way better shape than he was. “Thanks,” I said, unbuttoning my dress shirt and seeing a blush settle on her cheeks as she averted her eyes. I found it ironic that this small gesture made her so uncomfortable, given her former profession, “Okay, we should go,” I offered, once I had the sweater on. It actually did fit perfectly.

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, sounding uncertain, suddenly fidgeting impatiently.

“What's wrong?”

“I just feel like there's something here that we're missing,” she said, running her hands through her freshly cut hair.

“Well did James ever mention a place he liked to keep things?”

“No, not really, but…” her voice trailed off as she became fixated on the area rug on the ground. “Please help me move this carpet,” she asked suddenly as she crouched down to tug on the area rug. I walked over and yanked up the rug, finding nothing but hardwood.

“You look disappointed,” I said as she bit her lip nervously.

“I could have sworn I saw him pull something out of a spot around here before…” she said hooking her finger into a small hollow knot in the wood. She pulled up, exposing what appeared to be a hidden trap door with a safe contained within it.

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, my smile matching hers. She'd been right about something being here, and thankfully she hadn't given up on looking for it.

“I knew I remembered seeing him grab something from his closet floor. I mean it was years ago, but still.”

We both starred at the safe. “Do you know the code?” I asked, quickly realizing from her faded smile that she didn't.

“No, I don't! Dammit! I don't even think James knows that I saw him go into this.” She huffed in frustration, waving her hands irritated.

“Well we're screwed. I can't even begin to guess what his code could be,” I sighed audibly, rubbing my face. “We don't have time to start trying to cut into this thing either.” We'd finally caught a break and found something, but we were still so far away from being able to sort out what it was.

She sat silently, deep in thought, before looking up at me. I knew that look — she had an idea but seemed unsure as to whether to say it aloud. “What's up Kendall?”

“Well… it's just, I have an idea but I'm worried that if I'm wrong the safe might seize up or something, and we won't get another shot.”

“I say let's try it. We have nothing to lose.”

She nodded. “Okay then, what's your birthday?”

“My birthday?” I repeated, unsure I'd heard the question correctly.

“What's your birthday, Kane? Tell it to me numerically,” she requested. “Come on we don't have all day,” she added sternly when I didn't answer right away.

“010680,” I offered, watching her input my birth date into the keypad. “I really don't think he would use my-” I began saying, but the beep that followed stunned me into silence. My brother, a man who I thought had abandoned and forgotten all about me had used my birth date as the combination to his hidden safe. Each time he opened this safe he thought of me. I felt an odd tightening in my chest.

Her eyes were wide with surprise, “Holy shit! I didn't think that would actually work,” she whispered, looking down at the open safe containing a large stack of folders and cash.

I regained my composure and remembered the severity of situation. We didn't have time to stand here like this, “Grab the folders and leave the cash. We'll put everything back to where it was. We have to go.”

Kendall

Sitting in Kane's hotel room, I was suddenly hit full force with the realization of what had occurred over the last few days. Everything about my life was totally chaotic right now, people were trying to kill me, and people I knew were dying. James was still gone and my feelings for Kane were all over the place. Not to mention the fact that his own feelings about James were all over the place, which happened to be an additional complication. I couldn't help feeling both emotionally and physically exhausted and the thought of spending the night here with Kane had me all kinds of stressed-out. I knew it didn't matter because he made it clear he wasn't interested in me because of my former profession and my history with James, but that didn't change the fact my body was incredibly attracted to him. This attraction overthrew any rational reasoning I had and made me temporarily forget all about his asshole tendencies. I knew that was sad on so many levels, as I was a strong and independent woman with self-respect, but dammit, sometimes the vagina wins out whether you like it or not.

I sat down on the couch of his modest suite, not really sure what to do with myself. “Do you want something to eat?” he asked, waving casually at the phone, “I can order some room service.”

“No that's okay…Truthfully, I'm not really that hungry right now. I'll just order a pizza later or something… if that's okay,” I answered awkwardly, seeing him nod as he walked over to a duffel bag on the floor near the bed. He pulled out a few pieces of clothing from it and headed into the bathroom.

Seeing the door close, I exhaled with relief that he didn't just change in front of me. I couldn't help gawking at him like an idiot whenever he did and I really didn't need to deal with that right now. He reappeared a few minutes later dressed in a great pair of dark wash jeans and fitted black sweater with the sleeves pushed up at his forearms. I don't know how he made something so basic look so good, and I practically had to wipe the drool from my face when he approached. “Okay, Kendall, I'm going to run out and meet someone. Don't leave. Don't call anyone. Don't go online. Don't answer the phone or the door. In fact, don't do anything. I'll order pizza or whatever when I get back. I won't be long.”

I remembered he had talked to someone earlier and said he would meet whoever that was at the Memorial. I wished he would tell me who this mystery person was so I didn't feel so out of the loop. But I knew he wouldn't even if I asked, so I just nodded. He grabbed his keys off the coffee table and left the hotel room, which suddenly seemed incredibly quiet. I found myself feeling a little vulnerable. I doubt he would have left me here alone if he thought I was at risk, and he said he wouldn't let anything happen to me, but I couldn't help being nervous.

I decided I needed to shake it off and keep my mind busy, so I grabbed one of the folders we found in James' safe. All I could control was the here and now, so the least I could was make myself useful and see what I could find in these folders. I opened the first one and began scrutinizing every last detail of each page. If there is something in any of these, I vowed to find it.

Kane

Thankfully Jeremy was able to meet me on such short notice. To ensure both our safety, I made sure to get to our meeting site early to make sure no one was following either of us. I've known Jeremy a long time and I trust him. He had always been the type of guy I could count on. We enlisted in the Navy the same month and attended the Naval Academy together. Eventually we worked together as Naval Intelligence Officers. Our lives took different paths after that though. I decided to become a Navy Seal and he stayed in Intel, but we've stayed in touch ever since. If anyone could give me some dirt on my brother, it would be Jeremy. I would have to be careful. The last thing I wanted was to endanger him; especially since I couldn't be sure how deep this conspiracy went. Dirty cops might only be the tip of the iceberg. But if I wanted to get to the bottom of this, I also couldn't play it too safe. “Well, well, well if it isn't Senior Chief Clarke or should I say the future Master Chief Kane Clarke. Ladies and Gentlemen, brace yourselves for the presence of greatness,” Jeremy joked as he approached me, his hand extended to mine for a friendly handshake that I happily accepted.

“Yeah, well, keep it down. I'd hate to disappoint when I'm forced to retire as a senior chief,” I laughed in return, pulling him in for hug. “Besides, haven't you heard, I'm damaged goods. I'm on “recommended” leave.”

“Yeah, I heard, but after what happened I don't blame you for needing some time. Actually, I'm more surprised this is your first leave,” he offered sympathetically running his thumb and index fingers along his strong chin. “Not that I want to get into a whole thing here, but how are you doing? I'm not going to lie, you look like shit.”

“I'm fine,” I offered weakly watching him crease his brow skeptically, “Seriously, never mind me, how are you doing? How are Sheryl and the kids?” I asked, doing my best to change the subject. With everything going on, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about my reasons for not being at work.

“Everyone is good. Sheryl is well… she's Sheryl and that means she's an argumentatively bossy woman who is currently hooked on spinning classes. The kids are great. You should come by and see them soon, they're getting big and starting school soon. So overall, it's wonderful chaos.” He laughed, his smile causing crinkled lines to appear on dark skin at the corner of his black eyes, “But I know you Kane, you didn't call me to catch-up. Why don't you tell me what you really need? Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy getting a random call from you to meet up all secret and shit, but my guess is you have other things you want to talk about. So let's get to that.”

“All right,” I offered as he rolled his wrist in a circular motion with his right index finger extended, telling me to get on it. “Have you heard any mumblings or rumors about someone having it in for my brother?”

“Well, your brother is a major power player, so he's bound to have an enemy somewhere, but today all anyone is talking about is how three of Dominique's girls were found dead in some kind of car accident. People are anxious to get your brother's thoughts on it, given how close he and Dominique are.”

“You know about Dominique and my brother?” I asked, a little surprised at how out of the political loop I'd been prior to all this. I mean, I'd heard she was a madam and I assumed she was my brothers' keeper or whatever, but I didn't know anything about how close they'd remained afterwards.

“Of course I do. Everyone does, Dominique, the top escort provider for the suits and figureheads in the entire city. She's successful because she knows the right people, pays the right people and she's the best at discretion, which is why she's been in business for so long. From what I understand, your brother is not only a customer, but a close friend of hers. A few people in our inner circle have used her services from time to time, and it didn't take long for the connection to be made about the three dead women.”

“So people aren't buying the whole 'accident angle that's being reported?” I asked apprehensively. If people were connecting the dots it would only a matter of time until they found Dominique and then started looking for James. In my experience, this meant they will be increasing their efforts to find Kendall, and my worry was that if James was still alive, his time was running out.

“Well…No one who knows that they worked for Dominique is buying that story. Those women were apparently at some important party that night and left in a hurry. It doesn't help that there are conflicting reports about some minor damage to the rear of the vehicle which wouldn't make sense if they lost control and slammed into a tree.”

“Can I ask you do a little digging for me? I really need to find out anything that could have my brother in hot water. Anyone or anything you can dig up would be helpful,” I requested, and saw a perplexed expression settle on his face.

“What's going on, Kane?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest. “I know you well enough to know when you're being purposely cryptic.”

“Listen, I know. I hate to ask you, but right now I don't even know what puzzle pieces to put together to even try and explain what's going on. Can you help?”

“Yeah, of course. I don't really know what you're looking for, but I'll see what I can dig up. How soon do you need this?” he asked, running his hand through his short, black hair.

“Fast… like tonight fast… Say 22h00?” I requested, knowing this wasn't giving him much time to do research. But in our business we've done things on shorter time frames.

“Yeah… sure, I don't know what I'll find, but I'll let you know.”

“Thank you, Jeremy. Text my cell for a meeting spot… And, Jeremy, I hate to even mention this but-”

“Yeah, yeah I know. I'll be discreet,” he said, cutting me off. “This isn't my first rodeo,” he joked, a hint of his thick southern accent seeping through his otherwise usually controlled speech. I nodded and we headed in opposite directions.

To be safe, I made sure to take the long way home, making sure I weaved through any back alleys and side streets I could until I was satisfied that no one was behind me. I had the strange feeling that things were about to get very interesting, very fast.

Kendall

My heart fluttered when I heard the door's key lock beep. Kane was back. He entered the suite's living room and his jaw practically hit the ground, “What the hell are you doing?” he asked, flabbergasted, as he scanned the floor which was covered in fanned out pages from James' folders.

“I got bored and was feeling a little useless, so I decided to make myself useful,” I offered casually, trying very hard to not notice how good he looked in his fitted black t-shirt and jeans. This guy could do no wrong where clothing (or lack thereof) was concerned.

“Okay…” he offered with a show of calm, though his jaw was clenching as he sat down on the couch beside me. “So, other than showing me how much of a mess you can make, please enlighten me on what you've found out?”

He was clearly annoyed and possibly a little skeptical about my abilities, but nonetheless I appreciated that he was giving me the benefit of the doubt, even if he was sort of rude about it. “Okay, this might look like chaos, but I assure you it's organized chaos,” I said confidently, picking up the furthest pile of documents to my left and handing them to him. “See, each pile represents a different series of documents which lists different incriminating and criminal acts like adultery and drugs,” I stated as he examined each sheet of paper. I grabbed another pile, “This pile outlines those with listed charges involving bribery and tax fraud.”

“Okay, so this is a collection of files with criminal acts or at the very least questionable behavior? So what? Who are they for? What's the connection? Why the hell would James be collecting a bunch of documents like this?” he questioned thoughtfully, “This just seems so random.”

“You're right. They appear random, comprising hundreds of different wrongdoings, but I noticed acts like wire fraud, conspiracy, extortion, sexual assault, racketeering, money laundering and bribery have hand-drawn stars drawn on the corner of the page.” I watched as he quickly flipped through the sheets, finding some of the pages that contained stars.

“The other thing I noticed was what looks like hand-written initials on each page, which is what I used to sort the piles. There are multiples of the same initials, and some pages have more than one set of initials. In total I've found twenty different sets of initials.”

He nodded, flipping through a new pile. “Yes, that's right, there are. I see them. Any idea whose initials they are?”

“No,” I answered, exasperated, running my hands through my hair. “I haven't gotten that far yet. Sorry.”

“Sorry?” he said, his beautiful brown eyes fixed on me. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You did great. This was very helpful.”

I felt my cheeks flush under his gaze. “Thanks,” I replied, and noticed noticing that his eyes seemed to suddenly be scanning every inch of me.

He cleared his throat before swiftly re-piling the pages into tidy stacks on the floor, “Listen, you should take a break,” he stated without looking at me. 'Why don't you go take a bath or a shower and I'll order that pizza we talked about earlier.”