Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
GABE
I rubbed my eyes wearily. I’d been looking over the floor plan of the ballroom in an extremely high-end hotel for the past hour, marking access points and areas of vulnerability. Angel Security had gotten a contract for a swanky New Year’s Eve party at a world-famous hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It was an all-hands-on-deck event since there would be more than two hundred very wealthy and powerful people in attendance.
To add to the stress of the event, Michael, our computer genius, had gotten wind of a credible threat to someone at the gathering. There were no names, but it looked like a possible kidnapping plot. I picked up my cell to call Marco.
He answered on the first ring. “How’s it going?” he asked.
“Did you see Michael’s report? Why are we not telling these people to cancel the event?” I questioned.
“Because they hired us to prevent all the bad things from happening.”
I groaned. “Fuck me. We don’t even know who their target is.”
“I know. Michael is running the names on the guest list to see if he can narrow down the possibilities.” He cleared his throat. “Speaking of that, have you seen the guest list yet?”
His tone of voice set off alarm bells. “No, I haven’t. Why?”
I heard him blow out a breath. “It looks like your brothers and their wives and kids will be there.”
“No fucking way. Please tell me you’re joking.”
“No joke. Although I’m not sure if it’s all their kids. Alistair is bringing his twenty-three-year-old daughter and his eighteen-year-old son. Nathaniel is bringing his twenty-year-old son.”
I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain. I hadn’t seen my niece and nephews in sixteen years. They were all adults now and didn’t know me. I’d been erased from their lives. I drew in a long, slow breath. “It’s fine. There’ll be enough people there that I can avoid interacting with them.”
“You need to keep your head in the game,” Marco retorted. “Even if you end up talking to them, you have to keep it all business. We’re there to do a job.”
His words grounded me. “You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Chief. We’ll see you at five. Did you get them to give us a room to change in?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “These rich assholes don’t want to pay for anything extra. I told them it was that or we wouldn’t be wearing tuxedos.”
“Good call. Nico and I will be there with tuxes at the ready.”
“How’s he doing with his training?” Marco asked.
“Good. He’s a quick study. He should be able to handle himself in hand-to-hand combat.”
“Once his record is expunged, we can start him on firearms training.”
“Sounds good,” I replied. “I’ll see you tonight.”
I returned to the floor plan, making notes about egresses, closets, and other possible hiding places. I had just gotten up to get some lunch when Nico came running into my office waving what looked like a letter. There was a huge smile on his face. “They finally did it,” he said.
“Who finally did what?” I asked.
He handed me the letter. “The state finally expunged my record. I’m free!”
I looked at the letter, and sure enough, the State of New Jersey had finally gotten off its ass and expunged Nico’s criminal record. On impulse, I pulled him into a hug. “Congratulations! That’s great news.”
As soon as I’d done it, I realized my mistake. I hadn’t asked permission to hug him. I went to step back, but Nico kept his arms around me. “Not yet,” he murmured. “This feels good.”
Wow. Okay. Then it occurred to me how touch-starved he must be. I got hugs from all my friends and even my friends’ families. I hadn’t seen Nico hug anyone but Cody. “Just so you know,” I said. “I’m always up for a good hug.”
Nico finally pulled away, wiping his eyes. He smiled softly. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He shook his head. “Of course they waited until the last day of the year to let me know. I’m surprised Tino didn’t call me first.”
I shrugged, handing him back the letter. “He took his family on a cruise the day after Christmas. He probably doesn’t have a signal. Besides, he’s on vacation.”
“True.” He took the letter from my outstretched hand. “It’s one step closer to me getting custody of Cody.”
“I guess the next step is the test for the electrician’s union.”
He nodded. “Yeah. That’s next month. Amir gave me a study guide. I should be ready by the time it comes around. And I’ll be getting my driver’s license back in January as well.”
“It looks like January is your month to shine,” I said.
“I sure hope so,” he replied.
“I was just about to get some lunch. How about we go out to celebrate?”
He smiled shyly. “That sounds good.”
I buttoned the jacket of my tuxedo and adjusted my bow tie. Nico was still getting changed. It was taking him a little longer than I expected, and I hoped he wasn’t having any issues. He finally emerged from the changing room with his jacket buttoned but his bow tie untied. He looked frustrated and embarrassed. “Need help?” I asked.
Nico nodded. “Yeah. I’ve never worn a tux before. I don’t know how to tie a bow tie.”
I stepped in close to him and took hold of the ends of the tie. “To be fair, most of the tux rental places give people a pre-tied bow tie. But Tony went all fancy on these because it’s a black-tie event.”
I, on the other hand, had plenty of practice, so it didn’t take me long to get the job done. I tugged the bow tight and made sure the tie was straight. “There you go. All set.”
I stepped back and took a good look at him. “You look great.” And he really did. The cut of the tux accentuated the lean muscles of his compact body. His thick dark hair had grown to a nice length and he’d gotten it cut and styled for this job. His piercing blue eyes were captivating. Aaaannnnd I had to stop right there before I got myself in trouble.
He smiled shyly, and his cheeks went pink. “You look good too.”
Marco stuck his head in the door. “Let’s go. The guests will be arriving soon.”
Nico and I followed him to where the rest of the team was waiting. Ten of us would be circulating among the guests at the party, which started at nine. Michael was in a conference room with his sophisticated computer setup, monitoring the hotel cameras. Liam was on standby in the conference room with Michael.
We followed Marco up the grand staircase that led to the ballroom. Since the host wanted us to blend in with the guests, we were going up in pairs as if we were couples. Marco seemed a bit salty that he had to go in with Dante instead of Liam, so of course, we all gave him shit for it through the comms.
“Poor Liam,” I said. “He’s like Cinderella, missing the ball.”
I heard Liam snort through my headset. “Be nice, Gabe,” he chided.
The massive ballroom took up most of the floor above the hotel lobby. It could be split into three separate rooms, but this night it was wide open for the more than two hundred guests expected to attend. The Art Deco motif gave the room an old-world elegance. The room was set with twenty round ten-top tables and at least as many small round high-top tables along the walls. Waitstaff was already circulating with trays of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres. There was a bar at one end and other waitstaff carrying trays of champagne glasses.
Once in the huge space, we spread out, taking our prearranged stations in the room. Each team had an assigned area to cover. Nico and I were at the far end of the room, near the show kitchen, which had an exit to the hallway. At the moment, the chafing dishes holding the hot hors d’oeuvres were stationed there so the waitstaff could easily refill their trays when needed.
I hated events like this because there was only so much you could control, especially with so many people. This particular night would be worse because people tended to drink more on New Year’s Eve. And it was entirely likely I would run into one or both of my brothers. I was not looking forward to being snubbed by my own flesh and blood. It had been sixteen years since my parents disowned me, but it still hurt.
I shook off those thoughts. Marco was counting on me to stay focused. I grabbed a couple of champagne flutes from a passing server and handed one to Nico. When he gave me a questioning look, I said, “We need to look like we’re here for the party. Just take tiny sips.”
“Maybe we can get something non-alcoholic sent to us,” Nico mused.
“There are a bunch of underage people here,” Marco said through the comms. “They’ll be coming around with soda.”
I pretended to drink my champagne while I scanned the increasingly large crowd of guests. Everyone was dressed in their finest. “I’ve never seen so many diamonds in one place,” Nico said in wonder. “This is next-level bougie.”
I snorted a laugh. “Yeah. And I ran from this shit as soon as I could.”
Through my earpiece, I heard Marco say, “Holy shit.”
I looked in the direction Marco was stationed. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he replied. “But I just got a glimpse of what you’re going to look like in ten years.”
I felt all the blood drain from my face. “Fuck.”
Nico moved closer to me and said quietly, “I’ve got your back.”
I pulled myself together. “With any luck, they won’t come over here. It’s by the kitchen, and they won’t want to be near any hint of manual labor.”
“Remember what I said,” Marco commented.
I straightened, reminding myself this was an op, not a family squabble. “Yes, Chief,” I replied. “Has Michael picked up any more information on a target?”
“I think they might be targeting one of the younger guests,” Michael chimed in. “The word kid showed up in the chatter I picked up.”
“Do we have a count of the younger guests in attendance?” I asked.
“I’m working on it,” Michael replied. “The guests are still coming in.”
Another server came by with a tray full of sodas. Nico and I each took one and set our champagne glasses on the high-top table next to us. I observed how Nico scanned the faces of each person as they passed. I guessed that he picked that up in prison. It would serve him well in situations like this. His eyes went wide, and he stiffened.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He held up one finger for me to hold off while his eyes continued to track someone. Without warning, he turned into me and gave me a tight hug, burying his head in my chest. I tentatively put my arms around him and held him close. It felt really good, but it wasn’t like him. “Nico, what’s going on? Not that I mind,” I added quickly. “At all.”
“Um, is there something you need to tell us, Gabriel?” Pete asked through the comms.
“Christ,” I groaned. “Do not call me Gabriel. You sound like my father. And he’s an asshole.”
Nico finally let go and stepped back. He let out a shuddering breath. “Sorry. I saw one of the guys who was there the night I was arrested. I didn’t want him to see me in case he’s one of the potential kidnappers.”
I frowned. “Wait. He didn’t go to prison too?”
Nico shook his head. “I was the only one caught. I gave the police the names of the people I knew, but they all miraculously had alibis.”
“Sounds like you were set up,” Marco said.
“Yeah. I trusted the wrong people.”
“Do you have a name?” Michael asked.
“And a description?” Marco added.
“The name he went by was Russell Smith. I doubt that’s his real name.” His brow creased thoughtfully. “He’s taller than me. Maybe five foot ten. Blond hair, blue eyes. You know, boy next door-looking guy. Right now, he’s carrying a tray of pigs in a blanket.”
“He’s a server?” Marco questioned. “Which way did he go?”
“Toward the side of the room closest to the staircase,” Nico replied.
“Got him,” Andrea said.
“Get a picture and send it to Michael,” Marco ordered.
“Roger that.”
“Good work, Nico,” Marco said. “We’ll keep an eye on him. It might be nothing, but we can’t take any chances.”
Nico nodded even though Marco couldn’t see him. “Okay.”
I noticed he was pale and his jaw was clenched. I tapped his shoulder. “Hey. Talk to me.”
When he met my gaze, his eyes were full of rage. “Not wanting him to see me was only part of the reason I turned to hug you. I wanted to break that motherfucker’s neck so badly, I had to turn away. He was the one who talked me into doing the job. It was supposed to be just driving a couple of guys to meet someone.” He blinked away the tears that came to his eyes. “It cost me four years of my son’s life.”
I held out my arms. “How about another hug?” He nodded and stepped into my embrace. “No matter what happens tonight, we’ll make sure this guy gets the justice he deserves.”
“By turning him in to the cops,” Marco growled through the comms.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Chief.”
I leaned back but didn’t let go. “You okay?”
Nico nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”
I smiled at him. “Anytime.” I just barely resisted kissing the top of his head. Ugh, how the heck was he so cuddly?
I was so distracted by holding Nico that I didn’t notice someone approaching us until it was too late.
“Gabriel. What are you doing here?”