Chapter 10
Ryker ran a hand through his hair and then grabbed his cell from his pocket.
Davis is looking for you.The text was from one of his guys, Cash Walker.
On my way. He sent the text and hit the sidewalk. Rush flashed his headlights at Ryker, and he waved in response.
Vic would be safe enough tonight.
He hit the speed dial number on this phone as he pulled away from the curb.
“Gray,”the voice said as it came through the SUV speakers.
“Was today you?”Ryker swerved around a guy driving a delivery truck. What was he delivering at this hour?
“I was going to ask you the same question,”Archer said. The silence filled the car.
“Does that mean someone really is out to kill Davis?”A reality that could complicate this op.
Archer sighed.“It wouldn’t surprise me. All that conspiracy theory crap stirs up all kinds of weirdness. Still, that does make it harder. How’s Davis taking it?”
“He’s like a pig in…crap. Talking to the world in his big fake Southern accent. Telling them he’s fine and dandy, and nothing is going to stop him.”
Archer grunted.“Not surprised. Bruno Liotta called me from Europe and asked me if I’d heard anything. He is a…friend of sorts. He hates Davis but can’t appear to be ignoring him. Davis is making waves in D.C., which makes Liotta nervous. I have advised Liotta to wait until he’s back in D.C. to speak with Davis. In the interim, he is going to have the Special Agent in Charge for D.C. speak with Davis.”
Ryker grimaced.“Davis is becoming a bigger problem by the minute. If it wasn’t us, then someone else took a shot at him. The clock’s ticking on us ferreting out the culprit. I’ll try to access the traffic cams. Vic heard a motorbike. I’m thinking that may bewhat the shooter used.”
“Agreed.”
“Anything on the board members Davis is trying to kill?”
Archer’s growl was jagged over the phone line.“I know who it is but I’m having a hard time reaching them.”
“That’s not good. He’s trying to stack the board in his favor. But why? What’s his end game?”
“I have no idea. I can only assume he wants the power that running the Society would give him, but I am quite sure he does not want the actual job. This isn’t a nine-to-five job. I’m on call twenty-four seven.”
Ryker snorted.“He would probably give the day-to-day running of it to Armstrong and his staff.”
“Regardless, what Davis wants to do with the power that comes from running the Society is the mystery that keeps me up at night.”Archer sighed.“I sent you files on Armstrong and Invicta. Interesting reading. I will keep you in the loop about the board members,”he said and then disconnected the call.
Ryker shook his head as dismal thoughts flitted through his brain. This was getting more complex by the minute. Davis had hired trained assassins to kill a couple, one of whom was a Lock and Key board member. That was a seriously ballsy move. Did that mean he was getting desperate? Usually, people didn’t get that level of ballsy unless they were being pushed. It made Ryker wonder if something bigger wasn’t at play in all of this.
He toyed with his bottom lip as he drove, turning his thoughts to Vic. Kissing her was not a smart move. In fact, it was colossally stupid. She just seemed so sad. He’d trained himself out of trying to be the hero, or so he’d thought. That’s how he ended up divorced. He’d married Sonia because she’d needed rescuing and he needed to be a hero. But that hadn’t worked. She wanted him to keep rescuing her and that got old, really fast. He’d thought he’d managed to put that type of behavior behind him but with Vic pressed against him and her scent swirling around him, he seemed to revert to his old ways.
Invicta Carlyle was a hard woman to resist.
Ten minutes later, he strode into Davis’s home office.
“Where the hell have you been?”Davis demanded.
“Looking after your niece. She was shot at and saw a man be killed in front of her. It’s upsetting.”His voice was frosty, but he didn’t care. Davis had to know he was being a major pain in Ryker’s butt. Ryker didn’t have to like the man to make sure he was safe. He’d learned that a long time ago.
“My niece is a tough girl. She’ll be fine. I need you here dealin’ with this crisis. I want to talk to the FBI. Liotta won’t take my calls.”Davis’s face was suffused with color. He did not like being ignored.
“Deputy Director Liotta is in Europe. I’ve spoken with his office.”It was a small lie but one that could be covered if needed.“He is being kept informed as things develop and is monitoring the situation closely. The SAC for Washington D.C. is taking a personal interest in your case. I believe you know him. James Palmer?”
Davis’s eyes lit up.“Jimmy, yes I know him well. Joyce, get Jimmy on the phone for me.”
“Is there anything else you need at this time?”Ryker asked, barely concealing his distaste for the man in front of him.
Davis didn’t bother answering. He turned to his phone and started reading emails.
Ryker left the room and went to find Cash. They were standing in the kitchen when Ryker’s phone buzzed. His heart gave a vicious thump.“Rush,”he answered.
“Ryker, something going on over here. A couple of guys in a dark blue Ford F150 have been watching Vic’s building. Another car, a silver Honda, pulled alongside for a few minutes and then it pulled away. I’m guessing it’s not gone far. I’ll text you the plates. These guys aren’t Feds and they don’t look like law enforcement. They look like…”
Ryker’s heart slammed against his rib cage. Vic was in trouble.“Like what?”he demanded.
“Trouble. Ballcaps with long greasy hair and there’s a confederate flag hanging in the back window of the truck.”
“Son of a… Okay, I’m sending Cash and Flynn over to you. Text me the plates and I’ll run them.”He hung up.
Cash raised his eyebrows.
“Freakin’ Davis’s groupies. A bunch of amateurs staked out Vic’s building. Go see what’s what. Call Rush and keep the line open. Grab Flynn and take two cars. I want a report ASAP.”
Cash walked out of the kitchen whistling Zippety Doo Dah,
“Surprised you didn’t say Gee Willikers,”Ryker called after him.
If there ever was a time to swear, this would be it. The guys typically rode him hard. But he wanted to honor his mom and grandmother. Being a gentleman is more than just opening doors and pulling out chairs.You have to act the part even when no one is in the room.
The contingent waiting in front of Vic’s home was the thing he’d feared with this job. Davis was a lightning rod for all the whack-a-doodles out there. He went on all the weird podcasts and didn’t discredit the outlandish conspiracy theories. He supported the doomsday-prepper types and the gun crowd. All of which were okay, but he was walking a fine line. Courting the rogue militia crowd could very easily lead to disaster. They tended toward mob mentality. It was damn hard to control a mob.
Ryker studies the planned security details for the next few days while sitting in a small office off the kitchen at the back of the house. He spoke with Lazlo and some of the other men. He reminded them to be vigilant and smart. Davis had made an enemy out there, one who wanted to hurt the senator. No one wanted to be the one who let that happen.
Satisfied with the plans he’s set up, he fired off a text on a chat with his on-site staff, asking everyone to meet in the kitchen in five.
When he left his small office, he found them assembled around the large kitchen table. He poured himself a cup of coffee as a delaying tactic, then held up the pot, to check if anyone else needed a refill. Once he’d topped off several cups, he knew he needed to address the death on their team.
He spoke to them about Carl. He portrayed Carl as a hero, killed in action. Although technically Ryker was the boss, he’d just started so he asked Lazlo to reach out to Carl’s parents.“Tell them to let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”
Ryker had done his research and knew Carl had a younger sister, Dorothy. He’d been sending Dorothy money as she was a single mom.“Lazlo, I want you to get bank account information from her. Carl’s parents don’t have much and they can’t support her. She’s going to need money. Get me the info and I’ll put fifty thousand in her account. If she asks why you want it, tell her Carl had an insurance policy and she was marked as the recipient.”
Lazlo nodded.
“But we don’t have that, do we?”Tony asked.
He wasn’t the smartest guy, but of all of them, Tony was one of the more solid men on the team as far as Ryker could tell.“You might not have had it before, but you all have it now. As long as I’m here, whoever you designate gets fifty thousand should you die on the job. Carl is a loss to the team, but an even bigger one to his family. I can’t fix that. but I can ease their burden a bit. If any of you want to come work for Sterling Security, then the fifty thousand dollar bonus is permanent.”
Lazlo got up.“I’ll take care of it. Do you need anything else?”
Ryker shook his head.“Not right now. You guys know your assignments for the night. Check in when the morning shift starts. I’ll have a schedule posted on the team chat.”
Silently, they all filed out, leaving Ryker alone in the kitchen. He dumped his now tepid coffee in the drain, rinsed the cup, and set it in the drainer. He cupped the back of his neck, fingers digging into the tense, rock-hard muscles. As much as losing a staff member sucked, it would probably speed up Ryker acceptance by the team. Offering Carl’s sister money boosted in their estimation of him. He would have done it anyway. He wasn’t lying to them. They all now had a fifty thousand dollar life insurance policy. That wouldn’t fix everything, or even be enough, but it would help get the beneficiary back on their feet. If Ryker continued to treat them decently, the transition would go smoothly and that would be one more thing he could tick off his list.
He leaned back in his chair and glanced at the clock. Was it only midnight? Jesus, it had been a long day. He rubbed his face with his hands. Going home wasn’t an option at this point. He’d have to stay the night and then pop by his place in the morning to grab a shower and change his suit.
He looked around the little office. It was meant for a housekeeper. Only large enough to contain a small desk and a couple of guest chairs. A window on the side wall overlooked a side garden. A couch and a small coffee table had been jammed in against the inner wall. The couch looked lumpy and wasn’t ideal, but it would do for a power nap. All he needed was a place to work out of and he was close to the coffee maker in the kitchen.
Speaking of that, he started to rise from his desk when the sound of a phone ringing stopped him. It wasn’t his phone. He glanced around the room. The phone rang again. The sound was coming from the vent.
“Davis.”Austin’s voice was a feral growl as he answered. His voice sounded echoey and oddly distorted. If Ryker hadn’t known it was Davis, he would’ve been hard-pressed to identify him. He ran the layout of the house in his mind. The primary bath was directly above this office. The vent must be shared between the two. Good to know. Ryker didn’t want anyone overhearing any of his conversations, not that he was going to call anyone important while he was in the house. Still, the information was good to have in his back pocket.
There were some garbled sounds and then“I’m in the bathroom. Don’t worry, no one can hear you. It’s the only goddamn room I have any privacy in now.”
“I don’t like being on speaker,”said the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Too damn bad. My ears hurt from being on the phone all day and I need to read the papers in front of me,”Davis responded.
“You received them then.”
“Yes. They were dropped off last night.”There was the sound of rustling paper.
“You need to back off from the interviews.”
The voice sounded familiar to Ryker but the distortion was so bad, he couldn’t place it.
“What?”Davis demanded.“This is my moment to shine, to grab people’s attention.”
“Not a good idea. Keep a much lower profile. You need to appear with your niece, and it needs to be more low-key. And stop with the crazy podcasts or conspiracy theory radio broadcasts. You can’t look like you’re capitalizing on your security man’s death. Stay home for a few days.”
Davis’s voice dropped and Ryker missed what he said but then,“I’ve worked long and hard to build this reputation and if I don’t come out swinging, my base will wonder why.”
“It will be fine. Your base will understand. Tone the rhetoric down. We won’t tell you again.”
The sound of the call ending filtered down to Ryker’s ears. Interesting. Someone was calling the shots with Davis. Or at least trying to. What was it all about?
The sound of Davis making another call met his ears.“It’s Davis.”
Ryker couldn’t hear the other side of the call this time.
“We need to meet. The Lock and Key at Hay-Adams. Tomorrow at noon.”
That was it. Davis turned on the shower and Ryker could only hear the water running after that. Who was Davis meeting and what the hell did it have to do with anything? And most importantly who was pulling Davis’s strings?