Chapter 14
This dinner was interminable. Ryker clenched his jaw as he stood by, waiting for Davis to finish chowing down and jawing with some Washington elites. Ryker couldn”t decide if Davis”s loud chewing or phony Texas drawl was more agonizing. He ran his gaze over the restaurant for the umpteenth time. It was as if Davis was deliberately taking his sweet time as a punishment to Ryker.
He”d demanded Ryker get Vic and bring her to the house this morning.There was no way in hell that wasgoing to happen. The woman needed some downtime. She”d just been through amajortrauma. Davis had insisted until Ryker finally told him in no uncertain terms that no one was allowed to bug Vic today. He pointed out that Davis would be seen as heartless to call his niece in on a Sunday after what happened.Ifthe story got leaked to the press, Davis would face a PR nightmare.Ryker didn”t need to say the quiet part out loud; he”d personally delight in leaking the story. Davis had shut up, but now they were in a cold war.
The entire situation left Ryker between the rock of Davis and the hard place of Archer. If push came to shove, hewould pick Archer”sgoal.He just hoped things wouldn”t escalate with Davis.
That thisdinner was particularly tortuous was his own fault. He hadn”t had time to shower at the house and he only had clean dress pants, not a clean shirt, to change into so Vic”s scent engulfed him.He couldn”t move without smelling her shampoo or her natural scent. It was driving him crazy.
He closed his eyes and cursed silently. Then, opening his eyes again, he did another quicksurvey of the restaurant. He”d screwed up so badly today. He never should”ve taken Vic to bed. He was hard-pressed to remember any other time when he”d been so stupid and out of control. Something he prided himself on not being ever, but somehow Invicta just brought out the overprotective Neanderthal lurking within him.
He”d known she was hurting.Jeez, he”d have to be blindto notsee the panic in her eyes.He”d thought just holding her might be enoughbutwhen she was going to scream, he reacted instinctively. Stick a pitchfork in him, but once he tasted her lips,his fight against this attraction was done. He wanted her so badly that once they”d started, he couldn”t stop. God, she was soincredibly beautiful. He”d wanted to stay with her. Hell, he wanted to spend the foreseeable future in bed with her. It had damn near killed him to leave. And being cold like that had crushed him. Being a cold-hearted so-and-so was one of the necessities of the job.
Vic was the last person he should be involved with. She was so much better off without him. And he”d been right. The sex had brought her back from the brink of panic. She would be okay now.
”Thank you so much, Donald. I truly appreciate the support. Please give my regards to your beautiful wife, and we”ll chat soon,”Davis drawled as he got up from the table.
Ryker told Tony to bring the SUV to the front and made a final visual sweep of the restaurant. He went to the front door and surveyed the street. It was clear.
Tony pulled up out front,andRyker hustled Davis into the SUVandthey were away in seconds.
”Take me home, Tony,”Davis drawled from the back seat.
Tony said nothing but glanced at Ryker sitting beside him. Ryker gave him a small nod. Theyheaded to the house.
The silence didn”t last long. Davis started,”Tomorrow, I”d like to go over your entire plan for my security for the next month. Eight a.m. in my office.”
Son of a b…monkey. Ryker smiled to himself.”Of course, sir.”He knew as soon as he challenged Davis about Vic, the pain in the arse would exact somekind ofrevenge, so he”d had Rush and Cash working on the plan all day.He”d done the bare bones of it sitting outside Davis”s office on the first day, but he had them fill in the blanks with a rotating schedule for all security personnel. He would be ready for Davis tomorrow morning, no question. It was tonight he was more worried about.
They pulled into the driveway and headed into the house.”Will you be going out anymore this evening?”Ryker asked.
”No,”Davissaid,justas Armstrong came rushing in the front door.He frowned.”What is it, Floyd?”
”Carson just announced his retirement, months earlier than expected. He”scoming backfor the next sessionbutthat will be his last. And he”s flipped sides on the energy bill.”
”Shit,”Davis growled. He pulled off his jacket and handed it to Tony.”Take that to my room and have Martha prepare some food for later. Floyd and I will be in my office. I do not want to be disturbed unless it”s an emergency.”He and Floyd crossed the foyer andwent intothe office, closing the door with a bang.
Tony shook his head and started for the stairs. Ryker reached out and stopped him.”While you”re asking Martha to prepare a meal for the senator, see if she has any leftovers we can eat since we missed dinner.I”lltake that coat up, and then I have a few calls to make. Be sure to save me some food andsome of thosechocolate chip cookies.”
Tony grinned.”Better not take too long, or those will be gone, boss.”He headed toward the kitchen.
Ryker climbed the stairs.For the last two days,since he heard Davis”s secret phone call, he”d been waiting for an opportunity to get into the man”s bedroom.He”d just bought himself a few minutes by being kind toTony,and specifying he had calls to make, so now was his chance.
He entered Davis”s room and tried not to laugh. It was the epitome of successful Texas businessman decor. The furniture was dark and heavy, and the bed was huge.The drapeswere thick, as was the carpet.The entire ambiance was oppressive.
Ryker hated it. He slung the jacket over the back of the chair in the corner of the room and took a moment to survey the area for hidden cameras. He didn”t think Davis would set one up in hisownbedroom, but he did a second pass just to be sure.
Then he went to the closet and started his search. It took less than two minutes to find the burner cell hidden in the pocket of Davis”s robe. Actually,he probably called it a dressing gown, pretentious jerk. Ryker snorted softly. Not a master criminal. Or at least not at the trade craft kind of stuff. He flicked on the cell. The idiot hadn”t even password-protected the burner. He looked at the last number dialed, whichwas different thanthe last incoming number. He snapped a photo of all the numbers with hisownphone, shut the device off, and returned it to the same pocket wherehe”dfound it.
Now, he had to find whatever Davis had been looking at. He moved to the desk and scanned the surface. Nothing caught his eye. He thought back to the sounds he”d heard. Papers. Davis had been rustling papers. It sounded like a lot of them. He stood and let his gaze roam over the room.
Found it!In the corner of the closet, a flash of white was visible under a stack of sweaters. He went back to the closet and moved the sweaters. He picked up a legal-sized envelope. Pulling out the documents, he scanned the front page. It was Vic”s will. Was this what Davis had been reading?Didn”tseem likely. Still, why keep it up here? Why not down in his office? He flipped through it and realized there were two documents. The second one looked like a sales contract. He scanned it. Buffalo Ridge.He wasselling Buffalo Ridge? What the hell was it?
The sound of footsteps reached him. He quickly put the will and the Buffalo Ridge paperwork back in the envelope and put it back on the shelf under the sweaters. Then he grabbed the jacket off the chair and folded it over his arm. His back was to the door when it opened behind him. He turned to find Martha standing in the doorway. She was a tall woman witha shock ofwhite hair usually worn in a bun at the top of her head. Her white blouse was crisp, eventhough it wasafter ten p.m., and her long brown skirt was wrinkle-free.
”Hi, Martha,”he said with a smile.”The Senator asked me to put this up here. Is it okay on the back of the chair?”
”Yes, that”s fine.Tony said you wanted dinner…”her voice petered out as she glanced around the roomas if ensuringeverything was where it should be.
”Yes, sorry, I got sidetracked. I had to make some calls and then drop the jacket up here. Did Tony save me any of your amazing chocolate chip cookies? I warned him about eating them all.”He gave her his biggest smile.
Her cheeks turned pink.”That”s so sweet. Yes, I saved you a few.”
”Excellent,”Ryker said as he came up beside her. He offered her his arm.”How about we go get dinner and some cookies.”She smiled and took his arm and let him lead her from the room without a backward glance.
* * *
Ryker settled deeper into the couch in the little office off the kitchen. It was lateandDavis had gone to bed hours ago, but Vic”s will and the Buffalo Ridge papers niggled at him. What the hell was Davis up to?
Ryker glanced at his watch. He should head home and get some shut-eye, but some sixth sense stopped him. Something just felt off.He”dlearned to trust his instincts in the military, and now that he worked for the Society, that had become even more important. He often workedaloneso he had to live by his instinctsin difficultsituations.
His cell vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at the screen. Archer. He couldn”treallytalk here.”Hey,”he answered.
”You can”t speak freely.”Archer understood the problem immediately.”It”s fine. Just listen. I”ve found the mole. Or rather, Cash has found the mole. Turns out it”s one of our cleaning crews.They were also caughtin the snowstorm at the location in Virginia, but no one thought to mention it. Cash has…spoken with them, and several of them confessed. Davis calls them to go into a room in the Society and plant listening devices before a big meeting. Heapparentlylistens in, andthenwhen the meeting is over, he instructs them to go back in and collect the listening devices again.”
”Oh wow!That”s…clever.”
”Yes, it is,”Archer agreed.
”It also means that he has someone in scheduling,”Ryker said in a low voice.
Archer grunted.”Yes, there”s no telling how many crews he has working for him either.As to who is telling himschedulinginformation, I”ve alreadyhavenarrowed down the possibilities.Cash and Rush are going to speak with her now.”
Ryker was glad he was not part of that meeting. It would get ugly fast.”Will you confront him?”
”Davis?”Archer asked.”No. I will eliminate his teams, andnothing will be saidabout it. And before you ask, no, this is not enough to convict him of breaking the rules. The cleaning crew doesn”t know who is paying them.Theyjustget orders and follow them.Theyare well paid. We know it”s Davis, but once again…I cannot prove it.”
Ryker sighed.
”Also,”Archer continued,”I did not get to the couple in time. Tim and Kathy Gupta are dead. Their seat on the board is now empty.In light ofthe current circumstances, I will not offer the token to their daughter.Ifshe comes with it in hand, then I”ll deal with it.”
”Sothat”s onethat”savailable,”Ryker stated.
”Yes,”Archer agreed.”And someone took a shot at Remy.”
”Jesus? Is she okay?”
”Yes.She”smoved into a safehouse facility that Callahan Security runs. They”ll keep her safebutit means that Davis is stepping things up. We have to get to the bottom of things and quickly.”
”Understood,”Ryker said.He wanted to say morebuthewasn”t at liberty to say what he wanted, given his surroundings.”I”llget back to youon things when I am able.”
Archer grunted,”Find something, Ryker. Before it”s too late.”With that, he hung up.
No pressure.Ryker put his head back and closed his eyes. His mind was spinning. He tried to clear it. He”d think about what Archer told him later. Nowhehad to focus.He”dsensed something was up, and it was making his brain stand at attention. He”d walked around the house twenty minutes agoandeverything was secure. A few guys hadbeen stationedoutside, and another onewas parkedin front of the monitors inside the security office in the basement. Everything was solid. So why was he worried? He let his body relax and let his mind drift.
The sound woke him, not that he wasreallyasleep. More just drifting, but theout of placesound nudged him to this side of consciousness. It was almost like a scratching. Mice in the walls? He opened his eyes and cocked his head. It was coming from the vent. Mice in the vents?
Then there was a soft thud, like a cat landing on carpet. Ryker leaped to his feet and then ran through the house. He flew up the stairs and pulled his gun as he quietly opened the senator”s bedroom door. He scanned the room, but nothing was moving. Davis was snoring loudly in his bed.
Ryker entered the room and stuck close to the wall as he moved toward the bathroom. He glanced into thebathroombut saw nothing. He crouched low and waited. A step shuffled on the tile.A pause, and then the steps resumed, soft, slow. Whoever was in the bath was moving towards the doorway. Ryker caught the figure”s reflection in the bathroom mirror.Hardto tell if it was a man orwoman, thanks to their all-black attire and a ski mask.The gun in the perp”s hand had a suppressor attached to the barrel.
Ryker stayed low and spun around the corner. The figure in black firedbutRyker fired faster. The gunman dropped like a stone to the floor, with a brand new hole in the middle of their forehead courtesy of Ryker.
”Ahhhhh!”came the scream from behind him.
Ryker whirled around, gun still up, but it was the senator sitting up in bed, yelling.
”It”s fine. It”s over.”Ryker kept his voice calm as he thumbed the safety and holstered his gun.
”What the hell is going on?”Davis demanded, his good-ole-boy accent gone completely.
”Someone broke in. I stoppedthem. You”re safe.”
Davis sputtered,”The fuck I am. You just shot somebody in my bathroom. Are they dead?”
Ryker didn”t dignify that with a response as the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs and down the hallway reached them. Tony ran into the room, followed by Lazlo and Vincent, all waving guns. Ryker held up his hands.”It”s fine. Everything is under control. Someone came in through the bathroom window. I”ve taken care of it.”There was a time to be kind to staff, and this wasn”t it. Now was the time for him to take charge.”Tony, take Vince and search the grounds. Hit all the outside lights before you go. Lazlo, I need you to review the security footage. I want to know why we didn”t see him earlier.”
Lazlo glanced toward the bathroom, but Ryker shifted his body to block the view. Hewasn”tgoing toprovide any more details, at least not at this point. He needed to investigate first.
Lazlo exchanged a glance with Davis and then left the room. He”d been waiting for Davis”s approval before he left.Nota good sign.Ryker had thought he”d won Lazlo”s loyalty, but it appeared hewas mistaken.He”d have to deal with it later. Davis got out of bed and threw on a long blue striped robe as he shuffled towards the bathroom.
Ryker stopped him.”Senator, you don”t want to see this.”
”Like hell. I want to know who it is, goddammit.”
Ryker hesitated and then shrugged. He wanted to know who it was as well. Turning, he stepped into the bathroom and hit the light, then looked dispassionately at the man on the floor. In the light, it was easy to tell it was a man. The guy wasaverageheight with an average build. Ryker bent down and pulled the ski mask up over his face.
”Wait,”Davis said,”shouldn”t we leave this to the police?”
Ryker ignored him and pulled out his phone. He hit Archer”s number.Hesaid,”Someone tried to break into Senator Davis”s house through his bathroom window. I need a clean-up,”before Archer could even utter hello.
”On the way. Send pictures and details when you have them.”
Ryker broke the connection. He held his phone out and snapped a picture of the dead man. He wasaverage looking. People like this made the best kind of killers. Nobody ever looked twice at them. They could blend into the backgroundandno one would notice them, let alone be able to tell the police a damn thing about their physical appearance.
”Do you recognize him?”Davisasked,his accent back in place.
Still squatting, Ryker twisted to find Davis already dressed in slacks and a button-down with his hair slicked into place.”No, but I should have an ID soon.”
”When the police arrive, I will see them in my study,”Davis said as hestarted towardsthe door.
”There will be no police,”Ryker commented as he rose.
Davis frowned.”What? Ofcoursethere will.Thisneeds to be dealt with appropriately.”
”Thisis going tobe handled by the Society, not the police. If we call the police, the incident will be all over the news. You want more of the spotlight, but this is notthe wayto get it. We have no idea what this person was hired todo,or by whom. Do you want the police kicking around in your life? Because that”s what”s going to happen if you call them. They go through your entire life with a fine tooth comb to find a motive for someone to kill you. In your case, they will be flush with choices.”
Davis”s lip curled.”You listen to me?—”
Ryker snorted.”You go on every half-baked talk radio show and pedal conspiracy theories. You”ve made yourself a massive target for every nut job out there. Half of them love you, and the other half think you”re an alien from outer space. The FBI will be involved. They”ll follow up on every crackpot who”s ever spoken to you or about you in person and online. That will certainly alienate your base. Then, the authorities will dig around in your life. They”ll question your friends, your family, and your business acquaintances. No stone unturned.You”re a United States Senatorafterall, theymust do their best work.When their searches don”t turn upanything, they”ll take a closer look at youpersonally. They”ll dig around in all your private business. Nothing will be off-limits. Can you stand up to that kind of scrutiny?”
Davis drew himselfupto his full height and snarled indignantly,”I have nothing to hide.”
”Bullshit,”Ryker shot back. ”You are a member of a secret society. You have been doing backroom business deals for years in your home state, and Marilee is your girlfriend as far as the world knows. The FBI will turn up your occasional dalliance with high-priced call girls.
Davis blanched at the mention of prostitutes. His mouth flattened into a straight line.
”Senator,”Ryker continued,”everyone has something to hide. You more than most. The Society will handle this. It”s better for everyone.”
”Fine,”Davis said with a sneer.”But I want to be kept informed. I also want to know how this man got this far. I thought your securityissupposed to be top-notch. He could have killed me. You better have a damn good explanation, or I will fire your ass.”With that, the other man stormed out of the room.
Ryker ground his teeth. As much as he hated Davis, the man had a point. How had the intruder gotten this far? Ryker wanted answersandhe wanted them immediately. Heads were going to roll over this.For Archer”s sake,he had to make sure thathiswasn”t one of them.