Chapter 28
“You good to go?”Archer asked.
Ryker gave him a quick nod.“All set.”
Archer stood looking out the window of the hotel room. They were in a suite at the Jasmine Door.“I still can’t make the pieces fit.”
“Neither can I,”Ryker agreed, every one of his senses tingling nervously.“With the VP pulling the plug on his own, why would Davis need a bomb?”
Archer gave a small shrug.“Don’t know. We’ve been through this. None of it makes sense.”
“Maybe Davis didn’t think the VP would pull out on his own so they were prepared? Armstrong has been in stealth mode for the last couple of weeks. He’s always got his cell glued to his ear, talking in a low voice, like he’s terrified he’ll be overheard. Then today, after the announcement by the VP, he’s Mr. Relaxed.”It was the answer that made the most sense but somehow it just didn’t gel for Ryker.
“No,”Archer shook his head.“He had a plan to use that bomb and I still think he’s going to use it. Otherwise, why keep it?”
Ryker ran a hand through his hair.“I know. I…it’s just damn insane. Do you really think he would try to fake blow himself up? Explode the bomb somewhere so it just misses him to make it seem like he was in danger?”
“With Davis, anything is possible but…”Archer shook his head.“I can’t make that work for me either. We’re missing a key piece of the puzzle and until we have it, we’re in the dark.”
Ryker glanced at his watch. Tony was picking Vic up right about now. He gave himself a mental shake. Thinking about Vic wasn’t going to help the situation. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford. She’d been crushingly clear. They were just sex. He had to take partial blame, he’d made sure she hated him so he couldn’t have her anyway. He had to let go of his fascination with her. It didn’t matter how much he wanted her, or the reasons why, she was unattainable. Which was why this scenario, them never together, was such a flipping nightmare. Because Vic was…everything. Her smile, her laugh, the curve of her hip, and the hollow of her throat, were all he could think about. And the fact that when she was with him, he relaxed, really relaxed as if he’d suddenly found his home, the one he’d been searching for since he’d been a kid. Who knew home could be a person and not a place?
He closed his eyes and cursed silently. He had to focus if he was going to be on his game tonight. Vic would be out of here in a day or two. She’d told him she was leaving almost immediately after her birthday. That was good news as far as he was concerned. It meant she’d be out of harm’s way. That was the only good thing about her leaving. It made him feel slightly better to know she would be outside of her uncle’s reach. Or at least, he’d be so pissed at her for leaving, he wouldn’t reach out to her. Small mercies.
A knock sounded at the door. Ryker went over and looked through the security hole. He immediately opened the door to admit the tall man in the tuxedo. He was Ryker’s height and had a similar build, but he had a few more years on him and he carried himself with a confidence born of fighting for a seat at the table and winning it.
“Jameson,”Archer said as he came forward and extended his hand.
“Archer,”Jameson Drake responded.“How is everything going? Do you need anything?”
Archer glanced at Ryker who shook his head.“We have everything under control at the moment.”
Drake glanced over at Ryker and nodded.“Let me know if there’s anything I can do. No word on the bomb yet?”
Archer shook his head. Ryker was still somewhat surprised that Archer had taken Drake into his confidence about the bomb, but in a way, it made sense. Jameson Drake was a powerful man with contacts that Archer might not be able to tap. Drake was also smart and savvy. There was always the chance that he would know something that they’d missed. Either way, it was always good to have powerful allies, Ryker guessed.
“I’ve spoken with Hawk. He and my security triple-checked everything and even had bomb-sniffing dogs in the hotel earlier today. Nothing popped.”
“That’s good, I guess,”Ryker said.“I just can’t help feeling we’re missing something.”
“Agreed,”Drake commented. He looked out the window at the growing line of limos down on the street.
“You’ll be there?”Ryker asked.
Drake nodded.“So will Hawk. He’s brought a few friends as well. I trust that’s okay with you, Archer?”
The other man shrugged.“You mean the Callahan brothers?”
Drake nodded.
“Can’t hurt.”
“Could help,”Drake amended.“I’ve got a few things to do still but I will be down at the party in a bit. Call me if there’s anything I can do or if you find out anything of significance.”Drake strode towards the door. Then he stopped and turned back.“Oh, by the way, you’d asked me to look into Buffalo Ridge. It’s a solar farm in Texas. It’s one of the leading solar farms in the US. Worth several hundred million dollars.”
All the air left Ryker’s lungs in a whoosh and he actually stumbled while standing still. His vocal cords seized up as he tried to speak but no sound came out. He cleared his throat and tried again.“Who owns it?”He prayed he was wrong. Prayed with all his might. Please, God, let me be wrong.
“It’s owned by a couple named Laredo and Doris Carlyle. Why?”Drake asked.
Every single piece suddenly dropped into place with a loud snap in his brain.
The pseudo attempts on Vic’s life.
The first conversation he’d overheard Davis having.
The papers in Davis’s closet.
Vic’s will.
He was having trouble drawing oxygen into his lungs. He could feel the weight of both men’s stares. He met Archer’s gaze.“At midnight tonight, Buffalo Ridge becomes Vic’s. She inherits it from her parents. And guess who inherits it if something happens to her?”He went on to explain about the paperwork he’d found, and that Davis already had a buyer lined up so he could cash out.
“Bloody hell,”Drake breathed.
Archer’s stance was violent and menacing, despite the fact he remained motionless.“Ah, hell,”he muttered.“This was Davis’s plan all along. He gets the solar farm and then he has the funding he needs to do whatever he wants when he’s VP. He will be beholden to no one once he has that money. The inner circle will have no way to control him. As Vice President with that kind of money at his disposal, there will be no stopping him.”
“We need to find Vic. She needs to be kept safe.”She was Ryker’s main priority. He started moving forward.
“Ryker,”Archer’s tone was harsh.“Think. Now isn’t the moment to react.”
Was he insane? Fuck that. He needed to see Vic. He needed to know she was okay. She was Davis’s target. There was no question now and he needed to be with her to keep her safe. He couldn’t let anything happen to Vic. He wouldn’t survive it. In a short space of time, she’d become way too important to him.
She’d become his world.
“Ryker!”Archer snarled, snapping his attention back to his boss.“We’ll take care of Vic but you can’t go charging down there because Davis will know that we know what’s going on. We have to plan this as meticulously as possible in the time we have.”
“We don’t know how much time we have, and I will not leave Vic unprotected,”Ryker snarled back.
“We know that he won’t do anything before midnight. He needs Vic to inherit first. If she dies before midnight, before her actual birthday, I imagine the solar farm stays in her parents’ name.”
Ryker’s heart slammed into his ribcage as adrenaline coursed through his veins. He wanted to go downstairs and kill Davis. Here and now. Just snap his neck and then this nightmare would be over.
“Killing him won’t solve anything,”Drake said.
Ryker turned to glare at the hotel owner. How did Drake know what he was thinking?
“You should work on your poker face. Your expression says it all. You obviously care about this woman. I’ve been in similar circumstances, so I know how you feel.”The expression on his face said he wasn’t lying. Jameson did know how desperate Ryker felt. He continued.“Yes, it would feel so damn good to kill Davis, but it would destroy your friend and that would destroy you. You have to think logically, now more than ever.”
He was right. Fucking hell, the man was right. He needed to be logical. He needed to be cold as ice because that’s what would save Vic. Decisions should be made with a cold heart and a clear mind, otherwise he was going to screw up.
“Fine,”he ground out.“What do you suggest we do?”
Archer picked up his cell.“I’m calling the rest of the team. Drake, reach out to your people here at the hotel and the Callahans and tell them that we suspect that a bomb will go off after midnight. We know the target, but we don’t know how or where the incident will happen. Ask them to keep their eyes open and let me know if anyone sees or hears anything.”
Drake nodded.“I’ll be on my cell. Call me with any updates.”He pulled out his cell and was making calls as he left.
“If it was you, how would you do it?”
“What?”Ryker demanded.
Archer walked over to the en suite bar and poured a large scotch. He brought it over to Ryker.“Get your shit together. Think with the head that’s above your damn belt,”he commanded.
Ryker took the glass and knocked it back. It burned all the way down, the same way it burned to know Archer was right. The fire from both sources helped him focus.
“How would I do it? How would I kill Vic?”Even saying those words made his chest hurt. He rubbed it absently, took a deep breath, and tried to look at the situation from Davis’s point of view.
“I guess it would depend on what I want to get out of her death?”
Archer had gone back behind the bar and poured himself a drink.“How do you mean?”
“Does he just want Vic out of the way? Then why the bomb? He could accomplish her death much more quickly and quietly than blowing her up. A hit-and-run would do nicely, but instead, he hired a bomb maker to make a bomb modeled after the ones used by one of those fringe groups who don’t recognize the sovereignty of the government. He doesn’t want it nice and quiet. He wants it to make a big bang, literally.”
Ryker took a breath. What did Davis want? What did he really want?“He wants the big splash... If Vic dies on her birthday, supposedly at the hand of some extremist group, it immediately catapults him into the public eye. He gets the sympathy of everyone regardless of which side they’re on. Carrying on with the campaign in the face of such personal tragedy makes him a hero. And he can blame and condemn some whacked-out, conspiracy-peddling outliers, which makes the fringe groups that like him seem far less sinister. It’s a win, win, win for him.”
“So if those were your goals, how would you do it?”Archer asked as he studied Ryker over the rim of his drink.
“I would do it…I would make it a car bomb. I would do it right outside the hotel. I would make it go off just as they pull away from the curb. It will be after midnight and the party will have just started to break up. Enough witnesses would be there to see his devastation in person, there might even be a bit of press still hanging around. The mainstream media and a few of the extremist press groups have been invited.”He knew Vic had protested the size of the invitation list but had been overruled by Marilee. Probably on orders from Davis. Focus, Ryker. Work this problem first. Davis would get what’s coming to him in time. “And I’d do it here because we’re just up from the White House. It would trigger a lockdown at the White House and…son of a bitch,”Ryker mumbled.“Fuck. He’s so fucking smart.”
“What?”Archer growled.
“He’s going to announce he’s running for VP tonight just after midnight when he does the toast to Vic. I’m sure of it. And, if that’s the case, who will already be here when the bomb goes off?”
Archer frowned.“I don’t follow.”
“The Secret Service. There will already be Secret Service agents here at the party because the man who’s going to be appointed VP by formal announcement in the next day or two will already have a security detail provided by the White House. So, what happens when the bomb goes off?”
Archer’s lip curled.“They’ll rush him to the safest place around. The White House.”
Ryker grunted as all the air left his lungs. This was bad. No this was worse than bad. This was catastrophic.“You cannot buy better publicity than this. He gets to be seen as the victim and he’s seen going onto the White House grounds for safety. It will make him look vice presidential without him doing a damn thing. An ingenious way to sway voters. He and the President will be a sure thing for re-election.”
He was going to be sick. The scotch rolled around his gut and he swallowed hard to keep it down.“This is so damn bad, Archer.”
For the first time since Ryker had met his boss, Archer Gray had gone pale. The man’s skin was white.
“I should’ve let you kill him,”Archer growled.“If we don’t stop this, Davis will rise to power and then no one will be safe. Not the government, not the Society, not the little old ladies in their beds. Davis will revel in the power and whoever is behind him will not be able to control him, not once he has the money as well as the job.”
“Is it too late to kill him?”Ryker sat down hard on the arm of the couch.“I might be able to come up with some kind of a plan…”
“No. You’re right. The Secret Service will already be here. There’s no way to get to him without getting caught.”Archer threw his glass across the room, hitting the wall. Shards of glass scattered in all directions.
Ryker said nothing. He wanted to do the same thing. He wanted to puke. Mostly he wanted to go downstairs, grab Vic, and run. Run far and run fast. But none of that was going to happen. He took a deep breath.“We need a plan. A way to guarantee the bomb doesn’t go off.”
Color had started to rise in Archer’s cheeks. His eyes had gone deep green. His expression was blank, but his wrath radiated in the room. He was out for blood, no question.
“You have to escort Vic out of here. Right after midnight. Take her out through the kitchens to the alley in the back. I’ll make sure Rush or Flynn has a car waiting. Then take her directly to the airport. Put her on a jet to wherever. I’ll send one of the others with her. I need you here.”
Ryker nodded. He was going to go with Vic but he didn’t need to tell Archer that now. He’d tell him when they were at forty thousand feet.“We need a lawyer.”
Archer cocked an eyebrow.“And why do we need a lawyer?”
“Because we need Vic to change her will. She needs to leave the money to her parents if something happens to her. And then we need to tell Davis. He won’t want to kill her then.”
“It’s a thought, but we can’t get it on record now. If Vic died, her parents would have to contest the current will and show the new one. It would take a while and while they would probably win, it still leaves Davis wiggle room. We’ll do it, but I don’t think Vic changing her will is going to alter his plan. He’s too juiced up on his potential power.”Archer glanced at his phone screen but continued.“Go downstairs and see if you can identify the Secret Service people. We need a plan to make this work. I don’t just want Vic to escape, we need to make sure that bomb doesn’t go off.”
Ryker frowned.“Since when do you care about the general public?”
“I don’t, but I am not giving Davis any kind of a platform to run on. I want to bury him not help get him elected. No bomb, no instant likeability.”
It was a fair point. They needed to scuttle Davis’s plan in a big way.
A thought hit Ryker right in the solar plexus. He cocked his head.“What if we call in a bomb threat?”
Archer lifted one brow.“Go on.”
“If we say there’s a bomb planted in one of the vehicles outside the hotel and it’s set to go off, that will shut down the party. People will have to be escorted out other doors. It will kill the festivities before they really begin. And it buys us time. We can get Vic out of here and out of his reach.”
“Could work.”Archer tapped his thumb on the bar top.“But let’s wait. If we call it now, they could say they’re sweeping and let everyone stay while they do it. Then the party will continue, and Davis will still do the toast. If we wait until around eleven, then Drake can reasonably usher everyone out through other doors. With the party’s abrupt end, Davis won’t get to make his speech.”
“But what do we do long term? I can get Vic out of here now and we can change the will, but Davis is still going to end up being Vice President.”
“One thing at a time. Let’s just get this damn night sorted first, and we’ll go from there. I have a few ideas about the other issue.”Archer put his hands on the bar.“Find Vic and tell her everything. I’ll get Hawk up here and we’ll write up a new will. Ask her who she wants to leave her worldly goods to. Hawk’s one of the best lawyers in New York and will make sure all the right verbiage is in there, so all she has to do is sign.”
Ryker stood and headed toward the door. He paused with his hand on the knob. Glancing back over his shoulder he said,“If I get a chance to kill the bastard without getting caught, I’m taking it.”Archer stared at him but then gave him a hint of a nod. He finally had the green light. Now all he needed was the opportunity. As he headed toward the elevator, he promised himself he would create the opportunity. After all, as Davis was so fond of saying,‘God helps those who help themselves.’His lips curled into a cold smile.