Chapter Twenty-Nine
Phoenix
I called Cypher back.
He answered, and the sound of server fans filled the background. “Who’d you tap and for what?”
“Helios. Retrieval. He should be at the hotel. Isla Sennan was in the restaurant. He’s taking her up to the pent—”
“Wait a fucking minute. The woman you had me running down all afternoon, the same one who bypassed your security on the Cap estate, is at the Four Seasons right now? And you didn’t mention it?” Rapid typing came through the line.
“Yes, but I didn’t know she was in Miami, let alone at the hotel, until less than an hour ago.”
“That’s an hour too long that you waited to tell me. I’m in their security system now. I don’t see her.”
“I was sitting across from her, Cypher.”
“Not seeing it.”
Fuck. “Find her.” I needed answers. “Find out where she’s been, where she’s staying, who she’s interacted with.
Then get her backpack relocated to the penthouse suite and confirm Helios has her.
” Glancing at my watch again, I calculated how much time I had before I needed to be in the air. “Sitrep in an hour. Copy?”
“Affirmative.”
Hanging up, I turned north. Then I made another call.
“Ja.”
“It’s Nix. I met with my sister and Alpha earlier today, then had dinner with my sister at the hotel tonight.
” At least, the intent was there. I would’ve eaten with Maila if a little intruse hadn’t shown up.
“Maila’s good. We’re good.” After my sister’s comment about me doing what I was going to do, I didn’t know what we were.
“I’m heading to you now. I want the building. ”
Silence.
“Christensen,” I clipped.
“Who is the woman in the red dress?”
Un-fucking-believable. “Source?”
“You are in Miami now.”
I knew what he was implying. I was on his and Alpha’s turf. “Not what I asked.”
“It is the answer all the same.”
Fighting for patience, I exhaled. “You’re talking to November?” How the hell had Alpha’s hacker seen Isla and Cypher hadn’t?
“I am not talking to Rhys, I am texting. I asked who dined in the restaurant tonight. He sent an image. You were with a woman in a red dress who is not your sister.”
“Tell November to roll it back and grab another screenshot. I didn’t say I only dined with Maila tonight.”
“Already asked. He says there is no other footage.”
“Then tell him to track our cells. I was there. Maila was there. You want more confirmation than that, call her. Call Alpha. I’m fifteen minutes out, and I’m about to make you richer than you already are.”
“I do not need more money.”
“And yet you keep working.”
“Says the man conducting business at twenty-two hundred hours in order to broker a deal that could wait until tomorrow.” Christensen hung up.
I dialed Alpha.
The call connected, and the distinctive inflight hum of jet engines filled the line as he spoke. “Bravo.”
I made sure he knew who he was talking to. “I haven’t been Bravo for a long time.”
“I’m not calling you Phoenix.”
“Fair enough.” Right now, I didn’t give a damn what he called me. “I saw Maila earlier tonight.”
“She said.”
Reserved since we were kids, Trefor was even more reticent now. His tone giving away nothing, I dealt with the facts I did have. He’d taken my call, he hadn’t immediately dismissed my offer, and he wasn’t demanding I leave his wife alone. “I’d like to move ahead with what we discussed.”
“It hasn’t been twenty-four hours.”
“Understood.” But something had happened in Virginia Beach tonight to prompt that call, and I wasn’t fucking around. Every fraction of my plan now had a pushed deadline. With or without Alpha’s blessing, this was happening. “If you need more time, take it. Consider this a courtesy call, then.”
“I spoke with Christensen. You don’t have an offer on the table for the building next to AES.”
“I’m on my way to his place now. The property will be mine by tomorrow.”
“What’s your endgame?”
To not fucking die before I pulled this all together. “Cohesion.”
“Of?”
If I answered now, I risked everything. If I didn’t, I risked Alpha’s consent.
Neither could I afford to compromise, but at the root of it, my plan had always been singularly focused.
With the mission objective in my sights, I aimed at an adjacent answer.
“I’ll answer that tomorrow. Nineteen hundred hours.
” I recited the address of the high-rise next to his. “Bring Talerco.”
Talon Talerco was a former SARC and the best damn combat medic I’d ever served with. He’d been triaging Alpha’s men for years, and I wanted him on board for Paragon Ops as well.
“For?” Alpha asked.
“Introductions to my team.”
“Talerco’s not for hire.”
“I know.” Talon had his own money. He’d retired a long damn time ago, but same as us, he’d never stop being who he was.
“I’d like to utilize him, though, if the need arises.
He already knows a few of my men, and all are trained in TCCC.
” Every one of my operators was more than proficient in Tactical Combat Casualty Care.
They had to be. “The backup wouldn’t be anything Talerco isn’t already doing for you and André Luna at Luna and Associates. ”
“Have you spoken to Luna?”
“Not yet.” The former Marine Sniper had a thriving personal security business. Most of his men had been Force Recon. But Luna was localized. I didn’t foresee any overlap in our operations. But if there was, from what I remembered of Luna, he’d step up.
“Miami was originally Luna’s territory.”
“Still is. Neither of us are infringing on his business.” Taking another turn, out of time, I was done triaging the past and heavy petting the future for Alpha’s sake.
He’d either engage or he wouldn’t. I wasn’t coddling my offer any more, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer on the meet tomorrow.
Playing into his personal code of honor, I purposely chose my wording.
“See you tomorrow. Nineteen hundred hours.”
Alpha paused for a fraction of a second, then I got what I wanted. “Good copy.” He ended the call.
I pulled up to Christensen’s, and my personal cell pinged with an alert.
Throwing the SUV into Park, I swiped to a new video sent via text and hit Play.
Dark background, his face filled the screen, illuminated only from the light of the cell.
“Hey, ah, sorry about… earlier.” He scrubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t know how much I should say. Over the phone.
” His gaze drifted toward his window. “I, ah, checked around outside.” He looked back at the camera.
“It seems… quiet now? But I don’t know how much longer I can use this cell.
” He frowned. “I just turned it on to send this. But I’ll turn it off before I go to sleep.
” The lines between his brows deepened. “Maybe tomorrow afternoon from, ah, another location, I can turn it on again?” He shook his head.
“I don’t know. Probably not a good idea.
But I should go. I hope—I hope you get this. Bye.”
The video ended.