Chapter Eight
CHAPTER EIGHT
J ack walked into the offices of Carpenter Security Services the morning after arriving in New Orleans, and the whole fiasco at Salem’s apartment. Guess it was now his apartment too. He was grouchy and tired. Usually a night on a sofa was no big deal; he’d slept in worse places. But last night had been rough. Emotions were rattled and running high the whole time Max, Remy, and Carpenter had been there. Remy had called the police department to request a CSI team do a thorough check of the apartment, gathering what little evidence they could muster, and taking fingerprints, including his own, since he was now neck deep in this whole investigation.
He understood their reluctance to take him at face value. He was a stranger, an unknown element who’d been thrust into the life of their friend. Didn’t matter that he had excellent credentials, his work history spotless. Being a Texas Ranger didn’t mean anything where their friend was concerned. The closeness of the Lamoreaux brothers and the Cajun Boudreau branch of the family seemed as close knit as the Texas branch. He had yet to meet Gator Boudreau, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before he had the pleasure of meeting the older patriarch of this brood.
This morning, he was slated to meet Jean-Luc Boudreau and his brother Etienne, who’d give him the lay of the land as far as Carpenter Security. Rafe had spoken highly of the two men, of all the Boudreau cousins really. He’d heard about Ranger Boudreau, being a former Navy SEAL, and helping to find a missing woman at the request of his old SEAL teammate. The request had included assisting the missing woman’s sister, who was searching for her. Turned out, the college student had been kidnapped and was being held against her will by a deranged psychopath. It had ended badly for her stalker/kidnapper, but they’d managed to save her before it was too late. Ranger ended up married to the woman who’d been looking for her sister, so they’d ended up with a happily ever after. Fate was a funny thing.
A perky blonde sat behind a desk wearing a headset as she typed on the computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard before her. She smiled and held up one finger, the universal sign she’d be with him in a second. While he waited, he looked around, taking in the professional yet casual atmosphere of the place. He’d done his homework, knew Samuel Carpenter owned the building, and had done extensive repairs to the old brick structure, on both the interior and exterior. The upper floors had been converted into luxury apartments, where most of the C.S.S. team lived. Carpenter himself occupied the entire upper floor with his new wife, Andrea.
“Sorry about that. Sometimes it’s impossible to get people to stop talking.” The blonde stood and walked around the edge of the desk. “I’m guessing you’re Jack Sutton. I’m Stephanie Barnes—oops, Stephanie Boudreau.” She grinned and Jack found himself smiling back, her outgoing personality infectious. “Still haven’t gotten used to the new name. We’ve only been married for two months, and I occasionally forget. Don’t tell my husband.”
“I won’t. And, yes, I’m Jack Sutton. I’m supposed to meet Jean-Luc and Etienne Boudreau. I’m going to assume one of those Boudreaus is your husband?”
“Etienne. I know they’re in the conference room, getting some stuff ready. If you want to have a seat over there,” she waved toward a cozy-appearing waiting area, “I’ll let them know you’re here.”
“Thanks.”
It was only a couple of minutes later that two dark-haired men strode into the waiting area from somewhere in the back. Both had similar looks; tall, military posture, and casual dress. The older of the two stepped forward, hand outstretched.
“Jack, glad you’re joining us. I’m Jean-Luc and this is my brother, Etienne. I hear you married Gabi’s friend, Salem.”
“Wait, what? Hold on a second. Salem got married? How did I not know this?” Stephanie’s glare speared her husband, who held up both hands at shoulder height.
“Don’t blame me, baby, I only just found out myself.”
She walked over and placed a kiss against Etienne’s cheek. “Forgiven.” Leaning against him, she looked at Jack. “Congratulations. Salem is a wonderful woman. I hope you’ll be very happy. Maybe once you’re all settled in, we can have dinner together.”
“Sounds great, I’ll let Salem know and y’all can work out the details.”
“Come on, Jack, let’s give you the grand tour.” Jean-Luc spun on his heel and headed down the corridor past the reception area, Etienne and Jack trailing behind. He pointed out several rooms, briefly noting their function, before finally ending up in what looked like a huge conference room. Large whiteboards dominated several of the walls, with various rows of information scrawled across them.
“Most of our group meetings take place here. There’s a kitchen area, fully stocked just past here, if you need anything. Coffee, drinks, and snacks are available at any time. Usually, you’ll find some of the guys hanging out either there or in here, depending on whether they are out in the field locally or working here in the office. This is kind of a catch-all room. Lots of brainstorming cases takes place here, as well as official meetings with clients when we need larger spaces.”
“Looks like a good setup. Hopefully, I’ll fit right in.”
“Samuel will meet with us in a little while, but he wanted Etienne and I to talk with you in depth about Salem’s case. Get your take on the Amirs, anything you know, and we’ll fill you in on what we’ve found thus far.”
A thrum of anticipation raced through Jack. He’d been looking forward to this, delving deeper into helping Salem. After all, that was the reason he was here, to keep her safe. She and Chloe were his top priority now.
“Samuel told me you were a Texas Ranger.”
He nodded. “I worked with the Rangers for the past ten years, after I graduated from the University of Texas.”
“I’m sure you’ve got lots of stories, and I’d love to hear them. For now, let’s focus on the task at hand.” Jean-Luc pointed toward one of the whiteboards covered with writing. “This is a bit of what we’ve got. More info is pouring in. We sent a couple of our guys over there, and they’ve set up eyes on the Amirs. You probably know the Amirs aren’t really welcome on American soil.”
Jack nodded. “I was surprised that Tarik hadn’t been banned, but his passport cleared. He was pretty much the only one in the family allowed to travel within the States, right?”
“Yeah, though that might change if his mother is able to push through the custody suit against Salem. Talking to the State Department, it may become necessary to allow them, or at least their representative, into the United States to be in person in court. We’re trying to cut their legs out from under them before it gets that far.”
“What can I do?”
Jean-Luc pointed to a chair. “When I talked with cousin Chance, he said you were at the cabin when Tarik was killed. Tell me what you remember.”
“Let’s see. I was visiting Rafe, as I recall. He, Antonio, and Chance were meeting to discuss the Amir situation. Salem was stashed at an out-of-the-way-location on the Boudreau ranch. Your aunt and uncle had been giving her shelter there, where Tarik couldn’t find her. She was completely off the grid.”
Jean-Luc grinned. “Uncle Douglas is almost as good at staying off the grid as our dad is if and when the need arises. Stick around here long enough, you’ll find Gator Boudreau is almost a legend. Nobody better to have at your back.”
“Good to know.” Jack had heard an earful about Gator Boudreau already from Rafe and especially Douglas, who’d wanted to make sure Jack knew his older brother could be trusted if he needed any help protecting Salem.
“Bro, let him finish or we’ll be here all day.”
“He’s right. Go ahead.”
“Okay. While we were meeting, Rafe’s deputy pulled in a woman named Jennifer Baptiste. Beautiful but cold, an ice princess. She’s related to Tarik. Illegitimate half-sister. Father had an affair. The rest of the family spurned her, but Tarik and Jennifer became close. Turns out, Tarik sent Jennifer to Shiloh Springs looking for your sister. He figured, correctly I might add, that if he found Gabi, he’d find Salem.” Jack studied the two men closely, before he shrugged. “I’m sure you already know this information, having coordinated with Rafe at the time.”
“Told ya he was smart, bro.” Etienne’s grin held a whole younger brother rubbing it in to an older brother vibe. “I’m guessing since Tarik did show up in Shiloh Springs, this Jennifer found Gabi?”
Jack studied Jean-Luc, watching him closely, since he seemed to be the one running the questioning. Etienne seemed content to lean back and let his brother handle the meeting, so he directed his inquiry at Jean-Luc.
“She did, and she told Tarik that Gabi was in Shiloh Springs. From what we were able to glean, Tarik followed Gabi from the Boudreau ranch to the cabin where Salem was, intent on taking her back to the U.A.E. Held a loaded gun on them. Held a gun on the woman he swore he loved, who was seven months pregnant with his unborn child. When we arrived, and yes, all five of us went to the cabin, Tarik grabbed Gabi, using her as a human shield.”
Etienne grinned at his brother. “Bet that went over well. Gabi’s had self-defense training from the best; a father who is a Vietnam vet and former CIA spook, and four big brothers who never let her get away with anything. Tarik never stood a chance, did he?”
Jack chuckled, storing away the tidbit of info Etienne had provided. “Nope. She went dead weight in his arms. I shot him.”
Jean-Luc quirked a brow. “You shot him?”
“Well, if you want to quibble, there were four gunshots, all of which hit. You can take your pick of who fired the actual kill shot, but I think you’ll find it was me.”
“Damn, bro, I like him. Can we keep him?”
Jean-Luc shot a glare at his brother. “Can you be serious for five minutes, please? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, and not a lot of time.”
Etienne straightened in his chair and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I know. Sorry. It’s just, this whole case makes me so angry. Salem is a great mom. Chloe is the sweetest kid, and she deserves to stay with the woman who gave her birth, who loves her more than anything in the world. Not get shuttled halfway around the world, where women are treated like possessions.”
“On that we agree.” Jack nodded. “I’m not letting anybody take Chloe away from her mom.”
Jean-Luc walked to stand beside one of the larger whiteboards. “Let’s summarize. Salem got the paperwork from the Amirs’ lawyers a little over two weeks ago. She immediately left New Orleans and went to Shiloh Springs, where she consulted with Chance.”
“Chance recommended she hire Ivy McNamara-Barnes. Apparently, she has a pretty good track record when it comes to high profile and difficult custody cases.”
“Good point, Jack.” Jean-Luc quickly added the information to the board. “In addition to hiring Ms. McNamara-Barnes, Salem also married Jack.”
“It was agreed by everyone involved that Chloe having two loving parents involved in her care would look good for her case.” Jack leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on the table. “Salem’s already working two jobs, plus taking classes. With me working here, she’ll be able to spend more time with her daughter, avoiding the need for extra caregivers or daycare.”
“It’s a good idea, I’ll admit, but aren’t you afraid the Amir’s lawyers will see through your plan as a tactic to try and skirt around and pretty-up the facts? Could do more harm than good to Salem’s case.”
“We talked about that. We think we can play the angle that Salem and I have been having a long-distance relationship, taking things slow. The court case simply moved up our timeline, and I proposed, willing to relocate to a new job to be with Salem and Chloe.”
He could see Jean-Luc pondering his words. Before he could ask another question, Samuel walked into the room, a gorgeous woman by his side. Her vivid green eyes held a mischievous sparkle, and she held out a hand toward him.
“You must be Jack Sutton. I’m Andrea Carpenter. I don’t have long, but I wanted to welcome you to Carpenter Security Services and personally thank you for everything you’re doing for Salem. She’s a special woman and deserves to be treated like the jewel she is.”
It was easy enough for Jack to read between the lines. He got the feeling if he hurt Salem in any way, he’d wind up with a Valkyrie warrior more than willing to remove his balls with a rusty blade.
“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Carpenter. And I agree, Salem is certainly special.”
Giving him a final once over, she nodded as if she’d made some kind of decision. “Gotta run.” She leaned forward and kissed Samuel. There was nothing simple or chaste about the show of affection. By the time it ended, Jack was almost ready for a cold shower.
“You’ll get used to it,” Etienne whispered sotto voce. “Those two can’t keep their hands off each other.”
Ignoring him, Samuel moved to the seat at the head of the long conference table and laid a folder atop its gleaming surface.
“Stefan’s latest reports on the travel itineraries of the Amir family. Abdullah, the eldest now that Tarik is deceased, has been running their businesses from their apartments in Dubai. He’s been there for the last three weeks. Has not been out of the country, though he has appointments scheduled to meet with representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia in four days. Sayifa Amir, his mother, is at the family compound along with the other family members, planning Abdullah’s wedding to the daughter of an Iranian businessman.”
“What about the other brother, what’s his name? Rashid? From my records, he was pretty much Tarik’s shadow.” Etienne steepled his hands under his chin, trying for a relaxed posture, but Jack took note of the bunched muscles in his forearms, the slight lift to his shoulders adding tension. He definitely wasn’t as nonchalant about this meeting as he’d like everyone to think. Jack couldn’t help wondering what exactly was going on with the younger man.
Samuel flipped through a couple of the pages in the folder before answering. “Rashid’s been traveling extensively for the past few months. From what Stefan’s been able to glean, he’s only involved in the family business in a peripheral sense. He enjoys all the perks of wealth, but stays on the fringes of actually working. Over the past few months he’s been to London, Paris, Florence, and Athens. And while away from the family compound, he likes to party. No steady girlfriend, he prefers playing the playboy image to the hilt.”
“Who actually filed the custody case?”
Samuel smiled. “Good question, Jack, and one I had Stefan check into. Stefan Carlisle is our resident computer guru. Nothing he can’t find if it’s anywhere on the web. Just a friendly FYI because he’s a bulldog when he’s hunting info. Anyway, turns out the custody suit was filed by Abdullah Amir.”
“Interesting. My first instinct would have been Tarik’s mother.”
“Mine, too.” Samuel studied the sheet in front of him. “It’s possible that Abdullah filed, because he’s the official head of the family.”
“What about the woman who came looking for Gabi and Salem? Jennifer something.”
“Jennifer Baptiste. She’s been back in Paris for over a year, ever since she left Shiloh Springs. Never returned to the United States after Rafe pulled her in for questioning. She’s still running her interior design business but has kept it focused on France and the surrounding countries in Europe. As far as we can tell, she’s had no contact with the Amir family. Not surprising, since Tarik was the only member of the family who acknowledged her existence. She was the illegitimate mistake as far as the rest of the family was concerned, and they shunned her as though she wasn’t worth bearing the family name.”
Jean-Luc slid onto the chair across from Jack. “Makes it understandable that she’d help Tarik. He was her only link to the family she never knew. The family that didn’t want her. Sometimes the desire to know who you are, where you came from, overrides your good sense.”
“According to Stefan, they’re still shunning her. There’s been no phone activity or internet connection between Jennifer and the rest of the Amir family.”
Jack couldn’t help thinking about the connections all the Boudreaus in Shiloh Springs had, their “found family.” Nobody cared about blood lines or DNA. From what he’d been told, the guys working at Carpenter Security were the same, they all considered themselves family.
“You mentioned itineraries for the Amirs. Does that mean somebody other than the two sons is traveling?”
“Sayifa and her daughter are getting ready to head to Dubai, where they’ll meet up with Abdullah. They have plans for shopping and visiting friends. They also have an appointment to meet with their lawyers while there.”
“What about Rashid, is he planning on joining the family in Dubai?”
“Not from what we could ascertain. Looks like he’s planning on heading back to London next week. He has friends from university that he gets together with every few months.” Samuel closed the folder and slid it across the table to Jack, who caught it without a word.
A slender dark-haired man walked through the door, a pair of glasses perched on the end of his nose. “Found something,” he said before handing a note to Samuel, who scowled at whatever he read.
“Stefan Carlisle, meet Jack Sutton. He’s joining C.S.S. from—”
“Texas, Austin to be precise. Graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Been with the Texas Rangers—the law enforcement agency, not the baseball team—for almost ten years. Mother, Margaret, currently widowed. Father, John, killed in a motor vehicle accident. And newlywed, married to Salem Hudson-Sutton. Stepfather to Chloe Hudson.” He smiled at Jack. “Congratulations on that, by the way. Salem’s one of the good ones.”
“Thanks.”
“You sure about this, Stefan?” Samuel’s scowl deepened, and he stood, barely restrained anger radiating through his posture.
“Took a bit of digging, but, yeah. I gave you the flight information. The Amirs will be arriving in the United States in two weeks, landing in Washington, D.C. Meeting scheduled with a representative of the State Department. They’ve also contacted Waverly and Smithson to coordinate with their attorneys in Dubai.”
“Jack, can you let Ivy know this information? She’ll want to know the Amirs are stepping up their game if they’ve hired Waverly and Smithson. They are expensive and they are cutthroat. No telling what they’ve got up their sleeves, but it can’t be good.” Samuel sighed. “Guess we should let Salem know the Amirs are going to be here in the States.”
“I thought they couldn’t travel to the U.S. Something about problems in the past? Salem said Tarik was the only one of the family allowed to travel to the States.”
“That was true. However, because of all their business interests, and after Amir died, the family had petitioned to be able to visit their stateside offices for business. The petition was granted on a limited basis.” Stefan was the one who answered Jack.
“Somebody’s already made an attempt to terrorize Salem in her own home. How much worse are things going to get if they are practically down the street? Because we all know they aren’t going to stay in Washington. They’ll head to New Orleans first chance they get.”
It took everything he had to keep himself in his chair. Every instinct screamed for him to get up and head back to the apartment, to bundle up Salem and Chloe and take them far away. Someplace where the Amirs could never find them.
But that wouldn’t do any good. It wouldn’t solve the problem of Chloe’s custody, not unless he could hide her away until she was eighteen. Plus, the Amirs were wealthy. Stinking rich, with not only oil money, but with the other legitimate businesses the family owned and operated. With enough time and money, anybody could be found.
“I talked with Remy. He said there were no prints on the knife. They swabbed it for DNA, but he’s not hopeful they’ll find anything. The only thing he’s got to go on was it’s not a common blade. It’s a Turkish dagger with a steel blade and a silver grip. There’s carved filigree work on the handle. It’s old. Not necessarily a museum-quality piece, but definitely not something you’d pick up at any store. We’ve got an expert coming in to evaluate it, to see if we can get any information on the piece. Might be able to track it back to the Amir family that way.”
Jack hesitated for a moment, taking in what Samuel had said. “Salem said she recognized the knife.” He blew out a breath, adding, “Said it’s the one Tarik used when he cut her face.”
“Damn, that’s cold. We really need to get the Amirs off her back.” Etienne stood. “I’m going to do a bit of digging, boss. Be back later.” Without another word, he was gone.
“Me, too. I’ll be online if you need me.” Stefan was the next to leave.
“Do you or Salem need anything? I’ve got a couple of our guys watching the apartment for the next few days. I’m also having Stefan drop by and install a security system and cameras. I know Salem won’t like it, and she’s gonna try and fight me on it, but I don’t care. Tell her it’s either that or I’m moving you all someplace where I can monitor you twenty-four seven.” Samuel grinned, adding, “She’ll hate that idea, too, which is why I’d suggest it first.”
“I was going to ask about security anyway, so glad it’s already being handled. I’d like to get her to stay home, but she insists she’s going in to work tomorrow.”
Samuel and Jean-Luc exchanged a glance. “Figured she’d want that. Ever since she got free of Tarik, she’s become pigheaded. Determined she’s going to make her own way without asking for help. I’ll make sure we’ve got somebody watching Max’s place and the coffee shop. It’ll be your job to keep an eye on her when she’s not working.”
“Sounds good.”
“Head on home. Get situated, spend some time with your bride. If you need to take a couple of days, do it. I want Salem to feel safe, like she’s got her life under control. If we get any updates about the Amirs heading this way, you’ll be the first to know. Plan on starting here full time on Monday.”
“Thank you, Samuel.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll earn your keep around here soon enough.”
With that, Jack headed toward home. He couldn’t wait to see Salem and Chloe. He’d already fallen head over heels for the sweet little girl, and he was pretty sure he felt the same way about her mama. And he’d made it his job to keep her safe, so she’d have to chance to hopefully fall for him too. Only time would tell.