Chapter 6
Six
Luca walked out of the office of the head of security after a meeting that had gone pretty well, considering he was seriously encroaching on the guy’s territory.
And also considering it was after midnight.
He was still thinking about Kira’s reaction to what he’d said and found himself automatically heading toward the elevator so he could go back down to the emergency department.
He hit the button for the elevator and stepped inside when the doors opened.
It was almost as though she’d thought she was being falsely accused.
Which was crazy. She’d reacted like someone brought to tears by the idea that they were being treated like a guilty person.
With her too-clean background check, which was suspicious all on its own, he had no idea who she’d been working for back when they first met.
Or what her role had been in that refugee camp.
There was no way she was completely innocent.
She was someone. An operative. The kind of person who used her femininity and fake tears to throw a guy like him off.
But even that didn’t seem quite right. He would rather believe she really was innocent, but that didn’t match up with the fact she’d taken the flash drive from his pocket. If he took her word for it, he ran the risk of being deceived.
Luca had far too much at stake to let this go. He just needed to find a way to get her to tell him what she was hiding.
He stepped out into the hallway and immediately heard yelling. A nurse ran from one of the rooms at the end of the hall, close to where the doors to the waiting area were. The entry was controlled by a buzzer so that only people who were authorized to enter were allowed in the emergency department.
The nurse ran back to the room, pushing a heavy cart.
“We’re losing him,” he heard Kira yell.
Luca figured it wasn’t a good idea to disturb her right now if someone’s life hung in the balance, so he kept himself from walking all the way over to see what was going on. She already thought he was entirely too nosy and suspicious of her motives.
But was it such a bad thing to be cautious?
Destiny pushed the curtain back and looked out into the hall. She spotted him. “Oh, hello.”
Luca wasn’t sure if she was aware he was one of the men who had rescued her husband after he was kidnapped a few months ago.
Ralph called out from behind her. “Who’s there?”
“Mr. Rousseau.” Luca stepped into view. “How are you feeling?”
Destiny looked at the embroidered Saxon Investigations logo on his polo shirt. She moved aside, and Luca headed into the bay. Ralph was sitting up in the bed, his phone in his hand.
“I feel a whole lot better than I did earlier.” Ralph looked at the monitors beside him. “Now I’m hooked up to all this, stuck here for who knows how long.”
Behind Luca, Destiny said, “You nearly died!” She came around the side of the bed to stare disapprovingly at her husband.
“It takes more than poison or a gunshot to kill me.” Ralph slapped a hand on his chest. “You’re just getting to see how tough I am.”
Luca wasn’t sure she appreciated that sentiment. The woman looked worried out of her mind. The fancy clothes she wore were rumpled, and her hair was out of place. She’d been through something, and Ralph already considered himself to be a survivor.
If he’d been poisoned, did that mean the syndicate was no longer happy with him?
Luca turned to her. “I can keep your husband company for a few minutes if you’d like to stretch your legs. Get yourself a cup of tea from the cafeteria.”
She moved to Ralph’s side and took his hand. “I can’t possibly leave my husband at a time like this.”
Ralph said, “Anything you want to talk to me about, Destiny can hear it.” He patted his wife’s hand. “I wouldn’t be the man I am if it wasn’t for her. I’d be lost without her.”
“I don’t want to put too much strain on you if you aren’t feeling well.
” He had to say it so they knew he didn’t want to push Ralph beyond what he was capable of right now.
Especially if his health hung in the balance.
“But I have been meaning to ask you some questions. Just to follow up on what happened to you a few months ago and the police questioning.”
“People always assume I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It was a terrible time, being tied to a chair, held against my will. Beaten and shot. Having you guys come in and rescue me, only to discover that someone was blaming the whole operation on my company.”
Luca didn’t react to that. It was the way Rousseau and his lawyers had decided to play it.
Destiny gasped. “You’re one of the men who rescued my husband.” She touched her free hand to the buttons on her shirt. “I’m so grateful you got him back for me before the worst happened.”
Luca nodded to her. “I was glad to be able to do it.”
“Ask me anything,” Ralph said. “You’ve earned it.”
“I’ve been looking into what you said about the Shadow Syndicate. About how they’re the ones behind everything in Renegade—like a criminal empire.”
Destiny twisted around to her husband. “Do you think these shadow people are the ones who just tried to kill you?”
Luca frowned, silently asking Ralph the same question.
“Someone must have slipped something in my drink at the restaurant, and by the time I got home, I was about done for,” Ralph said. “The hospital is running tests to see what I was poisoned with, but it mimicked a heart attack. They nearly killed me tonight.”
“Has anyone been sending you death threats recently?”
Destiny said, “Our investment company is very lucrative. Enough that I am able to spend most of my time working on the foundation, helping people in developing countries who need medical supplies. Of course there will be people who are jealous of our success and want to take Ralph down a peg or two.”
Ralph glanced at his wife, then back at Luca. “I think they also found out that I was considering running for mayor when the election rolled around. Of course, that’s all in a shambles now that snake Jenkins is in prison.”
Luca kept his mouth shut. Had Ralph really thought that would actually work?
Even if Luca hadn’t known then about the evidence out there implicating Ralph and Rocky Mountain Land Development in exactly what Jenkins had gone down for, Luca still couldn’t see a guy with Rousseau’s reputation winning an election.
“Whoever these shadow people are,” Destiny said, “they don’t want you to become mayor. They want to destroy your business and kill you before you can be elected. They know what a good mayor you would be.”
He patted his wife’s hand.
Luca said, “Do you have any idea who the Shadow Syndicate are?”
Ralph shook his head. “I’ve heard scuttlebutt about them, and when I was taken, I assumed they were the ones behind it. Now it’s clear they were trying to frame me.”
Luca nodded, but not because he agreed that’s what was happening. He needed to press Ralph until he admitted something or contradicted what the police could prove. That would be more difficult if Ralph became defensive. “How did you hear about them in the first place?”
Destiny stroked a hand down his arm. Ralph said, “Here and there, at the country club or at wine club. Anywhere that the Renegade elite congregates, you will hear rumors of powerful people in charge. Guys like me can’t seem to get ahead easily.
There’s always some kind of block. It has to be them stopping us from taking what they consider to be their territory.
” He sighed. “I must have got too close, which was why they trumped up all that evidence indicating I was the one behind everything. Now innocents are dead, and I think I’m going to be next. ”
Luca didn’t want this going back to him being a victim, so he said, “Do you have any specific names of people you think might be part of it? Anyone at all that you suspect?”
Destiny’s hand on his arm stilled. “If we went around pointing fingers, that would put Ralph in even more danger. All this is happening because he told you about the Shadow Syndicate in the first place. If he’d kept his mouth shut, we wouldn’t be here.”
“Now, dear. We can’t just do nothing in the face of all this corruption.”
“I see.” Luca nodded. “So you don’t care that they tried to kill you before, or now. All you care about is standing up for justice.” He paused. “That night when we rescued you, we heard you saying that you hurt people. That you did everything they asked.”
“I was a victim. I just told them whatever I thought they wanted to hear. I played along.” Ralph swallowed, sucking in a choppy breath. “They’re bullies. They shouldn’t get away with what they’ve done anymore. Hurting innocent people.”
Luca shifted his weight, trying to figure out how to salvage something from this conversation.
“I’ve been trying to gather details and figure out who they are, but so far, my investigation has come up empty.
Unless you have any proof that Jenkins was connected to them that I can look into?
Or have they ever threatened you directly since, or sent some kind of warning? ”
“Not unless you count almost being run off the road a few weeks ago.”
Luca worked his mouth back and forth. “If you haven’t filed a police report, I think you should do that now. Every time something happens. If you even suspect that someone is deliberately trying to hurt you or kill you, then you need to take measures for your own protection.”
Destiny nodded. “That’s an excellent idea.” She looked at her husband, turning to face him. “We should hire somebody to keep you safe. Like a bodyguard. Someone who will make sure nobody does anything like this again.”
Ralph said nothing. He glanced at Luca.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t protect yourself,” Luca said. “It just means you want to ensure your safety and also get on with your life.”
Destiny turned to Luca. “What do you say?”
“Excuse me?” He glanced between her and her husband. Given the look on Ralph’s face, he had no intention of hiring protection.