Chapter 17
Seventeen
GENEVIEVE
T he following week was bittersweet. Bitter in that there was still no word about her mom. Sweet in that she’d spent quality time hanging out with Brendan and making love to him every night. She grew more infatuated by the day. Everything from his refreshing view of the world to his travel ambitions to his favorite foods intrigued her. She supposed that’s what happens when you fall in love for real. You like the person more with each waking moment rather than less.
Genevieve padded into their villa’s kitchen wearing jeans and the same baby blue blouse, one of only four shirts she had tucked into her cut-and-run duffel.
Brendan’s head popped up from some legal documents he was scouring while sitting on a stool at the bar.
She braced her arms against the gold-speckled granite countertop. “Any progress?”
“Yeah, I think we’re getting closer to making a case. Manning, Quill, and I are meeting with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration in thirty minutes. You’re more than welcome to join us in the meeting. They probably want to hear from you directly anyway.”
She shivered. “I’ll pass on joining in until you really need me. I don’t want to hear all the awful things Marshal’s done. Any word on my mom?”
“No, Gen, I’m sorry, nothing. We’ve notified everyone we can, but…” Brendan shook his head. “We’ll never stop looking.”
She gnawed on her lip. Where are you, Momma? Please be somewhere safe. “I’m sorry you’ve had to stop focusing on your job to help me with all this.”
“Other than security, I’m not worried about my business right now. There are plenty of people at BC King handling the work. I’ve contacted HR and put in for a sabbatical. My full focus will remain on everyone’s safety until this is over.”
The sacrifices Brendan made were incredible. He cared about so many people and now they were at risk. He’d had to up the private security to protect his family and friends as well as the employees within BC King Enterprises.
Genevieve twiddled her thumbs, watching him work. Given all he’d done, her stir-craziness felt incredibly selfish.
Brendan eyed her, arching a brow. “You okay?”
“If I’m being completely honest?—”
“I’d prefer that you always are with me, even if you don’t think I’ll like what you throw at me.”
Nodding, she continued, “I’m getting a bit antsy. The training with Pansy helps, but I’m taking my first day off to rest my muscles. I think I’ll head down to the shopping area.”
Brendan released a stout exhale. What did he think her issue was? Him? As if! When would he truly believe that she wanted him, and nothing would change that?
“I can go with you?” he offered. “After the meeting with the FBI.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure combing the women’s racks is on the top of your list.”
“Gen, I’ll do anything with you. It’s never about what we’re doing. You know that. ”
She’d learned that about him. He really didn’t care what the activity was. They’d baked together, to which she’d taught him to make her favorite decorative frosted sugar cookies while he botched the designs; played chess, to which he taught her some secret moves while she lost astronomically; and on and on, switching off on activity choices. Her creative skills came to life while his analytical ones did, and somehow, their differences meshed to enhance the allure of their relationship.
But right now, she suspected Brendan really needed uninterrupted time to work on their case. Quill, Manning, and his crew were all powerful brains, but Brendan added a layer of genius to solving problems that mesmerized them all.
A frown cut across his face. “Do you feel comfortable going alone?”
“Yeah, I finally stopped looking over my shoulder every time I go downstairs.”
“Be sure to take your weapons.” Brendan brushed a hand through his floppy brown locks. “I can’t believe I just said that. Never thought I’d feel more comfortable if you were armed than if you weren’t, but I guess I am now.”
She winked. “That’s my man. I can take care of myself. You just have to believe in me.”
“I do, but I also think you’re impulsive, and I worry about what you’ll do sometimes.”
She scoffed, crossing her arms. “And you aren’t?”
Brendan tightened his eyes. “I think things through, Genevieve, and you should, too. No risky decisions. Come find me if you need to bounce something off me, and I’ll do the same.”
“Oh, really?” Quill interjected, trouncing down the stairs. “Like you did me before you flash-banged Marshal’s casino?” He walked across the room and plopped onto the stool next to Brendan’s, piercing him with a glare. “You called and bounced that idea off me, did you? ”
Brendan gritted his teeth. “Dude, you’re not helping me out here.”
Genevieve giggled. “It’s okay, Quill. That’s exactly what I was thinking. King Brain thinks we can’t reason through logic the same way he can.”
“Dammit, Gen, I don’t think that, and if you call me King Brain again, I’ll…” He tossed up his hands.
She bit her lip, stifling another laugh. “You’ll what?” She prodded her elbow at him. “You’ll do what, Mr. King? Punish me in the bedroom.”
Brendan turned a bright shade of pink. “I would never?—”
“Quill,” Genevieve interrupted, rolling her eyes at Brendan, “I’ve been meaning to thank you for your help with all this.”
Quill, looking more uncomfortable than carefree for once, narrowed his glacier-blue eyes at her. “I’m not helping you; I’m helping Brendan.”
“Quill,” Brendan ground out.
“Sorry, Genevieve.” Quill shrugged. “Just telling you like it is. Don’t mean any offense.”
“I’m not offended. Honestly, I don’t blame you for feeling that way.” She cocked her head as an entertaining idea occurred to her. “In honor of our time here in The Biggest Little City in the World, can I make a bet with you?”
“ What? ” Brendan glared Quill down rather than her. “No, no. No bets!” he shouted, making a slashing motion with his hands. “No interference, Quill.”
Genevieve cupped a hand over her mouth, concealing her amusement that Brendan was taking his frustration out on Quill for her idea.
“I’m listening,” Quill responded, nodding his chin toward her.
“When I earn your trust with Brendan’s heart being in my hands, you have to let me set you up on blind dates until you get married. If you’re not actively dating someone, I get to set you up, and if you break up, then I get to set you up again until I successfully pair you with someone.”
Quill snorted out a laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“You don’t trust me. It’s obvious.” Genevieve shrugged a shoulder, flipping up her palm. “So if you have so little faith in me, what’s the big deal? In your mind, I’ll eventually betray Brendan. That’s what you think, right? So why not take the bet?”
Quill studied her carefully, then cracked a faint smile. “All right, you’re on.” He leaned toward her. “But keep in mind that a bet has stakes for both parties. If you betray Brendan by giving me any indication that you’re after something other than his heart, I want you to leave and never come back, no questions asked.”
Brendan froze beside her, anxiousness shadowing his features.
Genevieve skewered Quill with a gaze, leaning in with equal fervor. “That’s never gonna happen, buddy. All I want is his heart.”
“You already have it,” Brendan clipped out, still eyeing Quill, “and Quill will never tell you to go anywhere, or I’ll have his head.”
Ignoring Brendan, she pointed at Quill. “When you’re convinced that you trust me with Brendan, and you will be convinced,” she added with confidence, “you have to be honest. No keeping it to yourself to shield yourself from the consequences.”
“Yeah, sure, will do.” Quill puffed a chuckle out through his nose. “If you ever convince me Brendan’s heart is safe with you, I’ll date whoever you want me to till your heart’s content.”
Genevieve rubbed her hands together and shot a delighted look at Brendan. “This is going to be endlessly entertaining. ”
Brendan pursed his lips.
“Problem, Mr. King?” She smirked.
“Yes,” he growled, “with you calling me Mr. King and with you attempting to convince Quill of anything. It isn’t his business, nor do you need to prove anything to him.”
“I agree.” She smiled sweetly and bounced up on her toes before bending down to peck a quick kiss on Brendan’s lips. “But I really want to meddle in his life since he’s meddling in ours. It won’t take me long to convince him, and then I get to have some serious fun.”
Quill boomed out another laugh. “Good luck. I predict you’ll be around until we remove Jed Marshall as a threat, and then you’ll bolt, and even if you don’t right away for other obvious reasons, you certainly won’t convince me you’re worthy of Brendan.”
“ Quill. ” Brendan smacked his palm against the granite countertop, leveling him with a look. “That’s enough. You’re out of line. Do you want that busted jaw?”
Genevieve shook her head. Other obvious reasons? Did Quill mean Brendan’s money? Probably. It was a fair assumption, and one that would take years for her to prove wasn’t the case. If Brendan wanted them to live in that huge mansion of his, that was on him, but the things she wanted, she’d earn, and that included the shopping spree she was about to go on right now.
“All right, boys, I’m headed out. I’ll let you two hash it out in private.” She winked at Quill to be ornery and landed a passionate, lengthy kiss on Brendan’s lips.
Brendan brushed his fingers across her cheek. “Do you want a credit card?”
Genevieve jerked away from his hand, shooting him a disbelieving glare. “No, I definitely do not want you to give me a credit card.” Like Jed did .
He flinched, flashing his palms out in surrender. “Gen, I’m only offering because I know you had to leave your cards behind.”
After a pause to calm her nerves, she puffed out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Brendan. My reaction was completely uncalled for. I still have plenty of cash in my duffel. I don’t need to borrow anything.”
Brendan bobbed his head, pushing his glasses back up his nose with a pinched look of concern like maybe he’d screwed everything up. From one misunderstanding? Even if it wasn’t a misunderstanding, all she had to do was tell him how she felt, and he’d take her opinion to heart. He was beyond a keeper, and she’d never mess this up. Never!
“I love you, Brendan. Send one of Manning’s crew to notify me if you need me to join you in the meeting with the FBI.”
Quill challenged her with a look, raising a disbelieving brow.
She narrowed her eyes in return. Yeah, buddy, I love him, and it’s none of your damn business .
A relieved smile crept up Brendan’s face. “I love you too, Gen.” Lost in thought, he added, “We should probably get you a burner phone if you’re going to run around the hotel complex alone.”
She pinched her brows together. “Burner phone?”
“A prepaid discardable phone so you can call and text me. They’re untraceable unless someone with savvy technical skills gets ahold of the phone number.” Brendan forced a smile. “If it’s okay with you, we’ll do that tomorrow?”
“Sure.” Genevieve nodded. “Sounds smart.”
Disappearing into the master bedroom, she grabbed a wad of cash and shoved the bills into a knockoff black leather purse that she’d stashed in the duffel. She slipped her small Glock under the folded bills and equipped herself with all the other clever tactical items Pansy thought she might be able to use to her advantage if Jed got his hands on her again .
Slowly, she made her way to the shopping mall area within The Golden Star, savoring the freedom to be out and about on her own. After forty minutes in the only modest store she could find, six new outfits were folded neatly in a large black-and-white shopping bag that she’d slung over her shoulder as she headed for the nearest café to grab a latte.
A hand snaked under her arm, tugging her toward an emergency exit hallway. Genevieve gasped. Warning tingles prickled her skin, and she planted her feet, forcefully twisting free like Pansy had taught her while facing her assailant.
Her mouth dropped open. “Archer!”
He placed a hand over his heart, relief mixed with worry lining his narrow features. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought Marshal had done something to you or that perhaps you’d gotten hit in that attempted theft in the casino, and he tried to cover it up.”
“Attempted theft?”
“Yeah, about a week ago, a man came in and set off flash grenades in The Outlaw, trying to steal money and chips from the tables. It was all over the news. Didn’t you see? They say the guy got away—that he fled across the border.”
Genevieve shook her head. “I haven’t accessed the internet. I’m trying to keep a low profile and not be traced.”
Clearly, Jed didn’t release the actual footage of Brendan being the flash grenade culprit. Why? Had Jed decided to take them on another way? Manning, and now Brendan working by his side, knew everything going on in Reno way before it even hit the news. So why hadn’t Brendan told her Jed fabricated a cover-up? So she wouldn’t worry about what her ex’s newest plan for retaliation would be? Probably, but Brendan couldn’t shield her from the truth forever—they’d be having a lengthy conversation this evening. Jed was sure to come after her eventually, especially if they couldn’t get him behind bars, and Genevieve wouldn’t be prepared for it if she didn’t know what was going on.
Sighing, she closed her eyes. This was her own fault. She should have been more involved with the case and meetings with the FBI. It wasn’t fair to Brendan that she’d left him to deal with it in the first place, no matter how painful looking at the evidence that her monster ex hurt others was to her bruised ego. She needed to forgive herself—na?veté wasn’t a crime.
Archer wrapped his long fingers around her upper arms and shook her gently. “I’ve been beside myself with worry, Gen. I understand that you have to keep a low profile, but please contact me somehow when you do. I’m sick of being left behind.” He huffed. “I didn’t want to approach Marshal and ask what happened to you because I figured he’d kill me, so I’ve been combing every place in this town. Manning Cole’s home base? Are you crazy? What are you doing in here?”
“Hiding from Jed. He and his men are flagged via facial recognition here.” She motioned a hand toward the heart of The Golden Star. “Here, I’m safe. If I leave, I’m not.”
“Not necessarily.” Archer pulled her into a hug, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Marshal’s got your mom, and he’s about to move her to a secure location off the grid. His plan is to lock her in the basement of a house in the desert where no one can ever find her, forcing you to give yourself up in order to free her.”
“Oh, no.” Genevieve’s knees gave out, and Archer locked his arms, supporting her weight. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and chanted, “No, no, no,” between breathless, tear-induced sniffles.
“Gen, relax.” Archer rubbed a hand up and down her back in soothing circles. “Please don’t cry. We need to keep our heads on straight.”
“I have to give myself up and trade places with her. ”
“Oh, no, you most certainly do not.”
“Arch, I don’t care if I ever escape. I can’t leave my mom trapped anywhere.”
“We won’t, I promise.” He pulled back and held her eyes. “I have a plan for how we can get her out of The Outlaw before they move her—I know where she’s at, but we need to act quickly. Marshal’s getting impatient. They’ve been covertly tracking me, hoping you’ll contact me, and I’ve been capitalizing on that, listening to their radio conversations in return. We need to go out that exit door now, take my car to The Outlaw, and sneak in the employee entrance. The pair of us together can distract the guards and get her out, especially since they won’t be expecting it. We’ll park my car in the back employee lot and peel out as soon as we free her.”
Genevieve wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her baby blue blouse and glanced over her shoulder, looking to see if Manning’s security guards were nearby. “I need to bring reinforcements with us. It would be stupid for me to act impulsively and walk out of here without backup.”
“Gen, they’re moving her now . If you ask others to help us, it’s going to take time to convince them to act, won’t it? And then what? How will we ever find her?”
She hesitated, nibbling on her lip. “You’re right. They’ll want to come up with one of their comprehensive plans, and by then, it might be too late.”
“Let’s go,” Archer whispered. “If you and I rescue your mom, we’re free to go. I want this settled so I can have my best friend back. Once we get her out, we can run—the three of us. I bought a gun and knife at a pawn shop a few days ago, and I’ll bet you’re armed, too. We’ve got this.”
Archer clearly didn’t realize Brendan was in her life, but she’d let him know after they rescued her mom. There wasn’t time to explain.
Genevieve wrapped her arms around Archer’s neck, whispering into his ear, “Let’s go get my mom out, bestie, and once we take down Jed’s network, we’ll go on a weekend retreat every other month, just the two of us.”
“Heck, yeah, we will.” Archer nodded. “Let’s go get her. Operation Stick it to Marshal commencing.”
“Operation Cut the Head off the Snake. Momma, here we come!”
Archer wrinkled his brow. “Huh?”
“Never mind.” Genevieve pointed toward the emergency exit door. “Let’s roll.”
“Now we’re talking.” Archer’s lips curled into a broad grin.