Chapter Three #2
“That hot tub is lethal. I fell asleep. Did you say you have clothes?”
“Yes.” He handed her the bag. “Join us, will you?”
“Us?”
“Mackey, Barker, and Niles.”
“Where did these come from?” Displeasure edged with temper coated her tone.
“Niles acquired them. You can ask him.”
She let her tense posture release. “Give me a minute.”
“Food’s here, too. Join us when you’re ready.”
“Understood.” She shut the door in his face.
Quaid’s temper flared, but he assessed his own irritability and forced himself to acknowledge hers. If there was one thing he prided himself on, it was being professional.
He eased back into his chair. “Thanks, Niles.”
“She’s a bit irritated,” Carl drawled, one eyebrow raised.
His defense of her would be noted, but Quaid replied anyway.
“She worked our case, paused for the wedding, then rescued my ass in the parking lot. She shot round after round to provide us cover and gave me excellent backup. Her tiredness and mine are a matched set. I’m plain mean right now. Who is this guy?”
“Good question.” Mackey shot a photo across the table to him. “Please tell me you recognize him. Because we have nothing. Not from any source we can find and neither can Frank.”
“Did you tell the police where I am?”
Mackey snarled at him. “Why do I put up with you? No, I did not tell the police. I should have.”
Quaid grinned. “Nah, I brought money to the table.”
“You brought something, but it wasn’t the money.” Mackey smirked.
Quaid checked the picture, studying it from every angle. “Nope. I’ve never seen him before. Could he be hired?”
“He’s the most unadvertised assassin in history then.”
“This is personal, then.” He handed the picture to Barker.
Carl straightened to study the information. “Are you sure he was after you?”
Mackey tapped a finger on the table. “We’ve researched as far as we can on Williams. We’ll have to ask her. You’re more obvious. Police have the man’s car and are processing it. No info yet. I’m not expecting they’ll find anything. The ID for the car rental was fake.”
“Obvious isn’t always right.” Niles dry tone made Quaid flashback to other times the man’s sage advice had hit home.
Quaid stayed quiet for a second, thinking it through. “I’ll talk to her.”
“I’ll go unpack the rest of the packages. Will the lady require help?”
Quaid froze, eyes widening “I can’t imagine that at all. Let’s give her some space.”
“Very well, sir.” Niles disappeared into Quaid’s room.
Barker rose. “What arrangement do you want?”
“A couple of men by the suite, increased alertness across all staff, Level 2. Question everything.” Quaid looked to Mackey for any other advice.
“Best way to go, for now.” Mackey’s quiet was scarier than his fist.
“Good enough.” Barker let himself out of the suite.
Mackey lowered his voice. “I don’t have access to your CIA files, but my contact there confirms they can’t identify the man.”
Quaid snorted in the back of his throat. “No surprise. In four years, there were more than a few missions.”
“Do we have to wait for him to make another attempt to get more intel?” Mackey’s bland question reset his mood.
“Assuming he does make another attempt?”
“Why would he quit?”
“Questions I don’t have answers for. I’ll run this past Williams and get her take, and do a deep dive into my own sources.”
Mackey rose, too. “I’m going to grab some food and get some sleep. I’ll message in a few hours.”
Quaid followed him to the door. “Thanks, Mac. Let me tell Hunt and Cait about their house.”
“Oh, I’d already made that decision. Day after tomorrow they’ll be home. They’re all yours.”
In a rare move, Mackey pulled him into a bro hug. “Glad you’re not dead.”
“Thanks for having my back.”
“Always.” Mackey left, leaving him alone with Alanna. Their only buffer would be Niles.
Given her prickly attitude about his money, he had no idea how the next few hours would go, but Niles would need to support her requests, too. They had to meet.
&&&&&&&&&&
“You have a butler?” How had she missed this in the two weeks she’d been at QM? Not that they’d taken her around and introduced her to everyone. They hadn’t.
Meeting Niles Benton had throw her for a loop – a truth she didn’t utter. But she never lied to herself no matter what the subject. Trying to be cool and cooperative before having any food and coffee left her shaky, and she sighed in relief when the man left.
Quaid’s lazy answer finally came. “He’s more of a body man. He handles so many things including houses, cars, QM stuff, friends, clothes, guns, money, and family events. Cooks to boot.”
“And you’re telling me this, why?”
“Because he’s going to be in and out, organizing what he brought to get us through, and you needed to meet him. He’s a good resource for every problem you want handled discreetly or fast.”
Alanna paused with her fork ready to take another bite of the chicken. She had coffee at her elbow, but would kill for some mac n’ cheese. “I can’t even imagine what that would be.”