Page 15 of Locked and Loaded

She was... unexpected.

She knew more than she was supposed to. She knew how to move. She didn’t panic under pressure. She had more training than he had been led to believe, which made her a much more interesting adversary, but she was being reactive, not proactive, which left open the possibility of mistakes. That could work in his favor. He just hoped it didn’t work in the shooter’s favor as well.

Not that he knew anything about her. Fontaine had just asked him to find Lennox Crowe. Said that he was aware she’d been asking questions about the Lock and Key Society, which wouldn’t do, and they needed to find out what she knew and why she was asking. Dragan had been reluctant to accept the job until Fontaine told him that Archer Gray had spoken highly of Dragan in the past, and had said that should Fontaine run into any problems that he needed outside help with, Dragan was the man to call.

Then Fontaine told him the truth. He had a feeling someone was trying to frame the Lock and Key Society for human trafficking among other things. There were rumors swirling, and he needed to get to the bottom of them quickly. This was all very dangerous considering the clientèle the Society had. He’d sighed almost wearily. "One whisper of this to the police or the press, and every one of us will spend the remainder of our lives in a very deep, very dark hole. Believe me when I tell you, there are people who would consider that the merciful outcome."

Dragan took another sip of his coffee. Archer Gray had been an adversary at one point, a deadly one, but in recent times they had become, well, if not friends, at least they had a mutual respect for one another. It didn’t hurt that Logan and Lacy had asked him to help as well. Mitch had supported him in taking the assignment, which told Dragan that the three of them knew more about what was going on than they were saying. Not about Lennox, but definitely about what was going on over at the Lock and Key Society.

Dragan had been hearing whispers; something was definitely going on. A shift in the wind when it came to the Society. He’d been slightly curious, but he knew better than to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. That was a quick way to get killed.

Which brought him back to Lennox. She was definitely sticking her nose in where it didn’t belong, and someone wasn’t pleased. The thing was, he was sure it wasn’t Fontaine or anyone at the Society. Somewhere along the way, Lennox Crowe had made another very powerful enemy. Most likely the real person or persons behind the human trafficking ring. He blew out a breath. The fact that she’d gotten the better of him... He actually admired her for it, which was all the more frustrating.

He decided to make one more call and took out his phone.

“Callahan,” Mitch answered on the other end.

“Mitch. How’s it going?”

“Dragan, I should be asking you that. Any news?”

“Not yet. Thanks for the help earlier. Your guy gave me a tip, and I got close, but some unforeseen events occurred.”

Mitch chuckled. “That tends to happen a lot in our business.”

“You’re not wrong,” Dragan agreed. “How’s Gage? Did Dani have the baby?”

“Still waiting. She’s due any day.”

“Is Gage freaking out?”

“Oh, he’ll tell you no, but hell yeah. I think we’re all freaking out, to be honest,” Mitch confessed. “None of us are really ready to have a new generation of Callahans running around. We’re still trying to figure out what to do about the triplets.”

“I don’t envy you having to work that out. It’s a bit of a minefield,” Dragan agreed. And he didn’t, although the thought of having family was getting more appealing as he was getting older. He didn’t want kids or a wife or anything, but finding out that he suddenly had a brother or a sister would be…welcome. And wasn’t that a shock to his system?

“You have no idea. What do you say to three people who are your siblings but weren’t raised with any of the benefits that you were? There’s a lot of animosity and hurt buried there. And my father is bearing the brunt of it. Shit. Sorry, I didn’t mean to prattle on. What can I help you with?” Mitch asked.

And that was why Dragan still worked for the Callahans. He’d made enough money to retire ages ago. He’d done some not-so-great things in his youth and charged a fortune for them and then invested wisely. His salary from Callahan Security was very healthy, so he’d been living well and saving for years. No, he continued to work for them because they treated him like family. They were the only real connection he had in life, and he would do anything for them. They were a team rather than suits that sat behind a desk. They knew what it was like in the field. Dragan had always appreciated that.

“I’m not sure yet. I’m still in Morocco. I may need some help, but I’m going to give it another day.”

“Okay. You just say the word. If there’s anything we can do, you let us know. Actually, we’re going to be on your side of the world in a week, so we’ll be on hand if you need boots on the ground.”

“Who’s we and where will you be?” Dragan asked, curious about this new development.

“Alex and I, as well as Logan and Lacy. Some big charity event that Lacy got us invited to. It’s in Malta. So, if you’re still there and need help, let me know. You know how much I love charity events.” Which was to say, not at all.

“Thanks, Mitch. I appreciate that.” And he did. More than Mitch would probably ever know. He also knew how much Mitch loathed black-tie events. Alex tried to avoid them at all costs, so if they were both going, it had to be very important. He clicked off the call and contemplated his next steps.

Now he had to go back to the Royal Mansour and question the person that Lennox had been talking to. Katya Ivanova already had a reputation, or at least her boyfriend, Nikolai Rostov, did. He would not like Dragan coming around to ask questions.

Maybe he should have asked for Mitch’s help, but he was relying on the fact that he’d already called in a favor from Jameson Drake. Drake’s name would get him back in the door.

He hated having to call in favors to get his work done. It just seemed like cheating somehow. He finished his coffee, drank his water, tossed some dirham on the table, and headed back out. He had a job to do, and no matter what, he was determined to do it.

By the time Dragan reached the Royal Mansour again, the late afternoon sun had shifted enough to turn the walls the color of honeyed stone, but the heat hadn’t broken. It rose off the pavement in shimmering waves and clung to his skin as he crossed toward the guarded entrance. The hotel looked exactly as it had earlier, only now there was a much greater security presence. There were three guards by the gate this time.

The first guard at the gate recognized him, which either meant Jameson Drake’s name had done its job or Dragan had already caused enough trouble to be remembered. Probably both.