Page 22 of Locked and Loaded

CHAPTER EIGHT

“His name is Dragan Maric,” the voice of her assistant came down the line. “He’s known in a great many circles, and he has a very checkered past. Currently, though, he works for Callahan Security in New York.”

The mastermind bit back a sigh. She should have known. Fontaine’s daughter was engaged to one of the Callahans. Although most didn’t know she existed, the mastermind had made it her business to know everything she could about Armand Fontaine as soon as he took over as head of the Lock and Key Society.

“Very well. Send me the file on him, but tell the men on Crowe that this Maric person should not be killed unless necessary. I do not want the Callahans involved in this any more than they already are.”

So, Fontaine had engaged the Callahans to find Crowe. It meant her original plan was working, but she reasoned it was taking too long and her new plan provided no risk for her, whereas Lennox Crowe, and now this Dragan Maric, were becoming very dangerous.

She narrowed her eyes and then hit a button on her desk.

“Yes, madame?” the disembodied voice asked.

“We sent an invitation to the charity ball to the Callahans at Callahan Security in New York, did we not?”

The sound of fingers on the keyboard reached her.

“Yes, madame.”

“And?” she asked, her tone getting icier by the moment.

“They have accepted.”

“Good. Make sure I know when they arrive for the event.”

“Very well, madame.”

She leaned back in her chair. Better to keep an eye on them and possibly keep them busy than have them engaged in trying to find her.

This whole situation was frustrating her. Katya and Nicolai should have known better than to speak of Ibiza. They were going to have to be dealt with.

She’d heard rumors that Katya was becoming troublesome. That was the problem when these men decided to make the girls a permanent part of their lives. There was always the chance they would tell the world how they got there. It was a dangerous game, a tightrope that was difficult to walk with only a flimsy safety net below them. Nikolai had already been warned twice. Now the maid was reporting that Katya was answering Crowe’s and now Maric’s questions.

Not good.

This situation was starting to snowball out of her control. She could feel it slipping through her fingertips. That must not happen. Only a short time now before she was out and the Lock and Key Society was destroyed. She must hold it all together until then.

Her very life depended on it.

CHAPTER NINE

Lennox leaned back against the side of the pool. She’d given up trying to resist and decided she’d go for a swim in the inside pool, which was next to the restaurant in a separate riad. The water was warm, working magically to soothe her raw nerves. She loved swimming and being in the water. It reminded her of her childhood in Maine. When her parents were still married, and before her sister was born. They were the best times of her childhood, before her world had fallen apart.

Her father Leo had arrived home one day and announced that he’d fallen in love with someone else. Her mother had been devastated, as was Lennox. Her life from that moment on became one of survival and not of having fun. Surviving her mother’s depression and her stepmother’s hate.

Now, she finished her drink, a daiquiri, one with alcohol this time. Her mother had eventually gotten over her father’s betrayal, and now she lived in Florida with her second husband, Michael, and played pickleball and went line dancing. Her mother was happier than she’d been in years, and Lennox was thrilled for her. Michael had three adult children of his own who also lived in Florida, so her mother’s time was taken up with her new family. Lennox was, once again, the odd woman out.

Whatever. None of this was going to help her get Chloe back. Chloe was a sweet kid. She wasn’t like her mother at all. She and Lennox were close, and Lennox’s fear about Chloe’s disappearance was eating her up inside.

Sighing, Lennox pulled herself out of the pool and then, wrapping herself in a towel, she made her way back to her room.

“Ms. Abbington?” The woman wearing a hotel uniform walked toward her.

Lennox blinked. “Er, yes?” That was the name she’d checked in under. Donna Abbington.

The woman gave her a cold smile. “We’re having a problem with your credit card. Could you come to the front desk when you’re…” she glanced down at Lennox’s towel, “more suitably attired, please?”

Lennox glanced at the woman’s name tag, Yasmina. She wanted to wipe the smug little smile off Yasmina’s face. “Of course, Yasmina,” she said, emphasizing the other woman’s name as sweetly as she could. “I’d be happy to.” She turned and continued up to her room, slamming the door behind her when she arrived. She despised smug women. They reminded her of her step-monster. It was leftover trauma she knew, but that didn’t make her hate Yasmina and her ilk any less.