You are Mine Page 12
Her instinct was to hurry back to their room so she could change and get over to Mackinac Island, but she knew she was being watched, particularly by Tomás who hadn’t much taken his gaze off of her since they first met. She took her time. The next ferry left in a half an hour.
***
LIKE everyone around him, Brian let his gaze linger on a tall, willowy black woman as she ambled along the grass’s edge. He couldn’t see her face yet, but she certainly had presence with her mane of wild hair and her sexy saunter. She was at least six feet tall by his estimation, and walked like she was on a runway instead of just ordinary concrete. Dismissing her from his mind, he looked back out at the lake, watching incoming and docked ferries and wondering if Brickman was, or had been, on any of them. Caroline and he had decided to come back to Marquette Park one last time before they left the next day. She’d wanted to get more sketches and photos of the harbor for a painting she planned once they got back to Chicago. They’d been there a couple of hours already, and his mind was rarely off Brickman. Something was going to happen; he could just feel it.
ESSENCE took her time walking towards Brian Keenan, and concentrated on looking as if she were meandering instead of actually having a purpose and destination in mind. She had a two-fold purpose in doing so. She needed to calm her nerves and also to keep her quarry from realizing that he was her true intent. She knew that the last thing she should be doing was making contact with Keenan or Caroline Singleton, but she would not be able to look herself in the mirror if anything happened to them.
“I must be out of my mind,” she muttered as she squinted her eyes thoughtfully on Keenan. He has no idea who I am, she thought and then let loose a self-mocking chuckle. “Hell, nobody around me really knows who I am.” She slipped her hands in her pockets and continued to unobtrusively study her target as she walked closer. So very handsome, but maybe just a bit clueless, she hypothesized doubtfully. He was a former police officer, so she couldn’t believe that some small instinct didn’t know, didn’t feel the threat. “Surely, all of your cop intuition isn’t gone, Mr. Keenan,” she murmured softly, “especially since you love the artist so much.”
She continued on towards him, wondering if perhaps that love was blinding him to the danger around them. She sighed. It really didn’t matter why the man was so clueless; she was going to help him and in the process endanger herself and her mission. She didn’t even want to think about Coop’s reaction. He’d blow a gasket if he ever found out what she was doing and likely yell at her that she was there for one job and one job only and that the Keenans were not her concern.
Too late now. She was abreast of Brian at that point and taking advantage of that, tripped over her feet and fell into him. Hard. It was like falling into the face of a mountain. She’d been hoping to push him over, but even caught unawares, he was quick on his feet. He staggered a bit, but that was it. Okay, plan B. Wrapping an arm around him, she slipped the note she’d written into his back pocket and using his shoulder as leverage, stepped away from him. “Oh, I’m so sorry, please excuse me.” She smiled at his assurance that it was okay and continued her fake amble.
Eyes narrowed, Brian turned and watched the young woman saunter away from him. The phrase ‘sexy and dangerous’ came immediately to mind. He felt a hand land on his back. It stayed there for a moment before briefly rubbing and then settling on his hip.
“Was that the model Cesare?” Caroline asked, pronouncing it ‘Chez-a-ray’. Absolutely gorgeous, but a bit young for you, isn’t she?”
Brian turned and looked into Caroline’s teasing eyes. “She is at that,” he said thoughtfully as he pulled the note from his pocket. “But she left me something.” He felt his blood zing with anticipation as he read and he tightened his grip on Caroline before showing her the note.
His gaze frantically searched the area for the long, thin frame of the messenger, but she was nowhere to be found. He looked back at Caroline. She was staring at the note. “It’s all right,” he said. “At least now we know.” When she nodded in agreement, he too looked at the note. It had only eleven words, but in its brevity, was still quite chilling.
Alexander Brickman is in Mackinaw City and will be here tonight.
Chapter Eleven
“Your ass is mine, Paragon.”
Cell phone plastered to her ear, Essence lifted a brow, but kept walking away from the park. “Really? I didn’t know you got down like that, boss --”
“Shut up and get back to your hotel. By deliberately making contact with Keenan, you’ve jeopardized this mission.”
Essence frowned and looked around. “But how did you --”
“Fucking shut your mouth and get back to your hotel. Now.”
She straightened indignantly. “Hey, wait just --”
“Now.” And then he was gone.
Speechless, Essence slipped her phone back into her pocket. “What’s he doing here?” she muttered as she hurried toward the docks.
***
“She’s barely more than a child,” Brickman said dismissively. “There is no way --”
Tomás Guerrera sneered. “You are just like my uncle, no? You think because someone is young, female, beautiful and a soft American that they can not be dangerous or, or…what is the word? Treacherous. I tell you that my man saw my cousin’s girlfriend Esencia make contact with your Mr. Keenan. You will believe me or not, but it is the truth.”
Brickman nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
“No, you will do nothing to the girl. I told you only so you would be aware that your element of surprise may now be gone. I will handle the girl when we get her back to Mexico.”
Brickman spread his elegant hands and inclined his head. “As you wish.” When the other man had left, Brickman turned to Jonathan. “Did you notice anything off about the young girl?”
Jonathan shrugged. “Only that she reminds me of the other one.”
“What other one?”
“You know. The one you want; Mrs. Keenan.”
Brickman decided that he wouldn’t give in to his brother’s need to taunt him, nor would he give in to his own desire to kick his ass. He only said, “You think so, do you? I didn’t notice. Ida?” He called to her in the bedroom area of the suite. “What do you think?”
“No, Alex. She doesn’t look like Caroline.”
He smiled at Jonathan. “See? Once again, you’re wrong. Now, let’s get back to what we were discussing before we were interrupted. That little tidbit from Guerrera Jr. puts a kink in our plans. They were already dicey to begin with.”
“I wouldn’t really call them plans,” Jonathan put in. “After all, all we were going to do was snatch her off that private terrace they’ve had dinner on for the past couple of nights.”
“Again, you speak idiotically. If we’ve lost the element of surprise, then there’s even less of a chance of us succeeding with this. What I need is another way to make the whole thing less risky.”
“Ummm…let’s see...perhaps if we didn’t do it all?” Jonathan suggested in a tone of sham helpfulness.
Brickman smiled coldly. “Make that your last time, baby brother.” He rose and went to the door, picking up a low-brimmed hat and putting it on his head on his way. “I’ll be back,” he announced and left.
“Jonathan.”
Brow quirked in surprise, Jonathan walked into the bedroom to answer Ida’s summons. Her face still carried bruises, but they were fading and at least she was able to sit up now. “You called me?” he asked, taking the chair across from her at the small round table.
“Yes. Though it is amusing, don’t you think you’re playing a dangerous game taunting Alex the way you’ve been doing?”
“Why do you care?”
“I was just curious. Why do you do it? Don’t you know he’s not above hurting you as badly as he’s hurt me? Maybe even kill you?”
Jonathan shrugged. “If he does, he does. He took away the one woman who ever wanted me, and I realized that that�
��s what he’s done his entire life: take. And he doesn’t care who it hurts, as long as he gets what he wants. Without Brunetta what is left for me to live for now? Our mother is dead, our father disowned us long ago. What is left, Ida? His dirty dealings? Making money for his bank accounts?” Face florid with rage and tears in his eyes, he now slammed his fist on the table for emphasis, “What. Is. There?”
“How about revenge?” Ida asked quietly.
Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Jonathan gave her a look from the corner of his eye. Finally, he sat back and said, “I’m listening.”
***
“SO, what do you think?” Caroline asked Jae as she sniffed the aroma coming from the pot he was stirring on the stove. From the corner of her eye, she watched Brian pace back and forth with the cell phone to his ear.
“Regarding what, ma’am?”
Caroline rolled her eyes and sighed. “Oh, please. We’re long past that. What do you think about the situation with Brickman? When do you think he’ll make his move?”
Jae pinched some seasoning out of a bowl and added it to the simmering pot. “I can’t be sure, but my best guess is that it will be tonight as we eat dinner on the terrace. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Yes, that’s what Brian and I think, too. We think if he’s had us watched, then that’s the only time he can be sure of because we’ve eaten dinner on the terrace almost every night.”
“Exactly. I’m thinking that he’ll be here some time after eight, which is why we should do things the way we’ve done them every night this week.”
“But a storm is due in…”
Jae nodded. “In the early hours of the morning, yes. It’s pure conjecture, of course, but he’ll likely come tonight to avoid that storm.”
“And of course, we’re also guessing that he knows we’re due to leave tomorrow,” Caroline put in, feeling a weird kind of terrifying anticipation. She wasn’t looking forward to meeting Brickman, but what kept running through her mind was that their nightmare was finally coming to an end. “And knowing that information would give him even more reason to come tonight.”
“Yes, I believe so. The problem is we’re working on a lot of suppositions.”
Caroline frowned. “True, and also on a note from a model. It’s all so surreal. I’m trying to figure out how a model that can’t be any more than nineteen or twenty is involved with Alexander Brickman,” she said thoughtfully and picked at a stalk of celery.
“That’s what Jack has been trying to find out all afternoon with no luck so far,” Brian said as he joined them in the kitchen. He watched Jae pour his stew into a tureen. “He says he’s got one more person to check with, but it’s a long shot.”
“What else did he say?” Caroline asked as she grabbed the salad she’d mixed earlier from the refrigerator.
Brian grabbed the stack of plates along with napkins, silverware and the bottle of wine. “I’ll tell you everything at dinner.” He left the kitchen for the terrace.
“I’ve got the bread and the salad,” Caroline offered as she followed him.
“I’ve got the guns,” Jae said grimly.
“ARE you positive that the woman who bumped into me was a model?” Brian asked.
Caroline nodded as she took a bite of crisp romaine lettuce from her salad. “Oh, yes,” she answered after swallowing with difficulty. “I’m positive. I could never forget a face like that, and I’ve seen her in Alvarado’s shows and in European fashion magazines for the past couple of years.”
“I’m sorry, but who is Alvarado?” Jae asked.
“He’s a Spanish designer I’ve being following for the past few years. My mother and I have gone to a few of his shows.”
“I see,” Jae said contemplatively. “And this woman who bumped into Mr. Keenan earlier today models for this designer.”
“Yes.” Caroline buttered a piece of hot, crusty bread and then dropped it back onto her plate. Her hand was shaking so badly, she had to put it in her lap. She felt Brian’s hand cover it and looked up at him. She tried to take comfort from the confidence she saw in his gaze and took a deep breath, before saying, “Unless she’s got a twin sister; that was Cesare Shahidi I saw at Marquette Park today.”
“So now we have to decide if her message was meant to be a help or a hindrance to us,” Jae said.
“Exactly,” Brian said as he finished up his bowl of stew. Unlike Caroline, he had to eat. When he’d been a cop, he’d always had to feed his hunger before going out on a raid or anything else that posed a huge threat. His nervous energy was somewhat appeased by it. “This stew is delicious, Jae. Is that pork and chicken you’ve put in it?”
Jae nodded slowly. “Yes. It’s called ragoût de poulet à la sarriette -- chicken stew with savory. I’m pleased you like it. I thought it would make a perfect dish on such a cool night.”
“Hmm,” Brian agreed as he served himself another bowl. “Anyway, getting back to the problem at hand. It doesn’t really matter what the purpose of her note was because we have to be on alert either way, if she meant to trick us or help us.”
“Yeah, I think so, too,” Caroline said thoughtfully as she took a small bite of bread, and then drank water to make sure it went down smoothly. “So going on the safest assumption, which is that Brickman is somewhere nearby and watching, we need to act as normally as possible.”
“Yes,” Brian confirmed, “the pale little man is here. I can feel him, and soon he will feel me -- the wrath of Brian.”
Caroline snorted, and then fell into a helpless fit of giggles. “‘The wrath of Brian’?” she wheezed between guffaws, “what do you think this is? A Star Wars movie?” She looked at her husband, who’s only response was a dispassionate, “it will be swift and it will be deadly,” sending her into more fits of laughter.
“And it’s Star Trek, not Star Wars,” he corrected with a sniff.
“Oh, my mistake,” she got out between more chuckles. She leaned over, and crooking her finger in a come-hither gesture, waited until his face was inches from hers before saying earnestly, “I love you, you kook.”
“Knew that would get ya,” he teased and pecked her on the mouth. He looked over at Jae. “And your wrath, Jae?”
Jae quirked a brow in amusement, but quoted, “‘In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.’”
Brian lifted a brow and then nodded slowly. “That bad, huh?”
Laughing along with both Caroline and Brian at the teasing, Jae said, “Sorry. Sometimes, I just can’t help myself.”
“It’s all right,” Brian assured him. “I like that we have a bodyguard who can quote great literature, cook like a master chef and move like a phantom. Now if you tell me you can’t shoot worth a damn, we’ll have a problem.”
“I’m sure he’s better than I am,” Caroline said as she ate some of her stew, her stomach having unknotted. “You know, I wonder which one of our tricks worked. The newspaper article, the mention on the gallery’s website or the brochure we left at the house with the sticky note on it giving the dates we’d be here. I hope it was the article in the paper because at least then I’d know that letting that photographer follow me around last Friday wouldn’t have been for naught.”
Brian chuckled and explained to Jae, “She hates publicity of any kind. When she had her first show and the gallery wanted her to allow a reporter and photographer in for a feature story to pump up the show, I thought she’d walk away from everything rather than --”
“It’s an exaggeration, but it’s not far off,” Caroline interrupted. “But I did the interview and took pictures then for the same reason I allowed it last Friday: to lure Brickman in. The story was supposed to have run on Sunday.”
Jae nodded. “It was a good idea, just like the one Mr. Winthrop had to leave the brochure at your house and the other one you had for the story on the gallery website. All very simple ideas. It’s usually the simple ones that work best.�
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Caroline was finished with her stew and pushed the bowl away. “That was great, Jae, thanks. Anyway, it was probably the article that got Brickman. We haven’t heard anything from Jack about a break-in at our house and it just seems less likely that Brickman would check out the gallery’s website.”
Brian grunted. “He’s obsessive. I’ll bet he checks that website for news on you at least twice a week.”
Caroline only nodded before changing the subject. “Tell us what else Jack had to say when you talked to him.”
“Okay, so I’ve already told you that he hasn’t been able to find out anything about this Cesare person and what her role might be. He did say, though, that it wouldn’t be unusual for her to be working for some government agency undercover, though it is more likely that she’s just traveling with Brickman for some reason.”
“Oh, no.” Looking horrified, Caroline shook her head in dismay. “Do you think she’s with him against her will?”
Brian shrugged. “I’m afraid there’s no way of knowing right now, and I know I only saw her briefly, but she didn’t seem to be coerced or abused.”
“And don’t forget, she tried to take you down,” Jae reminded the table. “So maybe there’s more to that first option than we know.”
Caroline shifted in her seat. “That’s true. But I can’t believe the government would use someone that young.”
“Oh, they would, all right,” Jae said enigmatically.
“I guess the world is too dangerous a place for them not to use anyone they thought would be useful,” Brian said into the pregnant silence; a silence in which Caroline had been staring at Jae with full-blown curiosity. “Anyway, Jack also said that if we can hack it, we shouldn’t contact local police just yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Brickman is wanted for questioning in most cases, but if they actually catch him in the act of doing something illegally then they will have a better chance of keeping him in jail.”