Текст книги "Smiley"
Автор книги: Laurann Dohner
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Текущая страница: 16 (всего у книги 22 страниц)
Chapter Seventeen
Their short nap had been interrupted by a phone call. Smiley had kissed Vanni’s cheek and told her to go back to sleep. He’d been notified of a meeting he had to attend. She’d gotten out of bed the second the front door closed and stood on unsteady feet. Every muscle from the waist down seemed to hurt. She groaned and made it to the bathroom to soak in a hot tub.
“What do you expect? You’re doing Mr. Fitness,” she muttered when her legs trembled after she climbed out. Her inner thigh muscles burned a bit and her lower ass wanted to go on strike with each step. The bath alleviated her discomfort.
She bent at the waist to dry her hair and groaned. Her girl parts were fine but she might have strained the muscles in her ass. She finished rubbing her hair and used the counter to help her straighten.
The image in the mirror made her cringe. Her hair hung in wet, stringy strands and her lips appeared swollen from Smiley’s kisses. She turned away from her reflection and wrapped the towel around her middle.
“Must work out more,” she muttered, limping to the bedroom. She made it to the bed and just fell over, happy to be off her feet. She stared at the phone on the bedside table and wanted to call Beth. Her friend would laugh at her dilemma. Beth would find it funny but all it did was make Vanni wonder how she was going to hide her discomfort from Smiley.
The phone rang and she groaned, stretching out to get it in case it was Smiley calling to check on her. “Hello?”
“Were you date-raped and drugged?”
She winced, identifying her brother’s stern voice. “Hi, Count. No. It’s not true if you heard that story.”
“What the hell have you gotten us into then?”
She tried to think of what to say.
“Answer the damn question,” he demanded. “Mom and Dad are AWOL and we’re sequestered in a hotel. Of all the guys you had to fuck around with, you picked a New Species? Couldn’t you have had a last fling with a stripper at your bachelorette party like any normal person?”
She rolled onto her back, gripping the phone to her ear and stared at the ceiling. “Mom and Dad went to the cabin but I’m sure you already guessed that. It’s where they always go.”
“That’s all you have to say? You wrecked our lives this week. I want answers. What the hell is going on? You’re lucky I didn’t shoot the security team that arrived. We heard something about you holding a press conference and that you’d been victimized by the NSO and then they showed up here, saying we were in danger. You should have warned us what kind of hell was about to rain down on our family.”
She hated the tears that filled her eyes. She was the baby of the family and had always tried really hard to fly under the radar. Count had every right to be angry. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t change the fact that you embarrassed this entire family and we’re all paying for it. I don’t even know what to think. What kind of idiot goes to a bar and picks up a stranger? Then you had to do it with cameras rolling so it was fodder for everyone to see. We raised you better!” He cursed. “Knock that off, Mia. I’m talking to her.”
“You’re being a prick,” her sister insisted from somewhere close to the phone. “Let me talk to her.”
“I’m not done,” Count insisted. “Couldn’t she have made cooking videos or something if she wanted to be an internet sensation? Fuck no. Our sister has to become an interspecies porn star.”
“Goddamn it!” Mia yelled. “Give me the phone, barf breath. Did you brush your teeth? Your poor wife. Go find a toothbrush. Do I need to remind you of the shit you pulled in high school? Do your cop buddies know you used to smoke weed? Don’t jump her ass.”
“She’s not in high school. She’s an adult.”
Vanni winced. Her siblings were fighting because of her. They were close in age and it could get ugly once they started. The usually mature pair turned into a set of five-year-olds occasionally when they argued. Mia must have won the wrestling match over the phone since Count howled in pain and Mia’s voice came over the receiver.
“Are you okay, Vanni? Ignore our idiot brother. He didn’t mean any of that. We’ve just been really worried. We’ve heard a lot of conflicting things.”
Vanni blinked back the tears. “Count meant it. He’s angry.”
“Okay, so he did.” Mia paused and a smacking sound could be heard. Count cursed. “Stop that. Try to take it again and I’ll scratch the shit out of you,” Mia threatened. “I wasn’t kidding about your breath. You smell like ass. Go brush your teeth.”
“I’m getting your husband,” Count taunted.
“Go do that. He’s afraid of my fingernails too when I’m pissed. Try to grab the phone one more time and you’re going to bleed,” Mia warned. “And don’t breathe on my husband. What the hell did you eat?”
“Please don’t fight,” Vanni urged.
“Hang on.” Mia slammed a door. “Ha! It’s locked, jerk!” Her voice lowered. “I’m in the bathroom. He wouldn’t dare kick it down. You should see this place they have us staying in. It’s ritzy as hell. The door probably costs more than his beloved rusted piece-of-junk car he calls a classic.”
“I’m so sorry,” Vanni whispered.
“It’s done. I just hate that we couldn’t talk to you before. Why were you avoiding our calls over the weekend? What is really going on, Vanni?”
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
“It’s okay. Are you okay? That’s the most important thing.”
“I am.”
“How are you holding up? I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
“I’m fine.” She wasn’t about to share her sex injuries, which were making her ass and thighs ache. “It’s just been kind of a nightmare with the press and with the Woods Church.”
“The security team said the Woods Church was a threat to us and that’s why we’re here. I knew that family was shit once I found out who the father was. They are a bunch of lunatics. What did Carl do to you? Did he hit you? I didn’t like that asshole. He was too smooth and controlling.”
That astonished Vanni. “I thought you liked him as much as the rest of the family did.”
“I was being nice. I’ve racked my brain thinking why you’d end up getting tanked in a bar and picking up some guy you didn’t know from Adam. I know you too well. Carl either cheated on you or hit you. Which one was it?”
She couldn’t tell her sister the entire story so she hedged over the main parts but shared how he’d tricked her into going to the convention and the way he’d treated her. “I was done. I didn’t mean for that to happen in the bar but I don’t regret it.” That was the truth. “Smiley is here with me. He’s wonderful.”
The silence at the other end of the phone connection became uncomfortable. Her sister finally spoke. “Can he hear what I’m saying?”
“No. I’m alone right now.”
“Are you being held there against your will?”
“No.” Vanni sat up and winced, forgetting her soreness. “Smiley is amazing. The NSO is protecting me from Carl’s dad and his crazy worshipers. They are saying I was drugged and forced to, um, you know.”
“I know. We heard. That’s what I told Count after we watched the news earlier today. You looked happy but scared. I like the way that guy you’re with was so protective of you.”
“Today?”
“When the NSO took you shopping. It was all over the news.”
Vanni’s gaze drifted to the TV on the dresser. She was tempted to turn it on to see if they were playing the footage but she resisted. “It turned kind of hairy when all those people showed up but I’m fine. Really.”
“What kind of threat are you looking at from the Woods Church? Do they want revenge because you dumped Carl? I remember that one religious group who tried to burn a woman alive in front of the gates of the NSO for sleeping with a New Species.” Mia’s voice quavered. “Are they going to want to kill you?”
“Maybe. They are crazy, Mia. I’m safe here though.”
“Thank god. Don’t leave there.”
“I won’t.”
“This Smiley guy is treating you well? He looked pretty concerned today.”
“Yes. He’s really sweet and wonderful.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Count is fit to be tied but don’t let him get to you. You know how our brother is. It’s his twisted and controlling way to be a big asshole when he’s worried. He had a complex as a kid and now he has a badge so he thinks he knows everything. I don’t have to cook or clean so I’m looking at this like a free vacation with a lot of security guards. I just wish they hadn’t given us connecting suites because two more days of listening to our brother and I’m going to consider tossing Count out a window to see if he turns into a bat and can fly.”
Vanni chuckled. It was an old joke. “Thanks, Mia. I was afraid you’d be mad at me too.”
“I’m just worried. You do what your security team says. They seem to know their stuff. They had us packed and hustled out of our homes in short order and put us in the penthouse suites of this hotel. We have the entire top floor so we’re safe.”
“I was worried.”
“We’re more worried about you. You aren’t exactly tough.”
“I’m not a wimp.” She resented the implication.
“No, you’re not, sweetie. You’re just a bit sheltered and we’ve always been protective of you.”
“I’m no longer a child and I’ve told you to stop. I appreciate that you try, at least.”
“I need to go. Count, that rat bastard, blabbed to my husband. They are arguing outside the door. I don’t want them to come to blows.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Mia suddenly yelled, “Knock it off!”
The call disconnected and Vanni replaced the receiver in the cradle, grateful she wasn’t staying at the hotel with her family. Her siblings’ families living together sounded like a nightmare. They could never be under the same roof for more than a few hours without it turning into pandemonium.
Vanni inched off the bed and cursed. She needed a massage and muscle relaxers. She settled on going to the kitchen for a soda instead since the first two were not viable options. The bags from their shopping expedition were on the counter. She popped open the can and took a sip, deciding to get dressed. Moving around might help ease some of her soreness before Smiley returned.
She also remembered she needed to make some calls. Gregory Woods still had her wallet and all her credit cards. She needed to cancel them but she didn’t want to go against Justice North’s orders about the phone restrictions. She’d asked Smiley and he’d said it would be fine. Canceling and replacing everything would be a hassle.
Smiley hated that everyone in the room had overheard Vanni’s conversation with her sister and brother. The meeting had come to a halt when they’d received word that a phone call had come in for her. It had been patched through Justice’s phone, their side muted. He’d disliked her brother instantly after he’d torn into Vanni. When the phone call ended, he stood.
“I’m going to check on her.”
Justice frowned. “She sounded fine. We’re not done.”
“I don’t know why everyone had to listen in on her conversation.” It wasn’t the first time Smiley had protested.
“I’m sorry about that.” Justice frowned. “But we needed to know what was said. We needed to know if her family is unhappy about her being here and if they resent being held in a hotel. They have a history with Carl Woods and he could use that association to taint their view of us by urging your female to leave Homeland.”
Smiley knew he was right. “That didn’t happen. Her sister told her to stay here where she’s safe.”
“Good thing.”
Smiley shot Jericho a glare. “What does that mean?”
“We just had the bartender delivered to us. I thought you’d want to be present for that instead of tying Vanni to a bed to keep her safe. I would do that if she were my female.”
Fury laughed. “It does work.”
Justice growled low. “Don’t remind me.” He narrowed his gaze on Fury. “And I remember you having Ellie tied to your bed for a different reason.”
“I believe I was hired right after that,” Miles Eron muttered. “You needed a lot of help with your public image.”
Fury’s humor faded. “Who gets the pleasure of scaring the shit out of this human and making him talk?”
“I do,” Smiley volunteered.
Jericho stood. “No. I’ll do it.”
“He drugged me and Vanni.” Smiley faced him, ready to argue his case.
“Exactly. It’s personal. He can’t talk if you lose your temper and break his jaw. Take your feelings out of this by answering my question with complete honesty. Who will terrify the human more? Me or you?”
Smiley hated it but conceded to Jericho’s logic. “Fine but I get to be there.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Jericho nodded. “The sight of you will make him nervous.”
“I remember when I used to be in charge,” Justice mused. “I even have the nice office and desk.”
“Sorry.” Jericho didn’t look it though.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Miles protested. “I think the task force team is doing a fine job.”
Justice stood. “Noted, Miles. We appreciate your input but this isn’t happening outside the walls of Homeland. Jericho has a good plan. Let’s go. They are holding the human in interview room two. We all want to see this.”
“Are we going to record it?” Fury arched an eyebrow questioningly.
Justice nodded. “We’ll leak it to the press.” He glanced between Smiley and Jericho. “Keep that in mind. Humans are squeamish about things they perceive as too violent or frightening.”
“That’s why I think the task force should handle this.” Miles stood too. “It will appear you terrified this man into a confession. You pay me to tell you what my people will think. There it is.”
“Give it up,” Cindy muttered. “No one else agrees with you.”
Miles spun and glared at her. “What did you say?”
She raised her voice. “We don’t want the NSO to seem as if they need us to handle their security matters. That’s worse than releasing a video of one of them interrogating this bartender. We want people to fear New Species enough not to fuck with them in the future.”
“The task force scares everyone.” Miles glared at her.
“I think Jericho is way more frightening.” She flashed the primate male a smile. “I have total faith in you.”
“Thank you.” Jericho grinned back.
“I still think it’s a mistake.” Miles faced Justice. “Why do you even pay us to handle your press if you refuse to listen to my advice?”
“It’s not for your winning personality,” Cindy muttered low enough that her boss couldn’t hear.
Justice chuckled. “We needed your help handling the shopping excursion. You’re the one who decided to stick around. We’ve got this.”
“I still think it’s a mistake.” Miles shook his head.
Cindy rolled her eyes. “He thinks that tie looks good. I rest my case.” She turned in her chair, drawing everyone’s attention. “Just don’t punch the living shit out of the jerk on camera before you get him to talk. That would be overkill. People might view that as a forced confession. We don’t want anyone screaming about his rights being violated.”
“As if that human gave a shit about that when he drugged us,” Smiley hissed.
“I agree,” Cindy acknowledged. “My heart isn’t bleeding for this dickhead but all I’m saying is, don’t inflict injures that are going to show. The bartender might not have been aware of the danger. It doesn’t excuse it but I’m just saying you must try to keep the camera in mind so we can use it in the media war the Woods Church has started.”
“They wanted someone tossed to their human authorities to be prosecuted. I think we have their pound of flesh,” Justice said as he rounded his desk.
Smiley was outraged. “You’re giving him to the humans?”
Justice stopped next to him. “I have a plan.”
“What would that be? Their justice system isn’t harsh enough. He deserves to be sent to Fuller Prison, not to some human jail cell with television and visitors.” Smiley fisted his hands, that angry.
Justice leaned in and held his gaze. “If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s that our enemies try to flee the country when we’re after them. The human authorities and news outlets know it too. I want to put enough pressure on Gregory Woods to make him attempt to escape. We’ll be waiting.”
“I can’t listen to this part.” Miles backed toward the door. “I’m out of here. My legal advisors would tell me not to be part of this conversation.” He exited the room.
Justice arched an eyebrow at Cindy. “Are you leaving too?”
She leaned back in her chair. “I have this condition I call impromptu senility. I can’t remember a damn thing when I don’t want to. Go on. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Some of Smiley’s anger dissipated. “You have a team in place to grab him?”
Justice smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll help him disappear. The out world will think he is getting a decent tan on some beach but there is no sunlight where he’s going. Fuller Prison is about to get a little overcrowded though we have no early release program. We’ve ordered new cages already.”
“You don’t legally have to release the identities of whoever you imprison at Fuller.” Cindy grinned. “Score one for the good guys.”
Fury chuckled. “I checked. The staff at Fuller Prison assembled the bunks and received new bedding. They are just waiting to issue clothing to the new prisoners.”
Smiley calmed. “You’re sure he won’t get away?”
“Positive,” Justice swore. “He’s too afraid to piss without a security team outside the door. He just hired two of our undercover task force members. He has no idea who they really are.”
“That’s totally true,” Cindy nodded. “I’ve been researching Gregory Woods for over a year, since he hit the big-time-social-media level. He’s all mouth and no spine. Right now he’s got to be paranoid as hell and I’ve monitored the increase in his security detail in the past few days. He used to keep three suits around him but he’s doubled that number.”
“Our team members have him wired and have cloned all his devices,” Fury announced. “He’s very dependent on his electronics and has already done searches for non-extradition countries to flee to. He also hired a private jet to be waiting on standby. One of our humans is now wearing that company’s pilot uniform. He’ll rush right to our pilot and be flown to where our team will be waiting to take him into custody.”
“What about the son? I want him too.” Smiley wasn’t about to forget that Carl Woods had set Vanni up for his father.
Justice nodded. “He and his father can share a cage. The father won’t leave without the son.”
“By every indication I’ve found, Carl Woods is heavily dependent upon his daddy’s money.” Cindy whipped out an electronic device from her purse on the floor. “He spends more than he makes and to be honest, he’s not the best lawyer. His father paid to open his private practice and gives him the majority of his business.”
She turned the screen to show Justice something. “This is his current debt. The doors to his practice are only open because Daddy saves his ass every month. His home is mortgaged for more than it’s worth and his ass would be homeless and jobless within three months if the money gets cut off. Gregory Woods is a dickhead who loves to keep everyone around him on strings. It’s that pathetic god complex he has. I’d bet the candy bar in my purse that Carl Woods realizes the money gets cut if he doesn’t stick close to his father’s ass. I mean wallet. He’ll also know, if criminal charges are filed against Gregory, the first thing that would happen is they’ll freeze his assets when he evades arrest. That means the money is cut off for sure.”
“What if he doesn’t leave with his father?” Smiley wasn’t willing to risk it.
Fury drew his attention. “Then we’ll pick him up a few weeks after his father disappears. Everyone will assume he just met up with him later. They’ll be accurate.”
“Especially when they foreclose on his house and evict him from his nice office suites,” Cindy added. “Even his car is a rental.”
“And Bruce? I want him the most. He Tasered Vanni and made threats.” Smiley wasn’t about to allow that male to get away with hurting her.
Justice leaned back. “We did a background check on him. You want to hit someone and make them bleed? He’s all yours.”
Fury growled. “He enjoys hurting females. He’s been arrested six times for beating and terrifying them. The females dropped the charges after the police suspected he made threats. Gregory Woods told your Vanni we have a graveyard of our enemies. I think we should start one.”
“Now, Fury.” Justice shot him an amused look. “He would make horrible fertilizer. I wouldn’t want to expose our vegetation to his remains.”
“True. He is a piece of shit though.”
Justice nodded and held Smiley’s gaze. “Leave him alive after you teach him how it feels to be hit. We’ll get him when the teams bring in Gregory. I think death would be too kind. Let him spend his life in a cage. He doesn’t like to leave his boss’ side. We’ll help him obtain that goal. Let’s go.”
Cindy stood. “I wish I could come with but Miles is probably waiting in the car. He wanted to leave after the meeting and you can guess who is driving. It wouldn’t be him.” She walked over to Smiley. “I’m glad you got the girl.” She winked. “Hold on to that one. She seems like a keeper.”
Smiley nodded in agreement and followed the men out of Justice’s office to Security. He entered the holding cell first, recognizing the bartender from the hotel. The male’s eyes widened upon seeing Smiley. He tensed in his chair.
“You do remember me.” Smiley kept away from the male and crossed his arms over his chest. “I remember you.”
Jericho entered the interrogation room and slammed the door. “I’ll do the talking.”
Smiley showed fangs but stepped to the side. He glared at the male who was handcuffed to the chair but made sure he stood out of the range of the camera set up in the corner. Jericho rumbled loudly as he stalked forward. It was a sound meant to intimidate the human.
“I didn’t do anything!” The human’s eyes were wide with fear.
Jericho crouched a few feet from the male, just glaring at him. Smiley noticed he’d tilted his head up enough that the lighting in the room would catch the red hues of his eyes. The bartender tried to scoot the chair back but realized it wouldn’t move. He broke out in a sweat.
“I don’t like liars,” Jericho rasped as the rumble emanating from his chest deepened. “Do I look amused? You’re wasting my time. I want to know what happened in that bar.”
“I just served the drinks.”
“Let me rephrase that. I know what happened but I want you to admit what you did.” Jericho took a deep breath, expanding his chest and nostrils. His expression showed his anger. “Confession is good for the soul, I’ve been told. So confess.”
A good minute ticked by. The bartender tried to glance away but his gaze kept going back to Jericho’s intense glare. He trembled. “Okay. All right. This guy approached me before my shift and paid me four hundred bucks to slip something into a pair of drinks. He said it was going to be a joke.”
“Really?” Jericho stood. He cracked his knuckles. “What was so funny? Share how this joke worked on my friend because I could really use a laugh. I want specific details.”
“Um, maybe he didn’t say it was meant to be funny. He was with that church group.”
“What church?”
“I forgot their name. You know the one with the heavyset preacher guy who has a whiney voice?”
“No.”
“He’s always going on about protecting the human race and how wrong it is that you weren’t sent to live in zoos.” He blanched. “I don’t feel that way though. I don’t! I’m so cool with New Species and the entire NSO thing. My girlfriend has a poster of Justice North on her fucking bedroom wall.”
“You resent that?”
The human’s face reddened. “No.”
“I don’t believe that. Justice is a handsome male.”
The human clenched his teeth. “She tells me I need to work out more.”
Jericho snorted. “I bet that isn’t good to hear.”
“She thinks he’s perfect.”
“Perhaps he is.”
“No guy is. And he’s a cat. She named her kitten after him. It’s all kinds of fucked-up.”
Smiley winced and glanced toward the camera, hoping Justice didn’t take offense. His focus returned to the male. It made him happy he wasn’t feline or canine. Primates were harder for humans to own as pets so he doubted there were many being named after him. Of course no one had known about him until the footage of him and Vanni behind the hotel was released. His name hadn’t gotten out until the shopping excursion.
“Get to the point. This male approached you to do what?”
“He handed me this little glass bottle with a liquid drug inside it. I was supposed to wait for a New Species to come into the bar and when some chick came in and sat next to him I was told to split the dosage in half and put it their drinks.”
“What drug?”
“Hell if I know. He said it would be entertaining. That’s the word he used.”
“What was his name?”
The human shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure. I didn’t ask. He was a big meathead. You know the type.”
“I don’t. Tell me.” Jericho crouched again, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet.
It seemed to frighten the human, having Jericho that close again. “A little over six feet tall. Dark crew-cut hairstyle. He didn’t have a neck.”
“Keep describing him.”
“He looked like he was on steroids, okay? All muscles and not much of a talker. I didn’t pay too much attention to his looks. I didn’t want to date the asshole. I just took the cash and the drug from him. I did what I was supposed to.” He paused. “I really needed the money. My old lady is always complaining about how I don’t take her to nice places and she’s been hinting for me to buy her a ring. Diamonds aren’t cheap. It’s kind of her fault if you really think about it.”
“Could you pick him out of a lineup?”
The human hesitated and Jericho rumbled deep within his chest.
“Yes!” The human nodded. “I could. He was in the bar a few times. He drinks bourbon with ice.”
The door opened and one of the task force members entered with a large envelope. He opened it and withdrew some eight-by-ten photographs. “Tell me when you see him.”
The human chose the third photograph. “That’s him.”
“You’re sure?” Jericho stood.
“Yeah. He’s got a jagged scar on the back of his left wrist. I saw it when he was drinking at the bar. It was kind of hard to miss. He’s tan and it’s pretty stark in comparison. You notice that shit when you’re chatting up customers when it’s slow. He wasn’t a talker so I thought he might be ex-military. They tend to be loners when they come in and I knew he was working security detail for someone at the hotel.”
“How did you know that?”
The human grimaced. “He had one of those earpieces with the cord running down to his collar and he was packing a gun. He had a left-side shoulder holster on. The suit was expensive so I knew he wasn’t there to rob the place. Could have been secret service because we’ve had them in the hotel before but they never drink while on duty. This guy was in there often. He kept talking to some guy named Gregory through his earpiece thing. The first time it happened, I thought he was talking to me and couldn’t read my nametag but then he said it was his boss.”
Smiley breathed easier. They had linked the drugging to Gregory Woods. He turned and opened the door. He wanted to see Vanni. She’d be happy to know the bartender had confessed and he’d identified Bruce’s photo.
