Читать книгу Forced Alliance - Lenora Worth - Страница 14

FIVE

The giant took them to the back of the house, where Armond’s massive study offered a wall of windows that gave a stunning view of the back gardens. With moonlight and strategically placed spotlights shining on it, the big sloping yard took on an ethereal glow. Only, tonight the moonlight seemed to chase after too many shifting shadows. Was someone out there right now, ready to do harm to all of them?

Josie’s golden-green eyes widened with a grudging admiration of the view, but she wiped her expression clean and turned tough again. “Mr. Armond, we’ve talked to all of our sources, and so far, you’re in the clear. No new information. But the police do know Lewanna’s identity, and they do have witnesses that reported seeing a man holding a gun standing near the body. Since the shot was muffled with a silencer, no one heard anything.” That had just come via rerouted text straight from her supervisor.

She tossed things over to Connor with a solemn stare.

“No one has yet identified me or my car,” Connor said. “If anyone saw you get in my car, they’re not talking.”

“Any reports of other such shootings?” Armond asked, clearly still shaken.

“No,” Connor replied. “Do you expect that?”

“I have no idea,” Armond retorted. “But if they were willing to kill Lewanna, they’ll probably try to kill anyone else close to me.” He glanced out the window, then back at Connor. “You already know too much. Some of my associates might feel the same way now.” He shook that off with a shrug. “I’m glad my wife is safe in New York.”

“Are you sure she’s safe?” Josie asked, her tone as warm and unaffected as the still wind outside.

“I have people in place,” Armond said with another shrug.

“Can you trust them?” Connor asked, wondering why Armond didn’t trust his local security team.

“I have to trust them right now,” Armond responded. “I’m a sitting duck. I knew better than to get involved with the feds. Starting with you.”

“You can trust me,” Connor replied, hating the lie but using his close relationship with the old man as collateral.

“I only need you now to hide me and help keep me safe,” Armond retorted. “Don’t make me regret that decision.”

And so much for that. Connor glanced at Josie. “He’s right. We have to be careful here. A lot of unsavory people know I work for Mr. Armond.”

Armond’s bushy brows lifted at that statement. “You used to work for me, but we both know why I had to...let you go.”

Connor cleared his throat. “Yes, but I’m back for now. If everyone can work with that?”

“I don’t have a choice and you certainly don’t,” Armond said, his gaze saying otherwise. “But I’m watching you, Randall.” He gave Josie a harsh appraisal. “And I’m still not sure about you, young lady. I’ll have my people do a rundown on you, but I need your full name.”

Josie gave him one of her undercover names. “Grant. Josie Grant.”

“Do you mind if I do a background check?”

“Not a problem for me,” Josie replied, her tough-girl stance sounding completely real. She tossed her straight dark hair and crossed her arms over her shiny black leather jacket. “I always watch my back.” She tapped her phone. “I’ve put people in place to squelch any rumors. And I’ve already done my homework on you. Your name won’t cross any lips.” Her eyes slanted up. “You command a lot of respect around these parts, Mr. Armond.”

Armond chuckled. “And I intend to keep it that way.” But he didn’t sound so confident right now. After giving her name to one of the guards, he waited, staring at them until the man returned and whispered something in his ear.

“Seems you also command a great deal of respect, Josie...Grant.”

“That’s what I get paid for,” Josie replied, obviously relieved that Sherwood and the techs had managed to set up a cover so quickly. She named her price and waited. Armond’s slight nod got his men moving. Josie sent the old man a lifted eyebrow in thanks.

Nerves of steel, Connor decided. He liked that in a woman.

Connor wondered if Armond truly did care about his wife or his grown son. The man was all about making more money, and he really didn’t care how he did that. Or who he hurt or destroyed in doing it. But he’d made and lost more money than anyone knew, and he’d had to get into cahoots with some ruthless people. In return, he’d pledged to keep names out of the conversation. Until the FBI had cornered him and offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse. No wonder he was afraid someone was after him. They’d need to remember that, too.

“Did you make that list of people you suspect?” Josie asked. “I can get right on that, since we’ve done a rundown on any chatter and cleaned that up for now.” She glanced around the room. “And we need to check your personal weapons.”

“I have the list you requested but it’s only a partial one.”

Connor’s hope deflated. The man still refused to name the main players. Witnessing the death of his mistress had done exactly what those players wanted it to do—scare Armond back into silence.

“Let’s get started on checking the weapons,” Josie said, shifting a worried glance toward Connor.

Armond motioned to a guard to open the weapons cabinet on the other side of the room. “And call down and have someone check all of the weapons in the cellar cabinet, too.” After a few minutes of waiting silence, Armond held up the list, but kept it away from Josie. “Just how exactly do you expect to continue cleaning up this situation?”

Connor had expected this. Armond didn’t trust anyone, but then he was a powerful man with a lot of powerful rivals. He’d go for nothing less than an all-out protection detail.

Before Josie could reply, a guard came in and whispered into Armond’s ear again. Armond’s almond-colored eyes widened.

“One of my high-powered rifles is missing.”

Josie turned to the guard to jot down the make and model of the missing weapon. Then she put her hands down on Armond’s desk. “That means even if you didn’t pull the trigger, someone took one of your weapons to make it look like you ordered the hit.”

“I bought that particular rifle for...my son.”

Connor grunted. “If they find one of your guns near the crime scene, you can bet they’ll want to question you.”

“I thought you were taking care of things,” Armond blurted, his anger boiling over toward Josie.

Josie went into tough-chick mode with a flip of those long, tattered brunette bangs. “Hey, I’ve already had a thorough report of the crime scene, and they didn’t find a gun. And we both patched things up to make sure your name won’t come up for now.” She put her hands on her hips and walked straight to the end of Armond’s huge teakwood desk. “I didn’t come out here in the middle of the night to enjoy the view, Mr. Armond. I’m good at what I do, but if you wanna find someone else—”

“I don’t,” he said, waving a hand to a hovering guard. “I just have to be sure about these things.”

“We all have to be sure,” Connor said, stepping in. “You need to get out of here. Josie and I think we need to go back into the city to do some footwork.”

“Unacceptable. I have the latest electronic equipment right here. You can research anything you need.”

Josie hit a palm on the desk. “Look, Mr. Armond, I know who you are and what you do. That’s not my problem. But if you want my services, then first, you need to pay me my asking price, and second, you need to trust me completely. Stop playing this game of passive-aggressive control. I’ll go out that door right now and leave you and your men here to finish this job.”

“You leave when I say so,” Armond retorted.

“You’re not my boss,” Josie replied.

Connor smelled a fight. Maybe Josie was spoiling for one, but he wasn’t. Not just yet.

“Hey, we have to stick together,” he said on an easy breath. “You don’t trust me, but remember, I did help you find the Benoit paintings—all three of them. And I haven’t sold you out to the FBI even though they’ve pulled me in, several times.”

He glanced at Josie, remembering how she’d been in on one of the last debriefings he’d had to endure. “I’m here to help, Mr. Armond. You can still make a clean break by telling us who your partner is. Or haven’t you realized that someone inside your organization is betraying you in a big way?”

“And that person could easily be you,” Armond replied.

“Me?” Connor held up his hands. “I don’t like guns. And why would I take out Lewanna? She seemed like a nice girl.”

“You shut up about Lewanna,” Armond shouted with a finger in Connor’s face. “You’re here because I decided to use your expertise instead of wasting you or maybe before I waste you,” Armond reminded him. “Just remember that whenever you think about walking away.”

“Nobody’s walking here,” Josie replied, her eyes snapping with annoyance. “We’re here to protect you, and it seems apparent that someone close to you is involved in this. Let’s get over the paranoia and work on getting to the bottom of this.”

Armond stared up at her, his dark brown eyes burning between insolence and fear. Josie stared right back, her expression unrelenting.

Armond finally sat back in his big leather chair. “What happens next?”

Josie stood, gave Connor a relieved glance and then turned back to Louis Armond. “We make a plan to move you. But until then, you stay put with your guards. You don’t let anyone but the two of us in or out of this compound.”

“Understood.”

Connor took over. “We go into the city, do our thing with setting you up in a safe place. Look for that missing gun. We’ll question the kind of people the police can’t even begin to find and we’ll get to the truth about who killed Lewanna.”

“You will report back to me.”

Not a question, but a demand.

“Of course.” Connor came to stand by Josie. “I’ll keep you posted.”

Armond stood and shook his head. “I need a more reassuring guarantee. Before I agree to move, you have to agree to one of my men accompanying you at all times. As insurance, of course.”

Josie let out a sigh. “You need to trust us.”

Armond motioned for the giant. “I will, because Beaux is going to be with you. He knows how to make people more trustworthy.”

Connor and Josie exchanged looks. Beaux was big, really big, and he had a perpetual scowl on his meaty face. He’d be hard to shake. And deadweight in quick getaways.

“Uh, that’s not such a good idea, Mr. Armond,” Connor replied.

“Then we all sit here and watch and wait,” Armond retorted.

Josie let out an exaggerated grunt. “Look, let’s just get moving with this before someone comes after you again. If he wants to tag along, then so be it. I refuse to sit here wasting precious time when I could be out there clearing you of any wrongdoing.”

She gave Connor a look that could have melted the Remington sculpture displayed behind Armond’s desk. This was not going to be easy. But then, Connor had learned that working with criminals and agents never was. And here he stood caught between two very opposing forces.

He had a feeling things would only get worse.

Things got worse in the next second.

They heard an explosion somewhere deep in the interior of the house.