Chapter Twenty-Six

Christian was currently weaponless, but he couldn't wait for Kayne and Presley to arrive. Scratch that. He now had a steak knife courtesy of the unassuming bartender who'd left one by a perfectly sliced lime. It wasn't large, but he could gut a human with it if needed.

He hadn't worn a comm unit, so he wouldn't know when his coworkers arrived until they called him. He did have on a Kevlar vest, but Aja Blue didn't since she couldn't hide one beneath her gown. Christian didn't have a tracker on her since he thought she'd have her phone. Monumental mistake on his part.

A thought struck. He recalled Aja Blue mentioning that Jay had been with her when she'd visited the Sinclair mansion. Both of their homes had been ransacked. Jay had ended up murdered. Heathcliff Sinclair was eliminating witnesses to his clandestine meeting with a notorious despot.

Not on Christian's watch.

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at a text from Tyler. He clicked on the image. It was a diagram of The Original Sin. He hadn't even asked for it. Either Tyler was a mind reader on top of being a genius, or Kayne or Presley had thought of requesting it from him. He was betting on his coworkers.

"Buy you a drink?"

He lifted his head from studying the blueprints to see a gorgeous brunette in a plunging red gown smiling at him. Strands of diamonds hung from her ears, and her lips were painted a deep crimson.

"I'm pretty sure they're free."

Her laugh was throaty and deep. "That was my attempt at a pickup line, which obviously sucked."

He might've been interested BAB—Before Aja Blue. Now, worry consumed him, and all he wanted to do was find her. "I'm sorry. I'm here with my fiancé."

"Ah. Lucky girl." She took a sip of champagne and wandered off.

Christian refocused on the schematics. If Heathcliff Sinclair had Aja Blue—and he was reasonably sure he did—he'd take her somewhere away from the crowd, like an office. There was one on the top level, with only one entry point.

His cell buzzed, and he answered without checking the screen. "Where are you?"

"Uh, I'm at the compound."

"Sorry, Tyler. I thought you were Kayne."

"No, but I have a hit for you on the guy who stole Aja Blue's phone. His name is Jonas Thames. He's the chief of security for Sinclair Industries."

Christian's instincts had been spot on. Sinclair was the culprit.

"You got the blueprints?"

"I did. How did you know to send them?"

"Presley."

"Thanks, Tyler."

"I'm here to help with whatever you need."

Knowing Sinclair was behind the attacks on Aja Blue had Christian dashing for the stairs. He couldn't wait on his coworkers. Aja Blue's life was in danger. It might be foolish to go alone, but he wasn't thinking clearly at the moment.

Before he stepped on the first riser, his phone buzzed. Kayne.

"Where are you?"

"Stern. Swimming platform."

"I'm on my way."

Christian executed a U-turn and dodged people as he navigated to the lower level. Kayne was on the deck, soaking wet. He'd taken down a guard, zip-tying and gagging him before stashing him behind a decorative planter.

"Where's Presley?"

"In a boat with Nicole, and before you ask, she refused to stay on shore."

The sound of a motor cutting off had them turning to the water. Presley and Nicole appeared.

"No one shot at us," Presley said unnecessarily since they were both hole-less. He helped her onto the platform. He wanted to chastise her for taking the chance, but he could use the support.

Kayne assisted Nicole out and helped her with the crutches.

Presley handed him weapons and a comm unit.

"My guess is the top-level office, but we can't afford to focus on one place. Presley, you check out the Sinclair suite on the bottom level. Kayne, you search the equipment room." They were always used for nefarious purposes in movies. "Nicole, you stay here and keep an eye out. I need you to know that I will take any means necessary to save Aja Blue. I'm not worried about warnings, Miranda rights, or any of those things."

"Understood," the detective replied, and his respect for her went up another notch.

"Whoever gets eyes on Aja Blue, let the others know so we can get there as soon as possible. I don't want anyone going solo, and there will be guards, so be prepared."

They took off with Presley and Kayne dashing down the steps while Christian went up. He forced himself to slow down so he didn't draw the attention of the security personnel wandering about. He could pick them out of the crowd. Most mingled with the guests, looking out of place in dark suits and sunglasses.

Two guards flanked a closed door when he arrived on the top level. One looked at his phone, while the other had his back turned. Before Christian took them out, he needed to ensure Aja Blue was inside.

A thin ledge surrounded the windows of the office. He found an access point and climbed out. The windows were darkened to block the sun's rays, but one was open, letting in the sea breeze. He counted two people in the office. One was Aja Blue, and he breathed a sigh of relief that she was unharmed. The other was Heathcliff Sinclair. Christian's jaw clenched. The man was holding Aja Blue at gunpoint. Neither had noticed him, so he backed away and notified Presley and Kayne. It took less than three minutes for them to arrive.

"There are two guards. We need a distraction."

"I'll get their attention," Presley stated. "You guys take them out."

She removed the band securing her ponytail, bent over, and finger-combed the long blonde hair. Then she stood, shook out the strands until they danced down her back like a fluffy, silky curtain, and whetted her lips. "Get ready."

Presley opened the door and stumbled inside like she'd had too much to drink. Both guards turned to her with weapons pointed.

"This is a private floor," one man barked, and Christian realized it was Jonas Thames, a.k.a. Johnny Cash.

"He's mine," he told Kayne.

Presley walked past them and then tripped, gasping as she started to fall. Both men lowered their weapons and dashed to help her. Christian and Kayne came from behind and hit them before they knew what was happening.

Christian wrapped flex-cuffs around Thames's wrists, and as he was choking him unconscious, he whispered, "You go near my girlfriend again, I will end you."

He didn't bother helping him to the ground. Christian let his dead weight crash to the floor. Then he cuffed his legs and dragged him into a storage closet with the man Kayne had subdued. Presley's hair was back in a ponytail, and they were ready to storm the office.

"There's an open window starboard. I'm going in that way. You two pick the lock and come up behind him when his attention is on me."

"Roger that."

Christian returned to the thin ledge and quietly pushed the window wider so he could climb inside. Sinclair had moved from behind his desk to stand before Aja Blue.

"You're busted, Sinclair."

Both Sinclair and Aja Blue gasped. Sinclair's arm swung to him so the gun was off Aja Blue. That had been Christian's first goal.

"Christian," Aja Blue whispered.

"Who are you?" demanded Sinclair.

Christian kept his Sig trained on Sinclair as he moved in front of Aja Blue, shielding her with his body. "The jig's up. You're finished, Sinclair. I know about the meeting with Cesar Nofeshku, the Butcher of Kormu. You're going down as a traitor to the country."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The sweat beading on his forehead told a different story as he turned his head and yelled, "Thames, get in here!"

"Jonas isn't going to be able to help you. He's a little tied up at the moment."

Presley's chuckle came through the comms.

"You're trespassing on private property. I'll have you arrested."

"Ah, Heath—can I call you Heath?" He didn't wait for a response. "I'm not trespassing. I was invited."

"No, you weren't. I don't know who you are. I never would've invited you."

"Yet, here I am."

"I'll have your badge for this."

Christian scoffed. "I'd like to see you try, especially since I don't have one."

Aja Blue tapped his shoulder. "Christian, he admitted to killing Jay."

"I did no such thing, missy. That's slander. I'll sue you."

Aja Blue started to come out from behind him, but Christian held her there with his free hand. "Stay there," he growled.

"You're a liar, Mr. Sinclair."

"It's your word against mine. Who do you think they'll believe? A washed-up child actor or the wealthiest man in America and practically the universe, hum? I'm beloved the world over. You are way out of your league, missy."

"My name is not Missy," she spat.

Presley and Kayne had picked the lock and were stealthily coming up behind Sinclair. He turned at the last second, and his gun went off. Christian spun and took Aja Blue to the carpet as the bullet whizzed by and shattered a window.

"Get off me!" Sinclair bellowed. "Do you know who I am?"

"You won't do well in prison," Presley told him. "Your fellow inmates won't take kindly to a traitor."

"You think I'll spend any time in jail? I demand my phone call so I can call my lawyer."

Kayne laughed as he pulled Sinclair to his feet. "You can demand all you want. We aren't the police."

"Who the hell are you, then? Unhand me this instant!"

Christian helped Aja Blue to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"I am now that Jay's killer has been caught. He drugged my drink."

Christian felt the heat of the projectile before he heard anything. He watched in horror as the bullet slammed into Heathcliff Sinclair's forehead, sending blood and brain matter onto a stunned Kayne and a startled Presley.

"Get down," Christian yelled as he covered Aja Blue again. He glanced up to see a man in a wetsuit standing outside. He gave a jaunty salute before diving over the side of the boat and disappearing into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

"What the hell just happened?" Kayne looked gobsmacked.

"My guess is that the Butcher of Kormu is getting rid of dead weight." He probably had this room bugged and had someone always watching Sinclair. Nofeshku was notoriously untrusting and had eliminated several former business partners similarly. Supposedly.

"Christian?"

He glanced down at Aja Blue's wide eyes. "What, babe?"

"Did I see what I thought I saw?"

He winced. "I was hoping you missed that." To Presley and Kayne, he said, "As much as you want to, you can't clean up yet. You are, unfortunately, evidence."

"Yeah, we know," Presley groused. "This is sick, and I don't mean that in today's vernacular of amazingly good or impressive. I mean that I am literally going to hurl."

"Isn't there enough grossness among us, Presley?" Kayne waved a hand over their saturated clothes and skin. "Please don't add barf to the mix."

"Christian? Are they seriously talking about throwing up?"

"Yeah, honey, they're trying to distract each other."

"Oh. Okay. Am I in danger from this butcher guy?"

"No. He has no reason to come after you. You pose him no threat." And she didn't. Christian said it out loud so Nofeshku would know if he was listening.

"Johnny Cash admitted to everything, from murdering Jay to killing the kidnapper."

Christian was surprised the man had been so forthcoming, but then, he probably hadn't expected Aja Blue to leave the room alive.

The door burst open, and Mrs. Sinclair rushed inside with Nicole on her heels, crutching furiously to keep up.

"Heathcliff? What is going on? Where is Jonas and the security . . ." Her voice trailed off when she spotted what was left of her husband's headless torso. Her scream practically shattered the remaining windows surrounding the office.

"Uh oh."

Christian rushed over and caught her as her eyes rolled back and she crumpled. He carried her to the sofa and placed her down. Kayne and Presley were closer, but they were covered in body fluids. Nicole had limited use of her limbs but not her voice as she took command of the room.

"Don't anyone touch anything, including you two." Nicole pointed at Kayne and Presley with a crutch. "You're evidence. Police will be here soon. I called the Coast Guard, and they ordered the captain to turn the ship around and head to shore." She glanced at what was left of Heathcliff Sinclair and winced. "I've seen some pretty gruesome things, and that is right up there with the worst of them." What the hell happened?"

Christian told her about securing Sinclair in cuffs and then the unexpected shot from the sniper in a wetsuit.

"You think Nofeshku was responsible?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense."

"He's been monitoring Sinclair," she surmised, echoing his thoughts.

Christian returned to Aja Blue. He was worried that she'd been drugged, but she was also in shock. She'd seen a man violently murdered. That wasn't something that would be easy to forget. He crouched down and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. "How are you holding up?"

If she answered, he had no idea. Something slammed into his head, and the world went black.