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Saturday. Tech Conference, Kyoto, Japan.
Yvonne sat on the floor, her back braced against the bed, and stared at her toes. They still had a tiny bit of polish on them from that spa day Tabby had taken her on the week after Vegas. That was the last time Yvonne had done anything for herself.
Her life was work. It was the business. She couldn’t be pregnant. She couldn’t have a baby.
The tests were wrong. They had to be.
Why should she trust a drug store test? This was the kind of thing that needed a professional.
But that meant doctors, and she’d gone to the same family practice her whole life. Even her doctor in LA was cousins with her doctor in DC. If her physician knew she was pregnant, there would be no keeping that from her family.
A sharp knock at her door broke the circle of thought.
She briefly considered ignoring it, but Douglas was out there. Probably doing something stupid.
Yvonne pushed to her feet, straightened her blouse then opened the door.
Melody stood on the other side, her professional mask in place, but there was a grim set to her mouth.
“W-what is it?” Yvonne asked.
“I need for you to pack what you need and be ready to leave in five minutes for the airport.”
“What? Why?”
Theodore stepped in behind Melody, his face twisted into a mask of rage. “Do what she says, Vee.”
“Okay.” Yvonne wanted to know more, but that look said not to ask. Not right now.
Yvonne grabbed her smallest suitcase and quickly packed the things she cared about. Toiletries, her book, a shawl Tabby had given her and two changes of clothes. That done she ensured her work things were still ready to go.
She paused in the bathroom staring at the box she’d shoved the pregnancy test into. There was no way she could leave that here for anyone to find, but she didn’t want it with her either.
This situation was just like Douglas’ latest episode. It was something to be controlled. For now.
She stashed them in a box then wrapped that in a plastic bag and shoved it to the bottom of her purse. She’d handle this when she got home to LA.
Theodore was still packing when Yvonne hauled her things out to the front where Melody waited with Douglas’ duffle bag and three laptop bags Yvonne assumed were her team’s equipment.
“What do we know about Doug?” Yvonne asked.
“It’s best if we discuss this on the plane.” Melody’s voice was measured, calm, controlled. It was different from when she didn’t have to think about her words.
“That bad?” Yvonne sighed.
“It’s contained. For now.” Melody tilted her head and stared off into nothing for a moment. “They’re downstairs. Nolan and Vaughn are on their way up.”
Yvonne nodded. She’d thought the protection was silly and over the top. They’d handled negative attention before, but nothing like this. It was crazy.
Her stomach knotted up, and she didn’t know if it was because of her condition or the drama unfolding around her.
Theodore joined them, his phone pressed to his ear as he spat orders.
A rhythmic knock sounded at the suite entrance.
“That’s our people.” Melody crossed to the door and peered through the peephole before turning toward them. “Ready?”
Yvonne nodded.
“My brother had better have something to say about all this.” Theodore bent and took Yvonne’s computer bag leaving her with her purse and rolling carry on.
Nolan was first through the door. There was no blood on him and he appeared unhurt though his tie was loose and missing a button on his shirt.
He glanced at her, their gazes snagging for a brief moment. She really shouldn’t feel better knowing he was okay.
Figure Douglas out first, then everything else.
Vaughn grabbed the bags at Melody’s feet.
“Sir, ma’am, come with us, please?” Nolan gestured at the door. “I’d like you to stay behind me. Melody and Vaughn will bring up the rear.”
His tone had changed. Yes, he’d become a laser focused person the moment she’d told him something was wrong this morning, but now he was even more controlled. No, poised.
Were they in danger in the hotel? On the way to the plane?
Yvonne’s hand slid from her purse strap to her stomach as they walked down the hall past the elevators to a service shaft.
“What can you tell us?” Theodore asked.
“Not our place to say,” Nolan responded.
Yvonne smothered the urge to chuckle. It had to be the nerves making her want to laugh at a time like this. Theodore always got his way.
Nolan turned to face them. “We’re going straight ahead, take a left then out into a loading area, understand?”
Yvonne nodded. She assumed her brother did the same.
“Here, let me have this.” Nolan bent and took her rolling bag from her.
“I can handle—”
His dark green gaze made the words die on her lips. “I need you to move fast.”
“Okay,” she muttered.
“Stay close to me.” Nolan placed his hand on her back, just how he had earlier.
The elevator dinged, and they were moving with haste. Nolan carried her bag in front of them, kind of like a shield.
Down the hall.
Left at the first opportunity.
He pushed the doors open for her.
A dark SUV waited in the loading area. Brenden stood at the front of the vehicle, doors open, watching the street.
“In,” Nolan snapped.
“Bags in the back,” Melody called out.
They piled into the waiting SUV, bags flying over Yvonne’s head as the vehicle took off.
She sat sandwiched in between Theodore and Melody as Nolan wound through the city, navigating the streets as though he did this all the time. And he probably did.
Their lives were so totally different.
Her mind blanked out, refusing to follow that train of thought further.
Yes, there were important things to consider, but later. Once they were safe and this business with Douglas was sorted.
By the time they reached the private airport Yvonne was glad she hadn’t tried to eat. The motion sickness alone would have done her in. She was reduced to doing what Melody told her.
Slide out of the SUV.
Sit on this golf cart.
Hold on here.
Stand.
Go up the stairs.
The whole thing was a blur, but before she knew it she was seated in a plush, leather seat in a private room inside a jet.
A private jet she’d never been in before.
Did she want to know what strings had gotten pulled for this?
Probably not.
“Where’s my damn brother?” Theodore dropped their laptop bags into the seat across the table from her.
“They’re bringing him to the plane now,” Melody said.
“I want to see him—privately—as soon as he gets here, understood?”
Yvonne slid further down in her seat.
She watched Theodore scowl then heard a door click shut.
They were alone.
“This is just like Doug. Damn it.” Theodore whirled and paced the small, airplane conference room.
“We don’t know the facts yet.” Yvonne placed her purse on the table.
“But we know him.” He whirled to face her. “Tell me you actually believe our brother didn’t bring this on himself.”
Yvonne winced and glanced away. She couldn’t do that. Douglas’ history was full of instances just like this.
SATURDAY. PRIVATE AIRPORT, Kyoto, Japan.
Fucking hell.
Lee’s plans were dissolving, and he had no clue why.
He eased the bike to a stop outside the fenced off area of the private airport just outside Kyoto. He’d been hard pressed to follow the SUV without getting too close. With any luck the bodyguards hadn’t spotted him.
The family was supposed to remain at the conference for the duration of the event. Only once that was over were they to leave, at which point Lee’s people were supposed to grab them.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Lee balled his hands into fists.
His plans were blown until he knew where the Kriegers were going.
The way his luck was going, they were en route back to the states, and that would really suck. Lee operated mostly on foreign soil. He stayed out of the US, but this job was too big. He couldn’t fail.
He tipped his head back and sucked in a deep breath.
He could be flexible. He knew their habits, their routines. He’d been studying them in preparation for this job. His team could still pull this off.
He watched a second golf cart wheel two men, Douglas Krieger and a crate to the stairs leading to the jet. The crate was loaded while the men hustled the youngest Krieger inside the plane.
Lee pulled out his phone and hit dial. It was time to adjust their course and figure out what the hell went wrong.
YVONNE’S EYES BEGAN to droop. It would be so easy to close them and fall asleep. Being sick sure had taken a lot out of her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was under the weather. Probably meant she was due for something awful.
The conference room door snapped open.
“Doug.” Theodore pushed to his feet.
She turned her chair to catch sight of her younger brother.
Douglas’ suit was rumpled. One pant leg was torn and several shirt buttons were missing. His tie was barely hanging on. His jacket was gone. He had a cut lip, a black eye and a gash near his temple that had bled a bit.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Yvonne shoved to her feet.
Grant pushed past Douglas carrying the drone case and placed it in a bin that would secure it from sliding around on the floor.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Theodore pounded his fist on the table.
“Excuse me?” Grant straightened and glanced between them. “We’ll be taking off in a few minutes. Our flight home is going to be a little long, but we’ll get there.”
“Thanks. Give us a minute?” Theodore didn’t look at the other man once. His eyes were on their brother.
Grant nodded and shut the conference room door behind him while Douglas sank into the padded leather chair at the head of the table. Yvonne grabbed a few cocktail napkins on the table and moved down to sit at Douglas’ right hand.
“Here. You’re kind of a mess.”
“I didn’t do it.” Douglas glanced at her then Theodore. “You’ve got to believe me. I didn’t do it.”
“Do what? What the fuck happened?” Theodore came to stand over Douglas, arms crossed. Theodore looked a lot like their father right now.
“I had an appointment with some guys. They wanted to see the drone in action.” Douglas pushed his hand through his hair. “I didn’t want a fucking baby sitter, so I got rid of him.”
“By shoving in him a closet?” Theodore threw his hands up. “We have that on camera, you idiot.”
“These guys wanted a private demo, off site. They checked out.” Douglas’ temper flared, and he sat up, glaring at their oldest brother.
“Guys, can we just focus on the events?” She speared Theodore with a look. “Sit, please? We need to know what we’re dealing with so we can decide how to proceed. Getting angry and yelling at each other isn’t going to help us.”
Her oldest brother looked like he wanted to say something. Reason won out, and he sat opposite of Yvonne, reclined back in his chair.
“Is this something we should record?” she asked Douglas.
“I don’t know.” Douglas’ face creased. He was truly afraid.
Theodore shook his head. “No recordings. Not until we know what we’re dealing with. From the beginning.”
“I was trying.” Douglas blew out a breath. “Like I said—these guys checked out. We loaded into a car and went to this guy’s house. That’s when I started to get a bad feeling. My contact started getting jumpy. He and another of the guys were arguing, but I didn’t know what the fuck they were saying.”
Yvonne needed to keep Douglas on track. “Where’d they take you?”
“Some guy’s house. I said that. Big place. Walled. There were guards. I saw guns. That’s when I realized I fucked up, but they said they had a partner who wanted in on the demo.”
“Who were your contacts?” Yvonne pulled out her phone.
“Two guys with Lyme.”
“The developer Lyme?” Yvonne frowned. What would coders need with a surveillance drone?
“Yeah. They said they were working on something new and—whatever.” Douglas shook his head. “My contact and the driver left. They just turned around and walked off. These four new guys come over, they talk to the other two Lyme guys. No one is speaking to me, which is when I tried to follow the others.”
His knee bounced, and he picked at the stubble on his chin, his eyes wide. Whatever he was seeing, it wasn’t this room.
Yvonne reached over and took her brother’s hand.
“Doug? Doug, you’re safe,” she said.
“I know.” He straightened and placed his hands in his lap.
“What happened next? I’m guessing they didn’t let you walk out of there.” Theodore’s frustration dripped from every word.
Yvonne understood him. Douglas had an uncanny knack for screwing things up. But he was their family. Their brother. And what he did affected them.
“They made me do the demo in their courtyard area. That’s when I turned the GPS signal on thinking maybe you guys would realize I was gone.” Douglas’ voice broke.
Yvonne’s throat tightened. What had the video captured?
“That’s it?” Theodore asked.
“No. After that they tied me up and put me in a van. The two Lyme guys and two I didn’t know drove off with me and the drone. They stopped on the side of some street and loaded the drone with real bullets. It’s not made for real bullets. They probably melted the whole magazine.” Douglas threw his hands up.
He was focusing on little details. Whenever he was really upset about something or knew he was in bad trouble, he did this.
Oh, Dougie, what have you done?
“Did they use the drone to kill someone?” Theodore asked, his voice unusually even.
“I—I think so. Yeah.” Doug wiped his hand across his mouth. His leg did a little jig, bouncing up and down.
“Then what happened?”
“Then we started driving. They were all yelling. A few minutes later the van hit something, then these guys open up the back door and start pulling the others out and—and...” Douglas’ mouth worked without sound, his eyes wide with fear.
“And?” Theodore prompted.
“They killed them.”
“With guns?”
“No, this guy fucking stabbed them to death.” Douglas closed his eyes and shuddered.
“Is that it? What else?”
“That’s when those guys—the bodyguards—got there. Oh, fuck.” He bent forward, head cradled in his hands. “I fucked up. I really fucked up.”
“You did, buddy.” Theodore patted Douglas on the shoulder. “But we’re going to take care of this.”
Yvonne’s mouth was dry. The knot in her stomach was tighter.
People had died today.
Her gut reaction was that the police needed to know.
Except they couldn’t. Or at least Mom wouldn’t allow it and what she said was law.
Douglas had already dug himself a hole. He was on probation for a DWI. If his parole officer found out Douglas was involved in this, her little brother could go to prison. Mom wouldn’t let her precious baby face any real consequences then. She wouldn’t now either.
Yvonne pushed to her feet, needing to move.
There was a right thing to do, she just didn’t know what it was yet. It would come to her, a neat way to solve all their problems the correct way.
“Vee, where are you going?” Theodore asked.
“I...” She paused with her hand on the door. “I need some air.”
She stepped out into the galley that ran along the outside of the conference room and a drink prep area. A can of ginger ale caught her eye. That might help?
Yvonne helped herself and turned toward the hatch leading out of the plane. Part of her wanted to walk out that door because deep down she knew what was going to happen.
When they got home Dad would be furious. He’d call their lawyer and his police friends—and then Mom would get involved.
There were defining differences between the two halves of that power couple.
Dad was a self-made man. He’d begun his company in his spare time then built it through hard work, determination and an uncanny ability to sell anything.
Mom, on the other hand, came from a long line of wealthy people. Old money. She had ideas about what they were entitled to because of who they were, the blood they shared. She wouldn’t allow for her precious baby boy to be smeared in any way.
Many of Douglas’ bad habits were fostered by their mother.
In the end Mom and Dad would come to an agreement. Something in the middle. Kind of like Douglas’ DWI slap on the wrist. It could have been worse. Much worse. But Mom’s family had influence and Dad had money.
“You aren’t thinking about running on us, too?”
Nolan’s voice licked up her spine, causing her to shiver. She sucked in a breath and turned to face him.
“What? Sorry?” she said lamely.
“Sorry.” He held up his hands. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I-I’m not going anywhere.” She folded one arm over her chest and clutched the can.
“I didn’t really think you would. You’re the smart one of the family.” Nolan studied her, his eyes looking for something. He’d straightened his shirt, but there was no fixing the missing buttons. They gaped, showing off the under shirt. “Your brother tell you what happened?”
“Enough.” She tapped her finger on the can. What the hell were they going to do about Douglas?
“Okay, well, we know more about the people involved. You want me to tell you and your brothers?”
Theodore’s raised voice could be heard through the walls. Yvonne glanced over her shoulder.
“Just tell me for now, if you don’t mind?” She didn’t think now was the time to share more details with them.
“That initial homicide we heard about was a Sota Ito. You know that name?”
“No.” She frowned. “Should I?”
“Not necessarily. We know him. They do a lot of work in this part of the world, private security, several steps up from rent a cops. Our guys have also identified the men who kidnapped your brother.”
“And?”
“And they didn’t work for anyone attending the conference. They’re gang members. Yakuza.”
“I see.” She drew in a deep, steadying breath.
It just kept getting better and better, didn’t it?
“And here we thought we’d need your protection for something completely different.” She chuckled, but her attempt at brevity failed. “You’ll be glad to be rid of us once we get home, I bet.”
“We aren’t off the job just because we get your family home safe.”
“Y-you aren’t?”
“No. If anything this is going to prolong our job. Plus, there’s still several kidnapping threats and now this? We aren’t going anywhere.”
“I-I see.” Her brain was running out of words to use.
He lowered his voice and his tone gentled. “Is this going to be a problem? I can see about being reassigned.”
“I think...” She took a sip of the bubbly drink to buy her a moment.
If she were truly pregnant, Nolan would be part of her life—and the child’s. If he wanted to be. There was always the chance he wouldn’t care. But that seemed wrong to her. Besides her connection to him she couldn’t deny that he’d been professional and attentive. The moment she’d found out about Douglas he’d gone into action. That might be the only thing that had brought her brother back alive. It wasn’t worth throwing away someone right for the job just because she was uncomfortable.
“I think it might benefit us to...come to an understanding,” she said.
“You want to talk?” he asked.
“Is that allowed?”
“Of course.” He glanced over his shoulder at the other five members of his team clustered together looking at something. “There’s a private seating area for four at the front of the plane. After take-off I’ll come find you and we can talk. How’s that sound?”
Ominous.
“Good. Thank you.” She half turned toward the conference room door. “I should update my brothers.”
And yet part of her wanted to stand here with Nolan, away from the horrors, where he could shield her.
