“We know whoever’s been searching for her has a personal stake in it,” he began.
“And how do we know this?” Nik was the one that leaned forward to question the observation. “I’ve gone over the past reports filed on her mother and the deaths of the men attempting to protect them, as well as the months Teyha was in France and the attempt against her there. I would say it’s more likely one of Sorrel’s partners attempting to punish her for killing Sorrel.”
Beside him, Tehya flinched.
“I have to agree,” Micah spoke up. “We’ve all been over the past reports, Jordan. How can you assume there’s something personal involved, now that Sorrel and his son are both dead?”
“Sorrel’s associates, friends, and even his enemies wouldn’t play with her,” he explained. “She’s being toyed with, for whatever reason. Watched. Pushed to certain reactions. It’s more a trademark of Sorrel’s pattern when targeting a victim to kidnap rather than an attempt to extract vengeance for his death. The plan changed when the attack at the house didn’t leave her on the run, vulnerable and frightened, because I was there.” He glanced at the closed door to the suite where the two mercenaries were being held. “They were ordered to get rid of me.”
Tehya sat silent, staring at the closed door, listening as he laid out, step by step, the actions that had taken place since he had arrived at her home.
And he was right. Even before he arrived, she had felt pushed, led, dragged into a situation she was helpless to avoid.
It was indeed a Sorrel trademark. Even as a child, Tehya had recognized the game that was played with her mother and the men who attempted to protect her.
No one could protect her. That was the lesson Sorrel had tried to teach her. He had been amused the few times he had managed to contact her. Once, he had even left a cell phone along with his number. And Tehya had called. She listened with a sense of unreality to the charming, caring voice of a monster so evil it had sent chills racing up her spine.
“How do you propose handling this?” Noah brought her attention back to the conversation going on around the table.
Noah’s voice was deeper, darker for the fury burning inside him.
“I propose we let them escape,” Jordan suggested, his lips curling in a smile. “Let them run back home to whoever Daddy is, while we follow and see who they’re reporting to. Meanwhile, Tehya will be rushed from the hotel to Senator Stanton’s estate, where we’ll carefully arrange the rumor that our two erstwhile assassins actually managed to succeed in their attempt to kill me, but the bodyguards I had hired arrived in time to save Tehya.” He turned to Noah. “John, Travis, and Noah will drag out my wrapped body and put it in the Conquest while Nik and Micah rush Tehya to the senator’s estate. We’ll drop Noah off to watch the two men as they “escape” while we collect the backup vehicles and follow them once they’re on the move.”
“Stage it first,” Bailey suggested quietly. “Let them hear the argument when they awaken concerning the torture you’re going to exact once you return from taking care of his body. Convince them Jordan is dead.”
“And remember, I wasn’t shot until the end, as I knocked Frackle out. They aren’t aware where I was hit. It could have been a fatal shot.”
Tehya sat silently and listened. The plan was simple and effective. A typical “Jordan” plan, while at the same time being in-depth enough to be completely convincing.
It was the reason why he had been so effective as a commander.
He left nothing to chance. Even the smallest details were taken care of, and each opportunity to put it to its best use considered.
“I can’t believe you’re totally dropping out of the game.” Micah’s gaze gleamed with amusement. “You realize we just laid in a plan that requires no backup support and eliminates ninety percent of the chances of failure, right?”
Jordan’s expression was still tightly controlled. “It’s that ten percent that worries me. Let’s see if we can’t get a little closer there.”
Tehya got slowly to her feet. She felt stiff, old. As though the years she had spent running, plotting, searching for just a moment’s haven to find some rest had prematurely aged her.
After the morning she had just spent, she definitely expected to find gray hairs.
“Tehya, are you okay?” Quiet, concerned, Jordan continued to stare up at her, the blue of his eyes darker than normal.
“I’m fine,” she whispered as she extricated her arm from his grip and gave him what she hoped was a natural smile. “I do need to use the restroom though, if you’ll excuse me.”
Turning her back on them, she left the room quickly.
Her stomach was churning, and no amount of concentrating on others or distracting her thoughts was going to save her this time.
At the very thought of Jordan’s life being taken so easily, the dinner she’d had last night was about to make a reappearance.
CHAPTER 16
Jordan was waiting on her as she left the bathroom, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes narrowed as he stared back at her silently.
It would be impossible to miss the fact that she had been sick.
She’d washed her face, but she knew what it looked like. It was incredibly pale, her eyes appeared too large, her lips too stressed.