Tory’s men lined the walls like lethal decorations, their dark suits and darker expressions adding to the tension-filled atmosphere. William prowled the space like a caged predator, occasionally pausing to snap orders in what sounded like Russian.
“Got something!” One of Eddie’s men called out, only to deflate under James’ arctic stare. “Never mind. False alarm.”
I’d lost count of how many times that had happened in the last few hours.
Ryan had stumbled in around dawn, looking like he’d wrestled his clothes on in the dark. Knowing him, he probably had. His usually perfect hair stuck up at odd angles, and his designer shirt was missing two buttons and?—
“Is that inside out?” I asked, latching on to the distraction.
“Is this really the time to critique my fashion choices?” Ryan dropped into the chair next to me, then paused. “Wait, is it?”
“Your tag is waving at me.”
“Fuck.” He didn’t bother fixing it. “I left New York in such a hurry I think I packed my neighbor’s cat by mistake.”
“You don’t have a cat.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel and Jeremy arrived shortly after, and wasn’t that just a fun way to meet my boyfriend’s brothers? ‘Hi, nice to meet you, sorry it’s under kidnapping circumstances.’ Daniel, the oldest, radiated calm competence that reminded me painfully of Matt, while Jeremy paced and talked rapidly into his phone, gesturing with his free hand.
“No, Tessa, stay in Boston,” Jeremy was saying. “I’ll call when… yeah, I know. Love you too.”
Daniel approached me, his warm hazel eyes so different from Matt’s stormy gray ones. “Andy.” He pulled me into a quick hug. “Not exactly how I pictured meeting you.”
“Yeah, well, your brother has a flair for drama,” I quipped weakly.
That earned me a small smile. “Must run in the family. Ryan once staged a production ofHamletwith stuffed animals just to ask for a higher allowance.”
“I was twelve,” Ryan protested from his laptop. “And it worked.”
“The poor butler had nightmares about tap-dancing teddy bears for weeks,” Jeremy added, pocketing his phone.
A burst of rapid-fire Japanese from the corner drew our attention. Tory was conferring with his men, his usually playful demeanor replaced by something ancient and deadly. One of his men nodded sharply and disappeared out the door.
“Your contacts in Asia?” James asked, covering one phone.
“And Europe,” Tory confirmed. “If anyone tries to move him out of the country, we’ll know.”
“My people tracked several suspicious accounts,” William said, drawing everyone’s attention. “Too many dead ends. Too clean.”
“Someone planned this,” James muttered. “Eddie?”
Eddie emerged from what had become the communications center—formerly known as Matt’s home office. “CCTV footage shows him entering the Cosmopolitan at two p.m. No sign of him leaving.”
“He had to leave somehow,” Ryan snapped, frustration evident in every line of his body.
“Unless he didn’t,” I said slowly, a horrible thought forming. “What if he’s still there?”
The room went silent. James’ fingers flew over his phone. “Getting the blueprints now. William?—”
“Already on it.” William was speaking rapid-fire Russian into his phone.
“I’ll have my team sweep every floor,” Tory added, “including the maintenance levels.”
“Service entrances?” Daniel asked.
“Eddie’s got teams there,” James replied. “Ryan, can you?—”
