Julian spoke French. As he pulled his weapon and pushed into the room, his eyes narrowed. At the sight of the dead cat, her words became clearer. “Kieran, she’s asking you to leave her alone to die. She said she has no other reason to be here.”
Kieran swallowed hard, then lifted her chin to assure she was focused on his words. “I will not let you hurt yourself. Do you understand me? I will give you some time alone to mourn.” Her teary eyes tore a hole in his gut. He made his way to his knees and lifted her to the bed.
“Boss, when Tag gets here, I’ll tell him to come in.”
Kieran hoped Julian’s call name, Smooth, paid off when he told her something in French: “Madame Lillier, je suis vraiment désolée pour votre perte. Voulez-vous me laisser envelopper Soleil dans une couverture? Ensuite, vous pouvez vous asseoir et le tenir dans le fauteuil aussi longtemps que vous en avez besoin. Je sais que tu souffres, mais il y a un monde de raisons pour que tu sois ici.”
Taggart slipped inside. He translated his brother’s words for Kieran: he was sorry for her loss. Would she let him wrap Soleil in a blanket? Then she could sit and hold him in the chair as long as she needed. He understood she was hurting, but there was a world of reasons for her to be here. “Madame, je suis vraiment désolée pour votre perte.”
As he said his condolences, he reached above her and took a blanket from the closet shelf. Opening it in his arms, she handed him her beloved cat. Tag wrapped up the cat and placed it in her arms.
Monique’s eyes glazed over as she rocked the animal and sang a lullaby.
Julian pointed two fingers toward the door. “Chère, we are outside.”
Kieran took one more worried look at the grieving woman. Leaving the room, he passed the note he’d found attached to the cat to Julian. It read,You’re next.
Chapter 6
Kieran acknowledged the arrival of another one of the Chase Security founders, Troy “Greece” Bremen, with a curt nod and turned to the detectives, pouncing like a lion. Sweat broke out on his brow. “You two pieces of crap knew this was part of a larger stalking case, and you blew her off? What the hell?! I spoke to the commandant of the Important Persons Protection Service in Lyon. He said he spoke to you, Detective Jack-off. He advised Alain Charpentier that Madame Lillier’s stalker was escalating, and they recommended around-the-clock security.”
Kieran closed space on Detective Boone. “He spoke to Charpentier again after yesterday morning’s incident. He said Alain told him that he told you too. One intelligent word out of you, Dipshit or Jack-off, and Alain Charpentier may not be fighting for his life; Madame Lillier, whom the commandant deemed a national treasure, would not have been traumatized by a fake blood shower; or her beloved pet would not have been murdered.” The vein in his temple pulsed.
“Who the hell do you think you are, calling us names, Chase? She’s an uppity model. We thought she was being histrionic.” Detective Alvin Boone, whom Kieran dubbed Detective Jack-off, said.
“Histrionic? HISTRIONIC? She’s scared, and English is not her primary language; of course she doesn’t know slang. Your own sergeant could have told you that.” Kieran’s temper remained on high. He planted his feet and raised his arms, closing his fists.
“Calm down, Chase; you’re not advancing your cause,” Detective Isaac Beck, also known as Detective Dipshit, said.
He stomped. “My cause? My firm is in the business of ensuring our clients see tomorrow. It should be your cause too. Judging by your stupidity, neither of you have a clue,” Kieran hissed.
“Where is she? We need to question her,” Beck said.
“She’s pulling herself together.” Kieran glanced back toward the bedroom, worried.
“It’s a friggin’ cat,” Boone said. “Hmm, or is it more? You getting between the sheets with her?”
Troy was on his feet, but one step too late. Kieran’s lip turned up in a snarl, and his right hand came up and slammed his fist between Boone’s eyes. Blood spurted from his broken nose.
“Son of a bitch. Freeze.” Beck pulled his gun and cocked it in Kieran’s direction.
Taggart and Julian walked out of the bedroom in time to see the melee. Troy grabbed Kieran, tossing him over his shoulder and taking him into the other bedroom. Martin blocked the path to stop anyone from following them.
Kieran overheard everyone scrambling, as well as Julian asking to examine Detective Boone. He knew he had pulverized the man’s nose. He heard Julian ask his brother to call an ambulance.
Kieran remained enraged. “Don’t move and don’t give me theI’m the bossroutine.”
Martin frowned, but he and Troy gave Kiernan no room to move from the chair they’d dropped him in. He was still aware of everything happening in the suite; he just couldn’t participate.
More police and the ambulance arrived fast. Julian gave them a bullet of information, thanks to his training as a special forces combat medic. As soon as the paramedics left with Detective Boone, he washed his hands and returned to the living area.
Taggart was speaking with animated gestures to Detective Beck, who frowned and left the room as Julian approached him. “Bro, I don’t want any trouble, but I’ve got to arrest him. At this point, it’s up to the lawyers to figure it out. He assaulted a police officer. Do I need to call a SWAT team, or will he come with me without a problem?”
“Give me a few minutes. I need to make a call.” Julian walked into the hallway.
* * *
“Smooth, you and Martin behaving?”Ian asked.
