“Would you be offended? I’d like to make some phone calls,” Monique asked.
“Not at all, beautiful lady.” He kissed her softly.
“I think I left my phone on the table,” she said, looking around.
Kieran walked outside to find Troy doing an in-depth check of the suite. On his knees, he was unscrewing outlet covers. “How is she?” he mumbled.
“A bit lost. Have you seen her phone?” Kieran asked.
“On the table. Boss, we need to confirm her itinerary, and we need permission to check her phone.” He leaned back on his knees.
“I’ll take care of that, and I’ll be back in a bit.” Kieran picked up the turned-off phone and returned to the bedroom.
Monique was standing in the full window, deep in thought. Kieran wrapped his arms around her. “Here.” He handed her the phone. “Before you make your calls, would you let me check your phone to make sure someone is not monitoring your calls or location?”
The phone dropped back into his palm like a hot potato. “Mon dieux.”
Kieran called their technical analysis department. “This is Kieran Chase; ping this number for tracking systems.” He provided her number, hopeful they would find nothing, but with every extra minute that passed, he knew that was less likely.
“Mr. Chase, remove the battery and SIM card from the phone. There is a GPS transponder inside broadcasting the phone’s location,” the tech operator said.
“Can you get a reverse trace?” Kieran pressed his lips together.
“Yes, sir, but to do that, your location is at risk.”
“I’ll dismantle it here and send it in.” His eyes turned a baby blue. “Your location is being tracked,” he whispered to her.
She leaned into him. “What do I do?”
“Trust me.” He moved her away from the window and pulled her to sit beside him. “Troy?” he called.
Troy was in the door, eyes swirling around the room. “Yeah, Boss?”
“The phone has a tracker. We need to remove the battery and SIM card and bring it to tech.”
Troy took the phone, and after pulling out a pocketknife, he popped the SIM card. With a screwdriver, he pried open the cover a few minutes later. He held a finger to his lips in warning. Not only was there a tracker, but what appeared to be a voice-activated microphone was also inside. He signed, I WILL BRING TO TECH.
Kieran kicked himself. She captivated him. Every minute with her, he was pulled deeper into an emotional sphere. This was getting in the way. Emotions could get her killed, he warned himself. Phones were one of the first things they checked. What else did he miss? His back straightened. He signed, GO.
Troy nodded and snapped a two-finger salute before leaving the room. The senior personnel were from multiple branches of the service. Kieran, a Navy man through and through, growled. Navy personnel never saluted indoors.
Chapter 9
He could feel her presence. Anger rolled down his back. His temptress betrayed him again, and now she would pay. He lay poolside remembering the beautiful tulle and flowers. Her luscious long legs and spike heels. The male model lay looking up at her, his hands sliding up her hose-covered legs as she leaned down with a sexy smile. He ground his teeth because it wasn’t him. That man and every man she was with would die. He heard the phone call between her and that model. And this new man, he heard him make love to her.
* * *
“Who is doing this?”Monique wrapped her arms around herself.
“We are going to figure it out. You said the advertising campaign was called ‘Temptress.’ Was that public knowledge?” Kieran focused.
“No. It’s an internal reference that covers everything associated with the campaign from the contracts, company executive, set design, models, manicurists, stylists, and others. Hundreds of people would have known it, but it wasn’t public.” Monique pressed her lips together.
“Where did you fit into the decision-making process?”
“As far as appearance?” She crunched her brows.
“No, as far as the other employees. Did you have any say in the hiring?” he asked.
