Page 20 of Love and Chaos

“All right. You’re on speaker now. This had better be good. Let me guess, Max unearthed some ancient Egyptian tomb, and he’s unlocked the mummy’s curse,” Kairo teased.

“Can’t be. Ed and Max are in Lisbon for a guest lecture,” Izzie corrected him.

Charlie shoved a hand through his hair, smoothing it while he frowned at his reflection in the dark window. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I thought you were still in Gaoxing.”

A low sigh tumbled from Kairo. “It’s fine unless this is a social call. Then fuck you, I’m going to sleep.”

Charlie snorted. “Whenever have you ever known me to make a social call?”

“True. So it’s a job.”

“Really?” Izzie gasped, his voice filling with hope and excitement.

“Not a job, per se. More like…”

“What?” Kairo pressed.

“Revenge,” Charlie said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, really now…”

“Will encountered an asshole in the park when he was walking Oscar. The prick insulted his cat’s intelligence and accused Will of torturing Oscar by putting him on a leash.”

“That is bullshit!” Izzie exploded, causing Charlie to jerk his phone away from his ear. “No one loves or treasures that cat more than Will does. Oscar is a smart cat. It’s just a different kind of smart. A free, independent spirit that loves Will as much as Will loves him. Besides, Oscar loves his walkies! You need to burn this evil man.”

Charlie had almost forgotten that Izzie was Oscar’s self-proclaimed cat uncle, and he’d sent many gifts to Paris already to pamper his precious nephew. Charlie had also jealously watched as Will spent many hours sending Izzie endless pictures and videos of Oscar since he’d gotten the cat.

“That might be a bit extreme, love,” Kairo coaxed.

“It’s not. This man needs to pay for what he’s said. I’m calling the pilot. We’re flying to Paris tonight. Charlie and Will need our help.” Izzie’s voice was trembling. Charlie swallowed his bark of laughter at the sound of Kairo’s little growl.

“No, baby. It’s late. Let the pilot sleep,” Kairo cooed. “Maybe Charlie just needs me to do a little research. I can do that from here. In the morning. After I’ve had at least six hours of sleep.”

“But what about Oscar and Will? They must be heartbroken.” Izzie pleaded, his tone verging on a pathetic whine.

Charlie needed to intercede before Kairo hacked his bank account again and drained it out of spite. “Actually, I was just looking for Kairo to do a background check on this guy. Dig up some basic info. His name is Jacob Tanner. Internet security specialist. I’m guessing he’s in Paris on a job. I need to know where he’s staying and other basic details. Say, in the next twenty-four hours.”

“See. Just some digging,” Kairo coaxed.

“Are you sure you don’t need us there?” Izzie pressed.

“Let’s see what Kairo turns up first. If I need help getting revenge, I promise you and Kairo will be the first ones I call.”

“Yes, because we’re the closest,” Izzie argued. “Alexei and Soren are in Scotland. That’s not nearly close enough.”

Oh…that was tempting. Alexei and Soren were so very good at chaos and mayhem.

“He looks like an asshole,” Izzie sneered, and Charlie had to stuff down a chuckle, because the Greek billionaire wasn’t wrong. Jacob Tanner did look like a giant asshole as he said something animatedly to Alexei as they sat at the hotel bar two nights later. The former assassin was trying to look interested in whatever he was saying, but Charlie suspected Alexei was mentally listing all the ways he could kill this man.

Kairo had confirmed that Tanner was in town for the week doing some consulting work for a large Paris corporation before he was headed back to St. Louis. If they were going to strike, they had to do it fast. Charlie was determined to make his stay in Paris a memorable one.

“Has he done it yet?” Izzie demanded. The man was almost bouncing in his seat, nearly giving away that they were watching Tanner from a distance. Izzie still needed to learn the definition of words like covert and discreet.

“About ten minutes ago.”

“What?” Izzie gasped. He shifted in his seat to stare at Charlie. They were both wearing suits, looking like businessmen unwinding with a couple of drinks after a long day of meetings. They weren’t the only ones, as at least a dozen other people filled the bar, drinking and talking.

The Hôtel de Jobo was an eclectic choice of boutique hotels in the eleventh arrondissement, about halfway between the Bastille and Notre Dame. Most of its furnishings were in black or shades of red in a sort of playful gothic style. The important thing was that it had a bar on site, giving Alexei a chance to work his magic as he chatted up their target. Normally, this kind of interaction was Soren’s job, but the thief had been busy until about ten minutes ago, targeting a housekeeper for a quick lift.